Page 63 of Wood Riddance
“You are spectacular,” he gasped. Still inside me, he collapsed against my back, kissing my neck and shoulders.
In that moment, I felt the most unexpected feeling bloom in my chest.
Affection.
Chapter19
Finn
We had created a bunker in the old shop. Tarps from my plane and the emergency blanket and sleeping bag gave us a nice, clean cocoon. Outside, the storm raged on, the rain creating a symphony of sounds on the metal roof.
I found Merry’s small pink lantern and brought that in as well. In our little shelter, we sat side by side on the blanket, munching on granola bars and Goldfish.
“I can’t believe you had bags of Goldfish in your survival gear.”
I threw a handful into my mouth and chewed. “I’ve got a kid,” I said once I’d swallowed. “I have goldfish everywhere.”
Her hair was all messy, and all she had on was a thin cotton tank top that did nothing to hide her peaked nipples. Damn, I wanted nothing more than to push her back and nip at them.
“Now,” she hedged, her tone suddenly serious and her face flat, “I will skin you alive if you even think about telling anyone about what happened today.”
“No need to get defensive, She-Ra,” I teased, hiding the punch to the solar plexus her words had landed. This had been unexpected, sure, but it wasn’t meaningless. At least not for me. “You don’t have to push me away, you know,” I said, softly and a little more resolutely. “I don’t want you to regret this. I won’t.”
“You say that now. But you don’t mean it.”
“Don’t tell me what I do and don’t mean. If you have something to say, then say it.”
By her posture and the tone of her voice, it was clear her walls were coming back up. I’d fought so hard to bring them down, though, and I wasn’t giving her an out now. I wouldn’t back down so easily.
She shifted and crossed her arms. “This is nice.” She waved a hand between the two of us in our little fort.
“Nice?” I snapped, sitting straighter. “Nice? Wow, you really know how to compliment a guy.”
“I mean hanging out,” she said, her face softening a fraction. “Being silly, eating granola bars in the woods half-naked. Being stranded out here is not ideal, but this is nice.”
“And the naked fun?” I asked, raising one eyebrow.
She looked away, and a flush crept up her chest. “Also nice.”
I rose up onto my knees, closing the distance between us. “Okay, clothes off. You need a reminder of what I’m capable of.” Looming over her, I grasped her chin and forced her to look at me. “I refuse to accept being labeled asnice. I will, however, settle for mind-blowing, the best you’ve ever had, or life-changing.”
Dipping low, I took her mouth roughly, and, thank God, she responded by wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. The storm outside was raging, but the real lightning was inside, arcing between us.
“Let’s leave this here,” she said against my lips as she worked the button on my jeans. “A nice experience. A shared adventure.”
Pulling back, I scrutinized her. Though she hid it well from others, the vulnerability rolling off her was palpable. This woman had been burned before. She’d been cast aside by dumbasses who didn’t understand just how fucking spectacular she was.
I kissed down the column of her neck, secretly rejoicing when she shivered in response. I’d already tugged one strap off her shoulder, and I’d be damned if I didn’t spend the proper amount of time worshipping her body. Round one had been fast and intense, but this time, I’d go slow. Make sure the wordnicewas expunged from her vocabulary forever.
“I’ll give you an adventure. But trust me, when I’m done, you’re gonna want even more.”
She gasped as I took her nipple into my mouth. “Okay, Stretch,” she sighed. “Give me an adventure.”
* * *
Like me, Adele was the type who required a vigorous workout before she could think straight. It explained her constant presence in the gym, and also why, after another three orgasms, she was finally ready to relax and talk to me.
If that was what it took, making her come dozens of times so she’d open up to me, it was a tax I’d happily pay.
