I stuck my feet into my boots and rolled up my clothes under my arm, then returned to camp.
Kiera looked up from the book with concern in her eyes.
“Are you okay, James?”
“Yeah, uh…just a rough hike,” I bullshitted. “I’mma grab something to eat.”
“Way ahead of you. I have a loaf of bread coming out soon, and there’s chicken stew simmering on the stove.” She snuck by me and scurried inside. “I used one of the cans and added more ingredients.”
I side-eyed her as she checked on the food, and I felt the need to get out of here again. This girl was stirring up shit inside me that I didn’t wanna deal with.
I placed my clothes next to my backpack and kicked off my boots.
“This needs a few more minutes,” she announced. “Sit down and get warm. It took me ten minutes to stop shaking after I showered.” Her hair was still damp. She side-eyed me right back and smirked a little. “Maybe put on some clothes. You don’t wanna get pneumonia.”
I’d had that one coming.
But I wasn’t in a joking mood.
As I stared at her, pressure built up in my chest, and it stripped me of my armor. She stood there in my hoodie, legs toned and smooth… Smooth enough for me to assume she’d used my shaving kit. Christ, even her feet were cute. What was wrong with me? What was wrong withher? She was up to something, wasn’t she? She didn’t have to cater to my every fucking need. She wasn’t a servant.
I felt my jaw tick with tension, and the atmosphere changed around us.
“What’re you doing, Kiera?” I asked quietly.
For a quick second, I saw confusion flit by, followed by a flicker of vulnerability, before curiosity took over.
“Can’t you tell?” she asked back. “Something is obviously going on with you, so I’m overcompensating to make sure you’re comfortable.”
I wasn’t comfortable one fucking bit. If anything, it felt like I was about to blow.
Did she feel how charged everything suddenly was? Was that why she was taking a step closer?
“It’s not working.” I tensed up when she was within reach.
She fucking knew what she was doing to me. She showed no fear or apprehension. Instead, all I saw was wonderment and compassion…and heat. My fucking God, she was intoxicatingly beautiful.
“Should I try something else?” she murmured.
I swallowed, unable to respond—not that I had the faintest idea of how to answer anyway—and watched her lift a hand to slowly ghost it up my stomach.
She wasn’t done. “I’d imagine you have a lot on your shoulders. Is it weird that I want to make things easier for you?”
Oh, but she wasn’t making things easy. Not by a mile.
She brushed her hand over a faint scar on my chest, and I was quickly reaching my limit. The sensation from just her fingers shot desire through me so forcefully that if she didn’t stop right now, I’d end up fucking her into oblivion.
Goose bumps appeared wherever she touched me, and I felt my chest rise and fall more rapidly.
When she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, I was done for. In a swift movement, I pulled her flush to my body, cupped her cheek, and dipped down and covered her mouth with my own. The sheer lust that flooded me was damn near overwhelming. I’d watched those pouty lips for two days now, and I’d fucking had it.
A needy little sound escaped her, and she pressed herself impossibly closer and locked her arms around my neck.
Fuck yes.
I gripped her hips, only to slip my hands under the hoodie and finally feel her skin along the soft curve of her spine, but it wasn’t enough. When she deepened the kiss and I got to taste her properly, there was no more holding back. Not for her either. We kissed hungrily, and I palmed her perfect ass and squeezed her to me.
She moaned and snaked her tongue against mine, then hitched a leg over my hip. I went with it, hoisted her higher, and pushed her up against the wall.
