Chapter 4
Why did I just do that?
Turn off the lights, plunging us into darkness like some damn teenager trying to steal a kiss behind the bleachers? Get your shit together, Blackwood.
But even as the voice of reason tries to reassert itself, another part of me is already moving without conscious thought. I cross the small space in two strides, the heat from the woodstove casting flickering shadows that accentuate the softness of Bonnie”s face.
She doesn”t shrink away or cower in the face of my desire. No, those whiskey-colored eyes lock on to mine, her chin tilted up in a silent challenge. And God, that mouth of hers, those full, plush lips are a temptation I can”t resist.
My arms are banding around her waist, hauling that lithe body flush against mine before I can think better of it. A soft gasp parts her lips, the sound shooting straight to my groin as her lush curves mold perfectly to the harder contours of my frame.
”Garrett...” My name is a breathy whisper, half warning and half invitation.
But I silence her by crushing my mouth to hers in a scorching kiss.
Bonnie stiffens for only an instant before melting into me with a low moan. Her hands tangle in my hair, pulling me closer.
Christ, the taste of her... Like the first blissful inhale after breaking the surface of a frozen lake. Cool and clean and so revitalizing it damn near hurts to breathe her in. Hands roaming, I map every lush curve, committing every breathless gasp and shiver to memory.
Our hands are desperate and needy, clawing at each other’s clothes with a single-minded focus. My shirt is the first to go, discarded on the floor with a flick of my wrist. The feel of her hands on my bare skin is electric, a jolt that seems to awaken every nerve ending, every cell in my body. My muscles tense and flex as she runs her hands over my chest and arms, her fingers tracing the contours and dips of my body.
With a low growl, I grip the hem of her borrowed flannel and tug it up, inch by agonizing inch. Bonnie”s arms lift, breaking our kiss for a moment as I pull the garment over her head and toss it aside.
The sight of her, the way the firelight seems to worship her body, the curve of her breasts, the hard points of her nipples, it”s almost too much. I can”t resist the temptation of her body, and I lower my head, capturing one hardened peak between my lips.
Bonnie throws her head back with a low keen of pleasure. ”God, Garrett...”
The rasp of my name on those kiss-swollen lips is like a match to a fuse. With a low growl, I hook my fingers in the waistband of her panties and slide them down her legs, my hands following the path of the fabric, worshiping her body with every touch as I kneel in front of her.
After she steps out of her panties, my hands trail up the backs of her legs, my fingers digging into the soft flesh of her ass as I pull her closer to me.
The scent of her arousal is intoxicating, and I bury my face against the curls at the apex of her thighs. She looks down at me, her hands in my hair.
“What are you doing?” she asks. The sight of those full breasts heaving with each panted breath has my mouth watering in anticipation.
“Do I really have to answer that?” I ask with a throaty chuckle. “Spread your legs.”
She only hesitates for a second before obeying, and I reach up and cup her warmth.
”You”re mine,” I rumble against the dip of her hip. It”s not a request, but a raw, visceral claim staked by every fiber of my being.
She whimpers in response, fingers tightening in my hair. ”Show me, please...”
Spreading her with my fingers, I lean in, my tongue flicking out to taste her for the first time, sweet and musky. I swipe my tongue through her folds slowly, savoring her, and she tilts her hips to meet me, urging me on.
My fingers dig into her ass, holding her steady. Bonnie”s breaths come in ragged, desperate gasps, her moans and whimpers filling the small cabin as I bring her closer and closer to the edge.
But I”m not done with her yet. I slide a finger inside of her, feeling her tighten and clench around me as I move it in and out, matching the rhythm of my tongue. Bonnie”s body is a symphony, and I”m the conductor, guiding her higher and higher as I worship her with my mouth and fingers.
I can feel her getting close, her body tensing and coiling like a spring. I slide a second finger inside of her, curling them up to hit that sweet spot deep inside of her. Bonnie”s moans turn to screams, her body convulsing as she comes, her muscles clenching and spasming around my fingers as I continue to pleasure her, swallowing each rapturous pulse and spasm.
I slowly slide my fingers out of her, my tongue gentling as I savor the last few shudders of her orgasm. Bonnie”s legs give out, and I catch her, lowering her gently to the floor in front of the fire. I lay down next to her, my body still humming with desire as I pull her into my arms, trailing hot, open kisses along her glistening skin.
Bonnie”s eyes are heavy-lidded with satiety, lips parted and swollen from our frenzied kisses as she gazes up at me through those thick fan of lashes. The sight has a rumble resonating from deep within my chest—a purely masculine satisfaction at having thoroughly ravaged her.
”You”re incredible,” she murmurs, fingers tracing the sharp line of my jaw with feather-light reverence.
I turn my head to press a lingering kiss to her palm. ”You are,” I tell her. “And I plan on showing you over and over again.”
Her pupils blow wide at the blatant promise in my words, that lush lower lip getting captured beneath her teeth. Christ, the things this woman does to my restraint...
Gathering her pliant form against me once more, I nuzzle into the sensitive curve where her neck meets her shoulder. ”Rest now. Let me take care of you.”
Bonnie”s fingers trail through the damp strands at my nape as she nestles closer with a contented hum. ”Just for a little while...”
The husky murmur is already thick with the pull of impending slumber. I can”t resist the urge to place one last kiss just above the throb of her pulse point before resting my cheek against her disheveled crown. Outside, the rain has gentled to a steady patter, the rumbles of thunder fading into the distance.
Just this once, I”ll let my ever-watchful guard down and simply... be. Here. Now. With Bonnie warm and sated in my arms.
But the respite doesn”t last long.
”We should go,” she mumbles against my chest some indeterminable time later, already stirring with that restless energy. ”I”ll need to get my shots while the light is still good after the storm.”
My eyes snap open, instantly on alert as my protective instincts kick into high gear. ”Absolutely not,” I growl without hesitation. ”The trails will be treacherous and unstable. We”re not going anywhere until it”s been properly assessed and secured.”
Bonnie pulls back with a frown, all traces of her post-orgasm languor vanishing like smoke. ”Don”t be so overcautious. I”ve shot in way worse conditions than this.”
”This isn”t a joke or a game,” I snap, unable to rein in my frustration. ”People die out there all the time by underestimating the risks. I have a responsibility to keep you safe out here whether you like it or not.”
”Keep me safe?” Bonnie lets out a derisive scoff, extracting herself from my embrace as she surges to her feet. ”How do you figure that to be your responsibility?”
The bitterness in her tone lances straight through me. Doesn”t she realize that the mere thought of her in harm”s way is enough to bring me to my knees?
But Bonnie is already stalking away, grabbing her clothes with sharp, agitated movements. ”I”m not going to sit around and wait for your permission.”
Panic surges through my veins, replacing my anger with a cold, clenching dread. Visions of a thousand worst-case scenarios flash through my mind in rapid secession—Bonnie lying broken and bleeding in some desolate ravine, at the bottom of some lake, trapped beneath a rockslide.
The terror must show on my face because her glare softens slightly around the edges. But that stubborn jut still tilts her chin in defiance.
”I”m going to the Falcon”s View Trail,” Bonnie states in a tone that allows no argument. ”You can come if you want, but you can”t stop me.”
Then she grabs her pack and strides for the door, leaving me staring after her in a haze of stunned disbelief and bone-deep worry.
No.
My legs are moving without conscious thought, propelling me after her before she can disappear. She is the wildfire, and I am the desperate ranger stubbornly giving chase no matter how badly I”m destined to get burned.
With a grim sense of inevitability, I follow her.
The trail is just as hazardous as I”d feared—narrow as a goat”s path with steep drop-offs plunging into oblivion on either side. Loose scree and gravel shift treacherously underfoot, the aftermath of the pounding storm rendering even familiar terrain unpredictable.
”Be careful,” I caution in a low rumble, watching Bonnie navigate the treacherous path ahead of me. ”That last deluge will have destabilized everything. One wrong step...”
”Relax, Rambo,” she tosses over her shoulder.
I grit my teeth against the urge to snap back a retort. Reminding myself that getting into it with Bonnie right now would only divide my attention from keeping her safe.
Still, with every jarring crunch of shifting rock and debris, my heart lurches into my throat. The looming ridge of the Falcons” View formation dominates the horizon now, its jagged peaks seeming to mock me.
Bonnie pauses up ahead, gaze locked on that same lofty vista as she surveys her prize through the viewfinder with laser-sharp focus. The sight is enough to make me momentarily forget how to breathe—all wild beauty and reckless intensity.
Then, a distant rumble of shifting earth has my head whipping around just as the ridge above us starts to fracture with an ominous crack.
”Bonnie, look out!” I bellow at the top of my lungs.
But the roar of the rockslide is already thundering to deafening levels, a deadly river of stone and debris tumbling straight for us.
I lunge for her, arms banding around Bonnie”s waist as I throw us sideways in a desperate tackle. The world explodes into shrieks of tortured earth, a choking maelstrom of dust and shattered rock.