Page 69 of Hunting for her Heart
“They are not good men, Willow. And we still have two days left in this place before we can leave. We can’t risk them taking you again. Wewon’t.” He speaks the last part more firmly.
The thought of them killing doesn’t bother me, and I’m glad I’m not there to see it. I realize the three of them had planned to shield me from seeing that and to keep me safe. Warmth surges through my chest as I tilt my head up to him and cup his face.
“Thank you,” I whisper as his hazel eyes bore into mine.
“For what?” he asks, his eyes dropping to my lips.
“For everything.” I lean toward him, and thankfully, he takes the hint, tilting his head down until his lips connect with mine. My fingers dig into his beard, and we both moan. The connection we share is undeniable at this point.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Izzy, but what I do know is that I can’t walk away from them. Whatever my future holds, they are part of it. Feeling the urge to immediately tell Hawk how I feel, I pull back, cup his face with both hands, and whisper, “I love you.”
His eyes widen comically wide. “You—” He cuts himself off to lick his lips, then his mouth parts, but nothing comes out as he stares at me in complete shock.
“You don’t have to say it back,” I reassure him, even though my heart is starting to squeeze painfully.
“Willow…” he trails off, his eyes bouncing between mine as if searching for his words. “You have no idea how much I wish we weren’t thirty feet up in a tree right now.”
That pulls a small smile from me, realizing his shock is a good thing. “Because you want to run away?” I tease.
“No, angel, of course not.” His hands tighten against me as if to remind me he’s holding me in this tree right now. “It’s because I always pictured the moment I finally said those words, I’d be making love to you and sealing our bond.”
I lick my lips as my cheeks start to heat. “Well…” I start, staring at where my fingers lie against his broad, bare chest. “Why don’t you save it for later?”
“Later?” he questions.
“Yeah. I want that. What you just described.”
He stares at me for a full thirty seconds before he swallows heavily and starts to ask, “Are you saying you?—”
A sharp whistle silences him and he grips me tighter, both our heads angling toward the forest floor. We stay silent, and the whistle is followed by two more short ones.
Hawk lets out a breath, and I feel some of the tension fade from him. “We’re up here,” he yells back.
“You need us to come up?” Bo yells, filling me with relief.
They’re alive, and they’re here!
“No, I’ve got her,” Hawk yells back as he turns his head to me. He gives me a quick kiss thensmiles. “To be continued,” he tells me before he turns me so I’m clinging to his front, my arms and legs wrapped around him.
He starts to climb down, but I’m still reeling from that smile. I’ve never gotten that much visual reaction from him before, but that smile, it told me everything I needed to know about his feelings for me.
As I think about what he had described to me, and how I’d basically told him I wanted to have sex with him, my entire body heats at the idea, as if more than ready to feel his touch.
By the time we reach the forest floor, I feel completely flushed. As I unhook myself from Hawk, I’m pulled into Bo’s firm embrace. He sways me back and forth for a minute before pulling back and ducking his head down to mine, and kissing me fiercely. It’s full of emotion and love and ends way too quickly.
“I need her,” Ronan all but growls as he pulls me from Bo’s grasp and lifts me up, his hands under my ass as he gently presses my back to the tree and his lips to mine. He doesn’t hesitate to demand entrance, pressing his tongue against mine as if to remind us both who is in control here.
I moan as I claw at him, wanting so much more, but he doesn’t linger. He pulls back and rests his forehead against mine as we both pant heavily.
He licks his lips as his eyes fill with pain, then he says the last thing I expect. “If you leave us, it will break my heart.”
I cup his face, a huge smile on my lips from what he just admitted to me. “I love you too,” I whisper just for him. His eyes widen, then his lips crash to mine in a fierce display of affection.
When he finally tears his lips away, he glances around us before grunting in annoyance. “We need to get out of here.”
“Let’s go back to our cave,” Bo suggests. “It’s the best chance in the middle of the night.”
Ronan nods, then pulls back from the tree, keeping me in his arms as he starts to march through the forest. Hawk quickly moves in front, and I realize he has his spear now. Even Ronan has his ax on his back again. I guess they were able to grab their weapons when they took out the men who took us.
