“Please get inside of me, Callum...” she begged.
He loved when she pleaded with him, when the pleasure mounting was so strong within her that she was desperate and at his mercy. Her release was all up to him. He removed his fingers and lifted her slightly, positioning her over his erect cock before lowering her body down over it. She moaned as every inch of him filled the tight space.
He ached for a quick release, but he needed this moment to last.
He lifted her up and down slowly. Her arms wrapped around his neck held tight as she lowered her mouth to his. The taste of mint and vanilla mixed together on her tongue, and he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of the taste of her, the feel of her. She ground her hips closer, moving faster as her arousal mounted. Her kisses were desperate and frantic and tiny moans escaped her lips pressed to his.
He held her ass as he moved her body up and down over him, daring to press his thumb farther between her ass cheeks. Her breasts bobbed on the surface of the water and his fingers dug into her flesh.
Her breathing grew labored and he knew she was close so he halted the motion, holding her still, her folds tightening and clenching around his cock, and he throbbed, filling the space inside her body so fully.
“Callum, please...”
“Have patience, Ellie... Feel the pressure, let it mount.” His own pleasure was rising, tipping over the edge, but he prevented any movement. Just stillness, gripping one another, feeling the ache grow to an unbearable height.
She took a deep breath and nearly whimpered as she clung to him. “Callum, please let me come.”
“Not yet,” he whispered against her mouth. He captured her bottom lip with his teeth and bit.
She moaned and her nails dug into the flesh at his shoulders.
He was so close but he couldn’t let it end...
“Callum, please, I’m begging you...”
Instead, he pulled himself out, slowly until only the tip of him was inside of her. The action nearly killed him, but he needed this moment to last. He slowly moved in again and he felt the ripples of pleasure start within her as she clenched tight around him.
He pulled out again, just to the tip, pressing it hard into her. Then he slowly plunged back inside...
He might have one more in him before he was going to erupt.
Ellie moaned and panted as she pleaded for release. “Callum, you’re killing me...it’s too intense.”
“Okay, ready?”
She nodded.
Holding her tight against him with one arm wrapped around her lower back, he reached between their bodies and pinched her clit as he plunged as deep as he could inside of her and held as the orgasm made him dizzy.
Ellie let out a cry of release as her body stiffened, shuddered and collapsed against him. His own release was so intense, he thought he might have blacked out for a second. He held on to her, knowing in a second, it would all be over...all be gone. He gripped her face between his hands and kissed her passionately, and as his eyes closed...
His eyes opened. His breathing was labored and sweat beaded his entire body. He scanned his surroundings, taking a moment to remember where he was, then he collapsed back against the pillow.
Yep, still on the chaise lounge.
CHAPTER TEN
THE UNGODLY HOUR Cheryl had requested they all meet on the trail that morning came far too soon. He wasn’t a morning person the best of days, and the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements had made shut-eye almost impossible—except for a few blissful minutes, when he couldn’t claim to be getting restful sleep. His fantasy about Ellie had been that much more real and intense due to the close quarters. Had he mumbled her name in his sleep? That would be hard to explain.
She was already up and dressed by the time the smell of coffee brewing roused him from his half-awake slumber. No surprise there. She was a morning person. She was always eager and ready to start the day. But it was barely sunrise. Had she set her alarm extra early to get up and be ready before he woke up so that he wouldn’t see her first thing in the morning?
He felt like he’d been robbed.
Seeing her all messed up and sleepy was a perk he’d been looking forward to. Maybe he’d set his own alarm the next morning.
As he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the chaise lounge, he saw her sitting on the small deck, a coffee cup cradled in her hands as she rocked on the double porch swing. He wanted to join her, but she looked happy and at peace, and if he went out there, she’d only spring into action demanding he get ready fast, or launch into a game plan to fool her friends that day.
So instead, he folded the blankets and placed everything on the chair, then poured his own cup of coffee and headed into the shower.
Better get that day’s activities underway.
He’d barely wrapped the towel around his waist before she was tapping on the door. “We’re going to be late,” came her voice from the other side.
He opened it and, unfortunately, this time she must have been expecting it because she had her back turned. Obviously she couldn’t control herself at the sight of his body. “I wouldn’t have slept so late if someone hadn’t kept me awake all night talking in her sleep,” he said.
She whipped around. “I don’t talk in my sleep.”
“How would you know?”
She folded her arms across her chest as she turned to the side to give him privacy, but her gaze shifted to look at him out of the corner of her eye. So she did like what she saw. That was a start... “Okay, well what did I say?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said, reaching for a pair of shorts from his bag. Dropping the towel, he stepped into them.
“Aren’t you going to wear underwear?” Ellie asked.
Normally he would, but he’d forgotten to pack enough. He shrugged. “I prefer to let the boys breathe. Better for fertility,” he said.
She sighed, ignoring the comment. “Come on, just tell me. What did I say in my sleep?”
He yanked a shirt on and grinned at her. “It really bothers you that I might know some deep dark secret, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t have any deep dark secrets...except the ones you already know about.”
“Well, then, I guess you have nothing to worry about.” He sat on the chair and pulled on his socks and running shoes.
“Callum, come on. Stop being a jerk.”
He stood and walked toward her. Stopping just an inch away. He saw her gulp as her eyes flitted back and forth between his. “Fine. You said that you were insanely attracted to me and you weren’t sure how much longer you were going to be able to keep your hands to yourself.”
She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. “Nice try. Now I know you’re lying,” she said, but her tone held a slight waver of uncertainty that maybe her subconscious had really betrayed her like that.
* * *
THE EARLY MORNING sun was bright and intense as the group disembarked from the Birchwood Cottages’ shuttle in front of a big warehouse in the middle of a twenty-acre field half an hour later. Ellie squinted through her sunglasses to read the name on the building.
Paintball? Seriously?
Her pulse thundered in her veins as she scanned the outdoor facility. Paint-splattered barricades, hay bales and old tires positioned as hiding places, big bull’s-eye targets all strategically placed in the field. It all looked intimidating.
The owners of the outdoor sporting center stood in front of them, dressed in paintball coveralls that were military print. They looked like they were ex-marines—big, bulky, muscular and mean-looking as they “welcomed” the group to the war zone and explained the rules of engagement. Ellie wasn’t listening. What excuse could she use to get out of this? Saying she wasn’t feeling well wouldn’t really be a lie.
“Questions?” one of the owners, Dutch, asked the group.
Nick raised a hand. “Are the bullets low impact?”
Dutch just stared at him until Nick retreated behind Alisha. “Never mind. I’ll grow a set,” he mumbled.
“Any other questions?” Dutch asked, sounding like the only right answer was “no.”
The group shook their heads, and the two men led the way inside the warehouse to the equipment room where they were given their coveralls, guns and buckets of different-colored paintballs for each person.
The pale pink color of her bucket of balls did not fool her. These things were going to sting like crazy.
“Suit up! Be outside in three minutes,” the other man, Frank, told them.
Ellie slid into her coveralls reluctantly. Scanning the group, she saw that they all looked excited and eager. Was she really the only one not thrilled about this activity?
Mitch and Brent were reminiscing about a high school paintball field trip as though it had been the highlight of their high school career. Ellie had skipped that one. She’d prefer to skip it again now, but she didn’t want to look like a deadbeat.
It wasn’t like she was allergic to fun, she just had a different definition of it than the rest of them. She glanced at Callum suiting up next to her. He seemed okay with it... Hell, the coveralls fit him perfectly. Hers were baggy and awkward. “Have you done this before?” she whispered to him as she laced the slightly too large, rented steel-toe boots.
“A few times. It’s not that bad,” he said reassuringly, picking up his gun and peering through the aim hole thingy...
Easy for him to say. She’d never shot a gun in her life. Real or otherwise. It felt big and awkward in her hands when she picked it up. “I think I’ll just run and hide behind something,” she said to Callum.
“And be a sitting duck?” Callum shook his head. “These may not be real bullets, but they sting like a mother. You’re going to want to defend yourself and fight back.”
“I don’t want to do this at all,” she hissed.
He put his gun down and finished zipping her suit up to her neck. Then he reached for her helmet, put it on her head and buckled it, his fingers grazing her chin tenderly. Her spine tingled, and she was overheated in the extra clothing. “You’ve got this,” he said.
She most certainly did not have this, but she put on a brave face as she followed everyone outside. The backpack was heavy and uncomfortable. If she could just survive five minutes to earn their team a point and not get too many paintballs to the body in the meantime, she’d call it a victory.
“So we are going to divide you all into two groups. Any preferences to teams?” Dutch said.
There was an odd number. Ellie clung to a glimmer of hope. Maybe she’d have to sit this out. She’d happily volunteer.
“Men versus women,” Alisha said, jumping from one foot to the other.
She was really into this. Ellie would have thought that as a nurse Alisha would be anti-violence. Turned out, she was up for inflicting bodily harm.
Cheryl nodded her agreement as she stretched her long, thin body to one side, then the other, warming up. “And we will take the extra man—Brent—to keep things fair.”
Brent faked an “I’m honored” look as he moved to stand next to Alisha and Cheryl, wrapping an arm around each of them and nodding for her to come join them.
Well, at least he’d be on her team. She’d stick next to him, and it would give them some time together without Callum on her hip.
It made the whole idea of getting shot at least slightly more appealing.
* * *
THE IDEA OF TAKING out Ellie’s ex with a paintball was appealing.
Unfortunately, Callum had been hoping to be out in the field with her, helping her have a good time and keeping her as protected as possible.
Now that honor would go to a guy who didn’t deserve it.
He shifted his paintball pack on his shoulders and scanned the field as they walked out to take their positions on home base. Nick and Mitch looked jacked and way too pumped about wielding a fake automatic weapon.
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Nick said, assuming command. “We each take a corner and move inward. If we can get them retreating toward the center of the field and we stay on the perimeter, we can block them in and they won’t have anywhere to go.”
Mitch nodded and Callum shrugged. Sounded like a bad idea to him, but he wasn’t about to argue. This was their thing.
He glanced across the field to where Cheryl had taken control of Ellie’s group, and she was talking and gesturing to the internal sections of the field. They were obviously planning the opposite—forcing Callum’s team to the outskirts of the field where there were less barricades and places to hide. Smart. That’s what Callum would have done.
“Okay, move out!” Nick ordered, and Callum jogged off toward his corner and took up a post high in a tower to get a better vantage point. He’d act as a sniper to give the other men a fighting chance to move inward.
He rested the gun on the ledge of the lookout and peered through the lens. At first he saw no one as they took up positions in the interior. The field was massive with dozens of mazelike paths. But then his gaze settled on Ellie and Brent hiding together behind a wall in one of the old structures in the very center of the battlefield. His heart raced as he watched them talk and laugh. Her face lit up as she listened and nodded to whatever Brent was saying, her oversize helmet bobbing into her face.
That should be him down there with her.
Not being with Ellie when he knew he could be the right man for her was frustrating, but actually seeing her with someone else was torture. They seemed to be picking up where they’d left off. If Brent was still that into her, why hadn’t he reached out to her over the years? Why hadn’t he realized sooner that he’d made a mistake letting her go? That there was no one better for him out there among the women he dated?
Or was he just interested because Ellie was here this week? He hated to think that the guy could be that douchey, but he wouldn’t be shocked if Brent was seizing opportunities when they suited him with no intention of following through or making any kind of commitment.
He studied Brent now, looking for any sign of insincerity, but the dude seemed to be hanging on Ellie’s every word. Could be an act, or maybe he really was realizing what he’d given up years before.
Callum’s gut tightened.
What was the other guy thinking about all of this? Was he okay flirting with a woman who was supposed to be engaged? Trying to steal her away? How could Ellie seriously want to be with a guy who would do that?
He was seeing a different side of her this week. Only he knew it wasn’t really her. She was totally blinded by her previous attraction to Brent—only seeing what used to be there, what they used to have. And she seemed willing to do anything to get that back.
He saw Mitch moving closer to where they were hiding, and he held his breath as the other man snuck around the side of the structure. Unfortunately, he was going in the wrong direction. As soon as he rounded the corner, Brent shot him before he could fire off a round, and then he and Ellie ran off before the mandatory thirty-second delay had ended for Mitch to try to retaliate and get a point for their team.
Callum sighed as he lost sight of Ellie and Brent. Probably for the best. If he wanted to avoid welts the size of golf balls, he’d best keep his mind in the game.
* * *
PAINTBALLS FLEW THROUGH the air in all directions.
Both teams had made their way to the center of the field now, and the hunting had officially begun. So far, their team had taken out Mitch and Nick—the other team’s strategy to move in from the outside leaving them vulnerable, with less places to hide. Cheryl was out, having sacrificed herself to save Alisha moments before, and then Alisha was taken out only seconds later. There were only the three of them left—Brent, Ellie and Callum.
Sticking with Brent, Ellie was lasting a lot longer than she’d thought she would.
From her perch behind a hay bale, she saw Callum approach. He’d been on fire that day, single-handedly taking out Cheryl and Alisha. He was definitely impressive with that paintball gun. He and Brent had two shots, as did she. Next one of them to get hit was out. If it was Callum, the game would be over with her team taking the win. She wasn’t uber competitive, but she was feeling confident they had this one if she and Brent worked together.
“I see that freckled nose, hiding behind the hay bale,” Callum called out.
Ellie laughed as she dived behind a wall instead. At least she was having fun. She hadn’t expected to, and she wouldn’t necessarily be rushing out to do this again, but it wasn’t horrible. She had Brent to thank for that. He was being super attentive and making sure she wasn’t left behind.
Hearing Callum approach, she plastered her back to the wall, sucking her body in tight and holding her gun high and close to her body the way Brent had taught her. She glanced left and right but didn’t see him. She was on her own. Could she take the shot before Callum could take his?
She took a deep breath and made a run for it as she saw him round the corner. She was almost behind the safety of a stack of monster truck–size tires when she felt the bullet hit the back of her leg. A light sting radiated from her hip to the ankle.
Her eyes widened as she turned around to face him. “Did you just shoot me?”
He shrugged. “It was either you or me,” he said with a grin. Then seeing a flash of Brent’s coveralls to the right of them, he turned and hurried off.
Callum had actually shot her. Taken her out of the game. “Unbelievable,” Ellie mumbled as she headed off the field to the viewing “safe” zone where the others were watching. And she’d been doing so well. More importantly, she and Brent had been working well together as a team and having fun.
Ellie sighed as she joined the others and removed her backpack and helmet.
Alaska Reunion Page 11