He stood, getting me a cool washcloth and wiping my forehead, then my cheeks, then my lips. “I should have anticipated that,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
Later, after I’d cleaned up, he snuggled up against me in bed, his arms wrapped around my waist. I was glad he seemed to just sense I didn’t want to talk about it.
When I drifted off to sleep, my last thought was that I wanted to stay like this with him forever.
I blinked open my eyes the next morning to light streaming through the windows and Blaze gone. Oh crap. Had he left, the way I’d left him after that first night in the hotel? “Blaze?” What the hell time was it? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept like that.
The bedroom door creaked open and Blaze walked inside, plates and silverware carefully arranged on a breakfast tray in his hands. “Good morning,” he said.
“What time is it?”
“Only nine,” he said.
“It’s so bright. I feel like I slept forever.”
“I didn’t want to wake you. You were dead to the world.”
“Oh my God. How long have you been awake? You’re all dressed and have breakfast ready? I’m a total slacker.”
“I figured I’d make myself useful. When’s the last time you were waited on hand and foot?” Blaze grinned, setting the tray down on the bed and sliding in beside me. “Wait, no, I don’t want to know that answer. I’m sure all those Stanford boys are falling all over themselves for you.”
“Hah.” I accepted a cup of coffee gratefully, sipping on it. “Uh, Blaze - about last night. I ruined the moment and -”
“Say no more,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking at all. I should have realized it would affect you like that.”
“But it hasn’t,” I protested. “I don’t know why that happened. I haven’t had any bad dreams or anything. It was just so out of the blue.”
Blaze shrugged. “Things like that are unpredictable.”
“Yeah, but in the middle of sex and -”
“Hey,” he said, leaning over and putting his index finger on my lips. “Life’s messy. It’s just how things are. It’s not anything you should feel bad about. My cock didn’t shrivel up and fall off just because we didn’t finish.”
I grinned wickedly, looking at his jeans. “No, it certainly did not, did it?” I picked up the breakfast tray and set it on a desk in the corner of the room.
“Hey! Aren’t you hungry?”
I turned around. “Absolutely starving.”
“The food’s - oh.”
“Oh. Yeah, I wasn’t talking about that food.” I climbed back over him, unbuttoning his pants as he lay back on the pillows, his hands trailing lazily through my hair as it fell forward near his face. I made quick work of his jeans, yanking at the sides as he arched his hips off the bed to help me. “Oh, I see how it is. Hard already?”
Blaze grinned sheepishly. “Girl, I can’t explain what you do to me.”
“Good answer,” I said, maintaining eye contact with him as I guided him toward my mouth. I touched my tongue to him, tasting his saltiness, and Blaze groaned. “Not quite yet,” I said, smiling as I bent down, slowly and gently kissing the length of his inner thighs, hearing his breath grow more and more shallow. I took my sweet time trailing my tongue along the textured surface of his balls, taking one and then the other in my mouth like he was a delicious treat. Or, breakfast, anyway.
“Oh God, that feels so good,” Blake said, hands running over my head, fingers laced through my hair.
The words spurred me on and I drew my tongue down his length, then around his head, flicking it over the tip of his cock before finally wrapping my hand tight around the base and taking him in my mouth, only the tip, teasing him. My nipples hardened, an almost reflexive response to his taste. I shuddered, too aware of the dampness between my legs, my sudden hunger for him, more than anything else.
“Dani.” He groaned as I moved up and down his length, taking as much of him in as I could, caressing him with my hand. “Oh yeah, that’s it.”
Blaze pulled at my hair, gripping it at the roots, and rocked with his hips as he became more aroused. I moaned intentionally and heard him inhale sharply. I hadn’t realized how much I would enjoy this, having him in my mouth, taking him. Pleasing him. Having him at my mercy. I felt his body stiffen as he got closer to climax, and knew I needed him inside me, urgently.
“Wait. What are you doing?” he asked as I pulled away from him.
“Hang on.” I swung my leg over, facing away, and felt his hands on my ass, guiding me as I slid easily onto him.
“Oh my God, that’s it.” I braced my hands on the bed, grinding against him, and Blaze kneaded my cheeks as he moved underneath me. As my orgasm built, Blaze grabbed a handful of hair, pulling my head back as I rode him. The sharp sting of pain did something to push me closer to the edge and I cried out, “Oh God, yes, Blaze.”
I felt swept away by my pleasure, higher and higher, and I couldn’t think, lost in the moment. I could hear him say something but it sounded far away, and I came, wave after wave of orgasm washing over me. I gripped his legs, pushing my body down on his like he was my only tether to reality, and I felt him come with me. When my mind finally cleared, I turned, looking at him over my shoulder.
“See? You’re not the only one who can cook up something good for breakfast.”
“No ma’am,” he said. “My hat’s off to the chef.”
“So, are you’re going to join me down at the lake?” I picked a grape from a bunch on the kitchen counter and popped it in my mouth. “God, I’ve been starving all day.”
Blaze closed the cooler lid and turned, a grin plastered across his face. “That’s because of all the exercise you’ve been getting.”
“I know. I’m going to have hard time walking tomorrow!”
He swatted me on the ass, a gesture that felt playful and intimate. Then the thought crept into my head. Be careful. Remember who you are, what you’re doing here. I pushed it away. My doubts and fears were not about to ruin a perfectly good day at a beautiful lake with the hottest guy I’d ever been with. I’d been with attractive guys, but I was more attracted to Blaze than anyone I’d been with before.
“Let’s go.” He tossed me a blanket.
“I’m surprised you don’t have a little picnic basket, since you’re little Suzy Homemaker,” I said.
“I should get a picnic basket, now that you mention it. Do you think they sell them at Home Depot?”
I giggled. “Probably. We should take the minivan.”
Down at the lake, we laid on a blanket in the shade, drinking wine from paper cups and eating sandwiches, hanging out like a couple of - well, a couple. I leaned against his chest, the soft fabric of his tee-shirt brushing my cheek. “This is nice.”
“It is.” Blaze stroked my hair, the rhythmic movement almost hypnotic.
“It’s not going to be so nice when we go back.”
“Nope.” He was silent, and I wondered if he was as reluctant to return to reality as I was. It was a nice break, playing house up here, and part of me didn’t want it to end. Part of me fantasized that he could be my escape. But I knew that was not the case, and I would have to deal with reality soon. A feeling of darkness settled over me as I thought about returning to reality, and I tried to shake it off.
“Hey.” I looked at Blaze, his eyes closed, every muscle in his face relaxed. He grunted a response.
“How cold is the lake?”
“Fucking cold.”
“Well, good thing it’s fucking warm outside.” I jumped to my feet, flashing him a wicked grin. “It’s swimmable, right?”
“Never tried. I mean, it’s not an actual lake - just a little pond. I’m sure it’s okay to swim in.” He shielded his eyes. “What the hell are you doing? You’re going to freeze your tits off in there.”
I laughed, pulling my sundress over my head and leaving a trail of clothing behind me as I walked to the water. “Are you going to just lay there and watch?”
“Aw, hell,” Blaze yelled, and I turned my back to him and closed my eyes, my face to the sun, luxuriating in the warmth on my naked body. I was free, for the first time ever. I wanted to bottle the feeling, to be able to drink from it when I was back in the real world.
I dipped my toes in the water. “Holy shit, it’s cold!”
“I told you!” Blaze yelled from the picnic blanket, where he was stripping off his boxers. I watched him, drank in his nakedness, trying to etch it on my brain.
“I’m going in!” Walking in deeper, I braced myself. “Nope, it’s not that bad!” I yelled. Of all the things I’d done in my life, this would be my first time skinny-dipping with a biker.
Blaze ran down to the lake, hand cupped protectively over his dick. He dipped a toe in the water, then drew back his leg. “Jesus, girl, you’re crazy! My balls are going to be the size of peanuts in here.”
“For a big dirty biker, you’re kind of a crybaby.” I kicked back, floating, my nipples poking up through the surface of the water. "But I think my nipples might be hard enough to cut glass."
“Crybaby, huh? You better be able to swim fast.” Blaze waded out deeper, then dove in, cutting through the water toward me, and I shrieked as he came up and stood chest deep in the lake. He grabbed me, pulled me against him, covered my mouth with his. We stayed there, his arms wrapped around me, silent, until the chill of the water became uncomfortable.
“I think my lips are blue,” I said, shivering, despite the warmth of his body.
“Let me see.” Blaze kissed me gently, pulling my lower lip between his teeth. “I think they are blue,” he whispered.
“What do you suggest?”
“You definitely need warmed up.”
“However will you warm me up?”
“I think I might have an idea.” He pulled me with him, walking backwards in the water until it was shallow, then slid one hand under my knees and the other on my back to pick me up.
I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Don’t fall!”
“I’ve got you. Don’t worry.” He laid me down on the blanket, and I shivered at the chill of the air on my wet skin, despite the warm temperature.
“I wish we’d brought towels.”
“I think I know just what you need to get warm,” Blaze said. Then he was on me, his body slick with the lake water, hands running down me, covering me, warming me with his touch.
I am getting way too used to this, I thought as he kissed his way down my stomach. I felt the warmth of his mouth between my legs and then I shivered, but not from the cold.
“I love the way you taste,” he said as he buried his head between my legs, his tongue swirling over my clit, bringing me higher.
“Now, please,” I begged, my hands on his head, pulling him up. I wanted him inside me. Blaze climbed over me, his eyes on mine as he plunged himself into me, and I wrapped my legs around his back, pulling him as close to me as I could get him. It was exhilarating being with him, sleeping with him, even if the sex so far was about as vanilla as it could get compared to the craziness I had experienced in high school and college. It was funny how the most normal vanilla sex with someone I liked was a million times more satisfying than all the crazy shit from someone who pushed my buttons but who I didn't care about.
Blaze moaned, and I watched his face as he got closer and closer. I liked him, I thought. Very much. When he made a little grunting noise, I knew he was close, and I stopped holding back.
Afterward, he stayed there inside me, stroking my hair and running his fingers down my arm as he looked at me. Around us, the rustling of the trees and the birds were the only sounds, a natural background of white noise. Except for a sudden rumbling sound in the distance, getting louder.
Blaze’s expression changed from one of calm to one of immediate worry. “Do you hear that?”
My heart stopped. “I hear that sound getting closer.”
“No one should be up here.” He jumped to his feet. He scrambled into his clothes and tossed me my dress. I slipped my dress over my head, not bothering with bra or panties.
“Blaze,” I whispered. “It could just be vacationers or something, right?”
“Sure, Dani.” He reached for the cooler and pulled out his weapon. I hadn’t even seen him pack it. “Stay back here.”
I moved to a tree, hiding behind it like it doing so would provide some kind of buffer against what was happening. Please let it just be someone from the MC, I silently prayed. I wondered if my father had somehow found out about Blaze and I and had come to end it. No, I thought. That’s irrational. It can’t be him.
I peered around the tree as Blaze made his way to the main road, and saw cars pull up. I couldn’t see what was happening, only Blaze with his hands raised in the air, then bending over, setting the gun on the ground.
“No!” I screamed, terrified Blaze was about to be killed. I ran toward him, my mind clouded with the fear that I might lose him. I threw my arms around him.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice calm and steady. I looked up to see two black sedans and five men wearing suits, their weapons trained on us.
No, I thought. It was most certainly not okay.
Shielding my eyes from the sun, I watched Dani as she shimmied out of her clothes and threw her bra and panties on the sand as if she ran around naked outside every day. Like it was nothing.
“Are you going to just lay there and watch?”
She turned her face up toward the sun, standing with her hands outstretched, her eyes closed, naked as a jaybird. I felt my cock stirring just looking at her- that body, those long lean legs and perfect ass. But it wasn’t just her body, or the sex. I’d been so relaxed with her, even before last night. Even when it was tense between us, there was just something about her that made her different from every other girl I had ever met. I was beginning to want more from her, more than what we had right now, even though I knew it could never work between us.
She dipped her toes in the water. “Holy shit, it’s cold!” she screamed.
“Aw, hell,” I yelled, pulling off my clothes to join her. When we were done, I carried her from the frigid lake to the blanket, warming her with my body. My face between her legs, I drank in her scent. I had never wanted a girl as much as I wanted Dani. But that was dangerous, not only because of her father. Wanting something - someone - so much was dangerous; I’d learned that as a kid. Everything I wanted was always taken away.
When I slid inside her, watching her expression change as she went higher and higher until she climaxed, I thought, I’m going to lose her. Nothing lasts.
Nothing lasts, I thought as I stood there, my arm around Dani. My gun lay on the ground and I was helpless. I would be unable to do anything to protect her from what was about to happen. Two black sedans with dark tinted windows were parked on the road, and five large men in suits and sunglasses stood in front of them, their weapons trained on us. We were outnumbered and outgunned.
“It’s ok,” I whispered to Dani. She was trembling like a leaf beside me. I squeezed her tighter against me, trying to silently reassure her she was safe. The problem was that I wasn’t sure whether we were safe myself.
Two of the men walked toward us, and without a word escorted us to the road before patting us down. Dani stood in front of me, her arms out to the sides, in her flimsy sundress, nipples hard against the thin material. As one of the suits patted her down, I felt my blood boil. I knew he was being professional, not handling her inappropriately, yet I had to force myself to stand there instead of punching him in the face the way I wanted to.
When they finished, I scanned the men and the vehicles, trying to assess who they might be represent. The men in suits were all clean-cut, with a military appearance. But the sedans were too expensive to be government. They were professionals - not bikers, not gang members. If they were either of those groups, Dani would have already been a prize for the boys. Were they Guillermo’s men? Was this about Dani and I hooking up? Or retaliation for not taking out the college kid?
I had talked to Mad Dog last night and everything was copacetic. Besides, the kid was long gone, somewhere in Europe for summer break, like I'd suspected. We couldn't be blamed for not doing the hit. And I didn't think Guillermo would take us this way. Guillermo’s men would have identified themselves right away, or Dani or I would have recognized them. That left Guillermo’s rival, about whom I knew nothing.
We were blindfolded and cuffed with zip ties around our wrists, but not uncomfortably tight, which made me think they were under orders not to treat us badly. That was a good sign. As we wound down the road and away from the cabin, Dani whispered. “Blaze?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know who these men are?”