Page 82 of Far From Sherwood Forest
The ground becomes softer as I approach the water, then step over moss-covered rocks to the large slab of stone that juts out into the pool. It’s flat and smooth, and I’m able to see straight into the water from up here. Angling toward where I know the deepest area is, I leap and dive into the water. It’s still cold, but it’s more biting than stabbing.
When I surface, I flip my wet hair away from my eyes and open them to see Henry a few feet in front of me. He’s staring again, and I can’t read whatever it is that’s in his gaze. It’s not until I hear it in his voice that I realize it’s awe.
“You’re fucking beautiful.”
My breath gets caught in my throat at the sincerity of those words. It sounds like there may be a hint of confusion there too, like he’s not entirely sure where that thought came from.
“Did you hit your head on a rock whenyoudove in?”
Henry rolls his eyes, then brings both hands up, pushing them forward to spray me with a wave of water. I laugh and splash him back. He barely flinches, catching me around the wrist and hauling me forward, water sloshing around us as our chests collide. My laughter dies as our gazes lock. His hand moves to the small of my back, holding me close.
Leaning forward, he rests his forehead against mine, water dripping down both our faces as we float together. A beam of sunlight shines down, and for the first time, I notice flecks of gold in his brown eyes.
“I’m all in.”
His words carry on a shared breath, and I inhale them into my lungs, letting them fill me in a way oxygen never could.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice catching. “That means you can’t walk away, Henry. Not anymore.”
“I’m sure.” His other hand comes up and grips the side of my neck. “No more walking away. I’ll only ever chase you from now on.”
My heart swells inside my chest, and I couldn’t stop the smile that stretches across my face even if I wanted to.
Henry closes the distance between our mouths, pressing his lips to mine, somewhere between soft and slow and that hard, desperate way he did the first time. His beard is wet but still rough against my face, and I think it’s safe to say that I’m obsessed with the feel of it. As his tongue dives inside my mouth, I bring my hands up, laying my palms against his chest. He nips at my bottom lip, and I dig my nails into his pecs, causing him to hiss.
Before I can lose myself fully in the kiss, I grab both of his arms and kick away from him until he releases me. I swim backward, grinning at him as I put distance between us.
“How about you prove that?”
He arches a brow at the challenge, and then he lunges forward quicker than I expected. I nearly let out a squeal as I spin around and swim back through the pool toward the slab of stone that I jumped off of. I kick my legs behind me, trying to splash him and slow him down.
When I reach the stone, I haul myself out of the water and start crawling across the smooth surface. Before I can get far, Henry’s hand wraps around my ankle, simultaneously pulling himself up onto the stone while dragging me backward. After he has me beneath him, he presses his chest down on top of my back.
“Caught you, little thief,” he whispers in my ear.
My heart flutters.
It’s been a while since he’s called me that, and I realize now how much I actually love it.
I squirm until he gives me enough space so I can roll over onto my back, staring up at him as water drips off his hair and beard and rains down on me. The gold flecks in his eyes seem even brighter.
“So what are you going to do with me now?”
“What would be the fun in telling you?”
I get a glimpse of his devilish smirk before his head dips down and he takes one of my nipples between his teeth, biting hard.
“Oh, fuck!” I shout, bucking under him until I feel his erection press against my thigh.
As he licks over my nipple, soothing it, his hand comes up to my face, shoving two fingers into my mouth. I immediately start sucking on them like it’s instinct, like I’ve been empty without a part of him inside me.
“You should be quiet, Robin,” he says as his mouth travels to the other side of my chest, leaving a trail of warm breath and beard burn as I’m left panting. “I don’t plan on stopping, so unless you want an audience…”
He doesn’t finish the thought, instead sinking his teeth into my other nipple.
His fingers in my mouth muffle the moan I make, and we both thrust our hips against each other at the same time, our hard cocks grinding together through the thin fabric of our underwear.
After licking over that nipple next, his mouth journeys further down, on a mission to nip and lick and kiss his way through every valley of my abs. Between the feeling of his lips on my skin, his beard scraping across my stomach, and hisfingers in my mouth, I feel like I’m floating on clouds, all of the sensations taking me higher.
