Page 130 of Whirlwind

“Which exactly?” Beck asked on a light chuckle.

“I can barely put it into words.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I’m going to because it’s too important, and I don’t want this moment to go unsaid. You wanted to give me what I wanted to try. That took a hell of a lot of strength considering you and I are sleeping together, that we’re on this trip together. I’m not making any assumptions here, just…”

He threaded our fingers together and planted a kiss on my hand. “I know what you mean.”

“You were there with me, encouraging me to make my own choices, and making sure I felt comfortable. It was so generous, so unselfish, and I’m having a hell of a time processing it.”

“I like you taking charge of yourself, it’s exciting to me, and I wanted you to feel safe to choose whatever you wanted.” A small chuckle rumbled in his throat. “I’m selfish too, Violet. You’re beautiful, extraordinary, and I wanted to watch, to see you fly. You’re attracted to Tag, why not go—”

I took his face in my hands. “This is not about him. You dared me to push my boundaries, to be free sexually, to pursue a crazy desire.” I turned in his arms and sat up. “You know what? While it was happening, in that ultimate freedom, all I wanted was to be in it with you, experience that with you. Not any other body. Not even Tag’s body.”

He averted his gaze to where his hand gently stroked my breast. Beck lighting his match.

I put my hand over his on my chest. “I’ve never ever felt that before, Beck. My coming has always been about me. How’s that for selfish?”

He met my gaze. Heavy, serious. “You’ve never been with the right man for you before.”

“No, I haven’t. But tonight—at an orgy—I felt this deep tide pulling at me, taking me somewhere else while my body was racing, racing. That tide was you. My whole body yearned for you.” I stroked his cheek. “I had to tell you. I want you to know.”

“I depend on that from you, Violet. No matter what it is. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.” My voice was a rough whisper.

“I think this is called intimacy.”

“Is that what this is?” My fingers traced a small circle over his firm chest.

He took my fingers in his and fit our hands together. “It’s powerful. Intoxicating.”

The same words he’d used to describe the freedom of an open orgy. And yet here we were using them to define the experience between us. Had he had this with Mae? I laid my head over his chest.

His fingers tangled in my hair, twisting a lock. “After our first night together in Meager when I saw you’d written in my notebook, I knew my instinct was right. You’d marked me.”

“Marked you?”

“Left behind a burning trail.” He pushed back the hair from my forehead, and he placed a kiss there. “I wanted to see you again. Needed to. I wanted more of you. More time together. More nights, more days…just more.”

He stroked my back and hummed. “When you left Nashville with Ladd, I was pissed. But seeing you with him? I knew that wasn’t you being happy. I wanted you to be free of that. And I wanted to be the one to show you and share that freedom with you.”

I sat up, my hand cupping his face, our eyes locked. “You have, Beck.” Being with him was effortless and exciting and deeply satisfying. My toes curled. “You might think this is weird…”

“No, I won’t, whatever it is.”

“I want to take a picture of us, right now. I need to.”

Would I see him after this trip was over? I didn’t know. Probably when he next visited Meager. But be with him again, like this? Doubtful. We came from two different worlds, we had wildly different paths, I’d accepted that reality from the very beginning, and I knew I’d cherish this time with him forever. Right now, I wanted to capturethismoment,thisfeeling. I needed to.

“Go ahead, baby.”

I raised up, the warm air bathing my skin. I grabbed my camera and set it up on my mini tripod on a table. Through the viewfinder, I confirmed that we’d be in shot.

Beck stroked his torso, his cock, his head leaning back, eyes up at the sky. Basking, savoring, luxuriating. So was I. A grin twitched my lips. Candy was on sale at the General Store and I was the first in line.

I climbed on top of him and he took me in his arms, we kissed. He sighed heavily, pulling up, burying his face in my throat. My fingers sifted through his thick, silky hair.

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