by Vella Munn
“You’re not—” He gasped. “Supposed to do that.”
“Why not?”
He grabbed her panties and yanked them to her knees. “Because I’m in charge.”
“In charge of what?” She strained to lower his shorts even more. Imagining what they both looked like with the last of their clothes at half-mast made her laugh.
“That’s a good question.”
The words hung between them, tease and challenge on his part, anticipation on hers. Then he stood and deftly finished stripping her. Her legs were back on the bed almost before she grasped what he’d done.
She started to sit up. “My turn.”
“No.” He pushed her back down. “Like I said, I’m in charge.”
He’d positioned himself far enough away that she couldn’t reach him. Measuring the distance between them made her groan.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
By way of reply, she spread her legs and extended her fingers trying to reach the overheated place she’d just revealed. From this position she couldn’t quite accomplish her goal. He’d have to do it.
“You know what’s wrong,” she said after a silence that went on too long. “You’ve, ah, primed my pump. I need—”
“Primed your pump? Can’t you think of another way to say it?”
He was there, just out of reach, naked except for his shorts so how could he expect her to carry on this stupid conversation? Yet much as she longed to touch and be touched, simply looking at his shadowed form was deeply satisfying. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“I probably could,” she finally said, “but I’m not going to try. The next move’s up to you, big boy.”
His deep chuckle was music to her flesh and muscles, a caress to her nerves. Her body was so incredibly hot, so eager, so ready. Only one thing would satisfy her craving.
Him.
All of him.
As if reading her mind, he pushed down his shorts and stepped out of them. He threw the garment onto the bed near her underwear.
“Does that qualify as a move?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
As he opened the package and slipped on the condom, she wished she was handling the task. Hopefully that time would come but for now—for now what?
This not being in charge was so strange. She’d made it clear to her handful of lovers that making love was a partnership. She didn’t give ground, never surrendered.
Until tonight.
He slid his hands under her and eased her away from the middle. That done, he stretched out beside her on his side with his elbow supporting his upper body.
She rolled toward him and placed a leg over his hip. The alignment brought them face to face and body to body. No matter that she felt him on every inch of her, she still didn’t quite believe this was happening. Knowing she was about to turn her body over to Nate was a small miracle.
“I don’t know what to say.” She guided his hand to her breast.
“Then don’t.”
He was right. Silence was easier. Still, many things remained unspoken between them—mostly the question of where their relationship was going.
She’d broach it later. Maybe.
His breath on her face said he was staring at her. Staring back, she concentrated on the masculine fingers tracing circles around the base of her breasts. She arched toward him and spread her fingers over his forearm. When he thumbed a nipple, she arched even more and seized his upper arm.
What was he thinking? Maybe getting to the act was all that mattered to him but maybe, like her, he was considering their future. Wanting to give it direction.
He wrapped his arms around her. His erection was caught between them, the alignment not quite right. He positioned her a little lower on the bed, then again covered himself with her. She held herself open, whimpering in anticipation as he slipped into her. They could barely move this way, but she didn’t care. Everything about having her inner tissues stretched by him was right.
On the move again, bodies still tight and together. She grasped his shoulders and arched her back. His chest hair tickled her nipples. Fascinated by the sensation, she turned a little from side to side. He lowered his head and kissed the base of her throat.
The touch broke her apart, made her wild with need, separated her from her mind. She felt his muscles tighten, heard him suck in a breath. He didn’t pound at her, so much as made her guide over the bed. She moved with him, bleating like an animal with every thrust and stroke. She sensed his urgent tension but his experience was his. She could only concentrate on hers.
Sweating, making animal sounds, her nails digging into his flesh, sensitive only saying the half of it.
Hoping to draw out the incredible build from tension to explosion, she struggled to concentrate on something other than flames. His body trembled and jolted. He drove into her, slid out a little only to invade again. His muscles became rock-like.
“Yes.” She encouraged. “Yes. Do what you need to.”
“I am.”
Nate was so strong, so single-minded. She rode with him, absorbed his journey. His sounds made no sense, sweat sealed their bodies. He worked her, worked himself, maybe reached exhaustion then went beyond it.
His release came in mid-thrust. Happy for him, she increased her hold on him. Joined in many, many ways, she dragged her teeth over his shoulder.
“Ah, yes!” he yelled. “Da—yes!”
“Good, good. Feel it. Experience.”
“Yes. Yes.”
Holding onto him like she was doing meant his locked arms bore the weight of both their bodies so she fell back onto the bed. She ran her fingers over the hairs on his chest, found sweat.
“You?” he asked. “Did you?”
“It’s all right.” Channelling her energy, she tightened her inner muscles around him.
Breathing rapidly and deep, he rolled them onto their sides. Believing he was spent, she told herself he would tend to her needs once he had rested. However before she could think how to tell him, he slipped a hand between their bodies. His all-knowing finger found the core of her pleasure.
“Ah.” She twitched. Breathed.
He guided her onto her back, pulling out of her as he did. Still on his side, he pressed down on her mons. Obedient animal that she’d become, she spread her legs. His finger found her center, turned heat into flames.
“Your turn,” he muttered. “Go into yourself. Feel.”
She returned to that floating place ruled by sensation. Her body became liquid and lost. Free and frenzied. Guided by his knowing fingers, she went ever higher, traveling faster. She bucked and twisted, sought escape from what was too much and not yet enough.
“Killing me. You’re killing me.”
He stroked her, light and quick. “Keep going. You’re almost there.”
Not almost. She was there. Crying out and exploding. Her nails digging into his arms, her head whipping from side to side, body liquid.
Chapter Nineteen
NATE PLACED A blanket over Alisha, gathered his clothes, and went into the living room. After closing the door behind him, he slipped into his shorts, jeans, and shirt. Then he stoked the fire, turned on the front outside light, and sat on the couch looking out at the night. Bruce, who had been at his side since he came out, joined him and put his head on his leg.
They hadn’t bothered closing the curtains. The moon was nearly overhead, casting a white-yellow hue over the land. A low glow at the fire pit let him know he hadn’t completely extinguished the fire, but the woods were safe. Strange that he only rarely sat in the dark.
Bruce whined. “You know how to work people, don’t you?” he asked the mutt and started stroking him. “How are you at answering questions?”
Bruce sighed.
“I’ll take that as an affirmative response. Tonight took me by surprise. I know it doesn’t look like it considering what happened in there, but I didn’t come here convinced your mistress and I would become love
rs.”
Wondering if he was trying to evade something, he stopped and reran the day’s tape. Even though he could have loaded the other men into the back of his pickup for the drive to Alisha’s cabin, he’d suggested that they would be more comfortable in a separate vehicle. Then, although earlier she’d offered to fix dinner for everyone, he had told the men that her cooking facilities were limited and they shouldn’t expect anything except sandwiches. As for whether they’d seen through his attempt to discourage them from staying, it didn’t matter.
And now here he was, wide awake in the middle of the night, pondering what he’d gotten himself into.
“It’s more than lovemaking,” he told Bruce. “I understand you not understanding what I’m getting at, but I’d like you to try.”
As if agreeing to take on the task, Bruce scooted closer. The air smelled of old wood and hot metal. Next time, if there was one, he would open a window before they made love.
“So you’re encouraging me to continue are you? I’m not sure I can but I need to try.”
Via a combination of words and thoughts, he replayed what had happened between Alisha and him. When she invited him to stay for dinner, he’d known he wouldn’t be satisfied unless they wound up in bed. She was more than a notch on his belt, more than a feminine body by far.
She didn’t need protecting so he wasn’t sure why he wanted to wear his white hat around her. Maybe it had to do with her having lost both of her parents and not having other family members to turn to. Maybe her stressful job factored in. Certainly the in-need-of-repairs cabin was part of it.
And maybe this was just one of those things, man and woman coming together.
“No, it isn’t that.”
Bruce whined and pressed his head more firmly against Nate’s leg.
“I’m sorry.” He started petting again. “I got distracted.”
He hadn’t told Bruce the whole story when he’d posed the possibility that what had happened between Alisha and him had been more than a simple matter of hormones. There’d been a lot of physical attraction all right. More importantly, he didn’t like being off balance around a woman. Once he stopped feeling out of his element, she’d become what she was, an ordinary woman.
Except for a little matter of wanting to help her make some decisions. She hadn’t mentioned friendships and he didn’t see her turning to people at work. That left her alone.
Something he knew too much about. At least she had this place, complete with rodents, ants, mosquitoes, bats, and a summer moon. A body of water called Lake Serene.
“You need to be there for her as she looks at her options,” he told Bruce. “It doesn’t have to be much, just a lick or a paw. Maybe a wag of your tail. Think you can do that?”
Instead of answering, Bruce looked up at him. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing, the dog seemed to be saying.
“You don’t understand.” He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the mutt’s thick neck. “I’m not what she deserves.”
Something rumbled in Bruce’s throat.
“I mean it. I haven’t said anything to her about it but I’m not going to be around for long. Soon I’ll feel the need to move on. I always do. She needs someone good.” Someone whole.
Chapter Twenty
WHEN ALISHA WOKE enough to realize she was alone, she pulled the blanket over her head and willed sleep to return. It didn’t of course, forcing her out of bed in the middle of the night. She kept the blanket around her naked body as she walked into the living room. Heat radiating out from the stove let her know that Nate had recently stocked it. Between the open bathroom door and empty living area she knew he was gone.
She looked out the back window and verified that his truck was gone then noted that the front outside light was on.
“Did he sit here?” she asked Bruce.
Bruce looked down as he sometimes did when he was pondering something.
“Go on. You can tell me. It isn’t as if he asked you to keep a secret, did he?”
Bruce didn’t look up.
“He did?” She slumped into the couch which had the best view of the wilderness. “What is it? You guys are sticking together?”
Bruce rested his head on her knees. She lightly rubbed his ears. The dog’s dark presence helped a little.
“Is this what he did? He gave you a little TLC in exchange for you not saying anything?”
Bruce whimpered.
“I know this is hard on you. He trusted you. At the same time I feed you so your loyalties are torn. Can you at least give me a hint?”
The mutt responded with another whimper.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Did he talk about me?”
Bruce lifted his head.
“So he did. Does he like me?”
The big head came up a few more inches.
“That’s good to know. Then what’s the problem? Why did he take off like he did?”
Bruce’s head sagged.
“That heavy, is it? Ah, Bruce, what am I going to do? I don’t want to feel like this. My emotions—too much.”
If it wasn’t the middle of the night she would have gone for a long walk.
*
NATE DIDN’T SHOW up the next day but he did call to tell her that he’d be there on Thursday. Rance had agreed to help him section the downed trees. She protested that he didn’t need to feel responsible but obviously he’d made up his mind. She asked if she could fix him some dinner, then tensed when he said he wasn’t sure.
No doubt about it, he was avoiding being alone with her.
Well, darn him! This was no way for him to act or for her to accept. She’d been sure he hadn’t seen her as a one-night stand, but apparently she’d been wrong. Time to clear the air.
No matter how hard it would be.
However, by the time she heard his approaching pickup, she had so much on her mind she didn’t have enough left over for questioning where their relationship was or wasn’t going. She’d just hung up after a disquieting conversation with a realtor. Knowing she’d have to deal with Nate and her emotions in the wake of Kannar’s aggression made her want to forget the darned business and head into the woods. Yes. That was what she wanted to do. She’d take along a camera and look for places where a doe might leave her newborn fawn.
Except she couldn’t.
She was trying to decide how to start a conversation with Nate when Rance appeared. The boy jogged alongside Nate’s truck until it stopped, lightening her mood.
“You need to show some enthusiasm about work,” Nate told Rance as he got out. “What have you been doing?”
Rance groaned. “Putting another layer of insulation in the attic for Grandpa. I got everything done except where the bats sleep. It stinks.”
“How are you and your grandfather going to keep the bats out?” she asked. She barely glanced at Nate.
“Hopefully we have a solution,” Nate said before Rance could speak. He acknowledged her with a nod then reached into the pickup and withdrew a square of wire mesh. He handed it to Rance. “Here’s what your grandpa asked for.”
So Doc and Nate had connected. Telling herself she shouldn’t expect to be part of a discussion about bat removal didn’t go far enough. She deserved more than a glance. At least she understood how the mesh would be put to use. Rance would wait until dark when the bats were out hunting before climbing into the attic and securing the wiring over the air vents so the bats couldn’t get back in. She’d done the same herself so her mother would stop obsessing over the cute but smelly buggers.
Pulling herself back to the present, she noted that Nate was taking a medium size chainsaw out of the trunk bed. A welcoming “woof” from Bruce let her know that Doc was joining them. Doc held out his hand and Nate handed him the chainsaw. Doc hoisted it, then lowered it to the tailgate with a thud.
“Sweet. It looks new,” he said.
“Just about. And I sharpened the teeth. Rance, I want you to watch me for a while. Then you c
an run it.”
“What?” she blurted. “Doc, do you want your grandson—”
Doc frowned. “Nate, you should have cleared that with me. Fortunately, I would have said yes.”
Nate looked puzzled, as if asking the boy’s guardian’s permission hadn’t occurred to him. After an uncomfortable silence, Nate carried the saw to one of the downed trees. He again gave her a moment of his attention then pulled on the starter. A high, screaming sound prompted her to stand back. Rance stood on the other side of the log.
“That was interesting,” Doc said loudly.
“About Nate not clearing things with you about Rance?” Or about Nate and me not speaking to each other?
“Yeah.” Doc led the way to the fire pit and sat on one of the logs. She chose the one to his right where she could watch Nate and Rance. “The man understands some things about relationships but not everything. Makes me wonder about how he was raised. Do you know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“What have you told him about your dad?”
That was one of the problems with being around someone who’d known her for so long. “Enough.” She hedged.
“He wasn’t my favorite person.”
She worked up a smile. “He wasn’t particularly fond of you.”
Doc shook his head. “Did he like anyone? Oh, he was friendly enough around those he was trying to impress, but he switched it off when it wasn’t needed.”
Now that Nate had cut through a couple of branches, Rance was dragging them away from the tree. Like before, Nate put his entire body into his work. Too bad she couldn’t dismiss him.
“That’s a cutthroat business you’re in.” Doc went on. “Your dad was right for it. I’m not sure you are.”
Instead of trying to change the subject, she gave Doc her full attention. “Today, neither am I. There’s something I’ve been involved in for months. Yesterday a realtor showed up trying to convince the principals to buy a different property from the one they verbally agreed to.”
