“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. True story.”

The gator finally disappeared beneath the surface, and Lord grinned at me as he pushed off the log and turned the boat in the direction we’d previously been heading. “You ready to fly?”

I was still absorbing what he’d told me, but I nodded anyway.

“Ear muffs on,” he ordered.

I complied, and he fired up the boat again. This time, we didn’t go slow—we flew.

Lord handled the boat expertly, but I still squealed and grabbed his arm as we skidded around turn after turn. He treated the swamp like his own personal racecourse. It was amazing.

My squeals turned into laughter, and even though I was no longer freaked out, I still held on. Lord’s thick bicep flexed beneath my hands, and I guessed that he liked being my anchor. I’d not had one of those in my life in a long time.

A glance up at him revealed his small smile, and he manipulated the controls to turn us sharply again so I was squished even closer against his side. I knew in that moment that he was doing it deliberately. And I didn’t care. I loved it.

I lost track of time as we coasted through the bayou and out into open water. Ahead of us, a gorgeous sunset was just beginning to paint the sky with pinks and oranges. Lord finally slowed and killed the engine. He lifted his ear protection, and I did the same.

I was laughing when I asked, “Is this where I need to start worrying?”

His smile grew from a small one into the grin I was becoming familiar with. “Only if you’re worried about how bad you’re gonna want me after I kiss the hell out of you while the sun goes down.”

I stopped laughing.

“I’ve been watching that perfect mouth of yours smile for the last half hour—which means we’re damn lucky I didn’t run us straight into a tree—and I’m gettin’ a taste of it.”

I bit my lip. “When you put it like that…”

He reached out and tucked some of my windblown hair behind my ear. “You look good like this,” he murmured.

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

I stilled. Happy? I didn’t think of my life in terms of happy or unhappy. I just was. But he was right. Right now, this moment, I had no cares. I was living in the now and enjoying it—because of him.

“Kiss me,” he said.

I didn’t balk at the order. I reached out and trailed a finger over his lips. The bottom one was fuller than the top, and he caught my fingertip between his teeth and nipped. I pulled my hand back, dropping it to his thigh. The muscle tightened under my touch, and I reveled in the power of being able to affect him. This man was wild, untamed—seemingly fearless—and yet his body jumped when I touched him. That was insanely seductive.

I half-stood and twisted, planting one knee between his legs on the bench seat and settling myself on top of his thigh.

Lord’s groan unleashed something in me. Yes, he’d given the order, but he’d handed control to me. I was in charge—and I wanted to make him burn. I rested one hand on his shoulder, and wrapped the other around the base of his neck.

“You sure you can handle me?” I asked.

“If your lips aren’t on mine in less than two seconds, I’m going to be taking the reins here.” His hands settled on my hips and squeezed. The movement rocked me back and forth on his thigh, and my clit lit up with the sensation. My floaty skirt was completely inappropriate for swamp-boating, but it meant that there wasn’t much between us. I glanced down to see the huge bulge in his pants.

Lord followed the direction of my gaze. He gripped my hips tighter and began to lift me.

“Spread for me. I want you straddling my lap.”

I lowered my head and whispered into his ear as I complied, “You’re lucky that’s exactly where I want to be.”

My lips hit Lord’s as his eyes lit with something that looked a whole lot like satisfaction. I closed mine and threw myself into the kiss, opening my mouth and tasting him.

This could become addictive.

His hands curved around my ass, and he pulled me closer. I might have been on top, but I was no longer in control—and I was totally fine with that.

I wanted him. Under me. Over me. Behind me. Whichever way I could have him. I put every bit of my longing into the kiss as I rocked against him.

Lord pulled back first. “Fuck, woman. You can’t kiss me like that here—not unless you want me to lay you out and take you on the seat of this goddamn boat.”

“I—I’m not saying no to that.” My body clenched with need.

“Not the first time.”

“Even if I ask nicely and say ‘pretty please’?”

One moment I was straddling him, and in the next I was on my back on the seat, and his mouth was on mine again. My lips. My jaw. My neck.

Thought disintegrated when his teeth dragged down my earlobe and nipped.

“Please,” I whispered.

My nipples, which were already hard and aching, puckered further at the rumble of Lord’s deep voice in my ear. “I love the word please on your lips. I can’t wait to hear it while I’m deep inside you, and you’re moaning my name.”

Moaning his name? I was about to do that right now.

“Is that a yes?” I asked, my words breathy, and if I’d cared at all, I might have been embarrassed to hear myself sound so desperate.

“When I get you under me again, we’re going to need a helluva lot more space and helluva lot more time.”

It took everything I had to pull back and smooth Elle’s skirt down her legs. She stared up at me, the need in her eyes clear and sexy as hell. But I didn’t bring her here to fuck her in the middle of a swamp. I might not be a classy kind of guy, but she deserved better. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t fuck her in the middle of the swamp eventually, but not this time. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted more time and more space. I ran my palms up her sides and dragged my thumbs over the nipples taunting me beneath her shirt.

She shivered at the contact, and my dick jumped again. I didn’t think I could get any harder without busting through my jeans.

“This right here is a rain check. This is happening, Elle. You and me.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but I continued, “We’ll stick with the no expectations and no bullshit, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is happening. We won’t put a label on it if that’s gonna scare you off, but you need to know I’m staking my claim. You’re mine.”