Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
May followed Ace into the bathroom, her skin chilled and her heart thundering. What was she doing? Who cared?
He reached into a wide rock-walled shower with a glass door and flicked on the water.
Steam almost instantly rose and filtered through the small room, which also held one hand-carved vanity, light blue sink, and a commode.
A towel rack was by the door with black towels hung carelessly on it. “Only bathroom,” he murmured.
A small grin escaped her. Four rambunctious boys and Hank, the old trapper. “For all five of you growing up?”
He reached in and felt the powerful streaming water before twisting the knob again.
“Yeah. Let’s just say we pissed outside a lot.
” He turned to look at her, his gaze hotter than the steam around them.
The air held the faint scent of cedar from his soap, mixed with smoke from the fire and rain still pounding the roof.
The storm hadn’t let up. It roared outside the cabin like it was trying to get in.
She was still cold and shaking, but it wasn’t from fear anymore. It wasn’t the storm. It was him. The way he looked at her like she was something he wanted and shouldn’t. The way he kept giving her chances to walk away.
Apparently he was done with that, because he reached out and flicked the heart in the middle of her bra, springing it open.
She coughed. “That was talented.”
“Just wait.” He tugged the straps down her arm to toss the material on the floor and moved for her, tangling those long fingers in her hair again and gently tilting her head.
She liked that. A lot. Oh, she’d always seen the edge in Ace, from afar. This was the first time she’d actually felt it. Experienced it. She wanted more, mistake or not. Catching her breath, she moved into him, trying to get closer as she pressed her palms against his torso.
His shirt was still damp. She could see the outline of muscle beneath it and then gave in to feel that strength.
Yeah. Broad shoulders. Hard torso. The body of a man who worked outside and knew exactly how strong he was.
She’d touched him before, in a clinical sense, but this was different. Completely. Thank goodness.
Her hands went to the hem of his shirt.
His breath changed. “You’re shaking,” he said.
“You’re not.” Did the wild nature fail to impact him? Heat rose from him, mingling with the steam around them.
He tore off his shirt, and his hands went to the snap of her jeans.
Her fingers traced over his firm skin without permission from her brain. Whoa. Sure, she’d seen his chest before, but seriously. How was he so freaking hard? Muscled? Was it natural or did he spend a lot more time working out or working the land than she’d realized? He felt solid. Warm. Real.
She paused at the sight of the osprey spanning his left shoulder and chest, talons extended as if ready to strike. It was lethal and stunning all at once. Oh, she’d noted it while stitching him up before, but she’d never taken the time to stare. “He’s beautiful.” She ran a finger down a talon.
“My brothers and I all have the same one.” He slowly released her zipper, torturing her.
Then he tucked both thumbs in the sides of her jeans and drew them down, going with them to his knees.
Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her matching pink panties.
“Wouldn’t have guessed at the pink with hearts combo.
” His heated breath burned her through the material.
Her abdomen rolled, and her knees weakened. Her clit fired like he’d struck it. “You thought something practical?”
“Hmm.” He leaned in and kissed her again.
This might kill her. Vulnerability swept through her, sudden and unwelcome. “Um. It’s been a long time for me.”
He looked up then, his eyes a deep moss as he gently lifted one of her legs and then the other to free her of the jeans. His sudden grin was pure wickedness as he angled in again, sank his teeth into the top of her panties, and drew them down.
Desire ripped through her. Okay. That was sexy.
He stood, removing his jeans and boxers, before tugging her into the shower.
The first hit of heat made her gasp. The water soaked them both instantly, plastering her to him. His hands moved more freely now, over her back, her waist, up her spine. Exploring. Learning. Claiming.
The time for thinking had ended. She reached for him as her body warmed, and finally let herself explore his spectacular body. Rapidly. Kind of frantically. Her palms traced over muscle and heat. He groaned low, the sound vibrating through her chest where she pressed against him.
He tugged her head back and kissed her like the storm had followed them inside.
Fierce. Consuming. So much of Ace Osprey unleashed that she couldn’t breathe.
She felt wanted. Not fragile. Not breakable.
Definitely not like his doctor. For the first time in way too long, she felt like a woman.
Not as a clinical, analytical expert. But more like herself.
Her lungs seized and she twisted her mouth free, turning to suck in air. “Breathing is a must,” she panted, though she was probably happy to let her lungs suffer if it meant kisses like that.
He chuckled, the masculine sound wrapping around them.
She turned to look at his rugged face, noting the shadow covering his hard jaw.
She’d imagined being naked with Ace several times, and not once had she anticipated the fun of it.
Sure, he was sexy and kind of dangerous, definitely a rebel who needed a cause.
He was tough and fought often, but he had a sweetness to him she’d noticed right off.
But not the fun. Not the humor and playfulness he showed that gave her a freedom she’d never imagined. She grinned.
He grinned back.
Her heart stuttered. No. Definitely no. She could not fall for this guy any more than she already had. She knew it. He definitely knew it. “Don’t be charming.” She sounded way too breathy.
“Baby, I’m nowhere near charming.” His fingers twisted in her hair, taking control.
Her breath caught in her lungs. Baby? Nobody had ever called her that. From him, she kind of liked it. At least her body did. She was so accustomed to being in control, this was new. Exciting. A definite turn on.
“I’ve wanted you for months,” he admitted, voice raw.
“I know,” she whispered. “You flirted a lot.” But he hadn’t meant it. They wouldn’t be here, naked in the shower, both panting, if she hadn’t made a move.
He levered down and nibbled along her bottom lip, sinking his teeth in just enough to lightly bite. Fire lashed through her, pounding into her clit. “I like flirting with you.”
“You flirt with everyone,” she breathed.
He lifted his head, his eyes inches from hers, his nose nearly touching hers. “No, I actually don’t.”
She thought about it. Interesting. She hadn’t ever seen him truly flirt with anybody else. Why did she think he did? Just his reputation? Or just because he always had with her, and she assumed? “Why me?” The question was honest. “Just because you thought I wouldn’t take you up on it?”
He kissed her then, going deep, and taking over.
Her pulse roared in her ears. Her body arched into his.
The heat built until she thought she might combust from it, and her nipples sharpened to hard points.
Way too hard. She understood anatomy, but she’d never ached like this. Hadn’t realized this was possible.
Ace Osprey was more dangerous to her than she’d thought. Her body was totally okay with that fact. Warning bells should be ringing in her head, but only flashes of need held her attention. Fiery, desperate, hungry need.
Outside, thunder cracked again.
He leaned back in the nick of time to save her lungs. “No. I flirted with you.” He kissed her again, hard this time, sending her senses reeling, “because I couldn’t help myself. You’re sweet and smart, sexy and a pain in the ass all at the same time.”
She blinked. Words. He was saying words, right? “But…but you didn’t mean it.”
“Sure, I did.” He licked along her jawline up to her ear, where he nibbled on her lobe.
Her knees almost gave out.
“I just wanted to get myself straightened out before I made a real move, but I was always planning on making one.” He pulled her hair back, his grip firm, and continued his exploration of her forehead, cheekbones, and jawline. With his mouth.
She tried to swallow. “Are you straightened out?”
He paused while nibbling on her other ear. “No.”
Huh. All right.
“I’m working on it, though.” Holding her in place, he moved to meet her gaze again, this time his face definitely above hers. “I’m probably still not a great bet.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. “Who are you trying to convince? You or me?”
His eyes darkened to the color of the forest depths at night. “Maybe I’m trying to keep my heart from being shattered.”
She leaned up, touching her nose to his. “You have a heart?”
His grin came quick. “Let’s find out.” His mouth took hers with a command that had her eyelids closing and her body falling into his.
Trusting him. Feeling his rigid cock prodding at her skin.
He kissed down her chin, over her clavicle, to her breasts, flicking one nipple and then the other with his tongue.
Then he kept going.
“Um,” she managed, tangling one of her hands in his thick mop of hair.
“Um, yourself,” he said against her abdomen, reaching her clit.
She couldn’t do this. Manage to stay upright.
He licked her, sending her nerves into shock. Surprisingly gentle, he grasped her thigh and lifted it, planting her leg over his hard shoulder and forcing her to lean back against the rock wall to retain her balance. The rough edges added an electric bite to the need coursing through her.
“This is too intimate,” she whispered.
He barked out a laugh, and looked up, every ounce of him a rogue. “I’m about to fuck you within an inch of your life. Intimate? Yeah. Trust me. You’re gonna want to be ready.”
Holy crap. He had not just said that. She tried to muster up outrage. Anything to show spirit.
But he sucked her clit into his mouth, which was hotter than hell, and pressed a finger inside her.
Gasping, her body rioting, she rested her shoulders back into the wall.
Her other leg trembled, and she locked it into place out of instinct to keep from sliding down to her butt.
Electricity burned through her, just from what his mouth was doing, and then he got serious.
His hand clamped on her buttock, and he went at her, tongue and fingers working in tandem.
She exploded so quickly her ears rang. But he didn’t stop.
She almost pushed him away, but then she was climbing again.
He bombarded her with sensations that made her nerves fire wildly in a way nerves didn’t normally work.
She couldn’t comprehend, even with all of her anatomy knowledge, what he was doing to her.
So she stopped thinking. She closed her eyelids again, and just felt.
Her breath stilled as she climbed again, both of her thighs trembling.
So many sparks flashed through her that she let them take her.
Higher and higher. He nipped her clit and she detonated, crying out his name as she crested, an orgasm taking over that emptied her.
All thought, all worries, all feelings just rode the wild waves.
She came down and her legs gave out. Completely.
He was there to catch her, standing and lifting her in one impossibly smooth motion. His powerful body planted her against the wall again, and she wrapped both legs around his waist, holding on. “I’m on the pill,” she gasped.
He paused. “I’m clean.”
She bit back a grin. “I know. I’ve seen your medical records.”
Then he pushed inside her. Hard and fast, forcing her body to take him.
“Oh, God,” she gasped, holding on, accepting him.
His forehead dropped to hers. “Nice,” he rumbled. “I have a new nickname.”
Huh? What? She blinked. “I am not calling you God.”
“Not the God,” he agreed, both hands now grasping her buttocks. “Just a god.”
She tilted her pelvis to take even more of him, and there was a lot already. He was hard and full, pulsing and thick inside her. Going deeper than she would’ve imagined possible. “You’re not a god.”
“Hmm.” Amusement mixed with the raw hunger in his eyes. “Let’s see if we can change that thought.”
Sexy and still fun. She hadn’t realized that was possible. Any of this, actually. “Are you going to talk all night?” she asked, sounding throaty.
That did it. He tightened his grip on her ass and pulled out, pushing back in and taking his time, watching her carefully. She bit her lip. Then she leaned in and bit his.
His eyes flared and then he started to move faster, powering into her with strong strokes. Hard and fast, finally letting himself off the leash. It was too much. But she wanted more, already overwhelmed.
One hand released her to plant against the wall next to her head, his other hand holding her in place.
He hammered inside her, going deep, and sparks of danger uncoiled inside her.
She climbed, her body stiffening, and fell over the cliff before he did.
She arched against him, a rush of energy taking her entire body.
Her mouth opened on a silent scream, her eyelids closed, and she leaped into an orgasm so strong her lungs just stopped working.
She clutched her nails into his skin, swept completely away. Finally, her body stopped shattering and she went limp. Her head fell forward onto his chest.
He stiffened and followed with a groan that sounded like relief and surrender all at once. His large body shuddered several times and then stilled.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. Water poured over them, hot and endless. His breathing slowed against her skin. His grip softened but didn’t release her. When he finally lowered her back to her feet, he kept his forehead against hers. “That was a good start, Doc.”
“St-start?” she stuttered.
“Oh yeah. Next round is in the bed. If we make it that far.”