“You scared me today,” he says.
The humor disappears from his voice.
My fingers tighten around the stick.
“I know.”
When he found me, I saw it on his face. The fear he tried to hide. The relief when he reached me.
Dean is the kind of person who makes everyone else feel safe. Seeing him scared because of me is something I don’t know how to handle.
“I couldn’t make the kayak turn. I couldn’t stop.”
“You were fighting the river,” he murmurs, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
He shifts closer, his shoulder brushing mine. I came here because I wanted to escape the noise. I thought I needed distance from everything familiar. But sitting here, listening to the water and feeling the warmth of the fire, I’m realizing maybe I wasn’t looking for an escape.
Maybe I was looking for somewhere I could belong.
The firelight flickers across his face as he reaches over and gently brushes a strand of hair away from my cheek.
His fingers are rough from years of working outside, but they touch me so lightly I barely notice the callouses.
“You’re still cold.”
“I’m okay.”
His mouth tilts like he doesn’t believe me but he doesn’t argue. He just pulls the blanket a little higher around my shoulders. That small gesture affects me more than it should.
When he leans closer, I don’t think about how little time we’ve known each other. I don’t think about how impossible this entire situation is. I just close the distance between us.
The kiss is different from the first one. That one was brimming with excitement and curiosity. Burning brightly with a spark neither of us expected.
This kiss is comforting. Slow and smooth, his lips press against mine with a quiet certainty that makes heat pool low in my belly. His hand slides to my waist, holding me close while the fire warms my face.
I can taste smoke on his lips and feel the warmth of his body even through the blanket.
For the first time since I arrived in Crescent Ridge, I don’t feel like I’m running away.
I feel like I’m finally moving forward.
Dean
The first night I spend wrapped around Paisley isn’t ideal, but when I wake up with her hair in my mouth I can’t help but grin. The ground isn’t any less hard than when we went to sleep and the fire died out before sunrise but it’s still a great day to be alive.
My cock is so hard it aches, but I’m not surprised. It’s been semi-hard since she smacked me with that paddle. The temptation to sneak away for a moment to take the edge off is almost irresistible but the memory of her being scared for her life yesterday dulls my desire. I don’t want to risk her waking up alone and afraid I’ve abandoned her.
My cock can wait.
Paisley’s still not graceful on the water. We carry our kayaks a little ways until the river opens up and we get past the worst of the rapids. She almost flips once we kick off the embankment, but after a bit she starts to get the hang of it.
“Go more left,” I call out.
She shoots a glare over her shoulder at me.
“Are you always this bossy?”
“I get it from my mom,” I reply with a grin.
