When he straightens, I can tell he’s thinking. His lips curve into a wicked smile, one that I haven’t seen before but that nearly brings me to my knees. He draws his index finger from my chin to my navel, making me shiver, and tucks it into my jeans, just behind the button.
“I’d like to get you somewhere more comfortable,” he says.
Out in the forest, an owl calls. The leaves rustle all around us as the soft breeze ruffles my hair.
“Just tell me where.”
He walks backward, tugging me across the deck by my jeans, toward a rope hammock strung between two solid posts. I noticed it on my way in, mainly because it looks like an absolutelyperfect spot to curl up with a book. I honestly thought we were going to his bedroom, or at least the couch, but I’m curious what he has in mind. I’m pretty shy about this sort of thing and I’m not into PDA, but…well, it’s just us and the owls, out here. The nearest house is at least half a mile off, and if Bigfoot is around, he’s being quiet.
At the hammock, Hunter stops and turns on a heater, the kind you see at outdoor restaurants sometimes. A cozy warmth radiates from it, and my shoulders relax. Hunter turns me around so that my back is to the hammock.
“Sit,” he commands me.
And—oh, I like that.
I sit in the hammock, my feet on the ground.
“Lean back.”
In general, I do not like being told what to do, but this is very, very different. I lean back, and the curve of the rope supports my back and head comfortably. I slide off my flats and feel the cold boards under my bare feet. My shirt is half open, my head muddled and spinning sweetly as Hunter kneels before me.
The hammock is slung low, and Hunter leans forward to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me up off the hammock to kiss me again before hungrily nibbling and licking all the way down to my jeans, unbuttoning my shirt the rest of the way as he goes.
Never have I wanted one single button to disappear quite so badly. I want this man in a way I have never wanted anything, want to see what he will do next, knowing full well that I’m going to love it, but that he’s definitely going to take his time and tease me until I’m begging him with my body to continue.
He undoes the button on my jeans with his teeth, and I let my head fall back, and the stars overhead become fireworks.
33.
Some time later,I’m lying on my back, gazing up at the heavens. My body feels wrung out, emptied, echoing like the last note of a song. The stars twinkle their approval, although the moon is noticeably absent. An owl calls and is answered by a softer call from across the valley. I imagine silent wings brushing white across the blackness of the night as he follows her invitation.
Hunter lifts his face from my tummy and places a tender kiss by my navel. “See? It’s not so bad letting someone else do all the work.”
I swallow hard, feeling utterly laid bare. Hunter is nothing like the only other man I’ve dated, and I can’t help thinking back to all the times I gave Billy honesty and got confusion, annoyance, or indifference in return. I had gotten so accustomed to pushing my feelings down, to living with my frustrations. What Hunter just did to me—
Billy tried it once when we were eighteen and swore he’d never do it again. But Hunter looks as sated as I feel.“That was incredible,” I say shyly.
Hunter stands and holds out a hand, and I fix my jeans and let him pull me to join him. It’s a surprise when he picks me up, just swooping my legs out from under me in a cradle carry. He pecks me on the lips before taking me inside and depositing me carefully on the couch. I curl up with my legs under me, and he brings over two glasses of ice water. After handing me both glasses, he sits beside me and pulls my legs over his lap before taking his glass back and drinking in long, slow gulps.
“You’reincredible.” He gives me a lopsided smile, his eyes big and…vulnerable? “Can I tell you a secret? One I think you’ll find particularly interesting.”
“Always.”
He puts down the glass and reaches to hold my hand, turning it over, tracing the lines of my fingers as if memorizing them.
“I…learned that from books.”
I blink a few times.
“Are you sure? Because you, um, definitely seemed to know exactly what you were doing.”
He focuses on my hand, stroking the soft skin of my wrist. “My sister has always loved romance novels—and vampire novels—and especially vampire romance novels. She told me once that there were no guys in Arcadia Falls who were anything like the guys in books, so I decided to read a few of her favorites to see what, exactly, a thinking woman wants out of a man. And I learned a lot.”
“I’d say you did,” I murmur appreciatively.
I see his dimples when he smiles. “I’m glad you think so.”
“But what else did you learn?”
