Free Skygods (Hydraulic #2) by Sarah Latchaw Page A

cave, dudes. Respect the cave.”
    Samuel’s fingers brushed along the inside of my arm, coming to rest around my gloved hand. “Come on,” he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my skin. “I think I spotted a cave entrance not far off the trail and I’d like to check it out.”
    I gripped his hand and let him lead me away from the group. My palm was clammy as I anxiously pondered ways to introduce the ol’ “previous partners” conversation. Away from the group, I likely wouldn’t have a more ideal time to broach the matter. We pushed through brush until we halted in front of a four-foot skylight in the wall of a moss-covered cliff. Samuel crouched down and shined his light into the hole.
    “It’s only about six feet and there’s a slope—a natural slide,” he announced. “Let me go first and I’ll help you once I’m in.”
    I internally rolled my eyes but indulged him in his need for chivalry. “I feel like Alice in Wonderland, peering down the rabbit hole,” I commented as I watched him disappear through the opening.
    “Please tell me you’re not imagining a white, fluffy tail on my ass,” he quipped, his voice echoing through the cavern. I laughed, my nerves easing.
    “I am now, bunny ears and all. It’s very sexy.”
    I felt a tug on my ankle as Samuel pulled me through, flipping my world upside-down. I shrieked and fell into the darkness as cold air washed over my face. I was relieved when two arms caught me and eased me to the ground. But my relief soon gave way to shock as Samuel, rather than releasing me to the dank, black air, tugged me closer. One hand gripped my hip and pulled me hard against him. The other drifted up my side, slipping beneath my coveralls and settled in the small of my back. My heart hit my throat and I gasped. My head fell against his shoulder and my unbuckled hardhat tumbled to the ground, erratic light bouncing against rocks until it settled, casting us both in shadow. He dropped his own hat next to mine and his hand frantically sought me again, his fingers digging into my hipbone as if they could burrow through my layers of clothing and touch my flesh.
    “Kaye…” he breathed, a strange mix of husk and whimsy. “Tell me what you want.”
    I released a shuddery breath against his neck, remembering this very question from that night we’d spent at the ball diamond. I knew the answer he was searching for.
    “I want you,” I whispered fiercely, clutching his back. I kissed his jaw once, twice, my tongue briefly darting out to taste the salt of his skin the way I’d desired to all afternoon. He growled and pressed me against the uneven wall. His hand slid from my back and braced himself against the grime above my head. Kevin’s warning about cave walls flitted through my head, but it was gone just as fast because…well. His mouth feathered over the sensitive skin of my throat.
    “You can have me, Firecracker. Just say the words and you can have me.”
    Flipping golden. I would have sold my soul to hear him utter those alluring words seven years ago. Even now, I ached for him to take me against this cave wall and literally screw the delicate ecosystem. Our fast and heavy breaths echoing over us like surround sound. I wanted to groan out like a ravenous romance heroine, “Forget the stupid window-waiting, you can have me too, you amazing creature.” But as crazy as it was, that contaminated ecosystem smearing my back with basalt only served as an odd little parallel to another delicate balance I was desperately fighting to preserve. And nurture. And fortify so it could survive long, long years.
    I shed my gloves and wove my fingers through his matted, wild hair, gently yanking his face from my neck. His eyes were shadowed, but I imagined they were glassy with lust, probably similar to mine. I slowly, silently stroked his scalp. Finally, I felt the frenzied tension begin to seep from his body and he released my leg, letting it drop weakly to the ground.