You threw this away once. Don’t make the same mistake again.
And in three paces he was back with her, muttering two words which meant there would be no more restraint.
‘Fuck it!’
Chapter 21
Carli
Once upon a time, Carli had kissed a boy called Niall Butler. Now, that boy was a man – very much a man – and he was striding towards her with intent in every muscle movement. She knew there was a reason she’d stayed pinned to the spot as he’d walked away. Truth was, she hadn’t been able to move from the hurt of his rejection. Pain had frozen her in the rain, her feet in flip-flops sinking into sodden grass that was quickly turning to slippery mud.
Niall didn’t say a word. Didn’t have to. The shadow of his wide frame moving to eclipse hers was enough. The touch of his large hands as they covered her cheeks said everything that needed to be said in that moment. And the crushing of his lips to hers in the most definitive claiming of her mouth she’d ever known assured Carli that Niall Butler wanted her. He desperately wanted her.
And the kiss. Oh, the kiss. The one yesterday had been a trial run. This was the real thing. Claiming her didn’t even cover it. Right from the beginning, she’d been spoiled by the way Niall kissed. No. Ruined. And here he was doing it allover again. His tongue practically fucking her mouth as he pulled her face closer to his and pressed his soaking masculine bulk to hers. This was almost worth the seventeen years of not having him. But she was freezing and dripping wet.
‘Get in the tent,’ Niall husked.
‘I can’t stop kissing you to do it.’
‘Me neither.’ Niall drifted down her neck. ‘I could kiss you all night.’ He swung round, his back to the tent and encouraged her towards it. Before thoughts could penetrate her brain, Niall was sitting inside the tent, facing her, wet jeans and boots off, peeling his t-shirt over his head, proceedings lit by the sharp, yellow glow of his torch.
Jesus! That body again. In seconds, he was lying back and she was astride him.
‘This tent is five-star compared to mine,’ Niall remarked without taking his eyes off her. ‘Get those pyjamas off before you catch a cold.’
But it was too late. Carli was already shivering, the prolonged exposure to the Scottish rain and cold too much for her. She fumbled at the buttons of her pyjama top, but fumble was all she could do. Her fingers were like giant, frozen sausages.
‘Hey, are you okay?’ Niall shot up, his voice urgent with concern.
‘I’m fine. Just a bit cold.’ Her teeth were chattering, making it hard for her to speak.
‘You’re more than a bit cold, Cass. You’re shaking. Get those wet pyjamas off.’
‘Can you do it? I’m freezing and my hands are useless.’
‘Are you sure? I mean, you’ll be half naked.’
She nodded. What choice was there? All she wanted in this moment was to be warm.
‘I can close my eyes,’ Niall offered, no doubt toprotect her dignity, recognising that this wasn’t erotic anymore. ‘Turn the torch off.’
‘It’s fine.’ This wasn’t the way she wanted to be revealed to him but somehow fighting it made it worse. If this was how it had to be, this was how it had to be. This was the truth of her life, so why hide it? Frequently frozen in the middle of her pursuits by her stupid body.
‘Okay.’ Niall unbuttoned Carli’s pyjama top, a small storm of worry on his face, and peeled the garment from her skin, her breasts fully exposed to him now. This should be the moment he took hold of one or plunged his mouth to her nipple or groaned in agonising anticipation.
Fuck my life.
But nothing betrayed what he was thinking or feeling. Sure, he saw her, but he moved swiftly to stretching for the blanket on top of her sleeping bag, sweeping it over her shoulders and bringing it round her front like a cape where it still barely covered her nudity.
‘Come here,’ he commanded in a low burr. Palms on her hips, he pulled her down his thighs and into the warmth of his broad chest, her legs curved around his waist. Breasts pressed against him, resting her chin in the dip of his neck, Carli got a heady inhalation of citrus and rain with Niall’s pulse thudding against her cheek.
She could stay here forever, her skin flush with his, his arms tight around her, but not so firm as to hurt, heat conducting between them while the rain battered the tent like shrapnel.
This had started as Niall warming her up, but it had quickly segued into something more. Feelings ricocheted between them and Carli knew from how closely he held her and from his resounding heartbeat on her breast that itmeant as much for him to hold her as it did for her to be held.
Time passed – she had no idea how long – and her shaking diminished to a trembling then stopped altogether, and Niall’s thumbs were wiping her hair from her face as he searched her features
‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘Warm enough?’
