Page 65 of Claiming Ours
My inner thighs were so sore it hurt to walk. There was legitimate concern that I would walk bowlegged forever. Plus, both ass cheeks were numb and had been the past two damn hours. Hand pressed against my lower back, I bowed backward like some old fuck in a nursing home, groaning as my spine cracked.
Lifting both arms overhead, I angled my face up to the cloudless sky, taking in the golden sun as I stretched out my tightmuscles. A forceful smack landed between my shoulder blades, propelling me forward a few steps.
“You did good today.” I arched an incredulous brow in Liam’s direction, making him chuckle. “Right, good is a stretch. You were decent. At least you didn’t fall off.”
“True, way to think positive. I didn’t take you as a glass-half-full type of guy.”
The corners of his lips curled in a smirk as his intense gaze slid to Baylee, busy brushing down her horse. “Me either, but things change when the right people come into our lives.”
“That’s fucking deep, man. Must be the fresh air or something,”
He snorted, motioning for me to follow him. “We need firewood. Help me find anything somewhat dry. I have some starter blocks in my pack, but wet wood smokes something terrible, and I don’t want that shit in my face all night.”
“What about Baylee?” I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone for a second, considering the topic from earlier.
“I’ll keep an eye on her, make sure she’s never out of my sight. Just stay close to camp.”
Camp was quaint, a single tent that made me happy as hell knowing I’d get to sleep beside Baylee.
Keeping close to the clearing, like Liam asked, I nudged a somewhat-dry branch before bending down to add it to the growing stack in my arms. Just as my fingertips brushed over the moss-covered wood, the sense of something being off had the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, making me pause. Attempting to stay subtle, I gripped the limb and slowly stood, twisting one way and then the other, pretending to stretch out my back rather than scanning the dense trees for danger.
Nothing moved between the thin trunks or rustled through the thick underbrush except for Liam, several yards away, with a large stack of wood bundled against his chest. Shaking out theparanoia, I resumed scouring the ground for firewood, though this time I kept attuned to my surroundings too.
Back at camp, I dropped my armful of mostly dry wood on the ground beside the makeshift fire ring. At the noise, Baylee popped out of the tent—well, it was sort of a tent, more a tarp held up by paracord, configured to keep the elements off us.
“Everything good out there?” she asked, eyes nervously flicking around the clearing.
The strange moment from earlier had me striding to her side. “Why?”
Rubbing at her arms, she curled against me. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, securing her even tighter.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s knowing we’re only a few miles off the Soul Trail, but I’m just….”
“Nervous?” I finished for her when she trailed off.
“Yeah.” Baylee buried her face against my chest. “It’s probably nothing. It just feels off out here. I can’t put my finger on why, though.”
I started to tell her about my similar feeling when Liam emerged from the trees, a stack of firewood almost twice the size of mine in his arms. His gray eyes took us in, lips pulling into a frown as he deposited the branches beside the ring of stones.
“What’s wrong?”
“Baylee is nervous about being out here, and I don’t blame her. I don’t think we should leave her alone, so she doesn’t worry.” Her smooth hair slid beneath my palm as I moved it over the top of her head, then pulled on her ponytail to tip her petite face up to mine. “That work for you, Kitten?”
At my tug, she gasped and her pupils dilated, clearly liking the action. “That’s perfect,” she breathed.
“Yes, you are, Baylee.” I pressed my lips to hers, reluctantly pulling back at the sound of the firewood being moved around. Liam squatted beside the ring of rocks, creating a teepee of sortsout of the smaller sticks. “Want help with that?” I eyed the horizon. “We have what, another hour or two of light left?”
He shook his head, but a knowing smirk pulled at his lips. “I’ve got this covered. You and Baylee go distract yourselves from worrying about this place.”
I arched my pierced brow at Baylee, finding her eyes already on me. “What do you say, Kitten?” I teased as I toyed with the tip of her ponytail, tugging on it sharply. “Do we need a distraction?”
“Depends.” She licked her lips. “What do you have in mind?”
Swallowing down a groan at her breathless tone, I examined the clearing, zeroing in on a cluster of boulders and rocks several feet away. Fingers wrapped around the back of her neck, I guided Baylee in that direction. With every stomp of my boots, my need for her swelled as I pictured her pinned against a smooth rock while I showed her just how amazing my pierced dick would feel sliding along the walls of her pussy.
Pausing at a smooth boulder that came up mid-thigh, I sat in front of her, shifting my hand around from the back of her neck to lightly grasp her throat. A guttural groan escaped her parted lips, and my lids slammed shut at the erotic sensation of her throat moving beneath my palm when she swallowed hard. With her between my spread thighs, I moved my free hand beneath the hem of her long-sleeve T-shirt to skim up her stomach, then trace a single fingertip along the band of her sports bra.
Peering up through my lashes, I wordlessly begged for approval. At her permission, I slid my hand higher to palm one full breast, squeezing and scraping a nail against the tight material where I could feel her peaked tip underneath. Her lids fluttered closed at the small contact, breath whooshing from her lungs as her head fell back.
