Then she shoved Chris out of her head and threw herself into kissing Crew. The droning of the skid steer floated on the air, along with a couple shouts from somewhere near the barn.
As if the noises brought Crew down to earth, he broke the kiss, searching her eyes. “We have two choices.”
Her chest heaved. “What are they?” Her voice was a breathless rasp.
“We can go to the dining hall. Grab food and a drink. Then go back to working in the garden.”
“What’s the other choice?”
“We go to my room. I take off all your clothes. Kiss and lick every inch of your body. And make you forget your own name. Then go back to the garden.”
Her lungs stopped working. Her brain misfired from those dirty promises.
She swiped her tongue over her dry lips. There was only one option for her.
Going on tiptoe, she pressed a soft kiss to the stubble already sprouting on his jaw. “Lead the way to your room.”
Chapter Eight
Crew’s blood pounded in his ears as he led Fern through the lodge’s side entrance. His hand engulfed hers, and she held on tight.
The hallway stretched ahead, dim and blessedly empty. Most of the guys were still outside working or grabbing lunch in the dining hall. His room was at the end—too damn far when all he could think about was getting his mouth on her again.
“Crew.” Her voice was breathless behind him, and he slowed, looking back.
The flush on her cheeks, the way her lips were still swollen from his kiss—Christ, she was beautiful. And she was here. With him. Choosing him.
“Changed your mind?” he asked, even as the thought made his chest tighten.
“No.” She stepped closer, her free hand sliding up his bare chest. “Just wondering if we’re going to make it to your room.”
Heat licked through him, settling low and insistent. “You keep touching me like that, and the answer’s no.”
Her smile was pure sweetness mixed with sin. “Good to know.”
He growled and pulled her the rest of the way down the hall. His door was unlocked—always was—and he shouldered it open, drawing her inside before kicking it shut behind them.
The lock clicked.
Then she was in his arms, and he was backing her against the wall, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that obliterated anyremaining space between them. She gasped against his lips, and he swallowed the sound, one hand braced beside her head while the other gripped her hip.
“Wanted this,” he muttered against her mouth. “Wanted you.”
“Then take me.”
Her hands were everywhere—his shoulders, his chest, trailing down his abs. When her fingers grazed the waistband of his jeans, he caught her wrist, pinning it gently above her head.
“Not yet.” His voice was gravel and need. “I told you I was going to take off all your clothes. Kiss every inch of you. I keep my promises.”
Her eyes darkened, pupils blown wide. “Crew—”
He silenced her with another kiss, this one slower, deeper. His free hand found the hem of her shirt and slid beneath, fingers spreading over the warm skin of her stomach. She trembled, arching into his touch.
“So damn soft,” he murmured, dragging his mouth along her jaw. He nipped at the spot just below her ear, and she moaned, the sound shooting straight to his cock.
He pulled back just enough to tug her shirt over her head and toss it aside. Her bra was simple, pale pink, and did absolutely nothing to contain the swell of her breasts or conceal those nipples that enticed him the minute he saw them straining against her top.
He traced the edge of her bra cup with one finger, watching her chest rise and fall in rapid breaths.
