“Here, baby, let me.” He knelt beside her and finished unzipping the bag and then he kissed her, trying to put everything he felt but was afraid to give a name to into the kiss.
She melted against him, her body softening, filling his hard planes. He slid his hand under the waistband of her T-shirt, desperate to touch her bare skin but unwilling to expose her to the cool night air. When they got back to civilization, he was going to spread her out on a clean, warm bed and take hours—days—exploring every inch of her glorious body.
“Lay down.” He pushed gently at her sternum and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when she relaxed back onto the soft down bag.
He managed to make quick work of her boots and his. Shoelaces at least didn’t vex him the way the straps had. And then he stretched out beside her, pulling his bag over both of them. He’d passed the point of feeling awkward around her. When he reached over to cup her face, he saw the same naked hunger he felt reflected in her eyes. He’d almost managed to regain control, and then he ran his thumb over her bottom lip, his gaze glued to her mouth as she opened for him.
Her tongue darted out, licking the pad of his thumb a second before she nipped at him, catching his flesh with her teeth. The less than gentle scrape of her teeth over his skin shot straight to his already hard cock. When she pulled his thumb into her hot, wet mouth and sucked, he didn’t bother to hide his groan. The woman was going to be the death of him. He didn’t stand a chance.
Sliding his free hand into her hair, he tightened his grip and watched her eyes go wide and dark in the dying glow of the fire. He’d be careful because the last thing he wanted to do was manhandle her, but if he wasn’t mistaken, his Amanda like things on the rough side.
His Amanda. God, he hoped she was his. He wanted her in a way he’d never wanted another woman.
Kissing his way along her jaw to her throat, he laid a trail of gentle nips, soothing each scrape of his teeth with his tongue until he reached her collarbone. Determined not to let her catch a chill in the cool night air, he burrowed under the sleeping bag until he reached the hem of her T-shirt. His fingers played over the bare skin of her stomach and he felt the delicate flutter as her muscles tightened under his hand. He could feel her strength, feel the power just under her skin and he loved it, loved how strong and capable she was. And he loved the idea of being the one to make her fall apart. Loved being the one she trusted to be strong enough to hold her when she flew.
He followed the path of his hand with his lips, pressing a trail of kisses over the flat plane of her stomach, pushing her T-shirt up so he could kiss the tender skin between her breasts. She gasped when he cupped her lace-covered breast, running his thumb over the tight peak of her nipple. Replacing his thumb with his lips, he suckled her through the lace, scraping his teeth gently across her pebbled flesh. Her back bowed and she gripped his hair, pulling him closer, demanding more of him. With his free hand, he tugged the lace aside, pulling it down until he freed her breasts to his hungry gaze.
She was so damn beautiful. He could lose himself looking at her. If she gave him time. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him to her, urging him to take her into his mouth. As if he could do anything else. He wrapped his lips around her nipple and suckled her, drawing her needy flesh into his mouth, teasing her with his teeth and tongue. With every gasp of pleasure she made, he increased his pressure until he was feasting on her as she arched up to meet him. Nipping at her tender skin, he laid a trail of kisses down the center of her belly until he reached the waistband of her yoga pants.
Grabbing fistfuls of the stretchy black fabric, he pulled, tugging the last barrier to her over her hips and down her legs. Nuzzling her soft, damp curls, he breathed in the scent of woman and want, and then he set about removing anything still separating them with his lips and tongue.
––––––––
SHE WASN’T SURE how she was supposed to hold so much pleasure inside her. Michael had broken through any resistance she felt, demanding her pleasure with his mouth. He licked into her and she parted her legs, lifting her hips and urging him on. He seemed to instinctively know how to touch, to know exactly how rough to be. In moments, she was riding the edge of her climax with nothing to hold onto but the man driving her over the cliff.
Suckling her aching clit, he slid two fingers inside her, filling her as he drove her on. Pleasure tightened and coalesced at the base of her spine, winding her body tighter until all she could do was ride the wave of pleasure he gave her. She gripped his hair, desperate to anchor herself against the deliciously relentless onslaught of his hands and mouth. At the last moment, she opened her eyes, locking her gaze on the stars, losing herself in the endless possibilities stretched out above her as her body pulsed with her climax.
“Inside, please,” she said, her words barely a whisper. She needed the connection of having his body joined with hers, needed to hold onto him against the vast expanse of stars above them. Tugging on him, she tried to move him up her body, to get him where she needed him most. And then she realized the flaw in her plan.
“Hold on, baby,” he said, his voice strained.
He crawled out from under the sleeping bag, leaving her at the mercy of the cool night air while he went to wrestle with something in his pack. He came back moments later, grinning like he’d found the Holy Grail. She watched him, his face lit by the warm glow of the fire as he held up the tiny foil packet that promised her everything she wanted.
The words to tease him about being prepared died on her lips as he stripped off his loose khakis and briefs. His erection stood out from his body, thick and hard, and the breath caught in her throat. Scrambling to her knees, she reached for him, her mouth practically watering.
“Not yet, baby. Not this time. This time I want to make love to you. To be inside you.”
The wordyetwas the only thing that made it possible for her to lean back on the sleeping bag. That and the fierce hunger in his eyes when she parted her legs, opening herself for him. She had just enough time to remind herself to breathe while he sheathed himself and then he was there, covering her with his body, sliding inside her to claim her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels pressed against his ass as they froze, wedded together for one perfect moment in time.
Then he started to move and her world fractured and split, spiraling out of control as he drove into her. She rose to meet him, lifting her hips in time with the long, hard slide of his cock. Digging her heels into his ass, she urged him on, needing more of him, needing everything.
He gripped her hands in his, pinning them beside her head, and then he kissed her and the pleasure she thought she’d been feeling amplified a thousand times over. The slight bite of his hands binding her wrists and his mouth teasing out every bit of sweetness combined with the driving rhythm of his cock moving inside her pushed her higher and higher until there was nowhere else to go.
“Coming—God, I’m coming—please.” She chanted a litany of words as the climax caught up with her, sending her falling free, Michael’s body her only anchor.
She pulsed and clenched around him, his punishing thrusts drawing out more pleasure than one fragile human body should be able to hold. Grasping at air, desperate for something to hold onto, she felt the muscle of his back bunch and tighten. He thrust inside her, grinding himself against her clit, prolonging the tremors still shaking her and then his back arched as his climax hit him, sending him falling alongside her.
––––––––
AMANDA CURLED TIGHTER against Michael’s chest and listened to the beating of his heart while she watched the stars overhead. Away from the glow of civilization, there seemed to be millions more stars in the inky night sky. She’d always felt small sleeping outside with all the potential worlds overhead, as if the possibilities overwhelmed her. Watching the stars wrapped in the security of Michael’s arms was a completely new experience.
She still felt small, dwarfed by the enormity of the sheer number of stars overhead, but she couldn’t feel insignificant. Not when he was holding her like she was someone precious. Someone he needed. Being with Michael added a weight to everything, a tangible presence that made it impossible to hide. With him, she found she didn’t want to.
It wasn’t that she hid with Ethan. Not exactly, anyway. She’d just gotten so used to accommodating his mood, preferences, and ego, she’d stopped living in her full power. Not only was Michael man enough to want her exactly the way she was, being with him encouraged her to want more.
“I’d give you a penny for your thoughts, but I didn’t bring my wallet.” She felt the rumble of his words against her cheek and tightened her arms around him.
“Wait,” she said, as his words permeated her sex-sated brain. “If you didn’t bring your wallet, where did you get the condom? You were actually so sure you’d get me naked that you packed it?” She assumed it had been a guy thing—keep a condom in his wallet just in case. She pushed herself up so she could rest her chin on his chest and stare him down. He remained unfazed.
