“This isn’t your fault.”
“Of course not.” She flipped up her hands and let out an irritated sigh. “I only screwed up the first day at the compound. I brought suspicion on us for absolutely nothing.”
Rafe ached to kiss away all her self-doubts and infuse into her the images the way he remembered them. Instead, he caught her attention with an upward hook of his finger. Moisture clung to her dark lashes, the sight of it walloping him more than one of Logan’s beefy-handed right hooks.
“You’re the reason we know without a doubt that we’re on the right track.” He tugged her chin back when she attempted to look away. “So what if you were scared in the alley? You didn’t back down. Just like you stuck with it when you faced Logan and Marco. And seeing you stand your ground back at the compound when those goons were gunning for us was fucking incredible.”
“What’s your point?” she asked softly.
“My point is that despite being scared, you still went through with this—all of it. That is the definition of courage, and you have it by the fistful. Stop selling yourself short. Alpha would’ve never let you get this far if we didn’t believe you capable. Hell, I wouldn’t have let you get this far.”
“But none of this is getting us any closer to finding Rachel. I can’t lose her, Rafe. She’s the only family I have.” Penny’s throat visibly seized.
Rafe brought her mouth within an inch of his own. “Wrong on both fronts. We are closer. And she’s not your only family, Red. I barely remember my mother. But I sure as hell remember being shipped from one foster home to another, sometimes not staying in one place long enough to unpack my fucking knapsack. In that time, I learned something pretty damn quick. And that’s that family is who you want them to be. Blood is blood. It’s a fluid. Family are those who help you go through life with a purpose. For you, Rachel’s both, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have family elsewhere. You may not have a commando cape of your own, but you’re an honorary member of Alpha now. And sweetheart, we are a family. In every way that counts.”
Her lips twitched with the threat of a watery smile. “I thought you weren’t a man with speeches.”
Until her, he also hadn’t been a man to envision himself with one woman, but damn if he wasn’t starting to like the idea…if that woman was her.
Sucker-punched by the wayward thought, Rafe forced his lips into a smirk. “What can I say? I’m a cheerleader.”
She glanced down his body, her hot gaze damn near bringing him to his knees. Like clockwork, his cock began to rise for the occasion. With it pushing against the fabric of his briefs, there was no way for her to miss it.
He couldn’t hold back if he tried. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her.
He meant it to be a show of innocent affection, but there was nothing innocent about his feelings. Hot and needful, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and felt her go liquid in his arms. Bodies flush, he quivered on contact. It wasn’t long before her hands ran up the length of his chest.
As always happened when she was in his arms, Rafe lost track of time, forgetting all about where they were and that they needed to make this a quick stop. He ripped her shirt from the waist of her pants, pulling it off in one fluid movement before lowering his mouth to her lace-covered breast.
Penny’s hands locked onto his shoulders, her fingers gripping his muscles and holding him close…like he’d pull away. Never in a million fucking years. He needed this too much, needed her too much to even contemplate letting her go so soon.
Eager to dive into the wonderland that was her warm, damp pussy, he unsnapped her cargos with the flick of his fingers. Her breathless gasps spurred him on, and the slow spreading of her legs gave him easy access as he slipped his hand beneath the back of her panties and dipped his fingers into the wetness between her legs.
“Rafe.” Penny’s knees buckled.
He caught her before she dropped into the water. “Whoa there, sweetheart. You fainting on me now? I know I pack one hell of a punch, but…” He scanned her face and what he saw erased the cocky smirk from his face. Her cheeks, usually pink and lively, looked pale. Worry superseded horniness as he gently shifted her in his arms. “It kills me to say this, but I think we need to press pause for a bit. Breathe. Drink. Rest.”
“I’m okay.” She shook her head as if clearing cobwebs from her mind. “But I won’t turn away more water.”
He held the canteen to her lips, tipping it back up when she’d dared slow down. Only when he was satisfied that she’d drunk enough did she let him escort her to an inlet that wouldn’t knock her down with the force of the churning water.