Page 9

CHAPTER 9

DELANEY

Even though I’d been staying at the cabin for the past several weeks, as soon as Jace stepped through the door, it no longer felt like my space. He brought the storm inside with him, and anger and frustration rolled off him in waves. He paced the length of the small living room while he ran his fingers through his hair over and over again.

I’d left him alone long enough to change into a pair of sweats though my hair was still soaked. While he mumbled to himself, I sat down on the loveseat and wondered if he’d wear a groove into the floor if he didn’t stop soon.

“It’s not the end of the world. You can stay here tonight and hike out in the morning. Once the rain stops, the water will go down and we’ll find a place to cross.” I couldn’t help myself. He acted like being stuck overnight with me was the end of the world. The man needed a little perspective.

He paused like he’d forgotten I was even there. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?” I patted the cushion next to me. “Sit down and talk to me.”

Having him so close was risky. I hadn’t been alone with him for weeks. And despite his overreaction to being stranded with me for the night, my attraction to the gruff and growly park ranger had been growing out of control.

Ever since that night at dinner when I’d seen a softer side, I’d been watching him. His walls were thick and tall, pretty much impossible to breech. But every once in a while, I caught a glimpse of the kindhearted man inside. Like the way he drove Janice back and forth to the office for a week when her car was in the shop. And a few days ago, he carried a girl three miles on the trail when she scraped up her knee and couldn’t hike out herself.

He projected this grumpy, prickly porcupine image, but the more I got to see past it, the more I wanted to know.

Jace slumped down onto the loveseat next to me. He’d taken off his rain gear when we entered the cabin, though the scent of the outdoors still clung to him.

I shifted, settling into the corner so I could turn to face him. “I agree, this isn’t ideal, but isn’t sitting inside a dry cabin better than hiking in the rain?”

He rolled his shoulders before meeting my gaze. “I shouldn’t be here.”

My breath hitched at the look in his eyes. Full of heat and simmering with need, his eyes reflected everything I was feeling inside. My voice came out on a whisper. “Why not?”

He didn’t answer, just kept staring into my eyes, like he could see the space deep down inside me. Where I was most vulnerable. Where I was most scared. Where I wanted him just as much as that look on his face said he wanted me.

Time stood still. We might have stared at each other for seconds or sat there for fifteen minutes. I had no awareness of anything but Jace. Then he reached up and tucked a wet strand of hair behind my ear. My body came online at his touch. I turned my head into his palm and soaked in the feeling of his hand on my skin.

“Delaney…” My name on his lips was half plea, half growl.

I wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but once our lips touched, it didn’t matter. The only thing that did was the rush of sensations that rolled over me the second he claimed my mouth with his.

That kiss explained everything… the need he’d tried to hold back, the war he’d waged within himself, and the feelings he was ready to let loose. I gave in with reckless abandonment, not caring about the consequences. Our tongues tangled and my core ignited. I couldn’t get enough.

It wasn’t just all heat. There was something else going on underneath. When his hand slid to the back of my neck, it wasn’t about control, it was about closeness. About him letting me in. And when I clutched at his shirt, I realized I trusted him in a way I hadn’t trusted anyone in years. I didn’t just want him. I wanted everything that came along with it. I wanted there to be an “us.”

Jace pulled back first, resting his forehead against mine. “We’re crossing a line here. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“What do you want, Jace?” I ran my hand over his beard while I waited for his answer.

He closed his eyes for a long beat like he’d already made his decision and wanted to let me down easy. Always in control, always keeping his feelings in check, that was the District Park Ranger Ramsey I’d come to know, the side of him he let the public see.

But I’d seen past that now.

The little glimpses he’d shown me all along had added up to paint a completely different picture of Jace Ramsey from his uptight public persona. That was the side of him I craved, and it looked like I was about to lose sight of it forever.

His hand slid away from my face. He opened his eyes and just looked at me, regret already replacing the heat that had been there just seconds before. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” I asked.

“Does it matter?”

He wanted me. The first man I had feelings for in longer than I could remember, wanted me. And I’d be lying to myself in the fib of a lifetime if I tried to pretend that I didn’t want him too.

“It matters to me.” I needed to know if it was duty or lack of desire behind his decision.

He cradled his head in his hands. “A little bit of both. I can’t get involved with someone who works for me. Can you imagine what everyone in town would say? And I won’t toss a wrench in the life I’ve built for my kids. They’ve been through too much already.”

“What about what you want?” I set my palm on his chest, right over his heart. Everyone said he was a hard ass, but I knew now that was just his way of holding everything together. The pain in his voice tore at my heartstrings. It sounded like the walls I thought he’d constructed for protection were more like a prison.

He lifted his head and met my gaze. Fire blazed deep in the depths of his eyes. “I want to go back to the way things were before you. Before the sunshine inside you chased all the clouds away and I forgot what it was like to live in the dark.”

The ache that spread through my chest made it impossible to speak.

“We can’t go back.” And I didn’t want to.

“That’s the problem. I want this. I want you. Too damn much, Delaney.”

He acted like wanting me was a bad thing. Like he was scared to death to be vulnerable for half a second. But I wasn’t afraid. Leaning closer, I brushed my lips over the corner of his mouth. “What if you stopped fighting it?”

His shoulders sagged. “I’ve spent every night for weeks trying to forget the way you laugh. Trying not to picture you curled up in this bed. I tried not to want you. But I do. I’m just not sure how to stop fighting myself.”

“You can start by kissing me again.”

Seconds passed. He blinked, his eyes full of desperation. Then something inside him shifted. His hand cupped my cheek. His mouth crashed down on mine like he was done apologizing and done holding back.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, praying he wouldn’t come to his senses again and stop. His hands went to my waist and somehow, he lifted me onto his lap like I didn’t weigh a thing. Straddling him, I kissed him back like a woman possessed.

There was nothing gentle about the way he devoured me. The push and pull we’d been engaging in for the past couple of weeks exploded into a frenzy. I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Last chance.” He swept me up in his arms and stood. “Tell me to stop and I’ll leave right now.”

I circled my arms around his neck. “Don’t you dare.”

A deep chuckle rose from his chest as he carried me back to the small bedroom and set me in the center of the full-sized bed. The frame creaked as he joined me. Hovering on his elbows above me, he turned serious.

“Are you sure? We’re not going to be able to go back to the way things were after this.”

“Good.” I didn’t want to go back to him bottling everything up inside. And with his hips pressing down on mine, I couldn’t think beyond the next half hour anyway.

He nodded like he’d gotten the final reassurance he needed. Then he leaned down, pressed his lips to mine again, and slid his hand under the hem of my shirt. It had been so long since I’d felt wanted. Liquid fire coursed through my veins, lighting me up from the inside out. His hand roamed over my skin while his tongue explored my mouth.

Need coiled inside me. With every touch, every kiss, every brush of warm breath across my skin, the ache between my legs grew. I pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it on the floor. His jeans followed. Eager to feel him skin-to-skin, I helped him tug off my sweats and shirt until we’d exposed every inch of each other.

His hands were everywhere. The feel of his rough palms on my skin sent me higher and higher. And when he bent over me and sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, I almost came undone.

He paused, breaking contact, and lifted his head. “I hate to tell you this, but I don’t have any protection with me.”

I almost laughed at the disappointment in his eyes. “Thank goodness for survival kits. There are condoms in the pack I left by the door.”

“You carry condoms in your survival pack?” he asked, already climbing off the bed.

“Hey, you never know when you might need one. They can be used as waterproof storage for matches or even a cell phone.” I propped myself up on an elbow and enjoyed the sight of his departing backside. The man was built for things that happened underneath the covers, and I planned to enjoy every single second of what was about to happen between us.

He was back within seconds, a foil packet in his hand and a smirk gracing those kissable lips. “You know what else they can be used for?”

“Holding water.” I leaned back, anticipation making my skin tingle from head to toe. “One condom can stretch to hold an entire liter of water.”

He laughed as he ripped open the packet and unrolled the circle of latex down his stiff cock. “You never fail to surprise me. I think I underestimated you, Miss Hart.”

“You know how you can make up for that?”

He slid his hand between my legs and ghosted his fingers over my clit. My entire body clenched. I was so close to the edge already and we’d barely even started.

“Don’t worry. We’ve got all night, and I plan on making up for a lot of things.” Then he leaned down and kissed me again, slow and gentle, while he slipped a finger inside me.