It was gentle at first, his lips brushing against mine, testing, tasting. Something between us shifted, and he deepened the kiss, becoming more urgent, fiercer. His hand slid up, he cupped my face, pulling me closer, and I melted into him, my body reacting to his touch.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss grew hotter. It was like a dam had broken—all the tension, all the attraction we’d been holding back finally unleashed and heat washed over me and pooled between my legs. His body was hot, his arms strong when they wrapped around me.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless and flushed, I stared up at him, my heart thundering in my chest, my skin on fire. Mason’s dark eyes locked onto mine, and a fire burned in them, his raw desire matching my own.

“Cami…” he growled.

“Mason,” I breathed.

He shifted, pulling me off the couch and down onto the soft fur rug in front of the fire. I shivered and stared up at him. He was like a giant above me, his body so large compared to mine. He reached for the hem of my shirt, and slowly, deliberately, he pulled it up. All the while, his eyes were locked on mine, filled with hunger and need.

I lifted my arms and let him pull the shirt off, tossing it to the side. His hands trailed along my stomach and up to the curve of my breasts, and I trembled at his touch. I could barely breathe. I reached for his shirt and he paused long enough for me to lift it up and over his head.

His skin was like warm velvet and I couldn’t stop touching him. I traced the bundles of muscles under his skin—his perfect abs, his bulging pecks, his powerful arms. I traced the bear tattoo on his arm with my fingers.

“Bear?”

“That’s what they call me.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I guess living up here in the mountains, alone, is what does it.”

“I like it.”

His rugged appearance, the way he dominated and intimidated and yet gently handled at the same time turned me on. I’d never been so drawn to someone before.

Mason’s hands slid down my body, caressing my skin, and I arched against him, moaning softly with need. His touch was electric, my nipples tightening against the material of my bra, and I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.

Mason unclasped my bra and slowly peeled it off, his eyes locked on my breasts. He stared at me as if I was a goddess, a vision from another world.

“You’re fucking beautiful,” he said.

He tweaked my nipples, rolling them between his fingers, tugged at me. It shot bursts of need to my sex, making me want more.

“Please,” I whispered.

Mason’s eyes filled with mischief at my begging, and he dipped his head. My breath caught in my throat as his lips brushed the tip of my nipple, the sensation so sharp and sudden that it made my whole body shudder.

I tangled my fingers in his hair as he sucked on my breast, the sensation sending jolts to my pussy, making it clench and swell. My heart was beating out of my chest, desire pooling between my legs, and I wanted more, so much more.

While he sucked on my nipple, making me moan and arch my back, he slid one hand down my body. His hands were rough and calloused, but his touch was gentle, almost teasing.

His fingers slipped to the waistband of my jeans, and he unzipped me. He moved to my other nipple, sucking it into his mouth so sharply that I cried out. When he slid his hand between my legs, my body stiffened, and I cried out again, balanced between the sensation of his hands on my sex and his mouth on my nipple. His hand was so hot, his fingers so skilled as he teased my clit, the fabric of my panties the only barrier between his fingers and my pleasure.

He moved up, his lips locking onto mine, his tongue sliding into my mouth, his kisses passionate, urgent, and intense. His fingers worked faster between my legs, rubbing my clit, and I cried out, the intensity of the moment nearly overwhelming.

“You’re delicious,” he growled in my ear.

He kissed me again as his fingers slid over my clit, rubbing faster and faster. I cried out and moaned into his mouth. The friction of my panties against my clit was almost too much to bear, and Mason worked me hard and fast. Electricity ran over my body, and I trembled, every nerve ending on fire.

Finally, he stopped moving, and I gasped for breath. I was so close to the edge, but he wasn’t letting me topple over. Not yet.

“These are in the way,” he murmured.

“They are.”

I tried to wriggle out of my jeans, where I lay on my back on the furs, with Mason’s body almost covering mine. Mason sat up and helped me, tugging them off slowly, almost teasingly. My panties were soaked through, and when he tossed them aside, I blushed and covered my face.