Page 4

Elias

I knew I was done for.

Not just done holding back—done pretending one night wouldn’t change everything, done pretending I could let her walk away after this.

This woman was going to upend my life, make me want her for eternity, and I was going to let her.

Hell, I was going to help her do it.

I carried her to my bedroom, her legs wrapped around my waist, her wetness rubbing against my stomach, making my cock so freaking hard it was difficult for me to walk. She smelled like my soap and something sweet and wild that made my head spin.

The walk down the hallway felt endless and too short at the same time.

Every step made her body shift against mine, made me more aware of the heat between her thighs, the way her breath hitched every time I moved.

I’d carried injured hikers down mountains, hauled gear through wilderness that would break most men, but nothing had ever felt as precious or dangerous as this woman in my arms.

The bedroom felt different with her in it. Less like a place I slept and more like somewhere I wanted to worship her.

I set her down beside the bed, hands immediately going to frame her face. Those dark eyes looked up at me, wide with want and trust that I was determined to prove myself worthy of.

“You sure about this?” The question cost me. Every muscle in my body was coiled tight, demanding I take what she was offering, but I needed to hear her say it again.

“Yes.” Her voice was steady, certain. “I want this. I want you.”

The certainty in her voice made me want to growl. I kissed her again, pouring everything I couldn’t say into the press of my mouth against hers.

“Lift.” My hands found the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. When the fabric fell away, I pulled back to look at her. Beautiful. Fucking beautiful. Full breasts that fit my hands like they were made for them, nipples already peaked and begging again for my mouth.

She started to cross her arms over her body, that uncertainty creeping back in.

“Don’t.” My voice was harsh. “Don’t hide from me.”

“I’m not exactly—”

“Perfect? I’m about to prove just how perfect you are.

” I caught her hands, gently pulling her arms away from her body.

I cupped her breasts, thumbs brushing over those hard peaks until she gasped.

To prove my point, I rolled one nipple between my fingers while I bent to take the other in my mouth just like I had in the kitchen, sucking and licking until she was arching against me, fingers tangling in my hair.

I could spend hours just exploring her breasts, learning every sensitive spot, every way to make her gasp. The sounds she made now went straight to my cock, but this wasn’t about my pleasure. This was about showing her exactly how a woman should be touched, worshipped, claimed.

“That’s it,” I growled against her skin. “Let me hear you.”

She was responsive as hell, every touch making her gasp or moan or whisper my name like a prayer. It was intoxicating—the way she gave herself over to sensation, the way she trusted me to take care of her.

“You like that, sweetheart?” I asked, my voice dark. “You like how I make your pussy drip? Want my cock now, or should I make you beg for it first?”

I worked my way down her body, trailing kisses across her stomach while my hands dealt with her knit shorts, sliding them down her legs until she was completely bare before me.

I sat back on my heels, taking in every inch of her. Pale skin, soft curves, the dark curls between her thighs already glistening. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

In these last years of self-imposed isolation, I’d convinced myself I didn’t need this—didn’t need the softness of a woman’s body.

But seeing the trust in Brittany’s eyes, the way she looked at me like I was something worth wanting instead of something broken hiding in the woods, I realized I’d been lying to myself.

But, I just needed anyone. Only her. I needed her.

I leaned forward and buried my nose between her thighs. “Fuck, baby,” I said, voice raw. “You’re incredible.”

The way she looked at me then—like she actually believed me, like she was seeing herself through my eyes—made something shift in my chest.

“Your turn,” she whispered, urging me to stand up while she reached for my shirt.

I helped her strip it off, watching her eyes go wide as she took in my chest, my arms, the scars that told stories I wasn’t ready to share yet. When she reached for my zipper, I caught her hands.

“Not yet, sweetheart. This is about you first.”

“But I want—”

“I know what you want.” I smiled, the predatory expression making her breath catch. “And you’ll get it. But first, I’m going to taste every inch of this sweet body.”

I lifted her easily, putting her in the middle of the bed, following her down, covering her body with mine. She was soft everywhere I was hard, yielding everywhere I was demanding.

I took my time exploring her—kissing, licking, biting my way across her skin until she was writhing beneath me. Her responses were honest, unguarded, nothing like the women I’d been with before who performed their pleasure.

Brittany felt everything. And she let me see it all.

“Open those pretty thighs for me, baby. I want to taste every inch of you.” She obeyed slowly as I watched. “I want your pussy dripping down my beard.”

I looked down at her pussy, glistening with need. “Now, watch while I make you come.”

The first stroke of my tongue made her cry out, back arching off the bed. She tasted like heaven—sweet and tangy and addictive as hell.

I worked her with my mouth, alternating between broad strokes and focused attention on her clit, learning what made her gasp, what made her moan, what made her grab my hair and grind against my face.

Every little sound she made, every movement of her hips, told me exactly what she needed. I’d done this before, but never like this. Never with someone who responded so honestly, so completely. Never with someone I wanted so damn much.

“That’s it, baby,” I growled against her. “Ride my face. Take what you need.”

When she came, it was beautiful—her whole body locking up, her voice breaking on my name as she shattered around my tongue. But I didn’t stop. I worked her through it and beyond, until she was sobbing my name and pushing weakly at my shoulders.

“Elias, please,” she gasped. “I need you inside me.”

That broke the last of my control.

I stood up, stripping off the rest of my clothes.

Her eyes went wide when she got her first full look at me, and I saw a flicker of nervousness cross her face.

I was a big man. I settled back on top of her, nudging my cock against her entrance.

“I’ll go slow, baby. I promise. Tell me if you want me to stop. ”

“No, no.” She shook her head almost wildly. “I need you.”

Those three words almost undid me and what little control I was hanging on to. I pushed inside slowly, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. She was tight—so fucking tight it was almost painful—but she took me, inch by inch, until I was buried inside her.

“Fuck,” I ground out, forehead pressed against hers. “You feel incredible.”

I started to move—long, slow thrusts that had her gasping and clinging to my shoulders. Every stroke was perfect torture, her body gripping me like a velvet fist.

Her body welcomed mine and she looked at me like I was her whole world in this moment. I didn’t know if I’d ever felt like this before. To be wanted, to be needed like this. These past years of isolation had made me forget I was even capable of feeling this much.

“More,” she begged, lifting her hips to meet me. “Harder.”

“You want it rough, baby?” I asked, already knowing the answer from the way her eyes darkened.

“Yes,” she sobbed. “Please, Elias. I need—”

“I know what you need. You want my cock filling you up, don’t you, baby?”

I gave it to her—pulling out almost completely before slamming back in, setting a rhythm that was hard and deep and exactly what we both craved. The headboard banged against the wall with each thrust.

“This what you needed?” I growled, one hand fisting in her hair while the other gripped her hip. “Someone to fuck you like you deserve?”

“Yes,” she cried, nails raking down my back. “God, yes.”

“That’s my girl. Take it. Take all of me.”

She came again, harder this time, her body clenching around me so tight it triggered my release. I followed seconds later with a harsh groan, burying myself deep as I emptied inside her.

We collapsed together, breathing hard, sweat-slicked and tangled in my sheets.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she lifted her head to look at me, hair wild, lips swollen from my kisses.

“Well, I think that beats learning wilderness survival skills.”

She giggled as I pulled her close and I couldn’t help but grin. “Stick with me, sweetheart, and I’ll teach you all the survival skills you need.”

She curled against my side, head on my chest, one leg thrown over mine like she was claiming me.

The possessive gesture should have scared me.

Should have made me want to pull away, protect myself, rebuild the walls I’d spent years constructing.

Instead, it made something warm and dangerous unfurl in my chest. Something that felt suspiciously like hope.

“I’ve never...” she started, then stopped.

“Never what?”

“Never felt like that before. Never felt so...” She trailed off, like she couldn’t find the words.

“Alive?” I suggested, stroking her hair.

“Yes. Alive. Wild. Free.” She lifted her head again, meeting my eyes. “Like myself.”

I knew exactly what she was feeling because heaven help me, I was feeling it too. This wasn’t just about sex for her— it was about discovering who she really was underneath all the expectations and limitations others had placed on her.

And I wanted to be the one to help her find that woman. The real Brittany, fierce and passionate and unafraid.

And me? I was the broken mountain man who was beginning to heal.

All because of this woman. A woman the universe had sent me to rescue, when in fact, she had rescue me from the solitude I’d worn around myself like armor.

“Good,” I said, pulling her closer. “Because we’re just getting started.”

She smiled, wicked and confident in a way it hadn’t been before. “What else did you have in mind?”

“Well,” I drawled, already hardening again at the thought of taking her again. “There’s the shower. The kitchen counter. That chair by the window.” I rolled her beneath me again, settling between her thighs. “I plan to have you everywhere in this cabin before you leave.”

Heat flared in her eyes. “That sounds... thorough.”

“I’m a thorough man, sweetheart.” I kissed her neck, tasting salt and satisfaction. “And I meant what I said about just getting started.”