I swallow hard. Something deep in my chest is reaching—straining—for the matching thing in his. “Well, I’m not a hero either. We don’t have to be. We survive what this world does to us and try to make the best of it. What else can we do?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing else to do,” he whispers thickly, staring at me with a different kind of heat than before. Deeper. Achier. Needier.
What I see in that gaze is exactly what I’m feeling too.
It’s so strong I can’t stand it. Can’t resist. I get out of my chair and lean down to kiss him.
It’s an awkward position. He’s lounging on the bench while I’m bending at the waist to reach his mouth. A lot ofmy hair has come loose from my knotted braid, and the strands fall down to brush against my face and his.
He’s surprised at first, holding himself very still as my lips softly move against his.
Then he makes a throaty sound and lifts a hand to hold my head in place, responding with an urgency that startles and exhilarates me.
I pull away gently and straighten up, meeting his eyes in the flickering light.
Then I silently take the step up into the camper, leaving the door open behind me.
Micah gets up too and follows me inside.
9
Despite the deepconnection between us, we aren’t swept away in a tidal wave of lust, unconscious of our surroundings or the nuts-and-bolts realities of having sex in a small space like the camper when one of us is injured.
I changed the sheets on the main bed first thing this morning, so after toeing off my shoes, I pull back the blankets. Micah closes and locks the door behind him before he bends over carefully to take off his shoes and socks.
I glance out the window to check on Molly, but the dog has disappeared into the woods for her normal nightly hunt and ramble.
“Do we need to leave the door open for her?” Micah asks.
“No. She’s always a while. And she’ll scratch on the door when she’s ready to come in.”
He chuckles at this and then winces slightly as hepulls off his T-shirt. His middle is bandaged up neatly since I redid them after we returned this afternoon.
“You gonna be up for this?” I ask, eyeing him closely.
“Oh yeah.” He gives me a rakish grin. “I’m all the way up.”
This obvious wordplay makes me giggle. I start to take off my top but pause with the fabric bunched by my fingers. “You know this isn’t the start of something, right?”
“I know. Just sex. Maybe even just tonight. I don’t fuckin’ care. I’ve been wantin’ this since the moment I met you.”
I already knew this was true, but hearing the words washes me with a flood of hot excitement. I pull my top over my head and then take off my old sports bra.
Micah is staring hotly, breathing rapidly, as I shimmy out of my jeans and panties. “Fuck,” he breathes when I’m totally naked.
I’ve never been particularly self-conscious about my body, but something about his gaze makes me drop my eyes.
It’s not the open lust or the coursing excitement that’s practically jumping out of his tension right now.
It’s something beneath it.
Something a lot like awe.
I recover my composure as he gets out of his jeans and boxers. I’ve seen his bare body before but not like this. He’s hard—his cock firm and distended, jiggling slightly as he moves.
“How do you wanna do this?” he asks, wrenching his eyes from my nakedness to glance back at the bed.
“You better get on your back. I don’t want to risk your wound opening up from overly strenuous activities. I hope that doesn’t offend your manly sensibilities.”
