by Emma Scott
“I cheated on the ‘no cell phones’ rule and checked for weather updates,” she finally said. “A huge thunderstorm is going to roll through here.”
Dena and I looked up at the same time. The sky was flat and gray, and in the distance, darker, heavier clouds gathered.
“So I was wondering if we were going to leave early,” Holly said. “Like, today. And if we do, could I get a ride with one of you guys?”
Dena’s expression warmed with concern. “Why? What happened?”
“Theo and I broke up,” Holly said.
“When?” I asked.
“Last night.” She tugged at her eyebrow piercing. “Right after everyone went to bed.”
Dena glanced at me, then back to Holly. “I’m so sorry, Holly. Can I ask why?”
“He’s an asshole, that’s why,” she said with sudden fire. “He told me he was tired of trying to make something work when it obviously wasn’t. He’s always been kind of…hot and cold with me. But this time it felt…final.” Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly brushed away. “Anyway. I don’t want to spend that long drive back with just him in the truck.”
“No, of course not,” Dena said, putting her arm around her. “You can ride with us. I’ll find out from Oscar what he thinks about this potential storm and we’ll figure it out, okay?”
Holly nodded. “Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. I’m going to go back up. I’m sick of camping.” She looked to me, her voice hardening into petulance. “You got the good brother.”
Dena and I watched her turn and storm back up the trail, then exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“Well, on the one hand,” Dena said as we continued around the path, “it was shitty of Theo to break up with her while she’s stranded, hundreds of miles from home. On the other, I don’t know why he brought her at all. She’s the closest he’s gotten to having a girlfriend, but she never sticks.”
I shrugged. “She’s not the one.”
“Definitely not. He’s isn’t looking for the one. And he shouldn’t.”
“No?”
“Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They are in each other all along,” she recited.
I smiled, a warmth expanding down low in my stomach, along with a sense memory of Jonah sliding into me. “I like that,” I said
“I do too,” Dena said in her gentle voice, the kind of quiet tone that made you feel like she was telling you something only meant for you to hear. “Rumi, again. Never ceases to amaze me how his words still feel so true and potent, hundreds of years after he lived.”
We stopped and watched the guys skip rocks. Even fifty yards away, I could see laughter in Jonah and Oscar’s stance, and glowering sullenness in Theo’s.
“Jonah is one of the best men I’ve ever known,” Dena said. “It’s been hard seeing him shut down the part of him that longs for love and wants to care for someone. When he had that last biopsy… He made a decision not to get involved with anyone again. He used Audrey’s breakup as the cover. But now he’s with you. He un-made the decision. Now he has a chance.”
“A chance of what?”
“Of being happy. He is happy with you.” Dena’s dark eyes met mine intently. “He won’t jump out of planes or visit far-flung places of the earth. He has no bucket list. He only wants to finish his installation. And I worried—we all did—it wasn’t enough. I have no doubt he’ll finish. But I wanted him to share his beautiful art with someone. And now he is.”
She put her hand in mine, gave it a squeeze. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m sure he fought to protect you. To keep you—”
“At a safe distance,” I said.
She sighed, nodded. “He’s pushed so many friends away for the same reason. But he couldn’t keep you away, could he?”
I shook my head, a smile spreading my lips. “No, he couldn’t.”
“Of course not,” Dena said with a laugh, and turned her gaze on Jonah. “You were in each other all along.”
Oscar confirmed a heavy rainstorm was set to drench the Basin. By the look of the dark clouds rolling in, he guessed an hour tops.
“I saw the weather before we left,” Oscar said, “but I hoped it would miss us so I took a chance. Sorry, guys.”
“This sucks,” Kacey said to me. “Turns out I like camping. It’s peaceful here. Away from the city and cars and other people. And I wanted more time here with you.” She looked up at me and traced the line of my jaw, then her eyes flicked toward the others packing up. “Can we stay? I want to see the rain.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Thunderstorms out here are pretty gnarly,” I said. “You sure you want to?”
She nodded. “I’m from San Diego, remember, where a drizzle that lasts more than five minutes is a downpour.” She pressed my body closer to mine, brushed her lips over my mouth. “I want to dance in the real rain.”
I stared, all the blood in my brain draining due south. “Stay it is.”
“Just watch out for mountain lions,” Oscar said. His eyebrows flicked up twice. “You can always tell they’re coming by how loud their roar is.”
She socked his shoulder. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Never.”
Theo strode over, pulled us aside.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you out of this?”
“She wants to feel the rainfall,” I said.
“Real rain,” Kacey said. “I’ve never seen it before. I’m a dork, I know…”
“And I’m a fucking wreck worried Jonah’s immune system can’t handle cold rain. We all got a job here.”
“I swear, Teddy,” Kacey said. “I want him healthy as much as you do.”
“Jesus, I’m standing right here, guys,” I said.
Theo looked at me a long time. “Yes, you are.” He gave his head a shake and jabbed a finger at me. “Stay dry.”
“Scout’s honor,” I said, holding up a hand.
Theo snorted and started away. “You were never a scout.”
“That’s for damn sure,” I said. I hauled Kacey to me as soon as the cars vanished down the hill. I held her tight, kissed her hard.
“You have to wait for the rain,” she breathed against my lips.
“Don’t want to,” I said, my hands slipping up her shirt. Now that I could touch her, I couldn’t keep my hands off of her. Couldn’t get enough of her nearness, her body, her kisses…
“You have to stay dry,” she said, leading me to the tent. “We promised Teddy.”
In the tent, I divested her of everything she wore except the old men’s button-down. Just as she melted against me, ready to give in, the sky cracked open. A flash of light lit up the world on the other side of the tent. Kacey sat up and pulled aside the tent flap, watching the slanted sheets of rain outside.
“Oh my God. That’s real rain.”
She slipped out of the tent and gave a little squeal as the cold water hit her, drenching her instantly. “Oh shit, Theo was right. This is cold as hell.”
“Come back,” I said.
“Not yet,” she said, letting the water wash over her, her hips swaying slightly. “I wish you could come dance with me.”
“You’ll thank me later when you’re shivering with cold and I’m dry.”
“Will you warm me with your body heat?”
“Damn straight.”
She closed her eyes and let the rain fall over her, face to the sky. Her breasts were visible through the wet material of her shirt, her nipples hard, and I could see every contour, every line and curve. The water raced rivulets down her cheeks like tears, but her smile was quiet and private.
“I might get lonely out here.”
“I’m watching you,” I said. “I like watching you.”
“I like you watching me,” she said. She lifted her hair off her shoulders and her breasts rose too.
I sucked in a breath, and fought the urge to go to her. To put my hands on her.
Wait. Just wait… And watch.
; Kacey let her hands fall and opened her eyes. Her lips were parted, water dripped off her chin, and she slowly ran her tongue along her bottom lip. Her eyes never leaving mine, her hands rose again, this time to her shirt. She unbuttoned the top four buttons but no more, revealing the perfect valley of smooth skin between her breasts. Her fingertips pulled aside the soaked material and traced over one hard nipple.
“Jesus…” I said, my voice hoarse with want.
Her hand slipped down low, to the edge of the shirt, lifting it. A dull ache settled in my groin, and my mouth went dry as if I were dying of thirst, and there she was, drenched in rain water.
“Come here,” I said.
“If I do, will you touch me?” she asked, her fingers brushing over the bare flesh between her thighs.
“Yes,” I said, on my knees.
“Will you put your mouth on me?”
“Yes.”
Her fingers moved in a slow circle. “Here?”
“God, yes.”
She slowly came toward me, her hands undoing the rest of the buttons. The last one parted as she reached the mouth of the tent, and the shirt dropped from her shoulders to the ground.
“You’re right,” she said, falling into the towel I held out. “I’m cold.”
I wrapped her up and pulled her in, down to her knees, my mouth finding hers immediately. Her skin was cold but the heat of her tongue sliding against mine…
“Kacey…want you…”
I kissed her, my hands running the towel over her body, drying her skin and leaving it warm and soft.
“You smell like rain,” I said, moving my mouth between her breasts. She moaned softly as I took one nipple, warming it with my tongue and then nipping and sucking to keep it hard.
“Jonah… God, what are you doing to me?”
Her fingers twisted in my hair as I moved to the other breast, sucking and grazing my teeth while I dried her back and her hips. Then I hooked an arm around her waist and laid her on the floor of the tent. I dragged the towel over her stomach, down, between her thighs, down each leg in turn, and then flung it away. She lay open and spread before me, her lips parted slightly and her eyes glazed with desire. I wanted to strip naked and plunge into her, satisfy the ache. But there was something electric and powerful about my being fully clothed while she lay naked beneath me.
And yet I was hers completely. She owned me. No other woman had ever made me feel like this: undone, completely unraveled and yet complete. Kacey made me whole. Healthy. Invincible. And my body was desperate to show her.
I knelt over her, lowered my mouth to hers, and our tongues met in a brazen, raw kiss. She reached for my erection, stroked me through the material of my pants and I groaned at the touch. I wanted to squeeze her hand around me hard, to have that release…
“I want this to be good for you…” I breathed.
“It’s already good,” she said, nipping my lower lip.
I shook my head. “I can do better than good.” I lowered my mouth to her ear. “I want to make you come so hard the entire fucking valley hears you.”
I took her wrists and pinned them above her head. Our eyes met and held, hers mirroring the lust in mine. I kissed her again, hard and rough, and she undulated beneath me, her hips straining up to meet mine, pushing against my hands pinning her.
Releasing her wrists, I dragged my tongue and teeth down the smooth skin of her throat, between her breasts, blazing open-mouthed kisses along her stomach. When I reached her thighs, she was whimpering, and I took a moment to breathe her in, draw out the moment a half-second more, before bending my head to her and tasting her.
She cried out, her hips rising, back arching. I swirled my tongue over her most sensitive flesh, forgetting the raging need coursing through my veins like a wildfire. I delved deeper, harder, my mouth exploring her until she screamed my name.
Yes, I thought. Yes. Louder… Her body tensed, her back arched. Her hand dropped on my head and pulled me deeper into her while she came on my tongue, her voice filling up the tent. I could’ve stayed right there but then she pushed up on her elbows, breathless and spent.
“Jonah,” she gasped. “Come here. Please…”
I let my mouth fall from her, leaving her shuddering and wet, then stripped off my shirt and jeans. Her shaking hands helped me roll on a condom—Christ, had I ever been so hard in my life?—then I went crawling up her body.
She held me around the neck, pulling me to her and kissing me, kissing the taste of her off my lips, while her thighs spread wide for me.
“I want you hard,” I said.
She nodded mutely, her lips pressed together. They flew apart in a cry as I thrust deep inside her.
“Yes….” she hissed. “Oh, God, yes…”
Yes, my body agreed. Yes to how I fit so perfectly within her heat. Yes to how fucking good she felt around me. Yes to how sweet her mouth tasted. Yes to the push and pull of our bodies toward the edge. And God, yes to her, this woman who’d burst into my life like a wrecking ball, smashing through my routine, bringing me back to life when I had already resigned myself to death. Yes to her chaos, her raw emotion, her desperate need to be touched and held and loved. And yes, more than anything, fuck yes that it was me she wanted, that she unleashed herself in all her messy imperfection on me.
“Yes,” I whispered. To all of it. To us. To her. “Yes…”
I felt the slow build in her, heard her cries take on a rhythm, each louder than the last. Her hands clutched my neck, her legs wound around my waist. I thrust deep, hard and slow, caught up in my own rhythm but holding on for her. She was coming around again, building another orgasm from the first, stoking the fires back up. It took everything I had to wait but finally she threw her head back and raised her hips to mine like an offering. I gripped her hard and plunged deep and if we didn’t come together it was damn close.
The rain finally stopped a little after noon, and Kacey and I packed up the tent and our belongings. Our eyes met as we worked. The air was thick between us, full of the love we’d made. And my heart was growing full with her.
We texted Theo to let him know we were alive and dry, then drove back to Las Vegas. I kept my right hand on her thigh and she twined her left hand through my hair. We talked and laughed as usual, but in between were thick, warm silences that didn’t need to be filled with anything at all.
We’d hardly shut the front door of my apartment when she was in my arms again and I had her up against the wall, kissing her, my hands tearing through her clothes. She still smelled like rain and hot coffee from our lunch stop. I wanted to wash the road off me. Off us. We were an us now, and it fueled my lust almost as much as Kacey’s body.
Somehow, we made it to the bathroom and showered, hardly able to get clean as we couldn’t stop touching each other. We kissed between swipes of a soaped-up washcloth. I tried to take her against the wall, but she slipped through my arms and dropped to her knees. My shoulder blades hit the tiles. I stared blankly at the steamy ceiling as her luscious mouth unraveled what was left of my sanity.
Out of the shower, I dried her skin as I had in the tent, then set her on top of the vanity so I could pull her thighs apart and put my mouth on her. I went down until she was knocking things off the sink, her cries making the medicine cabinet rattle. I wanted to go deeper and harder so she would go louder. I needed her to fill my mouth and ears, wanted as much as she could give to me. As many moments as I could grab before they slipped out of my fingers. Before I slipped through her fingers.
Ravenous, we ordered in from a Japanese place and managed to stay dressed long enough to eat it.
“Now come to bed,” she said.
I lay back on the pillows, and she crawled on top of me. She gripped the bedframe above my head, her hair falling toward me like pale rain, her breasts swaying as she rode me, coming down hard as I rose up to meet her. And that time, without a doubt, we came together.
I woke wrapped up in him. My head pillowed on his shoulder, my arm t
hrown across his chest. I stirred and peered up to see he was already awake. He hardly slept much, my Jonah, but he never seemed tired. Even last night, he’d been short of breath after our lovemaking but he’d recovered quickly.
My Jonah, I thought. He’s mine now, and I’m his.
I traced my finger along his scar. In the morning light, bare to me, I could examine it for the first time. It ran the entire length of his sternum, to just above the faint lines of his six-pack that had been more prominent before he got sick. I’d seen a picture of him in South America, shirtless. Possibly at the very same spot where he’d caught the virus. His muscles had been more defined then but they were still there now.
Because he’s strong, I thought fiercely.
Jonah took my hand that touched his scar. “Not too pretty, is it?”
“It’s not bad,” I said softly.
“This is beautiful,” he said, turning my hand over to inspect the tattoo that started at my wrist and went up the inside of my arm, almost to the elbow. It was a guitar, all blank ink, made out of F clefs and musical notes. “Show me the others. Introduce me.”
I sat up, to show him the blooming rose on my right shoulder, wrapped in thorny vines and buds that trailed down my arm. “I got this in Seattle. The sugar skull I had done in Portland, and these little stars,” I showed him the smattering of tiny black stars on my middle right finger, “were in San Diego. My second open act of rebellion against my father. The first was playing electric guitar. The second was this impossible-to-hide tattoo, especially when playing said electric guitar.”
Jonah laughed lightly as I snuggled back down against him.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Nearly seven.” He pressed a soft kiss against my temple. “I have to go get some work done. Then tonight is Sunday dinner at my parents’ place.”
“Ah yes. I remember the first Sunday when Theo distinctly un-invited me to the family dinner.”
Jonah made a sound that might’ve been a laugh. “Well, I’m inviting you now. Can you come?”
I raised myself up on one elbow. He was so handsome, his dark hair against the white pillowcase. “You want me to meet your parents?”