Page 26 of Untamed

His smile broadens as he finishes with my face and moves to my neck. My nipples pebble, but I refuse to believe it’s from him touching me. It’s definitely just because I’m wet and the breeze is cool. He pulls back and sits in his seat, wiping his hands on his pant legs.

“Such an ass.” I shake my head and smile. “You knew what you were doing.”

“Good thing I insisted on the nets, right?”

I give his shoulder a hard shove, making him laugh again as he gets ready to take off again. But alas, we go nowhere. The tires spin, and mud gets thrown from the wheels behind us. He tries over and over again, turning the steering wheel this way and that, digging us deeper into the trench he created.

“You going to admit defeat anytime soon?” I ask him.

“You drive a shift?” he asks, looking over at me with a determined face.

“Uh, it’s been ages. Probably since the last time we did this.”

“It’s like ridin’ a bike.” He unbuckles himself and climbs out of the side-by-side. “Come on,” he says, patting the driver’s seat.

I sigh and climb over the center to sit where we were.

“Seat’s a little warm for my liking.”

He laughs and helps me move the seat around to where I can reach the pedals.

“Alright, darlin’.” God, I love it when he calls me that. “You’re gonna turn the wheel this way and pump the gas slowly while I push, okay?”

“I’ve seen it done a hundred times,” I tell him, shooing him away. “I know what to do.”

“Okay, well, you haven’t driven a stick in over a decade, so pardon me if I’m a bit worried you might accidentally throw it in reverse.”

“Shut up and go push.”

He grabs my head and pulls me toward him, kissing me on the side of the head before running behind the vehicle. I sit there, staring at where he was standing. He just…kissed me.

He kissed your head.

Still. He put his lips on me. He never did that, even when we were on the best of terms. Sure, he would hold my hand or let me cuddle on the couch during movies. But his mouth steered clear of any part of me. That’s definitely a new development that my heart immediately wants my brain to overthink.

“River!” he shouts. “Earth to River!”

“Sorry! Yeah. Ready?”

When he answers, my brain kicks back into gear, giving me the idea of revenge for soaking me with mud a few minutes ago. If I keep the wheel straight and absolutely gun it, this thing isn’t going anywhere. It’ll just spray mud all over Hayes from where he’s pushing on it.

And that’s exactly what I do.

He counts me down and then squats to push the vehicle forward. I slip it into gear — he was right, it is like riding a bike — and press that pedal to the floor. When I look back, he’s drowning. From his old baseball hat that he looked far too good in to his boots that are digging hard into the ground. He’s covered.

When I stop, he pushes off the bumper and puts his hands on his hips. Dirty water is dripping off his face, and I can’t help it. I burst out laughing. Climbing out, I walk slowly back to him while he just stares at me, looking very disappointed at the mess I’ve made.

“Hayes?” I ask, trying hard to stop the laughter.

I take another step, and he grabs me. I scream when he holds me tight to his muddy body. He’s laughing now, too, holding me close with one arm while he tries to smear my face with mud with the other. Hair falls out of my bun and gets stuck in my mouth. I’m pushing on him, desperately trying to escape. I can’t breathe, I’m laughing too hard, but he doesn’t stop.

He loses his footing, and next thing I know, we’re both going down. The mud is cold as shit and soaks through my denim quickly. But before I can stand up, he’s tugging on me again, pulling me on top of his lap. I’m straddling him when he pushes the hair out of my face.

We’ve both stopped laughing now, just smiling at each other. I can’t breathe now for a whole other reason. He’s looking up at me like he wants to kiss me. And, oh shit, his eyes dip to my mouth and then back to my eyes. I can feel his breath against my cold skin. He’s so close.

My hands rest on his shoulders, and his move to my ass. His fingers dip into the hole below my ass and tug me closer. Fuck, he’s hard. I can feel his thick length against the seam of my jeans. My eyes dart down to his lips, and that’s all the permission he needs.

He kisses me hard, our mouths instantly opening to one another. My hands run through his hair, knocking the baseball cap into the mud. I’ve dreamed of this moment my entire life, and it surpasses anything I could’ve ever dreamed of. His lips are soft, and his tongue explores my mouth like he can’t get enough of my taste.

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