Ethan caught her as she pressed against him.
Without a word he lifted her, one arm beneath her thighs and the other around her back, and carried her the short distance to the broad trunk of an old tree that stood a little apart from the slope.
"Ethan…" Elena breathed against his shoulder, arms still looped around his neck. "Do it."
He set her down against the rough bark only long enough to steady her, then his mouth found her neck. Slow, deliberate kisses trailed upward to the sensitive skin just below her ear, then down again along the curve of her throat.
"You're certain?" he murmured against her skin.
"Yes," she whispered. "Please… make me feel it."
His fingers move swiftly at the fastenings of her simple dress, easing the fabric from her shoulders with patient care. The garment slipped lower, baring her breasts to the open air.
They were full and heavy, the pale skin marked by faint blue veins, the rosy nipples already tightening in the breeze.
