Needing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,35

they kiss the way they’d been kissing?

That was different. The kissing was different. It didn’t mean anything. It was just part of the show. But she knew it wasn’t. She knew what she was feeling, and more and more, it felt as though that was the way Damon was feeling, too. And was that really so bad? Really?

Katie continued to debate with herself as she pushed herself on the trail. They’d gotten a later start than the others and they were behind despite the fact that Sarah and Brody were beginners. Damon was riding hard and fast, and Katie had to work to keep up to him. He’d obviously remembered quite well how to handle his bike on the trails despite being gone from Glacier Falls for so long. She had no idea what he was doing to keep in shape while he’d been gone, but whatever it was, it was working.

Damon’s legs were hard and defined under his shorts and when he lifted up out of his seat… Damn…that ass.

Not that she was looking.

Nope.

She was definitely not looking at her best friend’s ass. But if she were…

“Damon!”

Katie had looked up right as Damon’s front tire hit a root and he’d gone head first over the handlebars into the trees. She skidded her bike to a stop in the mud next to his and ran through the undergrowth to where he was lying flat on his back. His eyes were closed. He wasn’t moving.

She’d been lucky and had never been in a bad mountain biking accident before, but she’d seen them: broken legs, plenty of fractured wrists, a few concussions, and one particularly terrible broken collarbone. It was one of the reasons she was up to date on her first-aid certification.

“Damon?” She dropped to the ground next to him, heedless of the rocks under her knees. “Can you hear me? Open your eyes, Damon.” Katie reached around and pulled her backpack off her shoulders to get at her first-aid kit. Gently, she pressed her hands to his chest and then up to his neck to feel for a pulse. She leaned over him to listen for his breathing. He had to be breathing. “Damon, I need you to—”

His arms shot up and wrapped around her, pulling her down to him.

“I need to what?”

“What are you doing?” Katie tried to wiggle out of his grip. “You’re going to hurt yourself. You need to—”

“I’m fine.” He laughed beneath her and she felt the rumble of his chest under hers. “It was just a little tumble.”

He still wasn’t releasing her. A fact that Katie was very much aware of, just as she was very much aware of the fact that she was lying directly on top of him, their faces only inches apart. “You scared me.” The words came out barely more than a whisper.

“I did?”

“Yes.” Much to her mortification, tears rushed to Katie’s eyes. She had been scared when she saw Damon fall. She’d been terrified when she’d seen him unmoving on the ground. If anything happened to him she’d—what?

She’d be devastated.

“Don’t cry, Katie.” His voice had lost its teasing tone, and while one arm remained firmly locked around her, the other hand reached up to wipe the tears from her cheek. “I’m fine. I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to. Really.”

She blinked hard, trying to force herself to stop crying. After all, he was fine. But now Damon’s fingers were on her cheek. His touch was so gentle, she involuntarily leaned into it.

“I really am sorry, Katie.” His words were soft, and she got the distinct impression that he was no longer talking about the bike accident. But before she could ask, his lips were on hers and they were kissing. Really kissing. And no one was there to watch or bear witness. There was no show. It was just the two of them.

He shifted beneath her, and Katie was able to move one arm. She brought her hand up to his and without breaking the kiss, they threaded their fingers together in an action so intimate, it made her stomach flutter in need.

And she wasn’t the only one reacting to the kiss. Katie felt him growing hard with a need of his own. When Damon deepened the kiss, she groaned in response.

Damon’s hand moved to her low back as he moved his kiss to her neck. It was a warm day, but her entire body shivered as he nibbled and licked his way to her collarbone.

“Katie.” Damon’s voice