Free Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) by J.H. Croix

it was on fire. The bed dipped as Aidan knelt, one knee between her thighs. With his eyes on her like hot embers, he dragged a finger across the cotton between her thighs. It was drenched with her need. Her breath broke, anticipation arcing inside. Heat curled through her body. Desire coiled tighter and tighter as he teased her. Slow strokes, her hips rolling into his touch, until he hooked a finger over the edge and dragged her panties off.  
    Just when she was desperate to feel his touch inside of her, he drew his fingers slowly through her slick folds, teasing her until she was thrashing. Finally, finally, he eased his fingers into her channel. She fell into nothing but need and sensation when his mouth joined his fingers. His tongue dragging back and forth, his fingers plunging into her channel. Pleasure coursed through her, building and building until it broke in a wave, whipping through her body.
    Aidan lifted up and over her body, bracketing her face with his elbows. For a split second, it hit her—what they were doing. Becca shoved it away. She wouldn’t let herself second-guess this. It was too amazing. His head dipped into her neck, and he feathered kisses along her collarbone and neck. The white-hot climax that had just ripped through her eddied into the pulse of desire still beating between them. His hips nudged against her. Somewhere along the way, he’d kicked his briefs off. His cock slid back and forth in her folds, slick and swollen with desire. Over the next few moments, he brought her right back to the place where need clawed at her. She wanted him inside of her so badly, she was panting and gasping.
    When she finally managed to form a word—his name—she opened her eyes and found his on her. The raw intimacy in his gaze snagged her and held her fast in its power. She couldn’t look away. As terrifying as it was, she knew what she saw in his eyes was reflected in her own. In this moment, when she faced her own vulnerability and wanted to hide, she couldn’t because the feelings held within the space between them ran too deep. She couldn’t have turned away if she tried. The moment was stripped bare and beautiful.
    He deliberately reached to the nightstand where he’d tossed his condom earlier. It was as if he was giving her a chance to back out. As if she could even consider it. She’d already barreled through every barrier she’d kept herself walled behind, and she wasn’t about to miss out on the full act. Holding his gaze, she watched as he slowly tore the foil packet in his teeth and reached between their bodies. Frantic, she tried to be helpful, but only managed to bump her forehead into his.
    The moment snapped the tension when he chuckled. When he brought his gaze to hers, his eyes sobered quickly. Her heart clenched. She trusted Aidan. That’s why she’d allowed herself to act on this harebrained idea. Well, that and the fact that the second he’d kissed her, she’d finally stopped trying to deny how much she wanted him. She couldn’t have known how good it would feel to be close to him. She couldn’t have known it would tug on her heart, that he would elicit this vulnerability, this pressing need to stop trying to shove her emotions away.
    With her breath coming in shallow gasps, she couldn’t look away. He held still, the head of his cock resting at her entrance. His eyes on hers, his words fell softly in the room. “Are you sure about this?”
    “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?” she managed with a wry smile.
    “If you say so, this stops. Now. I just want to make sure this is what you want.”
    Tears pushed at the back of her eyes. Because Aidan was this kind of man. Even though they’d gotten this far and it was more than clear he wanted her, he would stop if she asked. But she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone, and she wanted this. Now. So, she nodded. “It’s what I want.” She stroked her palm up his back, savoring the flex of his