Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Haven

Everything moved in slow motion as she opened her eyes and gazed into his. He returned her stare, his dark pupils mesmerizing, his wicked, sinful grin breaking at the corner of his mouth.

“Fucking against the wall. You ever done this before? Feel the cold of the concrete behind you, feel the heat of my cock as I ream you in two. It’s good, ain’t it darling? All for you. Every succulent, desirable…” He drove into her harder still, and alarms went off in the back of her brain. This wasn’t going to be just an orgasm; it was going to be cataclysmic. “…every fuckable inch of you.”

Her climax drew closer, hovering out of reach.

“Come for me again. I’m going to…” a deep-seated thrust, “…take you with me…” another, “…you feel so fucking good squeezing my cock…” another, “…come on, darling.”

She came undone. Between the relentless strokes, the dirty talk and the whole naughtiness of the situation, the earth unraveled and took her with it. His mouth clamped down on hers as she started to cry out, the need to express the pleasure tearing her apart, overriding the logical sections of her brain. His tongue slammed into her mouth as his cock drilled her once again, and he jerked within her, his release shaking them both as he pinned her to the wall with his weight. Their kisses changed slowly, turning gentler, wet pleasure passing back and forth as their air exchanged—open mouths gasping against each other.

Daniel lowered her leg slowly. She let out a squeak of pain, the return of weight on the limb a stark contrast to the endorphins of pleasure racing through her. He soothed her, stroking his hand over her hip, kissing her forehead.

They were still connected intimately, his chest crushing her breasts. She swore his cock swelled even larger inside her, the skin of her passage unaccustomed to hard use for months. Hell, for years. Daniel kissed her again, dropping a line of tender caresses behind her ear, down her neck. His work-callused hands massaged her butt in smooth, rhythmic circles.

He let out a slow sigh. “We’ve got ten minutes’ grace. I’m gonna head onto the deck. If you want to hit the change room, I’ll round up the boys and herd them in your direction when they’re done.”

She still couldn’t speak. He kissed her cheek, kissed her lips. When he pulled from her body, she shivered, sad at the loss of his heat. He twisted her around and sat her on the bench, stroking her cheek with his knuckles.

“You might want to hop in the shower for a minute.”

She looked up at him, confused. Damn, he was fine. He dealt with the condom and pulled on his trunks, arranging his ample girth strategically.

“Beth? You gonna be okay?”

She pulled her towel over herself slowly, the rush of heat from the experience flushing her skin. “I’m fine. More than fine.” She made herself speak. “Daniel?”

He turned in the act of unlocking the door. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

He shook his head and grinned, and something inside came dangerously close to melting.

“Thank you . I’ve got to run.”

She watched him walk out the door, then mustered up the strength to lock the door behind him before collapsing back onto the bench. Her head touched the wall behind her as she sucked in deep breathes of air. She’d really done it. They’d done it.

Non-vanilla.

“So you going to be able to make it to both the wedding and the party afterward?” Daniel tossed a few coins in the tip jar and turned to carry the coffees back to their table.

Their table, sheesh .

She was doing it again. She’d been fighting to make sure she kept her head on straight and didn’t read too much into Daniel’s attentive behaviour. He’d picked her up every day when she was done with classes and taken her out for a coffee. They had just enough time for a quick conversation to unwind before heading home to meet the bus at the gate. She still didn’t feel comfortable talking in public about her past, but they seemed to have enough to chat about anyway. Now that October had begun, it seemed everyone was starting to get ready for the coming winter. They vented about her daily trials in the classroom and his on the ranch and in the Colemans’ furniture workshop.

The adult company kept her sane. Oh yeah, hello, the addition of sex had rocked, and he was mighty easy on the eyes, but the companionship was another component she hadn’t realized she craved so badly. This whole deal with Daniel was supposed to be about friendship and fun, not forever.

The part of her soul that occasionally wished that she’d found a man like Daniel in the first place? She wrapped that part up in ropes and tied it off real tight. It wasn’t allowed to mess with the fantastic reality she was experiencing.

“Beth?”

She gazed into his eyes in confusion. “Sorry, wool gathering.”

“No troubles. I asked if you’re able to come to both the wedding and the reception. The boys are welcome.”

Hadn’t she told him? “Are you talking about Blake and Jaxi? This coming weekend?”

“Of course. The wedding is at—”

“Daniel, the boys and I are headed to Calgary on Friday after school lets out. We’re spending Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister. I’m sorry, I thought I’d told you.”

By the expression on his face, she hadn’t, or he’d forgotten.

“That makes sense. You drive safe, and I’ll see you when you get back.”

He switched topics to describe a woodworking project he was making special order for a hotel in Canmore, and she fidgeted with her cup and tried to stay alert. She usually loved to listen to him, the rough timbre of his voice teasing all the spots in her psyche that needed a man’s attention and sharing. In such a short time a piece of him had wrapped its way around her, and she was worried it would soon be impossible to not let it show.

“You think you’d like one?” he asked, and Beth stumbled to give an answer.

Somehow she got to the end of the visit without making too much more of a fool of herself. The tiny seed of hope in her heart she buried deep again, not letting it see any hint of light to encourage it. It was too soon to be thinking about getting seriously involved with another man. Heck, it hadn’t even been a year since Samuel’s death.

And although Daniel had been nothing but friendly and supportive, she hesitated to take it any further. She needed to stay in control. Call the shots.

It was the only way she knew she and the boys would remain safe.

Wasn’t it?

The bright fall sunshine hit his eyes as Daniel passed another round of drinks to the tables then headed up the hill to spend some time alone, pondering why he wasn’t particularly happy today. He found a seat on the warm grass, breathing in the scented air as he tried to relax. The crowd below him was loud and boisterous, celebrating the end of another growing season but more importantly the wedding of his oldest brother to their next-door neighbour’s little girl. Jaxi was all grown up now, although it had taken a bit for that information to sink through Blake’s thick skull.

Thanksgiving weekend was as appropriate a time as any for them to have held the wedding, only there was a pit in Daniel’s belly. He should have been pleased. All his family was around, and it looked as if everyone was getting along. With six brothers, there had always been tough moments as they dealt with the reality of belonging to a big family. As six individuals they didn’t always see eye to eye—yet for the most part they were tight.

The fact Beth had hauled her family back to Calgary for the weekend— that was the part that sucked. He hadn’t realized how much he would miss her and the boys. He kept spotting things he wanted to show her, and his frustration made him irritable. He forced a smile on his face and tried to put her out of his mind.