He eases into me then—slow, inch by inch, filling me with a stretch that's pure, exquisite pleasure.
No slamming thrusts this time; instead, he rocks his hips in a steady, grinding rhythm, each movement deep and controlled, hitting every sensitive spot inside me.
His hands pin mine above my head, lacing our fingers together as he holds my gaze, watching every flicker of ecstasy cross my face.
"Feel that?" he growls softly, his breath mingling with mine. "Every bit of me, made for you. Gonna make you come undone nice and slow."
I do—god, do I.
The build is torturous, delicious, coiling tighter with every measured thrust, every brush of his thumb over my clit. When I shatter, it's with a drawn-out moan, my body clenching around him in waves that pull him over the edge with me.
He buries his face in the crook of my neck, groaning my name like a prayer as he spills inside me again, our bodies locked together in the aftershocks.
We stay tangled like that for what feels like hours, cuddling in the dim light filtering through the shelter's cracks. His arms are a fortress around me, one leg thrown over mine to keep me close, his fingers idly stroking my hair. It's peaceful, intimate—his dominance softened into something protective, tender.
I trace patterns on his chest, content in the silence broken only by our slowing breaths and the distant sound of wind whipping outside.
But eventually, the weight of exhaustion tugs at me. Sawyer senses it, shifting to sit up and gently ease me toward the sleeping bag's edge.
"Bedtime, Savannah," he says, his tone firm, authoritative—alpha through and through. "Get some rest. I'll keep watch."
"Bossy much?" I prop myself on an elbow, eyeing him with a playful challenge despite the drowsiness pulling at my lids.
He smirks, that wicked curve of his lips sending a fresh flutter through my belly. Leaning in close, his voice drops to a gravelly promise.
"Baby, you haven't seen me being bossy yet."
I bite my lower lip, heat sparking in my veins as I give him a look that's all lingering hunger and anticipation—eyes half-lidded, a silent dare that says I'm ready for whatever commanding side he unleashes next.
"Wake me in four hours. You need rest, too."
"I will," he lies, and we both know it.
But I'm already falling, exhaustion pulling me under. The last thing I see is his silhouette against the window, standing watch like he promised, keeping the monsters at bay.
For the first time in days, I don't dream of Nathan. I dream of gray eyes and steady hands, of someone who jumped out a window to save a stranger, of later and all its dangerous promises.
SEVEN
Sawyer
Savannah sleepslike someone who's been running on empty for too long—deep and still, occasionally making soft sounds that could be distress or just dreams.
I stand watch at the window, rifle ready, but my mind is split between the darkness outside and the woman curled in my sleeping bag.
She's kicked partially out of the sleeping bag in her sleep, one leg exposed, and I force myself to look away from the smooth skin, the curve of her calf.
This is a protection detail. Nothing more. Except it stopped being a protection detail the moment she drove a pearl earring into a man's throat with the same precision I'd use to sight a target.
And the moment I buried myself inside her, broke every goddamn rule in the book—don't fuck the client, don't blur the lines, don't let the mission compromise the man.
But hell, she felt like salvation, and now I'm the one compromised, guarding her with more than just my weapon.
Tyler's voice echoes in my memory:"You'll know her when you meet her, brother. She'll be the one who makes you want to be better than you are."
I laughed at him then. Told him that was Hollywood bullshit, that relationships in our line of work were comprised of quick hookups and bitter divorces. He just smiled, that knowing smile that made me want to punch him sometimes.
"Michelle makes me want to come home," he said. "Every mission, every close call, I think about her and the girls, and I fight harder. That's what the right woman does—gives you something worth surviving for."
