Graham squeezed his eyes shut, his nails digging into his palms in his attempt to keep from pulling her into his arms. He sensed her move closer and her fingers slid into his hair with a featherlight touch.
“The last thing I wanted to say is I decided what I wanted to be remembered for. Loving and living with abandon and adventure and not letting the worst moment of my life define how I lived the rest of it. I want to live it with you.”
He opened his eyes just as several tears slipped down her cheeks. Slowly, he reached up and brushed them away with his thumbs, cradling her face in his palm.
“A life with me won’t be easy,” he said softly. “I know I’ve made progress, but I’m still not used to talking about things. I’ll keep working on it, but you’ll have to be patient with me.”
She blinked, sending another tear down the same path. “I don’t want easy. Lord knows that’s the last word anyone would use to describe me. I just know I want you. Before I freaked out, we figured things out pretty well, and I have faith we can keep doing that. As long as we do it together, that’s all that matters.”
He slid his fingers into her hair. “I want you, too. Turns out you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”
A soft sigh left her throat and she pressed her forehead against his.
“Fuck’s sake, please say I can kiss you no—”
She cut him off with her lips, and he felt whole for the first time in months. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, smiling against her mouth.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at him. “I love you.”
He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what just happened. Other than the “I love you, too,” he rasped against her neck, he didn’t know what else to say.
He kissed her again, then set her on her feet and tipped his head toward the tent. “Can I fix that?”
Like flipping a switch, her expression went from hazy and desire-filled to affronted. “I wasn’t finished. I took a break, that’s all.”
Graham dropped his hands and stepped back, immediately missing her body and scent. He shrugged. “I was just thinking we could get in there and do stuff, and I can have it done in three minutes. But if you want to take care of it yourself, I’ll just wait over here till you’re done.”
He’d taken two steps toward the folding chair set up near the firepit before she spoke.
“Graham.” Her voice sounded a little breathless.
He glanced over his shoulder to where she balanced on one foot, untying her hiking boot.
“Fix the tent, will you?”
He grinned. “Gladly.”
He’d never pitched a tent so fast in his life.
“Did you bring condoms?” she asked, digging through the pack Noah brought and pulling out a sleeping bag.
Graham stared at her from his perch near the corner of the tent. “I thought I was camping with Noah. So…no.”
Her eyes went wide. “Shit. I didn’t think this through.”
If Noah hadn’t come through on this, Graham would walk to the main road and flag down random motorists to get a ride to the nearest convenience store. He stood and gracelessly grabbed the pack out of her grasp, making quick work of searching each compartment. When his hand closed around the familiar square packages, he dropped his head back in relief. He owed his friend big-time.
“Get in there.” His voice was rougher than intended, but the flash of heat in her eyes and the way she dived into the tent like her ass was on fire told him she was okay with it.
He pulled off his boots and ducked his head into the tent.
Claire spread out the sleeping bag and lay down with her arms stretched above her head, giving him a delicious come-hither look from under those long, curved lashes.
“Come here and lay on top of me. Hurry, please. I finally get to feel the weight of your body on mine.”
He almost cried with joy as he zipped the tent from the inside and went down on his knees, then leaned forward to anchor his hands on either side of her head. He carefully lowered his torso, achingly slow, and as each new piece of their bodies connected, she released a sigh, a moan, a lick of her lips.
He kissed her thoroughly, trying to tell her through his touch how much he’d missed her. How much he wanted her.
“Oh, my, yes. That’s…” She trailed off, her sexy voice thick with desire.
He didn’t want to crush her, but she pulled his body down harder and kept releasing sweet breaths, humming her pleasure.
He dipped his head and dragged his lips along her neck, following with his tongue. “Good?”