3 Seconds (Time for Love Book 6) (7 page)

“Then let me
show you,” he replied. I knew that with that look on his face, and
tone in his voice, he could ask me to do anything and the answer’d
be yes!

That was why we
were currently parking his brother’s truck in the middle of
nowhere.

We got out of
the car, but when I would have turned to grab my things, I noticed
Brendan was rounding the front of the car. He crooked his finger,
his face so handsome with a small little smile lifting the corners
of his mouth, that my feet starting taking me toward all of his
goodness, before my brain even had a chance to comprehend what I
was doing.

When I reached
him at the front of the truck, he pulled me into his arms, kissed
my forehead, and cradled me gently in his arms.

“I’m so happy
you’re here,” his said against my knit cap. He’d warned me that the
temperatures would get cooler at night, so I’d packed
accordingly.

“Me too,” I
replied, snugging into the soft fabric of his well-worn plaid
shirt.

We stood there,
holding each other, as the crisp mountain air blew around us, and I
was grateful for the warm sweater I’d thrown on over my
long-sleeved shirt at the last minute.

I sighed,
wanting to mentally capture this perfect moment and hold it close
forever.

Too soon he
pulled back, his green eyes surveying my face.

“Ready?”

“Absolutely,” I
replied, sure that my smile was big enough to light up the sky but
not caring.

We trekked
through the trees, about a mile away from where we parked. The
scenery was beautiful and calming, but when the trees broke and we
entered the clearing, I felt my breath hitch.

We were stopped
at the bank of a stream, forest all around us, and the sun
beginning to set to the right of us. It was the most beautiful
thing I’d seen since the last time I’d traveled to Ireland.

“It’s
gorgeous!” I exclaimed, dropping my bags at my feet and taking it
all in.

“Brock said Dad
found it when he was on a fishing trip with his buddies, and we’ve
been coming here ever since.

“I can see
why.”

“I’ll get the
tent set up, then we can get some wood for a fire and get that
going for dinner.”

“Let me help,”
I offered, even though I had no idea what I was doing.

That fact
became apparent five minutes later, when Brendan had the tent fully
erected and I was still trying to figure out how to fold the cover
so it would fit back into the bag correctly.

“You’ve really
never been camping before…” he said, more of a statement than a
question.

“Nope,” I
replied, handing him the cover when he reached for it. “We moved
here a couple years after my mom died, so my da was working and
trying to get us established. We took care of the house together,
and cooked together, and whenever he could afford it, he’d take me
to the circus, or a carnival that was driving through.”

“Sounds nice,”
Brendan said. I scowled when I realized he’s already gotten that
damn cover to fit in its too-small bag, causing him to chuckle.
“Just takes practice, Freckles. Just wait until we have to put the
tent back.”

I looked from
the large two-person tent to the small bag that Brendan had carried
it in and grimaced. I was not looking forward to that.

Once we had
enough wood, Brendan started it with ease and we began prepping for
dinner. He was knee deep in the water, fishing for our protein,
while I was shucking corn and cutting up potatoes. He had a device
that sat over the fire, so that you could place a skillet on top of
one side, and grill on the other side. It was quite genius
actually, and I was curious to see how the food would turn out.

“Caught one,”
Brendan said, holding up a large bass proudly.

“Wow, you’re
shockingly good at this stuff,” I replied, thoroughly
impressed.

“I’m going to
go clean it. We have a station a ways from the camp. Be back
soon.”

“Okay,” I
replied, thinking it was a good idea not to have fish guts right by
where we were sleeping.

I suddenly
wondered if there were bears in the woods, and began to totally
freak myself out.

It felt like
hours before Brendan came back into the clearing with his prepared
fish, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him.

“You okay?” he
asked, looking down at my expression.

“Yeah, just
happy you’re not a bear.”

“You don’t have
to worry, we’ve never once seen a bear in all the years we’ve been
coming here. A couple coyotes or wolves, maybe, but no bears.”

“
Coyotes and
wolves
?” I asked, wondering how long it would take me to get to
the truck.

Brendan laughed
as he pulled me up and into his arms. “I’m just fucking with you …
We’ll be fine.”

I pushed away
and slapped him on the chest, then took the fish from him.

“Everything’s
prepped, should I lay it all on your grill?”

“Here,” he
said, bending over to pull a small bag from his pack and handing it
to me. I zipped it open to find an array of spices inside.

“You bring your
own spices?”

“We’re
camping,” he replied, bending over and grabbing the pan of
potatoes, before handing them to me to be seasoned. “But we’re not
savages.”

I sprinkled
some salt, pepper, garlic salt, and what Brendan called his
“special seasoning” on the potatoes, thinking I hadn’t given him
enough credit, before handing them back and watching as he placed
them over the open flame.

Once everything
was seasoned and cooked to perfection, we feasted, and I had to
admit, it was one of the best meals I’d ever eaten.

Once we’d
cleaned up, Brendan pulled out his acoustic guitar and sat on a log
by the fire, then gestured for me to sit with him.

He sang, we
made love under the stars, and fell asleep snuggling in Brendan’s
sleeping bag. It was a perfect night, and I knew I’d never think of
camping the same way again.

Chapter Eleven
~ Brendan

I woke slowly,
the smell of fresh air, dirt, and forest assaulting my senses and
reminding me where I was. I shifted slightly, aware of the fact
that I needed to go find a tree, but suddenly registering the
supple body entwined with mine.

I opened one
eye gingerly, taking in the bright-red hair strewn across my chest,
and decided I didn’t give a fuck if my bladder was about to
explode, I wasn’t moving from this spot.

I moved one
hand slowly, testing to see if Bronagh was awake or not, then moved
it to cradle her rounded ass, pulling her tighter against my
body.

Shit!
My
dick apparently didn’t care if I had to piss or not either, it was
hard as stone. She shifted her thigh, which had her rubbing against
the base of my cock, and I groaned uncontrollably. I felt the curve
of her lips against my bare chest and knew she was playing
opossum.

If she wanted
to play dirty this morning, I was happy to oblige.

I moved my hand
under her shirt and into the waistband of her pajama pants, and,
stroking as I caressed, I began fondling her through her panties.
She remained still, but I could feel her breath coming out in pants
as she became wet.

Bronagh shifted
again, this time sliding her hand down my torso and stroking my
cock boldly, all pretense of sleep gone.

I pushed the
thin fabric aside and slipped my fingers inside her, easing in and
out slowly, allowing the tension to build as she tilted her hips to
allow better access. When the silky softness of her hand fisted
around the head of my cock I bucked up and no longer felt like
playing around.

“Did you like
making love last night, Freckles?” I asked, my voice rough from
sleep and need.

“Yes,” she
breathed.

I flipped her
onto her back as I rose up above her, taking in her pink cheeks and
heavy-lidded eyes.

“Well, I hope
you’re in the mood to get fucked,” I growled, then leaned down and
tugged her lower lip between my teeth and asked, “Are you,
Bronagh?”

“Yes,
God
, yes,” she replied immediately, licking her lip to sooth
the bite.

“Yes,
what
?” I asked, needed to hear the dirty words come out of
that pretty little mouth.

“Yes,
fuck
me
,” she obliged, then reached up and grasped the back of my
neck, pulling me down to ravage my mouth with hers.

I got to my
knees and grabbed her hips, bringing her a couple inches closer
before lifting her hips off of the ground.

“Wrap your legs
around my waist,” I demanded. As soon as her heels hit my back, I
took my dick in my hand and stroked it, then ran it across her wet
opening before thrusting inside.

“
Oh
,”
she gasped, closing her eyes when I was seated all the way inside
of her.

“Touch your
tits.”

Her eyes flew
open and she lifted her shirt, doing as I asked. The sight of those
delicate hands on her soft, supple breasts caused me to pound
harder inside her. Her tits jiggled perfectly as she pinched the
nipples and teased herself by rolling the hard peaks between her
fingers.

“That’s so
fucking hot.” I gripped her hips tightly as I pumped in and out,
already ready to come at the sight of the beautiful woman before
me. “Now your clit, Bronagh. Make yourself come for me.”

With zero
hesitation she trailed her hand from her breast, down her smooth
stomach, and through the small patch of ginger hair, before
reaching her clit and moving her fingers in a circular motion. When
she closed her eyes and arched her back at the sensation, I pulled
out. I had the overwhelming need to finish her off myself, so I
lowered myself a little and swung her knees over my shoulder,
pushing her hand aggressively out of the way so I could feast on
her.

I was like a
man possessed, and a short few seconds later, she was coming
against my lips. I licked until she could take no more, then I let
her slide bonelessly to the ground. Finally realized I didn’t have
a condom on, I took matters into my own hands and began jacking
myself off in front of her, still kneeling, as she watched with a
hungry gaze. Before I could finish, she was knocking my hand out of
the way and replacing it with her hot, wet mouth.

I fisted my
hand in her hair as she sucked, her head moving back and forth as
she took me deeper inside. The taste of her on my lips, the sight
of her blowing me, and the feel of that moist heat took me over the
edge so quickly I would have been embarrassed if it hadn’t been so
fucking perfect.

Bronagh kept
working me until I began softening in her mouth, then I gathered
her down for a long, hard kiss. When she moved away and collapsed
on my chest, her soft, fruity-scented hair splaying across me, I
realized that I may be in trouble.

I was falling
for this woman much harder and sooner than I’d expected, and I
wasn’t sure what to do about it. My heart constricted as I wondered
what her reaction would be. Did I tell her and risk scaring her
away, or worse, have her not believe me … Or did I take some time
to think things through and figure out what I was doing.

Chapter Twelve
~ Bronagh

Camping had
been such an unexpected, wonderful treat, that I’d been racking my
brain trying to figure out how I could pay Brendan back.

I thought I’d
found the perfect way to repay him, which was why I was waiting for
him when he pulled his bike to the curb in front of his place,
grinning like a fool.

I could see his
grin as he pulled off his helmet, and my stomach dipped in
anticipation and pleasure.

“Hey, Freckles,
I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” he said as he swung his leg
over the side of his bike.

We’d both just
come from the school, where it had taken all of the willpower in my
possession not to attack him in the middle of the class and throw
him on his station … or, at the very least, hint that I had a
surprise for him.

“You still
don’t have any plans for tonight, right?” I asked coyly, suddenly
worried that since we hadn’t had any, he might have made some with
one of his brothers or something.

“Nope, I’m all
yours if you want,” he replied, stopping next to me and pulling me
in for a very satisfying kiss.

“I want,” I
responded, licking my lips and savoring the taste of him. “I’ve got
a surprise for you … You have ten minutes to get ready, then I’m
stealing you away.”

“Hmmm,” he
replied, leaning down to run his tongue over the spot mine had just
been. “I can’t wait.”

Ten minutes
later, we were in my car and on our way.

I smiled over
at Brendan, who was watching me sing along to the radio, his hand
warm on my thigh as I drove.

I loved that he
was dressed in jeans, a band T-shirt, and a pair of worn boots. He
had no idea what the surprise was, but it really didn’t matter.
Brendan was Brendan, and he was comfortable in his own skin.

It just so
happened, he was dressed perfectly for where we were going.

“So,” I began,
unable to keep my mouth shut any longer. “Since getting Staind
tickets was impossible, I got tickets for a different concert, that
I’m hoping you’ll like just as much…”

His face
softened, and the look of tenderness there caused my manic
excitement to roll into a feeling of fluttery happiness.

“You’re taking
me to a concert?” he asked, his gruff tone betraying the fact that
he was touched by my gesture.

“Thirty Seconds
to Mars,” I whispered, mesmerized by the way his eyes were looking
over me. Like a caress.

I tore my eyes
away from him, not only because watching the road was imperative to
our survival, but because I was seconds away from becoming
weepy.

I sensed him
leaning toward me, so I wasn’t surprised when his thumb caressed my
cheek, but when his lips followed, I practically melted from the
sweetness.