Page 142 of A Wolfe in the Woods

“I already forgave you,” I said quietly. I kissed him, lingering.

The kiss was long and slow. I could feel the exhaustion slowly pressing into my shoulders, the frenzied danger of the night slowly lifting and in its place was a hollowed-out feeling that I knew only sleeping within the safety of Jonathan’s arms could fill right now.

He was warm and so solid beneath me. Between my thighs, I was still sore from our lovemaking, but I pressed even closer. As the kiss deepened, I felt his cock harden against me, and he pulled back with a groan.

“Maybe not now,” he murmured, brushing his thumb against my cheek. “We should rest.”

I nodded, trailing my fingers down his chest. “You’re right.”

A tired huff left him. “Think we can manage a time together without something trying to kill us? I’m starting to think the woods are jealous every time I touch you.”

Right. The first time we’d been intimate, we’d stumbled home breathless from Juniper Woods, hearts still hammering after outrunning whatever lurked near the moonshade-berry patch we’d discovered.

He pulled me closer, and I pressed my cheek to the center of his chest, careful of the wounds I’d unwrapped before the bath, though they already appeared to be closed.

Jonathan’s voice rumbled against my cheek, reverberating. “I want to make love to you on a Tuesday morning. At dawn, as the sun is rising, and we both don’t have anywhere to be. And after, we’ll make coffee and have breakfast.”

I smiled, a flutter in my belly. “That sounds like a great plan.”

“Next Tuesday work?”

I laughed. “Absolutely.”

“I’m serious. I want to be with you,” he said, the careful but firm words as sweet as a moonshade-berry tart during the summer festival. His eyes were steady and certain. “I’ve fallen pretty hard for you, Red.”

My throat went tight. I hadn’t talked to Jonathan about what I’d already decided about moving back. But now? I was even more sure.

“I’ve fallen pretty hard for you too, Jonathan Wolfe,” I said quietly.

He grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I murmured, smiling.

We were grinning like fools, in a rapidly cooling bathtub, with the smell of ash still lingering in my nostrils. But somehow it felt like it was exactly where we were meant to be.

Taking in a deep breath, I started quietly, “Come to Graymore. On Tuesday. We can make love as the sun is rising. I’ll make you your ridiculously sweet coffee and breakfast. And afterward…you can help me pack up my apartment.”

His eyes flashed, his body stilling beneath mine.

“I’ve already decided to move back to Everwick,” I told him, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. “Even before all this. I want to move back into my grandmother’s cottage for a while, fix it up, maybe rent it out to a family who can love it just as much as we did. I want to see someone cherish that place. That’s what she would want. And I think I can make that happen.” I took a deep breath, released it slowly. “When I moved to Graymore, I thought I knew what I wanted. Only to find out I knew nothing at all. I thought happiness was a flashy, successful career in the big city. Money, security. I pictured such a glamorous, exciting life. But now Iknowit’s not about that at all. What I dream about now is Everwick—the brine in the air, the waves against the cliffs. A community. I dream of starting over because even though it terrifies me, it feels exhilarating. I want to pave my own way now, not just be another face in a sea of people. I dream aboutyou. That’s what I want.”

“I want you to be sure,” Jonathan asked quietly. “Because I’m sure about you.”

“I am—I promise,” I said, smiling. “I should thank Meg. Because even though she forced me to come back here…it just made me realize that Everwick will always be home. And I’ve never felt that way back in Graymore. Iwantto come home. And I…I know you’ll be here too.”

His lips were on mine before I could barely get out the last word, and I smiled into the kiss, relieved.

“I’m here, Blanche,” he whispered when he finally pulled away. He pressed a kiss to my temple, to my cheeks. “Coming back doesn’t mean going untouched. Sometimes coming backismoving forward. And I’ll be here waiting for you.”

My smile felt wobbly. “So Tuesday?”

Jonathan’s eyes were bright and twinkling.

“Tuesday. It’s a date, Red.”

EPILOGUE

BLANCHETTE