Clawen ♡ Second Time's the Charm

Chapter 20: A Deep Love

Claire stumbled as she ran. Her legs, which had felt like strong rods of iron in the forest, wobbled like flimsy branches battling the wind. She couldn't think clearly, couldn't understand why. She didn't know that in the forest, she had been primarily worried sick over the survival of her nephews. But now, she was agonizing over the survival of Owen and of their newly blooming relationship.

Her dirtied white blouse clung tightly to her skin and became more and more apparent as the seconds flew by. In a burst of uncontainable energy, Claire ripped it off with one swift motion. It fell lightly onto the ground, sending small poofs of dust up. Screw it, screw it, screw it! Nothing mattered to her anymore except for one thing.

Claire found herself in the middle of a stampede of panicking people. She narrowly avoided getting knocked over by a screaming visitor. Spinning sharply, her eyes scanned the scene for Owen. Where is he? Please, please, be alright.

Suddenly, she tripped over something hard on the ground. Just as she caught herself from falling, Claire realized what she had stumbled over. It was a tranquilizer gun. She gripped it tightly in her hands. Whose gun is this? She wondered with a cold fear gnawing in her chest. Whose hands held this gun just moments ago?

When she turned around, a sight greeted her like a burglar with a wickedly provocative smirk. Claire felt her heart drop immediately.

Owen on the ground. A Dimorphodon raking its cruel claws into his chest. A lethally sharp beak, inching closer and closer to vulnerable flesh. Defenseless against the oncoming danger. Hopeless.

The wound inflicted in Claire's heart was deeper than anything she could have conceived. The pain it left became the motivation of her love. And the scar it left became the reminder of her love. Her mind was blank as instinct coursed through her veins. Only one thing had become clear. Only one thought: There's no way in heaven or in hell that I'm going to let that dinosaur kill the man whom I love with all my heart.

Claire dashed beside Owen and swung the rifle over her shoulder with a grunt. She smacked the Dimorphodon with the butt of her rifle, her slender arms shuddering from the blow. Her heart skipped a beat when the blow just narrowly missed Owen's head. As the dinosaur rolled off of Owen's chest, she shot it twice. She felt a bead of sweat trickle down her neck. It oozed of fury.

Owen lay on the ground, paralyzed in shock, staring up at the red-haired woman whose chest was heaving and hands were shaking. God, is that Claire? How the hell did she know...? How the hell did she get here? She was gazing intently back at him, and an unspoken message passed between the two of them.

Claire bent down and offered him her hand, which he gladly took. She hauled him to his feet, both of them panting. For a moment, they simply stared at each other as they caught their breaths. Their hands remained tightly interlocked, as if they were afraid of ever letting go of each other.

"Are you okay?" Claire breathed quietly. Her voice wavered unsteadily, but at this point, she no longer cared about avoiding vulnerability.

Owen recovered from his initial shock. Slowly, a smile appeared onto his lips and warmed his features from the cold of shock. Instead of answering her question, he decided to point out the first thing that had caught his eye.

"You took off your shirt." He nodded at her skimpy tank top. Claire's eyes widened visibly. Amid the chaos and the panic, she hadn't given much thought to ripping off her blouse. It had all simply been part of her instinctive drive. Crap, is it that obvious? Of course, now he'll never be able to keep his eyes from roaming my body... But is that really such a bad thing?

Seeing the bashfulness that had swamped her features, Owen only found her cuter. God, she's beautiful. "You're melting me," he whispered.

Claire blushed and averted her gaze to the ground. Her heart felt warm and frigid all at once- warm with relief, frigid with the fading shock and underlying stress. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want her awkwardness to ruin this moment.

"I now owe you my life... twice. Not bad for a 'temperamental redhead,'" Owen said, breaking the silence. He brought one hand up to cup Claire's cheek tenderly.

"And don't you forget it, Mr. Grady," Claire whispered, her breathing hitched as Owen's hand traced her jawline.

Owen chuckled lightly. "I won't. No need to worry, babe." He winked at her flirtatiously, causing her to redden further.

Claire felt her heart pounding in her chest. Babe? Oh, God. He just called me babe. What the hell? No ones ever called me that.

"Babe?" she asked dubiously.

Owen shrugged. "You heard me." He brushed away a few stray strands of red hair from her face.

"I thought you were supposed to melt me first," Claire said mockingly, trying to subtly change the topic. She raised her eyebrows.

"So did I. But it turns out that you are a very irresistible woman. Even filthy, idiotic, reclusive cavemen aren't able to control their desires when they see you," Owen replied. The twinkle in his eyes reflected the sunlight directly into Claire's eyes.

"And what would those uncontrollable desires be, Mr. Grady?" she prodded with the shy smile that drove Owen crazy mad for her. The desire within him was too great.

Without warning, he closed the gap between them, dragging Claire into his chest before she could properly react. She let out a squeak of surprise when he brought his lips down onto hers. He was kissing her, kissing her like there was no tomorrow, kissing her like it was the end of the world, kissing her like she was all that mattered to him. It was different from all the other times he had kissed her.

Claire shut her eyes and allowed herself to moan inaudibly as Owen dominated the moment. His lips tugged insistently at hers until she lost every last bit of control. His tongue demanded access to the inside of her mouth. Claire half-gasped when she felt Owen opening her mouth with his, when she tasted his delicious lips against hers.

Vaguely, she felt his hands sliding down her waist and finding the hem of her tank top. His fingers crept tenaciously under the thin fabric, tracing rhythmic patterns on her skin. Claire shuddered at his touch, but having her lips enveloped in his prevented her from shifting away.

She gripped his shoulders tightly, digging her nails into his vest. Under her tank top, Owen's hands moved seductively up her waist and were dangerously close to the underside of her chest. Claire was thankful to have his arms supporting her. Otherwise, she would have collapsed onto the ground in a heap of gasps.
Oh, my God. His lips... and his hands...
         
Claire framed this moment of her life. She would always remember the luscious taste of Owen's lips. The frantic hammering of her heart. The way his fingers moved in soothing circles on her skin. The way their bodies were pressed so close together. The smell of her handsome caveman. The feel of his scratchy stubble against her cheek.

When they broke away, Claire's eyes remained closed. She kept her arms wrapped around Owen's neck.

"Damn, Claire. Damn," Owen breathed. He shook his head a few times. I can't believe she let me do that.

"Owen..." Claire murmured. She forgot about the flying dinosaurs around them, about the crowds of spectators, about the sweat and the grime and the mud. Her many emotions were piling up quickly, forming a deep sea. On an ordinary day, such a sea would easily drown her. But not today. She felt Owen's arms tighten around her, and she smiled despite everything.

The sea may be deep, but his love was deeper.
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