pang of uncertainty hit her and she sat up, pulling the covers with her. From her upright position, she could see out of the open loft to the wall of windows on that side of the A-frame cabin that looked out over the Hood Canal, now illuminated by the nearly full moon. The view made her catch her breath. Water and the wooded landscape on the far side of it made a stunning panorama. In the full light of day, it would be even more striking.
The sound of a door opening and closing downstairs was followed by heavy footsteps and a thudding noise as Chase dumped an armload of logs into the woodbox by the fireplace. Well, that explained where he'd gone. He must've wanted to make sure there was enough wood to keep the fire going through the night.
She heard the rhythmic steps that told her Chase was climbing the stairs to her and felt her wavering uncertainty clutch into self-conscious shyness. She started to remember everything they'd said and done, and by the time Chase came into view, her face was burning as hot as the fireplace.
He stopped short at the sight of her, sitting up with the covers clutched to her chest and her cheeks flaming. "Hey."
He was dressed in jeans and a sweater. Whatever shoes he'd worn out to get firewood had been left downstairs since he wore only socks. He looked masculine and imposingand far too attractive. While she probably looked as though her hair had been slept in, since it had, and she wore nothing but blankets.
Rachel opened her mouth wordlessly and then closed it again, unable to form any sort of response. Not knowing what else to do, she fell back and pulled the covers over her head.
"Rachel." Chase came closer and tugged at the covers. She held on and burrowed into the pillow, wondering where her inner wild woman had gone. The Rachel who had acted out her fantasies with pure abandon had disappeared and left the Rachel who always did the responsible thing to hold the bag, apparently.
"Rachel. Come out of there."
"No."
"You're embarrassed."
"You think?" Her voice came out in a half shriek. "Oh, my God. You did—and I liked—and I said—." The words tumbled over one another incoherently, and she gave up.
"Rachel." He pulled at the covers again and she let go, recognizing the futility of hiding under them forever. He drew them down to her waist and looked at her bared breasts. "Nice."
Rachel shook her hair forward to cover them. Chase slid one hand under the screening fall of hair and found her nipple, tweaking it. "Are we playing hide-and-seek? Bet I can find something else interesting hiding in here."
Before she could block him, he threw the covers all the way back with his free hand. He cupped and squeezed her breast while his other hand wedged in between her thighsand burrowed forward until his thumb nudged her clit. "Just like I thought. Very interesting." His thumb rubbed up and down over the sensitive bud, and Rachel jumped.
"Open your legs for me, Rachel."
"Chase, I can't. I feel so stupid."
"You feel sexy to me, not stupid." Chase found her opening with one fingertip and probed inside her.
She groaned. "You're trying to make me feel better about this."
"That, and I like looking at you naked almost as much as I like touching you. Open your legs for me, Rachel. Let me see your pretty pussy. Or do I have to spank you again?"
She made a strangled sound and let her knees move apart, not all the way, but complying enough to show him what he wanted to see.
"Watch, Rachel. See how beautiful you are, how sexy."
His thumb circled her clit as he slowly buried his finger inside her, drew it back out, and plunged it in again. Rachel watched him do it, feeling exposed and unsure and turned on despite it. He pinched her nipples in turns, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get her attention, and she felt the response in her womb as everything tightened. Her sex clenched around his finger as it penetrated her.
"I could do this for hours." Chase pushed a
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