What the Heart Haunts(9)

“Getting second thoughts?”

She drummed her fingers against the side of his neck, then skated her hand lower, over the ridge of his shoulder, down the expanse of his back. She teased over his hip, before pausing, hesitating. He shifted his hips until the swell of his erection touched her hand, a shiver pulsing through him at her touch.

Khost shook his head. “No. Just...”

He glanced around at the empty rest stop. It’d been quiet, but for how long? “Not really sure we should do this on the pavement.”

The toe of his shoe scuffed over asphalt drawing a small laugh from her. She thunked her head back against the truck and grinned. “It’s a tight fit in there, but I think we could manage it.”

Her gaze skidded down the length of him, wicked and Khost trembled as her hand stroked up the seam of his jeans, pausing on his belt buckle. “Depending on how flexible you are.” Nalla rose onto her tiptoes and brushed another kiss over his mouth. “Or, we can make a run out into the woods and do it under the moonlight. That just depends on how much you like sticks poking you in the ribs.”

“So...the choices are knee banging, muscle straining sex, or romantic but slightly overrated sex?”

“Yeah, but when you put the first one like that, it still sounds better. But the muscle straining will be in both.” She winked at him. “Your call. After all, it is your forever, I’m already fucked.”

Khost shook his head, grinning. “Not by me.”

The wind sighed over his back, cool and comfortable. The edge of a wild night haunting the back of his mind. He didn’t want to be cooped up in a cage on a night like tonight. He wanted to run. To huff and pant as he fled through the forests. He tilted his head towards the woods that ran alongside the highway. The tall, dark pines looming over her truck, their scraggily tips straining for the sky.

His lips skimmed her ear as he breathed, “Run.”

The moment the word had left his lips, Nalla planted both hands against his chest and shoved him away. He staggered, startled, only to lift his head and see her bolting into the forest, a white grin flashing over her shoulder as she looked back at him. “Chase me, then.”

Then she was gone, disappearing into the shadows as if she were a part of them. Khost didn’t bother giving her a head start. He ran after her. The midnight air crisp as he inhaled the sharp stench of pines, the upturned dirt kicked up from her running feet. It took him a second to orient himself, catch her scent and give a true chase, but the moment he picked up her trail...he knew he could find her. No matter where she hid.

Branches snagged at his jacket as he shoved his way through the forest, blundering through like an oversized dog, rather than a Hound of the Hunt. But this was freedom. Bliss. And in so many ways, chasing Nalla was like roaming through the skies, the wild bays sounding all around him. He tilted back his head and let out a joyous yip. Nalla answered.

Nalla appeared out of nowhere, darting out from behind an old oak tree, then she disappeared again, running full tilt. Her laughter floated back to him and Khost felt the last of his reserves fade out into the wind behind him. This was worth every moment of forever. It was worth pain and sadness, all to feel joy.

Khost lunged at her, catching Nalla around her waist and flinging her back to the ground. Leaves fluttered out from under her body as she crashed into the soft dirt. Khost landed on top of her, hands smacking the ground on either side of her head as he kept himself from collapsing completely on her. “Caught ya.”

Nalla laced a hand in his hair and pulled his head down. “Here’s your prize, then.”

She closed the distance between them. Her lips soft, yielding under his. The gentle press of velvet against his mouth, heated, lingering. Her tongue trailed over the seam between his lips, only to be followed by the quick nip of her teeth over his bottom lip. “Open for me, Khost.”

She only had to tell him once. Khost let her in, his tongue rising to meet with hers, diving deep into her mouth, tasting her once again. Her legs opened and his hips fell to rest between her thighs, at the same time her tongue made small, darting thrusts into his mouth. He groaned, shifting above her until the hot length of his erection, still clad in his jeans, pressed against the core of her. He mimicked their kiss with his hips, a horrible, shaking need taking hold of him. He’d never...had this before.

Somewhere, once maybe, he might have. Like a distant memory, instinct called to him, but he couldn’t pull up the details. Deep down in his soul though, he knew this was right. It felt right. Khost pulled back, staring down at her. Her hair looked silver in the moonlight filtering down from the trees, spread out over the ground. A twig had tangled in the long lengths and he reached up to tug it loose and toss it aside.