Jackson

An hour later, under a clear blue sky and a hot sun, I place my paddle into the water, gliding the canoe forward. Mallory sits in the front of the canoe, seemingly perfectly comfortable paddling along. That surprises me as much as what just happened between us, and I’m still playing catch-up.

A day ago, I had no indication I’d sleep with Mallory this weekend. That had never been in the plan. Even when I noticed chemistry between us earlier, I thought I could look the other way. Apparently, her naked and offering me whatever I want erased all my objections. The second I touched her, I couldn’t stop. Though now as I paddle along with the quiet between us, I’ve come to decide I don’t regret what happened back at the cabin.

There’s something about her. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

On the next dip of my paddle, the canoe rocks slightly against the water and I’m impressed when Mallory uses her paddle to move through the motion, keeping the canoe steady. I’ve never brought a woman up to my cabin. This place has only belonged to me. Truth be told, I’ve never met a woman who fit this type of lifestyle. The women in my life have been those who would want a yacht, a king-size bed, and a five-star dinner. Roughing it to them would be staying at a three-star hotel.

Not Mallory. She’s different, that much is clear.

When we finally reach the other side of the lake, where the trees cast shadows on the water, blanketing us from the summer sun, I lift my paddle out of the water sliding it next to my leg. “Here’s a good spot.” I reach for my fishing rod, along with the Styrofoam container holding the dirt and worms, and hastily add one to my hook.

Up ahead of me, Mallory brings her paddle into the canoe then carefully turns in her seat, facing me. She reaches for the fishing rod I’d given her earlier. “Pass those worms up.”

Totally skeptical, I lean forward and hand her the container, sure she won’t add the worm herself. A second later, she proves me wrong, digging her bare fingers into the dirt, grabbing out a worm and attaching it to her hook. I shake my head and chuckle. “You are unlike any woman I’ve met before.”

She slowly looks at me, with a smudge of dirt on her cheek, and frowns. “I have no idea if that’s a dig at me or not, but I say good. I like being me, thank you very much.”

I guess I can understand why her mind went there. I’m sure Liam has her believing I’m the worst kind of man. “It wasn’t a dig, actually.” I take the worms back from her and add one to my hook. “I like that you’re a get-your-hands-dirty kind of girl.”

She gives a little shrug. “There’s a time and place to be all girly and fancy.” She leans over and dips her hand into the water, removing the dirt from her fingers. “Here is not that place.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” I mirror her move, cleaning my fingers before reaching for my rod again. “I take it you’ve done this before?”

She nods. “My father loves the outdoors.” She casts out her line with an audible whoosh. It’s a sound that always relaxes me. Once she reels the line in, keeping it tight, she continues. “Every summer we’d travel and camp at the national and state parks in Wisconsin.”

“Why Wisconsin?” I ask, casting out my line, not far from hers, the orange and white bobber sitting atop the quiet water.

“That’s where I’m from,” she explains.

I keep a steady eye on the bobber for any hint of a bite. “Did your entire family move to L.A. or just you?”

“Just me.”

I give a quick look. “Brave move.”

“At the time, it was scary as shit.” She stretches out her legs, resting the rod on the side of the canoe. “Back then, it seemed like the fun and exciting thing to do. I wanted an adventure. I wanted a big city. So after I finished college I came out to L.A.”

I note a bit of longing on her expression. “And now is it still all those things?”

Her eyes soften with her sweet smile. “Now I miss Wisconsin and the quiet kind of life it afforded.” She glances out at the view, obviously lost in a nice memory. “I miss the trees, the fresh air, and the peace that comes from places like this.” She blinks and faces me again. “Isn’t that always the way it is, though? You miss what you don’t have.”

I nod agreement. “That is how the saying goes.” Though it so happened that I had the best of both worlds. Without my cabin, however, I’m not sure I could stand the big city. The rush hour, the noise, the crowds. The one thing my mother instilled in me was the importance of nature.

Silence falls between us, and I can’t help but regard Mallory as she’s keeping a watchful eye on her bobber. She reminds me a lot of Aria. She’s down-to-earth. Simple. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and a certain type of sweetness about her. That’s why I’ve always felt a connection to Aria, protective over her for sure. Though what I have with Aria is purely platonic. She’s good, kind, and loyal, and because of that I would protect her with all that I am. Though, with Mallory, I’m far more curious about her than I think I should be. “Tell me more about your family in Wisconsin,” I ask, breaking the silence.

Her eyes meet mine. “It’s not as exciting as yours, I’m sure. My mom was a homemaker and my dad worked in construction.”

Most people I’ve met love talking about themselves, being at the center of attention. It’s like pulling teeth here. “You said that you spent a lot of time in the national parks. Did you do that as a family?”

“Oh, yeah, my parents are that family,” she says with a laugh. “You know, the type that do everything together. Honestly, think about the Griswolds, you know that movie.”

I nod. “Christmas Vacation?”

“Yup, that’s the one. Aria makes me watch it all the time during Christmas, and I can’t help but laugh every time because that’s my family. Honestly, they are just like that. We played board games every Friday night. Camped in the summers. Stuff like that.”

“So, they were very hands-on with their parenting?”

She nods. “Very.”

“Is that why you moved away?” I take a guess.

“I guess that’s probably why,” she says thoughtfully, glancing back out at her bobber. “I mean, it wasn’t like a conscious choice or anything. I just needed to be me without them.” She lifts her gaze to mine. “If that makes any sense at all.”

I incline my head in agreement. “It makes complete sense. I can understand the need to get away to breathe.”

She smiles sweetly in response. After a moment, she asks, “What about you, are you close to your family?”

“My mother and I were incredibly close.” I reel in my fishing line a little more, keeping it snug, waiting for the bite. “She died a few years back. Cervical cancer.”

“I’m sorry, Jackson,” Mallory says softly. “How terribly sad.”

“It shouldn’t have happened,” I explain, still feeling that slight bite of anger over my mother’s death. “My mother wasn’t the type of woman who fussed over herself. By the time they found the cancer, it was too late to do anything about it. She died within months of her diagnosis.”

Mallory’s eyes warm, and obviously understanding that it’s not a subject I want to discuss at length, she moves along. “What about your father?”

“I don’t see him.”

“Ever?”

I shake my head. “My parents divorced days after my fourth birthday, and he got himself a new family. He never really bothered with us after that, except for the yearly birthday and Christmas calls and gifts.”

Her eyes widen. “Even now?”

I give my line a tug, hoping to hook a fish. “He doesn’t send the gifts anymore, but he still calls on holidays and such. Which honestly is fine with me. My mother never wanted to admit it but I’m sure my father was only with her for her money. Once he got half of what her family left her in their estate when my grandfather passed away, and invested it all into his entertainment law firm, he left my mom. He got himself the fame he wanted, a trophy wife, and the 2.2 kids to go along with it.”

“Well, he’s certainly a shithead.”

“He is that.” I laugh easily, glancing out at the bobber bouncing on the water.

“You know, they might seem perfect on the outside but you never know what goes on behind closed doors.” When I look at Mallory again to clarify what she means, she gives a soft smile and adds, “No family is perfect.” She hesitates and then giggles. “Okay, well, maybe my parents but they are totally not normal people. Seriously.”

I smile with her, loving how she seems to ramble before coming back to make her point. It’s cute.

She shrugs away her thoughts and continues, “I’m just saying that any man who would do that to his child can’t have a perfect family. All he has is lies.” Her rod suddenly shakes, a fish taking the first bite, and like a pro, she jerks the rod, hooking the fish. “Oh, yeah, baby, we’ve got dinner.”

I can’t look away from her, or even think about moving. It’s like I’ve never even met this person before. The Mallory I know is Liam’s assistant. The woman who sits quietly next to him in meetings and takes notes, every so often offering words of advice or wisdom. I knew she was smart, always on point when Liam calls on her. But this emotionally wise, sweet, and sexy as fuck woman…it’s like I’m seeing her for the first time.

Once she reels in the large trout, she scoops it up with the net I left in the canoe and raises the fish up to her eye level. “Look at him, so big and fat.” She glances over the net and grins. “Yum.”

I chuckle and shake my head softly, reeling in my line and placing my rod back in the canoe. I’ve never met a woman—except my mother—who’d ever even touch a fish, let alone eat one that she caught herself. “What do you need me here for?” I quip. “Look at you fishing like a boss.”

“Of course, I need you here,” she says seriously then she cracks a smile. “You have proven to be quite capable of giving me the most fantastic orgasms.”

“Ah, better be careful, Mallory, you might make me believe that’s all I’m good for,” I joke.

“Don’t you worry, that won’t happen.”

I arch a brow. “Why is that?”

Her eyes twinkle, mouth twitches. “Because I think you’re forgetting that I kicked your butt and caught a fish first, so that means I do need you.”

“For?”

She winks. “Cleaning and cooking this most delicious dinner I caught for you.”

“Deal.” I laugh.

Mallory

My belly is happily full of fish and salad, and I find myself back in the kitchen, drying the last dish before placing it in the cupboard and shutting the door. The second I slide the drying towel through the stove’s handle, I’m suddenly aware of the strength behind me. It’s that damn stare of his again. There’s weight to it. When I glance over my shoulder, I’m unsurprised to find Jackson there, a grin on his face. What does surprise me is what’s in his hand. A black bandana and a bundle of black rope.

“We’ve got a few hours before the sun goes down,” he murmurs, arching an eyebrow in that sexy way he does. “Want to play another game?”

Heat roars through me instantly, remembering what his games are like. “Yes, I’m all in.”

“No hesitation at all?” He chuckles, gesturing at the items in his hands. “Are you sure that’s wise since you have no idea what I have planned for you?”

“I can only imagine anything you have planned will end in a mind-boggling orgasm for me.” I grin. “So, again, I’m in.”

He holds up the items in his hands. “Any objection to the rope or the bandana?”

“None at all.”

“Excellent.” He steps forward, closing the distance, and the air gets real hot when he stops in front of me, offering the bandana. “The rules of the game are as follows. Run and hide. Get naked. Blindfold yourself with the bandana and wait for me.” He steps closer and lowers his voice. “I’ll come find you.”

My heart begins to race, nipples pucker into tight knots. “You want me to go into the forest and blindfold myself…alone?”

He nods. “That is the game.”

I hesitate, of course I do. The blindfold unnerves me.

Something he obviously recognizes. He gently adds, “If you don’t want to wear the blindfold, then don’t. If you don’t want to stay in the forest, then come back to the cabin and whistle, and I’ll come find you here. This is fun, Mallory. You’re safe here. The game isn’t meant to scare you.” He hesitates then his mouth twitches. “Well, maybe it’s meant to scare you a little but that’s what brings the intensity.”

“And that’s fun to you?” I have to ask.

His smile is pure sin. “Yes, finding you will be thrilling for me.”

A fantasy of his, maybe?

It’s right then I jump on board with this idea. Because life isn’t worth living if I’m scared all the time. He’s right—I’m safe with him, and I’m safe here. I lift my hand and take the bandana, catching the simmer of excitement in his expression. “When do we start?”

He takes a step back, crossing his arms. “I’ll give you a minute head start.”

I stare into the heat of his eyes, into the promise of satisfaction in their depths if I do as he asks of me. His mouth twitches, eyebrow arches. “You better start running, sweetheart.”

Broken from the spell, I gasp in laughter and spin on my heels, running out of the cabin. Okay, so maybe he’s onto something. This is fun. Even if I sense the desire roaring through me at the idea of him finding me, and what he’ll do when he does, I can’t help but smile when I enter the forest at the back of the cabin.

Thinking it wise to stay close to the trail, to not get lost, I run up the slight incline. When I reach a set of boulders, I notice a smaller trail off to the right. It’s on that trail I find two mature trees in front of more boulders at the back. I decide I’d look quite pretty there in front of that view, stark naked.

I move there quickly, removing my shirt and then my bra on the way, my heart hammering in my ears. I set my shirt and bra down onto the flat rock then set to getting out of my shorts and panties. In between the two trees, there’s a soft patch of mud so I ditch the shoes and go there.

Naked, I hope to hell that no one else is walking this trail, which I guess they won’t be. I haven’t seen anyone else except off in the distance. I turn toward the trail and exhale deeply, attempting to slow my racing heartbeat. I discover I’ve picked the perfect place. When Jackson walks up the incline, he’ll be able to see me for a while. It will take him some time to get to me, and I shiver at the thought of that. I like knowing I’ll tease him. That when he reaches me his cock will be hard, and he’ll be craving me. It’s about damn time he suffers in his desire like I’ve suffered for two years.

I draw in another deep breath and glance down, folding the bandana into a blindfold before placing it over my eyes and tying it around my head. Darkness settles across my vision, and the only light comes from directly below me through the couple centimeters of gap by my nose.

It’s easy to start fretting now. To worry that someone else is going to find me here like this. To be concerned that maybe Jackson won’t see me. To think about a million other scenarios that might happen. Instead, I decide to shut my eyes altogether, letting the experience happen and not fighting it.

I can’t be sure how long has gone by since I first put on the blindfold, every minute seeming like an hour. I’m hyperaware of my surroundings. The birds singing off in the distance. The mouse or chipmunk scurrying behind me. Even the way the warm breeze caresses my puckered nipples. More importantly, I’m acutely aware of the wetness between my thighs, the heat there.

Suddenly, a crunching sound catches my breath in my throat. I cock my head, hearing another crunch against the forest floor. I smile, embracing the energy surrounding me. I can feel Jackson watching me. He doesn’t need to say a word. I know he’s there, and I know it’s him. I feel his passion pulsating around me. It’s palpable. Tangible, even.

The crunching of his shoes against the branches and the rocks gets closer…and closer…and closer, my heartbeat banging in my ears.

Then all that power is in front of me. “Good girl,” Jackson murmurs in my ear.

I gasp the breath I’d been holding when he uses the tips of his fingers to drag down my arm until he’s reaching for my wrist. My world narrows on him while he wraps the rope around my wrist then ties the binding to the tree. I listen to his soft, calm breathing when he repeats the move on the other hand. I’m ready for him to kiss me, and I angle my chin up.

His lips never meet mine.

His fingers tickle down my legs, and soon I discover he’s got more rope than I originally thought. I feel the smooth glide of the rope around my ankle until it’s pulled tight, clearly attached to the tree. By the time he’s done with the other ankle, I’m left in an X position, bound to his desires.

I don’t get the chance to feel anything but wanted by him as his hands are dragging down my thighs. Slowly. Sensually. I can’t be sure but I think he’s on a knee in front of me. I swear I can even feel his breath on my sex…

A light lick on my inner thigh has my head falling back and a moan breaking free from my throat. My wrists and ankles burn when I pull against them, wanting to grab his head, demand more of his mouth. I need more than the light flicks he’s giving me but he’ll have none of it. He’s teasing, I can tell, and he apparently likes to watch me struggle in the bindings.

Over and over again, he doesn’t stop licking everywhere but where I want him to go until I begin outright trembling. His soft chuckle brushes warm air across my sex, and I gasp and breathe, “Jackson.”

His lips seal over my clit, sucking deeply, his fingers sliding up inside me. I sink into the pleasure, thrusting my hips forward, and he doesn’t disappoint. In between sucking, he flicks the bundle of nerves with his tongue, thrusting his fingers up inside me until my breath hitches. My head turns from side to side, and the rope is burning in the most perfect way. Then he goes harder. Sucking with intent. Finger fucking me roughly. And it’s all I need to break open.

I lean against the rope and into his brand of pleasure, and I scream, riding out my orgasm.

When I crash from the high, his fingers are gone. He presses a soft kiss to my clit and I gasp, oversensitive now, earning another chuckle from him. Slowly, he slides his hands back up my thighs until he’s in front of me again.

I hear him open his shorts. He pauses. There’s no movement, nothing but the leaves rustling in the trees. I listen harder, finally catching his deep breaths. Goosebumps rise on my flesh, realizing he’s examining me. Heat begins to pool low in my body again, awakening everything that was satisfied moments ago, when I hear skin smoothing against skin. To be the view that Jackson jerks off to is foreplay all on its own.

I struggle against the binding again, both wanting to see and touch him. Fuck, to even taste him. And yet, in the oddest way not being able to only makes me burn hotter. I feel bare to him, used by him but in the sexiest way possible that I get off on. I’m aware of nothing else but the desire sizzling through me when I sense him moving in behind me. Doing as he seems to like to do, he commands me, grabbing my waist and entering me, right to the hilt.

That’s when I realize there’s a difference between this man and every lover before him. Jackson apparently knows how to fuck a woman good and properly. I don’t need sex to last an hour. I don’t want slow affection. I want to come, and I want him to ravage me so I can.

As if he already knows this about me, he thrusts his fingers into my hair with one hand, angling my head back, showing me who’s in charge. His other fingers are digging in my hip. With hard and forceful thrusts of his hips, he’s pounding into me.

It’s all so much. The bindings. The blindfold. Him. Every scent. Every smell. I’m aware of so much. How he fills me. How masculine he feels when he leans over me, nipping at my shoulder and cupping my breasts like they belong to him. His hands are everywhere but his touch feels like it’s soul deep. And after a squeeze of my breasts, he runs his hands back along my sides then grasps my hips, and he growls in my ear.

It’s feral. It’s savage. And I fucking love it.

I moan, vocalizing just how much, and then his cock is gone. His hand comes down on my ass, and I feel the burn of his fingers. It should hurt, I think, but it doesn’t.

“More?” he asks, voice strained.

“Yes,” I gasp. “More.”

Another slap on the other cheek, and I can’t stop the trembling that’s happening on the inside.

“Harder?” He grunts.

“Yes.”

Two more slaps, and suddenly my entire body is shaking. His cock is back at my entrance and he enters me forcibly, thrusting with intent.

My mind halts. Breath stops. Sensations tip into the unknown.

I’d thought earlier he had given me the biggest orgasm of my life. I’d been oh-so-wrong. My knees weaken, the burn of the rope on my wrists and legs only adds to the way I’m awakening. I sense the intensity of his thrusts, and his loud roar in my ear sounds off in the distance. Until there is no forest, no bindings, no blindfold.

There is only him.