Page 6 of Save Me (The Midnight Cove #2)

AMY

A n hour and a half later, I’m standing over a steaming stove, making mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, and broccoli. Beside me, Emma laughs as the boiling water for the mac and cheese comes up over the lip of the pot she’s using; it makes a hissing sound.

“That sounds like a snake,” Sydney, her and Ash’s daughter, giggles.

“It does, doesn’t it?” I grin over at her.

It’s been a long time since I was around a group of people, much less more than one kid.

It’s interesting to me to see her personality compared to Rosa’s.

I’ve been watching intently, trying to figure out if I’ve done what I should when it comes to my daughter.

While Rosa is precocious, she’s very closed off to new people, typically.

The way she’s attached herself to Gunner isn’t something I’ve ever seen her do before.

Right now she’s outside with him, grilling.

I can’t remember the last time she let me out of her sight long enough to hang out with someone she barely knows.

The whole serial killer thing perpetrated by Eve probably has something to do with it, but I’m enjoying not being attached at the hip with her.

Sydney gives me a grin back before she runs away, probably to join everyone else outside.

“Are you doing okay?” Emma asks as she stirs her side of the stove. “I know it’s a lot to meet all these guys. It’s a lot to take in, and they don’t seem to realize it. They just grab you up and embrace you into their group, not realizing some people aren’t exactly as social as they are.”

“You’ve just described exactly how I feel.” I wipe my forehead. “I’m thankful for the invitation, and honestly Rosa’s never really had a dinner like this before, but it’s slightly overwhelming.”

Emma is quiet as she continues to take care of her side of the stove.

She nods understandingly but remains quiet.

I get the feeling she’s one of those people who seem to understand that you can have a companionable silence, which I appreciate.

She doesn’t ask invasive questions either, although she’s commented about how nice it is to have another child around here.

“Even though they’re completely overwhelming, they’re all some of the most amazing men I’ve ever met in my life—especially Gunner,” she winks slyly.

“He seems to be a really great guy.”

“He’s one of the best. He and Ash have been best friends for years, and I’ve gotten to know him since Ash and I started dating.”

“How long has that been?” I ask, desperately wanting to get the attention off of me.

“We’ve known each other most of our lives.

” She gets this dreamy smile. “And I watched from the sidelines as he got into a marriage he never should have been in, but it gave him Sydney. I truly can’t imagine my life without Sydney, so I do my best to believe that we all have our separate journeys to get to where we want to go.

A little over a year ago, they came into the diner where I worked, and it was like he saw me differently.

Maybe it was the way I carried myself that day, maybe it was something else entirely, but we started dating, and now we’re engaged. ” She shows me the ring.

“That’s beautiful!”

Her cheeks redden with more than the heat of the steam. “I think so. It means the world to me.”

I think back to my engagement ring. It had been his mother’s, and after the incident, she’d asked for it back.

Since she was grieving her son as much as I was grieving losing my husband, I agreed to give it back.

Now, I wish I had kept it so that when Rosa asks questions, I could show her something that had been her father’s.

“Okay, this looks done.”

The words come out of my mouth a little over-eager, a little too happy. Which is how I’ve lived my life since that day. I always appear to be a little too okay with everything, when some days I’m barely getting by. That’s my reality though, and I don’t know any other way to live.

“I have to run to the ladies’ room real quick, but you’ll find some big bowls in that cabinet,” she points to one over on the other side of the kitchen.

“Thanks.” I turn off the burner before walking over to where she’s pointed.

Opening up the cabinet, I see that I’m a little short, but I go up on my tiptoes anyway, stretching my body as far out as I can. Irritated that I can’t grasp what I’m reaching for, I make a noise in my throat, trying again, adding a little jump to my movement.

“Not that this isn’t cute as hell,” I hear a deep voice at my back, “but if you tell me which one you want, I’d be glad to get it for you.”

Gunner is behind me, his voice deep and breathy in my ear.

I can feel his heat against my back, all the way down to my legs.

He’s not touching me, but it’s almost as if I feel a caress where I haven’t felt one in a really long time.

My body responds—which it hasn’t done in years.

There’s a tightening at my core, my nipples harden and punch against the dress I’m wearing, gooseflesh appears on my arms. I lose my footing as my feet make contact with the ground.

When I pitch forward, his strong arm encircles my waist, holding me tightly, bringing me flush with him.

The strong muscles press against the softness of my body, and God, I’ve missed this—missed a hard body holding me closely at the end of a long day, the press of one against mine as we rock against one another.

I gasp because the feeling of him wrapped around me turns me on in such a way I thought was dormant in my body.

His legs bracket mine, and I tilt my head forward, allowing him a place to put his.

My arms go up against the cabinet, bracing, giving myself over to this wave of arousal.

“Are you okay?”

God, that deep voice. I’d love to hear it in my ear as he’s plunging deep inside me.

I have no doubt the two of us would be electric together, if the way he’s made me feel by just wrapping his arms around my waist is any indication.

It’s hard to push words out from between my dry lips. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I manage to whisper.

His breathing is deep, rushed as he leans his forehead against the back of mine.

He moves the hair from my neck, and that’s when I feel the slightest brush of his lips against my bare skin.

I grip the sides of the cabinet, willfully not allowing myself to reach around and touch him.

It takes everything I have not to melt against him, when really all I want is for him to lift the skirt of my dress up and fuck me right here.

Which is scary because I haven’t had those feelings ever in my life.

Not even with my husband. It’s a blur in my mind.

Is it because I’ve been so long without sex and love in my life, or is it because the love I had for my husband was the stupid love of a young girl who didn’t realize bad things happen to everyone?

That thought clears the fog from my mind, takes away the dreamlike quality of what’s happening here. It gives me the strength to clear my throat, put some strength in it. I straighten my back, put my feet more firmly on the floor. “I need that one up there.”

I know immediately when Gunner realizes my demeanor has changed, but he doesn’t completely detach us from one another.

He gets all up in my personal space as he leans in to get the bowl I need.

Part of me hates him for that; the other part is glad he won’t let me ignore the heat of the space between us.

“Here you go.”

I turn in his arms so that we’re facing one another.

“Thank you.” I refuse to meet his eyes, to let him see how much he affected me.

But that’s something about Gunner I’m going to have to learn. He doesn’t let me hide easily. His hand comes beneath my chin, lifting it up, forcing my eyes to meet his. There I see the naked attraction he has, and damn if I can’t hide my own.

“You’re welcome,” his voice is still deep. “Sorry if I got too personal.”

I’m not sorry, and I want him to know, but I can’t force myself to push the words past the tightness in my throat and chest. “It’s okay.”

“Is it?” His eyes bore into mine. “I don’t wanna fuck this up, Amy.”

I don’t wanna fuck this up either, but I can’t be as honest as him just yet. My hand reaches up, cupping his cheek in a gesture that’s been reserved for Rosa the last few years. “You won’t, Gunner. If anybody’s gonna fuck it up? Dollars to doughnuts it’ll be me.”

Right then, Emma comes into the kitchen, and we separate quickly. But one thing doesn’t go away, and that’s the feeling of his body against mine. It’s ignited a fire, one I want to throw gas on and let it blaze. Dormant desires have been awakened, and I’m not sure I can ignore them any longer.

The scariest thing? I don’t think I want to ignore them.