The air around us was warm, but I still shivered.
The strength of his body was clear with every place we were pressed together and I wanted to melt into the feeling.
We swayed to nothing in particular. Just an excuse to touch. My mind spun through the last few days—fighting, arguing, getting stranded, saying things neither of us usually said.
Now there was only this.
The tension was gone and something new was forming in the space it left behind.
And suddenly it wasn’t enough.
Our eyes met and held, the heat between us as clear as if a fire burned where we stood.
I would regret stepping away from this man without a taste.
So I kissed him.
I rose onto my toes, his beard grazing my chin as I pressed my lips to his.
Soft at first.
Then not.
I tasted wine on his tongue, felt the heat of him bleed into me. He still smelled like the forest, even dressed like this and Ibreathed him in.
I dug my fingers into his shoulders, pulling myself closer.
Heat pooled low as he teased my lips.
A rough sound left his throat and he walked me backward until my spine met the rough bark of a tree.
It bit into my skin, probably snagging my dress but I didn’t care.
His hands slid up my sides, stopping just beneath my breasts. I arched into him, chasing more.
“Wren,” he murmured.
I took the opening, sliding my tongue into his mouth.
Everything these past few days had been too much.
Too intense.
The emotions, the questions, the way he made me rethink decisions I’d made a long time ago.
This had to be simpler than that.
It had to just be physical or I wasn’t sure I could walk away from it with my heart intact.
So I pushed it further.
My hands slid from his shoulders, over the planes of his chest, to his belt.
He broke the kiss, searching my face as I worked the buckle. “Is this okay?” I asked.
I could see how conflicted he was. Some misplaced chivalry bullshit that I had no time for. “We don’t… I mean, if you don’t want—”
“Just answer the question, Jasper. Yes or no?” I cut him off, sliding my hand lower, palming him through his pants.
