Page 56 of A Hard Habit to Break

Her hand found his cheek, rubbing the stubble with the same gentle touch she’d used when they were fooling around in the back of a movie theater. “But I’m not opposed to rocking you to sleep.”

The simple words hit him harder than any passionate declaration could have. His pulse took off like a greyhound after a rotisserie rabbit.

Through all his flirting, all his attempts to charm and seduce, what he’d really wanted was this. Rachel, choosing to be here. Choosing him. Not because of smooth words or grand gestures, but because she cared enough to wait up for him, to worry about him, to take care of him when he was too stubborn to put his oxygen mask on first.

“Six,” he murmured, already half-asleep.

“I’m here,” she whispered, her fingers combing through his hair. She tossed one arm over his middle, lazily stroking his side. “I’ll stay right here.”

“Stay forever.” He exhaled, letting his mind drift. And for the first time in years, that was enough.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RACHEL PRESSED HERlips to Noah’s before he could say more about her staying. The taste of him, warm and salty, lingered, mixing with something sweet he’d chugged, maybe an electrolyte replenisher. The gesture was meant to reassure him of her presence, but his mouth, warm with invitation, pliable from exhaustion, yielded with such vulnerability that her chest tightened at the raw hunger. He used his mouth to caress hers with a slow, undistracted thoroughness.

“Six,” he murmured against her mouth, his voice thick with… maybe, relief. No, it was gratitude. In this moment, Noah gave her something more precious than desire. He trusted her to care for him the way he’d cared for all those who had needed him tonight. “I miss you.”

“Why didn’t you come for me?” she asked, the sting ofher teeth against her bottom lip grounding her against what he might say.

With one hand lifted, he cupped her jaw with fingers that trembled, whether from fatigue or emotion, it mattered not, because this wasn’t seduction, this was far more intimate. “Guess I deserved that. Truth be told, it would’ve broken me if you’d sent me away.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to, but I know now we weren’t ready for forever.” She rested her forehead against his, comfortable in a way she hadn’t been with him before tonight.

“Good to know. And now?” he whispered.

Her heart hammered to the banjo of crickets singing beyond the windows. She pulled back, watching Noah’s inky lashes droop over hazel eyes, losing the battle to focus on her face.

“That’s a question for the morning,” she teased, but neither of them expected a punch line. At least, not for a laugh. “Sleep now,” she muttered.

With the hand cupping her jaw, he traced his thumb over her cheek, his hand going slack as it slid down her neck, her shoulder, to rest on her arm. “You’ll be here if I do?”

“Promise.” Catching his wrist before his hand could fall away completely, she guided it around her waist instead, pressing closer into the shelter of his body.

Solid. Perfect.

Even with his eyes closed, he smiled. “And the farmer’s daughter keeps her promises.”

“For you, I will.” The words were honest. As real as she could be for the boy once loved, and the man she wanted to.

Noah’s breathing deepened, in a lazy rhythm like the plunge pool in the dry season. His features softened, creases around his eyes and mouth smoothing into a rugged handsomeness. Like a guardian completely at ease with her state ofundress, she watched the rise and fall of his chest, relishing her duty.

Shifting, she pressed her palm flat against his chest. Instinctively, he curled his broad body around hers, his fingers spreading across the bare skin of her hip in a protective grip. A shiver raked over her skin, not from the chill, but the tenderness of his touch. Even in sleep, he anchored himself to her. All of a sudden, tears stung her eyes. Noah had let her see him depleted and desperate for rest. He’d let himself fall in front of her, trusting her to be his refuge. She tightened her hold on him. “You won’t get rid of me, Noah Calvary,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear but needing to say it anyway.

The steady thump of Noah’s heartbeat lulled a yawn from her. A soft exhale warmed her cheek as the firm planes of his body relaxed. Whether he realized it or not, Noah had given her a nonverbal sign of his true feelings. He’d accept her body, but he wanted her heart. Rachel pillowed her head on his bicep and her mind on everything that had happened since she ran to him. Thankful he was safe in her arms, she breathed in his woodsy scent, letting herself fall with him into a peaceful slumber. She would stay not because he asked, but because she wanted to be where he was.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE SUN BEATdown unfiltered through the loft windows, heating Noah’s taut skin as consciousness crept back. Had he fallen asleep before lowering the automatic blinds? His body ached in all the familiar places—shoulders, back, the spaces between his ribs where exhaustion had settled during the night. But something else pulled at his awareness.

On instinct, he reached for Rachel. The space beside him where she should have been was empty. Coolness greeted his calloused fingertips. She’d been gone for a while. For a moment, panic clawed at his chest.

Had he dreamed it all?

The way she’d launched herself into his arms, the taste of her lips throughout the night, the feel of her body curved against his as sleep claimed them? But then, his hand brushed soft hair, and he gave the strands a playful tug—

A heartstopping “MRAAAAAAAAAAAAOWWWWWW!” battered his eardrums followed by a softer, but no lesshands off, buster“MRRRRROWWWWWWW!”

Noah’s eyes snapped open, his hand automatically recoiling across the rumpled sheets.