Shift Out of Luck(13)

I toss one flap of the opening aside, and my lip curls when I see the setup. A king-size air mattress covered with two sleeping bags. Maybe I’d misread the situation between her and Samson. Maybe she wanted to be out here alone with him.

“Yes. Pat only brought one. I thought we’d each have a tent or I’d share with one of the other girls, but no one else was out here tonight.” She joins me and peers into the tent. “That asshole!” she spits out when she sees the mattress. “No wonder he had me gathering firewood. He was busy setting this up.” She tsks in disgust.

“So you didn’t want this?” I ask with renewed hope that I have no business feeling.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I wanted to camp.” She sighs. “Dammit. This day has gone to shit. I’ve tried for three years to show you that I’m here for the taking, but you’ve ignored every signal until this morning. And then after you kiss me, you run off. We’re finally alone out here in this gorgeous place and you won’t touch me because I’m too attractive or some dumbshit reason, but you know what?”

I shake my head because I don’t know anything. I’m mesmerized by the fire in her eyes. What does she look like when she’s in the grip of passion? When she orgasms, do her eyes shoot flames? Fuck, to be burned by her would be the pinnacle of my pathetic life.

“I’m camping. You can do what you want, but tonight I’m going to sleep in this stupid tent, and tomorrow, when I wake up, I’m going to look for a place to open a spa that is far away from asinine men. And it’ll be a huge hit because there are probably millions of women just like me who are tired of you and your silly games.”

She steps inside the tent and whips the flap closed, the nylon material slapping me in the face. A thought emerges…if I could show her how much I want her, how true my feelings are for her, maybe she would understand and forgive me.

“Adelaide,” I growl. The word comes out more menacing than I intend. I clear my throat and try again. “Adelaide, may I come in?”

“For what?”

“To apologize.”

“You can apologize out there.”

“Not properly, I can’t.” I need to be in front of you, Adelaide, on my knees so I can show you exactly how sorry I am.

“Fine,” she huffs. “Come in then. You have five minutes.”

I open the flap and take one step in before falling on my knees.

“What are you doing?” she asks suspiciously.

“Showing you how beautiful I think you are. How much I want you. How I spend every night dreaming of you. How no day is complete until I’ve caught just one glimpse of you.”

I place my rough palms on the back of her legs and slide them down to the tops of her socks. With slow deliberate moves, I unlace her boots, giving her every chance to kick me out. She stands there, mute now. I look up and her face is filled with a cautious hope.

I pull one boot off and then the other. I set them in the corner of the tent. Her socks are next. Her cute toes curl into the tent floor, and I hear a deep inhale above me. Still she waits.

I lean down and kiss the tops of her feet and then the indent behind each ankle bone. A swift gasp escapes her. She’s sensitive here. My tongue darts out to lick the hollows. The next moment I feel her slender hands land on my shoulders. I brace for rejection, but when she doesn’t push me away, I reapply myself, kissing my way to her calves.

With each new patch of skin I encounter, her grip on my shoulders becomes stronger and more secure. She isn’t going to turn me away. As I reach the softest part of her legs, the delicate portion that lies just inches away from that honeyed juncture, I take a deep breath and let her arousal fill my lungs.

My trembling hands meet at her waist, and I take a chance to look up. Her blue eyes glow with anticipation. I lick my lips as if I can already taste her.

“You smell amazing,” I tell her.

“Like bug spray and sweat?” she jokes.

I lean forward and place my nose right between her legs. “Like goddamn heaven.”

She flushes adorably. The scent of her arousal is making me drunk with lust. I fumble with the button on her shorts, but manage to push the damn thing out of the buttonhole. She sucks in a breath when I slide down the zipper.

“Goddamn,” I choke out as the delicate lace of her light blue panties is revealed. “Goddamn.”

I let her shorts drop to the ground and reverently shape my hands around those luscious hips. “You’re so fucking beautiful. If I was controlling a satellite, its camera would definitely be pointed at your ass.”

She gurgles with laughter. “Is that right?” she replies flirtatiously.