Page 70 of In Hiding

One of his eyebrows quirked upward. “Really?”

She nodded. “The soup smells delicious.”

As if resigned to the end of their intimate moment, he frowned and moved to step away. Grabbing a handful of his shirt, she yanked him back toward her and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“We’re not finished, you and I.”

“Oh, I see.”

His arms went around her waist and held her. Taking her mouth with his, he kissed her deep. His tongue swept through her, igniting a small fire in her womb. Refusing to let him have all the fun, Sarah took his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged playfully. A hand slid to the curve under her ass, lifting her off her feet momentarily.

“Hmm.” He nodded as he pulled away. “You’re right. We’re not finished. We’ll top up our fuel reserves before dessert.”

She narrowed her eyes as she became acutely aware of his hardness against her thigh. “Dessert?”

“Hmm, that would be you.”

~

“Would you tell me about your injuries?”

Sitting opposite Jake at the dinner table, and dwarfed by his clothes, she was a vision of loveliness. Jake expected her to clam up and retreat but as she set down her soup spoon and pinned him with a hard stare, he couldn’t predict what she was going to say. Dabbing her mouth with a napkin, she took a long, deep breath.

“You already know my spleen had to be removed.”

He nodded, not daring to say anything to stem the flow of words. In the quiet guest house, she had his complete and undivided attention.

“And I lost half of my stomach because there was too much damage.”

Mitchell had used a serrated hunting knife for the purpose of inflicting the most possible carnage. Or at least, that’s what Jake suspected.

“You’ve seen the scars, Jake. About the only organ he didn’t hit was my heart. Part of my lung was removed. A section of my large intestine was shredded beyond repair. I lost an ovary and while the surgeon was able to save my uterus, the chance of me conceiving a child is not much better than zero.”

Her frank description cut him to the bone. No wonder the memory haunted Will. How a ten-year-old boy even thought to try and save her was beyond comprehension. The more Jake learned, the more it became apparent that her survival was nothing short of a miracle.

“He took so much from me, Jake.”

Reaching across the table, he lifted her hand and twined his fingers with hers. “Not everything.”

“True, and every day since has been a gift.” A shaky smile curved her mouth. “You know, I really should go back to the house. The fires will have gone out and I need some clothes.”

“You’re wearing clothes.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Clothes that fit.”

Lifting her hand, he turned it palm side up and traced a fingertip along the lines. “You said so yourself, the fires will have gone out. It will be cold. You should stay here tonight. Besides, I think the snow is thigh-deep out there.”

The way her green eyes held him in place made his heart beat a little faster. “Stay here?”

He nodded, ignoring the incredulous sound of her voice. “With me.”

“As your dessert?”

He chuckled and set down his spoon, the taste for soup long gone. Standing, he drew her to her feet and tugged her closer. She came willingly, wrapping a slender arm around his neck in a move that plastered her body against his. Dropping his head, he set light kisses along her jawline.

“Tell me what you want,” he urged at her ear.

As she hauled in air, it expanded her chest and pushed her breasts harder against him. Her tongue made contact with his ear.

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