by Carol Davis
“There’s no road?” she’d asked Aaron for the third or fourth time.
His only response had been to shake his head.
“Do you have a boat? Or gas for a boat?”
Another shake.
Then where should I go? What should I do? she’d wondered.
As if he’d heard that, Aaron had said, “You can sleep there,” and nodded at his bed. Before she could respond, he’d added, “I’ll sleep outside.”
And he’d done exactly that. Now, there was just enough moonlight coming in through the window that she could see she was alone—unless he was hiding under the bed or inside the cupboard, a thought that made her laugh in a nervous squeak. She’d started out the day in the plump, soft bed at the resort, and less than twenty-four hours later she was here, in the ramshackle cabin of an off-the-grid recluse who wouldn’t even look at her.
His bed smelled of him, musky and warm, a far more natural scent than the lemony freshness of the hotel. Not at all bad.
Kind of… sexy, actually.
She burrowed in deeper and took a deep breath. Yes, definitely sexy, in a way that created a tingle between her legs. She’d had fantasies like this, of being in a strange place, naked and aroused, and having a gorgeous stranger appear at the door. She wasn’t naked now; she was still wearing the dress she’d put on in the bathroom at the hotel, and its full skirt was tangled around her hips and thighs.
It’d feel good to take it off. Freeing.
To take everything off, actually—her bra and panties too.
And then, if he’d…
She heard a small sound from outside, one she probably wouldn’t have heard if the wind had still been blowing. But it had died down during the evening and the world seemed silent except for that one sound, something almost like a moan. A deep, throaty rumble.
Him. Aaron.
You’re losing your mind, she thought.
That might well be. But she couldn’t think of anything she’d ever wanted more than she wanted him to open the cabin door and come in here. She thought about him moving around the cabin during the afternoon, bringing her water and food, his broad shoulders flexing under the tight skin of his t-shirt as he reached and stretched. He was narrow-waisted, slim-hipped, his body forming a classic V that ended in long, strong legs. His jeans were a little loose, but she’d still been able to see the nice, firm curve of his ass.
The tingle got stronger, begging her to reach down and touch herself.
No; she wanted him to do that.
The logical, sensible part of her objected pretty strongly. She’d never been that kind of girl, for crying out loud. Yes, in her fantasies she had wild romps with all kinds of men, but in the real world there were too many pitfalls. STDs, unwanted pregnancies, men she might not be able to get rid of. Men who’d start talking about her. So she always picked people like Lane, people who were safe, reliable, too worried about their own reputations to do anything to mess with hers. She hadn’t had a one-night stand since college.
She wanted one now, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why. She was trapped here. What she ought to be focusing on was a way to get off this island, back to the safety of the mainland.
Not…
Please open the door. Do it.
She heard another noise, one that was a little more like a growl, something wild and guttural.
Oh, God, please do it.
The door didn’t open.
If this whole thing hadn’t felt like a fantasy, a wildly sexy dream, she might have stayed burrowed under the covers, waiting for the bright light of morning to arrive so she could make her way back to the boat. She might have been sensible. Instead, she slipped out of bed and stood barefoot in the center of the tiny cabin in her badly wrinkled dress, tangled hair falling around her shoulders, staring at the door. When it still didn’t move she padded over to it, grasped the handle and pulled it open.
Aaron was sitting just outside, holding his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a moment, then he turned and looked at her. It might have been a trick of the moonlight, but his eyes seemed to glitter, as if they gave off a light of their own. The entire clearing seemed otherworldly, unreal.
Was she dreaming? she wondered.
No; there was a pebble under her bare foot, grinding into her heel, and the pain was enough to convince her that she was awake. She moved her foot, frowning, and went on looking at Aaron. She’d never seen anything like the glow in his eyes… or the look on his face. What would he do if she approached him? For that matter, could she make herself do it?
She took a small step.
Aaron took a deep breath, one that made his chest swell. She could see the outline of his pecs through the thin fabric of the t-shirt. And his arms… God, she wanted those arms around her. Lifting her, pinning her against him.
She was a sensible girl. She had a good job with a steady paycheck, no real debts, a decent car. She took no real risks, not with money, or her safety. Her apartment had two smoke alarms and another to detect carbon monoxide.
She never did anything foolish.
But… couldn’t she? Just this once? Other people did. People went on vacation and had little flings all the time. She’d heard some of the other girls at work talking about doing just that: meeting some gorgeous man on a cruise, or at a conference, and having a couple of days of wild, carefree sex with him.
Couldn’t she…?
She had the sense that Aaron might walk away again, that he might be offended or angered if she approached him. On the other hand, he’d been nothing but gentle and kind, bringing her into his house, feeding her, giving her his bed. And he was looking at her in a way that didn’t suggest he wanted her to go back inside and shut the door. She couldn’t say she knew everything there was to know about men, but it didn’t take a genius to know he was interested.
His gaze moved up and down her body, like a caress.
He looked away. Then back at her again.
At the very edge of her hearing, he made a noise. It seemed to come from deep down in his throat, from the very core of him.
A moan.
With Aaron watching her closely, Abby reached down, gathered up handfuls of her dress, and pulled it up over her head. When it was off, she dropped it to the ground.
Bathed in moonlight, she took off her bra and panties and dropped them on top of the dress. She shivered a little—from nerves, she thought, because the night was warm. But the nerves disappeared quickly and she watched Aaron rise slowly to his feet. His jeans were tighter now, filled with the evidence of his interest in her, indisputable evidence that yes, he had been thinking about the same thing she had.
“You shouldn’t,” he whispered.
She felt herself smile. Not seductively; she didn’t think she could manage that, because it always seemed put-on and foolish. More because this seemed… right, somehow. Like everything that had happened had put her exactly where she was supposed to be, at least for tonight.
“Do you want me?” she whispered back.
“Very much.”
There was a but in his tone. Not a strong one, thank goodness, but one he seemed unwilling to overlook.
Then his shoulders shifted and flexed. Somehow, he seemed to grow a little taller, a little more muscular, although his muscle definition had been perfect to begin with. She had no doubt he could lift and carry her with ease. Back to the bed, for instance.
Instead of doing that, he stripped his t-shirt over his head, exposing his perfect chest and shoulders and sculpted belly to the moonlight.
Here, then. Right here.
He stepped quickly out of his jeans and tossed them aside, which was a shame, she thought, because she would have liked to unbutton and open them and ease them slowly down over his hips, releasing his cock bit by bit. But there it was, fully erect, quivering slightly in the warm, fragrant air. He stood basking in the silvery moonlight for the time it took her to take a couple of breaths. Then he crossed the shor
t distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. They were warm and strong, and as he held her, she could smell the same scent that filled his bed, the one that had driven her out here in the middle of the night.
“This isn’t wise,” he told her softly.
“Do you feel like being wise?”
“No,” he murmured. “I feel like being very unwise.”
His hands began to explore, stroking her cheeks, her shoulders, her upper arms. Her whole body began to tingle at his touch, which was light as a feather, then firm and strong. She wanted him to plunge in and kiss her, devour her from head to toe, but he was taking his time, finding each new bit of her with obvious pleasure, as if she were a treat he’d waited his whole life to savor.
Finally he curled a hand around the back of her neck and drew her in. His lips touched hers gently. Then his mouth opened slightly and the tip of his tongue brushed her lips, asking to be invited in. When she shivered, he tucked his other arm around her waist and pressed her against him, his cock rigid and hot between them. Again she got that sense that he was warmer than anyone should be, that there was a fire burning inside him that might well break free, but he gave her no time to ponder that. His tongue pressed between her lips and opened them; then, swiftly and thoroughly, he explored the contours of her mouth as if there were some treasure in there that he could plunder. His hands went to her shoulders, the small of her back, brushed up and down her sides, then cupped her full ass cheeks and squeezed them, kissing her more and more fiercely the whole time.
Suddenly, he shifted down to his knees and drew her down with him. He leaned back a little and his gaze moved down to her breasts.
“Lovely,” he said with a teasing smile in his eyes.
This time there was no gentle introduction; he filled his hands with her breasts and squeezed them, capturing her stiffened nipples between his fingers and pinching them until she squeaked. That made him chuckle, and he was grinning broadly as he squeezed and pressed and tickled. He’d seemed serious at first; now he was having fun, enjoying every touch, every glance. He lowered his head and lapped at first one nipple, then the other, and caught the hard little buds between his teeth so he could pinch them again. His pure joy in what he was doing was infectious, prompting Abby to explore his body as he was investigating hers, moving her fingers along the contours of his shoulders and back, down to his ass, up to his neck. She wondered if she felt as hot to him as he did to her, because the heat that had started at her opening had filled her belly and was begging to be released.
Again he seemed to understand what she was thinking, what she wanted. With a hand behind her right shoulder he lowered her onto her back on the ground, let her wiggle until she was comfortable, then took hold of her legs to open them. His fingers went quickly to the place between them, stroking and exploring, and he was smiling as he slipped a finger inside her while his thumb rubbed her clit.
“You like that,” he guessed.
Though he was backlit by the moon, his eyes were still glittering: a warm, rich brown tinged with gold. There was fire in them, she thought.
She lifted a hand to grasp any part of him she could reach so she could pull him closer—pull him right on inside her, if that was possible. Not just his cock; all of him. She gasped and wriggled as he stroked her, moving closer and closer to her peak but torturously not there yet. Her lips formed the word “More!” and she saw him grin before he turned to focus on his assault. For a moment she felt as if the edge was miles away, completely, painfully unreachable… and then she plunged over it with a great, heaving breath that turned to gasps and grunts as the orgasm went on and on and on.
She was breathless when it was over, felt as if she were hanging in the middle of a void somewhere, far out of reach. But he was there, withdrawing his hand, then leaning down to kiss her. After a minute he lifted her without effort, as easily as if she were made of paper, and carried her into the cabin. He laid her down on the bed and stood looking at her for a moment, his smile still there but only barely. He seemed to have gone back to thinking that this wasn’t the best idea in the world.
“Whatever you’re worried about,” she said quietly. “Can’t it wait? This is… it’s so perfect.”
Don’t spoil it, she thought but didn’t say.
“Abby Sullivan,” he whispered.
She’d told him her name during the afternoon, while he was feeding her, along with how she’d managed to come here. Now he seemed to be trying it on for size, testing it, seeing if it suited him. Or maybe there was some other reason. Not that it mattered. Names, jobs, family history—none of that mattered. Not here, not now.
She sat up and took his hand and guided it to her breast. He resisted touching her, drew his hand back a couple of inches, but she held on to it, to its warmth and strength.
Again, she had that feeling that she had come to the right place at the right time. That all of this was exactly as it should be.
“Make love to me, Aaron,” she said. “Forget whatever’s out there. Just make love to me.”
For a moment, he looked immensely sad. Then he took an enormous, shuddering breath and squared his shoulders as he nodded. Finally, he smiled again and looked at her with what seemed like enormous affection. That wasn’t at all what she’d expected at a time like this, but the sweetness of it enthralled her. No man had ever looked at her like that—like she was, somehow, the dearest thing in his world.
With a blink, that too was gone, and he climbed onto the bed and nudged her legs apart. On his hands and knees he moved up her body until they were face to face. There was something a little wild in his expression as he made that sound she’d heard a while ago, the noise that was both a growl and a moan. The growl deepened as he shifted his hips downward. He reached ahead with one hand, finding the way for himself, and plunged inside her in one swift, smooth movement.
Yes! Oh, God, yes.
He filled her to the brim, filled her so fully that she had to squirm to help him fit. Then she wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed him even farther in. He seemed to be both there and somewhere far away as he thrust, breathing in deep huffs, humming low in his throat. She climbed back toward orgasm as he did, clutching at him, aware of nothing but the heat of his body, the strength of him, their need for each other.
She felt him burst inside her, felt a rush of warmth, and a moment later, she shuddered and whimpered as she climaxed again, grasping at his shoulders, trying to find a handhold, trying to keep him there with her so that this wouldn’t end.
When they were both spent, he lay first on top of her, then rolled to the side and onto his back. She thought for a second that he might want to get up, might want to go back outside and sit in the moonlight, but instead he moved closer and gathered her into his arms. Then he kissed and stroked her hair, nuzzled her cheek, caressed her breasts and belly. He seemed to be trembling a little. Cold, maybe.
“The blanket?” she suggested.
He pulled it up over the two of them, cocooning them, and she fell asleep again in his arms.
Five
Aaron’s first thought was of food—what he could possibly provide for Abby that would seem like a feast. Her hunger the day before had nearly depleted his stash of honey cakes, and she seemed to have no interest in bread and jam. None of that was a surprise, of course; he had spent enough time among humans to know what many of their preferences were. She was probably accustomed to a bounty of food of a thousand different varieties, all hers for the taking and available at any hour of the day or night.
Here, his options were limited. He had been given enough to see him through his month of Separation if he ate sparingly and conserved his energy, but there was no room for Abby in that equation.
What, then? A rabbit, maybe?
No… fish.
The cove on the south side of the island was often full of fish at this hour of the morning, before the sun came around. He should be able to spear a couple of them easily. He could add to that s
ome of the flavorful mushrooms he’d seen in the woods, and some greens. Maybe one of the potatoes he had set aside for an emergency. That still wasn’t the type of meal she was probably used to, but if he presented it with enough flourish, she might be impressed.
He lay still and silent for a few minutes, watching her sleep. Only her head was visible above the blanket he had tucked around her shoulders, and she seemed to be truly relaxed and at peace for the first time.
That wouldn’t last, he supposed. Not when she had to go back to facing the reality of her situation.
And when he had to.
It wouldn’t be difficult to convince one of the others to take her back to the mainland. Although perhaps a dozen humans had been taken in by the pack over the years, and a few were still living on the island now, this particular human probably wouldn’t be wanted here, even for a short time—someone with ties to the mainland, someone with family and friends who were likely to come looking for her. Nor was she likely to want to stay in a place like this. She’d set out across the open water wearing a skimpy dress and flimsy shoes, with no provisions and no way to rescue herself should something go wrong. During the night, he’d gone down to the dock to take a look at her boat and had been seriously dismayed by the condition of the thing.
Foolish, he thought.
The pack wouldn’t be interested in someone like that. So, yes, they’d be glad to deliver her back to the mainland. The thing was, he wanted her to stay, at least for a while. He wanted to show her what his life was like: days and nights spent enjoying the outdoors in this mild weather, hunting for food, playing in the water, running and jumping and climbing for the pure fun of it. This place had a raw, enduring beauty, even during the worst of storms, one that was untouched by the poisons of the mainland.
She would love it here. He was sure she would.
Dreamer.
That was his brother Luca’s voice. Luca, the pragmatic one, the one who had delivered Aaron out here to begin his month of Separation. Like Aaron, Luca had spent time on the mainland, the period of education the pack called the Involvement—but unlike Aaron, Luca had little patience for humans and no interest in interrelating with them. To Luca (and to a good many other members of the pack, going back as far as anyone could remember), most humans were foolish, greedy, short-sighted. Far too interested in a soft life. The moment Luca found out Abby was here, he would insist that she be removed.