8. Welcome

WELCOME

A groan rumbles through Drake's chest, a low, warbling sound full of masculine need. His desire echoes in the hammering of my pulse. This connection we share doesn't make sense.

It's insane. Intense.

We barely know each other.

We met less than twelve hours ago, but whatever this is, it isn't something I want to stop.

I lick my lips, wetting them in preparation for the heat of his mouth upon me. With a shuddering inhale, I glide my fingers across the swell of his biceps and sweep across the hardened planes of his chest. My fingers explore every ridge and valley of his sharply cut muscle.

I stroke the back of his neck and twine my fingers in the hair at his nape. He's tall, broad of shoulder, and can't help but dominate my personal space. Normally, that's something I would avoid.

How many times did Scott cage me in?

That never ended well.

This, however, is different in so many ways. Most importantly, I welcome the intrusion. I want to see where this leads.

My lungs seethe with my answer, hanging on the precipice of saying, if not yes , then definitely not the no he demands.

As reckless as this is, being with Drake feels like coming home. Or maybe, it feels like closing the door on my past.

With my lips parted, I rise on tiptoe, eliminating that final gap between us. Brushing our lips together, I seal my fate.

"I don't want you to stop."

Simple, raw desire flares in his gaze as he seizes my mouth with a guttural groan. There's nothing coy or teasing about his assault. No gentle gliding of his lips against mine or easy exploration with his tongue.

Drake seals our lips, pulling me hard against him. He pushes in with his tongue, claiming and taking, pillaging and plundering. The unexpectedness of it sweeps me off my feet. His entire body vibrates with male arousal: a primal reaction, which sets my nerves on fire.

I should be surprised, but he warned me he wouldn't be gentle.

His kiss isn't the tender exploration of first-time lovers. There's no hesitancy. He's primal, primitive even, frenzied in his need to take and claim.

I surrender to his need, inviting him in, accepting the brutality of his desire with an answering urgency of my own. He takes from me with bruising aggression, his tongue demanding and determined, while I lift up on tiptoe and wrap my hands around his neck.

I've never been kissed like this before. It's as if he puts his whole body, his entire soul, into the act of sealing our lips and joining our bodies. If this is the way he kisses—what will the rest of it feel like?

Once he breaches my defenses, his tongue chases mine. His lips fortify his attack with a firm, combative strength against my yielding acquiescence. His reckless hunger surprises me, but that's nothing compared to my response.

I become something unfamiliar.

Something wild and untamed.

Feral in my need, a hunger wakes within me, demanding and raw.

Or maybe I simply need one man to replace the pain of another?

Whatever my motivation, Drake is here, and my ex is quickly becoming nothing more than a painful memory.

This kiss is everything.

It's powerful enough to cause serious damage because I realize a painful truth. I can fall for a man like Drake. With every nerve in my body thrumming with the punishing strokes of his tongue, I burn beneath the unrestrained wildness of his desire.

My exhales turn erratic, quickening with the speed of his assault. His hot mouth and talented tongue are more experienced than my tentative response. He licks and nips, driving me insane as he dominates the space we share with his overwhelming presence.

His kiss is unlike anything I've ever dreamed about. It's beyond what I thought possible. The relentless demands of his mouth steadily sweep me off my feet.

My entire body trembles as I tilt my head back to beg for more. I swallow a needy moan as my left leg lifts, wrapping around his hip, needing to climb his towering frame and take this to its logical conclusion.

Drake palms my ass and lifts me against his groin, where he grinds against me, showing me the depth of his arousal. A groan drives his hips harder as we shamelessly grind against one another while his mouth punishes my swollen lips.

My blood warms, liquid heat courses through my veins, melting me from the inside out. I squirm against him as my hot, itchy nerves demand more.

More heat. More friction. More of him and his touch.

Our clothing becomes our enemy, preventing us from feeling skin on skin. My nipples tighten and my inner thighs pulse, awakening a needful ache in my core.

And this is just a kiss.

The punishing rhythm doesn't give me time to think or agonize over thoughts of what I want to come next. I surrender myself to the moment, content to let it last forever.

And while I lose myself under the torment of his kiss, my heart sputters as it wakes from a self-imposed slumber. Shell-shocked to silence after the ordeal I left in Redlands, California, it wakens and comes alive.

His mouth floats over mine. His hot breath fans my face. Placing both hands on my ass, he pulls me close while I shamelessly wrap my leg around his hip, grinding against him.

Drake yanks me off my feet, drawing my legs around his hips. He holds me with ease as our mouths war with each other and our tongues tangle in a maddening dance.

My tongue darts out, seeking his, as my head slants for more, giving him full access to what he needs. He tightens his grip and rocks me against his hardness.

Friction.

I need more of that friction. His razor-like teeth grip my lower lip, biting down until I gasp with a pinch of pain.

"I told you, I'm not gentle, city girl. You'll have marks before we're done. You've been warned," he growls.

No shit, I've been warned.

I want more of this and release one hand from his neck. Shaking my arm, I manage to yank it out of the sleeve of the heavy coat. Drake sees what I'm doing and helps me with the other arm. The coat falls to the floor, where it lands gently on the straw-covered floor of the barn.

I push the collar of Drake's jacket back, exposing his shoulders. Together, we manage to get first one arm and then his other free. His jacket joins mine.

His mouth glides against mine, his tongue lashing, furious and determined. I crack open my lids and peek at the pinch of his dark brows. His expression tightens with the urgency of his need, and while he cups my face, he drives me to combustion.

Then his words sink in.

Heart racing, I pause. Is this what I want? A one-night stand with a stranger?

My nerves riot, sparking with warring desire. My palm drifts to his chest, crushed between the press of our bodies. The hard terrace of his muscles vibrates beneath my fingers. A fever spreads through me, the need to feel all of him goes to battle against my rational mind, which tells me to stomp on the brakes.

He pulls back, his strong arms holding me firmly in place. Only the fabric of our clothes separates us from a more carnal union. What terrifies me most is how much my body aches to make that happen.

The rumble of a truck sounds outside; something big and heavy, with a rattling of chains.

"Damn." Drake pulls away with a growl. "Henry's early." A smile curves his lips, "City girl, you know how to make a man ache in the best possible way."

He lifts me off his hips and places me on the ground, holding me steady until I find my balance. His head cants to the side, studying me. "You're nothing like what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Cold and frigid came to mind when we met. You were a bit prickly."

"Prickly?" I take a step back. "Did you just call me frigid?"

Drake's hand whips forward, grabbing my wrist. He pulls me back into his arms. "That mind of yours thinks too much. You asked me a question, and I answered honestly, but you didn't let me finish."

"You said I was frigid and prickly."

"I sure did, but I wasn't the only one interested in taking that kiss a whole lot further. For the record, I'm assuming you weren't at your best last night. Freezing, facing down a pack of wolves, and hiking all that way in sneakers…" He tilts my chin, forcing me to face him. "My first impression changed the moment you followed me. You were totally out of your element, but you never once complained. Most women would've bitched about how difficult that hike was, but you didn't. That's when I knew…"