I moved us towards the ledge and lifted Hadley off me, not missing her wince when my cock slid out of her. I raised her up and set her down on the edge. “Amazing, huh?”
I lifted one of her feet, searching for any sign of blisters. When I didn’t find any, I slid my hands up her calves, around her knee and along her inner thigh.
“That tickles,” she gasped, jerking her leg out of my grasp.
“I’ll have to remember how ticklish you are,” I murmured, lifting her other foot and repeating the process again.
“Like you need to use tickling as a weapon against me when you have much more dangerous ones already.”
“Like what?” I asked distractedly, shifting my search higher.
“Your eyes, your face, your shoulders, your chest, your ass, your voice,” she listed off, surprising me. “Your lips, your tongue, your fingers, and your dick.”
She whispered the last word, and I looked up from my examination of her ribs, which were too prominent for my liking, to find her blushing adorably. “You’re not without your own weapons, my precious girl.”
“I’m not, huh?” She flashed a dimpled grin at me, cocking her head to the side. “What’s a girl like me got that will hold up against a man like you?”
Sliding my hands around her back, I stepped closer to her and lifted her knees to my sides. “I probably shouldn’t admit this to you, but you’ve got a whole arsenal you could use against me and I’d be helpless to resist. Something you’ve already proven,”—I pointed over my shoulder with a thumb—“by seducing me under a waterfall when I should be focused on keeping you safe while you get some much-needed rest.”
“I’d rather do what we just did than sleep.”
I slid one hand up and swiped a thumb under her eye, right over the dark circle there. “Part of being mine, my precious girl, is letting me do what’s best for you. Your well-being comes before anything and everything.”
“Even amazing sex?”
“Yeah, even then,” I chuckled before getting serious again. “Speaking of which, I wish you’d told me you were a virgin.”
“I tried,” she protested softly. “Sort of, right at the last minute. But I waited too long and then you were inside me and you already knew.”
She was so damn adorable, it was hard to be tough on her. I steeled myself to get my point across because what I needed to say to her was important. “I’m sure you had your reasons for not sleeping with anyone before today, Hadley, and I for one am damn happy you did because I’m the one who benefited from your decision. I can even understand why you were hesitant to tell me about your virginity, Hadley. But no more,” my voice firmed. “If it has something to do with your comfort or safety, then you can’t hold information back from me. No matter if you find it embarrassing or awkward to talk about.”
“You can’t just order me to talk to you about everything,” she huffed.
“I can.” I climbed out of the water, lifting her into my arms and carrying her into the cave. Sitting down, leaning my back against the wall, I settled her on my lap. “In fact, I just did.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she grumbled. “You’re lucky you’re so hot or else I wouldn’t let you get away with stuff like this.”
“Lucky for me you think I’m hot.”
“Oh, please,” she laughed. “I don’tthinkyou’re hot, I know it. Just like I know any woman out there would agree with me.”
“I don’t care what other women think, Hadley.” I dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Just you.”
“You’re too good to be true,” she whispered sleepily, followed by a deep yawn. “I’m afraid to fall asleep and wake up to find out you’re not real. To wake up in that bed with the chain on my wrist and discover you’re only a dream.”
“I’m real, my precious girl.” I tightened my arms around her, pissed off at the thought of her being scared to sleep. “And I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
She tilted her head to look up at me, her eyes drifting closed. “Promise?”
“You couldn’t get rid of me now if you tried,” I answered.
“Don’t wanna anyway.” Her head dropped back onto my chest, her eyes remaining shut while the beat of her heart evened out.
“Not yet, you don’t.” I waited until I knew she was asleep and wouldn’t hear me finish my thought. “But I don’t think you’ve figured out yet that I mean to keep you forever. And when you do, you may change your mind. Not that it will make a difference after you gave yourself to me.”
She sighed in her sleep and cuddled deeper into my chest. “Hell, as long as I’m confessing my secrets, it wouldn’t have mattered before then either. Your fate was sealed the moment I laid eyes on your photo.”
I enjoyed the feel of her in my arms for as long as was safe before pulling her shirt over her head. She barely moved when I tugged her pants up her legs, put her socks and boots on, lacing them up. Then I laid her down on the ground on top of my spare shirt, using my pack as a pillow. She barely stirred through it all. I’d known she was tired but hadn’t realized the extent of her exhaustion.
