Sugar and Gold

by Brea Viragh

  Each bump in the road heightened my senses. I was keenly aware of the space between us and the heat of my skin. Instead of focusing on the rising tide of attraction, I focused on the sky. Lost myself in thought. The moon was the color of butter, waxing and growing fuller. Whiter with each passing moment.

  “Are you taking me home?” I asked, to fill the silence.

  “You said you wanted to go home. Where else would I take you?”

  I shrugged, the movement tugging the shoulder of my shirt down. “There are...other options. If you want to explore them, I wouldn’t disagree.”

  Isaac turned to me. “Now I know you’re out of your mind. Who are you and what have you done with my sugar?”

  “Your sugar.” I let out a bark of laughter. “Somehow I don’t mind the nickname anymore. It’s an endearment, isn’t it? Admit it.”

  “Do I need to drive you to the doctor?” Isaac asked, concern coloring his voice. “Maybe Trent knocked your last screw loose. You don’t sound like yourself.”

  I swallowed hard. Taking the initiative, I reached across and let my hand drop to his thigh. “Isaac, find someplace to pull over.”

  “Christ, woman.” He ran a hand through his hair, dividing his gaze between his leg and the road. My hand moved higher. “Are you trying to cause an accident?”

  “No. I’m trying to be demure without actually stating what I want.”

  It was difficult for me to admit the budding feelings when I couldn’t put the right words to them. Wasn’t sure of my own actions.

  I knew I wanted Isaac. In this moment. Not another second later.

  “We both know,” he commented almost casually, “you’re not the kind of woman who wants to be taken on the side of the road like an animal.”

  My fingers bore down. “I can’t wait.”

  “Then you’re lucky I have blankets.” Isaac took a right turn on a dirt road and brought us deeper into the woods.

  I kept my hand where it was as he navigated the back roads. He knew the area better than most despite his three-year absence. The road twisted, turning up deep into the mountains until darkness reigned. Absently, he placed his palm on top of my hand, skimming his fingers along the trail of my knuckles.

  “Don’t keep me waiting long,” I insisted.

  “After the wait I endured, you can handle a few more miles. I know the perfect spot.”

  The radio faded the higher we climbed, where reception dimmed and the only sounds were peepers and crickets. Wind streamed in through the open windows to cool the sweat beginning to pool beneath my arms. The last remnants of my anxiety.

  Wheels clattered into a narrow gully and Isaac gunned the engine momentarily to get us over it. After several more minutes of teeth-jarring unused mountain road, he finally pulled to a halt.

  “Wait here,” he told me after killing the motor. “Let me do a little magic and I’ll be back.”

  I did as he asked, face turned to the forest and the smell of pine wafting through the window. Steadier now, I waited for his return, listening to the rustle from the bed of the truck.

  Then Isaac stood by my window, looking at me through the moon-washed darkness. He had an aura about him, silhouetted in the silvery glow with the night breeze rustling pine needles behind him like the flutter of so many wings. There was music here without the radio. The type one needs to close their eyes and open their heart to understand.

  He opened the passenger door and lifted me out of the cab. The soles of my shoes touched down on earth and I glanced around.

  “There’s nothing here.” The comment was unnecessary.

  “You said you wanted to be alone.”

  My heart ached at the tone and at everything I’d tried to stop myself from feeling. “True.” I walked to the rear of the pickup and rested my rear against the wheel hub. “I know this is crazy.”

  “Yes, it is.” Decisively, Isaac moved with me, leaning against the truck, standing with his legs hip-width apart and his face in shadows. It was impossible to read his features, beyond the disbelief. I didn’t want to try for anything else. “Tell me what you want from me.”

  I shook my head. “I need to spell it out?”

  “I refuse to take advantage of the situation.”

  “You’ve made it this far.”

  “At your insistence,” he replied.

  I shut my eyes against the sudden flash of embarrassment. My voice stayed strong. “Maybe I realized the best way to fight the riptide is to go with the current.”

  “Am I a riptide to you?” Amusement lashed through his tone. “Nothing more? You already said you don’t need a knight.”

  I let my head drop to his shoulder, seeking the comfort and strength waiting there. As I knew he would, Isaac took me into his arms once more. We fit together well, two answers to the same question, making their way back together.

  He ran his hands over my arms. “Be calm.”

  “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” I pressed my body hard against his and took the initiative by squeezing his butt. He was too gentle, much kinder than I remembered as he held me. How had I managed to spend so much time running away? “Touch me. Kiss me.” Love me.

  I fought against the shockwave when he brought his lips to my throat, skimming his fingers along my hairline. His name burst forth as a sigh, a fluid thing, alive here in the woods. There was nothing in the world except the two of us. No Trent, no health inspector, no mysterious driver determined to kill. There was Isaac, and the dark glint of his eyes stayed in my mind as anticipation began to build.

  We hadn’t even begun and already I felt my body rising to the occasion. Places warming and heating until my insides turned liquid. I wanted to feel him, wanted to experience the full range of activities possible between a man and a woman. I wanted him to burn away my insecurities until I felt safe again. My lungs expanded with a great inhale and I watched him watch me. I bared myself for his scrutiny, taking the time to undo each button one by one. Surprise had my eyes widening when he captured my hands in his.

  Isaac shook his head. “No. Not like this.”

  “Then how?” I asked softly. “Don’t tell me you’re unsure, now.”

  He chuckled. “Not at all. I meant, this isn’t your job.” He hooked a finger at the top of my shirt and dragged it down, the buttons releasing like dominoes. “It’s mine.”

  My pulse scrambled to keep up when my entire nervous system spiked. I was dimly aware of the sweat trickling down my back, the heat of Indian summer pressing down on us. My attention focused on the man in front of me and the whispers of skin on skin when he slipped the shirt from my shoulders.

  “Put your hands on me,” I demanded before jolting forward to bite his bottom lip. Isaac needed no further prompting. His mouth ravaged mine, his tongue sweeping the inside of my mouth before pulling us deeper. He fisted his hand on the back of my head and anchored the two of us together.

  The taste of him, hot and heady, flooded me and had blood roaring in my ears. I needed his hands on me. More. My frantic brain demanded release and I could only think of more. More. More.

  My belly jumped when he slid his belt through his jeans and chucked it away. Purred when his lips dove to my throat and fed there. In one fast move, Isaac swung me around until my back was against the pickup truck. He flung my shirt off to join his belt in the bushes.

  I wanted him to touch me everywhere. The thought was nearly as terrifying as the prospect of having Isaac standing so close. I pressed my body hard to his, clamping my hands down on his rear. Squeezing.

  His fingertips skimmed my bare shoulders and I trembled with the contact. He leaned closer and the heat of his gaze kept me trapped, hypnotized, like a mouse confronted with a cobra. He reached for me, his hands finding my rib cage and pulling me forward. My breasts pressed against his chest, and then his hands were on them. I sucked in a deep breath.

  “I need you, Essie,” he said softly. “I need you so damn bad I can hardly think. I want to feel you beneath me and
hear the moment when your breath catches. These last two days without you have been torture.”

  “Then why did you stay away?”

  Taking control, he moved my hand down to the bulge in his pants. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of the hard length of him.

  Despite the heat, I quivered. Isaac moved his mouth down to mine as a curious melting took over my insides. Blood surged in contrast, and the bits between my legs ached with curious intensity.

  Uncharacteristically quiet, I let Isaac take control, my attention focused on his tongue as he traced a path down the side of my neck. I wasn’t able to stop my fingers from rising to tangle in his hair. The loss of control should have startled me. Under normal circumstances, I would have complained about the skew of power and asserted myself before continuing. Now I flicked my tongue at his neck, tasted the salt and the hint of earthiness.

  I wanted more. Everything he could give.

  My mouth drifted over his skin while he deftly removed the rest of my clothing. The quiet hiss of a zipper accompanied a blast of air on my overheated skin.

  “Let me see you,” Isaac demanded in a husky growl.

  I shuddered and stepped back, ready for him and half mad with lust.

  Those eyes heated as he took me in from head to toe. I’d experienced such scrutiny many times in my life, with more practiced men than Isaac, yet nothing ever stirred me as much as the look on his face.

  “Do you like what you see?”

  He nodded, and I watched his Adam’s apple rise on a gulp. Instead of sitting back and letting him dictate the evening’s program, I gathered my gumption and reached for his belt.

  His hips surged forward as I trailed a finger along the line of skin below his navel. Determined to ignore my own nakedness, I nipped at his chin.

  “You are going to drive me crazy.” Isaac let his head drop to mine and sighed.

  I captured his lips, whispering against his skin. “Good.”

  That one word brought down the green flag. Isaac drew me close and my arms looped around his neck, heat pummeling my ribcage. His mouth plundered, tongue sweeping through the confines of my mouth as I parried thrust for thrust.

  His palms rose up my sides to cup my breasts. On an exhale, I pushed into him, those fingers twirling patterns ever closer to the nipples. He pressed his face into my shoulder. I skimmed along his chest to unbutton his shirt.

  “You’re warm,” I told him, my palms against his bare chest. “Hot.”

  He sank into me when our lips met again, and those strong, patient hands wound their way down to my waist. The swell of my hips. Before I knew what to expect, he swooped me over his shoulder and clambered up to the empty truck bed. There he’d laid blankets for us, a makeshift bed under a ceiling of diamond chips.

  My breath caught as he gently placed me down, the cotton cradling my naked body as he slid on top of me. He rolled his hips before lowering his mouth to my most sensitive area. The moment his mouth touched me I was gone, a wave of pressure pushing through me, seeking release. My fingers locked in his hair as each nerve stood to attention. Tears burst to life and gathered in the corners of my eyes. The sheer force of the first orgasm took me by surprise.

  “You taste so good,” he murmured, kissing around my clitoris before diving home again.

  I moaned at his words. The rest of me quivered under his ministrations and my mind blanked. Arching back, nipples stiff and aching, I let him suckle me until I couldn’t handle the sensation anymore.

  With a growl I pushed him away, our roles reversed when he fell to his backside, mouth rounded in surprise. “What are you—”

  I cut him off with a quick kiss before removing his jeans. The thickness of his erection pressed against the material and instantly sprang free from its cage. The sudden chill of air did nothing to hinder his heft, the head purple and glistening.

  “If you touch me,” he warned, “I’ll come and this will be over too soon.”

  “I’ll take the risk.” I brought my hand to the base of him and gripped, my fingers closing over him like a velvet vise. The look on his face told me everything, his eyes closed and ecstasy rippling across those sharp cheekbones. Riding high, I took Isaac inside my mouth, my tongue lapping at the salty tip.

  His lungs hitched and I listened to the silence for too many seconds before he remembered to breathe. I sucked him deep, lapping and licking, teasing and tasting. I’d never been much for fellatio. The thought of putting my mouth where someone urinates was a mood killer, I admitted. However, that notion was completely erased from my mind as I continued to suckle him, his grunts and moans urging me on.

  “That’s it. Stop.”

  At once I was pushed away, his hands capturing my elbows and helping me onto my back once more. The lips that brought me to towering heights now nibbled their way up my torso before coming to rest where they began. His tongue swept through my mouth swifter than a forest fire in dry timber.

  Isaac used his knees to nudge my legs farther apart. He stopped long enough to consider me, the naked V, the smooth delicate skin down to the curve of my ass. “Are you ready for me?” he asked, his voice hoarser than normal.

  Readier than I’d been for any man before him. I throbbed as he inched closer, jerking the moment his tip probed my opening.

  “Yes.”

  His fingers tickled along the lines of my thighs until they reached the center. “Good. I want you to listen, now,” he said, lowering himself between my legs. I shivered when the head of his cock found my entrance. “This is not a game.” He pushed partly into me and I could hardly breathe for how tight he fit. “This is me and you, together.”

  I gasped and gripped his hips, urging him deeper, rearing against the broad muscles of his chest when he caught my hair. He shoved all the way in and I cried out, back arching off the blankets when he filled me completely. Took me harder than I expected. Gentler than I needed.

  We stayed still for a long moment after that, absorbing the feel of each other, the feeling of his hips pressed to my softness. The fullness of his erection pressing inside me. It would have been easy to let go and orgasm right then, . I bit my lip, breathing shakily to take in the situation. The change in circumstances. For a moment, it was as if even the forest held its breath. The insects ceased their midnight hums and the wind halted its wailing.

  “Oh, God.” His words came out as a harsh staccato. “Essie.”

  “More.” I pressed reddened lips to the silky skin of his neck.

  He began to move with sure strokes, watching my face for signs of discomfort. His eyes took possession of mine when he surged forward. The intimacy took me aback, the way he devoured me with a single stare. Hot with excitement, I flowed with him, the walls of my sheath gripping him tight with delicious friction.

  It hadn’t been like this before. Sex had never been like this before.

  Isaac’s hands cradled my rear end, pulling me closer as he deepened his strokes. I listened to the rhythmic slap of flesh on flesh. Soon pressure built again and I clung to him, my body rippling with a life of its own. I was a wanton. A spirit drug from my earthen confines.

  I tumbled toward the edge of a precipice. He drove deeper, swelling harder, fuller, and I reached for him. We teetered together when the orgasm came. Isaac called my name on an exhale and shuddered, his hot seed pouring in steady streams.

  It was the odd and unique sensation filling me that finally pushed me over my own edge. Sore and on fire, I clung to him when his arms banded, gathering me close.

  “Oh, sugar.” He breathed against my neck. “How can I love and hate you at the same time?”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” It was an explosion of sound in the quiet night.

  I pushed back from him and listened to the slip of skin on skin as he slid from between my legs. Scrambling, I scooted until I no longer felt his heat and my shoulders hit the wall of the truck. I dragged a blanket up to cover my nakedness, uncomfortable under his sear
ing gaze.

  “Wow, I...I didn’t mean...I’m...” Isaac stumbled over his words.

  The man must like taking his life in his hands. I was ready for murder. “What did you mean by that?” I lashed out. “Huh? You bastard!”

  I wasn’t sure what upset me more, his words or how the timing of his statement somehow shot through my dignity with the directness of a well-aimed arrow. There was nothing like a little naked fun followed by a soul-shattering insult. I’d heard a few doozies in my day and had more than my fair share of horror stories, but damn.

  Isaac was silent as he leaned back on his haunches. With deliberate movements, he reached for his shirt, draping the material over his shoulders. His penis, so hard and willing before, now hung flaccid. A sad reminder that all good things came to an end.

  “Answer me,” I demanded through clenched teeth.

  He blew out a breath. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” His fingers shook as they struggled to redo each button in a never-ending line. It wasn’t his normal tone, the one he used to get what he wanted. I was beginning to think he’d used it on me up to tonight, and now my usefulness was at an end because he’d got what he wanted. Isaac had no more need of me.

  “Yeah, but you did.” I worked my jaw to keep my teeth from slamming together. I’d rather put those molars to good use chomping through Isaac’s wrist.

  “Forget it,” he murmured, unwilling to meet my eyes. “I was taken by the moment and my tongue slipped.”

  Embarrassed, I watched him gather the rest of his clothing before getting down from the truck bed. The dark outline of jeans drew over the pale angles of his hips, engulfing them.

  I couldn’t let it go. My mind whirled around his words, repeating them until they blotted out all rational thought. “Why would you say such a thing to me?” I demanded an explanation. “While you’re inside me, for goodness’ sake! Why?”

  Goose bumps rose on my chilled skin and the night came alive once more. The world expanded away from us and I was reminded of the darkness. With brows knitted together, I tried to make out his face in the lost light, seeing only a mask. Tenderness gone.