Christmas in the Mountains (Mountains Series Book 4)

by Phoebe Alexander

  “I’m sorry; I’ll stop groping you!” She laughed while drawing her hand away. “I really do want to know more about you. Like how did you wind up in the States? How did you and Zora meet? How did you get into the lifestyle?”

  “I feel like I’m being interviewed by the most beautiful journalist on earth,” he winked, straightening himself up in the water, then turning just in time to catch her beaming at his compliment.

  “So I came over here originally for university,” he began, his accent still smoothing out his deep voice. “I got my bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington, and I loved it so much that I wanted to stay.”

  “Oh, wow, my brother lives in Seattle!” Sarah noted. “It’s so beautiful out there.”

  Charlie nodded. “Got hired as a software engineer at Microsoft, you know, the entry level kinda gig, but then decided I didn’t want to be that cubicle guy working for a corporate behemoth. I decided to return to the university for a master’s degree, and that is where I met Zora, who was doing her undergrad. She was only nineteen when we met, but she didn’t seem to mind I’m ten years older.”

  “Wait, what? You’re ten years older than she is?” Sarah gasped.

  “That’s right. She’s 29, and I’m 39.”

  “Whoa, I would have never guessed you were that old! I was thinking early thirties for sure.”

  “Oh, you mean you thought I was your age?” he questioned, his eyes boring into hers. “Nah, I’m the old man of the cabin, I’m afraid. Unless James is older?”

  Sarah couldn’t suppress her giggle. “Oh, no, no, no. It’s me. I’m 41! I’ll be 42 in April.”

  She watched Charlie’s eyes practically pop out of his skull. “What? No, that can’t be right! You look much too young for that. You can’t be more than 35!”

  She chuckled, blushing slightly with his flattery. “Well, James is only 35. But thank you. I have a daughter in college.”

  He shook his head in chronic disbelief. “You’ve gotta be joking with me!”

  “Nope, I really do. She’s 20!”

  “Did you guys say you have a baby, too?”

  Sarah nodded. “She just turned one last month. Yeah, my kids are a bit spread out in age. I like it that way, though.”

  “I hope we have kids someday soon,” Charlie sighed wistfully. “Though Zora doesn’t want to…”

  “Ever?”

  He glanced down at the water, which turned from green to blue while he collected his thoughts. “She did when we first got married, but then she changed her mind once she started grad school. She doesn’t think she can balance motherhood with a career as a professor.”

  “Well, I have,” Sarah retorted, “and I did most of it as a single mom. I’m kind of surprised she doesn’t have more confidence, to be honest.”

  He stroked his finger down her cheek, and the warm water dripping from it slid down her face till it fell off her jaw. “You probably don’t even know how amazing you are,” he said, bending down to nuzzle his lips against her neck. His next words fluttered on a whisper into her ear. “Like Superwoman.”

  He wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist and pulled her toward him until she was straddling his thighs, their lips only a heartbeat apart. “Are you always so complimentary?” she asked, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

  “Only for the most extraordinary individuals,” he answered, as if he had the response waiting on the tip of his tongue. “Seriously, though, James is a ridiculously lucky man. I hope he tells you how amazing you are on a regular basis.”

  She let a tiny embarrassed giggle escape. “For the most part, he’s pretty good about not taking me for granted.”

  “I don’t mean not taking you for granted, Sarah,” he explained, his voice acquiring a bit of a flinty tone under his proper accent. “He should worship you like the queen you are. That’s what I would do if I were him.” He stroked his finger down her collarbone until it landed between her heavy breasts. “These lush curves, those angel eyes, this beautiful thick, dark mane. You’re a goddess, Sarah; every inch of you is divine.”

  She was too stunned for words. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had showered her with such adoration. Maybe Pawel, she considered, but was still blown away by Charlie’s proclamation. She couldn’t decide if she should soak up the compliments like the desert soaks up rain, or if she should feel uncomfortable hearing them delivered by a virtual stranger’s lips.

  When she first saw Zora and her tiny, svelte frame, she tried to keep herself from cringing. Zora had delicate, shapely limbs and taut, youthful skin, whereas Sarah still felt somewhat unwieldy after giving birth to Lynnea. She feared that pregnancy and breastfeeding had rendered her matronly, dowdy. But with Charlie’s large, deft hands running down her curves, his fingertips delighting in every creamy contour, she felt more feminine and voluptuous than she had in a long time. Like fruit at peak ripeness.

  And there was no denying his arousal; it was pressed against the entrance to her core quite insistently. As much as she wanted him inside her again, she also wanted to know so much more about him. For instance, she wondered how they had gotten involved in the lifestyle. She wanted to go on interviewing him, but he was such a humble man, it seemed he would rather talk about anyone but himself. She liked that about him. Unassuming, but undoubtedly intelligent and self-assured, with nothing but the highest caliber skills in the bedroom. Men with a quiet power like his didn’t need to be brash or cocky. They existed, standing firm and resolute, not afraid to embrace their true selves.

  “You didn’t tell me what got you and Zora into the lifestyle,” she pointed out, desperately trying to ignore the feel of her core clenching in desire.

  “It was something I dabbled in when I was first out of college, long before I met Zora. I had more experience in the BDSM side than anything else, but when I met Zora and found out we were both dominant – obviously neither of us wanted to submit to the other. Us having sex can be like two lions fighting over one territory.”

  Sarah could totally envision that, just from the brief time she’d known them both. “So…you’re more into the BDSM thing than swinging then?”

  He nodded. “You go where the fun is,” he smiled slyly. “There are a few clubs we frequent in the Denver area. Zora has found sometimes she has a better time with the men on the swinging side because they have so much stamina. And sometimes she likes to forego all the toys and rules and just get fucked.”

  “Don’t we all?!” Sarah exclaimed. “And what about you? What do you like about it?” She could only imagine he was a hit in the club scene with his entire package of impressive…ahem…qualities.

  He sighed. “It’s been an interesting journey for me…”

  “How’s that?” She felt his erection fade a bit, but tried not to react. She was having trouble identifying the expression on his face – disappointment? Regret? Frustration?

  “So many women all about the BBC…” he finally answered, then gave a little shrug as if he failed to understand it.

  “Oh!” Sarah chirped with surprise. She thought he was going to say something about not being able to find submissives, or about Zora trying to keep him on a proverbial leash. She wasn’t expecting his issue with the lifestyle to relate to race. BBC referred to Big Black Cock, and she knew plenty of ladies out there who enjoyed partaking.

  Charlie’s eyebrows shot up, as if he was as surprised about her reaction as she was by his admission. “I mean, I think I can deliver the BBC with no issues,” he explained, smirking.

  “Oh, that you can,” Sarah agreed with a laugh.

  “But I don’t enjoy being treated like a disembodied penis, you know? I mean, yes, I have a big cock, and I happen to be black. But I’m a person too.”

  “Well, of course you are!” she answered. “Do people really treat you as if you aren’t?” Why do people have to be such assholes? she silently asked herself. As open-minded as lifestylers were, there were always assholes in any gro
up.

  He shrugged, his lips pursing a bit as he calculated his response. “I don’t enjoy being fetishized. And maybe that is why I pulled back from BDSM a bit…though the swinger chicks dig the BBC too. I just – ”

  He paused and grasped her chin in his massive palm, staring deeply into her eyes with what she could only read as an apology.

  “Just what?”

  “I’m sorry; I know women are objectified and fetishized all the time. So I feel rather silly pointing out my woes to you. But I feel like I have a sense of what it’s like. At least a bit.”

  “I guess I never thought about it that way,” Sarah said, mulling his statement over in her head. “I have been with men of all different races, but it’s just the way it’s worked out. I never set out looking for partners of one race or another. I’m attracted to people based on their merits as human beings, you know? I never really thought about the racial aspects of swinging, which is pretty weird considering my profession. I’ve examined it by age, gender, socioeconomic status and religious background but…”

  “Spoken like a true sociologist,” Charlie chuckled. “This is actually a topic Zora is considering for her dissertation. With her being Korean and myself being black, it’s been eye-opening navigating what seems to be such a white space. Anyway….I digress….” He pierced her with his eyes again, which had softened with something that looked like hope. “Can I tell you something, Sarah?”

  His eyes turned a bit glassy as she felt his erection firming up against her bare skin again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her so close to him that their lips were not even an inch apart. “What’s that?” she asked, her voice croaking out into the wintry night air.

  “I never met anyone like you before. I feel so drawn to you,” he admitted, his dark eyes locked onto hers. “I got into the lifestyle thinking I would meet incredible people like you all the time. I have met some cool people through the years, and I’ve had a lot of fun, but I’ve never met that woman I really felt an immediate connection with. I’ve been waiting this whole time for that spark…and here you are…”

  He brushed his lips against hers, gently at first, then more insistently, as his arousal grew to a more desperate need. She knew she’d only have to shift her hips for him to find passage, but she also knew their condom rules forbade her from going bareback with another man. Her thighs trembled as his tongue began to explore her mouth and his hands threaded through her thick locks. She wanted him inside her so badly, her core ached with a dull throb that radiated down into her legs. When he began to grind himself into her, she thought she might go mad.

  “Charlie,” she finally interrupted him, gathering every bit of her wits away from the screaming pleas emanating from further south. “We can’t out here – ”

  “I know. Let’s go inside. I don’t think I can wait any longer to have you.” He climbed out of the tub, his monstrous cock jutting out into the brisk night air. Sarah gasped at the full magnitude of him, at his muscular physique, his dark skin shimmering with water droplets under the hazy, frosted moonlight. Steam rose off him in a silvery mist as he reached down to help her out of the water. He wrapped her in a towel while he retrieved her robe, all the while his erection standing firm against the brutal wind.

  “Aren’t you freezing?” she gasped as she gingerly made her way toward the cabin. She looked back at him, watching him wrap his towel around his waist, not even bothering to dry the glistening water off his skin.

  “You’ve got me pretty heated up, darling,” he replied with a wink, following her into the glowing, warm cabin.

  Sarah immediately heard moans coming from the bedroom, deep and guttural. James. A crack of a palm against flesh, then a low howl like a distant wolf rippled through her ears. Her nipples budded as she thought about James being at Zora’s mercy, wondering what she would see if she were to peek into the bedroom.

  But Charlie had other ideas. He didn’t even seem to notice the sounds emanating from the other room, but instead guided Sarah to the rug in front of the hearth. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his body so he could ravish her mouth again with his tongue. In the soft, flickering light of the fireplace, Sarah realized how handsome Charlie was, how perfectly sculpted his features. But what impressed her even more were his eyes. It was so dark in the hot tub, she hadn’t been able to study them, besides feeling them pierce into her with their tiny pinprick reflections. Now, without his glasses in the lovely amber light, she saw how deep and rich they were, russet brown, and how full of passion.

  Once his lips found the sweet spot on her neck, she felt like putty in his arms, and he gently lowered her to the rug in front of the crackling fire. A steady sizzling, punctuated by the occasional abrupt pop as the flames danced orange and indigo on top of the wood, mirrored the fire beginning to burn deep inside her core. Hovering over her, he drank in the length of her nude form, reveling in her curves as if she were a masterpiece carved from the finest Italian marble.

  “I want to do all the things to you at once,” he said with a wicked grin creeping across his face. “Like I said before, you’re a true goddess. I want to worship you.”

  The blush that spread across her cheeks and down to her breasts was as much from his praise as from desire. He lowered his mouth to her breasts where her nipples were still hardened into firm rosebuds, yet grew harder still when his warm, wet tongue began to lash at them. Arching her back, she let an involuntary moan escape from deep within her throat. Once he’d worked her nipples into such a frenzy she could feel each nibble in her pulsing clit, he continued his exploration down the smooth contours of her torso and across the soft mound beneath her navel where she carried her post-pregnancy weight.

  He kissed his way across the forgiving flesh as his hands burrowed underneath to lift her hips. And then it was merely seconds before he tasted her, her sweet folds yielding honey to his lips as he breathed in her deepening desire. She cried out when his tongue made direct contact with her swollen pearl, coiled so tight she thought she might lose her mind.

  “I want to make sure I get you nice and ready for me this time,” he explained, his words humming against her in a maddening tease.

  Sarah gasped as he slid a thick finger inside her, expertly curling behind her g-spot. As he began to fuck her with both his finger and his tongue, she couldn’t find her voice to expel the words trapped in her throat. She wanted to thank him for his attention and dedication to preparing her for his cock, as she still felt the deliciously sharp reminders of his earlier intrusion. When he began to increase the pressure of his tongue and the tempo of his fingers, she realized she wouldn’t be able to hold back her orgasm much longer. Just as she was about to surrender to ecstasy, he stopped.

  Sadistically stopped, leaving her suspended on a steep cliff.

  She felt all the blood pool in her core as the walls of her pussy spasmed uncontrollably, launching a protest against the abrupt disruption. The trapped blood began to boil as he slid back onto his knees to survey her again. “What’s wrong, darling?” he asked with pretend innocence.

  She writhed against his torso as he leaned down to pin her between his arms. “Oh, god, Charlie, you can’t –”

  “Can’t what?” he grinned, and if she weren’t mistaken, there were tiny devil’s horns appearing where none had been moments before.

  “You can’t leave me like this,” she gasped, her hips rising to meet his pelvis where his hardness pressed teasingly against her throbbing lips.

  “Oh, I could…” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “You’re so beautiful on the verge of climax, Sarah, darling. So beautiful, a rose about to unfurl its silken petals in the morning sun.”

  She grunted in frustration. “Charlie, please…” Her voice squeaked out, strained by lack of blood, which had pooled between her thighs. When she tried to reach down with her own hand to relieve the pressure, he stopped her, pinning her by holding both wrists above her head. Then he pressed down so that his massive, eng
orged cock rested against her clit.

  “Please what?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Please fuck me,” she whispered back, her volume stolen by her mounting desperation.

  She bucked her hips against him again, hoping she could catch the tip of his cock with her lips, but he pulled back just enough to be out of reach. Then, he took his cock into his hand again and brushed it against her opening, sighing when he felt his crown become coated with her juices.

  He produced a condom from seemingly thin air and rolled it down onto his shaft. “I think you may be ready for me this time,” he observed. “But this time, you’re going to take what you need.” He laid down next to her and pulled her on top of him. She spread her thighs, straddling him as she tenaciously worked his thick shaft between her lips, easing his passage inside her.

  “Ahhhh,” she said, sliding down him until she reached a certain spot, then a surprised squeal erupted from her throat. “Fuck, I can’t take the whole thing…”

  “Just be patient, rock your hips till you loosen up,” he instructed her.

  Listen to him, teaching me how to take a cock, she mused, but still obeyed. She couldn’t believe how full she felt, or how much his head butting against her cervix hurt. Even her lips, spread wide to accommodate him, slightly burned in the most delicious way. She rocked back and forth with little movements as she felt that orgasm she’d been chasing when his mouth was on her start to rebuild.

  She lowered herself on top of him to relieve the discomfort against her cervix. Cupping his jaw in her hand, she pressed her lips to his. They were so full and soft, his tongue tasting of her as it lightly brushed against her taste buds. She’d almost forgotten how much she loved her own tangy sweetness on a man’s – or even another woman’s lips. That brief thought made her think of Zora and James, wondering what was going on in the other room. She thought she heard Zora cry out with pleasure, but the sound was quickly swallowed up by the roar of the fire as another log fell, succumbing to the voracious flames.