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“A little,” I say, cupping her worried face in my hand, “but I feel the same way. But we’re not going out like this. People know we’re out here, and they’ll be out to evacuate us before things get too bad. We just have to keep the faith and our cool until we’re rescued.”
She shoots me a look that’s half grateful, half suspicious. “I’m not sure if you believe that or if you’re just saying it to make me feel better, but I appreciate it, either way. The only thing worse than dying in some disastrous, tragic way would be dying in a disastrous, tragic way after being forced to worry about dying for hours beforehand.”
“Agreed.” I rise to my feet and help her up after me. “Now head upstairs. I’ll be right there, I promise.”
She nods. “Okay. Let me grab her bed. If she sees me bringing it upstairs, maybe she’ll be motivated enough to tackle the tiny steps. Worst case scenario, I’ll have to carry her while she freaks out. She hates being carried. I think she’s afraid of heights or was dropped as a piglet.”
“I’m not a fan of heights, either, Pippa,” I say, bending to stroke the worried pig on the head. “Here’s hoping none of us have to climb any trees tonight.”
“I’ll hold your hand while we climb if we have to,” Macy says, collecting Pippa’s bed and a candle before starting toward the stairs. “With teamwork, all things are possible.”
“Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have on my team,” I say, taking a moment to savor the warmth that fills her eyes before shooing her and Pippa up the stairs.
“Come on, baby,” Macy coos. “Let’s go get another apple treat upstairs. Are you ready for an apple treat?”
Thankfully, the pig only hesitates a moment at the base of the spiral staircase before letting Macy’s voice and the promise of a treat coax her up the steps. Once I’m sure they’re on their way, I turn back to the tree, approaching it carefully in case the impact has weakened the floorboards.
I check the area near the wall it crushed but am relieved to see most of the wall on the first floor is still standing. The structure seems to be holding up okay. Even better, the river is definitely lower downstairs than it was before. As I shine Macy’s flashlight from the mantle down into the room, I can see the high-water mark at the top of the upper kitchen cabinets, but now the muddy water only brushes their bottoms.
The current is still dangerous, but flood-wise, we’re headed in the right direction.
Turning, I gather the rest of our food and the flashlight into the only slightly damp orange backpack before putting out the fire and all but one of the candles. Then I grab the bag and make my way up the stairs with a candle in one hand, arriving at the top just as Macy is murmuring something beneath her breath and shutting the door to the walk-in closet in the corner.
She turns to see me setting the candle on the bureau and presses a finger to her lips. “She needed to rest in a cozy space. She always does when she’s stressed. Our first few days on the road, she wouldn’t come out from under the bed unless I had food or her favorite ball.” She glances over her shoulder at the closet. “Hopefully she can get some sleep.” She sighs and drags a hand through her hair. “I know I won’t be.”
“You can try if you want,” I say, curling my fingers over her shoulders and digging my fingertips lightly in the tight muscles there. “I’ll take first watch and wake you up if our situation changes.”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that.” Her lashes flutter and a soft moan emerges from the back of her throat as I home in on a particularly stubborn knot at the base of her neck.
“Sure, you can.”
“No, I can’t,” she insists, her hands coming to cover mine, stopping my efforts. She looks up, her eyes locking with mine in the soft candlelight. “Because I need to ask you to do something else.”
“What’s that?” I ask, mesmerized by the way her mouth parts and her tongue sweeps out to dampen her full bottom lip.
“If this is my last night, I don’t just want to die with you, Theo,” she whispers as she begins to back slowly toward the bed. “I want to live with you.”
“I want that more than anything,” I say, my breath rushing out as she stops by the bed and reaches up to open the button at the top of her pajamas. “But I don’t have any condoms.”
“I’m on birth control and I trust you to tell me if there’s anything else I should worry about.” She arches a brow as she continues to work on her buttons. “Is there anything else I should worry about?”
“Absolutely nothing,” I say, my cock thickening as the valley between her bare breasts begins to show between the parting fabric.
And I’m not going to worry, either.
About anything but showing her how deeply I’ve missed her.
ChapterEight
MACY
His lips crash into mine and it’s like the first time all over again—electric and wild and the safest thing I’ve ever known—but even better.
Back when we were kids, I had no other kisses to compare ours to. Theo was my one and only. I didn’t know that not all kisses are sweet and passionately fearless. I didn’t know that some kisses play games or flat out lie or are about as electrically charged as a dead battery left out in the rain.
There was no doubt in my mind that what we had was beautiful, but I didn’t realize how rare a kiss like this truly was.
A kiss you can get lost in…
