Page 38 of Beneath the Mountain Sky

“I am. Here. This is my home.”

“It was.”

As per usual, Raven isn’t wrong.

Her blunt advice and ability to cut through the bullshit to the heart of the matter are precisely why she’s such a good friend—and why she pisses so many people off so damn easily.

“Killian and I obviously have a lot to talk about. A lot to work through. And maybe this will give us the opportunity to do that.”

She sighs. “That’s what I’m worried about, hon. I don’t want you to get hurt again after everything you’ve been through.”

“We don’t know what I’ve been through.”

“You’re right, we don’t, but?—”

Heavy footsteps sound on the porch, and my heart leaps into my throat. The front door swings open, letting in a howl of wind and driving rain—and the man I’ve been waiting for.

Killian steps into the cabin, drenched from head to foot, his long blond hair darkened and plastered to his head and shoulders, T-shirt clinging to his sculpted muscles. His eyes sweep over the room and find mine, anchoring me in place with the intensity of the shimmering blue before I manage to break free from the hold.

I leap to my feet and race across the room, throwing my arms around him, not even caring that he’s soaked—and now I am, too—ignoring the screaming objection from my ribs and several other parts of my sore body.

He stiffens, his entire body rigid, a wet, immovable wall of uncertainty for a second before he finally relaxes.

His strong arms wrap around me and tug me up against him tighter. The movement pulls at my sore ribs, but I don’t mind the pain. Not right now. He buries his face along my neck, inhaling deeply as a tremble wracks him. Matching the way my own body shakes, even though I’m in his solid hold and can both feel and see that he’s all right.

“I was so worried…”

Far more than I should have been.

Killian can take care of himself.

He’s always been the one watching out for his brothers—and just about everyone else on the mountain.

But I can’t stop shaking, and the tears flow before I can stop them.

Thunder rumbles outside, and his large, warm palm settles onto my back, holding me steady, grounding me in the way only he ever could. “I’m okay, Honeybee. Everyone’s okay.”

I want to believe his words, but the weight of everything that’s happened in the last few days finally crushes down on me, making it impossible not to feel like I’m crumbling. “Y-you scared the sh-shit out of me.”

Killian sucks in a sharp breath and releases it slowly, one hand sliding up into my hair to cup my head and hold it against his chest while the other presses into my lower back. “I’m sorry.”

He brushes his lips across my temple, and I lean into it, relishing the feeling of being back in his powerful arms.

Like I’ve missed it…

My memories may tell me it’s only been a few days since we were together, but deep down, somewhere, I know it’s been a year.

I’ve longed for this.

I’ve needed this.

I’ve needed him.

He finally pulls back slightly and takes my face in his palms. Those familiar rough callouses scrape over my sensitive skin, wiping away my tears as he locks his turbulent gaze with mine. “I’m okay, really. Just wet.”

The rain continues to pound on the roof and ping off the windows, a reminder of the deluge he hiked through to get home. In the pitch black of night that rivals the darkness I floated in before I woke.

Raven clears her throat behind us, and he tears his eyes from mine and looks over my shoulder at her. I follow his gaze, one of his hands sliding away from my cheek.