by Rye Hart
When the kids woke up the next morning, I was exhausted. It took all the energy I had to pull myself out of Evan’s bed. Part of me wanted to lay back down and forget the world existed. It would be so nice just to pull the covers up over my head and pretend I was someone else for a while. Someone with no cares or worries in the world. Someone without a deranged psychopath hunting her.
But, I knew I couldn’t. I had two children who were dependent on me now, and I couldn’t leave them again. Liam was smiling at me and seemed to be doing much better. His appetite was back and even though his nose was still stuffy, he was back to running around and yelling at the top of his lungs. His fever was gone and his body didn’t seem to hurt anymore, and it made me smile to see him bouncing in his seat at the kitchen table. He was chugging his juice and munching on an apple while I figured out what to do with breakfast, and it warmed my heart to see him feeling better.
Hadley was still a little snotty and tired, but her fever was gone also. She was still cuddly and very tired, so I knew it would be another day of sleeping for her. I made her a bottle and laid her down in her playpen with her favorite blanket, watching her as she drank. I rubbed her back and watched her eyes flutter shut, smiling down upon the sick little girl as Liam asked for more juice.
They were both on the mend which warmed my heart, but every time I looked over at Evan I would tense up again.
He was keeping one eye out the window at all times, no matter what he was doing. His shotgun was locked and loaded next to him, and his face was stern. He was taking his role as protector very seriously, and I had zero doubt that he would kill to save us if it came down to that. The thought of it, though, made my stomach ache. The thought of this sweet man who’d been through so much of his own heartache, having to make the choice to end another human being’s life – even if that person didn’t deserve to live – made me sad.
What had I done to him? What had I brought into his life. Here he was, just trying to figure out how to raise two kids, and I show up with my shitstorm of a life on his doorstep. And what if it did come down to Evan having to defend us? Would he go jail?
The idea of losing Evan shook my body physically as well as mentally, and I tried to push the thought from my mind as he continued to stare out the window.
“How’d you sleep?” Evan asked.
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Yeah. I slept about the same,” he said. “Heard you get up a few times.”
“Nightmares,” I said. “Did you sleep out here all night?”
“Not all night. Came back after you got up a couple of times. But some noises outside pulled me back out.”
“So, you heard them, too?” I asked.
“I did.”
His body was tense and his shoulders were rolled back. He was sitting back in his chair with the butt of the shotgun between his legs. Hadley was already asleep and Liam was clamoring for another apple. The little boy was very hungry after three days of nothing but soup, and I didn’t blame him.
If I hadn’t been so scared, I would’ve been starving.
“The kids are doing better. I don’t think we’ll need to take them in to see a doctor.”
“That’s good.”
“What would you like for breakfast?” I asked.
“Not hungry.”
“Well, you’re going to eat something.”
“Whatever you cook the kids is fine.”
“Peanuh-butter toast!” Liam exclaimed.
“I can definitely make that for you, handsome,” I said, grinning. I was trying my best not to show the kids that I was afraid. I needed to make sure that they always felt safe.
I set out to make breakfast just before my phone rang. I lunged for it, desperate to pick it up when I saw my father’s name on the screen. I answered it and held the phone to my ear as Evan watched me closely, and tears rose to my eyes as he began to talk.
“They got him, sweetheart. The police have him in custody.”
“Are you serious? You’re absolutely sure? When did they find him?” I asked.
Evan got out of his seat and walked toward me with a look of relief on his face.
“About an hour ago. He was twenty minutes outside of Bozeman. They chased him down from the mountain and found him in a cheap motel. It’s over, baby girl,” my father said.
Tears of happiness brewed in my eyes as I turned my back to the kids.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“He’ll be put into a maximum-security prison somewhere in Kansas. Tossed into a solitary hole where he’ll never see the light of day again. You won’t ever have to think about him another day in your life.”
I sank to my knees as relief cascaded over my body. I felt Evan dip down and wrap his arms around me, and I cried with my father still on the phone. I could tell he was crying as well, his voice trembling as he continued to talk. But I wasn’t paying attention to a word he was saying anymore.
All I was doing was rejoicing as I pressed myself into Evan’s body.
“Thank you for letting me know, Dad. I’ll talk with you later,” I said.
“I love you, Mel,” he said.
“Love you, too.”
Evan helped me off the floor and cleaned up my teary eyes, then he guided me over to the couch so I could sit.
“Let me handle breakfast. You just sit and rest,” he said.
Sitting and resting turned into a nap and, once I woke up, the kids were down for theirs. I slept through breakfast and lunch, and as I craned my neck over the couch I saw Evan putting away clean dishes.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked.
“Because you didn’t sleep well last night, and you needed the rest. You’ve been through enough,” he said.
I watched as Evan put up the last of the dishes before he turned around and started for me. He scooped me up into his arms and pulled me close. I loved his hugs. They were always full-bodied and tight. He wrapped me up in his strength before I tilted my head up toward his. I rose onto my tiptoes to capture his lips. His kiss was warm and inviting. Soft, but needy. Our tongues danced together as our heads fell off to the side, and soon his hands began to wander my back.
“Thank you,” I said, whispering.
“For what?” he asked.
I broke the heated kiss and looked into his beautiful eyes that brought me so much comfort.
“For being so understanding,” I said. “For wanting to keep trying even though I kept my walls up.”
“You don’t have to thank me for something like that,” he said.
“But I do. I know how hard that was for you. To constantly watch me walk away instead of talk.”
“You needed your time and your space. I honestly hate that I pushed you the way I did.”
“But you needed to. Because I needed to tell someone else. It really does feel better to know that someone else other than Layla or my dad knows exactly what happened.”
Evan’s hand came up and cupped my cheek before I closed my eyes and sighed. His touch was like fire against my skin. Heated and blazing, but it held a tenderness I’d never found in anyone else. His dark brown eyes with their beautiful yellow speckles glistened as the sun cascaded through the windows of the cabin, signaling a bright new day with a fresh new beginning.
A beginning I wanted with Evan.
“I was so scared to tell you,” I said breathlessly.
“You don’t ever have to be scared when it comes to talking to me,” Evan said.
“I just thought that if you knew what happened to me you would see me as damaged. That you wouldn’t want me around the kids, or you would regret all the things we’ve been doing together. You know, just the two of us. It took so much for me to physically open up to you like that, and I was petrified it would be thrown in my face.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Melanie. It’s okay. Everything’s fine.”
He cupped my face with his hands and tilted my gaze back up to meet his.
“Melan
ie, I need you to understand something.”
His arms descended onto my hips, tugging me into his body as my hands wrapped around his waist.
“There is nothing you could tell me that would ever make me feel that way. Because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you, and there is nothing that could change my mind about that at this point.”
“Oh Evan,” I said breathlessly.
“I love you, Melanie.”
I looked up into his sincere brown eyes and I felt my legs giving out underneath me. His words washed over my ears and flooded my chest, swelling my heart with pride as it thundered against my ribcage. This man, with his rippling muscles and his chiseled abs and his heart of gold and his woodworking hands—he was in love with me. This beautiful human being that took me in during a snowstorm, opened up to me in his time of need, chased after me when I ran, and took me back when I found my way home, was in love with me.
I threw my arms around his neck and crashed my lips into his before I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist.
“I love you, too, Evan,” I said, whispering. “I love you, too.”
CHAPTER 33
EVAN
I carried this beautiful woman in my arms back into her room. I wanted us to have some distance from the kids so they could nap. I wanted to pull wonderful sounds from between her lips and I didn’t want them to be muffled. I could feel her body shaking as her lips planted kisses into the crook of my neck.
She felt so alive against my body.
Slowly lowering her to the bed, our lips connected again. My hand slowly roamed up her shirt and I took in the heat of her skin. I took in how her legs parted willingly for my body and how her hands ran through the tendrils of my hair. How she giggled at the sensation of my beard upon her skin and how her hips rolled up into my body. I peeled her shirt up and found her bare breasts underneath them, and a groan slipped from my lips before I went down to devour them.
My lips wrapped around her pert little nipples and she sighed for me. I could hear her kicking off her house shoes as her hands tried to wiggle her pants off her body. The curves of this woman shook me to my core every single time I felt them underneath the palms of my hands, and I smiled against her tits as she whimpered.
“I need to feel you,” she said breathlessly.
Raising my head up to catch her stare, I could see the flush draping over her body. She was wanting me. Aching to have my cock buried in that tight little pussy of hers. I kissed up her body, taking her shirt with me before I pulled it over her head.
“Just be patient,” I said, grinning.
She tugged my face back down to hers and her kiss was feverish. Her fingers worked the buttons of my flannel shirt, pushing it back from my shoulders as she exposed my chest. I tossed the fabric off to the side, feeling her soft fingertips dance along my skin. I loved it when she explored my muscles. When she took them in before her nails dug in. I loved feeling those crescent marks in my skin. The harder she bore down, the more I knew she wanted.
And I could feel them raking across my shoulders as our kiss deepened.
“Evan, Evan, Evan. Hold on.”
I pulled back immediately and looked down into her eyes.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I just, I’d like to try something. If it’s okay with you,” she said.
“Anything. Just tell me what you want, beautiful.”
She smiled at me before her hand reached down and grabbed my cock. She massaged it through my pants and I groaned in surprise, my eyes widening before they shut. Her fingertips made quick work of the rest of my clothes, sliding them along my ass before her hands gripped their fill. I kicked them off and shoved them down the bed with my own two feet before I descended in between her legs, and the way she was tugging at me told me exactly what she wanted to try.
“I want you to be on top,” she said, whispering.
Her eyes opened and connected with mine and I lost myself in aquamarine eyes. She was so sure of herself. So strong and confident. I felt my cock twitch between her legs at the mere thought of having my control back. Of watching her writhe in pleasure as I pounded into her, shaking her tits as her jaw opened up with pleasure.
My body rose to life at the idea of being on top, but I needed to make sure she was okay.
“Are you sure you want to try that?” I asked. “Because it’s fine with me if we don’t.”
Her smile was sweet and her lips were light as she rose and captured mine with her own. I could feel the way she was opening up to me. I could feel the last of her walls dropping down from around her body. I could feel her letting me in as the backs of her toes cascaded up my legs.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sure.”
Dipping my face to her neck, I trailed kisses down her skin. I nipped and sucked, feeling her jump and squeal with delight as giggles poured from her lips. My hands rushed down her sides, taking in her soft curves with the calluses of my hands. It never ceased to amaze me that the roughness of my hands could bring a delicate body like hers the pleasure it did. But I knew I would do it again this afternoon.
I would bring her any pleasure she begged me for.
My lips slid down her tits, marking them both as my own with my teeth as she gasped and quaked. I smirked at the way her body gave itself to me, trusting me with its pleasure even with all the pain she had endured. My beard tickled her stomach and I held her hips down, listening to the giggles pour forth as her hands tangled up in my hair.
“Evan, please! That tickles. No! Oh, shit!”
Her chest panted and I could feel the heat of her pussy radiating against my chest. I decided to have mercy on her and continued my journey as the scent of her womanhood hit my nostrils. I could feel something carnal flaring up in my gut. Something that was only sparked by the scent of her dripping pussy.
Sinking down between her legs, I threw them over my shoulders. Her hands were wound tightly in my hair, pulling my face to where she wanted it to be. My tongue split her folds and her juices came pouring out, and I licked it all up delicately as she moaned and shook.
“Evan. You feel so good,” she said.
I hummed in approval at her words and she gasped. My lips quickly found her clit, and the tip of my tongue flicked across its head. She jumped in pleasure, burying the heels of her feet into the strength of my back. My hands held her hips down as I began my assault, pulling rivers of juices from her pussy that drenched the beard on my face.
“Your beard. Yes. That tongue. Shit. Evan. Oh, fuck. Fuck. So good. Mmmmm.”
This was the most responsive she’d ever been in bed and I was loving every second of it. I could feel the tension of her body pouring into my mouth as waves of pleasure took over. Her body jolted and her tits jumped. Her fingernails scratched against my scalp and I growled. My tongue pressed deep into her juicy little clit as it began to swell underneath my ministrations and, soon, she was grinding down onto my lips and losing control of her own senses.
Even with me holding her hips, she bucked wildly against me. She coated my beard and my cheeks in her fluids, marking her own territory with her scent. I drank her down, licking thick stripes from her entrance to her clit, and as I flicked that beautiful little nub one last time, I felt her pop.
Her back arched off the bed and her heels dug into my back. I pulled her body closer to my lips, sucking her clit between my teeth. My tongue continued to dance over its head as her orgasm barreled over her body, and when she dropped back down to the mattress she was shivering.
She was a sweating, panting, shivering mess.
I rushed up her body with her legs still around my shoulders. I folded her in half and positioned my cock at her entrance, and I could feel her pussy throbbing for me. I slowly slid into her, groaning at her tightness as her jaw unhinged.
The look of pure ecstasy on her face fueled the animal inside of me.
She was speechless as I slammed into her. Her tits jumped against my body and her
legs curled around my shoulders. Her hands wrapped around my bulging forearms as her fingernails dug into my skin. She was the epitome of perfection, with her face scrunched up in pleasure and sweat dripping down her forehead.
Her pussy was already throbbing around me as I dove deeper and deeper into her body. I could feel her swollen clit raking against my body, causing her legs to jump with every movement. Before I could even get a steady pace set, she was coming around my cock. Her jaw was unhinged in silent pleasure and I covered her mouth with mine in a searing kiss.
I slid her weak legs off my shoulders before I pulled out of her. I rolled her over onto her back and descended my body onto hers. I ran my hands down her arms, lacing up our fingers as her legs spread for me to sit between.
My throbbing cock was positioned perfectly at her entrance as she ground that beautiful ass of hers back into my body.
“I love you,” I said, whispering.
I kissed the side of her head as I pushed into her body and she groaned into the pillow. With our hands intertwined and my body covering hers, I slowly slid out and back in again. She shook underneath me, her face buried in the pillow as my lips covered her naked back with kisses.
Then, I was ready to chase my own release.
I fucked her into the mattress as my cock slammed deep into her body. The entire bed was lurching and the headboard was knocking against the wall. The room was filling with our smells and our sounds, mesmerizing my ears and teasing my nose as her juices spilled all over my cock. She was so tight and so perfect and her body was so expressive and tasted so sweet. Her scent filled my nostrils and wrapped around my head, holding me in its own little hypnotic grip while her pussy massaged my cock.
“I’m so close,” she said breathlessly. “Holy hell, Evan. I love you. I love you. I love you so much.”