by Marni MacRae
Between the choice of drifting for God knew how long, trying to not touch him, to not enjoy him, or giving in to what we both wanted, and seeing if we might comfort each other until rescue came, seemed an obvious choice. I would be a fool, we both would, if we pretended anything else.
A huge smile spread across my face, and I simply said, “Yes.”
He didn’t smile back; he just took me. Took what I offered. My mouth, my body. He pulled me into him, and we lost everything. Time, sound, I was no longer thirsty, except for the taste of him. The hunger that had been rumbling in me all morning turned into a burning desire to consume him. The heat of the sun couldn’t rival the heat off of his skin, his mouth.
We were lying in the bottom of the raft again, the puddle almost gone, but the wet still seeping through my already soaked pants. I kicked my shoes off and struggled with the buckle on his belt. Lucas’s fingers deftly untied the knot at my waist that held up my linen pants and stripped the wet material down my legs. It felt wonderful to have them off of me, the uncomfortable clinging fabric now gone. My legs felt free.
Lucas quickly shed his boots and his equally soaked jeans, and returned to me before I had a chance to miss him. Our skin pressed close, the room in the raft completely taken up with the length of both of our bodies. Our mouths found each other again, tasting the salt off our skin from the ocean, the sweetness of lips and tongue. We were grabbing, pulling close, touching and claiming. I had never wanted anything so much, had never had every piece of me yearn together toward something.
Lucas pressed a knee between my legs, and I spread my thighs, wrapping my legs around the outside of his, and he settled between them, pressing his desire and need against the flames of mine. I grabbed his mouth with mine again, pressed my hands against his back and thrust up to him, bringing him into me.
It was an explosion of sensations. I gasped and let out a moan and clung tighter, how had this never felt this good before? How had I gone my whole life without knowing completion? He was my home. We fit tightly but perfectly, and he thrust again. Fire and lighting crawled through me, tightening my breasts and blurring my vision. I clung to him as we found a rhythm and pushed each other into the storm we had brewed together.
His filling me was heaven. The length and broadness of his body blocked out the sun and made me feel consumed, even as I consumed him. I fought to keep his mouth on mine as we rocked and swayed the raft. I couldn’t imagine not having him to taste, my need wasn’t lessening at all, only growing larger, until I thought I might die, here, on our raft, the first day afloat. It wouldn't be thirst or hunger, or lack of rescue that would kill me. It was this wonderful all-consuming need. And then Lucas bit down, his mouth on my neck, lowering his head to take my breast and torture me even as he thrust deeper, and I sensed the edge of the cliff. The peak of the storm. I flung myself into it, meeting his efforts with my hips, pulling him to me with my hands at his waist, and we both jumped together. Into release. Into the need. I came with my mouth on his, our breath one.
Chapter 10
The sun was hanging in the west, promising the end of our first day aboard the little raft. My hand ran up the side of Lucas’s arm, and I wondered if the dampness that clung to him was from the muggy air, or if it was sweat. We lay wrapped in each other, our heads pointing to the east at the nose of the raft, our legs still tangled, pointing toward the setting sun. I was thirsty but didn’t want to move. Although we were both naked, I felt warm. The air was muggy, and the sun shone on our skin, setting fire to the exposed areas that weren’t covered by each other’s limbs.
Lucas turned his face toward me and buried his mouth at the base of my throat. His tongue flicked there, and I moaned lazily. My fingers wound into the thick curls at the back of his head, and I pulled him closer, arching my neck, pressing my hips tighter to him. I felt a stir there and chuckled.
“Ah, you plan to kill me.” We had made love through the afternoon, and his stamina and passion had me sore, sated, and wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew.
He brought his mouth up to mine and the moment I tasted him, I wanted him again. Maybe not more than I could handle, but I knew we needed to pause. Reluctantly, I pulled back, just far enough to see his sleepy eyes and gorgeous mouth. I may have to close my eyes to have a conversation with him. The draw I felt to dive back in and reignite the fire was like a drug and I, a weak junkie.
I laughed again and kept my eyes open. “We need to get dressed, Lucas. We’re burning, and we should drink and have a bite of something.”
My hunger had come back. Lucas had been terrific in distracting me from all my bodily needs but one, the need for him, but the logical Sophia was fighting to take control. I needed to pee. I was thirsty, and the sunburn we would suffer if we didn’t put our clothes on would be painful, and our own faults.
“Really?” His eyes crinkled with the smile and his dimples lured me back to kissing him.
After a moment though, my urge to pee began sapping away at my arousal. “Mmm,” I said. I slowly unwound my body from his. “Yes. Really.”
Lucas rolled to his back and put his arms under his head. He looked relaxed and gorgeous. As if he were sunbathing on a beach, not roasting in a rubber raft with the chance of no rescue and the threat of no food or water in our near future. He didn't seem to care at all that his skin was covered in the red stripes of a sunburn that had already begun.
“I think we have the right idea here. Clothes are wet and uncomfortable.” He reached out and ran his fingers down my rib cage. “And you look better like this. Your clothes cover up all your tasty bits.”
“You know, yesterday you wouldn’t even talk to me.” I smiled at him and shivered a bit at his touch. “Seems you changed your mind about me. Maybe you'll let me take your picture.” I grinned and raised an eyebrow. He looked like a male model, stretched out and glistening in the sun. I still planned to prove to Anna that I had met and tasted the most gorgeous cowboy alive.
He ran his traveling fingers down my thigh. “What are you talking about? I called you ‘pumpkin’ didn’t I?” He flashed his perfect white teeth, and I laughed. “We went for a late night swim, I took you out for a boat ride to explore the ocean. And I …” He rolled over and trapped me beneath him, “... did this to you.” His mouth was on mine again, and he entered me with one thrust, pulling a moan out of me, and awakening the fire that seemed to only need him for fuel.
I met his thrusts, and my fingers clawed lightly down his back. My legs wrapped themselves around his waist without my permission, and my body took over, shutting down my boring, logical mind. I let him fan my flames until the fire consumed me, and I was left just ashes, drifting at sea.
* * *
Now the sun was setting. The orange streaks stretched overhead, painting the sky into a Phoenix wing, and I watched as the colors deepened, then slowly, so slowly, faded away. Grey with deep blue, a few straggling yellows, and then dusk was upon us, and I sat up.
“OK, now we can treat our wounds.” I ran a hand through Lucas’s hair and bent to kiss his forehead. “I’m going for a swim.”
At this, he sat up quickly and grabbed at my waist. “Swim? Sophia, this isn’t a pleasure cruise, you can’t just jump in the water. What if there are sharks?”
I sighed and looked out at the darkening ocean. “I know, I don’t really want to, but, well, nature calls.” I looked at him a little sheepishly and shrugged. “So I’ll be in and out. Promise. You watch for sharks.”
He sat for a minute looking concerned, and a little scared. I realized that his fear was real, and I wasn't sure how to process it. Was he afraid of sharks? That I'll get eaten and leave him alone on the raft? I knew he could, swim since he had jumped off the Lady Sun alongside me, and he knew that I was a decent swimmer for the same reason. I wondered how I would feel if he had to jump over the side, and my heart clenched at the thought. I am afraid of sharks, and I certainly didn’t want to float alone out here, but I admitted the fear wa
s based on losing him. The realization startled me. I knew his effect on me was extreme, and new to me, that my body responded to him in a way I had never experienced before. But the idea of him being gone, by the jaws of a shark or even through rescue and a flight back to Montana; It hurt, and I forced the thought aside. Wondering, as I did, if that was what he felt too.
“I’ll be quick,” I repeated and rose to go to Ducky’s edge.
“Wait.” Lucas was rising and moving to the end of the raft. His tone was firm and commanding, I was sorry now that our mood had been ruined. I saw that he was dragging the gun out from behind the metal box. He quickly and efficiently loaded the clip and pulled back on the slide, chambering a round. “Quickly.” He said, nodding to the water.
I slipped over the side, keeping one hand on the raft, and thought what a funny scene this must make; me relieving myself in the ocean while being guarded against sharks by a naked man with an angry looking gun. Maybe they won’t make a movie out of this after all. Or they'll cut out the nudity and edit this scene altogether. I chuckled to myself and pulled myself back into the raft.
Lucas held the gun out to me, the barrel pointing toward the first star that had appeared in the blue-black sky. “Now me.”
I took the rifle and waited for him to slip over the side of the raft, keeping my eye on the surrounding water for any telltale fins or dark shadows that may be sneaking about, waiting to strike. The thought unnerved me, and my grip on the rifle tightened. It only took a moment, and Lucas was pulling himself back in the raft. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding, and grinned in relief. “Feel better?”
He nodded and grinned back. “Yeah, actually, I do.” He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the mouth and took the gun from my hands. “This looks sexy on you.” I watched as he took the clip out and shot the round out of the chamber. He pressed it back into the clip and stored them both behind the box again.
I picked our damp clothing up from the bottom of the raft and lay them over the back end of Ducky, near the motor. Then I pulled four life vests off of the pile on top of the luggage and shoved them to the nose of the raft, creating a makeshift bed -- or at least pillows. I fetched my purse and pulled out a water bottle and a candy bar. A Twix. I took the treasure to the pillows and leaned back, my body propped up enough to be almost sitting. Lucas joined me, and we curled up together, our body heat and the warm air, better than a blanket.
“Are you cold?” He asked.
“No.” I took a mouthful of water and passed the bottle to him.
“Good. I like you this way.” He took his ration of water and capped the bottle handing it back to me.
“Naked?”
“Available,” he corrected.
I opened the Twix and handed him one of the bars. “To a starry night tour and your attempt to make this go by so much faster.” I touched my Twix against his and took a bite.
He held the candy in front of him, looking at me as I enjoyed the warm chocolate and caramel cookie. “Thank you,” he said, and I saw he was smiling, “pumpkin.”
* * *
The stars spread like scattered diamonds across the night sky. Laying side by side, our fingers entwined, and with my head on Lucas’s shoulder, I watched as a tiny shooting star made its way across the black velvet. I didn’t recognize any of the constellations. It made me feel even further from home, despite the beauty of the sparkling lights.
“Lucas?”
“Hmm.” He sounded as if he were drifting near sleep. And no wonder, the last two days had been more full of adrenaline and endorphins than any other time combined through my thirty-two years.
“What’s your last name?” His arm came up over my shoulder behind me, and his fingers lightly stroked my arm, soothing me, arousing me. God I was hopeless, this man had complete control over my libido.
“Lael. My name is Lucas Josiah Lael.” His voice was low. I could feel his breath on the top of my head as we drifted and rocked on the water.
“That’s very pretty. I mean, handsome. It’s nice to meet you.” His chuckle shook me a little, and I wrapped my free arm around his rib cage. “Tell me about Montana.” I felt a need to know him. Not just to experience his body or to take pleasure in his physical beauty. The earlier thought of losing him had seeped its way past the barriers I had shoved it behind. Now I wanted now to learn about him, this lost and comforting man, to whom I owed my life.
His fingers kept their pace, running up and down my arm slowly, and I forced my body not to respond as I waited to hear his answer. “It’s big.” He said quietly. “With a sky like this one, so that on a night out in the fields you can look up forever and ever, but not see all of it at once. Different stars, though.”
He kissed the top of my head, and I felt tears come to my eyes. Home. Open fields and different stars.
“I have a ranch there.” He continued. “Horses and cows, room to run, to stretch.” He turned toward me, and his other arm wrapped around me, encasing me in a warm blanket of heat from his skin.
“I’ll show it to you.” His voice was still low. “If you want, when we get home. We can go for a ride, take the horses up to the creek that runs down from the mountains. Make love in the grass.”
And then I did cry. Silent tears crept down my cheek, and I wasn’t sure if it was the thought of home, or the relief and joy that spread through me, that he wanted to show me his. So this wasn’t just convenient sex. It mattered. I knew it mattered to me, but I cried, lying there in his embrace, grateful that it mattered to him too.
“I would like that,” I whispered. And the rocking raft lulled us to sleep.
* * *
I awoke in the night, chilled and cramped. Dragging myself out of sleep, I sensed that something was different, but couldn’t place it. I snuggled closer to Lucas, contemplating fetching my clothes and getting dressed for the warmth they would provide, but I was still so sleepy. Instead, I burrowed deeper into Lucas’s arms and started to drift off again. The rocking of the raft rose and fell, like an unsettled waterbed. The rocking. That’s what's different. And the wind, I was cold because a wind had picked up, and we were bouncing on the water in the little raft more than usual. I pulled away from my warm, safe haven, and shook Lucas.
“Wake up, Lucas.” I sat up fully, and my eyes began to adjust to the dim light. There were no more stars in the sky.
Lucas came awake and sat up beside me. He must have registered the change quicker than I had because he said, “A storm is coming in.”
I reached for my purse, a dark bulge at the end of the raft, and dragged it toward me. I fished around inside until my fingers found the flashlight, and I clicked it on. The beam shot out, brilliant and blinding and I closed my eyes briefly, trying not to lose my balance in the rocking raft.
Lucas took the flashlight and held it over his head, shining it all around us, like a lighthouse, out to sea. The waves were picking up. It wasn’t storm level yet, but with the dark sky above and the wind, we could assume it was coming. I looked at Lucas, and he reached out for my hand.
“Get dressed Sophia; put on a life vest.”
I crawled to the motor where our rumpled clothes lay, dry now from baking in the sun. I pulled on my bra, panties, pants and tank and put the sundress where I could grab it easily. We would need to bail again if it rained. The pressure in the air promised it. I handed Lucas his pants and shirt. We both ignored our shoes but pulled on life vests and sat in the middle of the raft, one hand on the side for balance, the other clasped tightly to each other.
“We should tie down whatever may go over,” he said.
I could hear in his voice that he was thinking, planning, and I was grateful he had a take-care-of- business attitude. It would help my jitters to have something to focus on.
I attached the life vests to the luggage again, tying two to each, and two to the metal can. I lay the rifle on top of the can and wrapped the straps around it, snapping them securely and tightening the slack.
> “Is there anything we can use to fasten them to the raft?” I had to raise my voice some as the wind picked up, and Ducky rose and fell in the dark swells the storm was kicking up.
Lucas joined me at the suitcases and unzipped his. He reached in with one hand, searching in the dark for the knife at the bottom of the case. He came up with it and re-zipped the case. Carefully, he turned to the side of the raft and sawed at the rope that ran along the length of the rim. It only took a few strokes, and the rope separated.
I crawled to the nose of the raft, dragging my purse and our precious supply of food. Unclasping my vest, I put the long strap over my shoulder, over my head and back into the messenger position. Once I had I refastened the vest, I watched Lucas’s dark shadow thread the rope through the handles of the suitcases, the metal box, through the plastic loops along the edge of Ducky’s port side, and tie it all securely together. The whole pile was now buoyant if it went over, and attached to the raft. We were as prepared as we were going to be. Lucas held out his hand, and I joined him, sitting low in the center of the raft, holding the sides, holding each other.
The storm hit as it had earlier. It just opened up above us and began dumping water. But this time the rain came from all sides as well, whipped by the wind that had picked up. We rode the waves and swells, up, and down, up and down, slightly sideways, then up and down again. The swells were nauseating, but not enough to capsize us. If we were careful, and a little lucky, we could ride it out.
Water in the raft began rising, and Lucas started sopping and wringing with the extra shirt he had stuck in his belt. I scrambled to my sundress, and together we tried to stay in balance as we rose and fell, and sopped, and wrung out, over the side -- into the ocean.
We were so wet, it was hard to tell if the ocean was above us or below. There was no light, no lightning or thunder, just black sea, and dark sky and water everywhere. I let the rain run into my mouth, let it moisten me. It was perfect for hydration, for washing away the saltwater from my clothes, and skin and hair, but perfect too, for sinking us. Drowning us. I kept sopping and wringing, my arms beginning to burn, my hands raw from the twisting of the material, over, and over, and over. It seemed like hours passed.