by Anya Nowlan
Rina cuddled up in the jacket, enjoying the warmth. She hadn’t even realized how cold she was before he’d put it around her, and despite the heat of the leather jacket, she was still a bit chilly. Using his phone as a flashlight, Comet scoured the area, returning in a couple of minutes with a pile of dried brush and sticks that could have maybe been considered enough kindling.
Somehow, he made it work.
“I’m discovering fire, of course,” he said, waggling his brows as he knelt down and built a small fire just as he’d promised.
“So the Frost boys have suddenly mastered the wilderness, huh?” Rina teased, watching the spark of a blaze take to the dry wood from a lighter he pulled from his back pocket.
“I do what I can,” Comet said with a chuckle, before coming to sit down next to her on the sleeping bag. “I hope you don’t mind. I figured if we got in the car and drove back to town, we’d both be distracted and this wouldn’t really go too well. I want to do this – this conversation – right.”
The flames grew brighter and soon they had a legitimate little bonfire going. Rina pushed out her palms and warmed them a little, feeling the heat slowly crawl back into her body. She nodded her head, though her mind was struggling to catch up with everything that had happened that day.
She’d gotten a half-assed marriage proposal and then subsequently dumped by her boyfriend, left in the Arizona desert (though admittedly that was partially her fault), chased down by drunken weirdos with firecrackers and then saved by a stag who just happened to be her painfully remembered ex-boyfriend/love of her young life. And now she was sitting by a damn bonfire with him, trying to talk about their shared past.
This Fourth of July is going to have to be something damn spectacular to top everything that’s happened so far.
“What time is it?” she asked suddenly, looking at Comet.
It was sort of painful to gaze at him up close like that. It was like looking at the sun when you’d been living in a dark hole for too long – it burned far hotter than any fire could.
“Bit past midnight. Why?” Comet asked, checking the time on his phone.
“I was wondering if the weirdness would be contained in the third of July or if it’s leaking into the fourth.”
“Guess you just have to deal with one bucked up Fourth of July,” Comet said with obvious smugness.
Rina coughed out a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. It didn’t seem to bother Comet none, though. He still looked particularly pleased with himself.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said.
“I’ve always been ridiculous,” he countered.
“For some reason I thought you’d grow out of it eventually.”
“Aren’t you glad I didn’t?” he laughed.
“I sort of am, yeah,” Rina replied with a grin.
Out of reflex, and maybe because the last time she’d sat like that with him it had seemed like the most natural thing in the world, she leaned into him, slouching against his wide chest and shoulder. Automatically, his arm went around her and when he squeezed her, all the finely tuned and preserved aggravation she’d once held against him seemed to dissipate.
“So are you going to tell me?” she asked after the silence between them had gotten way too comfortable.
It was ridiculous, in a way, asking him to spill his guts about why exactly he’d left her when they were barely more than teens, while sitting with her head comfortably resting in the crook of his neck. The irony of it all wasn’t lost on Rina.
“Because I was an idiot,” Comet said solemnly.
So I guess Fourth of July’s going to be interesting this year in more ways than one.
Rina
“You really need to elaborate on that,” Rina said, glancing up at him.
His warmth permeated through her body, heating her more than the fire ever could. Deep in thought, Comet pulled her tighter against him and she snuggled up greedily, knowing full well that she should have been keeping her distance for the inane crap he’d pulled those years ago.
But she’d never been very good at staying mad at him.
“I know,” Comet nodded. “Well, okay. It went like this,” he started with a sigh, keeping his blue eyes anywhere but on Rina. “We’d had this amazing summer. You were a wild girl from North Dakota and I knew you were going to have to go back for school. You went to college, right?”
“Yup. Majored in economics before I switched into engineering. Weirdest five years of my life,” Rina admitted somewhat sleepily, feeling both incredibly comfortable in Comet’s arms and rather nostalgic for times gone by at the same time.
Either case, her stomach was still in knots despite her trying to relax into the moment.
“Right. So, you were going off to college and I was… well… yeah…”
“What were you going to do? You never wanted to talk about it. I assumed you were going to become a pilot like your brothers.”
“I was and I did,” he said, nodding. “That’s where I went. Up north for my training. Three years there. I left early.”
“Up north?” Rina echoed quizzically.
“Way up north,” he said, giving her a pointed look that perhaps told her a little too much. “I wasn’t supposed to go yet, but you had a week left and every day closer to when you were going to leave felt like hell.”
Comet fell silent for a moment, his blue eyes mirroring the blaze of the fire. Rina stayed quiet as well, fearing that anything she could say would kick him out of his urge to share. It had eaten away at her for years, wanting to know why he had simply taken off without a word like that. Though she had obviously picked up her life and moved on, he’d always been the one who’d gotten away.
It was now clear – finally – that she was the same for him.
“It was a mistake. I was weak. I didn’t want to tell you who I was, that I was a shifter. That the best future we could hope for would be three years spent apart and then I’d be flying across the world for the rest of my life, whether I liked it or not.”
“Do you like it, though?”
“I love it,” he answered immediately, a smile forming on his lips that was undoubtedly genuine. “But… that’s one part of me. I feel like I left the other half of it in Idaho that day I got on the damn plane.”
He reached for her hand and she allowed him to take it. Absently, he ran his thumb over her skin and sent shivers of pleasure traipsing through her. His touch had always been electric to her and that clearly hadn’t changed.
The good things never do.
No man had made her feel like Comet had, and he’d only been a boy when they were together. Now? Well, now she was sitting next to a man. A man who was willing to bare his soul and his disappointment and heartache to her without any pretense or posturing. It was… It was almost too raw and she would have been lying had she claimed that it didn’t make her head spin a little.
“So why didn’t you come and find me?” she asked, unable to resist the question any longer. “You know, when shifters came out of the proverbial woods. Or when your life calmed down. Obviously someone in your family knew where I was.”
“I always kept tabs on you, Rina,” Comet said, glancing at her before averting his gaze again, focusing on the fire. “I knew what you were doing, how your business was going. Well, a little at least. I didn’t keep up with the details. You seemed happy. I didn’t want to ruin that. I’ve always been fast with the decisions and they’ve never been good, I think. So that wasn’t something I wanted on my conscience again – screwing up your life like that.”
“I wasn’t that happy,” she admitted, sighing. “That’s sort of why I’m here tonight. You know my boyfriend asked me to marry him tonight?”
“Yeah?” Comet asked, arching a brow. “Odd place to be celebrating that,” he said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.
The fact that he bothered to be hurt by it warmed the pit of her stomach a bit too much.
“Does it look like I’m celebrating?
” Rina asked with a snort. “Sure, he asked me to marry him, but he also told me in no few words that being an entrepreneur is no job for a woman and my place was at home, raising kids and making him dinner.”
“He sounds like a jackass. I should know, I’ve met a few,” Comet said, smiling with evident relief.
“Don’t be too happy now,” Rina teased, though she met his smile just as easily.
“Well, I try not to glean too much entertainment from the hardships of others. But between you and me, he’s an idiot for leaving you. That’s another field I’m well-versed in.”
“Recognizing utter stupidity when you see it?” she asked, biting her tongue after the words had slipped out.
“Recognizing when someone’s let a good thing get away from him,” Comet said, his eyes now set firmly on hers.
Rina felt herself sinking into his perfectly blue pools, as if they were calling for her and sucking her in. She was powerless against the pull, and honestly, she didn’t really want to fight it either.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he said so matter-of-factly that Rina wouldn’t have thought to argue with him.
“Okay,” she said, grinning as he leaned into her.
He stopped only half an inch from her lips and Rina closed the gap eagerly. The first kiss was tentative, testing. Like two strangers at first, but then recognizing everything that they’d never forgotten about one another, the kiss built and, in a matter of moments, Comet’s hand was behind Rina’s neck and her fingers tugging at the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.
She moaned into his mouth as his tongue slipped between her lips, savoring her and giving her a taste of him. It was just as she remembered, but so much better. While Jake had never made her feel more than good, one kiss from Comet sent Rina soaring to the heavens and made her never want to come off that high.
“This isn’t fair,” she gasped when they both came up for air for a moment, wild eyes meeting again.
“What?” Comet asked, taken aback slightly.
“You could have been doing this for years!”
“I’m really, really sorry,” he said, smirking a little.
It was just enough for Rina to want to punch him in the chest. Instead, she kissed him again, her tongue thrusting into his mouth and demanding what was hers – the man she’d always loved and who had always loved her.
Sometimes life didn’t have to be so difficult, right?
Rina
The night air was cold but Rina didn’t particularly care. While her mouth was busy ravaging Comet’s, her hands were going down his perfectly chiseled, hard body, loving the feel of his muscles beneath her fingertips. She reached the edge of his shirt quickly enough and pulled it up with a tug.
Leaving his mouth for long enough to pull it over his head was the hardest thing she’d had to do, and Comet seemed to agree with her completely. In the next second, with his shirt discarded, Rina found herself in his lap, grinding up against him.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered, putting her palms on his rugged chin, the slight stubble scraping at her skin.
“Do you want me to stop?” Comet asked, his hands rowing down her sides and stopping on her plump ass.
“If you do, I’ll never forgive you,” Rina growled with a smile, only to be caught in another kiss that took her breath away.
Comet undid the button on her jeans with deft accuracy, pulling her closer to him with his other hand. His fingers slipped between her tanned skin and the thin lace of her panties and Rina gasped, her body reacting so gleefully to his touch as if she’d been waiting for it for nearly a decade.
It wasn’t too far from the truth. If she’d had a moment to process it, she would have realized that Comet was exactly who she had been looking for every damn time she met someone, every time she attempted a relationship. He was the impossible standard she’d held everyone against – wild, free, caring and loving all in the same package.
When his fingers dipped between her pussy lips, Rina couldn’t help but whimper, raising herself a little as if the touch was too much to take. Comet only pulled her tighter into him and his fingers crept forward, rubbing over her clit in slow motions and bringing a purring cry over her lips. When he slipped two digits into her, Rina’s eyes rolled back in her head.
Comet kissed her neck, dotting it with quick, feathery kisses that made her tingle all over. She bit her lower lip, trying to keep her moans at bay. But who was there to hear her? Sure, the highway was right there, but not a single damn car had passed since those asshats had made their hasty exit and Rina could bet that even if they had, she wouldn’t have noticed.
She was preoccupied with much more delicious matters.
With his free hand, Comet yanked down her top, making Rina gasp. She was wearing a black bra that had seen better days, but Comet wouldn’t give her the time to feel embarrassed about it. The top rolled down her lush breasts and cupped them, the fabric squeezing them together. The look in Comet’s eyes at the sight was nothing but pure hunger.
His blue pools burned hot and bright and, putting her hands on his shoulders, she could feel the way he was shuddering all over, just like she was. Bucking against him, she rode his fingers, completely unabashed by what she was doing and what she wanted. He pulled down one cup of her bra and exposed a nipple to the cold night air.
Flicking his tongue over it, Rina mewled, her nails digging into his shoulders. He caught the nipple between his teeth and sucked it into his mouth, looking up at her. The heat in Rina was building and tensing, coiling into a tangled ball of desire that seemed to pulse through her with every stroke of his fingers or lick of his tongue.
She was way past words when he suckled on her tit and planted kisses on it, his free hand still roaming her body. Every time she grinded against him, she could feel his huge erection barely kept at bay by his jeans, and all she wanted was to set it free. But she couldn’t control herself nearly enough to make any conscious effort towards it.
When Comet moved his thumb to start rubbing her clit as he thrust into her pussy, Rina was gone.
With a wail, she gave into her orgasm, spasming and shaking as Comet held her close, not letting up for a second. She was out of breath and stuttering, stars swimming before her eyes whether she closed them or not. Comet pulled his fingers out of her and lifted her up so gently and easily as if she weighed nothing.
He put her down on her back, and Rina noted absently how careful he was, making sure that she was completely on the rolled out sleeping bag rather than on the cold ground. He towered over her as he looked down at her for a moment. Through her labored breaths and the aftershocks of her orgasm, all Rina could think about was how he was so damnably perfect that it was unfair.
How is anyone ever supposed to compete with him?
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured softly, leaning down to kiss her as he removed her jeans and shoes at the same time.
She lifted her hips, murmuring incoherent somethings into his mouth, her hands holding on tight to his bulging biceps. It was only then that she could truly see how fantastic he looked, how there didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat on his solid, powerful frame, and how each muscle rippled under the skin as he moved. He was breathtaking, and the way he looked at her told her that he thought much the same about her.
Comet pushed her pants to the side and then peeled off her panties, though they were little more than clingy, wet cloth around her hips at that point. Rina licked over her lips as he undid the button on his jeans while she unzipped them for him and then pushed them down his hips. She couldn’t hide the groan that slipped over her lips.
He grinned that same slightly cocky smirk he’d always had. It was maddening and intoxicating at the same time.
“You bastard,” she laughed, running her fingers down his tight abs and enjoying the way he visibly tensed when she did that.
“What do you mean?” he asked, innocently quirking a brow as he stroked his huge, throbbing cock a few times as
if it were the most normal thing.
“You’re teasing me,” she protested.
“I’m teasing you?” he scoffed. “Honey, if you knew what was going on in this head, you’d know that you’re the villain here, my little vixen.”
“Shh,” she groaned, tugging him closer by the sides. “Talk’s cheap.”
“To the point as usual,” Comet chuckled, but he lowered his body over hers and her hips raised to meet his.
He rubbed the head of his cock over her slit a few times and Rina braced herself, her nails on his back. When he thrust in, she wailed, her back arching and her hips bucking. The pain was sudden and intense and oh so good.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled.
“Don’t you dare stop,” she gasped in return, hiding her head in the crook of his neck as her hands went on his ass, pulling him deeper into her.
Within a few strokes that brought sparks of pain and delight to roil all through Rina, he’d sunken all the way in, claiming her completely. He’d been the first person she’d ever slept with and Rina would have been perfectly happy for a lifetime if he were the last as well.
Comet started thrusting into her slowly, but each motion brought more speed and force. Their bodies slammed together and her hands couldn’t stop roaming over him, never getting enough of his steely muscles. She bit down on his neck, whimpering as she felt another wave of release build in her. He was her kryptonite and she couldn’t say no.
Her pussy milked him when the orgasm hit her, the small muscles contracting tightly and hungrily around his big cock. Rina screamed, unabashed and unafraid, and it was only a second later that Comet’s growling voice joined hers. She could feel his thick seed bursting into her while her thighs were clutching him tightly and her hands were wrapped around his torso.
They fell back on the sleeping bag, both heaving for breath. Their breathing left trails of fog in the cool air and though Comet’s body was oh so hot against hers, Rina could feel the chill of the night. She opened her eyes, looking up at the stars and, for a moment, she wasn’t sure whether she was imagining them or if the skies really were impossibly starry that night.
