“Oh.” She sighed. “Oh, my.”
Encouraged, he kept going. He pushed through her wet folds, careful not to penetrate her with his tongue until he found her most sensitive spot. He gripped her hips, holding her into place and focused his movements on that singular spot. Each stroke of his tongue elicited a sharp little gasp from her.
Keeping one hand firmly on her hip, he allowed his other hand to snake up her shirt and under her bra. He stroked a thumb over her nipple, careful not to be too rough with her. The new sensation made her shudder. Her hands traveled over his shoulders, up his neck, and into his hair.
Her hips began to rock rhythmically. Garret went still, allowing her to use his tongue as she saw fit. She rocked faster and faster. Garret flicked his tongue, sending little shockwaves through her body. Soon, she was trembling all over. She clamped her thighs together, holding him in place as she reached her climax. He kept stroking her with his tongue until the tremors subsided and her thighs fell apart once more.
He put her underwear back into place and tugged her jeans back up for her. She was still panting when he returned to his seat beside her on the rock. She leaned against him. He was more than happy to support her. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
“Feel better?” He grinned.
“Much.”
CHAPTER 17 - Holly
Holly still felt flushed when she and Garret returned to the stone circle. Keller and Johnny were there, looking tense. With a jolt of panic, Holly wondered if they’d heard what she and Garret had just done. She was so focused on Garret and his clever tongue that she didn’t bother to muffle herself.
“Is everything all right?” Keller asked. If he heard anything, he didn’t let on.
Johnny, on the other hand, stared at her in that intense way only he could do. It was like he could see right through her, into her heart and mind. There was no mistaking that he knew exactly what had happened.
Guilt blossomed inside her as she looked away. Yes, she was furious with Johnny for omitting ninety percent of the truth, but if anything, the guilt she felt now proved she had real feelings for him. She forced herself to look away, settling on Keller instead, but the guilt didn’t abide. She was attracted to Keller, too. He was the one who finally told her the truth. That counted for something. He wanted her to know. He cared.
Then, she started feeling guilty over feeling guilty. After everything she’d been through in the last few days, hadn’t she earned some stress relief?
God, how could she reduce Garret to stress relief? What was wrong with her?
The whole situation went from frustrating to complicated in the blink of an eye. She didn’t sign up for this. She didn’t sign up for being the maiden or whatever, either, but having to deal with feelings for three men that didn’t make any sense in the first place wasn’t something she wanted to add to the pile. A migraine was coming, and it was coming fast.
“Um,” she stammered, realizing she hadn’t answered Keller’s question. “Garret answered some of my questions about the prophecy.”
“Did that help?” Johnny said, still looking at her in that strange way of his. She got the distinct feeling that he wasn’t talking about the questions and answers.
“Yes and no,” she said. “There’s a lot of things I still don’t understand about the prophecy. I don’t think any of you understand it fully, either.”
“Not really,” Keller replied. “We know what Pearl told us, but even then, I think she boiled it down to the key components. It’s not like there’s a special class we take to learn everything about the bear clan history.”
“Well—wait, there’s not?” Holly furrowed her brow. “Why not?”
“It’s not like the Silver Spruce School District can offer it as an elective,” Johnny said. “There are too many people in town who know nothing about the clans.”
“That’s news to me,” Holly said. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. There’s too much missing information.”
“To be fair, you’re only the second incarnation of the maiden,” Keller pointed out. “When the first maiden came to the clans, it’s not like they were eager to write everything down for future generations.”
“Most of them couldn’t even read,” Johnny muttered.
“Pearl has all those old books,” Garret said. “I bet there’s more information on the prophecy in them. Someone had to have studied it between now and the first maiden.”
“Excellent.” Holly clapped her hands together. “We’re going to hit the books and fill in all the blanks. If I’m going to be part of this, I’m not going forward with only a few chunks of the truth.”
“Does that mean you’ve accepted the prophecy and your role as the maiden?” Keller asked.
“She wants to find proof that she’s not the maiden at all,” Johnny said.
A cold chill crept down Holly’s spine. How could he have known that? Could bear shifters read minds? Johnny said nothing more. He just kept looking at her with that steely gaze.
“I’d like to go back to the house,” she said. “I need a shower and a stiff drink.”
“I second that.” Keller chuckled.
“Once I get back to my truck, I’ll drive to my sister’s home and grab some clothes for you,” Garret offered.
“Thank you.” Holly smiled.
“Are we ready to leave, then?” Johnny asked. “Or are you planning on taking another soul-searching journey through the woods?”
“If I have to go on another soul-searching journey, it’s only to deal with the overwhelming amount of information you attempted to keep from me,” Holly shot back. “Maybe, if I’d learned the
