Chapter 16
Al fresco sex in bearcountry wasn’t the smartest idea Shane ever had, but with last night still consuming his body and soul, how could he have resisted Krista today?
This morning, she’d been all shy and ridiculously embarrassed—for what? For being hot and sexy and just so damn alluring?
Where had this attraction come from? He’d seen her dozens of times at the sports center—and even last night when she’d been all dressed up at the hotel. Not once had his radar bleeped. Not even when her pants had ripped and she’d had her butt in his groin in a position that was now getting him all hot and bothered just thinking about taking her that way.
Put simply, he couldn’t get enough of her.
And that look on her face this morning when she’d tried to sneak out of his tent, how she’d nibbled her lip and crinkled her brow. What had been going through her mind? Doubts and more doubts, shame and guilt? Well, he hadn’t wanted that. Not when they’d had so much fun—and definitely not when it reminded him so much of himself during The Bad Times.
Back then, when he’d come to his senses, doubts, shame, and guilt had been top of his list of emotions to work through, and he’d hated that Krista might feel that way too about what they’d done. He’d also hated her dismissing last night as a one-night stand. No way would he add her to that sordid category. She was too unique, too special. For one, he knew her name. For another, he couldn’t spend the rest of this holiday walking next to her—or lying in tent a few meters away—and not touch her again.
So why not have a holiday affair and keep this fire burning for a few more days? Krista had said it herself... Sex between them was a vacation treat. And if the demands she’d made of him last night were anything to go by, Shane had suspected she’d want more too.
He hadn’t been wrong.
Against the tree, she’d been as ready to explode as much as he was, and now they were hightailing it back to camp, having aborted their hike in favor of more sex in his tent. Not that either of them had actually said that out loud.
It was time for some clarity. Shane snatched up Krista’s hand and drew her to him. When she slammed against his chest, he kissed her startled mouth, giving her a clear image of exactly what he wanted when they got back to camp. Her lips instantly softened against his, and when she slipped her tongue into his mouth, he deepened the kiss until her hot body melted against his.
“Where did that come from?” she asked when they eased apart. Her lips were red, her cheeks flushed, and her chest rose and fell as she controlled her breathing.
Shane smiled, liking the effect he was having on her. Arousal was a good look on Krista.
“We have today, tomorrow, and Saturday,” he said. “Three days, three nights, plus Sunday morning. We’ll still do plenty of hiking, but there are plenty of other things to do too. So...”
“So...?” For a long moment, her serious gaze flickered all over his face, like she was searching for an answer to his unspoken proposal.
Shane held his breath, and then her hands were on either side of his face, pulling him down for a hungry, desperate kiss that screamedHell yeah!
Grabbing her butt, he yanked her against his still-unsated body, impatient for what would come next. But she slipped out of his arms so quick, she left him pouting.
“Hey!”
“Race you back!” she called out and darted down the trail.
Shane snapped out of his heated daze. She’d shed her backpack at his feet, quicker without the extra weight. “Sneaky!”
He scooped up her bag and ran after her, but he was enjoying the chase too much to overtake. Keeping pace behind her, he sometimes sped up enough to touch her, making out to grab her just for the thrill of hearing her squeal as she darted out of his reach every time. He growled, aroused and mesmerized by the free movement of her sporty body as she ran through the forest.
When they were almost back at camp, Krista darted to the left—toward the water pump.
