I wrapped my fingers in his hair and took what I wanted. It wasn’t a hard kiss. It wasn’t rushed. It was slow. Exploratory. Like I was giving him the chance to pull away.
Noah made this small, almost startled sound against my mouth, and then his hand slid up my chest and fisted into my t-shirt like he needed something solid to hold on to.
I shifted onto my side, rolling him gently onto his back without breaking contact. The movement pressed our bodies together, and his breath hitched. His lips parted under mine, and I tasted sleep and warmth and something that felt dangerously close to surrender.
I pulled back just enough to look at him, our foreheads touching, both of us breathing harder than we had any right to be from just a kiss.
“Noah?” I said his name like a question, needed to make sure he was with me.
He looked up at me, not confused, not embarrassed, and he leaned up and kissed me again. I was lost in the kiss, but not so lost that I didn’t hear the low buzzing sound coming from outside. I lifted my head and froze in place, listening.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Shh, listen.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a drone.” I rolled off Noah and over to my side of the bed, reaching for my phone. I dialed Kat, and she picked up right away.
“What’s up, Crowe?”
“Did you send a drone to my cabin?”
“No, I didn’t. You have a drone?”
“I have a drone. Got to go, Kat. I’ll call you in a bit.”
Noah was sitting up, looking at me with concern on his face.
“It could be nothing,” I said, trying to reassure him, not that either of us believed me. “But we’re going to treat it like it’s something. I need you to do me a favor, okay?”
He nodded. “Whatever you need.”
“Good. What I need is to know you’re safe while I check this out. I know you have certain triggers, and this won’t be easy for you, but I need you to hide, okay?”
He gave a panicked glance towards the closet and nervously licked his lips.
“Not there. Come with me.”
I went over to the rug that was on the floor between the living room and the kitchen and pulled it back, opening up the hatch that led down into the cellar.
“You want me to go down there?” he asked.
“I know, baby, but this is the safest place in the cabin. No one even knows it exists. It won’t be for long, I promise, and I won’t lock the door so you aren’t trapped down there. You’re hiding down there. It’s different.”
I could tell he wanted to argue and insist that he stay up top, and I understood why, but I needed him to be safe. We didn’t have much time. Whoever was flying that drone over the cabin wasn’t far away.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I can do this.”
I didn’t respond because I didn’t think I was the one he was talking to. I just watched as he slowly forced himself to go down those steps into the cellar. I followed him down and watched as he took in his surroundings.
It had all the normal stuff a tornado cellar had—food, water, a cot, blankets, and flashlights—but it also had a full array of weapons, and tactical gear.
“Wow. You’re prepared, aren’t you?”
“Always.”
Noah watched in silence as I geared up. I shrugged into my shoulder holster, slid my sidearm into place, checked the mag out of habit, then chambered a round. I tucked my backup at the small of my back and pulled my jacket on over both.
