She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I reach up, undo the tie of her top, and toss it on the rock behind me. I bring my eyes back to her breasts, and fuck, they’re beautiful—full, with dark nipples puckered and ready for my mouth.

I keep one hand on her ass, helping her dry hump me, while the other hand cups one of her breasts and brings it to my mouth. I suck, and she lets out a long, throaty moan.

I nibble, and she thrusts on me harder.

I pull, and she sighs in my arms.

She lets me play with her tits for what seems like forever, and I soak in every second of it, loving the way she grinds her hips into mine whenever I flick my tongue over the hardened nubs.

And I get lost.

Lost in the feel of her breasts against my mouth, full and soft. Lost in the feel of her hands threading through my hair, explorative and rough. And lost in the motion of her hips, greedy and hot.

Hands wandering, her lips on my neck, my mouth on her breasts, our breathing syncs up, hot and heavy.

Erratic.

Her thighs tighten, her moans growing in intensity, her hands threading dangerously through my hair.

And then her head tilts back, exposing her beautiful neck, as the sweetest sound falls from her lips.

“Yes . . . God, yes, Griffin. I’m coming.”

Never in my life would I have ever imagined Ren as one to announce when she comes, but fuck if it’s not the absolute hottest thing I’ve ever heard.

Her hips fly rapidly up and down my length, relentless, riding out her orgasm, sending a wave of pleasure straight to the base of my spine and the pit of my stomach.

Fuck, I’m right there with her as I lean my forehead against her shoulder, grip her ass with both hands, and grind her hard against my aching cock, moving her up and down until my balls tighten and my dick pulses against her, my orgasm ripping through me.

“Fuck,” I grunt, eyes shut, still grinding as wave after wave of pleasure shoots through my body.

I take a few deep breaths, letting my orgasm fade while I come back down to reality, where Ren sits topless on my lap, a look of ecstasy across her features.

She smiles wickedly. “Your O face is really hot, Griffin.”

“What?” I chuckle, keeping my hands on her ass and bringing her close to my body, wanting to feel the press of her breasts against my bare chest, her nipples rubbing against my slicked and heated skin.

“When you orgasm, the look on your face is super hot. Instead of being one of those guys who drop their mouths open and roll their eyes, you actually look sinister when you come. It’s really sexy.”

“Well, I can return the compliment, because watching you fall apart like that, hell, makes me want to go home early.” I press kisses along her neck, loving the taste of her skin.

“We should.”

“What?” I lift my head to see if she’s serious.

She shifts against my cock again, making it twitch. “We should make up an excuse to go home early.” She plays with the short strands at the nape of my neck. “Unless you were kidding; then I’m all for staying another night. But if you were serious, I’m ready to come up with some excuse so you can drive us back to my place and I can sink down on you.” Her voice gets quieter the dirtier she talks.

I swallow hard. “Sink down on me?” Never thought I would hear that from Ren either. She’s full of surprises today.

I guess I’m full of them as well. Two years ago, I never thought I would see myself in this position, a topless woman in my arms who I care about immensely. But here I am, holding on to Ren as if she’s my lifeline, never wanting to let go, and even though it’s slightly terrifying, taking this huge leap in faith that everything is going to be okay, I don’t think I would change my decision.

I like her, damn it, and being with her makes me fucking happy.

She nods, her forehead pressed against mine now. “This isn’t enough for me, Griffin. It will tide me over, but not for long. I’ve wanted you for a while, and now that I have you, I want all of you.”

“I want all of you too.” I press a quick kiss across her lips. “Think you can come up with a good excuse?”

She nods. “But the deal is, if I take the brunt of the blame, you drive straight back to my place—no pit stops.”

“You sound just as desperate as I am.”

“Because I am.” She cups my face. “I feel like I’ve been trying to get you to look at me like this for so long, Griffin. I don’t want to lose another minute without knowing what it’s like for you to fully claim me as yours.”

“Jesus,” I breathe out. “Then let’s get the hell out of here, because if you keep saying shit like that, I’m not going to last long.”

“I feel really bad. I’m so sorry, you guys.” Ren is talking to Beck and Rylee through the rolled-down window of my truck. Reid and Brig both stand behind them, arms crossed, shaking their heads. They’re not buying Ren’s excuse for a second, but it’s cute that she’s trying.

“Don’t even worry about it. You need to make a good impression on the principal. Go on. Griffin will get you back safely.”

“Thanks, you guys.” Ren gives them a quick wave right before she rolls the window back up, and I pull away from the campsite.

Once we’re out of sight, Ren scoots to the center seat, buckles in, and rests her head against my shoulder as I pull out onto the country road that leads back to Port Snow.

“Do you really have to turn in your teaching plans tomorrow?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, they were due last week, but good excuse, right?”

“Scary good. Should I be worried?”

“Maybe a little.” She rests her hand on my thigh, and it does nothing to tamp down my desire for this woman. “Are you upset that we’re leaving early? I know it was the last camping trip of the season.”

I chuckle and wrap my arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer as I steer down the road. “Yeah, not upset at all.” Borderline terrified to take this step forward with her, but upset? No. “There’s no way I can be upset about going home with you.”

“You realize you say things like that, and it sets off a wave of nerves in my stomach.”

“Nerves?” She’s nervous too?

“Yeah.” She snuggles in close. “You’re Griffin Knightly, this untouchable man with a beautiful heart and a drop-dead-sexy body. It’s hard for me to imagine that the guy who pulled me out of my wrecked car is actually holding me right now.”

“I could say the same thing about you. You know that, right? If you gave Jake or Tracker or Oliver or even my brothers the time of day, they would be all over you.”

“Are you telling me I have options?” she jokes. “Well, if that’s the case, I think I’m going to have to take a rain check on our little get-together.”

“In your dreams—you’re mine now.” I kiss the side of her head and savor the moment: Ren Winters pressed into my side, her hand on my thigh, her words hanging heavy over me.

This untouchable man . . .

Everything about that little sentence sets off a storm of anxiety. Untouchable. I’ve been untouchable for so long, to the point that Ren was the first woman to look at me with interest in over a year.

And yes, I miss Claire, so goddamn much, but I know she would want me to move on. She always wanted me to be happy, not to live like a hermit in our house, never experiencing love again.

But I swore I would never love again, that I wouldn’t subject another woman to the dark cloud I’ve been living under ever since our trip to New Orleans. My mom tried to tell me it was a coincidence, but I don’t believe it for a second.

So as I hold Ren close, finally letting myself feel for the first time in two years, I hope like hell it won’t come back to bite me in the ass. If anything happens to Ren, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.

“I’ve been thinking about something.”

“What’s that?” I ask, grateful for the reprieve from the thoughts swirling around in my head.

“You know how you said your family has been making it their mission to throw us together every chance they get?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why Brig invited me to his wine-and-cheese event, because he knew you’d be there? And is that why when I ran into Jen the other day, she told me Jake’s Cakes was having a lunch special? Because she knew you and Rogan were going to be there? Or when I was getting tools at the general store to build my chairs, I ran into Reid, and he told me to mention the chairs to you? He said you just love Adirondack chairs, but I’m suspecting he had other intentions.”

Christ. I had no idea there was that much meddling.

“And hey, is that why my car hasn’t been fixed yet? Because every time I ask about it, Brig says he’s waiting on a part and to catch a ride with you. He insists you don’t mind driving me around.”

I could kill them all.

I work my jaw back and forth before answering. “Unfortunately, yes. That’s what they were trying to do. Get us together every chance they could.”

“I guess it worked, didn’t it?” She smiles up at me.

“Nah, I think we made it happen on our own. I would hate to give them any credit.”