After the Storm (KGI #8)(66)

“Love you too, sweetheart. Now get some rest, okay? You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Promise?” Cammie asked around another jaw-cracking yawn.

Donovan smiled. “Promise.”

CHAPTER 20

EVE’S dreams were tormented with a myriad of flashes from the past. And the present. They swirled together in one unending stream of horror.

The tornado had her in its grip again, but instead of Donovan lifting the mattress that had saved her life and protected her from further harm, Walt had been standing there, his gaze triumphant.

I have you at last, Eve. And this time you won’t escape me.

She awoke with a start, sweat beading her forehead. She sat up straight in bed, her skin clammy and cold. A chill had settled deep into her body until her bones ached with it.

She glanced over at Cammie, who was still sleeping soundly. Eve didn’t have a prayer of going back to sleep now. She glanced toward the window to see the faintest shade of dawn softening the sky.

With a sigh, she eased out of bed and went to the bathroom to splash water on her face. She ran the water until steam rose, wanting some way to warm herself. She wet the washcloth several times, wiping her face and neck before retreating back into the bedroom.

After a moment’s hesitation she went to the closet where Donovan had put the clothes his sisters-in-law had sent over. Selecting a pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt, she dressed and slipped into the hallway, making sure she was quiet on her way to the living room.

She didn’t know where she was going or why, but she didn’t want to go back to bed and risk reimmersing herself in her nightmares. It was bad enough to have talked about Walt and to have relived the horror of her mother’s death and Walt’s subsequent behavior, but now he was invading her sleep as well.

She went to the large picture window that overlooked the lake in the distance. Dawn was beautiful over the water, painting it a soft lavender to match the sky overhead. There was not even a ripple in the water, no wind to disturb the pristine sheet of glass that spread out to the distant horizon.

This was a . . . peaceful place. It seemed incongruous to consider a veritable fortress built for the sole purpose of security—a reality of Donovan’s and his family’s lives—peaceful, and yet everything about the view brought her a sense of calm. Something she desperately needed right now.

Warm hands slid up her arms to her shoulders, startling her. She whirled around to see Donovan standing there in a cutoff pair of shorts and a threadbare T-shirt. He was barefooted and for some reason that image captivated her.

“Sorry if I startled you,” Donovan said. “What are you doing up? Can’t sleep? Everything okay?”

She sighed. “I slept. Bad dreams. Talking about it brought it all back. I dreamed of the storm, but you weren’t the one who found me. Walt did. I didn’t want to go back to sleep because I didn’t want to have another nightmare.”

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly to him. His body felt so good against hers. Solid. So very steady and strong. She sighed and did nothing to resist his hold. He felt . . . right.

“I’m sorry you had bad dreams. You can come to me, you know. I don’t want you to be afraid of anything, honey.”

He pulled her away so he could stare down into her eyes. His gaze bore intently into hers and his head lowered. She got the strangest suspicion that he was going to kiss her. And suddenly it was what she wanted more than anything.

She wasn’t wrong.

Slowly, with infinite tenderness, he pressed his mouth to hers in a warm, sweet glide that sent shivers quaking down her spine.

It was a shock to her entire system. Heat spread rapidly through her body. Every nerve ending tingled and came to life. Her br**sts grew heavy and aching. Her ni**les tightened and she leaned instinctively into him, wanting, needing more.

He licked over her lips, coaxing her to open them. With a gasp, she parted her lips, allowing him entrance. At once his tongue invaded, delving deep and hot over hers. He deepened the kiss, stealing her breath, holding it, savoring it before returning it so that she inhaled and swallowed up his very essence. It was a kiss unlike any she’d ever experienced.

It was pure magic.

She slid her hands up his broad chest so that her palms came to rest just below his shoulders. He tensed almost as if he were expecting her to push him away. But she leaned into him with a sigh, letting her fingertips dig into his flesh through the thin layer of his T-shirt.

He became more forceful, as if he’d waited to see if she protested. As if she could. She’d never experienced such an awakening. Couldn’t imagine how she could be feeling this way when her entire life had been upended. But for the space of a few stolen moments, all her worries slid away under the reassuring stroke of his tongue.

His hands slid up her back and then down, molding the contours of her behind. Then he lifted one hand, pressed it to the small of her back before raising the other to tangle in her hair. His fingers twisted, wrapping the strands around his knuckles as he deepened the kiss, swallowing her whole.

She had no idea of the passage of time. They could have stood there kissing for an hour or one minute. It was as if time had stopped and the only thing that existed were the two of them, in this room, their lips fused in a hot rush.

She gasped into his mouth, starved for air, but more starved for his touch. She wanted more. Needed more. She needed . . . him.