7. Juniper
Chapter seven
Juniper
Right now, I can't tell right from wrong. All it takes is Hunter putting his hands on me to make the line drawn between us too blurry to understand.
What I do know is how much I like having his palms gliding against my skin. His hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt, rough and possessive against my waist, exploring like he already owns the territory.
From the way I moan around his tongue, maybe that's exactly how it is.
When I finally pull back to drag air into my lungs, Hunter doesn't miss a beat. He doesn't need to breathe. The second my lips part, his mouth drops to my collarbone, latching onto the sensitive patch of skin at the curve of my throat. Air isn't what's keeping him alive right now. I am.
"Hunter—" Moaning his name, it's a gasp that follows when my feet are suddenly no longer on the ground.
As if I weigh nothing to this man, he whisks me off the ground and carries me over toward the couch. Taking the middle cushion, he keeps me right there on his lap as he coaxes my mouth back to his.
"You've done it now," he groans in between kisses. He doesn't just kiss my mouth, but my chin and my cheeks, too. Every inch of skin his beard grazes tickles, and I can't tell if I want to giggle or encourage him to do it more because it feels so good.
But even more... I want to feel his mouth in other places, too. The thought alone is enough to make not just my face warm, but my entire body.
"Is this really okay?" Pulling away to breathe, I watch with him as he grips the hem of my shirt.
The last thing I want is to turn him off by addressing the elephant in the room, but deep down, I'm kind of scared.
Not of Hunter, but because of the feelings he'll bring out of me if we cross these lines.
Taking the flush that's burning on his cheeks and the burning want in his eyes, I want to feel like this is okay.
This feels right.
"I want you," he says without hesitation. "Do you want me?"
He lays himself bare in an instant, leaving me scrambling for footing.
"I kissed you, didn't I?" I deflect, dropping my gaze to his chest because staring into those eyes is too much to handle.
His hands abandon my shirt, wrapping tight around my hips to drag me flush against him. "Not an answer. Do you want me, sweet girl?"
Asking me his question again, it's that endearment that makes me bite my lip hard. Beneath me, I can feel the way his body is reacting to our kiss.
My decision to put on my thickest pair of pajama pants to fight off the freezing draft had been genius a couple of hours ago, but between my thighs, the cold doesn't stand a chance.
All I can feel is absolute heat as he shifts, the thick, heavy drag of his arousal pressing hard into me, making my breath hitch in my throat.
"I want you," I whisper, unable to deny the truth. No matter our differences, my feelings wouldn't change.
A rumble of satisfaction rolls through him, and I can see the way his eyes light up.
The words seem to kick him back into gear. He continues his attempt to pull my shirt off, and this time, there's no disruption.
Cool air tickles my skin the moment my chest is exposed, and it's the choked sound that leaves this man that makes my sex clench.
"No bra?" He curses under his breath as he stares at my breasts. His throat bobs. "You've got to warn a man, Juniper."
"I don't typically wear them when I'm home," I try to explain, but it's the small lift to his mouth that makes me stumble over my words.
This man looks so pleased with himself and what he sees.
Just when I think he plans on simply admiring the view, his hand drags up my stomach. He doesn't quickly get past the ugly parts. No, he squeezes and grazes in pure appreciation all the way up until the point that he's finally cupping my breast.
"So fucking pretty..." His thumb grazes my nipple as it hardens into a fine point. "You don't need them here, either. I want you to be comfortable..."
Mumbling the words, it sounds more like he wants the chance for something like this to happen again.
It's when he leans down that any ideas of teasing him melt away as his breath is hot against my skin and his lips near my other breast. I barely catch the flick of his tongue before he seals his mouth around my nipple.
Pulling it deep into his mouth, the suction makes my back arch in an attempt to get more.
Has my chest ever been sensitive? Not that I can recall. There's something about the intensity in his gaze as his eyes refuse to leave mine that makes every part of my body light up.
Feeling the wet heat of his tongue flickering and lavishing at the nub leaves my pussy aching in envy. Even more when he does the same with my other breast, taking his time appreciating both of them until the skin there is as flushed as my face.
"A man could get addicted to something this sweet, Juniper..." Rasping like he's the one who is getting put through the wringer, a slight shift of my hips is the reminder I need that this man is just as aroused as I am.
The sight of him worshipping me so thoroughly sets off a dangerous thought in my mind that's becoming more appealing by the second. If the heat of his tongue feels this amazing on my chest, what would it feel like sliding between my thighs?
"Hunter..." I bury my hands into his hair, tugging at those peppered strands just enough to make him groan in approval. Not the type to voice my wants during such a vulnerable moment; this is different. I've never wanted something so terribly bad before.
"What is it?" Kissing between my breasts, he pulls back. Only then do I realize he's panting. "Tell me what you need."
"Would you..." My skin burns as I scramble for the nerve to say it aloud. "Um..."
His hand finds my chin the moment I try to shy away. "Juniper, I don't think there's a single thing you can ask of me right now where I'd say no. Tell me." Adding some weight to his words, they sound more like an order. "What do you want?"
"Your mouth." I swallow hard, forcing the truth past my lips. "I want your tongue."
A dark brow twitches up, his throat bobbing hard. "Where?"
God, I’m too old to feel this shy. "On my pussy, Hunter. I want your mouth right between my legs."
It's out in the open now, so if he wants to change his mind, he better get it over with.
His brows pinch together before his mouth twitches again, teasing me with a smile. "Aren't you an impatient little thing?"
Confused by what he means, I grunt when he slides me off his lap and practically tosses me to his left.
"If you think there is an inch of your body I'm not getting my mouth on by the end of tonight, you better think again.
" He reaches back and grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling it over his head.
Revealing a chest covered in more peppered hair, it's the swell of his chest that keeps my attention glued.
He's as flushed as I am.
Before I can enjoy the fact, he's dropping his shirt and putting his attention on making my fuzzy pants disappear. Ever so greedy, he doesn't waste time by tugging my underwear down with them.
All at once, I'm suddenly very naked and exposed to his hungry gaze. He doesn't just glance over my body. No, this man drinks in every inch like he's witnessing something sacred and fully intends to worship every inch of it.
My toes curl in anticipation.
He shifts back against the couch to make enough room for him to enjoy what comes next. Positioning me right where he needs me, his thumbs part my folds to take in the view. The needy whimper leaving my lips kicks him into gear.
The first brush of his tongue makes my hips jerk upward, forcing him to pin me down with his forearms. Keeping me in place, he licks up my glossy seam and gives my clit the very same treatment he had on my nipples.
It's a miracle I don't come right then and there.
"Jesus Christ..." There he goes again, sounding pained. He pulls back enough to find my seeping entrance and buries his tongue deep enough that I clamp down around him.
The moment one of his arms moves, his hand now clutching at my thigh to keep me open for him, it allows my hip to lift.
Shamelessly, I grip his hair and move. Unable to hold still, I leave any bashful thoughts at the back of my mind as I chase the pleasure his mouth brings.
Soaking his lips and beard in my arousal, a loud moan leaves me as he licks back up toward my clit.
Back and forth, he doesn't even need to use his fingers to get me off.
He sets a punishingly good pace—swirling, flicking, and drinking me in right there on the cushions until my thighs shake helplessly against his grip.
"Hunter, I'm going to—" Arching against the couch, my pussy starts fluttering.
This man growls against me, and the vibration sends me over the edge, filling the corners of my eyes with sparks.
Half of him is kneeling on the floor now, but he's so lost in lapping up the juices of my orgasm that I'm not sure if he's even noticed.
I have to pull at his hair when the sensitivity of my sex becomes too much.
He's panting hard, his tongue licking and lavishing at whatever clings to his lips.
"Fuck, you're driving me crazy," he mutters under his breath as he drinks in my state. Once more, the same curse leaves his lips.
He forces himself back, sitting himself back onto the couch. As if he can't go a minute without touching me, he reaches out, pulling me back in place on his thighs.
His pants aren't even trying to hide his erection. While I'm trying to gain my bearings, I stare hard at the damp patch pressing into his sweats.
I don't think when I reach a hand between us. Like him, I feel like I'm going mad.
Hunter hisses as I draw his cock out. He doesn't move to stop me as my fingers curl around his pulsing length, but a heavy, ragged groan breaks from his chest when my thumb swipes over the bead of slick gathering at his tip.
Impatient. Greedy. The words fit, but I don't care. My thighs are still weak and trembling from what he just did to me, but all I can think about is feeling him push deep inside. I need him to undo me—and I want to drive him just as wild.
His head thuds back against the couch cushions, his chest heaving under my hand as I set a torturously slow pace down his shaft. Swearing that he swells even impossibly thicker, it's only when his hand is immediately gripping at my wrist to stop me that I realize he's about to come.
No fair.
He catches the subconscious pout on my lips and lets out a rough, raspy laugh. "Unless you want to wait ten minutes for round two, sweet girl, you need to let go. You're one stroke away from finishing me off."
I get where he's coming from, but I want to be the one to get him there, dang it.
Since I can't use my hand on him, call me a little eager when I start moving my hips again. The friction is hard to argue with, especially when we fit together so perfectly.
I need him inside.
He groans in return, and from the swell of his cock, I'm happy to believe he wants the very same.
Unfortunately, there's one problem standing in our way.
"I don't have a condom," he warns, his brows furrowing so deeply that I can't help but laugh.
I guess that's a good thing? Though, if any woman got a good look at this mountain man, they'd want him as much as I do.
"Birth control," I pant, squirming to get him to keep moving. "Please, don't stop now."
Instead of giving in, his mouth glides up the column of my throat to line soft, scorching kisses along my jaw, coming to rest at my ear. His hot breath tickles my skin, setting off a wave of goosebumps down my spine.
"Stay with me," he rumbles, his voice thick with restraint. "Say yes, and then I'll give you everything you want."
What he's asking for isn't something simple. In the state that I'm in, I can barely register the weight of his request, but I know it's crazy. This can't just be a moment of weakness I'll be able to forget about, like some kind of one-night stand.
How long is he talking for? A few more days?
I can't lie, my heart flutters in my chest, loving the idea of no more lonely nights. Of space occupied by a man who can't help but want to take care of me.
"I'll drive you to the bakery every morning.
I'll pick you up every night. I'll eat every single sweet you make until my heart gives out.
" His teeth lightly graze the shell of my ear before his tongue licks away the sting.
"I want you to be mine, sweet girl. Tell me you will, or I swear to God I have to stop right now. "
The last thing I want is for him to stop. The concept alone makes a whimper form on my tongue.
"Because once I get inside you, Juniper, I'm never letting you go.
" His hands slide lower, cupping my ass and pulling me flush against his hard length, growling the words into my skin.
"I'll go fucking insane out here if I don't know you're safe.
So tell me you'll stay. Let me give you a reason to stay on this mountain... and be mine."
His request makes him appear to be the vulnerable one this time, and despite it being such a loaded question, it feels like I've already got the answer.
If I leave this mountain, will I be abandoning one of the best things fate has ever thrown my way? Will I ever meet a man like Hunter again? Someone who cares about me more than anyone else has?
Biting my lip, I nod shyly. "Yeah, okay. We can—"
He pulls me back to his mouth, interrupting me before I can finish my acceptance.
He heard yes, and that's enough for him.