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Then I squeezed it. “I want to be naked with you. I want you to make love to me hard and fast, and I don’t want you to stop.”

Cyclone pulled my shirt over my head, and then my bra came off. His hands squeezed my breast, his mouth took turns sucking them. I cried out. “I want more,” I whispered. His mouth covered mine in a brutal kiss. That almost made me orgasm.

When we finally pulled apart, I was breathless.

Shaking.

Alive in a way I hadn't been in years.

Cyclone pressed his forehead to mine, both of us breathing hard.

“I'm not going anywhere,” he said fiercely.

“Not now. Not ever. You hear me?”

I nodded, my heart thudding so hard that it hurt.

“I hear you.”

And I let myself believe it for the first time in six years.

Cyclone kissed me again, softer this time, as if sealing a promise between us.

Then he stood. I wrapped my legs around him as he walked inside and into his bedroom.

He pulled my leggings down and lay me back on the bed, as he kissed every inch of my body. I couldn’t keep track of how many times I orgasmed that night. Or the next morning.

29

Jude

Two days later, I woke up tangled in Cyclone’s sheets, the sound of the ocean drifting through the open window.

Sunlight warmed my skin, and I just lay there for a moment, smiling like some fool who couldn’t believe her luck.

Cyclone was in the kitchen when I padded in barefoot, wearing only one of his old T-shirts.

He wore jeans, boots, and a gray T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.

The second I saw the bag on the floor by the door, my heart sank.

He caught the look and crossed to me, tugging me gently against his chest.

“Just a short job, sunshine,” he said against my hair. “Three days, tops.”

I curled my fingers into his shirt.

“I know. I'm just not used to... this. To missing someone.”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye, his hands cradling my face.

“You have no idea how much I'm gonna miss you, too,” he said, voice rough.

“But I’ll be back before you know it.”

I nodded, even though my chest ached.

“I'll be fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “I'll find something to keep me busy.”