He kissed me harder, deeper, his breath tangled with mine, our movements increasingly urgent in the cramped warmth. The sleeping bag slid down slightly as we shifted, letting in a little cold air that only made his warmth more intoxicating.
“Sienna…” he whispered again, like a prayer he was scared to finish. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“Good.”
He let out a breath that trembled. “I want—”
“I know,” I breathed. “Me too.”
His head fell to my shoulder for a moment, like he needed one breath to steady himself. His hand slid up my back, anchoring me to him.
“You don’t know how long I’ve been trying not to do this,” he murmured.
“Then stop trying.”
He lifted his head, and our eyes met.
And that was the moment everything changed.
A quiet understanding passed between us…something deeper than heat, something heavier than attraction, something neither of us could pretend anymore.
He kissed me again, slow and deep, all heat and tangled breath and unspoken want. My fingers ran beneath the hem of his shirt, brushing warm skin, and he inhaled sharply, almost breaking the kiss.
“Sienna…” His voice was wrecked now. “I’m trying so hard to be careful with you.”
“You are,” I whispered, kissing him again, softer this time. “But I don’t want careful.”
He froze, but only for a heartbeat.
Carson exhaled softly, like surrender.
His hand slid beneath my fleece again, skimming up my side, fingertips tracing heat across skin, slow enough to make every nerve in my body feel newly alive. I arched into the touch without meaning to, a quiet gasp escaping me.
He shut his eyes as if the sound physically hit him.
“Please,” I whispered, fingers curling into him. “Don’t stop.”
His mouth found mine again, and I kissed him back with equal urgency, pulling him closer until our breaths tangled and the last inch of distance vanished.
Outside, the forest stayed quiet.
Inside, everything burned as we stripped our clothes. The sleeping bag shifted, our bodies shifting with it, warmth and tension and the quiet, reckless promise of what was coming. His hand slid from my waist down to my hip, guiding me closer, and the world spun fast.
This wasn’t safe.
This wasn’t smart.
This wasn’t planned.
But it was real.
And it was us.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered against my mouth.
And as his hand traced a slow, devastating line along my skin and I kissed him again, sinking into the heat, the closeness, the absolute inevitability of him, and I knew this was the best mistake I’d ever made.
Chapter Twenty-Six
