Page 13 of Will to Run

I turn her, bring her close, and kiss her, fully expecting to get slapped.

Time stops.

This kiss is supposed to break her out of the moment, but it creates a whole new one. I feel her breath hitch on my lips before she settles into it. What was supposed to be a peck sends lightning throughout my body. It lasts longer than I expect, and I reluctantly pull away slowly, savoring the forbidden taste. When I do, she’s looking at me with wide eyes, but is no longer screaming.

“It’s a cougar,” I say with a steady voice. “It’s a scary sound, and I expect it to happen a handful more times, but it’s not close to us. It’s loud, and it can echo across the property.”

The sound pierces the air again, and she ducks down, wrapping her body around mine. I pray to God that she doesn’t move too much from the spot she is in, because I am just in my boxer briefs. Every second that Della Tatroe and her tight as fuck body is bucking on top of me, with tits spilling out of a too-small tank top and tight spandex shorts, is one second closer to me busting out of my underwear.

“You’re safe. Not even the cougars can open doors,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

She takes a breath, but can’t seem to stop her body from shaking. “That’s horrific. Oh my God. I’m sorry. I swear it sounded like someone was being killed. How do you live here?” she says, not mentioning the kiss. “How much longer will that go on?”

“A couple more times over the next ten minutes. Those first few were abnormally close together.”

She’s still wrapped around me, and her shake turns to more of a chill. Probably because she’s practically naked. Reaching down, I pull the comforter over her and rub her back. No part of me has the right to be doing any of these things, but she’s not objecting, so I keep going.

“You okay, Del?” I ask.

“Not even a little,” she whispers.

Her skin is silky soft under my fingertips, and I know this is stupid, but I can’t pull away and take her off me. In fact, I’m wondering if I’ll have the fortitude to not take her lips in another kiss, because temptation is an understatement.

“Jaxon, can…” a heavy sigh leaves her lips, “Can I… can I… sleep in your room tonight? I’m terrified. I know they can’t come in, and I know I am a twenty-five-year-old woman who graduated at the top of her class, so you know I’m smart, and there’s no logic… I just can’t. I’m sorry, I know this is fucking insane. I’ll even sleep on the floor in here. I would really appreciate it if I didn’t have to be alone right now.”

“Well, I’d say the floor, but seeing as you’re already under the covers, I suppose you can stay,” I joke. Of course, sleeping next to someone I’m stupidly attracted to is a bad idea, but I’m not going to hang her out to dry.

After a quick laugh, I hold my breath, trying not to think about how good she feels sprawled across me, or how badly I want another kiss. We are both frozen, but after a minute goes by, she slowly slides off my chest, making sure not to disconnect from my body, and settles in the crook of my arm. There is not an inch of space between us, and my restraint is hanging by a thread when I imagine sliding those shorts down her legs to see where the night takes us. Those thoughts are doing nothing to help curb the raging hard-on I have, but they’re there all the same.

Also not helping is the fact that after that adrenaline dump, there’s no way I’m going back to sleep, even though it’s three in the damn morning.

“Del?” I whisper, just quietly enough so if she’s asleep, she’ll stay asleep.

“Yes?” she whispers back.

“How long do you think it’s going to take for your heart rate to go down?” Her body is so close to mine that I feel it thrashing against me.

Her laugh isn’t so quiet. “Probably never knowing that sound exists in the world.”

“You’ll get there,” I chuckle back, and I can’t stop myself from kissing the top of her head. “You’re safe here.”

“Thank you, Jaxon. For everything,” she breathes.

I squeeze her rather than answer, and soon after that, her breathing slows. She crashes so quickly, I wonder if she had fallen asleep earlier at all.

And in this instant, with this stranger of a woman lying in my arms, I wonder if my brother was right earlier today when he said this was a bad idea. His reasons were different, of course, but something about Della makes me think that her seventy-two hours are going to be more than I bargained for.

9

DELLA

Iwake up to a beeping alarm coming from somewhere in the cabin, and Jaxon stirs, mumbling fuck as he turns over.

My mouth goes dry as I watch him climb out of bed and make his way to the dresser. This man is sculpted from marble, and rocking a serious case of equally hard morning wood. Every hour, I feel like I have something new to enjoy. I saw all of his tattoos when he was shirtless at the mechanic’s shop, but I was too distracted to fully appreciate them. Now, I’m unable to look away, and possibly drooling. He rakes his hand through his hair as he looks back at me.

“Good morning, Crash,” he says with a silly grin. That makes me sit up in bed.

“What?” I say, cocking my head, confused.