She pushed back on the image of him with another woman and the jealousy she felt. What was she thinking? It wasn’t like she could win him over. He had a life in Louisiana and she had hers in New York. That wouldn’t change simply because of a single mind-blowing orgasm.
His hand stroked her back and she a contented sigh escaped her. How could something as ordinary as a touch of his hand invoke such pleasure from her. It didn’t matter. For today, while they were together and until he dumped her, she enjoy every second of pleasure he had to offer.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered into her ear, and her cheeks flushed. An um-hum was the best she could manage in reply. She nestled deeper into his chest, content to remain there for hours if he let her.
Ring. Ring. Ring
She bolted up and fell off the table at the sound of her cellphone. A custom tune played, telling her it was the station calling. She fumbled through her purse, and answered, expecting Melissa. It wasn’t her.
“Have you started the report with the cameraman we hired for you?” asked Gary.
Her voice stuck in her throat and all she managed was some gurgling sounds. Gary laughed on the other end and she wanted to smack him. How could she have once been smitten by the sound of his voice? His laugh? Gary’s laugh sounded fake compared to the deep, rich, and inviting laugh that Justin had. Her mind whirled at the possible reasons for his call.
“Erica…,” said Gary.
“Yes, I met the cameraman earlier today,” she said. He’s better in bed than you are, is what she really wanted to say, but she held her tongue. Justin moved off the table behind her.
“I’m so glad. I know how you’ve felt your career at the station has stalled recently. But when you get back with this report of yours, I’m sure it will open up exciting new opportunities. I’ll set up a meeting for next Monday. Me, you, and Jessica. We’ll go over all the great new things that station has in store for the two of you.”
Erica wanted to vomit. She needed to stand up for her principles. “That sounds great Gary,” she said.
His tone rose a few notes. “I knew you’d come around,” he said. “I can’t wait until the three of us meet.” Then the line went dead. Justin stood behind her. Concern evident on his face, but she didn’t want to talk.
Erica stood motionless for a second before throwing her cell back into her purse and running into the bathroom. She gagged over the wastebasket, before collecting herself, and looked into the mirror. The sight didn’t impress her. A grown woman shouldn’t have to compromise so much. Justin had introduced her to a sexual side of her that she hadn’t known existed. Wild and unrestrained, its discovery unnerved her. Gary wanted her to become wild and unrestrained in a very kinky way. While she lay in Justin’s arms, and to save her career, she had considered, and then dismissed Gary’s proposition. Then at the first sound of Gary’s voice, she caved. If she allowed Gary to manipulate her into the sex with Jessica, she knew deep down it would do something to her, and she’d never recover. But how much different was what Gary wanted to what she had done with Justin? Sex with a stranger. Wasn’t that wild and uninhibited?
Justin knocked on the door. “I’m going to make lunch while you wash up and change. Then we can get to work on your story,” he said through the door.
She didn’t answer, and then he walked away. That proved it. This sex with Justin only lasted until she finished her report. Then they’d never see each other again. Maybe all he wanted from her, she had already given him. If he didn’t touch her again before they said goodbyes, she’d be fine with that. She didn’t believe it. Her body recoiled at the idea that she’d never feel the heat of his skin on hers again, but she needed to prepare for the inevitable goodbye that he would give her. Her heart might be irreparably damaged if she gave in to Gary, but if she let herself fall for a man like Justin, his goodbye would shatter her heart completely. She had to be strong.
Justin watched as Erica spoke on the phone. She left her volume high enough that he could hear most of the conversation. On the surface it sounded like her boss asking about the story he assigned her to do. But the way she reacted to the call told him something else entirely. When she went green, he nearly rushed to get her something to throw up into. Then she calmed down, only to rush into his bathroom to gag. Whatever issues she had at work were none of his business, except while she was in his cottage, she was in his care. Plus, he had just experienced the strongest orgasm in as long as he could remember.
Erica had a combination of qualities that he didn’t usually see in women. Tender, strong, and yet immensely sexual. Those three traits were a potent combination that attracted him immensely. But her reaction to talking about a job assignment didn’t add up, except for one reason: her boss forced her to do it. If she could choose, she wouldn’t have come. Her time spent here was an unwanted distraction. Why else would she nearly vomit at the mere mention of her work?
The sex they had together was a great distraction too. She would go back to the big city with stories of her dumb southern boy, who ‘entertained’ her for a day. He didn’t care. She would hurt him with a curt goodbye later today or tomorrow morning. But being with Erica was a pleasure, that he would enjoy for as long as she’d let him.
He headed for the kitchen. Now that he’d promised something for lunch, he needed to deliver. He figured that since she was going to be on-camera that she would take extra time get herself together. That gave him time to pull something light and easy together. Normally when he had guests at his cottage, he would make some BBQ or a bowl of Gumbo. But after cleaning up, Erica wouldn’t appreciate anything that might stain her clothes. He needed to go simple with no chance of ruined clothes.
He hauled the grill outside and fired it up. A salad and a grilled chicken sandwich without sauce. She’d need to be messier than a four year old to ruin her clothes with that menu. He grabbed the chicken he kept seasoned in the refrigerator. The shower started in the bathroom and he slowed down. Erica would be a while.
Chapter 5
Erica stepped into the boat satisfied. She had finished her light lunch, and then another round of sex on the floor before she got dressed for the bayou tour. She needed to get her work done today. But if he had tied her up and said he wasn’t letting her go until morning, or ever, she would have feigned protest, and secretly loved every minute. She wanted him to take her and keep taking her. But once they finished having sex the second time, he got down to business.
The bag of clothes, that he handed her, was quite to her taste. Far better than she expected. The story about another reporter leaving them here, and not giving him an address to send them back, didn’t seem true. He probably invited beautiful women to his cottage frequently. Why wouldn’t he? It was isolated, and he could move it basically anywhere in the bayou he wanted for privacy. Gary would love it, she thought. A man could have a whole orgy of women out here and no one would be the wiser. She didn’t tag Justin as the type to have more than one woman at a time. But what did she know about men? Hadn’t she thought Gary was her ‘one’ a few days ago? Then the truth slapped her in the face about what Gary really wanted her for.
She took her seat next to Justin as he started the motor and sped away from the cottage. The sun blazed down from the clear sky. The mist from the breaking water splashed over her skin and cooled her. The bayou was wild and beautiful. Just like Justin. Each touch he gave her, he dug himself a little deeper into her heart. She needed to take more care around him. If she didn’t, by the end of the weekend, she would find herself lost in his arms, at the moment when he pulled them back and walked away.
Had she always been this sappy with men? Did she fall this quickly for every boyfriend? She didn’t think so, but it was hard to judge her own actions objectively. Once Gary had shown affection for her, she had fallen for him, and into his bed, relatively fast. Her other boyfriends had been similar. A brief courtship until they upped it into sex. The one thing she thought they all had in common was the emotion. Each
of her past lovers had at least pretended to truly love and care for her. Even Gary had. But none of that existed with Justin. Without any pretense of dating or feelings, they’d had sex twice, and yet with him she felt safest. If she could conjure up a man as potent as Justin with real feelings for her, then she’d have her forever man.
Justin glanced down at her, smiled, and her heart melted. No doubt. He was a danger to her heart and she needed to guard it at any cost.
Justin maneuvered the boat down another branch in the waterway, every minute moving them closer to the edge of the bayou and the Gulf of Mexico. A canopy of green overhung the water, shading her from the sun. On land she saw small animals dart in and out of little burrows. Every once and a while, she noticed an alligator lurking in the water nearby, but they never bothered the boat, and she had absolute confidence that Justin would protect her if they did.
Fifteen minutes later, he slowed the engine and turned into a narrow waterway. She could hear the crash of waves nearby, but couldn’t see them. He steered the boat onto a sand bank and killed the engine.
“Keep sitting until I get the boat anchored better,” he said, and then he hopped out. She watched his muscles flex as he grabbed hold of the bow and yanked the boat further onto the shore. Then he walked back, took the anchor and tossed it onto the land.
“All set,” he said, and he walked to the side of the boat next to her and extended his hand.
His smile shot straight down her spine to her breasts and into her heart. “I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t help the lady out,” he said.
“I guess not,” she said, before taking his hand and stepping out. She stumbled, but Justin reacted and steadied her before she fell. His hand pressed against her back while she regained her balance. She laughed nervously, knowing how good his hands felt on her, but needed to get this work done. “Thank you. I wouldn’t want to fall and get these clothes dirty too.”
“We can do most of what your station wanted in this area. Let me get the gear out and I’ll set-up,” he said.
She nodded. If she maintained her focus on the work, then she could keep her wits and control about her. He couldn’t touch her while running a video camera.
The area looked like any other wetland she’d seen before. Justin hadn’t made clear what he intended to show her, and the station hadn’t been specific on what they wanted either. But the station had hired Justin, and they would have given him their requirements when assigning the work.
He moved up to her holding a battery pack and mic. “Since we don’t have a boom operator, I need to wire you up for sound,” he said.
She gulped. He needed to touch her again. There was no way around it. She couldn’t do it herself without making the mic wires obvious. She nodded and readied herself to resist any advances he might make on her. They had to finish their work. No excuses.
Justin knelt on the ground behind her. “I’m going to tape the battery pack on your lower back. Then I’ll clip the mic on your shirt and run the wire down your side,” he said.
The fresh air tickled her skin when he pulled her blouse out of her skirt to place the transmitter. Tiny sparks flew across her back as she waited for the touch of his hand. His palm lightly pressed against her back while his other hand lifted her blouse higher. She shivered when the transmitter’s cool metal exterior touched her skin.
“You need to stay still while I tape it on your back,” he said.
She rested back against his hand. “Why can’t you just clip it onto my skirt?” she asked.
“It could fall off as you’re moving around and doing your report. Being dropped won’t hurt it, but we’re close to water, and if it gets wet, then it’s ruined. It’s more secure if I tape it on.”
The constant touch of his hand on her back heated her up, and she visualized Justin looping his thumbs around her skirt and pulling them off, instead of placing a transmitter on her back. A soft moan escaped her lips. She could sense the wetness growing between her legs once again.
Her head spun. How could the simple and completely unexciting act of being wired for sound make her excited? The idea made no sense, but it happened. She heard him tearing the tape and pressing it onto her skin.
She needed him to not be touching her anymore. “Is it secure?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said in a low, deep growl. His hands dropped from her back to her ass and cupped both of her cheeks. Her professional mind told her to pull away and stop whatever Justin wanted, but her wilder instincts refused and stayed still.
His hands circled her ass, rubbing, massaging, and stroking her through her skirt. Every circle moved farther down her legs until he passed the edge of her skirt.
“Justin…,” she said, even as she leaned forward to push her ass closer to him and whatever access he desired.
He placed a kiss on the small of her back, and then his hands started stroking the skin on each leg. The upstrokes going higher and higher up her thigh, until he touched her panties. Every nerve in her sex was alight, and the first brush of his fingers across the fabric covering her slit had her legs trembling. Justin took one hand, slipped it under her blouse, and pressed on her stomach to steady her, while his other hand looped a finger around her panties and pulled them down. She didn’t see where he put them once she’d kicked them off.
“Pull your skirt up,” he said. She complied immediately. One hand went to either side of her body and lifted her skirt to her waist. She thought the tension in her belly was the force of his hand helping her stand, but she quickly realized it was also a growing excitement about being touched again.
He placed kissed on her ass. First the left cheek, then the right, before he started over again. His hand pressed against the side of her thigh and she moved her legs farther apart. She wanted to fully bend over for him, but his hand held her in place.
He slipped a finger into her pussy. Her knees buckled from the sensation, but Justin‘s embrace held her steady. Warmth radiated from his hands and her hips quickly matched the steady motion of his fingers. His hand pressed down to cover her sex completely as his fingers were buried inside. Slowly his thumb made circles up and down the sides of her folds.
Her entire body shook at the growing pleasure created under Justin’s skilled hands. How she ever considered her previous lovers satisfying bewildered her. Nothing compared to the rough, yet loving touches Justin gave her. She knew it would end too soon, but she’d never say goodbye first. Until he gave her the ‘Dear Jane’ speech, she’d be his.
She jumped at the touch of his tongue licking across her slit. Her instinct told her to swan dive down to her toes so he could lick and suck until she came, but his tongue pulled away as quickly as it appeared, and she cried out in disappointment.
The tempo of his finger sliding in her increased and his thumb brushed over her clit without making full contact. The sensations built inside her to a crest, and then without warning he placed another kiss on her back and pressed his thumb firmly across her clit. She came apart, her hips bucked wildly down on his hand while his fingers kept up the motion inside her until the last of her orgasm subsided. Trembling and weak kneed, he turned her around and kissed above her sex, before standing to face her. His eyes locked onto her like she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. They were filled with both soft emotion and pure lust. He wanted her again. Now. But he held back.
“What’s stopping you?” she asked.
He cocked his head sideways. “You don’t have any more clothes after we get this outfit dirty,” he said.
She smiled and squeezed his hand. He wanted her to keep some of her professionalism and finish the job she needed to do. Justin pushed aside his own need for her, and it meant more than anything he had done so far. She knew her makeup would be ruined, but she wouldn’t have to waste the entire day looking for more clothes.
The sweat hung on her nose and he helped her closer to the boat so she could lean against it. She knew he’d be there to catch her anytime she
stumbled and fell.
She looked back up, looped an arm around his neck, and pulled him down for a kiss.
Incredible. It was the only word he could use to describe Erica. After the sex they already had, she melted under his hand to have a third orgasm right on the shore next to the boat. He’d never given a woman an orgasm in so open a place before. But Erica sent his inner sensibilities into some untamed area he never knew existed. Even the routine boat trip he had given her amazed him. Other big city media types took his boat trips and either totally ignored the scenery around them while fingering their smartphones; or they gawked and giggled at the sights, like they’d never seen something so exotic as a wetland. She watched everything around her without the silly looks that other media types and she had an undiscovered wild side to her.
In the few hours he’d known her, she’d already affected him more than other women he’d known for far longer. Even his ex-wife hadn’t touched him so deeply so soon after their first meeting. In a few hours, he would show her what she needed to see, and then she’d jet back to New York and never see him again. If that was all the time he had, then he intended to make the most of it. He’d finish her bayou tour and then tempt her into an overnight. It wouldn’t be enough to satisify the intense desire had for her, but he take everything she’d give him and demand more until she said her goodbye.
He reached over to stroke her cheek, but she brushed him off. “We need to do my report,” she said, pulling her panties back on.
He pulled his hand back to his side. “I understand,” he said. “We still need to finish wiring you with the mic.”
Erica held out her hand. “I’ll finish it up. It’s probably safer.”
“I’m a professional,” he said. “Don’t you trust me?” Then he smiled. He already knew her answer and couldn’t help but grin.
Cajun Vacation Page 4