Page 63 of All It Takes

She looked at me like I was insane. “Of course I’m worried!” she burst out. “You were out doing your hotshot firefighter thing and got hurt. You had to have surgery.”

“I’m fine,” I insisted, gesturing up and down my body. “See. Good as new. Just going to have a scar from my trouble.” I waggled my brows. “I hear scars are sexy.”

Tiffany cocked her head to the side, a smile teasing at the corners of her lips. “It’ll be sexy when I’m not afraid you might die.”

I was about to tease her in return when a tear rolled down her cheek. “Hey, hey,” I murmured, shifting so I could pull her closer to my side. “I was never at any risk of dying,” I assured her as I curled an arm around her back, sliding my palm up and down in soothing passes.

She curled into me, tucking her head into the curve of my shoulder. Her fingertips traced the collar of my T-shirt. “You don’t know that.” Her tone was watery, and she sniffled.

“Tiffany, look at me.”

She shifted, straightening and looking into my eyes. My hand slid from her back, and I lifted it to palm her cheek, wiping one of her tears with my thumb. “Maybe not, but what matters is I’m fine now.”

She blinked before nodding. I shifted again, levering her closer and bringing my mouth to hers. I meant for it to be a brief kiss, a comforting kiss. But I’d been out fighting a fire in the wilderness for two weeks. Before that, I hadn’t kissed her in too long,waytoo long.

She drew back, just barely. We studied each other. My heart was like a thundering drumroll through my body, heralding my love for her, my need for her, my fierce and simple want for her.

ChapterForty-Three

TIFFANY

Wes was intent. His gaze roamed over me. “Come here,” he murmured, catching my hand in his as he stood, tugging me with him.

I stepped closer, asking, “Are you okay?”

“Of course.” He dipped his head, bringing his lips to mine.

Our kiss started slow but quickly spiraled into hot and intense. His tongue swept into my mouth, his hands sliding into my hair as he angled my head to the side, taking command.

A moment later, we broke apart, gasping together.

“I need you,” he rasped.

“Wes,” I tried to protest, thinking he was in no shape for sex.

“I missed you. I need you.”

He nudged me back into the bedroom. It was a blur as he tugged at my clothes. I realized we both needed this. His hands mapped me before he stretched me out on the bed. I was mindful of his side, where the bandaging was.

Everything felt rushed but also suspended in time as if we were caught in a net of shimmering sparks with our need binding us together. Every beat of my heart was an echoing drumroll through my body.

His mouth was hot on mine, the brush of his stubble against my skin sending sparks in a fiery shimmer through me. His weight came down over me, and I felt the thick press of his crown at my entrance before he filled me. He brushed my hair back from my face, resting on his elbows as he stared into my eyes. I felt stripped raw as if my heart had been cleaved open.

“Wes,” I whispered.

ChapterForty-Four

WES

At the sound of my name, I thrust forward, filling Tiffany in one deep surge. Her eyes fell closed, and she let out a shuddery breath. I held still, savoring the feel of her slick channel pulsing around me.

When her eyes opened again, I whispered, “I love you.”

“Love—you —Wes—” She gasped between ragged breaths as I rocked into her.

This between us was pure, elemental. It was sex, but it was so much more. I had missed her so fiercely that I hadn’t even let myself feel the depth of it until she was with me again.

Moments later, I felt her tightening and shuddering. I shifted the angle of my hips, reaching between us to tease my fingers over her very core, just where she needed it. She came, sobbing my name as she clenched around me.

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