by Sable Hunter
A warm flush lit up her skin. “Give me one more kiss and I will.”
Smiling, he leaned in. But instead of kissing, he nipped her lower lip and then lifted his head. “Present that heart-shaped ass, Miss Sass. I think you’re getting a little big for your britches.”
Giggling with pure joy, she turned over, then went on all fours. Shaking her booty in his face, she teased. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have any britches on.”
“Oh, I noticed.” He cupped her ass cheeks in his hands, then popped the round, firm swell.
“Oh!” She squealed with absolute delight. Her heart skipped a beat. She was so into him, the very thought of walking away from him again was untenable. “Take me, Revel. Make me yours.”
“You are mine, Harper. I’ll be glad when you finally realize that.”
Coming over her, he trailed his lips over her smooth back, kissing a path from the dip near her waist up the sleek line of her spine before coming to the soft skin between her neck and shoulder. There, he captured a bit of flesh between his teeth and held—like a stallion covering a mare. Shivers of awareness shook Harper.
His cock was so hard, he could’ve used it to drive nails. Leaning back, he took it in hand, pumping it. “You are a beautiful woman, Harper. From all angles.” He dipped a hand between her legs, feeling how wet she was. “Oh, you are so silky.” With his cock in hand, he let the broad head slide the length of her slit from clit to opening, bathing the sensitive tip in her cream. She groaned. “Feel good?”
“Oh, yea.” Her voice was shaky, needy.
It felt good to him too, so he repeated the sensual journey, loving the way she writhed and pushed back, wordlessly begging for more—of him. “Want me?”
“Desperately.” Harper glanced over her shoulder, her eyes crashing with his. “Please?”
“Soon.” Wanting to savor the moment, he cupped both globes of her ass and rubbed, appreciating their shape, their smoothness. “Perfect.” When she whimpered and arched, he took his cock and slapped one cheek with it. Once—twice. Playing with her like this revved his arousal up past the moment of patience. “Can’t wait.”
“Finally,” she breathed with relief as he tunneled between her slick folds, coming to the well of her vagina and pushing in. Shaking, all but dying for him, Harper arched her spine and pressed back, trying to impale herself on his big cock.
Revel swore and drove deep, pushing in and burying himself to the hilt with one heavy, powerful push that ripped a cry from her lips. Again and again he flexed his hips and bucked forward. The pleasure was so intense, the moment so perfect, something inside Revel shifted and he knew the urge to give Harper what he knew she craved. So with every thrust, each time he pulled back—before he rammed home, he slapped the quivering flesh of her ass. Her reaction was erotic, she tightened around him rhythmically, clutching, milking, giving as much as she was getting.
Groaning out her name, Revel possessed her. She was so fucking sweet, their fit so exact—so hot, so wet. Shuddering in ecstasy, he knew when her body went rigid, the need to come mirroring his own. He’d wanted this to last, like one of those porn flicks where the act went on and on, but it wasn’t possible with her. She was just too exciting. He wanted her too much—he needed her too much. There was no one else in the world for him.
Harper owned Revel.
Wanting to give her everything, he leaned forward, running his hand around her so he could stroke his thumb over the hard nub of her clit. She threw her head back and a gasping sob tore from her throat. “Revel!” He held back until she started to cum, giving the full measure—in and out, in and out. Only when he felt her convulse beneath him did he lean forward, grasp both breasts, burying his face in her neck and let himself go—hard, fast. “Harper, my Harper.” Giving all he had—blind to anything else, fully and completely lost in the woman he loved.
CHAPTER NINE
“Are you sure it’s okay if we just show up?” Harper asked as she stared at the overgrown island before them.
“Absolutely, his swamp is my swamp.” Revel assured her.
“Jones!” He heard a bellow from above.
“Look up,” Revel instructed and Harper did so. Up and up.
“What in the world?” She could see a man high in a big oak, sitting on a platform with a pair of binoculars in his hand. “He has a tree house?”
“He calls it his observatory, but yeah. And over here is where he lives.” From among the lush vegetation, a cypress log house emerged, so well-hidden and camouflaged that Harper would not have seen it had Revel not known where it was. He cut the motor of the boat before it could collide with the wet stilts that supported the dock.
Loud grunts from gators could be heard as they hunted along the bank of the bayou. Lapping water sloshed against the sides of the boat, making a slapping sound.
Once they were on land, Harper gingerly stepped over a fallen log, hanging on to the back pocket of Revel’s jeans. “How does he get in and out of here?”
“Mostly by boat. T-Rex was born and raised in the Atchafalaya, the only time he left was to go to school. Once he graduated, he came back here to work with the Corp. This is his life.”
The underbrush was thick and all Harper could think about was the water moccasin in the shower. She could still remember the cotton white of his mouth, the musky sweet stink and those two needle sharp fangs. “I bet a thousand snakes are just staring at me right now, thinking I look good enough to bite.” Revel abruptly stopped and Harper barreled into his back. “Oomph, hey!”
“You are good enough to bite. I oughta know. Come here, squirt.” He picked her up. “Now, they’ll have to go through me to get to you.”
“Better.” She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. The ground was getting softer and she didn’t want to ruin her shoes anyway. “I like you.” Harper patted him softly on one bulging pec. She could feel the rumble of his laughter under her cheek.
“Well, that’s a relief.”
She looked around, fascinated. This was no shack. It could’ve graced the front of Southern Living, rustic but inviting. “Let me down. I want to explore.” Harper wiggled and Revel laughed, stealing a kiss before he set her on her feet. “Is he coming down?”
“I’m already down, cher.” A voice sounded from behind her. “I’m honored to meet you.” Harper turned to face their host, then gasped. “How tall are you?” She leaned back and rested against Revel.
“He’s six-six. The only way his name could be more appropriate would be if his arms were short.”
Revel’s teasing made T-Rex laugh. “Funny. You’re not exactly a midget yourself, Jones.” He took Harper’s hand and kissed it. “Welcome to my humble abode. Come around and sit by the water. I’ve been watching an albino gator this morning, maybe you can catch a glimpse of him.”
The house overlooked a cove on a bend in the bayou, protected from view, shaded by huge oaks and decorated with Spanish moss and abundant water lilies. “Your home is beautiful,” Harper offered, truly impressed.
“He built it himself.” Revel was proud of his friend. “He also helped me with a lot of the work at Wildwood.”
“Thank you,” Harper said, taking the chair that T-Rex pulled out for her from a small round café table. “We’ll have to have you over for dinner soon.”
Revel felt a rush of exhilaration when Harper issued the invitation. So, he had no trouble seconding the motion. “I’ll fry up a mess of oysters. I thought we would catch some fish today, but my partner here let me down.”
Harper pooched her mouth out. “I caught something, it was just too big for you to handle.” She slid a hand beneath her hair to lift it from where it was clinging to the damp skin at the back of her neck.
Laughing, he pulled her close, kissed her neck and whispered, “No, you caught something too big to handle and I don’t mean the turtle.”
Harper blushed. “I think I handled it pretty well.”
“I’m still here, guys,” T-Rex laug
hed, “Or should I give you some privacy?”
“No, we’re good,” Harper piped up, leaning on Revel’s shoulder. “I caught a turtle this big.” She spread her arms out wide.
“Alligator Snapping Turtle, also known as a loggerhead.” T-Rex nodded. “Ugly, armored and tasty. You can catch them to eat here in Louisiana, but not in Texas. One poor guy went across the border near Port Arthur and bagged six big ones.” He laughed at the thought. “When the game warden caught him, he had those monsters in the front cab of his pickup in burlap sacks and they were gnawing out! If he hadn’t been stopped, he might have lost some important male parts. Those critters can be vicious!”
Revel pointed out into the swamp. “There’s your albino, T.”
Harper edged closer to the railing, leaning over to get a good view. “He is white. How long is he?”
“About thirteen feet. It’s amazing, because of their unusual coloring, albino gators don’t usually live very long. They get eaten quickly.”
“Were you taking a video of him?” Harper asked, standing up wishing she had something to feed the reptile to get it to come closer.
“No, I was setting up my gear for tonight. I’m going to be watching for the rougaroux.”
At T’s announcement, Harper whirled around. “A rougaroux?”
Revel laughed, her expression was somewhere between skepticism, fascination and fear. “Yes, T-Rex tracks the rougaroux like some people do Bigfoot.”
“Tell me, tell me, what have you seen?” Harper scrambled around and sat on the floor at T’s feet. “I’ve always been fascinated.”
“Well, first let me say something about the rougaroux.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice like he was telling Harper a long-lost secret.
Revel had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. She scooted forward, wiggled her butt, held her breath and bugged her eyes. His Harper was the cutest thing in the world. If they weren’t sitting on his friend’s porch, he’d grab her up, kiss her silly and fuck her till she begged. “Don’t let him scare you, Bright Eyes. I’ll protect you.”
His declaration earned him a big smile, then she returned her rapturous attention to T-Rex.
“The swamp has many dangerous creatures. Giant alligators. Zombies. Vampires.” He raised his hand and pointed toward the bayou. “Ghosts by the zillions.” Revel rolled his eyes. “But the most mysterious is the rougaroux. Some call it the loup garou, others call it a werewolf. But it’s not the same thing.”
“What do you mean?” Harper asked, breathless.
“Many reports of the rougaroux describe him as a big hairy apelike creature and some have seen a swamp monster covered in moss and leaves. Others say that the creature is a wolf that stands on all fours or other creatures, men changed into an animal form by a witch or someone who practices the dark arts like voodoo or hoodoo.”
“Like Nana Fontenot,” Harper chimed in.
T-Rex jumped. “Oh, my.” He looked around as if he thought something might be slipping up on them. “Don’t say that name too loud. That woman has ears all over this swamp and offending her is always a big mistake.”
“She was my grandmother’s friend,” Harper provided. “What else?”
T-Rex settled back, as if in for the long-haul. The man was a born storyteller. “This man and his son say they were walking down a dirt road one night and this huge dog came out of the woods and started chasing them. They stuck it with a knife and it turned into a man.” At Harper’s frown, he added, “But I don’t put much stock in their story.”
“Sounds a little farfetched,” Revel inserted, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Oh, there have been reports by hunters, some even have video. I’ve seen some tracks in these woods. In fact, not far from here on the far bank I made a cast of one, almost twenty-four inches.” He measured with his hands.
“Some think the person voluntarily becomes the rougaroux, others think the person is cursed because he committed some horrible transgression like murder or incest.”
Revel noticed Harper shiver and he put a steadying hand on her shoulder as T-Rex kept up his story.
“So much more goes on in this old world than people think, stuff your common everyday person knows nothing about. What’s in these shadowed bogs, very few know. Some that found out more than they should have are lost in bottomless tombs of quicksand. There’s a local rumor that a family or two who live in the bayou have a rougaroux in their midst, a twisted individual that’ll make you wonder if the darkest legends or your worst fears have come to life.” He pointed down the Teche. “I hear some of the people think the Duhons are into stuff like that. Old Remy was murdered by his wife and some say she killed him with a silver bullet. And that brother of his, Harlow, why he—”
Revel was dying, waving behind Harper, trying to get T-Rex to shut up and he just wouldn’t. He looked down at Harper and she was drawing up into a small knot. “T, that’s enough.” He bent over and drew Harper close to him. “It’s okay, cher, it’s okay. T, he didn’t mean nothing by it. He didn’t know.”
“What did I do?” T looked stunned.
Revel didn’t say anything, but Harper did. “Remy Duhon was my father.”
“Aw, shit.” T-Rex sighed. “I’m sorry. I just talk too much, that’s all.”
“It’s okay,” Harper said, looking down. “Could we go?” she asked Revel.
“Yea, sure.” He stood up and helped her stand. T-Rex looked like he’d been hit in the gut. “You didn’t have any idea.”
Harper knew the man meant no harm. “It’s okay. I just want to go home. You come see us real soon.” She hugged Revel’s friend, then hurried off the porch, down the dock and leapt onto the boat.
“Man, I am so sorry. I was just carrying on. With her last name being Summers…” His voice trailed off.
“I know. Let me get her home.” He shook T’s hand. “We’ll be talking to you.”
T-Rex watched them leave, a sorrowful look on his face. Revel found Harper in a chair on the deck of the boathouse, her arms twined around herself. Before he cranked the boat, he came to her, knelt down and kissed her cheek. “We’ll get you home and we’ll eat our sandwiches. I’ll fix some lemonade.”
“Okay.”
“Here, let’s move this chair. Come sit by me. We’re not far from Wildwood, we’ll be home in a jiffy. We took the scenic route before.” She stood up, still saying nothing and Revel moved the chair so he could be with her while they motored home. Once he docked, she was ready to get on dry land as quick as possible. “Wait up, I’ll walk with you.”
She lingered, staring at the ground. “Does everyone know about my family?” Since she’d lived elsewhere most of the time, it never occurred to her that people would still be talking about something that happened so long ago.
Revel took her hand, the basket of food he’d packed still in his grasp. “I’m sure everyone has their own set of problems.” He didn’t know what to do or how to comfort her.
T-Rex’s offhand comment kept rolling around in her head. “Revel, I need to tell you something.” He didn’t have to know about her sexual abuse, but she needed to talk about her uncle.
“Anything, you know that.” He always knew she was carrying some kind of burden, but pressing her to talk might do more harm than good. “Come in the kitchen, let me get you something to drink. You look flushed.”
“Okay.” She sat down at the small white table near the window, debating what to say. Revel was putting ice in glasses, she could hear the clink. The sound was soothing. “Revel, my father’s family blames me for my dad’s death.”
He shook his head. “You were just a little girl. That’s crazy. They’re your flesh and blood.”
“My mother wouldn’t let me have anything to do with them. She had delusions of grandeur.” Harper smiled weakly. “Maybe I’ll learn more about her from Clotille’s diaries and stuff.” She wiped a tear from her face. “We were never close, not like mother and daughter. So, I’m not sure w
hy she felt the way she did about stuff.”
“You are a survivor, baby.” He needed like heck to get that worried look off her face. “Just let this go. It’s all in the past.”
“No, it’s not.” She took a sip of lemonade, clearing her throat. “The day we went to Evermore to see Patrick...”
The same day she walked away from him. “Yes?”
“When I went out to the truck to get the candy for Paddy, a man came up to me. Walked right up behind me when I was standing in the truck door, blocking my way.”
“What the fuck? Who? What did he do to you?” Revel was shocked and furious.
“He said he was my uncle, Harlow Duhon.” She ducked her head, fisting her hands, digging her nails into her flesh. “He grabbed my hair, put his hands around my neck.”
Revel was out of his chair, on the floor beside her before she realized he’d moved. “Did he hurt you? God, Harper, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was ashamed.” Those three words had defined her life. She was ashamed. “He said he wanted me to suffer like my dad suffered.”
Revel stood up, pacing, his hands on his hips. “Were you afraid of him? Is that why you left? Or part of the reason?”
Harper bore down, knowing she was making half-moon circlets of blood in her palms. “Yes, I was afraid, but no, I left to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” He repeated, louder. “Protect me from what?”
“From me!” She sobbed.
He could see she was serious, serious and hurting herself. Grabbing her hands, he held her fingers. “Don’t do that, baby. Please.”
“I can’t help it!” she whispered intently. “When we were on our way to Dandi and Lucas’s house, that truck that almost ran us across the road—it was my uncle, it was Harlow. He is following me. He…” Harper jerked out of his grasp. She was shaking.
“Do you need a scene?” he asked gently, realizing what was happening. “Do you need to feel the bite?”
“Yes, yes, please.” She relaxed a bit.
“Okay.” Revel rose, offering his hand. “Let me help you. After that we talk.”