Page 12 of Horned to be Wild
Her words pleased him more than they should have. He’d always thought of the forest as his refuge, his domain. The idea that he could make it welcoming for her, that he could be her guide here, stirred something protective deep in his chest.
They were nearing the edge of her garden now, the trees thinning to reveal glimpses of her cottage beyond. Their time together was running out. He felt the pressure of unspoken words building in his throat, though he had no idea what he wanted to say.
Ahead of them, Mabel suddenly stopped walking. The goat stood absolutely still, her head cocked to one side as though listening to something only she could hear. Then, with no warning, she bolted.
The lead rope, loosely draped over his arm, snapped taut. Mabel darted between them, circling rapidly, the rope wrapping around their legs in a chaotic tangle.
“Mabel!” he barked, but it was too late.
The rope pulled tight, yanking their legs together. Lila yelped in surprise, pitching forward. He tried to catch her, but his own balance was compromised. They tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap, and she landed directly on top of him.
His back hit the forest floor with a thud, Lila sprawled across his chest, their bodies pressed together from chest to thighs. For a moment, neither of them moved. The full, soft weight of herbody against his was an exquisite torture. Every curve of her body aligned perfectly with his, as though she’d been designed specifically to fit against him. He could feel the rapid rise and fall of her breathing and see the surprise in her wide brown eyes.
“We seem to keep ending up like this,” she said breathlessly, but he couldn’t find the words to respond.
Her hair had fallen forward, brushing against his cheek in a silken curtain. One of his hands had instinctively gone to her waist to steady her, and he could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric of her dress. His body had responded instantly to her nearness, his shaft thickening. He prayed she couldn’t feel it, even as his treacherous body hardened beneath her.
Time seemed to stretch indefinitely. They were frozen together, neither advancing nor retreating, caught in the magnetic field between them. Her lips parted slightly, her pupils dilating as she looked down at him.
He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All his carefully constructed walls, his years of self-imposed isolation, seemed to evaporate in the warmth of her gaze. There was nothing in the world but this woman, this moment, this overwhelming need to pull her closer, to claim her mouth with his, to roll her beneath him and?—
Mabel bleated, sounding suspiciously satisfied with herself, and the spell broke. Reality came crashing back. He became acutely aware of his position—sprawled in the dirt, tangled in a goat lead, his body betraying his most basic desires. Shame and desire warred within him as Lila continued to stare down at him, her expression unreadable.
She was still pressed against him, making no move to pull away. Her weight was nothing to him, but it pinned him more effectively than any restraint. He was completely at her mercy, trapped not by the rope around their legs but by his own desperate longing.
“I—” he started, his voice a rough, strained sound that he barely recognized.
He had no idea what he was going to say. Apologize? Ask her to move? Beg her to stay exactly where she was?
Her eyes searched his face, lingering on his lips. The air between them crackled with tension. One of her hands moved slightly against his chest, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.
“Torin,” she whispered, and his name on her lips sounded not like a question, but like an invitation.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lila stared down at Torin, the world suddenly reduced to this single, breathtaking moment of connection. Her hands rested against the hard planes of his chest, and she could feel the rapid thunder of his heartbeat beneath her palms. He was so warm, radiating heat like a furnace, warming her through her clothes. His earthy, masculine scent surrounded her, making her head swim.
This close, she could see flecks of gold in those amber eyes, now dark and intense as they locked with hers. His powerful horns curved upward from his forehead, catching the last rays of sunlight slanting through the trees. But it was his mouth that drew her attention most—surprisingly full and soft-looking against the strong angles of his face. His expression was unguarded in a way she’d never seen before, raw hunger written across his features, and the look sent a shiver straight through her core.
The air between them crackled with electricity, a silent question hanging in the space between their bodies. Her own body responded with an unexpected ache blossoming low in herstomach. Every nerve ending tingled with awareness. Her gaze drifted back to his lips. The urge to know how they would feel against her own suddenly overwhelmed any remnant of common sense. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a wild rhythm urging her forward.
Before doubt could creep in, before she could overthink the moment, she leaned down, her hair falling like a curtain around them as she pressed her lips to his. For one terrifying heartbeat, he froze beneath her. His entire body went rigid, and a wave of horrified embarrassment flooded her body. Had she misread everything? Was she making a terrible mistake?
Then a low, rumbling groan vibrated through his chest, and suddenly his arms came around her, his strong hands spanning her back and pulling her tighter against him. His lips moved against hers with fierce, desperate passion that knocked the breath from her lungs.
The kiss was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. He kissed with the same intensity, the same absolute focus, that he brought to his work. His lips coaxed and commanded at the same time, and she instinctively opened for him. His tongue slid into her mouth, far wider and thicker than a human tongue, the surface slightly rough. The feel of his mouth against hers was a revelation, sending a jolt of pure electricity through her body.
Despite the difference in their sizes, they fit together perfectly. Heat flooded through her, pooling low in her belly and spreading outward in waves. She curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt, wanting to be closer, needing more of him, and rocked her hips against the huge ridge of his erection. He clamped his hand on her ass to pull her closer and growled, the sound reverberating through his chest as he bucked beneath her.
The world around her faded away until there was nothing but the sensation of his mouth on hers, his body beneath hers, the intoxicating connection between them.
Just as she felt herself falling completely into the kiss, drowning in the exquisite pleasure of it, he stiffened beneath her. His body went taut, and a low groan—different this time, pained rather than passionate—escaped him.
Reluctantly, she pulled back, struggling to catch her breath as she looked down at him. His eyes were hooded, his face strained with an emotion she couldn’t identify. What had started as a simple, impulsive gesture had snowballed into something beyond her control, and a small, panicked part of her mind warned her to slow down, to think about what she was doing. She opened her mouth to say… something, but he beat her to it.
“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly, his voice ragged with an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher.
He gently rolled her to one side, and she immediately missed his warmth, the feeling of security and protection that he’d given her. He sat up and started working to untangle their legs from Mabel’s lead rope.
