After the Rain by Lisa de Jong Page A

done?” Beau asks, knocking on the bathroom door.
    “Just about,” I answer back, pinning up a few pieces of loose hair with bobby pins.
    He opens the door and stands behind me, enveloping me in his arms. “I’m going to go wait inside the tent, okay?”
    “Okay.” I smile at our reflection, watching him brush the remaining hair from the back of my neck. Our eyes connect in the mirror before he kisses the back of my neck and my bare shoulders. When he leaves the room, all I can think about is getting out of this cabin and into the tent with him.
    After brushing my teeth, I turn off all the lights and head outside. Beau has a lantern on in the tent, which makes it easy for me to navigate through the dark yard.
    As I unzip the tent and step in, Beau whistles while his eyes rove over my body. I’m relieved my mom packed a little pair of black sleep shorts with a matching cami to sleep in because it’s warm out here. Beau has two sleeping bags laid out on top of each other to pad the hard ground and a thin grey sheet over top.
    “It took you long enough,” he says as I zip the door back up. I crawl in next to him as he begins to kiss the side of my neck. He doesn’t waste any time before his hand finds the inside of my thigh and begins to massage the sensitive skin.
    His hand presses between my legs as his mouth caresses my collarbone. Lifting his head, he looks into my eyes as his fingers move in small circles right where I need them. “Does that feel good, baby?”
    I nod, unable to speak. I just want to get lost in the moment. Closing my eyes, I feel him—all of him—pressed against me. His lips are like a magic wand leaving spine-straightening tingles in its path.
    When I lose his touch, my eyes shoot open, already begging for more. He’s leaning over me with a smile spread across his face. “Look,” he says, pointing his finger to the top of the tent.
    I do as he asks, noticing the netted opening in the top of the tent. “I’m about to make love to you under the stars,” he says quietly as he grabs my hands in his to pull me up. As he pulls my cami over my head, the moonlight reflects the hungry look in his eyes.
    My fingers run across his smooth, hard chest as he massages my breasts in his palms. His touch is perfect; it’s not too light and not too rough. It’s loving, yet a little bit possessive. Lying down on my back, I wait for him to make the next move.
    His fingers brush against my stomach when he reaches them in my waistband to remove my shorts. I watch impatiently, waiting for him to remove his own. When we’re both free, skin-to-skin, he positions himself and slowly enters me. I wouldn’t be able to remove my eyes from his if I tried. I love him so much, and I need him to see it.
    He begins to thrust in and out of me a few times before stopping short, buried deep inside of me. “How much do you love me, Kate?”
    Barely able to breathe, I say, “A lot.”
    He pulls himself out until only the tip remains. “How much do you love me?”
    “More than I’ve ever loved anything.”
    He pushes back into me, stopping again. “Tell me you’re mine.”
    “Beau,” I say, eager to feel the friction again.
    “Say it.”
    “I’m yours … forever. I love you.”
    “I love hearing you say that,” he says, resting his hands on top of my head and brushing his lips against mine.
    As he moves in and out of me again, I run my hands up and down his toned back. The way his fingers worship my body makes me feel beautiful and loved. After a few minutes, he flips us over so I’m straddling his hips with him still buried deep inside me. I lift myself up and then sink back down as his fingers dig into my sides.
    I feel myself building, and I speed my motions, hoping to take him along with me. The anticipation, motion, and heat between us push me to the brink. When I finally come, I come hard, pulsating around him a few times before he follows me. It’s amazing having this control and having this effect