by Krista Wolf
Even with the four of us, it took another twenty minutes to carry it all to the fireplace. There was just that much of it. Enough to keep us warm through the night, and probably the next day and night too.
The next day and night…
I couldn’t wrap my head around it — being stuck here even longer. Yet here we were, stockpiling wood when we should already be rescued. Preparing for the long haul, when we should all be back at the main lodge covered in blankets and eating hot soup…
Boone and Shane stomped into the room at last, every inch of their clothing caked with layers of snow. Thick, heavy snow too. The waterlogged type that always weighed a ton.
“You look like the trench scene on Hoth!” cried Jeremy, helping his friend out of his boots.
“The what?”
“Nevermind,” I jumped in, rolling my eyes Jeremy’s way. “Just get all this stuff off and go stand in front of the fire. You both need to get warm!”
They stripped, and everything was soaking wet. Head to toe, hat to socks, each layer they peeled off was cold and drenched.
Eventually I was staring at Boone, who peeled off his shirt and stood wearing nothing but his boxers. His broad, muscular back was all red with cold as he stepped away from the fire and through the archway.
“Wait,” I said, my eyes glued to his ass. “Where are you going?”
He kept walking and I kept watching, every perfectly sculpted muscle flowing smoothly beneath his skin.
“Fire’s gonna take too long to warm us up,” I heard him say. “I’m going swimming.”
Forty-One
MORGAN
I floated peacefully on my back, the swirling waters of the hot springs bubbling up around my bare body. Ears submerged, eyes closed, I focused on breathing slowly and rhythmically through my nose.
I heard nothing. Saw nothing…
Damn this is amazing.
It was amazing. In fact, better than amazing. I was naked and free. Totally unbound. Liberated even from gravity. Ensconced in warmth.
I could stay here.
It was an odd thought, but a pleasant one. Right now, at this moment at least, I didn’t have a single care in the world.
I could stay here forever…
SPLASH!
My nose wrinkled, my eyes screwing shut as I wiped a bunch of unwanted water from my face and mouth. Boone floated a few feet away, grinning like a Cheshire cat. His great muscular form bobbed gently in the still waters at the back of the dimly-lit cavern.
“That was dirty.”
He shrugged one massive shoulder. “Maybe.”
“Guess you’ve all warmed up, huh?”
He nodded deviously. “Let me show you how much.”
He dove, disappearing beneath the surface, and I screamed. Instantly I went into defense mode. I kicked and struggled to paddle away, only to feel his hands go to my legs. Ten long fingers closed over my thighs. He yanked me downward, pulling me under…
Bastard!
We surfaced together, sputtering and giggling, smiling and laughing. And we were holding each other now too. His dark, caramel eyes shone brilliantly against the pool’s reflective surface, locking onto mine as he leaned forward and kissed me through the steam.
Wow… just wow.
It seemed that every kiss of his was more electric, more sensual than the last. My attraction for him was growing on every possible level. Physically. Emotionally…
Damn Morgan. You’re in trouble.
“Did you fix the radio?” he asked, between lingering kisses.
“No…” I murmured softly. “But I’m getting close.”
“I’ll bet you are.”
He lifted me with his arms, pulling me into him skin against skin. I felt tiny and weightless. Lost in an ocean of sweltering heat and open-mouthed kisses.
“Ohhhh!”
Boone impaled me in a single deft movement. Sliding his hands gently onto my shoulders, he pushed me firmly downward and onto his cock.
I exhaled through clenched teeth. It came out as a seething but delicious hiss.
“Weren’t expecting that, were you?”
I rolled my hips, taking him deeper. It felt absolutely incredible.
“What? For you to be automatically rock-hard?”
“It’s not automatic. You make me this hard.”
I smiled sweetly and kissed him some more. It was so bizarre, doing this all so openly. At least for me. I was someone who generally shied away from public displays of affection altogether. And yet here I was, screwing some perfect stranger. Doing it wantonly, out in the open. With no regard for anything other than my own raging libido.
The water lapped at our bodies as we got off on each other. Boone held me pinned to his chest as I continued my slow rise and fall along the entirety of his hard length.
“You’ll get it working,” he said abruptly.
I was so far gone, I wasn’t even sure what he was talking about.
“The radio,” he whispered. “I have faith in you.”
He chewed my shoulder, and the flare of pain mixed with pleasure pushed me over the edge. I came hard wrapped around him, and somewhere in the heated depths of the churning waters I felt him fill me, hotly, from within.
God…
It was intensely tactile, floating together in mutual climax. Boone’s arms crushed me against him, while my hands scratched and clawed at his skin. It ended with his face buried in my chest, me clutching him there as if he always belonged. Then my arms and legs began trembling violently; the byproduct of coming down from yet another dreamlike orgasm.
“You guys done?”
I whirled groggily and there Shane, floating beside us, holding his wounded hand above the waterline. He reached for me and I went to him, still reeling from having come so fully with Boone.
My body was shaking all over. I had no idea how long he’d been there, but something told me it had been long enough.
“Hi,” I said sheepishly. “I—”
Shane interrupted me with a long, sensuous, open-mouthed kiss. The kind of kiss that takes your breath away for half a minute, at a moment when I was still catching my breath. Then his strong arms wrapped around me, and I felt him slide inside… just like Boone.
“Ohhhhhh…”
Oh wow…
The rhythm was different but the same. My brain vaguely identified dozens of subtle differences between the two men when it came to strength, power, and size, as well as others having to do with rhythm, technique, and depth of penetration.
My body didn’t care.
This is nuts.
“You guys have fun,” Boone smirked from beside us. He winked at Shane as he dropped away. “Take her for a spin. Enjoy our girl for a while.”
Our girl…
I watched him swim off, his two massive arms propelling him toward what amounted to shore.
Did he just say our girl?
“Head upstairs when you’re finished,” Boone called over his shoulder. “Jeremy and I will get the fire going again.”
Still in daze, I turned back to Shane. He was looking at me thoughtfully now. Piercing me with his crystalline gaze, just as he was penetrating me beneath the water.
“You okay?”
It was a question everyone kept asking me, again and again. I supposed I should be thankful. At least they were taking a genuine interest in how I felt, or what my needs might be.
But are you okay, Morgan? Really?
I nodded and smiled. I always nodded and smiled. But still…
“Go on,” said Shane. “You can tell me.”
For some reason I knew I could. There was something about Shane that stripped away the extraneous bullshit and encouraged honest discussion. Moreover, I realized I wanted to.
So I told him.
Forty-Two
SHANE
“It’s this place,” she said plainly. “It’s just too perfect. Too ridiculously, over-the-top, incredibly perfect.”
I smiled and pulle
d her so close our noses brushed. I was reminded of the snow shelter, only the bonds between us felt stronger than ever. Down below, we were connected in the most intimate of ways.
“Maybe you’re dead?”
She blinked in total confusion. She had no idea what I was talking about, and it was absolutely adorable.
“What?”
“Maybe you died during the avalanche,” I shrugged. “That’s why this place is so perfect. You’re not really here, you’re in heaven.”
All at once she realized what I was saying. She paused for a split second — almost as if thinking about it — then smirked and punched me in the arm.
“That’s not even funny.”
I let out a laugh. It was definitely a little funny. Right now though, I wanted her to open up. I had to know what was bothering her.
“Seriously,” I said, my expression going blank. I took her face gently in my injured hand. “Tell me.”
“Well… it’s you.”
“Me?”
“And Jeremy. And Boone.”
“So it’s all of us?”
She nodded and bit her lip. It made her look vulnerable yet sexy at the same time.
“Did we do something?”
“No no, nothing like that,” she said quickly. “Actually, you’ve done everything. I mean, you’ve all been so nice to me. You’ve taken care of me. You’ve shown me affection, and attention, and—”
“So what’s the problem?”
She hesitated again, and I could see her turning red. For some reason she was embarrassed, and I had no idea why.
“Just look at you,” she said.
Now it was my turn to be confused. “Me? What about me?”
Morgan traced one hand slowly along my body, starting up at my shoulder and ending at my abdomen. I twitched a little, pushing further into her. The feeling was exquisite.
“You’re gorgeous,” she said. “So is Jeremy. So is Boone. The three of you could have any girl on campus! Any girl you wanted, any time you wanted her...”
“That’s not true,” I protested.
“Oh it’s definitely true,” she countered sternly. “Don’t deny it. Don’t even try telling me I’m remotely wrong.”
I sighed, relenting somewhat. There was some validity to what she was saying. I’d never had a problem scoring with women — not even a little bit — and the painful truth, though I’d never admit it to him, was that Jeremy was even more successful than me. He was historically big on the fraternity scene, attracting sorority girls in droves, most of them hellbent on using him to boost their own popularity.
Not that Jeremy ever complained, mind you.
As for Boone, she was right about him too. All Boone had to do was take his shirt off and he’d be beating the girls away with a stick. I guess that’s why I hated him so much at first. Hated him before really getting to know him…
“So what if we’re good-looking?” I finally conceded. “Big deal.”
“It is a big deal. It’s a big deal because…” She struggled some more. “Because…”
“Spit it out.”
“Well you all told me I could choose. Only I can’t choose, because I want you all.”
She must’ve seen my expression change as she uttered the words. My eyes went wide. Frankly, it was the last thing I expected.
“Yet at the same time, I know you guys only want me because I’m the only woman here. I’m the one girl who’s accessible. You’ve convinced yourself you’re into me, because right now there’s no alternative.”
“That’s absolute bullshit!”
“Is it? How soon after we get out of here do you all go back to your own lives? Go back to all your other women?
I shook my head. “I have no women. I haven’t had a girlfriend since—”
“I’m talking about the hundreds of women around campus. Shit, at our school there must be thousands of them. The second we get home…” she made a motion with one arm. “All this ends for me. I go back to being invisible. I go back to being the nerdy girl not pretty enough to be recognized. Not popular enough to—
I kissed her hard and hungrily, smashing my face into hers. I was angry. Furious that she could even think this way! Even so, I was trying to understand. Attempting to see this whole thing from her perspective. And when I looked at it like that…
“I guess I can understand your insecurity,” I said, breaking the kiss. “But you’re beautiful, Morgan. Actually, you’re gorgeous.”
She was. That part I didn’t get at all.
“You’re smart and you’re funny and you’re resourceful. You’re your own person. Best of all, you’re not the least bit shallow.” I held her gaze for a long moment before continuing. “Morgan, listen to me. You’re real.”
I watched as she searched my face, trying to sniff out the bullshit. Only there was none. I didn’t have to bullshit her. I already had her. Hell, I was inside her already.
My arms slid around her back and over her shoulders, giving me the leverage to push even further into her. I saw her mouth open, and her teeth part. A tiny gasp escaped her lungs, soft and sexy.
“I’m even a little jealous of Jeremy,” I said, “because I’ve seen the connection you have with him. You two are bonded over so many things in which I could never share. But at the same time? Remember that I chased you. I was the one who came down the mountain after you, Morgan. I was the one who wanted to get to know you better.”
She saw in my eyes that I was right. I think it emboldened her. She began screwing back against me, gyrating her hips.
“Now I can’t speak for Boone,” I went on. “But I can tell you Jeremy and I are both sick of the same shallow relationships, over and over again. For a long time I’ve been looking for someone different. So has he.”
Morgan shifted, rolling her body into mine. I could see her breathing growing rapid. Down below, she felt warm and swollen. Hot and wet.
“I know this all seems crazy, but the circumstances are crazy too,” I told her. “But now look at it from our perspective. We’ve been thrust together — three headstrong guys -- all forced to share the attention of the same amazing girl.” I smiled wide enough that she actually smiled with me. “Of course it’s gonna seem a little surreal. Can you really blame us for wanting and competing over you?”
She didn’t say anything, so I took her by the chin and shook her head back and forth myself.
“No. You can’t.”
I moved us to where the water was shallow. To where I could stand, and had leverage…
“Like I said, the choice is yours,” I smirked. I was fucking her harder now. Screwing her up and down, bouncing her off the full length of my dick. Her eyes glazed over, and I winked at her seductively before burying my face in her hair.
“I’m just trying to make it easy for you.”
Forty-Three
MORGAN
Last night had been crazy, being so thoroughly taken by Shane, Jeremy and Boone. It had been frenzied between us. Feverish. A whirlwind of sex and lust and bare-bones debauchery, one that I embraced greedily as I was passed back and forth, teamed up on, and taken from all sides.
But this night?
This night was slower. Lazier.
Much more sensuous.
They took me again before the fire. This time they went one by one, the others kissing and touching me as I was rocked gently but firmly in our warm, sprawling bed of zip-up blankets and pillows. Jeremy went first, dragging his hot wet mouth over every inch of my body before entering me while on my back. I stared up at him wordlessly the whole time. From the instant of penetration to the penultimate moment where his body surged into mine, everything between us was communicated only with our eyes.
Few words passed between any of us. There wasn’t much left to say. We’d all worked hard during the daylight hours, almost to near exhaustion.
And so at night we spoke with our bodies.
You’d think I would’ve gotten tired of all the attention, bu
t it only made me hungrier. Even I was shocked at how far the limits of my own libido could be stretched and expanded. I rode Shane on his back for what seemed like forever, raking his chest with my fingernails as we finally came together. Then Boone fucked me again, this time with one leg up, scissoring me as I squeezed my legs to make things tight. His release didn’t come until I’d climaxed two more times, and the seductive smile on his face would be something I’d always remember.
We all finished satisfied and fulfilled, my pussy left a sopping wet mess. I took a great measure of pride in giving them so much pleasure. I was just one person and they were three, yet I was giving it back every bit as good as I got it.
This is all so unreal.
Unreal. That was certainly a good word for it. I lay there long after the others fell asleep, listening to the crackle of the fire and thinking to myself just how unreal the whole thing actually was. And when I finally slept, it was soundly, deeply. Waking up only when my body sensed it was nearly dawn.
I looked to each of them silently, studying the outline of their faces. Shane’s normally hard mouth was softer in sleep, making him seem kinder, gentler. Jeremy was somehow just as handsome as when he was awake. His breathing was rhythmic and beautiful, just like he was. And Boone… well, he talked in his sleep. Loudly. Sometimes very loudly. But to me, it only made him sexier.
I sighed, considering them all. Wondering if I would ever see them beyond the scope of this place, and if so, what kind of relationship I would have with each… or not have.
You do realize they only like you because they’re trapped here with you?
Annnnd there it was: the voice of self-doubt. The specter of insecurity that hung like a blanket over just about every relationship I’d ever had.
Their infatuation is temporary, Morgan. Don’t delude yourself. Once you’re all back in the world again, they’ll each move on to someone else.
I was wracked by a sickening wave of dread, just thinking about it. Angrily, I shoved the voice away.