As he'd continued to rock into her, each thrust increasing the friction of his thick cock against her slippery folds, letting her feel every ridge and curve, her words of protest had finally ceased as she gave in to the sensation, forgetting to argue, forgetting to issue the denials that had previously fallen from her lips.
Instead, her sighs of pleasure had turned to moans and, with her hands pressing into his back, she'd issued her own demands, digging into his shoulders, meeting his thrusts as, to her amazement, she'd felt herself begin to tighten once again, heat and tension radiating outwards from her most intimate parts. The rippling of her innermost muscles was no longer the aftermath from his previous attentions, but the beginning of a second, harder, stronger climax.
Wordlessly, he'd suddenly shifted his hips so that his cock massaged intimately the tiny spot on the upper wall against her womb, the bundle of nerves causing her to spasm violently and clutch onto his shoulders for physical and emotional support.
"Max?" she'd cried out, knowing she was spinning out of control as he continued to press against and stroke the tiny spot; the muscles of her body tensed and wound themselves tighter and tighter in anticipation of the pleasure to come. It was only then that he'd reached between them knowingly and let the pad of his index finger graze lightly over her clitoris once again so that, finally, she'd flown apart, as time seemed to suspend itself and her entire existence centred on the fierce contractions that gripped his cock within her and, at last, sated the need that had consumed her.
"Oh!" Elise jumped, startled out of her contemplation, as strong masculine arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her from her perch and swinging her up to him, capturing her lips in a long, heated kiss.
"You looked serious." He gazed down at her questioningly, keeping her in his arms.
Blushing, she looped her arms round his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I was just thinking of the last week or so, that's all."
"Good thoughts, I hope?" He chuckled, as she nodded furiously. Still holding her, he sat down on the rock, pulling her into his lap.
"Much as I'd like to hear those thoughts…" he kissed her again, "it's too cold for that out here. Are you ready to set off?"
"Mmm... I suppose so..." She nuzzled his neck, enticing him to kiss her again, grinning to herself as he obliged willingly even though he planted a playful smack on her bottom at the same time.
They weren't intending to go far. A couple of days ago they'd seen signs of some baby wolf cubs only a half hour or so trek from the cabin and it seemed likely that a young family was close by. Elise was keen to set up her cameras at the stream closest to that spot, figuring that the mother would want to be near the water so she didn't have to leave her cubs for long. She knew it would be a long waiting game, and she might not even get a single shot, but she was willing to take the gamble, as she knew that the outcome for her articles would be worth it.
Besides, there were enough other opportunities for her as they waited; only yesterday a troop of Arctic foxes had emerged from the cold, wet undergrowth, foraging for food as the freezing temperatures had begun to thaw and the terrain became gradually more hospitable. Oblivious to their human observers, the foxes had wandered at leisure and at times even appeared to be playing, enjoying the thawing landscape. Elise knew that the Arctic fox was rapidly becoming an endangered species, owing mainly to the intrusion of the red fox from the south, and suspected that she could use the footage she had taken and turn it into a follow up article in its own right, if the magazine was interested, which she was pretty sure they would be.
As they arrived at the concealed spot Elise had picked out the previous day, Elise began to set up her cameras. Always meticulous in her preparations, she carefully checked the lens and the shutter and exposure settings before attaching it securely to the tripod and ensuring that the manual focus was in place so that she could easily adjust it depending on the proximity of the wolves. She was happy with the spot she'd chosen. There was just the right amount of natural light for her. Too little and she'd have to adjust the exposure on the cameras more than was ideal, whereas too much and she'd have the opposite problem.
Glancing over at Max, she saw that he was checking the rifles that accompanied them wherever they went. The last week had demonstrated to Elise just how safety conscious Max was; he insisted on taking two rifles with them at all times. One, she knew, was a tranquiliser, whereas the other held live ammunition.
"You know," she commented lightly as she finished setting up her cameras and saw that he was still occupied with his task, "I can check those for you if you want?"
The immediate flicker of surprise in his eyes was quickly replaced with a narrowed gaze. "You never told me that you knew how to check a rifle."
She shrugged. "I'm no expert, but I know enough to get by."
He frowned. "There's no such thing as 'enough to get by'..." Clearly annoyed, he moved over to where she was sitting. "You don't experiment or take chances with firearms, Elise, you should know that. You either know how to use them properly, or you stay away from them. Anything in between is dangerous not only for you, but also for everyone around you."
Taken aback at his stern, no nonsense tone, she quickly backtracked. "Well, I'm not saying I'd take any chances, I'm not stupid you know, but I've seen trackers and guides use them and they've given me quick demos before..."
"So are you telling me you've had lessons in using them?"
"Well, not quite lessons, but I know the fundamentals of how they work."
He paused and then asked quietly, "Elise, have you been out on your own before, on assignment, with a rifle?"
She flushed and nodded, not wanting to lie to him. "Sometimes I haven't had a choice, Max. I've had to go out without guides at times, and it would have been more dangerous to be unarmed." She balked at the dark look that crossed his face. "Don't be angry, Max."
Slowly he exhaled a long, deep breath. "I'm not angry at you Elise, and if I'd thought about it, I would probably have guessed that you would have needed to be armed. But I'd also have expected that you'd have had proper lessons in how to use a rifle before you went on assignment by yourself."
"Well..." she argued, despite knowing it was a weak argument, "Vince showed me the basics..."
"Vince?"
"One of the guides in Kenya. I learned the ropes from him before going off trail."
His response was merely to look at her for long, hard seconds and she felt the colour gradually creep up over her cheeks. "Come here," he commanded, his voice steady but his eyes making it clear that he expected her to obey immediately.
"Max!" Shocked, her eyes flew up to meet his, not wanting to believe that he'd take out his annoyance on her poor bottom.
He chuckled. "Don't worry love, your bottom's not in any immediate danger. Although it's not a bad idea..." he trailed off suggestively, with a gleam in his eye, before reassuring her again as he took in her panicked expression. "Relax, I'm just going to show you, properly, how to use the rifles. You may think it unnecessary, but it'll reassure me if I know I've taught you how to use them, rather than rely on the expertise of 'Vince'!"
Swiftly, he tugged her arm, bringing her closer. Together they sat down and he began to explain to her exactly how the rifles worked. Carefully, pausing every so often to check that she understood, he took her through the basic parts of the rifle, showing her how to load and unload the cartridge and how the safety mechanism worked. Once he was sure she understood the theory and had followed his actions closely, he handed the rifle to her, making sure it was pointed safely away from them and, in any case, that the safety was locked firmly.
Hesitantly, she glanced up at him. Although she had carried a rifle with her before, and had followed carefully what he had demonstrated to her, she didn't want to get this wrong and disappoint him.
"Go on," he encouraged her. Tentatively, she took the rifle and, ensuring it was pointed safely away from them, she checked that it was unloaded, following
the careful process he had taught her.
Nodding in approval, he handed her the cartridges. Nervously she took one and, with less than steady hands, loaded it into the chamber, looking up at Max to check she was doing the right thing. At his smile, she breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Phew!" she grinned up at him. "Did I do well?"
"Really well, sweetheart." He smiled back at her. "Although that's probably enough for one day. Tomorrow we can spend a couple of hours on the other side of the river and I can show you how to shoot safely."
"Tomorrow?" Her face fell, even though she could tell from the decisiveness in his voice that he'd made up his mind that enough was enough for today.
Smiling, he said, "I figured you wouldn't want to scare off any cubs that are nesting close by here with the sound of shots?"
"Oh!" Her face showed her surprise; she'd completely forgotten about the entire reason they were ensconced in this particular spot in the valley.
"Besides," he added, "it's too enclosed here to practice safely. A bullet could easily ricochet off one of the rocks. If we have to use the rifles here to protect ourselves, that's one thing, but this particular spot isn't safe for target practice."
"Okay." She nodded, understanding that he knew a lot more about the dangers than she did and, besides, she probably did need to get back to the purpose of the day, namely the little family of wolf cubs she hoped to photograph.
She started to hand the rifle back to him, turning as she did so to get back to her cameras.
"Elise..." his deep voice stopped her in her tracks and she turned quickly back to him, still clutching the rifle, surprised to see that the smile on his face had turned to a frown.
"What?"
"Didn't you listen to what I taught you earlier?"
Puzzled, her expression showed her bewilderment. "You know I did."
Gently and carefully he extracted the rifle from her grasp. "Never hand back a rifle loaded, Elise. Always empty it so that you hand back an unloaded weapon, unless I tell you otherwise."
"But you said to assume it was loaded!"
"Yes, you assume it's loaded to be on the safe side, and prepare to load it yourself, but you also always unload it before passing it on. You must never just rely on the safety mechanism, Elise."
Mortified, Elise's expression turned to dismay. She knew that rule. Max had made it clear to her how important it was when he was showing her how the rifle worked. Not only that, but it had been one of the first rules she'd learned about handling a rifle when she was in Kenya. She'd just plain forgotten. Her hand shot to cover her mouth in horror.
"Oh God, Max... I'm so sorry. I could have hurt you..." She looked up at him with a stricken expression and, unusually for Elise, tears formed in her eyes as she contemplated what might have happened.
His expression softened as he saw her distress at what had obviously been a mistake. "Elise, sweetheart, it's okay. It was a mistake." Ensuring the rifle was safely away, he pulled her to him and into his arms. "I'm not angry with you, honey, I just want you to understand how important it is to remember the key rules when it comes to any weapon." Soothingly, he stroked her hair, wanting to reassure her that mistakes were okay and he didn't expect her to be an expert when it came to handling the rifle. After all, he told her, that was one of the reasons she had him to accompany her on this trip.
Relaxing a bit more as he held her, she slowly calmed down and blinked back her tears. "I'm so sorry..." she said again.
"Shh... Its okay... Here." Gently, he pulled away from her and handed her the rifle again. "Why don't you do it again and this time, when you hand it back, just check that you unload it first."
She looked up at him tentatively, not sure why he wanted to give her a chance, once again, to mess up the process.
Understanding her confusion, he reassured her, "You didn't mess up, Elise. you're just not an expert with firearms. That's nothing to be upset over. I'm not proposing that we turn you into an expert, but I can show you enough to make sure you're safe. Have another go at it now, and it'll reinforce the process in your mind so you're more likely to remember another time. Okay?"
Slowly and with slightly nervous hands, she took the rifle from him and mentally shook herself, telling herself to stop behaving like an idiot. Methodically, she again went through the initial checks that he had taught her, loaded the cartridge into the barrel and made sure it was ready to be used, if necessary. Glancing up at him she saw the approval in his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as the tension finally began to ebb from her shoulders. This time, before she handed it back to him, she unloaded the cartridges and gave those to him first, offering them in her outstretched palm.
Grinning, he took them from her and put them in his pocket. As she then held out the rifle to him for a second time, he automatically checked for himself that it was unloaded. He then placed it safely at arm's distance before bringing her back into his arms and kissing her.
What he'd intended as a quick reassuring kiss, deepened in intensity as their mouths meshed and he couldn't resist increasing the pressure. Her arms crept upwards to wrap around his neck and his lips moved on hers, gently tugging and demanding access. It took only a few seconds for her to yield to him, opening her mouth to him and pressing herself against him, instinctively turning to the security and comfort of his embrace.
Even after their kiss ended, she stayed snuggled into his arms, enjoying the warmth and closeness he offered, until he eventually tugged her head up to look at him. "So... time to resume positions?" He smiled at her.
Sighing, she nodded. She did really want to make the most of her time and see if she could get the shots she wanted, but that didn't stop her from being reluctant to move her body from his. Thankfully, he made the move for her and stepped away, guiding her gently back to where her cameras were waiting, before dipping his head slightly to press a quick kiss to the top of her head.
"We can pick it up again later, I promise, sweetheart," he said as he nuzzled her hair.
"Definite promise?"
"Definite." He chuckled, even as he saw that her attention was already back to the cameras.
* * *
"Look!" she whispered to him as he sat next to her, huddled closely in their hidden spot looking out onto the clearing.
In the distance they could see movement from around the corner of a lichen-covered rock. They saw a snowy white head and body cautiously emerge from behind the cover, slowly sniffing the ground.
"Look!" she repeated, grabbing his hand in her excitement, as the wolf made its way round the rock and then paused suddenly; it raised its head and carefully looked around, checking for predators.
Already beginning to capture the images with the telephoto lens on her camera, Elise held her breath as the wolf hesitated. She didn't want to take any chances now at spooking the creature, even though she knew the camera was nearly silent.
Slowly, the wolf turned and looked back over its shoulder making a small, low growl. Seconds later, three small cubs trotted out from behind the rock and followed the adult wolf, keeping close to its legs as they went.
"It's the mother with some of her cubs," she whispered to Max as she clicked away, more confident now that the wolf hadn't sensed it was being watched. "They're probably only a few months old at present, but wolf cubs grow incredibly fast and so are likely to be weaned already and are following their parents to find food."
As she spoke, the adult wolf raised its head and gave a small, shrill howl. Elise and Max looked at each other, equally puzzled as to the cause of the howl, and Max's hand steadied on the tranquiliser rifle, ready to fire if absolutely necessary. But the wolf showed no sign of moving towards them, or even taking much action at all. Then, a couple of minutes later, there was movement from the opposite side of the clearing and, just as the wolf raised its head, another wolf ambled into view, this time followed by another two cubs and carrying in its mouth what looked to be the results of its search for food. As it approached the other wolf, it
became obvious that the new wolf was physically much larger than its companion.
"It must be the father!" Elise's excitement took a whole new turn. "It's been hunting with the other two cubs and has brought some back for the others!"
Sure enough, the larger wolf placed the meal down on the ground and the female nudged the cubs towards it with her nose, encouraging them to eat.
Elise worked quickly, her entire attention focussed on the two wolves and their cubs; she didn't take any notice of Max and how intently he studied the scene before them, on full alert for potential danger. She alternated between the two cameras she had set up; one was adjusted for longer distance shots and the other for close up action. She couldn't quite believe she had been so lucky to have so much time to photograph the small family in this way.
As the cubs finished eating, she was intrigued to see how the mother lay down a short distance away and let the cubs run around, enjoying watching their play like any mother monitoring her children. Even though Elise winced occasionally at the roughness of the cubs' play as they charged at each other and tumbled around on the ground, it was clear that they were having a great adventure. She continued to click away with her camera, knowing that the series of shots she had taken should be good enough to form an entire string of articles if she wanted.
It was a good few hours later when Elise began to pack up her cameras. The family of wolves had been content to relax and play in the clearing, allowing Elise to take literally hundreds of photographs, from which she would then be able to choose the best to form the basis of her articles. It was everything she could have dreamed of, a family unit in their natural environment, feeding and playing at leisure, unaware of their human observers. When they had finally strolled off, the female gathering all five cubs around her and allowing the male to leave first to check that their path was safe, Elise was sad to see them leave and knew that it was unlikely she would see them again in the few days she had left.
Elise's Story: A Bentley Sisters Novel Page 7