Chapter 7

Reed”s big, luscious lips felt even more amazing on my cock than I could have imagined it. And I had. I”d spent way too much time staring at his image at work and wondering what those full pink lips felt like. Only now I didn”t have to wonder anymore, and I already wanted there to be a next time.

After he’d done a thorough job on me, we lay there blissed out, letting the adrenaline, exhaustion, and satisfaction take over. With the sun warming the tent, we were comfortable enough to stay naked. Thank the heavens. A naked Reed in my arms was quickly becoming my favorite thing. His body was smooth all over, except for neatly trimmed blond pubes. His back, chest, and ass, were all shaved or waxed or gifted by the gods. Reed”s skin felt silky soft beneath my touch. He was a man that put care into every part of his body. Not my usual type, but fuck, he was sexy.

The sleepy purr he made as I ran my hand over his side, hip, and upper thigh could easily become my new addiction. Reed fucking Dawson. I wasn”t sure I would ever lose the wonder that it was him here with me.

We rested and touched and snuggled, until the temperature dipped enough that it would require clothes, sadly. If I were to ever vacation with him again, it would be somewhere hot where we could happily lounge in the buff endlessly. Or swim in warm waters where we wouldn’t have to hurry for being too cold.

Damn!How was I already picturing future trips with a man who had almost never spoken to me until yesterday? But we’d spent more time together already than the last guy I dated for two weeks. Add in some shared intense moments and there was something that felt very real and very big here. I only hoped it wasn’t one-sided. Not that Reed had given any indication otherwise. He’d been as clingy to me as I was to him.

He shivered, and I couldn’t have that. It surprised me to find how much I liked taking care of him. I kissed the back of his shoulder. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

He turned over to look at me. “You’re not supposed to say that, especially when we’re out in the woods. That’s what every person in a horror movie says and they never make it back.”

One corner of my lips tugged up. Underneath the playful tone was a hint of real fear there. I ran a finger over his cheek, tracing the outline of his lips that begged to be kissed. “I’m just going to your tent to grab your things. I figured you probably wouldn’t want to keep wearing the same thing you’ve worn since last night.”

When I ran my thumb over his bottom lip, he opened his mouth. My cock hardened at the sight of his beautiful lips wrapping around my thumb, the suction a reminder of his skills and how good he felt. I was completely captivated by that mouth of his. He popped off my thumb like a lollipop and pulled me down to kiss him, continuing the display of his talented tongue. A moan built up in the back of my throat.

And then he was pushing me off of him with a satisfied smirk. “There. I wanted to make sure you knew what you would be missing out on if you didn’t come back.”

“A hot, gorgeous man waiting for me to return. There is no greater survival tool than that. Because nothing on earth could keep me from coming back to you.” I gave him a quick peck on his nose before forcing myself to get up. His incredible blue eyes followed my cock as it stood with me. I stroked myself twice, enjoying the hungry look he gave me. Shit! I needed to put some clothes on, or I would never want to leave this tent, or him, again.

Finding a clean pair of pants and boxer briefs, needing to have another layer to keep things under control, I dressed quickly. My skin heated, knowing Reed watched me the entire time. He made it so hard to leave; he made me so hard. I couldn’t remember the last time I had someone who made me this needy.

I stepped outside and breathed in deeply, letting it fill me and settle this longing urge that was building. The air had the slightest bite to it and I knew we were going to be bracing ourselves for an even colder night than the one before. A smile rose as I imagined getting to spoon with Reed again. The man was a drug, pure serotonin.

In his tent, I let out a chuckle. Of course, he had several bags. There wouldn’t be room for all of his stuff and mine in my tent. Well, it was our tent now, because as long as he let me, I planned to keep him close. I felt a little awkward rifling through his things, but picturing him lying there naked, waiting for me, made it easier to be the one to do this task. He had a carry-on size bag that was full of beauty products. A hairdryer that required an outlet, a mirror, skin care products, nail polish, and cologne. I took the lid off the cologne and sniffed. Mmm. It smelled like him; woodsy, yet bright and citrusy, with a hint of spice.

I took the bottle along with a face wash, deodorant, and his hairbrush, adding it to his suitcase full of clothes. The rest would have to stay; there was no use for the hairdryer, anyway. Before I’d spent time with him or gotten to know him, I might have judged him for bringing so much useless crap with him on a camping trip. But now, it only endeared him to me more. He was completely out of his element here. So opposite from my history of camping. I had to admit I admired how much care he took in the way he looked, and damn, it paid off, too.

When I returned to my tent, Reed was on his side, head tucked into his arm, asleep once more. God, he was such a beautiful sight. I carefully placed the suitcase in the corner of the tent before kneeling beside him. I caressed his cheek; his soft skin was irresistible to touch.

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

He groaned and turned to his back, eyes blinking as he looked up at me. Reed gave me the sweetest smile that made my heart melt. “Which is it? Prince Charming or Sleeping Beauty?”

“That’s the beauty of it—you can be both. Now, get dressed, so we can actually do some of the things we were supposed to do on this trip.” And so I wouldn’t attack him and stay huddled inside for the rest of the week. Not that it sounded like a bad idea.

“Fine,” he huffed and sat up.

“Where’s the rest of my stuff?”

“It’s still in the other tent. There’s just not enough room for everything in here, or we”d have to sleep on top of our things. I grabbed what I thought you needed.”

Reed opened his suitcase, and his cologne was sitting on top. He held it in his hand and gave me a questioning look. “Just what I need, huh? Are you saying I smell bad?”

“No. I’m saying you smell fucking delicious when you wear that, so it might have been a little self-serving.”

“Good answer.” He opened the bottle and dabbed a little on either side of his neck and a dab on his inner thighs and gave me a wink. The pleasant aroma wafted around the tent, but my eyes were glued to his groin, where I desperately wanted to breathe it off him.

“You said we have things to do, right?” Reed grinned deviously.

“You play dirty.” He had me practically salivating, questioning the idea of rejoining the others.

“Gotta work what you got, boy scout.”

“You do know how to work it.”

“Damn straight. Well, not straight, but you know what I mean.”

Once he was dressed in a gray turtleneck that hugged his slim form and sexy dark blue jeans, we managed to leave the tent. Me, looking like I was ready to go hunting in a plaid jacket and cargo pants, and him looking like he was ready to go cruising.

It was nearly sunset. We all ate together as Strike went over the safety protocols and what to look and listen for on the evening hunt. Cam and Rider sat across from us. Cam looked between us, taking in how close Reed sat to me. He was leaning into me, his arm touching mine. Beneath the table, Reed’s thigh pressed against my own. I liked it. I liked how much he seemed to crave being close, being touched.

“You two seem cozy,” Cam said with a smile.

Reed only snuggled in closer at his comment. “I like cozy.”

I threw an arm over Reed’s shoulder, allowing him to tuck himself even more into my side. My heart fluttered at the lack of hesitation to be this touchy in public. Granted, these were all strangers, so it wasn’t the same as cuddling in front of people we knew. I wondered what it would be like back at home, back at work. Was this all a fantasy, a trick of the woods? Or could we actually maintain something under the prying eyes and pressures of home?

That thought made my stomach sink. To have this with Reed now would make going back to being ignored utterly devastating. I tried not to think about it, hoping the nighttime activity would be a welcome distraction.

We all followed Strike with our night vision goggles in hand. The group had been lively during dinner, but now that it was growing dark and we were walking on the footpath that would lead us back toward the stream, an eerie quiet settled around us.

When we came to a clearing not too far from where Reed and I had been earlier, Strike used hand motions to direct us. No one said a word as we sat on the ground facing different directions, looking through the green tint of night vision. Reed kept himself pressed firmly against me, not leaving even an inch of space. Coming back so soon after what we’d experienced…I was surprised he was even here. Though it was either stay with the group or back at camp by ourselves, so it was the safer of the two options. Still, I liked that he seemed to find comfort in being at my side. Another thought that made my heart soar and sink in equal measure.

We stayed for two hours, listening, watching, breathing, making as little noise as possible. And…nothing. There had been a few nocturnal creatures that scurried about in the dark, but nothing big. No rank wet animal smell came, and no howls or whoops echoed around us. Nothing.

Strike led us back to the camp, congratulating everyone on a great hunt.

“But we didn’t find anything.” Cam’s disappointment bled through once more.

“Maybe not, but it’s all part of it. Just like with fishing. Half the fun is the cast.”

“That doesn’t sound fun at all,” Reed whispered to me. I let out a chuckle. If there was any sort of future for us, it wouldn’t be what I always thought I would have—someone who loved the outdoors as much as I did, because that was not Reed.

“Well, have a good night folks. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Strike dismissed himself.

After saying our goodnights, we returned to our tent. Reed kept his turtleneck on but switched out his jeans for joggers. Before we could settle in for the night, we did some rearranging. I laid my sleeping bag out flat across our two pads, then put his on top of it, zipping the two together. When we climbed inside, we were in one giant cocoon that allowed us to move closer and stay snuggled up in the warmth of the now-bigger sleeping bag. Reed curled into my side with his head on my chest and I wrapped my arms around him. He felt so damn perfect there.