Page 29 of Easton’s Claim

He stopped chewing, had to swallow hard to get the bite of sandwich down his suddenly tight throat. He didn’t say anything, just waited for her to continue.

“What you said…surprised me. But you never said what you wanted to happen between us.” She shot him a hesitant look, the set of her shoulders tense. “You know I’m leaving soon. So is it a short term thing for you, or…?”

What? “No,” he answered, his voice so guttural it came out almost a growl. He didn’t resent the question, given her need for caution and his past track record of flings, but hell, short term was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Some of the wariness faded from her expression. “So you want…what then?” She picked up a peach slice and bit into it, and his gaze caught on her lips as her tongue flicked out to lick up the juice.

He imagined capturing her face between his hands and leaning in to lick it up himself before pushing between those gorgeous lips to finally taste her. The picture in his head damn near made him shudder.

He tore his gaze from her mouth and looked into her eyes. “I want you. Long term and definitely exclusive.” Telling her he wanted to marry her and have a family together would definitely freak her out, so he withheld that.

For some reason, his answer seemed to surprise her, because her eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

The response gave him no clue what she was thinking and it drove him crazy.What do you want?He bit back the question even though it sat there burning on the end of his tongue.

Something in his expression must have tipped her off to his thoughts because she stilled in the act of biting into a piece of peach. Her hand fell to her lap, the half-finished slice still held between her fingers.

Easton held her gaze for a long moment, and as the silence stretched between them, something hot and electric crackled in the air. Her pupils expanded, and the way she watched him, tentative but with so much longing, made his whole body go hard. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t hide his response or his need for her a moment longer.

Sitting up, he slid the plate from her lap and the fruit from her fingers.

The gentle bubbling of the creek against the smooth stones at the bottom filled the charged silence as he maintained eye contact and slid his hands into her hair. A dare of sorts. Piper sucked in a soft breath and stayed absolutely still, gazing up at him.

Even though everything in him was dying to plunder that lush, sexy mouth, he knew it was too much too fast. Instead he swept his thumbs over her cheeks and leaned in to press a kiss to the center of her forehead.

She gasped but didn’t pull away, so he followed the line of her nose from bridge to tip, paused there a moment before changing direction and kissing his way across her cheek, to her temple, and down the side of her jaw.

She set a hand on his left shoulder, her touch light, tentative, and her eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. He almost groaned in relief at the tiny surrender and worked his way to the point of her chin, using his hands to tip her head back so he could trail more kisses up the other side of her jaw.

Her other hand came up to settle on his right shoulder, fingers flexing, squeezing, her breath uneven against his face.

Encouraged, Easton continued the slow exploration, caressing the tender spot below her ear for a moment, then he kissed the slope of her cheekbone and moved up to press a tender kiss to her eyelid.

Her fingers dug harder into his shoulders, her body swaying forward. He gathered her closer, hands stroking her hair, bunching it in his fingers as he kissed her other eyelid. An electric current seemed to sizzle between them, the very air alive with possibility.

Holding her head between his hands, he skimmed his lips down her cheek to the corner of her mouth and hovered there, waiting. Willing her to turn into him, to meet him partway.

Her head turned a fraction, her lips less than an inch from his while the blood pumped hot through Easton’s body. He brushed a kiss over the edge of her mouth. Lighter than a sigh, a mere whisper of contact, his heart pounding out of control and every muscle drawn tight with desire.

Piper made a soft, helpless sound and closed the tiny gap between them, settling her mouth against his. A shockwave of sensation sliced through him, made him groan as he parted his lips to glide his tongue across the seam of her mouth.

Open for me, sweetness. Let me in. I’ll be so good to you. He was dying to taste her, damn near shaking with it.

And she did open for him. Mother of Christ, she did, so slowly it made his hands tremble, that show of trust and need shaking him.

He delved inside for just a moment, allowing himself the briefest taste before withdrawing and sucking at her full lower lip. Her hands released his shoulders to creep up to his nape and squeeze as her tongue darted out to touch his.

Fire exploded in his gut. He barely managed to bite back a groan as he cradled the back of her head with one hand and slid the other down her back to pull her closer. The little purr she gave as she leaned into him and opened wider set his heart pounding.

He nudged his tongue against hers, caressed it. Piper let out a soft moan and gripped his nape harder, coming up on her knees to press the lushness of her breasts to his chest.

She tasted like peaches and smelled like heaven and he couldn’t get enough of her. Again and again he tasted her, seducing her with gentle strokes of his tongue, a soft caress to the roof of her mouth while his heart thudded and his cock throbbed for more contact.

The energy between them shifted then and she grew bolder, more demanding, her fingers holding the sides of his face now as she licked and sucked at his mouth like she was starving for him. She whimpered and rubbed her breasts against his chest and his vow to take things slow vanished in a puff of smoke.

Without losing contact with her mouth he shifted and rolled them so that she was lying on her back. He came up on his elbows atop her, and when she wound her arms around his back to pull him closer, slowly lowered his weight into the cradle of her body. He groaned into her mouth at the feel of her body cushioning his for the first time, his head spinning and the need for relief a searing fire in his cock.

Careful not to crush her, he shifted his hips and settled his erection against her center.

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