“Yes,” I whisper, breaking my previous oath within seconds. “Stop doing that,” I mutter.
Cord gives me a lopsided grin. “I’d say I’m sorry, but…I’m not.” His knuckles graze the back of my sleeve. “The house is empty without you. So am I.” He swallows hard. “Even withpeople still there. Noise. Chatter. All the things you brought to Coyote Falls.”
I shake my head. “All that was already there, Cord. You have everything you need right there in that house with you.”
“Do I?” He stares at me, his arctic eyes deepening a fraction as he steps forward into my space, not a hint of pain reflected there. “Sure, there are I care for deeply. It’s a place I built with everything I had back then. But it’s still just a house, Lanie. No matter what I put into it, it’s just wood and glass, sweat and blood. It’s empty. Unless I have someone I love to share it with.”
My heart fills my chest and overflows. “How can I argue with a speech like that?” I manage.
He grins as his knuckles drift upward, over my shoulder, across my cheek, and rest there. “So don’t.”
“Because you’re the man no one says no to—” I trot out the old argument, ready to go again.
“Because I love you.”
He leans in and his mouth covers mine in the tenderest kiss. Before my breath mingles with his in the softest sigh, I know I’ll give him ayes.
I’m not sure if it’s his or mine, and as his fingers delve into my hair and tangle with the plaited strands I haven’t brushed in a day or more, I’m not even sure if that matters. Strong hands close around my nape, tipping my head back as a deep sound reverberates in his chest. His tongue brushes my bottom lip, seeking permission for something more. I part my lips and let him in, leaning into his kiss and returning his desire with my own unsated need.
Until West coughs not-so-discreetly.
“There’s more than one of us here, you know,” he calls, sounding far too happy about interrupting us.
“That’s because you know you get to go home.” Cord crushes me against his chest, his arms wrapped around me tight. “You are coming home with me, right?” Tension underlies his light tone as he toys with my hair that Gayaaxa braided into a thick plait anddecorated with beads a few days ago, hence the twists and snares. “I like this.”
“You like wild-nomad-woman me?” I risk raising my head to peek up at him, listening to the traitorous pace of his heart as it ratchets up a few notches.
Cord’s eyes blaze at me with all the Big Sky intensity this man contains. “I fucking love wild-woman you, and I’d love you to look like this every damn day, beautiful,” he rasps. “As long as you spend those days with me. Preferably somewhere closer than Alaska. Also, I have wolves.”
I smile. How can I say no to that?I don’t want to say no.“I guess that’ll do me?—”
His mouth descends on mine before I can finish my sentence or change my mind. This time, we ignore West’s cough.
“You snore.” A soft kiss presses against my lips. Roughened hands wrap mine around a warm mug of coffee the morning after I return to Coyote Falls. “And it’s cute.”
“Not cute.” My eyes creep open to find Cord looking down at me, bemusement warring with pain in his expression. “And no more than you do.”
“We’ll make a great pair.” His fingers sweep over my cheek from where he has jammed himself between the couch and the coffee table while I type up my fresh notes on the Alexander Archipelago wolves and upload my photos. Because Cordell Rand has a darkroom. I’m still shaking my head over that one, but also, I’m grateful.
I sip my coffee and sigh. He has officially transformed me into a coffee snob and I’m not even sorry. “Did you make that? And are you supposed to be sitting like this?” I ask, attempting to pry dozy eyes open that refuse to stay wide no matter how hard I try.
He waves a hand to push away my concerns, sweeping my hair back from my face. The waves from my braid are still with me, butthe wild-woman version of my hair covers us both in a red-black blanket, albeit a knotted one.
“It’s fine. Getting back up might be the issue.” Cord rocks onto his heels, his straight back pressed to the coffee table. His lips tighten and his eyes shut as he squeezes my arms and breathes out slowly. The helicopter trip really didn’t do him any favors at all.
“Cord.” I hate seeing him in pain, knowing that this is a step he has to go through. From the doctor’s reports, this time, some of that pain may never fade. “Maybe we should move to the bedroom. Or you should take something that the doctor suggested?”
“It’s okay.” His face clears, some of his infamous determination kicking in, though that part of him doesn’t sting as much anymore, now I know it’s just a part of who he is. “I’d rather feel anything than not.”
“All right,” I say softly, wanting to wrap my arms around him, but not willing to bump his body or cause him more discomfort. I settle for leaning over to press a kiss to his knuckles. My gaze lifts to the other end of the vacant couch. “Where’s Winnie?”
Winnie has a new habit of not sleeping in her bed. Apparently she did that for the month I was in Alaska before Cord hauled me back to Coyote Falls, and the pattern has stuck.
“Winnie is paying her penance.” Winnie yawns from her side of the modular sofa, a board game set up between her and Sally. Two empty coffee mugs sit lined up next to her.
My gaze slides back across to Cord, and I giggle. He shakes his head and kisses me again, a gentle melding of lips. His touch is tentative as he leans forward, still balancing on his knees, and then slowly pushes up with his palms braced on his thighs. Curses tumble from his lips as his eyes squeeze shut.
“Those are bad words, Uncle Cord,” Sally calls out.
