When I turn off the freeway and onto the ranch road, Lena stirs next to me. Her whimper sounds distressed, and suddenly, she gasps and sits up straight in her seat.
I brake and shove the truck into park and turn to her.
“Look at me.”
Her glassy eyes find mine. She’s breathing hard.
“You’re okay. It was just a dream.”
Rubbing her lips together, she gives a jerky nod and then exhales. “Yeah. Shit. Sorry.”
After watching her for a moment longer, I drive us the rest of the way home, listening in agony as Lena tries to steady her breathing. Something terrified her, and I want to tear it apart.
“What was it about?” I ask her, fisting my hand so I don’t reach out for her.
“The same as always” is all she says, and when I come to a stop at the house, she pushes out, slams the door, marches up the steps to the back door, and waits for me to unlock it.
After I grab the food out of the back seat, I join her and punch in the code, and she pushes through.
“I just need a minute,” she says, and doesn’t bother to go upstairs—she heads right into the half bathroom down here.
Leaving her be, I set the food on the island and go back out to get the supplies for her bedroom door. I leave the lumber where it is until I need it, and once I get back inside, I lift an eyebrow when I see Lena march out of the bathroom, pulling the hoodie over her head.
Her shirt comes off with it, leaving her in a practically see-through black bra, and there on full display is the metal in her tits.
Jesus Christ.Those sexy-as-fuck horizontal barbells will be what brings me to my knees.
When Lena lifts her head and sees me standing before her, those gorgeous eyes widen, but she doesn’t hurry to cover herself.
And I don’t turn away.
I stride toward her slowly, giving her plenty of opportunity to tell me to stop. To move back. To at least scowl at me.
But she does none of that, and my control is officially nowhere to be found.
“This is against every rule I follow.” My voice sounds like gravel, and she swallows hard but doesn’t falter. Her pupils dilate with every step I take, her chin lifting to keep her eyes on mine.
“Fuck the rules,” she whispers, and that’s all I need to hear.
Framing her face in my hands, I sweep my thumbs over her cheeks and lower my mouth to hers, and we both moan, as if we’re starving and this is our first meal in weeks.
She’s so fucking sweet.
Her lips are softer than I imagined, moving gently under my own, and when she parts her lips, inviting my tongue to dance with hers, it feels like every nerve in my body is on fire.
She whimpers against me, and my tongue slides over hers, learning her. Feasting on her. God, I couldn’t stop this kiss if there was a gun to my head.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted in my fucking life.
Her hands land on my sides, and there’s nothing gentle about them. Fisting my shirt and tugging it out of my pants so she can slide her palm over my skin—nothing has ever felt so fucking good. She groans when her hands find my abs, making me grin against her lips.
That’s all for you, baby.
My fingers push into her soft dark hair, and I wrap the strands around my fingers and make a fist, keeping her exactly where I want her as I lick that bottom lip and she presses her stomach against my already-hard cock.
“God, Rebel. What are you doing to me?”
“Not as much as I want to.” She wiggles my shirt up farther, and I have to break my hold on her so I can shed it and toss it aside, and just those few seconds of taking my hands off her is too much.
