Page 22 of Property of the Woodsman

It’s the last bit I need to send me over the edge.

“Fuck,” I growl low as I continue to pump into her, my eyes squeezed shut, my heart pounding, my balls drawn up and empty. “Jesus Christ, you felt amazing.”

“That was life altering.” She smiles and our lips find one another in a kiss, a soft sweet kiss that has me sliding down beside her and pulling her soft body against my chest, the sound of crickets singing outside.

I’ve never wanted to lay anywhere in my life. Usually, I’m the kind of guy who’s already thinking about what’s next on my list before I’ve finished the task I’m on, but right now, I’m content and I don’t ever want to move again.

“I’ve never heard crickets that loud before. Are they always like this?” she says, her breath warm on my chest.

“This time of the year, yeah. It’s peak mating season. That, and they’re getting closer to the houses for warmth before winter hits.”

Her chest rises and falls slowly. “You know everything about this place, huh?”

“Spent a lot of time here.” I draw circles as we talk, the pattern moving up and down the crook of her arm. “I always thought someday I’d come back here with kids of my own, but—”

“You wanted kids? I didn’t see you as the type.”

“In theory, yeah. I always thought I’d have a few to share all this with, but now I don’t know. Probably too old for all that.”

“You’re not too old.” She snuggles against my chest. “We could still try.”

“Yeah? You’d want more?”

“I always did, but,” she sighs, “you can imagine why that didn’t work out.”

I turn to the side and brush her hair back away from her face. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, little rabbit, but you have me wanting things I’d long since given up on.”

A soft smile lifts her cheeks and her hand pushes through the hair on my chest. “I love you, Atlas. I know it’s quick, and weird, and I don’t know if you really meant it when we were—”

I lean into her lips and kiss her slowly. “I love you more, little rabbit. So fucking much, and I meant every word I said when I was inside of you. I’ll mean it ‘til the day I die.”

“I was having such a hard time taking down my walls, but laying here with you like this, no one’s ever really done this with me. Truthfully, I never really wanted to with anyone before.”

Leaning into her forehead, I hold a kiss against her skin. “You’re mine, and I’ll take care of you now. You’re safe with me, I promise.”

A heavy knock hits on the front door, interrupting the peace we’re building.

“What the heck?” Jen sits up and glances down at the camera alert on her phone. “It’s Reed. What the hell is he doing here? It’s past midnight.”

“I’ll go find out. You stay here.” I kiss her lips this time, hoping she listens. I want to keep her in this bubble. This worry-free, cozy, little bubble where we exist only for each other. Where I go out and battle the world, and she’s free to let her mind relax, but I have a feeling she’s going to fight that.

“No,” she stands from the bed, her hair still a wild mess from where I’d grabbed a bundle and tugged, “I should handle it. I swear I didn’t see him this much when we were married.” She glances back down at the feed coming in from the camera. “Of course he has Em with him this time.” Her gaze widens. “Do you think Jackson is okay? They’d have called if Jackson—”

She stares at me a second longer, worry blooming on her face before she tears down the stairs a hundred miles an hour.

Chapter Ten

Jen

I swing the door open, my heart pounding as I stare toward my ex-husband and the twenty-something princess wearing a miniskirt and a shirt that’s barely a shirt.

“Where’s Jackson? Is he okay?”

“Yes!” Reed shakes his head. “He’s fine. Why?”

“Why?” My mouth drops open. “Because you’re at my front door in the middle of the night. I can’t think of another reason why you’d be here.”

Atlas steps in behind me, his shirt off, his hands against my hips. “Everything okay?”