“Let go, baby.” I tease and suck her clit gently. “I’ve got you.”

She shatters with a sob, back bowing, trembling as I ride out her climax.

Once she’s quiet, I move back up and collapse beside her, cradling her against my chest. She nuzzles my throat, dazed and boneless.

“That…” She swallows. “That was…”

“The first course.” I kiss her temple, my cock throbbing against her hip. “Still with me?”

Her hand slips between us, palming me through my boxers. Lightning zooms up my spine.

“Teagan—”

“I wantallof you.” Her gaze locks on mine, fierce and bright. “No holding back.”

I fumble for the condoms I keep in my pack, hands shaking. When I find one and roll it on, her fingers brush mine.

“Look at me,” I whisper, nudging her legs wider. “Always look at me.”

She nods, green eyes wide.

I press in slow—so goddamn slow—sweat dripping off my brow. She’s tight, impossibly tight, her walls clenching as she whimpers.

“Okay?” I grit out.

“Y-yes. More—please?—”

I push forward until bottom out, pressing kisses to her cheeks, lips, and chin.

She takes a big breath.

“Move,” she whispers.

I do.

Each thrust unravels me—her keening cries, the way her ankles dig into my ass, her nails raking my back. She meets me stroke for stroke, hungry and frantic, until her walls clamp down hard.

“Connor! I’m—I can’t?—”

“You can, baby. You can do it all,” I pump harder.

Then she screams, back arching, as her climax rips through us both.“Yes…Connor…!”

I follow, spilling with a groan that tears from somewhere deep and primal.

We flop in a heap, lungs heaving. Her fingers trace the scratches she left on my shoulder.

“Sorry,” she mumbles.

“Don’t be.” I kiss her swollen lips. “I like knowing I’ve been marked by you.”

She smirks and tucks herself under my chin. Outside, the rain’s stopped.

Within moments I hear her breathing even out as sleep claims her.

I pull the sleeping bag over us for warmth, adjusting her against me.

She’s nineteen years younger, stubborn as hell, and completely at odds with everything I thought I wanted. Yet somehow, in this small tent in the middle of a forest we both love for different reasons, she's become essential.