had been before. Together they sat cradled in the mouth of the tent just watching the flickering flames of the fire.
“This is perfect,” Lily whispered as she nestled into Mason’s side, comforted by the heat the fire cast over them.
The second the words passed through her lips the clouds opened for the first time in months. With a scream she dove inside the tent dragging the laughing Mason along with her.
“You just had to come out and say it didn’t you,” Mason laughed.
“Yes it was my fault it decided to rain for the first time in like two months,” she exclaimed as she batted Mason off her.
“Well I wasn’t going to put all the blame on you but yes it was all your fault,” Mason smirked.
“Well at least we have the tent,” Lily sighed as the last light of the fire died away and the tent was cast in darkness.
“I’ll get the light,” Mason stated and leaving Lily to get comfortable he climbed out of the small tent.
Lily watched him walk out into the darkness and for the first time in her life she was certain he would return and that his disappearing acts were long forgotten. Sure enough he was back in seconds brandishing a small camping lamp. The tent once again filled with light, this time the artificial but soft orange light of the lamp. “You’re soaking,” Lily complained as Mason sat by her side in the tiny confined space.
“Easily fixed,” Mason chuckled cheekily. He took hold of his dripping shirt and quickly pulled it over his head, discarding it in the corner of the tent.
Lily looked at him with an open mouth as his bare chest was illumined by the soft light. She reached out, unable to help herself and pressed a soft hand against his bronzed muscles. She followed the line of his black Celtic tattoos as they ran steadily down his chest. He cupped her hand, stopping her as she reached his stomach. His hand lingered, his thumb caressed hers as their eyes met.
No words needed to be spoken as Mason claimed her lips as hungrily as possible. He pushed her back onto the soft lining of the tent and pressed his bare chest against her own heaving one. Again and again he claimed her lips like they were the sweetest thing in existence, like they were the most addictive drug known to man. His lust rose to the surface as her hands snaked around his back, intertwining with his damp messy hair and pulling him closer.
Beneath her thin clothing he could feel her heart beating faster, the rapid rhythm causing shivers to race across his own body. Each kiss earned the softest desire-filled response from Lily as Mason told her everything he couldn’t put into words. He pressed his body down harder and she held him there, their need to be closer more intense now than it ever had been before. It was Lily who pulled away first, breathless and red-faced she looked up at the man who had given her everything she could have ever imagined.
She had never thought the words before but now as she looked into his bright blue eyes and felt the weight of his body so temptingly close to hers she felt the need to say them more than ever. “Mason, I…” she started but as quickly as the words had come he stopped them.
His lips claimed her once more, this time it was desperate as he searched her lips for the answer to his fears. She moaned against him and his hand clenched the tent floor relieving just a little of the tension that pounded his body relentlessly. “Lily no,” he said almost pleadingly as he pulled back for breath. Her heart was so fast now, pounding against his chest.
“I have to Mason,” she whispered, “If I don’t say it now then I’ll never get the chance,” she pleaded.
“You’re not going away for ever,” he stated but she could hear the uncertainty in his voice as well as he could.
“You’ll be gone when I get back, Mason we both know that,” Lily said, her voice desperate now.
Mason froze; the heat surging through him at Lily’s touch was now a stark reminder of what he
Danni Price
Carol Lea Benjamin
Craig Russell
Edward Medina
Russell Andrews
Harlan Ellison
Grace Livingston Hill
Margaret Maron
Julia Heaberlin
Susan Fanetti