Page 7 of Claiming Ours
Based on what I’d picked up on over the past few months, I assumed she was inexperienced compared to me, but I wasn’t sure to what extent. If she knew how fucking bad I wanted to teach her everything I knew—and that list was plenty long and disturbing—she’d run away screaming in fear. Not that I’d let her get away.
Fuck, I was demented and 100 percent obsessed with her.
“You ready?” I cut my heated gaze from the woman who had me wrapped around her little finger to Langston, Uplift’s go-to guy for all things water related, who rivaled both my size and anger issues. “I don’t want to be fucking late for the meeting.”
A chuffed laugh brushed past my lips when he turned without waiting for a response and stormed out of the barn, only to freeze when Baylee’s voice called out his name. Shoulders practically at his ears, the grumpy bastard twisted, responding to the greeting with a grunt and a return of the wave she sent him, though his was more of a raised hand than Baylee’s exaggerated back-and-forth motion.
“Hold up,” I called out before he could leave. I secured the metal latch on the stall and double-checked it was locked. “Give me a second and I’ll walk with you. Just need to give her this.”
Reaching down, I wrapped my fingers around the small cooler that I’d brought from home, sitting just outside the stall. Langston grumbled something about me being pussy-whipped as he leaned against the frame of the barn’s tall rolling door, his permanent scowl secured on his face. Flipping him the bird, I strode toward Baylee, where she was measuring out the chicken feed for their breakfast.
“Hey,” she said, blowing a rogue lock of hair out of her eyes when she looked up with a smile. “Heading to the Monday meeting?”
I ran my fingers through the longer section of my jet-black hair and nodded. “Yeah, you coming?” The weekly meeting was mandatory for those who worked directly for Uplift Adventure and Rescue and didn’t extend to her, though sometimes she came to see everyone.
“No, not today. I need to get several things checked off my to-do list here before heading out to tackle those home vet visitsthis afternoon. I only have a handful, but they’re spread out, so I’m assuming it’ll take me several hours to see everyone.”
A swell of concern for her going out alone had my brows pulling in tight. Baylee was just so tiny, in stature and weight, and Alaska was dangerous—the animals, people, and landscape. I’d noticed, based on the few pictures framed in her cabin, that she’d lost significant weight since Dean’s death, giving her an almost frail look. Which was when my slight fixation with feeding her as often as possible began.
Even though I knew she was capable and smart, I never wanted her to be in a situation where she felt like she had to handle everything alone. It was my job now to protect her and keep her safe. To eliminate all threats so she didn’t feel so damn abandoned in this life.
“Will I see you later?” Blush stained her cheeks as she peeked up through blonde lashes.
“If you want to see me, Little Bit, I’ll be there. Want me to come to your place?”
She nodded, biting her lower lip as her gaze slowly worked its way down my body. Oh fuck, this woman and her blatantly proving my point that the attraction went both ways might kill me by the worst case of blue balls in history.
Shaking off the idea of pressing her against the rough wood wall and kissing her until she begged for my hands to explore every inch of her tiny body, I thrust the packed cooler between us. “Before I head out, I wanted to give you this.” I massaged the back of my neck and cleared my throat, suddenly anxious about how she’d react. “I made you breakfast.”
Shooting me a shy grin, she pushed open the lid and peered inside.
“Two hard-boiled eggs, a sliced apple, and one of those Nutella packets you love.” Baylee’s wide eyes met mine. “Oh, and milk—whole milk, since, you know, it’s proven to be better foryou and has more calories.” I stopped rambling about fucking milk—oh, how the mighty playboy had fallen—at her slight headshake and disbelieving expression. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing, it’s just that… well, you’re all kinds of adorable, Liam.”
After setting the cooler down at our feet, I folded both arms over my chest and widened my stance. “I am not adorable. That’s for kittens and panda bears.”
She silenced a soft giggle with three fingers pressed to her lips. “Pandas? Really? That’s what you’re going with? No puppies or bunnies.”
I shrugged, unable to explain where the hell that came from. Clearly, I needed to limit the amount ofAnimal PlanetI watched.
“And sorry to burst your tough-guy bubble, but yes,adorableis the perfect word.” Pushing up to her tiptoes, she fisted the front of my shirt and pulled me down until our lips hovered close. “The most adorable. But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. And thank you for the food. Your slightly odd obsession with people eating healthily is a nice perk in our—” She gestured between us, making me huff. “—whatever this is.” Pressing a soft kiss to my lips, she lowered down to flat feet. “Really, thank you.”
I avoided her gaze at her remark. I had slightly lied to her about my passion for wanting people to eat healthily. It wasn’tallpeople, just her. My fascination was firmly fixated on ensuring she was fed. I literally couldn’t help it. From the first time we met, the woman triggered every protective instinct inside me, and her not eating enough to even fuel a sparrow drove me insane. So, I might have mentioned that because of my amateur MMA fighting background and the health food regimen required to keep me at top training shape, I had a need to ensure people ate healthily because of how good I felt eating right.
Desperate for another taste of her, I wrapped my fingers around her chin to hold her in place and sealed a demanding kiss to her lips. Her lids fluttered closed as I deepened the kiss, swiping my tongue along the seam of her lips, begging her to open for me, to leave me with something to daydream about while we were apart. The vibrations of her soft moan had my own growl rumbling in return. Taking advantage of the opening, I devoured her mouth, swiping my tongue against hers and exploring her like I wanted to do with my head between her thighs.
Fucking hell, did I want to taste her pussy, to lick up her sweet cum as she drenched my face.
My cock strained against my jeans, twitching behind the stiff fabric. Arm wrapped around her shoulders, I sealed us together, the pressure of her soft frame doing nothing to relieve the throbbing ache. Her small, delicate hands fisted the front of my shirt, tugging us even tighter together. With an almost feral growl, I guided her backward until her spine sealed against the wall.
But before I could act on all the fun and utterly dirty ideas I had for Baylee, an exaggerated—and fucking infuriating—cough had me pulling back with a snarl. Frustration and annoyance had me shooting a death glare toward the asshole who disrupted us, but the sound of Baylee’s soft laugh turned my attention back to her, the smile on her flushed face calming the rage mounting in my veins. All irritation with Langston vanished at her shy grin. Palm pressed to the center of my chest, she urged me back a step until she had the space to move around me.
“Go,” Baylee said with a shooing motion. “You two don’t want to be late for the meeting. You know Brandon hates that and will find some way to get back at you if you are. Last time, didn’t he make you take that Instagram influencer on that hike from hell?”
Damnit, she was right about Brandon being a petty jackass if I was late. With an agreeing grunt, I rubbed a hand down my face to clear the lust fog that clouded my thoughts, hoping I hid my disappointment at being interrupted.
With a grumbled and slightly pouting goodbye and promise to see her later, I stalked toward the asshole waiting for me at the barn door. The moment I was within reach, I slammed a hand against his shoulder, making him stumble to the side to keep from falling on his ass.
