We climbed the three steps into the mud room of his house.

“Are you sure you have everything you need?”

I smiled and held up my duffel bag while patting it. “All set. I travel light. I’m never in one place for too long.”

To be honest, I was really looking forward to embellishing myself in a hot shower. It was just the fact of being naked in Blake’s house that left me feeling a little rattled and exposed. But my cheeks burned with an intense desire at the same thought of being naked in a shower of his cabin, wondering whether he would be picturing me lathering up and washing myself.

“Great.” Blake unlocked the garage door leading into the house.

It smelled like cedar, pine and masculinity mixed with the freshness of a lake, mountain breeze. That’s when I noticed that the bay windows in Blake’s kitchen had been left open. The rain was beginning to steadily fall down in sheets now. It looked like we had made it back indoors just in time.

“I forgot about these windows,” Blake said as he rushed past me to close them. “I like to get a whiff of the fresh mountain air when I’m walking through the house.” He smiled after he sealed the windows shut once again. “It keeps my head clear.”

“I can understand that.” I stood there, holding my duffel bag with one arm while the other one was draped protectively over my chest. The environment was cozy and warm.

Even though the atmosphere was alluring, for some reason I couldn’t explain, I didn’t know why I was suddenly feeling so awkward around him. I felt out of place, like I didn’t belong. I felt like I was an invasion on his personal space, someone to get in the way and cramp his style.

But as he approached me, his eyes were warmhearted and kind. “You can put your bag down if you want. You don’t have to carry it around the house.”

I swallowed hard. “Okay.”

Blake grinned and stared at me for a few moments as if he was trying to figure me out without directly asking me anything. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.” I shifted my weight and glanced around his kitchen. There was a beautiful island with granite counters in the center. They were speckled with subtle tones and textures. I admired his taste.

“I can make us a couple of sandwiches? I roasted a turkey last night. I have leftovers I can use.” Blake glanced at me as he wandered over to his pantry and plucked out a loaf of bread.

“Sure.” I nodded. “If you’re already going to be making one for yourself that is.”

“I am.” He smiled and started taking various items like lettuce and tomatoes out of Tupperware containers in his refrigerator.

I watched him for a few seconds. I loved the way his muscles contracted with each of his movements. He looked golden and tan as if he spent a lot of time out on the lake. I wondered if he went fishing out there.

“I really like your house. It reminds me of a cabin that I stayed at on a photographer’s retreat in Colorado. I told myself I’d go back one day, but this feels and looks so much like that one.”

“Thanks.” Blake seemed to glow with the compliment. He was holding a butter knife and was slathering mayonnaise onto two pieces of bread. He casually pointed the knife out the window. “I own a couple of kayaks out there. It’s fun to take them out sometimes. During the summer months, a couple of my Navy buddies come out and we have a lot of fun out there. We camp, sleep, and eat outside and pretend that nothing else exists.”

“I was just mentally wondering to myself what kind of lake toys you might have,” I chuckled.

“Oh, there are tons of activities to keep a person busy on the lake,” Blake said. He sounded excited. “The great outdoors is what it’s all about. Am I right?” He looked at me as if expecting me to agree.

“Yes.” I cleared my throat and nodded, giving him a smile. “It’s so beautiful to watch nature in action. It just so happens that I love capturing those moments too.”

Blake seemed to admire my statement. “I like this new version of Brooklyn.”

“New version?” I frowned and cocked my head to the side as I glanced at him curiously.

“Yeah.” His grin was simple, earnest. “You seem to be slowed down a little bit. Like you aren’t chasing after that big house and all the material stuff that goes into it. Remember? The perfect husband. Two point five kids. A nanny.”

“I was never really like that and all of that was just a fairytale,” I told him. “But I guess we were both living in a fairytale land.” I sighed and climbed up onto one of his barstools. “We were really intense back then with the way we got together when we weren’t with anyone.”

“After I met you, I don’t think I was ever with anyone else,” he said.

“You don’t think?” I asked, teasingly.

“I wasn’t exactly a man whore back then. I just had a thing for you.”

There was a twinkle of mischief in Blake’s eyes as he locked gaze with me.

“Ahhh, well that’s sweet,” I chimed.

“I’m just going to be finishing up here, if you want to go upstairs and shower while I prepare our lunch?”

“Okay.”

I was in no rush to get back to that seedy motel I was staying in. The covers on the bed made my skin itchy and raw. There was hardly any water pressure in the shower there either. I was better off stalling and staying here for as long as I could. Blake’s cabin was well equipped with enough cozy charm to keep me lingering for a little while longer. I’d even pay him for a room. This was perfect. I had immediate access to a beautiful, scenic lake.

I grabbed my bag off the floor. “Which way to the guest room?”

“This way.” Blake brushed his hands off on his jeans and beckoned me with a wave to follow him. “Through that first door on the right down that hallway. There should be towels and shampoo, everything you need to get cleaned up in there already.”

I gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you so much.”

Blake gave me a saucy wink.

“Don’t mention it,” he said.

I closed the door to the guest bathroom and glanced at myself in the mirror. My heart was pounding. What the hell was I doing here? What did I really expect to happen now between us? If I stayed, I knew I would probably be setting myself up for disappointment, but I couldn’t exactly bolt out the back door either. I didn’t want to.

I wouldn’t run away. I was braver than that. Not to mention, I was content and having fun with Blake at the moment. Maybe catching up with him wouldn’t be such a vile option after all. We had already resolved so much in a matter of hours. He seemed lighthearted and extremely hospitable to my needs. He had shown me nothing but kindness since I walked through his door. If he was willing to welcome me into his home, I owed him more than just fleeing because I was afraid of my own emotional insecurities.

I tugged myself out of my jeans and pulled my shirt over my head. I stood in front of the mirror, watching my naked body disappear under the fog of steam that had crawled into the room from the hot water. Maybe after I cleaned myself up, my mind wouldn’t feel so cloudy anymore.

Twenty minutes later after I had showered, changed into my dry clothes and combed through my hair, I walked back into the kitchen. I smiled when I noticed that Blake had placed two soft drinks on the table along with napkins, two plates and two mouth-watering looking sandwiches on them stacked with a mound of chips on each.

He had his back turned away from me as he wiped down the crumbs and mess he had made on the counter. He was whistling an upbeat tune I didn’t recognize, but it sounded cheery enough.

“Hello,” I said and cleared my throat again to announce my presence back in the room.

Blake spun around and eyed me up and down. “Hello.”

It looked like he had showered and changed into a fresh pair of clothes too. He was wearing a black t-shirt that accentuated his rock-hard muscles, and a pair of dark washed-out jeans.

“Did you work up an appetite yet?” He pointed to the table.

It was funny, but I couldn’t admit out loud, or even to myself that I had worked up an insatiable hunger for him. I wasn’t even that famished anymore for real food, but when it came to Blake, my eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. I tried to shake the naughty thoughts out of my head.

“Um,” I chuckled and ran a hand through my own damp hair, but at least this time it was clean. “Yes. Sure, I’m hungry.”

We sat down together. I glanced over at him. I didn’t know if I would be able to touch my food, but I needed to find a way to swallow it down. My stomach pitter-pattered with the fluttering sensation of expectant butterflies.

Blake took a hefty bite of his sandwich and gulped down some of his soda. He smiled at me and nudged his chin in the direction of the water. He was oblivious.

“I like to fish off that dock. Sometimes I catch trout. Most of the time it’s bass though. I take some for dinner and throw back what I don’t plan to eat.”

“Interesting,” I said and nodded, but inside I was sizzling.

I had this gorgeous man sitting beside me. I was weak when it came to my attraction. I couldn’t focus on anything else.

Blake glanced over at me and his expression seemed suddenly regretful. “I’m really sorry about startling you and for ruining your…camera.”

“It’s okay.” I took a deep breath and bit a piece off of a chip from my plate.

“You don’t look very hungry or am I just a lousy cook?” he asked.

“It’s not you. It’s me. I’m hungry…it’s just that.” I sighed and redirected my gaze to somewhere else other than his incredibly gorgeous eyes.

“It’s just that what?”

“It’s hard to explain…”

“You don’t have to explain.”

Blake made the first move. He pushed our plates and napkins, food and drinks away onto the other side of the table. All that hard work for nothing. It was inevitable. All that same desire and chemistry was pouring out across the table once again. All of our animalistic instincts were unleashing and reconnecting to each other.

The air was magnetic with our need to consume each other. There was nothing stopping the electric freight train of yearning. It was like high school all over again. That urgent, primal need to fuck each other’s brains out. The intensity, the heat, the raw desire. It was all still there, all these years later. It was like we picked up right where we left off even though there were gaps of time that had changed who we were over the years.

Blake fumbled to remove my jeans. I yanked my shirt over my head. I noticed that my breathing had rapidly quickened. I moaned into his ear as he pressed his rock-hard manhood against my inner thigh.

“I wanted to do this as soon as I saw you,” Blake murmured into my ear. He was panting hard.

I raked my hands across his back and dug my heels into his bare ass cheeks as he pressed himself closer to me. I squeezed my naked thighs into his waist.

“Me too,” I moaned into his ear and nibbled on it, biting it for a sense a pleasure mixed with pain. I ran my hands through his hair and tugged on a few loose strands. “You are even hotter than I remembered you.”

Blake’s hands were moving all over my body as if he were afraid I might vanish into thin air. His eyes were blazing with wild hunger. He wanted to ravage me, right here, right now on his kitchen table. I wasn’t going to stop him. I was done being the root of my own problems. If I relaxed and let my life play out naturally, maybe I would become as happy as the wildlife I captured on film.

“Do you want me?” Blake breathed into my ear.

“Yes,” I moaned, noticing how my voice was pleading with his.

An excited sweat had begun to spread across my body. My heart was pounding on my chest. I glanced down at the girth between his legs. His cock was hard and swollen for me.

I wondered if making love to him would feel the same as it did all those years ago. I secretly hoped it would, but even better now that we were both single and had no outside attachments. I could relinquish myself to the pleasure. I couldn’t wait to cave under the mountain of his strong embrace.

He picked me up by the hips and pushed me onto the table. His cock head was at my center.

“Fuck, you’re so wet down there. I need to feel your pussy gripping my cock. I miss this. Anything changed?” he rasped.

“Nothing’s changed. For you?”

“No, I’m clean.”

“Take me now, Blake. Now.”

I straddled him and held my breath, gasping as he pushed the tip of his throbbing erection inside of me. There was no time for foreplay or innocent touching. I didn’t want all that. I needed him inside of me now, hot and pumping and spilling his seed inside of me.

He stroked my clit. I was engorged and sensitive. I was already forming a puddle of wetness on his table, saturated with lust and longing.

Blake groaned as he pushed himself inside of me. His eyes rolled back in his head. He looked like he was experiencing the same intense amount of ecstasy in that moment that I was. Euphoria swelled inside of me. I was tingly all over as Blake continued to bury his gigantic cock inside me.

“Do you like that?” He asked with a grunt as he began to pump back and forth, rocking slowly in rhythm with me before moving faster and faster.

“Yes,” I cried out as I was slammed with an instantaneous amount of passion.

“Damn, you’re still so tight,” he groaned.

His swollen shaft rubbed against my clitoris. The tip of his pulsing cock inside of me knocked against my G-spot. I was getting hit with ecstasy from all angles.

The table began to move and slide across the floor as Blake continued to thrust harder and faster. His face was etched in determination. His eyes were smoky and dark, yet so open and vulnerable at the same time.

He was ripped and cut from head to toe with muscles that made it look like he had been personally sculpted by a Greek god. I didn’t remember him being this solid in high school, but people changed. He was a real man now, and I was intoxicated by how incredible he was when we molded against each other. We were locked in heavy passion. I could feel the sensation of climax as it began to rise in my belly and spread throughout my body. I was trembling, but I noticed that he was too.

This was a turning point for us. We were reunited, and as much as I wanted to tell myself that I didn’t need this, I knew I would only be telling myself a lie. I was enjoying this to my very core.

The primal way he had just taken me, how he had just pushed our food to the side and propped me up onto the table, it was incredible. It was an addictive sensation that I never wanted to end.

Blake was pushing himself further inside of me. He kneaded a nipple with one hand and leaned down to suck the other nipple into his mouth. He moaned against the sensitive peaks as he licked, causing rich, addictive sensations to vibe through me. That was when I exploded. I couldn’t hold on any longer. I let out a wild cry of passion as I succumbed to the orgasm brewing inside of me. I was hit with a warm sensation, then I saw sparks in front of my eyes. I forgot all my cares. It was only Blake there, and he was pleasuring me to unimaginable heights.

He held onto me for support as I came, but he couldn’t hold out any longer either. He groaned. The veins in his neck bulged. He took a few strands of my hair and squeezed them in his fists. Then with one final pump, he unloaded his goods inside of me.

After he was finished with his climax, he slipped out of me.

I was still breathing hard. My arms and legs felt numb. I knew I probably looked like a disheveled mess, but I was still in heaven, climbing down from the clouds of ecstasy.

Blake handed me a paper towel to clean myself up a little, then cleaned himself too. He stood beside me. His arm brushed up against mine. I was hit with that same sizzling sensation of pleasure at his touch.

We stood there for a few seconds, naked and sweaty in the sexy after math of our intense fucking session. I couldn’t believe we had just done that, but I didn’t want it to be over. Not yet. I was just getting started, and I hoped he felt the same way too.