Novak Raven (Harper's Mountains #4)(18)

The rasp of Weston’s jaw felt good against her face as he lowered his lips to her ear. “Fuck the council, and f*ck everyone who has hurt you, Ave. Someday, you’re gonna rise up from the ashes like a f*cking phoenix. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

Like a phoenix? Her? No way. She was weak, and the mud she’d been wallowing in was too heavy on her wings. She couldn’t rise up. Not her. “My whole life has been a lie. I’m all alone with nothing.” She let off a long, shuttering breath and admitted how screwed she was. “My car broke down.”

“I’ll fix it.” His voice sounded so determined. So sure.

And dammit, here was her shot to unload all her burdens on a strong man who could shoulder them. “I don’t have any money, and I haven’t been able to afford much food.”

“I’ll feed you.”

Her eyes prickled and burned because no one had ever been this kind to her. But there was an even bigger shame, and right now, she wanted to tell him everything. “I’ve been sleeping in my car.”

“I know.” Weston eased back and cupped her cheeks, his calloused hands rough against her skin. His eyes were dark under the brim of his hat. “I saw the pillow and the blanket in your back seat. I have a place for you to stay. Somewhere dry and warm where you can be alone and safe, and no one will bother you.”

“I don’t want your charity.”

“Then we won’t call it charity. Call it me making up for leaving you alone when you needed a friend.”

“Friend.” She hated the sound of that, but that’s all they could ever be. She’d been born to betray him after all.

Weston’s jaw clenched as he pressed his body gently against hers. His hands drifted from her cheeks to her neck, and a strange intensity sparked in his eyes. “I want to kiss you right now, but it doesn’t feel right.”

Avery froze. “Okay, I understand. Wait, no I don’t. Why doesn’t it feel right to kiss me?” Because she really wanted him to kiss her right now.

“Because you are dealing with a lot right now, finding out about the council and your car, and the—”

Avery pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Way too hard. She basically bit him. Mortified, she lurched away, ducked her gaze, and apologized.

Weston rubbed his bottom lip like it hurt, but his mouth was stretching into a smile. He was laughing at her again, and she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of her life.

But instead of making fun, he squared up to her, rested his hands on her waist, and dragged her body to his. And slowly, so slowly, he leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers. Fireworks were going off in her belly as she slid her arms around his neck and parted her lips for his searching tongue. He stayed gentle, drawing out the kiss as his mouth moved smoothly against hers in rhythmic strokes that turned the fireworks to an erupting volcano. This was it—the best kiss she’d ever had, and it was with the Novak Raven. It was with her Weston. Her inner raven was practically crowing with happiness inside of her.

The rain was falling harder, soaking her hair and clothes, but she didn’t care about that. She didn’t care about anything but how Weston was gripping the fabric of her dress as if he wanted more. And the way his lips were turning urgent against hers, the way his body felt, the way his erection pressed onto her belly, she’d done that—drawn this reaction from him. Her, the broken raven.

Weston thrust his tongue into her mouth one last time, then jerked away. “I’m sorry. This is… It’s just I saw your tits, and I really like your tits, and your other parts, too, but your tits are f*ckin’ phenomenal. Just…” He held his cupped hands out over her chest. “Perfect.”

Clearly, Weston was a boob-man.

He cleared his throat and frowned. “And also you’re nice, sweet, and pretty.”

But boobs had topped his list. Despite the gravity of her dire situation, she laughed. It wasn’t a soft polite one either, but a surprised, from-the-core bellowing laugh that drew her up short. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles. She should not be laughing right now, not with all the bad shit she’d just found out about her life, but Weston was chuckling, too, and all that did was make her laugh harder.

Eyes dancing and dimple deep in his cheek, Weston took his camouflage baseball cap off and put it on backward. He twisted around and looked through the woods in the direction of the road. “I feel…” He inhaled deeply and sighed. “I feel too damn much right now, honestly, but I need to get you warm and dry and fed, okay?”

“Wes, I’m not your responsibility.”

“No, but it would make me feel…good…to take care of you.” His smile slipped into a frown. Looking confused as hell, he rested his hands on his hips. “Right. You don’t have a bra on, and I can see through your dress. Your nipples are perfect, and we should go.” In a rush he pulled off his long-sleeve flannel shirt and wadded it up into a ball, then handed it to her, his eyes averted.

Stunned, Avery took it gently from his offered hand and cradled it to her chest. It smelled like his cologne.

With a quick dick adjustment, he spun on his heel and strode off through the wilderness, leaving Avery to stare down in surprise at her chest. Sure enough, her nipples were drawn up against the soaking white fabric of her cotton dress.