Page 6 of Chasing the Wild
"Then let me teach you," he said. "Same as the tent. Same as the fire-building. Let me show you what it feels like to trust someone else to carry the weight."
His hand was so warm against my face. So solid. Like if I let myself lean into him fully, he'd hold me up. Like he was strong enough to carry both of us.
"Why do you care?" I asked again, desperate to understand.
"Because the moment I saw you, I knew you were mine," he said. "I don't expect you to understand that. Hell, I don't understand it myself. But I saw you standing there in your expensive gear with your hostile walls up, and every instinct I have said:that one. She's the one worth keeping."
My brain frantically tried to process what he was saying while my body just wanted to surge forward and—
"Sam..."
"I know," he said. "I know it's crazy. I know you probably think I'm insane. But I'm done pretending I don't want you. Done pretending I don't see the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching."
"We just met a few days ago," I said weakly.
"I know." His thumb traced my cheekbone, and I shivered. "Doesn't change anything."
He was right. It didn't change the fact that I wanted him with an intensity that surprised me or change the way my body responded to his proximity like he was a magnet. Certainty settled into my bones that this man was going to change my life.
"I don't do this," I said. "I'm not the kind of person who has these crazy feelings."
"I know," he said again. "You're the kind of person who thinks everything through. Who weighs the risks and makes strategic decisions. Who never lets herself feel anything she can't control."
Yes. Exactly yes.
"But right now, I'm asking you to stop thinking. Just for a minute. And tell me if you feel this too."
His other hand came up to frame my face, and suddenly I was cradled between his palms like something precious.
"I feel it," I whispered. "God help me, I feel it."
His smile was triumphant and tender at the same time. "Good girl."
And then he kissed me like he'd been thinking about it since the moment we met. His lips were firm and demanding, and when I gasped in surprise, his tongue swept in to taste me. I should have pushed him away because we were on a rocky outcrop in full view of anyone who cared to look. But then his hand slid into my hair, angling my head exactly where he wanted it, and I stopped thinking entirely.
I'd been kissed before. Had relationships, or what passed for relationships when you worked eighty hours a week. But I'd never been kissed like this. This kiss was a claiming and a promise all at once. I burrowed closer, even though we were already pressed together. His whole body curved around mine like he was trying to shield me from the world. When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His eyes were darker now, pupils blown with want, and I knew mine probably looked the same.
"Okay?" he asked gruffly.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Good." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, gentler this time. "Because we’re not done here. Not by a long shot.”
The certainty in his voice should have sent me running back to my safe, controlled life where people didn't feel like this after knowing each other for a few days. Instead, it felt like coming home.
"We should get back," I said, even though I didn't want to move.
"Probably," Sam agreed, but didn't let me go. "But first, I need you to know something."
"What?"
"The rest of this week is going to push you past your limits," he said seriously. "It's going to strip away all your control mechanisms and force you to rely on instinct and trust. And I'm going to be there for all of it, pushing you harder than you've ever been pushed, because I can see what you're capable of."
"That sounds terrifying," I admitted.
"It should be." His thumb traced my lower lip, and I shivered. "But I promise you I will never let you fall. I will never let you fail."
"And if I can't do it?" The old fear, the one that said I wasn't enough, would never be enough.
