Chapter 33
Natalie left Owen alone for a while after the phone call. She knew he wasn’t keen on confronting Dvorak, even though it was a solid plan. It was because she was involved. Perhaps she should stay behind.
She found Owen feeding the horses. For long minutes, she watched him interacting with the animals. How could she have forgotten how they gravitated to him?
They loved the sound of his voice. The filly she’d worked so hard to coax just to sniff her hand walked right up to Owen and let him stroke her back.
Then again, she didn’t know many females who could refuse Owen Loughman and that seductive voice of his.
She leaned against the side of the barn as the light began to fade. Owen’s love of the outdoors, of the ranch, showed in the way he treated the animals and tended to the land.
He belonged on that ranch.
Where did she belong?
At one time, she thought it was by his side. Then she thought in Russia. Then at the embassy. Now? She wasn’t sure.
Her life had circled back around to the very place it had all begun. Was fate trying to tell her something? Did she continue to lock him out?
Did she dare to open her heart again?
It had been mended so many times, she wasn’t sure it could be put back together properly.
As if he knew she was thinking of him, Owen looked up from the horses. He gave her a smile and finished pouring the last of the feed.
Before she knew it, he stood in front of her. “You look pensive.”
“Did life turn out like you wanted?”
He kicked at the dirt. “Does life turn out like anyone wants?”
“Please answer the question.”
“Yes and no. I’m a SEAL, just as I always wanted. I’ve saved lives and kicked terrorist ass.”
She swallowed. “But.”
“I don’t have you.”
Was that what she wanted to hear? Because it sounded pretty damn good. The way her heart fluttered, told her it was exactly what she needed to hear.
“And you? Has life turned out like you wanted?” he asked in a low, husky voice as he closed the distance between them.
“Yes and no. I left here and saw part of the world.”
He took another step, his body pressed against hers. “But?”
The words wouldn’t come. She opened her mouth, but they locked in her throat.
The disappointment that flashed in Owen’s dark eyes was like a kick in the stomach. He didn’t press her. Instead, he slowly lowered his head.
Her eyes slid shut as she eagerly awaited his kiss. Just before their lips touched, he pulled back. Her eyes snapped opened to find him holding his hand out to her.
“I want you,” he said. “I want you so bad it hurts. But I’ll not force you to say anything you aren’t ready for.”
She looked down at his hand. “And this?”
“Come with me and find out.”
She didn’t hesitate to place her hand in his. He took her down to the base, locking the door behind them. Then he continued on to the bunk room—or so she thought. He walked past them to a room behind them that must be Orrin’s.
She thought of earlier that day when the assassin had almost found her. All she’d wanted was Owen. And when he had arrived, she’d clung to him as if he were the only thing that could save her.
No longer did she know for sure what to do. The one thing she did know was that she wanted Owen.
Natalie walked to him, sliding her arm around his neck. In the next instant, their lips were locked as the fires of their desire soared.
Clothes were ripped in an effort to get naked. He lifted her so that her legs wrapped around his waist. Her breaths came faster, her hands clawing to get him closer.
His kiss was savage, and yet tender at the same time. He held her tightly, yet gently.
There was something different about this time. It wasn’t desperation but . . . the frantic and very real need to come together.
To become whole. One.
Owen ended the kiss, his breaths harsh and loud. “I need inside you.”
“Yes. Now,” she gasped.
She felt his thick head against her sex. Then he slid inside. She screamed his name as he filled her fully.
And then he was pumping fast and hard. All she could do was hold on as he took her on a wild ride of rapture as only he could.
In his arms, the world made sense. She wasn’t searching for anything, because she had her arms locked around him. There was no need for lies or half-truths—because her heart knew what it wanted.
A tear slipped from Natalie’s eye as the truth unfolded before her. A truth she wasn’t prepared for.
Those thoughts melted away as her body tightened and the climax neared. As she hurtled into ecstasy, she heard him shout her name as he joined her.
For long moments after, they remained locked together, unmoving. His head was buried in her neck as she smoothed her hand down his hair.
“Take me to bed,” she whispered.
He leaned back to look at her. Then he turned and carried her to the bed. They crawled beneath the covers together, and when she was wrapped in his arms, she closed her eyes, content.