Page 30 of The Outsider

I nodded, moving back. “I thought of Summerhurst.”

John smiled, clearly touched.

“In spite of everything that happened at the Cave,” I continued, clearing my throat, “there’s so much to be grateful for. Kimmy’s on the mend, and we’re on our way to the Valley. And we found Asha.”

John’s eyes shadowed briefly at Asha’s name, but he didn’t comment on it.

“I’ve wanted to be alone with you all day,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against my hand.

“Is that so?” I asked with a small smile. “Why’s that, Wastelander?”

He paused briefly, his eyes sparkling in the firelight, and it took me a second to realize he was wrestling with some emotion. He suddenly held my hand in a tight grip.

“John,” I prompted, a little concerned. “What is it?”

He gave me a tremulous smile.

“I’ll never be able to thank you enough for saving my sister. You were so brave and made me so proud.”

I stared at him. “I didn’t do anything. All I did was—”

“Tell me exactly where to go and what to do, yeah,” he cut in. “Without you, none of what we did at the Cave would’ve been possible.”

I shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor. “You did most of the work. And Kimmy wouldn’t have needed saving if it wasn’t for me, anyway.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know that. A million things can go wrong on a trip like this, and what happened was just one of them. If it hadn’t been the cult, it could’ve just as easily been a gang.”

“Still—”

“For Christ’s sake, Claire, can’t you let me give you a bit of credit?” John asked, amused. “It won’t kill you.”

I huffed. “Fine.”

“That’s better.”

Before I realized it was happening, he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. The ache of longing started in my chest at the feel of his lips on mine. His kiss was slow and sensual, his hand fitting into the nape of my neck, cradling my head. My blood heated as he slipped his tongue past my lips, and a soft moan escaped my throat. I clumsily turned in his lap to straddle him. Our kisses grew increasingly wild, clutching at each other breathlessly, until we had to surface for air. He switched to kissing my neck, and I stifled another too-loud moan.

Asha was still sleeping on the opposite side of the room.

“We sh-shouldn’t,” I stammered, gasping as John gave my earlobe a soft bite.

“I want you,” he whispered, making me shiver. “I’m aching for you. And you don’t want me to make love to you?”

I shuddered, shutting my eyes as he sucked on my pulse point. An almost-painful throb had begun between my thighs. I wanted nothing more than his touch. My clothes suddenly felt heavy and stifling, even as the chill of the evening had settled in. It felt like a long time since that stolen encounter in the shed at the strip mall.

“It’s not that,” I said, my voice coming out as a gasp. “God…it’s just…not with Kimmy and Asha here.”

I drew in a surprised breath as he slid his hands under my thighs and lifted me as he stood, my legs wrapped around him. Without missing a beat, he carried me away from the fire and out the front door of the cottage, kicking it shut behind him. He then turned and flattened me against it, crushing his lips against mine again and pressing his hard length against me.

“It’s cold,” he said softly by my ear, a note of apology in his voice. “But it’ll have to do.”

The night air was chilly, but not freezing. With John’s mouth on my neck again, however, it could’ve been fifty below and I wouldn’t have noticed. All the uncertainty of our situation—Asha, the new knowledge about my father, my implant, my mother and sister—melted away in the wake of his nearness, his touch. He awakened a need in me that only he could satisfy.

I shivered once more as he nibbled again at my earlobe, then unfastened my pants and slid a hand into my underwear. His fingers parted me, spilling the moisture that had been building there, and I sighed.

“Fuck, you’re wet,” he growled. “You been missing me, beautiful?”

“Yes,” I answered, my voice coming out like a squeak. “Have you missed me?”

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