Chapter 4
DAMIEN
T he trail opens into a clearing where steam rises from the natural pool like incense. I drop my pack beside a tree, rolling my shoulders as I survey the area. Every sense is alert for threats, but I’m also acutely aware of Lucy behind me—the way she moves, the soft sound of her breathing.
I hear the zipper of her jacket and turn my head slightly. She’s watching me, a challenge in her eyes as she slowly peels off the layer.
My mouth goes dry.
She kicks off her boots, her movements deliberate and purposeful. When she unfastens her jeans and slides them over the curves of her hips, my heart pounds against my ribs. She wants me to look.
Christ, how could I not look? The memory of every curve, every line of her body, has been on repeat in my mind for the last eight years. It would take a man much stronger than me to look away.
“Don’t turn around,” she teases, voice low and seductive. “Unless you want to.”
I go still, every muscle locked in place as a similar memory floods back of us skinny-dipping in the lake during college, her laughter echoing across the water as she dared me to follow.
My breathing becomes shallow as she walks forward, completely naked, steam swirling around her thighs as she enters the spring.
The sight of her sexy confidence steals what little rational thought I have left.
“Your turn,” she says without looking back.
I hesitate for only a heartbeat. Then my hands move to my belt, the metallic clink loud in the quiet clearing. Every sound seems amplified—the drag of my zipper, the rustle of fabric hitting the ground.
I enter the water slowly, letting the heat envelop me as I move across from her. She rests her arms along the stone ledge, her eyes never leaving mine. The desire in them is unmistakable.
Her gaze drops, lingering on my chest where it rises above the waterline. I feel that look like a physical caress, and when she parts her legs slightly under the water, my control nearly snaps.
“I’ve missed this,” she says, moving closer through the steaming water. “Being with you. No one else knows me the way you did.”
When she reaches me, standing so close her body grazes mine, I inhale sharply.
Every cell in my body responds to it with a hunger I’ve been fighting for eight years.
Her breasts brush against my chest, and my cock tightens as I try to maintain control.
When her fingers trail along my jaw and tangle in my hair, tugging lightly, I almost crumble. How I’ve longed for her.
“Lucy...” Her name escapes as barely more than breath. “We should—”
“Should what?” She presses her mouth to my jaw, then lower, tasting the wet skin of my throat with her tongue. “Don’t you want this?”
My hands find her waist, fingers digging into her hips beneath the water as every rational thought deserts me.
She pulls back enough to meet my eyes. Then she kisses me.
The moment her lips touch mine, eight years of separation explode into wild need.
I wrap my arms around her, crushing her sweet curves against my body, my tongue claiming her mouth.
She responds with equal hunger, pressing against me as I rock my hips beneath the surface, my cock straining to make contact with her.
“Damien,” she moans against my mouth, the sound shooting straight to my cock. Her tongue is so sweet that I kiss her more deeply, wanting to revel in her perfection.
I lift her higher, bringing her breasts above the waterline so I can close my mouth over one perfect nipple. She arches into me, one hand gripping my hair, the other braced on my shoulder. I circle her nipple with my tongue, nipping with my teeth just enough to make her cry out my name.
The wanton sounds she makes drive me to the edge of sanity. I lavish attention on both breasts until she’s squirming against me, her core grinding against my cock in a rhythm that threatens to push me past the point of no return.
“You feel so fucking good,” I groan against her neck, breathing in her scent, tasting her skin. When I suck her earlobe into my mouth, she melts against me with a whimper that makes my balls contract.
“I need you,” she pants, rocking against my cock. “Right now. Please.”
The raw need in her voice shreds the last of my self-control. I step out of the water and reach for her hand. I guide her to where our things are, then lay our jackets and my sweater on the softer ground. It’s a miracle it’s not muddy here.
“You okay?” I ask, moving over her. I want to thrust into her, to chase the ecstasy I’ve only ever felt with her, but I have to be sure.
“I’m perfect,” she smiles up at me, spreading her legs wider in invitation.
I stroke myself once, slowly, taking in her wide hips, heavy breasts, and the silkiness of her skin.
Positioning myself at her pussy, I rub the tip of my cock through her slick juices, teasing her clit, my hunger roaring to life as I watch her gasp and squirm under me.
Then I thrust deep in one powerful stroke.
We both cry out—loud, raw, unfiltered. The feel of her wrapped around me, hot and slick, is a heaven I never thought I’d experience again.
“God, Lucy...” I breathe, holding myself still as she adjusts to me. “I’ve dreamed of this. You. Just like this.”
“Me, too,” she gasps, her hands stroking my back and pulling me closer to her. She pushes her hips up to meet my thrust, her eyelids fluttering as I bury my cock in her. “Please don’t stop.”
I don’t. I can’t.
Her legs hook around my waist as I thrust into her, pulling me deeper as I set a rhythm that’s fast and desperate and eight years overdue.
“I’ve missed you so damn much, Lucy,” I gasp, lost in the feeling of her body meeting mine thrust for thrust. “You have no fucking idea.”
The words seem to push her higher. Her walls flutter around me, and I know she’s close. I reach between us, finding her clit and circling it with increasing pressure the way I remember her loving it until she’s moaning my name and bucking against me.
“I’m gonna come,” she whimpers, her body thrashing beneath mine.
I drive into her harder, faster, my thumb working her swollen clit until her body clenches around my cock, pulsing and driving me close to the edge.
Her orgasm tears through her with violent intensity, her body locking around mine as she comes, crying out my name and triggering my release.
I thrust deep one final time, blinded by the purest ecstasy.
We collapse together, hearts racing, bodies slick with sweat and spring water. I move to Lucy’s side, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other cradling her head against my chest.
“That was...” she starts, then trails off.
“I know.” I press soft kisses to her temple, her cheek, her lips, burning this moment into my memory.