I blinked rapidly because there was no denying Jared sounded sincere.
“I have farming equipment that can dice you into small pieces, and a lot of land in which to scatter those pieces. No one would find you.”
Well, that was grim. I bugged my eyes out at my cousin. “Okay, we get the point.”
“Doyou?” Jared asked Theo.
Theo clenched his jaw but nodded.
A few minutes later, I hugged my cousin goodbye again and watched him get in his truck and drive away. Normally, I’d ask him to stay, but there was too much tension between me and Theo. We hadn’t discussed what we were to each other, but it was becoming increasingly clear this was more than just a casual thing.
I’d barely toed off my boots and shrugged out of my coat when I found myself spun around and hauled into Theo’s arms. His face was hard with determination as he carried me through the house and into the bedroom. He threw me on the bed, and I bounced with a startled yelp.
Suddenly he was over me, kissing me with a desperate fierceness that made me breathless and hot. Rationale broke through my arousal, though, and I pushed on his chest.
Theo broke the kiss, his eyes searching mine.
“I … I think I understand you,” I told him quietly.
A vulnerable light filled his gaze.
“That’s why I stayed despite you telling me to go. But next time you tell me to go like I don’t matter … I will go,” I warned him. “I’m not like your mother, Theo. There’s no way I’ll returnto a life of feeling not worthy of someone, of feeling like I don’t matter to someone who matters to me.”
Remorse tightened Theo’s expression, and he nodded in understanding. His lips were soft, gentle, apologetic on mine.
“My period.” I broke the kiss again to remind him.
“I don’t care,” he whispered harshly. “And the sheets are already marked.”
“I need to … I need to take care of … you know.” My tampon.
“I’ll do it.” He kissed me again and I flushed head to toe at the idea of sex while I had my period. But Theo didn’t care at all. Moreover, he took his time kissing apologies all over my body. And later as he moved inside me with slow, easy, savoring glides, he held my gaze captive in his.
We watched each other come, clinging onto one another through our lovemaking, and I felt the bond between us grow stronger, tightening its grip until it was almost painful.
I had to hope that with time, what we felt for each other would become more comfortable and easier to bear.
Sixteen
THEO
Three days after Sarah’s cousin’s arrival, I still felt out of sorts. I didn’t want to overthink anything because I was … well, it would probably mean the end for Sarah and me, and I wasn’t quite ready for that.
Staring out of the living room window at the wintry day, I tried to ignore the fast beating of my pulse but couldn’t. It felt like my heart had been racing for the last two days, and I was uncomfortable in my own damn skin.
Maybe it was the Highlands.
December this far north wasn’t this southerner’s optimum environment.
Soft hands slid around my waist, and I inhaled her citrusy scent as she pressed a kiss to my shoulder blade. “Good morning.”
I covered her hands with mine, my pulse slowing a bit as Sarah rested her cheek against my back. “Morning, love.”
“Is everything okay?” She pulled away to rest her pert little bottom on her desk to face me. Those stunning green eyes met mine. “You seem a bit out of sorts.”
Yes, I was, wasn’t I. Maybe it wasn’t just the Highlands. Maybe it was …
No.
