by Kim Baldwin
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“It seemed as though you didn’t like me very much when you first got here. Or am I wrong?”
Megan sighed. “Yeah, well. That was rather childish of me, and I owe you an apology.”
“I really wasn’t fishing for one,” Chaz said. “And if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I was just wondering…what changed. To make you…you know, kiss me.”
Megan squirmed a little under Chaz’s blunt questions and couldn’t meet her eyes. “You remind me…reminded me of someone. At first.”
There was a long silence. “I take it you don’t like this person very much?” Chaz asked gently.
“I liked her very much,” Megan said, her jaw clenching as the memories flooded into her mind. “Once upon a time. But not at the end.” She looked right at Chaz then. “You’re nothing at all like her, Chaz. And I’m really sorry I treated you so rudely.”
“I told you, I wasn’t looking for an apology. I just hoped it wasn’t something I did or said.”
Megan smiled. “It wasn’t. And thank you for being so understanding. So…you teach biology at the university, you said. Do you like your job?”
“Very much.” Chaz didn’t flinch at the sudden change in subject. “I have wonderful students, for the most part. Bright, inquisitive, motivated. I get to spend my days talking about the things that I’m the most interested in—Alaska’s wildlife and ecology, and its future. I have a view of Denali from my office. And my teaching job gives me the opportunity to lead groups like this during the summer.”
“And you really like this, don’t you? Isn’t it still work, having to take care of everything and everyone?”
“To a certain extent, sure,” Chaz said. “But I get to spend three months a year in some of the most beautiful places in the world, and get paid for it, with not a whole lot of real hard work involved on my part.” She chuckled to herself. “Of course, some trips are more fun than others.”
“You’ve had to go above and beyond on this trip, that’s for sure, because of me,” Megan said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it. Except for the bear and the near drowning, I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Megan laughed. Chaz’s exuberance for her work was evident in her radiant smile. In addition to the obvious sparks between them, she would miss Chaz’s company a lot, she realized. She was easy to be with—bright and funny and with an irresistible charm.
“Honestly, though,” Chaz said, “I’m just sorry you have to leave early.”
“Me, too. I wasted a lot of time that I should have spent getting to know you better.”
A loud boom of thunder sounded in the near distance, and both women jumped.
Chaz turned to look behind her. “We better get into the tent soon.That will hit us before we know it,” she said, studying the sky. A solid wall of dark charcoal clouds was approaching fast from the northwest. “I just love storms.” A huge grin spread across her face. She always felt energized when a big storm was coming, like her body was one giant barometer. “The power of nature exerting itself. Elemental, you know? And when you’re out here, surrounded by it, at its mercy…well, I just love it. Makes me feel alive.”
“Storms scare the crap out of me,” Megan said. “At least they usually do.” But she was feeling no fear at the moment, she had to admit. She was feeling it too…the excitement and energy and raw anticipation that were written all over Chaz’s face.
“We’ll be fine,” Chaz said reassuringly, and Megan believed her. So far, leaving it all up to fate had worked out pretty well for her. It had brought her to Alaska and to Chaz. She wasn’t going to fight it now.
Chapter Sixteen
Even Chaz, who had a much better understanding than most of the volatile unpredictability of Alaska’s weather, was surprised at the ferocity of the storm that barreled down on them. As the thunder edged closer and the rain picked up, the wind began to increase, pushing and pulling against the thin fabric that surrounded them until it seemed as though the entire tent was breathing in and out.
The sky turned so dark that it appeared as though the sun was going to defy its normal summer path and really sink beneath the horizon this time. The air around them was charged with electricity. But Chaz wasn’t sure whether it was the storm, entirely, or the chemistry that was now crackling between them as they lay side by side and only inches apart.
The long rip that Sally had repaired was directly over her head. She raised one arm and traced her finger along the length of it, pleased that the seam seal was keeping out every drop of moisture, at least for now.
“That was a pretty terrifying moment for me,” Megan said.
Chaz turned on her side and leaned on one elbow to look down at Megan. “I’m sure it was. I won’t forget it any time soon, either.”
“You know, I really admire you, Chaz. The courage you showed against the bear. Your calm control over the most harrowing circumstances. The patience you have with everything.” She smiled up at her. “Including me.”
Chaz grinned back. “Thanks, Megan. That means a lot to me.”
“You kind of seem to…have it all together, more than most women. You know exactly what you want.”
Chaz looked away, her expression hard to read. “I would probably have said that was very true just a couple of weeks ago,” she said slowly. “I am absolutely content with where I live. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.” She glanced at Megan with regret in her eyes, then looked away again. “And I love what I do. I feel a sense of passion and purpose about my job, and who could ask for more than that? But…” She let out a long sigh. “I have been thinking a lot the last few days about…how content I really am with living alone.”
“The last few days?” Megan repeated.
“I have a much better idea of what I might be missing out on.”
“Look at me, will you?” Megan asked gently.
Chaz turned her head slowly until their eyes met, their faces two feet apart.
“I wish to God you’d kiss me right now. If you don’t, my heart is just going to burst right out of my chest.”
Chaz’s own heart seemed to skip a beat or two as it accelerated rapidly to match Megan’s. As Megan’s words repeated themselves in her head, her eyes involuntarily trailed down Megan’s body to watch the rapid rise and fall of her breasts. Sweet Jesus.
“Now, Chaz. Please.”
She looked again at Megan’s face and saw a depth of wanton desire that she had never seen before in a woman’s eyes. Her body was electrified by it. Her every nerve ending sang. No one could have resisted that look. No one.
And then, Megan’s lips became all she saw. Full, and red, and as she watched, Megan moistened them with her tongue in a teasing invitation, and that was all she wrote. Her final conscious thought was to be careful of Megan’s injuries, and so she cautiously edged her body closer and leaned over Megan so that Megan would not have to move at all.
“About damn time,” Megan whispered with a breathiness that shook Chaz to the core.
She closed the final distance and brought their faces together.
That first touch was only a brief caress; Chaz brushed her lips along the length of Megan’s and then retreated for only a moment before descending again, to nip gently at Megan’s luscious lower lip. Once, then twice.
Megan moaned, a soft sigh of surrender.
Chaz wanted to take it slow; to make it last, and to imprint it on her mind, every single detail, because she knew she would want to recall it often in the months ahead. But when Megan made that sound, a hunger flared up in her that was unrecognizable, an almost animalistic hunger that made her feel more alive, and more driven for one purpose, than she could ever remember.
She pressed hard against Megan then, devouring her mouth, thrusting her tongue into the warmth. Megan’s tongue found hers with equal enthusiasm. And then, oh then…the sounds that came from Megan—a whimper of need, a groa
n of desire; it was a chorus she recognized because it sang inside her own body.
They kissed and kissed, and kissed, snatching a breath when they needed to, shifting momentarily to nip at each other, until Chaz was so turned on her arousal was almost painful. Much more of this, and she would come right then and there. She broke the kiss and raised up off of Megan a few inches to look at her. Megan’s eyes were heavy-lidded with arousal, and their fevered kisses had left her full lips swollen and flushed.
“God, what you do to me,” Megan whispered.
Chaz’s heart hammered so fast she found it hard to breathe. “Megan, I know that I said I don’t do one-night stands, but I want whatever time I can have with you. Even if tonight is it, for us. If…I mean, if you think we can…make love…with your injuries.” She stammered in her nervousness, but she was encouraged by the look in Megan’s eyes.
Make love. The words separated themselves from all the others that Chaz had said. Megan was so incredibly, unbelievably aroused, that her mind was having a hard time hearing words at all. How could her brain function anyway, when all of her blood was between her legs?
But those words cut through her haze of desire.
That’s it. It was the answer to all those questions that had been skimming around on the periphery of her consciousness ever since she’d met Chaz. Why this felt different than all the others. Why it mattered more. Why she’d begun to question so much in her life.
She had had plenty of sex in the last five years. But never once had she made love. After Rita, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to make love to anyone, ever again.
But with Chaz, that was exactly what she wanted. For with Chaz, it could be nothing less, nothing else.
“I feel the same way,” she said. “I would like…very much…to have much more than one night with you. But if that’s not possible, I want to have tonight to remember.”
“You’re sure?”
“Never more.”
A burst of heavy rain hit the tent, the sound so loud it drummed out any further attempt at conversation. But they were beyond words now anyway. Lightning flashed nearby, as if feeding from the highly charged atmosphere they were creating between them. A moment later, the following boom of thunder seemed to shake the ground beneath their bodies.
Megan was very glad she was lying down. She felt so absurdly light-headed she wasn’t sure she could remain on her feet if she were upright. Her entire body seemed to pulse, at one with the primitive and wild forces of nature raging outside the tent. It was exhilarating beyond measure.
Chaz reached between them and unzipped both their sleeping bags, then sat up and slipped off sweater and turtleneck in one easy movement, then sports bra, exposing the naked splendor of muscled arms and back. The smooth, tanned skin was so enticingly close that Megan couldn’t help but reach out for it.
When her fingertips touched the warm flesh, Chaz froze, momentarily startled. Then she half turned to flash a smile back at Megan, before resuming the cavalier removal of her clothes. Pants, boxers, socks. Stripped, she turned to Megan and lay on her side, smiling as Megan’s eyes traveled the length of her naked body, appreciating every curve and ripple of musculature. From the broad shoulders to the firm, round breasts: not too large, dark areolas, nipples already erect.
Megan sucked in a breath as she felt her own nipples harden in response; then her eyes continued downward to the thick, dark triangle of hair, the rock-hard thighs, the legs that went on forever. She said a prayer of thanks for whatever experiences had contributed to Chaz’s total lack of inhibition. Her lithe sensuality was intoxicating.
“God, you have an incredible body,” she said, meeting Chaz’s eyes.
What she saw there—a fiery heat, smoldering, ready to flare—surprised her. Chaz’s relaxed posture belied what Megan could see clearly in the honest depths of those eyes: a coiled, raw sexuality, powerful and barely contained.
“I’m very glad you think so.” Chaz’s voice was thick with need and want. Her hand trembled as she reached for Megan’s unzipped sleeping bag and peeled it back. “I have to see you. Touch you.” She shifted position until she lay pressed against Megan, their faces close together. “And taste you,” she added, leaning down to kiss Megan again as her hand found the button of Megan’s jeans.
The implied promise sent a rush of heat to meet the cool intrusion of Chaz’s fingers against her abdomen. In every sexual encounter she’d had since Rita, Megan had always been the one calling the shots. It was all about control. Initiating every touch, orchestrating every position. There were no surprises for her in bed any more. Satisfying releases, yes. But little more. So she found it briefly puzzling that she had no difficulty whatsoever in submitting to Chaz’s lead. For some reason she was unable to explain, she was perfectly content to surrender to whatever Chaz might have in mind. Her body told her she would not be disappointed.
Chaz’s lips found hers as she felt her pants being loosened. This kiss was as unsettling as the earlier ones. And they were kisses that reached parts of her that had been dormant for years, hidden and forgotten, awaiting the right touch to come alive. She was so lost in the warmth of Chaz’s mouth that she barely registered the fact that somehow most of her clothes were gone. She realized it only when Chaz broke their connection to slip her shirt off, so gently her shoulder felt only a momentary twinge of pain, quickly forgotten.
Chaz stared down at her with open approval, unconsciously licking her lips as she surveyed the pale smooth skin she had uncovered, her gaze like a caress, lingering first on Megan’s ample breasts, then on the silky patch of light brown hair below.
Megan trembled under that penetrating assessment.
“Cold?” Chaz asked.
She was, if anything, quite the opposite. Her body was on fire. But before she could answer, Chaz was pulling the sleeping bags over them and zipping them together to form a cozy nest for two.
And then they came together as both of them had imagined many times, Chaz covering Megan’s body with her own, weight on her elbows, careful of Megan’s shoulder but determined to touch skin to skin, breast to breast, pelvis to pelvis.
The same sound—a moan of contentment—escaped them both as Chaz settled her weight against Megan’s, insinuating one hard thigh between her legs. Megan’s center rose to meet hers, and their mouths met for another warm, slow, wet kiss as their bodies began moving against each other, increasing the friction where it was needed most. Unhurried but insistent, the pressure for release building with each rock and sway of their hips.
Chaz’s lips left Megan’s to trace a provocative path along her jaw, pausing to nip at her earlobe. Then a wet tongue caressed her neck and tasted the hollow of her throat, where the rapid beating of her heart could be seen and felt.
She sure has a talented mouth. Oh, yes, she certainly does, big points for that, Megan thought hazily. A shudder of anticipation shot through her as that talented mouth headed south. Chaz shifted her weight slightly so that she would be able to feel Megan’s right breast with her hand while her mouth claimed its twin.
“I’m so close already, I think I’m going to explode as soon as you touch me,” Megan gasped, as Chaz’s hand and mouth found their destinations.
Skillful fingers cupped, lightly caressed, firmly fondled, and then pinched—hard—as Chaz’s mouth did things that made Megan feel as though her nerve endings had been rewired: lines crossed, direct currents newly running between her nipple and groin.
She heard sounds. Gasps, moans, whimpers, all coming from her. Unrecognizable. Unfamiliar. Their bodies were moving against each other again, more insistent now.
Megan became aware of how wet her thigh was, where it met Chaz’s center. Instinctively, she pressed more firmly against Chaz right where it mattered. Chaz groaned and her body stiffened slightly, but she never paused in her tortuous oral seduction. To Megan, it felt as though her mouth was already elsewhere. How was that possible?
I am going to come, Megan realized, just a mil
lisecond before Chaz seemed to read her mind and withdraw enough to keep her poised just on the brink. The mouth and tongue and hand returned to teasing caresses, not quite firm enough to finish the job.
“Not yet,” Chaz said, her voice much lower than normal, as though freshly roused from slumber.
God, she could drown in that voice. No one had ever been able to see inside of her…and know precisely what she was feeling…the way this woman apparently could. She found out how when Chaz raised her head and looked directly into her eyes.
“So close,” Chaz said, and Megan could see in her eyes the joyous strain of acute arousal, orgasm contained by sheer force of will, and painfully so. Withheld, she knew, so that they could come together. Chaz knew what she was feeling because she felt exactly the same.
“Yes,” she answered, her breathing erratic. Chaz’s was, too. “Touch me, Chaz. Feel how wet you make me. And let me touch you.”
Her consent unfettered Chaz, released her from whatever had bound her to a slow and deliberate seduction. It unleashed that powerful and fierce sexuality that Megan had glimpsed earlier in those hazel eyes. Chaz kissed her, hard, as she shifted her weight to allow them access to each other.
She had a moment to think again: God, you can kiss. It was almost better than sex itself with all the others she had been with. She felt it in every bit of her, every cell, every inch of skin.
Then her mind became incapable of thought, as Chaz’s skilled fingers slipped into the wet, silky folds between her legs. Jesus. She arched her back involuntarily to meet the touch, forgetting entirely about her shoulder. A sharp stab ran through it, and she exhaled a grunt of pain as she slumped backwards.
Chaz’s fingers paused but did not leave the warmth of Megan’s center. “Are you all right?” she asked hoarsely.
“Yes, don’t stop,” Megan pleaded, spreading her legs wider and reaching down for Chaz.
Chaz’s whole body tensed in anticipation, and when Megan’s fingers passed through the coarse hairs and sank into the depths of the folds beyond, already soaked and swollen, Chaz made a sound she’d not heard before, a soft, keening cry.