Page 48 of Belong With Me

Chapter Sixteen

Ryder

Fuck that woman tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten in my life. As Sin and I lay together in the bed of my truck, I recovered a little of the energy I just expended making love to her with my mouth. She snuggled languidly in my arms, in just her shirt, with her head resting on my chest. It was something I sure as hell never expected when I first came across her with that crashed bug of hers.

While staring out at the fire that crackled loudly, I enjoyed the feel of her in my arms. She moved a little, letting out a soft sigh. I looked down and saw her tongue slip out and wet her lips before she spoke. “I’ve always loved fireflies; I think they’re beautiful little creatures. I love the way they dance together in such synchronized but random ways.”

“They’re pretty, aren’t they? My parents used to bring us out here camping when we were younger. Even though we lived here, they wanted us to have a connection with the land. Really get to understanding it, you know?”

She moved her smaller frame off me, leaning on her elbow and looking down at me. A curtain of dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, and I ran my hand through it absentmindedly. Such a simple thing to do but one I enjoyed, nonetheless. “You used to go camping?”

I nodded. Remembering fondly the times out here with my family. “The others and I used to catch the fireflies in jars Momma brought out. I used to love it. Dad used to bring out his guitar too, and he and Momma would sing us campfire songs or tell us spooky stories as we roasted marshmallows. I remember Wyatt and I scared the other three one night pretending we were a bog monster.” I laughed at the memory.

She began to laugh along with me. As we both laughed, it became even more infectious and soon she was swiping at the tears in her eyes and gasping for breath. Finally, she gained control of herself. “A bog monster?”

I nodded in her direction as I too managed to get my laughter under control. “They screamed so much that Kenzie threw up. Momma wasn’t impressed in the slightest.”

“And your dad?”

I smiled at the memory as it played clearly in my mind. I told her what happened next. “Dad had us mucking stalls for a month to make up for it.”

Her soft smile had me leaning up and pressing my lips against hers quickly. Sitting up a little more, I rested on my forearms, my eyes never leaving her. “That sounds like a fun memory,” she said, then added, “I’ve never been camping before. I’ve never done anything like this either.”

“That’s a shame. Everyone needs to go camping at least once in their life.”

She was quiet for a minute, nibbling her full bottom lip. “Thank you for thinking of this. I’ve never had a boyfriend take me out on such a relaxed evening, where I didn’t need to be anyone I didn’t want to be.”

That word falling from her lips startled me a little. Did she even realize she had used it? I didn’t want to seem like a cliche, but at the sound of her calling me her boyfriend, my heart beat a little quicker. “Is that what we are?” I asked.

I wasn’t entirely against the idea. Hell, it sounded so damn right. But I also didn’t want to make it seem like I was forcing it on her either.

Her eyes widened a little, but whatever she was thinking was kicked down quickly. “Not if you don’t want it to be.”

I wanted it to be right, but I wanted us to both be comfortable with the idea. “Let’s not put labels on anything right now and just see how we go, shall we?” Honestly, the only thing I wanted to do was call her my woman, and maybe my walls were starting to break down, but I wasn’t ready to admit that yet. “Either way.” I sat all the way up and rested my hands between my knees. “It’s getting late. We should probably head back to the house.”

She hesitated for only a moment. “Right.” She turned her head away as she began shrugging on her jeans then rolled to her feet and rested on her haunches while she started folding the blankets methodically, putting them back into the basket.

I wanted to say something as I jumped down from the truck, but instead I remained quiet while I began blowing out the candles for her to collect. I moved through the grass with soft steps then set about extinguishing the campfire. Whilst it was still summer and the flames were now little more than an inch high, I wasn’t taking the risk of it spreading into a wildfire.

Once the fire was nothing but smoke, and I had scattered some of the dirt that Colton had piled up for me with the small spade, I poured water from the creek on top for good measure. The sizzle of the liquid hitting the hot coals reached my ears moments before Sienna’s voice did.

“Are you all done after that, cowboy?” Turning around, I looked at her. With hands on her hips, she cocked her head to the side just a little. I noticed her hair was still loose and it skimmed her hip with her head positioned that way.

“Yeah. You?”

“Yeah. I’ve left it all in the truck tray. I’m guessing you won’t be driving too fast on the way home. Not fast enough that anything will come flying out anyway.”

Walking toward her, I smiled. “I promise, there will be no race car driving from me. At least for tonight.” With my hand I held the back of the truck and placed the spade on the base of the tray “Hop on in and we can get going back home.”

I waited as she headed around and climbed into the passenger seat. Gripping the side of the truck bed, I looked at my feet, toeing the grass for a few moments, and thinking about what had just gone on, and wondering how I could get back the easiness between us that had disappeared since the whole ‘what are we’ comment. Finally, I grabbed my hat and set it on my head before taking the few steps to the driver side and slipping in. The keys jingled in my hand as I turned the ignition.

As we pulled away from our date, I chanced a glance at where she sat quietly beside me. Her hands rested on her lap as she looked out the window, off in her own world. After another minute, I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and rested my hand on her thigh and gently squeezed it. “Are you doing okay?”

Turning her head to look at me, she smiled softly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“You seem to be lost in thought.” I didn’t tell her that I was wondering if I’d said or done something to change her mood. She’d gone from the happy Sin I’d held in my arms only hours ago, to this quiet, almost melancholy woman.

She shook her head a little. As though she was trying to deny my words or maybe her own thoughts. “It was nothing overly important.”

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