15. Avery
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Avery
Prying back the curtain, I search the driveway. Owen’s truck is still gone. It’s now the middle of the night. He’s been gone for almost six hours.
The nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach has kept me up the entire time.
Most of it has been spent cleaning every inch of this small cottage. I swear my hands are going to be raw tomorrow with the amount of aggressive scrubbing I did.
When there was nothing left to clean, I resorted to pacing around the small living room and kitchen. I’ve been checking outside every few laps.
I push away the thought that something bad has happened to him.
It’s late. He’s hiking up a mountain in pitch darkness. I’m pretty sure my worry is warranted.
I mean, maybe some of it is fueled by the growing feelings I have for this man. Whatever it is, I can’t change the unsettled feeling blanketing me right now.
There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight until I can see with my own two eyes that he’s okay.
My pacing continues for another hour. Two more hours. Just when I’m sure I’ll go bald from nervously running my fingers through my hair, the sound of tires crawling up the drive hits my ears.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I’m ripping my front door open and sprinting toward his truck. He’s not even fully out of his truck when I launch my whole body at him.
He grunts, instinctually wrapping his arms around me. He leans back against the doorframe so we don’t both go tumbling to the ground.
I bury my face in his neck, breathing him in. My lungs feel full for the first time in hours, since his truck drove out of view. My limbs squeeze around him even tighter, not wanting to chance him slipping away even for a second.
I should probably be concerned that I’m going to hurt him or cut off his oxygen supply at this point, but I can’t find it in me to care.
He’s here. He’s here.
“Angel,” he says softly. “What’s going on?”
“You’re back,” I breathe out. The emotion from the last several hours threatens to boil over.
Okay… maybe it already is.
He lets out a deep breath. “Look at me.” When I don’t move, he continues, “Angel, please, let me see those gorgeous hazel eyes.”
Lifting my head from his shoulder, I stare into his eyes. There’s a softness in his gaze that tears my heart wide open. One of his hands moves from my thigh to wipe tears from my cheeks I didn’t even know were there.
When did I start crying?
“I… I didn’t know if you were okay or if you were going to come back,” I stammer as a few more tears fall down my cheeks.
He wipes each of them away. “I told you I was going to be okay.”
I shrug because I know he said that. I just couldn’t get my heart and my logical brain to function in unison tonight. My heart was fully in the driver’s seat.
“Are you sure you aren’t hurt?” I ask. My eyes roam over him, even if I can’t see very well with how dark it is out here.
“Baby, I’m fine. I promise,” he says, stroking the side of my face.
I nod, my heart feeling like it’s going to explode out of my chest. The look in his eyes is like a reflection of my own emotions.
I can’t take it anymore. Closing the small distance between us, I press my lips to his.
This kiss is different from the one in the garage. It’s filled with the same level of tenderness and passion, but this is different because I don’t plan on stopping.
This isn’t just one kiss for me. It can’t be. Even if it’s just for this short chapter of my life, I need more of him. More of us.
He groans into the kiss. Somehow, he manages to keep kissing me as he walks us back toward my place. The door swings open behind me, but all I can focus on is his tongue sliding against mine in a sensual caress.
He laughs when I refuse to detangle myself from him when he lays me down on my bed. “I need to at least take my boots off.” He presses kisses all over my face. “I’ll be fast. I promise.”
Reluctantly, I let my arms and legs fall to the mattress. He steps back, quickly kicking off his boots and pants.
Then, he’s crawling back over me. His long fingers slide through my hair that’s fanning all around me across the pillow. He tenderly cups my face.
“I’m sorry I worried you, angel.”
I feel the twinge of more oncoming tears, but I do my best to push it away. I don’t want to cry right now. All I want is to be here in this moment with this man.
“I’m just glad you’re okay.”
My hand slides around his neck, pulling him back down to me because I’m pretty sure I’m going to cease to exist if I can’t have him right now.
The consequences can all be damned because the feel of him on top of me is just too perfect. Fuck it all.
He lets out a rough growl as he kisses down my neck and shoulder. He leans back, so he’s kneeling between my spread thighs. His eyes roam over every inch of me.
“You sure?” he asks simply.
“I can’t fight this anymore,” I say, relaxing back into the pillows a little more.
Fighting this attraction is more exhausting than the run Miles forced me into. Miles.
Miles’s handsome face flashes through my mind. A pang of apprehension hits me because I’m most definitely attracted to him, as well.
It’s a different connection than what I have with Owen, and it makes a different part of me come alive.
Then, out of nowhere, Will’s grumpy yet disturbingly gorgeous face pops into my brain. I’m undoubtedly drawn to him too, even if he wants absolutely nothing to do with me.
Blinking a few times, I bring myself back to reality. I want—need—to just be here with Owen in this moment. I’ll unpack my emotions tomorrow with a clear head, but for now, this is what I want.
He is what I want.
“Even if it’s only for right now?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Even if I’m not the same person I was back then?”
I want to tell him he is still the same person. He might have been through a horrible tragedy since we met, but he’s still the same passionate and tender-hearted man I met in the Dallas airport. I think he’s just been a little lost lately.
But I don’t think that’s what he wants to hear right now.
“Even then,” I say, nodding. We’ll work on getting him to realize everything else another time.
He nods, taking a deep breath. His fingers slide up under my tank top. Callused fingers tease at the underside of my breasts, sending shivers of anticipation through me.
My back arches off the bed, trying to get closer to him. I want him to touch every inch of me.
He peels the top off, tossing it to the side. “Fuck,” he mumbles, staring down at my bare breasts.
I was nervously pacing around in my pajamas earlier. I wasn’t concerned about what sexy undergarments I was or wasn’t wearing, so there is no lingerie in sight. He doesn’t seem too bothered by the view, though.
He runs a single finger down the middle of my chest, between my breasts. “You’re beautiful,” he says reverently.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Kiss me.”
He leans down, kissing me gently. The kisses continue from my lips downward until he reaches my breasts.
Wet heat surrounds my nipple, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to my clit. He nips and licks on one side before repeating the actions on the other side.
My fingers grip his hair, pulling him closer. I need more of him. I just need more.
He must be a mind reader because his kisses move further down my body. He moves over my stomach until he reaches the waistband of my pajama shorts.
He starts to guide my shorts and thong over my ass when motion in the doorway makes my head snap to the side.
Fuck.