Page 11 of Sheltered By the Surly Forester

His rich chuckle makes me smile. "Well, I would hold your hand, like I should have done from the beginning on the plane."

"That doesn't work if you're in the other?—"

He cuts me off with a kiss. "I want you to sleep in my bed tonight."

A tremor runs through me as his strong hands clutch me, pulling me tighter. Tonight, things are definitely going to be reaching uncharted territory for me.

I kiss his cheek, then tip my lips to breathe into his ear. "Before I get overwhelmed and forget to mention it, my college roommate Katie made me go on the pill as a precaution."

"Note to self: thank Katie," he mutters under his breath.

I gasp as he lifts me in the air, the blanket falling back onto the couch as he carries me to the bedroom. "That said… Yes, I need to share my bed with you." He sets me gently on the edge of the mattress. "But just snuggling. No funny business."

Watching this grouchy stoic mountain man sternly discussing “funny business” in the context of the bedroom sends me into fits of hysterical laughter. Luckily, he laughs with me, then renders me completely silent when he pulls off his shirt and tosses it in the vague direction of a chair.

Holy mother of…

That is a lot of muscles. That is a lot of hard work over many years, and I think I need to take a second to admire every inch of the sexy sculpture in front of me.

He doesn't give me a chance, reaching down to pull off my top and bra together. Before I can stop laughing at the way my hair flies around in a static mess, Josh drops down beside me, kissing me gently.

I'm still getting a feel for his energy, but I do get the sense that he's different around me than he is around anyone else. Even this incredible house is really just set up for one person, as if he never expects company other than in the pool room downstairs.

And from the way his kiss changes from slow and sultry to wild and fiery, I have to wonder how long it's been since he's had a woman in his arms.

Heat blooms through my chest and up my throat as his warm palm caresses my skin. I'm half-naked with a man I've just met, and it feels so right. Sparkles of nervous energy spin through my belly, and my heart begins to flutter.

"Can I take these off?" His thumb hitches in the waistband of my jeans. "You know…to help you get ready to sleep."

Should I spend some time thinking about this situation? I mean, it is my first time.

Nope, I'm going to just go with it. "Yes." Lifting my hips, I help him pull off the rest of my clothing.

His tongue darts out, slowly dragging across his bottom lip as he stares down at my naked body stretched out under him. "Breathtaking," he murmurs. "Just breathtaking."

My brain is crackling with lust, but my body doesn't know quite what to do. Reaching out, I trace the side of Josh's jaw with my fingertips as he settles between my thighs. "Just relax," he says softly, meeting my eyes while he nods. "Apparently, thishelps women sleep, and since you won't rest no matter what I say, this will have to be a last resort."

His eyes twinkle up at me, then his gaze drops to stare between my legs. His palms move slowly over my inner thighs, as if he's admiring every inch of me. I've never felt particularly beautiful, but the way he studies me makes me tingle everywhere.

Everything about him is confident. Huge and broad-shouldered, with a deep voice that makes me shiver. I feel so small and delicate next to his rock-hard bulk.

His warm hands take hold of me, gripping my ass to pull me into position. I slide with a gasp, then release a strange chirp that sounds more like a bird than a woman feeling a man's tongue dancing across her clit.

Does Josh hear my heart pounding? Can he tell this is my first time? He releases a warm puff of breath against my open pussy, and my breath sticks in my throat.

"Try to relax," he says soothingly. "Just breathe and let go."

My mouth falls open with a loud gasp as he invades my pussy, his slick, nimble tongue caressing every fold, hitting every nerve ending. His hands latch onto my hip bones to try to stop my squirming as I stare wild-eyed around the room, unable to focus. Then something shifts, low and dark and heavy, in my core and just below. A pressure that begins to twist, then deepen.

"That's it." His gravelly purr turns me on even more. "Come on my mouth, baby."

Hearing that command sends my mind reeling. The slippery ache between my thighs becomes more urgent. Demanding. At the same time, for the first time ever, I feel completely and totally grounded.

The deep sensation washes through me, spinning me around as Josh's deep forest green eyes stare at me with a hypnotic sense of calm even as I scream out to the ceiling, body pulsingand hot, trembling from head to toe. The climax leaves me seeing stars, then I collapse back against the bed.

Josh kisses a slow path up my entire body, then catches my lips against his. It feels like my muscles are still twitching when he pulls the blankets over me. He gets up just long enough to drop his jeans, getting back into bed wearing soft cotton boxers.

As we snuggle together, my breath still uneven, Josh murmurs across my hair. "So soft and pretty and delicious. And an incredible cook." His lips press to my forehead. "And now, my personal squeezy pillow."

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