He turned, grabbed her hips and lifted her on the counter, spreading her legs and settling between them. He said nothing, her words playing on repeat in his head. His hands came to rest on the counter on either side of her. He leaned in, pulled her lower lip between his teeth, bit down then sucked it into his mouth. He kept his eyes opened when he kissed her, his tongue pushing between her lips to taste her. Her hands moved to his waist, her fingers curling around the edge of his jeans. Her eyes were opened, too, watching. His mouth moved to her neck, over her shoulder. His hand slipped under her tee to cup her breast, his thumb brushing across the hard peak. His mouth replaced his hand, his tongue played with her nipple before he sucked it into his mouth. He kissed down her stomach. Cupped the back of her head and lowered her onto the counter. Grabbing her thighs, he pulled her to the edge. His fingers curled around her sweats and he pulled them down her legs. Dropping them on the floor, he lifted her leg, kissed her ankle, up to her calf, her inner thigh.
“Oh god.” She moaned; her hips shifted.
He smelled her and took a deep inhale, held it in his lungs, before he pulled the lace down her legs. Their gazes collided, her looking down her body, when he tongued her clit.
“Oh my god.” She moaned, her heading falling back to the counter.
His hand moved under her ass, lifting her to his mouth. He pushed his tongue deep into her.
“Yes.” Her hips bucked, her fingers laced into his hair as his lips, tongue and teeth brought her to the edge of orgasm and then over it.
“Oh god, Killian,” she screamed, as she fucked his face, her hips riding him to prolong the orgasm.
Her taste exploded on his tongue. He took his time lapping it up and only then did he straighten. Her legs went around him and pulled him closer. He bent over her and kissed her, her hand going into his hair to hold him there as she tasted both of them. He pulled back, looked into those green eyes and liked what he saw, a whole fuck ton of a lot.
“You need to get back on the sofa.” He bit back the grin, when soft and loving turned to confused then annoyed. “When I get you in my bed, it’s going to be days before I let you out of it.” Before she could reply he said, “One more day.”
Her eyes went wide, then narrowed before she exhaled. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Fine. One more day.”
He drove to the station after a call from Johnny. He’d left Cedar asleep in his bed. She was going to be pissed when she woke, and he was gone. She’d given him one more day, but duty called. He’d make it up to her.
He entered the station and saw Sebastian. “What’s up?”
Sebastian dropped pictures on his desk. “What am I looking at?” he asked of the picture with a bag and what looked like meat inside.
“That’s the heart and stomach of a bear,” Sebastian hissed.
Killian jerked his gaze from the photos to Sebastian. “Where the hell did you find this?”
“In the dumpster outside the market. Kid throwing the trash away saw it. Freaked him out. He thought it was human.”
“Why didn’t I get the call?” Killian demanded.
“I caught it, Boss, knew it was too big to be human. Took it to the vet,” Johnny offered.
“When was this?” Killian asked.
“Last night. Figured you’d want to be home with…”
He was right. “Thanks.”
“So, it’s true.” Sebastian said, but instead of the disdain he always heard, he seemed genuinely happy for him.
“You find the rest of the bear?” he asked.
“No, but this is proof of poachers.”
“My dad made a comment when that rattlesnake attacked Cedar and Cooper. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but snakes usually feed in the morning, but they were attacked late in the day.”
“You think someone lured it, and Cedar and the dogs got in the way.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe I could talk with her. Get her to tell me where she was?”
“Yeah, come out to my house tonight.”
“Will do.” Sebastian looked energized. “We’re going to get these fuckers.”
Yeah, take out one problem, so he could focus on the other, because a showdown was coming, a real wild west fucking showdown.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cedar
I woke to an empty house. I would be giving him shit for that, Mr. One More Day. The dogs needed to go out. Calling for them, we headed outside. I turned, then froze, when I saw the bluebells on the bench. My head snapped up, and my heart ached as I looked around. My hands shook when I reached for them. I heard the dogs, before I looked over, and there he was. I couldn’t stop the sob that burned up my throat. My legs went weak, but he reached me, and feeling his hands on me again, I couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down my cheeks.
“Are you really here?” I whispered.
“Yeah, Slick.” His voice, god, I’d missed it…him.
I threw my arms around his neck; his went around me. He felt different; he wasn’t the boy he’d been, but a man, and I’d missed it, all those years. I didn’t know how long we held each other before he released me.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
I looked into those gray eyes I loved, but they were different, too. I saw love, but there was pain, and coldness buried deeper. He ran his thumb over my cheek and my heart crack. “I owe you a goodbye.”
Fresh tears welled. “Stay,” I said, before I really even knew I intended to say it.
“We can’t go back, Slick. I’m not the same person, and I wasn’t good enough for you then, I’m sure as fuck not now.”
“Don’t say that. You were all I ever wanted.”
“You’re all I ever wanted.”
I was having trouble pulling air into my lungs.
“If I could turn back the clocks…” He took my hand. “I’d have done it differently; I’d have held on. I had the dream in my hands.”
“I can’t do this again.” I sobbed. “I can’t lose you again.”
“I needed to tell you.” His voice broke. “It was because of me your parents died.”
“What?”
“I called them…” He walked from me, pulled a hand through his hair. “I called them for help. It was because of me, they were at that intersection.”
He’d been holding on to that. My heart broke all over again as I closed the distance and took his face in my hands. “Is that what you think? My parents loved you. You needed them. What happened was a horrible accident, but they’d have gotten into that car even knowing what their fate was because that is what family does. And you were our family.”