5. Collin
COLLIN
T he door didn’t lock.
Fuck if I cared.
Paget was standing there looking at me like she already belonged to me. Like she knew I was about to do something I’d never done before—kiss a woman I wasn’t supposed to touch.
And still…I couldn’t stop.
I waited. Gave her a second. Gave myself a second. Hell, maybe I was stalling, hoping she’d change her mind so I wouldn’t have to be the one to do the right thing.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t waver. Just stepped toward me, her chest brushing mine, soft and warm and tempting as hell.
“I’m not going to run,” she whispered.
That did something to me. Lit a fuse I’d been pretending wasn’t there since the second I saw her on that damn cliffside.
I lifted a hand to her cheek, then slid it to the back of her neck. Jesus, she was warm. Skin like satin under my palm, breath catching just slightly as I touched her. She leaned in like she’d been waiting on it all damn day.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
She nodded, eyes locked on mine. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Fuck me.
I dipped my head, letting my forehead rest against hers for a second. Just breathing her in. She smelled like sunshine and salt and something a little wild. Like the mountains had been waiting for her.
I wanted to savor it. Stretch it out until I couldn’t anymore.
So I took it slowly. Just a brush of my lips over hers, soft and steady. She let out the tiniest sound, and damn if that didn’t make my grip tighten at her nape. My other hand found her waist, pulling her flush against me, and I felt her melt into the contact.
She kissed me back like she meant it. Like she wasn’t just here for the thrill or the adventure or the story.
She kissed me like she wanted me.
And I was fucked. Because I wanted her too. Not just her body—which, yeah, was driving me insane—but the way she looked at me. The way she laughed. The way she made everything feel just a little less heavy.
Her hands fisted in my shirt, dragging me closer. I deepened the kiss before I could stop myself. Still careful, still slow, but no longer holding back.
I could feel her heart pounding through her chest. Could feel mine trying to keep up.
She shifted against me, and I couldn’t help the low groan that escaped my throat. I wanted her. Bad. But I wanted it to be good for her. Better than good. I wanted to ruin her for anyone else.
I already knew I wasn’t walking away from this unchanged. And I had the sinking feeling I didn’t want to.
She was still kissing me like she’d never get tired of it—and I was quickly learning I didn’t want her to stop. Her fingers moved from the hem of my shirt up to my chest, smoothing over the cotton, then curling in like she didn’t know what to do with how badly she wanted more.
I did.
I pulled back just enough to look at her. Her lips were kiss-swollen, her eyes glassy with heat, her chest rising and falling like she was running on adrenaline.
“I want to see you,” I said roughly.
She nodded, no hesitation. My hands dropped to the hem of her shirt. I waited. She lifted her arms, letting me peel it off her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Fuck.
Pink bra. Thin straps. Soft cups that barely contained her. My fingers itched to pull them down. My mouth actually ached.
But I didn’t touch her there yet. Instead, I dragged the back of my knuckles over the curve of her waist, then up to her ribs, slow enough to feel every little tremble.
She sucked in a breath. “You’re making me crazy.”
“Good.”
Her hands tugged at my shirt. I let her pull it over my head, and she tossed it somewhere behind us, her eyes raking over me like I was the one being unwrapped.
I bent my head and kissed her again—deeper this time, more sure. My hands slid around to her back, pressing her against me as I walked her backward until her spine met one of the tower’s support beams.
She gasped at the cool surface but didn’t pull away. If anything, she arched into me.
My hands wandered lower, finding the waistband of her shorts—the ones she’d changed into before leaving my cabin to head to Hartsville. I popped open the button, then paused, my forehead resting against hers.
“Tell me if you want me to stop.”
She shook her head. “I don’t.”
“Tell me if you’re nervous.”
“I’m not,” she whispered.
“You should be,” I said, brushing my lips over hers. “Because I’m trying real fucking hard not to fall for you. And it’s not working.”
Her breath hitched. Then she said, “Good.”
And that was all I needed.
I eased down her zipper, my fingers grazing skin I was already addicted to. She was watching me now, wide-eyed, lips parted. That mix of innocence and confidence was doing me in.
I wanted to take my time, so I did. I dropped to my knees and ran my hands slowly down the backs of her thighs, dragging her shorts with me. And I looked up at her like she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Because she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
She stood in front of me, braced against the beam, as I dropped her shorts to her ankles. She stepped out of them, breathing like she couldn’t catch up to what was happening—and didn’t want to.
Her thighs were trembling. Not from fear, but from need. And I needed to taste her.
I hooked my fingers in her waistband and tugged her underwear down slowly, letting my knuckles graze her legs as I went. I kissed the inside of one knee as I dropped the flimsy garment to the floor, then shifted closer as she kicked them off to the side.
She gasped as I slid my hands up the backs of her thighs, nudging her legs apart just enough to settle between them. The fire tower creaked around us. A bird called in the distance. Somewhere below, the wind stirred the trees.
But all I could hear was her breath. “Collin…”
I looked up. Her eyes were wide, lips parted, her fingers gripping the beam like she might float away.
“You good?” I asked, voice low.
She nodded. But I didn’t move yet. I pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh. Then another. Then another—higher. She whimpered, hips shifting forward.
I smiled against her skin. “Still good?”
“Yes,” she said, breathless. “Please.”
That word did something to me. I didn’t make her wait again.
I leaned in and tasted her, slow and careful, like she was something to be savored. Her body jolted, her fingers flexing against the beam behind her. She was so wet. So sweet. So fucking mine, even if we hadn’t said it out loud yet.
I licked her again, slower this time. Drew a soft circle with my tongue, then flattened it and pressed in deeper. Her hips rocked forward, just a little, chasing the rhythm.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “Oh my God.”
I kept going, hands sliding up to her hips to hold her steady while I worshiped every inch of her. She was trembling under my mouth, her legs barely holding her upright, her breath catching every time I changed the angle or the pressure.
I could’ve stayed there all night. Just tasting her. Learning her.
She moaned my name. That nearly undid me.
“Collin. Oh, God. Don’t stop.”
I wasn’t stopping. Not until I gave her what she came for.
I slid one hand up, letting my thumb stroke lazy circles over her hipbone while my mouth kept working her, licking her like she was the only thing I’d ever want in my mouth again.
Her cries were soft, gasping, choked on the edge of something big. I pulled her leg over my shoulder and sank deeper, holding her there.
That did it. She came with a gasp, her body shuddering, her fingers curling into my hair like she didn’t know what else to hold on to.
I slowed down, kissed her softly, let her ride it out. Let her feel it all. Only when I felt her start to sag against the beam did I stand again, hands steadying her waist.
She looked dazed. Wrecked. Glowing.
I kissed her cheek. Her temple. Her lips.
“You okay?” I murmured.
She nodded. “Better than okay.”
I smiled, brushing her hair back from her face. And all I could think was next time, I wanted to be inside her when she fell apart like that.
“Are you ready?” I asked. “We could go back to my place.”
She shook her head. “Here. Now. I want to feel you inside me.”
I held in a groan and stepped away, grabbing a condom from the wallet in my back pocket. If she wondered why I was so well-prepared, she didn’t show it, but just in case, I had a quip planned about how a SEAL always came prepared. It wouldn’t be a lie.
As I tore open the packet, she stepped forward and unfastened my shorts, letting them drop to the ground. Then she grabbed the waistband of my underwear and tugged downward, lowering herself to a squat as she went.
My movements froze, the packet still half-opened between my thumb and finger. As my cock sprang out, she looked up at me, then snaked out her tongue to swirl it around the tip.
Fuck fuck fuck.
My eyelids involuntarily slammed down as she abandoned my underwear and shorts at my ankles to wrap her hand around my shaft. Then she took me in deep, using her hand and tongue and lips to drive me to distraction.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. If I let her continue, I’d come in her mouth, and we’d have to wait for me to recover. I didn’t want even five minutes to pass before I slid inside that sweet, wet pussy.
“Get up here,” I said, putting my left hand on her head.
She looked up at me, mouth still wet, pupils wide.
I stepped out of my sneakers, kicked off my shorts and underwear completely, and reached for her hands.
She let me pull her to her feet, and I caught her before she could stumble.
Her body pressed into mine, bare from the waist down, all soft curves and warm skin.
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hard—messy, deep, hungry.
Her legs were still trembling as I walked her backward, kissing her all the way, until we reached the wide, flat railing beneath the windows. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work. I lifted her easily, setting her on the edge and stepping between her thighs.
She moaned as I removed her shirt, then kissed down her throat, across her chest, and over the soft swell of one breast. Her bra was still on, barely, so I reached behind and unhooked it in one clean motion.
When it fell away, I pulled back to look at her—flushed, breathing hard, breasts rising and falling with every ragged breath.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “You’re so fucking perfect.”
Her hands found my chest, then slid lower.
“You still want this?” I asked.
She nodded. “I want you .”
That was all I needed to hear. I rolled the condom down, my hands shaking with how badly I needed her. She watched, her lips parted, and I could see the heat in her eyes. The trust. She trusted me with this. And I wasn’t going to fuck it up.
I guided myself to her entrance, rubbing the tip against her, letting us both feel it. Her hips twitched. Her breath caught.
“I’ll go slow,” I murmured, voice low and steady. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
She nodded again, her eyes never leaving mine. Then I pressed forward—just enough for her to feel it.
She gasped, and I groaned. Because I was about to slide inside the most incredible woman I’d ever met.
And I already knew there’d be no going back.