Cannon

23

Cannon collapsed on top of her, still not entirely giving her his weight as he knew how tiny she was. His head spun – it had been a long time since he let go so freely. A wave of dizziness shook him, so he rolled off her then stared at her with awe. She was pure magic.

“Ryver,” he said breathlessly. “You’re so beautiful.”

Ryver leaned onto her side, also breathless and sweating. “You’re not so bad yourself, my big bad dragon.”

She inched closer to him, leaning her head on his chest. His heart was pounding, not only from the orgasm but from the emotions jetting through his mind and soul. He’d never felt this way about anyone, and she had called him her love. He wasn’t sure if she had meant that the same way he did, but he wasn’t going to ruin the moment by asking.

Cannon stroked her hair and breathed in her scent. Her v****a tasted like fresh dew. He swore he could live between her legs forever.

But what of his freedom? The desire to live on the mountain alone? Ryver had completely discombobulated his original plan. And now that he had slept with the subject, what would that mean about the deal he had made?

His mind was swirling, but Ryver eased it. She lifted her head and kissed him, mixing her tongue with her own juices. She pulled back and leaned her chin on his chest.

“So that’s what it’s like to be with a shifter.”

Cannon laughed. “Yep, what would the rating be?”

Without hesitation, Ryver said, “Oh, eleven out of ten definitely.”

“Have you never been with a shifter?”

Ryver shook her head. Cannon had figured this but wasn’t going to assume.

“I had two boyfriends in college and one in med school, but the s*x was nothing like this.”

Cannon was glowing. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

Ryver tapped one of his pecs lightly. “Of course, it’s a good thing! I’ve never come twice with anyone other than myself.”

“Well,” Cannon sat up, taking her face in his. “That’s something we can change.”

Ryver smiled, her cheeks growing rosy. “Where the hell did you come from, Cannon?”

“Oh, some hole in the wall down south, I think.”

She lay back on his chest. “Honestly?”

“No, but that’s a story for another time. Now I think we have to wash up again in that chilly river.”

Ryver pointed at the fire. “As long as we’ve got that, I think we’re good to go.”

“So that means it’s your turn to get firewood?”

Ryver gave a soft throaty laugh, and it was the most delightful sound. Cannon thought about telling her that he was pretty sure he loved her, that he knew she was his mate, but he couldn’t summon the courage. Instead, he kissed her forehead and began rubbing her chest.

“You’re beautiful, Ryver.”

“You already said that,” Ryver joked.

“I think I’m going to be saying it forever, so get used to it.”

They both laughed in each other’s arms, the firelight continuing to flicker and light up their features in the dark.

Cannon didn’t know what the future held, but all he knew was that his plans had changed drastically when this woman had fallen out of the sky and into his life.

RYVER

Ryver eventually took Cannon’s advice and had a dip in the stream again. She was sweaty and dripping with his wetness, and she didn’t want to fall asleep that way. She stood in the river completely naked, feeling the cool air pass over her skin. She closed her eyes as she threw water onto herself. No one had ever made her feel this way, sexually or sentimentally. She knew she was still radiating from her multiple orgasms, but there was something real about her time with Cannon that seemed raw and meaningful.

The majority of the time she had spent with men was professional. Adam and Luke McKay, for example, were male doctors that she spent the most time with, even before being shipped off to help children. Ryver interacted with them platonically and had no real desire to go beyond anything but that. She wouldn’t do anything with anyone within the boundaries of work anyway – that would just be stupid.

Her father had taught her that you don’t s**t where you eat.

She had only shared her body and mind with three other men, and it had been years since then. The last being in med school. Daniel had been his name. She initially thought he had a cute smile and laugh. He’d tried to get her to quit med school to marry him and become his trophy wife with no life. She broke it off and hadn’t been s****l with anyone since. It sounded like a long time in her mind as she ruminated by the river, but she knew how to take care of herself in that way without a man’s help. In the whole year that she and Daniel had dated, she had only three real orgasms. And before him only two other times.

The others she had faked, merely to get the experience over with so she could get the job done herself. She thought maybe she’d built up the idea of s*x in her mind and that this was the actual reality of it, something that was overblown entirely and merely an average experience.

But that didn’t feel like the case with Cannon. He genuinely wanted her to feel good, which was a foreign feeling for Ryver. She did everything she could to embrace that as they made love. Even when he was being so gentle with her, it was almost irritating.

But she hadn’t ever been with a shifter, so perhaps it would have been dangerous for him to go all out.

Oh well, maybe next time.