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A faint reflection of my own smile. “You know what I mean.”

Lucas kissed me slowly, easing my legs apart and settling between them. There wasn’t any more teasing or denying, it was just... us. I gasped when he pushed into me.

Because of the past few days, I wasn’t a stranger to sex anymore. But this felt different. Lucas pressed deep, and deeper, until we were one and the same. His face was in silhouette above me against the canvas of infinite stars, and everything seemed like more.

His lips met mine, and we were suspended in a moment that lasted forever. And I knew, though I wasn’t ready for it, that the moment was changing us. Like the first time I’d let him hold me, it was a moment we could not come back from.

But then again, knowing Lucas, there would never be any going back.

When we moved, we moved together.

Pleasure unfurled inside me like a wave. Like a rising tide. It moved through us together, rising and cresting until the wave broke over us together, the only witnesses the stars and mountains.

Lucas pressed his forehead to mine, our breaths mingling. There weren’t any words to say, and anything would break the spell we’d woven. Instead, Lucas pulled back, lifted me from the blanket, and carried me into the tent he’d pitched—into warmth and softness and more delicious pleasure.

In this moment, it was easy not to think about anything but him and me, and the idea that we might always have something like this.

Chapter 23

Lucas

As we rode over ranchland, nothing was out of place, and the prickle of tension under my skin eased. There was nothing, but it felt like there was always something lately.

Nathan hadn’t taken the bait.

Not only that, but there weren’t any signs of him anywhere. They’d set the trap perfectly in Missoula, but nothing suspicious had happened, or any response at all. Perhaps Nathan hadn’t been able to get there in time. Perhaps he wasn’t in the state and had hired someone to do his dirty work.

The anonymous attacks on our security system continued, but the flower deliveries had ceased. I’d tried to loosen things enough to make Evelyn feel like she was safe and that she wasn’t a prisoner while not dropping my guard. That was the only thing I was sure of: Nathan had not given up.

He’d retreated.

The absence of his obvious presence was possibly more dangerous.

It had been ten days of nothing, and the more time passed, the more tense I became, though I tried not to show it. I’d accompanied Evelyn to Deja Brew a couple days. She’d wanted to see Lena and work, and she’d understood why I wasn’t willing to let her go alone.

Other than the impending threat, these past ten days had been... amazing. For obvious reasons, Ev hadn’t moved out of my house. Not only was there the danger to consider, but I didn’t want her to leave.

I was falling for her. Hard.

Every moment with Evelyn was a revelation. I loved learning who she was and what made her feel good. I loved watching her blossom into herself more—someone who was less anxious and full of fear. I loved, too, seeing the moments when she was afraid so that I could be there for her. She didn’t have to face anything alone.

Something had changed between us at the high woods. We didn’t talk about it, but it sang between us with silent certainty. There was a steadiness to this force pulling us together now, and I would thank the universe forever that I hadn’t ignored my instincts.

Evelyn had started helping us regularly with the animals, too, and was a natural. A couple of days ago, she’d finally opened that door, telling me that she’d intended to go into a field with animals—training or veterinary science, she hadn’t decided—before she’d met Nathan. After, he’d convinced her that she didn’t need to have a career because he had all the money in the world, and he would take care of her.

Young and in love, she’d believed him.

If she wanted to do that with her life, I wouldn’t stop her. I would help her any way that I could.

“Hey,” Evelyn called. She brought Dove, one of the mares that we kept on the ranch, to a stop and dismounted. Not a therapy animal, just a sweet horse. I was riding Storm, a stallion we kept.

This was a part of the ranch that we rarely visited day to day. The large, open part that we hadn’t done anything with. Yet. It was a beautiful green space with scattered trees and a few lake-fed streams. Part of me wanted us to keep it like this, pristine and untouched.

Dove drank from one of the streams, and Evelyn stood petting her neck.

“Hey,” I called back. We hadn’t spoken in a while, just enjoying the day.

“You okay?” she asked as I swung off Storm’s back and walked over to her.