"What can I do?"
"Let's haul this gear up to the trees.” Jeff slung his knapsack with its precious cargo over his shoulder.
Peggy could see that his arm was giving him some pain, so she eagerly pitched in to help. She dragged the equipment they needed from the boat to the spot Jeff had selected and helped organize things.
But Peggy soon proved to be all thumbs with the tent. Jeff took over without remarking upon her “foreign” or “feminine” inadequacies.
Eventually, Peggy gave up trying to help and walked down to the lakeshore. She looked out at the water as the fading sunlight turned it to the colors of molten flows. Or maybe it was her heart that felt as though it had been melted in the past couple of days.
She shook her head ruefully, then cast a glance over her shoulder. For a few minutes, she watched Jeff set up camp to his liking. His shoulder was stiff, she could plainly see. But he worked easily. His strong body was graceful and efficient. Just watching him, Peggy felt a strange thud inside herself. She turned away and frowned at the lake, trying to sort out her feelings.
Now that she was alone with him, she began to realize it was probably the last she'd ever see of Jeff. Inside, she ached with the thought. In time, Jeff brought her some tea poured into the lid of a container.
"Thanks.” She accepted his offering and tried to put on a brave front.
"It's the last hot drink you'll have today,” Jeff stated. “So, enjoy. We can't risk building a fire tonight."
"Will Charlie be able to find us in the dark?"
"Sure, he knows the area. But he may wait until morning now. If he goes out after dark, his running lights will draw attention."
"He'll leave me here, won't he?"
Jeff looked at her, and he must have seen that Peggy wanted only the truth. “Probably. Charlie will take me somewhere and come back for you later. He won't want you following me."
"What about you?"
Jeff sighed. “Peggy—"
"All right, all right. I know you want to disappear with your glow-in-the-dark test tubes.” She lifted her chin, hoping he hadn't guessed how emotional she was feeling. “This is the last I'll see of you then, isn't it?"
Jeff touched her face. A quick brush, that's all it was. But Peggy felt herself react with a quake that electrified her to her toes. Inside, he must have struggled to find the right words. But he looked tired. Peggy could see that.
The lines in his face looked deeply etched. And by the knot in his brow, she could see that his wounds from yesterday were still aching. The last thing he needed now was pressure from an overemotional female.
Contrite for once, Peggy pressed the cup of tea into his hands. “Here. Have some. You didn't take any for yourself, did you?"
He shook his head. “I'm all right."
"I insist. Don't cross me, dude. I can be mighty unpleasant when I don't get my way. In case you haven't noticed."
Jeff smiled a little and accepted the tea. “You're a holy terror, Peggy. But I admire you for it."
Peggy glanced away. Was it possible? A couple of days ago, that kind of praise would have sent her ballistic.
He drank some of the hot tea, watching her. “What are you thinking?"
She shook her head, too wrought up to speak.
He turned her by her arm until she faced him. “Tell me."
"It's nothing.” She kept her head down, but Jeff forced her to look at him.
"Say it,” he commanded.
And his expression compelled her to obey, so Peggy took a deep breath to steady herself. “I-I just—I think you should know that I'm not as-as tough as you think I am."
Jeff didn't laugh. “I know you're not tough, Peggy. You have just felt the need to pretend that you are. Many other women, in many other places, keep making that exact same mistake all the time."
"I wish I could be tough, though! I wish I wasn't such a marshmallow inside, but I am. And with you, the-the marshmallow is closer to the surface! I'm just a soft little thing like a marshmallow."
"I'm glad. It's the part I like best about you. I'll bet they are as delicious as you are."
"Don't.” Peggy turned away. “Don't talk like that, will you? No mushy stuff."
"Well, all right then, no mushy marshmallow stuff. Just the truth. I like you, Peggy. You're an exciting woman. Under different circumstances, things might have been so much better for us.” He moved closer, grasping her shoulders in his hands. “I want more time with you. I want to learn everything about you. I want to talk with you, cook with you, eat with you, sleep with you. I want it all."
"But we haven't got the time. It's all over now before it even got started."
"Not completely over,” Jeff said. “We've got tonight."
Peggy trembled. His low murmur touched a secret place inside her. His body radiated wonderful heat. His hands communicated a delicious strength she couldn't resist.
"It's my fault things have worked out so badly,” Jeff explained softly. “I take full responsibility. I should have chased you off the isle that first day, but I didn't. I could have taken you to the mainland myself, but I didn't do that either.
"I could have done lots of things to end what was happening between us, Peggy, but I couldn't. I should apologize, but I won't. Tonight I'm more sorry I didn't act on what I was really feeling for you."
Frighteningly breathless, Peggy said, “What are you really feeling?"
Jeff bent close so his lips brushed her ear, and his nose ruffled her hair. “Like making love with you. Like taking advantage of this last chance together. I've wanted you, Peggy. I've wanted you so badly that it hurts."
Peggy turned in his arms. “Then, why are we wasting time with all this small talk, then? Talking hasn't gotten us anywhere so far, has it?"
"Peggy..."
"No, none of that noble stuff, please. I want it, too. I want to make love in a hundred different ways, so you'll remember me for the rest of your life."
"And you,” said Jeff, “are going to remember me, my love. This is one night you'll never forget."
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Chapter 10
Jeff's head was filled with fuzzy fantasy. He was too tired to think things through. His body was wide awake, though, and he pulled Peggy hard against him to quench a need which suddenly roared out of his subconscious and into his veins.
He pressed against her, making no secret of his aroused state, of how badly he wanted her. Peggy gasped as she made contact with him. But she met his kiss halfway, her lips warm and soft, trembling just a little.
With a rhythmic nudge, Jeff parted her mouth in one long, searching kiss. He thrust his tongue into the depths of her mouth, running his hands up into the tangle of her long hair and holding her head gently, but firmly.
She held him, too, weaving her fingers into his hair and pouring her soul into the kiss. Her small body arched into his, her soft curves fitting perfectly into his chest, his belly, his thighs, his wonderfully hard penis.
Jeff groaned deep in his throat as a keen rush of desire welled inside him. He needed her, all of her, and quickly. Sweet, vulnerable Peggy. She tried so hard to be bad, but inside, she was so good. She wanted to be tough, but now she followed her heart completely.
Jeff wanted to share in her sweetness. He wanted to find her core, the center of the total woman he'd come to know. Jeff released her mouth, leaving her gasping.
She threw her head back, laughing recklessly, exposing her throat to him. The sound of her happiness acted like a potent aphrodisiac, sending a gush of pure pleasure out of Jeff's heart to the roots of everything male in him.
He kissed her throat, alternately closing his teeth very gently on her skin and pressing his lips against her warm flesh. He was almost incoherent with desire.
"Peggy, my love, you're making me crazy. Stop before I hurt you."
"You won't hurt me.” Her voice quivered with wonder, and her eyes shone with a wild radiance. “Teach me. Everything, please!"
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He laughed raggedly. “A hundred different ways?"
"Yes, and more!"
With one hand, he found the hem of her blouse and moved inside, murmuring to her in nonsensical whispers. Her swelling breast was perfectly fitted for his cupped hand, and his fingers found her erect nipple instinctively. He squeezed and rolled the little bud, then suddenly wanted to taste her.
He pulled Peggy down to kneel in the grass and quickly worked her top off. The pale sunlight bathed her two bare breasts in a warm glow. Jeff pressed his mouth to one, then the other. Peggy's soft cries spurred him to suckle her endlessly.
In a matter of heartbeats, Jeff knew he was out of his mind. He wanted to tear her clothing off to find the warm center of her body. He longed to push her down and take her with all the ferocity of a wild animal.
He felt the stiffening breeze off the lake on his hot skin, and realized she had stripped him of his shirt. His fingers fumbled at his belt.
"My God.” He choked on a desperate laugh. “I'm going to take you right here in the grass. This is no good. I'll scare the hell out of you."
"No one scares the hell out of me.” She panted and laughed at the same time.
A pink blush burned on her cheeks, her chest quivered as she gasped for breath. Jeff snatched her into his arms. She was as light as an angel, and he carried her up the hillside to the grove of trees.
Peggy's hair tangled around his head. Her perfume was intoxicating. The sparkle of her eyes dazzled him, her bare skin teased his chest. The sight of her full, upturned breasts filled him with unbelievable desire.
"How did I hold out this long?” Jeff growled.
"I don't know, I don't know,” Peggy breathed.
He unfurled the sleeping bag with a snap and opened it wide. Kneeling before her then, Jeff began to undress Peggy. He removed her shorts, and then her thong panties. His hands were shaking, though, and he wanted to cover every millimeter of her skin with kisses, lavish her beautiful body with caresses.
Progress was slow, but in time, Peggy stood in the fading glow of sunlight, her skin looking like a pearl, her long brown hair blowing like a cloud around her shoulders, teasing her bare, fully-swollen breasts. She looked beautiful standing there completely naked, and for a moment, Jeff drank in the voluptuous vision she made.
Then he cupped her buttocks and drew circles on her flesh, using his hands and mouth to tease the timid shadow from her sparkling brown eyes. He licked and nipped, calling up every trick to make her join him in the urgent quest for fulfillment.
She shivered at first, then small sounds began to escape her throat and she strained against him. Soon, she gripped his shoulders with her hands, urging Jeff to delve deeper still with his tongue. He did so.
He then used his fingers to part a path inside her moistening depths, finding and concentrating on her special G-spot. When he knew for certain that she was ready, he drew her down to the sleeping bag. Watching his face, settling trustingly into his arms, Peggy obeyed his silent, all-powerful commands.
He lay on his back and she climbed on top of him, impaling her entire being as she lowered her dripping-wet body onto his wondrous hardness. He filled her vagina completely, and she rocked back and forth in a slow and steady rhythmic motion. Then he carefully moved her off of him, but only for an instant.
She laid back and eagerly parted her thighs when he opened them with his knee. She helped him guide his completely erect penis, so much larger and lasting longer than any other man's possibly could. She wound her slender arms around his neck and pulled him down, breathing in excited bursts.
"Let me touch you.” She reached under and around for his sperm-filled scrotal sac.
Jeff shuddered with desire as her gentle hand closed around him there. But he shook his head. “No, don't. Any more of that, and I won't be able to stop from finishing. I don't want to disappoint you, Peggy. We'll take it slow. You've got to want me to remain inside of you more than anything, my love."
"I'll die without you, Darling,” she rasped. Her warm brown eyes were dilated and beautifully liquid. Beneath him, her body moved in an urgent undulation.
He could feel her muscles trembling. The sight of her heightened arousal sent fiery bolts of excitement along his nerve endings. Unable to restrain himself, Jeff moved to enter her again. “I want you, too. I can't hold back. Next time, I'll make it good for you, Peggy, I promise, but please—"
He thrust inside and felt Peggy tighten exquisitely around him. Her whole body tensed, then arched. Jeff froze, thinking he had hurt her. But when Peggy cried out, he knew it was not pain, but total pleasure that caused the sound from her throat. His large and powerful entry alone had sent her over the edge.
She convulsed around him, her face in ecstasy as the quick, unexpected second climactic release seized her. In that moment, Jeff knew Peggy was his forever. Her expression—wild and abandoned and totally feminine—would be indelibly etched in his mind.
He marveled at her, how instinctively she needed, how freely she gave her body to him. Her passion engulfed him, her spirit invaded him. She was binding herself to him, giving herself completely, responding without reservation. From that instant forward, he was tender. Gone was the need to just thrust, to just bury himself inside her. He hushed her cries with kisses.
He moved gently and sank deeply inside her with each succeeding stroke. Nothing could have stopped him at that moment. Their breathing became synchronized, their quiet exclamations simultaneous. Jeff was more male and masculine than ever before. He was the conqueror taking his prize. She was owned completely by him, forever.
And when at last their passion reaching its zenith, the sun seemed to flicker on the horizon and give a final burst of clear, bright light which entered Jeff's heart and burned along his veins. Peggy called his name. And he thrust one final, total, stupendous time into her, exploding his soul all the way deep inside his woman.
Hours might have passed thereafter. But as dusk grew around them, Jeff was warm and secure and stronger, somehow. The only sound he could hear was Peggy's quick breathing. She shifted against him and blew a sigh along his hairline. She breathed some words into his ear, the same three words that seemed to beat in his heart.
"I love you."
But Jeff didn't say them back to her. And in a while, he wasn't sure Peggy had said them, either. When he rose up on one elbow and looked at her face, stroking a few strands of hair off her forehead, he saw a smile trembling on her mouth and bright tears glistening in her eyes.
On a painful breath, he began, “Peggy, my love—"
"Don't say anything.” She touched her fingertips to his lips. “Don't spoil it."
He kissed the tears away from her closed eyes. “Did I hurt you?"
"You tortured me,” she whispered, caressing his face. “By making me want you so much. Oh, Jeff..."
He grinned. “'Oh, Jeff?’ What does that mean?"
She turned a stronger smile up at him. “It means I'm yours for as long as you'll have me. This is wonderful.” Lazily, she writhed against him with unintentional provocativeness. “When can we do it again?"
He laughed. “My dear, as usual, you have the tact of a professional combat mercenary. Not for an hour at least, I'm sure. I'll need to rest up for that long a time. You're all right?"
"A little cold,” she admitted.
With a struggle, Jeff managed to get the sleeping bag pulled into place. He slipped in beside Peggy and zipped it partway.
Peggy burrowed closer, her small body warm and female. “Will it always be this nice?” She sounded drowsy and content as she snuggled her head on his chest.
"I don't think so.” He held her. “I don't remember anything nicer."
"Hmm.” She sighed again, her hand straying down his belly to touch him again ... there.
"I like this feeling afterward, too.” Her fingertips lovingly caressed his genitals. “Jeff?"
"Yes?"
"I—I'm glad it's been you,” she whispered. “I neve
r knew anyone I wanted to have this with. But now that you—well, I'm glad I waited for you to willingly give myself to."
Jeff lay silently. He thought momentarily about whether Peggy was pretending she meant it, or not. But then he realized that it really didn't matter one way or the other. He watched the sky as the stars began to shine against the inky blackness of infinity. The Earth still turned on its axis.
Peggy's supple body curled against his and the gentleness of her touch was wonderful. And it was the importance of her words that filled him with desire once again. For a time, he fought the urge. But the lure of Peggy's sweetness was too much. He rolled her onto her back. By starlight, he looked into her eyes. She could feel his incredible penis growing and hardening in her hand.
"I lied,” he said, his voice husky with feeling. “It won't take an hour."
She laughed, and the sound was like music, music that could move all men's souls. He didn't know if her louder and louder moans disturbed any of the creatures of the sky, land, or water. Jeff was most certainly not disturbed by them. And her real and natural climaxes definitely pleased him to no end.
* * * *
In the morning, Peggy was awakened when a cold, misty rain began to splash her face. The daylight surprised her. For a while, she thought the night would go on forever. Her body ached, but it was a delicious kind of pain. Every muscle felt stiff but satisfied. She sat up when she realized she was alone.
"Jeff?"
He had slipped out of the sleeping bag, and she could see him standing near the edge of the lake in the gray dawn. He had pulled on his jeans, shirt, and jacket. And he was watching the horizon to the south. Peggy listened, and in a moment, she could also hear the faint drone of an engine.
Their time was over. Peggy reached for her clothes, which were piled all over Jeff's knapsack. By the time she was dressed in her shorts, Jeff had jogged up to their campsite. Peggy looked up at him from the task of dragging on her shoes but couldn't speak, couldn't ask the question.
Isle of Intrigue Page 16
