Page 32 of Far From Sherwood Forest (Far From #3)

It’s been over a week since I’ve heard from Henry. I’ve wanted to give him space, but I’m starting to worry I was foolish to cling so tightly onto hope.

At least the Merry Men are here, and I’ve been able to distract myself every night while we drink around the fire.

They haven’t been staying in the bunkhouse just in case Lucas comes around, instead camping out in the woods at the edge of the property.

They’re more used to that anyway. But it’s been nice having them around, not able to spend all my time sulking.

None of us know when the Spirit will send us back to Sherwood Forest, but the more time that passes, the more anxious I get.

What if Henry doesn’t come? And what if I can’t come back?

John hasn’t said if he’s coming with us, and I haven’t pressured him. If we can’t come back to this place, I don’t think I want him to come. His happily ever after is here, and I don’t want him to give that up.

Spencer and I did a wildlife tour at the park today, and it was nice enough outside that I didn’t need a jacket. The weather has been warming up, which is perfect timing because I’ve been dying for a swim. Preferably, one that doesn’t end with a lecture from John.

After the tour, I drive deeper into the park toward my favorite spot. I’m surprised to see Henry’s truck parked back here and consider turning around and trying again tomorrow instead.

I want to give him space, but…I really want to fucking see him.

Parking my truck beside his, I get out and head into the trees. It’s not too long of a walk to the waterfall, and when I get close, I slow my steps to be quiet, curious what he does when no one else is around. Fortunately, the soft hush of the waterfall helps to muffle my approach.

Sunlight pours in through the opening in the canopy of the forest over the pool, making the water sparkle. Henry floats on the surface, his face turned to the sun, his eyes closed and his breaths slow and steady.

He looks peaceful.

And fucking gorgeous.

My heart aches, wanting to be close to him, but I don’t want to ruin whatever moment he’s having.

However, when I turn to leave, a twig snaps beneath my boot.

I freeze, wincing. When I look back at Henry, he’s upright, running a hand through his wet hair, his eyes on me.

Beads of water drip down his shoulders and trail through the hair on his chest.

I want to lick it all off.

“Spying on me?” he asks, speaking up over the distance between us and the soft rumble of the waterfall behind him.

I cross my arms over my chest and grin. “You’re the one who stole my spot.”

“It’s a good place to think. And to be alone.”

My grin falls. “Is that what you want? To be alone?”

He stares at me for several seconds, the water trapped in his hair and beard shimmering in the sun like glitter. His chest rises with a deep breath, and he slowly shakes his head.

Taking a few steps forward, I move closer to the edge of the pool. His gaze holds mine as I start unbuttoning my park shirt while toeing off my boots. I strip down to my underwear, leaving my clothes and boots in a heap on the forest floor.

The ground becomes softer as I approach the water, then step over moss-covered rocks to the large slab of stone that juts out into the pool.

It’s flat and smooth, and I’m able to see straight into the water from up here.

Angling toward where I know the deepest area is, I leap and dive into the water.

It’s still cold, but it’s more biting than stabbing.

When I surface, I flip my wet hair away from my eyes and open them to see Henry a few feet in front of me. He’s staring again, and I can’t read whatever it is that’s in his gaze. It’s not until I hear it in his voice that I realize it’s awe.

“You’re fucking beautiful.”

My breath gets caught in my throat at the sincerity of those words. It sounds like there may be a hint of confusion there too, like he’s not entirely sure where that thought came from.

“Did you hit your head on a rock when you dove in?”

Henry rolls his eyes, then brings both hands up, pushing them forward to spray me with a wave of water.

I laugh and splash him back. He barely flinches, catching me around the wrist and hauling me forward, water sloshing around us as our chests collide.

My laughter dies as our gazes lock. His hand moves to the small of my back, holding me close.

Leaning forward, he rests his forehead against mine, water dripping down both our faces as we float together. A beam of sunlight shines down, and for the first time, I notice flecks of gold in his brown eyes.

“I’m all in.”

His words carry on a shared breath, and I inhale them into my lungs, letting them fill me in a way oxygen never could.

“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice catching. “That means you can’t walk away, Henry. Not anymore.”

“I’m sure.” His other hand comes up and grips the side of my neck. “No more walking away. I’ll only ever chase you from now on.”

My heart swells inside my chest, and I couldn’t stop the smile that stretches across my face even if I wanted to.

Henry closes the distance between our mouths, pressing his lips to mine, somewhere between soft and slow and that hard, desperate way he did the first time.

His beard is wet but still rough against my face, and I think it’s safe to say that I’m obsessed with the feel of it.

As his tongue dives inside my mouth, I bring my hands up, laying my palms against his chest. He nips at my bottom lip, and I dig my nails into his pecs, causing him to hiss.

Before I can lose myself fully in the kiss, I grab both of his arms and kick away from him until he releases me. I swim backward, grinning at him as I put distance between us.

“How about you prove that?”

He arches a brow at the challenge, and then he lunges forward quicker than I expected. I nearly let out a squeal as I spin around and swim back through the pool toward the slab of stone that I jumped off of. I kick my legs behind me, trying to splash him and slow him down.

When I reach the stone, I haul myself out of the water and start crawling across the smooth surface.

Before I can get far, Henry’s hand wraps around my ankle, simultaneously pulling himself up onto the stone while dragging me backward.

After he has me beneath him, he presses his chest down on top of my back.

“Caught you, little thief,” he whispers in my ear.

My heart flutters.

It’s been a while since he’s called me that, and I realize now how much I actually love it.

I squirm until he gives me enough space so I can roll over onto my back, staring up at him as water drips off his hair and beard and rains down on me. The gold flecks in his eyes seem even brighter.

“So what are you going to do with me now?”

“What would be the fun in telling you?”

I get a glimpse of his devilish smirk before his head dips down and he takes one of my nipples between his teeth, biting hard.

“Oh, fuck!” I shout, bucking under him until I feel his erection press against my thigh.

As he licks over my nipple, soothing it, his hand comes up to my face, shoving two fingers into my mouth. I immediately start sucking on them like it’s instinct, like I’ve been empty without a part of him inside me.

“You should be quiet, Robin,” he says as his mouth travels to the other side of my chest, leaving a trail of warm breath and beard burn as I’m left panting. “I don’t plan on stopping, so unless you want an audience…”

He doesn’t finish the thought, instead sinking his teeth into my other nipple.

His fingers in my mouth muffle the moan I make, and we both thrust our hips against each other at the same time, our hard cocks grinding together through the thin fabric of our underwear.

After licking over that nipple next, his mouth journeys further down, on a mission to nip and lick and kiss his way through every valley of my abs.

Between the feeling of his lips on my skin, his beard scraping across my stomach, and his fingers in my mouth, I feel like I’m floating on clouds, all of the sensations taking me higher.

When his fingers leave my mouth, I whine and try to chase after them. However, when I open my eyes to see Henry straddling my legs, I swear my heart stops.

I will never get over how fucking sexy he is.

And how badly I crave to touch him.

Before he can stop me, I sit up and crash my mouth to his, taking a little of the control this time.

My kiss is as desperate as his have been, stealing a taste of his lips with the tip of my tongue.

Then I move my mouth down, wanting to give him a similar treatment as he gave me.

I don’t bite him, instead kissing and licking over his nipples, lapping up the water still dripping through the hair along his torso.

He lets me touch him and taste him a few seconds longer before he places a hand on my chest and pushes me gently onto my back once more. His breaths come heavy, his lips in a tight line and a deep crease between his brows.

I hate putting that look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t be.” He shakes his head and manages a faint smile. “I just…need to take it a little slow.”

I know he’s not talking about taking us slow, considering we’ve already fucked. I can tell he likes it when I touch him, but there’s a deeper part of him that struggles with it.

It’s like he’s touch-starved but doesn’t know how to let himself be touched.

But I can be patient while he learns.

I nod. “Okay.”

Reaching out, he grabs both my hands and places them on either one of his thighs.

My heart hitches at the contact he’s giving me.

While I slide my hands up and down his thighs, the hair there soft against my palms, he leans down again.

His warm tongue brushes a hot path over my lower stomach, causing me to let out a long, low moan.

His fingers dip into the waistband of my boxer briefs, and I lift my hips as he lowers them. My hard cock slips free and slaps obscenely against my stomach, a drop of precum sticking to my skin.

He smirks. “Eager?”

“For you? Always,” I answer breathlessly.

“I’m eager too,” he says as he slides back on the rock. “I love how your ass tastes, but I’ve been dying to taste your cock.”

I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to because I expect him to hesitate.

However, he doesn’t.

Not even a little.

Instead of words coming out of my mouth, it’s a string of incoherent sounds on the back of another moan as he runs his tongue up the underside of my shaft. His lips part, and he takes the head of my dick into his mouth. My eyes roll into the back of my head as he swallows me down.

“Fuck, Henry,” I groan as he licks and sucks like he really is dying for it.

Forcing my eyes to focus, I watch as he lowers onto my cock, taking me into his throat.

That’s about when my vision whites out, and I give myself over to my senses.

He bobs his head as he sucks, and when his beard scrapes along my inner thighs and he swallows around the head of my dick, I very nearly explode in his mouth.

Fortunately, the wet heat of it is gone before this is over way too soon.

His tongue carves another path over my stomach, across my chest, and up my throat.

“Goddamn, Robin,” he growls as his hard cock rubs against mine. “I could map your entire body with my tongue, and I’d still be dying for one more taste.”

When he’s ready to let me, I have a feeling I’m going to think the exact same thing.

I don’t know when he took his dick out, but the feel of it grinding against mine has me thrusting my hips up in search of even more friction.

He gives me exactly what I want when his hand wraps around the both of us.

As he strokes us together, my hands return to his thighs.

As much as I want to wrap my arms around his back and hold him close, I have a feeling touching his scars would be too much right now.

But just being able to feel his skin on mine is enough.

“I have no idea what the fuck you’ve done to me,” he says almost like he’s angry about it. He tightens his fist as his teeth rake down my neck. “I never thought I’d enjoy something more than hurting you, but now all I want to do is give you pleasure.”

“You’re pretty good at doing both at the same time,” I admit breathlessly.

He raises his head enough to arch a brow and give me a grin. “Is that so, little thief? You want me to hurt you, bite you, mark you, while I make you come undone for me?”

I groan as I thrust in his hand, my cock rutting against his. “Fuck yes.”

His strokes turn faster, harsher, until I’m panting desperately. When his teeth sink into the side of my neck, I let out a hoarse cry.

I never thought I would crave the pain he gives me, but this pain is different. This pain feels good. This pain is fucking euphoric. He could even hurt me a little more, and I’d probably thank him for it.

He bites down harder and sucks, and I know he’s leaving his mark on me.

He sucks more than just blood to the surface, his name leaving my lips on a low moan and cum pouring from my cock. It feels as though my whole fucking soul is being sucked from my body from every spot he touches.

With his teeth still attached to my throat, Henry lets out a grunt as his body shudders and then stills. His release joins mine, hot ropes of it shooting out onto my stomach.

Our chests heave as we come down from our orgasms, slick with more sweat than water now. Henry lifts his head again, his dark gaze zeroed in on my neck.

“Fuck, I like the look of that.”

I can only imagine what John and the others are going to say about it, but fuck if I care. I don’t want to hide it.

When his eyes find mine, they soften. “Stay with me tonight?”

I’m pretty sure I’d give him anything, especially when the last thing I want to do right now is leave him.

So the answer is easy.

“Yes.”