Page 41 of Haven Bound
“I’ve been worried about you all day,” she murmurs, staring down at the bundle of flowers. Her confession has my heart pounding in my chest. “You said you were finally going to…” Her voice trails off as she searches for the right words. I can see the moment she decides not to be gentle about it. She stands slightly taller and holds her shoulders back as if bracing for impact.
If she wants to be part of this life with me—I want her to be part of it with every fiber of my being—she has to adjust to every aspect of my job. “You said you were finally going to take out Dan. I know that this assignment probably wasn’t any different for you than the others that you’ve had, but I was so worried that he would hurt you.”
Aside from my family, I don’t know that I’ve ever had someone in my life who truly cared about my safety. All Phoenix Legion members are trained to understand the dangers of the job. Over time, we become desensitized to the idea of losing one of our own. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t risking our lives on every single mission. Most of the Legion’s targets can be taken out from a safe distance with a sniper, but there are times when we are required to be within close proximity to get the job done.
I didn’t have to take the approach that I did with Daniel Witters. I didn’t have to kill him in his own home. I didn’t have to burn the place to the ground as I left, but Ineededto. I needed to see the recognitionthat crossed his face when I said Chelsea’s name. I needed to see the fear in his eyes as I ended his life. And more than anything, I needed to know with absolute certainty that he would never harm her again.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, baby.” I place my forefinger beneath her chin and tip her face to mine. “I’m here now, and he can’t ever hurt you again.” Her eyes close. Her teeth graze over her bottom lip, the words sinking in and taking root.
“It’s done?” she asks, opening her eyes once more to meet my gaze.
“It’s done."
My words barely have a chance to escape before Chelsea throws her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine, stealing the breath from my lungs. My hands find her waist, pulling her body against mine and eliciting a soft moan from her. I can feel her smile into the kiss, and it only makes me want to devour her even more. She pulls away and steps back before I have a chance to give in to that desire.
My body is aching and demanding for her to come back. For her to wrap her arms around me once again while I sink my tongue into her mouth and press my hips against hers. But we’re standing in the front of her bakery, and as much as I’m more than ready to feel her body beneath my fingertips, I don't want anybody else to see what's mine.
“Tell me that I can steal you away for the night,” I plead, my grip on her waist tightening. She smiles and nods, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to my cheek.
“You can, but you’re gonna have to work for it,” she teases. I don’t catch her meaning until she’s sauntering away towards the kitchen.
31
Chelsea
As much as Ilove having Austin in my kitchen, I wasn’t prepared for how cute he would look with one of my aprons tied around his waist as he grates carrots for the carrot bundt cake that his mom requested. His brows are pinched together in concentration. I know he said that he taught himself to cook in college, but baking is something else entirely. The measurements and ingredients all have to be exact, or the recipe won’t turn out right, and for this cake, that means hand grating fresh carrots.
He sets the grater down, bracing his hands against the counter as he releases an exasperated sigh. “Why can’t we just use the already shredded carrots they sell at the grocery store? You know, the ones people buy for salads and stuff?” His tone has me laughing as I set down the knife I was using to chop up the roasted walnuts for the cake.
“Because those are gross and dried out. We need the freshly grated ones to help with the moisture of the cake.” I bump my hip against his to get him to scoot out of the way, grabbing the bowl of carrot shreds and adding them into the large mixing bowl filled with cake batter. “Pour those in here too.” I nod my chin toward the cutting board of chopped walnuts as I grab a rubber spatula and begin carefully folding the batter together.
Austin stands behind me, his arms wrapping around the front of my body as he uses the chopping knife to scrape the walnuts off of the cutting board and into the cake batter. He sets the board down, one of his hands resting on my hip as the other hand brushes my messy ponytail out of the way. His lips trail along the back of my neck. My knees nearly give out from the sensation.
The feeling of his warm breath against my skin sends a surge of heat coursing through me that pools low in my belly. “I can’t focus when you’re doing that,” I whisper, my breath caught in my throat as he continues to press gentle kisses along the nape of my neck. I’ve never been kissed there before, and I wasn’t prepared for the way it would affect me.
“Maybe we should call it quits for the night. I’ve been dying to feel you…” he rasps, his hands moving beneath the fabric of my apron and trailing along the waist of my jeans. “To taste you…” he continues, his fingers teasing along my skin. He pulls my body against him, allowing me to feel just how hard he already is behind the zipper of his jeans. His teeth nip at my earlobe before he presses a kiss to the sensitive area just below it. I find myself pushing back against him, desperate to be closer.
“Austin,” I stifle a groan, doing my best to focus on the task at hand as I pour the batter into the bundt cake pan. He takes it from me, the heat of his body disappearing from my back. Then I hear the oven door slam shut.
“How much time do we have?” He takes out his phone and pulls up the clock app to set a timer.
“Forty minutes,” I murmur, watching his fingers tap across the screen before putting the phone down on the counter. He’s already removedthe apron he was wearing and is working to remove mine before I have a chance to protest.
He spins me to face him, the cool edge of the counter pressing into my butt as my hands find the back of his neck. His hands slip beneath the fabric of my shirt, his grip firm against my skin when his lips collide with mine. His tongue flicks at my lower lip as if in question, and I open for him immediately.
The frantic energy between us grows when his tongue brushes against mine and suddenly his hands are everywhere. Gripping my hips, slipping around my waist to grab my ass and pull me against him, and then sliding up my torso beneath my shirt until my breasts are in the palm of his hands.
“Austin, wait.” I press my hands against his chest. I don’t push him away, but he understands and pulls back.
“What’s wrong?” His storming blue eyes search mine in question.
I take a moment to close my eyes, giving myself a chance to calm down before speaking. “I want this. I wantyou,but I feel like there’s still so much that we haven’t discussed. So much that we don’t know about each other.” Austin tilts his head back and inhales deeply, holding his breath for a few seconds and then releasing it. When he looks back at me, the storm in his eyes has calmed.
“You’re right,” he breathes out. “It’s just so damn easy to get lost in you. I’ve dreamed of the day that you would be back in my arms, and now that I have you, I don’t want to waste a single minute.”
I understand where he’s coming from because I feel the same way. But over the years I’ve slowly built a wall up around my heart. I’m not ready for it to come crashing down just yet. If I’m being honest, there’s still alingering part of me that’s worried he’ll disappear again, and I know I wouldn’t survive it. Not again.
“I want to know everything.” I smile, jumping up onto the counter with Austin now standing between my legs.
