Song above is perfect^^

Chapter 54

I stared into his eyes, and the expression heart on your sleeve never made sense until that moment. Mine finally beat its way out of my body. It floated, exposed, suspended in the space between us, and when his lips met mine, Bard grabbed it. It was his, and for once in my life, I didn't fight to protect it, because I knew he would.

I rested my elbows over his shoulders, placed my hands on the top of his head, and kissed him back. Deeper than I'd ever kissed another man. Desperate. "I feel it, too."

He hummed. "If you say it, I swear I'll make it worth the effort."

My lips curved against his. There was no denying him. Even if what Amber said was true. What had I thought would happen? That I would walk away from this and never see him again? Never have this again? Just the thought of it made desperation pool inside my chest.

He could save me all he wanted.

I'd be a broken bird if it meant he'd make me fly.

His eyes met mine, open and deep.

"I swore I'd never love again."

He swallowed hard.

"But now I know..." I curled my fingers into his hair. "I've never loved before, Bard. Not like this."

A groan vibrated his chest. He pulled me closer, and his lips hit mine in a kiss that was anything but patient. No tenderness. Just urgent and demanding. He took all I had faster than I could let it go. I opened myself up to him, gave in, leaned into each rough caress and accepted every branding touch.

He broke away, but not to stop. His mouth took my jaw, my neck, my collar bone, teeth grazing, breaths harsh. The cold ran away from the heat of his touch, and I was suddenly far too hot.

I clung to him. "I love you."

His hand ran up my back, under the flannels and his shirt, up to my neck then back down again. I arched into him, gripped his biceps.

"You're like a drug," he murmured, voice rough. "Every time I take you, life is worth living." He pulled me into him, ground himself against me. "When you disappeared, I was so fucking desperate. I thought I wouldn't find you. I thought–"

I pulled his face to mine and used my lips to silence him. "I know. I'm sorry." I locked my mouth with his at a slow and languid pace and reached down to fumble with the button on his jeans.

Bard cupped my head and kissed me back, equally as slow, but the moment he was free, he gripped my thighs, lifted me up, and buried himself inside me.

I gasped. He didn't worship. He didn't heal. He took. Took it all as if he could keep it with him if he did.

I held on tight, let him move me, unable to do anything else with my brain so consumed in the feel of him. My lungs constricted, heart skipped and spluttered. Each breath felt too hot, and a burst of the same heat ricocheted up to my ears, down to my belly. It tightened my core and stole my senses. He wrapped me up in his essence alone, and I was lost all over again.

Bard grunted, gripped my thigh with one hand and circled my back with the other. He held me like a vice, quickened his pace, jarring, desperate movements.

I clung to his shoulders, and deep soulful sounds broke the silence around us. It took a moment to realize it was me who was making them, and I bit my lip to stop myself.

Bard kissed me, pulled my lip from between my teeth then met my eyes. "No, Jessie. No more holding back."

I moaned again, and the sound seemed to urge him on.

Those sharp eyes trailed my face, cut through each expression, each moment of pleasure, and he read me. He read me like a book and used it all to his advantage. I was putty in his hands, and he molded me so thoroughly, I lost the ability to form words. I tried to say his name, to tell him again, to express how I felt, but it all came out as sighs and groans and harsh breaths.

Then, I fell. Over the edge of the cliff and down to the rocks below. I crashed with an intensity that shook me to my bones, and Bard was there.

He buried his face into the crook of my neck and clung on tight as his own body went rigid. Minutes passed by, and his grip didn't loosen. I trailed my fingers across his back, basked in the afterglow and wondered how on earth I of all people had ever gotten so lucky.

"I thought I lost you," he finally said, voice thick.

"I'm okay."

He pulled back to meet my gaze, and those eyes cut into me. "It was pure luck that I found you." His tone was sharp. "Don't do that to me again, Jessie. It was almost impossible to track you in the dark."

I nodded and focused my attention on his shoulder. My throat grew dry, and a burst of guilt burned my eyes. "I didn't realize how far I'd gone until I didn't know where I was."

Bard studied me a long moment, caressed my cheek. "It's over now." He stood and pulled me to my feet. "We should head back and get you some better clothes."

I watched him refasten his jeans and set about putting out the fire. He'd given me his shirt, and his bare upper half caused a new wave of guilt to gnaw at my gut. "Here. Take one of the flannels. I don't need them both."

He closed the gap between us, but instead of taking the offering, he stooped down and swept me into his arms. "I'll be okay." He trudged forward, ducking beneath branches, avoiding all the slaps and scratches I myself had ran right into.

"You don't have to carry me. I feel better–"

"I'm carrying you into camp, Jessie. I'll make it perfectly clear to every single person there how I feel about you. That way, the next time someone tells you a story, you won't let it make you run off and almost get yourself killed." His tone had a slight edge to it, not quite an admonishment but close enough to make me stop arguing.

He kept a steady pace, seeming unbothered by the added weight.

When the light from camp peeked through the trees, my nerves jumped to attention.

Heat flooded my face, my neck, my ears. "What do you plan to do, exactly?"

Bard's lip twitched. He broke through the foliage, trudged through the clearing, then stood beside the hot spring, still holding me. The moment we came into view, I was overrun my concerned eyes.

"Is she alright," Charlene asked, already moving closer with a hand out.

Bard looked down at me. "She's fine." His gaze ran over my face, as if fact checking his own statement. "I love you, Jessie." He turned, lifted me up like a sacrificial lamb and shook me in the air. "If y'all ain't figured it out yet," his voice bellowed out. "I caught one!"

Zeke exploded in laughter, and the sound of it cut the tension in half. The others joined in, and that stupid heat filled my face to the point I thought I'd combust.

I turned away and smacked his chest. "Put me down."

Bard took in my flushed expression and smiled. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

"No."

"You're blushing."

"I don't blush. Put me down!"

"I'll put you down when I've got clothes to put on you."

"I can dress myself."

He hoisted me tighter into his chest and headed for one of the tents, smile broad and unashamed. "But that would be so much less fun, and I'm a very stressed man tonight." He looked down at me and grinned. "You wouldn't deny me comfort now, would you?"

My face heated more.

He rumbled a laugh.

Bard dipped down inside the tent, laid me across the floor of sleeping bags and blankets, then turned back and zipped it closed.

"There's no clothes in here," I said.

My heart beat harder, and a familiar warmth spread through my belly as he leaned over top of me.

He pushed the flannels away from my shoulder, then kissed the skin he'd exposed. "Lay with me." He stretched out at my side, pulled me close, and draped one of the many blankets over the two of us.

I pressed my cheek against him and relaxed.

His chest expanded, arm tightened. He rested his chin on top of my head and trailed his fingers through my hair. "When I was a boy, my father used to always look at my mother a certain way. Even when she was sick." His voice was low and smooth. "He used to always tell me about how he knew, from the first time he met her, that she was just right." He paused and pulled at the strands, ran them between his fingers. "You're just right for me, Jessie. I knew it, even at the bar. You say you weren't appealing, but you're wrong. I watched tons of people walk in and out of that place, every night, but not one of them drew my attention like you did."

My heart melted. "Bard?"

"Yeah?" He pulled back and looked down at me.

"If you get any sweeter, I'm going to go into a diabetic coma."

He rumbled a laugh and pulled me back into him. "Fine. Get some sleep. We'll head back down in the morning. I've had enough of this mountain for right now."

I burrowed closer and held him tight. "Goodnight, Bard."

His tone softened. "Goodnight."

I'm sooooo nice to you all! Show me some love and I may manage another one today 😁🤗