Chapter 6
Jameson
Leah’s fingers were soft against mine. Her eyes were wide and searching in the firelight, and something in my chest was doing things it had no business doing.
I cleared my throat and reached past her for the canteen, breaking the contact before I did something stupid, like kiss this woman.
“Storm’s getting worse. We should probably turn in, try to get some sleep.” I took a sip and then handed it to her.
She nodded, and I caught the slight flush on her cheeks as she looked away. The wind howled outside. The temperature had dropped enough that I could see my breath when I moved away from the fire.
I grabbed the second bear pelt off the wall and spread it across the straw-stuffed mattress. The bed was barely big enough for one person, let alone two, but it would have to do.
“Tonight you’re going to learn how the old-timers used to live,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “Romantic, right?”
She laughed, and the sound did something warm to my insides. “Very authentic. I’ll have quite the story for my friends when I get back home again. You don’t happen to be a handyman, do you?” she joked.
“For you, I’d be willing to put on a tool belt.”
Leah laughed even louder, seeming completely at ease with me.
I gathered the wool blanket from her shoulders and spread it over the pelt, tucking the edges in to create something resembling a proper bed. Then I walked over to check my sweater where it hung by the fire. Still damp. Damn.
“Sweater’s not dry yet,” I said, turning back to face her. “I can put it on anyway if you’d rather I wasn’t…”
“It’s fine.” She shook her head quickly. “We’re both adults. And it’s cold. You shouldn’t wear wet clothes to bed.”
I nodded and moved to the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding in against the wall to make as much room for her as possible.
Leah hesitated for just a moment before crossing the small cabin and climbing in beside me.
The bed creaked under our combined weight, and there was absolutely no way to avoid touching.
Her back pressed against my chest, her legs tangled with mine, and every inch of her soft curves were molded against me.
“Well,” she said, her voice slightly breathless. “This is one way to get to know a stranger.”
“We’re not actually strangers anymore. We’ve shared soup,” I tried to keep my tone casual, but my body was responding to her in ways I couldn’t control. I was hard, achingly so, and there was no way she couldn’t feel my cock pressed against her.
She laughed again, and the movement pressed her ass more firmly against me. I bit back a groan.
A shiver ran through her, and I slipped my arm around her waist without conscious thought, pulling her closer to share my body heat. She didn’t protest. If anything, she melted back into me, her hand coming to rest over mine.
“Are you going to make changes?” I asked quietly, my lips close to her ear. “In your life, I mean. Since you’re unhappy.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I think so. Something has to give. I can’t keep living like this.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a fancy job, though. Good money, stability.”
“Work isn’t everything in life.” Her voice was soft but certain.
“I’m ready for a change. Maybe a big change.
I’ve been thinking about moving out of Boston, somewhere quieter.
Somewhere more… rustic. This wasn’t just a random vacation.
On some level, it was a scouting mission, even if I wasn’t completely aware of it when I booked the plane ticket. ”
My heart stuttered in my chest, and I was shocked by the sudden fierce hunger that flared through me.
This would change everything!
Keeping my voice level, I ever-so-casually asked, “Are you thinking about making Red Oak Mountain your new home?”
She turned in my arms, shifting until she was facing me, her eyes meeting mine in the dim light. We were so close I could feel her breath warm against my lips.
“I can see the appeal,” she whispered.
Thunder rolled through the sky outside, shaking the cabin walls, but neither of us flinched this time. We were too focused on each other.
There was a soft vulnerability in her expression. And her body fit against mine like she’d been made for this exact moment.
“This is a bad idea,” I growled.
Leah’s eyes hooded over. “The worst idea ever.”
She moved first, or maybe we moved together, but suddenly her lips were on mine and nothing else mattered.
The kiss was soft at first, tentative, both of us testing the waters. She tasted like cocoa, and when I deepened the kiss she opened for me with a small sound that went straight to my cock.
I cupped the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her hair as I explored her mouth, relishing the way she responded when I nipped at her lower lip.
She pressed closer, her hands coming up to rest against my bare chest, and the feel of her palms against my skin was electric. I groaned into her mouth and pulled her tighter, one hand sliding down to grip her hip as I rolled us so she was beneath me.
“Is this okay?” I rumbled.
“Yes,” she arched up into me, her fingers digging into my shoulders, “please.”
I kissed her again, deeper this time, pouring everything I couldn’t say into the press of my mouth against hers.
Then I pulled back just enough to lift her sweater over her head, revealing the simple cotton bra beneath. She reached back and unhooked it herself, letting the straps slide down her arms, and the sight of her bare breasts in the firelight made my mouth go dry.
She was beautiful. Soft and full, her nipples already peaked from the cold, or from arousal, or maybe a mix of both. I lowered my head and took one into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the hardened bud while she gasped and arched beneath me.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding me close as I worshipped her, moving from one breast to the other, learning what made her moan and what made her writhe.
“Jameson,” she breathed, and hearing my name on her lips in that wrecked voice was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
This was a mistake of catastrophic proportions, but I couldn’t make myself stop.
Even though I’d lived without a woman in my life for years, I suddenly felt like I couldn’t let her go, not until I’d explored every mystery about Leah, found every hidden chamber tucked deep in her heart. I wanted to know everything about this woman.
I kissed my way down her stomach, taking my time, savoring every inch of her soft skin.
This might be temporary.
It might be nothing more than two lonely people finding comfort in each other on a dark, stormy night, but right now it was real. She was real, warm and wanting beneath my hands, and I intended to make the most of every single moment we had together.
I hooked my fingers into the waistband of her leggings and tugged them down along with her underwear.
She lifted her hips to help me. The firelight painted her skin in shades of gold and amber as I settled between her thighs, spreading them wider to make room.
She was already wet for me, glistening in the dim light, and the sight made my cock throb painfully against the confines of my pants.
I lowered my head and dragged my tongue through her folds in one long, slow stroke, savoring the taste of her arousal.
She cried out and her hips bucked up against my mouth, her fingers scrabbling for purchase on the bear pelt beneath us.
I licked her again, circling her clit with the tip of my tongue before sucking it gently between my lips.
Her thighs trembled on either side of my head, and she made the most beautiful sounds, little whimpers and moans that went straight to my cock.
I slid one finger inside her, then two, curling them to find that spot that made her back arch off the bed while I continued to work her clit with my mouth.
“Please,” she gasped, her hands fisting in my hair. “Jameson, please, I need to feel you…”
That was a request I could fulfill. I pulled back, kissing my way up her body as I fumbled with the button of my pants. I shoved them down just far enough to free my cock and crawled over her, bracing myself on one arm while I positioned myself at her entrance.
“Are you sure you want this?” I growled, teasing the tip of my cock through her slick folds, coating myself in her wetness without pushing inside. I needed to hear her say it. I needed to know she wanted this as badly as I did.
She moaned and wrapped her legs around my waist, trying to pull me closer. “Yes. Please, yes.”
I pushed forward slowly, watching her face as I sank into her inch by inch. She was tight and hot and so fucking wet. And the sensation of her body gripping my cock nearly undid me right there. Her eyes fluttered closed and her lips parted in a soundless gasp as I bottomed out inside her.
I held still for a moment, giving her time to adjust and giving myself time to regain some semblance of control.
Then I began to move, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in with a slow, deep stroke that made us both groan. I set a steady rhythm, each thrust driving deeper, and the small bed creaked beneath us in time with our movements.