Page 115 of Falling for the Enemy

Buried deep, he dropped his forehead to her shoulder, and a shudder rolled through his frame. His body caged her, as if afraid she might escape, but she wasn’t going anywhere.

Trembling, he held himself inside her, motionless, breathing with her, speaking without words. It was the closest they came to saying it out loud.

She turned her face toward his jaw, dragging his mouth back to hers. His hips slowly moved, deliberately dragging back only to fill her once more.

He set a rhythm built for closeness, not climax, his mouth never leaving her skin, his hands cradling her face, her shoulders, sliding beneath her to lift her closer with each measured thrust. He gave her his full attention and, for once, she received it without flinching.

Breath ragged against her ear, his body spoke the words they weren’t ready to say. There was something so solid in the way he held her, yet also so fragile they were both careful not to break it.

She wrapped herself around him, and the tenderness climbed in her like a tide, slow and inevitable. Her release crested but bore no resemblance to anything before. This time it wasn’t a delicate flutter of nerves. Nor was it an explosion of unpredictable passion.

It rolled through her in deep, aching waves, and she cried out his name as she came undone. He followed her over the edge, his face buried in the curve of her neck as he spilled into her and held on as if she were his only anchor in a tilting world.

Tears welled in her eyes, put there by the sheer intensity of the moment. The dampness of his lashes pressed against her throat, and she pretended, for his sake, not to notice, since he offered the same kindness.

In the aftermath, neither of them had the strength to move. Her tears dried long before she found the energy to wipe them away. His length retracted inside of her in subtle increments so she never suffered that jarring absence that always came when he pulled out.

Gathering her against his chest, he tucked her head beneath his chin and held her in the shelter of his body. His hand stroked the length of her spine, slow and absent, as if letting her go wasn’t an option.

The firelight cast shadows over the sharp angles of his face as their hearts slowed in tandem. That was when she finally admitted there was no other place she’d rather be.

CHAPTER 13

“AND NOW I TELL YOU OPENLY, YOU HAVE MY HEART SO DON’T HURT ME”

October arrived the way the best things did, slow and then all at once.

The maples along Founders Lane turned first, bleeding from green to amber to a red so deep it glowed from within. Then the oaks burned into a fiery gold. Within a week, the whole town wore autumn like a haul of radiant jewels.

Leaves released from branches in lazy spirals, drifting down sidewalks and gathering in the gutters along Main Street. Children dove into swept piles on their way home from school, forcing residents to rake up the mess again and again.

On Jocelyn’s morning walks with Cordelia, the briny warmth of late summer had shifted toward something sharper, edged with woodsmoke and the cold mineral breath of the sea. It was getting cooler, but their walks had gotten longer. And despite her short legs, Cordelia didn’t seem to mind. She had her autumn vest and would travel a million miles if it meant seeing her new fur-bestie, King.

“Almost there,” Jocelyn told Deelie as she pranced happily down the sea wall.

Despite pulling several winter cardigans from the cedar chest that week, her layers did nothing to protect her from the misty dampness that always clung to the morning air.

It was still early. Even the school buses hadn’t come through yet. But it was worth dragging her ass out of bed at dawn.

He was worth it.

Once King’s baritone bark could be heard through the trees, Cordelia answered back in an excited yip. Three sharp barks, as if to say, come on, Mom, move your ass!

Jocelyn increased her pace, her heart fluttering when Soren’s dark figure came into view. She laughed as King dragged him towards them, not at all heeding the commands he supposedly learned at doggy bootcamp.

“King, heel!”

The giant Great Dane didn’t stop until he was elbows to the ground, bowing in front of the tiny chihuahua. The moose of a dog wagged happily as Cordelia barked and licked his nose in greeting.

“Morning,” Soren said, pressing a kiss to her chilled lips. “Remind me again why this is better than spending the night at my house and letting me drive you home on my way into work?”

“Don’t start.” He knew her reasons even if she wouldn’t spell them out.

It was too easy to fall into something serious too fast with him. This was already more serious than any relationship she’d ever had with a man, and if she slept over as much as Soren wanted her to, she might as well move in with him—and they were light-years away from that.

Or at least they should be, right?

The thought terrified her, not because it implied permanence, but because that permanence wasn’t scaring the shit out of her as it should. She didn’t trust her decision-making skills at the moment, convinced she was in some sort of new relationship trance that would eventually fade.