Moonshine Hollow

Chapter Thirty-Three

                  

Rose and Forrest made their way back towards the store. They wearily climbed the steps together. Forrest stopped her in the hall. "Are you alright?" he asked. There was still a lamp burning on the small table in the hall so he was better able to look her over. She could feel the soot on her face and hands.

"I'm not hurt," she promised. As his fingers gently touched her cheek and lifted her chin so he could examine her. He was so close she could feel his warm breath fanning her skin as he looked her up and down.

Forrest shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "Don't ever do that to me again. When I saw you run at him like that...then you ran straight for that fire..." he rested his chin on her head. "When did you get so foolish and so brave?"

He pulled back and looked down at her. Her heart started to race. There was something different in Forrest's eyes tonight. Maybe it had been different since that first morning when they woke up together and every morning since. He reached up and ran the backs of his fingers along her cheek. She shivered. Her skin felt tight and over sensitive from being so close to the fire and it made every touch and every nerve stand at attention. She lifted her hands and placed them on his chest.

"Come to bed Lor," he said in a quiet voice.

Rose reached up tentatively and touched the side of his face. He hadn't shaved in days and he had already grown a short beard. He stared into her eyes for a few long moments before he leaned in and very gently brushed his lips across hers. He pulled back immediately and looked at her uncertainly. She smiled and stepped into the circle of his arms and tipped her face up to kiss him back. She felt him smile as she pressed her lips against his, and he rumbled a chuckle in his chest. He held her to him, his hands spayed across her waist. He continued to kiss her as he backed them towards his bedroom door. He kicked it shut behind them and stopped moving.

Rose untangled her arms from his and raised shaking hands to unbutton Forrest's shirt. She pushed the shirt from his shoulders where it fell to their feet. He backed himself into the bed and sat down. She followed and stood between his legs, feeling powerful as she shoved down his suspenders and pulled his undershirt over his head. It was warm in her hand and she froze. She stared at him as she let the shirt fall from her fingers. She had never felt this way about a man. Never desired to touch him and even more desired him to touch her. She laid a hand over his heart. She could see his desire in his eyes and his breath was coming in short sharp pants. His heartbeat thundered to match her own.

She very slowly, and very gently ran her fingertips across his collar bones. He made a sound low in his throat but kept his hands on the bed. He was being so careful of her and letting her set their pace. It never ceased to amaze her how a man so strong and surrounded my so much violence could be so gentle with her.

Very deliberately she reached up and undid the tie and buttons that held her wrap dress closed. It fell open, revealing her simple silk slip. Forrest reached up, moving his hands very slowly and deliberately. He leaned in to kiss her, and rested his hands on her shoulders. He slid his hands beneath the fabric and rolled the dress off her shoulders, letting it pool on the floor around her ankles. Rose kissed him back, feeling the tension rise and buried her hands in his hair. She climbed onto his lap, straddling him. His hands found her waist, and held her there for a second before they slid down to her hips and ran up her thighs until he could find the edge of her slip. He slid his fingers beneath the hem and she jumped when his fingertips brushed the hypersensitive skin above her garter.

He froze but she giggled and held him tighter to her so he took that as invitation. He stood with her still in his arms and very slowly lowered them to the bed. She tensed for only a moment when she felt his weight above her, and he must have realized that was what bothered her because he rocked back on his heels, leaving her laying on the bed. He brushed his fingers up and down the outside of her thighs teasing her and making her squirm and giggle. In the dim light she could see his smile and it made her chest feel strangelyw tight but not from fear. They laughed and played and explored one another until the last of the tension left her body.

Finally his smile stilled and his fingers found her garter stays and he slowly peeled back her stockings, his fingers left a blazing trail down her legs, and he kissed his way back up them. He stood, and removed his own pants. This time when she felt his weight settle over her, she looked deep in his eyes and felt only pleasure.