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“Well, maybe we’ll actually try getting a little sleep now and then, but yes. Another night like this.”
She tried to dredge up some reasons why it wasn’t such a good idea, but she knew if she denied she wanted to be with him again, it would just be a lie, and all she’d think about every day was being with him again. So, it would be a useless denial that would waste a lot of time and energy.
“Yeah. I want to do this again…with you.”
“Good. I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to keep out of your way if you said no. I’d have respected your decision, but I think I’d have gone a little crazy trying to ignore this thing between us.”
Us… Damn, she was part of anus.
Her breaths deepenedas she fell asleep, and Gunn relaxed, willing his cock to calm the fuck down. He’d known when he’d been pleasuring her that she couldn’t take any more. She was going to be sore enough in the morning. And yes, he felt a little smug about that fact.
He also felt…possessive. Like he’d placed his mark on her. Made her his. Even though he knew that was a little misogynistic, and he had no real claim. However, he’d let himself enjoy the feeling just the same.
This was a new feeling. Not something he’d ever felt for a woman before. He’d had plenty of women in his bed, even some long-term. However, he’d never felt like he wanted to imprint them with his body. He’d worked hard to make sure this night would be something she’d never forget and hopefully want to repeat.
He’d sure as hell never forget her. Not the feel of her body against his or the sounds she’d made as she’d come undone. And he wanted another night like this—many more nights like this—but with the light on, occasionally, so he could remember her with images in his mind to match the sounds, scents, and touches.
If circumstances were different, he could see wanting to date her and then moving her into his place. He liked her sharpness, her dedication to her work, and her courage.
He also liked how she softened against him. Clung to him. Moved with him.
And shit. He was getting hard again. Gunn turned his head and kissed her forehead. He absolutely would not touch her intimately again tonight. No matter how uncomfortable it got.
Then he breathed in the lemon and orange scent of her hair and closed his eyes. A peaceful, drifting feeling overtook him. Something about this woman lying in his arms felt right. Felt like home.
The next morning,he woke when the door snicked open and cool air swept over his skin. Maddie was gone. Likely, she wanted to sneak back to her room before everyone else was up and about. Outside, the wind wasn’t quite howling; it was just a steady whine. He wondered if it was still snowing.
Although he’d only had a couple of hours of sleep, he decided to get up and make a pot of coffee. Maybe he’d walk the perimeter again to drag in some of that clean cold air and clear his head.
He showered and shaved. Then he decided it was time to do a small load of laundry and took his laundry bag to the mudroom where the all-in-one washer-dryer stood in a corner. Luckily, it was empty so he started the load. When he went to the kitchen, he found it empty as well, but he could hear the distant sound of the shower. Maybe it was Maddie washing off their combined scent…or soothing the sore parts of her body in the warmth of the water.
No, he was not smugly smiling about it. Not even a bit.
He started the coffee then dressed in his cold-weather gear and stepped outside. Before pulling on both gloves, he checked his phone. Still no signal, but the cloud cover wasn’t that dense. There were breaks in the clouds. They ought to have signal.
He decided to check the satellite dish. He was halfway down the rope when he remembered he was supposed to tell someone when he went out alone. Well, hell, he was almost there, and it wasn’t snowing so thickly he couldn’t see the hand in front of his face. He could still see the outline of the building behind him. And more importantly, there were no polar bears in sight.
When he reached the satellite, he unscrewed the hatch and checked to make sure it was getting power and signal. The digital indicators told him it was getting both. So, why weren’t their devices working?
He checked the coax connected to the box. It wasn’t loose. On a hunch, he bent and pulled up the coax cable. Then as he walked back toward the facility, he uncovered more of it and looked for any damage.
When he was three-quarters of the way back, the wire ended.
He checked the broken end, and it wasn’t frayed or crushed. No, it was a clean diagonal cut. Someone had deliberately sliced through the coax.
He dropped the cable and buried it with his foot. Then he hurried back to the building. He needed his satphone.
Once inside, he cussed as he removed his boots and then, still wearing all his gear, he headed straight to his room and his equipment bag. With his satphone and Glock in hand, he returned to the mudroom and sat to put his boots on again.
“You going out?” Maddie asked from the doorway. When he looked up, he noted that her eyebrows were lowering. “Something’s happened. What’s wrong?”
He didn’t want to say anything just yet. “I need to see if I can make a call.”
“The satellite dish isn’t getting a signal; I just checked. Your satphone won’t give you a different result.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
Without saying another word, he pushed outside and walked away from the building. Turning on the phone and flipping up the antenna, he dialed Strong’s number.
