14. Leith

14

LEITH

T here was something to be said about the kindness of strangers. Not only did the bear shifter offer to come in on his day off to fix their car, he and his sweet wife pulled together a kit filled with both necessities and goodies to make their unexpected stay more comfortable.

He even supplied Leith with a change of clothing, grumbling that a man couldn't camp in a business suit. As Mathan was a much larger man than Leith — both taller and wider, more representative of the big black bear he shifted into — he'd scrounged up a pair of his slightly smaller teenaged son's sweats.

Leith poked at the fire, making the flames flare.

"Hey, now. Mess up my marshmallow toasting, and you'll regret it," Rowan said, shaking her marshmallow-topped stick at him. "I need coals, not flames, to get the perfect crust."

"And here I thought I was your marshmallow," he teased.

In the flickering light of the campfire, the flush on her cheeks burned bright. "You're already crusty enough," she said, shifting on their shared log, her leg rubbing against his. She rotated her stick, making sure the whole marshmallow turned a golden brown and didn't burn.

He grunted, acknowledging the truth of it. "It's beautiful here," he said, admiring her profile. She'd changed into a pair of black leggings and an oversized hoodie, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Several tempting tendrils escaped their bonds, framing her face and curling around her long neck. Reaching out, he ran a lock through his fingers, his knuckles grazing the soft skin along her collarbone.

She shivered and raised an eyebrow before casually reaching across his lap to grab the s'more supplies, her forearm sliding over his hard cock. He bit back a groan when she added a little more pressure on the return.

"It is beautiful here," she said, as if she didn't know exactly what she'd done and how hard it made him. "I love how you can see so many more stars in the sky when you're away from the bigger cities. I might even ask Mathan if we can come back here again sometime."

The spot the bear shifter directed them to was tucked behind a thick stand of tall trees, the oaks, pines, and scrub trees blocking them from view of both the garage near the road and the Gray's house at the opposite edge of the property. The happy burbling of the nearby creek disguised road noise and made it feel like they were camping deep within the forest, with no one around.

Her marshmallow done, Rowan carefully assembled her s'more — graham cracker on the bottom, a chunk of chocolate, perfectly toasted marshmallow, another cracker on the top — and smooshed it together, the warmth of the toasted marshmallow melting the chocolate. Her eyes on his, she licked a drip of chocolate off the side of her hand.

He grabbed her wrist and took a big bite of her creation, the sticky-sweet combination shocking his senses.

Her jaw dropped. "Hey! Rude." She glared at him.

With a wolfish grin, he went in for a second bite, but before he could get there, she stuffed the entire thing in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk's. He snorted. "Proud of yourself?"

Her eyes glittered in the firelight as she chewed. "Yes. Iss delissus," she said around the s'more.

"You're ridiculous," he said, still holding her wrist, his thumb lightly stroking over her pulse point.

"Yep." She pointed at her mouth, still chewing. "Mine." She swallowed and licked her lips

Unable to resist, he wrapped a hand around her nape and captured her mouth, his tongue stroking over the tempting sweetness of chocolate, marshmallow, and Rowan. Her lips parted, and she leaned into the kiss, her tongue dancing with his.

A log in the fire popped as they parted, panting.

"Truly delicious." He nipped her bottom lip, his hand tightening on her nape. "Mine," he added with a possessive growl.

Her eyebrows rose as the corner of her mouth quirked up. "For now," she answered, her eyes dark with promise.

Forever , he thought. But she wasn't quite ready for that kind of declaration. It didn't matter, though. He'd take whatever she was willing to share with him while also doing his damndest to convince her that this connection was not just a single spark that would sputter out but could flare into an eternal flame, if both parties were willing. And, by the dark goddess of the demon realm, he was more than willing.

Her smile turned sultry and teasing as she stood up and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, revealing an expanse of creamy curves that made his mouth water. Keeping eye contact, she slowly bent at the waist, pushing her leggings down one leg, then the other until she was standing in front of him in nothing but a pair of pink cotton panties.

That hourglass figure, her rosy nipples, the curve of her belly, those strong thighs… Leith's heart pounded hard, all the blood rushing straight to his rock-hard cock. "Holy goddess," he whispered.

"Put out the fire and come to bed," she said, her pert bottom swaying as she ducked into their tent.