Page 11 of Found By the Surly Ranger

Her hands are beginning to twitch, and I reach out to hold them. "Don't beat yourself up. It's okay. You're safe on my mountain now."

She sniffles slightly. "Yeah. But for how long, though?"

I spread my arms wide. "Want to hide out in here?"

"Does that make me a baby if I want to do nothing but hide?"

"No way. Think of it as a vacation from your stress. A chance to run away from it all for a few days."

She shifts into my arms, and when I sit back against the couch, she somehow ends up in my lap. I love how comfortable she is with me. It shows that she trusts me, which is not something I take lightly. "I hate seeing you so tense, baby. But I don't want to overstep any lines."

Kara shrugs. "Do I even have any lines?"

"Are you saying that I can kiss you for as long as I like?" She smiles and nods. I attempt to glower. "Okay then. You tell me when you've had enough, or if I should stop."

Her fingers walk up my t-shirt, then tickle the back of my ear as she leans in closer. "Jace, I've never felt like this with anyone before," she whispers. "Let's just go with the flow. Not just a vacation from my stress…a vacation from the whole world. Sounds good?"

"Better than good. Sounds perfect."

As if on cue, the power flickers for a few seconds. My arms tighten around her as I kiss across her cheek. "Relax, beautiful. Sometimes it gets windy up here, and it shakes the power lines. Once in a while they go down. But don't worry – I have firewood, a backup generator, and plenty of food. You're completely safe with me, Kara."

The pressure of her delicate fingers across the back of my neck makes my breath unsteady. "I know," she whispers against my chest. "I've never felt like that with anyone. My whole life, everything has always been up in the air. And now I don't know how I'll pay my rent, and the app I worked so hard on for months is gone. And yet, with you, I feel like everything is going to be okay."

"And it will be. I promise."

My head dips down for a long, steamy kiss. My hand wanders across her hip, then slowly up to tease the bottom of her right breast over the fabric of her dress. I love that she's not wearing a bra. She moans against my lips, tilting her body as if to help me caress her.

"Am I a wicked man if I invite you to stay in my bed tonight?"

"Maybe. Am I extremely improper if I accept your invitation?"

"Maybe. But I think I like you being improper."

Reaching up, I take the clip out of her hair and set it aside as she leans back a bit and shakes out the long waves. I use the moment to my advantage, kissing along the graceful column of her throat until she is shuddering in my arms. "So sexy," I murmur. "Thank you for dinner – it was amazing. But I'm still hungry." My eyes meet hers. "I want you."

Her bottom lip wobbles for a second, then she nods decisively. "I want you too."

I'm not sure how far we're going to go tonight, but that doesn't matter. I just need sweet Kara in my arms. In my bed. In my house. In my life.

I just need her.

7

KARA

Seriously. How does Jace manage to kiss me with his entire body?

The way he clutches me to him feels so possessive. His rough palm caresses my lower back firmly, his warm touch flowing straight through the material. Every time I shudder, I feel a slight answering growl in his throat. He's like a wild animal, aching to let his true nature out.

Jace has talked about his friends in town, but a tiny part of me wouldn't be that surprised if I'm the first person he's spoken to, I mean really spoken to, in years. He just has that isolated, almost feral look in his eyes sometimes. But even with the wildness, I feel comforted somehow by the way his massive arms hold me so solidly.

His lips move slowly against mine and then our mouths open as he kisses me more deeply, his tongue gently exploring as if he's trying to bond us together. A tidal wave of lust hits me square in the center of my chest. Then lower. Much, much lower. My hips begin to squirm. Of course I've been curious about sex for ages, but I've never been presented with the opportunity to explore it with a hot guy that I trust.

Jace is everything I could've dreamed of for that, and then ten times more.

A deep shiver runs through me as I realize I'm rubbing shamelessly against the thick erection rising between us. His groan makes me smile against his lips. "You'd better not tease me right now, beautiful. It's been a long, long time."

I gasp as he scoops me up in the air, carrying me to the bedroom. The room is stark, minimalist, and full of big, heavy wood. Kind of like Jace himself, I think with a silent giggle. I can't stop myself from pressing against him. Knowing that I'm making him hard is lighting a fire inside my soul. Jace's hunger is a fire spreading to me as he lays me across the bed, kissing and caressing as if he never wants to stop.

---