Page 115 of Axe-ing for Trouble
“We have photos in the office. I’ll show you sometime. Fireweed comes first, and then other species. Eventually shrubs and saplings. But sometimes, when an area burns, wildflowers take over. It’s called a superbloom.”
“Superbloom? I love that.” She turned, her hair tickling my cheek, and peered up at me.
“The area is called Sinistre Nord. We own part of it, but it’s mostly state land.”
She frowned, considering the words. “That means the disaster in the north, right?”
“Yeah, something like that. My grandfather used to talk about it all the time.”
“And it’s all wildflowers?”
“No, a lot of the forest has grown back since then, but one meadow that abuts a lake is still a rolling sea of flowers.”
“Another lake?”
I pressed my lips to her head. “Yeah, another one of those inaccessible Maine gems. We’ll go soon. I promise.”
She sat up straight, her body tensing, as if her consciousness had gone elsewhere.
“Mila?” I sat up too. “You okay?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. I just… I think I’ve heard that phrase before. Sinistre Nord,” she said slowly. “But I’m tired and stressed. I’m probably imagining things.”
“It’s called ecological succession,” I explained. “Growth and evolution after devastation.”
“So the forest grows back?” She looked up at me, her expression suddenly filled with fear. As if she was no longer talking about flowers.
I kissed her softly. “Not just that. It grows back stronger and healthier. Battle-tested, rising from the ashes. But different.”
“So it looks different? Maybe different from the old maps and photos?”
I shrugged. “Probably.”
Eyes flaring, she cupped my chin and brought her lips to mine.
“When will this end?” She sighed.
I looped my arm around her waist. “Soon. We’ll come back from this. Stronger and better than ever. Because you, like my beloved forest, are pure wild.”
She shifted and straddled me, grinding against my already hard cock. I pulled her close and peppered kisses down her jawline. She said nothing, yet her body begged me for distraction and comfort.
Right now, there was little I could do to better our situation. But I could give her this.
I ran my hands up her thighs as she ground down against my lap. My desires burned through me, making me wonder if I could last. The stress of the last few days and the quiet tranquility of the woods made me crave her even more.
She kissed me wildly, needing this as much as I did. She needed to get out of her own head, to let herself feel something other than fear.
“Do you want to go inside?” I asked as I unhooked the clasp of her bra.
She shook her head as I cupped her breasts, gasping. “Jude.”
Her breathy voice sent blood rushing to my groin.
I pushed her to standing, assessing my options. It was cold, but we were both burning up. It only took me a moment to find a suitable place and back her up to a large pine tree. “Hold on.”
I placed her hands on the tree trunk and dropped to my knees behind her, slowly easing her leggings down. She shivered as I pulled them down, inch by inch, peppering her skin with kisses.
She looked devastatingly sexy, her hair wild, her baggy sweatshirt giving me a peek of her ass, as she looked over her shoulder, licking her lips.
