He inhaled, a quick shuddering breath, a crease appearing between his brows as she slowly took all of him.
It felt so good, his cock stretching her, filling her, stroking that deep ache. She began to move, grinding herself against him, the sensation almost too sweet to bear, pleasure making her forget, chasing away the lingering shadows of a terrifying day.
He knew just how to drive her crazy, teasing her nipples, cupping her breasts, sending jolts of arousal straight to her womb.
Somehow, their sex life kept getting better, the bond between them deeper. He was her half-side—her perfect, matching half—and she was his.
She kept up the rhythm, her nails digging into the skin of his chest, pleasure drawing tight inside her. He reached down with one hand to stroke her clit with his thumb, his blue eyes dark. Her gaze still locked with his, she came, bliss washing through her, a blaze of golden light that left her breathless.
The moment her peak had passed, he flipped her onto her back and caught her legs with his shoulders, forcing her knees back and opening her fully to him. He thrust into her, driving hard, carrying her toward a second shattering climax. This time he came too, spilling himself inside her.
They lay together afterward, her head on his chest, his fingertips tracing her spine.
“What you did today—it’s the same thing you did the night you lost your leg.” She’d thought a lot about this on the drive home.
His voice was deep, soft. “How?”
“You took a situation where death was imminent and turned it into a chance for life.”
“I was where I needed to be today.”
Kat smiled to hear him say that. “Yes, I guess you were.”
When she’d met him, Gabe hadn’t believed in anything—no higher power, no religious tradition, not even himself.
Her mind flashed to the last moments together before she’d driven away with the kids.
“I’ll stay here and wait for the next sheriff’s vehicle. Deputy Marcs got a call off to Dispatch. They know we’re here.”
“Are you sure they’re coming?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You stayed behind knowing that no one could get through, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t have a choice—at least not one I could live with afterward. I couldn’t drive off and leave others behind to die.”
Gabe told the whole story, filling in the details. “When we reached the cave and everyone was up and out of harm’s way, I was hit by the reality of what had just happened. I was so afraid the fire would overtake you and the kids on the road.”
Kat had worried about that, too. “When I saw Megs and the others on their way up, I felt so relieved. She said they were going to get you. We got caught in a traffic jam in Scarlet, and then Conrad walked up to the car. I knew then that they hadn’t made it. He told me that the fire had already burned through the camp. I jumped out and threw up beside the road. The thought of you all burning to death…”
He kissed her hair, spoke in a soothing voice. “That didn’t happen.”
“Conrad went to Naomi next and gave her the news. Somehow, seeing how devastated she was helped me pull myself together. I tried to focus on helping her.”
“You think I’m brave, but of the two of us, you’re the truly strong one.”
Kat propped herself on her elbow, looked down at the man who had turned her life upside down. “That’s crazy talk.”
“Is it? You’ve had three babies without drugs, and you—”
“I’m hardly the first woman to do that.” Her grandmother had given birth inhogaanssquatting on dirt floors and beneath trees, sometimes alone.
But Gabe wasn’t done. “I get trapped by a wildfire and climb to safety. Okay, cool. High fives. But you believe you’ve lost your husband and still find the strength to go on with the day and help someone else who’s suffering. That took a lot more courage than on-sighting a hundred feet of rock.”
“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that. Besides, what choice did I have?’
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We sure have been through some shit together, haven’t we?”