by Ali Parker
“Yes!” he answered quickly. “You and the girls?”
I cleared my throat. “No, just me. The girls will be with my mom.”
“Eating cake for breakfast,” he said with a laugh.
“Yes, I’m sure they will.”
“I would love to have you come up for the weekend. Will I see you Friday?”
“I better make it Saturday,” I said, not wanting to push the girls on my mom for the whole weekend.
“Saturday, it is. I look forward to seeing you. Thank you for calling me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up the phone wanting to call you.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You don’t have my number.”
“You’re not that hard to find.”
“I’ll see you in a few days,” I told him, putting the car in drive and moving up.
“I’ll be waiting.”
I ended the call feeling good about things. I was all tingling and my heart was doing a strange dance in my chest. I couldn’t wait to see him. I was glad my mom suggested it. It would give me a chance to get to know the man a little better.
I needed to know if there was a chance it was real or if it was just a passing infatuation.
Chapter 17
Gabriel
I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. I had gotten up early, cleaned my cabin, and made sure there were clean sheets on the bed. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from her visit. To be on the safe side, I had made up the bed in the cabin closest to mine. I didn’t want her to think I was making any assumptions.
Leo had been given strict orders not to come up. As soon as she arrived, I was closing the gate and locking things down. I wanted her all to myself. Maybe she’d go streaking through camp with me. She’d come pretty damn close to it already.
I got a text and quickly checked it. Cadence was close. I did a quick breath check and smelled the minty freshness of the toothpaste I had used after drinking my morning coffee. I planned on kissing her. I hoped she was ready for it.
I waited near the wood sign in the parking area. Her car bounced up the dirt road before pulling to a stop not far from me. I walked to the driver’s side door and opened it for her. I was that eager to see her.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she said, stepping one foot out.
I reached for her hand and helped her out. She was wearing a pair of black leggings, boots that went just over her knee, and a knit sweater that hung over her hips. Her hair was left loose and natural. I reached for the back of her head and pulled her close for a quick kiss.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, releasing her.
“Thank you for letting me come. I hope you didn’t have any plans?”
I shook my head. “None. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I think it’s quieter, if that’s even possible.”
I smiled. “There is no one here. We are absolutely alone.”
She looked around as if to verify my statement. “You stay up here by yourself?”
“I do. With no one around, we can do whatever we want.”
She grinned. “Whatever we want?”
I nodded. “Anything.”
I walked across the parking lot and closed the gate. Now I was sure we were completely alone. Assuming no one jumped the gate.
“Alone,” she said in a soft voice.
I winked. “Alone.”
She opened the back door to grab a small bag. I took it from her, carrying it with one hand and taking her hand with my other. She didn’t pull away. We walked back to my cabin. I opened the door and waited to see if she would go in.
Her green eyes looked up at me. I waited, giving her the chance to ask for different accommodations. “Thank you,” she said and walked through the door.
I breathed a sigh of relief and followed her inside. “Can I get you something to drink?” I asked, taking her bag into my bedroom. It was another dangerous assumption, but I was going to keep going with the flow until she told me otherwise.
“No thanks,” she answered, moving around the room as if she was seeing it for the first time. “It looks different in here.”
She noticed the candles. “Nothing’s different,” I said.
She walked to one of the candles and pointed. “That wasn’t there before.”
I scrambled to think of a good excuse. “Winter storms knock out the power. I keep lots of candles on hand.”
She nodded before picking up one of the jar candles and inhaling. “This smells amazing.”
“No need to sit in a stinky, candlelit room,” I joked.
The candles were part of my romance plan. I had wine and some gourmet cheeses. I wanted everything to be perfect. It had been a long time since I had tried to woo a woman. She moved to the fireplace, holding her hands out as she stood in front of it.
“It’s so cozy in here,” she commented.
“I wanted you to be warm,” I told her, moving to stand next to her.
“Thank you,” she said, turning to look at me.
She intently stared at me for several long seconds.
“Something wrong?” I asked, holding her gaze.
She smiled. “No. I was just trying to imagine you sitting in front of the fire on a cold winter night, reading a book.”
I chuckled. “It’s not so hard to picture. It’s how I spend most of my nights.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you,” she said, still holding my gaze.
“I think that’s a good thing,” I replied.
“It is.”
“I know it’s early, but it’s a weekend, and we’re all alone. Can I pour you a glass of wine? There are no rules. It’s me and you and no one else.”
She smiled. “I would like that. Maybe we can roast marshmallows later?”
I grinned. “I have some in the dining hall pantry.”
“Great.”
She sat down in one of the two chairs that were on either side of the fireplace. I didn’t have a television. During the winter, I moved the chairs to face the fireplace. The flames were my entertainment. I poured two glasses of the red and carried them back to the fireplace.
“Did Hazel and Autumn enjoy their time here?” I asked.
“Absolutely. They don’t know I’m here. I didn’t want to tell them. They’d want to come with me.”
“You didn’t want them here?” I asked.
She looked down into her glass. “I did, but I didn’t. I wanted some time alone with you.”
Her words were exactly what I wanted to hear. “For?” I asked.
She let out a breath. “What happened between us, that was not normal for me.”
“Me either.”
“Is that weird?” she asked.
“No. Do you believe in fate?”
“No,” she answered quickly.
I laughed, sipping my wine. “Neither do I, but with you, I’m tempted to believe in fate.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I have a lot of baggage,” she said.
I nodded. “Your husband?”
“My ex-husband, yes.”
“Is he still in the picture? I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”
She drank from her glass, her eyes moving to the fire. “He’s not in my picture. Trent, my husband of six years, walked out on us two years ago. Apparently, his girlfriend didn’t like him coming home to his wife and children. The last I heard from him, his sugar mama was taking him to France for some extended vacation.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
She smiled. “Two years ago.”
“He doesn’t keep in touch with the girls? Pay child support?”
“Nope. He didn’t want kids. He forgot to mention that to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said for lack of anything better to say. “I can’t understand how a man could stay away from his kids, let alone you.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I fell for him when I was young and naïve. He knew just what to say to get me
to like him. Hell, I fell in love with him almost right away. I was eighteen and had the attention of an older guy that looked like he stepped out of the pages of GQ magazine. I had Hazel when I was nineteen. Trent had told me he was in law school when we got together. I thought I would be taken care of. I thought I had hit the jackpot. I was so wrong.”
“He wasn’t in law school?” I asked.
“No. He was taking a couple of classes at the community college. I’m not sure when it happened, but I ended up supporting our family. I went to school, got my associate’s in accounting, and went to work.”
“He didn’t work?” I asked with horror.
“No. I mean, he did on occasion. Trent traded on his looks. He charmed women to get what he wanted. He worked sales. He was good at it, but he never lasted long at one job.”
I shook my head with disbelief. “I’m really sorry. What does he do now?”
“Nothing. He won’t get a job because he’d have to pay child support. I don’t even care to be honest. I’m glad he is out of our lives. I feel terrible that I made such a shitty choice in choosing to have children with the man. They don’t deserve to be discarded.”
My heart hurt for the kids. I didn’t know this Trent guy, but I would have loved to knock him on his ass. “You’re a good mom.”
She finished the wine. “That’s my tale of woe. What’s yours? Why do you live up here all by yourself?”
I laughed. “My tale of woe is nothing compared to yours. I’m here because I want to be. I’ve always liked the outdoors. I tried to go to college, but I ended up skipping more classes than I went to. I realized it was a waste of money and dropped out after the first semester.”
“Ouch. What did your parents think of that?”
I looked at the fire, collected my thoughts, and then looked back at her. “If they were alive, they would have been pissed, but ultimately, I think they would have been happy that I was happy.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.”
“Do you have brothers, sisters?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m an only child of only children. My family tree is pretty bare.”
“Oh. I guess you’re used to the solitude.”
“I am. What about you? Sisters or brothers?”
“No,” she answered. “My dad died a few years ago. It’s just me and my mom and the girls.”
We were kindred spirits. Both alone in the world.
We talked for another hour. We talked about what we liked and didn’t like. It was nice to just talk to someone. I realized I had been very alone for years. Leo and I were friends, but we never really talked.
“Want those s’mores now?” I asked.
She smiled. “Yes.”
I jumped up from my chair and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Sit tight and I’ll be back in a minute.”
I rushed over to the dining hall and grabbed the stuff I needed. We kept the ingredients on hand for s’mores just in case.
“That was fast,” she said with a laugh when I burst through the door.
I grinned. “I aim to please.”
Ten minutes later, we were sinking our teeth into gooey smores while sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. “These are so good,” she said, using the tip of her finger to wipe away chocolate on her cheek. “I can’t tell the girls about this. They will be so jealous.”
“It’ll be our secret.”
There was a dab of chocolate at the corner of her mouth. I reached out, using my thumb to wipe it away. My gaze focused on her lips. I wanted to taste her again. I leaned forward, gently pressing my lips against hers. Her mouth opened, her tongue sweeping inside my mouth. I could taste the chocolate and the wine we’d washed the s’mores down with. It was a heady combination on her.
I scooted closer, my mouth pressing harder against her. The kiss was different than our first time. It felt more connected, more thorough, more everything. I had thought it was good the first time. It was so much better than good. I couldn’t get enough. My hand moved up to hold her head steady, my fingers intertwining in the silky curls.
“You taste so good,” I whispered, my forehead resting against hers.
“I kind of like the way you taste as well,” she whispered.
“Is this okay?” I asked.
She pulled her face back an inch or two, looking directly into my eyes. “This is very okay. I didn’t come here with this in mind.”
I grinned. “Not even a little bit?”
Her soft laugh brushed over me. “Okay, it definitely crossed my mind. No, that’s a lie. I have thought of little else since I left your cabin, or my cabin, the cabin.”
I smiled, kissing the tip of her nose. “Me either.”
Chapter 18
Cadence
The setting couldn’t have been any more perfect. The fire was crackling and popping, and the flames danced and created beautiful shadows around the room. The flames were the only light, casting us both in a soft orange glow. His hand gently stroked up and down my arm as he softly kissed me.
“I’m a little warm,” I whispered.
“Then we should probably get you out of all those clothes,” he said in a husky voice.
“And you? Aren’t you warm?”
He smiled as he pulled his sweater over his head. “I am.”
Instead of taking my clothes off, I focused on his undressing. The first time we’d been together, things had happened fast. I wanted to marvel at the man’s defined chest with the black hair smattered across. His abs were flat and defined, his biceps perfect. He was a man’s man. I suspected his toned body was the result of working around his place, splitting wood, and doing manly things. I doubted he’d ever spent a day of his life in a gym.
He stripped to his underwear before looking at me. “You’re still dressed.”
I slowly nodded. “I was enjoying the show.”
“My turn,” he whispered.
I sat forward, pulling off my shirt, leaving the black satin bra on before wiggling out of the black leggings I had on. I posed on the fluffy rug, letting him look. “Well?”
His eyes roamed my body before he looked at me again, slowly shaking his head. “I’m not a minute man,” he blurted out.
I blinked. “What?”
“Whenever I see you, touch you, get inside you, I lose all control,” he breathed, reaching out to trace a finger over my thigh. “You make me ache. I’m afraid to get too close. I might explode before we even get started.”
I smiled. “I don’t think you’re a minute man. We have all night. We have lots of minutes.”
He grinned, pulling me close before gently laying me down on the rug. “Good, because I want to spend every minute inside you.”
His words were like lightning flashing through my body. My legs fell open, inviting him to touch me. His mouth dropped to mine as his hand slid over my satin-covered breast and over my stomach. He reached between my legs, covering the satin that was already damp with my need for him.
I moaned softly into his mouth, his tongue sweeping into mine. I reached up, touching his heated skin and running my hand over his biceps. The strength I felt in that arm made me feel heady. His hand slid under my panties and rubbed over my throbbing core. He had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to his lasting power. I was already on the verge of an orgasm.
I blamed the wine and the ambiance. It was too perfect. I was drunk with lust, and his touch was only making me feel more intoxicated. I turned my head to the side, gasping as his fingers slid over my clit. His mouth dropped to my neck, sucking the flesh between his teeth as his finger pushed inside me.
I was beyond aroused. My entire body felt tingly and like my skin was on too tight.
“That’s it,” he whispered close to my ear. “I can feel you tightening. Let me feel you break wide open for me.”
I moaned again, my body responding to the sound of his voice close to my ear. I closed my eyes, letting myself be completely in the mom
ent. He pushed a second finger inside me, stretching me as he slid them in and out.
“Oh god,” I moaned as the orgasm began a slow roll over my body, starting at the tips of my toes. It cascaded up and over me until I was completely submerged in the grip of the climax. My hand squeezed his bicep, my other one holding on to his ribcage as he continued stroking the flame inside me.
His fingers pulled away from me. He jerked my panties down, using his foot to push them over my ankles. He shimmied and shook until his own underwear was lost in the heap of clothing near the fireplace. He crawled over me, sliding one hand under my back and unhooking my bra before tugging it away from me.
I lay on the soft rug looking up at the man that resembled a mythological god. His dark hair glistened with the firelight behind him. His skin had a sheen of sweat over it. He looked like a dark avenging angel as he stared down at me.
“You’re beautiful,” he growled, reaching out to grab one breast. Gone was the gentle touch. He massaged and kneaded my breast with one hand while his other hand stroked over my hip.
I reached forward, grabbing the erection resting against my thighs. I squeezed once then again, pulling loud grunts from him with each tug. “Take me,” I begged. “I need you inside me.”
He hissed through clenched teeth. “You make me so hard, it hurts in the best way.”
“Fuck me now, Gabriel,” I ordered. I was throbbing with need. I wanted to feel his strength inside me.
He moved, pushing my legs wide open as he knelt between them. His hands stroked over my wet core while he watched. I shuddered under the intense scrutiny. I watched him as he watched himself slide one finger inside me.
I had to close my eyes. It was intensely erotic, and my brain was overloaded with sensations. I moaned, moving my hips upward, taking his finger deeper inside my body. “God damn,” he breathed. “Fuck. You’re so fucking sexy.”
I moaned again, sliding myself up the length of his finger until I felt his knuckles against me. He didn’t move the finger as I fucked myself with it—all while he watched. It was completely unlike me. I had never done anything so bold and brazen before. He made me feel like a goddess. He made me feel safe to do what I craved.