Page 124 of West Bound

“Oh my god, I can’t—” I start to murmur, but the moan I can’t hold back cuts me off.

He slips two fingers inside me, working me from the inside and out as I rock my hips forward against his mouth. I take in a deep breath and cry out for him, running my fingers through his hair and begging him for more. He draws another wave out of me and then kisses me softly, tracing them slowly over the inside of my thigh to my knee as I come down from the high.

“Good?” he asks, glancing up at me as he continues his trail of kisses down my leg to my ankle.

“I might need you to come first every single time if that’s how it ends for me.” I laugh as I grab the edge of his collar and tug him up while he sets his clothes to rights.

“I’ve been so fucking desperate for you.” He breathes the words against my skin as he bends over me, and I lean back. The confession echoes through my heart because he’s all I’ve wanted since he left the convent.

I let him pin me to the table as he kisses me gently. The taste of us on my lips as I wrap my legs around his waist is perfection. He picks me up and carries me to the bed, laying me down before he climbs on next to me. He takes a lock of my hair, shorter now since I cut it, and winds it around his finger absently as he studies me.

“I missed you,” he confesses.

“I missed you too.”

“I’ll walk any line you want me to. Whatever you need to make you feel confident about where your life is headed now, I’m here for it. I’m just happy to have you back.” His eyes meet mine with the kind of sincerity I’ve only ever known from him.

“Do you hate the idea? The apartment and everything? I’m willing to negotiate.”

“Not at all. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like it. It's a little bit like getting to start over on the right foot instead of me stealing you in the middle of the night.” His warm smile puts me at ease.

“I mean, we can still reenact that part sometimes, though, right?” I run my fingers up his forearm, flashing him a playful grin.

“Yeah, I think we can make that work.” He grins back.

FIFTY-SIX

Levi

“I needyou to do something for me.” Zephyrine turns to me as we’re walking out to the barn on the far side of the stables. Hazel sent us on a mission to see if we can find some hay to decorate the front porch with, and Zephyrine’s excited that she was invited to help with holiday preparations.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“You won’t like it, but it’s important.” There’s a worried but determined look on her face, and I feel the slither of apprehension up my spine.

“I don’t think I like the sound of that.” I eye her warily. I don’t know what she has in mind, but I've only barely gotten her back, and I'm not keen to do anything but enjoy every second I have her with me.

“But if I asked you for something, you’d do it? You did once tell me you’d do anything for me.”

“There are a few caveats, but yes.” I stop and turn my head, using the brim of my hat to keep the late fall sun out of my eyesas I try to read what she’s up to on her pretty face. “It'll be easier if you just tell me instead of dealing in hypotheticals.”

“I want you to brand me.”

“No.” I don’t even have to think about my answer. I turn on my heel and start walking again.

“Levi!” she shouts after me.

“I have no idea where you got that idea in your head.”

“You have one. Bishop has one,” she argues with me.

“How do you know Bishop has one?” I frown at the idea that he’s been encouraging her.

“He told me.”

“Did he give you this idea?”

“No. You did.”