“Fuck, Sloane.” Then he’s kissing me, deep and filthy, letting me taste myself on his tongue. I claw at his back and pull my legs up until my heels pull at his ass, encouraging him to slide into me.
He reaches between us, lines up, and sinks in slow—one thick inch at a time. I’m still fluttering from the first orgasm and already preparing for him to do it again.
“Fuck, you feel incredible… And I want to do this five times a day, every day, from now on." I clench around him and he curses, hips jerking.
“Move,” I beg. “Please.”
He does, long, deliberate strokes that drag over every sensitive spot inside me. The headboard taps the wall and I rake nails down his spine; he answers by hitching my knee higher, driving deeper.
“Touch yourself,” he growls. “I want to feel you come around me.”
My hand slips between us, fingers circling my clit. The pressure coils again, faster this time, fueled by the slick drag of him, the way his breath stutters every time I squeeze. His thrusts turn harder, less controlled and his hands grip my legs as he folds me in half and drives in deeper.
“Look at me when you go,” he says, voice cracking.
The second our eyes lock, I break, pleasure crashing over me in tight, hot pulses as I twitch around his cock. He swallows my cry with a kiss, hips snapping several times, then burying deep as he comes with a broken groan, spilling heat inside me. My body continues to jolt and twitch as he glides in and out of me a few more times, and as I come down, he sucks my neck, leaving a love bite I'm sure everyone will see tomorrow.
We stay tangled, trembling, and he doesn’t pull out. I’m tucked against his chest, his heartbeat thundering under my ear and he palms the side of my hip as I try to catch my breath.
“Are you convinced?” he murmurs into my hair.
I press a kiss over his heart. “Signed the lease in my head already.”
Dane stays quiet after that, holding me so tightly I may never get free, and I find I don't want to. When his breathing steadies and his dick goes soft and slides out of me, I cover our bodies with the blanket and turn my back to his chest. His arms come around me again as if we never separated, and I finally know what home feels like.
It's not the location you live in or the type of dwelling where you reside. It's not the people around you or the stability of knowing you have a shelter and provision. Home is knowing someone sees the darkest parts of you and doesn't turn away. It's feeling acceptance in spite of all the things you hate about yourself, and it's knowing the feeling is mutual between you and the person you love.
And I am at home in Dane Barrett’s arms.
I just hope he sticks around long enough for me to tell him that. Because I don't like the idea of living without him anymore.
27
DANE
Travis brought a whole arsenal of weapons, or so it seems, and they're laid out on Ellie's table as Sloan and I prepare to visit the Christmas market. She wants to be a part of this, and though I'm a little hesitant to put her in harm's way, I'm not going to tell her what to do anymore.
"You carry this one," I say, picking up a Glock. I turn it so she can see the mechanics on the side. "The safety's here. You flick it off with your thumb." She watches as I demonstrate each movement. "Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire." I keep my finger pointed down the barrel as I show her how to hold it.
She takes it, and I help her position her grip correctly. "This feels awkward."
"It's gonna feel awkward the whole time because you've never used a weapon, but I'm not letting you go out there unarmed." My body wraps around hers as I bring the weapon up and show her how to position her legs.
"Stance matters," I tell her. "Feet shoulder-width. Lean forward slightly. The recoil's going to buck, so you need to be ready for it." Bringing her other hand up under her dominant one, I show her how to brace her wrist.
"It's not like I've never held a gun," she says, but I hear the anxious tone.
"Squirt guns aren't weapons, Sloane, and you have to be ready to kill someone today to save your own life." I pull back and remove the gun from her grip, laying it on the table. "I'm making sure you're prepared." The moment feels reminiscent of a time when I was younger, when one of the Ferraro men took me under their wing and taught me everything I know.
It seems like not too long ago now, but it's been twenty-five years at least. If only I'd have known the war I'd have to live through mentally and the things I'd have to do.
But Sloane won't have that journey. I won't let it happen to her. Today we will end Maddox and his threat and after today, we'll have a normal life. If not here in Sutter's Gap, then out west in the Rockies or maybe up north in Canada.
"Now this," I say, and pull out the Kevlar vest Travis gave me from his shop inventory.
Sloane's expression shifts immediately. "No."
"Yes." Holding it up, I give her a stern look.
