I wake in dull gray light, limbs tangled in a sheet when Sally’s phone alarm goes off. Her head lies near mine. As her eyes flutter open, I nibble her ear. She wakes fully with a sleepy, satisfied mmmm. The sheet slips off her hip as she rolls toward me, a revealing tantalizing hill of golden brown flesh. I slide my hand over it into the valley of her waist and capture her lips in a slow, gentle kiss.

Her body comes awake, stretching sinuously toward me. Her bare skin feels delicious on mine, the full length of her pressing against me. Between us, my dick swells from semi-hard to full mast. She sucks my bottom lip and gives a soft laugh.

“Good morning to both of you.” She punctuates the greeting with a heartless wiggle and laughs again when I groan.

I palm her ass and grind against her, sliding my knee between hers so my thigh presses against the warmth between her legs. My lips move to her jaw, and I nuzzle into the tender nook where her neck meets her shoulder. With an excited squeak, Sally sits straight up in bed and twists her torso toward the window behind me. The sheet falls off her breasts, and I can’t resist taking one of her perfect nipples between my lips. I flick it with my tongue until it hardens and suckle gently. I fucking love her breasts.

She gasps and leans into me, but then pushes my head away. I glance up, worried.

“It’s raining!” A radiant smile lights her face.

Sure enough, the shush of a steady rain becomes obvious.

“And that’s the best news all week because…”

“No shooting today. This whole week was supposed to be this tense cat-and-mouse sequence in the woods. We were supposed to have clear skies, so they had everything set for this scene. It’s like a snow day!”

Resigned to the interruption of our play, I bring my hands behind my head. “Why are you so delighted about this? You’re so dedicated to your work. I’d have thought you would be impatient at the delay.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my work. But I’ve always loved rainy days. It’s like the universe is giving me permission to slack off. With weather like this, there’s nothing I need to be doing—in fact, I can’t work. No guilt. Just a day of glorious slack.”

Her childlike glee is infectious. “Rainy days remind me of home sometimes,” I confess. “Rain and sun chase each other around in Ireland as fast as the wind so a quick shower will blow up before you know it. When I was small, anytime the rain caught us out in town, my mum and I would pop into a shop for tea and biscuits.”

“You and your mom are close?”

“Yeah. This place, all this forest, reminds me of her. She dragged me all over Ireland hiking and camping, but I saw a lot of my country. I’ve spent a lot of years mostly in cities for work, so it’s funny being out here in the trees. Takes me back, you know?”

“I think I could use some wide spaces to think. You’re right, and I do need to face this stalker situation.” She stares at the ceiling thoughtfully. “My instinct here is to figure out how to get ahead of it. I’m tired of being on the defensive. Hey, since we’re both feeling sentimental, and I want to get out of this coffin of a house, let’s find somewhere to go hiking today.”

“In the storm?” She might be using my concern to get her way, but I do like the idea of getting her all to myself. And away from town, it’d be a lot harder for someone to follow without being spotted.

“Please, it’s barely raining. Too overcast and wet for our scene, but not too wet for fun.”

My eyebrows jump at the word wet, as my mind goes back to last night. A grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. I throw off the sheet and swing my legs out of bed to hide my teenage sense of humor.

Sally’s eyes light up as she takes in my muscled body, half-hard dick and all. She walks on her knees to the edge of the bed. Her knees part invitingly, and a glimpse pink flesh teases me. She knows I love her breasts, evidenced by the way she curves her back to point her nipples at me. Her eyes fasten on my cock as it rises. Sally runs her hand along the inside of her thigh to draw my eyes again, and my cock bounces with another throb of desire. The silence between us is electric. Then I smother a groan as reality hits, and I bury my need in duty.

“Sally, we need to make an appearance at breakfast. We agreed that…this…can’t affect our professionalism. As much as I want to fuck you right now, we should do the smart thing.”

With a sigh, she falls back on her bum and slides off the bed. “Fine, fine,” she says. “Are we on for a hike, at least?”

“Well technically, where you go, I have to follow,” I remind her.

“Excellent.” She grins and rummages in a drawer. “You should probably wear something, though.”

We keep a respectable distance at breakfast but discuss possible destinations in hushed voices. I keep a scowl on my face so it appears we’re discussing something serious. My ruse fails spectacularly, though.

Bradly and Jada sit on a loveseat opposite our chairs as we nurse our second cups of coffee.

“You’re going hiking?” Jada asks. “We should totally go together, don’t you think, Bradley?”

Seems we aren’t the only newly minted lovers. However, Jada at least isn’t trying to hide it.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to get off set for a bit,” Sally says with a deprecating wave. “No big adventure or anything. Quinn has to go hiking by default in case we run into evil teenagers with cans of spray paint.”

My scowl turns genuine. Now that I know someone’s legitimately blackmailing her, it pisses me off that she’s making light of it. Even if she’s got reasons.

“Perfect,” Bradley says. “I’ll be honest, I’m still feeling last night’s…drinking. I wouldn’t mind getting out, but I don’t know how much hiking I’m game for.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the tightness of Sally’s lips, but I doubt Jada or Bradley notice it before her face settles into a blandly pleasant expression. The two are exchanging a meaningful smirk as if everyone doesn’t know what it means.

“Well okay, then. Meet us in fifteen at the front.”

While they’re changing, Sally pulls up available hiking spots on her phone. She chuckles mischievously as we read the reviews and select one that will make Jada and Bradley sorry for weaseling their way into our field trip.

Five minutes into the hike, Jada is breathing heavily. Her skinny frame carries zero fat, but not a lot of muscle either. By contrast, Sally is nearly bouncing along the dirt path. The trail starts fairly high, and we climb steadily. The wall of new green leaves opens onto a view of the valley that drops away on our left.

In the lead position, Sally stops to look over the treetops waving in the stiff breeze. Clouds roll above us, so close they seem within reach. The rain eased up earlier, but the wet blanket of a day ensured that we are the only ones on the path. I checked behind us constantly on the drive, but to follow us through so many turns, they’d either have to stay in sight or be tracking her. Since I’ve checked her phone and car, and we haven’t seen any other vehicles, I let myself relax a little.

Bradley halts behind Sally and turns to check on Jada. Sweat trickles down his temple, and I’d lay bets that his sweat reeks of stale liquor. Been there. Jada sways a little when she shuffles up next to Bradley in her ruined ballet flats. Her cheeks are flushed, but the rest of her visible skin has a sickly pallor. There’s a decent chance she’ll lose her breakfast if she keeps going. I’m bringing up the rear, pushing Jada and Bradley to match Sally’s pace. The strategy pays off.

“I can’t…” Jada heaves a breathless pant. “I’ve got to stop.”

“Jada, are you okay?” Bradley looks relieved. “I think we’re done. It might be best if Jada and I rest here for a bit and go back down.”

Jada grabs his arm and nods.

“Okay, but do you mind if we keep going and meet you back at the car later?” Sally asks. “I’d hate to get this far and not make it to the top. I’d feel like the mountain won.”

“I, for one, admit defeat at the hands of the mountain,” Bradley says. “You guys take your time and enjoy the view.” Jada perks up, and they both look suddenly more cheerful.

“Here are the keys, but don’t ditch us.” Sally hands over her keys, and the other two edge past me down the path. “And don’t get jizz on my seats,” she mutters at their rapidly retreating backs.

We start walking again by unspoken agreement. Jada and Bradley’s voices fade in the undulating swoosh of wind through trees. Another few minutes and the trail rises faster than before. Sally’s calves flex as she climbs a set of stone footholds set into a particularly steep section. Even I feel the strain in the thin mountain air. Her combination of femininity and athleticism are perfect for action roles.

The path gets even rockier, and Sally takes it in stride, hoisting her slim backpack from time to time but never once showing fatigue. The thought makes me want to test the limits of her stamina. Her strong thighs bulge as she digs into the path, every line of her body shouting her determination to conquer the mountain. It’s fucking sexy, it is.

My cock twitches, and I think again about how the parking lot was empty. No one around but me, Sally, and the woodland creatures. They’re all naked anyway. They won’t notice if I take down her hiking shorts and spread her under the watching trees. The birds and chipmunks won’t mind if I taste the sweat on her breasts, or bury myself in her sweet cunt. My heart speeds up, imagining her in the daylight, cradled in my arms as I fuck her so thoroughly we’ll have trouble walking back down the mountain.

The trees around us thin, and a few yards later the trail ends in a broad, tree-ringed clearing. Below us, Lake Tahoe sprawls out to the horizon in a wide, shimmering sheet. Sally’s breathing hard now, too, winded from her determined push to the top. She faces me when my arm slides around her waist. Her lips part in invitation. I cover her mouth with mine and slide my tongue against hers. She sinks into me, deepening the kiss. My free hand cups the back of her head as I kiss her with all the passion of my sexy fantasies on the trail. Her body responds—a quickened pulse under my thumb where it lies along her jaw, her hips rocking against the ridge of my hard on, low sounds of pleasure in the back of her throat.

I let my hand slide down her throat to her breast and thumb her nipple. Even through the cotton T-shirt and binding sports bra, it responds and hardens under my teasing touch. The hand at her waist slips down and under the waistband of her shorts. The dampness of sweat on her skin only turns me on more as a reminder of the possibilities of her strong, lithe body.

As we break for air, Sally pulls away.

“Should we stop? Is this safe?”

I move her hand to my shorts. “I’m in no condition to make that call. All I want in the world is to be inside you right now.”

She holds my gaze, indecision flickering in her eyes for a moment. Then she shrugs off her slim backpack, unzips it, and shakes out a thin plastic mat. She whips it up and lets it float to the ground on a bed of leaves between two sheltering boulders. I lift an eyebrow in question.

“I thought it was a possibility we’d need to sit somewhere and not get muddy.”

I pull her to me and lift her shirt over her head. “I, too, came prepared milady.” I shove my hand in a pocket and come up with a foil packet.

“My hero.” She pushes my jogging shorts down and squeezes my bare ass.

We take turns stripping each other, despite the cool breeze lifting goosebumps on Sally’s arms. Somehow, the broad sky and grand, open vista make our nakedness more profound. Vulnerable.

I sit first and pat the plastic, expecting her to lie next to me. Instead, she plants her feet on either side of my outstretched legs. The scent of her pussy, already wet for me, wraps around me. I press my open mouth against her mound and lick downward for a taste. Then she pushes my head back roughly and sinks over my lap onto her knees, so her tits stare me in the eye. I press them together and move from one nipple to the next, circling and flicking my tongue. Her cleft slides along the top of my dick in the ultimate tease, so I suck harder and let my teeth graze the sensitive skin.

“I like that,” she hisses in my ear. “Harder.”

“You’re killing me, love,” I groan against a mouthful of her breast.

Then she braces one hand on my shoulder, reaches down to grasp my member with the other, and then lowers herself onto me. The shock of pleasure blanks my mind. When the haze recedes from the edge of my vision, we stare at each other in realization that we forgot the condom. I hold my breath and freeze because I don’t know if I can will my muscles to make this stop. She bites her lip and lets it slowly pop back out. And she doesn’t move. I lean back on my hands, freeing up space for her to climb off. But she doesn’t.

The indecision on her face evaporates when my angle shifts and her eyes roll briefly skyward. She braces her hands on my shoulders, angles her hips back and around, and then seats herself fully on me again.

She’s soaking wet. I can’t even speak, the velvety slide of her flesh over mine feels so good. Her breasts bob in front of my face. She sets this rolling rhythm as her hips perform mysterious acrobatics on my dick. I’m close to coming faster than I imagined possible. Then she mimics my position, leaning back onto her hands as her hips keep rocking into mine. I’m holding on by a thread, but I flex my abs and thighs to meet her rhythm. The added friction pushes her closer, I can feel it in the increased slickness, hear in her voice as she moans louder. Her body goes taut for a split second, and then the tension snaps and her hips buck as she comes. I hold myself up with my abdominal muscles so I can hold her hips as the climax ripples through her. I’m panting with the effort of holding back, and she sits up with a glassy-eyed gaze.

A familiar determination sets her lips, and she holds my shoulders again while she adjusts her feet so they’re planted on either side of me. She begins to ride me faster, her strong thighs letting her rise and fall in long, fast strokes. Bloody hell, I’ve never felt anything so good. My brain struggles to form words. Condom. None. Out. Now.

“Sally,” I rasp. “I’m going to come. I need to pull out.”

Her ass slaps against me again, and she takes my bottom lip in her teeth for a sharp nip. Then her hips rise and fall again as she stares into my eyes without a hint of hesitation. Without asking again, I thrust up to meet her. My powerful orgasm rips a guttural sound from my throat as I come inside her.

She plants a rough kiss on my lips and throws her head back in a wild laugh.

“Oh my god, that was amazing,” she crows. “We are really good together, Quinn. In the sex department, I mean.”

I help ease her off me, and she reaches for her pack.

“You’re amazing, Sally. You’re good at everything you do, aren’t you?”

We gather our clothes amid laughter and much ass-slapping. It feels good to cut loose. To know that she’s as serious about her goals as I am about mine. For one second, I’m sorry she’s my client. Because in other circumstances, she might have been more.