And the wildest part is that I want it.
I want him.
So I bring my mouth to his ear. “Then make it happen.”
A sound rumbles out of me before I can stop it, low in my chest, vibrating up my throat. It shocks me so much I almost pull back, but Seth freezes above me, his whole body going still as if my instincts just spoke a language he understands better than words.
His gaze drops to my mouth. “You want this now?”
I hold his stare and lift my chin. “We’re alone. You got me out here to breathe again.” My fingers slip into his hair, tugging gently, not a plea, not a test. An invitation. “Don’t make me go back to pretending.”
Something in his face hardens into decision.
He kisses me again, deeper, hungrier, and it’s not messy. It’s controlled hunger, the kind that tells me he could ruin me and still keep me safe while he does it. His leg slides between mine, pressing in with just enough friction to leave me gasping, and he doesn’t let me hide the reaction. His hand moves under my shirt, fingers splaying along my ribs, mapping me as if he’s memorizing every inch he plans to protect.
I meet him for once, drag my nails lightly down his shoulder over his shirt, and he groans in approval.
He draws back just enough to stare at me properly, gaze sweeping my face, my mouth, the way I can’t stop breathing too fast. His thumb brushes my cheek, gentler than a man this fierce has any right to be. “You’re unreal,” he says. “You’ve got no idea what you do to me.”
I swallow. “Go on,” I tease.
His gaze flares, approval and possessiveness tangled together. “Careful, darlin’. You ask me for that and I’m going to give it to you exactly the way I want.”
“And what way is that?”
His mouth tilts, pure cowboy arrogance, but his hand stays warm on my skin. “The way that makes you forget anybody ever had the nerve to make you feel disposable.”
He kisses his way down my stomach, pushing my shirt higher as he goes, and the warm afternoon air brings every nerve to life. When he reaches my bra, he doesn’t fuss or ask twice. He pushes it up and out the way with the same quiet confidence he brings to everything, leaving me exposed to the sun and the open sky, and the fact that we are out here makes my pulse trip even faster.
“You don’t even know what you’re doing to me.” The words land hard, like he’s warning me and himself.
Then his mouth finds my hardened nipple, and my whole body arches, the sound that slips out of me unfiltered and agonizingly desperate for more. I clutch at the blanket, trying to keep myself grounded, but Seth is not interested in me staying composed. His mouth sucks, that devious tongue flicking, and just when I’m about to burst, he lets go and moves on to my other nipple, adoring it with the same affection.
His hand slides to the waistband of my shorts and works them open, tugging them down over my hips, along with my panties in slow strokes that make me squirm. I lift my hips, helping, and they slide down to my knees. The air kisses my skin. His attention stays fixed on me, reading every reaction, tracking the way my breathing changes, as I reach down to push them lower.
“Impatient,” he murmurs, and it sounds amused, not scolding. “You always this needy, or is it just me?”
I try to answer, but my voice breaks as I grin. “I’m going to blame you.” I’m shuffling my legs and manage to kick off my shorts and panties.
He glances down, and his gaze goes sharp, hungry, taking in the completely shaved offering I’ve left for him. “Hell,” he murmurs, eyes lifting back to mine. “You’re trying to make me lose my mind.”
He shifts closer, sliding his other leg between my thighs until he has me spread, steadying me in place and blocking anychance of escape. One firm hand presses into the blanket beside my hip, the other settling at my inner thigh with a quiet warning of control. Then he pushes himself back onto his knees, his hands running down the length of my thighs, sliding them wider.
I gasp as he just stares down at me. When his fingers trace the seam of my lips, I tremble from the touch, then he presses them open.
“Let me see all of you,” he murmurs, pulling me open, revealing it all.
That shaking intensifies from a combination of arousal and nerves. He grins, his finger teasing around my entrance. I moan, my hips arching already. “You’re so wet. I love seeing you like this.”
He’s undoing his belt and jeans, pulling them down enough so that huge cock I knew to hide there pops out. I gasp at the sight as he palms it a few times, then uses the tip to rub me the full length, then to lightly smack me.
“She’s such a greedy little pussy, isn’t she? I see her clenching already for me.”
“And are you going to feed her?” I ask.
His gaze lifts to mine, an eyebrow arching so sexily I almost melt. “Hands,” he demands.
It’s one word. No softness around it. My hands lift without argument.
