Once I was certain Selene was tucked into her bed and sleeping comfortably, I changed out of my “princess gear” and into running clothes. I grabbed my mp3 player and waved good-bye to Mark and Jameson where they sat near the front door.
After some stretches I set out on my normal trail. This one was eight kilometers and wrapped around the edge of the lake that abutted our property. This trail was my favorite. There was an old stone wall, dips and turns, and I loved the way the sun flickered through the leaves on the trees.
It was warm outside and it didn’t take long for me to work up a sweat, but I didn’t mind. After having been stuck in pant suits and dresses for two weeks, it was nice to cut loose and just run. That saying about how exercise hurt but in a good way was true. It was like I was able to run out all of my frustration and worry from the last weeks.
By the time I reached the lake I was moving at a good pace, my mind lost in thought as I listened to classical music pumping into my ears. I finally felt at peace, calm and centered. The fact that I was so content in my own mind is probably why I didn’t notice David at first.
He was sitting on a large stone with a fishing pole in his hands. I slowed to a jog and then a walk. I pulled my earbuds out and let them hang over my shoulder.
“Hey.” I walked over to where he was sitting and smiled down at him. We’d texted a few times since our date, but hadn’t been able to match up our schedules to see each other.
“I was hoping I might see you.” He held his hand out to me and pulled me to sit next to him.
“You were hoping I’d be fishing?”
“I was hoping I’d see you run past. Thankfully you stopped. I’m not much of a runner and you were moving pretty fast.” He set down his pole and turned to look at me.
“How’d you know I’d be running?”
“I was hoping.” His smile turned wicked and my heart rate had nothing to do with my exercise.
“Hoping what exactly?”
He reached out and twisted a strand of my hair around his finger. “I heard from a trustworthy source that no one ever comes to this part of the lake—except for a princess when she goes running. And I thought that you just might be hot enough to want to take a dip with me.”
“I didn’t bring my swimming suit.”
He patted along his chest and shorts. “Looks like I forgot mine too.”
“I guess we’re out of luck.” I lifted one eyebrow as he reached around me to undo the strap of the mp3 player on my arm.
“I can think of an alternative.” With a delicate finger he traced the strap of my tank top before sliding it down my shoulder.
“Are you suggesting that we go skinny dipping?” My stomach did a funny little flip. He was right, no one ever came to this side of the lake, but the thought of swimming naked with him was enough to get my juices flowing.
“Oh, I’m more than suggesting it. I’m asking really nicely.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to mine and I melted into his side. Carefully he laid me down on the rock and rolled over so that his body was partially covering mine. When he pulled back from my mouth, he pressed a kiss to the shoulder he had pushed the strap off of. “I missed you this week.”
My heart was beating a million times a minute, but when he said he missed me, it froze in shock. It didn’t take long before it started back again and I felt like I had melted into the rock. Touching his cheek, I made him look at me. “I missed you too.”
Hunger filled his gaze as he looked at my face. “Good.”
Propping himself up on one arm, he used his free hand to push the other strap of my tank top and then pressed a kiss to that shoulder. His mouth came back to mine in a slow, lazy kiss as his hand slid under my shirt to spread across my stomach. I slid my hands over his chest until I found the hem of his shirt. I tugged it up, forcing him to break our kiss and sit up so he could pull it over his head.
He looked down at me from his kneeling position, his eyes raking over my body. I took in a ragged breath when he stood and undid the button on his jeans. With slow movements he stepped out of the material and held his hand out to me. I let him pull me to a standing position and stood very still as he peeled my tank top up and over my head, leaving me standing there in my sports bra.
He kissed me again, still slow and tender, but with a barely restrained sense of urgency behind his touch as he traced the waistband of my shorts. Gently he pushed them down over my panties, his fingers tracing my skin as he did so.
Pulling away from me, he grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes. “Ready?”
“For what?” My heart beat in my chest so hard it hurt.
“To swim.” Smiling, he swung me up into his arms and ran to the water.
At first I was disappointed but it was quickly forgotten after a quick look at his face. He looked happy and carefree, and it released something in me that I had been holding on to. I needed to stop waiting for him to make love to me—stop expecting it every time we were together and just let it happen. It was a freeing thought. And when he threw me into the water I came back up laughing.
“Muearde!” I sputtered. “Il est frigid!”
“What does that mean?” He swam toward me with slow strokes.
“Cold!” I splashed water at him. “Shit, it’s cold.”
He tsked at me. “I don’t think a princess is supposed to use that word.”
“I’m not a princess right now.” I placed my hands on his shoulder. “I’m just Cathy right now.”
“I’m starting to wonder if you have a multiple personality complex.” He brushed some of the wet hair out of my face.
“You know, you might be right.” I laughed. “I do feel like two people sometimes.”
“Well, I have a confession.” His eyes searched my face while his lips twisted into a smirk. “I like you both. I’m not sure I can choose.”
“Luckily for you, I’m not a jealous woman.” Pushing with my legs, I shot out of the lake and used my hold on his shoulders to dunk him under the water.
He came up laughing and splashed me. “Sure.”
“Okay, I would be upset if it was a different woman, but technically, despite all of my moaning, they are both me.” I cut my eyes at him as I treaded water. “Though I’m surprised you like Princess Catherine.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He swam around me. “All that self-control, just begging to be broken.”
My cheeks heated at the thought. He could do it so easily.
“And then there are those skirts you wear.” His next lap around me was a little closer. “What are they called?”
“The pencil skirts?” I raised an eyebrow.
“They kill me.” His smile turned darker, hotter. “I can barely keep my hands off of you.”
“Good thing you have some self-control. I hear the princess’s bodyguards are pretty serious.”
“And then there’s you.” He stopped in front of me. “Cathy. The girl that cracks jokes, hunts zombies, and practically begs me to take my clothes off.”
My head dropped back with a laugh. “That’s going to haunt me forever.”
“At least for as long as you keep letting me come around.” He grabbed my waist and slid my body against his. The feel of his slick skin against mine made me suck in a breath.
“Hm. We’ll see.” I could barely get the words out, but I didn’t want him to know how much he affected me. He was already obsessed with the fact that I had drunkenly asked him to strip.
His hand slid down to grip my thigh. He lifted it so that he was pressed against my center and I lifted my other leg to wrap around his waist. In a slow movement, his hand ran up my body and over my breast before cupping my neck.
“Just something to think about,” he whispered against my mouth.
His lips were teasing as he coaxed my mouth open. His tongue was soft and probing as I turned to putty in his hands. When he let go of my neck and moved his hand back down over my body, I sighed against him, but when he slid his fingers between where w
e were pressed together, I moaned gently.
With soft strokes, he rubbed and teased my hot center. His mouth continued to capture my moans, and when I leaned my head back in pleasure, he pressed his mouth to my neck. His teeth scraped along my skin and I groaned.
Pulling my panties to the side, he trailed his fingers between my sensitive folds, exploring softly, learning what I liked and didn’t like. It was so different from the first time he had touched me in this manner. There was no fear, no apprehension at his touch, just pleasure.
My hips moved, grinding against his hand and subsequently his hardened shaft. He groaned against my shoulder and took a deep breath. With steady steps he carried me back out of the lake and laid me on a sandy patch along the edge of the water. He covered my body with his, his mouth no longer soft and gentle, but hungry and demanding. Sliding downward, his lips closed on one peak of my breast through the wet material of my bra and his hand never stopped stroking me; never stopped driving me toward a shiny edge that I’d only found by myself before.
When he pulled his mouth away I moaned in disappointment, but was quickly rewarded with a trail of hot kisses down my stomach as he made a path toward his busy hand. When he pulled away from me, I made a moue of frustration while trying to catch my breath. His hands were careful as he pulled my panties off and tossed them onto the beach next to us.
“David—”
“Shh.” He moved back to me, kissing me before raining kisses down my body until he met my warm center. I took a deep breath, surprised by the gentle touch and sincerity of his kiss there. It was as if he was kissing me, my mouth, teasing me with soft strokes of his tongue. The warmth of his breath only added to my enjoyment, sending tingles over my skin, as he worked my body into a frenzy. I didn’t expect it when he slowly slid a finger inside me while his mouth focused on the top of my mound. It was tight, but good. In fact, I couldn’t think about it without thinking about his mouth on me, the way it felt, how I wanted more. As my hips moved faster, his mouth and hand matched pace. I couldn’t help my groans of desire as I fell over the edge into pleasure. Nothing I had done for myself had come close to this feeling.
His mouth slowed, kissing me gently before he sat up on his knees and looked down at me. There was no missing his excitement as it pressed against the wet material of his boxers. His breathing was slow and steady, despite the look in his eyes.
Slowly I sat up on my knees, my body still tingling from the gift he had just done for me. I wanted to return what he had given me, but I wasn’t sure how to do it, how to ask. Instead I reached out and ran a hand across his chest before pressing my lips to his. Slowly I trailed my fingers over the ridges of his stomach and down to the thick shaft protruding from his shorts.
His fingers circled my wrist and I pulled back to look at him. Had I done something wrong again?
“You don’t have to do that.” He shook his head. “I just—”
“I want to.” I pushed his shorts down, careful to not let them get caught on his excitement. Tenderly I wrapped my fingers around him. “I don’t know how . . .”
“It’s okay.” His chest heaved and he reached down to cover my hand with his own. He guided my hand with his, showing me where to touch him, and how to move. After a moment his hand fell from mine and he groaned into my mouth. He cupped my breast, teasing the nipple through the fabric while I continued to stroke him. The intake of his breath, the soft moans coming between our kisses, empowered me. Pushing him with my free hand, I made him sit down before finally lying back while I hovered over him, my fingers still working along his shaft.
Breaking our kiss, I moved down his body, and before my bravery could disappear, I wrapped my lips around his head. I circled around him with my tongue, enjoying the fact that I had coaxed him into this state of need.
“Cathy.” My name was a gasp on his lips.
I didn’t pull back. I took as much of him into my mouth as I could, leaving my hand at his base. It was weird, strange, and exciting to do this for David. To know that the sounds he was making were for me—because of me. His hands ran through my hair, pulling it back and away from my face. I met his eyes and he groaned loudly.
“Damn it.” He gasped. “I can’t wait, angel.”
Not sure what to expect, I focused on the task at hand, sucking and pulling gently. I felt him spasm before his seed filled my mouth. I swallowed quickly, but some of it escaped my lips and trailed down his shaft, where my hand continued to move in a slow pattern. When his hips stopped moving, he reached down and pulled me up so that I was lying on his chest with my head tucked under his chin.
“Thank you.” He kissed the top of my head and I smiled.
“Thank you too.” I pressed my lips to his shoulder.
We stayed there like that for a while; when my breathing started to slow and grow steady, he shook me gently.
“Will someone come looking for you?”
“Oh God.” I sat up and looked around for my clothes. “How long have we been here?” I wasn’t wearing my watch, because I had intended on just taking a quick run.
“You’ve been asleep for about thirty minutes, I think.”
“I fell asleep?” It had felt like half a second that my eyes had drifted shut. I found my panties and shook as much dirt out of them as possible.
“Mm-hmm. Drooled too.”
“Oh no. I did not drool.” I shook my head. Apparently I had slept really well for that half hour. “I don’t drool. Never.”
“Oh, you drooled. I have the wet spot on my chest to prove it.” He sat up and wiped at one well-formed pectoral muscle. If I wasn’t so worried about time, I might have been distracted by his chest.
Shaking my head, I looked for the rest of my clothing. “How long before that?” Thirty minutes wasn’t so bad.
“Well, I think we spent about an hour together before you fell asleep?” He raised his shoulder in question. “I don’t know how long you were gone before you found me.” He picked up my tank top and tossed it to me. “But I sure am glad you found me.”
His smile was so carefree and boyish that my heart melted and a little of the worry gripping my shoulders dissipated. “Me too.”
“How long do you normally go running for?” He put his shorts back on before pulling his shirt over his head.
“An hour. Maybe two. But I always let them know if I’m going to be a while.” I frowned as I replaced my shorts. “Right now, I’m really regretting that habit. They’re probably looking for me already.”
“You don’t ever just take off and spend time by yourself?” He frowned and sat back down on the rock he had been fishing from and watched me.
“Closer to the house, yes. But when I’m running the circumference of the property? No. I have to let them know in case something happens.” I shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it before now. I mean, if someone did try to snag me off the property I would hope someone would be looking for me pretty quickly.”
“Do you worry about that a lot? I mean, is that something you really have to think about?” His face grew hard. ”People threaten you?”
“Whoa, cowboy.” I couldn’t help but smile at his protective tone. “I’m sure there have been threats, but nothing that was a real issue. It’s mainly a precaution.”
“Sam has to put up with this now too, huh?” He frowned. “I thought they were honeymooning somewhere secret, but I saw pictures of them on the television this morning.”
“It’s part of life for us.” I shrugged. I hated that their honeymoon had been crashed by the media, but there wasn’t much we could do about it. We had all known it was likely to happen at some point, but I had hoped it would take longer.
“I don’t like it.” He looked out over the water.
“Don’t like what?”
“Having people I care about stalked.” He looked back at me and my heart thudded in my chest. Did he mean he cared for me? Or was he just referring to Sam?
“Lots of people have dangerous jobs.
” I sat down next to him and bumped his shoulder with mine. “It’s not like we’re police officers or part of the military. It’s more like being a celebrity than anything else. And just because of the family we were born into.”
“This world, this way of life, is so far from how I grew up.” He reached over and twined his fingers with mine. “I would disappear on our property for an entire day. Hunting, fishing, or just exploring. No one would come looking for me until after dark, and when I got older, probably not even then.”
“That’s such a foreign thought, but it sounds lovely.” I looked at our hands, noticing all of the differences. His hands were tanned, with calluses and cracked knuckles; mine were pale and soft. “But if you think about it, a lot of that has to do with where you grew up. You wouldn’t let your kid run off in New York City for an entire day without worrying. And I bet your mom worried about you anyways.”
“Mom probably did.” He chuckled. “But it was still different. She wasn’t worried someone would kidnap me or hold me for ransom.”
“She probably worried about you drowning or being eaten by a bear.”
“No bears there.” He smiled. “There are alligators though.”
“You know what I mean.” I rolled my eyes. “There are all types of bears—or alligators—everywhere.”
He sighed, but I could still see the muscles twitching along his jaw. “You’re right. But those have four legs not two.”
“True.” I squeezed his hand.
“Catherine?” Jameson’s voice sounded through the trees.
I sighed. “I’m here by the lake.”
“Think they’ll notice you’re covered in sand?” David winked at me.
“Oh yeah, but they won’t say anything.” I shrugged.
“Catherine? Are you hurt?” Jameson broke through the foliage with Mark right behind him. “You’ve been gone for a while.”
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