Fighting Absolution

by Kate McCarthy

  “You’re such a sore loser,” I say when she returns with two full schooners.

  Jamie downs the whole glass and sets it on the bar table beside us. “Are you trying to summon my inner bitch, Kyle?” Her brow arcs and damned if she isn’t looking at me with a glimmer of something deeper and darker in her eyes. Something that sets off a tingle of lust down my spine. “Because she doesn’t play nice.”

  God, why does that sound so hot? I rise to my full height so she has to look up at me, a challenge in my eyes. “I can handle anything you bring to the table.”

  Her voice turns a little husky. “Then let’s get to it. Best out of three.”

  Jamie wins the next round and whoops loud, drawing attention. A lot of attention. I don’t miss the eyes that follow her around the table while I walk to the bar. I don’t like it either. Not one single bit.

  I return with a high-end brew. She downs hers again while I sip slowly at mine because I’m the one driving us back to camp.

  “Best of five,” she says, watching as I sink my last remaining ball into the left corner pocket.

  “Nope. We agreed it was best out of three.”

  “There was no agreement. It was simply a suggestion.”

  I shake my head. “The agreement was implied.”

  Her eyes narrow. “No it wasn’t.”

  “Yes it was.”

  “No. It wasn’t.”

  I sigh. Wilful little witch. Maybe I’m not in love with her stubborn parts so much. That particular flaw can go suck a bag of dicks. “Fine.” I hold out a hand, giving in because I’m a sucker. “Best of five.”

  We both shake on it. Settled, she grins and picks up her pool cue. “You’re going down, Kyle Brooks.”

  “Oh contraire, my little babe in the woods. You’re the one going down.” I grab my own cue, chalking the end of it. “And you’re going to love every inch of it.”

  Jamie smirks a little too soon because I win the next game, making that three out of four, while she gets drunker by the minute. I don’t question it. She had a rough day yesterday. There’s nothing wrong with letting loose a little. Or a lot, as the case may be. I’d join her if I wasn’t driving us back to camp tonight, but at least this way I’m able to watch out for her.

  She fights dirty in her attempt to win the next game, even though I’ve already won the bet. When I take a shot, she leans down in my line of vision. Her low-cut top gapes, affording me a glimpse of black lace. Fuck me. My shot goes wild and her head tips back as she laughs. “You’re so easy.”

  I really am.

  Jamie takes her turn, sinking the ball, and when I’m up next, she sits herself on the edge of the table, her ass high and firm in those dark blue skinny jeans of hers. I remember the feel of those cheeks in my hands, so round and supple. Hunger hits me in a dizzying wave. My cock jerks and the shot hits the edge and bounces back.

  “Why didn’t I do this sooner?” she says in a cheeky tone.

  I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of lust. “Because you’re not a total bitch?”

  She laughs and wins the match.

  “Time to go,” I say, finishing off the last mouthful in my glass. All her teasing has left me hot under the collar. I wouldn’t mind returning to a cold dip in the ocean and another beer.

  “How ’bout best out of seven?” she asks, squinting as if the sun is in her eyes.

  “How about no?”

  She sighs. “Who woulda thought?”

  “Thought what?”

  “That underneath that…” she waves a hand over me “…that…” her eyes heat a little, and she blinks and tries again “…that sizeable exterior lies the heart of an old stick in the mud.”

  I take her hand in mine and pull her in behind me as I lead her out the door, a protective gesture, one that brings her close, which only makes the hungering ache in my groin pulse harder. “You have no idea what lies beneath this sizeable exterior of mine.”

  “Maybe you should show me.” Jamie winks and it comes off a little too exaggerated because she’s completely drunk.

  “I would but I’m a total prude.”

  She pfffts me as she climbs inside the Hilux.

  We arrive back at camp, my ears ringing because she played “Dirty Deeds” by AC/DC over and over in the car, singing at the top of her lungs while shaking her head around, her long hair whipping me in the face. I would have got it on video had I not been driving so I could share it with everyone I knew.

  Jamie turns on the battery-operated string lights that she strung around our camp at every site we visited. And after ducking inside the tent, she comes back out with a bottle of sauvignon blanc and a different change of clothes. Something she hasn’t worn before. It’s black and silky, with thin straps and a short skirt that floats around her upper thighs. It’s even sexier than the little number she wore to bed last night. The one that almost made me choke on my tongue. Though this one is in a whole other league. It almost looks a little like a … I squint. “Are you wearing a negligee?”

  “Negligee?” Jamie stops mid-pour and looks down at her little slip, swaying a little. “No. It’s a dress.”

  “No.” I shake my head, my eyes roving over her exposed skin, my body heating so rapidly it’s a wonder I don’t combust into a pile of ash. Her mascara has smudged a little beneath her eyes and she’s braless, her nipples poking through the flimsy fabric. She looks downright sinful, like thick chocolate frosting. “That’s underwear.”

  “Huh.” She tops up two glasses and brings one to me. “Well, what would I know?”

  I accept her offering, wanting to rub the cool glass across my forehead. “Not much, apparently.”

  Jamie tips her glass to mine with a clink before she downs a large mouthful. “Still more than you,” she says, her chuckle husky. “Drink up, Brooks.”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your wicked way with me?”

  Jamie takes another gulp and sets her wine aside before grabbing the handles of my camp chair. She leans in until her nose almost touches mine. “Yes.”

  My breath leaves my lungs in a shudder, my fingers gripping so tight to my wine it’s a wonder the glass doesn’t shatter in my hand. I turn my head and swallow down the entire contents, gasping when I’m finished. I feel the liquid buzz through my blood, but it doesn’t help. Not a single bit. I set my glass aside and face her. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Oh, but I do.” Jamie leans in further, her lips brushing my ear when she speaks. “I’ve been thinking dirty thoughts about you all day long.”

  Sweet baby Jesus. I tip my head back with a groan, my heart thudding an erratic beat. Dirty thoughts are my favourite. It’s like she knows it with the way she bites down on my lobe before drawing back, a sinful look in her eyes.

  “You shouldn’t be saying things like that,” I rasp, even though I want to hear every single one of them in explicit detail.

  “I shouldn’t?” She gives me this smile where her lips tilt up at the corners and her eyes go all hooded, like she knows me. Like she knows what I want. Like she knows exactly how to give it to me. An evil seductress. It’s a side of her I’ve never seen before. And I like it.

  “Jamie.”

  She climbs onto my lap, spreading her legs over mine, surrounding me with heat and exposed skin. “Mmm?”

  “You’re drunk.”

  “No I’m not.”

  “Yes. You are.”

  “No ...” Jamie ducks down and kisses the juncture where my shoulder meets my neck. My cock begins to fill. She nibbles her way upward before reaching my earlobe again. She flicks it with her tongue, making me groan. “I’m not.”

  “We shouldn’t.”

  Her lips tickle my neck, and her hands find their way beneath the hem of my shirt. “No?”

  God, why are you testing me like this? I extricate her hands before they trail their way up my chest. The effort pains me.

  Jamie tugs herself free of my grip and her palms slip beneath my shirt
again, hitting bare skin. God, her touch feels so good. Her fingers glide over my chest and I begin to unravel. My hips roll and thrust upward. “Jamie.”

  She rubs herself against my hardening cock. “You want me.”

  “I do,” I admit, taking a deep shuddering breath. There’s no denying it. “So much. But not with you drunk like this. You don’t know what you’re doing.” I might have a dirty mind, and I might have been thinking about what I want to do to her for longer than I care to admit, but I’d prefer her sober, at least. I’d prefer her to know who she’s sleeping with.

  Jamie looks at me with eyes that seem suddenly clear. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “Do you really? Because I’m not a saint,” I caution in a hard voice, my body pulsing with need and my resolve tumbling like a deck of cards. “If you come at me like this, don’t expect me to do the right thing.”

  “Why do you think I drank so much tonight? Because I want this and I don’t have the damn courage to ask any other way. I don’t want you to do the right thing. I want you to be dirty.” She shifts closer, her voice dropping to a husky whisper. “I want you to be rough. I want to feel you until I can’t feel anything else, and I—”

  Her words break off when I fist her hair and bring her face to mine, my lips seizing hers. She opens her mouth, and my tongue rubs with hers. The kiss is hard and deep and a little furious, the need for more making both of us desperate.

  My hands grab her hips, yanking her closer, my palms sliding across the delicate silk fabric of her negligee. Hers slide in my hair, fisting and tearing at it. My heart is slamming against my ribs when I pull back, drawing a rough moan from her lips.

  “Get this off,” she rasps, grabbing at my shirt.

  I lean forward a little, tugging it over my head. It’s flying across our campsite when I kiss her again. She smells so damn good. Sweet and fresh, like fruity wine.

  Her palms rub the bare skin of my chest while mine slide upward along her bare thighs, our kiss becoming more frantic the higher they climb. They skim beneath the flimsy black fabric and over lace underwear until I’m gripping her bare hips. Squeezing. Hungry.

  “Your turn,” I breathe against her mouth, tugging at her slip, knowing our camping spot is private enough for no one else to see but me.

  Jamie draws back, lifting her arms as I slide the material up. It glides over her smooth, taut skin as I peel it off, tossing it behind me. It leaves her in nothing but a tiny black lace thong that hugs her skin like gift wrap waiting to be torn off.

  She says something but the words don’t register. My eyes are on her tits. They’re a perfect handful, her nipples a dark, dusky pink. I lick my lips, wanting to run the flat of my tongue over each one in turn, sucking them inside my mouth like the sweetest candy.

  Jamie runs her palms over them, touching them the way I need to. A whimper escapes me, and my voice becomes rough. “You better be sure about this because we’re about to hit the point of no return.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  I slide a hand around her bare back, shivering at the feel of her naked skin. The other splays across her chest, sliding downward, until soft warm flesh fills my palm. “Oh Jesus, you feel so good,” I groan, forgetting how to breathe. I dip my head and a take a nipple between my lips, sucking it deep inside my mouth.

  Jamie lets out a moan, her hips tilting forward. I look up. Her head has fallen back, her eyes glazing over and hair spilling down until it drifts across my knees. She’s so incredibly sensitive. So unrestrained in her pleasure.

  I kiss my way across her chest until her mouth shifts to her other nipple. She gasps, a sweet needy sound that almost breaks me. I draw back with a final lick, leaving reddened beard marks across her beautiful, scarred skin.

  A powerful, primitive surge overtakes me. It’s overwhelming. Intense. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want her, here, right now. “We need to take this somewhere else.”

  Her hands tighten on my shoulders. “Here is good.”

  We have a quiet spot by the beach, nestled between a few shady trees, private from nearby campers. But anyone could walk past. I can hear the voices of other travellers, the clinking of their glasses, their laughter faint.

  I take her ass in my hands and rise from the chair, bringing her with me. She wraps her legs around my waist, her mouth latching on to my neck as I start moving. Her tongue flicks at me with hot, sweeping lashes and I almost stumble.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Tent,” I grunt.

  “The wine!” Jamie stretches an arm out towards the bottle on the little camp table. I walk her over to it. She grabs it by the neck, putting it to her lips and tilting upward, taking a hefty swig. “Mmm, so good.” She kisses me, her tongue sliding in my mouth.

  “You taste delicious.” I jerk my chin at the bottle. “Give me some of that.”

  Jamie tilts it against my lips and wine floods my mouth, heating me from the inside out. She draws the bottle away and I swallow.

  The alcohol slides down my throat as I step inside the tent, my eyes falling to the newly repaired airbed. Fuck. That won’t do. “Grab that towel,” I tell her, jerking my head to the large beach towel hanging from the line. She yanks it free and I take her back outside, setting her down on the grassy patch between the beach and the tent.

  I take the towel, spreading it out before taking the bottle, swigging a mouthful and setting it aside. Then I look at her.

  31

  JAMIE

  Come here,” Kyle says, his voice a rough command. My heart stops. There’s hunger in his eyes, a craving that makes everything that came before this moment just … fall away.

  I walk towards him, my legs unsteady like a newborn foal. He takes my hands, pulling me flush against him. The heat of his body is intense, the press of chest against mine heady. He releases my hands and trails the rough pads of his fingers down my ribcage, his thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts.

  “You like that?” he murmurs.

  I can only nod and moan as he slowly sinks down to his knees before me, his palms sliding down my sides. “Oh god,” I rasp when he presses a kiss to my belly, his tongue flicking at me. His kisses move lower, and his fingers tease along the edges of my thong.

  “Kyle.” My voice is desperate. “Touch me.”

  He tugs the tiny scrap of underwear to the side, baring me to his gaze. He lets out a shuddering breath as his hand fumbles between my legs. Then his thick middle finger rubs against the slick skin. I sway, lightheaded, the pleasure sharp and sweet. I know he feels how wet I am, because his lids lower and his nostrils flare. “God, I need to taste you. So bad.”

  “Please.”

  Kyle ducks his head, fisting my underwear as his tongue flicks out, licking along my seam. My entire body jolts as if zapped by electricity. I gulp in air, panting as my head tips back, my hands clenching in his hair, pulling lightly on the soft strands.

  “So good,” he mumbles against me, licking again.

  His tongue pushes in further, flattening against the hard nub of my clit, rubbing me in slow, steady strokes. I look down and my insides clench. My best friend has his head between my legs. He’s fucking me with his mouth and tongue. We shouldn’t be doing this but it feels wicked and good and I don’t want him to stop.

  But he does. I whimper as Kyle draws back, licking his lips, his hands going to the elastic of my thong. He hooks his fingers in the sides and looks up at me, his eyes glazed and voice a rasp. “Let me take these off.”

  “God, yes, please.”

  Kyle slowly inches my underwear down. He rises to his feet as I step out of them. His muscles bunch as he lifts me and lowers himself down, setting me on my back on the towel. He nudges my inner thighs, spreading my legs and kneeling down in front of me, taking a moment to just look at me.

  “Kyle,” I moan on a long, shaky breath.

  He doesn’t bring his mouth to me. He lifts my hips, bringing me to his mouth as if I weigh less than a feather. />
  “Oh god.”

  Kyle sucks me inside the heat of his mouth and there’s nothing delicate about it. His beard scratches the sensitive skin, and his fingers dig into the backs of my thighs. The night is quiet except for the crashing of the waves against the shore, my panting breath, and the sound of him devouring me, his mouth wonderfully relentless.

  “You like that, Jamie? My mouth on your pussy?”

  His words are crude, but they flood me with fire.

  “God yes,” I pant, rubbing against him, feverish and needy as I ride his tongue. “I need you inside me.”

  He rises up over me, looking down at my face as he slides a thick finger inside. I suck in a sharp breath, an orgasm building slow and steady. My eyes close and he groans. “You want me to fuck you?”

  “Yes,” I gasp, my head tipping back.

  His mouth returns, sucking hard as he slides another finger inside me, stretching, curling, thrusting. “How bad do you need it?”

  “So bad.” My hips rock against his face. “Please.”

  He stands. I watch as he unbuttons his jeans, lowering the zipper, his eyes burning into mine. He tugs them down, along with his underwear, kicking them away. His cock is thick and juts out. I climb to my knees, taking it in hand, feeling the silky hardness. It jerks at my touch, and his hands fist at his sides.

  I lean in, touching my lips to the head. “Jamie,” he mutters, gruff. “I’ll explode if you do that.” My tongue slides around him slowly, and I take him inside my mouth. “Stop.” I don’t. I take him deeper instead, sucking slow and hard. I need this. I need him. “Stop,” he growls, pulling himself free. “On your back. Now.”

  I sink down on the towel, and he drops down over me, his hips between my open legs. He takes his cock in hand and guides himself inside, pushing his way in. Both of us groan as he fills me slowly. Kyle is thick. Big. It’s uncomfortably good. I lift my knees and it seats him deep, so deep I feel the pulse of him inside me. I close my eyes, and he thrusts.

  “Look at me, Jamie.”

  He moves again. A harder thrust. And my eyes open.