Carly walked slowly through her view of semi-darkness, more pronounced now that the sun had set. But she had that little glimmering spot, the moon. And Tansy, with that thick arm of his to grab on to. She slid her hand up to his elbow, tucking it between his forearm and his bicep. She felt him up, just a little. Shamelessly. She was wearing borrowed flip-flops a size or two too big, and when her foot stumbled over some protruding object on the hard dirt path, she slid her arm up to wrap around his, their bodies moving closer, touching, their hips grazing every few steps into the dark.

It reminded her of how they used to work together when they lived on opposite sides of the country, how Tansy would guide her through some hacking solution or another. He would be voiceless, faceless. Just a comforting presence through distance and darkness.

“Where are we going?” Carly asked. The sounds of trickling water gave her an idea.

“You’ll see.”

“But I can’t see. Remember?”

“Then you’ll feel.”

Indeed. She had been feeling something since meeting her shadowy rescuer. It was a slow buildup, a warming that came as slowly as sand warming under the Nevada sun. But unlike the sand, which, after nightfall, had began to cool under their feet, Carly’s warmth remained. The sun might have disappeared. But Tansy hadn’t. He’d been the source of many things, including—after her rescue—second chances.

She suddenly felt a new warmth, her foot stepping into the still water of a hot spring. Tansy had guided her over a small rock wall and then down into the warm water. It felt like she had stepped into a freshly drawn bath, the water and its heated sensation rising up to her knee.

“You okay?” Tansy asked.

“Yeah. It’s just hotter than I was expecting.”

“Come over here,” he said, still holding her hand. “It’s deeper, but there’s a little ledge where we can sit.”

They waded slowly through the now waist-high waters of the hot spring, over the smooth, slippery rocks that wobbled underfoot. Carly held her other hand out in front of her, dipping low into the water and sloshing around until she felt an underwater rock ledge. Everything felt smooth and warm, including the wet muscles along Tansy’s arm as he held her in place as she sat.

“There you go,” he said. “Pretty comfortable, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Yep, it was very comfortable. The hot water surrounded her body, clinging Tansy’s heavy shirt tightly against her. The air above the water had begun to cool in the dark. There was even a breeze kicking up Carly’s hair in occasional waves of coolness. She dipped lower into the water, letting its warmth slide up to her neck, just under her chin. It was hot, but only at first.

“Don’t put your head under,” Tansy said.

“Why not?”

“I’ve read too many stories about parasites in the water, in places like these, going up people’s noses. Brain-eating amoebas.”

“Gross.” Okay, now she felt considerably less comfortable in the water. Since they could travel up nostrils, she began to wonder what other orifices. . . .

“Nah, I’m just kidding,” he chuckled. “Still, though. Better to not risk it.”

“Then you’re not just kidding.”

“No, I am. But you just never know.”

She felt Tansy’s fingers, in the form of an invading amoeba, crawling quickly across her thigh. It was obviously him, but still, she yelped playfully and jumped away. It was a nice distraction, to be scared not by certain death, but by something of Tansy’s safe and boyish creation. Even when he wasn’t joking, when he touched her again, it was definitely a nice distraction. Maybe it was Carly’s lack of visual stimulation that made her crave other forms, so that when the amoeba returned—this time crawling softly and slowly along her back—she accepted the invasion.

“I’ve been thinking about your idea,” he said. “My main concern is your eyesight. How’s that going, by the way?”

“It’s too dark to tell.” She moved her hands lazily back and forth in the water in front of her, seeing the shadowy waves they created. “But it’s been improving throughout the day.”

“It would be a huge help to us,” said Tansy, “if you could get back to work. Whether or not we send you out as the sacrificial lamb.”

“Work, like hacking?”

“Yes.”

“You seem to have everything under control.”

“Still, I think we have different, complementary strengths.”

“Like what? My bass playing? Blending into a mediocre existence in a punk band while you . . . I don’t know . . . save the world from cyber terrorists?”

“You actually play really well.”

“Thanks,” she barked out a small, dry laugh.

“You’re welcome, but I meant it. You can also out-hack me, head-to-head. As we’ve seen. I can’t seem to forget that.”

“But what’s our different, complementary strengths?”

Tansy chuckled under his breath. “It’s like a beauty and the beast type of thing.”

“Who’s who?”

“I think you know.”

“How? I still don’t know what you look like. Not properly.”

“I thought you saw me at the bar.”

“Hardly.” She thought back to her set at the Dolphin Club. It seemed like so long ago now. Like a whole different life. “And you were disguised.”

His hand grabbed hers and she relaxed, letting him raise it up out of the water toward him. At first it was to the sharp, close stubble on his chin. And then up onto his smoother cheek. Carly giggled at the silliness of it all. That caused his own reaction, his face tightening into a smile under her fingertips.

“You’ve got a nice smile,” she said.

“Thanks.” His deep voice vibrated softly through her hand. “What else? What color are my eyes?”

Carly’s hand roamed up the side of his face, over the crest of a strong cheekbone, and then past the outside edge of his eye. His eyelashes brushed lightly against the side of her pinky finger, one caress and then gone, his eye closing and holding shut as if inviting her to travel inward. And she did, brushing her fingertips as gently as possible over the soft skin of his closed eyelid.

“Green eyes,” she said, although she had no idea. All she knew was that his eyes were deep-set. Above that was a strong brow lined with a trace of soft hair. She moved her fingers over his smooth forehead, and down the middle along the bridge of his nose. She felt a bump.

“Broken nose?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Boxing.”

“Boxing or fighting?”

“Fighting.”

Her fingertips fell from the tip of his nose to his lips. They were full and soft. She giggled again, her nerves rising again, building a warm fluttering inside her.

“What’s so funny?” he asked against her hand, his hot breath passing through her fingers.

“Nothing.” Her laugh went quiet. “You must be a good kisser.” She immediately regretted it, the way it came out. The way he’d made her sound. Before she could cover it up with another laugh or some brainless comment, she felt his hand pulling hers away, down from his face. The sound of his body moving in the water, then the warmth of his face close to hers. And then his lips were on hers, a warm and wet kiss that made her spine go limp. She collapsed forward into him, breathing him in deeply and then kissing him in return, devouring Tansy’s mouth hungrily. His hands were already down at her sides—underwater—slipping up inside the heavy, wet t-shirt, circling around her back and holding her in tightly.

She’d seen him like a blind person, interpreting his beauty through her hand, feeling his racing heartbeat through her chest. His lust mouthed into hers. His heat. She’d seen enough to know him—both now and how he’d treated her since the rescue—knowing she knew all that was needed for something so impulsive and absurd to feel so perfect. And now, so mutual.

This wasn’t some reward for being a nice guy and saving her life. It wasn’t a gift. No, she was taking now. She wanted his mouth. She wanted him. And unlike the first time in her bed in the bunker, he didn’t pull away. He didn’t need to ask for permission. They both needed this.

Tansy’s lips moved to her neck, sucking gently below her ear and Carly’s mouth was free to gasp deeply, flooding a rush of oxygen to her brain and into her blood. It was almost too much, the heat of the water and the heat of him. Somewhere between his kisses along her neck, she remembered a vague news story about people losing consciousness in hot tubs from a sudden drop in blood pressure. But that wouldn’t happen here. She was thankful she had Tansy to keep her blood pumping, her heart kicking and thudding against her ribcage like a trapped animal. Tansy’s inner animal, meanwhile, had already escaped. It was preying, not like some wimpy amoeba, but like a bloodthirsty mammal. A wolf, his whiskers grazing her chin as his sharp teeth closed on her earlobe, and then biting harder, and pulling, while his hand traveled further under her shirt. Carly leaned back, just a little bit, giving that hand enough room to slip around her waist and then up along her stomach. Her muscles quivered and tightened under his touch as he moved higher, separating the wet shirt from her body, making room, inching higher and then climbing over her breasts.

These were the hands that had been grasping in the darkness for her, reaching out even before her vision loss, reaching in dreams or through a collection of wires and networks all across the continent. These were the fingers that had typed to her. Previously, in her old life, she had done everything she could to deny them, even halfway convincing herself that they didn’t exist. But their existence now couldn’t be doubted, and their need couldn’t be refused. Carly’s breaths came faster as he cupped her breast delicately in his rough and calloused hand. Why were his hands rough? She wondered briefly what Tansy got up to away from the keyboard before all thoughts were lost as his fingers ran lightly over her nipple. He squeezed harder when Carly turned her head to seek out his mouth, returning it to hers, her tongue racing in to taste him. She kissed him deep while he toyed with her nipple in the warm spring water, his thumb moving back and forth, slowly, teasing. Her legs spread almost unconsciously in the water, in this natural spring, a magical place with healing properties. It was better than any relaxation spa she’d ever fantasized about, better than the best massage therapy in any exotic location. His every touch, his body, was both stress-relieving and blood-pumping all at once.

Her hands were guided by Tansy, pressing them flat against his chest in the water. His pecs were hard and smooth, like the rock surface below them. The water around them fell off her body in tiny waves before landing against his chest with a quiet, wet lapping sound. Waves moved against a rock wall, his chest heaving with another deep breath of air as her hands moved lower, cupping over the sexy bumps of Tansy’s ab muscles. They jumped alive at her touch, flexing hard with an electricity that had already begun to make her feel shaky, a half nervous, half hungry vibration that moved through her entire body.

“Are you okay?” he whispered into her ear, breaking away from her mouth.

She was shaky. Very shaky. But very okay.

She moved back to his mouth, sucking him. Silencing him.

Fuck, she was so fucking okay. So fucking achy for him. His tongue in her mouth wasn’t enough. As if he could tell, his hand dropped from her breast and slid out from under her shirt. Maybe he could feel how her knees had opened wide, asking for his touch. He answered promptly, just as in tune with her needs as he’d always been, for everything, his hand now inching over the silky shorts. The material was loose and floating in the water, but his hand pushed it back against her body, up close and tight. He knew she wore nothing underneath. He could probably feel it. Yes, he could feel it, the side of his hand knowing exactly where to slide up snug between her folds. And now he knew how hot she was for him.

Carly squirmed under his touch and breathed a moan against his neck as she collapsed into him. He worked harder over the shorts, his hand rubbing quickly back and forth. Her hands moved to his lap, to the erection that awaited her, standing up straight and tall like the good and dutiful soldier Tansy was. He’d stood up for his country, and now he’d reenacted that same resolute duty for her and her alone. Only this time, his mission was not about destruction, but creation.

But Carly knew, the second she felt his hard cock, that there would be at least some destruction. She pressed her hands on either side of him, accentuating his bulge, running her hands along his full length. Destruction indeed. But she was ready for it. She wanted to be destroyed. And Tansy was preparing her, his hand now sliding up inside the shorts, gliding along her thigh all the way up and then opening out her folds with his finger. She moaned into him as he explored her, slowly, softly, his fingertips rubbing small circles around her clit until the world disappeared.

After what seemed like the longest moment hanging in bliss, Carly recovered from the tidal wave of ecstasy, waiting for her brain to function again, even for just a slight second in time. It functioned just long enough for her hands to grip the elastic waistband of Tansy’s swimming shorts and pull them down. He responded quickly, lifting himself off the rock ledge just enough for his shorts to slide down over his knees, drifting down to rest on the bottom of the pool. She closed her eyes, imagined him now, completely naked, his shorts probably floating away from their little corner of pleasure in the hot spring. He didn’t need them anymore. He might not need them around her ever again. Neither did they need the excuse of a hot spring to show some skin, nor the idyllic and almost laughably romantic setting to compel their skin to touch. Carly didn’t need nightfall and the exoticism of Nevada, or the adventure of their story, or the mystery, for she had become so utterly consumed with hunger. A hunger that would have driven her to him even if they’d been back inside the sterile, utilitarian hacking compound. Or anywhere—maybe even in public—for there was no outside world beyond his bare skin and the waves of pleasure that stirred again through her. For that moment, she was perfectly fine with blindness. Her sense of touch, if she got to run her hands over Tansy’s body, was plenty good enough.

His mouth.

His fingers.

Carly’s hand caught hold of his cock as it swayed invisibly underneath the water. She ran her hand over his length, almost tugging him toward her as Tansy moved even closer, their knees knocking together with clumsy, drunken lust. She moved her hand along his cock, curling her wrist each time her fingers passed over the swollen head. He groaned heavily in response, and then kissed her mouth deeply. She could stay here all day, stroking each other into oblivion, but it seemed that Tansy had other ideas. Breaking the kiss, he scooped her up off the rock ledge in a single swift pull. The muscles in his arms flexed against her body as they worked under her, moving under her ass and her knees, lifting her up and out of the water with ease. In his strong arms, she felt light and loose, her body sinking into his as he silently lifted her up and slid her on top of the smooth, flat rock surface outside of the hot spring. She sat there in a daze, bare-assed on the warm rock, her legs dangling into the water. But how was she bare? Where did her shorts go?

Somewhere between stroking his cock and squirming under his fingers, she’d hardly noticed, or remembered, how Tansy had done his little magic trick. The second part of his trick was less subtle, peeling her shirt up and inside out all the way over her head, and then yanking it off her arms. He was rough with it, tearing away the wet shirt and replacing it with his face, his hot mouth at her breast. He lapped at her, collecting droplets of spring water that coursed down her neck and onto her chest, drinking and exploring before sucking hard at the point of her nipple, pulling it with his lips.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

She needed him elsewhere. Carly pushed down on the top of his head and Tansy obliged, moving down between her legs as she spread her thighs around his short-cropped hair. He was still in the water, leaning over the ledge, his head dipped low and moving forward to touch her. She wanted his tongue there, immediately. But he instead kissed her softly, almost politely, too politely, while his stubble tickled along her inner thigh with each movement of his jaw. Along with the tickling, and the gentle nibbling of his lips on her, came an immediate flood of pleasure, a warm throbbing that filled her belly, that seemed to press all the air out of her lungs. She bent back, gasping, moaning, falling onto her elbows. Her elbows gave way, her muscles losing their ability to do even the most minute of tasks. Her neck was rubberized, going as limp as the rest of her body as the back of her head finally touched down on the sand. But where her body gave way, Tansy was there to help, lifting each of her legs out of the water so that her thighs were propped onto his shoulders. The man was hungry, tasting her like she’d never been tasted before, like he’d never had such glorious sustenance.

“Tansy,” she groaned, squirming in the sand, her shoulder blades and her head digging out small depressions in the soft ground near the hot spring. She groaned again, this time a more guttural reaction, cursing at him in pleasure. “Tansy, fuck.”

He moaned into her in response, his voice vibrating through her body. His hot, open mouth moved over her core, sucking her, his tongue running wild, darting back and forth over her over-sensitive clit. She’d come twice already, but somehow she still wanted more. His tongue moved inside her, driving her absolutely fucking crazy.

“Tansy,” she said desperately, a deep ache settling in her core. “I want you inside me,” she panted. “Inside.”

But for the first time, he disobeyed.

He stopped.

And then his mouth left her and was replaced with the cool night air.

She called out his name and tried reaching for him in the dark. But the only sign of him was the sound of his movements in the water, a quiet sloshing sound, then the thudding of water on sand. And then his footsteps in the sand next to her, droplets of water landing on Carly’s reclined body. She was almost confused why his mouth left her, until she felt his warmth on her once again, but this time all over her body. Now she realized he’d misunderstood her request, and that she should have been careful what she wished for. Or at least specific about what she wanted inside her. But then again, as his tongue thrust inside her, every thought fled from her mind. She throbbed between her legs, wanting, waiting for Tansy to come and take what he’d been wanting. It began with the feeling of his solid arms coming down on either side of her, his breath on her face, and then the outside of his thigh rubbing against the inside of hers. He spread her legs enough for him to lay his weight between them, to lay his hips up against hers, his cock sliding up onto her belly for a moment, the heat of it burning her skin and scorching a trail back down between her legs where it belonged.

The tip grazed across her wet opening, toying with her there. Carly reached her hand down for him. His cock jumped like a live wire when she wrapped her shaking hand around its girth, twitching in her grasp as she guided it inside her core. She felt his blood throbbing hard, and she shuddered at the thought.

She shifted her hips, helped him find exactly where she needed him to move, at just the right time, and just the right angle, at just. . . .

Fuck.

She cried out loud as he pushed inside, opening her body to him. When he thrust forward, a coarse moan escaped her and she grabbed two firm handfuls of his flexing ass.

“Oh, God,” he groaned weakly, his breath rushing out of his lungs. And again, “Oh, God,” he thrust deeply again, slowly now, and she could feel every inch of him slide through her.

“More,” she begged him. “Please. Now.”

Tansy shifted up onto one hand and surged forward again before pulling almost all the way out and pushing back inside just as deeply.

“Mmm,” he grunted as he buried his face down into her, his mouth into her neck and breathing hard against her bare skin.

“Yes,” she whispered. Her hands returned behind him, this time urging him on by pressing his hips into her. And he was only happy to oblige, thrusting harder now. Even deeper. And more completely. More than anything she’d ever felt before.

“Tansy, yes,” she grunted. “Do it,” as he rocked harder. “Do it, Tansy. Do me. Fuck me.”

Again, he listened.

“Oh, fuck. . . . Tansy. . . .”

He was a good listener. And as a man of action, he was even better, the rocking of their bodies molding Carly to the sand, sliding her slightly backward with his hard thrusts. She felt every motion, his body over her, the slapping of skin on skin, the scent of their love wafting up her body as his rhythm turned from deep and soulful to a harsh and primal roughness. Again, he’d become the animal. He growled as he thrust forward, his face nuzzling into her breasts, his teeth nipping at her before his talented tongue soothed her skin. His cock hardened even more as his pace increased.

A niggle of pain prodded at the edges of her consciousness, her spine pushing back against the ground, her back scratching the grains of sand as his thrusts moved her body in the sand. She shifted and something must have given her away.

“God, I’m sorry,” Tansy panted, slowing down.

“No,” she said, barely able to get the word out.

And then he pulled out.

“No,” she said again, this time with more urgency. That was the last thing she’d wanted.

The second-to-last thing she’d wanted was the feeling of him climbing off her. And she was almost stunned for a moment, as if life couldn’t exist without his body on top of hers. He had climbed off her, huffing and puffing for air, and rolled to the side next to her. In the absence of his body was a cool desert breeze. It was refreshing, but she wasn’t looking to be refreshed. She wanted his smothering heat, his skin, his cock. She needed it. As the need screamed through her, Carly let out a small yelp of surprise as Tansy’s strong hands reached over and picked her up, lifting her to one side and rolling her over to him, on him. Her hand grabbed her favorite new toy, priming it, guiding it, bringing it home.

They gasped simultaneously as he returned inside her, sliding all the way until he was flush against her, moaning together with their shared pleasure. They had always been such a wonderful team. It was such a pity that they had, until now, wasted their efforts on such unimportant, abstract tasks like hacking, or whatever the fuck else wasn’t Tansy seven inches deep. Straddling Tansy and riding his cock, she felt—as well as many other amazing things—mystified as to why they hadn’t explored this avenue of teamwork before. If only they could eschew jobs and other mundane tasks of the real world in exchange for the ability to fuck every day, all day, to extend this feeling forever. Why couldn’t life be enjoyable for a change?

“I always wanted this,” Tansy said, his quiet voice strained with pleasure. “I always wanted you, Carly.”

It made her ride harder, up and down, their bodies slapping in the quiet desert night. It made her crazy, hungry for that feeling, that warm ache in her belly growing again and radiating outward. She knew it was coming, another release, that shuddering contraction of muscles, this time with him deep inside her, squeezing his cock and kicking off an earth-shattering orgasm. She knew it was there, already there, just waiting. Just a few more pumps of his body into hers, just a few more, just more, more. . . . 

Tansy grabbed her hips in a harsh grip and groaned loudly as he pushed up into her, holding himself inside her as he grew amazingly harder again, then pulsed inside her, still thrusting deep. Carly shuddered again as she felt him come inside her. One of his hands moved from her hip to rub furiously against her clit and he thrust again. A rush of ecstasy overtook her mind and the world disappeared.