Chapter 20 #3
“You didn’t have to.” Tavian replied with renewed confidence, and I could hear the satisfaction in his voice even with my face tucked near his neck.
He carried me the short distance to a broad, dry section of stone screened by an angled root and dense ferns.
The waterfall remained loud beyond the greenery, and fine mist cooled the air around us without reaching the sheltered stone beneath the root.
Tavian set me carefully on my feet long enough to move my camera bag farther onto the driest rock and help me spread the thin field blanket, smoothing one curled edge before turning back to me.
His hands returned to the hem of my shirt but stopped there.
“Off?” Tavian asked, his voice rougher now while his fingers remained motionless against the fabric and his eyes lifted to mine.
“Yes.” I answered Tavian as I raised my arms, my pulse already beating faster beneath the scent he had left along my neck.
Tavian pulled the fabric over my head and set it carefully on the edge of the blanket instead of tossing it.
He crouched to work my bootlaces loose, pulling the boots off one at a time and placing my socks beside them.
I pushed my field pants down my legs while he helped free them from my ankles, and my underwear followed.
Tavian stripped himself with less ceremony but still kept everything away from the damp stone beyond the blanket.
When he straightened naked in front of me, the joke I had been preparing disappeared.
Lean muscle shifted beneath deep bronze-brown skin as Tavian moved toward me, his body built for the speed and climbing I had watched all day.
Pale scars crossed one shoulder and curved along his ribs, and a flush had already spread high across his chest beneath my attention.
“You’re staring.” Tavian observed as he lowered himself between my knees, amusement warming his voice while his own gaze made no attempt to stay above my shoulders.
“You were staring first.” I reminded Tavian as I slid one hand over his shoulder, feeling warm skin and hard muscle shift beneath my palm.
“I still am.” Tavian admitted without embarrassment, his amber eyes dropping again before he leaned forward and kissed me.
The kiss started slower than I expected from him.
His mouth moved from mine to my jaw, then down my throat and across my collarbone.
Tavian rubbed his cheek lightly against my chest, leaving more of his scent behind before his mouth closed around one nipple.
His purr vibrated against the sensitive skin while one hand cupped my other breast, and I arched beneath him when his tongue moved slowly over the tightened peak.
He switched sides before kissing down my stomach, his hands following the curve of my waist and hips until he settled between my thighs with one palm spreading warmly along the inside of my leg.
There was nothing hesitant about his mouth once he reached me.
Tavian brought the same energy he seemed to carry everywhere, but he paid close attention to every shift of my body.
He changed pressure when I reacted, repeated whatever made my thighs tighten, and slid one arm across my hips when holding still became difficult.
My fingers tangled in his hair, and every time I tightened my grip, his purr grew stronger against me.
“Tavian.” I gasped his name when the vibration sent another sharp rush through me, my thighs tightening around his shoulders while my fingers curled harder into his hair.
Tavian answered with a low growl against me, the sound vibrating through already-sensitive nerves and dragging another shudder from my body.
Pleasure tightened through my stomach until I came with his name breaking from me, my body trembling beneath him while he stayed with me through the strongest waves.
He only lifted his head when I tugged insistently at his hair.
“Up.” I told Tavian breathlessly as I pulled him toward me, needing him closer while I was still trying to catch my breath.
“Bossy.” Tavian teased as he crawled higher and settled over me, his mouth wet and his amber eyes bright with satisfaction.
“You like it.” I told Tavian while reaching between us and wrapping my hand around him, watching the teasing disappear almost immediately when my fingers closed around him.
“Yes….yes I do.” Tavian admitted without hesitation, his voice dropping lower when I stroked him. His breath caught, and the purr in his chest broke into a rough growl as his hips shifted into my grip. I moved my hand again and felt the muscles across his stomach tighten.
“If you keep doing that, this ends sooner than I want.” Tavian caught my wrist gently and guided my hand onto the blanket beside my head, his breathing already rougher while he leaned over me.
“You have plans?” I asked Tavian, unable to keep a small smile from my voice while his body remained close enough that every breath carried citrus and spice.
“I have ideas.” Tavian answered, the corner of his mouth lifting as he settled more comfortably between my thighs.
“That sounds more accurate.” I told Tavian as I let him guide my hand away, sliding my fingers instead along his shoulder and the back of his neck.
He settled between my thighs, the blunt pressure of him sliding through the slick already coating me.
Tavian paused there, his eyes meeting mine while he waited.
“Yes. Come here.” I told Tavian as I hooked one leg around his hip and pulled him closer, making the answer unmistakable.
Tavian pushed inside slowly. For all the impatience he had shown during the rest of the day, he controlled those first movements carefully, giving my body time to adjust. His fingers tightened once against my hip as he moved deeper, and by the time he was fully inside me, his forehead had dropped against mine.
Neither of us moved for several seconds while his purr deepened between us, the thin blanket rough beneath my shoulders and cooler air from the falls brushing over overheated skin.
I tightened my legs around his hips, and Tavian inhaled sharply as his fingers flexed against the blanket beside my shoulder.
“Move.” I told Tavian as I brushed my mouth against his, impatience beginning to replace the need to adjust. His mouth curved, and then he did.
Tavian found a fast rhythm quickly, energetic without becoming careless.
He kissed me between thrusts, growled when I dragged my nails down his back, and adjusted his angle the moment one of my reactions told him he had found something better.
Pleasure showed openly in the tightening of his jaw, the rough sounds against my mouth, and the strengthening citrus-and-spice scent around us.
I dragged my nails lightly down his spine, and Tavian’s hips faltered beneath the touch.
“There.” Tavian groaned against the side of my mouth, his hand tightening around my hip as the muscles along his back shifted beneath my fingers.
“What?” I asked Tavian with a breathless smile, even though his reaction had already given me the answer.
“Again.” Tavian lowered his head toward my shoulder, his breathing uneven as he pressed his mouth briefly against my skin. I dragged my nails along the same path, and his next thrust landed harder, forcing a gasp out of me before I could hide how much I liked the change.
“You found one.” Tavian lifted his head, satisfaction returning when he caught my reaction.
“I’m taking notes.” I told Tavian breathlessly, keeping my nails lightly against his back while my other arm tightened around his shoulders.
“Professional.” Tavian teased as his hand slid from my hip over my waist, his mouth twitching despite the roughness of his breathing.
“Always.” I reminded Tavian as I pulled him down into another kiss. He laughed against my mouth and shifted his hips. The next thrust reached deeper, and my breath caught sharply enough that he noticed immediately.
“There?” Tavian asked as he slowed just enough to repeat the movement, watching my face when my fingers tightened around his shoulders.
“Yes.” I answered Tavian quickly, my body responding before he moved again. Tavian repeated the same angle deliberately, and pleasure tightened low in my stomach.
“Definitely there.” I told Tavian, my nails pressing more firmly into his skin while his purr deepened beneath my hands.
He settled into the new rhythm, one hand sliding beneath my thigh to lift it higher.
Pleasure gathered quickly through me while Tavian’s mouth returned to my neck, and I turned my head to give him more room.
“Again.” Tavian growled softly against my gland, his hand tightening around my thigh while his breath came warm and uneven against my skin.
I tipped my head farther, and Tavian’s mouth covered the sensitive spot beneath my jaw without biting.
He kissed and scented there while his hips kept moving, and the combination of his scent, purr, and the steady pressure inside me pulled an instinctive response from my body.
My legs tightened around him while slick gathered between us.
“Fuck.” Tavian groaned against my neck when I clenched around him, his rhythm breaking for half a second before he recovered.
“Still having fun?” I asked Tavian with a breathless smile, unable to resist teasing him even with my fingers clenched around his shoulders and my body already beginning to tighten again.
Tavian lifted his head and gave me an almost offended look before hooking one arm around my waist and rolling us together.
The sudden movement pulled a startled yelp from me, and a second later I was sitting astride him with his hands steady at my waist while he remained deep inside me.
“Tavian.” I stared down at him in disbelief, one hand bracing against his chest while I found my balance and tried not to laugh at the satisfaction already spreading across his face.