I didn’t even try to figure out how high-mountain lake water could be considered “Nice.” It had to be freezing in there, but Peter acted like bathing a tub of warm water.
I shook my head and replied, “I better stay right here where I’m warm.”
“Don’t be such a chicken, the water’s warm. I promise. Check it out if you don’t believe me.”
I gingerly stepped down to the water’s edge and dipped my hand in, “How is that possible?” I asked him in shock. The water was deliciously warm.
“The lake is fed by a mountain spring which runs next to a lava tube. It stays warm year round. So warm it doesn’t even freeze in the winter.”
“How did you know?” I asked, amazed and wondering if I dared strip down to my underwear and get in the water. It looked inviting.
“My uncle. He always brought me up here to swim during our visits to the cabin. Come on in, I’ll even turn my back to preserve your maidenly modesty.” Peter proceeded to turn his back towards me while speaking.
I stripped down to my underwear and quickly entered the water with a sigh. What an awesome sensation!
“Okay, you can turn around now,” I told him.
Peter swam towards me, an admiring glimmer in his eyes as he let them track below the water’s edge, “Nice.”
That one word compliment had the color rushing to my cheeks, “You’re supposed to be a gentleman and not stare.”
“I never said I was a gentleman. Come on, I’ll race you to the waterfall.”
We cavorted in the water for several hours, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the water. I had started out very awkward, but by the time we had finished our swim, I am comfortable and have almost forgotten that I’m in my underwear instead of a swimsuit.
When he suggested we lie in the sun for a few minutes to dry off, I headed towards the shore. I exited the water, completely unaware that my wet underwear hid nothing from the imagination. Peter had stopped at the water’s edge and was staring at me when I happened to glance his direction.
“Is something wrong?”
He gathered himself together and continued out of the lake, shaking his head, “Nothing.” Clearing his throat, he added, “I saw something in the woods.”
Turning around, I darted a glimpse into the bushes around the lake. I heard Peter approach behind me but my mind was focused on the supposed threat in the bushes. When a twig snap seconds later, I didn’t even hesitate, but jumped into Peter’s arms, wrapping my arms and legs around him as I screamed in terror.
“Rachel. Whoa! I was kidding. I didn’t see anything…”
“There is a bear! Over there,” I said, pointing over my shoulder without removing my arms or legs from around him.
Peter pushed me away from him enough to see my face, “There is no bear. Promised.”
I opened my eyes and looked into his. Everything seemed to slow down as his eyes widened and his head descended to take my lips in a devouring kiss. He slanted his lips against mine, using his tongue to claim possession of every part of my mouth.
I gave in to his kiss, pouring every ounce of restrained emotions into my response. His hands molded to my backside, pulling me closer against him while his lips staked their claim, imitating what his body wanted to do in a ritual as old as time itself.
My hands threaded through his hair – something I had wanted to do since the first time I had set my eyes on him. His presence set me on fire and I needed more. Never wanting to part our bodies again, a feeble moan of acceptance escaped my mouth. His possession of my mouth was one of the most intense experiences that shook me to the bottom of my soul and left me defenseless, surrendering to whatever would come next.
Peter felt things raging out of his control and quickly tamped down on his libido, urging his self-control to present itself. In a sudden move he pushed back from me, pulled my hands from his hair and my legs from around his waist. Breathless, he muttered, “Rachel, we have to stop.”
My senses were still so heightened I wasn’t ready to let him go, “Why?”
“Rachel, stop it!” he insisted, once again with his last ounce of self-control and a painful expression in his face, pulling my hands free and pushing me away from him.
His words finally registered in my lust fogged brain and the blush stained my cheeks as I realized how thoroughly I had embarrassed myself. I can’t view in his direction as I straighten my underwear and quickly don my clothes.
Peter gets dressed as quickly and silently. Without a word to each other, we walk back to the cabin. As we got ready to enter the cabin, he stopped and turned to me, “Rachel, I’m sorry for what happened back there. I should have never kissed you.”
I tried to hide my disappointment. “I…”
“No, let me finish. It’s not because we don’t have chemistry between us. We do. But I’m leaving for Spain and am going to be gone for three months.”
“And I’m looking for a job. There’s no guarantee that I’ll get to stay in California.”
Peter nodded, “You agree. Whatever this is between us can’t go anywhere.”
I didn’t want to agree to anything. I wanted to tackle him to the floor and finish what we had started in the woods. I had never been so turned on in my life and he was throwing common sense at me.
I decided I needed to walk off my lust before I did attack him. As I turned to head back down the stairs, my heel caught on one of the boards and I started to fall forward. Peter’s quick reflexes prevented me from tumbling down the stairs, head first.
It also brought him back into intimate contact with me as his right hand ended up half encircling my breast. Neither one of us moved or breathed for several seconds. Everything that had happened at the lake came rushing back. Instantly we were in each other’s arms, giving in to the intense desire rushing through our bodies and minds.
Peter kicked open the front door and dragged me inside with him. Pressing me up against the door, he used his hands under my ass to lift me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist arching to press myself against his hardness.
He braced himself against the wall with one hand and used the other to learn the curves of my body as I writhed against him, “More, please.” I was demanding, but I was in the middle of a maelstrom that only had one logical conclusion.
Peter used both hands to lift me up and carried me to the bedroom where he gently laid me down upon the quilt. He drew back and admired my shivering body, while he started to undress me painfully slow. I was on the verge of exasperation and needed to appreciate his full weight on me, but he wouldn’t let me off the hook yet. Instead he used his mouth to worship each revealed patch of skin.
His caresses intensified my desire with every second until I barely couldn’t breathe anymore. My skin burnt under his hands and lips and my nipples grew hard and erect even without him touching them.
I arched my back when he finally reached my breasts, loving the way he used both his teeth and his tongue to torture the turgid peaks. “Peter, hurry,” I urged him on.
“I want to take my time,” he informed me with a smile in his voice.
“Later. Please hurry, I need you.”
But he didn’t give in to my please. Instead he took pleasure in slowing down his progress even more and making me painfully aware, that I was at his mercy. He was the only one who could put out the burning fire and he had decided to take it as slow as possible.
Just when I thought he’d never relieve my craving, he pulled my jean shorts from my body, taking my underwear with them. As I was lying on the bed naked to his gaze, he retreated a step to take in the sight. Barely containing his own arousal he groaned, “You are so beautiful.”
I reached for him and started moving my hands over his torso. His strong abs, his back, the soft skin, every touch made me hotter and hotter. Now it was my turn to take of his clothes and show him how much the yearning can build up. Stroking slowly his manhood I reveled in giving back that intense burning lust and let him suffer the same deli
cious arousal as he had done to me before.
When I couldn’t take it any longer I pulled him on top of me with all my force. He shifted backwards, digging in his pants pocket for protection before rejoining me on the bed. After seeing to my protection, he lowered himself over me carefully as I spread my legs to make room for his hips.
“You’re absolutely breath taking,” he whispered, dropping light kisses across the bridge of my nose and eyelids.
“Please I need to feel you inside me or I will go up in flames,” I whispered back.
Peter chuckled softly and then reaching down, joined us in a smooth move that had my eyes rolling back in my head and my breath rushing from between my lips. My mind stopped thinking and my carnal instincts took over. He was everything I wanted. I needed him, needed to sense his body on mine and have him make us one.
I wrapped my legs around him as he started a steady rhythm that took us both straight to the edge of the cliff and toppled us off. I remembered hearing someone screaming and later realized it had been me screaming in ecstasy.
For a long time, we lay in each other’s arms, reluctant to end the moment. Making love with Peter had been the most extraordinary experience of my life – strong and powerful, yet loving and tender. Our souls had connected on a deep level and the surrounding reality had disappeared.
When he pulled me to his chest, I snuggled up to him. He dropped a kiss on my hair that made me close my eyes and let my mind drift away. In his arms I was safe and warm. Right now, he was all I needed and I refused to think about the future. Before long, we were both asleep in each other’s arms, keeping reality at bay a little longer.
Chapter 6
I stretched, my over-used muscles protested and a smile crossed my face as I remembered the activities that had made them sore. Peter and I had made love. It had been fantastic!
I rolled over, searching for him, my hand coming up empty. At the same time I opened my eyes to find myself the sole occupant of the room or the bed.
Flashbacks of several days ago came rushing back and I panicked, grabbing the sheets against my naked body, almost afraid to call out to him. Had he left me too?
I climbed out of bed and had just finished putting my underwear and shirt on when the bedroom door opened and Peter stood there.
The relief upon seeing him was overwhelming and I quickly sat down on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t left!
“Road’s clear. As soon as you can get yourself packed up, I want to head home.”
“Okay, give me a few minutes to make sure I have everything.”
Peter nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
I sat on the bed for a few minutes, reliving the night before and sad that our time together was over. When I joined Peter in the front room moments later, he is silent and I begin to feel uncomfortable. Did he regret having slept with me? Why didn’t he say anything?
We spoke very few words as we shut down the cabin and prepared to leave. We mounted his motorbike and headed down the mountain. Even if we had wanted to there was no way to maintain a conversation. The bike was noisy, and the headsets in the helmets didn’t seem to be working.
We traveled like that for 4 hours, until we reached the outskirts of Santa Clara. At a red light, Peter turned around and asked me for directions to my apartment. I told him and a grimace crossed his face.
“Where do you live?” I asked, wondering why my address had caused such a response. When he answered it was obvious. Peter lived in the upscale neighborhood, a couple of blocks from the country club. I lived across town in student housing. The drive would take no less than twenty minutes, one way.
I offered him to drop me off somewhere along the main road and I’d take a cab, but he insisted on driving me home. “Rachel, with all the complications you’ve attracted the last week I can’t risk dropping you off somewhere. Who knows what else will happen?” he teased me while heading in the direction of the college “It’s not a problem. Remember that I can’t just drop you off and make you walk home. You already tried that. Marilee would kill me if something happened to you.”
Oh my god, I had completely forgotten about Marilee and my stuff. She must be frantic by now!
Peter noticed the worry on my face and mentioned assuring, “Don’t worry. I called her from the cabin and explained the situation. You can pick up your stuff tomorrow.”
Relieved, I decided to enjoy the last minutes with him. During our ride I pressed myself against his warm back and pondered whether his bringing me all the way home was a sign that he had fallen for me. Or it was just because of Marilee and her wrath if he got me into a dangerous situation?
Still, I was getting more nervous the closer we got to my part of town. Should I invite him in? Should I offer him my phone number? Would he ask for my number?
All of these thoughts were crowding my brain, making normal conversation scarce.
“You still with me back there?” he asked.
“Yes. I was just thinking.”
“Ah, that was the sound of wheels grinding away. What are you thinking about so hard?”
I shrugged and then answered, “Nothing much. Just a bunch of stuff I need to get done. Now that I’m home, that is.”
Peter nodded, “Yeah. I have a ton of stuff to get done as well.”
I lapsed into silence once again as he pulled onto the freeway. The traffic noise, combined with the bike noise, made holding a conversation impossible. That didn’t bother me, as I wasn’t in the mood for mindless chatter anyway. The last few days had been full of new experiences, most of which I would always treasure. Who would have thought that my much-needed break that started out so bad, would turn into one of the most exhilarating occurrences.
Coming to terms with the fact that most of them were one time things and would never be repeated was not something I was willing to consider. At least not yet.
Chapter 7
I was so caught in trying to remember the last few days, that when Peter stopped the bike in front of my apartment complex, he had to call my name twice to get my attention.
I was extremely shy, wondering if I should invite him upstairs, or if that would seem too forward. Would he take it the wrong way if I did invite him up? These thoughts ran through my brain as I stood there on the sidewalk looking at him.
Peter seemed to be enjoying my discomfiture and a knowing grin spread across his face. I finally got up the courage to ask him upstairs, “So, would you like to come up for a few minutes?”
The smile left his face as he shook his head, “I don’t think that would be the best idea.”
“Oh,” I said, not knowing how else to respond.
“I enjoyed being with you, and last night was amazing. But I leave for Spain in two weeks. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us to try and start something that has no hope of lasting.”
I nodded even though my heart wasn’t in agreement. “I understand. I…uhm…”
“Rachel, would you give me your number? I’d love to get together for dinner or something, after my return.”
I nodded and grabbing a pen from my backpack, I took his palm and scribbled my number on it.
He looked at the number before saying, “Thanks? I hope that wasn’t permanent ink.”
I shook my head, “No. It will wash off.”
“I’ll be sure to write the number on a piece of paper before I shower or wash my hands.”
“You do that.” I looked at him and he stared back at me before he cleared his throat.
“I should probably head home, myself.”
“Yeah. Thanks for the ride home.” I took a few backward steps towards my apartment.
“Take care of yourself! No more trips to the wilderness, just to be dumped there, ok?” He tried to tease me, but his voice was soft, caring and even a bit worried. Without another word, Peter got on his bike and rode off. I watched him until he disappeared from view, and then I entered my apartment.
After showering and che
cking my messages, I sat down to watch some T.V. hoping to take my mind off of Peter. But it didn’t work one bit. Everything I changed the channel to reminded me of our time together.
The Stallone movie about the climbers was one. The motorcycle building show was on another channel. A military channel was showing how to properly prepare rations. Every channel I turned to reminded me in some way of Peter and the last few days.
I finally turned the T.V. off and went to bed where I dreamed of Peter making love to me again. In my dreams, he didn’t wait until he returned from Spain to call me. He called me immediately and we spent every night together.
I awoke in the morning, grouchy, frustrated and confused. My dream had been so real, every time the phone range, I found myself hoping it was Peter.
By mid-morning I had tortured myself enough and decided that today would be an excellent day to clean the house from top to bottom. I threw myself into the task, straightening drawers, and re-organizing closets – all in an attempt to put thoughts of Peter behind me.
I checked online for more job openings, sent out a few electronic resumes and read my emails.
When evening rolled around, I had managed to clean the entire apartment, but still fell asleep with thoughts of Peter uppermost in my mind.
Chapter 8
The next few days dragged by in slow mode. I busied myself with arranging to complete my internship and applying for additional jobs; even ones outside of the Santa Clara area.
Four days after returning from Yosemite, Michael called to speak with Karen. I was instantly furious with him, “What kind of person are you?” I yelled into the phone.
“Hey, don’t blame me. You were more interested in hanging out with that group of college kids than me so I arranged for you do just that.” I couldn’t believe he was trying to justify his poor behavior! He wasn’t even decent enough to apologize or show some guilt!
Falling For Him 1 (Rachel and Peter in Love) Page 4