Inevitable Detour (Inevitability Book 1)(46)

Smiling, I say, “How sweet. I bet Haven loved feeding him. She’s such a softy.”

“That’s for sure,” Farren replies, laughing. “Haven was ecstatic. She even made up a feeding schedule for him. Not that Mom and I ever had a chance to take a turn. She took over all the kitten-parenting duties.” Quietly, he adds, “Haven sure loved that little guy.”

I sense the “little guy” was not only special to Haven but to Farren as well.

“What was his name?” I ask.

The side of his mouth curves up into a grin. “Wadsworth.”

“Wadsworth?” I start giggling.

Shaking his head, he’s sure to inform me, “That was Haven’s doing, not mine.”

I laugh once again, and Farren shimmies down from the headboard. When he’s lying flat on the bed, he pats the spot next to him. I lie down on my side and rest my head on his chest.

Farren, while he plays with my hair, continues his story…

“Once Wadsworth was a little bigger and stronger, he was nothing but trouble. Cute trouble, though. He got stuck in the ductwork, climbed up the chimney. Haven wanted to make him a house cat—we even had him neutered—but he was having none of that.”

Farren takes a deep breath, my head rising and falling in tandem. There’s a short period of quiet, and I think it’s spent with Farren and I just enjoying this closeness. He wraps his arms around me and holds me for a minute before continuing his story.

“Anyway, when Wadsworth started going outdoors, that’s when the real trouble began. One day, when he was about six months old, he disappeared. We couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“Oh no,” I gasp. I raise my head and look up at Farren. “Did you ever find him?”

Farren smiles down at me. “Yeah, we found him. Here, he’d climbed up a tree in the woods behind our house, an old oak that must have been around seventy-five feet high. He was almost to the top and couldn’t get down.”

“Did you call the fire department?”

That remark earns me a level stare. “Essa, you do know they don’t do that kind of shit anymore, right?”

“I know it now,” I cheerfully retort. And then, in a more serious tone, I inquire, “So, how’d you rescue Wadsworth?”

Farren pauses. His gaze, though directed my way, appears faraway, like he’s remembering, reminiscing.

At last, he says, “I climbed up and got him.”

“What? You climbed a seventy-five-foot tree without any safety precautions?” I’m wide-eyed and, though it’s many years later, scared for Farren. I’m also impressed.

He nods. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I just did what needed to be done.”

I’m flooded with a rush of emotions. Farren is fearless. He’s a man who does whatever needs to be done to protect the vulnerable. Long ago it was a little kitten that needed rescuing. And nowadays Farren helps with something far bigger—rescuing and saving young women in dire trouble.

I suddenly want to hug Farren, kiss him, love him…

Did I just say love?

Before I have a chance to unwind that statement and analyze it, Farren scoots over, keeping me in place until he’s completely under me, our faces inches apart. He slides his hand under the back of my tank top and says, “Do you want me to tell you more stories, or do you want me to touch you?”

I can feel him hardening beneath me, which makes me rasp, “I want you to touch me.”

His eyes hold mine as he begins to touch me everywhere. He peels my clothes off one by one, and when there is nothing left to remove Farren touches me with his mouth.

His lips skim over my shoulder, down to my breasts. I arch, and he sucks, licks, and nips at one nipple, then the other. Soon, he’s moving down my body, showering kisses across my abdomen. He moves lower still, till he reaches where I’m hot and wet.

“Farren,” I gasp, his tongue teasing at my clit.

I swell under his touch, come undone under his mouth.

Farren discards his jeans and his boxer briefs. He moves back up my body.

I feel him—all of him—pressing at my core. And I want this. I want him, in this most intimate way.

“Please,” I whisper, so afraid he’ll stop.

But he doesn’t stop. Not this time. He settles his body more solidly between my legs. I open wider, and the tip of him goes in. “God,” I gasp.

Just that tiny bit feels so good. But I want more. I want all of what Farren has to give me.

“Look at me, Essalin.” His hand is at my chin, thumb brushing over my cheek. My eyes meet his, and he says, “You sure you want this? There’s no going back.”

The tip of him is still inside of me, and I try to move my hips to take in more, but his weight on me holds me in place.

“I want this,” I assure him. “I want all of you.”

“I don’t come with promises,” he says softly. “I’m not some college boy you can wrap around your finger.”

I hold his gaze, searing green, darkened by the lust he is feeling. “I know,” I respond. “I don’t want that anyway. I never wanted that.” And then I admit, “I’ve always wanted you, Farren. It’s always been you.”

He stills. He’s inside me, but not. His eyes search mine. “Essalin…”