the sake of teasing—because slow was the only way to act out with their bodies what they’d told one another with their eyes. Every stroke of him inside her reconciled a touch that had been longed-for, a word that remained unsaid and a kiss that had been denied.
Epiphanies crashed over her. There was power in her body that rivaled the power of the storm. The need within her body and the rage of the storm were one and the same. Being with Keenan had been a performance, each one of them playing their part. But she and Dev were connected, and connection was the truth.
Watching him was beautiful—every flex of his back, every breath that escaped his lips, every lull of his eyelids as his cock throbbed within her depths. He was working his body and playing hers like an instrument and placing her every nerve ending on alert. And she was delivered when he lost control.
29
The Morning After
Dev
Despite the most restful, and possibly best-deserved sleep that Dev had enjoyed in years, at six in the morning, he was still awake with the sun. He’d never spent the night in a house made of so many windows. There was something disorienting but beautiful about the constant sense that you were on the edge of outside.
They had ended up in her bed—just to sleep—after their marathon breaking-in of nearly every fuckable surface in the house. Upon further reflection, Dev could think of a few they had missed. He wanted nothing more than to pick up his phone, call down to Betty and offer triple overtime pay at The Freshery if she would cover Dev’s shift for him.
Slow down, cowboy…
There it was—his inner reasonable voice being an asshole again and not wanting him to have his fun. That was all going to have to change and soon. Dev needed this woman—maybe even more than that. He needed something and someone for himself.
That meant getting serious about hiring someone to manage The Freshery. It meant getting serious about talking through what was next with Duff. For reasons that didn’t have anything to do with Shea, both were overdue.
Thinking about Duff made Dev think about what other duties would call. Even from where he lay in bed, he could tell the storm damage would be bad. The electricity going out was par for the course. But the trees looked worse for wear. If trees as thick as the ones in the forest behind Shea’s house looked the way they did, plenty on the roads would be down.
The least I can do for her is get her generator going. Don’t want her food to spoil…
Even as he knew what he had to do next, it was hard to get out of bed. He had to check in with Brody. He had to get to work. He had to make sure there was no damage to her house and to get her electricity going. That was what his mind told him. But his body told him not to leave her side.
I’m in love with this girl.
There was no point in denying it. Nobody to judge him except him over something that was true. Not being able to tear himself away from watching her breathe—fighting the irrational fear that, if he left, nothing would ever again be this perfect—was proof positive that he was feeling something he hadn’t felt in years.
For a last long minute, Dev sat up on his elbow gazing down at her lovely face. Even in sleep, she was gorgeous. After a solid minute of willing her awake, if only for a final kiss before he went, he gave up, kissed her cheek, and went in search of his clothes.
Five minutes, a trip to a guest bathroom, and one finger-toothbrush later, Dev was carefully descending the stairs. Since the staircase was in an inner column of the house, the morning light did little to illuminate the steps. If this were Shea’s house, Dev would offer to show up and do some work, maybe path lighting near the floor. Maybe a skylight to go over the stairwell. It sounded precious and domestic and just about perfect to him.
Now, where’s her utility room? Dev wondered to himself as he unpocketed the phone he’d made sure to find for exactly this purpose. The flashlight feature had come in handy on more occasions than Dev could count. He had a Mag Lite—and a headlamp—which would come in handy right about now, but both were in his car.
Reaching the