He sinks to his knees again and buries his head between my thighs. My fingers find his hair as he brushes and strokes me with his tongue, over and over, while I get wetter and wetter. His beard scratches against my thighs and the contrast between the softness of his tongue and the sharpness of his beard is almost unbearably good. I arch my back and begin to float up, up, up. He circles my clit before sliding first one thumb in, then a finger, working them together, making my hips lift off the bed.

My orgasm tears through me like it’s been held captive for a decade and has just broken free. My body shakes and I cry out. I chant Byron’s name like it’s the answer to every question I didn’t know to ask.

Finally he’s lying next to me. “I’m here, baby,” he whispers. “I’m here.”

I turn into him, hiding, scared at how distant I feel from who I was before I walked into his cabin tonight. How close I feel to him right now. How I never want tonight to be over.

He scoops me up in his arms and pulls me closer. “I’m here,” he says. “I’m here.”

I inhale and let myself sink into him. Eventually, I drift off to sleep.

I don’t know how long I’ve been out when a blaring alarm wakes me.

“Quick,” Byron says. “We need to get into the shelter. It’s the tornado warning.”

I bolt upright and scan the room for clothes. Even if Byron’s the only other person in the shelter, I still want to be wearing panties. We both dress quickly, pull on our boots and coats, and head out. Byron grabs the crate by the door and leads me outside with his other hand.

“Wait!” I say. “We need Athena.”

Like she heard me say her name, she’s at my feet. I scoop her up and we head out.

It’s almost impossible to notice the rain because the wind is so ferocious. The silhouettes of the trees that line each side of the road are swaying like a crowd with its arms outstretched, raging against the sky. We crouch and head across the porch and behind the cabin. Thankfully Byron’s here. I wouldn’t have known where to go. I’ve never faced a tornado before. Never worried about the weather, other than to wonder whether I’m ever going to see the sun again after days of relentless Oregon rain.