Eric’s eyes have darkened and his knuckles are white where he’s gripping the steering wheel. He’s rubbing the lower half of his face while shooting me heavy glances, and the image causes my panties to grow wet.
“What?” My voice is breathy and I don’t even know why.
“Do you even realize what you just said?” he asks, tone husky and low.
I replay my words, my cheeks heating as I realize that while he asked about a significant other in general, I responded as though we were a couple and mentioned living with him and Archer.
Just fucking own it, Evie. When did you become so scared to voice how you feel?
Against my will, my thoughts stray to Jonathan, and I think about how easily I spoke to the man I only knew for two and half days. My necklace is warm as I fish it from beneath my shirt and play with it absentmindedly.
Why am I so weird around Eric when I was never this way with Jonathan?
Maybe because Eric is here and single and wants to keep you forever.
“Evie?” My name on Eric’s lips pulls my gaze his direction slowly. “Where’d you go in there?” He offers me a warm, yet slightly concerned, smile.
Shaking my head, I reach up and hook my arm around the underside of Archer’s neck as he bumps his head against mine like he knows my thoughts skittered away to somewhere cold and sad. “Nowhere, I’m fine.”
Eric seems to want to say more, but as we come around a corner, he slows his truck and pulls down a small dirt path just wide enough for the large vehicle. “You brought me out here to kill me, didn’t you?” I deadpan, thinking about how I also playfully accused Jonathan of being a serial killer.
Without missing a beat, his voice is sinister and dripping with delicious promises as he replies, “Well, I did tell you that no one would be able to find us.”
Somehow, that makes me shiver with anticipation instead of fear.
I’m about to respond when the trees thin and the scenery turns into something you’d see in a painting. There’s a vast campsite with a rust-colored picnic table and a fire pit nestled on the sloped bank of a beautiful lake. The sun is high and bright, casting golden rays over the sporadic trees dotted throughout the grounds and highlighting the evergreens. The water appears more turquoise than blue beneath the yolky light, giving the lake a warm vibe, but I know the water is probably freezing.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Eric sounds proud, as if he’s carved this little slice of heaven from the earth by himself.
Despite it being warm for February, there’s still an early morning chill in the air that nips at my skin through my clothes when I exit the truck. “I hate early mornings, I hate the cold, and here I am, enduring both for a man I barely know,” I mutter under my breath, pulling the hood of my flannel shacket over my curls.
Knowing we would be out here for two days with no shower, I opted for no makeup but at least curled my hair last night to make sure I didn’t look like a complete trash panda. The last thing I need is a nursery of raccoons trying to adopt me as their own. I don’t think Bagel would appreciate that much.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm,” Eric speaks directly into my ear, sneaking up behind me like a freaking stealthy mountain lion. I jump and spin directly into his open arms. Without warning, he dips his head and presses his soft, pillowy lips against mine.
The kiss is immediately hot, and Eric takes complete control of my mouth, backing me against the side of the truck. Every cell in my body lights up and does a little dance, collectively groaning when he pulls away, lightly nipping the tip of my nose.
“How about now? Still cold?” He nuzzles my neck, grazing his teeth along the column as he peppers light kisses against my skin.
“Uh… Uh-uh,” is all I manage, mind going completely stupid as he plays my body like a fiddle.
Every touch is strategic, from the way his fingers burrow inside my shacket to grip my sides over the thin, long-sleeved shirt I’m wearing to the way his other hand cradles the side of my neck he isn’t attacking with his lips. His thumb strokes lazily over my pulse point, pressing ever so slightly when I moan.
“I can’t wait to make you see stars later,” he whispers against my skin. “Literally and figuratively.”
Eric pulls back as the dogs rush back to our side, finished with their business and sniffing around the campsite to ensure it’s all Archer and Bagel approved. “Let’s get set up.”
As much as I’d rather just climb into the backseat of his truck and have sex like we’re teenagers, I oblige him and help unpack everything.
I’m a little confused as Eric keeps handing things down to me from the bed of the truck. Daphne mentioned wanting to travel in style, and while it’s still tent camping, Eric has enough equipment to set up an entire household.
The two tents he brought are huge—like big enough for multiple families—and they connect via a tunnel that can be closed off from both sides. There’s an outhouse with a full-on seat that goes over the sanitary container, and enough cooking equipment to fully stock a kitchen.
“Do you always travel like this?” I ask, lookingover the campground that now looks more like a woodsy-themed hotel room.
“No,” he says as he sets up a cooking contraption over the fire pit. “Just pulling out all the stops for you, babe.”