Moonlight spilled through the circular window above, casting silver light over the part of Mina that was caught by its illumination. Her smiling face, her hair, a spill of red on the white of the quilt. Her breasts, ripe and gorgeous. Her arms reaching out for him.
He wrestled off his shirt, his boots and socks, then crawled onto the bed, poised over her as she gripped his forearms.
“I tried to put you out of my mind,” he said, his voice gritty. “But you stayed there.”
“You stayed with me, too.”
He slid an arm under her, then lowered himself until his chest came down on hers. Her breasts crushed against him, and he almost died, right there and then, stimulated beyond belief, flesh to flesh.
He kissed her again, deeply, thoroughly, slow, agonizing. His tongue explored her mouth with long, languorous strokes.
All night long.
The mere thought sent a deluge of warmth through him, down every limb, coating him, animating him for the first time in what seemed like forever.
He wanted to know more of her than he’d ever gotten to before, wanted to claim every inch of skin, every curve.
When he came up for air, he smoothed his hand over a breast again—damn, he couldn’t get enough of them—then her waist. He felt her belt, the skirt beneath it.
Mina shifted underneath him, using her fingers to gradually hike up her skirt.
He took the hint and skimmed his fingers under the material and over her thigh, playing there, lightly tracing, making her squirm.
He smiled. It was so easy with her. So easy to be satisfied because he made her happy. He couldn’t believe that he had the ability to draw such feeling from her.
When he coasted his fingertips between her legs, she gasped.
“Yes. There…” she whispered.
She parted her legs for him, and he tugged down her panties enough to slip his fingers inside the lace material.
She was ready for him.
Already ready.
And he was, too, pounding, throbbing for her. Nearly to the bursting point.
It wasn’t time yet, though. Not nearly time.
As he slid a finger between her folds, she arched. And when he found the most sensitive part of her, she cried out.
He concentrated there, watching her moonlight-revealed face—every time she bit her lip, every time she opened her mouth to make another soft sound…
When he coaxed a finger all the way inside of her, she grabbed at his arm again, digging into his skin.
He barely felt it as her breathing escalated, heavier, faster….
Moans.
Groans—
She cried out again, rocking her hips, saying his name.
He watched every moment, all twisted up inside, needing a release, too.
After she reached her peak, then relaxed on the bed, she didn’t stay still for long, seeking the fly of his jeans.
“I’ve got it,” he said, rising from the bed, standing and shucking off the denim. Then he removed her boots, her skirt, her panties, leaving her bare to him.
He could still only see from the waist up in that circle of moonlight and, when she spoke, he watched her mouth.
That gorgeous, full mouth.
“I want you so much.”
It didn’t take but a minute to go to his shaving kit for protection, then free the condom from its packet and put it on. He came to the bed again, lying down next to her, and she shifted so that she was facing him, side to side.
Without a word, just their breathing, just the night sounds outside the cabin, he rested his hand on her hip.
She didn’t say anything, either. Then again, she didn’t need to. He could see every thought written over her face.
Her affection for him.
And maybe even more than that?
His pulse jogged even faster as she pulled him close, wrapping one of her legs over him until his hardness nudged her.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered again.
He was, too, but the words stuck in his throat. He was happier than he’d ever been.
Unable to stand it any longer, he eased into her, moving with a nice, slow rhythm so he could enjoy every pulsating instant.
She was with him all the way, pressing close, her lips against his throat.
“Chet,” she said, and he loved to hear it, because when it came from her, he had no doubt about who he was. She knew how to define him even when he couldn’t do so.
The cadence of their lovemaking got faster, more demanding. Each moment nailed his heart, and it nearly beat out of his chest, taking over the rest of his body as it thudded hard.
Harder.
It was as if something was pounding at him, pulling him this way, that way, turning him upside down, in and out—
Finally, he did burst, and it felt as if he’d blasted right open, revealing everything about himself to her.
Afterward, as he held her close, he wondered if it was because he was overcome by emotion or if it was because he didn’t want her to see the look on his face.