Page 59 of Stone
“It’s a small pool,” Juliana said. “Are those benches?”
He smiled and started forward again, keeping hold of her as they waded toward what did, in fact, look like a small pool. In truth, he’d dug the area out from the riverbank a year ago, creating a rounded spot, eight feet across, that connected to the river by an opening a couple of feet wide.
“They are,” he said, answering her question. After carving out the nook, he’d added stone benches heavy enough not to wash away.
“It’s an adorable spot, but it looks like a lot of work went into it when…”
“When I could just wade in the river?” he finished, leading her closer.
“I’m curious, is all,” she said. Then drawing to a stop, she asked, “Is it getting warmer?”
He grinned. “And that’s why,” he said. “Trust me.”
“I already do,” she said, following him closer to the opening.
He glanced at her a few times as they closed the distance. With each step, her expression grew more and more confused. When they stepped through the opening from the river into the pool area, she swirled her hand in the water, her brow still furrowed. A few seconds passed before she looked at him in question.
He smiled and made a grand, sweeping gesture. “Welcome to your own private natural hot tub.”
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Juliana looked around, Simon’s words sinking in. They made sense. The space was round, like a hot tub. It was hot, like a hot tub. It had benches like a hot tub. But it connected to a river and was carved into the earth.
“Hot tub?”
“Hot spring, actually,” he said. “The rest is my doing.” She looked at him in question. “Last year, I came out here to fish,” he said. “I set a chair down and, well, I fell asleep. When I woke up, the chair had sunk into the ground and when I moved it, I noticed the water around the legs was warm, almost hot. It made me curious, so I started digging.”
“Then digging a bit more,” she said, letting go of his hand and turning in a circle. “You dug this space out, added the benches, and now you have a hot tub,” she said, still in awe. “It’s…it’s…” She wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Amazing” seemed trite. “Magical” didn’t fit either as they were surrounded by so much real nature.
“My place,” he said.
She turned and met his gaze. “It’s your place,” she said, understanding that he’d handed her yet one more piece of him.Without a word—or any hesitation—she moved, looping her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and pulling her body flush to his.
His arms encircled her, holding her close. His erection nestled between them. She had so many questions, but she didn’t feel like talking. Instead, she kissed him, connecting to him in the most primal way, with her body.
He shifted one hand, spearing it through her wet hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. Every part of their bodies that could touch at the same time touched; she even felt his heart beating.
It occurred to her that for the first time, she had no reservations—she’d wrapped her arms around him without thought to her body, her heart, or even her mind. She simply needed—wanted—to be as close to him as two people get. And that was when she realized she’d completely, inalterably, fully handed herself into his keeping. He held her heart, he held her hopes, her vulnerabilities, and her strengths. He didn’t carry the responsibility for those things, but what she’d given him was something much more precious—choice. The choice to protect them, to respect them, to cherish them, and foster them. Never in her life had she placed so much trust in another human being. And while alarm bells rang on the edges of her mind, joy—the joy of having met him, the joy of having found a person she trusted to carry so much, the joy of having the courage to embrace this newthing—drowned them out.
Simon backed them to one of the benches, and she untangled her ankles and straddled his thighs as he sat, the stone hard, but not rough, beneath her shins. She rocked against him, trailing kisses along his jaw, nipping at his earlobe. One of his hands cupped her breast, rolling and plucking her nipple the way she liked—the way that sent a shard of need straight to her core—while the other splayed across her lower back, holding her tight against him.
When his hips started moving under hers, need seized her body. Drawing back, she stared at Simon, his head resting on the top of the bench, his eyes closed. His hand still cupped her, and the pleasure she saw on his face almost had her coming undone.
As if sensing her gaze, his eyes fluttered open. He slowed his rocking.
“I have an IUD,” she said.
He stilled, understanding exactly what she implied. He stared. For several seconds. Oddly, it didn’t make her nervous. He wanted this as much as she did, but it was as if he were weighing what to do next—stay in the water or move to the land.
She understood his debate—sex in water might seem sexy, but it rarely turned out that way. Still, she didn’t want to break this moment, this moment in this special place that he’d shared with her.
Reaching between them, she wrapped her hands around his erection and rose on her knees. Positioning him at her entrance, she began the dance, lowering herself an inch, then backing off, then lowering herself a bit more, before backing off again.
She leaned forward, resting her forehead on Simon’s shoulder, wanting to memorize the feel of him entering her for the first time. His head fell back again and his hands gripped her hips, although he continued letting her set the pace.
When she finally sank down and took all of him inside her, every nerve in her body buzzed and yearned and craved more. The slow, torturous teasing was divine, but she vibrated with want.
“Simon,” she said; her breath came in short huffs. She wanted more, but so lost in sensations, she didn’t know what to do next.
