by Stella Night
She pulled away from him just long enough to yank her shirt over her head, exposing her to his admiring eyes. She reached behind her to unhook her bra, letting it fall down her arms. She wanted to show off for him, to get him as excited as she was.
It worked. Santiago leaned down to kiss her breasts. He covered one hard nipple with his mouth while his hand teased the other. Waves of pleasure rocked her entire body, concentrating in her core. A dull, empty ache pulsed between her legs, desperate to be filled.
Amanda laid down on her bed of leaves and Santiago followed, never breaking the physical connection between them. She pressed her thighs together, trying to still the throbbing need inside her.
As if Santiago knew what she was thinking, he slid a hand down into her jeans and stroked her through her panties. She leaned her head back and moaned. Her hips rose up to meet his hand, chasing the delicious pressure.
With his free hand, he unfastened her jeans and yanked them down her hips. Amanda helped him eagerly, needing to remove all obstacles between their bare skin. Her fingers tore at the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and off him. Then she attacked his jeans, almost ripping the buttons off in her haste.
Her desire for Santiago was like a force of nature. She was powerless against it. She might as well try to defy gravity or stop the tides.
Responding to her eagerness, Santiago pulled her panties aside and slid a thick finger inside her. Amanda moaned through gritted teeth at the feeling of him massaging her most sensitive place.
His touch was like magic. He was a virtuoso and she was his instrument. He knew exactly how to make her body sing. A symphony of pleasure exploded between her legs. But it was only the beginning.
Santiago slid down and planted kisses along her thighs, sending shudders of pleasure through her. He worked his way upwards, teasing her flesh. Amanda bit her lip to hold back the moan that desperately wanted to escape her lips. When Santiago’s tongue parted her silky folds, there was no way to hold back.
His mouth felt too good. Too right.
Santiago nuzzled his nose against her sensitive bud while his tongue worked. Amanda threw her head back and howled with pleasure as her orgasm washed over her. Her entire body shook with ecstasy, and her thighs gripped Santiago’s head in a death grip. He continued to lap at her too sensitive body, sending pulse after pulse of pleasure through her until she thought she would lose her mind.
When Amanda could think again, she grabbed Santiago’s face and pulled him up for a kiss. It sent a thrill through her. She would have given anything in the world if he would kiss her that way forever.
He pulled back, but not too far. His face hovered just inches from hers. “You’re an amazing woman, Amanda. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before.”
Drunk on pleasure, she felt playful. “Not even with Eliza?”
As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. This wasn’t the time. Santiago looked down at her, his face blank. She was sure she’d spoiled the moment.
Then he smiled at her, a little confused, but not pissed off like she thought he might be.
“Of course not,” he said. “It wasn’t like that with her.”
She planted a kiss on his lips. “Good.”
“I mean, we had sex.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “What?”
“But it didn’t mean anything. There was nothing romantic between us.”
“I can’t believe you just told me that.”
“Well, you brought it up.”
Amanda stood poised on the razor’s edge, not sure which way she would fall. A part of her wanted to get mad at Santiago. The other part of her wanted to keep things going. Santiago was right. She had brought it up. If the mood got spoiled now, it would be her fault.
“Was she prettier than me?”
Santiago laughed. “What? No.”
“Cause if she was prettier than me, then I’m gonna be mad.”
Santiago nuzzled his face against her neck. “She couldn’t compare to you. It’d be like comparing a candle to the sun. Not even close.”
She closed her eyes at the feeling of his teeth scraping against her neck. “I better be the sun in that comparison.”
He laughed. She could feel it echoing in his chest. “You’re definitely the sun.”
Amanda made a contented sound. “Okay, good. I like the sound of that.”
“You’re my sun and my moon and my stars,” he said, his voice low and silky.
“Okay, okay. I get it.”
He raised his head to look down at her. “Do you? Because you need to know that I’m falling in love with you.”
His words caught her off guard. She searched his eyes to see if he was messing with her, but there was no hint of teasing. Santiago was telling the truth.
She didn’t know how to respond. “Santiago—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “You don’t have to say it back. I know this is crazy. But I had to say it. I had to tell you how I feel.”
Amanda nodded, barely able to breathe. Her heart raced so fast she thought it might explode. Even if she didn’t say anything, what she did next would be all the answer he needed.
A part of her wanted to play it safe, but this felt like the old part of her. The version of her who’d come into the woods two days ago. She was a different person now. These two short days had changed her. She wanted to be that new person. And that new person was falling in love with Santiago.
She sat up and kissed him hard.
A raging fire blazed through her veins. The time for thinking and worrying was done. The only thing that mattered was the feel of his lips on hers and his powerful body pressing against her.
His hard length pressed between her legs through his boxers. Amanda’s back arched involuntarily, pushing her hips against him. Santiago groaned at the sensation.
The sound of his pleasure was sexy as hell. Most men were quiet during intimate moments. But Santiago didn’t have that problem. He let her know just how good she was making him feel. She discovered it was a hell of a turn on.
His passionate groans inflamed her senses. She needed to feel him inside her. It was a physical ache that couldn’t be ignored.
Amanda raked her fingernails over his arms, moaning at the feel of his hard muscles tensing beneath her touch. He cupped her bare breasts, caressing her. She shifted her hips up to feel more of his thick length. She was desperate for him.
She slid her hand between them to run her hand along his hard length. She could feel the heat radiating from him, matching the heat between her own legs. She loved knowing she could make a man like Santiago this excited. The feeling was electric.
“I need you,” she moaned.
“I need you, too,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.
He slid her panties down her legs. Then he stopped for a moment to just look at her. He drank her in with his eyes, relishing the sight of her breasts and her curves. She felt sexy when he looked at her like that.
Santiago seemed to tremble with desire, like he could barely restrain himself from taking her, then and there.
It made her want him all the more.
Then he was on top of her. His mouth slanted a kiss over hers while his thick length pressed between her legs. Her hips rose to greet him. It was all the invitation he needed.
He plunged inside her, penetrating her burning depths. Amanda’s head flew back and she bit her lip, but there was no stifling the scream of pleasure escaping her throat.
The feeling of him inside her filled her brain with a pleasurable haze. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. He had taken over all of her senses, overwhelming her. She lost herself in the moment, letting him sweep her away.
She gripped his arms tightly, needing something to hold onto. Something to anchor her to this earth before she floated into the heavens with pleasure.
He pumped his hips with a steady, pounding rhythm. Each stroke of him sent her arousal spiraling to new heights. Santiago made her
feel things she’d never felt before. Things she didn’t think were possible.
But everything seemed possible with Santiago. Everything.
“Oh my god,” she moaned. “Just like that.”
He continued to thrust into her. “I want you to come for me, Amanda. Come for me.”
She was already close to the delicious edge, but his words pushed her closer. Her body tightened up like a coiled spring ready to explode. Then he plunged himself all the way inside her, burying himself to the hilt. There was no holding back any longer.
Wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over her, through her. Her body clenched around him, gripping him tight. Santiago’s hips jerked and he froze midthrust. He groaned as he released inside her, filling her with his seed. Another pulse of pleasure rocked through her at the feeling of it.
Santiago leaned down and kissed her tenderly. It was the sweetest end to the most mind-blowing sex of her life.
He collapsed at her side, panting and sweaty. She leaned her head against his chest and he slipped his arms around her, holding her like he never wanted to let go. The steady rhythm of his beating heart filled her ear.
“I’m falling in love with you too, Santiago,”she said.
She hadn’t meant to say it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. He was the most amazing man she’d ever known, and if she had her way, she would spend the rest of her life in his arms.
He kissed the top of her head, but said nothing. The feel of his strong arms holding her was answer enough.
Chapter 9
Amanda had no problem falling asleep after that. She awoke the next morning, rested and refreshed. Ready to hike out of the woods and get working on gathering what they needed to come back.
She emerged from beneath the sheltering roots of the giant oak tree, blinking in the bright gray light. Outside of the shelter, the campsite looked like any other patch of forest. With no camping equipment, everything in the tiny clearing had come from the woods. It barely looked like any human had ever been here at all.
The bright side of losing all their gear was that preparing for the journey out of the woods was much simpler than when they’d come in. They had no bags to pack and nothing to fill them anyway. All they had were the clothes on their backs and the few things Santiago had looted from the dead soldier.
The hike back to the real world didn’t seem as daunting now that she didn’t have to carry eighty pounds of gear on her shoulders.
The downside to losing her stuff was the lack of wet weather gear. The skies had cooperated with them, thus far, but as she looked up at the morning sky, mountains of angry gray clouds swirled overhead. If those clouds opened up, she’d be soaked through in seconds, despite her raincoat.
Amanda thought it was fitting that the weather would turn on them now. Nothing about their expedition had gone smoothly. It was no surprise that the forest wanted to throw one more obstacle in their path before letting them go.
The prospect of hiking for the rest of the day, cold and wet, didn’t seem as big of a deal as it did a few days ago. If that was the worst she had to deal with on her way out of here, she’d count herself blessed. Worse things than rain plagued these woods.
“Ready to go?” Santiago asked her, sidling up beside her and slinging an arm around her waist.
“I’m all packed,” she said, smiling up at him.
He grinned. “Good. We’re heading due east. It’s a straight shot back to where we came in a few days ago. We should make it out well before dark.”
Amanda took one more look around the shaded forest glade that had been their home for the last couple of days. Now that she was about to leave, a bittersweet feeling swelled in her breast.
Despite everything that had happened on their journey, this spot had been good to her and Santiago. They’d been safe here, comfortable. They’d shared their first kiss here. They’d made love. Amanda felt closer to Santiago now than she’d ever felt with any other man.
And it had all happened here.
She silently prayed that her and Santiago could find this kind of happiness again once they left. She’d settle for a fraction of the joy she’d experienced here.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she finally said.
Santiago turned and walked east into the trees. Amanda followed. After a couple of minutes, she looked back for one last glimpse of their happy little home. But the forest had swallowed it up and it was lost forever.
***
About a half-hour into their hike, it began to drizzle.
The patter of falling rain had always comforted her in the past, but that had been when she was curled up in her cozy apartment with a roof over her head and a warm cup of coffee in her hand. Out here, the falling drops in the trees sounded like she walked inside a giant, sizzling frying pan, starting to heat up.
Amanda’s clothes were soaked through. Even her socks hadn’t been spared. They made wet, squishing sounds every time she took a step. Her feet would be wrecked by the end of this hike.
The drizzle increased to rain. And rain increased to a downpour. She was convinced that the weather was just fucking with her now. Every time she got used to the rainfall, it got worse. When she got used to it again, it came down harder.
It was like some evil forest spirit was watching her, cranking the waterworks open more and more, and laughing at her discomfort. The image helped her keep going. It gave her a place to focus her rage. And that anger pushed her limbs onward, even when her strength failed her.
Which was often.
Amanda thought the walk back would be easier now that she was unburdened with equipment. But she hadn’t counted on the rain. The terrain had turned to mud. Slippery, sticky mud. It coated her boots and ankles like a thick, heavy paste. It weighed her feet down like cinder blocks.
Santiago had found two even-length branches for her to use as walking poles. She shoved them into the wet ground with every step, giving her more traction over the treacherous landscape. The poles helped, but it was still slow going.
Especially when Amanda had to climb her first incline. It was just a small rise in the land. Nothing she hadn’t walked over easily a hundred times. But now the little hill was slick with rain and mud. Going up it was like trying to climb barefoot up a water slide. It was literally one step forward, two steps back.
No matter how hard she planted her poles in the ground, she kept backsliding down to the base of the hill. Finally, she ended up collapsed in a sodden heap, tears of frustration stinging her eyes.
Santiago had to haul her up the slope or else they’d never make any progress.
At the top of the hill, Amanda clutched onto Santiago’s arm to steady herself. Her struggle had sapped her energy. She was damn near ready to lie down and give up.
“This rain sucks,” she said. “I’d rather carry two backpacks than hike through this mess.”
Santiago nodded. “It’s shitty out. We can stop and wait it out if you want.”
Amanda seriously considered it. It was hard to gauge how far they’d traveled today, but it felt like they hadn’t covered much ground, even though they’d been walking for hours.
Finally she shook her head. “We have to keep going if we hope to make it out of here by nightfall.”
He gave her arm an affectionate squeeze and headed east again. Amanda inhaled deeply and followed. She moved with a renewed purpose. The faster she got through this, the faster she could get out of the goddamn rain and into some dry clothes. Sure, she wanted to make it out and start working on their plan, but that felt like a secondary concern at the moment.
Her fingers were pruned up and painful. Her feet were two lead balls of dull pain. And her thighs were chafed so raw she thought she would start bleeding. She tried to use this pain as incentive. Keep going, move faster, and all of this will end.
Amanda slogged her way up to Santiago’s side, trying to match the pace of his long-legged stride. He turned to look at her. His face was a dripping mass, like he looked at her t
hrough a waterfall. But his smile shone through like the sun. And his blue eyes burned with fire.
It was enough to fill her with heat. Whether real or imagined, she couldn’t say. But it didn’t matter. His presence was comforting.
Amanda leaned her poles against her body and slipped her right arm through Santiago’s left. “Let’s pretend we’re on a nice stroll through the countryside instead of trudging through a goddamn monsoon.”
“I like the sound of that,” he said. “Here, let me take those.”
He snagged both of her walking sticks in his right hand and propped them up on his shoulder. With that done, they walked forward again. She knew this wasn’t the most efficient way to cover ground, but it felt good to hold him and to be held by him. It was a nice change.
“Ask me something,” she said. “Help me get my mind off this storm.”
“What do you want me to ask?”
“I don’t know. Anything.”
“Okay,” he said thoughtfully. “What are you going to do after this?”
“After this, I want to find a warm, dry bed for you and me to cuddle up in.”
He laughed. “That sounds good. But I mean after that.”
“Well, we’re gonna find your friends, and come back here to kick some ass.”
“No,” he said. “After that. After all of this.”
“Oh,” she said. “I don’t know. I guess I haven’t thought about what comes after this. Right now, it doesn’t feel like there’ll ever be an ‘after this,’ you know?”
“I know. But there will be. You have to believe that. It’s what keeps you going when all you want to do is give up.”
Santiago led her around a copse of trees. The woods seemed to be thinning out. They were nowhere near the end of their walk, but at least the clear, flat space in front of them promised easier going.
“Is that something you learned in the military?”
“It’s something I learned at a very young age. Life in the pack wasn’t always sunshine and roses. Which is why I left.”
Amanda stopped short. “Wait. What do you mean, ‘pack?’”
