Secluded Nature

by Lindsey Brewster

  My orgasm washes over me in waves as I call out his name.

  As I’m coming back down from my high, he is kissing down my stomach. “That’s one. Three more to go.”

  “Jesus.”

  I feel him smile against my skin as he lowers himself. He plants kisses on my mound, on the insides of my thighs, and soon his tongue flicks against my clit and my mind starts spinning. He’s slowly licking up me, flicking his tongue on my clit each time he does it. He probes deeper this time and I'm no longer holding back my moans. He increases his pressure each time he does it. My hips arch and I'm writhing in the bed, helpless to his delicious torture. I'm getting close to the edge feeling it building. "Luke…"

  I feel the vibrations of his laugh, “Yes?” He flicks his tongue one last time and I come, pulling against the rope to the point that my headboard creaks. My hips buck against his face as he cleans up the mess we’ve made. He looks up at me with a smirk on his face. “Still skeptical?”

  I quickly shake my head no and his mouth covers mine. He takes off his pants and grinds into me; we moan together. I lift my hips to meet him. Using my feet, I slide his boxers down part of the way and he helps me with the rest. In one hard thrust, he’s fully inside me. I yelp from how sensitive I have become. I try to press my feet down to gain some leverage but it’s no use. I wrap my legs around his waist as he continues to thrust. He stops and then circles his hips causing more friction against my already sensitive nub. He does this again and he can tell I’m close. He pulls all the way out and slams home into me once again, then with one more circle of the hips, it’s over.

  I cling to the ropes holding my hands as he keeps going. My hips are now moving in rhythm with his and I'm anticipating every move he makes; we are moving as one. My insides convulse with each new thrust. His movements grow harder and more intense. His hands move down my lower back as he holds me closer. He leans down and nips at my nipple, causing me to throw my head back and moan.

  I look up at him with tears in my eyes. I'm almost there.

  “You are going to come for me.”

  I gasp as he somehow picks up his pace.

  I throw my head back, my back arching and come as he thrusts into me one more time, filling me with his warmth. We slowly catch our breath and I’m thoroughly exhausted.

  “Hey Luke, can you untie me? I’d like to touch you.”

  He sits up and kisses me before he unties me, making a face as he massages my wrists.

  “Sorry.”

  “For?”

  “Your wrists.”

  I smile at him and shrug. “The marks will go down. It was my own fault for pulling at them.”

  He lays down and pulls me into his side, coiling his arms around me.

  “Am I going to wake up and find that you’re gone?”

  I shake my head. “I’m going to be here, probably still be asleep. I underestimated you.”

  He smiles and kisses my head. “Sweet dreams, baby girl.”

  I wake up from a deep sleep still curled into Luke’s side. I look up at him and see that he’s sound asleep. I sigh and snuggle back into him, relishing the moment. His arms tighten around me as he starts to wake up. I trace the planes of his abdomen until his hand comes to rest on top of mine. I look up at him and smile. “Hi.”

  He gives me this cocky grin. “Hi, yourself.” I lay my head back down on his chest and flip my hand up so our hands are interlocking. His free hand traces up and down my back, causing me to shiver. He suddenly lets go of me and pulls me fully on top of him.

  “You’re quiet this morning.”

  I shrug. “Just enjoying the moment.”

  His hands start tracing patterns on my back. I kiss his chest and move to roll off of him, but he doesn’t let me go. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “To brush my teeth; morning breath isn’t really my thing.” He chuckles and I feel the vibrations run through his chest. He flips us so he is straddling me and pinning my arms down onto the bed. His nose runs up my neck as he whispers, “I think you’re just fine.” He moves to kiss me, and I turn my head to the side. “Nuh uh, buddy. I want to brush my teeth.” He growls and begins kissing back down my neck. He sucks on my breast, elongating the nipple. I try not to moan, but I’m not successful. He nips at my stomach on his way down. “So I can’t kiss your lips, but what about these?” I’m already panting. He leans down and begins sucking on my clit as he pushes two fingers into me. He begins to build me up, and I’m writhing underneath him. Right as I am about to hit my climax, he stops and moves off of me. I protest, but he just sits on the bed. “Oh sorry, you can brush your teeth now.”

  I look at him incredulously “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  He raises an eyebrow, “No…”

  “You do not want to play this game, Luke.”

  His lips curl into a wicked smile. “No, I do. It’s you who doesn’t.”

  I bite my lip, wondering how long this game would last. No longer than a few hours. Why the hell would he use orgasm denial just because I wouldn’t kiss him? Hmph. I look him dead in the eyes and smirk. “Game on.”

  I jump off the bed and head to the shower, opening the door and turning back to look at him. "I'd ask you to join but, well, you know… you started this game, so I'll deal with it myself."

  He glares at me. "Don't you dare think about touching yourself."

  I shake my head and walk into the bathroom, ignoring him. I have no intention of doing that, but he doesn't need to know that. I turn the shower on and turn around to find Luke standing there with his boxers on.

  "May I help you?"

  "Yes. I came in here to reiterate my previous warning. Do not even think about touching yourself."

  I raise an eyebrow, enjoying this. "That's really none of your business, but thanks."

  "You're playing a game that you're going to lose."

  "Oh really? How's that?"

  He stalks towards me with a dominating look in his eyes. It's about damn time. I knew it was in there somewhere. He pulls me up against him, looking down at me. I stand on my tip toes so my eyes can at least make contact with his.

  He grabs my waist roughly and grinds against me, making me moan. "Because you like this so much better, and if you touch yourself, you get none of it."

  He releases me and steps back. I snort and get into the shower. We'll see about that.

  Once I'm done showering, I go into my closet on a mission to find the clothes that will drive him crazy, settling for a pair of cutoffs and a red cropped tee.

  I walk out to the living room to find him on the couch flipping through the channels. He's in a pair of jeans with no shirt, showing off his gloriously toned chest. He looks up and his eyes widen. I roll mine and head to the fridge to find something to eat. I can't find anything, so I just grab a protein bar and plop down on the couch beside him. I start to eat it, but he stares at me. "May I help you?"

  "I'm hungry."

  "There's the kitchen, go find yourself something." He grumbles, but gets up.

  "I believe in you, Luke. You've got this."

  He turns to me and runs his hand through his hair. "Do you ever lose the smart mouth routine?"

  I look at him questioningly. "No, it's something most people learn to deal with. What's your deal?”

  He shakes his head. "Nothing."

  I shrug it off, hoping he’s telling the truth.

  We watch a couple of shows before he gets up and paces the floor. At this point, I'd like for him to at least touch me or something. I'm beginning to get nervous over his actions, though.

  I stand up and go over to him. I attempt to touch his arm, but he shrugs it off.

  "Luke, what the hell is going on?"

  "It's a game you wanted to play, baby."

  I shake my head not believing him. "No, there’s something else going on. What went on while I was in the shower?"

  "Nothing, Abbey. I'm fine."

  "Bullshit"

  "Excuse me?"


  "You heard me, Roberts."

  He tries to walk around me, but I don't let him pass.

  "Abbey, really, it’s not the time."

  "Yeah well, it's also not the time to snap at me and stomp around the apartment. What's going on?"

  "Nothing Abbey! Just move!" He pushes me to the side, causing me to fall over and hit my arm on the corner of the counter. I look down at my arm; it’s bleeding from a small seeming cut.

  "Shit, Abbey, I'm-"

  "No, Luke, stop. I've asked you, and you say nothing. If you're not going to tell me, and you're going to just shove me out of your way, you can leave. You're not welcome here right now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go clean this off."

  I walk back to my room and slam the door. Wiping the cut off, I hope it was just scratched, but the bruise is already forming and the cut is actually pretty deep. It hurts like hell. He had no right to shove me. Yes, I was blocking his way, but he could have easily gone around the bar.

  There’s a knock at the door, and I walk over to it. "Go home until you've calmed down, Luke."

  "Is your arm okay?"

  "I'm fine."

  "Abbey, it's complicated. My family… they’re complicated."

  "And you think mine’s not?"

  There are a couple of seconds of silence before I hear a sigh. "Look, mine is just on a different level, there's a lot of stuff that I don't talk about— ever. I don't really associate with my family outside of my sister and parents."

  "Hold on." I run over to the bathroom and grab a washcloth to place over my arm, trying to get some of the bleeding to finally stop. I walk back over and open my door.

  "For someone who practically forced me to talk to you, you sure as hell hold back a lot. If I had the decency to give you a little inkling into my past, you better be willing to give me some of yours. If you don't trust me with it, then we can't go any further from here." I know I just put our relationship in the balance, but he needs to figure this out.

  He sighs and looks at me. "My uncle and his kids are a part of my past I don't revisit often. They've done some horrible stuff and if I told you, you wouldn't stay with me. But I will tell you that my parents and sister are coming in, and I'd like for you to meet them. If there's any chance that my uncle or cousins will show up, we will leave. I'm just asking for time. I need to know you're not going to run when I tell you who my uncle is."

  I nod, not sure what else to do. He looks down at the washcloth on my arm.

  "How bad is it? I'm really sorry. I could've just gone around you, but you're so damn pushy."

  I smile a little and lift up the rag. He flinches back. "That needs stitches, Abbey."

  “Yeah, I know. I was going to go get them after you had left."

  "Well, I'm not leaving. I'm taking you to the ER to get that taken care of. I don't know how I'm going to make this up to you. You really should've kicked my ass out, or just punched me."

  My lips quirk up, but my arm is really hurting. "That's not my style, especially since I knew something was wrong."

  He grabs the keys, and we head out to the car. We make it about half way there and come to stop at a red light. "You know, I'm really glad we tried again."

  His hand rests on my thigh as the light turns green. "Me, too."

  The next few moments happen in slow motion. I turn my head to look out the window, and I see a car sailing through the intersection straight at us. I scream as it crashes into my side of the car. My head crashes against the window and everything goes black.

  Chapter 11

  I feel something warm on me and someone is calling my name. Luke?

  "Abbey, you've got to wake up! Come on!"

  It feels like it takes an eternity, but I finally manage to open my eyes.

  "Sweetheart, I need you to keep your eyes open. We are gonna try to get you out of here."

  I drift in and out, hearing disjointed words, pieces of a puzzle I can’t put together. "Her legs are stuck."

  "...other driver is dead."

  "Abbey, look at me."

  I hear sawing and feel like I'm being pulled. Every part of me hurts. I just want to sleep.

  I feel tears run down my cheeks, but I can't speak. My eyes are blurry, and I know I just need to sleep to get better. I slowly close them.

  "Abbey! Open your eyes! Can you hear me?! Abbey!"

  I know I'll feel better after I sleep. If only the voice would understand that.

  I open my eyes again, and I'm in the back of an ambulance.

  "Dr. Cartwright, can you squeeze my hand?"

  I try my best to squeeze, but I can’t tell if it works.

  "Baby, how ya doing?"

  He sees the distress in my face. "Don't give up, baby."

  I look at his face and see he's covered in blood and scratches; it scares me. I try to lift my head up, but I can't. I try to kick my feet, but nothing happens. I try to lift my hands up; nothing.

  "Abbey, I need you to relax, your blood pressure is low and your heart rate is too high."

  I'm freaking out. The world goes black as the last thing I hear is "She's coding!"

  I hear voices, but I can't open my eyes. The voices sound far away and quiet. I can’t tell who the voice belongs to. My eyes won't open; they’re too heavy.

  I hear another voice, louder.

  "Are you Abbey Cartwright's family?"

  "I'm her cousin. Her parents and some other family are on their way in from Tennessee."

  "I wanted to let you know that we are slowly bringing her out of the induced coma. Her CAT scan finally shows the swelling going down. We are keeping her on pain medicine and… "

  I slowly fade back into the blackness that consumes me.

  I push back through the darkness to the sound of a kid’s voice.

  "Mr. Luke, do you think Abbey is gonna be okay?"

  "Yes, buddy, I do."

  "When will she wake up?"

  "I think that depends on when she's ready."

  "My little sister has this book called Sleeping Beauty. Do you think if I kiss her she will wake up?"

  "You can try it. I really wish that was the way things worked, though."

  I don't feel or hear anything for a minute.

  "Maybe I'm not her Prince Charming. Are you?"

  "I don't know Brayden. I really don't know."

  You are, Luke. I really think you are. I try hard to tell him, but I can't. I can’t open my eyes, nor form the words. I finally give up and succumb to the blackness again

  "Abbey, can you hear me? Can you squeeze my hand, Abbey?"

  I hear a voice in the background.

  "She should be awake by now, all the vitals and numbers are fine. I can't take the breathing tube out until she's fully awake."

  I have a breathing tube. Gross.

  "How's her movements?"

  "I'm worried about those. She hasn't moved. The MRIs and x-rays show no damage to her spine. I'm thinking it's just the jarring from the wreck that shocked her CNS. We can’t be sure yet, though."

  I hear another murmur, then footsteps leaving.

  I can actually feel someone sitting down on the side of my bed. This has to be a good sign. There are fingertips brushing over my face.

  "Please don't leave me, baby. I need you here. I'm so sorry. You have no idea. If I hadn't hurt you to begin with, there wouldn't be a problem. God, I miss you. Please… "

  I try hard to open my eyes. I clench my fist.

  "She's moving! Someone get in here!"

  Calm down now. I try one last time and am finally able to open my eyes. I squint into the light, taking in my surroundings. Luke is on my right, covered in bruises that are beginning to turn yellow, and a tear stained face. People come running into the room.

  "Welcome back, Dr. Cartwright. How are you feeling?"

  I glare at him and weakly raise my hand to point at the breathing tube.

  He laughs, in relief I think. He comes around and removes it, leaving me coughing.

>   He gives me some water to sip. Putting the cup back on the table, he begins to assess me. "Well, you look good, Doctor. You’re gonna be here for another night or two, just to make sure everything is going well. You've been out for a week. Do you remember what happened?"

  "A wreck." I manage to croak that out.

  He nods. "I'm gonna leave you with your family. I'll be back in later. I just want ice chips and water right now. No food."

  I nod and take a deep breath. I look up at Luke and start to tell him that he is my Prince Charming, but everyone else starts pouring in.

  Mason is by my side first. "Hey, Abbey!"

  I smile at him, "Hey, hot stuff"

  He grins. "I'm really glad you're okay. You have no idea."

  Oh, but I do.

  "Welcome back to the world of living." Brayden's dad, Will, winks at me.

  My parents are coming in and move towards the front. "Hey, sweetie, how are you doing?"

  "I'd say a bit above par."

  My dad looks down at me, eyes glistening. "I thought I lost you."

  "No, not yet. I was told not to give up; not yet."

  The nurse comes in and announces that I need rest and that one person can stay with me. Luke, who still looks dumbstruck, starts to move. I shake my head. "Luke, stay. We need to talk. Y'all can come back after I rest."

  Mason and my parents look hurt, but Will looks at me with full understanding and ushers them out of the room.

  I look up at him, "Hey."

  He sits down and looks over at me. His voice cracks, "I thought I lost you, Abbey. I really did."

  "But you didn't. I'm okay, I promise. Believe me, I've been aware of everything going on, off and on at least. I just couldn't open my eyes or move until earlier. I tried, I really did."

  He leans down, kisses my forehead, and interlocks our hands together.

  "Abbey I… you mean so much to me. I don't know what I would do without you. Mason wants to kill me. Will has acted like my best friend and your dad just glares. It's all my fault.”

  "Bullshit. You didn't run the red light. You tried. I remember some, you tried to get me out. Will understands more than you think. Ignore my dad, and yes, Mason will be pissed."