Page 45 of Forsaken Hearts
His cock surged inside her, and she rose and fell with every plunge, her juices soaking him. Their mouths collided in a blistering, passionate kiss. A primal groan rumbled from him and into her as he let go, and she took him with her over the cliff into a world of silence and bliss.
Afterward, they lay wrapped together, his fingers moving lazily through her ponytail as they caught their breath. This part always got her. Not the sex—the afterward.
The warmth and closeness. And a dangerous illusion that maybe she wasn’t carrying everything alone.
He dropped a soft kiss to her temple. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She traced a finger over the scar near his shoulder.
The frightening part wasn’t trusting Vander to protect her.
It was how badly she wanted to believe he might stay.
Chapter Eight
Pope followed Summer to work for her lunch shift, not only because it was a job he was taking damn seriously, but because he wasn’t ready to part ways with her even for a few hours.
Gray Malone would take over after she safely reached the Stockyard and sit at the bar through the evening rush as Summer worked, and Pope would pick up surveillance again after close.
Still, when Summer glanced into the rearview mirror at the only stoplight in Willowbrook, a cord inside his chest yanked. There was no way that sensation had anything to do with the job.
After she pulled into the parking lot, he parked two rows over, choosing an angle where he could watch the employee entrance and side alley at the same time he took in the sway of her hips.
His fingers twitched on the steering wheel at the memory of her riding him, of how fast she’d come apart for him, as though she’d been aching during their weeks apart too.
He shot a look at the Black Heart Ranch truck parked in the far corner of the lot just to ensure Gray was inside to watch out for her.
He rolled down the window to watch her cross the distance to the entrance. The crunch of her boots mixed with the low hum of his engine.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and cast a backward glance his direction. “Thanks for the escort.”
“Thanks for the view,” he called back.
Her soft laugh trickled back on the breeze to him, and his lips quirked. God, her laugh did things to him that she didn’t have a clue about.
As soon as she entered the bar, his smile fell away.
He’d driven from the Stockyard to the ranch plenty of times after making sure Summer got home safe. This was the first time he’d made the trip in daylight—and the first time he returned to Black Heart as a member of the security team instead of a patient.
His mind still hadn’t quite caught up to the change.
He might not have known he was ready, but he was glad the Malones did. Rhae cleared him as soon as they asked, but no one had said to move out of the lodge. For the time being, it was still his base.
It was a little bittersweet, pulling through the gates of the ranch and knowing he would report directly to the office rather than having coffee with Truman and Ranger lying at their feet, or holding Navy up to pet the horses who always wandered to the fence for the snacks she carried in her pockets.
The security office was a new addition to the big ranch house where most of the Malones still lived under one roof. Their closeness never stopped amazing him. He had a good family, but nothing like this. The Malones showed up for one another. Every single time. Their spouses had become part of the family too, woven into everyday life until it felt like they’d always belonged.
He headed into the office and found Carson behind his desk with paperwork spread across it.
Carson looked up. “Everything good?”
“For now.”
He shut the office door and crossed the space to sit across from his boss.
“I want to look into Summer’s ex-boyfriend.”
Carson leaned back slightly in his chair. “Thought you might.”
