by Codi Gary
Damn, I have to get her out of here.
“Because what I have planned is better than that tub.”
Her eyes popped open, and she climbed out. “Not sure that’s possible, but tell me more.”
“I’d rather show you.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Ever notice how really romantic songs always mention moonlight and stars? Makes me think some of you folks looking for love should go camping every night.”- Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Gracie’s heart pounded as Eric killed the headlights and rolled down the back driveway of Rejuvenation Hot Springs.
“This? Your adventure is to sneak onto private property and what?”
Eric put the car in Park and killed the engine, grinning at her in the moonlight. “And I thought we could sit and relax a spell in one of their private tubs.”
“How am I going to relax? You know Mr. Melvin keeps a loaded shotgun right by the door for trespassers! Plus, if he lets that giant Saint Bernard out, we’re toast! That dog weighs more than both of us combined!”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, Gracie Lou, even for you.” He opened his car door and wiggled his eyebrows beneath the gray brim of his beanie. “Besides, it’s not an adventure if there isn’t a bit of danger to it.”
Gracie shook her head but opened her car door and stepped out. She hadn’t done anything like this since she was eighteen and stupid Doug Dooley had talked her into sneaking onto the Andrews’ dairy to do a little cow tipping. Of course, that had ended with the Andrews’ cattle dog, Misty, chasing them both off the property and Gracie tearing her favorite pair of jeans. That was almost fourteen years ago. She was a grown-up now. You didn’t trespass, and you didn’t go skinny-dipping in the middle of the night like a couple of kids trying not to get caught.
He waited by the hood of his car, his breath fogging in front of his face. “You coming or what?”
“This is a bad idea,” she hissed.
Still, she came up alongside him and let him take her hand. The mood shone bright overhead, lighting their path brilliantly. He led her through the trees to the fence line. It was at least eight feet high, and she had no idea how they were going to climb over…
Suddenly, Eric grabbed a piece of chain link on the bottom and pulled it up at least two feet.
“Go ahead.”
She stared from him to the snow-covered ground in disbelief. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
Gracie could practically hear his eyes roll. “Fine, you hold it for me, and I’ll go first.”
She muttered under her breath but did as he asked. When he stood on the other side, grinning, she jumped a foot in the air as a branch snapped behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, and her imagination took hold. She could swear she saw glowing red eyes and flashes of white teeth in the brush.
“Okay, okay, hold it up for me. I’m coming.”
She dropped to her stomach, gritting her teeth as she army-crawled across the hard, icy earth. Her jacket and shirt rode up, and she wheezed between her teeth as the snow stung her bared skin.
When she finally stood up, she glared up at Eric. “You suck.”
He threw his arm around her with a chuckle. “Come on, the worst part is over.”
Feeling every bit like the criminals they were, Gracie crouched low and followed him across the open yard until they reached one of the private tub buildings.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Eric said.
She snorted. “Except now how are you going to get in there, genius? Aren’t they all locked?”
Eric pulled out his car keys and waved one of them at her. “Which is why one has a key.”
“How did you get that?”
“You don’t want to know,” he said.
Her lips thinned. “Oh, that’s right. You dated Kristy Melvin.”
Before she’d worked up to being good and irritated, he pushed her up against the side of the building. She stared up into his shadowed face in surprise.
“I am here with you, and more to the point, I want to be here. Forget Kristy and any other person we may or may not have hooked up with in the past. Let’s just have fun.”
His proximity was enough to have her nodding and agreeing with whatever he said. When had she become a dopey sap?
He pulled away and unlocked the door, ushering her in. Once the door was firmly closed, he flipped on the light. A yellowish glow illuminated the room, and she wrinkled her nose as the smell of the water rose up with the steam. Hot springs always smelled like a combination of sulfur and river water to her.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked.
“I hate the smell.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you complain a lot?” he asked.
Before she could respond, he unzipped his coat and tossed it aside. His fingers moved nimbly over the buttons of his shirt, and her mouth went dry as he spread the plaid flannel, revealing his lightly furred chest.
He wasn’t even looking at her, so he didn’t catch the way she stared at his abs. She was supposed to be a mature adult, but when he bent over to untie his boots, she found herself standing on her tiptoes to get a better look at the muscles on his back.
He looked up finally, pausing. “You going to just stand there, or are you going to strip?”
Right, she was going to get undressed too, and then they would both be naked. Buck-ass naked, with nothing but hot water between them.
She gulped as she shrugged out of her jacket.
He unsnapped his jeans right before she turned her back on him. She pulled her sweater over her head and heard the sound of the zipper clicking open. Her heart skittered as she listened to the rustling behind her, and couldn’t help looking over her shoulder.
He was just stepping out of his pants, and she felt the burn of a blush on her cheeks as she turned back around. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, slipping the straps down her arms. She was just kicking off her own boots when she heard the splash of water behind her.
God, is he completely naked? It wouldn’t be the first time she and Eric had fooled around, but she’d never seen his complete…package.
“Get the lead out, McAllister. The nights a wastin’.”
She’d been about to wiggle out of her jeans, but she hesitated. “Are you just sitting in there staring at me?”
“No, I’ve got my eyes closed like a gentleman.”
Her lips pursed at his sarcasm. “I’m not removing another article of clothing until you’re doing just that.”
“Hey, don’t act all innocent. I saw you sneaking a peek. Besides, it’s not as though I haven’t seen and tasted you before.”
Gracie quivered remembering her drunken mistake with Eric over a year ago, after Ryan’s bachelor party. “Fine, I peeked, but it’s different for women. So, shut them peepers.”
Eric grumbled, and when she turned a bit, she saw that he did seem to have his eyes closed.
Stripping as quickly as she could before he decided to open them again, she felt her teeth chattering as the cold air ran across her skin, tightening her nipples and raising gooseflesh over her arms and legs. She dipped a toe into the water, forgetting all about the smell as the heat of the enveloped her foot. She stepped all the way in with a sigh and leaned back against the edge of the pool.
Gracie sensed Eric’s movement before she opened her eyes and found him in front of her, squatted down to eye level with her.
“So? Wasn’t such a terrible idea, was it?”
“Hmmm, it does feel good.”
His hands glided over her foot under the water, and before she could ask what he was doing, he was rubbing his thumb deep into the bottom of her arch, making her moan loudly. She hadn’t even been aware how badly her feet hurt.
“God, that feels good.”
His hand skimmed farther up, encircling her ankle with his big hand.
Before she realized what he was about, she found herself pulled under. She thrashed
back to the surface and came up sputtering.
She wiped the water out of her eyes and glared. “You are a jerk!”
He grinned, droplets glistening in his beard. “Come on, it was kind of funny.”
“For you maybe. Now I’ve got super wet hair, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it is like eight degrees outside.”
“Want me to wrap my shirt around your head like a turban to dry it, princess?”
Gracie’s eyes narrowed, and before he could duck, she splashed him in his face. “Take your princess and shove it!”
He wiped at his face, laughing, and when he met her gaze again, she saw the wicked twinkle in his eye. “It’s on.”
“No it’s not!” she squealed, trying to scramble away, but he pulled her back into the water and tugged her against him.
His arms locked around her like steel bands, and when she started to scream, she found her voice muffled against his chest.
“Shh, you don’t want to get caught, do you?”
She shook her head back and forth, and he eased up his grip.
“Good girl,” he said.
For that, she leaned over and bit his chest.
“Ow!”
“I am conceding for now, because sounding the alarm would bring about our mutual destruction. Doesn’t mean I won’t be seeking my revenge on you at a later time.”
He’d released her long enough to rub his chest. “I figured taking a chunk of pectoral muscle with your teeth was revenge enough.”
“Dude, it is going to take at least a month to get this smell out of my hair. You have not begun to feel my wrath.”
He gazed down at her, clear amusement on his face. “Wow. Yeah, no that right there was really terrifying.”
“Shut up.”
Suddenly, he was inches away, his lips taunting her with their proximity. “You know what the best way to shut me up is?”
“Drown you?”
“Kiss me.”
His words were like a caress across her skin, and she sucked in her breath at the sensations they aroused. There was nobody watching, no one to titillate or shock. It was a clear violation of everything she’d lined out for what their relationship would be.
And yet, she found herself leaning in, her eyes fluttering closed…
He must have been moving too, because his mouth crashed over hers, searing her lips like a brand. Gracie moaned and slid her hand over his shoulders to the back of his neck. The hair on his head was growing out, and the hairs tickled her palms as his tongue caressed hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist, a dull ache forming as her sensitive flesh met his warm skin beneath the water.
His hands tangled in her wet hair, pulling her head back and breaking their kiss. When his mouth trailed along the arched column of her neck, she dug her nails into his skin. He growled against her collarbone, and the sound vibrated all the way through her, turning the ache into a throb that left her whimpering with need.
God, how long had she fantasized about this? How many different ways and places had she imagined giving herself over to Eric?
His lips covered her hard nipple, and like everything else Eric did, there was no finesse. No teasing or playful nips and licks. Just raw, animal hunger.
He devoured her roughly, moving to the other breast and removing one of his hands from her hair to massage the neglected mound. She wiggled against him, wanting him inside her, fucking her, and giving her release, but she couldn’t form the words.
Eric released her and came up breathing harshly, staring into her eyes as droplets of water ran down his beard.
Eric’s fingertips skimmed over her collarbone toward her breast. “It’s just the two of us tonight, Gracie Lou. No past. No future. And no one ever has to know.”
Gracie’s heart slammed in a fast, heavy tempo at his words. Without tearing her gaze away, she reached between them and grabbed his cock in her hand. In answer, he was suddenly sitting on the step along the wall of the shallow pool. She removed her legs from around his waist and straddled his hips, planting her feet on the rough pool floor.
He brought her mouth down to his and covered the hand she had wrapped around him.
“Tell me you want this, Gracie Lou. That you want me. This. Now.”
She tried to move his cock where she wanted it, but he stopped her with a tug of her hair.
“I want to hear you say it.”
If Gracie had been in her right mind, she might have told him to get over himself, stop being a caveman, and fuck her.
But the intensity of his dark gaze told her he needed this. Needed her to say that she knew it was him. That she wanted this because it was with him.
And a tenderness for Eric Henderson she’d never known before melted over her.
Holding his face between her hands, she brushed her lips across his, whispering, “I want you, Eric. I want you inside me. Now.”
Gracie gasped as he let go of her hand and hair, and dug his fingers into her hips. She didn’t have time to catch her breath before Eric was pushing inside her, stretching her, and she held on tight to his shoulders as he pulled out a little and pushed farther in. Her eyes closed as he did it again, each time pressing deeper and deeper until she was completely seated.
His voice was guttural, pained, and rougher than she’d ever heard it before.
“Holy fuck. You feel better than I ever imagined.”
Gracie would have laughed or lingered on the fact that he’d fantasized about her too, but he was suddenly moving. No more short and slow; these thrusts were deep, fast, and she cried out as he hit the end of her, lights busting in her vision. The sensation was enough to make her eyes cross, and she could feel her insides hum as her orgasm built.
As her body started trembling and shaking with release, high-pitched cries escaped her. “Oh. Oh ohohohohyesGod…”
He picked up speed, leveraging her hips faster, as though he was a galloping horse.
“Come for me, baby. I wanna make you come so hard.”
Boom, like a lightning bolt had struck her body, she stiffened just as tingles of heat shot down every nerve ending. Her muscles contracted as she screamed, the sound dying slowly as he kept moving inside her, sliding over her aroused flesh and letting her ride the wave of ecstasy just a little longer.
Finally, spent, she sagged against his shoulder, her lips pressing tiny kisses against his skin.
“I’m sorry, did you think we were done?” he asked, outrage evident in his voice.
She turned her head away, resting her cheek on his chest so he wouldn’t see her smile. “We’re not?”
He flexed his hard cock inside her. “Hell no.”
Chapter Twenty
“I never understood why in horror movies, when people are faced with danger, they just stand there. Run you idiots! Run!” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Eric vaguely heard the distant sound of barking, but it was hard to really process much beyond the thundering blood in his ears. As he held Gracie’s soft curves against him, sliding in and out of her warmth, his breathing became ragged. Being with her consumed him. He’d been dreaming of sinking into her, of having her wrapped around him and breaking into a million pieces because of the things he did to her. Because she wanted him.
Now that he had it, he didn’t want to stop. Never wanted it to end.
But he could feel the thread of his self-control snap as she squeezed her muscles around him. Her hips jerked over him, and he sensed that she was close again.
Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and thought of anything else but the slide of her tits against his chest. Of the way his dick vibrated with restraint to the point of pain.
When she mewled loudly, he covered her lips with his and let go. He groaned into her mouth as he came inside her.
He finally pulled away, sucking in air and trying to speak, and realized they hadn’t even talked about birth control. He assumed if she wasn’t on the pill, she would have stopped him, but if he was wrong…
>
“Please tell me you’re on the pill.”
Gracie laughed breathlessly. “A little late in asking, but yeah. We’re good.”
“Good. Good. And I’m clean, if you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t. I trust you not to give me some nasty-ass STD.”
Eric’s chuckle turned into a cough as he realized how dry his throat was. “Ah, you trust me? That’s so sweet.”
She hit his upper arm with the flat of her hand. “You’re ruining the afterglow.”
“Sorry, won’t happen again.” He kissed her neck, and she pulled away with a giggle.
“You’re gonna have to lose the beard,” she said.
His jaw dropped. “What? You want me to give up my beard for you?”
“Yes, it tickles and scratches.”
“Come on, you know you love the beard. You think it’s hot.”
Gracie pursed her lips. “I do, huh?”
“Hell yeah. Didn’t you call me a sexy lumberjack?”
“Ha, in your dreams maybe—”
The deep bay of a dog made them both jerk, and their heads swung toward the only exit to the little shack.
“What is the matter with you, Brutus?” Mr. Melvin’s gravelly voice was loud enough to be heard through the door, but there was no telling how close he was.
“What do we do?” Gracie hissed.
“I’m thinking.”
“This was your idea, Eric Henderson, and if you get us arrested—”
“Quiet, woman!”
Gracie grabbed him by the nipple and twisted. He let out an unmanly yip as she pulled away from him and climbed out of the pool. He didn’t have time to truly admire her small, tight ass or the nipped-in waist above it before he heard heavy breathing outside the shack. The door rattled, and the sound of scratches against the wood told him Melvin had let Brutus out to run the property. Deep growls and whimpers dissolved into frantic barking.
Shit, we really are humped.
Gracie was just pulling her shirt on and faced the door. Her eyes widened, and she turned toward him, glaring and pointing.
