Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

L ena basked in the serene calm of the riverbank, the gentle murmur of water flowing nearby mingling with Alex's low, comforting voice as they lay on their picnic blanket. It had been a perfect day filled with laughter, swimming, and the kind of easy conversation that came when two people knew each other deeply. She felt safe, enveloped in Alex's presence, the world's chaos held at bay by the tranquility of nature and their isolation.

As the first raindrops began to fall, gentle at first but quickly growing more insistent, Lena laughed, catching them on her tongue as they gathered their belongings. "Looks like we're in for a shower," she remarked, her eyes bright with mischief as she glanced at Alex.

"We'd better head back before it gets worse," Alex said, his voice tinged with reluctance to end their day. They started walking back toward his house, the rain painting the world in shades of gray and the fresh scent of wet earth rising around them.

He turned to her, and their eyes caught—a silent exchange that said more than words could.

In that prolonged look, something shifted. It was as if the storm around them faded into insignificance, leaving only the intensity of his gaze. Lena's heart raced, blood pounding in her ears louder than the rain. There was no denying the electricity that sparked between them, a current as raw and untamed as the tempest surrounding them.

They stood motionless but for their heaving chests, the space between them charged with unspoken thoughts and shared battles. His shirt clung to his torso, outlining the hard muscles beneath—a warrior's body sculpted by necessity and survival. Her own clothes felt like a second skin, cold and uncomfortable yet strangely exhilarating as they stuck to her curves.

"Alex," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, almost lost to the sound of the rain.

He stepped closer, reducing the distance until she could feel the heat emanating from his body. Their breaths mingled, the dampness of their skin a testament to the ordeal they'd endured together. In his eyes, she saw the reflection of her own desire, a mirror to the yearning she felt blossoming within her.

Alex's movement was swift as he pressed her up against a nearby tree. The forest around them blurred into irrelevance as his lips crashed against hers, a storm within the storm. His kiss was fervent, a mingling of rain and warmth, of need and assurance.

She gasped into the kiss, her senses reeling from the sudden shift—from combatants to conspirators in this act of rebellion against their plight. The adrenaline that had fueled their fight found a new outlet, coursing through their veins with a different kind of urgency.

His hands began a journey over her sodden clothes, tracing the lines of her form with a tenderness that belied the strength in his fingers. Each touch was a spark, igniting fires in places she hadn't known were cold. She leaned into him, her body a willing canvas to the masterpiece his hands painted.

"You're incredible, Lena," he whispered against her mouth, his voice barely audible over the relentless drumming of rain on leaves. "You're strong, resilient."

Her heart pounded, each word he spoke weaving into her like threads of gold, reinforcing the tapestry of her resolve. In this secluded world they created where only the trees and the rain were privy to their secrets, his words were both a balm and an incitement, soothing her fears and stoking the flames of her desire.

"Alex," she breathed out, her own hands tentatively reaching out as if to confirm that he was real, that this moment wasn't some fevered dream conjured by the storm. But the solid heat of his chest under her palms was proof enough.

Her hands moved of their own accord, tracing the outline of Alex's shoulders, the curves and valleys of his muscles honed from years of rigorous training. The rain had plastered his shirt to his skin, outlining every detail of his physique, and as her fingertips skimmed over his chest, she could feel his heart beating as fiercely as her own.

"Let me," Alex said quietly, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through her. He grasped the hem of her soaked shirt and peeled it away from her skin with careful movements, baring her to the cool air of the forest and his intense gaze.

She shivered, not from cold but from the raw intensity in his eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he discarded his own shirt, revealing a torso sculpted with scars and stories of survival. His skin was warm under her touch, a stark contrast to the chill of the rain-soaked forest that surrounded them. Their pants and shoes were next.

"Alex," she murmured, her fingers tracing a particularly long scar that ran across his ribcage—a silent testament to the battles he had faced. It was more than flesh and blood; it was strength, resilience, a mirror to her own spirit. Their wet clothes lay forgotten at their feet, insignificant in the face of the connection that pulled taut between them, as tangible as the raindrops that cascaded down their bare skin.

Lena's lips descended, a whisper across Alex's heated skin as he cupped her ass and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around. She let out a moan as he filled her to the hilt. He gripped her hips as he thrust in and out over and over, going deeper and deeper. Wave after wave crashed over her.

"Alex," she murmured against him, her breath a warm contrast to the chill.

He leaned down and nipped at her ear. "You're mine."

"Yes." She'd be whatever the hell he wanted at that moment. Every part of her body lit up like the night sky on the Fourth of July.

He gripped her hips, his finger biting into her flesh, and pounded into her over and over. Every thrust built the pleasure that would send her over the edge of bliss.

Her climax tore through her and she screamed out in pleasure as she tumbled over the edge. Moments later, he joined her in his own release.

"Alex," she said, voice barely above a whisper.

He responded with a soft groan, his forehead resting against hers, their bodies a tangle of limbs on the forest floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern threading through the exhaustion in his tone.

"Never better," Lena managed to say, her body humming from the release.