Wolf at the Door (23 page)

He knew the STE vehicle parked out front
wasn’t going anywhere, he knew Tate would be sending more, but
inside they had at least the illusion of privacy. And it was where
he felt comfortable enough to talk. He shoved open the door and let
Timber inside.

Timber paused just inside the living room,
scanning everything. His plush couch ate up half the room, the big
screen television on the far wall dominating another chunk, along
with his DVD collection. She’d been subtle in her likes, even in
her own house, but his home hid nothing. She bit her lip as she
turned and took it all in.

Light filtered in through the curtains, but
Brandt flicked on the living room light as well to brighten up the
place. Timber ran her hands over a row of DVDs and he watched as
one corner of her mouth kicked up.

“What?”

Her head tilted and the way she looked up at
him, her eyes soft, her face glowing, it hit straight in the gut,
knocking the wind right out of him.

“I just like getting to know you a little
better.”

She tucked a few strands of her hair aside
and Brandt blinked. Golden brown strands drifted over her shoulder
when she tucked them behind her ear. “You changed your hair.”

He sounded as stunned as he felt. He hadn’t
even noticed.

“Yeah.” She maintained a calm expression, but
Brandt caught the sharp inhale. The way she took a deep breath to
steady herself. The change still scared her.

“It looks good.” He stepped closer, and she
tipped her head up so she could keep looking into his eyes. Her
hair framed her face as it always did, but the brown warmed her
skin in a way the purple had not.

It matched her eyes, too.

“No,” he corrected softly. “You look
beautiful.”

Red flooded her cheeks, and she rested her
hands on his chest, running her fingers up over his shoulders. Her
eyes drifted shut for a second before she looked back up at him.
“Thank you. I’m still not sure if it’s going to work, but thank
you.”

He knew what she meant. He’d seen her coming
straight out of a nightmare before. She was nothing but an open
nerve and flayed, raw panic. Brandt cupped her face and tilted her
head up. “I don’t think you’d have made the change if you weren’t
ready.”

“Yeah?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

Her hands tightened, and she pulled herself
closer. His lips brushed against hers, hers curving into a soft
smile before she pulled away. “Good.”

***

Every time she looked in a mirror, it took a
moment for Timber to recognize herself, but seeing her reflection
in Brandt’s eyes? Well, she’d never looked so...right. One of his
hands slid to the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her
hair, and she relaxed. He made her feel safe. Protected.
Cherished.

And she wanted a chance to finish what they’d
begun the other night.

More than that, she wanted a chance to see
this through.

Everything inside her was a tangled mess. He
deserved so much better than that, but she knew she wasn’t walking
away, and she wasn’t about to let him, either. Tears pricked her
eyes, and she turned away slightly, but Brandt’s arms wrapped
around her, holding her right there. And she didn’t fight him.
Instead, she tucked her nose under his chin and inhaled.

And just like that, all the emotions she’d
kept inside, all the words they hadn’t said, suddenly it all became
real
. If she didn’t speak her piece, they’d always be there
as the things she should have shared. Should have tried to express.
She traced her fingertips over the edge of his shoulder.

She could hear the pounding rush of her heart
in her chest. Brandt’s hand smoothed over the small of her back.
“Timber?”

“You saw the pictures.”

He stiffened for a moment. A rough breath,
then he relaxed. “I did.”

She stood for a moment, just leaning into
him, breathing him in. She didn’t even realize was crying until
Brandt pulled away enough to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

“Hell,” he whispered, his lips touching her
cheeks, kissing away new tears. “You shouldn’t have been there. You
shouldn’t have had to come so close to him yesterday. I’m—”

Timber shook her head. “I had to be there.”
And when she saw the protest written all over his face, she laid
her hand along his cheek, felt the stubble under her palm. “I
survived him once, Brandt. I knew I could do it again. He wasn’t
going to give you that chance.”

He sank down onto his couch then, pulling her
with him. His hands trembled while he held her. She rested her
forehead on his jaw. “I knew I could do it again, because I knew
you’d find me. Knew you wouldn’t stop looking for him. For me.”

The last two words tore open her heart. Her
chest had felt hollow, empty, before Brandt. He was all she had.
All she’d let in, in so damn long. He hadn’t given her time to wall
herself away from him. When Brandt had walked into her life, from
the moment he’d lured the past out of her, he’d built a place in
her heart that she hadn’t been able to—wouldn’t have wanted
to—defend against.

“You’re right.” A finger brushed her temple,
tucking a strand of hair behind her ear again. It trailed over her
cheek, wiping away a tear, before it danced over her lips. “But
even more, I don’t want you back in his hands again, Timber.
Ever.”

“I don’t want to go back,” she said with a
sad smile. But she would for him, and she didn’t have to say it
again. He knew. She knew. That was enough. “I think... No. I’m
pretty damn sure.” She forced herself to look at him, because as
scared as she was, saying it wasn’t something she could hide from.
“I love you. It’s way too early, and I’m messed up in a bunch of
ways, but, yeah.”

A soft laugh punctuated his sweet smile. “Do
you know you are the strongest woman I have ever met? I don’t think
I’ve ever been more surprised by anyone. More in awe.” He cupped
her chin. “More in love. You scare the hell out of me, and at the
same time I know it’s because I can’t imagine not having a chance
with you.”

He kissed her then,
really
kissed her.
It was gentle, but Brandt didn’t leave anything out. Everything he
felt was written in the way his lips moved on hers, the way his
tongue stroked hers, exploring, tasting. He took his time, and
Timber kissed him back. She let him have her heart in that kiss,
let him have
her
.

And for the first time in her life, she was
absolutely sure that she would be more than enough.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Brandt groaned when Timber deepened their kiss, pleasure and heat
flooding him while her fingers wove into his hair, holding him to
her. She lit him up like no one else had. It wasn’t just physical,
either. With a single kiss she managed to lay bare every nerve
inside him, kindling him with a heat and need that burned straight
through every cell.

Then one hand tugged at his shirt, pulling it
up. He wanted this. Wanted
her
. But he didn’t want her here
in his living room. Not if he had a choice. Brandt nipped at her
lips, then pulled away, hating the insecurity he saw creep in her
eyes.

Last time they’d gotten this close he’d seen
her fear that the scars Wolfe had left behind would make him turn
away. It was past time to put an end to those fears once and for
all. It shocked the hell out of him, but there was nothing about
Timber that he didn’t love with every fiber of his being. A person
shouldn’t matter so much to him, so fast, but Timber did.

Then again, if her past said anything about
her, it was that she defied all the odds.

“Come with me,” he said and tugged at her
hand. He led her up the stairs and around the banister, into the
first room on the left. Nudging open the door with a foot, he
pulled Timber in after him, only to press her back against the wall
for another kiss.

He’d never get enough of kissing her.

His hands pressed against the wall on either
side of her, his lips claiming hers, always gentle but possessive
nonetheless. This time when her hands fumbled for his shirt, Brandt
led her to the bed. He broke the kiss long enough to peel her shirt
off over her head before he laid her back against the sheets,
skimming his lips over the white lace of her bra.

He felt her reach behind her, arching up, and
watched while she undid the clasp. Awe swelled through him. Evening
light still drifted in through the window, and yet she hid nothing
from him, lifting the bit of cloth away, leaving her chest bare.
Brandt laid a kiss over the jagged white scar and then another
against the dark, puckered nipple of her other breast. He ran his
hands down her ribcage, across the smooth expanse of her belly, all
the while following along with his mouth, kissing and tasting and
nuzzling the delicate skin.

She lifted her hips when he paused at the
waistband of her jeans, making it easy for him to strip them off
her. He didn’t dawdle. He wanted to see her, all of her, spread out
beneath him. Then he could take his time. Licking and exploring
every inch of her.

“You, too,” Timber said, and Brandt looked up
to see her watching him, her gaze tracking every move of his
hands.

His lips quirked into a smile. “Fair
enough.”

Brandt stripped, delighting in the way her
eyes sparked as she watched. Brandt leaned in to kiss her when his
shirt hit the floor, and Timber rose up to meet him, her hands
running over his stomach, down to the edge of his pants. “These,
too,” she said against his lips.

“Bossy,” he teased.

His lungs felt tight when her hand found the
zipper and pulled it down, knuckles grazing along the length of his
cock. Shit. Anticipation and pleasure rolled through him on a tidal
wave. A shudder wracked him, driving out a rough growl. Brandt
leaned his head back when Timber slid her hands back along his
hips, down over his ass, pulling his jeans down inch by inch. His
boxers came next and he could feel her breath against his cock.

He hauled her back up on the bed, following
her down onto the soft mattress. He stretched out over her, the
hard length of his erection the only thing between them, then
kissed her again, more deeply this time, turning the link between
them into a brilliant, burning inferno.

***

She was on fire. There was no other way to
describe it. Timber gasped as Brandt kissed down the line of her
neck, each delicate touch of his lips against her skin followed by
a gentle, teasing nip. She couldn’t help squirming, but he didn’t
hesitate, just kept up the tender, sensual assault.

“Brandt,” she murmured, trying desperately to
pull him back up to her mouth, but he kept working his way down.
Farther and farther. Then she felt the warm heat of his lips on her
thigh, then higher, stroking her very core.

She gasped and arched when he kissed her
there, his tongue stroking over her moist lips, dipping inside her.
Timber’s head rolled back and forth, her lips parted in a soundless
cry as the ache inside her built and built. Pleasure shot through
her in waves until she was clutching at the bed sheets, desperate
for more.

“Brandt, please!”

Her body felt tight, as if it hovered at the
edge and all she needed was one final push to make that fall. But
she wanted him with her, falling into that radiant abyss right
alongside her. Finally she felt him move up over her again, his
lips against her cheek, open and breathless. She heard him fumble,
a packet tear, and then finally he was pressed at her opening.

A hiss, harsh and desperate, whispered past
her ear, and she lifted her hips for him. She clung to his ass,
trying to urge him down and in further, faster, but except for that
small, helpless hiss, he didn’t seem in a hurry. Instead he nudged
the head of his cock inside her and paused, as if savoring the
moment. Savoring that first experience of being inside her.

She didn’t have the willpower for teasing,
not right now. Her hips moved, trying to bring him deeper and a
small whimper slipped out. A plea, suspended in the quiet space
between them, and Brandt leaned down and covered her lips with his,
reassuring. Then he moved, slowly pressing deeper, filling her. She
wrapped her legs around him, gripping his shoulders tight, and with
everything inside her she begged him to move.

Thankfully, Brandt answered. One long, slow
withdraw and then he was diving back into her again, building up
speed. Together they strained, writhing, finding a rhythm that
tightened their bond. Pleasure spiraled between them, soaring
higher and winding tighter. Timber felt the distant rumble of her
orgasm sweep closer, could feel it burning through her like a wave
rushing for the shore, and then it erupted and stormed over her,
through her.

She dug her nails into Brandt’s shoulders,
crying out, but Brandt’s guttural roar drowned her out while he
plunged deep one last time and his body found its own release. They
lay in a tangle, holding tight to one another, almost like they
were scared to let go. But she wasn’t scared. But she wasn’t
letting go, either, because the things worth having in life were
worth clinging to, cherishing.

Brandt rolled them to the side, his arms
locked around her while he continued to hold her close. Timber
didn’t know how long they lay there, bodies entwined, their hearts
beating as one. It wasn’t until long after their breathing had
slowed that Brandt pulled away to dispose of the condom. She got a
happy eyeful of his ass when he bent over to toss it in the trash
and scurried back to bed.

And sighed from her toes when he sank back
down beside her, the warm heat of his body wrapping her in a soft
cocoon while she curled up against him. There was no need for
words, just the feel of his hands massaging her back, his lips
against her forehead, their quiet, rhythmic breathing.