Chapter 3
Sawyer.
Friday 6.57pm
I should have guessed Kurt was bullshitting me. I should have known there was more to the story he obviously fabricated.
And now, I’m here in bed with the incredible woman he asked me to help, and she’s asking me about my life and telling me it’s over with Kurt, which means the only obstacle as per usual, is my fucking job.
I can’t tell her what she wants to know, but I can be honest about a stack of other things that’ll earn me more info and probably more brownie points.
I pull her closer so we’re eye to eye, her lips twitch into a smile. “We’re still playing that game then?” she says.
I nod and try to stop my eyes from wandering where my hands are traveling. “If it’s what it takes to find this nut job bothering you, I’ll keep playing.”
She narrows her eyes. “You have to answer mine too.”
I keep my face as straight as I can. “Okay. But I can’t answer your questions about my job, but other than that, I’m an open book.”
She snorts a laugh. But she steals her opportunity with a question I can answer. “Do you come from a big family?”
I lift my arm so she can lie on my arm before I answer. “Two sisters. Both older. I have nephews and bunches of cousins.”
“Are your parents still together?”
I nod. They are together. Just. “How about yours?”
She screws up her face. “They divorced when I was twelve. I haven’t seen my dad since and I don’t get on with my mom. She can’t understand why I wanted to travel rather than settle down and raise a family like she did. What about you, are you close to your family?”
I run my fingers down the curve of her waist before I answer. “Close enough. I saw them all a couple weeks back.”
Her next question knocks me sideways. “And do they know what your job is?”
I have to hand it to her; she’s persistent. I guess I should have expected a certain amount of tenacity. “Not the details.”
Since she’s getting too personal, I figure now might be a good time to try to do the job I was supposed to be doing.
I kiss her before she can ask me another. “I want to take a look at your email again.”
She frowns, her irritation evident in the slight pout to her lips. “Fine. You do that, and I’ll go check to see what’s in the emergency kit.”
Marlene wriggles out of my arms, and sits on the edge of the bed; I admire her milky white skin as she reaches down and grabs not her shirt but mine.
She shrugs it over her head and turns to look over her shoulder at me. “Hope you don’t mind me borrowing this?”
I chuckle as she steps back from the bed and blows me a kiss before spinning on her heel.
I allow myself a couple seconds before my brain switches into work mode. The hurricane is still battering in from all sides, but I’m no longer concerned about the forces outside.
Marlene is my concern now. And figuring out who is sending her unwanted mail.
I ease out of bed, catching sight of my reflection as I bend to pick up my jeans. I smirk at myself as I check my back and find red scratches from where Marlene marked me.
With a head shake and a smile, I walk across the room to where I left her laptop sitting.
Marlene has disappeared down the stairs, and I need her password so I grab the laptop and take a seat.
The tequila bottle is beside me, but I need a clear head so I ignore it and open her Dell and leave it sitting on the chair beside me.
With nothing else to do but wait, I head back down the stairs, listening to the howling wind and driving rain, hoping she’s found some food.
I’m halfway down when I hear her yell my name. I reach the bottom out of breath and my heart thumping around in my chest.
In the dark, I see her flashlight then she shines it on the large cupboard at the back of the room. “You found supplies?”
I can almost hear her smile when she answers. “Yeah. I use this level as storage. All my hiking gear is here. We’ll have to share a toothbrush, but there’s a couple of days worth of freeze-dried meals. And plenty of water.”
She shines the light on a compact portable toilet still in its box. “I should be thanking Kyle for suggesting I keep all this in here. Never thought I’d be so glad to see a septic toilet.”
I bark a laugh at how grateful she sounds. There’s not a hint of embarrassment but for a woman who’s lived in all four corners of the world, indoor plumbing probably wasn’t always an option.
If it were possible for me to like her anymore, that probably would have done it. “You want me to take the food up?”
The light stays on the cupboard as she moves closer. “That would be great. I’m going to need a little privacy.”
She shines the light on the port-a-potty. I smile though she can’t see me in the dark. “I’ll see you upstairs. Oh, and what’s your password?”
Marlene grabs a pack and hands it to me before answering. “1,2,3,4,5,6,” she says.
I scowl at her as I heft the pack under my arm. “That’s going to change,” I mutter.
In the dark, I hear her tinkling laugh. “Yeah. Well, make it something easy. I have a terrible memory for passwords.”
I smother a smile as I leave her and head back upstairs with our dinner. When I reach the top of the stairs, the storm is still as fierce and as unrelenting, and as I dump the pack on the floor beside the tequila, I can honestly say, that I have never, ever wanted a storm to last as long as possible.
Being with her up here, isolated and self-contained, knowing that no one can see or hear us, is like the best ever sexy camping trip. And I don’t want it to end.
I tap her password in and start thinking of a password she can use, while I mull it over I open her email again.
There’s no WIFI like she said, but I can still look at the emails she has opened and do a little digging.
I’m knee-deep in her cyber stalker’s letters when she appears at the top of the stairs.
She’s out of breath, holding more candles and looking all kinds of sexy wearing nothing but my shirt.
When she bends to pick up the pack beside me, I catch the subtle scent of soap and realize she’s managed to wash.
She clears some space on the bookcase and starts pulling silver packets out of her pack.
It’s hard not to look at her long legs, and to not think about them wrapped around me, and when my shirt rides up revealing the creamy skin of her ass, my cock tingles.
Having her this close is making it hard to concentrate, but I need to cross-check these emails so I force myself to look at the screen.
She doesn’t say anything as I work, when I pull my gaze away from the screen, eyes blurry and check the time, over two hours have passed and without the internet, I still have shit to go on.
I blink and rub at my eyes and find her standing at the window, camera up to her eye as she watches the storm.
I put the laptop to one side and stretch out my back before joining her at the window.
I wrap my arms around her and she relaxes into me so her back is against my chest.
She sighs and places the camera down as my fingers trace her nipples over my baggy shirt.
I kiss her neck and drop my hands so I can raise my shirt and feel her soft skin.
When my hand reaches her bush, she doesn’t stop me as I prise open her legs so I can finger her.
She bends over slightly, and I use the angle to its fullest advantage. I rub her until she’s moaning and my cock is hard and all I can think about is bending her over her bed and watching again in the mirror.
She’s getting wetter, so I slide my finger inside her, making her moan and me start to jizz.
When my finger keeps slipping, I grab her and spin her around so I can kiss her again.
Her mouth opens and her tongue crashes into mine with a ferocity I’d not expected.
I twist a handful of her hair into a knot and pull her closer so she’s crushed against me.
She whimpers and breaks the kiss; her chest is rising and falling, her nipples sticking out making me ache to put my tongue on them.
I drag her back to bed and push her down, I don’t wait for her refusal, or to take off my jeans, I need to taste her. I need to make her mine again.
I push her legs apart and use my tongue until she’s screaming my name and she’s coming in my mouth.
I don’t stop until my jaw is cramping and she’s begging for my cock. I don’t even bother taking off my jeans, just unzip them and push inside her.
She’s so wet; it’s like heaven sliding inside, and knowing I made her this horny makes it even more satisfying.
Her nails dig into my ass cheeks, her sweet breath is in my ear and I know then, I want to give her more than orgasms. I want to give her everything I can’t.
***
Marlene
Friday 8.54pm
My legs are shaking when he finally rolls off me. I’m struggling to breathe with the raw intensity and level of passion between us.
I’ve had good sex before in my life, but this is something entirely different. There’s an element of heat, I’ve never experienced with any other men.
Sawyer eases up on one elbow so he can run a finger down my stomach. “We need to set up a new email address for you. What I’m thinking is, I reroute yours to mine, so I can monitor it remotely. That way I can intercept your emails and start using my contacts to try to locate him.”
I sigh and fold my hands behind my head. Damn it. He’s so single-minded. “Don’t you ever stop working?”
He smiles as his fingers trace circles on my skin. “I came here to work. I’m still going to do that.”
I should be pleased he’s so dedicated. But since Kurt’s dedication to his career was the reason we drifted apart, I’m not sure this is something I should be starting.
I exhale slowly and turn so I’m lying on my side. “So, your job is the most important thing in your life then?”
His brow knits. “Right now, I guess…there hasn’t been time for anything else.”
I chew my lip as I wait for him to elaborate, but despite his insistence he’s an open book, he’s anything but.
I want to ask him a dozen more questions, but my stomach is starting to grumble and I’m feeling sleepy. “I’m starving. You want something to eat?”
He nods, a smirk twitching at his lips. “Yeah. And since we’re in close quarters, think I need to go find some water to wash in.”
I cover a smirk as he pulls away. He wriggles his jeans over his ass and gives me a loaded smile. “We should probably get some rest too. I plan on working even harder tomorrow.”
I grin at him. “Oh, I hope so.”
He chuckles and takes off down the stairs. I scramble off the bed, searching for his shirt again and go looking for something to take the edge off my hunger.
I settle on switching my tiny gas camping stove on, add some of the freeze-dried vegetables, a stock cube and some beef jerky. I pour over some water and turn the stove on.
I grab a bag of scroggin I brought back from New Zealand with me and throw a handful in my mouth.
I’m taking a seat and pulling my laptop onto my lap when he appears at the top of the stairs. His hair is wet, so I know he found the water and soap downstairs.
He sniffs the air. “Smells good.”
Sawyer leans down to kiss me. I’m so caught up in how skilled he is with his mouth, that I wrap my hands around his neck and my laptop starts to slide.
He jerks back and grabs it just before it hits the ground. “Let me take that. I’ll copy the emails and clear them from your inbox. I can block this address, but since you aren’t replying, he could just use another.”
I swallow and nod as he sits and opens my email inbox again. This time he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the letter I received.
He sends me a look as I try not to see the contents of the emails I hadn’t opened. “Why don’t you go eat something, get some rest. Let me take care of this for you.”
I want to protest. I want to say I can be of help, but the truth is, I don’t think I can be. “Okay.”
He’s so involved in what he’s doing; he barely acknowledges me as I get up and go back to the food I have warming.
I’ve finished eating and am stifling yawns when I place a bowl of thick stew beside him. His eyes stay on the screen as he thanks me.
When it’s obvious he’s not going to stop working anytime soon, I go downstairs, use the potty, brush my teeth and wash as best as I can.
I stumble up the stairs, exhaustion pulling at me, as I climb into my bed, wondering when Sawyer will join me.
I close my eyes to the sounds of the wind and rain, feeling safe for the first time in weeks.
