Tilting her head, he pressed their lips together again, moving slowly against hers, leisurely because he never wanted it to end. He wanted to kiss her always. He wanted it to be his new job, to make her feel good. Make her smile. Make her so fucking happy that it rubbed off on him.
As he eased her mouth open and licked inside, something miraculous happened. Her apprehension melted away. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her hands burrowed into his hair, tiny claws peeking out to bite into his scalp as a helpless moan slipped past her throat.
And he didn’t stop.
Curling his fingers around her jaw, their kiss became more urgent, guided by her hands in his hair pulling him closer. With his tongue, he carefully explored every inch of her sweet mouth, committing her taste to memory. This was his.
Breaking away from her mouth, he pecked along her jaw, burying his face in her neck and inhaling so deep he was high on her scent. This was his.
“I felt something,” she murmured. “Through our bond. Like you did last night.”
Gash pulled back to meet her watery gaze. More tears. Goddamn it. Did he fuck this up?
But then her lips curved up in the most careful smile and her head tilted to the side as if trying to see him from a different angle. “Do you… do you…” She shook her head like she couldn’t believe it.
She never got the question out, but it was working. Showing her was working better than his words ever could. And he wasn’t even near done.
He took her hand again, more careful this time, and started toward her cabin. “Let’s go, mate.”
Chapter Six
Maneuvering the uneven terrain of the forest was no easy task when your legs felt like they were made of jelly. Bailey was careful to step in the path Gash created with his boots, but she still stumbled until they were clear of the trees.
He’d kissed her, but that wasn’t the best part. No. It was the emotion he’d poured into it. The feelings that traveled through their bond and straight into her heart. If she could trust the damn thing.
There was desire and lust, which made her kitty purr. Knowing a rugged man like Gash found her body attractive was a huge confidence booster. He hadn’t complimented her once, but she didn’t need it. She felt his admiration. And that was a million times better than any flattering remark.
But that still wasn’t the best part. Instincts and hormones could create lust in a male… but they couldn’t create the other feelings she’d picked up on.
Please let that part be real.
They broke through into the small clearing behind her house, and Gash made a straight line for the back door. Releasing her hand to pull a ring of keys from the pocket of his jeans, he shuffled through until he found the one he needed and inserted it in the lock.
“Master key,” he murmured at her crooked eyebrow. “Fits all the cabins. Magic gave it to me.”
Pushing the door open, he led her inside and closed the door behind him, leaning back on it like he was waiting for her to say something. It was her cabin but he stood there like he owned the place.
Bailey swallowed hard, pushing her shoulders back. “Want a drink?” she squeaked and then cleared her throat.
“Want you.” His answer and determined look made her body quake with nerves.
“For how long?”
Gash cocked his head, a line forming between his brows before he pushed off from the door.
Bailey wrung her hands, winding up the courage to ask the question she needed an answer to. “I mean. I know you’ve had others, flings. One night stands. And I know you feel this… responsibility to me, but h-how long, exactly, are you going to want me?”
Gash’s frown deepened. “I’ve had no females since I found you. None.”
“But… people talk. You talk. I’ve heard it from your own mouth.”
His lips formed a grim line as he stared at her with troubled eyes. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he said, “I was fronting, Bailey. Because I thought I needed to, for the guys. To earn their respect. I come from a clan where every ounce of dignity is earned with blood. Where you fight and fuck to prove your value.”
“Ouachita doesn’t work that way,” she said quietly.
“I know. And when I figured that out, I stopped pretending. But the thing is, no female could hold my attention after my eyes saw you.”
Relieved yet wary, she whispered, “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Gash sighed, staring at her in that intense way, eyes digging in deep. “I want you tonight…”
Bailey’s stomach sank with disappointment and then lifted again when he continued.
“And tomorrow night and every night after.”