Instant Attraction

absolutely, one-hundred-percent lost in the vision of her as she came stealing the very breath from his lungs as she did-he shuddered too. So far gone in her, he hadn’t realized that her hands had never stopped, that they were still stroking him, pumping, making his entire body tighten-“Katie, wait-”

She didn’t, and though he tried to extract his fingers from her pants, it was way too late, and he was coming in her hands the same way she’d come in his.

Only it wasn’t exactly the same, and he jerked back, the horrified apology on his lips. She simply moved with him, planting a kiss on his mouth as he shuddered and barely managed to come back to planet Earth. Opening his eyes, he found hers open on his, her mouth nibbling at the corner of his lips. “Katie, I-”

“Don’t.” She grinned but didn’t pull back. “Please don’t say anything to ruin this for me.”

Don’t say anything to ruin this for her? How about doing something to ruin it, like come in her hands as if he was fifteen and jacking off in the woods. “Katie-”

She was handing him a napkin from her pocket, one of the napkins from the bar at the lodge, and straightening her clothes while letting out a running commentary that made his head spin.

“I’ve never made out with someone beneath the stars like that.” She stopped to flash him another grin. “I’ve always wanted to.” She tucked her shirt into her ski pants. “I’ve shaved my legs all week, hoping.” She shot him another smile and stuck her hand back into her pocket, coming up with another napkin. “Do you need-”

“No.” Jesus. “Katie, I’m sorry. It’s been like a year, and…” And he ran out of steam. “And nothing. I should have been able to hold back-”

She shut him up with her mouth. “It was perfect,” she said against his lips, kissing him again before pulling back to zip up her jacket.

“We didn’t finish.”

She shot him a saucy look. “I hate to disagree with you, but you most definitely did finish. And so did I.” She sighed, a purely feminine sound of pleasure that made him half hard again. “First time in a very long time for me, too, by the way. I feel like I’m glowing. Am I glowing?”

He stared at her and found himself shaking his head. “Seriously, I-”

“Seriously,” she mocked, and nudged him in the chest. “I’m not stupid, Cam. Or inexperienced. I know you think it’s ridiculous I’m grinning like an idiot and waxing poetic over a simple hot and heavy make-out session. But you have to understand, in my life, I’ve never really given myself a lot of chances for fun and excitement.”

He felt his heart give. “I know.”

“For me, it was that wish on that falling star coming true. Can’t you accept that?”

He stared into her eyes, realizing that he was still expecting her to turn into someone else at every turn, waiting for her to turn needy, or clinging, or demanding, or something other than what she appeared to be.

“Cam?” she asked, just Katie. Unique Katie.

Still looking into her eyes, he knew he could do no less than agree. “Yes.”

With another of her wide, sweet, contagious grins, she gave him one last smacking kiss. “Great. Now let’s go. I’m starving.”

Chapter 16

On the hike back down, Katie absorbed the gorgeous night, and the equally gorgeous man leading her. They were quiet. Content. And also on cloud nine.

At least she was.

Orgasms tended to do that for her.

It’d been a really long time, even longer since she’d had one so quickly, so easily, without straining for it. And she’d done the same for him. God, the pleasure of that, she could hardly stand it.

Cam glanced at her as they arrived at her cabin. He caught her smile and sighed. “Still?”

With a laugh, she pulled out her key. “I can’t help it. I love it here.”

He slipped his hands into his pockets and didn’t say anything to that.

So they were going to do this again, the thing where he pulled back and she let him. “Are you worried I’m going to want to stay, Cam? That I don’t know the difference between sex and love? Because I am leaving, much as I love it here.”

“You’d get tired of it eventually anyway.”

“Why? You don’t.”

“No, but I was raised out here.”

“So what does that mean, you’re heartier than I am?”

“Well…”

“Come on, Cam,” she said gently. “What you’re made of comes from inside. A person can look like a wuss”-she gestured to herself-“and still be made of stern stuff.” She playfully flexed her biceps. “On the inside.”

He cocked his head and studied her. “I’ll agree, one’s strength has nothing to do with what someone looks like on the outside.”

She reached for his hand. “And let’s just say it. If you’re made of sterner stuff than I am, it’s because of your childhood. Not where it took place, but because of what you went through.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He leaned back against the porch post, looking out into the night, his eyes reflecting his faraway thoughts. “Listen, I don’t know what you think you know, but I don’t want you to think-It wasn’t so bad.”

“Your mom left when you were born and your dad gave you up when you were eight, that sounds pretty bad.”

“Yeah, but him giving me up to Annie was a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Her entire heart softened at all he didn’t say, at how impossibly horrifying it must have been to have neither parent want him and know it, not to mention the abuse she suspected he’d suffered. Not wanting him to hold back, not when he’d spent too much of his life doing just that, she said, “He hurt you.”

He shrugged those carry-the-weight-of-the-world shoulders. “He had a short fuse when it came to me. I wasn’t his.”

“Do you know who your real father is?”

“My mother never said, and she never came back.”

Katie’s own parents, so reserved, so distant, had never been all that emotionally available, but this…this was nearly beyond her comprehension. “I’m so glad you had Annie. She loves you so much.”

“Yes, she had to. I was…difficult.”

“A knack for trouble, huh. Gee, what a surprise.”

“Oh, yeah. And for pissing people off. As I’ve been trying to tell you, it’s a particular talent of mine. With women in general.”

“Is that right? You don’t piss me off too. You frustrate me sometimes…” The acceptance of that was on his face, and she nudged him. “You also make me laugh. You make me think, you make me…” She waggled a brow.

He laughed but it didn’t get all the way to his eyes, making her realize just how little experience he had with people sticking with him. “I’m new at this whole taking risks thing, Cam, but you’re not. I’d think you’d be wanting to take a risk on us. After all, it’s a short-term one.”

“It’s not that.” He met her gaze. “Just don’t fall for me, Katie. I’m not ready for that.”

She raised a brow. “I don’t believe I said anything about falling. I wished for good sex, and got it. The end. Now I’m thirsty. I’m going in for a drink. Would you like to come with me and piss me off some more?”

He winced. “Okay, first of all, that wasn’t sex, and I’m normally much better at it. And, no, I can’t come in, I have to go check on the others.”

“You are good at it, and tell Sweetie Pie thanks for giving us some time up there alone. Good night.” She leaned in and gave him a kiss, which given the low, rough groan that escaped him, he’d dream about later.

Inside, she took a long, hot shower, put on a big old T-shirt, left out some cheese for Chuck-or so she hoped- and then was surprised to hear something outside. “Chuck,” she said with excitement, and opened the door.