The Predator [1]

by Brooke May

  “You did a lot with your parents.” I smile, but I’m jealous. I wish I had memories like the ones he does.

  “I did.” He pulls me over to a spot for us to set up our lunch. “We would go fishing and hiking anytime we were up here visiting my grandparents. My dad said it made up for the times when we were home and he had to work.” Chamberlain sits and hands me my sandwich as I take a seat next to him and look out at the water.

  “And your mom? She didn’t fish?”

  “Hated to. She would cook anything we brought home, but she couldn’t fish. She said she was too sweet, and the fish could taste it in the water, so they never bit her line.”

  “I’m sure she was.”

  “She would have loved you. Hell, all of them would have.” His gaze causes me to blush.

  “What would have they thought?” I’m curious.

  “Mom would have asked when you were going to get me to give her grandkids, and Dad would have hushed her with a kiss to make me think he was saving me, and then embarrass me even more by saying you need to make an honest man out of me.”

  Grandkids?

  Honest man out of him?

  Wow.

  I mean I’ve thought of and hoped for from time to time that my future will have Chamberlain in it permanently, but …

  “It would have been great.” He turns somber, turning his focus to his sandwich. “So how did you get into ballet?”

  “It was something my parents forced on me. They thought it would make me a mindless drone to obey them.”

  “I’m glad to see it didn’t work.”

  “Me too. It’s the only time I feel free to be myself. I love to dance. It always helped because they thought I was pretty good at it, so they let me keep it up and soon quit watching me altogether. Then they got mad when I decided to set up my own dance class at the center.”

  “Why would they be pissed?”

  “Because it was beneath me. My mother was furious, but once my father convinced her it would be good for my image in the long run, they left me alone again. It doesn’t stop her and Zoey from giving me a hard time about it, though. I don’t see why they nitpick at me. Zoey has started and given up on almost every activity my mother approves of.”

  I hug my legs and rest my chin on my knees. I wish they would just forget about me. “Where did you learn to cook?” I turn my head so my cheek is on my knee now. Chamberlain is patting his stomach after swallowing the last of his sandwich.

  “Where do you think?” I hand him the rest of my sandwich, since I made it too big. “Fiona taught me everything I know, pretty much.”

  “She’s an amazing lady?” Chamberlain wonders.

  “The best. She always made me feel wanted and cherished. She taught me to sew and well … everything else growing up. She’s always been more of a mother to me than my real one.”

  “If she cooks as good as you do, I may have to steal her after I go pro for my own cook,” he teases.

  “She’d probably take you up on that in a heartbeat. She hates working for my parents. The only reason she stays is because of me.”

  “Well, you’ll be with me, so she can come too.”

  What?

  He sounds set on this, so certain. I still need and want to do my schooling. Chamberlain stands and pulls his shirt over his head as he kicks out of his shoes and socks. “Let’s go for a swim.” He reaches down for my hand. I stand and remove my clothes. “Damn, I’m one lucky man.” Once my shirt is over my head, I find Chamberlain running his hungry, predatory eyes up and down my exposed body.

  I throw my shirt at him and then untie my shoes, remove my socks, and slide my shorts down.

  “Fuck, yes. I’m lucky.” He groans when I bend over and fold my clothes up. “And in black and white. Perfect.” He scoops me up and takes us down to the water. I love being in his arms. I love knowing that I’m small enough for him to carry around with ease. It has helped to eliminate the doubts about my body that my mother has put in my head.

  Sunday, after I left his apartment, I had gone shopping and bought myself a new swimsuit. I looked through dozens of different colors and styles until I found and fell in love with a black and white bikini that looks like a referee’s shirt. The bottoms are more like an ultra-mini skirt; it makes me feel scandalous and sexy for him.

  “Chamberlain!” I squeal with delight as he bounds into the cool water. “That’s so cold!” I cling to him as he takes us deeper, laughing at me as he goes.

  “It feels great on my muscles,” he says as he dunks us under the water, taking my breath away. We come back up, and I fix my hold around his neck, pulling him closer to me so I can steal his body heat. I have goose bumps all over my body, even in places I never knew could.

  “Not to m-m-me, k-k-keep me w-wa-warm.” I shiver.

  He laughs again. “That’s because you’re almost too tiny, panda. We need to get some meat on your bones,” he jokes, but he has no clue how much I love the idea. “Maybe a little more muscle too.” He lightly pinches one of my triceps and kisses my bicep.

  “Gladly.” My body starts to warm up being so close to him.

  “If we were alone, I’d have my way with you.” His lips ghost across my cheek to my ear. “But there are too many people around, and I don’t want anyone else to see your bedroom eyes.”

  I drop my legs from around his waist to save us both the embarrassment and swim around to his back and lay there as he swims around. We swim for a good hour before we decide to get out and walk down to see the actual falls.

  “Hey, mista.” Chamberlain is tugging on his shirt when a little boy tugs on his shorts. “Are you a soaperhero?” I gush at the little boy as he looks up with wide brown eyes at Chamberlain.

  “I’m not. Why do you ask?” Chamberlain drops down to his knees. He glances behind the boy at his parents and little sister with a nod of acknowledgment.

  “‘cuse you have big mustcles.” I giggle at his answer. His father is also laughing while his mother blushes. The little girl is hiding behind her mother’s leg. I tilt my head with a smile and wave at her, but she ducks away.

  “I’m not a superhero. I work at a garage, and I’m training to become a professional boxer,” Chamberlain calmly explains. His tone is so gentle that it reminds me of the softest blanket I have back home.

  “So you can beat up bad guys?” The boy looks confused.

  “No, it’s a sport. I fight someone else who is also a fighter.” I knew Chamberlain had a very caring and nurturing side, but I’m seeing him in a whole new light; another layer has just been peeled back. My cheeks start to ache from the smile on my face.

  Chamberlain stands back up when the little boy runs back to his family and walks away with a, “Thank you,” from the father.

  “Re … what?”

  “Nothing.” I shake my head and take his hand after his backpack is on. “Let’s go.” We walk quite a ways and the sound of the falls is getting louder when I ask Chamberlain a question that has been eating at me. “Where will you call home when you go pro?” Surely, he won’t keep the apartment, since Scott will more than likely be going with him. If I had to guess, I would say his grandparents’ cottage, but there isn’t a whole lot of space to call home.

  “I haven’t really thought about it. I want to buy a place, but I want to find the right one and then go from there.”

  Right one what?

  Is he talking about the right woman or the right home to buy? “I know I’ll be traveling a lot for a while, so I’ll probably just save up money until I become more settled. I do want some place big enough for a giant home gym and the opportunity to put apartments in for the staff that I will eventually have.”

  “Oh, okay.” My gaze drops to the ground and then back up as the falls come into view. “Wow.” It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a waterfall before. The Bash Bish Falls are beautiful. Two falls coming down to form one pool of water. There is a giant rock between the two of them, jutting out of the rock wall. “This i
s … amazing.” I let go of Chamberlain’s hand and walk closer.

  “It is, isn’t it?” He joins me by climbing on top of a big rock, the closest to the falls. I close my eyes and lay my head back. My worries and concerns drift away like they are being rinsed off me, even if only for a few brief moments.

  Chamberlain remains quiet beside me. I don’t know what is going in his mind, and, at the moment I really don’t care. I’m living right now, happy and content with him. I won’t worry about the future from now on. Just enjoy the ride.

  “You look so serene.” Passion laces his voice.

  “I feel it. Thank you for bringing me here.” My head tilts to rest on his shoulder after he takes his backpack off. He fishes my camera out.

  “Turn around.” He comes up behind me and points the camera at us. “Give me a beautiful smile, baby,” he whispers in my ear just before snapping a picture. He turns me quickly and kisses me, snapping another. “Now my camera.” He quickly drops down to grab his smaller camera and snaps a couple of pictures of us as he tickles me and makes me laugh.

  Reluctantly, we leave after sitting and enjoying the sounds of nature for a half an hour. When we reach the truck, I fall into my seat as Chamberlain starts it. “Have fun?”

  “It was wonderful.” I smile up at him from where I’m at on the seat.

  “We’ll go again, someday,” he promises as he backs out of the shaded parking spot.

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “Oh, Katie. I would have you hold anything to me, including that sexy little body of yours.” His gaze instantly ignites my need; my core clenches and my once dried bikini bottoms are now damp.

  Oh, how I love those predator eyes of his.

  XOXO

  CHAMBERLAIN ATTEMPTS TO be a gentleman by opening my door when we get back to the cottage. I, however, do not intend to act like a lady and get out nicely. Instead, I launch myself out of the cab and into his arms, quickly sealing our lips together before he can object. My fingers are in their favorite place, fisting in his hair. It isn’t terribly long, just enough that it surrounds each finger when my hands are there.

  I pull back, breathing heavily. “I love you with a little hair.” I pull him to me again, consumed with desire.

  “Damn, Katie.” He fumbles to get the door of the cabin unlocked while I move down to his neck. He manages to get us in while kicking off his shoes and getting us into the bathroom area.

  My mouth falls open and my eyes hood when he slams me against the wall next to the showerhead. He peels my hands off him and raises them up above my head, forcing my heaving chest to stick out and my legs to lock around him. His palms slide down my inner arms to my breasts where he cups and lifts them, placing gentle bites on each before his hands move down.

  I whimper and grind my lower half against him. I’m hungry for him, completely consumed. Using his hips to keep me pinned against the wall and with my legs now hanging around his waist, Chamberlain skillfully undoes the fly of his shorts, grabs a condom from his pocket, and removes both his shorts and boxer briefs in one swift move.

  “Chamberlain.” I groan, and he turns his upper body to start the shower. I can’t take this. I’m a throbbing ball of furious need for him. Hooded and hungry , his blue eyes return to mine. He ever so slowly runs the back of his hand down my cheek to my neck and slowly down the rest of my body until he reaches the hem of my shirt. He quickly removes it and my shorts; my feet never touch the ground.

  “You are so fucking beautiful, Katie.” His gaze leaves a path of flames where his eyes roam over my body. The steam of the shower starts to rise, and it doesn’t affect my body at all. I barely feel any other heat than his body heat. My nipples ache through my bikini top while Chamberlain’s massive hands come back down to cover each of my breasts.

  My hands have not moved from the spot where he put them, and I know now that he will come back up with at least one hand to keep them there. Chamberlain’s breathing grows heavy, making his shoulders rise and fall with hurried ease as he runs his hands up my breasts, to under my arms, and around the back of my shoulder to grab the strings of my top. With one hand, he undoes the one around my neck, while the other hand does the same with the one around my back as he places soft, wet kisses and light bites on my neck.

  My eyes flutter shut as my head drops to the left, giving him unbridled access to the right side of my neck. When the knots are undone, Chamberlain’s left hand goes back up to grab both of mine, while its partner throws my top somewhere behind us.

  His right hand returns to my body and moves in sync with his lips as the skirt of my bikini bottoms are moved aside. “Yes.” He hisses just below my ear. His fingers skim across my folds before sliding up to tease my clit.

  “Ah!” I wriggle and grind against his hand as a frustrated moan rips from my throat. Somehow, I manage to kick off my shoes and peel my socks off before they got soaked, leaving me only in my bottoms. “Chamberlain.” His name escapes my lips when one of my hands is freed, and I slide it into his hair. He is lightly teasing me, never quite sinking his fingers into where I want him.

  I feel him grin against my skin. “What’s the matter, Katie?” He grinds his erection against my core as his finger applies more pressure to my clit.

  “Oww!” I slam my head back, hitting it on the tiled wall, but it doesn’t faze me. “Please,” I plead, pushing our joined lower bodies away from the wall. My hand above my head and my upper back are all that is keeping me upright. “Please, Chamberlain.”

  He places me on my feet, giving into me. “With pleasure.” He kneels in front of me, swiftly removing my bottoms and standing to put the condom on. “Come here,” he directs me with the curl of his finger as he steps backward under the spray of the shower.

  Licking my lips, I manage to reach him on shaky, adrenaline-rushed legs. I peruse his rugged and sexy muscles that form an amazing V, and place both my palms on him. Chamberlain’s body jerks as my hands move up his abs to his chest, and they separate when I reach his shoulders to round them and bring them back together at the base of his neck. I bring him to me.

  I push my tongue through our linked lips into his mouth, wrapping it around his tongue ring, which earns me a deep throaty groan. He palms my bottom before he slides his hands down to my thighs and effortlessly lifts me, resting my open thighs on his hips and my dripping core over him.

  “So fucking beautiful,” he muses as he breaks our kiss. “You ready for this? It’s going to be rough.” He leans down to search my eyes, and I gently nod.

  He keeps one hand on me while the other guides him into me before quickly thrusting up. My whole body flies up, and my head falls back. “Oh!” He returns his hand to my side as he leaves me for just a moment to adjust.

  When I tighten my muscles around him, he starts an unrelenting pace that steals my breath and makes my fingers tighten their grip in his hair. I start to make all sorts of animalistic sounds as he continues.

  His back rests against the wall as he drives into me; his eyes never break from my face. His thumb comes between us and presses the pad against my clit.

  “Chamberlain!” I fist my hands and raise up against him, arching so my breasts come closer to his mouth, silently begging him to take them. I need him to take them. His hot mouth consumes my right nipple. I shiver deliciously as the ball of his tongue ring hits my aching peak.

  He is manifesting pleasure on every part of my body with skill. My climax is close. “Come for me, baby,” he growls into my chest, catapulting me into a euphoric spiral of pleasure. Chamberlain’s pressure doesn’t ease as I come back into focus and only build up again.

  He releases my nipple with a pop and throws his head back as he makes the most primal noise I have ever heard. He slows and focuses on me again. I still, while continuing to hold onto him, giving him an odd look. “Are … you … okay?” I try to catch my breath.

  Is he done?

  That wasn’t as much as I thought he would give today. Shaking his head
, he shuts off the shower and reaches for a towel, never once breaking our most intimate contact. He dries us, drops the towel, and carries me toward the ladder. With every bounce of his feet hitting the floor, my grip strengthens, and I moan.

  I yelp and make sure I’m holding him tightly when he starts to climb the ladder with us still joined.

  What in the world?

  He gets to the top and somehow manages to sit on the bed, leaving me on top of him. “I’m great, Katie.” He runs his hands over my cheeks, pushing some loose tendrils of wet hair off my face. He cups the back of my neck and passionately devours my mouth.

  He breaks the kiss and falls back on the bed, holding me so I stay upright. “Ride me,” he gently commands, rocking his hips up into me and causing a rush of air to leave my lungs. “Come on, I want to watch this little body bounce, Katie. I’m close,” he states as he rocks up again me, faster this time. I lean forward to brace myself on his abs as my mouth forms an O.

  I start to move, but it doesn’t feel right. Normally, Chamberlain is on top and likes to have the control and power. It feels stimulating for me to have it. “Rock back and forth, Katie,” he quietly instructs.

  Maybe I won’t get all the power.

  I get into a groove of rocking back and forth against him, never breaking eye contact with him, even when his eyes roll back, and his mouth falls open. “Fuck, yes,” he hisses as he grabs my hips and jerks up against me as I come closer to him. His steely shaft is rubbing just … the … right … way … against … my … clit.

  “Oh, Chamberlain,” I whimper as I continue. This way feels so … good. I join him by closing my eyes as my climax comes again; slower, sweeter this time. I tighten my inner muscles around him causing his whole lower body to jerk off the bed and bury into me. His body convulses as he shouts his own release, and I keep up my pace until I collapse onto his chest.

  I cuddle into his damp chest and kiss his heart. “This is my favorite spot,” I murmur as my breathing evens out, becoming in tune with his.