Page 17 of Shattered Love

The heat of his body never left mine, his large frame protecting me as much as the gun in his hand would. Moments passed, my breath shallow as the footsteps came closer, voices sounding.

Warner’s arm tensed against mine, preparing for whatever came our way. But the threat never appeared. We were hidden in the dark, whoever was on the sidewalk not having any reason to check inside.

Eventually, the footsteps faded, the voices gone, until the only sound was our deep breaths entwining. I let out a relieved sigh, ready to get out of here and back to the cottage.

However, Warner was still pressed against me, his posture still rigid. Dropping the coats, I lifted my hands, pressing them gently against his chest.

“Warner,” I whispered, his gaze crashing to mine.

Before he could put that uncaring façade back on, I spotted the fear marring his features. His heart beat unevenly beneath my palms.

“They’re gone,” I reassured him, pressing my fingers deeper against his chest.

In an instant, that fear was gone, replaced with the heat from earlier. Suddenly, we were too close. Too near. And it was too quiet. There was nothing but the feel of his heart and the sound of mine whirring in my ears.

I didn’t recognize the feeling coursing through my veins. The fear that each moment could be our last mingled with the attraction buzzing under my skin. And when Warner leaned down, I met him halfway.

Our lips touched with a frenzy. His right hand reached for my hair, tugging on my ponytail until my head tilted back. His other hand reached for my hip, gripping me until I was even closer.

Sliding my hands up his chest, I tangled my fingers in the length of his hair, the dark curls soft under my touch. His tongue met mine, his hand sliding up and down my side.

The world around me vanished as I fell into the passion of the kiss, forgetting all our problems and that another set of guards could walk past the store at any second. None of it mattered when his touch was setting me ablaze.

Warner reached both hands beneath my legs, scooping me up effortlessly, bringing our faces level. Breaking away from the kiss, he stared down at me, a feral smile lining his lips. My grin mirrored his. Leaning forward, I aimed to capture his lips once more, when the sound of the door opening stopped me in my tracks.

Holding me with one hand, Warner grabbed his gun, tilting us slightly so he was in front of me. But he didn’t need to bother when Sasha’s cheshire grin entered the store. She took in our position, that smile growing as her eyes twinkled under the moonlight.

Red stained my cheeks as Warner lowered me to the ground, and I avoided his gaze. I wasn’t embarrassed about the moment, but I sure as hell was embarrassed we had gotten caught.

“Find everything you needed?” Sasha asked cheekily, and I nodded.

Finally glancing at Warner, I wasn’t surprised to see that he wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. In fact, back to the blank stare we were, except for the tiniest smirk that dotted his lips.

Gathering the coats back into my arms, I asked, “What about you?”

If possible, Sasha’s smile grew even wider, and she pulled her arms from behind her back, revealing exactly what kind of store she had been inside.

“Look what I found.” She held up two half gallons of vodka, her bag jiggling from the movement, glass bottles clinking together. “We’re going to get so drunk.”

The walk back to the cottage took longer thanks to the weight of our bags. Even though I had stuffed mine full of clothing, it was by far the lightest. Sasha and I had alternated carrying the booze, Warner solely holding the ammo after I had learned how heavy it was.

When I had offered to take a turn, Warner had smirked at me but willingly handed it over. I could barely hold it up, the bag slipping from my fingers and nearly falling to the ground.

Thankfully, around midafternoon the next day, we were walking up the dirt path toward the cottage. It was my first time taking in the area during the daylight, given the required bedrest I had been on.

The cottage looked even smaller from the outside, the entirety of it made of dark logs. The two windows at the front of the house were covered with curtains, not allowing anyone a glimpse inside.

The space around the house was massive, trees seeming to rise from the roof and spreading for miles. To the left and right was open land, no neighbors in sight. The nearest house we had passed was at least two miles away.

From the outside looking in, there was no way to know that eleven people were residing inside. Which although the goal, reminded me of the rows and rows of people living in tents, completely unaware of what was happening around them.

Although I appreciated the relative safety of our current circumstances, I couldn’t ignore the unfairness. And the plan that I had mentioned to Warner became bigger and bigger, pressing against my brain until it was nearly all I could think of.

And that plan all started with convincing the entirely too overprotective people inside that it wasn’t crazy. I figured the alcohol Sasha had slung over her shoulder would help convince them otherwise.

Stepping up to the front door, Sasha knocked a specific pattern, alerting those inside that we were back. Almost immediately, the front door opened, Murphy’s bright gaze taking us in.

His eyes scanned each of us from top to bottom, checking for any injuries. Once he was sure everyone was okay, he smiled widely, grabbing the coats from our hands.

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