"I'm going to… James, I…"
"Give it to me." His voice is gravel. Command and tenderness fused together. "Come for me, sweetheart."
I shatter.
The release rolls through me like the waterfalls on the canyon walls. My thighs clamp around his head and my back arches. Isay his name like it's the only word I know. He doesn't stop. He works me through every wave until I'm shaking with my hand fisted in the sheets.
He pulls back and rests his head low on my stomach. Then he looks at me with dark eyes and swollen lips. It’s an expression that could set the cabin on fire without the woodstove.
"Get up here," I breathe. "Now."
He stands and I unbuckle his jeans, shoving them to the floor and taking his boxers with them. I take him in. James Holt is breathtaking. He’s ink and muscle. He’s scars I want to learn the stories of, and he's hard.
His manhood pulsates as he crawls over me. When he settles between my thighs I feel him strain with desire and I’m ready to go all over again. The man wants me in a way that makes me feel seen and protected. The heat of him presses against my center. We both groan.
"Evelyn." He pauses. Forehead to mine. Breathing hard. "Are you sure?"
I take his face in both hands. Look directly into his eyes. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life."
He pushes inside me in a single, mighty thrust. My mouth falls open. He holds himself there, filling me from the inside out. My walls stretch around his girth. His jaw clenches. His arms are shaking.
"Fuck." The word drops out of him like it was dragged. "You’re taking all of me. It’s like you were fucking made for me." I feel him throb inside of me.
I rock my hips and the sensation whips across me like fire. "Move," I whisper. "Please."
He pulls back and drives in deep.
I cry out and my nails rake down his back. He groans against my neck. The sound is raw and broken. It vibrates through both of us. He sets a rhythm. It’s hard, deep, and steady. My hipsmatch him and I roll up to meet his every thrust. My legs wrap around him. My hands grasp at the muscles on his back and shoulders. I can't stop touching him. I can't get close enough.
"Right there." I'm gasping. The headboard taps the wall. "Don't stop. James, right there."
"I'm not stopping." He hitches my thigh higher and drives deeper. "Not tonight. Not ever."
The second orgasm builds from somewhere deeper, somewhere I didn't know still existed. It's not just physical. It's the storm and the fire. It’s the way he looked at me when I told him the worst thing and didn't flinch. It's the way he asked for every touch, every time.
"I'm close," I gasp. "I'm so close —"
He reaches between us. His thumb finds the place we are connected while he drives into me. His mouth finds that spot behind my ear and I break apart underneath him.
The wave crashes through me. I clench around him so hard he groans my name like a man being unmade. Two thrusts later he buries himself deep and follows me over the edge. Hot streams shoot into me, filling me to the brim and making it impossible to think of anyone or anything but James.
The storm howls against the walls as he pulses inside me. His arms tighten. My breath comes in gasps. His face is in my neck and his breath is ragged. We stay like that. Tangled. Breathing. His weight on me is heavy and warm and I don't want him to move. Not ever.
He shifts to the side but doesn't let go. Instead James pulls me against his chest. His hand finds my hair, and he holds me.
11
james
She falls asleep first. I know the exact minute because at 12:07 her breathing changes. It goes slow, deep, even. Her hand uncurls from the edge of the blanket and her face smooths out.
Evelyn looks different when she sleeps. She seems younger and unguarded. The body that's always braced, always watching, always ready lets go when she’s in my arms. My eyes trace the outline of her curves.
While I watch her sleep. One thought crosses my mind over and over. It’s clear, cold, and certain.I will ruin anyone who ever made her afraid to sleep.
The storm dies around three. The wind drops and the snow stops coming altogether. The silence that follows is enormous. It’s just the fire ticking and Evelyn breathing. Even the canyon is holding its breath outside the windows.
I don't sleep because I don't need to. I've operated on less rest in worse conditions for longer stretches. But no mission has ever been this important.
