“How?” The rifle?
“The look on your face after you shot down the drone. For just a second, you checked out. I couldn't tell what you’d do next, and that’s terrifying for me.”
Because she’d lived with a psycho who thought hurting little girls and their mother made him a tough guy. “I would never–”
“I know. I wasn’t afraid you’d hurt me. Not like that.” She searched my face again, her throat working.
I held still and let her look. I owed her that much. “You have an amazing kid.” I managed a tiny smile. “He told me to look out for you.”
Her jaw tightened, and her eyes dulled a fraction. “I love him so much it scares me. I’d die if something happened to him. And yet I can’t seem to keep him safe. Every time I turn around, someone wants to hurt us. Well, they want to hurt me and the best way to do that is to hurt him.”
“We won’t let that happen.” She had to know that, but sometimes saying it out loud made it feel more real.
Callie exhaled and sat back in her chair, tipping her head toward the ceiling. The line of her throat caught in the faint light, and she closed her eyes. She brought her head down. “I’m afraid ofhow much I need this to work. I don’t have a lot of room left to be wrong about people.”
“You’re not wrong about us. About me.” I stood and held out my hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your room.”
“I don’t want to go to my room yet.” She let me pull her to her feet but stopped in front of me, pressing her palm flat against my chest. “Hawk and Diesel promised to let me know as soon as they learned something about the drone. I can’t sleep, and I don’t want to keep Cody awake.”
“I have a solution.” I might not have a lot of great qualities but I was excellent at distractions.
Her lips quirked in that hint of a smile I’d come to love. “Good thing your room is right there.”
I gasped and splayed a hand over my heart. “Callie, are you propositioning me?” I wiggled my eyebrows and tugged her hands until she stepped closer. “All you had to do was ask.”
“But the apology was so cute.” She kissed my cheek. “Sometimes you are an asshole. It’s good that you can recognize that.”
“I’m also a god in bed.” I looped my arms around her waist and walked backward toward my room. “I can make you forget everything.”
“Good.” She fisted her hands in my shirt as I kissed her.
26
COLT
For a split second as I opened my bedroom door and walked us through it, I wished I’d taken the time to decorate. Wasn’t really my thing. I had a bed, and that was pretty much all I needed the room for. Fucking and sleeping. I’d never had another reason to spend time in there.
But Callie…sweet, delicious, hard-as-nails Callie made me want to give her a space where she could feel at home.
My heart pinged with a burst of longing that stole my breath. That, and Callie’s kiss. She never did anything halfway. Case and point, as soon as the door closed behind her, she yanked my shirt off and reached for my belt.
Fast and furious hands tugged at my clothing, then hers, until she’d stripped us down to nothing but skin. God she felt good beneath my hands. Was it just a day ago that we’d been together in the kitchen? So much time had passed but with so much chaos that time stopped having any meaning.
I wrapped both hands around Callie’s waist and pulled her flush against me. Her nipples hardened, the peaks pressing into mychest and drawing out a groan from the back of her throat when I rubbed side to side. Nipping her bottom lip, I pinched her ass and laughed when she smacked my spine with the flat of her palm. A heartbeat later, she pinched my ass hard enough to bruise. I bucked my hips forward, sliding my cock between her legs.
All the history between us, the heartbreak and the running away, didn’t hurt as much when I held her in my arms.
I turned enough to guide her onto the bed, breaking off the kiss long enough to help her settle in the middle of the covers.
She propped herself up on her elbows and watched me through hooded eyes. “This still doesn’t mean anything.”
“I know.” I winked as I followed her down and nipped the underside of her breast. “Just two people trying to blow off some steam. I need something to feel real. You?”
She nodded, her throat working in a series of swallows that if I didn’t know any better meant she struggled to speak. The great Callie Jameson at a loss for words?
I almost teased her about that too, but now wasn’t exactly the time. Instead, I nudged her legs apart and settled between them. “This is just for you, Callie. Turn off that wonderful brain of yours and let yourself feel instead of think.”
We both needed that. I lined up my cock with her entrance and pushed forward. She wouldn’t let this drag out all night, not with what happened outside and our combined need to protect Cody. I wouldn’t dream of asking her to stay with me when our son might need her at any second.
