Chapter 23

23

I glance back as I walk to the tent, watching Henry, appreciating him. The planes of his face glow orange as he banks the fire, the hair curling over his forehead, blue-black in the dim light. A star shoots across the sky as he straightens. A sign. It has to be.

"We'll miss the meteor shower," I point out as he joins me, threading his fingers through mine.

"The only stars I want to see right now are the ones on the back of my eyelids when I have my face buried between your legs," he says roughly. "Give me a second to get things situated." He toes off his shoes and ducks into the tent. A second later, a thin camping mattress lands at my feet, halfway outside the tent. "There," he says, returning, "Now you can watch the stars while I eat you out."

Jesus. He raises an eyebrow, pointing to the mattress. My heartbeat pounds in my ears as I lie down, looking up at him, starlight limning his shadowed features. This feels impossibly special. Magical. Otherworldly. I reach for him, pulling him down until his weight settles over me, his very essence sinking into my bones, becoming part of me. It's that moment I know that if I kiss him here, like this, that I'll be sharing the deepest parts of myself, parts of me I've never shown anyone else. But it doesn’t scare me. I don’t push him away. Don't warn him. For once, I trust that everything he's told me is true. Basking in his gaze, I frame his face, his stubble soft under my fingers.

"This can’t be real," I whisper, sliding my thumb along the bottom edge of his lip.

"It's fucking real, Red. I've been waiting my entire life for this. For you." He dips his head, nipping at my bottom lip. I surge up as he pulls away, catching his mouth with mine, pulling him back down, tumbling head over heels, dizzy with desire. He tastes like wine, smoke, and sin. I could kiss him forever and never get tired of the way his lips feel against mine, the scratch of his scruff against my chin, the caress of his fingers, the perfect weight of him between my legs. I catch his lip between my teeth, and he groans into my mouth, breaking away from me, his mouth coasting over my jaw and down my neck. He sits back on his haunches, pushing my hands above my head, and carefully tugs off my shirt. His touch is reverent. Holy. He reaches around my back and unhooks my bra, laying me back down before sliding the straps off my shoulders and down my arms.

"Fuck, Isla," he breathes, sliding his hands over the dip in my waist, skimming my ribs and cupping my breasts. I arch my back, pushing into his touch. He licks one thumb, dragging it around my nipple, blowing until it's drawn into a hard point. His growl muffles as he presses his open mouth against me, sucking my nipple deep. A lightning bolt of desire shoots straight between my legs, electricity buzzing along my nerve endings, lighting me up. I squirm against him, trying to pull him back down on top of me, but he only chuckles as his focus switches to my other breast. I push my hands beneath his shirt, tracing every dip and divot with my fingers, memorizing how his muscles feel. I have the ridiculous urge to rub myself all over his body, to mark him as mine. Tattoo my name across the smooth skin of his abdomen.

My breath catches in my throat as his lips graze my sternum, licking his way down to my navel, biting the swell of my lower stomach. "Tell me what you want," he murmurs, resting his chin on my pubic bone, looking up my body at me .

I push myself onto my elbows, holding his gaze. "I want you to fuck me with your fingers while you're sucking my clit, and I don't want you to stop until I'm screaming."

"My pleasure." He keeps my legs trapped between his, burying his face in the vee of my thighs, breathing deeply. He slides his tongue along the crease, making my back bow, desperate to open for him. He sits up and leans to one side, pulling my leg from beneath him, then does the same for the other. He drags me farther into the tent until only my head and shoulders are outside and then starts zipping the opening closed.

"What are you doing?" I ask, confused.

"I don't want you worrying about me and what I'm doing. I want you to have the best orgasm of your life while you watch the stars falling above you."

Oh, god. This man. I flop down on my back, staring at the sky, wondering how the hell I got so lucky. A thrill pulses through me as Henry palms the back of my thighs, sliding his hands toward my center, his thumbs barely grazing me. I wriggle in his grip, trying to get closer to where I can feel his breath puffing against me. He holds me still, and I feel his lips curve against my inner thigh.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I pout, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes, very much so." He drags his tongue up the crease of my thigh, biting me when I try to maneuver closer.

"Henry!" I protest, going limp in his hands as he licks away the pain.

"Be a good girl and stop moving," he chuckles.

I gasp as he runs his tongue down the other side, my nails digging into my palm in an effort to stay still. I tense when I realize I probably smell like nasty river water. What if I taste like it, too?

"Stop thinking and just feel, Isla. You're getting eaten out under a meteor shower. You'll probably never have this experience again in your entire life."

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to relax. I stare up at the blanket of stars stretched across the velvety night sky. A star shoots across the expanse of midnight blue sky just as his lips brush against my clit. Fuck. I bring my hand up to my mouth, biting the base of my thumb as his tongue explores the most intimate part of me. His hum of appreciation rolls over me, the tiny hairs on my body rising as if to say thank you. Resting his cheek against my thigh, he traces my opening with one finger, a gentle caress, teasing, promising. I dig my heels into the floor of the tent, lifting my hips, using my body to tell him I'm ready. He dips one finger in, testing the waters. The finger retreats, but before I can voice my disappointment, he groans, and I imagine him sucking me off his finger, eyes hooded, nostrils flared. A fresh wave of desire floods my system, and he expertly rides it, pushing two fingers into me with perfect timing. I squeeze around him, pulsing my muscles, desperate for him to start moving.

"I can't wait to slam into you and feel you squeeze around my cock," he says, his lips moving against my inner thigh.

I moan as he curls his fingers, massaging my G-spot with slow, even strokes. Just the right amount of pressure to have me on the edge.

"I can't see your face, Isla. I need to hear you." He stops moving his fingers when I don’t respond. "Understand?"

"Yes," I groan, dropping my hand to my side.

"Good girl," he murmurs, kissing the apex of my thighs, teasing me with the tip of his tongue.

"Henry, please," I beg. He flattens his tongue, feathering it over my clit, fucking me with his fingers until I'm sobbing his name.

"The way you move. Fucking hell, Isla." I whimper as he seals his lips over me, sucking hard. He pulls back, ragged breaths heating my skin. "Isla, you're going to have to come for me before I embarrass myself."

"But I want you–"

"Not tonight. Tonight is about you," he says, cutting me off. "I was planning on edging you longer, but I'm about to nut in my pants, and I don't want that to be the memory you have of our first date."

My grin melts off my face as he adjusts his hand, his pinky sliding up my ass crack, teasing sensitive skin as he kneads the inner wall of my pussy with his fingertips. My jaw clenches, my abs contracting, my entire body poised on the edge of something life-changing. I stare up at the sky, the stars melding into one guiding light as he drags his tongue up my slit before pulling me into his mouth, syncing the rhythm of tongue with his hand. Lightning crashes through me, brighter than any shooting star, lighting up parts of me that I didn't even know existed. I moan as ecstasy crackles along my synapses, making me a prisoner to my own body. I scream his name as I lose control, my orgasm launching me into another dimension. Henry hooks a hand around my thigh, holding me tight as I buck against him, not easing up until the tension melts from my body and all that’s left are the aftereffects of the best orgasm of my life. I push up on a trembling arm, unzipping the tent, desperate to see his face.

"Come here." I pull him on top of me, licking his lips before sliding my tongue against his, showing him exactly what I would do if he would only let me.

"Enough," he says roughly, rolling so his back is on the mattress, cuddling me in the crook of his arm. He reaches into the tent and pulls out a pillow and blanket, tucking it around me before putting the pillow under his head. "Perfect," he murmurs, kissing my forehead. We fall asleep as the stars paint streaks across the canvas of the night sky.