ruffled it once. A long, long time ago. Her breath hitched with the desire to touch, to be held.
The moonlight glimmered across his face, his hard cheekbones, shadowing the line between his brows, showing the way his eyes narrowed. “Little liar. Yes, you do.”
Shoving his hands away, she shook her head no, yet wanted to bury her face against him and cry.
Jake watched Kallie, realizing more fully how much damage he’d done when he’d pushed her away. He’d reinforced her belief that no one cared for her. Her admission that she loved him had been a gift he didn’t deserve. In fact, if she hadn’t been half-asleep, he’d never have heard the words from her.
For now, he gave her time. Reaching out, he stroked her hair as she wrestled with her old fears of abandonment and believing no one wanted her. She had good reason for her anxiety. The world came with no guarantees. And he couldn’t promise her they’d always be together. But if she risked her heart with him, every day of their life, he would show her exactly how very much he loved her.
And no matter how much she protested, she wanted to be loved so badly that it made his chest ache.
She was stuck, he realized, unable to move forward, unwilling to retreat back into her lonely space. If she’d been a different submissive-one with other problems-he might have mounted her on his cock and pressed for an answer…but she needed to come to him with both her mind and heart. “Kallie, do you love me?”
The straightforward question did it-because she couldn’t deny what they both knew. Her eyes closed, and the answer came reluctantly. “Y-yes.”
The laugh almost choked him, and her eyes popped open. “Sweetheart, you sound as if you’re admitting to kicking puppies, not telling a man you love him.”
She blinked, frowned, and then took a deep breath. “You’re right.” As he had done, she set a hand on each side of his face and stared into his eyes. “I love you, Jake Hunt.”
And there it was. A future. Hope. Love. Joy fountained through him, lifting him from the depths where he’d lived for so long, to the heights to come.
She shivered, as if she’d opened a door, letting the air into her house, a clean, fresh,
He pulled her into his lap and whispered, “Thank you, sprite.”
As he held her and stroked her back, she realized she’d been trembling. With a sigh, she relaxed. For a while they simply sat, enjoying the closeness, the sounds of the forest and creek. Eventually he stirred. “The air has cooled-let’s get into the bag.”
She stilled. Spend the night? Before she could formulate a protest, he’d pushed her to her feet and stood up. He unzipped the bag. “Hop in.”
After toeing off her boots, she bent to get in and squeaked when he gripped the neck of her shirt and pulled her upright. “I want you naked now.”
She stared up at him, at his utter self-confidence and the power radiating from him, and she swallowed. “Yes, Jake.”
He touched her face with his fingertip. “My sprite,” and the sheer satisfaction in his voice stopped her breath.
Then he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. Excitement shot through her, and her fingers fumbled as she pulled off her clothes. The night air had chilled, and goose bumps rose on her skin; her nipples turned to tiny puckered buds. The air against her groin felt cool where she’d already grown wet. As she drew off the last sock, she stumbled. He caught her, setting her on her feet, then ran a hand over her breasts. As if he had the right.
She tried to take a step back, but he tangled his fingers in her hair, holding her in place, and deliberately palmed a breast. “My body, Kallie.” Something had changed in his manner, the way he looked at her. No longer controlling, but possessive too, as if to say,
And she was his sub. The thought sent a thrill across her skin, and she answered without thinking, “Yes. Yes, Sir.”
His lips curved in pleasure-pleasure she’d given him. He released her and patted her butt. “Get in the bag.”
The inside of the bag felt like smooth ice against her skin. It would warm up quickly, but
By the time she’d squirmed her way in, he’d removed his clothing. The firelight flickered along his body to highlight the curves of his pectorals, dance over the ridges of his abdomen, and shadow his groin, and she wanted to touch him everywhere. He sheathed himself in a condom, then slid into the bag beside her. After bunching his shirt up to serve as a pillow, he rolled onto his side.
Shivering, she inched closer; his big body gave off heat like a roaring furnace.
“Little ice cube,” he muttered and pulled her closer-a generous act if she’d ever seen one. As their legs tangled together, he ran his hands over her hips, pressing slightly, watching her face. “Any pain?”
She hissed when his fingers found the bruise from the club, and another spot on her shoulder.
“I remember the place on your back. Is that all the bad ones?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He firmly pushed her legs apart, opening her, and an intense surge of desire made her moan. His smile was hard, satisfied as he stroked her folds, finding her wet, already slick for him.
Suddenly a surge of anxiety hit her, and she grabbed his wrist, wanting-needing-to stall. Yes, she’d admitted she loved him, but now to have him inside her, surrounding her… That seemed too intense, as if it would leave all her heart and emotions vulnerable to him. If he left her…
He didn’t move. Didn’t speak or try to reassure her. He just waited, his steady gaze on hers. A minute passed, and her fears seeped away. People loved her. No one had abandoned her. And Jake would never deliberately hurt her. He loved her, and she could trust him with…everything. She sighed and smiled at him. “Mini panic attack. You made me take off my big-girl panties.”
He laughed and kissed her, so slow and sweet that it brought tears to her eyes. Lord help her, she’d turned into a damned faucet. “I love you, sprite,” he whispered in his rumbling voice.
“I know,” she whispered back and got another laugh. She released his wrist and grinned. “Where were we?”
Slowly, he slid his hand down over her mound and flattened it against her pussy. “I believe I was here.”
She shivered as her body sprang back to life. When he ran a finger up through her wetness, she sucked in a breath and then grinned at him. “No ropes. No cuffs. Are you sure you know how to do this without all that?”
He smiled slowly. “I thought I’d taught you that bondage can be more than just physical. Perhaps another lesson is indicated.”
And she remembered the rocks by the creek. Uh-oh.
He considered for a moment, then said, “Put your hands behind your head-lace your fingers.”
Her heart gave a jump. At the implacable look in his eyes, her body seemed to melt right down into the sleeping bag. The knowledge that he would insist she obey, would accept nothing less, somehow took her fears away. As if he stood between her and the world. She laced her fingers together.
He studied her. “Will having your arm in that position hurt your shoulder?”
Only a mild ache. “It’s okay.”
He gave a nod of approval. “Very good.” Smiling, he grasped her hair and tilted her face toward him, supporting himself on that elbow. He kissed her, deeply, thoroughly, as if asserting his possession, kissed her until her toes curled and her skin sizzled as if she’d been sunning all day.
After licking a finger, he ran it in a circle around one nipple, then the other. Desire
