Branded for You (13 page)

And then he drew out of her and braced his arms to either side of her chest, breathing hard with sweat rolling down his forehead. He looked at her a long moment then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her softly.

He adjusted her on the bed so that he could lie down beside her. When he was settled, he propped himself up on his elbow and forearm as she rested on her back. He looked down at her and smiled as he brushed her hair from her face.

“Was I too rough?” he asked. “I couldn’t control myself with you.”

“You weren’t too rough.” She smiled. “I loved every moment.”

He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. “I love the woman you are. I love everything about you.”

She swallowed as she looked up at him to read the meaning in his eyes. He appeared so focused on her that he might be unaware of everything around him but her. Caring was there, the same caring she’d seen all day. He hadn’t hidden it from her and she didn’t think she was reading him wrong.

Just how much he cared for her, she didn’t know, but it was there.

She reached up and touched the side of his face. “I feel the same way you do.”

He smiled and lowered his head and kissed her again. When he drew away he reached for a blanket at the foot of the bed and pulled it over them before settling himself so that he could bring her into his arms, her head resting on his chest.

A loud crash startled Megan awake.

The sound came from outside the camper. Ryan was already out of bed and putting on his clothes.

Her heart pounded as she sat in bed holding the blanket to her naked breasts. “What is it?”

He looked out the window. “A bear. Looks like he got ahold of the trash.”

She put her hand over her mouth before she lowered her hand and said, “I forgot to seal it and put it in the back of the truck.”

Another crash caused her to jump.

“It’s tearing up camp.” Ryan reached into the drawer beside the bunk and drew out his pistol. “I’ll scare it off.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you sure? Are you going to shoot it?”

“Bears are scared of humans.” He reached for the door handle. “No, I don’t plan on shooting it. This is just to help scare it off.”

A third crash and Ryan jerked open the door, swept his gaze over the scene, and shouted, “Get out of here,” in a loud, powerful voice.

Megan scrambled into her T-shirt and jeans as she peered out the door and watched Ryan make a bunch of noise and holler. The creature gave a guttural cry then turned and lumbered into the forest.

Heart pounding, Megan stood in the doorway and stared in the direction the bear had disappeared. “Will it come back?”

“Not likely.” Ryan shook his head. “But let’s clean up the trash to avoid anymore nighttime visitors.”

“Oops.” Sheepishly, she looked at him. “I’m the one who’s afraid of bears and I led one right to us.”

He laughed. “I think it wasn’t just the trash. We forgot about those left over s’mores.”

She couldn’t help but keep looking over her shoulder, wondering if the bear would show up again, as she helped Ryan gather all of the trash scattered across the campsite and seal it all in a new bag. They also righted the camping table and chairs.

When they were finished, he put the sealed bag in the back of the truck where a bear couldn’t climb then put his arm around her shoulders and walked to the camper. He let her head up first and then he closed the door and locked it behind them.

She slid out of her clothes again and climbed into bed and into his arms. His warm, naked body heated hers through.

It wasn’t long until she slipped back into dreamland, Ryan’s powerful embrace chasing her fears away.

Chapter 14

Megan woke to sunshine and the feel of a warm naked body next to hers. She opened her eyes and saw Ryan watching her.

He skimmed a finger along her arm. “Good morning, beautiful.”

She smiled at him. “It certainly is a good morning.”

He trailed his finger up one breast to her nipple. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“Yes.” She placed her hand on his hard chest. “But if you keep that up I might not let you out of bed.”

His smile was entirely sexual. “Don’t tempt me.”

“Hmmm…” She played with his flat nipple. “Let me think about that.”

The flare in his eyes was unmistakable. He rolled her onto her back and moved between her thighs, causing her belly to swoop. He reached into the drawer near the head of the bunk and pulled out a foil packet. He tore it open with his teeth then sheathed his cock.

She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until he slid inside her and she let out his name on a gasp of pleasure.

He moved in and out of her, his gaze focused on hers. His stokes were smooth and slow as he watched her. The way he looked at her made her feel like she really was beautiful.

An orgasm started to build inside her and her mind started to whirl. When she saw the tenseness in his jaw, she knew he was close to coming, too.

Her back arched as her climax tore through her and she cried out. Her thoughts whirled and she was barely conscious of Ryan. But she felt his body cord and then he was groaning as his cock throbbed inside her.

He hugged her then braced his arms and looked down at her. “That was a fantastic way to start out the morning.”

She smiled. “Incredibly amazing.”

He eased off of her and slid off the bunk, then ditched the condom in a small trashcan. He held out his hand. “Ready to get up?”

She took it. “Can’t wait to see what you have planned for the rest of today.”

First thing, Ryan built a fire and heated some water to wash up. Megan washed her face and sponged off then dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and sturdy athletic shoes. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

When she came out of the camper, she smelled bacon at once and saw a platter of bacon nearby, along with hash browns. He was frying eggs in the cast iron pan on the grate.

She held her hand to her belly that growled instantly. “That smells wonderful.” She reached the fire pit and felt heat on her skin. “I’ll get the plates and forks.”

He smiled gestured toward the camping table. “Everything is over there.”

She grabbed what they needed, including a couple of paper towels. They ate everything he’d made.

“Breakfast was incredible,” she said and reached for his empty plate.

He handed it to her, and she took everything and put it into the garbage bag by the camping table while he cleaned up wrappers and the frying pan.

“Are you up for a hike?” He gestured in the opposite direction of the lake. “We can drive in over there and go up to one of the fire towers.”

“I’d love to,” she said.

They put out the campfire and made sure the garbage and food was in the camper, then drove a good distance into the forest. After he parked, they started hiking up the mountainside. Through the trees she could see the tower that was a good distance above them.

As they hiked, Ryan pointed out different plants and named the varieties, and he was familiar with a lot of the bird species, too. By the time they reached the fire tower, she was out of breath, but she felt fantastic. The clean, fresh scent of the cool air was invigorating and the hike with Ryan had been exhilarating.

She looked out at the forest spread out below them. “The view is incredible.”

“Let’s see if the spotter is here and maybe he’ll let us climb up into the tower,” Ryan said.

She looked dubiously at the tower. “That looks really high. I think I might suddenly be afraid of heights.”

He grinned. “It’s worth it.”

Ryan climbed up the tower and a panel in the floor opened. She saw him talking to someone but couldn’t hear what he was saying.

He looked down and waved to her. “Come on up.”

She bit her lip but went to the tower. She put her hands and one foot on the metal rungs and looked up.

He gestured for her to follow him up. “You can do it.”

She took a deep breath and started to climb, but wouldn’t let herself look anywhere but up at Ryan.

When she reached the open panel in the floor, he helped her climb the rest of the way inside.

“Welcome,” a man said as he extended his hand. “I’m Don.” He had gray hair, tanned skin, and wore a bright red shirt that had “U.S. Forest Service FIRE” on the front on the upper left hand side.

“I’m Megan,” she said then caught her breath the moment she looked from the man and out of the windows at the 360-degree view. Miles of forest spread out before her with majestic mountains in the distance. She could see a large lake and acres of green grasses in the midst of the forestlands.

“Wow.” She stepped away from the man to the lookout windows. “This is incredible.”

“Worth the climb?” Ryan asked.

“I’ll tell you as soon as my feet are safely back on the ground.” She smiled at him. “But yes, it’s pretty incredible.”

The spotter showed them points of interest and Megan couldn’t get over all that they could see from their vantage point. Don let her look through his field glasses, but most of the time he continued to look around the forest to watch for fires.

“The fire season is ending in a week,” Ryan said. “They close up the fire towers depending on the conditions. Usually they close them when the rains come in the fall and then they generally won’t open them again until May.”

“I’m glad we had the chance to see the view from up here,” Megan said.

“Why don’t we head on back to camp?” Ryan said.

Megan looked out one last time then turned to the spotter. “Thanks for letting us come into the lookout.”

“It was nice having a little company,” Don said.

Ryan went down the ladder first then Megan followed. She refused to look at anything but the ladder as she climbed down, doing her best not to look at the ground or at the forest stretched out before them.

She gave a huge sigh of relief when her feet touched the ground and Ryan steadied her. He gave her a kiss. “I hope you enjoyed that.”

“Immensely,” she said then added, “Minus the climb,” and he tugged her ponytail.

The way back down the trail was easier because it was downhill and it didn’t take them too long to reach the truck.

It was noon by the time they reached the campsite and they had the rest of the sandwiches from the cooler along with barbeque chips and cream soda. She hadn’t had cream soda since she was a kid.

“How about a little skinny dipping in the lake?” he asked when they finished eating.

She raised her eyebrows. “What if someone comes?”

He grinned “The danger makes it all the more fun.”

She laughed. “I could use a little danger in my life.”

This time they didn’t bring any fishing tackle when they walked to the lake, but they did take a couple of towels.

She glanced at him as they walked and smiled to herself. Ryan was a man’s man but he was so energetic and liked to have fun. She loved being with him, loved everything about him.

With Ryan she felt safe…protected…cared for…maybe even more.

She’d never had this feeling with her ex—all he’d ever done was go to the office and come home and sit his butt in front of the TV and watch sports or play golf with his friends.

Why hadn’t a guy like Ryan been snapped right up by some beautiful woman?

When they reached the lake, they stripped out of their clothing and put it all on a large boulder with the towels. Normally she would feel shy or embarrassed undressing in front of anyone, much less a man. For some reason she was okay with Ryan watching her strip. Maybe it was the appreciation in his gaze or the fact that he told her he could barely keep his hands off of her as she undressed.

The early afternoon sun was warm on her skin, but the breeze was cool. “The water’s cold.” She shivered despite the warmth of the sun as she stepped into the water along the rocky shore.

But even as she shivered, she had to admire his incredible body. She wanted to run her palms over his chest and feel his narrow hips between her thighs again.

“It’s only a little cold.” He stepped into the water, took her hand, and led her into water up to her knees, right before a fairly deep drop-off. “It’s been a particularly warm September so the water isn’t too cold, it’s refreshing. Let’s dive in.”

“Refreshing? You’re crazy.” She shook her head but smiled at his boyish enthusiasm. “I think this is far enough. I’m going to go right back and get back into my warm clothes again.”

“It’s best to just take the plunge,” he said with a devious grin as he grasped her around the waist.

“Oh, no.” She shook her head and grabbed his shoulders. “Don’t—”

She cried out as he picked her up and tossed her into the lake. She went down below the surface and came up sputtering and wiping water from her eyes. “That wasn’t fair,” she said but couldn’t stop laughing.

He dove in and came up beside her. He brought her close and cut off her laughter with a soul-searing kiss. They pressed their wet naked bodies together and his skin felt slick against hers. The heat of his kiss matched the warmth of the sun beating down on them and she felt some of the cold dissipate.

When he drew away, he said, “Forgive me for tossing you in?”

She smiled. “Only if you kiss me again.”

He caught her face in his hands and brought his mouth to hers. She slipped her hands around his neck and slid her fingers into his wet hair, her bare breasts rubbing against his chest as she hooked her legs around his hips. Despite the cool water she felt the heat of his body and the heat of his kiss warming her through.

When he broke the kiss, he didn’t let go. He looked down at her, a smile tipping the corners of his mouth. “I might be falling for you, Meg.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. She was too surprised to find words.

Ryan, falling for her? She wasn’t sure how she felt, but she was pretty sure she was falling for him, too.

Her throat worked. Before she could say anything, he gave her a firm kiss. “Come on. Let’s swim.”

His words kept going through her mind as they swam and played in the water. Just as they were about to go back, Ryan said, “I hear voices.”