Page 25 of Feverburn

Realizing what was happening, I put her down and rolled my back to the tree, pulling her up against my body and getting a handful of her ass.

“You’re so—”She interrupted herself with akiss, her hands running under my clothes, touching my torso. I pulled her bottom lip between my teeth. She broke thekiss, her nipples hard, a flush on her face, likely from my beard.“Wait,”she breathed.

I held either side of her neck, stroking it while I fought theurgeto look down at her chest.“God, Ilovekissing you,”I said, mesmerized.

“Same.”She nuzzled my nose, planting a delicate peck against my mouth.“I could do this all day. But I have to go. I really gotta go.”She fought for a breath, looking around the brightening forest.“I have to train our new employees. They’re expecting me.”

My instincts bristled, mad we had to cut this short. I continued to hold her neck, only to brush one lastkissagainst her lips. We stared at each other, unwilling to let go. Recognizing my torment, she took a few steps away and edged out of the woods, running away from the temptation to fuck right there on the forest floor.

Chapter Twelve

My breasts ached with each bounce of my jog. I felt like arawnerve since my firstkisswith Carson yesterday. I shuddered, recalling how his lips felt on mine as he pinned me against a tree with the most dizzyingkissof my goddamn life. I didn’t know what was harder, his body or the tree. All I knew was that I craved every square inch of him pushing against me again.

I needed to see him, so this morning, I French braided my hair into pigtails and put on a matching set of workout pants and a sports bra with a zip-up jacket over it. It wasn’t a pretty shade of lilac like my outfit yesterday, but the black pants didn’t give me camel toe, so it was awin.

I picked the same trail at the same time. I sensed him before I saw him. I have a theory that every woman can tell if a man or a woman is staring at her. Depending on the intent, a man’s gaze feels distinctive, on the edge of a sharp blade of intrusive or exhilarating.

Myheartthudded with anticipation as I looked over my shoulder to see a tall man in all black with a dog gaining distance in a sprint. I kept jogging as the seconds ticked by.

One Mississippi

Two Mississippi.

Three Mississippi.

By four Mississippi, my stomach rolled, hearing him right behind me. I checked again, his handsome face emerging as he pulled off his hood.

“Hey, boys!”I said brightly.

“Hey beautiful,”his gravelly voice reached me, making my stomach drop further. Kiszka ruffed a greeting, his tail wagging. Carson grabbed my hand as he approached, pulling us into the forest like yesterday. I couldn’t help but giggle, feeling lighthearted.

Finding a clearing, he looped Kizzy’s leash around a branch and affectionately held his snoot. “We aren’t going to kill any squirrels for Miss Rosie, right?”

Kiszka blinked guiltily, causing Carson to say something to him in Greek, prompting him to sit with a huff. He turned, wrapping me up in a hug, pulling me off my feet as we breathed each other in. Like yesterday, his scent flooded my senses with his cologne and pheromones, the distinct aroma of fucking sexy hot man, straight upCarson.It was mouthwatering.

“I’m glad I ran into you,”I admitted while he sat me down, pulling me into the shadow underneath a giant oak tree. I looked up at him, taking in all the details of how handsome he was this close.

He stared down at me, touching my face reverently.“Same. I was hoping I’d find you here.”Both of our mouths twitched in a smile before they met in akiss. His lips smooth, hiskissslow. I melted into him, suddenly immersed. I had craved him every ticking second since yesterday.

This man kissed and held me like I was the most important thing in his world. His calm presence invited me to be in the moment with him, with his lips on mine, as everything screeched to a halt. His tongue brushed the seam of my lips, causing me to open to him, meeting his tongue with mine. I hated French kissing Tyler, but Carson was a different story. He tasted minty, and the way he stroked his tongue against mine was sonaughtyyet natural. If he stroked other things like that, I would be ahappygirl.

A needy moan escaped me, echoing in our mouths. I let out an uncomfortable giggle, breaking thekiss.“No, come back. I liked that,”he said.“Ilovethe way youtaste, the little noises you make.”

“Ilovethe way you feel, the way youkissme.”My hands grabbed at his broad shoulders and arms as he surrounded me. He was so strong it made me dizzy. My legs trembled as a tingling need ached between my legs. I clung to him, needing to be as close as possible, savoring what time we had.

As if reading my mind, he broke ourkiss, his gaze searching mine in overwhelm.“I miss seeing you. I’m bummed I don’t get to hang out with you anymore now that the mural is done.”

“Ah, you miss me already?”I teased.

He gave me a quickkiss, holding my face close.“Yes, but I plan on fixing that. I want to take you out on a proper date. I will pick you up at 7 o’clock tomorrow night if that’s okay with you?”He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

I appreciated his initiative. His invite was much better than most guys' typical Netflix and chill plan. But my mind was screaming no.

“I’dloveto,” I hesitated. “But I’m swamped with the store opening this week. I will let you know when life settles down.”

He kissed my forehead before stepping back, touching one of my braids.“Completely understandable. You’re worth the wait.”He gave me a small smile. I didn’t know if sadness ordesirewashed over his eyes, but it made me want to change my answer.

I was trying to be better at communicating my needs. I never did that with Tyler, so it was still hard. But that response made me proud. I also loved Carson’s consistency. A phrase floated in my head, a mantra my mom lived by,‘if he wanted to, he would.’It turns out Carson was living proof.

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