Sanctuary (New Reality Series, Book One) (9 page)

“Yeah?”

“I understood your point. Of course I wouldn’t want her to dwell on those who were gone. I’d want her to be happy and live fully, but…” She released a shuddered breath.

“But what?” Ethan stepped forward and took her hands. “Don’t you think you deserve that, too? You’re the one who survived, Grace. Don’t abuse that gift.”

“But I don’t know how to do this,” she cried. “Everything here reminds me of them. That they’re gone, and I’m alone. How do I do this on my own?”

“We’re here—me and Noah. We’ve
been
here.” He squeezed her fingers gently. “You lost your family and that pain isn’t going to disappear. But you can’t focus on what you don’t have. Focus on what you have, and sweetheart, you’re not alone. You have us.”

“But for how long?” she mumbled.

Ethan shook his head. “It’s not about the future or the past. It’s about the present.”

He understood her desire to think about what was ahead, he’d been doing his own pondering on that particular subject, but his goal was to pull her into the present. That’s what she needed.

“Stop shutting us out and
choosing
to be alone. Be with us. Noah and I are here.” He lifted her hands and pressed her palms to his cheeks. “Sweetheart,
I’m
here. Right here, right now. Here with you. You’re not alone.”

“I don’t want to be stuck on what was,” she admitted, caressing his face with his fingertips. “I do want to be in the here and now, with you, but God, it’s so hard.”

“Damn straight it is, but we’re here to help you.” He ran his palms down the length of her arms then dropped down to grasp her hips. “We’re your present, and you’re ours. We’ll remind you of that any time you need it. You just have to let us.”

He closed his eyes a moment when her thumb skimmed his bottom lip. When he looked at her again, she was nodding.

“I will.” She slid one hand back behind his head, threading her fingers through his short hair.

He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. Pleasure arched through him at the simple, chaste touch, magnified when her lips parted on a moan.

With great effort, he pulled back a fraction of an inch. “I don’t know if this is the right time—”

“Oh it is,” she interrupted, scooting closer, rubbing against him. “This is exactly what you were talking about. Being in the present, living fully. I think taking me—right here, right now—is the perfect illustration of the lesson. And aside from all of that, I’ve missed you, missed this.”

And that was all he needed to hear. He pushed his hands beneath her shirt to cup her breasts as his mouth covered hers again. Rolling her nipples between his fingers, he pushed inside her hot mouth, slid his tongue around hers slowly. Without breaking the kiss, he guided her around and back until she was pressed between the side of the bunkhouse and his body.

She made a sound of protest when he abandoned her breasts to work on undoing her shorts. The intensity of his need surprised him and had his fingers trembling as he pushed the garment down to fall around her ankles. Her panties followed quickly followed. He cupped her mound, dipped his fingers inside her pussy and found her slick and ready for him.

Thank God
was all Ethan could think. His cock strained the confines of his jeans. He ached to be inside her. To take her hard and fast.

Grace rolled her hips forward into his touch, and cried into his mouth when he grazed her swollen clit. She repeated the movement again and again until she broke from his mouth, her breathing frantic. He watched her face as he shifted his hand and pinched the nub. Her entire body stiffened, and her head fell back, thumping against the wall. Her lips formed a perfect “O” but no sound escaped. She seemed frozen in the moment.

When she finally moved, it was to reach between them and flick the button of his jeans open. After lowering the zipper, she pushed his pants and shorts down just enough for his erection to spring forward. Running her fingertip over the slit, she caught the bead of moisture that escaped.

“Ethan?” She brought the finger to her mouth and licked it clean.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he managed between clenched teeth.

“Make me come again.”

“Fuck.” He cupped her ass and lifted her.

“Yeah, that.” She shuddered as he lowered her onto his cock. When she’d taken his full length, she let out a happy, satisfied sigh and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Already her muscles were rippling around him, and it took everything in him to stay still until she met his gaze. He withdrew slowly then eased back into heated bliss.

“Faster, harder,” she said on a sob.

“I’ll come,” he warned.

“And I’ll be right there with you,” she rasped.

He pulled out and slammed back into her, again and again. His pace fast, frantic. His balls ached and grew taut, close to his body. Her pussy squeezed him, pulling his cock deeper with each stroke. Ethan closed his eyes and exploded. Pleasure sizzled along every nerve ending, consumed every sense. He let his forehead rest against hers as they regained control. When their breathing evened, he tenderly kissed her mouth.

“I’ve never wanted anyone, other than Noah, like this,” he professed. “I’m glad we found you.”

“Me too.” Her lips curved. “On both counts.”

* * * *

Noah glanced up from his book and bit back a laugh. Both his lovers had fallen asleep—Ethan sprawled on one of the arm chairs, Grace curled up on the sofa next to Noah. He shook his head and set the book to the side.

The pair had come in the cabin an hour earlier, flushed and mussed. He knew full well what had happened. Hell, he’d known that’s where it would lead when he sent Grace after Ethan, and that it would help heal things between them. But he let them try to keep up the charade that they’d had a super long, super good talk. He stood and, out of habit, looked over to make sure the dog was in her usual nighttime sleeping spot. Right across the front door, like a proper guard.

“Good girl,” he murmured as he nudged Ethan’s foot with his.

The other man popped an eye open. “Wha—?”

“Come to bed,” he ordered before scooping Grace up in his arms.

Ethan padded behind him as he carried her to the bedroom. When he laid her down in the center of the mattress and pulled the blankets over her, she stirred.

“Good night, Noah,” she said sleepily.

“Night, Grace.”

“Wait!” She grabbed his arm as he straightened. “You’re sleeping here, aren’t you? You and Ethan. With me.” She struggled to keep her eyes open as she waited for his answer.

“Of course.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m just going to turn off the lanterns and make sure everything is locked up.

“I’ll take care of that,” Ethan said from the doorway. “Relax.”

Noah nodded his thanks. He quickly stripped down to his boxers and slid into bed beside Grace. She let out a happy sound and curled up against him. A few minutes later, Ethan joined them and pressed close. Draping his arm over Grace, he rested his hand on Noah’s hip.

“Much, much better,” Ethan murmured.

And Noah couldn’t disagree with that assessment.

Chapter Five

“Told you we weren’t likely to find much in here.”

Grace turned from where she crouched and stuck her tongue out at Ethan. “And I agreed with you, but it was worth a look.”

They had hiked into Severton to see if they could find any supplies. They opted to leave the dog in the cabin instead of having her tag along this time. Initially, the men had wanted to leave Grace behind as well, but she’d reasoned that she knew the area better and, if any locals were still around, she’d likely met them at one point or another. That said, the guys still made her wait at the edge of the woods while they did a “quick sweep” of the area.

While the plan had been to search any of the farm houses that had been abandoned, she’d managed to convince them to do a quick check of the businesses. There weren’t many since Serverton was a farm town. Besides the miniscule post office, there was a feed store, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and a gas station. The only way they’d remained in business when all was right with the world was the local farmers and those who had camps nearby. And the fact the main highway ran through and people were always looking for gas, a bathroom, or a cheap bite to eat.

They had struck out at the restaurant, no surprise there. After that, they’d split—Noah to the feed store and Ethan and Grace to the gas station. She glanced around at the mess that had once been the station’s convenience section. It was a mess—shelves knocked over, litter everywhere—and well picked over. She pushed a shelf to the side and spotted a small white bottle.

“Score!” she exclaimed, holding it over her head as she stood. “Ibuprofen. This will come in very handy when you give me a headache.”

“Very funny. And there’re several kinds of painkillers at the cabin.”

“True.” She tucked the bottle in her pocket. “But it takes a lot to ease Ethan-induced headaches. Okay, I think we’re done here.”

“Finally.”

He turned and walked out to the road. When Grace stepped into the sunshine, Noah arrived empty handed.

“No luck?”she asked.

“There’s still some pet and animal feed. Two large bags of dog food Callie might like, but I’m not lugging those bags from house to house. We can come back for them. Depending what we find, we may end up having to make multiple trips,” he pointed out. “So which way are going first?”

Grace pointed south. “Collins farm is the closest. They have an apple orchard. I remember going there as a kid. Though, I don’t think it’s time to pick apples yet. But it doesn’t hurt to start there.”

“Good a place as any,” Noah agreed as they started walking.

“You know, the Collins used to have chickens and goats. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they were still there? Could you imagine? Fresh eggs and milk,” Grace said wistfully.

“Don’t count on it,” Ethan warned.

“You’re probably right,” she admitted, “but man, would it be nice.”

When they turned down the drive, she clapped her hands and jumped up and down when she saw a couple of chickens behind in a wire pen just past the house. Both men laughed as she ran ahead to check out her find. She knew her dad had a book about homesteading and raising animals on one of the shelves in the cabin. Slipping into the pen, she maneuvered around the…five chickens that moved about the space. Looking around, she frowned and dread filled her.

She kept her eyes open and searching as she made her way out of the pen. She saw Ethan peeking in a small shed and hurried to his side.

“Ethan, I think there’s someone here,” she said, her voice low, as she continue to survey around for any signs.

“Did you see someone?” Ethan asked.

“No, but there are no eggs and there is fresh feed, like someone
just
fed them,” she explained.

Ethan pulled his gun from the side pocket of his pack.

“I don’t know if that’s necessary,” she protested.

“Says the woman who points her rifle first and asks questions later.” Ethan rolled his eyes.

“It could be the Collinses,” she argued.

“Noah went to the barn; we go there first.”

Grace followed Ethan toward the large building. They were halfway across the large yard when the barn door swung open. Shock coursed through Grace as Noah walked out, hand on the shoulder of a child. She glanced at Ethan and his wide eyes and slack jaw pretty well matched what she was feeling.

“You leave him alone!”

Grace spun toward the frantic shout. A thin blonde woman ran from the house, wielding a baseball bat. “Oh shit.”

“Let him—Oh my God!” The woman screeched to a halt, staring wide eyed in Grace’s direction.

Slowly, Grace turned her head and found Ethan with his gun trained on the woman. Farther back, she could see Noah and the boy had stopped, and Noah was bent over listening to something the kid was saying.

“Please, please, don’t hurt him. I’ll do anything you want, just let him go!”

“Ethan, put the gun away,” Grace said quietly.

“Like hell.”

After frowning fiercely at him, so he’d know just how annoyed she was, Grace took a deep breath and faced the woman again. Dark circles underscored wide blue eyes. Her blonde hair was tangled and hung around her pale face.

“We’re not here to hurt either of you. We were just looking for supplies.”

The other woman didn’t answer. Then Grace noticed the bat wobbling wildly at her side. The poor woman was shaking like a leaf!

“Hey,” she said softly. “Hey now. It’s okay.”

“What the hell are you doing, Grace?” Ethan demanded as she stepped forward.

She continued until she was directly in front of the woman. Slowly, she reached for the bat and, wrapping her hand around it, pulled it from the blonde’s grasp with little resistance. She tossed the bat to the side and met the woman’s gaze.

“Honey, you need to calm down.” Grace tried to keep her voice level and soothing. The woman looked ready to keel over. “Nobody’s going to hurt anyone. Like I said, we were looking for supplies. This is the Collins farm; are they here? Do you know them?”

“She’s their granddaughter.” Noah and the boy came up beside her. “Hi, Chloe. Drew told me what happened to your grandparents. I’m so sorry. How long ago did they pass?”

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t know. I…lost track. It’s been a while.”

“That’s all right. Don’t worry about it.” He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he studied her face. When’s the last time you ate something, Chloe?”

“We had lunch a little bit ago,” Drew informed happily. “Some boiled eggs and rice.”

Grace could see the resemblance between the two. Drew’s hair was a bit darker, almost brown, but they had the same blue eyes, pale skin, and slight build.

“But did both of you eat?” Noah asked pointedly.

“It was the last of the rice,” Chloe said. “I wanted to make sure Drew had enough.”

“Of course you did.” Grace nodded as she unclipped her water bottle from her pack then offered it. “Here.”