13. Thorne
THIRTEEN
THORNE
The morning light filters through the curtains, soft and golden, painting the bedroom in warm tones.
I wake with Sadie tucked against my chest, her breathing slow and even, one leg thrown over mine.
Her hair spills across my shoulder, and the scent of her skin fills my lungs.
Last night still lingers in my body, the memory of her soft cries and the way she clung to me making my blood heat all over again.
I tighten my arm around her waist, careful not to wake her yet, and simply enjoy the feeling of her here in my bed, safe and warm.
A firm knock sounds at the cabin door. I ease out from under Sadie, pulling the quilt higher around her shoulders, and tug on a pair of jeans and a shirt. When I open the door, Silas stands on the porch, face serious, eyes sharp.
“Morning,” he says quietly. “We have a trail on Magnus and his men. From the looks of it, they’re already in Timber Creek.
Greta from the diner called early. She saw some strange men asking questions about new faces in town, especially women matching Sadie’s description.
Possible sighting. Harlan, Boyd, and I are heading down to check it out.
We’ll keep it quiet, but we need to move fast.”
My jaw tightens. The thought of Magnus this close to the mountain sends a surge of protective anger through me.
I want to go. I want to look that bastard in the eyes and make sure he understands exactly what will happen if he comes anywhere near Sadie.
But I glance back toward the bedroom where she still sleeps, and the decision settles heavy in my chest.
“I’m staying,” I tell Silas. “She needs someone here. I won’t leave her alone.”
Silas nods, no judgment in his expression. “Smart. We’ll radio if we find anything. Keep the gates locked and eyes open.”
He turns and heads back toward the lodge where the others are already gathering.
I close the door and lock it, then stand for a moment in the main room, fists clenched at my sides.
Magnus being this close changes nothing about how I feel for Sadie, but it sharpens everything. I’ll keep her safe. No matter what.
I walk back to the bedroom and find Sadie awake, sitting up against the pillows, quilt pulled to her chest. Her eyes are wide with concern.
“Was that Silas?” she asks.
I sit on the edge of the bed and brush a strand of hair from her face. “Yeah. They have a lead on Magnus. He and some of his men might already be in Timber Creek. Greta, a waitress at the diner, saw strangers asking questions. Silas, Harlan, and Boyd are going down to check it out.”
Fear flashes across her face. I take her hand and squeeze it gently.
“I’m staying right here with you,” I say. “I wanted to go, wanted to look that man in the eyes and make sure he knows he’ll never touch you again. But I won’t leave you alone. Not even for a minute.”
She searches my face, then nods slowly. Some of the tension leaves her shoulders. “Thank you.”
I lean in and kiss her forehead. “You never have to thank me for that.”
The worry still lingers in her eyes, but underneath it I see something warmer, something that matches the heat building in my own body. I slide my hand along her jaw and tilt her face up to mine.
“You know what would help take your mind off things?” I ask, voice dropping lower.
She bites her lip, a small smile tugging at the corners. “What?”
I grin and tug the quilt down just enough to expose her shoulder. “Let me show you.”
I kiss her then, slow at first, letting the heat build naturally. She sighs into my mouth and threads her fingers into my hair, pulling me closer. The kiss turns deeper, tongues sliding together, and I feel her body respond, softening and arching toward me.
I pull back just enough to look at her. “You’re so damn beautiful in the morning. All sleepy and warm and mine.”
She laughs softly, cheeks flushing. “Flattery this early?”
“It’s not flattery if it’s true.” I kiss along her jaw, down to her neck, nipping lightly at the sensitive spot that always makes her gasp. “And right now I’m thinking about how good you felt last night. How tight and wet you were for me. How pretty you sounded when you came on my cock.”
Her breath catches. “Thorne…”
I slide my hand under the quilt and cup her breast, thumb brushing the nipple until it tightens. “Tell me, baby girl. Are you already wet for me again?”
She nods, biting her lip harder. I slip my fingers lower, between her thighs, and find her slick and ready. I groan against her neck.
“Fuck, you’re soaked. Such a greedy little pussy. Already dripping for Daddy before we even get started.”
The dirty words make her moan and rock against my hand.
I circle her clit slowly, teasing, while I kiss her deeply again.
She reaches for the hem of my shirt and tugs it up.
I help her pull it off, then shove my jeans down and kick them away.
When I settle between her thighs, my cock hard and heavy against her, she wraps her legs around me.
“Please,” she whispers.
I grin down at her. “Please what? Use your words, baby girl. Tell Daddy exactly what you want.”
She flushes deeper but meets my eyes. “I want you inside me. Now.”
“Good girl.” I push into her in one smooth thrust, burying myself to the hilt. We both groan at the perfect fit. She’s still a little sore, so I start slow, rolling my hips in deep, deliberate strokes.
“Feel that?” I murmur against her ear. “Feel how deep I am? This pussy was made for me. So tight and hot and perfect. I could fuck you all day and never get tired of it.”
She moans louder, nails digging into my shoulders. I pick up the pace, thrusting harder, the sound of skin meeting skin filling the room. I reach between us and rub her clit in firm circles.
“Come on, baby girl. Let me feel you squeeze my cock. I want to feel you come all over me.”
Her body tightens, back arching as the orgasm hits her. She cries out my name, pulsing around me in rhythmic waves. The sight and feel of her coming pushes me close to the edge, but I hold back, slowing my thrusts to draw it out for her.
When she catches her breath I flip us so she’s on top, straddling me. “Ride me,” I tell her, hands on her hips. “Show me how much you want it.”
She braces her hands on my chest and starts moving, rolling her hips in a rhythm that makes my eyes roll back. I grip her ass, guiding her, thrusting up to meet her.
“Look at you,” I growl. “Bouncing on Daddy’s cock like a filthy little girl. So pretty when you’re stuffed full. You love it, don’t you? Love feeling me so deep inside you.”
“Yes,” she gasps. “I love it.”
I sit up, wrapping one arm around her waist and taking a nipple into my mouth while she rides me harder. I suck and bite gently, then switch to the other side. Her moans grow louder, more desperate.
“I’m going to fill you up,” I say against her skin. “Pump you so full you will still feel me later. You want that? Want Daddy’s cum deep inside this perfect pussy?”
She nods frantically, grinding down on me. “Yes. Please.”
I thrust up harder, meeting her movements, and rub her clit again. She comes a second time with a sharp cry, clenching around me so tightly it pulls me over the edge with her. I groan her name as I spill inside her, hips jerking with each pulse.
We collapse together, breathing hard, bodies slick with sweat. I kiss her slowly, tenderly now, stroking her back and hair while we come down.
“You’re incredible,” I whisper. “Every single time.”
She smiles against my chest, lazy and satisfied. “That was… a very good distraction.”
I chuckle and kiss the top of her head. “Glad I could help. Now, how about we make some pancakes? I’m starving after that workout.”
Her eyes light up. “Pancakes sound perfect.”
We climb out of bed, pulling on comfortable clothes. I wear sweatpants and nothing else. Sadie borrows one of my flannel shirts, the sleeves rolled up, the hem hitting her mid-thigh. She looks adorable and sexy all at once. In the kitchen I pull out the ingredients while she finds the mixing bowl.
We work side by side at the counter. I measure the flour and she cracks the eggs, laughing when a bit of shell falls in and I fish it out with my fingers. I flip the first pancake on the griddle and she steals a piece of bacon from the plate, popping it into her mouth with a mischievous grin.
“Thief,” I tease, swatting her lightly on the ass.
She giggles and leans into me. “You love it.”
“I do.” I wrap an arm around her waist from behind and kiss the side of her neck while she stirs the batter. “Tell me something about you I don’t know. Something from before all this mess.”
She thinks for a moment. “I used to bake a lot with my mom when I was little. Chocolate chip cookies mostly. She always let me eat the raw dough even though she said it was bad for me.”
I smile and press another kiss to her shoulder. “I can picture that. Little Sadie covered in flour, sneaking dough when no one was looking.”
She laughs. “Guilty. What about you? Before the military, what were you like?”
I flip another pancake, golden and perfect.
“Quiet kid. Grew up on a small farm in Montana. Learned to ride horses before I could drive. Spent more time in the barn than in school some days. My dad taught me how to fix anything with baling wire and duct tape. Guess that’s where I got the habit of keeping things running around here.
He also taught me how to track animals in the woods behind the barn. ”
We talk easily while the pancakes stack up and the bacon crisps.
She tells me about her favorite books and how she once tried to dye her hair purple in high school and it turned out more like muddy brown.
I tell her about the time my team in the military tried to cook Thanksgiving dinner in the desert with nothing but MREs and a camp stove, and how it ended with everyone laughing so hard they almost got caught by patrol.
She laughs until tears form in her eyes, leaning against the counter for support. I pull her close and kiss her, tasting maple syrup on her lips from the piece she stole earlier.
“You have a great laugh,” I tell her. “I want to hear it every day.”
We sit at the small table to eat, plates piled high.
Between bites we keep talking, learning the small details that make a person real.
Her favorite color is deep green, like the pines outside.
Mine is the blue of the sky right before a storm.
She hates mushrooms but loves strawberries.
I can’t stand black licorice but will eat almost anything else.
The conversation flows naturally, light and warm, the earlier tension from Magnus fading into the background for now.
Every laugh, every shared story pulls us closer.
I watch her across the table, cheeks flushed from cooking and from the morning we shared, and feel that deep certainty settle in my chest again.
This is what I want. Not just the heat between us, but this.
The everyday moments. The pancakes and the stories and the easy laughter.
When the plates are empty I reach across the table and take her hand.
“Whatever happens with Magnus,” I say, voice steady, “we face it together. You’re not alone anymore.”
She squeezes my hand back, eyes soft. “Together.”
We clean up the kitchen side by side, bumping hips and stealing kisses between rinsing dishes. The cabin feels full in the best way. Safe. Warm. Ours.
Outside the mountain keeps its watch, and somewhere down in Timber Creek the other men are doing their part. But right here, in this moment, with Sadie laughing as she dries a plate and I pull her in for another kiss, everything feels exactly as it should be.