Gray Back Bad Bear(8)

“Don’t,” he said. He looked pale in the soft campground streetlight.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. The growl in his throat grew louder as he grabbed the back of her hair and shoved her backward. Her shoulder blades hit the side of the camper so hard it rocked. Matt forced her mouth open with his and drove his tongue inside. A helpless moan escaped her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling him closer, she angled her head as he brushed his tongue against hers again. Holy hell, this was hot.

Matt’s fingers trailed down her sides and dug into her waist so hard, it hurt, but she didn’t care so much about that right now. He was intense, and sexy, and she’d never had a kiss like this one. And that snarly animal sound in his throat was soaking her granny panties.

“No,” he gritted out, easing back. “No, no, no. This isn’t what I want.” She nipped his lip, but he jerked away. “Stop it, Willa.”

Oh, her real name. He must be serious.

The sting of rejection was fast and fierce. She yanked her hands away from him. “It’s because I don’t look like the bombshells, right?”

“No.” Matt’s eyebrows went up and his eyes pooled with honesty. “It’s because I don’t do virgins.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not the type of man who should be anyone’s first. You’ll remember it forever, and I’m not gentle or even that fucking nice, Willa. That’s a lot of responsibility on someone like me. I’m not doing it. I’m not going to be the one who ruins your first time.”

“You won’t just try to be gentle?”

He shook his head for a long time. “That’s not me.”

Willa swallowed hard and pushed off the camper. “Goodnight, Matt.”

She opened the camper door and stepped inside. She’d thrown herself at a man, and she’d still not been tempting enough.

Worst. Seductress. Ever.

Tears stung her eyes, and a sob escaped her as she made her way past the tiny kitchen space to the mattress at the end. Her duffle bag sat open, and she stared into the dark opening as Matt’s truck roared to life. Their waterfall date was definitely off now. And when the sound of his truck faded completely, she grabbed her bag of toiletries and stumbled miserably out of her camper. The crickets and cicadas were at scream-volume levels as she walked to the public restroom down the road.

Teeth brushed, face washed, and glasses back in place, she ripped her gaze away from her blotchy-cheek reflection in the rusty-edged mirror and made her way back toward her campsite.

She froze when she saw Matt’s truck parked in front of her camper. Perhaps she was drunker than she thought and hallucinating? But no, Matt was pacing in the dim streetlamp light. He stopped and hooked his hands on his waist, then glared at the camper door and muttered, “Fuck it.” He reached the door in three strides, raised his hand to knock, then spun around and ran his hands through his hair as he headed back for his truck.

“What are you doing?”

Jumping, he said, “Shit. Why are you hiding behind the dumpster?”

In bafflement, she frowned at the smelly blue metal canister beside her. “I’m not hiding. I was just coming back from the bathroom.”

“Oh.” Matt was nodding like a bobble-head.

“And besides, you’re a shifter. Aren’t you supposed to have extra-sensitive hearing and night vision or something?”

“Yeah, but I was distracted.”

She walked past him, her flip flops clacking with every step.

“Your pajamas don’t look stupid,” he muttered.

She looked down at her flannel shorts and white tank top she was pretty sure was too see-through for mixed company. But since Matt was obviously not interested in her nipples, she didn’t try to cover herself up. “Thank you, I think.”

“I want to sleep with you.”

“That offer has passed, Romeo. I no longer feel like the sexpot I did half an hour ago.”

“No, I mean I want to lie beside you until you go to sleep.”

She narrowed her eyes, confused. “Like a friendship cuddle?”

“Yes! Exactly that. Friendship sleeping. I’ve never done that shit before, sooo…”

“You’ve never slept beside a girl? What about all the girls you’ve diddled? And don’t give me some bullshit like ‘I’ve only been with two’ because you and I both know you’re a man-ho.”

“I haven’t ever just slept with a girl. If you accept my offer, you would be my first. Nerd.”

She exhaled dramatically and gestured to the door. “Welcome to my humble abode. If the camper’s a rockin’, please come a knockin’. It means I’m choking or something and not actually having sex.”