She smacked his arm. “I didn’t scream.”
Yeah, she did. She totally did.
“Well, now, it sounds like I need to refresh your memory.” He skimmed a finger down her chest and lightly brushed a hardened peak.
Heat instantly pooled low in her belly.Holy smokes. Already? She was going to be so easy when it came to him. At the moment, Harper didn’t care. He made her feel too amazing.
She skimmed her hand up his taut abs to his muscled chest. “If you think you can, go for it,” she dared him, leaning forward to lick one of his gorgeous pecs.
In a swift move, he swept her off her feet and carried her up the stairs and down the hall toward the room he was currently occupying. “You should never challenge a SEAL,” he stated, his gaze heated with excitement and desire.
A shiver of anticipation washed through her. “Then let the screaming commence.”
His gaze smoldered. “Roger that.”
***
Cas lay in bed, the early morning light filtering through the thin curtains casting a soft glow across the room. He turned his head and gazed at Harper, still asleep, curled into him. Her hair was splayed across the pillow and her shoulder, her breathing, steady and peaceful. Cas smiled. He’d never met anyone likeher—so strong, so full of fire, and yet with a softness and vulnerability that made him want to wrap her up and protect her from anything that dared to threaten her peace.
Last night had been everything he hadn’t known he needed. It hadn’t been planned. In fact, after several incredible, heated kisses, he’d run like a wuss into the house to keep a tight hold on his control. He didn’t want to push her, and he made that clear, but she’d made several things clear too. She was ready. He made her feel alive, and she wanted him. Those three things had decimated his control. Resisting her was no longer an issue.
Suddenly, they were on the same page, and their needs took over.
It had felt so damn right. Every touch and whispered word had connected them in a way that went beyond anything physical. It was crazy. So were his sentimental, pansy-ass thoughts, but he didn’t care.
Thinking back to the quiet moments they’d shared on the porch beforehand, his smile widened. They’d talked about everything and nothing, the easy laughter and the way she’d looked at him like he was something special had warmth flooding his chest. It had been a long time since he’d felt like that. Like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
Harper stirred, and those soft curves of hers brushing against him were stirring something in him, too. Her eyes fluttering open, and when she saw him watching her, she smiled a sleepy, genuine smile that sent a jolt straight to his heart.
“Morning,” she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.
“Morning,” Cas replied softly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face. “How’d you sleep?”
“Better than I have in, well…ever,” she admitted, her fingers finding his under the covers. “I could get used to this.”
So could he, and it was thoughts like that he never expected to entertain.
He brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “Me too. I’m glad you’re here, Harper. I’m glad…for all of it.”
There. He said it out loud and he didn’t care.
Unless she didn’t feel the same.
She looked up at him, her eyes soft and full of something that swelled his chest. “So am I, Cas. I didn’t expect any of this, but I’m really glad I came to Harland.”
He dipped down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You make everything better, you know that? Coming home was the best decision I ever made.”
Harper’s smile was warm and real and widening. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
Chuckling, he pulled her closer, and they lay there in comfortable silence, the morning unfolding slowly around them. He knew there would be challenges ahead. They both had a lot of baggage, but right now, with Harper in his arms, everything felt right. And that was more than enough.
“I’d better get up.” She yawned, then stretched. “I’d better get up or I’m never going to leave your bed.”
In a quick move, he switched their positions and smiled down at her. “Promise? I can live with that.”
Her laughter filled his dark soul with much needed light. “Me too, if someone hadn’t depleted my reserves. I’m starving.”
“You’re welcome.” He kissed her nose then rolled off her before he gave into the need to initiate another depleting maneuver.
