Page 16 of One Merciful Moment

He reached for the shirt he'd left draped over the back of the chair, and the muscles along his back shifted with the motion. Ashley stared until he glanced her way.

Their eyes met.

Her breath caught.

Boone paused, shirt in hand, brow lifting slightly. She looked away too quickly, heat rising on her cheeks. "Sorry."

"It's fine." He pulled the shirt over his head, the fabric sliding down to cover the skin she couldn't stop looking at. "Didn't know you were in here. I thought you went to bed after your shower."

She nodded, pretending to focus on putting her used fork on the plate. Her hands trembled.

Boone walked past her, close enough the warmth from his shower still clung to him. He smelled faintly of soap. She swallowed hard. She'd never been the type to lose her composure over a man. Not back home. Not ever.

But Boone wasn't like anyone she'd known before. And she wasn't sure what to do with the way he made her feel.

He was ten years older than her. She would never go out with a man that much older than her. But here, the difference in their age never got complicated.

Boone stopped at the counter and filled a cup with water. They both drank more now that they could use the faucet freely again.

"You okay?" he asked without turning around.

Ashley forced her voice to work. "Yeah. Just tired."

Boone exhaled heavily. "Long day."

She watched him drink, watched the way he leaned his hip against the counter, watched the quiet confidence in every movement.

He lifted his eyebrow. "You've been watching me all evening."

She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. There was no use denying it. They lived together. While he walked around with his feelings bottled up inside, she couldn't hide hers. Her grandma used to tell her that people could read her expressions like a map to her soul.

"Keep it up, and I'll show you exactly how I feel about you," he said.

She refused to blink and pushed the seeds away from the edge of the table without looking away. Nothing stopped her from enjoying herself.

Living in Everstill was hell. And even though they had electricity back, they were still rationing food from the garden and waiting for a storm.

No one would judge her for taking comfort where she could.

"Go ahead," she whispered.

For a split second, neither of them moved. Then, he crossed the kitchen in two strides, hooked a hand behind her neck, and kissed her.

A hungry moan escaped her mouth, and he swallowed the sound. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down, nails digging into his skin. He kissed her until neither of them could catch their breath, weeks of quiet longing finally breaking free. His hands found the hem of her shirt. She lifted her arms. After her shower, she'd put her dirty clothes in the washer, including her bra.

Her nipples peaked the moment his head lowered. He took the tight bud in his mouth. She gasped, arching her back off the chair. She threaded her fingers through his hair.

He slipped his hand under the waistband of the sweats she was wearing while he sucked. He tugged the material. She lifted her hips to help him, and he took the material plus her underwear with them until she was naked on the chair.

Pulling back, he set her plate on the counter and lifted her onto the table. She squeaked as her ass hit the wood surface. Gazing into his eyes, she tried to guess his next move but the man staring back at her was functioning on his own.

Boone spread her thighs and dropped to his knees on the floor. He held her gaze while he planted his hand on her stomach, lowering her down until her back hit the table. She sprawled her hands on the flat surface, needing something to hold onto.

His mouth settled between her legs. She closed her eyes at the onslaught of arousal. He stroked her with the flat of his tongue. Her whole body jerked. He slid his hands under her legs and gripped the back of her thighs, forcing her legs wider.

He found her clit, letting go of her left thigh and sliding his hand up her stomach to her breast. She reached down and knotted his hair.

Instead of pulling him away, she ground against his mouth.