“I’m a little sore,” she admitted, but she liked that she felt their previous times together with each new penetration.
“Want me to make your ass sore too?”
She shattered at the mere thought, moaning as ecstasy rippled through her. He slapped her ass, which made her tighten around his cock, and he followed her over the edge.
“Later,” he promised as he held himself deep inside her, fingers digging hard into her hips. Her inner muscles gripped the hard length of him in seemingly endless waves as she drew his orgasm into hers.
After a long moment, he collapsed onto his side and drew her close, spooning her back tightly to his chest.
“It’s only going to get better between us,” he murmured close to her ear.
She wasn’t sure how that was possible, but she was looking forward to finding out if he was right.
*~*~*
After an outdoor shower that used water from an overhead reservoir of collected rainwater, they picked ripe tropical fruit off the trees for their breakfast.
“You’re going to get sick of fruit,” Steve said as he handed her a papaya. “There’s not much food stored here that you can eat. We usually fish for our supper, if we aren’t too drunk.”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, spotting an avocado tree on the edge of the clearing around the little beach house. “Better than fine.” She loved avocados, especially with eggs. “Dare needs to get some chickens.”
“Then you’d prefer his island to my farm.”
“I prefer being with you,” she said as she tried to figure out which avocados were ripe, “wherever that happens to be.”
Steve drew in a deep breath, his bare chest broadening. “How do you feel about obnoxiously large mansions in Los Angeles?”
“I’d prefer someplace a little cozier, but—”
“Good. Dare’s the one with the ungodly huge mansion. I live in a tiny cottage in Venice Beach.”
She wasn’t sure why he thought he was in competition with Dare, but she recognized a male ego in need of stroking when she saw one. “I can’t wait to see it,” she said, before realizing she was getting ahead of herself. There had to be a reason why he’d brought her to Dare’s island for their weekend together rather than to his own house. “I mean if you ever want me to visit.”
“Probably not a good idea,” he said, reaching over to place a hand on her bare back. “I’d probably do something stupid like ask you to move in with me.”
She laughed off his admission, partly because she figured she’d probably say yes, and that would be ridiculous. They scarcely knew each other. At least other people would see it that way. She felt like she’d always known him.
A loud squawk made her jump. Roux spotted numerous colorful birds in the jungle behind the little beach house, but no monkeys. There probably weren’t any. It was unlikely that they’d be able to reach the island from the mainland, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to explore.
“Can we check out the jungle after breakfast?” she asked, squinting into the dim interior of the thick undergrowth.
“I was hoping you’d want to check out my body.”
“I can multitask.” She turned toward the house carrying several papayas and avocados, and a bright purple fruit she didn’t recognize but that Steve had insisted was edible.
The only thing more delightful and delicious than the fruit was the company. Steve had an endless stream of humorous tales about Logan’s ceaseless search for a new adrenaline rush and how he somehow always convinced Steve to join him.
“So he’s dangling from the top of the tree with one hand, throwing these coconuts down at me with his other like projectile missiles, when he decides we can use the tree as a springboard to jump over this little cliff into the ocean.”
Roux covered her eyes with both hands. “Please tell me you didn’t agree to try it.”
“He dared me.”
She shook her head. Boys!
“So I shinny up the tree, and the dang thing bows all the way to the ground under our weight. Logan pushes me off onto the beach, and the trunk pops up and sends him flying.”
She tried not to laugh, because someone probably got hurt, but Logan Schmidt flying off the end of a tree had to have been a sight to behold.
“Dare’s just standing there with his finger on speed dial for emergency medical transport.”
“And Max?”
“Max is yelling that he hopes we break our stupid necks.”
“It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun together,” she said.
A crease formed between Steve’s brows. “Yeah, we used to,” he said. “But now we spend most of our time arguing.”
“What about?” She was expecting the usual “creative differences” response. That was what most bands argued over. Especially one as successful and long-lived as Exodus End.
“Sam Fucking Baily.”
“Our manager?”
Steve’s lip curled, and storm clouds built in his gorgeous brown eyes. She hadn’t known a person’s mood could shift so swiftly.
“Should I be worried?” she asked, because she wasn’t experienced enough to know when to worry about having a powerhouse of a manager versus when she should feel grateful for having one.
“I won’t let him hurt your career,” Steve said. He took her hand and squeezed it before pointing to her lips. “You have a little something there.”
She licked at the corner of her mouth but couldn’t find traces of anything unusual. “What?”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “My lips.”
“Mmm,” she said, sliding a hand to the back of his head to keep him from moving away. “I think I’ll keep those there for as long as possible.”
It was near noon when they finally ventured out of the house again. Roux was slathered in sunscreen and bug spray and wearing a semi-transparent cover-up over her green string bikini. The sun had never been kind to her skin. She burned quickly and severely if she wasn’t careful. She envied Steve’s tan and the fact that he could wear nothing but a pair of shorts in the muggy heat.
“Are you sure you want to go into the jungle?” he asked. “It’s a jungle in there.”
She rolled her eyes at his lame joke. “Just for a little while,” she said. “I’ve never been in a jungle before.”
“You were in one last night.”
“I can go by myself if you don’t want to protect me,” she said.
That did the trick. He took her hand. “I’ll always protect you. Do you want to walk or take the quad?”
She wore little tennis shoes and Steve wore sandals. She wasn’t sure how rugged the terrain would be but feared the noisy quad would scare off any wildlife.
“Walk. Is that okay?”
“Whatever you want, Red. This is your adventure.”
She soon discovered that the farther they got from the beach, the hotter and more humid the air became, until she was pretty sure they’d somehow ventured into the steam room at the gym. Steve pointed out several brightly colored birds in the trees, and Roux discovered that cute furry shrews lived in the leaf litter and munched on the many bugs that populated the area. They didn’t find any monkeys.
“I’ve seen a few sea turtles on the beach,” Steve said.
She figured he was less than enthused by their jungle walk and was trying to entice her back to the much cooler beach. Or maybe he knew she loved sea turtles.
“I’m ready to head back,” she said. “Maybe we’ll find more interesting wildlife on the beach.”
A large iridescent green beetle landed on Steve’s shoulder. He shouted, his body jerking as he wildly flailed his arms. Roux laughed and plucked the beetle off his skin before allowing the shiny creature to run over the surface of her hand.
“My hero,” she said.
“It startled me.”
The beetle spread its wings and took flight toward Steve, who ducked and swung a hand at it.
“You’re not afraid of bugs, are y
ou?” Roux asked.
“No. I just don’t like them touching me. Or flying around me.” He grinned. “Or existing.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll protect you.”
He poked her in the ribs, and she yanked away, giggling. She started toward the beach by carefully stepping over a fallen tree, but Steve caught her by the arm. “It’s this way.” He jerked his head in the opposite direction.
“Are you sure?” She wasn’t. Sometime during their walk she’d lost track of direction, and here under the forest canopy, she couldn’t see the sky except in occasional small patches. As she looked up hoping to catch a glimpse of the sun, the branches overhead swayed and rustled with the strong breeze and the interior of the jungle darkened.
“I’m sure,” he said, and she stepped back over the log to stand at his side. “I’m also sure we’re about to get soaked.”
“How—”
A single rumble of thunder announced a sudden downpour. The dense leaves overhead caught the rain, but the load was soon too much, and water drenched them in seconds. The cool rain felt refreshing after the cloying air, so Roux turned her face up and closed her eyes, allowing the water to cascade over her cheeks. She even stuck out her tongue for a taste. She gasped in surprise when she was suddenly gripped by both arms and pressed against a sturdy tree trunk.
“You don’t have any idea how beautiful you are, do you?” Steve asked, cupping her face and rubbing water from her cheek with his thumb.
She opened her eyes and crinkled her nose. “I’m pretty sure I look like a drowned rat at the moment.” Though he looked irresistibly sexy with his dark hair clinging to his face and neck and water dripping from the strong contours of his jaw to trickle down his throat and broad, muscular chest.
He shook his head. “I want you.”
“Now?”
“Always.”
In that case, she couldn’t resist leaning close to lick the water from his collarbone or kissing a trail up his neck. She always wanted him as well.
One of his hands squeezed her breast while the other worked its way beneath the fabric of her bikini bottoms. His fingers were cool against her heat. With a few rapid strokes against her clit, he had her wet and moaning. She fumbled with his shorts to free his cock and took a moment to appreciate the silky skin that covered the length of his hard shaft. With his continued teasing of her clit, her own need took precedence, and she tugged him forward, lifting her leg and nudging her bikini bottoms aside to direct him into her. He needed no further encouragement. Steve grabbed her ass to lift her higher, leveraging her back against the tree so he could thrust deep.
Her heart pounded furiously as he began to move, his strokes as frenzied and wild as the storm raging against the trees above. His fingers dug into her ass, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. The tree against her back was hard and unyielding as his body drove into hers again and again.
“Oh God. Oh God,” she cried as he pushed her closer and closer to her peak.
“Steve,” he corrected with a soft chuckle in her ear. “I can’t take credit for all existence.”
At that moment, she was pretty sure he could. “Oh, oh G— Steve. I’m coming. Don’t stop.”
She shattered, her body shaking and arching as she claimed her release.
“Ah fuck, baby. I’m done too.” Steve groaned and buried his face against her throat as he shuddered in bliss.
Roux relaxed against the tree, clinging to Steve’s shoulders and squeezing his hips with her legs as she tried to catch her breath.
“I’m never going to achieve my goal of making you come three times if I keep losing control like that,” he said.
She grinned, loving that she made him lose control. “I’m rather fond of the simultaneous orgasm thing,” she said, noticing that the rain had stopped, and the wind had settled down.
“We’re becoming experts at that,” he said.
He shifted her away from the tree, and she winced as air brushed against her back. She was sure she’d have scratches for days, reminders of him after they parted. Would he really be able to wait for her for three months? Not that he’d promised not to be with other women during that time. At the thought, her chest squeezed in agony.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, stroking her forehead.
“Not yet,” she whispered, breathing through her emotions.
He smirked. “Do you want me to?”
“Not especially.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I don’t think I’m capable of it.”
She was certain he was.
*~*~*
Roux had to admit that the beach was far nicer than the jungle. The cool breeze made the heat pleasant rather than unbearable, and Steve had decided to do a little offshore fishing in the nude, which made the view spectacular. She didn’t even care that they had yet to spot a sea turtle. She sat in the shade to protect her fair skin and pretended to read a paperback she’d found in the beach house. But the flexing of certain back and butt muscles each time Steve cast his line was far too distracting to allow her to comprehend a word she read. Her gaze kept drifting out to the waves and the unexpected center of her universe standing bare-assed for her enjoyment. Feeling bolder than usual, she removed her cover-up, and then, after a few moments’ hesitation, her bikini top. She’d never felt sunshine on her bare breasts before, so she ventured from under the shade tree to sit closer to the shore.
Steve snagged another fish and reeled it in. Now that she was closer, the view was even more spectacular. Who knew fishing could be such an entertaining spectator sport? He turned to show her the size of his prize—and she caught a glimpse of the size of his package—and he immediately dropped the fish back into the water. The size of his package grew.
“Did you put sunscreen on your pretty pink nipples?” he asked.
She laughed, not sure if she should be offended that he was able to worry about something like sunscreen when she was sitting topless on the beach or touched that he was concerned for her well-being.
“I figured they wouldn’t be exposed for long,” she said. “Not when your mouth is empty.”
“Good point.” He grabbed the bucket of fish sitting in the waves and carried that and his pole toward shore. His other pole was standing at full rigid attention. Roux’s mouth watered, but she played it cool, closing her eyes, tossing her hair back and arching her back to show off her bare breasts. She felt daring and liberated and beautiful. Those were not things she felt often and certainly never all at once.
Cool water dripped on her foot, and a shadow blocked the heat of the sun from her body. Her nipples hardened as if they knew Steve was admiring them.
“I wonder if anyone would notice if we stayed here forever,” Steve said quietly.
She opened her eyes, thankful for the sunglasses that kept her vision clear. His cock was at eye level, and any thoughts she’d had about the length of forever scattered on the breeze.
“Come on my tits,” she said, squeezing her thighs together as the image of him doing it entertained her thoughts. “Right here. Right now.”
His naughty grin had her rocking her pussy against the sand. “I can’t do that on demand,” he said. “I’ll need a little help.”
“You can’t help yourself?” Because if he kept looking at her like he wanted to devour her, she was going to have to help herself real soon.
“It’s been a while,” he said, one hand moving to circle his cock. “Two weeks to be exact. But I think I remember how.”
When his grip tightened around his shaft, her entire body spasmed with longing. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he stroked himself, and she could almost feel him inside her, thrusting into her with that same rhythm. She thought the anticipation and longing were almost as good as being fucked, until his breath quickened with excitement. Then she decided this was a total waste of cum.
“Wait,” she said.
She tugged his hand away from his cock. She placed a gentle kiss on i
ts tip, her tongue snaking out to flick against a small freckle that decorated his skin just beneath his rim. Steve’s breath came out in a huff.
“I changed my mind.”
“That’s not very nice.”
“I want to ride you.”
She glanced up to catch his wide grin. “I take it back. That’s much nicer than doing this manually.”
She tugged his arm gently, and he dropped to his knees beside her, cupping her face with both hands and kissing her gently.
“I still want you to come on my tits,” she said, shoving at his solid shoulder to coax him onto his back. “Don’t come inside me this time.”
He groaned. “But I love coming inside you.”
She grinned and slipped off her bikini bottoms. “I love it too.”
“Careful not to get sand between us. It chafes like a bitch.”
She stepped away from him and brushed the sand off her butt and thighs, and then straddled him. “You put it in,” she said. “I have sand on my hand.”
“I must say, I like this bossy side of you, Red.”
“I like all sides of you,” she said, her heart hammering at admitting something so binding. She pressed the bullet dangling from her bracelet into her belly to soothe her suddenly jumbled emotions.
“I like all sides of you as well.” His tip nudged her opening, and she shifted to accept him inside her. “More than like.”
“I more than like you too.”
He laughed, his eyes bright. He looked blissfully happy.
She sucked a breath through her teeth as she slowly lowered over him. Damn, she was tender. How many times had he been inside her in the past twenty-four hours? A dozen? Still she wanted more.
He moved his hands to her hips, pulling her down as he thrust up to penetrate her fully.
She placed her palms on his chest, the bullet on her bracelet between her flesh and his. He didn’t complain about the discomfort. He covered that hand with his and pressed down as if he wanted that little bit of metal that had nearly ended her life to brand him permanently.
“I more than like you so much,” he whispered. “I thought feeling this strongly about a woman would be terrifying, but it’s a relief and a joy.”
Staged (Exodus End World Tour, #3) Page 21