Chapter 10
Tonka couldn’t stop looking at his watch. He’d gotten a text from Henley earlier, letting him know she’d dropped off Jasna at her adventure camp and was going to her office for a session with a client, then she’d head his way.
He prayed that he’d be able to control himself when Henley arrived. As far as he knew, she didn’t have any sessions planned with guests at The Refuge today or tomorrow. Which meant they’d have plenty of time for just the two of them. Tonka was totally looking forward to that.
He loved Jasna, and was learning to truly enjoy spending time with his friends, but he wanted more one-on-one time with Henley. They couldn’t exactly have deep conversations with her daughter listening or his friends hovering.
Giving each other these last four weeks to really get closer had been the right decision. With sex off the table, Tonka found he was able to relax and not worry about anything other than enjoying his time with Henley and Jasna.
They’d watched TV, went bowling one night, had gone to the movies a couple of times, and simply enjoyed being around each other. He’d laughed more than he had in many years. It was stunning that in a few short weeks, he’d learned to actually enjoy being around humans once again.
There had been a time, right after that awful incident, when Tonka had felt as if he wanted to move to the middle of nowhere and never talk to anyone ever again. The Refuge was as close to that as he could get, even though Brick and the others wouldn’t let him be a complete hermit.
But hanging out with his friends more and more over the last month, he rediscovered the joy of having someone at his back.
He’d missed the camaraderie of fellow military men.
They understood him in a way others couldn’t.
And this group of men understood when he was having a bad day.
When his memories were overwhelming. They gave him the space he needed.
Brick had literally saved his life when he’d invited him to join his PTSD retreat venture. It had taken many years, but Tonka finally felt as if he was crawling out of the pit he’d been in for way too long.
And Henley and her daughter were a big part of why he’d found the strength to do so.
He wanted to be the kind of man they could count on.
He wanted to make them happy, and he couldn’t do that if he was moody and standoffish.
The animals at The Refuge had been his sanity, but Henley was his guiding light.
His reason to continue to try to fight his demons.
He looked at his watch again. Two minutes since the last time he’d checked.
Shaking his head, Tonka pressed his lips together and got back to work. If he was going to take some time off to spend with Henley and not worry about the animals, he needed to get shit done.
The rest of the morning went by excruciatingly slowly.
Just when Tonka thought he was going to lose his mind with impatience, he heard the sound of a car’s tires on the gravel outside the barn.
He realized he was smiling as he quickly went to the wall and turned off the water he was using to refill troughs.
He walked outside in time to see Henley step out of her CRV.
The second she saw him, she broke into a jog as she headed his way. She didn’t slow, nearly knocking him over as she threw herself at him when she got close. Tonka went back on a foot, still smiling.
She hugged him hard, then pulled back just enough so she could look up at him. “Hi!” she said happily.
“Hi, yourself,” he returned. “Have a good morning?”
She wrinkled her nose adorably. “It seemed to last forever. I’m now officially on vacation. At least for the next day and a half. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had absolutely no responsibilities or anywhere I needed to go?”
“I’m guessing a while.”
“You’d guess right,” Henley said. Then she hugged him again, resting her cheek on his chest, and it was all Tonka could do not to haul her off to his cabin right that moment.
For weeks, they’d been dancing around their attraction.
Yes, they’d made out plenty of times, but they always knew they couldn’t go any further because they didn’t have the time or privacy they both wanted.
But now? Knowing this woman was all his for two nights? That he wouldn’t have to stop just when things were getting interesting? Tonka couldn’t wait. But he supposed dragging her to his bed the second she arrived probably wasn’t cool. “You hungry?” he asked after a long moment.
“Starved,” she said, looking up at him with an expression that probably mirrored his own.
“Need to feed you,” Tonka said gruffly. “Because once I get you in my bed, it’s going to be a long damn time before I let you leave…and I have no idea what I’ve got to eat at my cabin.”
Henley grinned, then rested her forehead against him.
In a muffled voice, she said, “All I’ve been able to think about today is you.
I should probably be a little cautious, but I don’t want to.
” She lifted her head and looked up at him once more.
“You’re a good man. The best I’ve ever met.
You’ve given me time and space to get to know you.
You’ve been nothing but patient and kind to my daughter, who I know can be a little overwhelming occasionally.
You’re so damn handsome, there have been times I’ve had to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, that you seem to want me. ”
“I want you,” Tonka reassured her.
“This is either gonna be epic, or the biggest letdown in the history of sexual encounters,” she teased.
“I vote for epic,” he said with a small laugh.
“Me too. Come on. Let’s go eat, say hi to everyone, then we can disappear without guilt until tomorrow afternoon.”
Could this woman get any more perfect? Tonka didn’t think so. He reached for her hand and rushed toward the lodge. Her giggle was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.
Lunch was a long lesson in restraint. Henley couldn’t seem to keep her hands to herself…
which was definitely all right with him.
When he was about to take a bite of pasta salad, he felt her hand on his leg, which she immediately shifted so her fingertips caressed his inner thigh.
One inch higher and she’d be touching his cock.
All the while, she was deep in conversation with Owl next to her about the library they were attempting to build along one entire wall in the great room of the lodge. His little minx was driving him crazy, and she knew it.
He retaliated when they were eating brownies with ice cream for dessert, by slipping his hand under the leg of her shorts and running a single finger over the crotch of her panties.
She hadn’t been able to keep her reaction under control, and she jerked—hard.
She mock glared at him and grabbed his wrist to try to keep him from moving, but her hold was no deterrent.
Stone asked her a question about a last-minute group session she’d agreed to do tomorrow afternoon, and as she did her best to be coherent, Tonka continued to drive her as crazy as he felt.
He’d never been so grateful to finish eating. He had a feeling Henley was torturing him on purpose by dragging out her goodbyes to their friends and the guests who’d eaten with them. By the time he wrapped his arm around her waist to lead her out of the lodge, Tonka was at the end of his rope.
Henley giggled as he practically force-marched them toward his cabin.
The sound was carefree and happy, and it wormed its way under his shields, permanently shattering them.
This woman had been to hell and back, and here she was, laughing and practically skipping next to him.
Tonka wanted to be like her. Wanted to find joy in a world that had completely let him down.
She was the key to his happiness, he had no doubt.
“In a hurry?” she teased as she slipped one of her hands under the waistband of his cargo pants. The feel of her fingers skimming the crack of his ass made his already hard cock even stiffer. He needed her. Right this second. He thought he was going to die if he didn’t get inside her body.
Tonka fumbled with his keys as he approached his cabin. Up here, there wasn’t much reason to lock his door, but he’d seen too many crime documentaries that started with something like, “the community was safe and no one locked their doors,” before an hour of murder and mutilation commenced.
As he attempted to get the key in the lock, Henley lifted his shirt from behind and tweaked one of his nipples. Hard.
The door swung open, and Tonka grabbed Henley by the waist and dragged her inside. He slammed the door with his foot, not willing to let go of her for even a second. At the same time, he pushed her back against the door, his head already lowering.
He was too far gone to stop. Or to slow down.
And thankfully, it seemed Henley was on the same page.
Her hands immediately went to his zipper.
He grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted.
She had to let go of him to raise her arms so he could remove the top.
The second the material was gone, Tonka reached for her bra and pulled one of the cups down and latched his lips to the erect nipple begging for his attention.
Henley moaned and one of her legs flew up. He grabbed her thigh, pulling her harder against him even as he sucked hard on her nipple. Her back arched, and she made that sexy little moan in the back of her throat once more.
“Finn,” she said in a throaty whine. “I need you.”
“And you’re gonna get me,” he assured her gruffly as he yanked the cup away from her other tit.
She wiggled and writhed in his grip, and Tonka had never felt so desperate in his life. He wanted to kiss her. Put his mouth between her legs. Fuck her. He wanted to do it all at the same time, and he also wanted to slow down. Show her how much she meant to him by worshiping her properly.