by Ashley Kay
Lying me on my back, he roams the length of my naked body with hungry eyes. “I’ve missed this, missed you. I can’t wait to see you fucking split apart underneath me.”
I moan as he dips a finger inside my soaking center, slowly twisting as he pulls it out. It’s not enough, I need more.
“Then why are you still wearing your freaking clothes?” I gasp out, clutching the sheets, his finger now teasing my clit, the slight pressure igniting a swell of pleasure I can feel—like bursts of bubbles across across my skin.
As if my wish is his command, he swiftly removes his shirt and jeans, discarding his boxer briefs that were restraining his hard on. I latch my hand onto his cock and pump him up and down, enjoying the sounds he makes as I rub out the precum weeping from his tip.
Hissing, he moves away from my hand. “It’s been too long babe, I’ll come in your hands if you keep doing that.” He slides down the front of my body, spreads my thighs open wide, and looks at me with pure desire on his face. I hitch a breath when he drops kisses along my tender skin, bracing myself as he glides the flat part of his tongue over my slit to slash at my swollen nub. His stubble bites into my flesh and he smiles into my pussy as I cry out his name.
I writhe under his masterful mouth, my words coming out strangled. “Please,” I pant, tightening my thighs around his head. “I need you inside me.”
He lifts his head slightly, eyes pinned on me as he continues to lazily swirl his voracious tongue around me.
“Yes ma’am,” he breathes into me, giving me one more delicious lick before positioning himself over me. We’re both flushed with a sheen of sweat, our bodies vibrating with repressed need.
Finding my mouth, he pushes his tongue inside, dancing with mine, forcing me to taste my arousal. Raking my nails down his back, his cock pulses against my thigh. I lift as he lines himself over my entrance, allowing him to slide in, inch by inch, before burying himself completely into my slick heat. Bowing my back, we simultaneously moan into each other’s mouth. Swallowing my sounds of pleasure with greedy kisses, he pistons in and out of me as my hands grip his ass, feeling his taut muscles flex.
Tugging my hair, he pulls my head to the side, blazing a fiery trail of kisses from my mouth down to my neck, biting into my collarbone, his teeth staking a claim, drawing me closer to my orgasm. My spine tingles with every quick thrust and swivel of his hips that hits just the right spot. Raising my lower body, I buck up into his every plunge until I’m chasing that climax—the only sounds we hear are flesh on flesh.
“Fuck!” Preston howls as he grips my waist, grinding his pelvis down onto my clit. Tensing up, I’m split wide open. Throbbing and clenching around his cock, I careen over the edge, taking him with me, our groans rivaling the wolves at midnight as we tumble together. Our chests heave, heartbeats wildly thrashing in our ribcages as we cling to each other, soul to soul, afraid to let go.
He collapses with his head on my chest, his breaths fanning out as I run my hands through his damp hair. “That was amazing.” He squeezes my sides before looking up at me, his chin resting above one of my bare breasts. Lightly caressing an exposed nipple, a pulse ripples through me. I hope he’s ok for round two later, because I am.
“I feel ya, cowboy. There’s no one else I’d rather ride—excuse me—no one else I’d rather have by my side.” Smirking mischievously in his direction, I regret the quip immediately when I see him rear up.
Tickling my ribs, he raises his eyebrows, impervious to my screeching. “The best ride you’ve ever had? I hope you weren’t thinking of anyone else while I had my cock buried inside you.”
Struggling to get out from under his wily fingers, I squeak out, “Ahhh, stop, stop, Preston! No, there’s no one else that compares to you!”
Laughing, he stops, soothing over where his fingers had pressed into me. Capturing my face, he kisses me slow, dragging out my lower lip gently with his teeth. “There’s no one else that compares to you either, baby. I love you.”
My heart skips at his words. “I love you too.”
Before falling asleep in each other’s arms, I take stock of how lucky I am to find someone that wants to fight for me as equally as I’ll fight for them. Little did I know, just one day from now, I’d be fighting even harder.
I woke up the day of the retreat queasy and unable to eat much without feeling like I wanted to hurl. Strange because this was by far my most favorite part of working at SoS, but I chalk it up to nerves because Preston’s joining us. I want him to love it as much as I do.
Grabbing my pack, I meet him out on the front porch. He hands me my coffee, but I shake my head. My stomach isn’t ready for it.
“You ok?” he asks, concerned.
I put on a bright smile. “I’m just nervous. I can’t eat or drink anything yet. I packed plenty of snacks for us, though. Are you ready? That’s the real question.” Looping my arm through his, we start the trek to meet up with everyone attending and get into our teams.
“Am I ready to spend three days in the woods, surviving on whatever I can catch, sleep on the ground, and hope a rabid animal doesn’t eat me? Then yeah, I’m ready.” He leans down, giving me a peck on my head.
“You’ll have me there, I’ll take care of you.”
“You could take care of everyone out there. I’m feeling a bit emasculated. I want to be your protector.”
“Trust me, you protect me in the best way.” I point to my chest. “You’ve protected my heart. Cheesy, but true.”
He snatches my hand and brings it to his lips for a quick kiss. “I’m glad you think so. How does this thing work again? We just get turned out into the woods on our own or what?”
“Were you paying any bit of attention to me when I explained it to you or were you preoccupied with other things?” I bump into him with my hips, and he captures me with his strong hands.
“I’m always preoccupied by you, Montana, there’s no question about that.”
“Well, pay attention, this is important, can’t have you getting lost. Who would make my coffee just the way I like it?”
He growls into my ear, nipping the lobe, electricity zipping through my stomach and landing between my thighs. “I do more than just make your favorite coffee. Don’t tempt me into going into that barn over there and having my way with you on a gigantic pile of hay.”
Laughing, I spin away from his grasp. “You wouldn’t. Shelby would come around a corner and whip your butt for disturbing the horses. Or better yet, Milkdud would have my head. She loves you so much. I might be jealous of a cow, fancy that.”
He grumbles when I refuse his tempting offer. “Whatever. Shelby would give me kudos for living life to the fullest. And knock it off, Milkdud loves you as much as me, you sneak her the best treats.”
“Ok, cowboy, whatever you say. As I was trying to say before you turned your seductive voodoo charms on me, we’re divided into teams of three, spend three days in the woods checking off a list of survivalist activities we must complete, and then come home. We tally everything at the end and whichever team completes the most activities successfully, earns the most points and wins a prize.”
“Let me guess, pie at Mae’s?”
Slapping his shoulder, I huff. “That pie is wonderful!”
“I know, I’ve sampled it along with another pie that’s my favorite to eat.” He licks his plush lips, staring hungrily between my legs.
“You’re rotten.”
“But you love me anyway.”
“Sure do. Let’s hurry, I don’t want to be the last to arrive. Grey will tan my hide.”
There are ten teams signed up for the retreat. Most are regular clients with a few fresh faces. Each team has at least one SoS fully trained employee for this event and whom can assist the other members with the activities if necessary. Lukas had a family thing out of town already scheduled and had forgotten about it. Tia had to rework some things, but she’s a rock star in a pinch. She took care of all the team assigning and she’s already
pointing people in the right directions.
“Duncan—you, Missy, and Gage are on team three,” she shouts above the chatter as she checks off the names on her clipboard.
My ears perk up when she calls my name. “Savy—you, Evelyn, and Franky are on team four.” I knew there was a chance she wouldn’t pair me with Preston, but it didn’t stop my disappointment from becoming obvious.
“Sorry, Sav, I didn’t think about it, I just plugged and chugged.” She gives me a quick hug before she’s off to corral the rest of the teams. It’s fine, a little space between us is good. Besides, it gives us a better chance of scoring that pie at the end. However, it doesn’t stop my mouth from turning down at the corners.
Preston pulls me into his side, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “Don’t pout. Three days apart will really amp up my appetite for when we get back.”
“Since when is your appetite every satiated?”
Stroking his chin, he thinks for a second. “Yeah, you’re right, this will be torture.”
Kissing him, I playfully shove him towards his group. “Have fun, cowboy. Can’t wait to hear how it goes for you.”
Greyson comes by, buzzing with excitement and hands me a radio along with the packet of instructions, then bounces off as I join Evelyn and her husband.
“Oh, Savannah! I’m so glad you’re our team leader! By the looks of the backside of that strapping young man you just kissed, you’ve found your sparkle and cleared those cobwebs, hmm?” she sweetly smiles, her eyes devious.
“Evelyn, why a lady never tells.” Leaning over, whispering really loudly while cupping my mouth, I say, “Between you and me, I didn’t sleep much last night.”
Fanning herself, she chuckles before making sure her husband’s backpack is on correctly.
Double and triple checking that we have all our gear, we set off to our first checkpoint. Each team follows a route Greyson has planned out until we all meet up at the same destination at the end, spending one more night together as an entire group, rehashing our time out in the great wild outdoors.
I look over my shoulder, smiling as Preston heads out with his team. He’s animated and chatting with the biggest grin on his face. He’s one of us now. It deserves a picture, so I snatch my camera from my pack and raise the lens until I have him in focus. Snapping a few, I make a mental note to add them to the website later.
Turning back and shielding my eyes from the sun, my team and I hike out.
The sun is directly overhead, burning through my clothing when we make it to our first checkpoint. I send Evelyn to the river to gather some water as Franky sets up a place to build a fire. Our first task is to start one from scratch to boil water for safe drinking. We also have to rig up some snares to trap an animal for dinner.
Showing the two of them how to set a snare is a challenge. They argue for over five minutes about how long the twine needs to be and then how best to tie it up. Snickering, I throw up my hands, leaving them to it. A quiet place near a tall rock is the perfect spot to sit and reflect while those two quarrel over rope.
The sun is still high, filtering through the pines to land on my skin in lines and stripes. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head up, feeling it warm my face. Summer is on the horizon and the forest is alive. Birds chitter in the trees as small creatures rustle under the brush, creating a mesmerizing symphony. The breeze ruffles my hair and the strands pull against my chin. This is the one place, I truly feel a sense of peace—a connection to the earth that can’t be broken. Mother Earth will come claim it again one day and I cherish the ability to surrender to it right here and right now. Nature has a way of taking everything you’ve ever believed and turning it upside down. Everything lives and everything dies in a never-ending circle of life. It’s what we do in the in-between that matters the most. The stillness that blankets me is a soothing balm to an otherwise chaotic world, and I wish I was sharing this moment with Preston.
My radio crackles to life, sending the birds above me flying off in angry chatter. I had forgotten to turn down the volume and my hand pauses on the knob when my name screeches out amongst the static.
“Savy?” Greyson’s voice rings out high pitched and stressed.
My heart pounds and my stomach rolls as my shaky hands push the talk button. “Greyson? It’s me, what’s wrong?”
I wait for his reply, holding my breath. We radio each other periodically to check in, but this doesn’t sound right. My gut tells me something is wrong.
“I don’t want to scare you,” Already there buddy, “but Preston is missing from his team.”
Fear washes over me, chilling my insides to the bone.
“What do you mean, he’s missing?” I shout into the radio, scaring a poor squirrel that wandered down the wrong tree.
Static cranks out, then Greyson’s voice. “Gypsy radioed me and said he somehow walked off. She was helping Alexis with the fire and then couldn’t find him after that.”
“What are we going to do?” My voice quivers, stomach bile threatening to escape.
“I checked the coordinates, and you’re the closest to where he could have gone. I need you to tell Evelyn and Franky to stay put. I’ll send another member over to be with them. They’ll be ok, they’ve been with us for a long time so they should be alright for a few hours. Take the radio and your pack, along with overnight supplies. Contact me if you haven’t found him by nightfall, set up camp, and I’ll get a helicopter out to track him. He’s smart, Savy. Once he realizes he’s turned around, he’ll stay put like we’ve taught everyone. Try not to worry. You got this.”
Shaking, I slide off the rock and hurry back to my team’s camp. Relaying the message to Evelyn and Franky, I program the coordinates I need into my GPS and as uncertainty pools in my belly; I set out to find the one person I can’t bear to lose.
28
PRESTON
Where the fuck am I?
Glancing to my left and swiveling my head to the right, and then doing a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, I realize I’m completely lost. Every tree, rock, and mushroom is identical, further reminding me of my lack of Lewis and Clark genes.
Well, shit, isn’t this lovely.
“Don’t panic. You couldn’t have gone that far from the team,” I mutter to myself out loud while trying to listen for any signs of them. Alexis is a chatterbox that droned on and on about her new puppy. Surely, I’d hear her incessant musings if I listen hard enough.
Nothing. Nothing but birds chirping and leaves rustling in the slight breeze. Sagging my shoulders, I lean against the nearest tree, the aging bark digging into the back of my head. If I wasn’t about to freak out, then I could enjoy this quiet solitude, but as it stands, I’m utterly alone in a massive forest, my only companions creatures that might view me as a suitable snack.
At least I had the sense to wear my backpack on this little adventure. Dropping it to the ground, I sift through it to find something I can use to alert anyone that I’m here, but it’s futile. It holds nothing but snacks.
Wow, Preston, way to pack for impending doom. At least your stomach won’t be empty when they find you.
Sighing loudly, I try shouting a few times, but all I get is angry looks from the nearby birds as I disturb their afternoon slumber. Annoyed, I decide just to sit down and practice whittling something for Savy, which got me into this predicament.
I was searching for the perfect branch to make her something for when we got back. A patch of berries caught my eye and whipping out the guide Gypsy gave me, I studied them for a bit, deciding they were in fact NOT ok to consume, so I resumed my search for a stick. The perfect stick for my project appears, only to be rotted on the other side from the rainy spring. I continued my trek, giving no regard to the fact that I had no fucking clue where I was going. My happy little Savy bubble preoccupied me for over forty-five minutes, thus providing enough time to get lost.
Hacking away at the stick I eventually found to be adequate, I grow irate. This is not something I did. I di
d not let a woman take over my brain and block out all rational thought. I was always in control, always on the straight and narrow, and now look at me. One slice of pussy heaven, and I’m thoroughly whipped. But if I’m honest with myself—and let’s be clear, there’s no one around for miles that can dispute me—I love that woman’s company so damn much I don’t care how whipped I appear. Until now, when it looks like I won’t be making it out anytime soon.
Enough theatrics, figure out your shit and get yourself out of here.
I scowl, imagining the headlines—award for the biggest dumbass goes to Preston Lee, Directionally Challenged City Boy. I won’t fault Savy in the slightest if she wants to leave me. My stomach drops at the thought. Panic rises in my chest, blurring my vision. I have to get out of this damn forest.
Pausing my slide into insanity, I struggle to remember all the survivalist techniques I’ve learned over the course of my time at SoS. My anxiety, however, has a tight hold on my instincts and bearings, tossing them all around like a washing machine.
A thump sounds to the right of me, and I peel out of my skin. “What the fuck was that?” I whirl as a rabbit scampers back to wherever it came from. Sighing, I turn back around, tangling myself on some sort of bush that rips a hole in my new favorite shirt. What I wouldn’t give to be in my Manhattan office, where all I had to worry about was which spreadsheet worked better for the next client. But Manhattan means no Savy, and I won’t turn my back on that girl ever again. She owns my soul and knows it.
Stay calm, I remind myself. Think, Preston, remember what Savy and Greyson taught you. If you had kept your attention on the words coming from her mouth and not the perfect pair of tits she has, then you might not be in this mess. But let’s face it, your whole life has been one big fat mess, dude, so perhaps Karma is just cashing in today.