Page 37 of To Keep

The house was heavily secured—cameras, trackers, the works. No one would get inside his home without him being aware of it. It was how he always stayed one step ahead of the enemy. His home was basic. There were no personal effects, nothing to pinpoint the house to him. The ownership was traced to an offshore company, something he’d set up.

Making his way upstairs, he dropped their bags off in the bedroom and as he turned around, he saw Skye had followed him and continued to nibble her lip. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“It’s nothing.”

Reaching out, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in close. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t know how you can be so calm. I mean, we’re talking about your life right now. How some dangerous men could come and hurt you, and it’s my fault.”

He didn’t think long before slamming his lips down on hers. Galen wanted her to forget everything except the two of them and their current sanctuary.

The moment he heard her moan and felt her lips open to take his tongue, he pulled back just slightly. “This is not your fault, Skye.”

“People are trying to kill me. You’re in danger staying with me.”

“I’ve been hunting people for a lot longer. Way before I met you, trust me. None of what I do has been affected by me meeting you.”

He ran his hand over her hip, and with the other, he couldn’t resist gliding down and touching her plump ass. Galen loved her body and he couldn’t believe he’d denied himself from touching her for so long. He should be fucking shot for the way he’d treated her. She was utter temptation.

They settled in and tried their best to play normal.

For now, they were safe. For how long, he had no fucking clue.

Two days passed. Some hours were tense, others they were able to laugh and forget their predicament. It was all an illusion because wheels were in motion to snatch away their happiness.

On their third day in the safe house, he pinned her in the upstairs hallway, an arm at either side of her head.

“You’re everything,” he said. Just looking at her made his world right.

She smiled up at him. “I love you.”

“Do you want to order dinner, or would you rather me kiss every inch of this body?”

“Is that supposed to be a trick question?” she asked, already releasing a gasp as he moved his hand beneath her shirt, stroking the tender flesh.

“I take it you want dinner?” He moved as if to lead her downstairs. His actions got the desired effect as she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Stop joking around,” she said. “I’m getting hungry, but I rather like this kissing-all-over-my-body thing. I think I’d like to know what that’s like. I think we both could use a distraction.”

Galen loved her teasing. He brought her to their bedroom, then gripped the edge of her shirt, pulling it over her head and throwing it across the room. He ran his hands over her warm, naked flesh and reached toward the catch of her bra, flicking it open, about to remove it from those pretty full ripe tits.

Skye suddenly put her hand on his chest. “Wait. Wait. I want to be able to kiss your body,” she said.

He stopped. “What?”

“This kissing thing, I know I’m not exactly experienced, but I’d at least like to try.”

He was tempted to tell her no, that there was no way she could explore his body. Galen never allowed any woman to get too close. But as he stared into her eyes, he was so incredibly tempted.

“Can I kiss you?” she asked. “Promise I won’t bite.”

“Yes.” She was going to be the first woman he ever allowed to get close. He tugged off his own shirt, casting it aside.

The smile on her face would stay with him forever. She looked like he’d just told her she won the lottery or something, not permission to kiss him. This woman was unlike anyone he’d ever known, and he’d known a lot of women through his line of work. Many of them not so nice.

Galen couldn’t help but tense up as her lips grazed across his neck. The touch was so very light that if he hadn’t been watching her, he would have thought he imagined the touch.

Her tongue traced down the path of his neck, going down toward his chest. She changed from licking to kissing.

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