Page 38

Chapter 37

Jude

T he supplies for Henri and Alice’s romantic getaway were more than sufficient. Perhaps the rose petals were a bit much, but as I was quickly entering my romantic sap era, I decided that maybe it was kind of adorable. By day two, we were starting to get bored waiting for updates.

We sipped coffee at the outdoor fire pit and hiked in search of the perfect marshmallow roasting sticks so we could roast the pink marshmallows we’d found in one of the gear bags.

“Figures you’d be a great marshmallow roaster.” Mila licked a glob of the sticky substance off her fingers. “You’ve got the perfect slow rotation for equal browning.”

I admired my creation. Yes, it was just lightly browned, the sugar oozing and crusting on the outside.

“While you stick yours in the fire and char ’em beyond recognition.”

She shrugged, putting another on her stick. “I stand by my methods. Delicious and efficient.”

She leaned against me on the log that had been cut to provide a bench, and I wrapped one arm around her, inhaling the fresh mountain air.

“I’ve spent my whole life chasing adventure,” she said. “Yet now that I’m living the plot of a heist movie, I want to be normal.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. There were plenty of parts of my old, boring life that I enjoyed, but I’d be lying if I said I wanted to go back to that. Because every moment with Mila was better than even the best alone. Every one was worth the risk, the fear, and the danger.

“I can’t even think about it. I’m too scared. Let’s pretend to be normal people.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Okay, Trouble. So we’re here on a romantic weekend date.”

“You flew me out on a floatplane for a date?”

With a chuckle, I gave her a squeeze. “Anything for my girl.”

“Okay.” She sank into me, her body relaxing. “Tell me more.”

“I’d cook for you, take you on hikes, and then wrap you in the down comforter and go down on you for hours.”

She shivered, her eyes dancing in the glow of the campfire. “I love the sound of that.”

“If I really wanted to pull out all the stops, I’d gas up the ATV in the shed and take you out to the wildflower meadow.”

“What’s that?”

“Back in the ’70s, there was a massive wildfire. Took out hundreds of acres of forest. They aren’t always a bad thing. Fires clear forests and provide an ecological reset. They also release a lot of seeds that grow and scatter and flourish in the nutrient-dense soil.”

She hummed. “I had no idea.”

“We have photos in the office. I’ll show you sometime. Fireweed comes first, and then other species. Eventually shrubs and saplings. But sometimes, when an area burns, wildflowers take over. It’s called a superbloom.”

“Superbloom? I love that.” She turned, her hair tickling my cheek, and peered up at me.

“The area is called Sinistre Nord. We own part of it, but it’s mostly state land.”

She frowned, considering the words. “That means the disaster in the north, right?”

“Yeah, something like that. My grandfather used to talk about it all the time.”

“And it’s all wildflowers?”

“No, a lot of the forest has grown back since then, but one meadow that abuts a lake is still a rolling sea of flowers.”

“Another lake?”

I pressed my lips to her head. “Yeah, another one of those inaccessible Maine gems. We’ll go soon. I promise.”

She sat up straight, her body tensing, as if her consciousness had gone elsewhere.

“Mila?” I sat up too. “You okay?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I just… I think I’ve heard that phrase before. Sinistre Nord,” she said slowly. “But I’m tired and stressed. I’m probably imagining things.”

“It’s called ecological succession,” I explained. “Growth and evolution after devastation.”

“So the forest grows back?” She looked up at me, her expression suddenly filled with fear. As if she was no longer talking about flowers.

I kissed her softly. “Not just that. It grows back stronger and healthier. Battle-tested, rising from the ashes. But different.”

“So it looks different? Maybe different from the old maps and photos?”

I shrugged. “Probably.”

Eyes flaring, she cupped my chin and brought her lips to mine.

“When will this end?” She sighed.

I looped my arm around her waist. “Soon. We’ll come back from this. Stronger and better than ever. Because you, like my beloved forest, are pure wild.”

She shifted and straddled me, grinding against my already hard cock. I pulled her close and peppered kisses down her jawline. She said nothing, yet her body begged me for distraction and comfort.

Right now, there was little I could do to better our situation. But I could give her this.

I ran my hands up her thighs as she ground down against my lap. My desires burned through me, making me wonder if I could last. The stress of the last few days and the quiet tranquility of the woods made me crave her even more.

She kissed me wildly, needing this as much as I did. She needed to get out of her own head, to let herself feel something other than fear.

“Do you want to go inside?” I asked as I unhooked the clasp of her bra.

She shook her head as I cupped her breasts, gasping. “Jude.”

Her breathy voice sent blood rushing to my groin.

I pushed her to standing, assessing my options. It was cold, but we were both burning up. It only took me a moment to find a suitable place and back her up to a large pine tree. “Hold on.”

I placed her hands on the tree trunk and dropped to my knees behind her, slowly easing her leggings down. She shivered as I pulled them down, inch by inch, peppering her skin with kisses.

She looked devastatingly sexy, her hair wild, her baggy sweatshirt giving me a peek of her ass, as she looked over her shoulder, licking her lips.

I got her leggings down to her ankles and guided her feet apart before trailing my fingers over her ass crack toward her pussy.

“Dripping.” With a groan, I leaned in to taste her.

“Jude.” She sighed, tilting her hips to give better access.

I slipped a finger inside, and she instantly clenched around it. “You need this?”

She nodded, her legs shaky.

“You need to come?”

“Yes. So badly.”

While I finger-fucked her, I slid my free hand up her thigh and gave her a light swat.

She cried out, and her channel tensed around my finger again.

I rocketed to my feet and pushed my sweats down to release my aching cock. The need to bury myself inside her was overwhelming.

“Shit, I don’t have a condom.”

“I don’t care. I’ve been tested.”

My cock surged at the idea of sliding in bare. Filling her up and watching it drip out of her pussy. Fuck, I’d never had that particular fantasy, but now it was all I needed.

“So have I. Nothing on my end. Are you on birth control?”

“No.”

Oh shit.

“Pull out.” She commanded.

“That’s not 100 percent effective,” I reasoned. If I’d learned one thing in high school health class, it was condoms or nothing—no sex. Every time. But Mila made me want to bend the rules and get a little crazy.

“I’ll take the chance.” She arched back against me.

I slipped a second finger inside her, making her gasp, trying to block out the impact that statement had on me. The thought of taking her bare, the thought of potentially creating a child with her. It was more than I could ever hope for.

“I need your cock now.”

It was risky, but I couldn’t help myself.

Pulling her hips back, I lined myself up, and with my eyes closed, focused on every sensation, I thrust inside her bare.

“God, Mila.” My body trembled, my nerve endings lighting up as I adjusted to the perfection that was her wet heat. “You feel so good.”

In response, she moaned and rolled her hips.

Fuck, I had to move. Gripping her hips hard, I thrust into her, setting a rhythm. “Fucking you bare against a tree may be my new favorite thing.”

“Harder,” she cried, her nails digging into the bark. “Please.”

I wouldn’t deny her, but I was barely hanging on. Desperate for distraction and eager to get her as close to her release as I was, I spanked her again, a bit harder.

When she clenched around my cock, I almost passed out.

“You like that?” I said, giving her another spank.

“Yeah,” she whimpered, head dropped to one side.

“Good.” Another swat. “Tell me, Mila,” I said, leaning back to assess the red mark I’d left on her ass. It was just visible in the firelight. “Who do you belong to?”

“You.” She threw her head back and screamed. “I belong to you.”

“Good girl.”

As if spurred on by my praise, she thrust against me, her breathing growing more ragged.

I focused on deep, hard thrusts, soaking in the way her moans echoed off the trees.

“That’s it.” I groaned, fucking her faster. “You’re so close I can feel it.”

Soon she was crying out and pulsing around me. I spanked her again, hard, and she unraveled, her body quaking and nonsensical words spilling from her mouth.

I grit my teeth, intent on letting her ride out her orgasm. It was a miracle I didn’t lose control, but as she came down, I pulled out and spilled myself all over her ass cheeks, a thrill coursing through me at the sight of my seed dripping down her still pink skin.

I’d never seen anything sexier in my life.

After cleaning her up and helping her back into her pants, I pulled her into my lap, burying my face in her hair.

“I love the woods,” she said, as I peppered her face with kisses.

“You just like getting fucked up against a tree,” I teased.

She cocked a brow. “Can we do it again sometime?”

“Of course. That’s a white pine. But we should try out other species too.”

“For science.” She smirked.

“Yes. I mean, what if you come harder against a maple?”

She giggled. “Or a birch.”

“Yes, Trouble.” I tipped her chin up and stole a kiss. “We have a lot of research to do.”