She starts again and I can’t speak. I can barely think. All I can do is hold on while she wrecks me with the softest, surest hands I’ve ever known.
“It’s been a long time since …” My mind goes blank as hot waves of pleasure pulse through me. “Damn … feels so good.”
I’ve never had a woman take charge of me like this. Forget that each pass of her hand brings me to the edge, it’s the fact that she’s lying next to me now, nibbling and kissing my neck and gasping right along each time she sees me arch off the sleeping bag.
I want to tell her to stop, that we should wait, that this isn’t fair to her, but my mouth won’t open. My body has already made the choice.
“Rox,” I gasp, “I?—”
She hushes me with her lips. “Duke,” she says, softly. “Let go.”
Somehow that pushes me more than anything else. That she wants me to feel safe when I’ve spent so long being the one who has to hold everything together.
The rhythm of her hand deepens, firms, and my body jolts, hips tightening, chest heaving like I just ran five miles. Everything coils tight, hot and aching, like the entire world is collapsing inward around a single, blinding point of light. My release crashes through me like a wave I never saw coming, fast and hot. I exhale her name, breath catching in my throat as I shudder through the force of it. She holds me, still kissing the corner of my mouth, my jaw, my temple.
My heart is pounding and all I can think isGod help me, I am hers.
“Well, that was the most fun I’ve had with most of my clothes on,” I say, still gasping.
“Thatwasfun,” she says, resting her head on my chest.
“This is a new side of you, Trouble.”
Roxanne lets out a quiet laugh, hiding her face in my chest. “I guess being in the woods brings out something wild in me.”
“Then we’re never leaving.”
I silently admit this is my favorite side to her. Free, open … um … assertive as hell. She knew what she wanted to do, and she did it. She had me at her mercy. Not a position I usually find myself in, and I loved every minute of it.
“Your turn,” I say, rolling her on her back.
We ease into another fiery kiss, and just when my hands move over her …
THUMP.
Something drops right outside the tent and we both jolt.
“You’re literally moving mountains out here, my friend,” Topper says outside my door. “Playtime’s over. Breakfast is on.”
I groan, tipping my head back and covering my face with one hand.
“My turn tonight?” she asks.
“If I can wait that long,” I say. I kiss her cheek because I’m still a little breathless, still raw. I squeeze her tight one moment longer. This isn’t lust for me, it’s a damn breakthrough. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go back to pretending I can let her walk away, but I guess I’ve got a few more weeks to convince her this might be something worth fighting for.
Another thump hits the tent, and this time I know it’s time to start moving. Roxanne kisses me once more before grabbing her stuff and ducking out. I take more than a few moments to clean up and compose myself before joining everyone else for breakfast. My body still feels a little jittery when Rusty hands me a plate of eggs, sausage, and fruit salad. Thankfully, he’s not acting any different, so hopefully he was out of earshot when I moaned like a Sasquatch this morning.
“Good morning, friends!” Georgia says after a sip of coffee. “Enjoy your breakfast Rusty and Topper made.” Georgia shoots me a lookbecause she knows I always make breakfast on the second day. I take a seat next to Stedman while Roxanne sits next to Rusty.
“Today, we have a little bit of a healthy competition. Y’all are goin’ fishin’ to catch us some dinner. The person who brings back the biggest fish wins.”
“What do we win?” Allie calls out.
“You don’t have to make dinner,” Georgia says.
Laughter ripples through the camp.
“Y’all need to pair up with someone you trust and find your spot in the stream. Pick a rod, a tackle box, a cooler, and head out when you’re ready.” She motions to the fishing gear stacked neatly by the shore.
