The Athlete

by Elin Peer

  “Wow, you know big words for a soccer player.” Hunter turned on his side to face me. I mirrored the way he was resting his head on his forearm and made a serious face. “I also know that the whales would go deep down into the ocean where it’s cold, and every time they came up again, they brought some of that cold water with them. When the number of whales shrank, it affected the temperature of the oceans. With warmer water, icebergs as big as countries melted and caused sea levels to rise. Whole islands disappeared and ancient bacteria that had been caught in those blocks of ice was released.”

  Hunter’s eyebrows drew close and we were quiet for a moment before I spoke in a soft voice. “Some people think that the Toxic War might actually have saved us. Did you know that?

  “That’s nonsense. The Toxic War almost destroyed us.”

  “True. But you can’t argue that it made us reconsider how we live our lives. We’re down to one point five billion people, and at least in the Motherlands every citizen is focused on restoring the planet rather than destroying it. I read a long article that resonated with me. People often forget that before the war the earth was overpopulated and humanity was redesigning their own biology. Not only did we, the survivors and their descendants, manage to reverse many of the environmental problems that were created by our ancestors, they were also more cautious about what technology to keep. It’s only recently that brain implants have come back.”

  “You make it sound like we’re better off because of the war, but we still have a long way to go.”

  “We’ll get there.”

  “Not in our lifetimes. There is no way they can bring back every extinct animal or restore every inhabitable part of the world.”

  “True, but as long as each generation is smarter and kinder than the last, there’s hope.”

  “And who’s going to make sure of that?” He gave me a teasing smile. “You admitted already that you’re not very nice for a Motlander and I get grumpy all the time when people annoy me. Especially when they make me eat mud.”

  I returned his smile and felt my pulse quickening. “Good thing that we’re not the ones raising the next generation, then.”

  “One day, I will be.” Hunter was looking straight at me. “You know that I want to have children.”

  My neck flamed up from the intensity in his gaze. Suddenly I remembered his words from earlier tonight and in a low mutter, I asked, “Hunter, what did you mean when you said that you feel possessive of the woman you were with in the sex club?”

  I could see his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “Ehh… I just meant that I hate the idea of her being with another man.”

  “But you don’t even know her. She could be anyone.”

  He didn’t answer me.

  “It’s not like you would be able to recognize her.” My heart was thumping as I whispered the next word, “Right?

  “I know what she feels like.”

  It was my turn to be quiet, and only the sounds of Jonah’s and Mila’s deep breathing filled the night air. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that they were still sleeping in a cuddled-up position.

  “Trust me, Ema, I would recognize her.”

  I turned back to see Hunter still looking at me. Being so close to him took me back to our night together and even though the night air was chilly, I was suddenly feeling hot under the blanket. I needed to confess to him, but it was easier said than done and maybe now wasn’t the right time. What if he got furious? Maybe it was better for me to tell him when we got back home. “What if she looks different than you imagined?”

  “She won’t.”

  “She might.” Feeling unable to look deep into his eyes any longer, I turned on my back again and took in the impressive starlit sky.

  Next to me, Hunter groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. “Fuck this, I’m too tired to play this game with you.”

  The inevitable question flew out of my mouth, “What game?”

  CHAPTER 20

  Game Over

  Hunter

  I was tired from a long and emotional day.

  Seeing my sister marry Solo had been hard enough, but keeping an eye on all the other single males at the party and making sure no one made a move on Emanuela had just about killed me.

  They had no idea that I’d slept with her only three days ago and I couldn’t tell them since she didn’t think that I knew.

  Geez, and now this.

  Lying close to her under a blanket with my heart hammering and my instincts to claim her roaring inside me, every small stroke of her body against mine made everything tingle inside me.

  “What game?”

  I had heard her the first time, but doubting that she was ready to hear the answer, I kept quiet.

  “Hunter, what are you talking about? What game?”

  Emanuela was paler now, her head spinning so fast I could see it in her eyes.

  This was it!

  If I told her I knew, she might get embarrassed and pull away from me. That was the last thing I wanted.

  “Are they sleeping?” I lifted my head to look over at Jonah and Mila.

  “Yeah. What game, Hunter?” By now Emanuela had pushed herself up to sit on the lounge chair. It was a bad sign and intuitively I knew she would bolt if I admitted to knowing that she was the woman I’d made love to in the sex club, so I improvised.

  “The question game. I’m too tired for it.”

  Emanuela’s shoulders were tensed up already, but my words made her stiffen. “What question game?”

  “You asking me questions all the time. I’m too exhausted to answer.” I sat up too and pointed to Jonah and Mila. “I wish I could cuddle up like that with my woman. I wish I mattered enough to her that she’d want that too.”

  Emanuela’s head turned and we both took in how Jonah’s head was resting on top of Mila’s hair, his mouth slightly open and his hand around her shoulder.

  “Why does it get to be so easy for them? They only met this morning. Look at them.”

  Emanuela was quiet so I continued, “How many nights have we been sleeping in the same bed? We never did that.” I sighed.

  “I didn’t think you wanted to cuddle.”

  “Did you?”

  “I’m a Motlander, Hunter. I can do closeness.” The way she swallowed hard gave me an inkling that she wasn’t as relaxed about it as she wanted me to believe. “As long as you don’t get possessive about me because we’ve cuddled, I’m happy to do it.”

  I lay back down and let my arm fall to one side as an invitation. “I can’t promise you that.”

  Emanuela hesitated. “It’s just sleeping together, that’s all.”

  “I know.”

  “It doesn’t mean that I want to marry you and have children with you.”

  “I know.”

  “Okay.” In a slow movement she lay down and placed her head on my arm. Her body was still a bit stiff but as we lay without speaking, she relaxed a bit.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered.

  “Uh-huh. Just tired. Would you mind if I turn on my other side?”

  “No.”

  Emanuela always fell asleep on her side. Turning her back to me, she still had her head resting on the top of my arm.

  “Do you mind if I lie on my side too?” I muttered.

  “Of course not.”

  The moment I turned to spoon her, I knew it was a bad decision. With her head resting on my right arm, my front against her back, and my left arm now wrapped around her, I almost came in my pants. She smelled so good and she fit my body like we’d been made for each other.

  Closing my eyes, I breathed her in.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “Yes.” There was no way she couldn’t feel my erection pressing against her backside. I was aware of every nerve ending in my left hand as it rested on top of her hipbone.

  Don’t move your hand. Don’t fucking move it, I kept telling myself, but the craving for her made me press my fingers against her just a lit
tle.

  Feeling like a fucking bomb about to explode, I pushed against her, remembering every part of how sweet it had been to make love to her three days ago. The short feeling of friction made me almost lose my mind and with my heart racing my breathing changed. I was trying hard to hide it by holding my breath, but with my pulse speeding and my lungs filling quickly, I had to exhale eventually and it wasn’t a calm relaxed type of breathing.

  Emanuela turned her head. “Are you sure that you want to do this?”

  I was done pretending that we weren’t attracted to each other. “I’m not Jonah. I can’t be this close to you and not want to have more,” I admitted in a gruff voice. “I’m so fucking turned on right now that I’m in pain.”

  I was half expecting some sharp reply, but Emanuela’s answer came as a whisper, “We can’t have sex.”

  After a long and slow exhalation, my hand tightened around her hipbone as if rebelling against my brain’s order to let her go.

  “We don’t have any protection, Hunter.”

  “Protection?” I blinked my eyes trying to decipher what she had just said. Was she considering having sex with me? I cleared my throat. “And if we did have protection, then what?”

  Her ass pressing back against me gave me my answer.

  If my pulse had been running fast before, it was now fucking sprinting. I moved my hand under the blanket and inside her shirt. The feeling of her warm skin against my fingertips made my reptile brain take over. Pressing my mouth against her neck, I kissed her while I let my free hand slide up to cup her right breast.

  Emanuela gave a quiet moan, and placing her hand on top of mine she pressed it down as a signal for me to use more force. I played with her nipples and bit her earlobe.

  Her body began pushing back against mine in a rhythmic bump and grind movement.

  More, I want more!

  My one-track mind was in control and it ruled my hand when I moved it down to pull up her dress.

  “Spread your legs for me,” I whispered in a low rusty voice so full of lust that I could hardly speak.

  Emanuela’s breathing was similar to mine and she did what I wanted, moaning as I opened her folds and slid two fingers up and down.

  We were facing Mila and Jonah and for some perverted reason it excited me that Emanuela was willing to take the risk of being discovered. She had hidden behind anonymity the first time but I wanted everything out in the open from now on. Still, I was smart enough to know that if Mila and Jonah woke up, Emanuela and I would have to stop what we were doing. That’s why we had to keep as quiet as possible as to not wake them.

  “Mmm.” Her sweet moans had my cock screaming to be released, so I took a second to open my pants and let him spring free before I returned to playing with her sweet body.

  The control I felt was exhilarating. Emanuela was giving in to me and her panting intensified as I fingered her. Even the blanket couldn’t dampen out the sounds of how wet she was at her core and how my fingers worked in and out of her.

  My whisper was raw and dripping with my lust. “Are you pretending it’s my cock doing this to you?”

  She didn’t answer me. Her head was leaning back against my right collarbone, her eyes closed but with an expression that would resemble pain to anyone who didn’t know what was happening under the blanket.

  “Put your hand on my cock.”

  Emanuela moved her hand back and at the first stroke, I moaned into her hair.

  Her hand was too small to reach all around my cock but the feeling of her soft hand on me stroking up and down had me so distracted that I forgot to move my own hand.

  “Do you like it?” she whispered, out of breath, and turned her head to look at me.

  Her mouth was right there and I kissed her while moving my right hand into her hair. “Uh-huh, it feels fucking amazing!” This was new territory for me and it took me a minute to find the rhythm of moving my hips to fuck her hand, while at the same time giving her finger, and kissing her.

  A sound from the other lounge chair had us both stopping like someone had pushed a pause button.

  Jonah turned on his side toward Mila and his left leg lifted over hers.

  Emanuela and I both held our breaths but as soon as everything was quiet again she licked my upper lip with a playful smile. I pulled her around and rolled on top of her, pushing her dress up.

  “No.” Her palm pushed at my chest. “Not without protection and not with them here.”

  I kissed her. “Then let me spoon you again. I won’t penetrate you.”

  “Promise?”

  “Uh-huh.” I got behind her and let my cock glide between her thighs while my fingers returned to play with her clit.

  Emanuela was like clay in my hands and responded to every touch.

  “Yes… oh yeees.” I had to cover her mouth when she moaned too loud and at the same time it made my balls all hard and ready to fire.

  “Oh, Hunter, yees.” Her words were muffled behind my hand as her rocking movements got stronger and she rotated her hips, making her slick entrance flirt with the tip of my cock.

  Don’t go there. You promised her!

  It took everything in me to not enter her when she pushed herself against me again. She had to know what she was doing.

  “Ahhh.”

  “Shhh…” I pressed my hand tighter against her mouth and it made her breathe through her nostrils while her eyes locked with mine.

  Neither of us was thinking clearly and when she rotated her hips again, I let it happen. Emanuela had control and I just breathed in and out to steady my heart as she pressed herself down over the tip of my cock. The sensation of thousands of nerve endings activated and, sending shocks of pleasure to my brain, made me gasp out loud.

  I wanted to fuck her as much as I wanted my next breath of air, but the thought that she might regret it penetrated the madness. “What about protection?”

  Emanuela closed her eyes and released my cock. “I’m sorry. It just felt so good.”

  I groaned into her hair. “I know but we can get off without…”

  The last of my sentence was never spoken because at that moment, a loud yawn came from the other chaise lounge followed by Mila’s drowsy voice. “Does anybody know what time it is?”

  I was closest to Mila and having my back to her I was shielding Emanuela from her sight. It was dark and we had a blanket over us, but how much had Mila heard?

  “Ehh… I don’t know.” I tried to make my voice sound as normal as possible while Emanuela pulled her dress down and I tucked my cock back in my pants.

  From the way Mila was speaking, it sounded like she was half asleep and I imagined she still had her eyes closed. “Are you okay sleeping out here or do you want to go inside?”

  “This is fine. I like it out here.”

  Mila gave another long yawn. “What about Emanuela, is she sleeping?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. She fell asleep right after you and Jonah.”

  “Good.” Mila moved a little and went back to sleep.

  I wanted more from Emanuela, but without protection this was getting too dangerous and Mila’s waking up had sobered me a bit. “We’ll continue this when we have some protection,” I whispered to Emanuela.

  She turned her head and kissed my shoulder. “Okay.”

  A quick glance at my wristband told me it was close to four in the morning.

  “Sleep, beautiful.”

  I pressed a kiss against her jawline and just held her in my arms for a while. With my body snuggled up against Emanuela, I had almost managed to fall asleep when I heard her whisper, “Are you awake?”

  I made a small noise. “Uh-huh.”

  “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  My eyelids were heavy, my breathing calm.

  “That woman you had sex with in the club.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “That was me.”

  I smiled and pulled her closer to me. “I know, Ema. I know.”

  CHAPT
ER 21

  Breakfast

  Emanuela

  “Your nose is cold.”

  Flickering my eyes open, I saw Hunter’s face close to mine. He had soft crinkles at the edge of his eyes and the way he looked at me took my breath away. Pure happiness glowed from him and butterflies filled my stomach.

  For a long moment we didn’t speak. We just lay there smiling at each other. I’d always found Hunter’s green eyes spectacular with the specks of blue and gray that seemed to come and go depending on his mood. He had thick black lashes and his eyebrows were… “Do you get your eyebrows plucked?” It just flew out of my mouth.

  Hunter’s smile faltered. “Did you just ask me if I get my eyebrows done?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t. Why? Is there something wrong with them?”

  Lifting my hand, I let my thumb slide over his right eyebrow. “They’re perfect.”

  “Thanks. Is that something women care about?”

  “I guess some women do.”

  “Huh!” Amusement played in Hunter’s eyes. “That’s just another example of how different men and women are. I’ve never heard a single man point out that a woman had nice eyebrows. Tits and ass, sure, but eyebrows…” He shook his head. “Never.”

  Yesterday came back to me, and as my hand slid down over his face and neck to rest on his chest, I bit my lip and looked at his shoulder. “Hunter, do you remember what I told you before we fell asleep?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I met his eyes. “What did I say?”

  “That you were the woman I met at the sex club.”

  “Yes.”

  “And I told you that I already knew.”

  “Yes, and then you fell asleep leaving me with a ton of questions.”

  Using his left hand, Hunter pushed my hair back and tucked it behind my ear. “You want to know how I knew it was you, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I knew from your scent.”

  “You knew the whole time?”

  “Yes, Ema. I knew from before our first kiss. What I still don’t understand is why you did it.” As he said it, a new guarded expression entered his eyes. “Were you just curious or was it more?”