She didn’t know what to say. Thanks, you too, seemed inappropriate.
He smiled and the serious Carey fell away.
“Well, time for bed. Come on.”
He ducked and swept her off her feet. No more ready for it than she had been the first time, Elise squealed and laughed. He turned and paused at the door leading to his bedroom.
“Kick the lights off for me, will you?”
She complied, leaving them swathed in darkness, lit only by the faint moonlight shining through his windows.
He carried her several strides across the room. Lumps here and there spoke of furniture she’d only seen a few times. Besides the one instance of food poisoning Carey had suffered, she’d tried to stay out of his bedroom. Still, she could recall enough from her one stint as a bedside nurse to know that the bed was big.
“Here you go.” He lay her down on the bed and pulled off his towel. The lack of light robbed her of the sight of Carey fully nude, but she would get to feel him.
Following his example, she tugged the towel off and gave it to him. Both disappeared to some far flung corner of the room. She scooted over and made room for him to crawl in next to her, and groped for the blankets.
“They’re down here.”
The mattress dipped as he placed a knee against it and reached for the foot of the bed. Rustling fabric heralded the cool kiss of sheets and the heavier weight of the comforter. She shifted onto her side as he settled in next to her, close enough that every breath pressed her breasts against his chest. He threw a leg over hers and his arm across her waist.
It was comforting to feel him all around her, the scent of him on the pillows and his body wrapped around hers. She nuzzled his shoulder and scooted closer, wanting to be closer, to feel all of him.
“What do you say to taking tomorrow off? We could sleep in, maybe take a hike or something in the afternoon?”
“Mm, that would be nice, but what would Allen say?”
“Don’t worry about Allen, I’ll handle him.”
“I’m the senior guide, I’ll ask him. He’s more likely to forgive me than he is you.” She had been working for him for almost a decade now. As his most faithful employee, she figured she could swing a day off if she wanted during the slow season.
Carey didn’t reply. His thumb drew circles on her skin, lulling her to sleep. To fall asleep in his arms was a dream come true, one she hadn’t let herself believe would ever become reality.
Chapter Eight
The sun soaked into her bare flesh. Already her breasts felt too warm. Elise had never sunbathed totally exposed, and if she wasn’t careful she would have some uncomfortable sunburns. For now, she enjoyed the well-worn cushion she’d dragged off the couch on the porch. The view lying out on the stones behind the house was better anyway. Pine trees reached for the clear sky overhead and a light breeze blew fresh mountain air down to their level. A few birds called to one another from the boughs, and she could smell breakfast.
The back door creaked and Carey emerged. He’d cheated and wrapped a towel around his hips, but she could forgive him since he carried a plate laden with food. Her stomach clenched, and not from hunger. Though she’d expected sex with him to be great, it was everything that went with it which had her worried about the state of her heart.
Last night had been a hedonistic adventure. They’d fallen asleep together, and after a few hours he’d woken her with his fingers in her pussy and his mouth on her breast. They’d indulged in sex, lots of it. But that wasn’t all. They’d laughed and talked, sharing a heightened intimacy that was both uncomfortable and familiar. Part of her wanted to run away, put distance between them until she got herself under control. Losing herself to him would be easy. In fact, she had already stepped off the precipice, and that was dangerous. He’d shown her a serious side last night, one who matched her.
“I need a camera,” Carey said as he reached the stones.
She looked pointedly at his waist. “You need to lose the towel.”
He laughed and handed her the plate, then waggled his eyebrows.
“Do you intend to share that couch, or do I get to sit on the ground?”
She sat up and moved to one end of the cushion, curling her legs to one side and flipping her hair in front of her. Carey settled down across from her, showing none of her modesty. The towel was discarded to one side without a thought. He reclined back, supported by one arm, and a leg propped up. She’d seen, touched and kissed, every inch of him last night. And still, watching him snatch up a piece of bacon and chew it with his head tilted back and eyes closed, it was as if she’d never have enough of him.
“You keep looking at me like that, and you aren’t going to get any breakfast.”
His growl brought her attention from his chest to his face. Gone was the enraptured smile, and firmly in place was male lust. She smiled and reached for one of the mini pancakes she’d helped him make. It made for perfect finger food. “I’m starving.”
“Eat. You’re going to need your strength.”
She averted her gaze, watching a bird flit from branch to branch over head, instead of him. “Promises, promises.”
He threw a strawberry at her, and she yelped as the fruit bounced off her shoulder, hit her knee and rolled to the cushion. She snatched it up and bit into it, sucking up the juice that dribbled onto her lips.
Carey groaned and reached for more food. “Let’s talk about something. Anything.”
She snorted, but complied with his request. “What made you start sunbathing naked?”
“It just happened one day. I used to have a cat, and he was laying out here sunning himself. I thought, ‘Man that looks nice.’ I’ve done it since.”
She chuckled at the image of Carey impersonating a cat.
“You know, you’re the only person I’ve ever told this. That’s some serious blackmail material.”
“Oh yeah. Me. Blackmailing.”
Elise bit her lip. She was going to cross one of those unsaid boundaries of their friendship. But they weren’t friends anymore. “So, I’ve never asked you this.” Carey’s face sobered, watching her pick at the bacon. “Why did you move out here? Was it something to do with your family?”
He scrubbed a hand across his face, his gaze drifting away. He sighed and let the moment stretch out. “You know my parents are in Denver, right?”
She nodded. He’d mentioned them, but never specifics.
“Mom does real estate. Big-time stuff, for movie stars and people with too much money.” He scratched his chin. “My dad is really my stepdad, but he’s the only dad I’ve ever known. He’s a great guy. I worked for him after I got out of college.” He took a deep breath, shoring up for whatever bomb he was about to drop. “I told you I worked in finance. That’s not really true. I did handle money, but it was more complicated than that. My dad’s a senator, and I worked for the company he employed to handle things like campaign funds and raising money. I was good at it, which I loved when I started and hated by the time I quit. Anyways, this jerk got some dirt on my mom a while back and tried to use it against Dad. It was ugly. People started prying into our lives, and me being his son and handling funds got a lot of people upset. It just pissed me off. I was sick of politics and the circus of it all. After that I moved out here. I’m not cut out for it like they are.”
He leaned back, turning his face up to the sun and closing his eyes. “I didn’t really know what I was going to do when I moved out here. I’d cashed in, invested my money and banked on the interest being sweet enough to cover me. Then I-I fell in love with this place.”
Carey’s expression was sheepish. They were two different people, from worlds so far apart they shouldn’t have been able to connect. Yet here they were, their own Adam and Eve in their Rocky Mountain garden. Elise loved few things in the world. The business she would own someday, her parents, the great outdoors and Carey. Her family was broken beyond repair, but Adventures and Carey, those were two things she might be able
to have. Would he be okay answering to her as his boss?
“So what’s the latest with your family?”
Her stomach clenched and her mouth dried. “Don’t know.”
“They haven’t called you or anything?”
“There was a message on my phone, but I didn’t check it. I’m not ready for their kind of crazy yet. One thing at a time.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She blew out a breath and leaned back on one arm. “What’s to say? They hate each other so much they can’t live without one another? They moved back on the rez, probably in grandma’s house again, and are borrowing money they can’t repay.”
They were quiet for several minutes, both eating and taking in the beautiful way the trees were turning colors. Here and there the landscape was dotted with trees that were every shade of red, yellow or orange, and next to them were the pine trees, eternally green giants.
“Is it bad I want to throttle your parents?”
Slowly she turned to face him. “What?”
“You don’t talk about them much, but when you do it’s all about them fighting, or owing people money or something else. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out they treat you like shit, and it pisses me off. Parents should take care of their kids, not the other way around.”
She opened and closed her mouth several times, unsure of what to say. Carey glanced at her and rubbed his face.
“Sorry, it’s not my place to say that, but—”
“Don’t be sorry.” She touched his arm. Her hand didn’t reach even halfway around his bicep. “Maybe it’s wrong to say this, but it’s nice that other people see it.”
“People saw it, and did shit about it.” The scowl on his face would have scared her, were it directed at her. Instead it further endeared him.
Carey pushed the empty plate to sit on the rock and scooted closer to her. He wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. She nuzzled his neck, nipping and kissing the sensitive spot she’d discovered last night.
“Lie down.” She pushed his shoulder.
He quirked a brow, but did as she requested and flopped on the cushion. He folded his arms behind his head, much as he had the night before.
“This what you had in mind?”
“Almost.” She arranged his legs so that she was between his thighs.
He grasped his cock and stroked it, watching her from half-lidded eyes. She fondled her nipples, pinching the peaks, knowing now that he liked to watch her as much as she enjoyed playing his voyeur. She could already feel her channel growing slick in anticipation of having him again.
“Babe,” he groaned and reached for her.
She pushed his hand away and leaned down to kiss his balls. His hand stopped, holding his rod erect, while she laved the crease between his testicles with her tongue. His knees came up and his whole body shuddered.
“Fuck. Elise.”
His hand dug into her hair hard enough it hurt, but not enough to dissuade her from turning her attention to his cock. His hand still encircled most of his length, but she was able to kiss and suck on the head of his cock. Wrapping her hand over his, she urged him to continue stroking. With her other hand, she stoked her own need.
Carey pulled on her hair again. His cock slid from between her lips with a pop. He manhandled her, grabbing her legs and pulling her body toward him before pushing her down onto the cushion. She hit her back and grunted as Carey’s weight settled on top of her, forcing the oxygen momentarily out of her lungs.
“Carey.” She pushed at his chest.
He levered up on his forearms and silenced her with a quick kiss. “Later. I want in you. Now.”
Though this wasn’t their first, second or fifth time, her pulse still kicked up and a flood of moisture drenched her thighs. She thrust her hips up against him and kneaded the globes of his ass. She loved his body, the absolute strength of him and how he could be rough without hurting.
“Fine. Condom?”
He grinned and kissed her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and holding her face between his hands. Breaking away, he pushed up to his knees, his erect cock bobbing toward her and reached for the towel. She chuckled when he produced a condom.
“Who should I thank for teaching you to always be prepared?” She ran her foot up his thigh as he slid the condom on.
One side of his mouth kicked up. “My parents stressed contraception and protection.”
“Maybe I won’t thank them.” She laughed at the visual, and pulled him down on top of her.
He chuckled with her. “Not yet at least.”
He loomed over her, the cloudless sky spread out above, framed by pine trees. Their gazes locked. She felt his cock against her. His fingers skimmed over her nether lips, and a smile spread across his face.
“Damn, you’re always so wet for me. That’s hot.”
She tilted her head back, a silly smile spread across her face. How could he make her laugh and horny all at once?
Her thigh went over his hip and her eyes fluttered closed while he eased inside her. His breath fanned against her neck. She groaned and tilted her hips. Carey moaned and thrust again, sliding deep within her.
“Look at me.”
“Bossy.”
“That’s me. And I like your eyes. It wasn’t light enough last night to do this.”
She gasped as he stroked in and out. “Like what?”
“Make love. Face to face.”
It was corny, and she was a fraction of a second away from laughing, but there was an almost seriousness that sobered her. The delicate muscles in his face clenched and yet his gaze stayed focused on hers.
“Carey, harder.” She wrapped her leg tighter around him and moved her hips in time with his. “Hard.”
He tilted her hips, hitting a new angle that stroked her g-spot and she gasped. She dug her hands into his shoulder and back as she struggled to meet his thrusts.
Abruptly, Carey pushed up to his knees. She cried out, missing the warmth of his body and his cock. He grasped her knees and brought her legs up, and put them over his shoulders. She scrambled to grab the cushion as he thrust deep.
“Oh, Carey.”
“Yeah.”
There was an evil gleam in his eye as he grinned down at her. The way he had her left her vulnerable and open to him, but when he reared back and pistoned in and out, all she cared about was him. She reached for his hips and gave up any pretense of control, merely wanting to hang on.
Carey’s hands dropped to her breasts and he pinched her nipples. The unexpected pain set off a chain reaction, she clenched her hands and tossed her head back and screamed. Her orgasm coursed through her, firing off all her synapses and blacking out her vision. Her spine arched off the cushions and the moaned, everything heightened by watching the echo of her pleasure on his face, in his eyes.
Above her, Carey tilted her hips and jerked in and out of her, his movements frenzied. He groaned, his hold on her tightened, and she felt the spurt of his cum and the twitch of his cock as he spent himself.
He let her jellied legs slide to the cushion. It took all her effort to scoot to the side, and make room for him to lie next to her while they caught their breath.
Sweat, worked up during their exercise, began to dry. The slight breeze had them clinging to each other for warmth. She ducked her face and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
She loved him. It was dangerous, but she wouldn’t change how she felt. How he made her feel.
He tossed the towel over them, nowhere big enough to do the job, but it was a nice gesture. She smiled and pressed closer to his chest.
“Hey.” He laced their fingers together. “Want to know a secret? I haven’t told anyone yet, but you’re really—you’re really important to me, and I want your help.”
His words echoed her sentiments. Squeezing his fingers, she looked at him. “What is it?”
His eyes lit up. “I bought Adventures two weeks ago. Allen’s going to st
ay on through the winter season and retire in the spring.”
Carey’s words were drowned out in a rush of blood. Her vision blurred and her heart stopped in her chest.
“Elise?”
She sat and stared at him as if she’d never met him before. This person, she didn’t know him. “You did what?” Her shrill voice echoed off the rocks, breaking the peaceful morning.
He sat up, his brows raised. “I said I bought Adventures. Elise—”
“You bought Adventures? My Adventures?” She scrambled to her feet, hands balled into fists.
She’d gone to work at Adventures in high school. There she’d had not just a place to belong, but an escape. And he was taking it away from her, just like her parents had taken everything else in her life. He was no better than they were.
“Yes.” He stood and reached for her, his voice soothing, but she wouldn’t be soothed. “Calm down. It’s not closing, I just—”
Planting her hands on his chest, she shoved him back a few steps. “No! I don’t want to hear it!”
Elise turned and ran up the stairs. Her dress still hung on the peg by the tub. She grabbed it and pulled it on before fleeing the house. She heard him calling out her name, but she had a head start.
Carey had stolen her dream. The thing that she’d worked for, the haggling with Allen promising to give her time, it was useless. In a flight of fancy, because he felt like buying something shiny and new, he’d stolen everything from her.
* * * * *
Carey threw his keys on the kitchen counter, pulled the refrigerator open and grabbed a bottle of water. He’d been to all of their favorite spots and he still couldn’t find Elise. Glancing at the clock, he decided to try Allen one more time.
Fishing his cell phone out of his pocket, he speed dialed his former boss and listened to the phone ring. Allen was avoiding him, and he didn’t know why.
“Yeah?” the old man sighed into the phone.
“Allen. Hey.” Usually he liked chatting with the old hippie, but he was raw and not in the mood.
“Hey, Carey. I imagine you’re calling about Elly?”
Personal Adventures Page 6
