Page 41 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

ELLIE

The moment I stepped off the back deck, Bumper came running. She charged right into my legs, which were now littered with bruises, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

I laughed as I bent to scratch her head, Gremlin dancing around us. “Hi, Bumps. How are you feeling?”

Grem let out a low bark, and then he and Bumper were off, racing around the yard. Bumper made a few jumps that looked like she was doing parkour off invisible objects, and Gremlin started to copy her moves. I grinned as I watched their antics. “It’s supposed to be bedtime.”

They just raced around the yard again in answer. I moved to the little garden shed I’d made into a night shelter for Bumper. Unlatching it, I grabbed the treats I’d set up on the shelf inside.

It only took two shakes of the container, and Bumper came running. She skidded to a halt right in front of me. I laughed and gave her a few scratches. “Don’t worry, I’m a ho for treats, too.” I gave her one that she gobbled up. “Up you go.”

Bumper knew the drill by now. She hopped into the shed and made her way toward the nest of hay.

I knew Trace would have the water and power on at the barn before long, and I’d have to move her out there, but I’d miss having my sweet girl right here.

I worried she might get lonely out there. Maybe I needed to get Bumper a friend.

She butted my hand as if to say yes . Or maybe she just wanted more treats. I gave her one more and then bent to kiss the top of her head. “Sweet dreams.”

I stepped back out of the shed and latched the door. The little slits I’d put at the top of the shed would let plenty of air in, but the solid walls would keep Bumper warm. Gremlin let out a sound of protest, and I bent to pick him up.

“I know. You’d have her cuddling inside if you could.” Heading back into the house, I set Grem down, and he went straight for his fluffy bed in the corner. It had been a full day for both of us.

A shift at the bakery, running around town to find all the accessories I needed for Keely’s wacky hair day at school, Anson coming by to grab some additional information for the security system parts Anchor Security was ordering, and starting to map out a mural in the kitchen.

I was slowly making this place a home. I was making it me . And that felt good.

After quickly washing my hands, I moved to my coffee maker and pressed the button for hot water. I placed a tea bag inside the mug and waited for it to brew. Just as I was reaching for my construction pencil, my phone dinged.

I grabbed it from the counter and smiled when I saw the name on the screen. Trace and I had been ships passing in the night for the past three days. The last image I had of him was his hands struggling to braid and the heated promises he’d left me with—promises neither of us had made good on.

The truth was, I missed him. But it was because of a lot more than a few stolen kisses. I missed time with him and Keely. I missed his scent and his feel. I missed the groundedness he gave me when it felt like my life was spinning out of control.

He checked in every day, usually multiple times, and I hadn’t missed the fact a sheriff’s department vehicle was still parked outside my house each night. But it wasn’t the same as having him . In my space. In my life.

Trace

Miss you.

Me

You a mind reader?

He sent an emoji of a crystal ball, and I chuckled.

Me

Lolli would argue she has a pot strain that could give you that gift.

Trace

Don’t give her any ideas.

Me

I’ll try to refrain.

Trace

I’m sorry things have been so crazy lately. Between Keels and work, I’m struggling to keep my head above water.

I frowned down at my phone, suddenly feeling more than a sense of longing.

Me

Everything okay?

Trace

Mostly. Just some turnover at the station. Don’t love that it’s keeping me from seeing you.

That had warmth taking root somewhere deep and blooming through every part of me the way I hoped those bulbs would from the ground come spring.

Trace

I left you something on your front porch. Open it, then call me.

My mouth quirked, curiosity spurring me into action. I crossed to the front door and unfastened every lock. Opening the door, I saw a small box on my doormat. It was a sleek, matte black tied with a black ribbon.

I picked it up and shut the door behind me, relocking each latch.

I crossed to the stairs and sat, laying my phone next to me as I untied the bow.

I paused before I lifted the lid, a buzz of excitement lighting through my veins.

The moment I finally opened the box, I stilled. Then my jaw went slack.

A mixture of amusement and heat slid through me as I stared down at what was inside. Not in a million years would I have guessed that this was a gift Mr. Law and Order would’ve left on my doorstep.

“Full of surprises, aren’t you, Chief?” I mumbled as I grabbed my phone.

I tapped the call button on our text thread. It only rang once before he answered. “You open it?”

“Did you get me a sex toy?”

A low, husky chuckle sounded across the line, and it felt like echoes of Trace’s callused fingertips skating over my skin. “Pretty sure it qualifies,” he said.

“Chief…”

“Not going to make promises I can’t keep. Might not be able to get my hands on you in real time, but I can control that with an app on my phone.”

A grin tugged at my lips. “I admire the ingenuity.”

“What do you think, Blaze? You want to play?”

The deep rasp of Trace’s voice and the intent behind his words had my skin heating in an instant flush. “Yeah, Chief. I wanna play.”

“Where are you?”

His voice was deeper now, the bite of command slipping in. My nipples pebbled in response, pressing against the thin lace of my bralette. “Sitting on the stairs.”

“Doors locked?”

“Sir, yes, sir,” I mocked.

“Ellie,” he growled.

Hell. My nipples tightened again at the tenor of his voice. “They’re locked.”

“Upstairs to your room,” Trace ordered.

Everything in my life lately had been about the quest for freedom, my own choices, my own decisions.

But it was exhausting at times. Something about having Trace command me now was like a release.

Or maybe it was that it was my choice at every turn, the physical distance between us only giving me more control.

I took the stairs quickly, but each step stirred something. The promise of what was to come paired with the swish of my legs. Thighs brushing against each other. Skin heating like I could feel every nerve ending in my body.

I swore I was out of breath by the time I reached the small bedroom at the end of the hall. It was still chaos inside. Piles of clothes on a chair or peeking out of the dresser. My bed was still unmade from that morning.

“You there?” Trace asked. And I could hear the battle against impatience in his voice. That little tell felt like a surge of power.

“I’m here,” I whispered.

“Tell me what you want. Lights on or off?”

My gaze swept around the room. “Off. I want to feel like you could be here. Right next to me.”

A rustling sounded from the other end of the line. “My girl misses me.”

“I do.”

“Lights off. On the bed.”

Everything in me wound tighter, but I did as he said. Flicking off the light, I let the moon’s glow guide me to my mattress. Each step I took ratcheted my heartbeat faster.

“Phone on speaker, Blaze.”

I dropped the box and the phone to the bed and hit the speaker icon. “Done, Chief.”

“Need to imagine you. See you in my mind. Imagine what it would be like to peel every piece of clothing off you. Tell me.”

I glanced down at what I was currently wearing. “I’ve got on those starry sweats of mine. The neon blue ones with the embroidered metallic stars.” My lips twitched. “Not very sexy.”

“Want to know what I think about those sweats?”

I made a humming noise in the back of my throat. “I’m not sure, honestly.”

Trace chuckled, the sound skating over the line and across my skin. “All I could think about was pulling those bottoms down, gripping your hips, and sinking so deep inside you that I’d brand myself on your bones.”

My lips parted as I sucked in a sharp breath.

“The thing about those sweats is that you can see every curve when you move. How they cup your ass. Curve around your breasts. The only thing that might be better is that kilt-skirt thing you’ve got.”

A laugh spilled from my lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’d better,” Trace ground out. “Where are you now?”

“Standing by my bed.”

“Take off your sweatshirt and tell me what’s beneath.”

I lifted the soft cotton over my head and let it drop to the floor, the brush of it against my skin feeling like infinite finger brushes. “My tank top and bralette.”

Trace made a sound in the back of his throat. “Lose the tank top, keep the bra. Tell me what color.”

“Green.”

“Like my girl’s eyes. Tell me, are those pretty little nipples poking through the lace?”

The buds pulled up tighter, straining against the fabric as if they had a direct line to Trace. “Yes.”

“You like to play,” Trace murmured.

I shifted then, my thighs pressing together, my core already aching for relief. “I think I do.”

I could hear the smile in Trace’s next words. “Kick off your shoes and get out of those sweats. But I want you to take them off slow. Feel your fingers ghosting over your skin. Know they’re getting what my fingers are dying for.”

My breaths came quicker as I toed off my fluffy boots that wouldn’t have stood up to any sort of snow. Then my fingers hooked in the waistband of my sweats and started to tug.

“What do those beautiful thighs feel like? Soft and strong?” Trace rasped over the line.

“Smooth,” I whispered. I’d done my shower routine when I got home—shaving, exfoliating. But I often didn’t stop to think about how it felt to me . I’d so often done it for the benefit of someone else.

“Tease that skin. Glide your fingers over it. Soak in that feel for me.”

I did as Trace instructed, sweeping my thumbs over my thighs as I sent my sweatpants sailing to the floor. I kicked them to the side and straightened. “They’re, um gone.”

“Blaze, what did you have under those?”

I was quiet for a moment, my cheeks heating, even though he couldn’t see me.

“Ellie.” There was more command in Trace’s voice now, more authority.

“Nothing.” The word wasn’t a whisper, but it certainly wasn’t a roar.

“Killing me,” Trace said. “Walking around that yard, cooing to a goat, and not wearing any fucking underwear.”

“Can I tell you something?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“I like when you say fuck .”

A low chuckle sounded over the speaker. “Fuck, baby.”

The best sort of goose bumps skated over my skin.

“Now, climb onto that bed and lie on your back. Knees up. Legs spread.”

A shiver racked through me. Anticipation making a home in my body as I climbed onto the mattress. Moving the phone and the box, I felt my pulse thrumming in my neck. “Okay.”

“Cup those full tits. Circle your nipples. Tell me if they’re hard.”

My breaths only came faster as my palms curved around my breasts. They felt heavier in my hands now, and as my fingers teased the peaks, I shuddered, wetness gathering between my thighs. “Like little pebbles.”

“Want to taste them. Got my mouth between those gorgeous thighs but haven’t tasted your nipples yet. Need to remedy that.”

My back arched as if Trace’s words were his hands, reaching through the phone .

“Keep one hand on your breast, use the other to get the toy. You press that on switch and hold it to your clit. I’ll do the rest.”

Blood pulsed in my ears as I fumbled for the gadget. I felt for the button, and a small light came on the moment I pressed it. Positioning what looked like a small cup to that bundle of nerves, I shuddered again. My flesh already felt too sensitive, everything heated to the point of boiling.

“Okay,” I breathed.

“How’s my girl feeling?”

“Wishing you were here. Wishing I could break.” The second thing I said didn’t even make logical sense, but Trace managed to understand me.

“You need release. And I’m going to help you find it. Together. You and me. Gotta own your pleasure, every single thing you’re feeling.”

His words hit like beautiful bombs. Because I’d never owned that piece of myself. Had always been so removed from it. It had been a means to keep someone happy, but that someone was never me.

“I’m with you,” I whispered.

“Good,” Trace praised. “Take that hand on your breast and slide it between your thighs.”

My hand moved instantly because I wanted it there and because Trace had asked.

“Are you wet?”

My fingers teased my slit, and my body trembled. “Yes.”

“That’s my girl. Getting herself there. Turning herself on. Owning it all. Now, take some of that slickness to your clit.”

The words, the feeling, it was almost too much. But I gave myself over to it, relishing it all.

“Gonna turn this on,” Trace warned. “Nice and easy, just like my tongue teasing you.”

The toy hummed to life, a mixture of vibration and soft suction. A nonsensical noise left my lips as my back arched, feeling it all.

“You like that? ”

“Yes.” And I wasn’t shy about giving him the word. Didn’t feel ashamed or worried. I felt free.

“Slide two fingers inside that tight, wet heat, Ellie. Remind me what it feels like.”

My hand moved as if it had a mind of its own. Sliding in, feeling that hint of stretch. My body moved as if Trace’s hands were guiding it through a symphony, different instruments flaring to life at his command.

“Feel good?” Trace rasped.

“Too good. I—I?—”

Trace turned up the intensity on the toy, and I cried out.

“Don’t come,” he ordered. “Hold it back for me. Hold it back so it’s so much better. So we can make it more. So you can break.”

My fingers moved in and out as Trace brought the toy back down and then up again. Taking me to the brink and then easing off. “Please,” I begged.

“Those moans on your lips. Add a third finger, Ellie. Feel that stretch.”

My body obeyed as the toy flared again. I whimpered, my walls clamping around my fingers as the first wave hit. One after another until it took me over the edge. I didn’t just break.

I shattered.

More than anything I’d felt before because, even though he wasn’t in the room with me, he somehow was. It was Trace who allowed me to fully let go for the first time. My body bent and bowed as he wrung me dry, and I let go. I felt true freedom. Found it with him.

Slowly, the toy eased, and my fingers slid out. My ears rang, and my lungs heaved.

“How do you feel?”

My whole body hummed. “Like a butterfly.”

The words were barely audible, but Trace still caught them.

“A butterfly?”

“Light. Flying. Free.”

“Love you finding that, Blaze. Love you giving it back to me.”