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make s mores. He couldn t change her past, or go back in time to help her when she d needed
someone, but he could damn well give her some good new memories to go with the bad ones. That
is, if you re willing to risk letting me near the fireplace.
She smiled. Don t worry. I m not taking my eyes off you.
&
Bri watched him stoke the fire, touched in ways she hadn t expected. He d shared some of his
memories with her, bits and pieces of a childhood that was shockingly close to hers in some ways.
There were times when she d wished she had a sister or brother to hold her hand through all of it like
Ryan had so she wouldn t have been so terribly alone. It had taken some time, but she d finally been
able to acknowledge that she wouldn t be the woman she was today if things had been different.
If she hadn t suffered through the foster homes and the deaths of her parents, there would be so
many kids whose lives she wouldn t have been able to touch. She loved her place in the library. It
was worth everything that had come before.
That being said, she couldn t stop the warmth flowing through her as Ryan set out the makings for
s mores. This was a gift. Something so sweet and thoughtful, she wasn t quite sure how to thank him.
Normally, we d go pick our own roasting sticks and carve a sharp side to put the marshmallow
on, but we ll have to improvise. He held up the two wire hangers he d straightened. So try not to
judge the system too harshly on our crappy roasting tools.
She smiled as she accepted the hanger and pushed the marshmallow onto its tip. I ll do my best.
I appreciate that. He patted the rug next to him. Now come closer. I promise I won t bite.
But what if I want you to?
She hadn t missed the fact that he d kept a careful distance between them all day, though she didn t
know if it was because he didn t want to touch her or if he didn t trust himself to. Considering their
short but eventful history, she was betting on the latter. She wasn t sure how she felt about his
demonstrating so much restraint regarding sex, not when he was showing her so many other things,
too. She wished she could blame her growing fondness on hormones, but when he took the sex out of
the equation, what else was there?
Then again, it wasn t like this had been weeks in the making. They had sex less than twenty-four
hours ago. But they d also spent the last six hours talking. Or not talking in some cases. Either way,
they hadn t dissolved into fights, petty or otherwise, since the spat this morning.
She sank into the spot he d indicated next to the bear s head. Bri grimaced. This thing is tacky.
Only the best for hunting cabins.
He pulled the bear s head up and groaned. She followed his gaze and reached into its mouth to pull
out a string of condoms. It s like some kind of demented Easter egg hunt.
Someday, somewhere, we will get revenge on those two for this. He plucked the packets out of
her hands and tossed them onto the couch.
She shifted and stared at the fire so as not to give in to the temptation to stare at him.
Lots of people just stick their marshmallow into the flame and burn the shit out of it. Common
rookie mistake. What you want to do for maximum crispy gooey goodness is roast it over the coals.
He demonstrated, holding his two inches off the coals he d exposed on the right side of the fire. As
she watched, the marshmallow turned a golden brown, helped along by rotating the hanger. Like
this.
Okay. She followed his lead, a thrill of childlike excitement taking root as her marshmallow
turned the same color as his. I m doing it.
You sure as hell are. I knew I had a professional s mores creator on my hands the moment we
met.
Bri laughed. Now you re just being goofy.
This is the source of some of my favorite childhood memories. Makes me feel like a kid again.
He pulled his marshmallow out of the fire. Okay, now you create your s mores sandwich.
She copied him, putting the chocolate on the graham cracker and then using the other half of the
cracker to smoosh the marshmallow into place. A giggle slipped free as she held up sticky fingers.
Messy work.
All good things in life start or end with messes. He motioned. Take a bite.
She did, and moaned. Oh my God, this is amazing. She took another bite, her eyes drifting closed
as bliss spread through her. By the time she finished off the s more, she was fighting to hold back a
variety of sounds that could only be described as sexual. She opened her eyes to find Ryan watching
her through hooded eyes. Even though she d only seen that look a few times, her body responded to it,
nipples pebbling and heat flaring through her. She cleared her throat. Thank you. For all of this. For
creating this memory with me.
His slow grin made her stomach flip. Trust me, honey, it was my pleasure.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Bri leaned across the distance between them and kissed him.
Chapter Fourteen
Bri leaned into the kiss, half-shocked when he reached up to cup her chin. Though his lips tasted of
the s more they d just eaten, that faded as he opened for her, his tongue swiping along hers. She
practically threw her hanger away in favor of crawling into his lap.
I need you, Ryan. She kissed along his jaw, loving the way his whiskers rasped against her skin.
Please.
He groaned and settled her knees on either side of his hips, his hands running up her thighs to
squeeze her butt. How is a man supposed to be rational with you sitting on top of him, smelling so
damn good, and whispering please in his ear?
Was that a trick question? She ran her hands down his chest and up again. He s not?
He leaned back and met her gaze. We do this, we re ending up in a bed tonight, Bri. No backing
out, and no fighting. But first, I m going to fuck you good and proper on this rug.
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