Chapter Four | FLINT #3
Her breath left her in one quiet piece.
She stood there with her breath caught between us.
Then she swallowed and gave me a small, crooked smile. “Good answer.”
“It’s the only one I had.”
She reached behind herself, unclipped the bra, and let it fall.
My hands stayed at my sides until she took one and set it against her waist.
“Touch me,” she said.
So I did.
I ran my palm up her side, over warm skin and the soft rise of her breast. Sunny’s head tipped back when my thumb found her nipple. Her hands dug into my shoulders, and the sound she made went straight through me, rough and sweet and impossible to mistake for anything but yes.
I kissed her throat, then lower, tasting salt, sugar, and summer heat on her skin. She arched into my mouth, one hand sliding into my hair as if she could pull me closer than close.
“Flint,” she breathed.
“I’ve got you.”
“I know. That’s the problem.”
I lifted my head. “Problem?”
“You’re good at it.” Her fingers tightened in my hair. “Being careful while you make me want to do very careless things.”
My fingers tightened against the blanket.
I eased her down onto the blanket. “Nothing careless.”
“No?”
“No. Just not cautious.”
Her smile went wicked. “There’s the man who owns emergency sand and still brought me to a creek.”
I kissed that smile until it melted under me.
Sunny opened for me with no hesitation, hands on my back, legs bracketing my hips as I settled over her.
The creek ran beside us, cold over stone, while her skin warmed under my hands.
I took my time because she deserved that and because I needed to prove to both of us that wanting her didn’t mean rushing her.
She made that hard.
Her fingers went to my belt. “You’re overdressed.”
“I’m working on it.”
“You’re working slowly.”
“You complained about my patience ten minutes ago.”
“I’ve evolved.”
I caught her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist, right where the fudge had been. “Bossy.”
“Accurate.”
I unbuttoned her shorts instead.
Sunny’s breath caught, but her hips lifted to help. I slid the denim down her legs and tossed it near her top. She lay back on my blanket in red panties and nothing else, hair spread wild, cheeks flushed, eyes bright enough to burn.
Red lace, copper hair, freckles, chin lifted. Sunny, from every stubborn inch.
I put my hand on her thigh. “Anyone ever makes cute sound like less, send them up here.”
Her lips parted.
I ran my thumb along the edge of her panties. “It looks dangerous on you.”
Sunny laughed once, shaky and warm. “That may be the hottest fire-safety-adjacent thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“That’s good.”
Then I got my mouth on her again.
I kissed down her stomach, over the soft curve of her belly, feeling the muscles jump under my lips. Sunny’s hands found my shoulders, my hair, the blanket beneath her, restless and sure. When I hooked my fingers into her panties, I looked up.
“Yes,” she said before I could ask again. “Please.”
I slid them down and settled between her thighs.
The first touch of my tongue made her whole body pull tight.
“Flint.”
My name came out low and urgent, and my grip on her thighs firmed. I took my time there too, learning what made her breath break, what made her hips lift, what made her fingers tug hard in my hair.
She wasn’t quiet.
Thank God.
“Yes,” she said. “There. Don’t stop.”
I slid two fingers into her and curled them.
Her heel dug into the blanket. “Oh God, Flint.”
“That,” she said. “Do that again.”
I did.
Sunny came against my mouth with one hand clamped over mine and the other in my hair, rolling through it, thighs shaking under my arms. I kept my touch steady until she pulled in a breath that sounded like a laugh trying to become a sob.
I lifted my head and kissed the inside of her thigh.
She looked down at me, flushed and wrecked and still somehow ready to argue. “If you look smug right now, I’m pushing you in the creek.”
“I’m not smug.”
“You’re internally smug.”
“Probably.”
“At least you’re honest.”
I crawled back up her body, kissing her hip, her stomach, the valley between her breasts, her mouth. She tasted herself on me and made a soft sound that nearly snapped what was left of my control.
Her hand went to my belt again. This time I helped.
Jeans off. Boots kicked aside. The rest of my clothes gone in a rough pile near hers. The air hit my skin, cool from the water, but Sunny’s hands were warm and curious as they moved over me.
When her fingers wrapped around my cock, my breath jammed in my throat.
Her eyes widened a little. “Well.”
I laughed, strained. “Is that a good well or a bad well?”
“That’s an I’m suddenly very grateful I stretched before hot dogs well.”
I dropped my forehead to her shoulder and laughed into her skin.
Sunny grinned against my temple. “Don’t laugh. I’m managing expectations.”
I lifted my head and kissed her. “We go slow.”
“Practical.”
“Necessary.”
“Also sweet.” She brushed her mouth over mine. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
Then she shifted under me, soft skin warm against mine and mischief bright in her eyes, and pressed me onto my back.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Reciprocity.”
The word came out too neat for the look on her face.
“Sunny.”
She trailed her fingers down my chest, over my stomach, lower, and her smile turned hungry. “You got chocolate on your thumb. I get points for follow-through.”
My hand closed in the blanket. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.” She kissed my stomach, then lower, her hair sliding over my skin. “That’s why I want to.”
“Christ.”
“Not my name, but I’ll accept the enthusiasm.”
Then her mouth closed over me, and every smart thing I’d ever known about fire, weather, and restraint left my head.
Sunny did nothing halfway. I should’ve known that by now. She used her hand and mouth together, took her time, learned me the way I’d learned her, and watched my face like she wanted to win this too. Maybe especially this.
I slid my hand into her hair. “You look too damn pleased with yourself.”
She lifted her mouth just enough to answer. “You should hear yourself.”
“I’m trying not to scare the wildlife.”
“Don’t hold back on my account.”
She took me deeper, and my hips jerked before I caught myself.
Sunny’s eyes flashed. “That.”
I dragged in a breath. “You like making me lose control.”
“I like knowing you have some.”
“You’re testing it hard.”
“That’s good.”
She went back down, and I nearly came right there under the Montana sky with the creek running beside us and her mouth hot around my cock. I caught her gently by the hair, not pulling, just stopping her before I embarrassed both of us.
She lifted her head, lips wet, eyes bright.
“Too much?” she asked.
I hauled her up my body and kissed her hard enough to answer before I found words. “If you keep doing that, this ends too soon.”
Her grin came slow. “I’m choosing to receive that as praise.”
“It was praise.”
“Careful, Sparks. A woman could get used to this.”
I rolled her under me, laughing against her mouth. “You already used that line.”
“It was good the first time.”
“It was dangerous the first time.”
“And now?”
I reached for the towel and tucked it under her hips, giving her more cushion on the blanket. “Now I need inside you.”
Her humor softened, but her legs opened around me. “Yes.”
I lined myself up and paused.
Sunny wrapped her legs around my hips. “Still yes.”
I pushed in slowly.
Her breath left her. Mine went with it.
No condom. No distance. Just the tight heat of her taking me inch by inch, her nails pressing into my shoulders, her eyes locked on mine. I stopped halfway, shaking with the effort to hold back.
Sunny kissed me. “I can take you.”
My arms trembled over her.
“I know,” I said, voice rough. “I’m giving you time.”
“I’ll tell you if I need it.”
“I believe you.”
Her hands slid down my back. “Then move.”
I did, slow at first, then deeper when she lifted into me and made that hungry little sound again. The blanket shifted under us. The creek ran cold beside us. Her skin warmed mine everywhere we touched.
Sunny met me with every stroke.
She didn’t wait for me to set the whole pace. Her hips rose to mine, her hands pulled, her mouth found my jaw, my neck, my shoulder. She laughed once when the blanket bunched beneath her and then bit off the sound when I changed the angle.
“There,” she whispered. “Right there.”
I braced one forearm beside her head and slid my other hand between us, finding the place that made her grip turn sharp.
Her eyes flew open. “Flint.”
“I’ve got you.”
“You keep saying that like you’re not the one making me lose my mind.”
“I like watching you lose it.”
Her smile flashed, dazed and wicked. “Then don’t stop.”
I didn’t.
I kept my rhythm steady, touch sure, watching her face as pleasure built again.
“Yes,” she said, voice breaking. “Harder, Flint. Please.”
I gave her more, and she clutched at my shoulders. “Flint. Don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop.”
When she came the second time, she pulled me down against her and shook through it with her face pressed to my shoulder.
I followed her over.
Pleasure hit hard enough to empty my lungs. I stayed deep in her, one hand spread under her back as if I could keep us both steady through it. I buried my face against her neck and held still until the last pulse faded and the creek came back into hearing.
Sunny stroked my back, slow and uneven.
For a minute, neither of us said anything.
Then she murmured, “I’m giving that a very strong review.”
A laugh broke out of me, low and helpless. “Is that right?”
“Five stars. Very safe fire ring. Excellent marshmallow handling. Creek was aggressively cold.”
I kissed the side of her neck. “I’ll note that for management.”
“Management should know the blanket tried to flee.”
“Blanket wasn’t prepared for you.”
“Few are.”
I lifted my head. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing uneven, and one eyebrow still had enough attitude to keep me honest.