He kisses his way up my inner thigh, and I arch into his mouth. “Are you going to lick me?” My breath hitches on the question. I’ve never experienced it but always wondered what it would feel like. Hot? Wet?
“Dammit, you smell like lilacs and heat,” he says, planting a kiss right above my mound. With a strangled moan of protest, I writhe beneath him when his hands leave the juncture of my thighs to run up and down my legs, paying special attention to all my sensitive places.
Gray dips a finger into my folds, dragging a finger over them and I moan as I want to scream at him to taste me. After blowing a breath over my throbbing clit, he sucks the little bud into his mouth and works it back and forth with his tongue.
Stars burst before my eyes, and I arch into his mouth. “Don’t stop, Gray… please.”
He doesn’t and within moments, I buck to the most exquisite release of my life.
After my explosive orgasm, his big hands keep moving up my body, stroking and caressing my skin, circling my belly button and drifting higher. When they reach my straining breasts, he cups both mounds in his large hands, pushes them together, and uses his thumbs to strum my nipples.
“You have the best rack I’ve ever seen. Far better than the one in my living room holding the light bulbs.”
I chuckle and find that it feels good to do it. At least it feels good with him.
He cups my face and smooths his thumb along my bottom lip, testing its fullness. “Thank you, I think. I’ve spent my entire life trying to hide it. I don’t like that kind of attention.”
“You better believe that’s a compliment.” He smooths his fingers down my collarbone, across my straining nipples to rest just on top of my aching core. “Since the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you. At least right after I saved you. And I couldn’t help but notice your perfect tits when you accidentally shoved them in my face to get your glasses.”
I catch his gaze, my breath hitching at his sexy smile. When his lips tug upward, it only leads to my slow, complete destruction. “Well, I’ve wanted you since you made tea from herbs you picked by hand. Since I’m a woman who picks things by hand, I can’t think of anything hotter. Except maybe your sculpted ass.”
“I guess I never thought a woman who’s underneath my hand about to scream my name would be talking about herbs and asses in the same sentence, but I’ll take it.”
“Now you can take me. I want to come again. With you inside me.”
I lift my hips in an unspoken invitation as old as time, my pussy rubbing along his thigh, because I want to scream his name when he fills me to overflowing.
“Count on it. I’m going to be so deep inside you that you won’t be able to tell where you end and I begin. But first…” He reaches into the dresser drawer and pulls out a condom. A flush hits my cheeks. Dammit, I never even thought about protection. Good thing Gray’s more focused than I am. Or more experienced. Otherwise, I might be leaving here with more than samples.
Gray’s weight and heat press down into me, all hard muscles and sinew. And strength. Everywhere I’m soft, he’s bristly. His beard rasps against my skin, but it’s a good kind of friction.
The man towers above me with his towering height; his defined muscles a product of his lumberjack activities. Chopping. Climbing. A light dusting of chestnut hair covers his massive chest. If I hadn’t been laying underneath him, waiting for him to make me his, I’d never have believed this specimen of man existed outside of my wildest fantasies.
I can’t breathe, can’t speak, and when he moves his hand between us, I moan over the sensation it sparks.
My straining nipples ache for his fingers again. His mouth. His cock is like a steel rod between us, pressing against my inner thigh, and I feel an answering tug in my core.
He presses his chest to mine, his cock now nestled between my pussy folds. One palm grips my chin, holding me in place to accept the intensity of his gaze as surely as I’m about to accept his steely flesh inside my heat. He dips his huge dick into the folds and rubs until I close my eyes against the pleasure.
“Look at me, Dove. You’re so wet… it’s driving me crazy.”
With an inhale and a sigh, I say words I never, ever thought I’d say. Dirty words. But they’re so damn real. “Fuck me.”
My throbbing pussy clenches, straining for him. When he delays by capturing my lips with his, I twine my hands around his neck and pull. “You’re not a very good listener, Gray.”
I shift, my lower half lifting up and pressing against his shaft. He groans but still disobeys me. Grabbing the perfect globes of his ass, I yank and bury a few inches into me, enjoying the sensation of being filled. I still and allow my body to adjust since it’s been so long.
Too. Damn. Long.
After several seconds, he thrusts his hips forward, pushing another inch into me. My inner muscles clench on their own, gripping him and inviting him in deeper. “More.”
He gives a strangled moan. “You can’t do that, or I won’t last.”
With one powerful thrust, he buries himself all the way to the hilt, taking away every breath and thought.
Reaching between our heated bodies, Gray presses his thumb to my clit, rubbing the bud back and forth.
“You’re mine, Dove. Mine.” In that heated moment, full of pleasure and promise, I believe him. The fallout can come tomorrow. Along with the shame and guilt and analyzing why I’m acting so completely rash and out of character. I may even need an Excel spreadsheet to document my mental notes. But for now, I’m here with the hottest lumberjack in Minnesota connected to me in the most intimate way possible. He pushes forward again and applies more pressure to my clit until I see stars float before my eyes. But before I catapult over the edge, he stops.
“Mine. Fucking say it.”
“Yours. All yours.”
I can’t take my eyes off him. Don’t want to. Gray’s feral claiming of my body fills my heart to overflowing. As I allow myself to fall, the orgasm hitting me so hard it blinds me, I realize he’s not long behind.
After several long moments, he opens his eyes and blesses me with that sexy smile. A pang of agony hits me when I think about how I won’t be able to see it again and again. He brings a finger to my cheek in a feather-light touch.
“Amazing.”
I place my hand over his, reveling in the heat and strength. “Ditto.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dove
The roar of an engine yanks me from the bliss of sleep and the warm cocoon of Gray’s strong arms wrapped around me. He must have the same idea because he tucks me in even tighter, his palm running along the curve of my hip until tingles erupt all over my body.
My mind drifts back to our magical night. One I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Once the pain of my impending departure fades away, I’ll open the memory and unwrap it like a treasured gift.
Pounding on the door pierces my ears and Gray shoots up in the bed. “Christ! Who the hell is trying to beat the door down?” As he grumbles, he pulls some pajama pants on that sit low on his hips. I try not to admire his washboard abs and perfect biceps, but I can’t help but peek out from underneath my eyelashes to drink him in, burning every line of sinew in my memory bank. “Be right back.”
I snuggle deeper into the down comforter listening to the muffled voices on the front porch. After a few minutes, the engine roars to life again and the door shuts. Footsteps pad down the hallway.
My stomach gets speared into the mattress by the look on his face. He’s sad. Which can only mean one thing. I’m leaving. I thought I would get at least one more stolen day. One more chance to show him how much I’ve already come to care about him. One more chance to be possessed by this amazing man. We were supposed to go quail hunting today.
But I’m leaving.
And it sucks.
A pause. A jolt of pain that agonizes me as it lands.
“That was John Nelson from the forest service. He talked to my friend Tim and he can send an ATV for y
ou before supper. Bet you’ll be happy to hightail it out of here, huh? Check on your laptop and stuff.”
Ask me to stay.
But he doesn’t. He shuffles around the bedroom, gathering his clothes and some other things. “I’m gonna jump in the shower. Feel free to go back to sleep, or… whatever. Make yourself at home.”
It feels like the bubble of passion and want and magic has burst, disintegrating into the charged air. Because Gray seems eager to be rid of me. It was a just a simple fairytale… one that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I inhale a cleansing breath and steel my spine, sitting up in bed and using the comforter to cover my breasts as I search for my clothing scattered on the floor. If he can be so nonchalant about the most explosive sex ever, so can I. I’m nothing if not logical, almost clinical.
Unflappable.
Even though this is in effect a one-night stand, I don’t feel a tinge of regret. I just feel sad that I’m leaving when I was experiencing something I haven’t in a long, long time.
Fun.
I shrug into my panties and pants and button up my shirt. Pulling my fingers through my thick hair, I discover it’s a ratted mess from Gray’s passion, so I just pull it into a messy bun on top of my head and secure it with my ponytail holder. I’ll have to wait for him to get out of the bathroom. In the meantime, I shuffle into the kitchen and see if I can figure out his ancient stove enough to get some water boiling for coffee or tea.
As I struggle to figure out how to stoke the fire to the point where it will heat the burners, I end up singeing the tip of my finger on the cast iron.
“Ouch!”
Warm arms wrap around me from behind soothing everything that hurts. Except my heart.
“Let me see that.”
Gray spins me around in his arms and gently clasps my wrist, lifting it to his eyes for inspection. Before I know what’s happening, he puts my finger inside his mouth and sucks. Every nerve ending fires and I fall right back into my memories of last night.
Gray sucking my lower lip in his mouth.
Gray teasing my aching nipples with the pads of his thumbs.
Gray licking my pussy until I squealed.
Gray’s cock stroking every dark space deep inside, filling them with light.
My eyes widen as my heart threatens to explode out of my chest.
“Better?” he asks, breaking the spell when he allows my hand to return to my side.
“Mmmhmm.”
He sets me off to the side. “Let me take over. Ole Bessie can be a bitch.”
I worry my bottom lip with my teeth. “Bessie?”
He moves about fetching the kettle. “Yeah. Damn stove’s so fickle, I thought she should have a name.”
“And a man can’t be fickle?”
“I guess I never thought to name my stove after another man. Don’t you think that would be weird?”
I sweep his red flannel shirt and hip-hugging jeans with my eyes like a woman starving for a man. But only this one. “I think it’s weird to name your stove at all.”
His lips finally tug upward, and he looks a little less sad. “Point taken. But it’s too late now.”
He glances at me and in the split second before he looks away, something flashes in the depths of his irises. It almost looks like a promise. I hope he won’t cheapen this experience with false platitudes and fake futures. We both know our worlds can never collide. At least not with something less explosive than the second Big Bang.
“So what do you want to do until I leave?” I ask, desperate to fill the awkwardness. But saying our version of the ‘L’ word just seems to do the opposite.
He shuffles around the kitchen, gathering cups, gathering tea, doing everything to avoid my question. “I think we should go in the forest and collect a fresh aspen leaf for you. I’d feel really bad if you head back to civilization without the prize you came here to collect.”
Tears prick the back of my eyes, hot and unexpected. I blink them away. He’s the prize. This man all alone in a cabin in the woods is the best man I’ve ever met outside of my father. It’s a shame that he’s squirreled himself away from the world when he could do so much good by being in it.
I run a hand over my messy bun and smooth it down. “I’d like that.”
He lifts one hand to the kettle, placing that large palm upon it as if he’s caressing the steel. It reminds me of last night. A jolt of electricity laced with pain lightnings through me, but I shove it so deep the light will never touch it. We can’t go there again. At least I can’t. I know my limitations.
After breakfast, he gathers his backpack and I do, too. We walk in silence, Hank follows along behind us, sniffing every single bush until he hits pay dirt and chases a rabbit into the tree line.
I sigh. “I hope he doesn’t kill it. I’m purely a live and let live kind of girl. I know you hunt for food and lighting fixtures, but your dog’s stock is going to plummet in my eyes if he tears a cute bunny apart limb from limb right before my eyes.”
Gray chuckles low in his chest. “He won’t. He’s a typical male. All about the chase most days.”
I lean into him and nudge his upper thigh with my hip. “Are you a typical male?”
He smiles down at me. “Nah. When I want something, I take it. Why chase it if you’re not sure you’re going to catch it?”
I laugh, big and bright. “I like your style, Gray. That’s exactly how I feel about my specimens. And if I hadn’t come to your woods to take what I wanted… well, I never would have gotten to take what I wanted.”
I surge forward when I spot the perfect aspen and toss a saucy wink over my shoulder along with a wiggle of my backside.
Within a second, his huge strides bring him within touching distance, and I find my backpack scraping the bark as he swoops down and kisses me senseless until I can barely draw breath.
With a low groan, he lets me go and I kneel beside the tree, taking measurements and photos. Once I’m satisfied I have everything I need for my data points, I circle the tree like a boxer in the ring, searching for the perfect leaf. After throwing a few shadowboxing moves into the air for good measure, I sigh. The dimensions and proportions have to be perfect.
After I find the unicorn amongst the mules, I stow it away in parchment and plastic so it can withstand the journey back home. On the way back, Gray takes my hand in his, but we don’t speak. Words seem so inadequate. So trite.
When we reach the cabin, we both hear the rumble of an ATV in the distance. He turns into me, cupping my cheeks with his palms as if I’m a fragile piece of china. As if I might disappear. He kisses my forehead, whispering words that become lost to the forest and all her creatures.
Tim’s vehicle breaks through the trees. While Gray greets his friend, I go inside and collect the last of my belongings. Standing on the top stair of his front porch, I inhale and ingest the beauty of the pristine forest, committing it to memory, committing him to memory. I am going to treasure this experience for the rest of my life.
With a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes, I bound down the stairs and walk to where Tim and Gray stand near a grove of trees.
“I’m Dove,” I say, holding out my hand. “I’m a botanist.”
“Tim.” He gives my hand a good shake. “Bet you’re happy to get back to reality. I can’t even imagine being stuck out here with this curmudgeon for more than a few hours.”
My mind drifts back to Gray’s lips on my neck – my nipples. To Gray’s hands on my stomach, my thighs, my clit. Me screaming Gray’s name into the depths of the forest.
Yeah, he’s pretty tough to take.
“Actually, it’s been fun. I learned a lot about lumberjacking.”
Tim chuckles and stows my gear on the ATV. “Hop aboard, Dove. We’ll get you back to your motel in no time. Later, Gray.”
Hooking one leg over the vehicle and settling in, I swallow back the emotion – the pain.
Gray steps off to the side and stares at me. For a heartbeat, I think he m
ight say something important. Something that could change everything. I would give anything for him to look at me. To face me and tell me every thought that he had about our time together.
“Goodbye.”
The simple word lands like a blow, seemingly wrenched from his lips. I grip Tim tightly around the waist and blink back the tears. Stiffening my body allows me to deny how much the agony consumes me.
I don’t turn around.
Chapter Sixteen
Gray
By the grace of God, I keep from reaching out for Dove. From screaming at Tim to turn the fucking ATV around so I can beg her to stay. Glancing around, I realize I’ve made the right decision. As much as I want her – need her – this is no place for a woman. And when it comes to giving up my solitude, I’m not ready to even consider it.
I stomp into the cabin, hating everything and everyone but especially myself. I should have kept my hands and my cock to myself. The decision to make love to Dove only hurts us both. And it was making love and not just sex. In the space of a few days, she wiggled her way into my heart. I care about her. While I’m not in love with her… yet, I still want to learn every single thing about her. I want to know everything.
I could have been in love with her in a very short time.
If she would have stayed.
But it was obvious from our first interaction that she didn’t want to. I pull down the tea tin from the cupboard and move about the kitchen setting water to boil and grabbing my favorite mug. Every time I drink this tea from now on, I’m going to imagine her full lips caressing the rim of the mug and thinking what it would feel like if they were wrapped around my dick.
Dammit, I have to stop this right fucking now before it drives me crazy!
A growl escapes my lips, anger at my physical weakness but also at the fact that I just burned my tongue on the hot tea.
Crackle.
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