It was that noise that did it. Bowing back against the blanket, she closed her eyes as she detonated around him, pulsing hard, each burst of pleasure feeling better than the last.
Jenner slammed into her now, over and over, faster until he froze and gripped her against him. Warmth spilled into her in hot jets, heating her from the inside out. And as he emptied himself, Jenner did something that baffled her completely. He slowed his pace and began to build the pressure in her middle a second time. But this time around, he kissed her gently until she came again, one orgasm rolling into the next. He hadn’t just flopped over and enjoyed being sated. He’d given her even more of himself and taken care of her needs completely.
She didn’t mean for the tears that rimmed her eyes as she melted into his gentle kiss. She’d never been a woman who cried much, but he’d just touched her heart in ways she hadn’t thought possible.
Jenner eased back, still buried deep within her and apparently content to feel every aftershock from her. “Hey,” he murmured, his face transforming into a worried frown. He smoothed her hair back with a gentle touch. Running the pad of his thumb across her temple, he frowned, then looked at the drop of moisture there with such confusion. “Did I hurt you?”
Lena’s face crumpled as another tear streamed out of the corner of her eye. She shook her head and pulled his palm to her lips. A long kiss on his hand allowed her to stall so that her voice wouldn’t come out fragile and small. “I’m happy.”
Jenner let off a sigh, and his eyes softened immediately over the smile that transformed his face. “Good. That was…” He shrugged his shoulders and looked completely lost for words, but she understood.
“For me, too.”
His lips lifted in a bigger smile just as he lowered them to hers. His kiss made her want to cry harder, which was ridiculous. Why did she feel so raw and open right now? This wasn’t what she’d imagined it would be like. It was as if Jenner was welding her broken pieces back together.
She clung to his shoulders as he eased out of her, then he rocked them upward. Hand on the creases behind her knees, Jenner pulled her legs around him, stood, then walked them slowly into the creek and lowered them into the waves. With a gentle touch, he cleaned her in the water. She was in so deep with him now. The well of her emotion was bottomless as he kissed her with sweet, biting pecks.
With a grin, she bit him back, pulling on his lip for a moment before she released him. Hugging him close and resting her chin on his shoulder, she murmured against his ear, “My wild Jenner.”
The soft growl rattled his throat again, and her grin widened. He’d spent so much time with the animals, he’d become one somewhere along the way. And for some reason, that fact made her love him even more. Love? Her heart stuttered, and she hugged him tighter so he wouldn’t see the confusion on her face. Burying her face against his neck, she sighed, unsure of whether to be terrified of the emotion or to be happy she was capable of feeling love for a man at all. Through the years, she’d been afraid that part of her heart had been too damaged.
Lightning flashed closer, followed immediately by loud, rumbling thunder, and the clouds opened up, dumping hard rain down on them, splatting in a stinging cadence onto her bare skin.
Jenner’s laugh was infectious and drew giggles from her as he stood them up. Pulling her hand, he led her toward their clothes where they gathered the blanket and belongings, shoved their feet into their hiking boots, and bolted through the pouring rain toward camp.
And he gave her another gift, another moment—one she would remember for always.
Right as they made it into the circle of lantern light near the tent, he turned and graced her with a smile that stopped her heart. It was devastatingly happy and open. His body was built like a brick house and sexy as hell, but that smile showed the man underneath it all. And he was giving that smile to her. Her. His eyes were vivid blue and dancing, the angles of his face sharp as glass, and right here, in this moment, she got her first glimpse of two shallow dimples that bracketed his mouth. His dark hair was soaked, and tiny drops of water clung to the ends, ready to fall, and when she stumbled, he picked her up like she weighed nothing, hustled her into the tent, and then disappeared back out of the flap.
Shocked at how utterly changed she felt, she stood there naked, dripping into her untied hiking boots, arms full of her belongings. She watched Jenner as he pulled a covered Dutch oven from beside the fire and snatched the lantern.
His wide shoulders blocked out the rain completely as he ducked through the tent opening, and after he’d zipped them safely inside, he turned that grin on her again. “You hungry?”
Was she ever. His abs were flexing with every breath, his body tight like a bowstring, and she’d just been with him. Hungry for food and hungry for Jenner, she nodded.
“Good.”