the lake and Bennett insists on setting up the camping area himself. He tells me that it’s his job to take care of me. It wasn’t until I realized he only had one tent that I started to get a little nervous. Of course, Bennett being Bennett picked up on this right away.
‘There’s plenty of room inside this tent for both of us, but I’d rather have you close because we are out in the wild. Though I will make you this promise that there will be no sex until we are married. I won’t push for it.’
I know he’s a man of his word and for some reason that little admission and promise was enough to make me relax. Also, I don’t want to be alone out here either, even though I feel safer here than even at the house and for the most part, I feel pretty safe at the house. Here on the mountain it feels like no one can find me and that feeling of freedom has allowed me to start to really relax.
‘But Willow?’ he says getting my attention again.
‘Just to be clear, I do want to marry you. All you have to do is say the word.’
The look in his eyes is so intense there’s no doubt that he truly understands and means what he’s saying.
I don’t know what else to say which seems to be a common occurrence around him so once again I just nod. He’s leaving the choice up to me, so I want to take our camping trip here as a time to get to know him and relax.
Once the tent is set up and we’ve had lunch, we decided to go for a swim in the lake. I go to the tent to change into my bathing suit. It isn’t anything overly sexy, it’s a one-piece. I’m pretty modest, especially by today’s terms, and yet when I step out of the tent in nothing but my bathing suit, time seems to stop. The look of pure heat and appreciation on his face is one every girl wants to see.
His eyes run over me and there is no hiding the bulge in jeans. Though I’m glad he likes what he sees, because the feeling is completely mutual. When he finally pulls his eyes away from me, he clears his throat and I make my way over to the lake.
Sticking my toes in the water, I gasp at how cold it us. But my body quickly adjusts, and just like my dad taught me, I dive in headfirst. Once I get the shock of the initial cold out of the way, I resurface and turn toward Bennett. He’s already waist deep in the water and heading my way.
He doesn’t slow down until he’s right in front of me, and scoops me up out of the water and into his arms. Then he continues to walk deeper to the point where I wouldn’t be able to stand up.
‘Thank God you didn’t step out of there in a bikini. If you look this hot in just a one piece, I can’t imagine how crazy you would drive me in a bikini,’ he says as his lips dance across my neck.
I tilt my head back to give him more access. Feeling him like this with as much skin as we have touching feels amazing. My nipples are hard and brushing against his chest sending shivers and goosebumps racing across my skin.
His lips glide across mine. I can tell he’s holding back with this kiss and I’m holding back too. Though seeing Bennett without his shirt and his washboard abs and that cut line pointing to interesting stuff almost makes me forget all the reasons why I should be keeping him at arm’s length. Not that I’ve had a very good success rate of being able to do so when his touch and his kiss feels like this.
My thighs cradle his hard cock and the tip rests against my clit driving me crazy with each step he takes further into the water.
‘Bennett,’ I moan. Not sure if it’s a plea to stop or to keep going.
But he understands and puts space between us before diving under the water to cool off.
We spend the next half hour in the lake splashing around, playing and having a good time. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard, but I know it was long before my dad died or even got sick.
Once we get out and dry off, we decide to go on a short hike around the lake. He hands me a water bottle and takes one for himself before we head off on a slightly overgrown trail.
It’s fairly flat around the lake, so it’s an easy walk. But if you were to walk closer to the shore, you’d be walking on the rocks and there would be no footprints. I make a note of that on the off chance I ever have to use this place.
‘The lake has some good fish and there’s a net in the cave as well.’ He tells me as we continue along the trail.
Getting to the side of the lake with the cave, I notice it’s a little cooler because of the shade. But when we enter the cave, it’s pretty much exactly as he described. Looking around, I see it’s a great place to get out of the weather with a small place to start a fire if needed. There are some bins with blankets, clothes and food. Against one wall in a little makeshift bed against the other is a stack of dry wood.
As we walked back to the campsite, we take a path around the opposite side much like the other one. Only, it just seems to take a bit longer to get back to the camp.
‘Well, I thought I was going to keep my mouth shut about this, but I’m going to say this just so that it’s out there and it’s never a question in your mind. I know you’re running from something, and I don’t care what it is, I will protect you. You don’t have to tell me what it is until you’re ready, if ever. But for now me and the other guys here will keep you safe.’
With that, he takes my hand, and continue back to the campsite. All I can think about is how the hell did I get so lucky. This could have gone a completely different way.
Once there, we take some time to relax. While he fishes in the lake, I lay there on a blanket and read. It’s nice being in each other’s company and enjoying our time together. It’s the first time we are both truly relaxed and being ourselves.
I’m not anxious until it’s time to go to bed in the one tent that we are going to share. Bennett must sense my nervousness, because he takes my hand.’I meant what I said, Willow. We’ll wait till our wedding night. For now, I just want you to relax and be comfortable around me.
Slipping inside the tent, I see he’s placed our sleeping bags on completely opposite sides of the tent. It doesn’t give a lot of room between us, but just the thought that he was trying to give me as much space as possible calms me.
But Bennett is a big man, and I don’t want him cramped either. So before he can lie down, I pull his sleeping bag closer to mine. Though he watches me, doesn’t say anything. Once we crawl into our sleeping bags and we’re facing each other, he reaches out and takes my hand in his.
‘You aren’t what I was expecting when I signed up to do this,’ I tell him honestly.
‘You’re not what I expected when I started looking at those online dating profiles either. But I’m really glad I found you.’
He says that now and he says he’ll protect me no matter what, but I have to wonder if he knew the whole story if he really would. But I can’t worry about that now. Instead for the time being, I’m just going to let it be and enjoy the safety of being out here in the middle of nowhere.
It’s like he knows the thoughts that are running around in my head and wants to silence them for me. He cups the back of my head and slowly pulls me in until his lips land on mine. Like magnets, our bodies are pulled together until there is no space left between us.
He opens his sleeping bag and pulls me into it. The cold night air was a shock to my system, but he closes the sleeping bag around us, and his warmth and his scent surround me. Keeping me safe.
How can one person feel at home in such a short period of time?
His lips crush mine as he deepens the kiss and his tongue dances with mine and I can feel every stroke of it all over my body. One of his rough hands holds me close while the other angles my head so he can kiss down my neck.
His hot breath races across my skin and his lips place the softest kisses on my neck. The combination had my skin breaking out in goosebumps, my nipples hard and my panties soaked.
‘Bennett,’ I whisper because it’s almost too much.
I want more, more than can I give right now but at the same time, I don’t want him to stop. He pulls back from our kiss and places a kiss on my forehead before tucking my head under his chin.
‘Get some sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be right here the whole time.’
