Chapter 6
The first pale fingers of dawn light filter through the crevice entrance as I blink awake, momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. Bonnie”s warm body is still nestled against mine, her even breaths ghosting across my chest in a steady rhythm.
The memories of last night come trickling back—the rockslide, our frantic scramble for shelter, then stripping down to our bare skin to share body heat in this cramped hollow. At the time, it was a necessity for survival, but feeling Bonnie”s curves pressed so intimately against me now stirs a very different sort of fire low in my gut.
She shifts in her sleep, those tousled blonde waves tickling my jaw as she burrows closer with a contented murmur. Studying the delicate fan of her lashes against her round cheeks, I”m struck by just how deceptively fragile she appears in this unguarded state. My arm tightens fractionally around her waist out of pure instinct, that primal part of me driven to shelter and protect her.
Bonnie”s eyes flutter partway open, and a slow, sleepy smile curves those full lips as her gaze finds mine.
”Mornin” Rambo,” she murmurs, voice still raspy from sleep. ”Please tell me you”ve got a hot cup of coffee waiting to start this day off right.”
I chuckle, feeling some of the tension in my shoulders ease. ”Fresh outta coffee grounds, I”m afraid. Although if you”re feeling adventurous, I might be able to scrounge up some pinecones or bark to brew.”
”You”re a riot,” she drawls. But there”s an intimacy underlying the playful banter now, a newfound closeness in the way she angles her face toward mine with that coy smile.
My breath catches as her lips brush a feather-light path along the stubbled hinge of my jaw.
”Bonnie...” The warning rumbles from deep in my chest, but there”s no real force behind it. I”m already a lost cause, utterly defenseless against whatever this woman wants from me.
She props herself up on one elbow, the blanket of her hair cascading over one shoulder in tousled waves to expose the elegant column of her neck. My eyes hungrily trace the delicate hollows and slopes, the graceful lines leading inescapably down to the swell of her breasts just visible beneath the tantalizing shadows.
”What”s the matter?” Her eyes blaze into mine from beneath long lashes. ”Can”t handle a little adventure before breakfast?”
The blatant innuendo in that raspy purr has me hardening instantly. I growl low in my throat, every masculine instinct roaring to life as I haul her fully on top of me in one fluid motion. The soft heat of her almost-naked body pressing against my bare skin is enough to short-circuit every higher brain function.
”Is this the adventure you”re looking for?” I rasp against the sensitive skin just below her ear.
She hums contentedly. “Come on, we can do better than this.”
Challenge accepted.
My hands roam her back, tracing every dip and flare before dipping lower to cup the firm swell of her ass, pulling her even tighter against my cock, separated only by the thin cotton scraps of our underwear.
There”s nothing gentle or exploratory in the way our mouths collide this time—just pure, undiluted hunger, tasting and claiming every inch. Bonnie”s fingers tangle in the short strands at my nape as she rocks her pelvis against me in a blatant taunt.
I growl again, hands fisting in those wild blonde curls as I wrestle her head to the side, baring the creamy column of her throat. She gasps shakily when I latch onto the thundering pulse point, sucking hard enough to leave a mark as I grind my hips up into her heat.
”Garrett...” The breathy moan is pure sin against my ear, those blunt nails scoring deliciously down my chest.
I nip a stinging path along her collarbone, reveling in each tremor, each hitched breath, as I map every inch of flesh with tongue and teeth. By the time I”ve reached the lush swells of her breasts, Bonnie is squirming shamelessly atop me.
Smirking against the rosy peak pebbling under my attention, I let my palm skim the silken undersides in a teasing caress before palming the other generous mound possessively. Bonnie keens, back arching, pressing into my touch.
”Is this what you want?” I growl against the swell of her breast, laving the rigid peak with hot, open-mouthed kisses.
Her only response is a desperate whimper, those slender fingers tightening convulsively in my hair as she writhes atop me. Ruthlessly, I tear my mouth from her addictive flesh and catch that passion-glazed gaze, holding it with every ounce of intensity blazing through me.
”Use your words, Bonnie,” I command in a tone that leaves no room for argument, my hands bracketing her hips in an iron vise. ”What do you want?”
There”s a beat of charged silence where her chest heaves with each ragged pant. Those kiss-swollen lips part on a trembling inhale before the words spill forth in a breathless rush. ”You, Garrett. I want you, and your fingers and your mouth and your cock. I want all of you.”
I nearly blackout from the surge of raw masculine satisfaction that washes over me at her breathy response. She may be a fiery, untamed spirit out there in the great wide world, but here in our haven, she”s utterly and willingly mine. The thought is enough to send my mouth crashing back into hers, swallowing those pleas in a searing kiss as my palm glides down her stomach to push aside her panties and delve into the liquid heat between her thighs.
Bonnie gasps, rising onto her knees as I slowly tease one calloused fingertip through her slick folds. Her hips rock into the gliding caress, chasing that fleeting friction as I map every secret crest and valley.
”So responsive,” I rasp against the swell of her breast. ”And so goddamn sexy when you let me take care of you...”
She”s already a boneless, whimpering mess by the time I finally circle her clit with firm strokes. Bonnie throws her head back, her hands clutching her breasts as she shudders and writhes. The tight sheath of her inner muscles clenches around my thrusting fingers, her release already dangling just out of reach.
But I”m nowhere near done with her.
Withdrawing my hand, I drink in the sight of her for one long, smoldering moment—the disheveled golden curls, the slick sheen of perspiration coating that flawless skin, the desperate, needy arch of her body as she silently begs for more. Perfection.
”Look at me,” I rumble, the command laced with gravel.
Those chocolate eyes blink open, dark and glazed with naked yearning. The expression on Bonnie”s face is pure sin—cheeks flushed, lips parted in shallow, panting breaths as she waits with exquisite restraint for my next order.
Reaching between us, I fist my aching cock in one calloused palm, watching her pupils blow wider as I slowly stroke the rigid length from base to tip. Her throat works convulsively as I smear the pearly bead of moisture gathering at the engorged crown through her slick, wet heat, pausing at her entrance.
”Tell me what you want,” I rumble, the words a searing caress in the thick air between us. ”Say it, and it”s yours.”
Her lips part on a trembling exhale. “Fuck me, Garrett.”
That”s all the encouragement I need to finally thrust upward and sheathe myself inside of her. We both groan in unison at the feeling of that scalding friction. Bonnie falls forward as I bottom out, her lips against my throat. The sensation has me snarling, every instinct roaring to consume this woman in a frenzy of devouring thrusts and scorched kisses.
But I hold myself in an iron check, determined to take my time and make this last as long as possible. I want Bonnie utterly shattered and incoherent with pleasure by the time this is through.
Setting a torturously languid rhythm, I rock into her in long, rolling undulations, each withdraw almost pulling me fully free of her before surging back home in one sinuous grind. Bonnie whimpers and writhes atop me, those lush hips rocking in a desperate counterpoint, silently pleading for more.
”Garrett...” Bonne breathes against my ear, spurring me on even as I fight to maintain that torturous control. ”Oh god... don”t stop...”
”I have no intention of stopping,” I grit out, the words a low, feral growl against the damp hollow of her throat.
Her only answer is a broken, keening whimper as I shift my angle, driving deeper with each rolling grind.
My hand fists in her hair, dragging Bonnie”s head back to expose the elegant arch of her throat as I mouth a scorching path along her pulse. Her back arches in ecstasy, her knees squeezing my hips as I pick up the tempo to something just shy of punishing.
”You feel so goddamn perfect like this,” I growl, laving one of her nipples with rough flicks of my tongue. ”Wrapped so tight around me...”
Bonnie”s head thrashes, those wild blonde curls dampening with sweat as she rides the relentless tide of sensation. Her eyes are screwed shut, full lips bitten nearly crimson as she spirals ever higher toward that blinding peak.
I can feel her climax gathering, her body coiling like a loaded spring with each driving stroke. I slow my thrusts to deep, rolling grinds, determined to prolong this sweet agony for as long as possible.
”Open your eyes,” I rumble against the damp curve of her shoulder, my voice a heated rasp.
Bonnie”s lashes flutter partway open, those dark depths simmering with lust. Her lips part, chest heaving as she struggles to meet my searing gaze.
The connection is like an exposed live wire between us, the air practically crackling with the current. I watch in rapt fascination as the pleasure finally overwhelms her, that perfect rosebud mouth dropping open on a breathless cry.
Bonnie”s spine arches as her orgasm finally shatters her, those velvet inner walls fluttering wildly around my straining length. I groan deep in my chest, every muscle straining as I fight to hold back my own release, determined to ride out each exquisite pulse and spasm wracking her body.
By the time the last shudders have faded, leaving Bonnie a boneless, trembling wreck atop me, I”m wound tighter than a compressed spring. Every nerve in my body feels like it”s been flayed and set ablaze with pure, raging need.
Rolling us suddenly, I settle my weight atop her in the narrow confines of our rocky den. My hands trace a blazing path down the elegant slopes of her throat, over the generous swells of her breasts.
”So fucking gorgeous,” I murmur in a voice gone rough with hunger, watching the way her skin prickles with awareness under my caresses.
Rising up on my knees in one fluid motion, I hook her legs over my forearms before sheathing myself to the hilt again.
This time, I don”t hold back.
Bonnie cries out, those lush legs locking around my hips as I unleash every ounce of pent-up hunger into each punishing thrust. There”s nothing gentle or restrained in my rhythm now—just primal, scorching possession as I claim her over and over again with searing, devouring strokes.
She takes everything I give her and matches me with that same fierce intensity, nails raking delicious lines down my arms, hips tilting to meet each merciless surge. The sounds we make are animalistic—growls and gasps, flesh meeting flesh in a filthy cadence.
I can already feel the tightness in my groin signaling my own release. Gritting my teeth, I brace my weight on one forearm and snake the other between our slick, heaving bodies to find her clit. Bonnie”s back bows off the uneven ground with a sobbing cry.
”Come for me, Bonnie,” I snarl against her sweat-dampened throat, working her higher with rough, merciless strokes in time to the piston of my hips. ”One more time.”
It”s those last words that finally shove her over that razor”s edge. Bonnie throws her head back, that perfect mouth an O of pure rapture as her second orgasm detonates. I let out a feral roar as her inner muscles clamp down in wild, rippling contractions, milking me into my own shattering climax.
My hips stutter, every muscle going rigid as I let the exquisite sensation wash over me in searing waves. I”m only vaguely aware of Bonnie”s fingernails scoring lines down my back, her desperate cries echoing my own guttural shouts as we spiral over that edge together in an endless freefall.
For what feels like an eternity, we simply cling to each other in a sweaty, panting heap—her fingers trailing lazy patterns across my back while I nuzzle into the curve of her neck. I”m lost in the hazy afterglow, my body still humming with lingering tremors as her inner walls flutter around me in soft waves.
”Wow...” She lets out a breathless, disbelieving chuckle. ”You really weren”t kidding about taking care of me, were you?”
I can”t fight the satisfied laughter that rolls through my body at her teasing words. ”Did I exceed expectations?”
Her eyes find mine, gleaming with a warmth and tenderness that has my throat tightening unexpectedly. Bonnie stretches up to brush her lips softly across mine, the gentle caress in such stark opposition to the ferocity of our intimacy just moments ago.
”You could say that,” she murmurs against my mouth, the words laced with unmistakable affection.
There”s a peacefulness to our embrace, an almost reverent stillness in the cramped space that”s become our sanctuary. For once in my life, I feel utterly and completely present in this moment, untainted by the demons of the past or worries of what”s to come.
I never want this feeling to end. I could spend the rest of my days just like this, cocooned in her warmth and scent and soft caresses, and still it wouldn”t be enough.
The thought has me instinctively tightening my arms around her, tucking her more securely beneath me. I can feel the gentle sweep of Bonnie”s lashes against my neck, the soft exhalations ghosting across my damp skin, and I swear in that moment that nothing will take this from me.
She”s mine now, my wild thing. And I”ll go to the ends of this earth to keep her safe if I have to.
But even as that vow sears through my consciousness, a tiny thread of doubt winds its way inward—an ever-present shadow in the back of my mind that”s become all too familiar over the years. A constant, nagging fear that the world will find a way to snatch away the fragile joy I”ve only just grasped.
Because as perfect as this moment is, as right as Bonnie feels cradled in my arms... how long can it possibly last? How long until her restless, daredevil spirit gets the itch to seek out the next grand adventure, the next insane risk, and puts herself in harm”s way again?
The mere thought of her flirting with death the way she does turns my stomach into a hollow pit of dread. Because I”ve seen the devastation that losing someone you love more than life itself can wreak. I”ve been to that abyss, barely escaping its all-consuming darkness, and I know I can”t go there again.
My arms reflexively constrict at the notion, pulling her infinitesimally closer until there”s not even a whisper of air between us.
She stirs at the sudden, crushing embrace, those guileless brown eyes blinking open with drowsy concern. ”Hey, you okay?”
How can I explain this to her? How can I put into words this primal need to keep her sheltered and safe without smothering that wild, vibrant spark that”s so vital to who she is?
In the end, I simply settle for brushing a tender kiss to her brow. ”Yeah,” I murmur against her hair, forcing my tone to remain low and reassuring. ”I”m good. Just... enjoying the moment while it lasts.”
She seems to accept the vague response easily enough, those kissable lips curving in a contented smile as she nestles closer.
But I can”t shake the nagging sense of trepidation, the feeling that this fragile peace is just the remaining stillness before the oncoming storm.