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Owen and I took the bedrooround floor, while everyone else trooped to the upstairs bedrooms I wanted to be downstairs, wanted to be the first line of defense, just in case any of the bounty hunters traced us here The odds of that happening were next to impossible, especially since on paper the cabin ned by Nick A Medes, which was one of Fletcher’s rock-solid aliases But Sophia had volunteered to stand watch, just in case I would have done itsome rest

I was tired-so tired-but I couldn’t sleep Instead, I paced back and forth across the bedroo under my bare feet Oatched , but his gaze never leftto turn and look at him

"For what?"

I threw my hands out wide "For all of this For the fact that you and Eva are now on the run because of hed "There’s nothing to be sorry for, Gin I knew that this was a possibility e got together I knew that you were going after Mab, and I knew that itdown on the bed beside hined up for, is it?"

Owen shrugged "Maybe it’s not, but I wouldn’t trade it-or you-for a second You kno much I care about you, Gin You kno much I love you"

He’d finally said the words that I’d been dreading and longing to hear

And I wanted to say them back to him

My mouth opened, but the words-the daed inme, even as the syllables squeezed hter My e that had happened tonight and all the awful things that ht happen tomorrow I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t do anything but just feel-feel all the love I had for Owen

Part of aped-mouth silence was stupid I should tell Owen how I felt now, tonight, before another second passed But part of me wanted to wait When I told Owen I loved him, I wanted the moment to be about him, about us, and e had-not because Mab was ht, I just couldn’t force out the words Agony welled up in rippedthat I could do-I leaned forward and kissed Owen

My tongue drove into hisat his clothes Maybe I couldn’t say the words, but I could shoen how much he meant to me I needed to-I was desperate to

I didn’t want to think tonight I didn’t want to think about the fact that Mab had Bria That the Fire elemental had already tortured ht was through, and that there was nothing I could do to stop it No way to rescue Bria No way to break into Mab’smyself and everyone else killed in the process No, I didn’t want to think tonight

But for once, I couldn’t bury s Couldn’t pretend they didn’t exist or thatfor Bria, even as it swelled with love for Owen Everything I’d been through tonight-fighting Mab, feeling her Fire burnBria in the woods-roared up inside ht any longer It needed a release-now, before it consurorapped his hand in uejust as fast and hard as mine did, even as we sucked the air out of each other’s mouths Owen raked his teeth acrossatony "You kno much I-I love it when you kiss ainstopen the flannel shirt he’d changed into after taking his own shower The buttons flew everywhere, landing on the wooden floor, but I didn’t care I was already leaning forward, tracing ue down his broad,too much, too hard, too fast, and my hands shook as I tried to work the button on his jeans,off the smooth metal

"Here, let me," he murmured

Owen popped open the button, then dren the zipper He lifted his hips, and I peeled the jeans off hi underneath, and I stopped a moment to admire hisfor rabbed my arms

"Not yet," he whispered "Let me take care of you first"

I didn’t have time to protest before Owen rolled me over onto my back He took a little more care with my borrowed clothes than I had with his, but they disappeared soon enough Owen’s lips scorched a path down ht nipple Over and over, he ran his tongue over the peak before gently scraping his teeth across the tip He repeated the process on my other nipple until I wanted to scream with pleasure and frustration I arched up off the bed, already wanting to feel hiue moved fro lower I opened ainstup entle, patient even, before, now he beca deeper and deeper intoers digging into his shoulders "Owen"

Finally, just when I thought I couldn’t take any ot up on his knees and pulled me up to him Our arether

Noere both out of control-our passion for each other, our desire, our need, burning, burning, burning Our hands were everywhere, kneading, caressing, stroking, and our tongues dueled back and forth as we ot the upper hand I pushed Owen down onto his back, straddling hi the wet tip before lightly raking th of hi

I reached over, opened the nightstand drawer, and drew out a condom from the box there Of course, I took my pills, but we also used extra protection for a variety of reasons

Owen arched an eyebrow "You’re always prepared for everything, aren’t you?"

I s if not well stocked"

Using my hand and then my mouth, I teased his cock a littlethe sheets just as o, before I unrolled the condo shaft

"Gin," Owen murmured "My Gin"