My body ached in the best way the next morning. Hours of sex interspersed with snuggling and sleeping had left me exhausted but happy. Satisfied, even. But seriously…so tired.

Gage had woken me up twice overnight—had fucked me good both times, too. His mouth, his hands, his cock. All of him had worshiped my pussy until I’d been a big, incoherent ball of sensation without thought or purpose. I could only feel, only experience all he did to my body. And it had been amazing.

But the morning had come, the sun lightening the room to the point where I could no longer deny my need to get up. I wasn’t one to stay in bed and lollygag or sleep in, usually. I probably would have stayed in bed if Gage had been in there with me. If his warm body had been pressed against mine, his hands on my skin and his mouth at my neck. Sadly, I was alone in his big bed. Gage wasn’t even in the room, something I found odd and maybe just a little hurtful. I would have thought he’d have wanted to stay with me that morning, or that he’d have woken me when he got up. Not even in a sexual way, but just to say good morning and start the day together. Instead, he had left me to wake up alone.

My happy bubble wobbled pretty damn hard at that.

Still, I was nothing if not resilient. I rolled out of bed and stumbled toward the bathroom. No time to worry about things that were likely not as big of a deal in reality as they were in my head. So he was already up—maybe Rex needed to go out, or Gage needed to investigate something. I could be an adult and not assume the world was falling on my head because of one morning waking up alone.

Still…odd.

After a quick shower, I headed out to the great room. Gage stood next to a folding table pushed up against a wall, a corded cooktop in front of him and a mug in his hand. Barefoot—shirtless—wearing dark jeans that hung loose enough to show off his stomach and the dark line of hair leading under the waistband. My knees shook, and a spark of desire shot through me. He looked so damn handsome, especially with his new, neatened hair and beard. I hadn’t wanted to change him too much, but our time with the clippers had done wonders. Still wild, rough around the edges for sure, but the trim made him a little neater and more polished. From a grizzly mountain man to a fuckhot one with the deepest, darkest eyes I’d ever seen and a smile that could melt a woman’s panties in less than a second.

He was also as chatty as an old bear in the morning, apparently.

Gage grunted when he saw me, holding up a second mug in invitation. Coffee. I could use it. His eyes stayed on me, dragging down my body and back up as I slipped closer. He didn’t need to tell me he liked the way I looked wearing one of his shirts—it was right there in the expression on his face. In the fire burning behind the darkness of his eyes. The man had my nipples tight with nothing more than a good eye-fuck—and I liked it.

But as I took the mug from him, the butterflies in my stomach started dancing again. I had no idea what to say to him. Thanks for last night…want to go again…does this mean you’ll call me later? Oh my god, what if he didn’t want to call me later? I had his number, but I’d never used it for personal messages or anything. Could I now? Was I supposed to? How could I ask for it after last night? How could I not? We were basically living together, though… Would there be any calling involved?

My stomach turned faster, my throat tightening, until I couldn’t hold back a second longer. “So, I’ve been thinking about making pasties. Not here, but at the restaurant. When I officially open again. I had them one time when I went on a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan—have you ever been there?—anyway, they’re like meat pies or stew sandwiches. I need to figure out the right recipe for the dough, though. The stews I already make…”

Words tumbled out of my mouth, completely unstoppable. And all the while, he watched me, his face slowly pulling down into a deep frown that only made me want to talk more, get the words out faster, to distract him from whatever upset him. I didn’t even stop when he set his mug down and grabbed mine to do the same, leaving me to flap my hands around as if I needed the motions to match the words.

“Some people put butter on them or even jelly, though that level of sweetness isn’t really the right flavor profile for the treats.” Flap, flap, flap. “I could make a fruit salsa maybe to go with them, but old Vol would probably still slather his in grape jelly like a kid at—”

Gage grabbed me around the hips and yanked me closer, pressing his mouth to mine in a kiss that tasted of coffee and him and everything hot about the night before. I melted into him, kissing him back, stroking his tongue with mine as his hand slid down to grab my ass. As he gripped and tugged and demanded. I loved it when he did that.

“Good morning,” he murmured against my lips before diving in for another kiss. Another deep one that seemed to last and last and last. That slowed down and turned more sensual than rough, more asking than demanding. That had me trembling in his arms as my entire body went languid.

The man could kiss.

Eventually, though, he pulled away, looking down at me with hooded, dark eyes. “What’s got you so worked up today?”

Him. Always him. Which I couldn’t say. Instead, I clung to his shirt, ducking my head against his chest. Almost afraid to look into his eyes and see…well, not what I wanted to see. “Last night…I don’t know what to think. I mean, I don’t want to make up things in my head or assume we’re on the same page and we haven’t talked about anything yet, so maybe I’m jumping the gun—”

He kissed me again, groaning softly as he kneaded the flesh of my ass and pulled me tightly into his hold. Good lord, the man broke me with every kiss. One press of his lips and I forgot every care and concern I’d ever had. One slip of his tongue against mine and I was ready for whatever he wanted to give me. And the beard—I’d never been with a man with a beard before, but I liked it. The hair was softer than I’d expected it to be, and the tickle it left when he moved to kiss and suck down the length of my neck had me shivering against him.

“Gage,” I whispered, wanting so badly to go back to bed. We didn’t, though. Instead, Gage hummed a little and ended the kiss again, rocking me slightly as he held my gaze.

“First things first, princess. You can jump my gun anytime you like.” His chuckle matched mine, and the fact that he didn’t let me go—that he held me close as he rubbed my back—soothed a lot of my nerves. “Second, I like action more than talk. Always have. So what I don’t say, I’ll show.” He nuzzled my neck, keeping his hands on my ass and groaning. “And hopefully, I’m showing you that I can’t get enough of you, princess, so don’t you worry about anything with me. I wouldn’t have started something I wasn’t intending to finish. Third, would you like some breakfast?”

I don’t think my eyes had ever been so wide. “You’re going to cook for me?”

He nodded, watching me with a small smile playing on his lips.

“But…no one ever cooks for me. They always expect me to do it.”

“Because you’re a chef.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’re off duty right now.” He glanced at his hot plate and pans, frowning. “I can’t promise you my eggs will be as good as ones you make, but they’ll be hot.”

“Hot is good.”

He looked me up and down again, teasing my thigh at the edge of his shirt with his fingertips. Leaning close so he could whisper against my lips, “Hot is damn good.”

Soaked. I was already soaked for him. But he wanted to cook me breakfast, and I wanted to let him. So I pulled away. “I should go get dressed.”

He patted my ass and gave me a quick, smacking kiss on the lips. “Go ahead. And feel free to grab anything you need from my bathroom or closet. Especially the closet. I like the idea of you wearing my clothes.”

I shot a look down to his jeans, eyeing the impressive bulge there. “I can tell.”

His laugh followed me down the hall and back into the bedroom. I brushed my hair and tied it into a messy bun. I had lip gloss and powder in my bag, but nothing else. Nothing to make me feel pretty or put together. So instead, I worked with what I knew Gage liked—I kept his shirt on, tying it at the waist so it didn’t fall to my knees. Not perfect, but it’d do. I also slipped into a pair of his boxer shorts. I had to roll the waist a few times, but they’d keep me covered. I skipped the bra and panties I’d packed for the night. Might have been wishful thinking on my part, but I was okay with that.

I was feeling a hopeful sort of buoyancy as I walked into the great room. At least, until I came face-to-face with Gage’s gun. Not that he pointed it at me, more that it was right there. On the table. Laying next to the carton of eggs as if it was totally normal to cook breakfast with a handgun beside you.

Totally not normal.

I gripped my right hand with my left, rubbing. Trying to ease the slight ache in the muscles as that gun stared back at me. As every second of that night came back to overtake my thoughts. The kiss in the gym, the fear of knowing someone was looking for me, the terror of that guy Rock pointing Gage’s gun at him. I’d thought I was going to die—and that gun reminded me of all of it.

“Hey. Can you grab—”

Gage didn’t finish his question. I looked up to find him staring at me, his face flat and almost emotionless, no fire behind those eyes like earlier. On guard, it seemed. It was a swift kick in the ass to remind me that this man was a soldier—a fighter. He’d been a Navy SEAL, which meant he’d likely seen some serious action overseas. I knew that, had always known it, but seeing it right there in front of me? Knowing how comfortable he was with his gun, while it did nothing but instill terror in me? That was hard to come to grips with.

With his brow furrowed as if trying to solve a puzzle, he looked at my hands, at where I was still rubbing my right with my left, then at his gun, then back to my face. I could almost see the puzzle pieces fitting together in his mind, and for once, I had no idea what to say to him. There were simply no words for this situation.

Gage turned away, his movements quick and precise as he plated the eggs and turned off his cooktop. He grabbed a couple of slices of toast from the little toaster tucked against the wall and set them on the plates as well before wiping his hands on a towel. And then he faced me again. Slowly, like a man approaching a wounded animal, he slipped closer. Coming for me. My breath sped up, my chest tightening with every step he took. My world narrowing down to only him.

When he reached me, he took my right hand in his, flipping it palm-side up. Staring down at the ugly burn. He ran two fingers over the worst of it—the part that had nearly been third degree—then leaned in to place a soft, gentle kiss there. “I’m so sorry for this.”

Oh. That…wasn’t what I’d expected. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was. You’re mine to protect, and I failed.” He kissed my palm again, looking into my eyes as he promised, “They’ll never lay another finger on you.”

I believed him. “I know.”

“Do you? Because that gun there is part of protecting you. I can see how nervous it makes you, but it’s necessary.”

Protecting me. Everything seemed to be about Gage protecting me. Who was protecting him?

“What about the other one? The gun Rock stole from you.”

His jaw tensed, his teeth grinding for just a moment before he said, “I’ll take care of it.”

And though I hated the idea of him going up against Rock again, I knew his words were true. He’d take care of it…he’d take care of everything.

The eggs weren’t perfect—I liked mine finished with a little crème fraîche and fresh herbs—but just as Gage had promised, they were hot. And yummy. He’d cooked them in a little butter, whisking them until they were super fluffy before pouring them in the warmed pan. Not that it mattered. The eggs could have been a hard, rubbery mess and I still would have enjoyed the meal because it came with Gage.

Breakfast was amazing.

“I can wash the dishes,” I said as Gage rose from the little card table he’d set up for us to eat at. He gave me a look that had me sitting deeper in my chair. “Or not.”

“Your hands are still healing, so we’ll go with not. Besides, I don’t have a kitchen sink—these are going to be scraped and rinsed in the bathroom for now.”

True on all counts. Gage disappeared down the hall, dishes in hand. I waited for him to come back, spotting how neat everything still was. Orderly. Gage definitely liked a clean environment around him. Even Rex—who lay in his bed across the room—always seemed clean and neat. Only Gage’s wild man hair and beard broke the pattern of control. Not so much anymore, though.

I shot him a smile when he came back into the living room, freshly rinsed plates in hand. “So you cook and you clean up. Someone taught you right.”

God, I hoped it wasn’t another woman.

Gage shook his head with a grin, oblivious to my sudden angst. “My mom made sure her son could take care of himself before he left the house. That son being me. And whatever she didn’t teach me, the military did.”

I practically snorted, grateful the other woman in his life had at least been related to him. “You’re luckier than I was, then. The only thing my mom taught me about cooking was how to read the directions on a box.”

Gage’s shoulders seemed to stiffen, his back straighter than before. “You mentioned that once. She was a health nut, right?”

If only. “Not quite. More…she was always thinking that her problems in life came down to how she looked. Specifically, to the little pooch her belly developed after she had me. Once my dad died, it became an obsession for her. She used to tell me if she could just lose a few more pounds, the men would notice her, and then everything would be okay. That’s where the need to diet and exercise came from.”

“Doesn’t seem like a good plan.”

“It wasn’t. She never lost those last few pounds, and all that processed food rotted her gut. At least, I believe it did. She died of colon cancer a few years back.”

“I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, missing her like always. Fighting back the ache that came whenever I let myself remember she was gone. “I miss her. I don’t think she would have liked that I’ve moved back to Justice, though.”

“Why not?”

What to tell him? Some secrets carried too much shame to blurt out in the light of day. Some, too much hurt. Mine held both, so I’d have to keep things vague.

“There were problems when I was in high school. Not with the people in Justice, but…others.”

Gage’s face went flat, emotionless. “Problems.”

Not a question, so I didn’t answer it. Gage didn’t seem to like my non-response.

“What sort of problems and with whom?”

“Did you just use whom correctly?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Damn. “I told you I was dorky in high school but I had big breasts.”

“I remember that.” He didn’t glance down at my chest, something that earned him points with me.

“Well, some people thought they could…take advantage of those two things. That they could take from me because they saw me as weak and without friends.”

“What kind of taking are we talking about?”

I hadn’t thought about that moment in years, that day in a car that should have been a safe place for me. That betrayal. “My clothes were still on when I punched him in the balls and ran, if that helps at all.”

“Someone touched you.”

I couldn’t even answer him, could only nod. My mouth had gone too dry to form words.

Gage looked ready to kill someone. “But you got away?”

Another nod and a hard swallow to loosen my tongue. “Then I told my mom.”

“And?”

I couldn’t even look at him. “And we moved. Left Justice and headed to Denver to get away from the threat.”

“She didn’t report this guy?”

I wanted to laugh at that. Not in a funny way, more sarcastic. Reporting him hadn’t been an option. “No. We ran instead.”

After a long silence, Gage said just one word. “Who?”

His voice gave nothing away, so I looked up, expecting pity. Expecting him to feel sorry for me. Instead, he looked ready to kill. Even his words sounded like knives hitting flesh—pounding and sharp. A stab to the air around us.

“Who put their hands on you?”

“No one important.” Not to me, at least. It’d been a lot of years since that day, and I wasn’t going back down that road just to enact some misguided revenge. There was no point.

Gage let out a huge sigh and cracked his neck, still looking livid. Still making me want to both run away from him and run toward him. Danger and safety all in one handsome package. And when he caught my stare, when he narrowed his eyes and frowned, he looked even more deadly. “Do you have other family?”

A loaded question, and one I answered carefully. “My mother’s brother is still around. He’s the county sheriff.”

A slow head nod in response was what I got. “Sheriff Baker. He’s your mom’s brother?”

Because of the name thing. “Yeah. She changed our surnames to her maiden one after my dad died. He was a Gaines.”

“Katie Gaines.” His lips kicked up into a smile. “I like it.”

“Me too.” Loved it, really. Had always wanted to go back to it but had never taken the time to figure out how to do that. Maybe I could make that a project to research. How to change my name. “But the Gaines’ Cottage doesn’t have as nice of a ring to it.”

“True. You two close?”

My mind seemed to be stuck on the Gaines loop. “Who two?”

“You and your uncle.”

Oh. Right. “No. And he’s not my uncle.”

“But he’s your mother’s—”

“Yeah. Hers. Her family. Not mine.”

Gage grunted. “You don’t like him?”

“Not at all.”

“That seems to be a common feeling in these parts.” Gage sighed and pushed off the wall, coming for me, his eyes playful but intense. “Who touched you all those years ago?”

No way was I answering that. “Why do you want to know?”

He shrugged, yanking my chair out from the table and dropping to his knees before me. Filling up all my visual space with his mass. “Maybe I want to teach him a lesson.”

I trembled when he grabbed my knees and dug his fingers into the flesh of my thighs, sensing what was coming. Wanting it. Craving it. “What kind of lesson?”

“The kind that hurts a little bit.” He leaned in, biting my inner thigh hard enough to make me jump even as he kept his eyes locked on mine. “The kind that tells him a real man doesn’t have to force a woman to do anything. Spread your legs for me, princess.”

I did. No questions asked, though his shirt fell between them, keeping two thin layers of fabric between us. Covering me just enough to make me feel like a tease.

Enough to make him groan. “That’s my good girl. Forcing you to do something won’t get you good and wet for me. It won’t have you making those sexy little mewling sounds I love so much. I don’t ever want you to think you can’t tell me no, okay?”

I nodded, unable to speak. Unable to even catch my breath.

“Look at you all breathless and quaking. You want me to tease you, don’t you? Want my hands on that pussy you’re hiding from me…or is it my mouth you’re craving?”

Both. Everything. All of it.

“Gage.” I grabbed his hair, trying to hold him still. To pull him closer. To do…something.

Gage dropped closer, dragging his nose along my inner thigh. “Tell me his name, and I’ll teach him how a real man is the one who belongs on his knees for his woman.”

He was so close to where I wanted him. Close enough for me to feel his breath against my hip as I said, “He’s not worth it.”

“He hurt you. He scared you. That’s not nothing, princess.” Gage looked up, his eyes fiery as they met mine. “That’s why you came back, isn’t it? You wanted to feel safe, and Justice is your safe place.”

Only if you called the eye of a hurricane a safe space, but he wasn’t far off. I came back because I’d missed feeling taken care of. This town may not have been the safest place for me, but I’d never felt more at home than when I’d lived in Justice. And no one was taking that away from me. So I nodded, unable to deny the entire statement. Remembering the need to go home that had swept over me after my mom had passed. It’d taken me almost a full year to trust I was strong enough to risk it, but I’d finally reached a point where I couldn’t deny the call any longer. On the anniversary of my mother’s death, I’d called Alder and was on the road back to Justice the day after that. It had been a rash decision, one fueled by sadness and grief, but as I sat in Gage’s cabin in the woods with the man himself kneeling between my legs, I knew it’d been the right one.

And yet… “I don’t always feel safe here.”

He didn’t know the depth of my fear or what exactly I meant by that, but he still reacted. Still dragged me closer and promised me what he could. “I’ll protect you, Katie. Every minute, okay? Nobody gets to touch what’s mine.”

That word struck home the way nothing else could, freezing my heart and sending a shiver up my spine. Mine. Jesus, I wanted that. The security of knowing he would always take care of me, the comfort of having the freedom to do the same for him. I wanted it so badly, I couldn’t help but ask, “Am I really yours?”

“Yes.” He pulled my legs toward him, forcing me to slouch. Opening me even wider as he wedged himself between my thighs.

“And does that mean you’re mine?”

His face. It froze as if he hadn’t thought about that, and then a smile spread bright and bold. He looked like a man who’d just been given a gift, a treasure. And somewhere, deep down, I knew that treasure was me.

“Abso-fucking-lutely. I’ll always be yours, Katie. Never doubt that.”

My heart took off, pounding hard as he rose up on his knees and kissed me. As he sealed that oath between us. His hands gripped my thighs, his shoulders pushing me back until he had me caged. Pinned. Trapped. Not in a scary way, though. This was my Gage, showing me how much he wanted me. How much he needed me. I knew he’d back off in a second if I told him to, but I wanted him that way. A little wild, a little demanding, and a hell of a lot sexy. Giving myself to him was exactly what I needed.

“Hey, Gage?” I asked against his lips, refusing to completely break our kiss.

Thankfully, he seemed just as resistant to the idea of separating. He replied in between kisses, his lips brushing mine with every syllable. “Yeah, princess?”

I spread my legs a little wider and sat back. “I’m not wearing any panties.”

He groaned, diving down to run his nose along my inner thigh as he tugged his shirt up my belly. I lifted my legs and placed my heels on the seat of my chair, spreading myself for him. Giving him room. Knowing what he wanted. What I wanted from him.

He gripped my thighs, teasing me with his fingers. “Are you wet for me?”

Easy answer to that one. “Yes.”

“How wet? Are you soaking my boxers there, princess?”

“Maybe. Why don’t you find out?”

He shot me a sexy little smirk before yanking the boxers down my legs. In the next second, he had my knees over his shoulders and his face absolutely buried in my pussy. And me? I fisted his hair and held on. Knowing this ride would be a wild one.