Page 125 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

“It’s such a beautiful night.” I gazed up through the trees at the stars.

“It is.” Robyn inhaled. “I love the smell of the woods.”

“Earthy. It’s taken me a bit to get used to, but now I’m hooked.” I almost said I’d miss it when I returned to New York, but I stopped myself. I preferred not to think about it. “But I’m still trying to get used to how loud it is.”

Robyn chuckled. “Says the woman living in the city that never sleeps.”

“Well, these damned crickets don’t seem to sleep, either.”

“Or the frogs.”

“Frogs? Are you screwing with me again?”

Robyn stopped. “Just stand here and listen.” She moved in front of me, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her against me. “It’s not just crickets.”

“How can you tell the difference?”

“Just listen. The crickets are higher pitched and more rhythmic.”

After listening for a short time, my ears adjusted to the variation in sound. “I think I hear it. Was that one?”

Robyn squeezed my arms against her. “Yep. Once you spend enough time out here, you can’t not hear it.”

“That’s so cool.” Just as I spoke, another sound grabbed my attention. “Holy shit, was that an owl?”

“It was.”

“Oh, my god. I can’t believe I just heard an owl.”

Robyn turned in my arms and put her palm against my cheek. “You are so adorable.” The warmth of her hand felt good against my cool cheek.

“May I kiss you? I mean, is it okay here?”

Robyn nodded.

Just like yesterday, her lips were soft and yielding. Our kiss lingered as we teased each other’s lips with our tongues. I didn’t know how long we’d been kissing before Robyn pulled away.

When I looked into her eyes, my breath caught. They were hungry—full of desire.

“Come home with me.” Robyn’s voice was husky.

“Yes.” My voice matched hers.

“You have to let Emma know, or she’ll be worried.”

“Okay.” I stepped toward her. I couldn’t wait until we got to her place before I touched her again. Our lips met with the same softness as before as I held back my urgency. When we broke the kiss, I kissed along her jawline, stopping at her ear to suckle her lobe before I moved to the throbbing vein in her neck.

She gasped and then moaned. “Oh, shit, Blake. You have to stop, or I won’t be able to think straight.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I teased.

“Our first time shouldn’t be against a tree in the middle of the woods.”

I kissed her neck again. “Yeah, we don’t need the frogs watching.” Even though I wanted to continue my exploration, I stepped back.

“Hurry and go tell Emma.”

CHAPTER 34