Page 96 of Chains
But now she wondered if maybe there was something to this whole love-at-first-sight and destiny thing that she’d always dismissed. It would certainly explain why she felt such a strong connection to Chains, and why no man had ever made herfeelthe way he did. And the fate and soulmate aspect gave some insight as to why in the hell she was falling—correction, had already fallen in love with him.And it’s been barely a few weeks since I broke up with Bret… Chains’s brother.“Ugh.” A groan escaped from her throat.
“You okay?” Chains asked, stopping. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and drew her close.
“I’m great. I was just clearing my throat. I could get addicted to this place.”
He nodded. “It has a way of pulling you in.” He stroked her cheek. “Like you do to me.”
Autumn nuzzled his neck. “You must know that I’m falling hard for you.” She couldn’t quite bring herself to admit she was crazy in love with him. Call it pride or self-preservation, but she didn’t think she could handle Chains pulling away from her.That’d be a great one—two brothers dropping me in less than a month.
“I do, and you must feel that I’m totally mesmerized and captivated by you. No woman has done that to me—not even my ex. So, that’s huge, baby.”
Mesmerized and captivated are good, right? I mean, he didn’t say he loved me, but that’s a lot to expect since we’ve only been together for a short time.
He let out a hearty laugh. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
She turned toward Chains and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Nothing much except that this is one of the best days I’ve had.”
“It’s like that for me whenever we spend time together.”
A surge of happiness shot through her, electrifying every cell in her body. Hooking her arms around his neck, Autumn drew his head down and crushed her mouth to his, sucking his tongue, nipping at his bottom lip, and kissing him wildly. With a deep growl, he took control of the kiss, deepening it, and pressing her tighter against him. His hands skimmed down Autumn’s back until he cupped her ass, squeezing it while grinding against her. She felt his hard dick and rubbed her body closer, her skin tingling with every feral sound he made.
She broke the kiss, moaning into his mouth.
“What the fuck have you done to me, Autumn?” he rasped before taking her lips again.
She felt the earth below melt away and all time stopped for that moment as she gave in to her senses: his taste—sweet with a hint of tequila, the way he felt—hard and warm, his scent—soap and wind, the sounds he made—grunts and murmurings, and the sight of him—rough and gorgeous.
“I want you so fuckin’ bad,” he growled.
The sweet laughter of children along with Thor’s barks brought her out of the cocoon of sensations and into real time. She pushed back gently and looked over at three children throwing rocks into the lake, and a couple standing near the shoreline, bending over and digging through the sand.
Chains whistled loudly and Thor stopped in his tracks; then, he switched direction and came running toward them.
“You stick with us, buddy,” Chains said as he looped an arm around Autumn’s waist and began walking.
Before long they’d circled the lake, then Chains shook out the blanket and laid it on the ground again. Autumn sat down, opened the basket, and began to take things out of it.
As they sat eating roast beef sandwiches, a chopped salad with butternut squash, dried cranberries, apples, walnuts, and feta, Chains unscrewed a beer bottle that he’d retrieved from the car and brought it to his lips.
“Is something bothering you?” Autumn asked before taking a small bite of her sandwich.
Shaking his head, he stared at the lake.
“Are you feeling funny about our situation? You know—the whole ex-fiancée thing.” She held her breath.
He jerked his head back. “No fuckin’ way.”
“Then what? I know something’s on your mind. You were quiet for most of the walk.” Autumn dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin, leaned back on her palms, and stretched her legs out on the soft spread Chains had brought.
The muscle in his jaw visibly tightened as he looked over at Thor, who was sleeping at the foot of the throw.
“I’m worried about a buddy of mine. He’s in the hospital.” Chains glanced over at her, concern settling into the fine lines around his eyes and forehead.
She sat up straight and reached out for his hand to stroke it. “I’m so sorry. What’s wrong with him?”
A small pause, then he blew out a long breath. “Someone shot him.” He looked away and settled his gaze back on the view in front of them.
Shock reverberated through her and she gripped his hand harder. “That’s awful. Did the police catch who did it?”
