Either on her own or with Bryce’s urging, Cynthia had made sure her prank hadn’t ruined anything, and she’d left food for her victims in case they chose to stay at the cabin. Knowing that, Luke was certain she’d also provided the firewood.
He started toward the chair where he’d put their jackets so he could put this note with the first one.
“I’ll take it.” Giselle held out her hand. “You still have some wet clothes to get out of.”
“I swear you’re getting bossier than me.” But he smiled as he handed over the note. “Just tuck it in the pocket of my jacket.” He nudged off his shoes.
“Done. Nice fire, by the way.”
“Thanks. FYI, you’re free to start on your clothes anytime, too.” He reached down and pulled off his socks, which had stayed dry.
“You don’t want to wrestle me out of my clothes, after all?”
“It’s not as much fun if we don’t have a big bed to roll around on.” He reached for the fastening of his jeans. “Besides, I’m getting impatient.”
She glanced pointedly at his crotch. “I can tell.”
“Are you gloating?” He started taking off his soggy jeans.
“Who, me?”
“Yeah, you.” Getting out of the jeans wasn’t simple, but he managed it without falling down. He could have used two chairs to hold his clothes, but with some creative rearranging, he spaced them out on one. “You’re gloating over the rigid condition of my sexual equipment.”
“It’s a heady feeling, knowing I’m the cause of such a masterpiece.” She pulled her sweater over her head and laid it on the chair with their jackets.
“I suppose I could gloat over your stiff nipples, but somehow that’s not as dramatic.” Still, he enjoyed the heck out of eyeing the significant dent they made in the white lace cups of her bra. He kept watching as she took off the bra to reveal those pert nipples set against the backdrop of her creamy, plump breasts. His cock twitched in reaction.
Apparently she noticed, because her mouth curved in a saucy smile. “A bit jumpy, aren’t we?”
“That was definitely gloating.” Shoving down his briefs, he kicked them away. They could dry on the floor. “I want some gloating privileges.”
She unfastened her jeans and peeled them off. “How do you plan to get those?”
He stalked over to where she stood. “By finding out how wet you are.” He grabbed her around the waist.
She gasped. “My dear sir!”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m just getting started.” He slipped his hand inside her panties, and his fingers encountered all the juicy evidence he needed. “You’re as desperate for this as I am.”
She held his gaze. “Maybe more.”
With a groan, he captured her full mouth and began the amazing process of making love to Giselle Landry. All morning he’d tried to convince himself that sex with her wasn’t that much different from sex with any woman. Ah, but it was.
Her soft skin excited him beyond reason. Once she lay beneath him on the futon, he nibbled, licked, and tasted her as if he’d never experienced such wonders before. “Who needs chocolate?” he murmured against her inner thigh.
Her response was a whimper and a restless movement of her hips.
“Oh, yeah.” Settling his mouth over her slick heat, he feasted with abandon until she bowed upward in surrender and her rapid panting turned into a joyous cry of release.
While she was still quivering from her orgasm, he changed position and eased his aching cock deep inside that welcoming channel. Sweet heaven, but this was good. Cinching himself in tight, he braced his forearms on either side of her head and looked into her eyes. The shadows created by the drawn curtains muted the emerald color of her beautiful eyes, but not the sparkle.
She took a shaky breath and smiled up at him. “Very nice.”
“Mmm.” He drew back and slid forward again, all the while searching her expression for any telltale wince of pain. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“More than okay.” She tightened around him. “Better than ever.”
“Ah.” He tensed. With a supreme effort, he subdued the climax that threatened to break through his control. “If you get any better, I’m a goner, and I don’t want to come yet.”
She stroked his back and looked into his eyes. “Then what should I do?”
“Lie still and don’t squeeze.”
That made her laugh, and her laughter caused a ripple effect that massaged his throbbing cock.
He clenched his jaw. “And don’t laugh.”
“Sorry.” Except she only laughed more, all the while apologizing between bursts of merriment.
“To hell with it.” He gave up the fight and began thrusting, deep and fast.
“I like that.” She clutched his hips, her fingertips pressing down as she rose to meet him. “More of that.”
He sucked in a breath. His whole body was on fire, demanding release. He lost control and drove mindlessly into her, each stroke bringing him closer to the edge of the seething volcano about to erupt.
“Yes, oh, yes!” She lifted up with a jubilant cry.
The ripples of her orgasm touched off the explosion he was helpless to contain, and he surged forward, breathless with the power of the climax ripping through him. The hot pulse of his cock brought a groan of pleasure that vibrated his whole body.
Gradually, the world stopped spinning and he could breathe again. Thankfully, he hadn’t collapsed on top of her. Some part of his brain had continued to function and he’d stayed braced on his forearms.
Soft hands framed his face, and he opened his eyes. Beneath him, she seemed as dazed as he was. Slowly, almost reverently, she touched his mouth, his cheeks, and his forehead, as if memorizing his features. He understood the impulse. He’d wanted to do the same, but had been afraid to let his feelings show.
She was braver than he was, apparently. Caressing his face with such tenderness could mean only one thing. She was falling in love with him. Maybe she no longer cared if he knew.
Maybe it was time for him to tell her that he felt the same. “Giselle, I— ”
She laid her finger over his mouth and shook her head. “Don’t say it,” she murmured.
Bracing on one arm, he gently took her hand away. “I don’t know why not. We both feel it. Yes, there are issues, but we’ll deal with them.”
Her smile was the saddest one he’d ever seen. “There are issues that you don’t know about.”
“So you said before, and we played a silly guessing game that got me nowhere. Why can’t you just tell me what it is? I’m shadowboxing, and I don’t like it.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t do this anymore.”
“Make love?”
She nodded, not even bothering to contradict his use of the term.
“Giselle, I won’t stop making love to you as long as you’ll let me do it. Are you going to tell me not to?”
She swallowed. “I should, but . . .”
“But?”
“I can’t seem to say the words.”
“Thank God for that.” Leaning down, he kissed away the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
Then he pressed his tear-moistened lips against hers. He could tell her with his kiss what she wouldn’t let him say out loud. They still had time. Before they left this little cabin in the woods, he’d convince her that no problem, no matter how daunting, was big enough to keep them apart.
Chapter 21
Giselle chastised herself for being weak, but she craved Luke, human though he might be, in ways she’d never craved one of her own kind. She felt so alive with him, as if she’d been suppressing her essential being all her life. With Luke, she could be herself, and he seemed fine with that.