Page 12 of Bear With Me
He stops and presses another kiss to my lips. “Feel free to hold me anytime.”
The trees suddenly stop and a clearing appears before us. There’s an old abandoned building in the center of the clearing and a blanket laid on the grassy floor a few feet away.
“What’s this?”
He tugs my hand. “Best view in the world,” he says. He sits on the blanket and pulls me down next to him. Declan arranges my body in the crook of his arm. He gestures above us. “See?”
I look up and gasp. “It’s beautiful.”
“I told you.” The tips of his fingers trace the line of my arm. “This is the old tourist center. It’s pretty much abandoned now, but I come out here sometimes when I need to be alone. It’s kind of like my special place.”
“And you brought me here.”
He looks down and the corner of his lips quirk up a little. “Maybe I think you’re special, too.”
I’d heard of romance before. I’d seen it every day with my parents. I just never thought I’d find anything like it in my lifetime. If this were a couple hundred years ago I would have swooned.
Instead, I slide up so I’m propped on my arms above him. His amber eyes are bright even in the darkness. One arm is thrown up, his head leaning against it in a casual pose. I’d studied him throughout dinner, but my eyes can’t get enough of his square jaw and full lips.
I shift, moving over him until my mouth is even with his. I’m pleased to find that he’s lost that smile, his eyes now focused on my lips. When I lean down, his hand cups my cheek to guide my face down to his.
As our lips touch, I shiver again, before a loud snap comes from somewhere in the woods and I jump up, bumping noses with him along the way.
“Ouch, shit!”
“Smooth,” he says, holding his nose.
I shove his shoulder with my free hand. “Jerk.” The trees around us are silent now, but the mood is broken. “Are you sure there isn’t anything just out there lying in wait, getting ready to make us dinner?”
“What, like a group of hungry frat guys?” he teases. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to protect me if that ends up being the case.”
Even though he jokes, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I scan the trees, but I don’t see anything. Determined to enjoy tonight, I relax beside him, tangling our legs together. “I’ll keep you safe,” I tell him.
A grunt of agreement leaves his mouth before he takes my lips for a slow, sweet kiss, my head propped on the crook of his arm. By the end, his body is hovering over mine and I’ve never felt so safe and cherished. He starts to slide down, his bulk folding up to accommodate the movement. Heat washes over me and I suck in a deep breath, the anticipation sharp and sweet.
He lifts the bottom of my T-shirt with his nose and slides it slowly up my stomach. His eyes catch mine and he pauses, waiting for my reaction. When I do nothing other than lift up on my elbows to watch, he smiles and shifts his weight onto one hand and uses the other to draw my shirt up to just underneath my breasts.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asks tentatively.
“I want you, please,” I manage.
What I wouldn’t give to know what he’s thinking right now. To know if he’s feeling as into me as I am into him. He presses his lips against the soft skin of my hip and my breathing shallows as I wonder exactly where he’ll kiss next.
When his eyes flick up to catch mine, I stop breathing entirely. He nuzzles his way up until he reaches the barrier of my shirt. My fingers tremble, but I grip my shirt and tug it up and over my head. I don’t know if it’s the darkness or the light from the moon, but his eyes seem to glow a soft gold when I look back at him.
I lay back flat on the blanket as he crawls over me, my hands going up to grip his shoulders. His soft lips trace patterns on my stomach, pausing to nip and entice. His deft fingers pull down the cups of my bra and my nipples tighten and ache in the cool night air. I arch my neck as he takes one breast into his big hand and the other he covers with his mouth.
I groan into the night and bring my legs up to capture his hips, needing him, all of him. Soft flicks of his tongue and gentle tweaks from his fingers leave me boneless beneath his hot, hard body.
When I’m writhing beneath him, nearly mindless from it all, the hand on my breast begins the slow, torturous journey to the waistband of my jeans. I suck in a breath as his fingers release the buttons from its catch and draw the zipper down one tooth at a time. His fingers get caught in the confines of the tight material and I shimmy them partway down my hips. Freed, he traces the lines of my panties, finding me wet and needy for him.
“You need this don’t you?” he murmurs, his breath skimming over my already sensitive nipple. “You want me to touch you here? Make you come out here where anyone can see us?”
Oh God, I shouldn’t want that, hadn’t even considered the possibility, but once he mentions it, my hips buck underneath him. Needing a focus in the maelstrom of sensation, I pull his lips back down to mine and kiss him with abandon—wild and hungry.
His fingers slip into my panties, making me whimper into his mouth. They dip down and cover me, one finger tracing my lips with aching slowness. It dips in, finding me slick and wet with need. I go still at the sensation of having him inside of me. His free arm slides beneath me to cradle my head and enfold me completely in his warm embrace.
The little grunts he’s making in my ear coupled with the masterful efforts of his fingers cause my body to tighten all over. Fingers now slick from me find my clit and fling me higher with a few quick movements. He finds a rhythm, one that makes my hips jerk in time against him and he keeps it up, murmuring encouraging filthy words in my ear, until I break apart against him.