Rushed (Adventures in Love #1)(16)

“I’m realizing that,” I say; then he leans in close to me.

“Don’t make a sound or any sudden movement,” he whispers, and my heart stops before it starts to pound as I imagine the grizzly from yesterday walking toward us. “Look to your left, downstream about fifty feet.”

I slowly turn my head, and that’s when I spot a group of elk working their way across the water, with the male in front sporting a huge set of antlers.

“Hold this, please.” I hand him the cup so I can lift my camera. As I power it on, the noise it makes seems louder than normal, and the elk all freeze and look in our direction.

“Hurry, they’re gonna run,” Tanner warns with a smile in his voice, so I quickly lift my camera and hold down the shutter button as they begin to take off into the woods.

When they all disappear, I slide through the photos I just took and pout when I find that all but a couple are just a blur of movement. “I need a quieter camera.”

“Let me see.”

I hand it over and watch him go into my settings to change all of them to silent before he slides through the pictures, reaching the final one of the elk and pressing the button again, which causes the reel to return to the first picture I ever took with my camera. It’s one of my ex with a goofy smile on his boyishly handsome face. Stiffening, I fight the urge to snatch my camera from Tanner’s grasp and toss it into the water, not because seeing Galvin is upsetting but because I don’t want Tanner and my not-so-distant past to meet.

“Your ex?”

“Yeah” is all I can seem to get out as his silence makes me squirm.

“What happened between you two?” he asks, handing my camera to me, and I quickly turn it off and let it fall back against my chest.

“I’m not sure.” I take the hot cocoa back and take a sip as I look out at the landscape, and I’m thankful for his silence as I pull up the courage to tell him the truth. “Like any couple, we had our share of problems; we broke up a few times but always got back together . . .” I let out a breath. “I knew when he told me that he wanted to end things this time that it was for good, even though he didn’t give me a reason.”

“He didn’t tell you why he was ending things?”

“No, he just kept saying it wasn’t me; it was him. Since I’ve been here, I’ve started to wonder if he didn’t find someone else who made him happy.”

“Cybil.”

Without looking at him, I shake my head. “We’ve known each other since we were five. He and Jade were always my best friends. Before we were even teenagers, all everyone ever talked about was how he and I would end up together, so when it happened, I thought everyone was right. Now, I don’t think they were.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, and I look over at him, swallowing hard.

“Have you ever met someone who made your pulse race to the point of lightheadedness, or someone who made you feel like you were coming out of your skin with one look?”

“Yeah,” he says with his eyes locked on mine, and jealousy makes my skin prickle as I wonder how many women have given him that feeling.

“I never felt that until recently. I . . . I didn’t even know those feelings even existed before now.” I grip the cup in my hand tighter as his eyes seem to darken and his jaw twitches.

“Who made you feel those things?” he asks roughly, and I rub my lips together.

“You,” I admit, sure that I should keep that information to myself.

“Come here, Cybil,” he orders, but he doesn’t actually give me a chance to come to him. His hand shoots out, and his fingers wrap around the base of my scalp; then he angles my head just like he wants it and drops his mouth to mine.

The first brush of his lips makes me dizzy; then his tongue slides across my bottom lip, causing my nipples to tighten and the space between my legs to pulse. My mouth falls open on a gasp, and he takes the opportunity to tangle his tongue with mine. As the kiss deepens, I despise the mug in my hands, because all I want to do is touch him back, to run my fingers through his thick hair and dig my nails into his skin.

“Jesus, Cybil,” he groans, resting his forehead against mine, and I whimper in agreement, not sure I’ll be able to take much more, not without dropping hot cocoa all over us.

I moan when he leans in to nip my bottom lip and whimper as he places a soft kiss and a swipe of his tongue against my abused mouth. “Wow.” My eyes flutter open, and I find him watching me like I’m the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen in his life, when I know that’s far from the truth, given the life he’s lived.

“Are you okay?”

Am I okay? I’m not sure. I feel like I’ve stepped into a raging river while attached to a live wire, and all my nerve endings are standing at attention like they’re waiting to see what will happen next.

“I’ve wanted to do that since you told me off at the bar.” He smirks at the memory as he smooths the tips of his fingers over my cheek. “And a dozen times since then.” His eyes focus on his fingers as they tuck my hair behind my ear.

“Really?” I ask, and he tips his head down until his gaze locks with mine. When I see the look he gives me, my pulse that had slowed speeds right back up.

“You’ve tested my control these last few days, sunshine.”