by Jesse Joren
"I like this place because it's so truly remote. If things go to hell, all the money and power in the world are no help. If you don't prepare, you're fucked."
"You talk just like my insane Doomsday prepper family," I grumbled.
"Everyone makes fun of crazy rednecks," Hex said, "until zombies start eating people."
He would be right at home swapping stories, or outright lies, with my Uncle Dale. I could see him doing business with the St. Claires, or drinking beer at a Braves game. He fit everywhere and yet oddly nowhere.
No matter how strange and downright illegal these last few months had been, Hex thrilled me in a primal way I couldn't explain. There was a reason we'd talked online so long, the flame of attraction burning bright in spite of such a narrow world.
He was everything I wanted. Smart as hell, sexy as sin, resourceful and living outside the rules. Even his dark side attracted me. It was a perfect match to my own.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
By reflex I started to say that I was tired. That we should get going soon. That he should see a doctor somewhere, just to be safe.
I opened my mouth to say one of these sensible things, but that's not what came out. Some part of me was tired of pretending, ready to go big, or go home.
"I was thinking that I want you to make love to me," I blurted, "and that I want to be on top."
CHAPTER TWENTY
For the second time on this ill-fated trip, I'd caught Hex completely by surprise. He stared at me as if I'd started speaking in tongues, as some of the churches in this area still probably did.
"I thought I was the one who was supposed to be delirious," he said. "How about I let you have this excuse for a bed so you can get some sleep?"
"Stop doing that," I snapped, my temper rising. "If you're tired of me, then just say so and let me go. But don't —"
"Is that what you think? That I'm tired of you? If you think that, then your female intuition is really fucked."
Natalie had said practically the same thing. He took a deep breath.
"How can you be so blind? Don't you realize how much I've wanted you, Eva? How much – no, obviously you don't."
He gave a short laugh.
"For such a smart girl," he said, "you sure are dumb about some things."
Dumb, huh? We'd see about that.
I stood up and crossed the short space between our chairs. Slowly I straddled Hex, sitting on his lap and facing him.
"Then show me," I whispered. "I don't want to wonder anymore."
He started to say something. I swooped down and caught his lips in a clumsy kiss.
For the barest instant he went stiff, then his hands came up to my hair. He held my head as his lips met mine, with a fever that had nothing to do with snakebite.
His arms went around me, his hands cupping my ass. His mouth traced a fiery trail up my neck to nuzzle at my ear.
"Wrap your legs around me," he ordered.
He didn't have to tell me twice.
I locked my legs around the hard muscles of his waist, then he stood up, taking me with him. My arms went around his neck, and I kissed him again, thrilling in the taste of him in my mouth, the feel of his body against mine.
His return kisses never missed a beat as he backed us toward the bed, sitting while keeping me tight against him. My body pressed against him, feeling every subtle ripple, the hard strength and grace that had always made me feel weak when I watched him move.
I could feel the effort it cost him to break away from that kiss. He took my face in his hands.
"Are you sure this is what you want, Eva?" he asked. "You might not be thinking straight. Last night was pretty fucked up."
That made me laugh.
"Fucked up doesn't begin to cover it. What would you call the last five months since you broke into my apartment and hauled me off?"
"There is that," he agreed. "Look at me."
Our gazed locked, and he seemed to look right through me and into my thoughts, gauging what was there. Whatever he saw suddenly lit up his eyes with that silvery heat that never failed to thrill me.
He stood up and gently placed me on my feet.
"In the movies, I would have taken you hiking in a dress that pulls up," he said. "We have on too damn many clothes."
"Bet you know what to do about that," I teased.
"Yes ma'am," he said in an exaggerated drawl.
In several quick gestures he was back to briefs. Dark blue now, no doubt changed at the stream
"Now I'm not the one who's overdressed. Allow me."
With quick, easy grace he began to undress me. His fingers moved like blurs as they worked the buttons and zippers, stripping away everything but my sports bra and panties.
"I love you in that pale green," he said, running his fingers gently down my arms. The resulting shiver made my nipples rise up and press against the soft fabric.
"But," he went on, sitting down on the bed, "I like you best in nothing at all."
He stretched out on his back, like a Greek god come to life in the tiny cabin. He put his hands behind his head and gave me a wolfish look.
"You wanted to be on top, Evangeline. Let's see what you had in mind."
The gray morning had taken on a dream-like quality. I felt like someone else. Not just ordinary Eva. Someone daring. Someone who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it.
Slowly I pulled the bra over my head, baring my breasts to the cool air and Hex's searing gaze. I heard his breath catch, and a thrill went through me.
"That's all I'm taking off right now," I said.
"Fair enough. For now," he said. "Come here and we'll discuss it."
Starting at the foot of the bed, I crawled on top, being sure to rub against every glorious inch of Hex stretched out on the bed. He was very still, letting me have my way until I was fully into the bed. I carefully straddled him again, taking care to avoid the bite on his ribs.
The crisp hair on his chest slipped through my fingers as I touched him, then it was down to stroke the rock-hard muscles of his belly. Slyly I let my hand dip lower, down to stroke the very base of the hard length I felt under his briefs, pressing between our bodies.
"Do you still wonder if I want you?" he asked. He was stroking the undersides of my breasts, sending ripples of pleasure all the way to were our bodies pressed together.
"I'm getting the idea," I said, raising myself up a little to rub him again. The unfamiliar feeling of strength in my own body still thrilled me.
"Good," he said. "Then get used to this idea too."
Then he moved under me. There was a brief instant of feeling him rising up like a bucking horse, my legs clinging to stay astride him. Then I was on my back in the bed, breathless and wide-eyed.
Hex was leaning over me now, laughing.
"Turnabout is fair play," he teased, leaning down to nuzzle against my breasts.
My protests became a muted groan as his lips closed over the hardness of my nipple. The slow, hot tugs only threw fuel on the fire building down between my legs.
"These are pretty, but they need to get the fuck out of here," Hex muttered as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my panties. When they clung persistently he gave them a sharp yank that snapped the fragile lace over one hip.
"I'll buy you more," he promised as he threw them aside.
With aching slowness his fingers delved deep into my damp heat, reminding me of the first night in my apartment. He brought his hand to his lips and slowly licked his palm clean, his eyes never leaving mine.
"I love the way you taste," he said. "You should never have sent me those panties. I might have left you alone otherwise."
He paused for a moment.
"No, I wouldn't," he said. "Even then, I was too far gone. I needed to know who you really were."
"Then I'm glad I sent them," I said, half convinced that this was only a dream.
"Open your mouth. I want you to see what I mean," he said, placing
his fingertips again my lips.
Slowly I opened, allowing two of his fingers to slide into me. A musky, slightly sweet taste filled my mouth and nose.
His fingers withdrew, replaced with his lips. Both of our tastes blended into that kiss, making me gasp and wrap my legs around his waist again.
"Grab the headboard," he said, breaking the kiss.
"What?"
"Grab it. Both hands. Don't let go. If you do, I'll stop what I'm doing."
He looked intently down into my face, his eyes blazing.
"You wanted to be on top," he said. "To have all the control. Let's see how much you really have."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
With clumsy effort I groped for two of the spindles in the headboard. The old wood was rough and heavy as I closed my hands around them.
"Good," he said. "You let go, and we’ll get up and start packing to go home. It's all up to you."
"This wasn't what I mean by being on top," I objected.
"That," Hex said, "isn't my problem."
He kissed me, silencing my protests as both of his hands found my breasts again, cupping them together and rubbing his thumbs over the hard little nubs.
Right away I felt my hands slipping on the rungs. I tightened the grip, but already I could tell this was going to be hard.
Hex began to slide down, tonguing and kissing as he went. He nuzzled my throat before starting lower, down to nudge my breasts. His tongue traced the very outer edges of my nipples, stirring the tiny hairs and making them tighten even more.
"Too bad I didn't bring clamps," he said. "Oh wait. What are these?"
He held up what looked like four little metal balls, each about the size of a green pea. They were stuck tightly together, looking pretty harmless.
"What are those?" I asked.
"You're about to find out," he said, prying apart two of the balls with a soft click.
There was a brief sensation of cold metal against one side of my left nipple, then the other side. The two little balls suddenly drew together, pinching my nipple tightly between them.
Hex's tongue was licking my nipple now where the balls held it erect. The sensation was a little pain and an avalanche of unexpected pleasure, all twined together.
"Magnets come in very handy in a survival cabin," he said against my breast. "Are you ready for the other side?"
I nodded, not sure if I was or not.
There was another little click of the metal balls. This time the pinch wasn't such a shock, more bearable. Especially knowing that a very thorough tonguing was the reward.
"These can't stay on very long," Hex told me. "They sink in as they try to get back to each other. We'll have to hurry."
But he didn't seem hurried as he continued his path down my body, over my midriff and lower.
"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, nuzzling my lower belly.
"No," was all I could say.
"I've always believed that 'no' means 'no' when I hear it," he said. "In this case, I want a little more proof. Open to me, Eva. Show me what you want."
My thighs were shaking as I parted them, opening myself to his eyes and hands and lips. My clamped nipples throbbed, urging me on.
Hex eased his fingertip to part my swollen lips, working deeper to tease the hard little button inside. My back arched up, straining toward that touch.
His voice took on a note I hadn't heard since the night of the bath. Thick, guttural, primal.
"It's like a secret spring down here. Sweet water. You have no idea how thirsty I am."
Then his mouth was on me, licking and tugging. One of my hands lost its grip as I gasped, my whole lower body leaving the bed in a desperate attempt to meet his lips. Blindly I grabbed at the spindle again. I wasn't going to have him stop on a technicality.
His fingers slid lower as his mouth worked against me, pushing up inside to fill me. In and out, in and out, while his tongue teased my clit with wide, wet laps.
I closed my eyes, shutting out everything but that sensation, the swelling tide inside of me. His free hand found my aching nipples, flicking them in time with his tongue.
"The control's all yours," he said between licks. "I can do this for hours. Your decision. Want to cum now?"
He worked me in a hard rhythm between his mouth and his fingers. The sudden increase in sensation made me open my legs wider, straining toward him.
"Or later," he added, slowing down to the slowest, softest licking possible, so light it could barely be felt.
Somehow that was worse. Screw later. I was tired of waiting. It had been months…
Hex seemed to feel my answer. His mouth and fingers quickened again, working me fast and hard between them. The peak was on me so fast that I barely had time to speak.
"I'm going…to cum…now…" was all I could manage, then the climax was ripping through me. It started right under Hex's mouth and spread through me like a river of heat.
Don't let go…don't…headboard…
My hands clutched the spindles like a lifeline as my body thrashed. The heavy weight of my breasts swayed as I moved, pulling the clamps tighter. The slight flare of pain only brought another wave of pleasure.
"Not so fast," Hex said. "You're not done yet."
His fingers hooked inside of me, and there was a sensation of hardness in one particular spot he touched.
"That's what we're looking for," he said, beginning to stroke. "Remember, don't let go. Not unless you want me to stop."
Again my body strained toward him, even as my clit trembled with exhaustion. His mouth slipped down to lap at my swollen lips, taking up the sleek heat it poured out of me.
"Hex, I—"
The rubbing deep inside of me quickened, cutting off my words as another wave of pleasure burst through me. My hands abandoned the headboard and found Hex's hair, pulling him tighter against me as I came.
"I win," I heard him say, laughter in his voice.
If not winning felt like this, I was more than happy to be a complete loser.
Slowly the pleasure receded, trickling out of my body and leaving me limp. With a long sigh Hex stretched out beside me on the bed, giving me a kiss that was full of my own taste. His fingers reached for the clamps, but I brushed him away.
"Don't pretend these aren't starting to hurt," he said. "I know better."
"They do," I agreed, and they did. My nipples were passing from a throb to a burn. "You only get to take them off after."
"After what?"
"After this," I said.
He didn't stop me as I straddled him again. The rock-hard bulge of his cock behind the briefs felt good rubbing against me.
"No," he said, putting his hands on my waist. "Not right now."
That made me mad. He wanted me. I knew he did. I was sitting right on top of the evidence.
"Why?" I asked, clamping my legs tighter. "Why do you always pull away from me?"
His smile was crooked.
"Many reasons. For today it's because I don't have any protection."
"Are you serious? You brought magnetic nipple clamps, but you didn't—"
"There's limited room in a pack," he said.
"You packed freaking anti-venom. What were the chances you'd need it?"
"That should make you realize that I had no plans of dragging you out here and having my way with you."
Too bad. I'm going to have my way with you.
"I'm willing to take that chance," I said boldly.
With a skill that surprised me, I reached down and pulled him free of the briefs. His cock was hard and thick in my hand, pulsing with heat. He groaned as I closed my hand around him, stroking up and down.
"Look at you, being all daring," he teased, his hips moving a little under me.
The sensation rose in me again that today I wasn't Eva. I was someone else. Someone who took chances and didn't take no for an answer.
"If you think that's daring," I said, "then get a load of this."
In one smooth
motion I rose up, rubbing the tip of him again my sleek opening, still swollen tight and warm. Slowly I began to lower myself on him, feeling him slide inside of me.
His hands found my waist, and for an instant I thought he meant to pull me off of him. Instead he slowly pushed me down, driving his hard length deeper into me.
I smiled into his eyes. Hex was looking at me like he'd never seen me before. Maybe he hadn't.
"My nipples hurt," I said, starting to move on top of him. "They can't come off until you finish. You aren't going to let me hurt like this, are you?"
"No," he said, "I'm not. You better hold on."
The hint of power I'd felt under me suddenly came alive. Maybe I was on top, but there was no doubt who had the control. His hands pressed me down, forcing his hardness into me hard and fast.
"Yes," I gasped. "That. Like that."
His rhythm picked up, making me cling to him to not be thrown. My breasts bounced wildly, each vibration making the magnets bite deep.
Every thrust inside of me made me feel alive, made me know my power as a woman. This sexy, dangerous man was under me, turned on by me. Ready to climax hard because of me.
Then I felt him trying to move me aside, to pull himself out of me. I knew what that meant and perversely I clung tighter, not letting him push me away.
"Christ, Eva, I'm close, get off and —"
"No," I said fiercely. "I'm staying where I am."
"For fuck's sake –"
He couldn't finish, the sentence becoming a groan. Down where our bodies joined, his cock swelled as I squeezed. Hot wetness began to fill me as he bucked and thrashed, holding me against him.
Hex relaxed under me with a slow, steady sigh. His lean, beautiful face was sexier than I'd ever seen it, lips parted and eyes closed. The tousled blonde hair and thin layer of stubble made me think of pirates.
No, Vikings. That was it. He was like some escaped, mischievous Norse god, sprawled here in this cramped little bed.
His eyes opened as he smiled at me. That soft, tender look made my heart hurt a little. He touched my throat, reminding me of the collar I wore. For an instant his finger curled through the D-ring, giving it a brief tug.
"You're mine, Eva," he said. "Mine."