by Ivy McAdams
The bear snarled, turned on its tail, and ran. It pushed its way out of the broken back door and was gone nearly as fast as it’d appeared. Sadie fell back against the table with a gasping shudder.
“Sadie.” Clay’s voice was strained. His hands were on her arms, pulling her to her feet to face him. The sharp crease in his brow and the hollow void of concern in his eyes made her heart quake. “Are you okay?”
“I think I’m alright. It just―I didn’t see it. I―”
She felt outside of her body, still watching and running from the bear. It was difficult to slow down. The nightmare was over, but her drumming heart and shallow breaths still ran like a train.
Clay’s hands slid up her arms and shoulders to press into the back of her neck, holding her closer, and she found solace in his warm, firm touch. It pulled her back from the edge of panic and wrapped her in a blanket of hope.
Her eyes darted over his face, desperate to see him. To know that both of them were still alive. In whole pieces. Escaped the wrath of an angry grizzly bear.
The very idea of being trapped in the same room with a grizzly sent a fresh shudder down her spine.
But she was alive.
Clay had saved her.
She pressed her palm to his cheek, searching his eyes as she fought to control her breathing.
His chest rose and fell in a deep rhythm that betrayed how frightened he’d been as well. She traced her fingers along the exposed edge of his collarbone through the opening of his shirt, skin she’d wanted to touch for days. As her fingertips grazed his flesh, his eyes clouded, and his hand slid into her hair.
“I thought that bear had you.” The husky breath in his voice tickled the nerves throughout her body.
“I’m still here,” she breathed.
Something primal flashed in his eyes. “Thank God. Here you are.”
His fingers tightened in her hair, and she gazed at his soft lips, skewed in concern. She’d dreamed of touching them again since their kiss near the river. It was as if they were beckoning her, and she was in no state of mind to deny her desire.
She pressed a kiss to the firm line of his lips. They molded to hers instantly. She fell into his arms, overcome with relief and fueled by a fire ignited deep within her.
His arms crushed her against his body with an urgency she returned, sliding her fingers into the soft hair she’d been dying to feel and pressing herself into him. Needing more of him. Wanting every inch of her body to be covered with his warmth. Craving the firm muscles that melded into her.
Clay’s mouth was hot on hers, falling into a rhythm that melted her insides. She’d never felt so vulnerable and safe at the same time. He’d moved far into territories she was unfamiliar with, but she couldn’t stand the thought of him being anywhere else.
He teased her lips apart, and she opened up to him with a passionate sigh. The shock of his warm tongue on hers sent her pulse fluttering. For a moment her breath was gone, and she leaned back an inch to look at him.
She expected to find his normal flirty smile, but what she found drew her up tighter than a bowstring. There was no smile on Clay Pearson’s face. Only a strong jaw, soft lips, and intense eyes. The look melted her against him, and he claimed her mouth once more.
The rumble in his body was deep, growling and possessive. The feel of it against her chest and mouth strummed a string deep down in her body she’d never reached before. A wet heat that surged through her and met between her legs.
The exchange between them was curious and tantalizing. She could make a big, strong man like Clay growl with need, and he could take over her body and make it do things she could not.
It was strange, and she liked it.
Testing her own power, she moved her tongue against his, flicking and dancing. He tasted of a savory sweetness she’d never found in any food she’d eaten. It was more delicious and satisfied her in a way no meal ever would again.
He groaned. The throbbing in her core intensified.
His hands were possessive in her hair, cupping the back of her head and drawing her in. She welcomed it, leaning into him, and lifting off the ground to hook a knee around his leg.
It was all the encouragement he needed. He dipped and hoisted her up into his arms. She gasped against his lips as he tucked her in close and moved further into the dim light of the cabin. It was as if she floated weightlessly across the room until her back came in contact with the wall. He pressed her into the wooden panels with the weight of his body. Her legs spread to wrap around his waist, lodging him in tightly against her core, and it jolted a live wire within her.
When his lips left hers, she opened her mouth to protest, but all she could manage was a hollow gasp as his kiss trailed down the tender skin of her throat. Hot mouth and teeth on her neck and the edge of her shoulder sent her pulse tripping. Her fingers slid up the back of his head into his hair, running through the long strands, just as soft as she’d imagined them.
One of his hands moved up her body to tug at the neckline of her shirt, exposing her collarbone. Muscle memory insisted she cover it immediately, but his mouth moving over the tender skin demanded she let it be.
When his fingers popped a button on her shirt free, however, the voice in her head screamed a warning. No one had ever undressed her, much less a man in the heat of passion. Her nerves fired, begging her to stop him. This was a dangerous act. She was being much too risky. Especially with the company at hand. And yet, it was the company that swept the thoughts away. She felt safer than she ever had. Clay Pearson would not hurt her.
She closed her eyes as he trailed a set of kisses over her collarbone. Then he inched out a second button.
His fingers against her skin were soft, and his mouth on her sternum was like a prick of fire. When he breathed soft words against her, her mind went blank, and she wrapped tighter around him.
“You smell divine, Miss Tanner.”
A sudden itch coursed through her fingers. She wanted to see those eyes again. To see him staring back at her.
Her fingers tightened in his hair, and she pulled back.
He froze, fingers slipping free of the buttons on her blouse and nothing but his breath left upon her chest. When his eyes met hers there was a concern there that tugged at her, and she pressed her free palm against his cheek, letting it contour to the evening stubble that had sprouted along his jaw.
“It’s Sadie,” she said.
Then she smiled, and all the tension in his face disappeared. The depths of his eyes grabbed her, just as she’d hoped. The lopsided grin on his face was brilliant and fueled the fire within her before his mouth was on hers again. Hungrier, intense in a way that nearly shocked her, but she met him with a growing appetite.
His hands moved into her blouse, popping threads and shucking the garment down her shoulders. He trailed kisses down her chest and onto the top swells of her breasts. Her breath caught, tantalized by the tingling through her body.
He lifted her back off the wall and moved through the single doorway into a small bedroom. Her room. She clung to him, but she needn’t worry. His strong hands were around her bottom and holding her like he might lose her at any second. She tightened her legs around him, her thrill heightened in knowing that would not be the case, and he groaned against her lips.
The primal sound he emitted awoke even more corners of her body, and she squirmed against him. His fingers flexed deep into the muscles of her behind, and she gasped.
The bedroom was much darker, but she knew what was in there. A simple end table and a bed. Before she had a moment to register being in the dark with him, Clay had lowered her shoulders down onto the bed. His lips trailed down her sternum as he let her go, inch by inch. The heat from his mouth on her chest clouded her mind.
With her legs still wrapped around him, he leaned over her lowered body and moved his hands to her camisole. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could just make out his fingers moving, and buttons popped free in rapid succession.
His moist breath was on her chest again, trailing to one of her breasts. Goosebumps broke out over her skin.
Then his lips closed over the taut peak of her breast, and the nerves in her belly leapt. Fire spread through her chest and down into the junction between her legs, pressed in tight against Clay’s body. She writhed against his mouth, and his tongue teased her sensitive skin.
He moved to the other breast, sucking and teasing until she pulled in a ragged breath. Then he lifted away. His strong hands kneaded into the skin at her waist as she slid the rest of the way down onto the bed. When his fingers met the hem of her pants, he slid them a few inches down her hips.
Her fingers dug into his back, a small flicker of panic darting through her.
Clay’s hands stopped. He rested her fully onto the bed and knelt over her. Then his hands were gone. Fabric rustled, and a whoosh of air moved over her half uncovered body, drawing the damp tips of her breasts up even tighter.
In the fading light, she could see the hard lines of Clay’s bare chest and arms. She reached hands out to touch the firm stomach over her, hard and soft at the same time, with a patch of coarse hair beneath his belly button. She hadn’t expected that and ran curious fingers through it, tickling at his skin. The hum in Clay’s throat was deep and wicked. His hands rested on hers, guiding them to the brass belt buckle at the front of his pants. Her breath caught as her fingers passed over the cool metal and the straining seams beneath.
A knot of nerves gathered in her throat, but the soft caress of Clay’s fingers on hers kept her grounded.
“I’ve got you, Sadie,” he whispered.
The sound of her name on his breath stirred a renewed desire within her, and she took hold of his fingers. He moved his hands over hers as he unfastened the buckle. It snapped in the darkness as it fell away. She slid her fingers along his sinewy forearms as he worked, admiring the way the muscles moved, before his hands were on hers again. His palms covered hers entirely as he pressed her fingertips into the loosened hem of his pants just behind his hips.
There wasn’t much holding his pants on any longer. One of her fingertips edged beneath the hem, pushing her boundaries and smiling at the thought of it. Then more fingers, and she slid the pants down his body. Her hands pressed into the tight muscles of his bottom. She never knew touching another’s body could feel so good. And exciting.
Clay’s pants fell away, and he reached for her. His hand slid up her shoulder, her throat, into the hair at the back of her head. Then his hungry mouth was on hers, tasting and teasing. Her lips burned as he crushed into them, but she welcomed it. When he lowered his body over hers, pressing against her along the way, her hips lifted from the bed to meet him. She couldn’t get enough. She needed him closer. She wanted to pull him deep into her core.
This time when he rested a hand on her hip, she pushed it down to the edge of her pants, begging for more.
His whisper was deep and rumbling against her lips, just her name, but it was enough to drive her wild.
She lifted her hips higher as he pulled her pants down her legs. In a flurry, he sat up to yank her boots free and rid her of all extra garments. She lay still beneath him, waiting for him to cover her once more with his warm body.
His hands traveled up her thighs, over her hips, and caressed her breasts as he knelt over her again. His kiss pressed her deep into the bed mat as a hand slid down her torso to the apex of her body. His fingers were cool against her burning core, and a delicious shiver coursed through her.
When he edged her thighs apart, she spread before him, searching to quench the urges within her. He fit himself against her and took her mouth harder. She could hardly breathe when he sunk in deep, and a cry of surprised ecstasy escaped her lips.
All the years of searching to belong, to feel right in the world, vanished in an instant. Nothing had ever felt as right as Clay.
She moved her hips up to press into his, greedy for more. A groan rolled in his throat. The sound made her even hungrier, stretching and reaching, needing more of him.
His lips crushed into hers as he moved within her. The bruising pinch against her mouth was sharp but perfect. Her hands were lost in his hair, twisting and pulling as he turned her body into a liquid fire that burned through her center and out her limbs.
She tasted him with her tongue and lifted to meet his movements, falling into his rhythm until he growled. When one of his hands snaked around her hip to cup her bottom, pressing her ever tighter into his body, she thought she might explode. A waterfall of heat coursed through her, and she cried out, clinging to Clay’s slick body. Muscles clenched and tightened in a euphoric frenzy that left her faint. He moaned against her lips as his body did the same, and she clung to him in surprise. When his body relaxed, he slid down to the bed next to her.
They lay for a silent moment before his arm went around her and drew her in close.
Sadie’s muscles trembled, and her mouth was sore, but the small prickles of pain felt too glorious to worry over. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She hadn’t known such a level of contentment existed, lying there in Clay’s arms with her body aglow. She felt as if she could close her eyes and sleep for days.
Chapter 14
Lying with her cheek pressed against Clay’s hard bicep gave Sadie a drowsy smile. Her fingertips slid up his forearm to his wrist and back to the elbow, gently exploring his skin. Not ready to break the warm connection between them.
Except the bothersome cool air was tickling her thighs and her belly. All the spots that had felt as if they were on fire just moments ago were quickly feeling the chill. Reality ebbed its way into her brain once again, and the thought of lying there with no clothes on made her throat contract.
She was naked, tucked in close to a naked man.
Nerves bounced about within her. She needed to find her clothes. She couldn’t be lying around the cabin without them. What if Mason were to return?
Her throat squeezed tighter.
Mason could return at any moment. He’d catch her in the nude. Even worse, in bed with Clay. She pressed her lips together until they ached.
Clay’s stomach growled.
She popped up as if it’d bitten her.
“I’ll see what’s left of the food,” she said as she slid to the edge of the bed.
His fingers trailed down her spine as she moved away, eliciting a delighted shiver. She turned back to look down at him. Just the edges of his long hard body were lit by the last of the evening sun through the window. Even the edge of him was beautiful.
She gave him a lazy but happy smile before getting up.
“I hope there’s a bison out there,” he murmured, sounding nearly asleep. “I’m starving.”
She chuckled. “If there is, the bear brought it.”
He grunted a drowsy laugh as she slipped across the room. She squinted in the darkness as she crept. The sun had disappeared in a rush. How long had they been in there? Little to no light filtered through the window.
She felt around the floor with her barefoot until it touched the small chest near her bed. She opened it and pulled out some clean clothes. Anything would do. She dressed in a better fitting blouse and a similar pair of brown woven pants. The clothes didn’t sit quite right at first. Her body felt moist and worked in a brand new way. It was odd, but she loved it.
Once she was covered again, she moved about the cabin with a calmer energy. Out in the main room, she went to the nearest shelf and pulled down a candle and matches. The sharp smoky smell of the lit match covered some of the rotten bear stink, and she set the small flaming candle on what was left of the kitchen counter.
The bear had destroyed the hutch full of rations in the corner. Broken cabinet doors lay on the floor with cans and what was left of the fresh vegetables scattered about. All the jerky and dried fruits were gone.
Sadie tiptoed through the remains of half-eaten carrots and around a large glass shard from a broken jar of preserves. A
mong the pile of tin cans, she pulled out some beans and an intact loaf of bread. She touched the tip of her nose to the crust and drew in a breath. It was hard, but it still smelled fresh.
It would do.
She stepped wide and crossed over to the kitchen counter, swiping some wood splinters and food debris onto the floor with her sleeve. A small box on the counter looked untouched, and she smiled. With a flick of her finger, she popped the wooden lid and lifted out a roll of hard cheese.
She was just opening one of the cans of beans when a boot crunched behind her. Before she could turn her head, long warm arms encircled her. She grinned as Clay’s chin rested on her shoulder and his nose rubbed at the tender skin below her ear.
His bare chest pressed into her back, his warmth enveloping her. She leaned into him as she worked, letting the newly familiar scent of him surround her. His body on hers was like pieces of a puzzle. It fit just right and made everything all the more clear.
“Looks like you found something,” he growled into her ear.
Her knees wobbled, and she clutched to one of his arms. Even just the sound of his voice could disarm her, and she loved it. His hot breath caressed her ear lobe just before the edge of his teeth nibbled. She folded around him with a giggle, and he rewarded her with a deep, dark chuckle.
The butterflies in her stomach at the smallest touch made her feel like an excited young girl, but the rugged and raw energy Clay put off made her feel like something else entirely. Like a desirable woman. Not one that had been left to grow up alone in the forest with little interaction or feeling of belonging.
She no longer felt lost wrapped up in Clay’s arms.
His lips had just dipped below her ear to smooth down her neck when the sound of hooves approached outside. The ragged breath that blew across her collarbone was laced with both agitation and amusement.
“He has the worst timing,” Clay grunted.