Page 37 of Almost Ravaged (Men of Evercrisp Orchard #1)

Chapter thirty-one

Tytus

S he’s high. Just my fucking luck.

I wanted to hold her. Kiss her. Sneak down one of the trail passes and tell her everything I’ve kept to myself for years.

But I don’t want to do any of that if she’s not going to remember. Or worse, laugh in my face, because she always gets giggly when she’s high or drunk.

I even wrote it down and brought the scrap of paper I scratched it on with me.

It was unnecessary, really, since I already have it memorized, and I was paranoid it would fall out of my pocket, so I folded it up and tucked it into my sock.

Stupid, really. But I always feel fucking stupid when it comes to trying to define where things stand with my girl.

This was supposed to be it. Our night.

Now I’m being sent to the penalty box before I even had a chance to take my shot.

“Come on, mon ange.”

Sawyer giggles again. God, I fucking love the sounds she makes. The breathy sigh when she’s studying or the cute little whimper that escapes her at the end of a yawn. I hear her perfect laugh in my sleep, bold and loud, like she doesn’t care who hears it.

Sometimes I hear her sobs in my sleep, too.

Her sobs, punctuated by gasps of air and my name pleaded over and over again.

All her happiness. All her sorrow.

I hear it. I feel it. I want it all.

With her hand in mine, I lead her away from the asshat who’s clearly never taken a geography class. We stop on a flat rock several meters from where others are spread out across the picnic tables and a handful of others are setting up hammocks between trees.

I squint out past the horizon. Canada, my ass. The setting sun has dipped behind the clouds, but the colors in the sky are bright and bold. “Do you want to watch the sunset?”

She sighs. It’s the wistful kind, like something isn’t going her way or she’s holding back.

I sit and spread my legs wide, hoping like hell she’ll take the invitation and let me hold her.

She doesn’t release my hand, but she doesn’t sit either. The vibrant colors of the sunset at her back create a glowing halo around her.

“Do you want to sit with me?” I finally ask.

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I want to do everything with you, Ty.”

Urgency ripples through me. “Sit down,” I demand.

Maybe all hope isn’t lost for this night.

When she sinks to the ground in front of me, I spread my legs wider. “Lean back.” I want her pressed up against me. I want to feel her everywhere.

Cautiously, I weave my arms under hers and drape them across her stomach, then rest my chin on her shoulder.

She giggles on contact. “That tickles.”

Fuck, I wish I could record that sound.

I readjust, resting the side of my head against hers instead.

“Better?”

With a contented hum, she leans back and splays her hands on my thighs.

The sight of her fingers spread wide over my bare skin ignites a flame deep in my core. I home in on the knuckle of each delicate finger, the freckles that decorate the backs of her hands, her shiny nails, coated in some sort of polish. I savor every point of contact between us.

And when she leans back, gives me all her weight, and lets me fucking hold her?

I’ve never been happier.

This is it.

Right here. Right now.

Tonight is our night.

She drags her nails across the tops of my thighs, and I shudder. As if my reaction encourages her, she does it again. And again. Back and forth, sparking little bursts of desire with each pass.

By the tenth pass, my dick is painfully hard. I reposition so she can still rest back comfortably without getting prodded in the ass.

Although, fuck, right now, I’d give just about anything for the opportunity to prod into her.

She tips her head up, exposing her neck to me, and I lose my train of thought. Focus trapped on the hollow of her throat, I lick my lips. The urge to run my tongue along her pulse point is almost too much.

Eventually, her soft, hazy brown eyes find me, ensnaring me. “You’re sure you didn’t want to go out with Atty and the rest of the team tonight?”

When I uncoil my arms from her waist, the loss of her is almost painful. The ache dulls, though, when I brush the back of one hand down her arm. With my free hand, I grip her chin and hold her right where I want her.

She responds beautifully, parting her lips, tipping back farther. Opening just for me.

Desire courses through me, and I forget to breathe. Being the object of her focus like this is like being slammed into the boards and knocked straight on my ass.

I clear my throat, and when I find my voice, it’s barely a whisper. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I want to do everything with you, too?”

A whimper escapes her.

Goddamn all her little fucking sounds.

She flips her wrist and laces her fingers in mine. “Only maybe?”

Not only maybe.

It’s never maybe when it comes to her .

I’ll do everything in my power to ensure we’re never apart. To ensure that always is the only ending for us.

I curl over her, fueled by our closeness and the openness we’ve stumbled upon tonight, and lick my lips. Then I bring my mouth close to hers, sharing her breath.

This is it. I’m going to tell her. I’m going to kiss her. I’m going to finally make her mine.

“Sawy—”

A screech rends the air, the pitch and intensity sending my blood pressure through the roof.

I jump up on instinct, dislodging Sawyer in the process and stepping in front of her defensively.

“Grant, get back here.”

The guy who drove us here zips past, chasing the kid who sat beside me in the van across the flat top of the rocks.

As three more people jog past, the adrenaline spiking through my veins transforms into rage.

“Don’t even fucking think about trying to boulder the side of the Ledges again,” Cam yells. “You don’t even have pants on.”

My anger boils and metastasizes, turning into fury, the frustration of another lost opportunity making every nerve ending in my body crackle.

The wind picks up, rustling the nearby trees, the cool night air dampening the sensation enough to allow me to suck in a breath and blow it out again. Head down, I run both hands through my hair, willing myself to keep it together.

We came here with a group. I assumed people would be drinking and smoking. I expected a general party vibe. Yet here I am, freaking the fuck out.

I’m a fucking idiot.

I should’ve known this wasn’t the right time to push for what I’ve wanted for so long. There is no way this night would have ended up the way I want it to.

“Hey.” Sawyer is suddenly at my side, her arms looped around my waist.

I jolt on contact, but she doesn’t pull away. She waits me out while I close my eyes and count to ten. She keeps her arms wrapped around my torso, with her chin planted on my pec. She doesn’t give up on me. Never fucking has.

She knows we’re endgame.

Even if we have no fucking idea when the game will even fucking begin.

Finally, I exhale and force my shoulders to relax. Only then can I look at her .

“Okay?” she asks, her irises dark now that the light is almost gone.

I’m not okay.

This isn’t okay.

But for now, I grit my teeth and lie. Once we’re alone—truly alone, just the two of us—it will be okay.

Better than okay.

It’ll be bliss.

We just haven’t gotten there yet.