He has different plans for me all right, and they apparently don’t involve his bed, I think sarcastically as I shift myself around in the passenger seat of his truck. I have no idea where we even are. One tree blurs into the next, only interrupted by the occasional road sign.
“How much longer? And why the hell can’t you just tell me where we’re going?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
I growl, legitimately growl. “We’ve been in this car for ages, Jared. I need to use the facilities.”
He just laughs.
“What’s so damn funny about that?”
He flicks on the turn signal, and we pull off some old highway we’ve been on for half an hour to a dirt road.
“Well, good thing we’re here so you can use the facilities.” He snickers quietly. “You and that word.”
I cross my arms and glare out the window. Where the heck are we?
“Um, what are you doing? I’m pretty sure there’s no civilization down here.”
I grab the oh-shit handle as his truck lurches and barrels over some bumps and huge dirt mounds on the neglected dirt road.
“Here we are.” He pulls up in front of a small grassy field sitting at the base of a small cliff. I try to swallow the apprehension down, opening the door to catch a whiff of salt from the sea and hear the waves crashing down below the cliff.
Jared lifts a massive bag and some chairs from the bed of the truck and walks over to the grass. How did I miss all that?
I watch in horror when he starts setting up what looks to be a tent.
Oh, no.
Oh hell, no.
“All right, this is hilarious and all, but I really need to pee. So can we go now?”
His brows lower as he looks at me over his shoulder from where he’s bent over the tent on the ground. My gut churns. I can’t do this. I’ve never been camping in my entire life.
“Frost … there’s a bathroom behind you in the trees over there.” He points behind me and returns his attention to the tent.
Fuck. I run my hands through my hair. “How do I put this nicely? Oh, screw it. Look, I don’t camp. Ever.” I glare at his back. “I don’t do the outdoors, like, ever.” I glance over my shoulder at the small, run-down building. “And I most certainly don’t use bathrooms that are likely never cleaned. Ever.”
He drops the small hammer he was using to drive a stake into the ground, rises, and walks over to me. I hold my glare and my stance. He can’t make me do this. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Speaking of … “Have you not watched Wolf Creek? Or any other horror movies? I’m too damn young to die, Jared,” I snap.
He reaches up to gently slide his hands under my chin and over my jaw. “Vera, you’ll be fine. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You trust me, right?” His green eyes implore my blue ones when he tilts his head down to my eye level.
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I could still get bitten by a spider and die. That kind of thing is way out of your control.”
He chuckles. “You won’t get bitten by a spider.”
I glower at him. “Oh, really? And what are you? A fucking fortune-tell—”
He shuts me up with his lips, and I sink into the kiss. His warm mouth slowly glides over mine in a way that has shivers raking down my arms and my worries flying out to the sea behind us. Damn him. Damn him and his amazing mouth.
He pulls back, smirking at me. “Go use the facilities, Frost.” He walks back over to the tent.
I blink a few times, trying to remember why I’m mad.
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” I grumble and practically stomp my way over to the disgusting looking shed that apparently houses a toilet.
“Not a chance in hell, beauty,” he says quietly.
I still hear him, though, and promptly raise both my middle fingers in the air to flip him off. His laughter follows me as I kick the door open and peek hesitantly into the dingy room. I find a switch by the door. Hallelujah, there’s electricity. I sniff. Okay, doesn’t smell too bad, but it’s definitely seen better days. The shower’s pretty moldy. The toilet is missing some of the lid, and graffiti decorates almost every surface. But I’m about to burst, so it’ll have to do. I do my business and walk back to the truck, quickly rubbing some sanitizer into my hands before noticing Jared almost has the tent all the way up now.
Wow. It’s kind of big. But as I walk over to it, my eyes widen so much they feel as though they’re going to pop out of my head. “Where the hell did you get this thing? You’d be better off slinging a tarp over some sticks; it’s that old.” My gaze runs over the worn-out material of the tent. There’s a hole in one side, and yep, there’s another in the roof.
Great. Awesome. Fantastic.
“It was my foster dad’s. So yeah, it’s pretty damn old. He said he’d had it for most of his life.” He picks up the hammer and drives the last stake into the ground. My gut twists and I wish I could take my words back, scrunch them up in the palms of my hands, and then crush them under my ballet flats.
“Oh … um, sorry,” I mutter over the slight clang of metal on metal. “But you do know a snake could slide in through that hole and kill us, right?”
He drops the hammer and falls on his ass, laughing quietly as he looks over at me. The way the last orange hues of the sun fall over his hair, the sculpted cut of his cheekbones, and his beautiful eyes captivates me.
“What?” I finally ask. “It could. I’ve watched Bear Grylls, thank you.” I cross my arms over my chest, and his eyes lower to them, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip while he slowly rises from the ground.
“Beauty, the only snake that will be sliding into any hole tonight will be mine. Into that sweet, warm, tight hole between your legs. Now, be a good girl and grab the cooler from the truck, would you?” He winks and turns back around to pull out what I think is a blow-up mattress and plugs a pump into it, rolling it out as it inflates. At least that’s not a hundred years old.
His words disarm me so much that I blindly walk back over to the truck and yank the cooler from the back. I almost drop the damn thing on my feet, cursing myself out for doing what he asked after he legitimately just called me a good girl.
He finishes setting things up and pulls out some chips, chicken salad sandwiches, and then two waters for us to have for dinner.
“Only the finest chicken for my Frost,” he says, handing mine over.
“Thank you,” I murmur before his words sink in. I try to ignore them because I’m not entirely sure if he meant them the way I think or hope he does or even what to do with them.
“Did you bring marshmallows?” I lean over to look in the cooler.
“In the truck. Didn’t know if you’d be the marshmallow type.”
He takes a huge bite of his sandwich, and my eyes get stuck on his corded throat as he swallows his food. I shake my head, unwrapping my own. “Duh. It’s one of the things I’ve never done but wanted to. Not camp, just roast s’mores.”
He winks. “Then I’ll make you a fire, milady.” He takes a sip of water, and I start demolishing my food. The man knows how to make a mean sandwich; it’s really freaking good.
Not even fifteen minutes later, I’ve got the marshmallows and sticks, and he’s started a fire. I feel a little silly over how giddy I get, but my excitement to finally do this squashes it. He shows me how to best position my marshmallow on the stick then sits behind me, wrapping himself around my body and grabbing my hands to show me where to hold it and when to turn it. They’re really not that great, but I eat three anyway because it’s kind of fun. I turn my head, lifting my hand over my shoulder to place half of one in his waiting mouth. He licks his lips after he swallows. I brush a leftover bread crumb from under his bottom lip before turning back around, feeling warm from more than just the fire when I feel him grow hard behind me.
“Let’s go, wanna show you something,” he says, hopping up and helping me to stand. I frown, wondering where he expects us to walk to now when it’s pitch black. He bends down, picking up a flashlight by the tent and tugging on my hand until I’m at his side for him to hook an arm around my shoulders. We start the slow climb up the grassy little cliff.
After taking a seat at the top, he folds himself around me again, and we watch the waves crash into the sand and rocks below. It’s so dark and kind of spooky, but I feel safer than I ever have with his big body wrapped around mine. His scratchy stubble tickles the side of my face when he places a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” he says.
“What for?” I ask above the noise of the wind and water.
“I knew this wasn’t exactly your idea of a good time, and I knew you’d probably freak out. But still, thank you for giving it a chance.”
I have a feeling he’s talking about more than just camping, but I try not to let my heart jump too much. Linking my fingers through his, I sink back into his body.
“There’s still time for me to die yet, Hero. Thank me in the morning—if I’m alive and well.”
He burrows his cold nose into my neck and chuckles. It makes me smile until his hand is moving my hair aside and his mouth is softly kissing my neck. I shiver, arching back into him and tilting my head, allowing more access for him to drag his tongue up to my ear to whisper huskily, “I want you.”
“I know.” I smirk, feeling him hard at my lower back again.
“Do you now?”
I nod, tilting my head back and asking with my eyes for his lips to touch mine. He reads the message just fine, and his lips descend to suck on my bottom one. He parts them, and his tongue slowly searches out mine in a lazy rhythm that has my panties rapidly growing damp. I moan when his hand reaches up to squeeze my breast. The roughness of the act compared to the soft, tantalizing touch of our tongues has my breathing coming faster and heavier.
His lips pull away, a mere breath from mine. Our eyes open and stay stuck on each other while his hand slowly moves over my stomach, dragging my dress up over my thighs. My legs spread automatically for him. A gasp leaves my mouth when I watch his eyes hood even more, and the rough pads of his fingers drag up my inner thigh to where I need him most. He doesn’t waste much time with teasing, and instead, he tucks his fingers under the side of my panties to dip shallowly into my entrance, feeling exactly how much I need him.
“So fucking wet.” He removes his fingers, his eyes never leaving mine, and I watch with rapt attention as he brings them to his mouth and sucks.
“Shit.” I whisper my thought out loud.
His chest rumbles against my back with his groan. “You always taste so fucking good.”
I don’t get a chance to respond because his hand has returned, pulling my panties roughly to the side so that he can drag his finger through my folds. My eyes close on a moan that sounds so loud in the silence of the night even with the waves crashing down below us.
“Eyes open,” he demands.
I obey instantly, and his finger slowly works its way inside, his eyes watching mine as he tortures me in the most amazing way possible. I never would’ve guessed that foreplay could be this good before Jared. I start squirming, trying to fuck his finger, but then he stops.
“What …?” I pant. “Please.”
He growls, kissing my lips roughly before grabbing the flashlight, standing, and scooping me up into his arms. We’re down the hill and inside the tent not even a minute later.
“Off.” He puts the flashlight down and jerks his head to my clothes after placing me in front of the mattress. He leaves the tent, and I hear the hiss of the fire being put out. Then he’s back and kicking off his boots. I kick my own shoes off then remove my cardigan, my dress following a second later. I watch Jared as I unhook my bra, finding a blinding white grin on his face when he moves his hand away from his mouth. That smile. Even in the muted, murky light of the tent, it still manages to make my heart stutter.
He tugs off his jacket then his white shirt, and my lashes lower, my eyes absorbing the pure male perfection that stands before me. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of looking at him. Those defined hips. The abs that sit underneath a wide chest. That tiny sprinkle of chest hair that matches the tantalizing trail under his belly button, which disappears into his briefs. His thick, tattooed biceps that bunch when he unzips his fly, shoving his jeans and said briefs down his muscular thighs. My mouth dries as my body heats to dangerous levels.
“Come here,” I say, tugging my bra straps down my arms and tossing it to the floor with the rest of my clothes.
His head cocks to the side, his mouth curving. “But this view is so damn good.”
He wants to play? Fine. “But why look when you can touch?” I turn and bend, sliding my panties slowly over my ass and letting them drop to my feet. Straightening, I lift my hair off my neck and step out of them before walking over to the mattress.
A low growl rolls through the tent. “Fuck me.”
Then he’s on me. Arms wrap around me from behind, taking me down to the blow-up bed and making it bounce. Laughing, I stare up into his face and smooth a strand of hair back that’s flopped onto his forehead. Oxygen becomes an unfamiliar thing as I watch his nostrils flare and his heated eyes flick back and forth between mine.
“You’re so fucking exquisite,” he murmurs, voice quiet and causing goose bumps to rise over every inch of my hot skin. “You’re not too shabby yourself,” I admit with a smile.
“Yeah?” He uses his arms to lower himself over me, caging me in as they rest beside my head.
“Yeah.” Then I go and blurt, “Why did you bring me here when we could’ve just hung out at your place?”
He takes a deep breath, letting it out through his nose and averting his gaze for a moment. The sound of the beach fills the silence as I wait with bated breath. I’m starting to regret asking, but then he finally looks back at me and says, “I may not be able to afford fancy restaurants, five-star hotels, or a red-eye flight to somewhere exotic.” My eyes narrow, but I let him continue. “But … I can give you this. A night underneath the stars in a shitty tent and cold sandwiches. I know it’s not what you’re used to, or what you might want but—”
“It’s exactly what I want,” I cut in. With my heart racing dangerously fast, I let my next admission slip before I can think better of it. “You’re exactly what I want.”
His lips part. “Really?” His warm breath is choppy, mingling with my own, and I swear he can probably feel the butterflies swarming and swooping in my stomach, which is flush against his skin.
I nod, struggling to find the words. Using my hand at the back of his head to lower it, I press my lips to his. “This right here.” I kiss him gently. “I think it’s priceless.”
His hand slides into my hair at the same time his tongue dips into my mouth, ravishing, claiming, and groaning. He rolls, taking me with him as our lips stay fused. Scraping his teeth along my lip, he then releases it to say, “If you’re really mine, then I want to take you bare, with nothing between us.” He starts trailing kisses over my jaw and up to my ear, nipping the lobe.
“I’ve never done that before,” I admit with a hitch in my voice when his hands squeeze my ass cheeks.
“Never?” he asks.
“Never. But I’m on birth control.”
“Fuck, you don’t know how happy that makes me. I’m clean. Now sit on my cock.” He reaches between us, and I rise a bit, positioning myself and slowly sinking down. My eyes stay glued to his face, watching his jaw clench tightly and his eyes squeeze shut briefly before springing wide open again.
This. The way those eyes blaze and hood within a matter of seconds because of what I do to him … It’s enough to make me feel as though I’m free-falling out of my own skin.
“I hope you know,” he groans when I grind down on him. “You’re stuck with me now, Frost.”
My heart warms at his declaration. It might not be candles, jewelry, and flowers, but it’s him. And he’s all I want.
“Fine by me, Hero.” I smirk, and he growls, hands grabbing my breasts before rising to lean back on his hands and taking a nipple into his mouth.
“Yes,” I breathe, rocking into him as my head rolls back. He moves on to the other, kissing and sucking and even nipping the tender flesh. His teeth and lips drag up my throat until he reaches my mouth. The way his arms wind tightly around my back to hook over my shoulders and tangle in my hair has me dropping my head to touch his tongue with mine. He groans, low and deep. An arm falls to my hips, moving me over him and making me cry out as I feel myself start to unravel. The friction, the heat of his skin, his taste of mint and tobacco filling my taste buds, and his scent send me spiraling. “Jared …” The words are both a plea and a prayer.
“Go on, beauty,” he whispers gruffly against my cheek, gently kissing and rocking his hips into me until he hits that spot again and sends me over the edge.
“Fuck,” he rasps, flipping me to my back, hooking my leg over his arm, and pounding into me while I’m still coming apart. He stills, grinding his pelvis into my clit and emptying himself inside me. I push my fingers into his hair, shuddering one more time as the last of my orgasm fades away.
“Please don’t ask me to wear a rubber after that,” he says with his face in my neck.
I laugh, smoothing my hand over his hair and using my other arm to squeeze him to me. “I won’t.” He hums sleepily into my skin. His weight presses down heavily on my chest, yet I can’t bring myself to feel anything other than this bone-deep contentment.