Her head thrashed back and forth as I slowly slid inch by inch inside of her. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she wrapped her legs around me and drew me deep inside. Each in and out motion sent me closer to my edge. Little moans of pleasure slipped from Ellie’s mouth as she met me thrust for thrust. A slight sheen moved across our bodies as we both reached our climax together.
“Gunner!” Ellie cried out as I pressed my mouth to hers. Swallowing her moans of pleasure.
Heat coursed through my body, even as I stilled. I didn’t want to leave behind the feeling of being inside of her.
“I love you, Ellie.”
A single tear slipped from her eye. Reaching down, I kissed it away.
“I love you more, Drew.”
Reaching over, I grabbed a shirt from the tent floor. I pulled out of her and quickly wiped myself and then tended to Ellie.
After stowing the T-shirt to the side of the tent, I drew Ellie’s body in closer to mine.
With my arms wrapped tightly around the love of my life, I kissed her shoulder then spoke. “I’ve never felt so alive. It’s like every time we’re together, I fall more in love with you.”
Turning in my arms, Ellie’s nose practically touched my own. My mind drifted back to that first day I met Ellie. Sitting in Jeff’s truck, anxious as hell to meet the little sister who was off limits. I couldn’t help but smile.
“I feel the same way. My heart feels like it will explode with every touch and kiss you give me. Your love fills me completely.”
Ellie’s eyes soon grew heavy. I watched as she finally let them close and drifted to sleep. This woman was my entire life. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. When I couldn’t keep my own eyes open, I let my body relax and slipped into a deep sleep. Dreaming of the very woman I held in my arms.
Unzipping the tent, I stepped out and then turned to help Ellie.
“Man it’s chilly out here!” Ellie gasped.
I pulled a sweatshirt over my long-sleeved shirt and handed one to her. She slipped it on and then placed a hat over her head.
Ellie looked around me and frowned. “What in the world is Jeff doing?” Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed he was sitting in what looked like a metal tub.
“No idea. Let’s go see.”
Taking her hand, we made our way over to Jeff and Ari’s campsite. The closer we got, the clearer it became.
“Um, I think I know what that scream was you heard last night.”
Ellie pinched her nose together. “Lord have mercy, there’s a skunk somewhere!”
A few steps closer and Ellie got it.
“Oh no, Jeff. You got hit with a skunk?”
Jeff was sitting in a tub of tomatoes. Ari sat on top of the picnic table and grinned from ear to ear while eating an apple.
Peering into the tub, I jumped back. “Dude, are you naked?”
“Fuck yes, I’m naked. I’ve been sprayed by a skunk!”
I rubbed my eyes. “A warning would be appreciated next time.
“Why are you in tomatoes?” Ellie asked.
“Thank you, Ellie,” Ari stated as she glared over at Jeff.
He rolled his eyes. “It takes the skunk smell away.”
With a chuckle, I shook my head. “Dude, no it doesn’t.”
Jeff’s eyes widened. “What do you mean it doesn’t? Yes. It does.” He frowned and then asked, “Doesn’t it?”
Ellie laughed. “You need to mix peroxide, baking soda, and liquid detergent together. That’s what you use.”
“It’s not tomatoes?”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “No, who told you that?”
Jeff’s face turned the color of the tomatoes. “Josh! He came over last night after I got sprayed to see if everything was okay. He was the one who told me to get canned tomatoes and soak in them.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. “Dude, that’s only going to mask the smell. You need to get it off of you.”
Jeff stood. Butt-ass naked with tomatoes dripping off his body. His … whole … body.
“Oh, my God my eyes!” Ellie screamed as she spun around. “It hurts! It hurts so bad!”
Balling his fists, Jeff slowly spoke. “I’m … going … to … kill … him.”
I tired like hell to cover my laugh, but the second Josh walked up and said good morning and Jeff went after him, I lost it.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Jeff really? There are kids at this park!” Ari called out as Jeff chased Josh around the three campsites. She turned to me and Ellie and sighed. “I tried telling him last night, but he wouldn’t listen. Do you know how bad he is going to stink up my house? He may have to sleep in the barn.”
Heather approached us. She looked at Jeff and Josh, then back to us. “Do I want to know?” she asked.
Ari and Ellie both responded. “Nope.”
With a shrug, she walked over to the cooler, opened it and asked, “What’s for breakfast?”
The sound of the wind blowing lightly through the trees had me dropping my head back and smiling.
“Aren’t you supposed to be painting, Ells?” Ari asked in a hushed voice.
“I’m enjoying the sounds of nature and the peeks of sun through the threes on my face. Let me have this moment. Plus, my hand is cramping.”
Ari chuckled. “Don’t let the teacher see you. She already yelled at that poor old lady for closing her eyes and humming.
Focusing back on the work in front of me, I stared at it.
With a grimaced face, I stated, “Mine doesn’t look like it’s supposed to.”
Peeking over at mine, Heather chuckled. “Looks better than mine.”
I glanced at hers and we both started laughing.
“Ladies in the back, did you need some help?”
Instantly, I felt my cheeks heat as Heather and I shook our heads.
“This class is for serious painters, ladies. Unless you can zip it, you’ll be asked to take your canvas and vacate.”
Heather picked up her brush and fumbled over her words. “Yes, sir … I mean ma’am. Yes, ma’am.”
After a few seconds, Ari leaned over, “You totally just got schooled by the instructor.”
Pushing her away, I put my finger to my mouth for her to hush up.
“Okay, is she serious? For serious painters? It was an open class put on by the park!”
Aril shrugged. “I guess she takes it serious.”
I dragged in a deep breath and focused back in on my painting. Tilting my head, I stared at it. With a quick peek at Ari’s, I groaned internally. Her painting was perfect. The mason jar was spot-on and the flowers she had put in it were beautiful. The colors reminded me of the west pasture during this time of year. The flowers in full bloom. I could almost smell them.
Then you had my drawing. I turned back to it. My jar looked like a paint can. The flowers were basically sticks coming out of the can with weeds sprouting out.
Then I saw it.
Holy crap. Are you kidding me?
At the bottom of the painting we were to paint the words Wild Flowers. Mine read, Mild Flowers. How in the hell did I do that?
I covered my mouth to hold back my laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Heather asked.
When I looked back at her tic-tac-toe painting I couldn’t hold it in, even though I tried like hell to. My strained laugh came out sounding like someone dragging a metal chair across the floor.
The instructor didn’t look my way. Clearly she was too involved with the painter in the very front who was probably knocking it out of the park with their painting.
I covered my mouth with both hands as I pointed to Heather’s painting.
“Are you playing against yourself?” I asked.
Heather shook her head and pointed to the girl who was sitting on the other side of her. “Alison’s playing.”
Leaning back, I waved to Alison. When I looked at her painting, I chuckled again. It was a giant blob of blue with yellow dots.
>
“What is going on with y’all? She’s going to yell at you again, Ellie,” Ari stated with a stern expression.
I pointed to where I had painted Mild instead of Wild. It didn’t take long for the four of us to get the giggles. The more we tried to hide it, the worse it became. The next thing I knew, the instructor was standing in front of us, hands on her hips and one pissed off look on her face.
“May I ask what is so amusing?”
It was right about then Gunner and Jeff walked up. “Hello ladies, how’s the painting coming?”
The instructor rolled her eyes and spun around, her pointer finger ready to start pointing as she yelled at them for interrupting the Zen of the painting. She jumped back and covered her nose.
“Excuse me, you are interrupting my class, and that smell!”
Jeff shrugged and smiled. “Skunk attack at two in the morning.”
The instructor gagged then turned to Gunner. “Oh, well hello there. Are you um, are you interested in painting?”
Gunner flashed that melt-your-panties smile of his at her. “No ma’am. I’m sorry we interrupted. I thought the class would be over by now.”
The instructor playfully swatted at Gunner as her cheeks blushed. “You’re not interrupted at all! Not. At. All.”
My mouth fell as I gave her a dazed look.
Ari reached over and placed her finger on my chin, lifting it until my lips met. “You’re going to catch flies, Ellie.”
Swinging my gaze to Ari, I shook my head. “Do you see this right now?”
Ari chuckled. “I see it.”
Jeff stepped forward and tipped his hat at our art teacher and made his way over to Ari. She quickly stepped to the side and tried to wave the smell away. Leaning down, he kissed her softly on the lips, eliciting sighs from all the women in the area.
“Wow, look at your painting. Where will we hang it?” Jeff asked.
Ari wore a huge grin. “The baby’s room.”
Awe’s were heard across the lawn. Even with Jeff stinking like high hell, his good looks still drew the ladies in.
When I looked back at Gunner, our instructor was still eyeing him like she was ready to pounce on him. I cleared my throat, drawing Gunner’s attention over to me. His smile came to life, filling my chest with warmth.
Oh, how I loved this man.
“Excuse me ma’am, but my beautiful wife is right there.”
“He’s good,” Heather whispered as she started to clean up her painting area. Her and Alison quickly got lost in a conversation.
“Hey there, sweetheart. How was the painting class?”
I shrugged. “I’m pretty sure folks won’t be lining up to buy my work anytime soon.”
Gunner pulled me to him and hugged me. “Nonsense. That is a priceless piece of work. Look at how beautiful and … unique it is.”
My arms instinctively wrapped around his body. “I love you, but you are a terrible liar, Gunner Mathews.”
“What? I’m not lying.”
“It’s unique all right,” Ari threw in. “She was supposed to put wild flowers, and she put mild.”
Gunner tilted his head and stared at the painting. “Wait. Is that a mason jar or a can of paint?”
Playfully pushing him away, my hands went to my hips. “Ugh. I hate painting.”
The instructor tsked. “Don’t blame the canvas for the brush not working.”
I rolled my eyes and finished cleaning up. Gunner and Jeff took our paintings and we headed back to the campsite. It was hard walking near Jeff; he still smelled like skunk. I wasn’t sure how Ari was going to sleep in the tent with him tonight.
“Jeff, did you soak in the mixture?” I asked while waving my hand in front of my nose.
Ari giggled and glanced back over her shoulder at Heather who was walking with Alison.
“I did soak in it … twice. Apparently you need to do it almost immediately. Hopefully a few more soaks and the smell will be off of me.”
Gunner chuckled. “Only you would get sprayed by a skunk.”
With a groan, Jeff responded, “Tell me about it.”
Heather walked up alongside of me. “Hey, where is your painting?” I asked.
“I left it there! I just did the class for fun ‘cause you and Ari wanted to do it.”
I looked around. “Where did Alison go?”
“She headed back to her campsite to get lunch ready for her husband. He’s been fishing while she took the art class. I may head over to her campsite to chat for a bit later. Introduce Josh to her and her husband.”
My heart dropped. “Really? But, you don’t even know her.”
Heather shrugged. “I know, she seems really nice though. She’s a kindergarten teacher, and I think Josh will get along with her husband. He loves working with wood. Plus, they live outside of Fredericksburg. How cool is that?”
I forced a fake smile. “Pretty cool. Hey, I thought we were all going to go for that hike?”
“I don’t think it’s such a great idea with Josh’s ankle. Besides, I’m not really feeling up for a long hike, Ells.”
“It doesn’t have to be long.”
Heather gave me a sweet smile. “Still not feeling it. You and Gunner should go, spend some time together. I’m sure Jeff and Ari wouldn’t mind some alone time as well.”
With a nod, I replied, “Yeah. Sounds good.”
I had no idea why I was feeling the way I was. It was nothing but jealousy and downright childish. I knew it was wrong to be upset with her, but I was. As she talked to Ari about this Alison girl, I grew more and more upset. This was our friends camping trip and she was leaving us to go spend time with some strange woman.
“So, what’s on the agenda for this afternoon?” Jeff asked.
Everyone looked at me. “Heather has already made plans, so everyone just figure out what you want to do. I couldn’t care less.”
I spun on my heels and practically stomped off.
Trying like hell to stop the tears from falling, I took in a deep breath and blew it out.
I would regret my silly behavior later, but for now I needed to get away from everyone and clear my head.
“What in the hell was that all about?” I asked while we all watched Ellie walk off with a serious pout on her face.
“You don’t think she’s upset about Alison, do you?” Heather asked.
Gunner walked up next to me, his eyes still on his retreating wife. “Who’s Alison?”
“Heather was sitting next to her in that stupid art class,” I said. Glancing over to Heather, I narrowed my brows. “What did you say to her?”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Me? Why do you think it was me who upset her?”
I shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because she was fine until you talked to her. Then she got all weird. I mean, what was with the whole thing about Heather already has plans?”
“I simply said I didn’t want to go on a hike and that Josh and I were going to go over to Alison and her husband’s campsite. Then I suggested that her and Gunner spend some time together. I might have also said y’all would probably like to spend some alone time with each other.”
I gasped. “Wh-what?”
“What?” Heather asked while swinging her eyes between the three of us.
Jeff held up his hands. “I’m staying out of this one. Totally neutral.”
Gunner stuck his hands in his pockets and locked his lips shut.
Turning back to Heather, I glared at her. “I can’t believe you made plans with another couple on our couples camping trip!”
“Are you serious right now, Ari?”
“Yes! You might as well have told Ellie you’re tired of hanging out with her and you’re going to find someone knew to hang with.”
Heather threw her hands up in the air and huffed. “This is insane. Are we not allowed to have friends outside of this group?”
“Of course we are, but we’re on this trip together. You know how much Ellie’s been wanting to go
on a hike. You blew her off for this … Alison chick. Who, to be honest with you, was looking a little too hard at Gunner, if you ask me.”
“Me?” Gunner asked all innocent and cute. “Why are you dragging me into this?”
“Because she was. She was eye fucking you more than the art instructor was.”
“That’s insane!” Heather said with a gruff laugh. “We were talking the entire time and she seems nice.”
My eyes met Heather’s. “I know what I saw, Heather. My bet is this girl is trying to get in with the group.”
“What? Yes, she mentioned possibly coming over this evening and hanging out around the fire, but that was it. Maybe they just want to meet new friends. Why are you being so weird about this?”
“When did she invite y’all over? Before or after Gunner showed up?”
Heather shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not doing this with you. Ellie is behaving like a child who is not getting her way and honestly I’m a little surprised by her behavior. I don’t want to go on some stupid hike! I didn’t even want to come on this damn camping trip in the first place!”
“Gunner? We … um … we need to run up to the park store.”
All eyes turned to see Ellie standing there. Her eyes were filled with tears, and I instantly started to walk her way. She held up her hand and forced a smile.
“I’m sorry if y’all are not having fun. Jeff and I thought this would be a fun way to spend the weekend, but I understand if you’re not enjoying yourselves. If you want to leave, I understand.”
Heather walked up next to me, “Ellie—”
With her chin trembling, Ellie forced a smile. “It’s fine, Heather. Go hang out with Alison and her husband. I’m sure they’re nice people. And honestly, if you’d feel better leaving, that’s totally fine. I’m sorry for my … childish behavior.”
Spinning on her heels, Ellie quickly walked over to Gunner’s truck.
Anger filled my body instantly as I looked at Heather. “Well, looks like you just got your free ticket to go home.”
“Wait, Ari, that’s not fair. You didn’t want to come on this camping trip either!”
“I’m actually enjoying myself, Heather, if you haven’t noticed. I miss Luke like mad, but being all together has been exactly what I needed. I’m sorry if you don’t feel the same way.” I shook my head in disgust. “And I would never say something to hurt Ellie. Never.”
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