Page 48 of Peak’s Code

“That doesn’t make it my fault,” she breathed.

“Exactly.” He smiled over at her and squeezed her hand in his.

She shook her head. “You twisted that.”

“I clarified it.”

“You’re annoying,” she grumbled.

“So I’ve been told.” His thumb moved across her skin again, slow and absentminded. The simple touch made something warm unfurl inside her chest. For eighteen months, every hand reaching toward her had felt like a threat, but Peak’s didn’t. He didn’t demand anything. He simply stayed. Neither of them noticed they were still holding hands—not until a loud crack of thunder rolled across the marsh. Maeve jumped instinctively.

Peak looked toward the window as rain began pelting the glass in heavy sheets. Within seconds, the parking lot disappeared behind a curtain of water. The lights flickered once, twice, and then the power went out. The room fell into complete darkness and Maeve's breathing caught. She hated the dark—always had, but especially since Wren disappeared. A second later, the beam of Peak's flashlight cut through the blackness.

He looked at her. "You okay?" She started to answer, and another clap of thunder shook the motel. Without thinking, she took one step closer to him, and then another. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them acknowledged the few inches separating them.

Outside, the storm raged, but inside, the tiny motel room suddenly felt even smaller. For the first time since she'd met Peak, Maeve realized the safest place she'd been in eighteen months wasn't a fortified clubhouse or an underground tunnel—it was standing in the dark beside him.

Peak

The storm raged on outside the hotel room, and every time thunder clapped just outside the window, Maeve would jump. “Come here, Maeve,” he whispered. She looked at him and hesitated, but when he held his arms wide open for her, she practically jumped into them.

“Is this better? He asked, wrapping his arms around her. She nodded against his chest, and he tightened his hold around her body. For some damn reason, she felt right plastered up against him the way that she was. And when she breathed him in, he couldn’t help the moan that escaped his parted lips.

“You smell good,” she whispered.

Peak buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her strawberry shampoo. “You do too, honey,” he breathed.

“I really hate storms,” she said. “And the dark.”

He chuckled, running his hands up and down her back. “I kind of noticed,” he said. “But I don’t mind. It gives me an excuse to do this,” he said, squeezing her tight. “And this,” he leaned back and looked her over, and when his gaze landed on her lips, she bit the bottom one into her mouth, letting her tongue dart over it.

“Fuck, Maeve,” he growled. “Tell me that you want me as much as I want you.”

She shyly nodded and snuggled closer to him. “I want you, Peak. I can’t explain why, but I feel this crazy connection to you.” He understood it completely because he felt that way about her, too. Sure, it felt crazy to him too, but it also felt completely right.

“Tell me to stop, honey,” he demanded. “Because I’ll stop if you want me to.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to stop,” she whispered.

“This is a bad idea, honey,” he insisted. Peak wasn’t sure if he was trying to talk himself or her out of what was about to happen, but he couldn’t do it. He wanted her too much.

“This is a very bad idea,” she agreed, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “But I don’t care. I’m not going to change my mind, either, Peak.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He hated that their first time was going to be in a cheap motel while on the run from the assholes who were trying to kill them.

“I promise to do better once this is all over—you know, take you on a date, and all that stuff,” he said.

“I don’t need a date, and all that stuff,” she insisted. “I just need you, Peak.”

“Then you have me,” he promised. He laid her over the bed and loved the way that she reached for him when he stood over her. Maeve pulled him down onto her body, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

He rolled them both until Maeve was on top of his body, and she squealed and giggled. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I want to be able to see you, honey,” he said. He watched as she grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up her body. Every single inch that she revealed was sexy as hell. And when he realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra, he hissed out his breath.

“Shit,” he grumbled.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Everything is fan-fucking-tastic,” he said. “You’re gorgeous, honey,” he praised.