Page 62 of Bound

“What do you want, Emery?” Thumbing her jaw, her skin was clammy and warm under my touch. “Just say it.”

“I love you.”

Her words crashed against my chest, tearing my heart open, and then sealing it shut. I didn't expect that, I never thought she would hit me with such a violent force.

Stunned, I stood quiet, just letting those three words sink in.

She loves me. . .

Could she really mean that?

“I. . . I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that.” Taking a firm step to the side, she pulled away from me, pushing my hands off her face. “It's crazy, I know. We know nothing about each other, we met under circumstances that are definitely not ideal, and not the foundation for a strong relationship. You probably think I'm insane, or one of those girls that are super clingy, but the truth is I'm not. I avoid relationships like the plague, I hate the idea of being in a relationship at all. I don't know what the hell I was thinking—”

“Stop,” I said firmly, holding up my hand. “Just stop.”

Emery dug her toe into the soft ground beneath her feet, twining her fingers together in front of her waist. She wouldn't look up at me, simply staring at nothing with wide open eyes.

“Do you mean it?” Taking a long step, I grabbed her elbow, and drew circles over her skin. “When you said it, did you feel it?”

Nodding, she still wouldn't look up at me. “I can't explain it, Porter, it's just there.”

“I feel it too.” Smiling, I pinched her chin between my fingers, and lifted her face up. “You're not crazy, not if I feel the same thing as you.”

“You do?” Her eyes held this softness, this allure that I could fall into, that I could live in if she would let me.

“I love you, Emery.” The words came out easier than I expected. I had felt it since day one, from the first time I laid eyes on her. But, I never actually thought I'd speak them out loud. “That's all we need, the rest will come in time.”

Placing her hand over mine, she climbed up on her toes and kissed me. There was nothing around us, and that quiet that made me uncomfortable before, now encased us like a cocoon, sealing us off from the rest of the world.

Her breath was my breath, her heart was my heart. I knew what I had to do now.

Between kisses and inhales, I spoke quietly into her mouth. “I'm not doing it, I won't risk myself another second. Will you come with me?”

Pushing away, Emery's eyes drifted around my face. “Come where?”

“Wherever we end up. Come with me, we can leave tonight.”

“Are you serious? I thought you wanted—”

Silencing her with another kiss, I threw my arm around her waist. “What I wanted doesn't matter. You were right, it won't bring Zander back, but what I have, that's worth living for—you'reworth living for.”

Twisting her on her heels, I walked her back against the giant fallen tree. Her hands swept up and trapped my face, lips greedily stealing kisses. Her breathing was ragged and heavy as a delicate moan spilled out from the back of her throat.

There were no more words left for us to say. Right then all we had were the emotions draining us to the core.

Slipping her hand down my chest, Emery grabbed my swelling cock. Her fingers stroked the firm muscle, tender and hard, savage and with such patience, it broke me. She was a musician, plucking the strings that worked my heart.

Growling, I couldn't stop myself from wanting to burn our love into the woods around us. Raking my fingers through her hair, I wrapped a thick lock around my palm, and tugged her head back.

“Mm,” she moaned, sucking in a sharp gasp of air. Biting her bottom lip, she palmed my cock still hidden under my jeans. “You like when I touch you, don't you?”

“Fuck yeah I do. Can't you tell?” Thrusting my hips into her hand, my cock jerked hard. “You do this to me, you make me so fucking hard it hurts.”

I felt like a wild beast, lost in the forest, stumbling upon the last woman on earth. I was going to take her here, just like this, with nature surrounding us like a warm blanket.

Feverishly, I flipped Emery onto her stomach, bending her body over the tree. The curve of the wood made her ass perch up, giving me the perfect position to fuck her.

With a hand in her hair, I worked her pants down her legs. I half expected her to stop me, to tell me that she didn't want to do it out here like this. She never uttered a word in protest. Her hips swayed, her eyes snapped shut, and her fingers clutched the thick cracks in the bark.

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