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Cassia smirks. “You’re telling me to put clothes on? That’s a first.”
I want to flirt back. But I can’t forget we’re standing on shaky ground. That we just started walking forward and that sprinting might end in falling. “You’re still wearing your suit?”
She raises one eyebrow, probably wondering why I’m bothering to ask. I’m thinking the same thing. I’m also stalling, trying to figure out how to best handle this.
“I showered in it.”
I stand. “Cassia…”
“Holden…” She mimics my tone, still smirking.
I shake my head, leaning down to grab the water bucket and tossing it over the smoldering embers. They die with a low hiss, tendrils of smoke wafting upward from the damp ashes.
“That isn’t why I invited you.”
“I know. This little adventure was about hiking fifty miles and listening to Finn describe killing fish.”
My lips curve up involuntarily. This is my favorite version of Cassia—this sarcastic, unreserved one who says exactly what she’s thinking.
“It was about spending time together. Figuring out what wasn’t working, so I could fix it.”
“I just needed to know you were willing to work at it, that you were willing to meet me half-way. That you’d chase me a little.”
“I’ll chase you anywhere.”
“You’d better.”
Her hand moves farther south, and I grab it before I lose complete control. “Cassia.”
She sucks in her bottom lip, holding my gaze as she stares at me. “You don’t want to?”
“I’ve been hard since you sat in my lap two hours ago. I fucked my hand all summer, pretending it was you.Of courseI want to. What I don’t want is for you to regret this. Sex has never been an issue between us. Last night, you basically said it was all our relationship had turned into.”
I’m immensely relieved when I see her smile.
She steps into my chest, the warmth of her bare skin against mine a heady sensation that pulls a groan out of my mouth.
“I appreciate that. I really do. And I think the space this summer was good for me, as much as it sucked at the time. I could think through how I was feeling without you as a distraction. It’s not up to you tofixus. I should have told you how I was feeling sooner instead of dumping it all on you at the start of the summer. I’m trying to be better about telling you how I feel, when I’m feeling it, instead of shoving it down and waiting for it to go away. So this is me telling you…this is what I want. I want to have sex.Please.”
I scan her face, looking for any trace of hesitation and finding none.
My thin willpower wears down to nothing.
The smile spreads across my face easily.
Lust and relief mix in a heady combination. The last of the invisible weight I’ve carried around for the past couple of months lifts, dread dissipating like it never existed.
I step closer to her, closing the gap between us.
“Since you asked so nicely, flower.”
CHAPTER NINE
CASSIA
Familiar nerves fizzle in my stomach as Holden hovers over me, a slow smirk spreading across his handsome face. He leans over and turns the knob on the electric lantern between our sleeping bags. More yellow light spills across the nylon fabric, chasing away some of the shadows.
“I want to see you,” he murmurs, before his lips land on the center of my chest.
