3 5
BR A E D Y N
HOLLY GRINNED over at me as she swung her tote, which was some sort of hybrid between a basket and a bag. “I’m so glad you said yes.”
“I’m so glad you asked. I used to go to the Oakland farmers’ market every Saturday but haven’t gotten it together to find one here.” As we turned a corner onto one of the side streets in Starlight Grove, my lips parted in a soft
gasp.
“Pretty adorable, huh?” Holly asked.
“Understatement.” But I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t. I was too busy taking in all the amazing stalls. The market was smaller than the ones I frequented in Oakland, but it made up for that in charm. And the variety was incredible.
A beekeeper’s stand with honey and honey-infused products. A few more traditional farms. A bread stand that smelled heavenly. One that specialized in cupcakes.
This was just what I needed: an afternoon with a new friend. I’d checked on Owen before shoving my phone into the recesses of my bag where it wouldn’t taunt me. Because Vincent was getting frustrated with my lack of response, maybe even angry.
When I hadn’t been able to sleep last night, I’d posted a photo of Mount Lupine and Yeti in the distance. It was a ways away from the cabin, but the first comment had popped up.
VF2099:Starlight Grove. Interesting.
Most wouldn’t have read it as a threat, but I knew the subtext.I know where you are. Unease trickled through me, but I reminded myself that he’d never once done anything other than dropping a harassing threat by comment or email.
He simply wanted me to know he saw all my failings.
VicFab42:Must be hard to lose everything.
Anger surged at the memory. He likely mocked the idea of every hardship we had to endure. And why? I hadn’t asked him for a single thing. Instead, I’d scrimped and saved, always putting Owen’s needs first and working myself to the bone. But we’d made it.
A gentle hand touched my forearm. “Are you okay?”
I startled slightly but let out a breath, realizing it was just Holly. “Sorry. I was in another world.”
Her brows pulled together. Holly had at least ten years on me, but you’d never know it if it weren’t for the few wisps of gray threaded through the blond at her temples.
“Worrying about Nova?”
Guilt swirled because I hadn’t been. That’s where my mind should’ve been focused. Instead, it had been selfishly focused inward. “My ex, actually. Just being a douchebag of epic proportions.”
A hint of surprise found Holly’s green eyes. “Is he involved in your and Owen’s lives?”
I shook my head. “No. By his own choice. But he sends messages every now and then. And they’re asshole-ish.”
Her mouth thinned into a hard line. “Neither of you deserve that.”
“Owen doesn’t know,” I assured her as we moved into a farmer’s stall and mulled over the produce.
“But you do. Have you tried blocking him?”
I went for some fresh arugula and heirloom tomatoes, a meal pulling together in my mind. “He just starts new accounts. I’ve realized simply hiding the comments and ignoring him annoys him the most.”
Holly chuckled at that. “Men and their egos.”
I grinned. “The ultimate weakness.” I moved to the cheese stand next door and eyed some burrata. “What about your ex? Are things amicable?”
She lifted a shoulder and then dropped it as she picked up a pecorino. “It’s a silent fury. Like we’re both so mad that
the other couldn’t be what we needed.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
“We couldn’t recover. Losing our boy. It was too much.
There was so much rage. Mostly at ourselves, but the occasional explosions at each other were more than we could take.”
I reached over and took Holly’s hand, squeezing it gently.
She still wore a wedding band on her finger. Even after the years that had passed. I didn’t have words to comfort her, but I had my presence.
Holly squeezed my hand in return and then straightened.
“You know what we need?”
I arched a brow. “A shot?”
She laughed, light and airy, as if we hadn’t just delved into
such heavy topics. “Cupcakes.”
I grinned back at her. “I’m in.”
MY SUV BUMPED over the gravel road as I made the turn toward Creekside Cabins and the place that was now home.
As I pulled to a stop in front of Cabin Two, I found Dex scowling at my vehicle, a phone pressed to his ear.
My stomach plummeted. I quickly shut off the engine, leaving my bag of produce in the passenger seat and hopping
out.
“Yeah, she’s here.” Dex’s eyes scanned me from head to toe. “She looks fine.”
He seemed supremely annoyed with that fact.
“Thanks, Kol. Later.” Dex shoved the phone into his
pocket, his scowl deepening to a glare.
“What did I do?” I asked.
“Where the hell have you been?”
My eyes flared in surprise. “I was at the farmers’ market.
Do you have a thing against fresh tomatoes and cupcakes that look so fluffy they could fly away?”
“Why. The. Hell. Didn’t. You. Pick. Up. Your. Phone?”
Each word was forced out through gritted teeth as Dex
jerked a hand through his hair.
Oh crap.
I shifted, a flicker of guilt sliding through me.
“Yeah,” Dex bit out. “That little device people try to reach you on.”
I lifted my chin. “I didn’t know I had a keeper.”
“You have someone who’s looking out for you. And it’d be nice if you didn’t scare the hell out of them. Or told them you would be an hour later than you thought.”
I bristled at the demand. It felt too similar to commands of the past.
Get rid of it. I’m not going to have a bastard as a son, and I’m sure as hell not marrying you.
Get out of town. We don’t need to be publicly humiliated that our daughter’s a whore.
You need to give the baby up. Then maybe you’ll have a chance at an honorable life.
I’d been told to do this or that so many times. Ordered around like I didn’t have a mind of my own. A glare slid over my features. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Dex. And I wasn’t aware I had to report my location to you twenty-four-seven.”
Those dark-hazel eyes flashed. “I don’t know if you remember, but some maniac left a bloody fucking necklace on your doorstep. And a note that most would consider threatening.”
“I didn’t forget,” I hissed. “I live with it every moment of the day, playing it over and over.”
“Then act like you remember it,” Dex clipped.
“I’m not used to people needing to know where I am, all right?”
That only seemed to make Dex madder. “People care about you, Brae.I care about you.”
Shit. My actual name. No Hellion, just Brae. And that stung. But the words that followed were the most painful bomb. Hecared. And he’d spat the words like grenades.
“Why do you sound so mad about it?” I challenged.
“Because I am,” he snapped.
Those fathomless eyes tracked over my face, some unreadable emotion there.
“Fuck it,” he growled. And then he was on me, closing the distance in four long strides. There was no hesitation, no worry about what it might mean.
Dex’s hands slid through my hair with a forcefulness that had a wave of shivers cascading over my skin—the kind that meant all of me was paying attention. Those strong, thick fingers tightened in the strands, tugging my head back.
“Tell me to stop,” Dex gritted out, his eyes going stormy— the kind of storm that threatened to leave wreckage in its
wake.
“What if I don’t want you to?”
“Hellion.” The word was pure warning.
“Burn it out, Dex. Burn it all out.”
It was all he needed. Dex took my mouth like a man starved. There was no easing into the kiss. It was nothing like the stolen, tender moments of before. There was only sharp demand and desperate need. And God, I needed it. To
let out some of what had been stewing inside me: the good, the bad, the fear, the hope.
There was so much there that I never gave voice to. That was stewing and swirling. That I carried alone.
I gave it all to Dex now.
I poured everything I had into the kiss, giving as good as I got. Our tongues twisted and twirled, battling for supremacy.
Dex’s free hand cupped my ass, lifting me. My legs encircled his waist on instinct, clamping around him and holding on, letting out more of everything I held inside.
I pressed myself harder against him, rocking, needing the friction. He groaned into my mouth as he turned and carried me toward the house. But he didn’t lose my mouth even once.
Dex fumbled with the door handle, maneuvering us inside.
My hands sank into his hair, tugging silently, begging for more but not being able to give words to what thatmore was.
We knocked into a wall, sending a painting crashing to the floor as Dex stumbled with me into the living room. I only gripped his hair harder, hoping the painting hadn’t been damaged but not exactly worrying about what kind of dent that could put in my savings.
Yeti let out a bark, and Dex’s head twisted in her direction. “Bed,” he ordered, sending my dog running for her place in my bedroom.
Dex’s hand slipped from my hair, moving to my blouse, beneath it. My nipples pebbled against the lace of my bralette. It was almost painful, the way they strained for him. His mouth, his touch.
My legs tightened around Dex’s waist as he tugged at the shirt. I lifted my arms, trying to help, and he sent the fabric sailing to the floor. His eyes went hooded as they zeroed in on my breasts.
“So fucking pretty. Taut, little nipples. Dusky pink and goddamn perfect.” Dex’s head bent, his mouth closing around
one peak through the thin lace. He sucked deep, and I lost all sense of space and time.
My back arched as a soft mewl left my lips. Dex sucked harder, and then his teeth grazed the tight bud. I let out a whimper as a flush of wet heat gathered between my legs.
My breaths turned to quick pants. A buzz lit beneath my skin, and my gaze went a little fuzzy.
“Taste like red currant and vanilla. Could live on that taste and nothing else,” Dex whispered against my skin.
I struggled for sanity, to right myself, but I didn’t want to.
Dex lowered me to the couch—the same one he’d slept on the night before. As he straightened, his gaze zeroed in on my rib cage—the tattoo there. The phoenix. Delicate yet infinitely powerful.
There were no ashes in my tattoo, simply a creature taking flight after crossing through from the other side.
Dex’s throat worked as he swallowed and then traced the outline with featherlight fingertips. “It’s like you understood me before we even met.”
Fear tried to take root, but I shoved it down, pushed it out. I reached up, grabbing for Dex. I needed to let it out… into him. The desperate edge was back, the need to lose myself and everything that held me down.
Dex broke away for a moment, tugging his tee over his head and tossing it to the floor. His phoenix stared back at me—the one that could hold me captive. The one that taunted me with a bond both Dex and I were terrified of but couldn’t ignore.
It was too tempting not to touch. My fingers ran over his chest, through the dusting of hair that only made the tattoo feel more real. As if the creature could take flight and swallow me whole.
But I wanted it to. I wanted to lose myself in all that was Dex.
His fingers found the button of my jeans, and I felt the first hesitation, the slight panic bleeding through the haze of
need. It was as if Dex read it before I did.
“Stop?” he asked. There was no annoyance or anger. So unlike Vincent, who didn’t care what I wanted. He’d thought he had rights to me anytime he wanted.
“I haven’t…not since Owen was born. And my body… it’s…” I didn’t know how to put words to the fears and insecurities.
Dex’s face softened as his fingers deftly unbuttoned my jeans. They were the kind that came up to my belly button.
The kind that hid the marks and scars.
Dex’s fingers skimmed just under the waistband. Back and forth. Featherlight. “You’re changed because you brought life into the world. Can’t think of anything more beautiful than that.”
My mouth went dry as I struggled to swallow. “Dex.”
He peeled down one side of my jeans, revealing the streaks along my belly and hip. They’d turned from deep red to the palest white over the years. But against my golden skin, they stood out clear as day.
“Phoenix wings,” Dex whispered as he dropped to his knees. His lips hovered over the changed flesh, and then he skimmed across the marks as he spoke. “Carried you through battle and the aftermath. Carried your boy and carried you. Most beautiful sight of all.”
Everything burned. Like I was turning into the very creature Dex spoke of.
My fingers clutched at his shoulders. Broad. Strong. And adorned with the wings he described on me.
“Tell me you want this. Tell me you need it, consequences be damned.”
My breaths came quicker now. Fast, sharp pants as black dots danced in front of my vision. “I want everything,” I rasped. Because I was greedy when it came to Dex Archer. I didn’t want just his fingers or his mouth. I needed to know how it felt to have him moving inside me, stretching me, taking everything he had to give.
“Never heard anything sweeter,” Dex growled. “And I’m going to give it to you. I want to hear those throaty, little moans as you shatter. I want tofeel them.”
My thighs clenched on instinct as more wetness gathered.
More heat. More need.
“Not yet, baby.” Dex ran his knuckles along the seam of my jeans. I nearly came apart right there. Sparks danced through me as the black spots intensified. He made the move again. “Soon.”
And then, Dex’s fingers were in the band of my jeans and boy shorts. He yanked them down in a move so smooth I would’ve thought it impossible. He lifted one leg out and then the other.
“So damn beautiful, spread out for me.” Dex adjusted his glasses, and I moved to try to close my legs, but Dex was in the way. His gaze snapped to my face. “Don’t steal this from me. This work of art. Perfect pussy and phoenix wings.”
My breaths tripped and tangled, but I didn’t try to close my legs again.
Dex grinned. “That’s my girl. Giving me all I want. Giving you all you need.”
A single finger slid through my wet heat, and my hips arched up to meet him as my jaw opened in a silent plea.
Dex’s fingers swiped over me again, two this time, as his other hand trailed up between my breasts to collar my throat. But it didn’t stay there. It slid to the side, to my pulse point.
Those two fingers slowly thrust inside me, and I couldn’t hold back my moan.
“Don’t come.” The words were an order and a plea. “The first time you come, I’m gonna feel you flutter on my cock, wanna feel every ounce of fire. We’re gonna fly together.”
My inner walls clamped down on Dex’s fingers as they swirled inside me.
I shuddered as he stretched me. “I can’t—I—”
“You can,” Dex ordered. “I can feel you here.” His fingers swirled again. “And I can feel you here.” His hand pressed to the side of my throat. “We’re going to walk right up to that breaking point. We’re gonna feel it all.”
I clamped down on those fingers inside me, my whole
body shuddering this time.
“You’re close. Almost ready for me.”
My hips lifted, rising to meet Dex’s fingers. They felt so damn good but were so far from what I wanted. I let out a
sound of frustration.
“In a hurry, Hellion?”
I fought the urge to bare my teeth at him. “Yes.”
A low, throaty chuckle left Dex and skated over my skin.
“Not quite yet.” His fingers thrust deeper this time, rotating and curling, pressing on a spot that had light flickering over my vision.
“Now, you’re there,” Dex growled, his hand clamping over my throat. I could feel my pulse hammering against the pressure of his palm.
And then it was all gone. The grip of him at my throat.
Those beautiful fingers moving inside me.
I let out a sound of protest that had Dex chuckling again.
Then he made a tsking sound. “Patience.”
This time, I growled at him, but the sound halted in my throat as Dex’s fingers went to the button of his jeans. He kicked off one boot and then the other as he deftly unbuttoned his pants.
He searched for something. His wallet, I realized. A small foil packet.
My throat went dry, and my eyes burned as they zeroed in on the packet.
“Always gonna make sure you’re safe,” Dex rasped as he shucked his pants.
He didn’t know what that meant to me. With my one and only partner being someone who never thought about my safety and well-being, this meant everything.
Dex rolled the condom onto his thick length, and my mouth went dry for a different reason, my thighs pressing together. It was nearly more than I could take.
And then he was back, that big body covering mine, my legs hooking around him. Dex searched my eyes. “Yes?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
He didn’t wait. He slid inside me on one long glide, hissing as his hazel eyes flashed. My head tipped back against the couch, my body arching, meeting him there.
It was almost more than I could take. Pressure. Heat.
That stretch.
Dex’s body quivered. With restraint, I realized. Holding himself back. Another gift. Suffering to give me time to adjust, to ease into him.
The sting melted to only heat as Dex’s hand slid over my throat, finding that pulse point again. Staying there. He read the beat of my body and didn’t move until he felt some change.
As every ounce of discomfort left me and just as desperation edged in, Dex began to move. He kicked off the rhythm, the dance, but I found him there. My body met his, letting his thrusts deepen, claiming all of me.
Dex let out a low moan as he sank into me. “Everything I could’ve dreamed of.”
My fingers tightened on his shoulders, digging in as he picked up the pace. “More.”
Those dark eyes flashed. “Told you I’d give you whatever you needed.”
Dex thrust into me with more power this time, a strength that was almost otherworldly. One hand braced above my head, the other on my throat. “Show me how you fly. Let me feel you.”
Everything went hazy as my entire body vibrated. Power and heat. Pressure and that final spark.
“Fingers on your clit,” Dex barked. “Now.”
I didn’t think. I listened. A single circle around that bundle of nerves, and I was lost. Splintering in a way that was beautiful and painful all at once as Dex arched into me again, releasing. And I felt it all. I came apart with a force I’d never known. One I knew would change everything.
