Stranded in the Woods Read online

  Kent was going to kiss her even if it was the worst thing he could do.

  Seven

  PENNY WAS BOTH DAZED and exhilarated as Kent got up and walked around the table. Instead of leaning over, which she’d vaguely assumed he would do, he pulled her up to her feet and then hefted her up onto the edge of the table. In this position, she was closer to his height.

  His features were tense, and his amber eyes smoldered as he tilted his head down toward her. She stretched up toward him, unable to resist, until their lips were pressed together.

  It started lightly. Kent’s mouth was gentle as it brushed against hers, as if he were learning the taste of her or testing her responses. She reached up to hang on to his shoulders, parting her thighs to make room for him. She wanted him closer. She wanted a lot more than this.

  His beard was scratchy. Delicious. She moved her head in a little nuzzle so she could feel the texture of it more fully.

  All her female parts had clenched up in excitement, and even in a man’s oversized clothes, she felt as sexy as she ever had in her life.

  Kent pulled back just a little, his eyes scanning her face.

  “What?” she asked, moving her hands up to stroke his beard. “Was that enough of a kiss for you?”

  “No. Not even close.”

  It occurred to her that she might try to be alluring or provocative, but she wouldn’t have known even how to begin. She was beaming like a fool, and she didn’t even care. “Then I guess you better do it again.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh yeah.” She moved her hands down to wrap around his waist and pull him closer to her so he fit snugly between her thighs. “There. That’s better. Try again.”

  He was chuckling as he leaned down to kiss her again, and his amusement shook his body irresistibly. She slid her arms farther around him as he licked the line of her lips, and before she knew it his tongue was inside her mouth, doing all kinds of amazing things that caused the ache to grow between her legs.

  He made a rough sound in his throat as he spanned her ribs with his big hands and pulled her chest closer to his. Her nipples were so tight they were almost painful as they rubbed against his shirt. His tongue was still moving inside her mouth, and it was so deep, so intimate it felt like he was making love to her right there on the edge of the table.

  Then it was even better because his hands had slid under the T-shirt she wore. His rough palms were rubbing against her bare skin. He moved one forward to cup her breast, and she gasped against his lips.

  “Sweet Jesus, Penny,” he muttered. “You’re the hottest thing ever.”

  She felt hot. Both in temperature and desirability. And she arched helplessly as he dragged the heel of his hand against her tight nipple.

  The waves of lust flooding her mind and body were so intense that they were starting to scare her. She was out of control, responding to him so eagerly she was clawing at his back and grinding her breast against his hand.

  She’d liked sex every time she’d done it, but it had never felt like this.

  And they hadn’t even taken their clothes off yet.

  Kent’s hands were getting even busier. His free one had now dipped under the waistband of her pants and was edging close to where she was already so hot and wet.

  “Kent!” she gasped, breaking the kiss even though everything in her body objected. “Kent, wait.”

  He froze. Then he very slowly pulled his head back enough to look her in the eye. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. This is just a lot more than a kiss.”

  She saw what happened to his face at those words. The hot, strained urgency transformed into stiff disappointment. “You don’t want to do more.”

  “Of course I want to do more.” She rubbed her face, feeling like she needed to wake herself up from the sexiest dream she’d ever had in her life. “I’m not sure what’s happening here, but whatever it is seems to be burning us alive. So maybe we can go a little slower. If that’s all right with you.”

  He sucked in a ragged breath and turned his head away. At first she thought he was still disappointed, but then he turned back toward her with a hot smile. “We can go as slow as you want.”

  If possible, those words and the thick sound of his voice got her going even more.

  “So just to be clear, you want to have sex with me right now?” Kent was still scanning her closely.

  She giggled. “Yes, I want to have sex. I’m not sure if it’s smart or not, but this is too powerful to not go with. I’d never forgive myself if I stop us now.”

  “Good.” With a wolfish smile, he tucked one arm under her knees and swung her up into his arms.

  She squealed in surprise as he carried her to the bed, but she was secretly thrilled by the move.

  She’d never believed she was the kind of woman a man might carry like this.

  “Is this better than the caveman hold?” he asked. He was smiling just as much as she was.

  It seemed strange to want to smile at the same time she was surging with lust, but she did.

  And evidently he did too since he was still smiling as he laid her down onto the bed.

  She took a handful of his shirt and used it to pull him on top of her. It wouldn’t have worked if he hadn’t been willing, but he was clearly happy to comply as he settled himself between her legs and started to kiss her again.

  This was even better because his weight was pushing down into her as his mouth moved urgently against hers. Despite their agreement to slow down, it got deep just as quickly as before. It wasn’t long before she was wrapping one of her legs around his thighs and trying to grind herself against him.

  He was hard in his pants. She could feel the bulge of it against her middle, and she adjusted her body so she could feel him against her arousal instead.

  He huffed in response to her grinding and broke the kiss. “Shit, honey, I’m gonna lose it in about two seconds if you keep that up.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  His face was flushed and tense and slightly damp in the dim candlelight. “What’s wrong is that I’m never going to be able to go slow if you keep that up. You know I haven’t had sex in two years, right?”

  “It’s really been two years for you?”

  She wasn’t sure why this declaration thrilled her, but it did.

  “Two years.” His face was serious. “And I’d rather my first time back not be over before it even starts.”

  She stroked his beard, unable to keep her hands off it. “It’s already started. You know that, right?”

  “I had a suspicion.”

  “And I’m sure if you lose it, you’ll be able to find it again pretty quickly.”

  “I appreciate your faith in me.”

  “I’ve always had faith in you, Kent.” She was still cupping his cheek, and her voice broke slightly on the last word, although she’d been teasing him up to this very second. “A lot more than you ever had in yourself.”

  He jerked his head to the side for a moment before turning back to her. His eyes were blazing as he kissed her again.

  This time the kiss felt as emotional as it did hot, which made it even better, even scarier.

  But it wasn’t scary enough for her to stop. It had been ages since she’d wanted anything as much as she wanted Kent right now.

  Neither one of them slowed down as he undressed her without really pulling out of their embrace. He untied the drawstring on her pants and pulled them down over her hips. She had to help to get them off over her feet, but they eventually managed it.

  Then he finally broke the kiss so he could drag the T-shirt off over her head.

  He did stop then, propped up on straightened arms above her as his eyes raked over her bare chest.

  “Sweet Jesus,” he breathed.

  “They’re just breasts.” She glanced down at herself. Just her normal breasts. Large, heavy, not particularly perky. She’d always wanted a figure more like her sisters had, with boobs that were
n’t always bouncing around and spilling out of her bras.

  He made a choking sound, his hot gaze still focused on her chest. “Saying they’re just breasts is like saying the Mona Lisa is just a painting.”

  She giggled—both pleasure and self-consciousness. “My boobs aren’t masterpieces, Kent.”

  “That’s exactly what they are. Masterpieces. I can’t believe I’m getting to see them.”

  He adjusted his weight onto his knees so he could take her breasts in both his hands. She might have been worried that her stomach wasn’t flat and her thighs were too fleshy, but he didn’t appear to think there was a single flaw in her appearance.

  She’d never felt so beautiful. So special.

  After he’d played with them for a while, he leaned down to kiss the top of her right breast. Then the left. Then the hollow between them.

  Penny was breathing raggedly when he finally mouthed his way up to one nipple and took it in his mouth.

  She gasped and pushed her chest up as he suckled skillfully. The ache between her thighs was almost unbearable now.

  After a couple of minutes of his playing with her breasts, she couldn’t take it anymore. She was tugging on his hair and writhing beneath him. “Kent! Please. I know I said we should go slower, but this is too slow for me. I’m dying here, and I want you to be inside me.”

  She felt his whole body jerk. He looked up from her breast. “You’re ready?”

  “I’m so much more than ready.”

  He cleared his throat as he sat up. “Shit. I can’t remember if I even have a condom, and if I do, they’ll be expired.”

  “I have a couple. In my bag.”

  His face relaxed as he reached down to grab her bag from the floor where she’d left it that evening. “I guess there’s a benefit to carrying everything under the sun in your purse.”

  “I don’t carry everything under the sun!” She’d sat up to take her purse, and she belied her statement by pulling out an umbrella, a case of new paintbrushes, the fur cushion, and a bottle of her favorite hot sauce out of her bag so she could reach the zipper pocket that held the condoms.

  Kent snorted in amusement at each new item she unearthed, and he took the condom packet from her when she’d finally reached it.

  “Olivia always told me I need to carry a condom around in case something exciting happened to me, but I’ve never had to use them before.” She paused. “I have used condoms before. I’ve had sex. Plenty of times. Just not with my emergency condoms.”

  “I’m glad to be your emergency-condom first.” He was smiling again as he stood up to shuck his pajama pants and pull off his T-shirt.

  Now he was as naked as she was, and she stared at his groin in excitement.

  When she glanced up and saw he was waiting for something, she said, “I suppose you’re hoping for me to give you an elaborate compliment about this the way you gave me.” She couldn’t hold her hand back from stroking the hard length of him.

  His breath hitched at her touch, and his body was very tight. But he said, “I only want the truth.”

  She looked up to meet his eyes. “Then the truth is this is a masterpiece too.”

  He made a rough noise as he climbed back into bed with her and moved between her legs again. He rolled on the condom before he positioned himself above her, but when he did, he kissed her very gently. “You ready, honey?”

  “Yes. I’m ready. I don’t think it’s possible for me to be more ready than I am right now.”

  “It is possible because I guarantee I’m more ready than you are.”

  “You really want to have a contest about which of us is more ready?”

  He was feeling between her legs, spilling the moisture collected there. “I don’t really want to have a contest. I want to make you come until you scream.”

  “You’ll get no arguments from me about that.” She was grinning as he aligned himself at her entrance and then guided himself in with his hand.

  He moved carefully, easing in and then out until he was buried inside her, and his body was so tense it was shaking just a little.

  She loved the feel of him above her. Hot and tight and full of pent-up feeling.

  She wanted him to let it go.

  Let everything go.

  He was big and full and tight inside her, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It made her want to move her hips, so she did.

  He groaned softly at the friction.

  “I’m ready any time, Kent.”

  “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Say a little prayer that I don’t lose it too soon. Nothing in the world has ever felt as good as you do right now.”

  “Now I know that’s an exaggeration.” She bent her knees so her legs were folded up on either side of his hips. “And I don’t care if you lose it. You can always make me come until I scream in some other way. It doesn’t have to be this way. I want you with me all the way. Whatever that is. However it ends.”

  He met her eyes. “You mean that?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  He kissed her again and started to rock his hips as his tongue moved in her mouth. Soon his motion accelerated, and he broke the kiss, but that was just as good because he was staring down at her, her face, her shaking body, and she could swear that he loved what he saw, that he wanted it so much he could devour her whole.

  He was serious about losing it quickly. It wasn’t long before his rhythm was hard and fast, shaking the bed until it banged against the wall. But she was so turned on and his position was so good that it wasn’t going to take her very long to come. She could feel a climax tightening inside her, intensifying as her breasts jiggled and her clit got indirect friction from the way they were moving together.

  She reached out to fumble for purchase on the bedding as she got close.

  “Yes, honey,” he rasped, his beard brushing briefly against her face as he adjusted positions. “You’re almost there now.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. Almost.” She arched up as her body clamped down, and she made a ridiculous giggling sound as the surge of pleasure caught her by surprise. She clutched at the sheets and rode out the spasms as he kept moving inside her, and she was close to the end when he choked on a wordless exclamation and fell out of rhythm.

  She could focus enough to watch his face as he came, and she loved the way the tension broke, the pleasure washed over his features. “Oh fuck,” he breathed as his hips jerked uncontrollably.

  Then his elbows buckled, and he almost fell on top of her. He caught himself just in time.

  She wrapped her arms around him, filled with far too much to fully process.

  He nuzzled the crook of her neck for a minute before he lifted up to kiss her softly. Then he pulled out, took care of the condom, and got up to pull on his pajama pants, go to the bathroom, and throw the condom away.

  She got up too, and when he was done in the bathroom, he restoked the fire in the stove while she went in to pee and clean up. She put his T-shirt back on when she returned to the bed, and she pulled him into the bed beside her.

  He spooned her from behind, his arms wrapped around her middle.

  She could feel him all over. He was big and warm and relaxed.

  Kent.

  She’d never believed she’d feel him like this, but it didn’t feel wrong.

  It felt exactly right.

  “Did you giggle when you came?” he asked into the dark.

  “What?”

  “Did you giggle?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Not really. It was just a sound that came out.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “I can’t help the sounds I make when I come any more than you can.”

  “I don’t even know what kind of sound I made.”

  She thought back. “You made a kind of choking sound.” She tried to imitate it, and his body shook with amusement behind her. “It was sexier than that,” she said.

  “Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He brushed a kiss against her hair. “Everything about y
ou was sexy, including that giggle.”

  “I told you it wasn’t a giggle.”

  “If you say so. It was sexy anyway.”

  She was smiling in the dark as she bent one arm up to stroke his forearm.

  She was still smiling as she fell back to sleep.

  Eight

  KENT WOKE UP A COUPLE of hours after he fell asleep.

  It was just after three and still dark, but the fire was dying down in the stove, so he got up to add another log and get it going again.

  Penny was sound asleep, and he stood and watched her sleeping for a minute before he got back into the bed. As soon as he climbed under the covers, she scooted over closer to him, snuggling against his side in her sleep.

  His chest was too tight. Too heavy.

  It seemed impossible that it would feel so natural to have her in bed with him after spending so many years alone. But it did. He liked how she felt beside him. He liked how his arm fit perfectly around her soft body. He liked how she clung to him in her sleep.

  He liked it.

  Needed it.

  Hated the idea of sleeping alone for the rest of his life once the roads cleared enough for Penny to leave him.

  It couldn’t be real. This yearning for her. There was no way something so deep could arise from one night together. Yes, he’d known and loved her all his life, but still...

  This wasn’t real. He was making it up because he’d been emotionally deprived for so long. He would have attached himself to anyone else in the same way.

  Even as he told himself this lie, he knew it wasn’t true.

  It was Penny.

  It had always been Penny, even before he’d known they were physically so compatible. He’d left her behind the way he’d left everyone else, so he’d never allowed this side of their relationship to develop the way it inevitably would have.

  If he’d kept her in his life, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his hands off her for long. They would have had ended up in bed together eventually.

  In fact, if he’d let her into his cabin when she’d knocked the day after his dad’s funeral, he would probably have broken down. He wouldn’t have had any control.