“Are there a lot of things like this that happen?” Lilian asked.
“No,” I told her. “But lately—”
I stopped myself. I didn’t really want to talk to any customer about what was going on at the worksite, though I’d already told Lilian about the cut chain.
“What?” she asked, prodding me in the chest with her fingers. I grinned and grabbed hold of them, holding them in my hand.
“Things have been happening down at the worksite. It’s got the men acting ridiculous,” I said. “And now this. They’ll never get over it.”
“What kinds of things have been happening?” she asked.
“Well, the chain got cut. And then there were some carvings made into the logs that had fallen. It was just gibberish and really didn’t make any sense.”
She stared at me, waiting for me to go on. I could see something in her eyes like alarm but she didn’t say anything.
“There were also dead animals,” I said.
“Dead animals,” she repeated.
I nodded, swallowing. “I went out and there were dead animals nailed to the trees marked to be cut,” I said. “I took them down. Didn’t want the men to see. But by the time I got back to the worksite, the truck’s tires had been slashed.”
“When was this?”
“Just before Martha came to tell me about Michael,” I said. “And about you.”
She looked away from me. I touched her cheek, turning her face to look at me.
“You can tell me what happened,” I said to her in as gentle a voice as I could.
“Are the logs with the carvings still at the worksite?” she asked.
“We set them aside,” I said, nodding.
“I want to see them.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, but I could tell there was more to it. I sighed in frustration.
“What?” she asked, a small smile spreading across her face. “What was that all about?”
“You’re frustrating,” I said to her.
She shifted and her robe fell open slightly, splitting to reveal her thigh. “I’m not trying to be,” she said.
I laughed. “Yes, you are,” I said to her, gazing over her chest, the way the robe was almost falling off her. I wanted to tear it away from her body, to completely shred it so she would have no choice but to be naked with me. I looked at her face instead, lifting my hand to trace the inner curve of her breast with my fingers. I had avoided touching her in the shower but now it seemed like she was almost begging me to with the way she was looking at me, the way she was trembling. I found the end of the tie on the robe and pulled on it so that it came undone. She allowed me to do so, watching me as I parted the robe to reveal her breasts. They were so perfect, just the right size, and I couldn’t help but cup them in my hands. I wished then that my skin was softer, more like her own—I knew my hands were calloused from working, smoothed over but rough from using them day after day. She seemed to read my mind, because she took my hands in hers and held them in front of her face, looking them over with interest.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
She met my eye briefly with a soft smile, then brought my hand to her lips and softly kissed each of my fingertips, sending a shiver of desire through my body. It intensified when she took my longest finger between her lips and sucked on it, pulling it into her mouth and sliding her tongue along the bottom. I nearly groaned when she pulled it away from her face with a wicked grin that I hadn’t even thought her capable of.
“Is that frustrating?” she asked.
I grinned at her, leaning in to kiss her, just nipping at her lip instead as I cupped her breasts again, teasing her nipples with my fingers.
“I think you’re forgetting how frustrated you got the last time I touched your pussy,” I said. “Remember that? Remember begging me to let you come?”
“Yes,” she said as I put my hands on her hips, shifting her body beneath mine. I pulled the robe apart to reveal her body to me, reaching down to stroke her soaking pussy.
“Lily,” I breathed as she started to whimper, moving her hips against my hand. “I really—you have no idea how badly I want to fuck you right now.”
“I think I have an idea,” she said with a smile, biting her lip as she took my finger and guided it inside of her. I noticed that was what she liked best, even more than when I rubbed her clit.
“You like being filled up, huh?” I asked her, sliding my finger as deeply inside of her as it could go, pumping it in and out. “You like the feeling of having something deep in that tight pussy.”
“Yes,” she said, whimpering as I joined another finger with the first, spreading her just a little bit wider.
I used my other hand to take hers, then wrapped it around my cock. She bit her lip and began to stroke it without being prompted, without me having to ask, moving her hand up and down along my length, making me tense with lust.
“Your pussy is awfully tight, baby,” I said to her. “I’m not sure you can take my cock.”
“I can,” she insisted, kissing me, her small hand gripping me tightly. I grinned at her, pulling my fingers away from her needy pussy.
“Prove it,” I said against her lips before kissing her, and I inhaled sharply when she guided my cock into her opening, pressing just the head of it inside. I felt her stretch to accommodate even that, saw the look in her eye that told me she loved it. She tried to take the rest of me with one stroke of her hips, lifting them desperately, but I pulled back. I wanted to fill her up slowly, wanting to watch her face as she finally got what she needed. My eyes were locked on hers as I took her thighs in my hands and spread them wider, pushing inside of her, hesitant to go too deep. I stopped before I was all the way in, beginning to fuck her slowly just like that, careful not to move too fast or too deep. I was afraid that I would hurt her—had always been afraid my size would break a woman somehow. I felt that way especially with Lilian, the need to be gentle, to give her pleasure without the slightest hint of pain.
“Logan,” she moaned, and I heard the frustration in her voice as she rocked underneath me, trying to take me deeper. “Please—”
“I don’t want to hurt you, baby,” I said, though it was hard to hold back, hard to keep from filling her hard and deep and fast. All I wanted to do was completely bury myself inside of her, to be as close to her as possible.
I groaned when she wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling my hips against hers with more strength than I thought she had. I sank deep inside of her, surprised to find I could fit completely. I started to grind against the back of her pussy right away, something that made her lose her breath. Her eyes were closed as I filled her again and again, and I relished how she could take my whole cock into her perfect body.
“Is that okay?” I asked her. She nodded, her eyes still closed, lips parted in a silent moan. I had never seen a woman look like that before, like she was completely falling apart from pleasure, not even when I’d eaten Lily’s pussy for hours and hours the night we’d gone to the mountain. “Is that good?”
“So good,” she said, riding up against me, moving her hips with mine. “God, I didn’t—I didn’t know it could feel this good.”
“It can’t, baby,” I said to her, holding her hips, moving them more quickly against mine. “Not with anybody but me. You know that.”
She whimpered in response, a sound that made me crazy with lust. My movements against her grew rougher in a way I couldn’t control, more eager to take her, to make her body mine. Soon I found I was moving against her in the rhythm she wanted most, with quick, deep strokes that took her breath away. She writhed underneath me on the couch, panting, looking into my eyes as I filled her again and again. I reached down to rub her clit with my fingers as I pulled my cock out of her pussy, making her sigh in frustration.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking my time,” I said, stroking her clit in just the way she liked it, making her squirm.
“Cut i
t out,” she protested as I moved my lips down to her breasts, sucking on one of her tender nipples. She reached for my cock but I moved away from her, teasing her nipple with my tongue.
“You really do like getting your little pussy stretched out, don’t you?” I said. “I’ve never met a girl who wanted my cock so bad.”
“I don’t want it that bad,” she said, glaring at me, but I laughed and sucked her bottom lip, filling her up with my length once again. That petulant look had done it for me. I gripped her hips in my hands and held them still while I started to ride against her, moving slow but deep. She was clenching, her body squirming around me as she took me over and over, trying to lift her hips against mine. I only let her after a few more minutes of tormenting her slowly, and by the time I let go, I was done holding back for the sake of teasing.
I felt like an animal, especially as she dug her nails into my back and started riding against me, taking my cock as deep and hard inside of her as she could. I was barely aware when we rolled off the couch and onto the floor, noticing only because it made us switch positions, made it so that she was riding my lap. She didn’t slow down from my movements but rocked herself hard and fast, moaning steadily until she gave a soft whimper, writhing on top of me. I held her hips and lifted mine into hers, pounding into her as she came, filled her up with my own come when I couldn’t hold back anymore. Only then did she slow down, lifting herself off me. She stared down at me for a moment before blushing.
“Why do you look shy?” I asked her, lifting myself to kiss her softly.
“I just—I never act like that,” she said. “That’s not—that’s not really who I am.”
“That’s who you are with me,” I said to her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, baby. Relax.”
She sighed, settling back down on my body, resting her cheek against my chest. I stroked her back, glancing at the clock overhead. It was almost three in the morning but I felt wide-awake, alive just from touching her in the way I’d wanted to since the moment I’d met her. She fell asleep within a few minutes and I held her there on the floor for a moment before sitting up and lifting her easily into my arms, carrying her into my bedroom. I lay down in bed, pulling her body against mine, and she snuggled up against me under the blanket.
“I don’t share beds with boys,” she said, her words slurred as she fell asleep. I grinned, stroking her soft hair until I managed to fall asleep as well, listening to her breathing on top of me.
11
Lilian
I woke up in the morning on top of Logan, my face buried in his broad chest, arms wrapped around his waist. I was clinging to him, pressed tightly against him, but the look on his face was peaceful and sweet as he held me. I lifted my face to kiss his jaw, then his nose and his forehead until his eyelids finally fluttered open and he smiled at me.
“Hi,” he said softly, and I felt my heart flutter. His voice was low and gruff from sleep, sexy, and I couldn’t help but remember all of the filthy things he’d said to me as he fucked me the night before. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced—sex had just been something I’d had to get through with other men, something to pass the time. I’d never really hoped that it would ever be good, and certainly had never imagined being so into it that I’d been absolutely wild with Logan the night before. I blushed just remembering it and his face broke into a smile as he put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled my face to his.
“Hi,” I said against his lips.
He yawned then, stretching as he looked at the clock. Then he groaned.
“I have to get to work,” he said.
“No,” I said, wrapping my arms around his body.
He leaned in to kiss me again. “I have to, baby,” he said. “But I’ll come back tonight.”
“Let me go with you to the worksite,” I said, sitting up in bed. I’d almost forgotten about what he’d said had happened at the worksite, but now the memory of the conversation came back to me.
“Why?” he asked.
“I want to see the markings on the logs,” I told him.
I hoped he wouldn’t ask me why. I wanted to be sure of what I suspected before I told him the truth. He paused as if he knew there was something behind my interest but didn’t want to ask. I was glad when he didn’t press me, but nodded, then buried his face in my neck.
“I really wish I could fuck you all day long,” he said softly, planting a hot kiss on my throat. “I love how much you enjoy my cock.”
I blushed and he smiled, kissing me again before he got out of bed.
“We’d better go soon,” he said, though he looked like he regretted the words.
I would have happily stayed in bed with him all day as well, despite the rational side of my brain telling me to run away from him. I didn’t regret last night but I didn’t feel like things were perfect, either. I knew I was just setting myself up for heartbreak, but the night before I hadn’t cared, especially in the moment he’d filled me with his cock.
We got ready to go to the worksite after Logan brought me some clothes from the girl who’d left them. I remembered that he’d said she had disappeared, though he hadn’t provided any other explanation. It only deepened the mystery of this place, the curse, the ghost and the fire. I hoped that once I told him my truth, that he would be more inclined to open up to me about what was going on at the retreat, what exactly I was missing.
I got dressed, looking down at myself in distaste. They weren’t exactly my style of clothes—more decadent than anything I wore. Almost everything had some sort of sparkling accoutrement or low-cut neckline. The coat he’d given me was hardly practical for traipsing across a snowy mountain—it was covered in thick, luxuriously soft fur, warm but not waterproof. Logan watched me as I looked myself over, a small smile on his face.
“You hate it,” he said. I nodded. “I think you look sexy,” he told me. I rolled my eyes at him but couldn’t help but give him a pleased smile as we left the suite together. It was so much nicer now that we were getting along—I’d been hell-bent on staying away from him, but that hadn’t brought me anything but frustration so far.
There were people milling about the lounge on the second floor, talking in quiet voices as we made our way down the stairs. Most of the first floor was blocked off—every bit of it other than the stairwell had been at least singed by the flames and needed to be inspected. We were walking through the lobby when Logan was stopped by the woman I’d spoken to before about getting my room switched. He waved me on when I paused to linger with him.
“I’ll meet you outside in a minute, Lily,” he said, and I nodded before heading out into the cold. I hugged the fur around my body, grateful for the extra warmth that the outrageous garment provided me. There were people outside, but not very many—the wind was cold today, not pleasant and crisp as it normally was, but almost oppressive in how uncomfortable it was. I was about to go inside and wait when Logan came up behind me, putting his arm around my waist as he guided me in the direction of the worksite.
“You’re a pretty popular guy around here, aren’t you?” I asked him.
“What do you mean?”
“You seem to do everything at this place,” I said.
“I’m a handy guy. Useful in many situations,” he said with a grin.
I stood on my toes to kiss his cheek and he captured my lips in a kiss, standing in place for a long moment before we started back to the worksite. I wondered how long this would last, if it was even possible that this connection between us could continue beyond this trip. I tried not to think about it even as he took my hand in the cold. We approached the worksite to see men busy all over the place.
“Hey, guys,” Logan said as we approached them. They mumbled greetings to him, most of them without even looking up from their work. One of them did look up, though, and he raised his eyebrow when he noticed me.
“She the cause of all this trouble?” the old man asked.
Logan shook his head. “I’m afraid she has
an alibi. One less suspect on the list,” Logan said.
“She’s no ghost, that’s for sure,” said the man, looking me over.
Logan lifted his hand and slapped the man gently on the side of his helmet. “Get to work,” he muttered, and the man skittered away.
I followed Logan over to the edge of the clearing, where there were three logs separate from the rest of the pile on the truck. As we got closer, my heart started to pound. I swallowed hard, staring down at the logs with wide eyes. It was exactly what I thought it would be—gibberish, carved into the bark, the word “die” the only one that was legible.
“What is it?” Logan asked, studying my face. I shivered, wrapping my coat tighter around me, looking up at him.
“I, uh—” I began. “I don’t think we should talk about it here.”
“Are you okay? Is there something wrong?”
“Something definitely isn’t right, that’s for sure,” I said, looking down at the log again. Even the handwriting was the same as I’d seen before. It made a chill run down my spine as I turned away, looking up at him. “Do you have to do work here? Should I go back?”
“I don’t think you should go back on your own,” he said. “I’d rather go with you.”
“Michael’s gone. Nobody’s out to get me. Not even your ghost,” I said.
He gave me an annoyed look but had a playful smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss me.
“Be careful,” he said softly, and I nodded to him, starting back in the direction of the retreat center. It wasn’t a long walk, but most of it was uphill, and after how worn out my body had been with Logan last night, it was almost hard to make the walk. But my head was spinning with what I’d seen and the cool air helped me calm my breathing, steady my heartbeat until I had a chance to tell Logan everything.
I was walking up the hill when I heard a noise behind me, the crunching of frozen branches. I looked over my shoulder but saw nothing save a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. My head whipped to follow it, scanning the trees behind me, keeping my eyes sharp for any sort of movement. When I saw nothing, I started forward quickly, walking as fast as I could without slipping on the snow. I’d only stepped forward a couple of feet when I was knocked over flat onto my face. I tried to lift my head out of the snow but somebody held my face down, smashing it into the ground so that I couldn’t breathe. I flailed underneath them, struggling to get up, but they were putting all of their weight into holding my head down, and I could do nothing but struggle. I felt the world around me starting to go dark and gave my body one last push, bucking out from underneath the person and gasping for breath as my face broke from the snow. They got up and I heard them running. I was choking, trying to get air into my lungs as I turned around and watched them run into the trees. I couldn’t tell who it was, couldn’t even tell whether it was a man or a woman—they were wearing a puffy, shapeless coat with a hood that obscured any detail of their appearance. I sat up, my whole body trembling violently as I made my way toward the retreat center. I felt frozen and numb when I stepped inside, felt a tingling sensation as my body began to thaw.
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