and fresh. He kissed down her neck, lingering over the shallow indent at the base before traversing up the opposite side. Her pulse ticked wildly, and he could hear his own thundering to eclipse hers. Did she know what she meant to him?
Her hands kneaded his shoulders. “Barrett . . .”
The ragged cry of his name edged him back up to claim her mouth once more. This time not as hard, but still with enough longing and passion to blind him beyond all else except for her. She sighed against him as one hand slipped down to cup his cheek. Long, soft fingers grazed the stubble on his jaw. He felt her lips curl up in a smile. Taking her hand, he laced his fingers between hers and pressed his face into her palm, kissing it.
She dropped her head to his chest and sighed again. “Never let me go.”
Never tripped on the edge of his tongue.
You won’t say that in the morning.
He hated himself for what he was about to do. His arms tightened around her, savoring the feel and smell of her one last time. In the coming days and years, when the hatred burning in her eyes no longer stung as badly, he’d remember this moment and the perfection that existed between them.
“Kat.” Blast his ragged voice. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve held back for a long time now.”
She nodded, tickling the underside of his chin with her hair. She tilted her head up but didn’t step back from him. “I’ve been holding back something too. I think I knew a long time ago but didn’t want to admit it to myself.” A shy smile curved her beautifully swollen lips. “Barrett, I l—”
“We have to get out of here now!” Ellie’s voice rent the air like a rifle blast. Racing toward them, she grabbed their elbows and yanked. They didn’t budge. “Didn’t you hear me?”
Barrett shook the fog from his head. Only then did he notice the terror slashing Ellie’s face. “What’s happened?”
“German soldiers came to the door demanding to join in the party.” Ellie panted and glanced over her shoulder. “Madam stalled long enough for me to grab the bundle you made, but we have to go now! They’re inside as we speak.”
Barrett tamped down the fear rising in his throat. “How many?”
“Three, but they said more were on the way. The others had to stop at the houses along the way. To search them.”
Kat gripped his arm, squeezing the blood from it. “Search for what?”
“Us.”
Chapter 27
Kat ducked her head under the low-hanging branch. The fourth one in the past hour that had tried to take her head off. Blast those clouds hanging over the moon. Tonight of all nights they needed its light.
Ellie huffed and puffed in front of her as they hurried to keep up with the grueling pace Barrett set. Only if they had wings could they go any faster. That or a torch. Or a match or anything close to resemble light to see the ground by.
Ellie stumbled, her small cry of surprise shattering the stillness of the night. Kat reached out to help, but Ellie brushed her off. “The rocks are out for me tonight.”
Barrett’s head whipped back with a silencing glare before continuing on. Kat swallowed back her own curses for the rocks rolling beneath her feet. Damp night air seeped through her jacket and pitifully thin wool skirt, chilling her to the marrow of her bones. Exhaustion batted at her mind. She fought against it, desperate to keep her wits in order to survive the night.
They’d slogged through grassy fields, over rolling hills, and around treacherous fallen trees with nothing but their ragged breaths to punctuate the stillness of the night. No one dared to whisper aloud their fears lest they give away their position to the beasts tracking them. But now the crunching sound of their footsteps on dead grass and packed dirt was softened with gurgles. Kat’s ears pricked to the gentle noise. A stream. Pushing through knee-high grass, they found the dark waters rippling around a rocky bend. Barrett knelt down on the marshy bank and scooped a handful of the wetness into his mouth. Declaring it clean enough, he quickly refilled their canteen and stuffed it back into the haversack slung over his shoulder.
“We need to cross.” He pointed to a few rocks and a rather wet piece of log dotting the shallow stream’s surface. Seven feet across at best. “It’s not