Bodie woke to the soft press of Rowan’s head on his shoulder, her low murmurs feathering across his chest. Not quite talking in her sleep, just nonsense syllables that had him pulling her tighter against him as he ran his hand along her arm. She burrowed closer, stilling a few moments later.
He inhaled, stared up at the ceiling. God, she felt good in his arms. As if she’d always belonged there. Like a missing piece that had simply slotted into place. Made him whole. Which he knew sounded crazy.
Sure, they’d known each other for a couple years. Or maybe, it was more they’d know about each other for years. That they existed. But they hadn’t really talked. Shared anything remotely personal. Still, seeing her behind the waterfall that fucking night…
It had been the wakeup call he’d needed. And he wasn’t going to waste the chance she’d given him.
“That’s a pretty serious expression for six o’clock in the morning. Do I want to know what you’re thinking about?”
Bodie shifted his gaze, stared into Rowan’s insanely blue eyes, said the first words that popped into his head. “God, you’re stunning.”
She smiled, and his damn heart stopped. Just froze. “Good answer.”
She beckoned him to her with a tilt of her head, sinking her fingers into his hair as he leaned down, claimed her mouth.
The future.
That’s what she tasted like. Promise with a side of danger.
He breathed her in, taking them both back on the couch, her chestnut hair fanned out across the cushions. He went to his elbows, right leg protesting a bit, but he didn’t care. Not with Rowan snugged beneath him, every inch touching, a light blush staining her cheeks. Looking up at him as if she’d been waiting for this moment all her life, too.
That magic he’d mentioned, only real.
She hummed, damn near stopped his heart, again, nodding at his right side. “Your leg.”
He dipped lower, kissed her until lines streaked across his vision, either lack of oxygen or just being with her. Neither mattered.
He nuzzled her nose. “My leg can suck it up.”
She laughed, the easy sound washing away any doubts that she wasn’t all-in. Didn’t feel half as lost as he did. “Then, kiss me, again, tiger.”
He lowered, took her mouth with his, making the first seem tame, almost platonic because this was a tactical assault. The first wave in a campaign that could only end with their mutual surrender.
Just not quite yet.
He wouldn’t take it that far. Despite the way she writhed beneath him, wrapping her right leg around his left, he sensed the slight unease. That she wasn’t quite ready to fully commit. And he respected it. Hell, he wasn’t sure he was ready, either. Not when he suspected this was more than just a romp.
That this was the start of forever.
Rowan moaned as he nipped his way down her neck, sucking on her pulse point. “God, Bodie.”
Two words had him rethinking his position because, damn, he wanted her. Wanted to kiss every inch of soft, pale skin. Feel her muscles jump beneath his fingers. Taste the anticipation hanging in the air.
But more than anything, he wanted to watch her give herself to him. See her reaction when he gave everything in return, because there’d be no holding back. No saving some of his heart, just in case. She was worth the risk, and for the first time since he’d left the army, he’d jump without worrying if he had a safe place to land.
Rowan seemed onboard, slipping her hands under his shirt, tracing her way up his back, dragging his sweater with her. She stopped with it just under his arms, smiling as if she had every intention of teasing him — holding it there until he lost control — when his damn phone buzzed.
She jumped, then groaned, letting her head sink into the couch cushion as he dropped his forehead to her chest, cursing.
He reached over, snagged the cell off the coffee table. “It’s Shirley from the sheriff’s station.”
Rowan sighed. “Guess that means you can’t ignore it.”
Bodie swiped across the screen, put the call on speaker. “What’s up, Shirley?”
The woman breathed into the phone. “Sorry to call so early, Bodie, but I was trying to reach Special Agent Scott, and I thought the sheriff said she was staying in your guest suite. I tried her cell, but it went straight to voice mail.”
Rowan closed her eyes as she shook her head.
