Chapter 6

6

brOOKE

I 've always been pretty shy around guys, but Jonah is different. I'm fluttery when he's around, but it's only partly nerves.

The way he looks at me, studies me so meticulously… It's as if he's suddenly dedicating his entire life to figuring me out.

And I love it .

Having his complete attention on me makes me feel like I'm lighting up from within. It's also drawing my focus to areas of my body I hadn't really thought about sharing with anyone else until I found someone really special.

Like Jonah.

He obviously has some sort of shell around him, but whenever he touches me, the shell cracks a little, and I see something different in his eyes.

I'm so touched that he sent his friend Clark over to bring me ice cream and make sure I was using an ice pack. And the new sketchbooks, and the Staedtler pencils?

I'm positive that it's his way of letting me know that he really likes me and doesn't just think of me as some random weird girl he yanked out of the river.

Jonah busies himself in the kitchen, making yet another wonderful one-handed dinner of hummus wraps this time. We eat together on the couch, watching another movie – a sci-fi mystery, his pick, with a cheesy plot but unbelievable special effects.

About halfway through, he casually stretches his thick arm around my shoulders, then glances over to make sure I'm okay with it. My right side snuggles directly against him, and I wonder how much of a green light he's going to need to go any further.

When I'm getting ready for bed, he encourages me to take another painkiller both to keep the swelling down and to make sure that I don't wake up uncomfortable in the night.

"Tomorrow we can start you with heating pads," he says. "Then it should start improving more quickly."

"I'm okay, really."

His eyebrow lifts. "I've been watching the way you move. Your entire side is stiff."

The remark raises a tiny prickle in the back of my shoulders. I slip into the guest room bed, patting the edge for him to sit down. He hesitates, then sits as far away as he can. "What do you mean, studying my movements? Why?"

Jonah actually looks uncomfortable, staring down at his hands. "Just keeping an eye on you. If you get worse, or aren't progressing as fast as I'd like, we need to get you to the hospital."

Reaching out, I take his hand and squeeze it. "I appreciate that you're taking such wonderful care of me, but it's really not that bad."

"It's the very least I can do after hurting you."

I bop him on the nose. "Excuse me? You didn't hurt me. You saved me."

He takes my hand again. "This is kind of a weird situation, Brooke. You're pretty much stuck out here with me. And I don't want you to think…I mean, I'm not the kind of guy who…"

The poor guy. I need to find a way to let these physical feelings out. "You said that you believe in natural remedies, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Lifting both of our hands, I point to my mouth. "Do you believe that kissing someone better makes the pain go away?"

Once again, it's as if I flipped a switch.

He moves slowly, as if he's afraid to speed up. His strong hands move me gently until I'm lying back on the pillow. Then he stretches out beside me, brushing my hair from my cheek before bringing his lips to mine.

Fireworks.

His delicate, sweet, tentative kiss turns into an explosion of passion in about twenty seconds.

I can hardly breathe from the way his mouth devours mine as his left arm scoops under to cradle my body against his. Every time I let out a soft moan, I can feel him smile against my lips.

He loves that he drives me crazy.

His right hand latches around my hip, tilting me toward him. Everything is beginning to tingle, my skin feeling overheated, my pulse ragged as I realize I'm finally in bed with a man. No, not just a man. The sexiest mountain man I've ever seen.

And he seems to be truly hungry for me.

I hear a dark growling scrape at the back of his throat as his fingers thread into the back of my hair, his other hand loosening my shirt and gliding up my spine. Then he freezes for a second.

"Yes," I whisper. "Whatever you're thinking, yes."

That's all it takes for him to start caressing my back, then move his hand around to the front. He carefully avoids my ribs, going straight from my trembling stomach to my breast.

Jonah touches me confidently, his large, warm palms gliding over my skin, sending sparks of desire through every inch of my body. I never knew my nipples were so directly connected to the spot between my thighs that's already becoming wet and open.

I want him.

I've never had these thoughts about a man. Not with this level of intensity. No matter how far he wants to go, I already know I won't be stopping him. I can't. My curiosity has taken over and is making secret backroom deals with my libido to keep my sense of logic out of the negotiation.

Jonah slips his left arm under me, immobilizing me so that I can't squirm and hurt my ribs before hitching up my shirt to admire my breasts.

My stomach flutters as his thumb caresses my nipple while he kisses me gently again. As my fingers thread into the back of his hair, I keep my left hand on the bed so I don't move too much and make him nervous.

I moan softly as his palm drifts down my belly, feeding his hunger. His fingertips toy with the top edge of my baggy old yoga pants, and he pulls back to look into my eyes.

"I need to watch you come." The raw hunger in his low tone sends shivers up the backs of my legs. "I won't let you move around too much and hurt yourself. Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

The word has barely passed my lips when I gasp, feeling the pressure of his big, heavy hand against my mound, already slipping into my panties.

I guess it makes sense that a medic, as an expert on human anatomy, would know exactly how to touch a woman. But it feels like Jonah knows exactly how to touch me personally. His fingertips gently part my folds as my legs fall open. He inhales sharply when we both realize how wet I am. My entire body begins to tremble as his fingers glide softly in and around my sensitive skin, exploring, watching every reaction I make.

"Relax." His voice has turned darker. Gravelly. "You're not supposed to move, remember? If you pull your side, it'll take longer to heal."

Honestly, I don't think I'd mind staying if he kept doing this.

My breathy gasp as the blunt end of his finger notches inside me makes him chuckle. "So sensitive. And how about this ?" My breath becomes halting and fluttery as he gently circles around my clit, then flicks straight across the surface.

My thighs tighten, my left hand gripping the sheet under me as the right tangles in his hair, probably pulling too tightly.

"So beautiful," he murmurs, kissing along my cheekbone, then my jawline. Somehow he manages to stroke gently through my crease with two fingers, while the center one brushes and taps at my clit.

Everything pulls inward, tensing up and trembling, and I realize I'm about to come unbelievably hard. I have no idea what's going to happen when I do. Gazing into his stunning deep eyes, I have a feeling that I could do anything right now. As long as I'm happy, he's happy. What would it feel like to satisfy him? To make him feel everything I'm feeling now?

Just the thought of having his huge, hard cock in my hand, never mind anywhere else, sends me over the edge. My mouth falls open with a weak cry, and then Jonah crushes his mouth to mine, kissing me, devouring me as he caresses my clit, his other finger nudging inside me just enough to make me feel slightly full. I swear I see stars and tiny blue lights as the pulsing wave of raw sensation powers through me.

I hear a gritty growl in the back of his throat. "So sexy. Sweet and beautiful and hot."

I've never once thought of myself as hot. Yet Jonah makes me feel that way. Sensual. Sexual. So many things that I've never felt before.

He kisses me gently again, then pulls his hand out of my underwear and slips his middle finger between his lips, his eyes falling closed. "Mmm. I knew you'd taste delicious."

The look in his eyes is so dreamy. I was wondering if a sexy older man alone in the woods might think of a young lady on her own as some kind of opportunity for a little fling.

But the look in his eyes stops that idea in its tracks. He wants me. Possibly for a lot longer than I could have imagined.

Jonah shuffles my clothing back in place, then tucks me into bed with a pillow wedged against my left side to keep me from rolling onto it.

He kisses my forehead. "I'd love to have you in my bed tonight, gorgeous, but I know that we'd end up snuggling, and tonight you need deep sleep, and to keep your ribs as still as possible. Okay?"

"You're right. Thanks."

He leans in again for another soft, sweet kiss that makes me tingle all the way to the tips of my toes. After he turns off the light and shuts the door, I stifle a giggle.

Does he really think I could fall asleep right after that?