Page 43 of Echo, the Sniper (Men of PSI #2)

Hitting the Fan

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Echo

H OW MY HEART COULD pound so damn heavily while at the same time feel so light it could’ve flown out of my chest was a complete mystery to me, but I was sure it had something to do with the woman in my arms. An incredible woman. An unstoppable, titanium woman.

My woman.

That was the only thought in my head, and I was fine with that.

Rory had given me her heart, just as I’d given her mine.

As far as I was concerned that couldn’t be undone by any force on earth, except by us.

But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I hadn’t lied to her; from the moment I saw her, I’d felt in my bones that we were meant to be together.

Now more than ever, I was convinced of that because of what she’s had to fight through to get to where we were.

She’d been betrayed, abused and shattered in so many ways.

Yet despite all that trauma, she was still capable of taking a risk on me, making herself vulnerable and letting her heart love.

God, she was strong. Stronger than anyone I’d ever known.

And she was mine .

“Hey.” Without pause I carried her toward the bedroom, my mouth still in contact with hers. “I need to tell you something. Something important.”

Her laugh feathered against my lips, and it tasted like joy. “Important?”

“Yeah. This is the moment where I tell you that there will never be another woman for me, ever, for the rest of my life, because you are my choice, Rory. Just as there’s never going to be any other man for you, because you’ve chosen me.

” The bedroom we moved into was very much like the front rooms—golden cedar walls on the interior, and insulated glass along the exterior walls, displaying snow-covered evergreens and jagged, majestic mountains.

The pearly light of dawn filtered in, spotlighting a king-sized bed piled high with pillows, the fluffiest down comforter I’d ever seen and was probably lighter than clouds, and a cozy mishmash of brightly colored Native American woven blankets.

“I’m going to spoil you so much that the mere thought of another man’s hands on you makes you sick.

I’m going to become your drug that you can’t get enough of.

I’ll be the reason you smile, your every happy thought, and every fuck-fantasy you dream of as you touch yourself.

In my world, that’s what a man does for the woman he loves. ”

I reveled in the shudder that went through her before I set her down by the edge of the bed, coaxed her down onto it, then removed my firearm from my back to set it on the nightstand. “And in your world, what does that woman do for you?”

“You already did it, baby girl. You gave me your heart. To me, that’s everything.” Standing before her, I cupped her chin and lifted her mouth to meet my hungry kiss, before the storm of emotion raging in me brought my mouth up to press against her brow in reverence. “How tired are you? Be honest.”

“After going on our second day without sleep, I’m probably just as exhausted as you. But I feel way too wired to sleep.”

“I know a way we can burn off some of that excess energy.” I bent before her and started pulling off her shoes. “First step, we need to get comfortable.”

“Yeah?” There was a smile in her voice as I dealt with both our shoes and socks, then pulled off my hoodie and T-shirt. “I’m all for getting comfortable. What’s step two?”

“Any damn thing we want.” And I wanted so fucking much.

I wanted her skin against mine, her warmth seeping into me along with her soft sighs and devastating moans.

I wanted to feel her going wild in my arms as I planted myself deep inside her, then resting peacefully against me as if she knew I was the one place on earth where she knew she was safe.

I wanted everything, every second of every day.

I didn’t even care if that was too much to ask.

I peeled her clothes away along with my own, once again mentally cussing out the frustrating need for winter layers.

But as frustrating as it was when it came to getting naked, I couldn’t deny that sense of unwrapping a present you couldn’t wait to get your hands on, and as I removed layer after layer from her and finally got her smooth, softer-than-silk skin under my hands, I couldn’t stop a hot smile if my life depended on it.

“The world beyond these walls doesn’t exist if we don’t want it to.

” I let my mouth follow the path my hands blazed, my lips skimming over her inner thigh as I peeled off her jeans and tossed them onto a chair, where mine already rested.

“All that matters is the world we create. And me getting between your thighs.”

I felt her shudder. “The things you say.”

I kissed her knee, then pulled her panties off, the last bit of clothing she wore. “You know you love it.”

“I do.”

When she shivered again, I threw back the bedclothes and pushed her down into the nest of pillows and joined her as fast as I could.

“The one thing this SoCal native has never gotten used to is snow .” Pulling her to me, I yanked on the blankets and tucked them all around us, making the coziest nest on earth for the two of us.

“Guess you’re used to the snow though, yeah? ”

“Native Colorado girl here, so yeah. Last year we had three blizzards and one ice storm that knocked out power in most of Denver for a week. Can’t imagine Chicago winters are any worse.”

“Shit, that sounds way worse than what hits in the actual heart of the city, where I live.”

“You can tell you’re not a native Chicagoan,” she laughed and wiggled closer. Every cell in my body groaned when the naked length of her pressed up against me. “If you were, you would have immediately insisted that I didn’t know what a bad winter was until I had experienced a Chicago winter.”

“I’m not stupid.” I wrapped my arms around her and tried not to moan at the friction of flesh against flesh.

My dick throbbed, always ready for her, and I knew she felt it when her abdomen pressed closer to its heavy thrust. “The last thing I want to do is scare you away from even thinking about moving there.”

I felt her jolt. “What?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about putting Denver in the rearview mirror.” I caught her chin to make sure her eyes stayed on mine. “You have, haven’t you?”

“I...” Faint sadness dimmed her eyes. “I have, yeah.”

“There’s nothing for you in Denver except grief, bad memories and a burned-out husk of a life that doesn’t fit you.

It never did.” My thumb brushed her lower lip, and my dick twitched when her lips parted in response.

Fuck, she was killing me. “Put this town in the past where it belongs, baby girl. Start with a clean slate with me in Chicago. It may not have the Rockies as a backdrop, but it’s got a big-ass lake, and more things to do in one weekend than Denver has in an entire year.

Not to mention I live there, so I can guarantee you’ll never have a lonely moment in a strange new city. ”

“I... As a matter of fact,” she said softly, as if she were imparting a closely guarded secret, “I’ve already started looking for apartments in Chicago, as well as what it would take to go back to college up there.

There are some very good universities in Chicago, with a lot of diverse programs that fit my interests, including business admin and how to run urban nonprofits. ”

Hope flared like a wildfire. “That sounds tailormade for you.”

“I was even going to ask you what sort of neighborhoods I should look at when it comes to moving into my own apartment,” she went on with a smile brighter than the rising sun. “Maybe you could help me with that?”

“Neighborhoods? Apartments?”

“That’s what I said.”

I looked at that smile, saw the anxiety riding just beneath it, and suddenly the mental light went on. “I’d be lying if I said I was fine with you going house-hunting, when I’ve got a place just sitting there waiting for you,” I said honestly, “but I get it.”

“You do?” The wary hope in her eyes bloomed in the most excruciatingly sweet way.

“Yeah, baby, I do.” With careful gentleness, I drew my fingertips down her cheek and reveled in its softness.

“You’re finding your feet, getting used to your own power.

Since an empowered Rory is a sexy-as-fuck Rory, I’m just going to be grateful you want to make the move to Illinois and not ask for more. At least not yet.”

Her breath caught. “Not yet?”

“I can always talk you into moving in with me once I get you there.”

“Yeah?” Cautiously her arms slipped around me, as if she wasn’t sure of her welcome. “You don’t mind?”

“Fuck, yeah, I mind, but I’m not such a dick that I’d try to stop you from figuring out how to set down roots of your own and grow into the amazing person I already know you are.

Your idiot parents insisted you needed a man to survive, a fucking toxic idea if there ever was one, so I get that you want to protect your independence now that you’ve got it.

So yeah, Rory, I get that you need to find a space of your own.

Go back to school. Prove to yourself what I already know—that you’re a strong, intelligent woman who can stand on her own.

Do whatever the fuck you need to do to realize your own strength.

But just know that while you’re doing all that, I’m the one who’s going to always need you , and I don’t think that’s a weakness at all.

It's a strength and a truth— my truth. I’m fucking proud of that strength, because I’m proud of the extraordinary woman I need in my life. You .”

Glistening wetness made her eyes shimmer. “You really do understand, don’t you?”

I nuzzled her nose with mine, then kissed her softly. “Yeah, I do. It might chap my ass, not getting you exactly where I want you right off the bat, which is with me , but yeah. I get it. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make a few demands of you, though.”

“You’ve got demands?”