“That’s one way to say hello,” he said, his eyes on the knife.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The blade dropped from my hand, landing on the carpet with a soft thud.

“You going to invite me in?” he asked.

Without thinking, I reached out and poked him on the shoulder.

“Is that…is that you?” I asked, my words coming out in a soft muddle.

“Sure is,” he said.

“I didn’t fall asleep, did I?” I asked. “Are you really standing right here in front of me?”

“Do koalas eat eucalyptus leaves?” he said.

I kicked the knife aside and stepped a foot to the left.

“Come in!” I exclaimed.

Justin stepped into the hotel room and looked around.

“Not quite as nice as a shaded canyon, but it’ll do,” he said.

A huge smile broke out across my face. I threw my arms around him, holding his solid body close and tight.

“Sorry for dropping by so late,” he said. “Police didn’t let me out of there without me giving them a very, very thorough statement.”

“It’s…not a problem,” I said, laughing a bit through my joyful tears. “A silly thing to apologize for, even.”

Crinkling my brow, I grabbed my now-charged phone and checked the time, seeing that it was after midnight. The night had rushed by.

“Justin,” I said, joy and confusion running through me in equal measure. “How…how are you—”

“How am I not dead?”

He glanced over at the chair where I’d been sitting.

“Mind if I take a load off?” he asked. “The leg’s seen better days.”

“Of course,” I said.

He took his seat and let out a long breath. I sat down on the bed across from him, eager to hear what he had to say.

“I hit the water hard,” he said. “Luckily, it didn’t do me any damage. In fact, it really knocked me back to my senses. But it carried me away fast, and it took everything I had not to slam into any of the rocks in the water.” He looked away for a moment. “That thug didn’t have the same luck I did, though.”

A wince formed on his face, and it was clear that the fate of the man with the shaved head wasn’t pretty, whatever it was.

“The river tossed me onto the shore eventually. Luckily, the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked. He took a chunk out of me, but nothing I couldn’t walk on. I ended up climbing the canyon, and when I reached the top, I saw Longbridge off in the distance. I hobbled for an hour or so and managed to collapse right in front of the medical clinic.”

“I can’t believe it,” I said. “I still feel like I’m going to wake up.”

“Me too, now that I think about it,” he said. “But they got me bandaged up before calling in the police. I let them know that there was still a goon down at the bridge and at that gas station, so none of those guys should be bothering us anymore.”

Relief washed over me. Not only was he safe, but he’d also taken care of the criminals. I could finally breathe easy.

“Let me see that,” I said, pointing to his leg.

“Are you serious?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Sure am,” I said. “I don’t know much about wounds, but I know that you’re probably about due for a bandage change.”

He tilted his head to the side, conceding the point.

“They did mention something to that effect at the hospital.”

“Come on,” I said. “Get out of those jeans.”

Justin undid his zipper and belt, and I went off to the bathroom to check out the first aid kit. While in there, I turned on the tub and watched for a moment as the basin began to fill with hot water. Once I’d grabbed the supplies and returned, Justin had already gotten out of his jeans, boots, and socks. On his thigh was a large white bandage, the middle splotched with a small, bright red seeping of blood.

I dropped to my knees in front of him and carefully, slowly, pulled off the bandage. Justin winced a bit but otherwise didn’t complain. Taking off the bandage revealed a long cut, sealed with ink-black stitches.

“Come on into the bathroom,” I said. “You’re in need of a cleaning.”

Justin got to his feet and followed me in, where he took a seat on the edge of the tub. I soaked my washcloth in the warm water and began to softly dab the wound, cleaning away the bits of dried blood.

“That hurt?” I asked.

“Nah,” he said with his usual confidence. “It’s nothing.”

I got up from the floor and sat down on the edge of the tub next to him, continuing to clean the wound. I placed my free hand on his other leg for support, quietly enjoying the feeling of his muscles. And as much as I wanted to be professional about the whole thing, I couldn’t help but let my eyes drift to the lovely bulge in his gray boxer-briefs.

I looked up as I washed him, our eyes locking for a long moment.

“Let me...” I said, breaking the silence. “Let me get you a fresh bandage.”

“Sure,” he said, his voice low and resonant.

I got up from the edge of the tub, my heart pounding as I went through the first aid kit for some fresh gauze. As relieved as I was to see Justin, even more did I want him.

Gauze and tape in hand, I returned to his side and cut off a piece. One strip at a time, I dressed the wound. Soon, it was covered, and I sealed the gauze to his leg with some medical tape. Once I was done, Justin looked the dressing over and nodding approvingly.

“Is this the first knife wound you’ve patched up?” he asked. “Looks pretty good.”

“You grow up on a farm and you pick up all sorts of little bits of know-how,” I said, taking one final look at the gauze.

“Thanks,” he said. “Not just for this. For everything.”

I let out a loud, chiming laugh.

“Are you really thanking me?” I asked. “You’re the one who saved my life. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for you.”

Now he laughed.

“Have you forgotten why you were in this mess to begin with?” he asked. “It’s because those thugs thought you were someone I was protecting.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “In that case, thanks for nothing. Jerk.”

We both laughed, but this time or eyes locked onto one another’s and didn’t let go. My hand stayed on Justin’s thigh, and after a long moment, he placed his hand on top of it. My heart began to thump-thump-thump in my chest, and my breath became quick. I was lost in his eyes, and I don’t think I could’ve moved even if I’d wanted to.

Then, as if sensing the tension, Justin leaned in and kissed me. I knew the moment that his lips touched mine that the kiss was unlike any that we’d shared before. Our kisses that first night were those of drunken passion; the kisses at the oasis had been heated, yearning pleasure. These, on the other hand, were close, familiar—loving, even.

He kissed me tenderly, placing his hand on the back of my head and holding me gently in place. My eyes closed with delight and were it not for his lips, my mouth would’ve surely been in a big, dopey smile.

After more kissing, Justin took his lips from mine and spoke.

“I think we ought to take this to the bed,” he said.

“Now, wait a minute,” I said. “Did you even get a room for yourself tonight? Or did you just assume that you’d be staying here with me?”

“The second thing,” he said with a smirk. “Too presumptuous of me?”

“Just presumptuous enough.”

I flashed him a playful little smile as he stood up, my hand in his. Justin led me out of the bathroom. The bed looked so enticing that I could hardly stand it; I wanted to be curled up on top of it with Justin right then and there. Thankfully, he had the same idea.

We kissed again, now beginning the process of peeling off one another’s clothes. Justin slipped me out of the robe I was wearing and soon had me naked before him. I did the same to Justin, pulling his shirt off over his head and leaving him in his skivvies.

“Now, wait a minute,” I said. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You did just survive a knife wound and a journey down a wild river.”

“When the body is this willing, I don’t think any of that matters,” he said.

The answer was more than good enough for me. I clamped my hands down hard onto Justin’s slim waist and brought him down toward the bed. A grunt of pain left his mouth as I fell onto the mattress with him.

“Wait a minute,” I said, the corner of my lip curling up. “I thought you said you were ready for this.”

“I am,” he said. “Just didn’t think you were gonna get all pro-wrestler on me.”

“Glad to surprise you,” I said.

“Always happy to see such enthusiasm.”

We kissed more, touching and caressing each other with a new appreciation after having survived our ordeal together. He turned his attention to my bare breasts, giving them the slow licks and sucks that I loved so much. I reached down as he busied himself with my breasts, slipping his boxer-briefs down his legs and bringing his rock-hard member out into the open air.

I couldn’t resist. I grabbed onto it and began stroking, closing my eyes with sweet pleasure at the feeling of his contours in my hand. Justin grunted softly, and I could sense that he was liking very much what I had in mind so far.

“Listen,” he said, his voice stern.

His tone was serious. Something about it caused me to pause.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Having you apart from me…I didn’t like it. When I woke up on that shore, all I could think about was whether or not you were safe. I cared more about your well-being than I did my own life.”

Justin’s words weighed heavy on my heart. Tears formed in my eyes, and at that moment I cared for him more than I thought possible.

“I…felt the same way,” I said. “The idea of you stranded out in the desert or having died protecting me…it was too much for me to bear. And now that you’re back, that you’re in my arms safe and sound, I’m more overjoyed than I’ve been in as long as I can remember.”

“Oh, please,” he said with a smirk. “You think I’d let some little thing like the Australian outback take me down? Hardly.”

I laughed, giving him a playful slap on the chest.

“Glad to see your ego survived,” I said.

“It’s the secret to my power,” he said.

And with that, we kissed again. Now, not only was I incredibly turned on, I felt a closeness to Justin, something that made me want more than just to sleep with him—I wanted to make love. What we had was something special; I could tell. The idea of what was going to happen between us was still up in the air, but for now, I was happy to have him in my arms, in my bed.

We kissed more, the sensation of his skin against mine and the soft exhalation of his breath through his nostrils on my face bringing me deeper into the sweet awareness of just how near he was. Justin moved his rough hand along the curves of my hip, then over my thigh, ending up at the supple flesh between my legs.

I spread open at his touch, welcoming him, letting him know that he was just where I wanted him to be. His hand went up, up—closer to the warmth down below that throbbed and ached with passion and anticipation. When he finally touched me, I let out a long, slow sigh before biting down gently on my lower lip. He moved his hand slowly, rocking it back and forth over me.

“Your touch,” I moaned. “It’s—I don’t know—I can’t even say.”

“Then don’t say anything,” he said, his mouth only a few inches from my ear. “Just let me make you feel good.”

I couldn’t resist an offer like that. Justin teased me for a bit longer, caressing me sensually. The heavenly tension began to build, filling me more by the moment. Something about the way he moved his hands, worked his fingers, kissing me all the while—he was able to coax a pleasure out of me that no man ever had before. And he was just getting started.

At that moment, I realized how selfish in my pleasure I’d been. I opened one eye slightly, spotting his long, thick member pointing toward my body, not getting the attention it deserved. Though the bliss running through me made it very had to concentrate on anything else, I reached down and took hold of him once again, tracing the outline of his manhood with my fingertips.

A low moan let me know that I was on the right track. Justin placed his free hand on the small of my back, pulling me close and bringing our bodies flush together. His erection pressed against my body, the long, hard warmth sending a thrill up my spine. It was then that I realized I couldn’t take it anymore.

“I need it,” I said. “I need it now.”

“Tell me what you need,” he said.

“I need you inside of me. Please, please, please.”

A little smirk flashed on his lips for a brief moment at my words. Then, keeping his hand on the small of my back, he moved me slowly and effortlessly until I was underneath him. With his other hand, he moved down a bit, placing his touch on my thighs and opening my legs wide enough to accommodate him.

The tip of his member grazed against my center, sending tingles through my body. My opening was wet and ready for him, and I couldn’t wait another moment if I had to. Thankfully, Justin had no intention of keeping me in any more suspense. He reached down, wrapped his hand around his base, and slowly, teasingly, entered me.

“Oh, God,” I moaned, feeling with keen awareness as each of his many inches moved into me. “Just like that.”

Soon he was fully sheathed inside of me, holding fast for just a moment as I adjusted to his size and thickness.

“Feels nice to do this on an actual bed,” he said, a glint in his eyes.

“I don’t know,” I said between gasps. “The oasis did have its charms.”

He smiled again before leaning down and kissing me hard. We drank each other deeply, our tongues lashing together as he moved slowly inside of me. My legs went slack, spreading wide onto the bed as Justin propped himself up with his thick, taut arms.

His gorgeous face tightened with an expression of deep concentration—as if he didn’t want to miss a single sensation of the pleasure taking hold of him. I moved my hands over his body, feeling his rigid, solid angles, his tight musculature, and the slight sheen of sweat on his skin. I could run my hands over him for hours without boredom. His body was like a work of art, and I was the expert appraiser.

His pace began to quicken, and soon he was driving into me with all the force of his solid hips and well-defined rear. My eyes went wide as I adjusted to the new sensation of him absolutely pounding me, filling me with his length over and over again. I squirmed beneath him, and for a moment I wondered if I’d even be able to handle the pleasure he was filling me with time and time again.

An orgasm was near, and I wanted it more than anything. I glanced down at him between my legs, watching his thickness disappear inside of me with each thrust. I bit down on my lip and focused on the ecstasy building inside of me.

“Come for me, baby,” he said, evidently sensing how close I was.

“I want to,” I said. “I want to so damn bad.”

And through the pleasure, I sensed that there was something new happening between Justin and me. The sex wasn’t just the animal rutting that we’d done at that oasis—as incredible as that had been. There was intensity, closeness, and sensuality between us that there hadn’t been before. Our lovemaking felt as though something wonderful had formed between us, something rare and deep.

Then, almost without warning, my orgasm broke. Justin, sensing that I was coming, continued to drive into me, filling me full. The warm pleasure took hold of me and didn’t let go, and, with a shudder and a guttural moan, Justin came along with me. He drained himself inside of me, and I savored the feeling of him exploding. Slowly, deliciously, my orgasm faded, and Justin collapsed in a heap at my side.

We lay like this for a long while, on our sides, our eyes locked onto one another’s as he moved his hands over my curves and I moved mine over his angles. I knew that this was soon to end, but for now, I was content with what I had.

But part of me didn’t want this night to ever end.