Jared and I went to pick up the clothes. He carried them, while I limped behind and tried to keep up with his long strides. And when we came back to the camp, he started preparing some food, while I hung up the clothes. It was late afternoon, and since I hadn't eaten since breakfast, it felt like I could eat a whole horse.

Buck was nowhere to be seen and I was relieved. I honestly didn't want to see him again at all, but I knew I had to, eventually. After all, despite what he did or didn't do, I was the intruder here. Not him. And I was planning on taking Jared's advice about leaving seriously. I only hoped he could guide me a bit on the way, or at least point out which direction to go.

I was hanging up the last sweater when I suddenly got aware that Jared was standing right behind me. He didn't touch me, but he was so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body and his breath fanning my neck, and it spread goosebumps all over my skin. A low, hushed growl made me shiver and I felt lost. Almost like I was losing my mind.

"You're leaving tomorrow."

It was a statement, not a question. It was like he was reading my mind.

"Yeah. I think that's for the best," I answered truthfully.

I looked down at my hands and tensed up when he closed the gap between up. His chest felt warm and safe against my back, and I shut my eyes while I waited for his next move. His palms caressed my arms all the way down to my wrists. Then they moved back up and found rest on my hips. My breath quivered and became shallow, and the only thing I could think of was that I was scared. For what, I didn't know, because I wasn't afraid of him. And when he noticed that I couldn't relax, he stopped.

"What happened to you?" he asked. The question was quite simple, yet the most difficult ever. "Did Buck make you this scared?"

I was reluctant to answer and instead focused on calming myself. That was easier said than done.

"No. Or yes. But not... I mean, he didn't get to... Thanks to you," I stuttered, and hoped he didn't ask any further questions. I just wanted to forget about it. Pretend it never happened. Erase it from my memory for good, just like the other memories that were lurking under the surface, just beyond reach. Then I started wondering if the truth was worse than the memory loss, and that I actually should be glad to be in this godforsaken wilderness.

"That's good. I won't let anything happen to you."

He said something else too, but it was just incoherent mumbling I didn't understand.

"Try to relax, Skylar. I won't hurt you."

Jared kept standing with his hands on my hips and leaned over me somewhat with his cheek against my temple, as if he was trying to be a protective shield to keep me safe. It felt strange. Strange in a good way.

"You smell so good," he whispered, and I could hear him inhale through his nose. How he could think that was more than I could understand, because I didn't know when I last showered. I'd only bathed in the lake and cleaned myself with the soap bar I borrowed from him. Nevertheless, he seemed to be genuine when he said it, and that made me smile.

Slowly, his hands started moving again, but never faster than I could handle. Every time I tensed up, he stopped and waited for me to relax. He continued to my shoulders, my neck, my collarbones, and down to my stomach. Then they returned to my hips again.

"So beautiful."

His lips tickled my ear when he spoke and made me tremble in his arms. I felt dizzy and warm, dazed and elated, all at the same time. How did he do this? How did make my skin hypersensitive to everything he did? The fluttering in my stomach. The tiny explosions in my nervous system. The goosebumps. I wished he'd never stop.

I could feel his lips hover right above my shoulder, but instead of kissing me there, he dug his nose into the crook of my neck and growled lowly, as if he claimed me. My instant reaction was to run. But the way he kept whispering into my ear made me melt into his body instead, like I had no control anymore. My anxiety gradually transformed into something else. Something stronger and more carnal I already felt addicted to. And when he finally kissed my neck, I let out a sharp exhale of relief.

"Do you want me to stop?" he murmured, and I could tell that he struggled to hold himself back.

"No."

He kissed a little trail up behind my ear and growled again, and it made me want to giggle. But then my smile disappeared. Kemar. I could only remember him vaguely, but I think he was my boyfriend. Wasn't he? Or was it just an old memory, and nothing more? Maybe we'd broken up long time ago and I didn't remember. How embarrassing wouldn't that be? Besides, if he really was my boyfriend, wouldn't he be here with me? Or at least out looking for me? Or maybe not?

As for now, something else overshadowed my thoughts about him. Jared. Did Kemar ever treat me the way Jared did? He barely moved, yet he was stirring up emotions inside me that made me hot like fire. And the way he touched me felt foreign and familiar at the same time. Even now, when he massaged my breasts gently to make sure he didn't put pressure on my ribs, I felt comfortable in the situation. No, more than that. I wanted him to touch me everywhere.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked again, and his voice was raw with desire. And when I shook my head and told him to continue, he pulled at the hem of my cardigan to ask for permission to remove it. And blushing, I took off both that and my tank top.

Did I want this? Did I not want this? I didn't know. But there was something with the way he touched me that made me reckless and wild. I even pushed against his bulge to show him exactly that.

"I want you too," I whispered, and I couldn't believe how bold I was. This wasn't me. Then why did I moan with satisfaction when he slowly thrusted against my butt?

He removed my bra and turned me around, so we were face to face. His eyes contained so many emotions at once that it left me baffled. He told me so much without saying a word, and I didn't even understand half of it. But what I did understand was how badly he wanted me. And the feeling was mutual.

"Oh, my god. You're so gorgeous," he whispered breathlessly while he kissed my neck. Then he cupped my breasts in his hands again and pinched my nipples, and it was like a message that went straight to my lady parts. His breathing was different now. It was deeper and slightly faster, and I whimpered when his hand finally moved to the place I wanted it the most. There was nothing forceful about what he did. Not the least. Still, I felt trapped in his intense aura like a fly in a cobweb, and I loved every second of it.

He pulled back so he could watch me while his hand stroked over my stomach and down between my legs. Brown eyes held mine for the longest time and it was like we exchanged whole conversations just by looking at each other. It was first now I fully understood the meaning of magical. I finally dared what I'd envisioned before and put my hands on his chest and reached behind his neck. Then we continued staring at each other until he smiled and kissed my forehead. And that was all it took.

As if someone had cut the strings that held us back, we leaned in for the first real kiss with a hunger that made our teeth crash together. We were too busy exploring each other to care, though. And his kisses were so good. So when he signaled that he wanted to open my jeans, I didn't even hesitate. I spread my legs a bit and made it easier for him to open the button and find his way, and the chain reaction he caused within me stole all the air around us.

Of course my body hurt from my injuries. Especially my head. But the euphoria that pumped through my veins made it all go away. If only for a short period of time. Just touching him felt soothing in a way I couldn't explain, and I dug my fingers into his hair and slowly grazed his scalp with my nails all the way to his neck. Then I pulled him in for another kiss. A long, yearning one that told him how much I loved what he was doing to me.

His eyes were intense, and his lips were greedy. A sign that he was getting impatient. I could tell because of the way he was rubbing me. He wanted my jeans gone, and my panties too. So that's what I did, except that I kept my panties on because it felt awkward to be the only one of us without clothes. But what fascinated me, was that he seemed to understand.

Without saying a word, he pulled off his sweater and placed my hands on his shirt, non-verbally telling me to unbutton it. However, it became a surprisingly hard task when his hand went back to rubbing my clit. First in circles, then up and down my folds, before he slipped a finger inside me. Then I moaned and squeezed my eyes shut and simply forgot the whole shirt.

Jared chuckled quietly and studied me with fascination. It should have left me feeling embarrassed and exposed, and maybe even uncomfortable, but not with him. Not with the way his eyes admired every inch of my being. And when he somehow managed to unbutton the rest of his shirt with one hand, he revealed a hairy, muscular chest that drove me crazy. I didn't even know that I liked hairy guys. But moments later I found myself clawing at his abs and kissing his chest, and I could feel his now almost constant low growling vibrate in his ribcage. Then he kissed the top of my head.

I didn't realize that he'd opened and stepped out of his pants and pulled his boxers down to his thighs, until I felt his manhood poke hard and proud against my hip. There was no doubt. He was solid in every kind of ways, and his skin was soft and warm, which made me ache to feel him inside. But it seemed like he was determined to please me rather than himself.

"Oh, lord," I moaned when he continued his sweet torture. I was so warm that it felt like my veins were filled with magma. And the way he rubbed me and squeezed my butt made my body ready to erupt. My heart rate thundered like the hooves of hundreds of wild horses, and I gasped out into the air while I tried my best to keep quiet. That was not easy. He'd driven me too far already. I was too close. It was like everything he did was the final push that would tip me over the edge, yet I was climbing even further up to my peak. I was shaking and clinging around his neck for support until I couldn't take it anymore.

I groaned into his neck the moment the first contraction hit me. Wave after wave made my walls clench around his fingers and made him murmur something I didn't understand. Whether it was a foreign language or English didn't matter because I was too lost in my own world of euphoria to think. So when he lifted my thigh and placed himself at my entrance, I was too dazed to even realize. Not until he slowly pushed inside.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he murmured, but I was still too deep in my aftermath to reply with anything other than a nod. And I remained stunned by how easily he picked me up and secured me with a tight grip around my thighs, that now were wrapped around his waist while he reached even deeper inside me. How could he not feel how heavy I was? He held me with such ease that it almost didn't feel real. But the rhythm of his thrusts and his increasingly labored breathing told me that it was indeed very real. The way my body instantly responded to his, was too. And it didn't take long until his long strokes made me writhe in his arms, preparing for another orgasm.

I panted into his neck and felt his skin warm and moist against my cheek and nose, and my lips were hungry to taste more of him. Unfortunately, I was so out of breath that I gave up and just moaned instead. His growling was more distinct now, and it made my heart flutter and ache. Why did I feel such strong connection to a complete stranger? And under such conditions? It didn't make any sense in a logical mind, yet to us, everything felt perfect.

Jared thrusted firmer now, and his speed was getting out of control. I didn't stop him, even though the grip he had on my butt cheeks was a bit too hard. But somehow that only sharpened my senses and made me tense up just as I felt it coming. My toes curled and I tugged at his hair, and I kept repeating his name until I stopped breathing.

I came like a tornado. Wild, furious, and completely merciless. Jared started to lose control and cursed a couple of times while he squeezed his eyes shut, and he was simply the sexiest sight ever. Tiny droplets of sweat made his temples and neck glisten, and his jaw clenched repeatedly, until he suddenly snarled like an animal. He put me down so abruptly that I almost fell, but somehow, I managed to cling to him just as he roared out from his climax. Spurt after spurt fell useless to the ground while his member twitched over and over again, until he managed to wrap his hand around it and regained some control. Then he just breathed, heavy and deep, just like I did.

My arms were still wrapped around his shoulder and neck a couple of minutes later, until he turned his head and kissed me one final time. Then he carefully grabbed my wrists and loosened my grip around him, and it felt like I was robbed for something really valuable. He kept holding my hands and stared at them for a while. Then he made an attempt to speak but shut his mouth and just looked at me while his nose flared ever so slightly.

He looked lost. Sad. But then he shut his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, as if I had exposed him or seen something I shouldn't have. And when he opened them again, he tried to seem unaffected and started picking up our clothes.

"Food's ready."