by Lacy Lane
He grabbed a couple of small sticks, broke them in half, and then tossed them into the flames. He lingered, keeping his back to her. His expression was impossible to decipher as she watched him in the mirror. After several minutes, his shoulders relaxed under his sweater, and he exhaled loudly.
It's not my place...
Pushing away the thought, she went to him and hugged him from behind. His body was cooler than she'd imagined despite the layers he'd worn outside and the heat of fire before him. He fit well into her arms, and she sighed contently, laying her forehead between his shoulder blades.
Neither said a word, but he covered her hand with his. His touch was icy against the her own heat. Sparks snapped in the fireplace as the logs shifted, and an idea popped into her head. If anything, it would be a parting gesture of thanks for his hospitality. An early Christmas gift, of sorts.
"Luke, lay down."
He chuckled and turned to face her, the shadow of deep contemplation fading. "Been too long, huh?"
She swallowed. "Just...just lay down."
He raised his eyebrows but complied.
She made sure he was comfortable and then said, "Put your hands behind your head. Yes, just like that. Now, no touching, no matter what."
"Ella?" He started to sit up, but she pushed him back down.
"No...no touching."
"You don't have to—"
"Shhhh. No talking, either."
He frowned for a moment, and then he put his hands behind his head and stared up at her.
After a big breath, she knelt down beside him and lowered her face to his. His chin tipped up, and their mouths met. The tip of her tongue slowly traced his lips, and when they parted, she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Her hand caressed his jaw, her fingertips sliding up to bury in his hair as she waited for her courage to build.
Their tongues danced together, and for a moment, she wished she hadn't given him the rule to not touch. She longed for his hands to hold her face, to bury in her hair as well, to control her. But this was her decision, and she was in charge this time.
She let the kiss linger a moment longer and then slowly pulled away. His tongue snaked out and brushed against her mouth before he licked his lips. She held his gaze as she scooted down to his waist and ran her hand over his stomach. The glimmer in his eyes told her he knew what she was going to do, and he was going to let her even if he knew she was still unsure.
When her fingers found the hem of his sweater and slipped underneath, she felt his heartbeat quicken. While it may have been cool only minutes before, his skin was quickly warming up. She smiled at the thought that it was partially due to her. At least she hoped.
She had to tear her eyes away from his just so she could concentrate. Her hand lowered and flattened across his abdomen, her fingers splayed out, trying to touch all of him at once. He moaned when she sat up and flung her leg over him to straddled his legs so she could use both hands. She glanced up to see that he'd closed his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together. She tried not to laugh at his strained expression. She had only just begun.
Minutes passed while she stroked him beneath his sweater, outlining his ribs, massaging his sides. She pushed up his sweater and leaned down to lick his nipple. That made him gasp. She did it again but lingered, covering the small nub with her lips and sucking gently. This time he moaned. She tried to duplicate what he had done to her own nipples, licking, sucking, nibbling, and pinching.
His body shifted slightly beneath her, and she glanced up. His eyes were open now, reflecting the fire beside them and the desire inside him. Sweat dotted his chest, and she helped him remove the sweater. When he lay back down, his muscles flexed under her fingertips, under her lips.
She scooted back, dragging her flannel-covered chest against his bare skin until she was laying between his legs, her head even with his belt. He held her gaze for only a moment before she forced herself to look away. Her courage was dwindling— the evidence was in her shaky hands as they unbuckled and unzipped his pants.
They both inhaled sharply when her fingers brushed against his hardness. She did it again, but slower, biting her lower lip when he seemed to grow stiffer. His continued groans expressed his impatience as she stroked down, cupping him through his jeans. When he bucked under her touch again, she sat up and eased the pants down to his ankles.
Her hand returned to stroke her prize again through his checkered boxers, relishing the different textures beneath her palm. She could feel the contours of him—feel the throbbing now that he'd been released from his confines. She could wrap her hand around his cock, encased in a thin layer of flannel. Her free hand went to her own flannel-covered breasts and mimicked her right hand as it squeezed and massaged the essence of his manhood. She didn't object when he rubbed his leg against her, encouraging her.
Lost in the moment, she closed her eyes and licked her lips. Her motions became more forceful as the desire built inside, chasing away her nerves. If he hadn't cried out, she might have continued forever...or at least until she achieved orgasm—his or hers or both, it didn't matter.
"Sorry!" Her hand relaxed on him and gently rubbed away any pain she had caused. He blinked slowly, signaling that he was okay, and then he let out his breath.
Her fingers slipped into the slit of his boxers, finally touching him flesh-to-flesh. His skin was a mixture of velvet and leather, and it wrapped his cock like a sheath, moving with her hand. Wanting to draw out the torture, but as anxious as he probably was, she removed her hand and slid his boxers down over his hips.
Casting both jeans and boxers aside, she lay back between his legs. One hand circled him again while the other cupped his balls, and he groaned. His skin burned, and the hardness of him made her moan, remembering how he had stroked in and out of her so many times, bringing her so much pleasure.
While she had never done this to any man before, she'd read enough erotica to know what to do, or at least what was expected. Successfully carrying out those actions was a whole other story. But if she took it one step at a time...
She returned to stroking, changing speed and pressure—careful not to be too rough—but her arms grew tired of holding her up in the process. Shifting slightly, she found it more comfortable to lay her head on his hip, her hair falling across his thigh. Her mouth was in the perfect position to kiss the side of his cock. It jumped slightly as her lips grazed his skin, but she held it in place and tried again. It was definitely different than kissing his lips or his nipples.
Ella inhaled, smelling the muskiness of his groin, a mixture of sweat and pure manliness and desire. Her hand continued to stroke him as she kissed up the side of his cock and back down, nuzzling her nose in the juncture of his hip, nibbling gently. It was hard to distinguish just how he tasted, but it wasn't unpleasant. His moans proved that he liked what she was doing, so she was happy to oblige.
His body flexed under her, and she felt him watching her. When she stroked up again and raised her head slightly, she heard his sharp intake of breath. Slowly, she brought the tip of his cock to her lips and brushed it against her mouth. He hissed, and she did it again. The third time, she parted her lips and darted her tongue out to lick him, tasting a wet saltiness, again not unpleasant. She actually thought she heard him growl.
Grinning, she teased him, stroking the length of him as she kissed and licked at the head of his cock until she felt confident enough to take the next step. She shifted again, brushed her hair back over her shoulder—noticing how he shivered as her hair grazed his bare skin—and looked up at him just as she guided him into her mouth.
His eyes found and held hers. They darkened as she pulled back and then lowered again. The muscles in his arms strained as he resisted his obvious desire to touch her, but his hips arched up to her. She repeated the process, licking the tip of his cock as she pulled back. His body reacted, rising and falling with her oral ministrations.
Shivers ran up her back as she realized he made the same motions when he w
as making love to her. She couldn't help whimpering at the thought of him stroking in and out of her pussy just as he was doing to her mouth now. The longer she sucked, the more she relaxed, enjoying the process.
Their eyes met again. He made an O with his mouth and licked the perimeter, tilting his chin down to her. She paused, his cock half inside her mouth, feeling him wedged between her lips, her hand gripping the base. A position she'd never imagined herself being in, and yet it was strangely arousing.
Luke repeated the gesture twice more before she realized he was trying to tell her something without words. She started to pull back, watching his face. He pressed his lips tight when only the head of his cock remained pressed against her tongue. She stopped, and he repeated the gesture once more. When she copied him, he gasped and his eyes rolled up as his back arched. She smiled and circled her tongue around him again.
A giggle rose up in the back of her throat as she experimented with other movements…Licking the head like an ice cream cone, licking up and down his shaft, rolling his balls in one hand while she nuzzled her nose at the base of his cock. He seemed to like it best when she stroked the length of him with her mouth—or at least as much of him as she could fit inside—and sucking gently.
She most liked the position with her body nestled between his thighs, her left arm laying across his waist supporting her, her fingers brushing against his hip and side while she stroked his cock in her other hand.
Just watching the source of his manhood gripped in her feminine hand made her whimper. He looked so...strong. Her hand barely circled him, and once, when she used both hands to stroke, she measured that he was almost the length of three of her fists. A shudder ran through her as she envisioned him buried inside her again, pleasuring her as she never could have on her own.
They had both remained silent except for their escalating sounds of desire. Ella prayed that she was doing everything right. She had just stroked down again on his cock with her mouth, squeezing the base gently, when he startled her into stopping with his words.
"Ella, stop."
"Luke—"
"No. Please, stop."
"But I'm not—"
"It's okay, honey. It's okay."
He pulled his arms out from behind his head, shook them slightly, and then reached down and took her head between his hands. His fingers buried in her hair, and she sighed. Gently, he lifted her head and urged her to crawl up beside him.
"That was...wonderful." His eyes searched hers as he brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. He pressed his lips to hers and then held her away again. "Thank you."
She blinked and smiled. "You're welcome. I hope I did okay. I just wanted to repay— I've never—"
He chuckled, and she felt her cheeks flush. "Oh, I know. You did just fine."
"Well, then why did you stop me?"
His eyes grew dark again. Instead of answering, he turned her away onto her side and then pulled her up against him with a force that made her grunt. The arm underneath her held her in place, his hand cupping her breast through the shirt. His other hand brushed her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her head so he could nuzzle her neck with his mouth and lips and teeth.
She gasped, arching back into him. His free hand slid over her shoulder and down her arm to where her hand rested at her hip. He covered her hand with his, intertwining their fingers, and then slid both of their hands beneath the waistband of her sweat pants. Guiding her hand, he pushed the pants down.
It was slow and a little awkward, but the process was erotic. Her breath caught, her heart raced, and the heat between her thighs magnified as both of their fingers brushed against her skin. With her pants removed, he brought her hand up to rest behind his head, the position thrusting her breasts out. Her fingers curled around his locks at the nape of his neck.
When his hand caressed her bare thigh and slid up to her hip, she moaned, pressing her face into the blankets beneath them. He continued the path upwards, stealing beneath the hem of her shirt, covering her side, her stomach, and not stopping until he cupped her left breast in his palm.
"I stopped you, Ella,” he said, his breath hot and rasping against her ear. "Because I was ready to come, and I wanted to come inside of you."
She gasped and jerked against him, pleased that she had been successful, but glad to relinquish control. He was so much better at it.
The next few moments were a blur. A delightfully pleasant blur. His free hand was outside, unbuttoning her shirt, and then she was naked like he was. He replaced her hand behind his head. His fingers trailed down her bent arm, and his right hand secured her breast again while his mouth latched onto her neck.
One second, his hard cock was pressed against her ass, between their bodies. The next, his left hand had slid down to her knee and pulled her leg up and back over his thigh. Then he rolled her body back so that her legs spread open and she was staring up at the mirror above the fireplace.
"Luke—" The rest of her words were lost as she felt—and saw—his hand slip between them to move his cock so it lay against her pussy. He grasped her hip, shifted, and then his cock was inside her.
She couldn't tear her eyes away from the image above them, gasping as he moved. It was surreal, watching him slide in and out of her as she felt him behind her doing the same thing.
"You are so hot," he mumbled between licks and nips. His left hand stroked her hip, her stomach, and her breast. It slid down to her leg, massaging her thigh as he held her open and against him.
When he raised his eyes and met her reflection in the mirror, holding her gaze as they watched their bodies move together, her senses tripped into overload. Never had she felt so alive, so full, so cared for. Every little movement he made, none was rushed. As if he was making sure she got as much pleasure out of this as he did.
His cock filled her, stretched her. His body moved with hers in a steady rhythm. His breath caressed her burning skin. His gasps and moans echoed her own.
Just when she thought it couldn't get any better, he moved his hand between her legs and pressed two fingers against her clit, rubbing in quick circular motions. She screamed and threw her head back against him. He held her tight, his strokes never ceasing as she shook.
The pleasurable numbness came over her, and she surrendered.
Her mind was still hazy and her body tingling when he pulled out, rolled her onto her back, parted her knees, and plunged back into her pussy. Another orgasm rocketed through her, and she gripped at the blankets while he sped up his pace.
His mouth covered hers, silencing her cries, his fingers tilting her head back into the pillows and burying in her hair. He stroked a few more times and then stilled. His body shook, and he cried out as heat filled her.
She hooked her arms under his and around his back, holding him to her. He began stroking again, slower this time, and waves of pleasure slithered up her spine. The last thing she remembered was his mouth on her breast before exhaustion took over.
*******
"Quit your job."
Ella slowly opened her eyes, staring into the flickering orange flames of the fireplace. Luke was behind her, one arm around her waist, her head resting on his other arm.
"What?"
"Quit your job." He pulled away just enough so he could roll her onto her back and look into her eyes. His fingers trailed over her skin, making her shiver. "You said you were saving money for a rainy day. So have I. Why wait for rain? Snow is good enough for me. We can do it if we pool our resources, plus I still have the farmland. This doesn't have to end for us this weekend."
"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" She glanced away and sighed, not believing that she was actually considering his offer. Is that what he'd been contemplating since lunch? She was worried he was regretting the hiccup in his that her accident had caused, when all the while he was purposefully planning to make her a permanent part of it?
She gulped. It was too good to be true. A handsome man rescuing her only to make sweet l
ove to her? Multiple times. And now he was asking her to change her life to be with him after less than a day in his care? These things just didn't happen. Especially to her. Any second now, she'd wake up. It just couldn't be real...
"Tell me, Ella." He brushed his fingers through her hair, a feeling she loved. Absolutely loved. He seemed real. Very real. "Tell me what's so crazy about two people who met by chance and find out they're perfect for each other?"
"We haven’t even known each other a whole twenty-four hours. And you know nothing more than how to make me scream and moan at your touch." Her breath shuddered when she tried to exhale. Why was she trying to talk herself out of this, as if her life was so great before he’d come into it?
"I know enough." He turned her chin back to him. "I'm not asking you to marry me. Just to not disappear from my life. But I'm afraid you will if you're back in Monroe, and I'm here."
"Luke, I can't just up and change my life like that."
"People do it all the time when they win the lottery. And I feel that I have. Ella, I ache just to hold you, and that's when you're only a few inches or feet away. I've never had this feeling before, that pull from within that tells me I can't lose you."
The longing in his eyes made her close her own so she could think. But images of the two of them filled her head: in his bed, on the couch, on the floor by the fire, in the chair...in the mirror. A labored sigh escaped. She squeezed his arm, and he drew her closer. Maybe fate was finally smiling down on her.
"I'll compromise. Don't quit your job, yet. Just stay here...with me. You have to drive everyday as it is. The distance will be the same. We'll be together. I still have the land to take care of to keep me busy during the day. And then the nights..."
"Luke—"
"Shhhh, Ella. Trust me. Please. You'd be giving me the best Christmas present ever."
His mouth on hers and his arms pulling her close again confirmed that he was right. She couldn't lie. She wanted it just as much as he did. It was the fear of admitting it that held her back, as if saying the words would puncture her dream balloon and she'd really wake up.