“I have a surprise for you,” he says.

I smile at him. If he surprises me like he did last night, I’ll be a very happy girl.

I reach for the door.

“No,” he says, taking my hand. “It’s outside.”

I follow him back into the forest. I’ve made the decision now to stay with him. It’s still crazy. It might still be stupid. But I won’t change my mind.

“Here we go,” he says.

I crane my neck to see. A brown rabbit is struggling to free itself. Wire is wrapped around its body.

“You like rabbit?” he asks. “Beats the canned junk we brought.”

I look down at the poor rabbit. Its ears twitch as it looks up at us. It’s afraid of us, but it also looks at us as if it knows we are the only hope it has to be freed.

“Cooked over an open fire,” Alex says, “It will be–”

I reach down and pull gently at the wire. I work it around until the rabbit’s leg is free, and then I touch gently against its fur to pull the wire entirely away. With no hint of hesitation, it darts off and disappears into the forest.

I look up at Alex, scowling.

He cocks his head at me, like a confused dog. “Guess you don’t like rabbit?”

“We have plenty of food in the cabin,” I say.

“Canned food,” he says, as if he can already taste the tinny preservatives on his tongue.

“I’m not eating a cute little rabbit,” I say, standing up and putting my hands on my hips.

He sighs. “You eat cute little chickens, cute cows, or are you a vegan?”

“I don’t eat rabbits who have looked me in the eye!” I say. “Now how many other little snares did you setup?”

“There’s one more,” he says.

He takes me to the next snare, and we free the second rabbit.

“You gotta admit I’m good at setting these snares. Imagine if we really needed to survive without canned food.”

“Yes,” I say. “You’d provide for me, I get it.”

“We freed them,” he says. “No need to be mad still.”

“You sure there were only two snares?” I ask.

He nods. “I spotted you running just as I got the second one set.”

“Maybe we can go fishing,” I say.

“Fish aren’t cute enough for you to spare?” he asks.

I laugh. “Rabbits are too cute. Let’s leave it at that.”

“I don’t want to risk going back out on the lake,” he says. “Besides, we don’t have real equipment for ice fishing.”

“It looked fun though,” I say. “Seeing that father and son all comfortable on their chairs, just hanging out together on the ice and waiting for a bite. Maybe after we’ve cleared your name and gotten out of this mess we can do it together sometime.”

He takes my hand. “I will clear my name, Angel. You have to keep serious distance from the messier parts of this.”

“I can just be your nurse on call,” I say. “And your sex slave.”

I lick my lips and flash him an evil smile.

“My leg is way better,” he says. “I won’t turn down the sex slave, but slave implies you aren’t enjoying it…”

“I definitely enjoyed it,” I say, my cheeks feeling hot despite the cold.

“Is that why you decided to come back?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow.

I shove him playfully. “Don’t be cocky! I came back because I believed you.”

“Well,” he says. “I’m glad you enjoyed last night. I was almost worried you ran because of the sex.”

“You heard me,” I say, my voice getting shy and quiet. “I couldn’t fake that.”

* * *

Back in the cabin, we crack open some canned food. Chili.

Alex’s handsome features scrunch up as he eats it.

“Come on,” I say, resting my head onto his shoulder and nuzzling up against him. “It’s not that bad.”

“Not that good either,” he says.

“It’s the thought that counts,” I say. “You caught the rabbits for me.”

“I guess I’m more results oriented then,” he says, swallowing another spoonful of chili.

We eat in front of the roaring fire, and after our cans of chili are empty, I lean into Alex and close my eyes.

He kisses my forehead, and I hear him inhale deeply. A low growl escapes him. He grabs me forcefully, hungrily.

I fall back onto the couch–the loveseat–to submit to him. It’s too small.

He grunts in frustration, stands up, and lifts me into the air. He throws me down onto the fur carpet in front of the fire, and then he’s on top of me.

Last night, I knew I wanted him badly, but felt I shouldn’t give in. I did give in either way, but the guilt still lingered on me like a bad aftertaste.

It’s different now. I’ve thrown my lot in with Alex. This time it feels like exactly what I should do. It’s the only thing to do.

I get my pants off as he finds the soft flesh of my neck. The nape of my neck is over-sensitive as his tongue moves up toward my chin. I get my fingers under his belt, and he pulls it away through the loops, throwing it to the side by the fire.

Our lips press together again, and I kiss him with closed eyes, feeling only the warmth of the fire and his body against me. Logically I have no reason to feel safe right now, of all things, but with Alex’s protective arms around me, I feel safer than I ever have.

With no more secrets between us, we can fully connect. We’re soon completely naked, and Alex massages my breasts, pulling a nipple into his mouth.

His lips lock around it, and he sucks while flicking me with his tongue. My hips buck, and I squirm and moan. The louder I moan and the more I move, the more intensely he works my nipple.

It’s only been hours since we slept together, but my need for him quickly becomes so desperate that it feels like it’s been months. Maybe it’s all the mental energy of deciding to leave him, wondering if I should stay, and coming back. All of that stress and indecision taxed me, it made it feel like more time passed than it really had.

Or maybe his hard body, and his thick cock inside me felt so damn good that I need him always. Maybe the moment the afterglow fades away, I’ll crave him inside me again.

My wetness builds as he tongues my nipple, and just as I’m about to do it myself, his hand moves between my legs. His finger runs against my wetness, and the muscles in my stomach tighten and steel themselves.

He fingers slide into me, probing my wet channel. He curls his fingers, and he finds a sensitive spot I didn’t even know I had. One that no man has ever before tried to find within me.

“Oh, God!” I shout.

“Yeah,” he says. “Some people say that’s what the ‘g’ stands for.”

He laughs and rubs his finger against it. My g-spot. How did he find it so fast? I’ve never even been able to find it myself.

I flex my butt cheeks, alternating left and right, to move my hips around in a circular motion. It gives just enough extra friction against his fingers. The slick wetness becomes more and more intense as he massages me so deep inside.

I move faster, but he slows down.

“Please,” I hiss.

“I want to make you wait for it,” he says.

I reach with a desperate hand and find his cock. It’s hard and throbbing. I squeeze it. Hard. My hand runs up his length, until I reach the head. I feel a few drops of precum, and I slide my palm against it. I run my wet hand back down across him.

“Fuck,” he grunts.

Then, with confidence and zero hesitation, he pulls his fingers out of me and pulls me by the hips onto him. I press myself against him, and his cock springs up right in front of me. I part my lips and slide it down my mouth–down my throat.

I suck on his thick shaft as his tongue runs hot and wet against me. He slides two fingers back inside me, and he rubs my g-spot again.

I channel my building orgasm into sucking on him. I throat and lick and suck him for all I’m worth, my head bobbing up and down as I thrust my hips against his mouth.

Just as I’m about to come, with the same confidence as before–and even less patience–he pulls himself out of my mouth, turns around, and presses his cock into me.

He slides into me in one smooth motion. It’s tight, but I’m so soaking wet that there’s little to no resistance. My legs–which are spread wide–lock immediately around him. My heels dig into his muscular lower back, as if I’m afraid he’ll reconsider and pull out again.

His cock picks up right where his tongue and fingers left off, and my orgasm builds up again. He thrusts his hips with sure and deep motions. I feel the head of his cock press right against my cervix. The first time it hits, I’m shocked, and I gasp. The second time I’m not shocked, I’m just surprised at how fucking good it feels.

Maybe turning around and coming back to the cabin was him was the best decision of my life. As I was doing it, it felt reckless and stupid. But I can’t say that this is just sex. This intensity of feeling, the feeling like sunshine in my veins is not just something that I can dismiss as frivolous. It’s important, and it’s worth the risk. And now, with Alex deep inside me, his hips slamming into my ass cheeks as he thrusts, I start to wonder for the first time what life might be like if this became more than sex. If “staying with him” meant more than a temporary vacation from my real life.

My inner walls tighten and try to milk his cock. He thrusts faster, and I throw my head back and gasp. The orgasm rises up and swallows me, drowning me in warm and bubbly electricity. I grind against him, digging my heels all the way into him. I squeal and moan as I cum, and I realize that he’s not cumming. Not yet at least.

He fucks me with a steady rhythm. A hard rhythm. There’s a wet slap as he bottoms out with each thrust, and just as my orgasm dies all the way down, another one hits me without warning. Like a semi-truck broadsiding me.

I scream. “Alex!”

“God it feels so good inside you,” he rumbles.

He presses his lips against my neck as he fucks me. He fucks me raw and hard as I cum a second and third time.

I dig my fingernails into his perfect ass, and I flex my inner muscles. I feel myself squeeze tight around him as he moves in and out, and finally his whole body tightens and convulses.

When I feel his warm, thick seed hit my cervix, relief washes over me. It’s as if feeling him cum was more important than feeling it myself. The initial pressure of his release melts away into a warm flood building inside me. It spreads out and fills me, and only when he finally rolls off me do I realize he filled me completely full. The only thing keeping his warm seed inside me was his cock plugging me airtight. It all comes out of me as he rolls beside me. His cock is still hard and twitching against his hard abs as his blue eyes meet mine.

The warm glow surrounds me, and it’s so intense and warm and inviting because I know he feels it too. Because I know that–this time–neither of us are going anywhere.