“When we first met you. A girl who liked reading, sewing, and artistic stuff. When we saw you at the camp, I expected you to be intimidated or scared.”
I snort a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“I’m not disappointed at all.” And I believe him.
I glance at him and then keep walking. He keeps up with me easily. Everyone is in their sleeping bags or tents, asleep. I sit by the fire, and to my surprise, he joins me. Sitting so close our thighs are touching. The fire crackles, and the smell of burning wood fills my lungs.
I’ve had dreams about a moment like this. A lover out here with me, someone to watch the fire with.
“I’m not disappointed either,” I finally say.
“What were you expecting?”
I laugh softly. “Nothing nice. Four rich, stuck-up alphas who would hate everything about being out here.”
“Ah, stereotyping us.” He bumps my shoulder playfully.
“No, I just went by what I’d already seen,” I protest.
Rory sits quietly, and then he slouches. “We like getting out, away from it all. Exploring, challenging ourselves. Going out in nature.”
“I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“Because you look like the kind of alphas to stand on a balcony floor, nursing hard liquor in thousand-dollar glasses, while you watch all the beautiful people dance on the floor below you like kings surveying your subjects.”
Rory throws his head back and laughs. “We have done that a few times, but it's what’s expected. We actually prefer roughing it up without an audience.”
“Roughing it?”
“Fucking, fighting, playing, more fucking.”
I flush as he leans in.
“What kind of playing?” I whisper, staring at the firelight reflected in his eyes. The chirp of insects is a familiar symphony, but I feel like I’m in a dream right now.
“Learning martial arts, climbing cliffs, wrestling,” he murmurs, our lips are but a hand span apart, all it would take is just to lean…
No, I can’t. I pull back, and he does, too. I scan the camp because, for a moment, I’d forgotten where we were.
“We like the adventure activities.”
I turn to him, surprised, forgetting that he’s right there. He doesn’t let me think, just seals our lips together. I turn into him, opening my mouth, and he takes the opportunity and presses his tongue in. He tastes like mint and that creek scent that has become so intoxicating. But he kisses like he’s got hours, and he’s just getting started.
I find myself arching into him, kissing him back, my hand on his shoulder, holding him close. I’m lost in him, and I don’t want to come up for air. It’s not if I succumb to them…it’s when.
He’s the one who pulls back. “We should go to bed.”
I look at the sleeping bags outside the tent and hesitate. I don’t like them sleeping out in the elements.
Rory touches my chin. “Don’t you worry about us. We’ve slept in much worse; this is practically the penthouse.”
I open my mouth, but he ducks back down, kissing me with such gentleness that I wouldn’t have thought it was possible from him.
“Go to sleep, Bonnie. Nothing will happentonight.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I’m reassured. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him to stay with me. It’s been so long since anyone held me.
