She glares at me, so I pull her face toward me and slide my lips along hers. "I'm sorry," I tell her again... sincerely.
Stiffness radiates off her, and I know I'm not forgiven just yet. I kiss her again and say once more, "I'm sorry."
Pulling back, she looks at me with accusing eyes. "You could have ruined my career, Zach. You put this entire project in jeopardy."
Anger surges through me because I'm tired of being considered her test subject. I know she certainly doesn't feel that way when I'm lodged balls deep inside of her. "Oh, for fuck's sake, Moira. I don't give a damn about your project, but I knew Randall wasn't going to be mad and I was right, wasn't I?"
"That's beside the point," she sputters, and I kiss her again to shut her up.
When I pull away, I clasp her face. "I'm not your pet project anymore. I don't fucking need you to help me adjust because let's face it... I'm doing just fine here. I've played by all your silly rules. I eat with my fucking utensils, and I don't go around killing people on a whim. I understand your rules, and nothing about this world freaks me out. And I was tired of fucking hiding what we have. Do you know how much it kills me not to be able to touch you when I want, or to keep my eyes averted for fear someone might guess that we're fucking each other? I was sick of it, and I'm glad I did it, and I'd do it again. So be pissed at me if you want, but I'm fucking the remaining bitterness out of you tonight."
The anger finally seeps out of me as Moira stares at me with wide eyes over my rant. Her chest rises and falls in tune with my own.
"You don't need me anymore?" she asks in a small voice.
Pulling her into my arms so her face is buried in the crook of my neck, I squeeze her and growl, "I do fucking need you. More than I want to admit. But not as an anthropologist. I need you the way a man needs a woman."
"But you already have that," she tells me. "I give that to you already."
"Maybe I want more," I tell her impulsively, because maybe it's time to lay it all out on the line. Maybe it's time to give a voice to these feelings I've been having.
"More?" she asks hesitantly as she pulls back to look at me, and it kills me to see the fantasy of a happily ever after in her eyes. Because I don't see how I can give that to her, yet I know I'm not ready to let her go right now. I'm a selfish fuck.
Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I let out a breath and try to clear my mind. "Look... Paraila wanted me to commit to a year here before I considered going back. I know I haven't exactly given in to that idea, but what if I did that? What if I just committed to a year here... with you... and we see what happens?"
Hope fills Moira's eyes and I feel wonderful and wretched all at the same time, for offering her something I'm still deep down not sure I can fulfill. All I do know is that I don't want her mad at me, and I want to be here with her right now with an absolute vengeance.
"Commit to a year here?" she asks.
"Yes. We can stay in Atlanta until you have to start back at Northwestern for the winter semester. We'll move into my parents' house because as much as I like and have come to respect Randall, I don't like sponging off him. I'll get a job. Then we can go back to Evanston when you have to start work. We'll stay there until next summer, and I'll decide what to do then."
I know I'm hedging on that last statement because my mind hasn't been changed. At least not as of this exact moment, because I still feel deep down in my heart that I need to return to Caraica. It's my true home, and as much as I've come to care for Moira... as much as I think I've come to need her... my loyalties are still with Paraila and the tribe. The biggest part of my heart is still there.
Moira gives out a stuttering breath. Her voice is shaky when she says, "Okay. I think that's a good plan."
I smile at her then because, for now, this crisis has passed. "It's a plan then."
Moira surprises me when she grabs ahold of my face and kisses me deeply, plunging her tongue in, and I'm helpless to resist. I kiss her back, grateful to return to where we were... a mutual need for each other that we are both willing to satisfy by living in the here and now. I can do a year here. No problem. Not with Moira by my side.
Pulling her lips back slightly, Moira whispers, "I think I still might be a little pissed. I think you'll definitely need to fuck that out of me tonight."
I groan at the thought and wonder if I could just fuck her right here in the car, in broad daylight. My hand drops to the front of her jeans, and I work at her button. At the very least, I could probably get her off really quick.
Knock, knock, knock.
Moira springs away from me, whipping her head to the driver's window, where a woman stands peering in at us. This is no doubt Lisa, as she has the same red hair and green eyes as Moira. She's slightly older but they look remarkably alike, except Lisa is a little more rounded in the breasts and hips, probably from childbirth. I've noticed that happens to some of the Caraican women after they've had children.
Moira doesn't spare me another glance, just pushes the driver's door open and flies into her sister's arms. I watch them hugging through the window for a moment, reach down to adjust my hard-on, and then get out of the car.
I turn to look at them over the roof of the car as they smile at one another.
Lisa shoots me a glance and then looks back to Moira. "Sorry to have interrupted your... um... whatever it was you were doing. But I've been hanging out at the window watching you since you pulled in, and I couldn't stand not giving my baby sister a hug another moment longer."
Moira laughs and pulls her sister back in for another squeeze before releasing her. I shut the car door and walk around the back. When I reach the sisters, Moira introduces us. "Lisa... this is Zach. And Zach, this is my sister Lisa."
Lisa reaches a hand out, and I shake it. "It's a pleasure, Zach. Moira's told me a lot about you."
She then turns back to Moira and punches her lightly in the arm. "But apparently not everything. That was some kiss I was watching."
"Stuff it, Lisa," Moira says with good nature, and then reaches her hand out to take mine. I don't hesitate a second, linking our fingers together in what is our first public display of affection around someone we know. It feels... nice... not to have to hide my attraction to Moira.
"Well, come on in," Lisa says as she turns toward the flight of stairs that lead up to the porch of her stilted cottage. "Adam should be home soon, and I've got some steaks to throw out on the grill. The kids are so excited to see you."
Almost as if on cue, the front door bursts open and two red-haired children... a boy and a girl... come barreling down the steps screaming, "Aunt Moira." Moira told me in the car that the little girl is eight and the boy is just six years old. I watch as she falls to her knees and opens her arms, then both kids are crashing in to her for hugs.
She wraps them in tight, pressing her nose into the little girl's head, and I watch as she inhales their scent. A slight stirring in my chest occurs over the beauty I am watching. I never thought about Moira with children before, but she clearly loves her niece and nephew. I wonder what type of mother she would be, but I think I know the answer to that.
A twinge of yearning filters through me, knowing that isn't something that would be possible for me to ever have with Moira. It's not something I ever thought of before, quite frankly. In Caraica, sexual freedom abounds, and although women and men marry, and although the woman must submit to the man, there is no such thing as infidelity. Women are allowed to have sex outside of their marriage, just as men are allowed to do so. It's done by mutual consent, and while sometimes jealousy can come in to play, for the most part, it's an accepted custom. Even when a woman gets pregnant, if she's taken more than one lover, the child is treated as a child of the tribe, not of the marriage, and everyone takes a hand in raising the baby. Well, that is, the women care for the baby and the men provide food and protection. Caraican men remain pretty removed from the kids, especially the little girls. They show a bit more interest in the boys once they are old enou
gh to learn how to hunt and provide.
"Colleen... Samuel... I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Zach," I hear Moira say. She stands from the ground and with a hand on each kid's shoulders, faces them toward me.
"You're the man that lived in the jungle," Samuel says to me. Colleen keeps her shy eyes on the ground.
"That's right," I tell him with a smile.
"Are there lions there?" he asks wide-eyed.
Laughing, I ruffle his hair, and Moira smiles at me. "No lions, but there are jaguars. And alligators and really big snakes."
Samuel's mouth purses into a little "o" of wonder. "What's a jaguar?"
Moira laughs and takes both kids by the hand, leading them up the stairs. "We'll pull one up on the computer and show you a picture. But let's get inside."
Glancing over her shoulder at me, she shocks me when she says, "Remember... still pissed here. Better do something about it tonight."
Fuck... I had just gotten my hard-on under control and now it's back again.
With three fingers lodged deep in Moira's pussy, I latch onto her clit and suck extra hard. She breaks apart as easy as spun glass, shoving her fist in her mouth to muffle her cries with the knowledge that the kids are sleeping in the bedroom next door.
I circle my tongue around her lightly and pull my fingers out. Rising up on my knees, I take my cock and guide it in, slipping easily into her wetness with a soft groan.
Taking her ankles in my hand, I raise them up and place them on my shoulder, leaning forward to place my hands on the mattress just to the sides of her breasts. It pushes me in even deeper, and Moira makes a strangled sound.
"Still pissed at me?" I ask quietly as I pull back slowly and then sink back into her.
She shakes her head violently, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I don't know," I say dubiously while I slowly thrust my cock in and out of her. "I think you might be. In fact, I think you need to come one more time... just to get the anger out."
"I can't," she moans as her eyes open to look at me. "You broke me just now."
Chuckling, I keep pumping in and out of her, eying with pride the red tint to her neck from the massive orgasm she just had and the sheen in her eyes. Leaning to the side to support my weight on one hand, I grab her by the wrist and shove her own hand between her legs.
"Touch yourself," I tell her. "Make yourself come again while I'm fucking you."
She shakes her head again but I look down and see her fingers working at her wet flesh. I sigh in absolute pleasure as I watch her... feeling her tight pussy gripping me.
"That's my sweet girl," I praise her and thrust a little harder, thankful the little twin bed that we're on, which belongs to Colleen, isn't groaning the way I want to let loose.
I feel my orgasm start to bubble at the base of my spine even as Moira's free hand blindly grabs at my bicep, digging her nails in deep.
"I'm coming again," she whispers, and her hips buck as her back arches. She throws her head back baring that slender throat to me, and I lean all the way down, causing her body to practically fold in half so I can run my tongue along her skin. My balls contract for a splendid moment, and then I bite down on her throat as I start to come inside of Moira, feeling the spasms of her waning orgasm still rocketing through her pussy.
Even as my hips shallowly pump at her, trying to squeeze every last bit of pleasure I can, I lean up so Moira's legs can fall limply back down to the mattress.
Then I collapse on top of her, my entire body feeling depleted of all its strength. I bury my face in her neck and pull her tight into my arms, my breath still ragged. My cock is still lodged inside of her, still semi-hard but flagging in repletion.
Turning to my side a bit, I pull Moira in closer as her own pants brush soft against my chest. The damn bed we're in is so small, my legs hang off by a good foot and my ass is hanging precariously over the side.
"No way are we going to be able to fucking sleep in this bed together," I grumble as I kiss her temple. "I'll take the floor as soon as I'm able to move."
"Let's pull all the blankets onto the floor, and I'll sleep down there with you."
"No way... you should keep the soft bed."
"I'd rather sleep next to you if it's all the same," she says in a miffed voice, which makes me smile.
Grabbing her by the back of her hair, I tug gently so her head arches back. When I can see her eyes, I ask, "Done being pissed at me?"
"Oh, yeah," she says with a satisfied smile. "Totally over it."
"That's a shame," I tell her softly as I bend in to nuzzle at her neck. "I wasn't quite done with you yet."
She giggles, and the sound is like lovely music swimming through my veins. "Oh, well... in that case, I'm sure I might still be just a little angry with you."
"That's my girl," I murmur before taking her mouth with mine.
Chapter 24
Moira
"Okay, this is the first time I've had you alone since you got here... you need to spill everything right now," Lisa says, and I tear my gaze away from Zach as he swims in the Atlantic Ocean.
Turning to my sister, who sits beside me on the beach in a lounge chair with a big floppy hat on her head, I smile at her briefly before turning back to look at Zach. "Not much to tell."
God, he's so freaking gorgeous. He's wearing a pair of navy-blue board shorts that hang low on his hips, and I can't help but stare at the "V" cut muscles at the bottom of his abdomen, which are only second in beauty to the washboard abs he sports. He's utterly perfect... lightly muscled but not too bulky with an absolutely smooth, hairless chest. His legs are powerful, just the perfect size for his towering height.
"Geez, Moira... your tongue is practically hanging out of your mouth while you stare at him," Lisa says with a snort and slaps my arm. "So dish. Give it to me."
I peel my eyes off Zach, giving a brief glance at Adam as he plays with Colleen and Samuel in the shallower water, and then turn to look at Lisa. She's lying on her side in the lounge chair, staring intently at me.
"It's so crazy," I tell her, because that's the best way to describe Zach and me. "I mean... at first, when I was bringing him back to the States, he couldn't stand me. He refused to engage with me and was fighting against me at every turn."
"Like how?" she asks curiously.
"Like refusing to eat with utensils and refusing to wear clothes."
Lisa's jaw drops, and then she whispers, "He went naked?"
Nodding my head, I tell her, "Around the house."
"Oh, God... fantasy come true," she murmurs. "You lucky bitch."
"I didn't feel lucky," I tell her truthfully. "It was frustrating as hell because I couldn't cross that line with him."
"But clearly you did," she points out. She knows this for a fact, because when I came out into the kitchen this morning, she handed me a cup of coffee and said, "I don't even have to ask if you had a good night last night. I clearly heard you did."
My face went up in flames, then I was horrified that the kids had heard us, but she told me to relax, that they had slept through it. Then she nudged my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "But it sort of got Adam and me worked up, so thank you for that."
Geez. Now my sexual escapades were making others horny. Just great.
"So, what changed?" Lisa asks.
"I just couldn't resist him. I wanted him too much. So I gave in and submitted to it." I don't provide any more clarity on the details, and she certainly doesn't need to know my submission meant that he put me on my knees and fucked me without emotion from behind. While that first time felt amazing, when I think back on it, I don't ever want to go back to that place again. Seeing all the depth of feeling Zach gives me now when we come together has spoiled me too much. I have his emotion now... I'm not giving that back.
"What are you going to do?" Lisa asks, and I know exactly what she's asking. She and I email each other almost every day, and we talk a few times a week. I've kept her updated on Zach's progress, and she's
well aware that he wants to return to Caraica.
"Zach has sort of committed to stay here a year. So I'm going to make the most of it," I tell her simply.
"But at the end of the year?"
"He returns to his home... in Caraica," I tell her sadly.
"And what will you do?"
"Probably die of a broken heart, I'm thinking."
"Oh, sweetie," Lisa says in commiseration, swinging her legs over the side of her lounge chair. Planting her feet in the sand, she leans forward and takes my hands. "I'm sorry. Maybe he'll decide to stay."
Shrugging my shoulders, I give her fingers a squeeze. "I doubt it. I don't think he finds anything here that rivals his love for his home."
Lisa's eyes soften with sympathy. "Do you love him?"
"Getting there," I admit dejectedly. "But it's completely one-sided."
Leaning over to the cooler that sits at the end of our chairs, Lisa reaches in and pulls out two beers. After she hands me one and opens her own, she says, "It's still early. A year is a long time. Feelings can develop."
"Or his longing for home can worsen," I point out as I twist the cap off my bottle. I take a long sip and then lean back in my chair, pointing my face up to the hot Carolina sun and letting its warmth seep in to me.
"Well, just judging by the way he looks at you, I think there's a whole lot more to the way Zach feels than you give him credit for."
Turning my head to look back at Lisa, I ask, "What do you mean?"
She merely nods toward the shore's edge, and I turn to see Zach walking out of the water toward us.
Rather, toward me. Raking his eyes over my body, he gives me a penetrating smile. His eyes are warm and hungry as he takes a hand and runs it through his wet hair. God, I could just perish right now from how beautiful he is.
Zach stares at me the entire time he walks our way, and Lisa mutters, "Geez... you two are going to need to get a room just from that look."
I snicker to myself and watch Zach reach into the cooler to pull out a beer.
"Have fun in the ocean?" I ask.
"I did, but it would be more fun if you came out there with me," he says with a licentious grin.