Burn Season novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Once

The bunkhouse stood at the edge of the meadow, an old plank hut where past lookouts had slept.

It had one narrow bed and a woodstove.

I lit the stove with hands that weren't quite steady, and Walker stood in the doorway with his crutch.

"Sit," I said.

He sat on the edge of the bed and propped his bad ankle on the rolled jacket.

I shut the door and turned the latch.

"Rules," I said. "You don't talk about us. You don't ask me for anything."

I held his eyes.

"And you don't touch me until I say."

"Okay."

"If you say my name, I'll leave."

He looked up at me, and his eyes were dark.

"Okay," he said again, and it came out rough.

I took off my jacket and dropped it on the floor.

I unbuttoned my work shirt one button at a time, slowly, because I wanted him to watch.

He watched.

He gripped the blanket on either side of his thighs, and I saw his knuckles go white.

I pulled the shirt off my shoulders.

Then my bra, and my boots, and my jeans.

I stood in the glow of the stove in nothing but the braid down my back.

His breath left him in a long, slow rush.

"Rory," he said, and then caught himself. "Sorry."

"You get one."

I stepped between his knees.

I knelt on the bed on either side of his hips, careful of the ankle.

I took his face in both hands.

I didn't kiss him.

I pulled his shirt up over his head.

I ran my palms across his chest, over the muscle and the old scars.

I had memorized this body and thought I would never touch it again.

He made a sound low in his throat.

"Hands," I said. "Now."

His hands came up and closed on my hips.

They were hot and shaking.

I rocked down against him, and I felt how hard he already was through his jeans, and my whole body answered.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Burn Season from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.