Page 99 of Love Me Fearless

“Or a deputy.”

Dad gives a slow nod. “Okay.”

Hutch slides his arm around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my temple. “We’ll make sure Ava’s safe.”

“So what isthis so-called plan you’ve worked out?” I ask Hutch once the house is quiet and we’re finally alone in his bedroom.

He tugs off his shirt and drops it into a laundry hamper in the corner, giving me a moment to drink in the lean, muscular planes of his back and sculpted curves of his shoulders and strong arms.

“Tomorrow, when you head to work, Zach’s gonna meet you at your building and check it out before you head inside. I’ll escort you home after, and there’ll be a patrol car in your neighborhood every few hours.” He slips off my sweater and folds it over the back of the chair in the corner. “If you wanna go for a run, I’ll go with you.”

I don’t like all this attention…and the limitations on my freedom, but I don’t exactly love the idea of being alone, either.

Will Everett and Zach catch the creep harassing me before Hutch leaves?

Stop it. I can take care of myself.

“Dad pulled you aside on their way out. What did he say?” I ask.

“He wanted to loan me his Glock.”

I gasp. “Did you take it?”

He shakes his head. “Mom’s shotgun is plenty of firepower.”

He unbuckles his jeans and lays them over the arm of the chair, then comes back to cradle my face. “The important part is you’re here with me, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

He plants a soft kiss on my lips, sending little pleasure prickles over my skin. I place my hands on his waist, my thumbs brushing that firm V-line that disappears into his briefs. He’s so solid, but agile, like a dancer. I imagine him leaping from the back of a cargo plane and rocketing through the night sky, heading for a landing zone no bigger than this farm.

I caress his lower back, where the bands of muscles and tendons combine, giving him superhuman strength to carry fallen soldiers or swim in brutal seas or climb dangerous mountains.These things we do…so that others may live.It’s another reminder that he’s on loan from the life he’s chosen, and soon, they’ll want him back.

With his skilled fingers, Hutch slips my pants button free and glides both hands beneath the fabric to slide them down. The sensual brush of his palms on my hips and thighs tightens the cravings sparking to life inside me. He takes the same care to fold my pants and set them aside, then takes me by the hand and leads me into the tiny bathroom.

I laugh as he reaches into the stall and turns the water on. “There’s no way we’re both getting in there.”

He grins, and the playful gleam in his deep green eyes makes me melt.

“Only one way to find out.”

He slips off his briefs—slowly, like he knows I’m watching—and gives his erection a quick pump with his fist, then steps into the shower, giving me a perfect view of his toned backside. With a sigh, I strip down and join him. The space is so tight our bodies are touching everywhere, making me laugh.

“See? We can’t even take a deep breath in here.”

He pumps his citrus body wash into his palms, then pulls meclose and scrubs down my back and shoulders, his erection thick and firm against my hip.

I take a pump and do the same to him while the water cascades over us. Having him so close, while so…slippery…makes this the most erotic activity I’ve ever participated in standing up. Gently, he spins me around and adds more soap to his palms. His lips brush my neck, working slowly up, to the place behind my ear.

I brace off the opposite side of the shower to steady myself as he caresses me everywhere with his soapy, soft hands. My nipples tingle under his touch and I press back into him, wanting to feel his firm, muscular body enveloping mine. Desire spirals tighter inside me. His caresses and those sensual, wet kisses and the heat of the water running over my skin has my pulse thumping low and hard, so that when his fingers slip between my thighs, I start to tremble. With me boxed in like this, there’s no escaping his expert touch and warmth, and I don’t want to.

“Still think this shower is a bad idea?” His throaty purr in my ear sends pleasure tingles under my skin.

“You’re next, so I guess we’ll see.”

With a chuckle I can feel in my toes, he glides the edge of his teeth against my earlobe. “I guess so.”

My breaths come faster and I close my eyes, giving in to his tenderness and the thrill of being the recipient of his care and focus. I come in a series of cries I know I should at least try to contain but the concept is so far out of reach it might as well be impossible. His touch lights me up, makes me feel safe and wild all at once, like I could leap for the moon and he’d catch my fall. Like I can let everything go and he’d somehow keep me from splintering apart.

I come down, panting.

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