Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EMILY
I stared at the mattress we’d dragged in front of the fire.
Would I sleep at all, lying so close to Dana? I grabbed the pillows from the floor and placed them at the head of the mattress, shooting a glance at Dana.
How was Dana feeling? Based on her kiss, she must find me at least a little attractive. My stomach fizzed with excitement.
“Oh,” Dana said, glancing at the two pillows next to each other, “I can sleep on the couch.”
Oh thank god. I hadn’t even thought of that.
I twisted my head. Although...the couch was shorter than both of us and wasn’t exactly flat.
Whoever slept on that would have a rough night.
The sensible option was us just sharing the mattress, even if it came with its own challenges.
Like spending all night only inches away from Dana.
I took a breath. I wasn’t like Austin or Phillip. I could control myself. “There’s no way you’ll be able to stretch out on it. This mattress is big enough for both of us.”
“Are you sure?” Dana asked.
No, not at all.
“Yes, of course.” I lowered myself down and snuggled under the duvet. I would be more than warm enough with the crackling fire, Dana’s borrowed blue flannel pajamas, and the thick duvet.
Dana dropped her pillow on the other side and slipped under the covers. I rolled to look at her. Her face had a golden tint from the soft glow of the fire.
“This is so cozy,” I said. “Reminds me of the slumber parties I used to have as a kid.”
Although, I was never attracted to my friends like this. I swallowed. I also never kissed my friends.
Dana’s grin was slightly crooked. God, I really wanted to kiss her again. Press my lips against hers, taste her, run my hands through her hair. No more kissing Emily.
“It is nice.” She gazed at me. “Even though it’s not under the best circumstances, I’m not mad about getting to spend some extra time together. I’m going to miss you.”
I held Dana’s gaze, my pulse quickening. “Same.”
I inched a little closer to her, my eyes dropping to her lips. I really shouldn’t...
Dana bit her lip. “So... About... About our kiss before…”
I swallowed, my heart thumping in my ears. Was Dana about to tell me it was a horrible mistake? It was a mistake.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” she finally murmured.
My brain froze. What?
“You have?” My smile flickered for a moment as I tried to hold it back, but then I couldn’t contain it anymore. I grinned. And since Dana had just confessed her own feelings… “Well… Well, I’ve wanted to do it since before I met you.”
“Before?” Dana raised an eyebrow, her lips quirked into a half grin.
Heat rushed to my face. Was it too much to confess? “Since I saw you chopping wood.”
“Oh, really?” Dana’s gaze intensified.
I wriggled closer so our faces were only inches apart, nervous excitement pulsing through me. We were dangerously close now.
“I don’t think you realize how incredible you look chopping wood.” I let out a shaky breath, half laugh, half nerves. “I’ve been trying to ignore it, convince myself we’re just friends.”
Behind me, the fire made a loud popping noise, before returning to its rhythmic cracking.
“I’ve been doing the same,” Dana murmured. “I didn’t think you liked me like that, and even if you did, the fact that you’re leaving tomorrow, that you live in Brooklyn...I’ve been telling myself it just wouldn’t be practical.”
My eyes dropped back to her lips. Her soft, slightly lopsided, achingly kissable lips.
Need pulsed through my body. I’d never been this attracted to anyone before. Would it be so bad to give in to my desire, just for one night?
“I know that’s true… But I really want to kiss you again.” I swallowed. “Maybe we could…let go a little…just for tonight...and then go back to being friends tomorrow?”
I gazed into Dana’s deep-brown eyes.
My breath caught as Dana reached out, lightly running her fingers across my cheek. My skin burned under her touch. Her fingers slowed, hesitant, and then dropped away just before they reached my lips.
“Just for tonight?” she repeated.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Okay,” Dana murmured then raised her hand again, picking up where she left off, tracing my lips with her index finger.
A shiver shot down my spine and everything around us blurred.
Dana tilted her head forward and I leaned in, closing my eyes as our lips met, focusing on the softness of her lips, the peppermint scent of her breath, the warmth of her body pressed against mine.
We kissed slowly, tenderly. Longing built up in me, and my hand slipped under Dana’s shirt, caressing her strong, muscular back.
She pulled me closer, then slipped her thigh between my legs, pressing it against me and sending an exquisite pressure straight to my core.
Our kissing grew faster and more frantic.
Oh god. I gripped her back.
This is really happening. The woman I’ve been fantasizing about for the past two weeks, here, with me, in bed.
I parted my lips, slipping my tongue into Dana’s mouth, and Dana moaned, sending a bolt of lightning shooting through me. This was a million times better than my fantasies.
Dana rhythmically rocked her thigh against me, and it was my turn to moan. I tilted my hips into her with each thrust to increase the pressure, my hands caressing up to her shoulders and down, past her shoulder blades.
God, this feels so good.
I dipped my tongue into Dana’s mouth again, the ache in my core intensifying.
Dana rolled me onto my back in one smooth move, all the while keeping her thigh pressing between my legs.
She pulled her head back for a moment, and in the warm light of the fire I could just make out her flushed cheeks, slightly swollen lips, tendrils of hair escaping her ponytail, blazing eyes studying my face.
“Is this okay?” Dana murmured.
“It’s more than okay,” I said breathlessly.
Dana swooped her head down, capturing my lower lip in her teeth and gently teasing it.
I whimpered, and she did it again. I dug my fingernails into her back.
“Fuck,” Dana gasped into my mouth.
Our kisses turned messier, hotter, and more desperate, our tongues clashing.
Tomorrow, this would be over. I needed to make the most of it tonight. I pulled Dana closer, focusing on the sensation of our wild, deep kisses, the heavy rise and fall of her chest and the faint smell of cedar mixed with smoke from the fire.
Dana pulled back, breathing heavily. “Is there anywhere you don’t like to be touched?”
I shook my head. “No. You?”
“No,” Dana said, then took my mouth in hers yet again.
She slid her hand under my top, then ran it up, over my stomach and to my breasts. Her fingers trailed over my nipples, sending my nerve endings firing. We continued to kiss, Dana teasing my breasts as I gripped her back and shoulders.
“I want…” I gasped, tugging at her shirt.
Dana sat up, a whoosh of cool air hitting my skin where she had been pressed against me. I blinked. Straddling my right leg, she pulled her shirt over her head in one swift movement.
I drank her in with roving eyes. Her toned body, lit by the golden glow of the fire. Her sculptured shoulders and biceps. Her small, perfect breasts studded with firm nipples. My breath hitched. So strong, so perfect.
Dana, the corner of her mouth upturned, tugged at my top.
With less grace, I wriggled out of my shirt. Dana’s gaze dropped to my exposed chest.
“Damn, you are so hot,” she growled, then climbed off me to remove her pants in yet another smooth motion. I took the opportunity to slide mine off as well, tossing them on the couch.
I turned back to Dana and swallowed hard at the sight of her naked body. With all our clothing removed, I couldn’t wait to feel her bare skin against mine.
She lowered herself back down, and we lay still for a few moments, her mouth hovering above mine, her soft breath on my cheeks, her breasts pressed against mine. My eyes fluttered shut as our lips met yet again.
Dana’s mouth left mine and trailed down my neck, over the delicate skin of my collarbone. The throbbing in my core increased.
I ran my hands over her exposed shoulders and down her upper arms, reveling in how firm and powerful they felt.
Dana, lifting an axe, and bringing it down, her muscles rippling, over and over again.
God, I couldn’t get enough of that image.
I whimpered, thrusting my hips into Dana’s thigh to increase the friction.
Her lips found my right nipple, and she swirled her tongue over it, her fingers teasing my other breast.
Slowly, slowly, Dana skimmed her hand lower, down my chest and stomach, until her fingers stopped, tantalizingly close to my firing nerves. I let out a shaky breath.
Dana looked up, her eyes intense, her chin grazing my breasts.
“Can I?” Dana murmured.
“Yes,” I said, my voice husky.
I forgot how to breathe as Dana’s hand slipped down, her fingers exploring, circling, but never entering.
As she teased me, she watched me closely, biting her lip, her face lit by dancing flames.
Her fingers moved faster and firmer, until I was almost squirming with arousal. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Inside,” I gasped. “I want you inside me.”
Dana slowly raised her hand, slipped two fingers in her mouth and then pulled them out, all the while maintaining eye contract with me. She dropped her head, her soft tongue replacing her fingers on my clit.
Oh god. I spread my thighs wider, releasing another moan.
Dana slipped two fingers inside me, and my body quaked. I don’t want to come yet.
Slowly, she moved her fingers in and out, all the while her tongue circling my clit with growing pressure.
With every thrust of her hand, I saw her standing in the clearing, a look of intensity on her face, her whole body working as she brought her axe down over and over again, just like the first time I set eyes on her.
Each thrust sent a jolt of pleasure through me, like Dana’s axe making a log round tremble before it split wide open.
I clenched my fists as the orgasm surged over me, sending pleasure to every inch of my being, lighting me up brighter than any Christmas light display.
My body melted as the aftershocks faded away.
“Was that okay?” Dana asked, raising her head to look at me.
“That was incredible. Come up here,” I said, with what I suspected was a goofy grin on my face. That orgasm…
Dana swiped the back of her hand over her mouth, then kissed her way up my body until her face was directly above mine, grinning at me.
I raised my head to kiss Dana, savoring the sensation of her lips on mine before the urge to do more became too strong. I grabbed Dana’s hips and gently rolled her onto the pillow so that I could clamber on top and straddle her.
God, Dana looked stunning. The hair from her ponytail spread across the pillowcase, framing her face, her perfect shoulders and her gorgeous smile.
An explosive sensation filled my chest. Dana cared so deeply about so many things.
Her trees and the animals, her friends, and me.
Even about people she didn’t know, like Ava, who she’d saved from Austin’s clutches.
She was funny and intelligent and a little mysterious, and she had just given me the most incredible orgasm, and I desperately wanted to bring her pleasure.
Hopefully, I wasn’t too out of practice.
I dipped down, taking Dana’s mouth in mine, kissing her with slow intensity.
Eventually, I pulled my mouth away, trailing my lips along her jawline and down her gorgeous neck.
She let out a strangled noise. Encouraged, I continued to pay her neck close attention, eliciting a few more satisfying moans.
I lifted my head to capture her earlobe in my lips, letting my teeth gently close around it, and tugged softly.
Dana shifted her hips, letting out a humming noise. I smiled. So she likes that too.
I continued to tease her earlobe before slowly dropping my mouth to Dana’s collarbone and showering it with kisses.
I slid my hand to her breasts, exploring their gentle curves, letting my fingers circle her nipples until they were hard.
I lingered on her collarbone as Dana’s breathing became more ragged, and then I continued the path of kisses down to her breasts.
I circled my tongue around her left nipple, then took it in my mouth and gently sucked. Dana let out another moan.
I let my hand skim down Dana’s flat stomach to her dark curls.
I slipped my fingers between her legs, a wave of arousal washing over me as Dana opened her thighs and her wetness coated my fingers.
As my mouth continued to lick and suck Dana’s nipples, I parted her, running my fingers from her entrance up to her hard little nub.
My fingers glided smoothly over her clit.
“Oh god,” Dana groaned. “That feels so good.”
I smiled. Despite my worries that I was out of practice, it all felt so natural, so easy. I’d forgotten what it was like to be this attentive to someone, aware of every sound they made, every subtle shift of their body, solely focused on bringing them maximum pleasure.
Gradually I increased the intensity of my attention on Dana’s breasts, my licks and tongue swirls becoming firmer, my sucks on her nipples less gentle, simultaneously escalating the pressure of my fingers on her clit. Dana spread her legs wider, her hands grasping my hair.
“Do you want my fingers inside you?” I asked breathlessly.
“No, this feels incredible,” Dana gasped out. “Keep going.”
I refocused on Dana’s breasts and clit, my mouth working harder, my strokes faster.
“Oh fuck!” Dana arched her hips, her body quaking under me as the orgasm rolled over her, fists clenching my hair.
I kept going, concentrating hard to keep my fingers on Dana’s clit as her hips moved.
“Enough,” Dana finally said, laughing. “That was amazing.”
I dropped my hand and slowly trailed kisses up Dana’s chest, which was rising and falling heavily, back up over her collarbone, and her neck, until I finally reached her face.
Dana wrapped her arms around me and brought me in for a long, slow kiss.
My arm was aching from holding myself up—I bet Dana didn’t have that problem given her upper body strength—so I rolled off Dana and lay next to her instead, wrapping my arms around her waist.
We lay together, intertwined in the warmth of each other’s bodies and the fire, like two graham crackers bonded together with gooey marshmallows and melted chocolate.
I let out a satisfied sigh. As tired as I was, I didn’t want to let myself fall asleep just yet. I wasn’t ready for this moment to end.