Faithful

by S. A. Wolfe

  He kisses my cheek. “I missed you, too. You have no idea.”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to tell me about that. We’re back in the wild again, and you know Mother Nature and I are not fond of one another, so I plan on being in our tent a lot. You can show me how much you missed me.”

  “I will,” he says, nuzzling my neck. “Do you think you’ll be able to turn off your work brain for a couple of days and actually relax? Because I plan on shutting out everything that happened this whole week, and the guys and I agreed that no shop talk can take place until Monday.”

  “I get it. Very clever. You don’t want me to bring up your family. I won’t. Maybe.”

  “Let’s go check out the tent,” he whispers conspiratorially in my ear.

  We get our bags from his truck and select the most remote tent, the one least likely to have people walking by to get to the vehicles or supplies. I’m surprised at how spacious it is inside with a fully inflated air mattress for two.

  Cooper tosses our bags to the side and falls back hard onto the mattress, pulling me with him. The rubber makes a loud burp sound as our bodies hit it, but it doesn’t burst as I feared. While Cooper rolls on top of me and begins kissing me eagerly, my fingers go right for his hair and then slowly trace across his solid shoulders and down his hard biceps.

  “Hey, Coop!” Dylan yells a few feet from our tent. “Wanna go for a thirty minute run before dinner?”

  Cooper jerks his head up. “Hell, no! Go away!”

  We hear Dylan laugh then more footsteps before we hear Emma softly murmuring to him.

  “I’d rather chase you through the woods,” Dylan says quietly to Emma. “I’ll give you a head start.” That’s followed by what sounds like Dylan slapping Emma’s rear end.

  When they’re gone and I’m certain no one is within earshot of us, I start laughing. “There’s no privacy here.”

  “Then you better keep your screaming to a minimum.” Cooper keeps me pinned to the mattress and kisses the sensitive spot on my neck, triggering every erogenous zone to be on red alert.

  “I expect everyone to be on time for dinner! Lauren and I are the only ones here prepping the food!” Leo shouts. “I don’t care what you’re in the middle of … I know you can all hear me! Dylan you better be back in time to cook all of this!”

  Cooper curses against my neck, and I laugh in frustration.

  This weekend is really for Lauren and Leo, but at this moment, I’m not feeling the love for my friends and their idea of fun, domestic chores we took to the great bug-infested outdoors. You can’t give me a bed and a guy I’m crazy about and expect me to switch gears and get excited about grilled steak and fishing.

  “We have to save this for later because I don’t want to get busy and then stop for dinner.” I stroke Cooper’s cheek.

  “Are you sure?” His lips push mine open again for a deep kiss.

  I moan when he slips his hand under my shirt and undoes the front clasp of my bra to palm my breast so I can’t formulate a coherent response. Then he lifts my shirt all the way up and puts his mouth on a hard nipple, sucking and nibbling until I’m writhing underneath him.

  “Not fair.” I grab his hair and yank his head off my chest.

  “If you struggle, that only turns me on.”

  “Take off your shirt,” I demand. “We can have topless kissing, no hands below the waist. And then we’ll go to dinner.”

  “I’ll take whatever I can get,” he agrees.

  We remove our T-shirts and I shimmy off my bra straps so we can be skin to skin, his weight and hard muscles providing a wall of comfort. We use every minute we have to enjoy a long, uninterrupted make out session. Other than the sound of a few pots and pans being clanked and that damn screeching bird, all I listen to are Cooper’s breaths and moans.

  Dylan makes a spectacular dinner with the crude cookware, grilling the rib eyes, red peppers, and asparagus with fresh herbs. When he calls dibs on Emma’s steak since she’s a vegetarian, Carson and Cooper gripe a bit about that but then figure it’s his payment for manning our stone-age fire pit.

  After dinner, Leo and Lauren say goodnight and escape to their tent. The rest of us clean up the mess, and I bag everything, terrified we’ll attract bears.

  “What are you doing?” Jess asks, alarmed.

  “Spraying down the area with the air freshener Lauren keeps in her car.” I squirt the pungent fragrance around our plastic storage containers.

  “It smells like cinnamon and candy canes,” says Emma, sniffing.

  “It’s a Christmas home décor spray. It’s all I have.”

  “You’re trying to camouflage food smells with more food smells?” Jess asks.

  “Bears and wolves are attracted to the steak, not candy canes.”

  “Bears and wolves?” Dylan laughs. “That stuff stinks, Imogene.”

  “My girl flips out when she’s up against the elements.” Cooper puts an arm around my waist and gingerly removes the spray can from my hand, tossing it to Carson.

  “Now you know why we never invited you on our camping trips,” Carson says to me. “You’re almost as bad as Jess when it comes to leaving modern conveniences.”

  “I’ve been good since we got here.” Jess playfully shoves Carson’s chest. “I haven’t complained once.”

  “Babe, you practically cried when we arrived and you lost your cell service.” Carson laughs and traps her arms behind her back to kiss her.

  “Losing contact with civilization isn’t a little thing. At least I can handle a hike without crying, unlike Imogene.” Jess grins at me.

  I feel a spark of heat on my cheeks. “You told everyone about our hike?” I turn to Cooper, who drops his head with a small smile and a curse.

  “That was weeks ago. Yes, I told a few people … about the entertaining parts,” he confesses. “But I told them you were a very good sport about managing one of the worst trails.”

  “We had to climb over thorny bushes, and there were hornets!” I say defensively to the group.

  “There were.” Cooper moves behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my head. “If the thought of going without a hot shower for two days is too much for you, I’ll drive you to the nearest motel tonight.”

  “Oh, shut up,” I quip, but the solidity of his embrace has already cooled my irritation. I figure I should be able to handle a little humiliation among my friends, especially since I’m the one who usually doles it out to them.

  We call it an early night since the sun has set, and when it’s dark in the woods and you don’t have a bonfire, music, or alcohol, the only other thing to do is go to bed. I wouldn’t have minded if we had brought wine or something stronger to enjoy while we roasted marshmallows, but since Lauren can’t drink now, Dylan doesn’t consume any alcohol because of his strong meds, and Cooper doesn’t really drink at all, it seemed inconsiderate to bring any alcoholic beverages. The upside is no one will wake up with a hangover, and we can connect with our early pioneer roots by going to bed before nine and entertaining ourselves the old fashioned way—with sex.

  Cooper turns on the LED lantern in our tent and zippers the two sleeping bags together on the air mattress.

  “Why didn’t we bring sheets and blankets instead of the sleeping bags?” I ask, admiring how his arms flex and look taut even while doing a simple task like working a zipper.

  “Sleeping bags are better at keeping snakes out of your bed.”

  “Snakes?” I panic and jump up on my knees while I search the tent floor for anything that moves.

  Cooper chuckles. “I’m kidding. Kind of. Make me happy and get naked.”

  “Hello, you can’t mention snakes and think you can seduce me at the same time.”

  Once he flips back a corner of the sleeping bag, I climb into it fully clothed. Cooper strips off his T-shirt and jeans and then crawls towards me with a sly smile, wearing only his boxer briefs.

>   “Baby, you need to take off your clothes, and then I’ll help you relax.”

  Taking a deep breath, I decide, if he can hypnotize me with that voice and that body, he can certainly coax a snake out of our bed. Then I undress so fast I cause the rubber mattress to bounce like a waterbed and crash into Cooper. My clumsiness doesn’t obstruct his careful choreography as he settles himself between my thighs and hooks my legs over his shoulder.

  For a fleeting moment, I realize I am naked in the scary dark woods, but then I’m riveted on Cooper’s expression. He meets my eyes with a mixture of fierce desire and adoring tenderness, the effect heady. I give myself over completely, relinquishing every muscle and limb for Cooper to do as he wishes.

  “I missed you,” he says seductively to my vagina, not me. He’s studying it appreciatively, as though he’s contemplating what he’ll do next. It could be embarrassing, but my vagina is open for business and ready to dance on the tables to get this sailor to go to town on her.

  “She missed you, too. Now get busy!” I whisper. “And don’t talk to my genitals like you’re a pubescent boy.”

  “I was talking to you, Imogene.” He rises on his knees, hoisting my legs and hips with him.

  “Oh.” Now I feel embarrassed. What woman goes off on a guy she’s excited to see just because she’s horny as hell? Me, that’s who.

  “Christ, I’m going to take care of you. Don’t you know I’ve been going out of my fucking mind waiting to be with you again?” He licks my clit and looks down at me.

  “Yes, you missed me. Yes, keeping touching me like that,” I say with a tremble.

  Cooper trails soft kisses along the insides of my thighs, sending arousing heat directly to the center of my physical being. At this moment, it’s a slow odyssey to the palace of everything holy and gratifying.

  While my hips naturally undulate, seeking more from him, he takes his time with teasing caresses, his lips and fingers pleasuring me until my thoughts are a frenzied blur. Then I begin reaching for the crescendo, and my thighs tense and tighten around Cooper’s head. I don’t care if I’m strangling him as long as I get my first class ride to Wonderland. However, his strong hands keep my legs up and apart so he can finish the task at hand, and boy, he doesn’t miss a step, even with my wild, bucking hips.

  “Yez, yes, yez,” I mumble frantically.

  I feel his hot breath against my thighs, and then he goes in for the finale, sucking so hard my arms flail around, pounding the mattress. He successfully hits the trip wire and the rocket launches, my whole body thrumming with pure ecstasy. I scream his name as I fall into oblivion.

  It takes me a moment to come out of it and gather some semblance of composure. My legs are still hooked over Cooper’s shoulders as he kneels, looking down at me with a bemused expression.

  “You screamed,” he says with a smile. “You screamed my name. Very. Loudly.”

  “Oh,” I exhale. “It was worth it.”

  I don’t know when or how he put the condom on; I must have been paralyzed in that splendid rapture for longer than I thought.

  “My turn.” He slides partially into me, holding my legs up and angling himself into position.

  His cock stretches me and stops midway.

  “I think you’ve grown since I last saw you,” I say, amazed that he can feel too large.

  “Mmm, it’ll fit.” He thrusts his hips hard, his cock filling me. We both moan, and then he pulls out slowly before pushing back in slowly and methodically.

  I watch him, fascinated with his graceful hip thrusts and swivels as he moves in and out of me with incredible control and restraint. What this man can do on the dance floor is nothing compared to the erotic, graceful slides and glides he does with his hips and cock. He keeps it up for a while, filling me completely as my core grows wetter, begging him for more.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He looks at me then his eyes close and his head rolls back, enjoying the friction between our bodies. I wonder how long he can hold out and keep his climax at bay.

  Not long.

  It’s like someone flipped a switch; Cooper begins pounding into me with savage desire. He watches where our bodies connect, his expression turning feral as he goes on a raging crusade to fill me, striking the sensitive target. I appreciate his precision, and in a matter of seconds, I’m falling through another rabbit hole, a mindless mess as he hammers into me.

  His climax is explosive. He inhales and exhales loudly with intermittent grunts and then loses his grip on my legs. He drops to his hands and finishes coming with a few short jerks.

  “Damn.” He’s breathing hard, his eyes consuming me like they own me. For this moment, I feel like I own him. I know lust when I see it, and this feels like love.

  If I ever thought I could fully love a man, I hope that man is Cooper. I hope this eventually leads to more.

  Twenty-Three

  “Rise and shine!” Lauren sings outside our tent as the morning light barely breaks.

  “No,” I mumble.

  “Is she always this peppy in the morning?” Cooper asks, half-asleep.

  “Yes. It’s the only reason I ever made it to classes or work on time.”

  Lauren begins another round of our old Rise and Shine camp song with the addition of banging pots.

  “Shut up!” Jess’s voice shouts angrily at Lauren from another tent.

  “We have to get up.” Cooper kisses my cheek and does a push up to spring to his feet. I find myself staring at his nakedness longingly. “I promised Leo we’d hit the fishing early this morning.”

  “So why do I have to get up early?”

  “To entertain Lauren. It’s her day, too.”

  “I suppose, as maid of honor, I should be grateful that I got off easy with no bachelorette party. I think we’re walking down to the lake for swimming and sunbathing.”

  “I hope we make it back in time to witness that. I’d like to see you in a bikini.”

  I search for a pair of shorts and a shirt. “I think you want to find another place to have sex with me,” I say as we both get dressed.

  “Damn, you’re on to me.”

  Everyone except for Lauren and Leo looks exhausted and disheveled. Jess appears in pajamas and fluffy slippers, getting a chuckle out of Dylan who is already cooking up breakfast. Jess shuffles over to Carson and sits on his lap, looking as if she’s falling back asleep.

  I sip the strong, bitter coffee Leo hands me and perch myself next to Cooper on the same log from the night before, leaning sleepily into him. Dylan and Emma hand out plates of eggs and bacon, and then Dylan settles himself next to me with a little too much energy.

  “For a moment last night, I was worried you were being attacked by a bear,” Dylan says to me, trying not to smile. “But then I assumed Cooper came to your rescue. Yes, I’m quite positive that’s what I heard.”

  “Never talk to me before six in the morning. I’m tempted to cause you physical pain.”

  Cooper smiles and kisses my temple. “You tell him.”

  “When did you know it was the real thing with Carson?” I ask Jess. I’m flat on my back, basking in the morning sun as Jess applies a heavy layer of sunblock to her fair skin.

  After the men left with all their fishing gear, we spent another hour sitting around the campsite, drinking coffee. Then I led the lazy charge down to the lake with our lounge chairs and beach towels.

  Jess props up the wide, flimsy brim of her sun hat and looks at me, stunned. “You’re asking me for relationship advice?”

  “It’s hard to believe, I know, especially since I recall lecturing you about Carson two years ago. Times have changed, and you appear to be the epitome of a happy marriage, so I’m curious as to how you knew he was the one.”

  “Oh.” Jess puts down the sunblock and looks out at the quiet lake. “For me, it was after a few arguments with Carson that left me feeling kind of sick. We could say something and unintentionally hurt one ano
ther. I didn’t want to hurt him; I wanted to love him. I wanted to fix everything I felt I did wrong. One day, I stopped being afraid to let myself fall in love with him. The minute I did that, it felt right, and I was so much happier.”

  “Is it easy, or do you still have big fights?”

  “Sure, we argue. A while ago, we had a ridiculous argument over mustard.”

  “You argued over what kind of mustard to buy?” I ask testily. I should know better than to ask Jess about her marriage. She’s off the charts when it comes to everything atypical.

  “No, we argued about where to put the mustard. Carson is a foot taller than me, and I tend to put everything at my eye level in the fridge. Then he can’t find things. The mustard fight was really about other stress in our life, but that didn’t come out until we said a lot of stupid things about mustard and condiments in general.”

  “What are you two stressed out about?”

  “Carson wants me to quit my job with 5 Alpha and take a license deal on a software package I wrote the code for to sell it myself.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Carson, asking you to quit working.”

  “He didn’t. He wants me to spend more time on my painting and make it a full-time career, even if the work doesn’t always sell.”

  “So how did you two make up after that fight?”

  “Carson said something brilliant. He told me to stop chasing money out of fear and start believing in my passion because he’s there to catch me if I fall.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “And he’s right. He said marriage isn’t one-sided; we’re both in it and need to help each other through anything and everything. It’s easy to laugh about the mustard fight now, especially since being married means you’re going to have a lot of issues like that.”

  “You already work from home, so what happens when you don’t have any contact with all those tech people you work with? Won’t you get lonely?”

  “I have freelance work with Carson’s company and other businesses, but he’s cutting back, too. That’s why he turned over a lot of his responsibilities to Cooper. Carson plans to get his work schedule down to four days a week, no more working six or seven days. Then he can be home at least three full days and I can do the other four.”