9
JOANNA
I was furious when I realized I'd somehow slept through my alarm; the dreams I'd had probably had something to do with that, my subconscious refusing to wake to reality. Dreams of Eric's head between my legs, tongue rotating so fast I couldn't breathe while I gripped his raven hair...
There was too much to get done. Wasting daylight was something you just didn't do.
My fury dimmed into disappointment when I realized Eric was gone. Not gone out on the property fixing the next item on my list, but actually gone, gone. I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that it was probably for the best.
And then I noticed that the coat I'd given him was still on its peg. And when I went outside I saw fresh boot prints in the snow, heading down the driveway.
Down the driveway, and to the road.
And farther down the road, without stopping.
I sprinted back to my truck when I realized Eric was doing something stupid. It was like I could hear him in my head, calling for help, begging me to save him.
Please, he said while I fumbled the keys into the ignition. Please, Jo.
My truck fishtailed as I turned onto the road, but nobody was coming in either direction and I didn't give a damn. I didn't even know why I turned in the direction I did. Somehow I knew.
Like I could sense him.
I found him lying in the middle of the road, the way I'd found him two nights before.
"You stupid fool."
I looked over at Eric in the passenger seat, eyes closed and barely conscious. Christ, he looked like he'd been dipped in light blue ink. What was he thinking?
"You stupid, frozen fool. Where were you even going?" I demanded, even though he wasn't even close to lucid. "In the goddamn snow without a coat. Like some stupid boy chasing a dog."
Gravel flew as I turned onto the driveway and bounced toward my cabin. I only slowed when I was thirty feet from the font door, sliding all the way and nearly crashing into the porch.
I ran around the side and helped Eric out. Somehow he stumbled along with me and inside.
He was cold. Dead cold, with a heartbeat so low it was hardly there at all. Think, Jo. I was struggling to focus, with a panic that was disturbingly personal.
"We need to get you warm."
The couch wouldn't do, so I half-dragged-half-carried him into my bedroom. I dumped him onto the bed like a sack of potatoes and took three deliberate breaths.
"We need to get these clothes off," I said, more to myself than him. Within seconds I had his boots and socks off, then began fumbling with his jeans. His toes didn't show any signs of frostbite, but his core temperature was alarmingly low. He radiated cold air, like he was made of ice. I worked methodically, one step at a time, too worried about his health to care that I was brushing against his penis as I pulled the jeans off.
Shirt next--and that was it. He only had one layer on his torso. How could someone from Buffalo do something so stupid in the cold?
I maneuvered his body--his trembling body, it literally trembled like he was having a seizure--and pulled the sheets up to his chin. His eyes stayed closed, so I went to the fireplace and quickly started a fire, cursing as the larger logs slowly took. I could crank the heat on in the room, but that would take a while to really settle in.
The decision I made next was solely for Eric's well-being, and nothing else. Or at least, that's what I told myself.
"I'm going to need to warm you up," I announced. Saying it out loud felt like asking permission, and when he didn't say no I began stripping down. I shimmied out of my jeans, pulled my shirt and under-armor over my head until I was in only my bra and panties.
Not feeling the slightest bit self-conscious, I slid under the covers and flinched. How could someone be so cold and still alive? The urgency of the situation made me ignore my own personal discomfort, and I wrapped the covers over us tighter.
"Okay, let's get some skin contact." I inhaled sharply as I pushed my thigh against his. He lay on his back, still unmoving, so I twisted and draped my other leg over his front. "This will warm you up gradually. Anything more and it could shock your body."
When he didn't respond, I ran my hand over his chest rapidly, feeling the warmth from the friction. God, he's chiseled. It was like rubbing down a stone statue. I moved my hands to his shoulders and arms, pretending like I was painting a fence. Gradual touching along the body. Core first, then extremities.
"Come on Eric," I muttered. "I need to see some signs of life from you."
I moved on top of him until I lay directly on his body, my chest pressing into his. I curled the sheets close around us to keep every precious iota of warmth inside out cocoon of heat. I breathed on his chest, hoping even that small morsel of heat would help.
"Don't do this to me, Eric," I begged, feeling my voice crack. "I don't know why you went out like that, but I hope you'll come back to me."
Please, Eric. I closed my eyes and prayed.
The first thing that returned was his breathing: his chest heaved deeper and deeper, moving my body up and down as it went. Then his eyes fluttered, as if he were deep in a dream and not barely on the edge of life.
By then I was staring up at his face, waiting eagerly.
Finally his eyes opened: first his left, then the right, blinking without seeing. I pulled the comforter down to reveal our heads and give him some fresh air, and that's when he met my gaze.
"Your planet is cold," he muttered, one slow syllable at a time.
In spite of myself, I laughed. "I'd call Buffalo another planet before I say that of Wyoming, but I'm glad to see you're in good spirits."
He closed his eyes and smiled, and I did the same, urging the warmth of my body into his.
With the danger quickly diminishing, I became self conscious about our situation. I could feel his penis stirring underneath me, pressed against my navel, no longer an ice-pop but now warm and thick. Lying against him, my body supported by his, was an incredible sensation. He was so damn steady, like a solid rock of muscle and man.
It felt reliable.
And in spite of myself I found my own sex stirring, a tingling warmth pressed against Eric's thigh. For a long while we lay there together, breathing together, simply being together.
"Why?" I finally whispered.
"Why what?"
I pushed up on one elbow until I was looking down into his face. Sweet lord he looks good, even on the edge of hypothermia. "You walked out into the snow. Without a coat. Were you trying to kill yourself?" I raised a finger. "And I don't necessarily mean that as a joke. Because right now I'm struggling to think of any other reason why someone would do something so stupid except that they wanted to die."
Eric blinked as he considered what to say.
"I am confused here," he said slowly. "My brain feels cloudy at times. I am struggling to process actions and consequences."
And for some reason, I believed him. He seemed perfectly genuine.
"Your head is still bothering you from the concussion," I offered.
He blinked again. "Yes. From the concussion." And then his eyes sparkled with new light, thoughts racing across them that had been held back. "And you."
Me heart skipped a beat. "Me?"
"When I am around you, Jo, my brain feels like it is stuffed with cotton. I know I am a stranger here, and hardly know you, but you make my heart race and my stomach queasy. Queasy in a good way. Does that make sense?"
"Yes," I said in a small voice, very aware that almost every inch of my body was pressed against his skin. "It does."
And I looked into his eyes, and the moment lasted forever.
Eric's arms moved around me, surrounding me, and he pulled me close and pressed his lips to mine.
Instantly I melted into the warmth and softness of his kiss, tasting and smelling him as our lips locked together. It was slow at first, a gentle kiss like a scout exploring new territory on the frontier, but it slowly grew with intensity. Eric squeezed me tight with arms as strong as metal and we kissed, and kissed, and kissed beneath the covers.
And then something happened. Eric's body became warmer beneath me, along my torso and sex and legs, impossibly hot within seconds. I tried to open my eyes but his kiss wouldn't let me, his tongue dancing inside my mouth like it were made of electricity and fire. And even though we were under the sheets our little cocoon of warmth seemed to brighten behind my eyelids, like someone had opened the blinds to reveal the morning sun.
But I didn't care, couldn't care, because the only thing that mattered in the world were Eric's lips.
Finally he broke away, and I gasped for air like I'd been underwater. Eric's chest barely moved, and he smiled a strange smile.
"Good lord, your body is warmer than mine now," I said, feeling sweat beading along my legs. "That's... not supposed to happen after you nearly die of hypothermia."
"I just needed a boost to feel like my normal self," he said.
I started to say that doesn't make any sense, but then he was wrapping me in his arms again and throwing me sideways off of him. He rolled with me and then was on top, a blanket of chiseled muscle covering me the way I'd just been covering him.
I spread my legs a fraction, feeling the heat there growing too.
"I've wanted to do this since I first saw you," Eric whispered, eyes burning holes into mine.
"When you first saw me, I hit you with my truck," I pointed out.
But Eric only smiled. "No, Joanna. You do not know it, but you saved me."
His lips locked onto mine again, no longer slow and testing, but urgent with need. I returned the kiss with desperation, my back arching to press up against his body. I unclasped my bra and pushed it aside, pressing my breasts against the muscles of his chest because it ached not to have them touching.
"Oh God," I moaned as he moved his lips to the side of my face, sliding down my neck. He sucked there gently, tasting, while one arm slid behind me and squeezed my back up to him. He was so strong, muscles trembling with strength just beneath the surface, not merely the result of vanity.
I felt his hard cock pressing against my hip, and I spread my legs wider and wished he were inside of me, so I grinded against him to let him know what I wanted, but somehow he was impervious to my signals.
"I want you so bad," I whispered into his hair as he nuzzled at my neck.
He flashed a wicked smile and then returned his lips to my skin, now moving down over my breasts. I felt his smooth fingers cup my breast gently, a soft squeeze, savoring the feel of my flesh. His lips brushed against my nipple and I sighed, and Eric remained there while looking up at me through the locks of his raven hair.
His tongue lashed out against my nipple, which drew a gasp from my lips. It flicked up and down, the barest contact between his tongue and my flesh, the pleasure of it so sensitive and intense that I almost couldn't bear it. Then he was sucking on it with his lips, tongue swirling around as he did, and I ran my hand through his hair and moaned.
The air was stifling under the comforter, so I kicked it off to feel the cool air on my skin. Somehow, I could tell it was exactly what Eric wanted too.
He gave my nipple one final, intense nibble before sliding farther down. It was a strange mixture of emotions: excitement at where his mouth was moving next, and disappointment at his body no longer covering all of mine. But I ran my fingers along his back and shoulders, aching for him to continue.
His tongue licked its way down my belly, around the indentation of my belly button and along the side of one hip. He traced the lines of my hip bone with his mouth, leaving a cool trail along the skin. I squirmed as he moved, teasing around my pelvis, along one thigh then back up and over to the other, always avoiding where I really wanting him to go.
"Ohh, you torture me," I moaned, enjoying the sight of his head down by my groin.
"You want me to stop?" he asked, and I practically screamed back at him.
"God, no!"
He kissed and sucked his way down my left quad, and then slowly rotated toward the inner part of my thigh. I spread my legs wider, welcoming him, telling him what I wanted. His tongue moved inward along my skin, closer, until I could feel his hair brushing against my dripping wet lips, and I couldn't stop the noise deep within my throat.
His hands ran along the other thigh, meeting in the middle with his tongue. I trembled as he used two fingers to spread my lips, and gently inserted his tongue.
"Ohh," I sighed into the air, head going back against my will. "Ohhh Eric..."
It began slowly, roiling waves of his tongue moving up and down the inside of my lips, painting the entrance thoroughly. His free hand continued running up and down my side, a strong and warm presence keeping me firmly in place. I leaned back into the sheets of my bed and surrendered to the ecstasy of his touch.
It was like he knew exactly what I wanted. He rolled up and down my lips with his tongue, and just when I needed more he moved up to my clit, running circles around it and brushing up the hood with each pass. When that became too intense he slowed down, moved his fingers up inside of me, rubbing them up and down along my slit while his tongue stayed higher. He was in my head, giving me exactly what I needed.
I used a leg to kick off the comforter farther. Then I could see the length of his body, the ripples in his back moving down to his tight butt near the end of the bed. I reached for it but he was too far away, so I settled on gripping his shoulder as he ate me out, squeezing him, feeling how solid he was.
"Goddamn," I moaned as his finger pushed deeper into my cunt. He moved it in and out, then added a second finger, a wonderful pressure that widened my walls with each thrust. His pistoned steadily, in and out, moving deeper each time while his tongue swirled around my clit, the bristles on his chin rubbing against my skin wonderfully.
Eric rotated his fingers so they were horizontal instead of vertical. He paused to look up at me, breath hot on my skin as he grinned with mischief. And then his fingers curled up in a come here motion, rubbing against the ridges of my G-spot, and I felt my eyes widen and the muscles of my legs contract.
"Holy shit," I gasped, curling my toes.
Eric returned to his task with deeper frenzy. His fingers moved at a precise pace, just on the edge of bearable intensity, but he somehow kept from going over. His free hand found my breast and squeezed, and the combination felt so good that I grabbed the hand with mine and pressed him harder into my flesh. Our fingers interlaced and gripped together tightly, our bodies and emotions joined at yet another point.
I love how you taste, Eric said, but he never stopped moving his tongue on my clit so I don't know how he said it. I could taste you like this forever.
"I wish you could too," I said.
I want you so badly.
It was like his voice was in my head; I could feel the emotion in the words, more than just the way he said them. Like they were spray painted in capital letters on the inside of my brain.
I wanted him too, maybe more than he wanted me, to feel his stiff cock bury deep within my pussy until there was nothing more to give. To feel him moving his hips back and forth, fucking me into the sheets, pounding me into the bed...
And as before, it was like he read my mind. He began to rise from my groin but my hand snapped out to grab him by the hair.
"No, don't stop."
He seemed surprised for an instant as I shoved his head back into my hot pussy, but he quickly returned to his task, licking faster and faster while thrusting with his two fingers. His tongue moved faster, licking up and down my clit in rapid fire, and I bucked my hips against him and groaned, grinding against his bristled face.
"Oh yes," I let out, barely more than a squeak. "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!"
I squeezed his hand on my breast and he squeezed back while I neared my climax, could see it in the distance. His arm moved like some relentless machine, finger-fucking me hard enough that it was more like a punch that hit every nerve in my body.
"Eric," I yelled with a voice deep inside my lungs, "Eric, ohh..."
Cum for me, he said, and in my ecstasy it sounded like he was speaking directly into my brain. Cum for me, Jo. Show me your pleasure.
I did.
I arched my back violently, pressing both hands behind me as I pushed into his face and fingers. Light invaded me from everywhere, shutting out all thought and sensation except what Eric was doing to me, and then even he seemed made of light as I was thrown over the edge into my orgasm. I roared a wordless roar, screaming my ecstasy to Eric and the forest and the world, and the touch of his fingers and tongue and lips merged into one white-hot sensation that soon thrashed through my entire body, every inch of skin and muscle fiber being torn apart and rebuilt from scratch on my bed. I screamed until the air from my lungs was gone and then I screamed some more, eyes clenched shut and mouth open wide in a silent wail.
Yes, yes, yes, Eric said, or maybe it was my imagination, but in that moment I didn't care at all.
Eventually my arms began to ache from propping myself up so rigidly, and I fell back into the sheets. With my eyes closed I savored the lingering touch of Eric: hands running up and down my legs, lips caressing back up my navel, feeling every bump of my ribs along the way. I pulled him past my sensitive breasts until his face was close to mine, and I kissed him to taste myself on his soft lips.
When the kiss ended he looked into my eyes with wonder, and I knew he was amazed by me.
"A rose garden nobody has ever seen," he said, this time more out loud than his previous voice. It took me a moment to register the words, and then I giggled like a stupid girl.
"That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."
He frowned. "Oh."
I quickly leaned up and kissed him on the chin. "I didn't mean it in a bad way." I pulled him down to me and savored the feeling of this strange man's warmth and smell.
Where did you come from, Eric? I wondered, just like the previous night and at the same time completely different.