I collapse onto the forest floor, my body spent and trembling. Every muscle aches, my skin stings from scrapes and scratches.
Chapter 34
Ramsey
I've never felt more alive than watching her fall apart beneath me and never felt more like an animal than I do right now.
My chest heaves as I look down at Reese, my north star, lying on the forest floor utterly debauched. Leaves cling to her sweat-slicked skin, her hair a wild tangle around her face. Dirt smudges her cheek from where I pressed her into the ground. My cum glistens on her lower back, marking her as mine in the most primal way possible.
She's the most beautiful fucking thing I've ever seen.
I reach over my head and grab the back of my t-shirt at the neck, pulling it off in one go. The mask falls off with it, landing beside her in the dirt. I stick the shirt in my waistband and reach down to help her up, my hands gentle now as I lift her to her feet.
"You okay?" I ask, my voice rough from exertion.
She nods, her legs wobbling slightly. "Better than okay."
I grab my shirt and tug it over her head, pulling it down to cover her nakedness. The sight of her in my clothes makes something possessive and satisfied curl in my chest. The cotton hangs to mid-thigh on her, covering just enough to be semi-decent but still giving me a view of those long dancer's legs.
"That was..." she starts, then trails off, seemingly at a loss for words.
"Too much?" I ask suddenly worried I went too far.
She laughs, the sound light and breathless. "Fuck no. That was exactly what I needed. What you needed." Her fingers trace the bruises already forming on her hips where I gripped her. "I had no idea you could be like that."
"Now you know why I kept it from you," I say, pulling her against my bare chest. The night air is cool against my skin, but she's warm, so fucking warm against me. "That's the side of me I've been afraid to show you."
"Don't hide from me anymore," she whispers against my skin. "I want all of you, Ramsey. Even the parts that scare you."
I press my lips to the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her—sweat and sex and something uniquely Reese. "I'm not sure you know what you're asking for."
She pulls back to look up at me, her eyes clear and determined despite what I just put her through. "I'm not some fragile little thing that needs protecting, least of all from you."
"I know that," I say, brushing leaves from her hair. "But there's shit in my head, Reese. Dark shit that sometimes scares even me."
"And what if I like the dark?" she challenges, her hands sliding up my bare chest. "What if I need it just as much as you do?"
I groan, my cock already stirring back to life at her touch. "Then we're both fucked."
When she takes a step, her knees buckle. I catch her before she falls, scooping her up into my arms.
"I've got you," I murmur against her hair. "Always got you."
She nestles her face into my bare chest, her breath hot against my skin. "That was...holy fuck, Ramsey."
I shift her into one arm and pick up her boots, jeans, and my mask. I leave the shreds of her shirt on the damp ground.
Smiling, I carry her into the darkness and back toward my truck. "Told you I’ve been holding back."
"I had no idea," she whispers, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "Is that...is that always what you wanted to do to me?"
I consider lying, softening the truth, but I've been hiding too much for too long. "That was the tame version."
She stiffens in my arms. "Tame?"
"Baby girl, you have no fucking idea what lives inside my head when it comes to you." I tighten my grip on her, feeling the weight of her in my arms, real and solid. "Four years of fantasies. Four years of imagining every possible way I could have you."
We reach the edge of the forest, the truck visible in the clearing ahead. Reese shifts in my arms, tilting her head to look up at me.
