A Time for Us - By Amy Knupp Page 0,60

was setting her in Sawyer’s bed. The blinds were closed and the room was wonderfully dim. Cool from the air conditioner. So much more comfortable than the other room, with its awful thoughts and agonizing memories, where even the air seemed...tainted. Her lids drifted shut again.

When Cale started to straighten, acute fear jabbed at her, jolting her out of her daze. She tightened her hands around his neck. “Please,” she begged, stunned by the force of yet more emotions when she’d thought she was drained. “Don’t leave me by myself, Cale.”

“You got it, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

He gently pulled the bedding out from under her and crawled up onto the twin-size captain’s bed next to her, covering them both with the lightweight blanket. He drew her close to his body and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Okay?” he whispered.

“’Kay.” She closed her eyes again and let sleep mercifully drag her under.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CALE AWOKE TO a low-key, drawn-out rumble of thunder. Before his eyes were even open, he breathed in Rachel and moved his hand to her waist, keeping his touch light, cherishing the feel of her skin beneath his fingers where her T-shirt had crept up. Her head was tucked under his chin, and he burrowed into her silky hair.

His first coherent thought was how good it felt to wake up not alone for once. With Rachel.

The sadness from last night and this morning had faded and was reduced to a fuzziness around the edges, a weight that was no longer directly bearing down on him. Contentment had pushed it aside. Contentment and purpose. Usefulness he hadn’t felt for some time.

Rachel had needed him earlier. She likely still would when she woke up and faced the grief she’d only just begun to reckon with. He remembered the raw sensation of that only too well and wished he could alleviate it for her. He couldn’t, he knew. No one could. But the two of them could find comfort in each other—they had already.

He wanted that. Wanted it for her and he wanted it for himself. It was hard to explain, even to himself, but witnessing Rachel this morning, being the one person she turned to, the one she trusted enough to open up and reveal her vulnerable side to... It had affected him on a soul-deep level. The connection between them was like nothing he’d experienced before, and though it’d been initiated with a painful loss, there was more to it than that.

Cale watched her sleep in the dim, rainy afternoon light, studied the way her makeup-free lashes rested on the pale skin of her face. Blond strands fell across her cheek, and he brushed them away. Rachel stirred, inhaling deeply and emitting a soft moan as she breathed out. It twisted something deep inside of him. He kissed her forehead, keeping his touch whisper-soft and allowing his lips to rest on her flesh for several seconds.

She curled into him and ran her hand drowsily, possessively, up his chest without opening her eyes. In that moment, heat began pulsing through his veins, and he was forced to acknowledge that there were more than just platonic feelings going on here. He wanted to do more than hold Rachel, more than assuage her sadness. He wanted...her.

She needed to sleep, though, more than anything. And who knew how she really felt about him? Never mind all the other arguments he could come up with if he gave his brain free rein. He raised his mouth from her forehead and ducked his chin so that their faces were so close he could feel her breath—but not quite touching. He shut his eyes and did his best to ignore the urge to pull her closer.

Rachel moved again, made another sleepy, sexy sound. Nuzzled her nose next to his. Her eyes blinked partially open and he held himself stock-still, knowing if he dropped his guard for a second, his lips would be on hers.

Then they were anyway.

And Cale could swear he wasn’t the one who’d moved that last half inch.

Rachel’s grasp tightened on his shirt, and she pulled him toward her. She moved her other hand to the back of his neck aggressively as they kissed, making it clear she was into this and aware of what was happening, if still drowsy. She wedged her knee between his legs, entwining their bodies intimately.

Within moments, the intensity of the kiss notched up times twenty. Their tongues met. Tangled. Teeth tapped together clumsily as they tried to work