Operation: Stripped & Stranded

by E Kay Sims

  It lit a fire deep in my belly that had nothing to do with my hunger.

  I turned right and headed toward my room, which was in the opposite direction of hers.

  The hall was empty and quiet as I walked quickly away from EZee, putting distance between us. I knew better than to look back. Instead, I walked with my eyes forward, my back ramrod straight, my stride quick and confident. When I arrived in front of the door to my room, I hurriedly swiped my keycard and entered, allowing the door to shut behind me.

  I was pretty confident she had watched me the entire time up until I disappeared into my room. Once inside, I let go of my stoic façade and relaxed my stance. I headed over to the mini-fridge and grabbed another bottle of water and downed it with the fridge door still open. I tossed the empty bottle and grabbed an apple. Just as I bit into it, there was a soft knock at the door. Bingo!

  I kicked the fridge door shut, chewed and swallowed the bite of apple before I headed to answer the door. When I opened the door, there stood EZee. She gazed up at me, her succulent lips parted. Her chest rose and fell as if she’d just run down the hall.

  EZEE

  Eric held the door open as I stood there like an idiot looking up at him. I’d had no plan when I’d suddenly run down the corridor after him. I was a complete fool. There was no way I could resist this guy! It had been torture in class today. I hadn’t been able to ignore him despite how hard I’d tried. My heart skipped a beat every time my eyes fell on his form as he moved through the yoga poses.

  God! He was such a specimen. I lead the class through a sequence of poses, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the way his muscles rippled under his clothes as he moved in and out of the poses. It had taken every ounce of my concentration and training to stay focused. By the time we let out for the break, I was in a painful state of arousal. My pussy throbbed with need, wet and hungry for Eric.

  When his arm brushed mine as we exited the elevator, I knew I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. I’d stood frozen there after the elevator doors had closed, my eyes on his tall, sexy form as he’d walked away from me, oblivious of the state he’d left me in.

  Damn it all to hell!

  I was about to break all the rules, including a few self-imposed ones I’d established for myself over the years since I’d gotten out of the military. I’d promised myself to never, ever get involved with another active service member again. Nevermind the fact that he is a student of mine!

  “Never say never!” my mother used to say all the time, to the point of annoyance.

  Well, fuck it! I thought, as I took a deep breath and put my hand on Eric’s chest. I pushed him far enough into the room that he let go of the door in surprise as he stumbled back.

  I threw all caution to the wind and rushed forward, twining my arms around his neck. I hoisted myself up and wrapped my legs around his waist as my mouth connected with his.

  My eyes rolled back in sheer delight as his hot tongue entered my mouth, meeting mine in a furious battle for dominance.

  “Hurry,” I tore my mouth from his, “I need you! I need you to fuck me right now, Eric!” My teeth tugged at his lower lip as we fell to the bed.

  PIPER

  U

  ncle Joe’s words rang in my ears as Gil and I wandered past the old signs that littered the dusty rows of the Neon Museum. ‘Aussie’s a decent guy. Let him in.’ I didn’t tell Joe where or how I’d met this man. Would he be so willing to let Gil near me if he knew about the club? He and my father would kill me for working there. Not one single person in my life knew everything about me, and I liked it that way. It protected me and it protected the people around me, the people I loved.

  I glanced sideways at Gil. I was trying so hard to keep my feelings for him at bay, but it was the most difficult thing I’d ever done. It was a battle of wills between my heart, my soul, and my brain. The way he’d distanced himself since breakfast was like being stabbed with a dagger. I wanted to feel him again. I wanted it to be like last night because last night was incredible.

  “This place is bizarre. Certainly the strangest museum I’ve ever been to.” Gil squinted against the harsh sun, which was now sitting high in the sky, and pointed a finger at one of the rusty old signs.

  “Vegas has a bizarre history.”

  Gil chanced a look at me. “You’re right.”

  “My history is not so bizarre. I don’t have a sob story, not really. I was not abused, I’m not a runaway. I have a great life here.” We came to a stop and faced one another. “I dance because I’m good at it and it makes me a lot of money. Money I need to pay off school.”

  “School as in college?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What are you studying?” Gil asked, his curiosity piqued.

  I lowered my gaze to the ground as uncharacteristic shyness washed over me. “I’m in culinary school.”

  Gil took a careful step toward me. “If you cook half as good as the person who cooked my meal at the club, I look forward to tasting your stuff. That was mouthwatering.”

  I refrained from telling him it was me who cooked his meal. It was best not to show all of my cards yet.

  My eyes trained on Gil’s as his fingers brushed across my cheek until his hand cupped my face. He was close enough to kiss me, but instead, he whispered, “Did you just tell me something about yourself?”

  “Maybe a little,” I whispered back.

  His delicious mouth curved into a smile. “Why the change of heart?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m usually a tough nut to crack. There’s something about you—” My voice faltered as his hand crept up into my hair.

  “What about me?” he murmured as he pressed his body against mine.

  I found myself winding my arms around his waist. “I don’t know, Gil. What about you?”

  He lowered his lips to mine in a slow, deliberate kiss. My hands slid up his back, bunching up his shirt. He groaned into me as I dug my nails into his skin. I wanted to make him mine, I wanted to stake my claim on him, and that’s exactly what I was doing.

  “Not here, Piper,” he mumbled through the kiss.

  I pulled back slightly to find him blushing like crazy. I pulled my arms out from under his shirt and looped them around his neck. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it, I’m so attracted to you.”

  The feeling’s mutual,” Gil responded as his hands found the curve of my hips. “You’re incredibly beautiful and fun.”

  I pressed my forehead against his. “Careful. A girl might just fall for that line.”

  “It’s not a line. It’s the truth, Piper.”

  He held my gaze with his, not faltering, not apologizing, not blushing. He was for real. As I stared back at Gil Barlow, the shy Aussie boy, I realized he had true feelings for me. And that realization made my body tremble.

  “I have one more place to show you. It’s a fair drive, though, and we’ll probably have to stay out there overnight.”

  “Take me there.”

  I was so glad he said that.

  GIL

  The drive took us far from Vegas and out through the middle of the desert. There was nothing but sand and rocks for kilometres in every direction. Piper distracted me as I drove when she would squeeze my thigh or stroke my arm. I wanted nothing more than to hold her some more. Whenever I held her, I felt brave, like a man in control of his emotions. The uncertain thoughts left my brain and all I thought about was her. No-one had ever had that power over me, not even Casey before she cheated, and fuck, how I’d loved her.

  I glanced at Piper to find her staring at me with a huge grin on her face. “What?”

  “You’re smiling.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re smiling to yourself. You have this big, cheesy, lovestruck grin on your face, Mr. Barlow,” Piper purred as she leaned toward me over the centre console.

  I lifted her hand to my mouth and nibbled her knuckles. I laughed at her yelp. “For the millionth time, woman, it’s Gil.”

  �
�You can’t eat me yet! You have to save that for later.” One of her eyebrows quirked upwards.

  My dick jerked in my jeans at the thought of tasting Piper. “God, I want you, beautiful. We need to find a hotel room.”

  She shook her head. “We’re not staying in a hotel room.”

  “But it’ll be dark soon.”

  “I know.”

  My line of sight battled with the need to keep my eyes on the road and my desire to check her out. “Are we camping?”

  “Do you mind?”

  I shook my head. “Not at all.”

  “Will you go down on me on the hood of this car, Gil Barlow?” Piper stroked the leather of the passenger seat.

  I gulped. “Will we be by ourselves?”

  “I promise. I may be sexually adventurous, Gil, but I’m not into public indecency. I have a reputation to uphold.” Piper lifted her nose into the air ever so slightly.

  “In that case, your wish is my desire.” This time, I kissed her knuckles and heard her sigh happily. “I think I know where you’re taking me.”

  “You do?”

  “Pretty sure, yeah. I think it starts with the letter ‘G.’”

  “G-spot?”

  We both laughed at her joke.

  “I could take you there, too,” Piper said with a grin.

  “Please do. I want to make you feel worshipped, to show you that I’m nothing like the other men who come to that club.”

  Piper watched the road ahead of us. “I know you’re not anything like those other men, Gil. Why do you think I ran off with you? I knew in a single moment that…” I briefly tore my eyes off the road and onto her. “What?”

  Her concerned gaze met mine.

  “Tell me,” I urged.

  “I felt something for you right away. The way you looked at me in that private room threw me, that’s why I bailed. I’m not used to being around men in that club who show compassion, who think of me as more than a night’s entertainment. A lot of scary guys come to Le Kitteh Haus, Gil. Powerful men who could make you disappear without a trace if you even glance at them the wrong way.

  “But then there’s you. Sweet, down-to-earth, shy guy, Gil Barlow, with your sexy Australian accent and sexy as sin abs-a-licious body. You’re nothing like them. You’re kind, you’re respectful, you were embarrassed as fuck when I was dancing on you.” She laughed and it was beautiful.

  I smiled at her. “I thought it might be inappropriate for a stranger to be turned on by you.”

  “See? That right there. Most men don’t apologize for being turned on by me. In fact, they expect me to turn them on… that’s the point.”

  I stroked her face. “But shouldn’t you be turned on as well?”

  “No. That’s not part of my job.” She was terribly adamant about this.

  My hand tightened on the steering wheel. “Your job isn’t fair.”

  “My job pays a bucket load and is getting me through culinary school,” Piper reminded me. “One day, I’ll be the biggest female chef in Vegas. They’ll be begging me to open my restaurant in one of their Strip resorts.”

  “That’s your dream, huh?”

  “Yup.” She gave one definitive nod.

  “And there I’ll be in Eugene, Oregon, working for Oak Street Ice Cream Company. Fourteen or fifteen hours away.”

  Sadness descended over us as reality began to sink in. We were both on different paths. How could this last longer than my bro-trip if we had to be in different places to pursue our dreams?

  “We’re here.” I didn’t miss the slight catch in her voice.

  I pulled off to the edge of the road and we got out of the car. We made our way towards a rocky outcrop, me staring down at the sand and rocks beneath my feet. I felt Piper take my hand and I pulled her to me, wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and kissed her golden hair. I cherished the feel of her arm around my back.

  We carefully crept out onto the outcrop and my breath seemed to leave my body. “Holy fuck!” I took in the grandeur below us with childlike awe. The ravine below was like a scar in the earth—a deep wound that had never fully healed, leaving behind this rugged beauty. I’d seen pictures and videos of the Grand Canyon as far back as I could remember. I’d even seen it on Google Maps, but nothing compared to standing here. I felt like I was teetering on the edge of the world and only Piper was stopping me from tumbling over.

  No. That was wrong. She was the reason I was tumbling.

  “It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” she whispered. “There’s nothing like seeing it for the first time. Your reaction is perfect.”

  I held her close to me. “You’re perfect.”

  Piper rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re perfect for me.” I traced my finger along her jawline. “I’m not going to be able to give you up, you know. I can’t leave in a couple of days and never look back, it’s absolutely not possible.”

  Piper rested her hands on my chest. She didn’t push me away, but she was holding me back. “But you’ve got your job in Oregon, and my future as a top chef is here. I don’t want to give this up either, but fourteen hours is a long way.”

  “We can figure out a way to make this work. I’ll fly here each weekend, you can come and see me, or something. I’ll do anything. I’m falling in love with you, Piper.”

  Her eyes grew wide, and I hoped it wasn’t because she didn’t love me back.

  “No, that’s wrong. I loved you the moment I saw you… when I heard you singing The Star Spangled Banner.”

  “You what?” Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

  I swallowed and dropped my gaze. “The first time I saw you was the other night at the Bellagio Fountains. You were singing along to the national anthem, but you left halfway through. I thought you were beautiful. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again and it broke my heart because I wanted to.”

  Now she did pull away. “Did you have me followed?”

  Did I what? “No.”

  “My privacy matters to me, Gil. If you came to the club with an ulterior motive—” She waved her finger at me and I held my arms out in a placating gesture.

  “No, I didn’t. I didn’t know a thing about you, and I certainly didn’t plan on turning up at your club with you as my private dancer. Eric planned that night, but he didn’t know who you were, either.”

  Her stiff shoulders relaxed only slightly. “It was a coincidence?”

  “The best damn coincidence that has ever happened in the history of the universe.” I flashed a shy smile at her.

  “I happen to believe that the universe doesn’t do coincidences. I think it has a plan for all of us.” Piper stepped back into my arms and looped her arms around my neck. “I think we met for a reason. I think we’re drawn to each other because….”

  Her voice faltered. Fear filled her green eyes. My hand cupped the back of her head and I pressed my forehead to hers.

  “God, I’m falling for you, too.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when you leave.”

  I touched my thumb to her trembling bottom lip. When she looked at me again, tears filled her eyes, which she tried to blink back. “We’ll work something out. I love you.”

  She pressed her mouth to mine in a desperate kiss, her fingers creeping into my hair, sending goosebumps down my body. She barely broke away as she murmured, “I love you, too, and it scares the fuck out of me.”

  “Me, too,” I confessed.

  “We have each other, right? We’ll take care of one another and be afraid together?”

  “As long as we’re not afraid of each other.”

  Piper shook her head as she peeled my shirt off my body and slid it down my arms. “I don’t want to be afraid. Make love to me, Gil.”

  I gazed into her eyes as I unzipped her dress. We kissed again as I backed her up towards the car. We were both naked by the time we got there. Leaning her back against the hood of the convertible, I ran my lips and ton
gue across her breasts, drawing her nipples into my mouth until they were as hard as my cock. I resumed my journey south through the valley between her breasts and down the plain of her stomach. She writhed as I bypassed her sweet spot to nibble the skin of her thighs.

  “Gil, you’re killing me, handsome,” Piper said, her voice strained with need.

  I was surprised at how dark my resulting chuckle sounded. My mouth finally found purchase on her wet pussy. I slid one arm underneath her to angle her up to me and with the other, I reached up to fondle her boob. Fucking hell, she tasted amazing.

  “I love your mouth on me,” she moaned.

  I removed my hand from her tit and slid my fingers inside her. Piper arched her back and cried out. I didn’t let up until her cries were continuous and her body shook with her climax.

  She sank back against the hood of the car and looked at me with a grin. “More.”

  I smiled. I dragged her body forward onto my cock, and we made love to each other as the sun set over the glorious scar that was the Grand Canyon.

  ERIC

  “D

  amn, woman!” I exclaimed after an earth-shaking orgasm. “That was fucking amazing! It just keeps getting better every time.” I kissed the tip of her nose before easing out of her. “Sorry it was so quick, but fuck, you make me lose control.” I didn’t feel too bad, though, because she’d orgasmed right before I did.

  She laid limp, eyes closed, chest heaving as if she’d run a marathon.

  “Mmmm, it was amazing! You’re some kind of sex god! Or a devil, I swear! I can’t resist you. You make me do things I wouldn’t normally dream of doing… and feel things I’ve never felt.”

  I stood, totally unself-conscious of my nudity and went into the bathroom and came back with a warm, wet washcloth and began cleaning between her thighs, to her shock and obvious delight.

  “You hungry?” I asked.

  “Famished! Especially now.” She laughed, sat up, and covered herself with the sheet.