Before he really calmed himself, she reached down and guided his cock to her entrance. His breath hissed in his teeth and he almost kept his shit together except she lifted her hips and then the tip pressed into her soft, welcoming flesh and…
He groaned and thrust hard, deep, all the way to his root until their stomachs met and Lauren made a soft, surprised sound. He would have retreated but she locked her legs around his waist and linked an arm around his neck. She breathed against his ear, “Make me feel good, Finn.”
His control shattered. His arms slid under her to grasp her shoulders and hold her in place as he thrust. He’d learned enough to know what sounds she made when she was enjoying something, and when she wasreallyenjoying something, and managed to at least listen for those cues as he moved.
Finn meant to draw things out, meant to ensure she came at least a couple more times before he finished, but the tight clasp of her channel meant control quickly slipped away. Her body clutched at him every time he retreated until he was groaning and panting along with her.
He didn’t want or need any acrobatics. He could have moved into a new position or tried something fancy but instead he couldn’t stand the thought of losing the connection of seeing her eyes, feeling her breath against his cheek, having her arms and legs wrapped around him. Finn groaned and kissed her deeply as static filled his brain and pressure built in his back before he came.
It severed the connection between his brain and the rest of him, and both the bear and the man couldn’t have moved if Shotgun kicked down the door and threatened them both. He came back to himself slowly, in bits and pieces, as Lauren sighedand her thighs slid against his sides in a soft caress that nearly set him off again. Finn rested his forehead against her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her skin and the perspiration that clung to them both.
Her fingers drifted down the back of his neck over and over, like she petted the bear’s ears earlier. He should have moved, he knew that, but he couldn’t convince himself to lose the soft warmth of her against him. Under him. Her knees drawn up and her heel moving against his calf. He turned toward her neck and nuzzled closer behind her ear, whuffling along like the bear would have.
“Question,” she said, still absently stroking his neck and moving her foot against his leg. The girl fidgeted even while half-asleep and obviously sated and well-loved.
He grumbled and kissed her shoulder, pushing up on his elbows to see her clearly. The fact that it also gave him a chance to study her breasts and watch the way her hair tangled against the pillow was just happenstance. “Anything.”
He’d expected something about him being a bear, maybe, or the plan for the rest of the night, or something odd about the mechanics of sex. With Lauren, he really didn’t know what to expect. It was part of what he loved about her without even thinking, without knowing much more about her than he’d seen in the past two days. She damn well could have said anything.
“Why did you bring condoms on a hike through the woods?”
And she delivered. Finn snorted and rolled to the side, though he took her with him so they stayed pressed together as he hiked her thigh up on his hip and squeezed her ass. Lauren squeaked but stayed burrowed close, her hips rocking in response to his touch. His lust reignited and he normally would have snapped off one condom and gotten a second but he didn’t want to pressure her. “Same reason I have tampons in the firstaid kit. They can be useful for things other than what they were intended.”
“You have tampons in the first aid kit?” She pushed up on an elbow to peer over his side into the darkness of the cabin where the first aid kit spilled its guts onto the floor. Lauren made a thoughtful sound and rested her chin on his shoulder as she surveyed the interior of the dilapidated building, like somehow more useful items would appear out of nowhere.
Finn didn’t bother to hide his smile and instead took the opportunity to kiss her shoulder and along her neck, his palm on her waist so he felt how she breathed. “Yep.”
“You’re so prepared.” Lauren flopped back on her back, arms above her head as she stretched and yawned, and studied him with hazy, half-closed eyes. “And you actually used the condoms for what they were meant for, too. Do you have enough for whatever you were going to use them for, too?”
Finn studied her face, running his fingertips along her eyebrows and cheekbones, then down the line of her jaw and the curve of her lips. God help him, she was so beautiful he wouldn’t ever get tired of looking at her. “I use them for waterproofing stuff that I don’t want to get wet, and I’ve got plenty, yes. Even if I didn’t, I’d rather use them with you.”
And he waggled his eyebrows to make a joke of it, in case she got nervous again. He didn’t particularly like tiptoeing around and being so worried about everything he said, but he didn’t like her getting uncomfortable a lot more.
She laughed, squirming around a little, and patted his bare chest. “You’re probably the first.”
Every inch of him went on full alert as alarm shot through him. The first? He was the first for what? Panic brewed. Had she been a virgin, somehow, despite being so fucking sexy and delectable? Finn cleared his throat and leaned back slightly,suddenly worried that he’d been too aggressive even if she’d been into it. “Uh, when you say the first, do you mean…”
Lauren’s head tilted as she looked at him, puzzled, then she laughed even more. “No, not thefirstthe first. Just the first who actually wanted to use a condom and didn’t have it break or fall off halfway through.”
He breathed easier at the same time he wanted to hunt down any dude who’d lied to her or put her in danger for their own selfish fucking reasons. Finn took a deep breath to steady the bear’s rage and very carefully kissed her cheek. “Well, safety first, darlin’. Unless you’re looking for a baby, we’ve gotta be careful.”
She looked mostly asleep, not really paying attention as she moved to watch the dying flames. “The possibility of a baby never stopped anyone else, they just expected me to deal with it or whatever.”
Finn closed his eyes briefly in an effort to control his temper and the urge to race off into the night to hunt down the fuckers who’d touched her. He untangled his limbs and carefully settled the sleeping bags and extra blankets over her to get up and clean off. And go into the back room to growl and break logs with his bare hands in a fury.
He suddenly understood a lot more why Simon and the others went out of their way to keep their mates happy and content; the emotional swings of wanting to correct those wrongs might kill him. He even stuck his head through one of the broken windows so the cold air might shock some sense into him, and breathed in the crisp, woodsy scent of fresh snow. God help him if Shotgun or those smugglers threatened her. They’d need a lot more than God on their side to survive if they did, but he’d need all the morphine in the medic bag to keep him from going on a full fucking rampage. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed. He had to get them out of there, and fast.
LAUREN
Whatever she’d expected, Finn delivered much more. She hadn’t known what to expect, particularly after he retrieved protection all on his own, but he exceeded even her wildest dreams. He even managed to top the way she felt earlier when he went down on her. Lauren almost felt bad for not reciprocating the oral sex, but Finn didn’t even hint that he expected it. It was like he only cared what she wanted.
She dozed, only half awake, as he got up and rummaged around, and for a second she thought he might be getting more condoms to go again. She wouldn’t have minded that a bit, even though she already felt sticky and slightly sore. It had probably been at least a year since she was with anyone, and those muscles hadn’t gotten a workout in some time. She smiled to herself as she curled up under the sleeping bags. Not a bad way to spend the evening after all.
Lauren didn’t know what the next day would bring, and she didn’t want to ask. She had to live in the moment. Trying to plan ahead too far never worked out for her or anyone she knew. She’d been making plans to go to a community college for something when she got mixed up with the protestors andher whole life blew up. Instead of getting ahead, she was out an application fee and the first semester’s tuition.Shecouldn’t even apply for a refund because the bounty hunters would be able to find her.
She pushed the thought away and raked the hair out of her face. Something creaked and snapped in the back room, and she glanced back to make sure it was still Finn and not the scary guys with guns. Which would have been terrible, since she was still naked and didn’t want to think of what those bastards might try if they walked into the cabin. Surely with a blizzard going on outside, all the bad guys were hunkered down somewhere else.
She worried her lower lip in her teeth, watching the flames dance and pulse. The air moved and Finn was there again, his knee denting the mattress next to where she lay. Lauren smiled as she looked at him, trailing her fingers down his chest. “Why did you…”
