‘Mhmm, at the back of my property. The only reason I bought this place–that and the view of the stars of course.”
I hook her hand in mine and lead her down the steps into the night. We walk hand in hand a few dozen yards and then a small clearing in the evergreens opens up to a small bubbling spring. Steam rises around us, the scent of pine trees clinging heavy.
I swipe her sweater over her head and then push my pants down my thighs.
“I don't have a choice?”
“Not a one,” I hum, turning her away from me and trailing my hands up her thighs and along her body, “not this time anyway.”
I feel her shudder as I push her leggings down her creamy thighs. We approach the edge of the steamy pool, her eyes scanning the dense forest that surrounds us. She dips her toe into the water and I can't resist teasing her by grazing my arousalagainst her ass cheek. She grunts eagerly and presses back against me, seeking more pressure.
“So sensitive.” I draw a finger up the center of her torso, cupping each breast softly before whispering in her ear. “I can smell how much your body needs what only I can give it.”
My other hand latches onto her thigh, pulling us into the water carefully as she becomes more aroused by my touch. Her hips work against mine as I hook a finger inside her and she calls out my name.
“You're so eager and sweet, I couldn't love you any more. When I found you, my future and my purpose snapped into place.”
We’re submerged to our chests now, the heated water adding to the sensations of our bodies pressing together. My words devour her soul and leave her completely exposed for me.
She is mine. From the moment she walked up the steps to my cabin, she signed herself over to my mercy. I’m moody and abrasive and hard and she softens all of my rough edges.
She is mine.
Her arms circle around my neck, her bare chest pressed against mine as our lips find each other's. The water laps gently at our skin and my body tenses with the rush of adrenaline, my control slowly slipping.
“Please, fuck me Ridge. Make me yours again.”
I feel my muscles tense and the size of my dick nearly double as I give into her request. Only the tops of my muscled shoulders are visible above the water line, every fiber and cell stretched to their limits with need for her.
The wind stirs the leaves above our heads and waves lap at the shore, but we’re silent, lost in each other. I sink myself into her warm body, our lips crashing together as the world melts away. Her fingers clutch at my shoulders as her legs lock around my waist and I thrust in slow, savoring strokes. I groan, my lipssucking at her sweet flesh as her soaked pussy flutters around my cock.
“I could spend every night with you right here like this,” I admit.
She hums softly and then I feel her come undone, her eyes closed as she moans into the night. My own release follows, hot jets of come emptying into her unprotected womb. I hope I sink my babies into her, the need to tie her to me forever is all consuming.
The rest of the night passes in a blur of heat and whispers, her body pressed against mine as we stay tangled in each other, the hot water lapping around us. And every touch, every kiss, feels like coming home.
Chapter Ten
Quinn
The stars above Devil’s Peak shimmer like they’re winking at me the night after our skinny dip session, but I can’t focus on them. Not when Ridge is leading me by the hand up a familiar trail, his grip firm but gentle, his silence stretching between us like a taut string.
“Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask, half teasing, half exasperated. His back is to me, broad and solid, his flannel shirt rolled up to the elbows, exposing forearms that I’ve become embarrassingly familiar with dreaming about.
“You’ll see,” he says, his voice low, gravelly.
That voice. It’s a constant battle not to melt into a puddle every time he speaks, especially when he’s like this—gruff, mysterious, and absolutely in charge.
“Vague answers,” I grumble, though my smile betrays me. “Your specialty.”
He glances back at me, one eyebrow quirked. “You’re still here, aren’t you?”
“Debatable,” I quip, though my heart flutters when his lips twitch in that rare, almost-smile of his.
The trail levels out, and suddenly, the familiar clearing opens up before us. It’s the same spot where we got trapped during the avalanche, where everything between us began to shift. The air feels heavier here, like it holds all the words we’ve said to each other—and all the ones we haven’t yet.
But tonight, it’s different. A telescope stands in the middle of the clearing, its polished surface gleaming under the starlight. Ridge has strung up fairy lights between the trees, their soft glow casting a golden hue over the clearing. A blanket is spread out nearby, weighted down by a bottle of wine and two glasses.
