To spend my life with only one man…
When the man in question is Nash, the possibility doesn’t seem boring. Not in the slightest.
I shiver as I reach the edge of the clearing and a large shadow separates from the darkness. A beat later, Nash’s voice rumbles through the trees, “Hey. There you are.”
“Here I am.” I grin, skipping the last few steps off the path and into his arms. He picks me up with a happy moan that vibrates through my bones, and then he kisses me, long and deep, until my breath is coming faster and that delicious hunger rises inside me again.
“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind,” he whispers against my mouth as his hands wander down to cup my bottom through my shorts.
An electric jolt surges through me in response.
God, he makes me crazy, so wonderfully, crazily crazy. “No,” I say, clinging tighter to his shoulders. “I just had to wait until Molly fell asleep. She was reading in her bunk forever.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. I missed you, and I’ve been dying to be alone with you.”
“Me, too,” I breathe, threading my fingers into his soft brown hair. “So much.”
We kiss for another long minute, or maybe a hundred minutes. All I know is that soon my head is spinning and my chest is aching and I feel like I’ll die if I don’t get more of him.
All of him.
I pull away, sucking in a ragged breath. “Did you bring something?”
“Something?” he echoes, his breath coming faster, too.
“Something…just in case.”
“In case…”
“In case we want to do more than kiss,” I whisper, my nerve endings buzzing.
I can’t tell if I’m nervous or excited or both, but I’ll feel better once I know we’re protected. I’m ready to be with Nash, but I’m not ready to be a mom. Not for a decade. Or more. Or maybe ever. There are so many adventures to be had and most of them don’t pair well with caring for an infant.
“Yes ma’am,” Nash drawls in that silky voice of his. “I brought a blanket from the storage room. It’s over here.” He takes my hand, drawing me deeper into the shadows.
As my eyes adjust, I make out the rectangular shape of a dark gray camp blanket spread out on the grass. Nash sits, guiding me down onto the blanket beside him and rolling me beneath him with a calm assurance that makes my blood pressure spike.
But when he moves to kiss me again, I put a finger to his lips.
“I didn’t mean the blanket,” I say, amazed by my own gumption. But if I’m really ready to go all the way, I should be brave enough to talk about protection, too. And I am, a fact I prove when I add in a softer voice, “I meant a condom.”
Nash pauses for a long second before he exhales. “Um, yeah… I have something. In my wallet, but I didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?” I ask.
The hesitation in his voice would make me anxious as hell in any other situation, but it’s impossible to feel anxious with Nash leaning protectively over me, his big hand running up and down my side.
“I didn’t think you wanted to tonight. I thought you would want to wait.”
“Do you want to wait?”
“Heck, no,” he says, with a soft laugh. “You make me crazy and you’re so beautiful.” He sighs, a sound filled with so much longing it makes me feel like the most desirable woman on the planet. “I want you so much it’s probably sinful, Aria, but…it’s your first time.”
“Does that make you nervous?” I bite my lip. I know some guys avoid virgins like the plague, thinking we’re going to get too clingy or something lame I’ve never quite understood.
I might be a virgin, but I’ve watched sexy movies and read every racy romance novel I could get my hands on. I know what goes on between a man and a woman. Yes, I’m sure the feelings can get intense, but I’m not going to be rendered idiotic because my privates and a boy’s privates meet up for the first time.
I’m inexperienced, not naïve, and my brain is just as much a part of this decision as the rest of me.
“A little,” Nash confesses. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” I snuggle closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Could he be any sweeter? Or perfect? Or sexy? God, he’s so sexy, it makes my blood feel like honey oozing through my veins. “All you ever do is make me feel amazing. This won’t be any different.”
“Are you sure?” he presses. “I don’t mind waiting. I…”
“What?” I let my fingers play through his spiky hair, wishing I could see his eyes.
“I really like you. A lot. I don’t want this to just be a camp thing, you know? I want to see you after. Be with you after. Like…an official couple.”