Page 68 of Love Me Fierce

“Oh, Vivian, here’s that laundry,” Mom says, carrying a square basket from the laundry room, with two neatly folded stacks of clothes.

Vivian’s mouth hangs open. “I… you…” she stammers.

Mom laughs. “I know you told me to leave it, but I was in a groove. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” she says in a soft voice. “You’ve all been so incredibly caring.”

Mom hands over the laundry basket, but I intervene. “I got this. I need to check the wood supply up there. We can go together.”

Do I detect a hint of longing in Vivian’s eyes? “Let me just make sure Mateo knows where I am.”

I head for the door, and I’ve just managed to open it with the basket braced against my hip when Vivian catches up and closes the door behind us. Azingof heat flashes under my skin.

Once we’re out of sight of the house, I reach for her hand. She smiles and gives it a squeeze. That little zip turns electric, spiraling up through me.

On the stoop of the cabin, I set the laundry basket down and pull her to me for a kiss. That same energy crackles between us. Her lips touch mine, tugging just a little, then her tongue flicks past my lips. I fumble for the doorknob and toe off my boots, one arm hugging her to me while she kicks off her sneakers. When I finally open the door, I shuffle her inside and close it behind us, pushing in the lock. She giggles through another kiss, making me laugh, too. We’re a little breathless from hurrying up here, or maybe it’s from the energy building between us all day.

Now that we’re alone again, I want to take my time but there’s zero chance of that happening. After kissing her up on that knoll with the sun on our shoulders and the wind in our hair, I’m too hungry. I press my palm against the door just above her head and grip her waist, boxing her in. Her gaze drags up my body before our lips touch again. It’s a slow, sensual kiss that sends a shiver down my spine. She slides her hands into my back pockets and arches her body ever so slightly towards mine. I run my hand from her waist to the scoop of her lower back. She’s strong and feminine, her warmth radiating through her shirt. I gently glide beneath the hem to touch her bare skin.

A tremor rolls through her. She sighs into my mouth as I caress her back and forth. I want more of her little noises, more of her hips arching to meet mine. More of her warm skin beneath my touch.

I kiss along her jawline while she pants, her fingers tucked deep into my pockets, then nuzzle behind her ear. She whimpers as I draw her earlobe into my mouth and gently suck.

“You smell so good,” I say on a groan, brushing my lips over her skin. I take a slow inhale, my nose buried in her hair.

“So do you. It’s spicy. And manly. Like the woods only… better.”

“I’m dying to know what you taste like,” I say, planting wet kisses down her neck.

“Why?”

I groan. “Because it’s going to be so perfectly you.”

She tugs me closer, her hips nestling between mine.

Warmth from the contact pulses through me.

“Please tell me I get to,” I say.

We kiss again, and with how close our bodies are, I feel each of her hurried breaths against my chest, each tilt of her hips to get me closer.

“You’re serious,” she says, breaking from my lips to gaze up at me.

“Hell yeah I’m serious.”

She kisses my neck. “It’s been, um, a long time.”

I caress beneath her braid. “I promise to take good care of you.”

She lifts her face to me and closes her eyes. Our lips touch, gentle at first, but then our tongues are twirling and flicking, her breaths coming faster.

She wants this too.

In one motion, I grip her thighs and carry her toward the bed. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me as I walk. I kneel on the mattress and gently lay her down. Hovering over her, I kiss from her lips to her chin, then draw a soft line of kisses down to her collarbones. She arches up to me, panting, as I continue along the V of her shirt. Her nipples are hard little knots beneath the stiff cotton,and I brush my thumb across one while teasing the other with my lips.

Vivian utters a tight groan. I’d like to spend more time teasing and caressing her here, but I’m determined to make her come in the small window of time we’ve stolen. Moving down, I nip little kisses along her stomach where her shirt has ridden up. Her skin is so fucking smooth here, so warm. She glides her fingers through my hair as her hips tremble beneath me. I flip open the button of her jeans and tug the zipper down. I brush my lips past the scalloped hem of her cotton panties, the scent of her arousal making me crazy.

I tug her jeans past her hips, then step back and slide them off. I drink in the sight of her long legs, bare for me against the comforter, and the look of yearning on her face, then yank off my shirt and crawl between her thighs. Working my way up, I nip and savor her warm skin.

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