Page 96 of Cookout Carnage
How to explain?She was going to get the short version. ‘I, um, went through a time in my teens and early twenties when I felt alone, like I wasn’t sure where I belonged. So, I got a tattoo of a lone wolf howling. It’s stupid. I was stupid.’
‘No! Don’t say that! It’s not stupid and neither are you. Trust me, I’ve seen some god-awful tattoos in my time and this isn’t one of them.’ She stroked over the design. ‘You’re not alone, Tris,’ she said quietly. ‘You’ve always got me.’
Emotion punched him in the guts. Would she stay when she knew everything about him? He turned away from her, ran to the edge of the rock and somersaulted into the creek.
The shock of the cool water was a dose of reality. He needed to pull his feelings back into line, put a bit of distance between them and mentally prepare himself for the possibility she wouldn’t want him as long as he wanted her. He swam away from the rock towards the opposite bank, hearing a splash behind him. He put his foot down onto smooth pebbles and turned towards Sherilyn, swimming towards him. He pulled her to her feet, her breasts breaking the surface of the water. He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers down the side of his face.
Then she gently kissed him. Resistance was futile but he gave it a go, keeping his hands by his sides, even as his cock reached for her. She moved closer, her hot wet skin pressing into his, stroking down his arms. He shuddered as she licked the seam of his lips. Pleasure poured into him, pushing out the doubts as his tongue met hers with a groan. He traced circles over her hips, feeling the goosebumps like braille, then turned the circles into hearts, drawing his love on her skin as she deepened the kiss.
She reached between them, scoring her nail across the skin of his stomach, just above his shorts. It felt like fire. He hooked his thumbs into the sides of her bikini bottoms to tug them down, but she pulled them out, splaying his hands over her hips. ‘Can you keep them there?’
He nodded, even though it was torture not to dip inside, to feel her slick heat, to put them where he wanted his tongue to go.
In a quick movement she pulled the waistband of his shorts out and down and his cock was in her hand.
‘Fuck!’ He jerked back, but her grip was firm as she pumped him. ‘Sherilyn,’ he gasped.
‘What?’ she whispered. ‘Is this okay?’
He let out a tortured laugh. ‘Fuck, yes...’
‘Then don’t move.’ She went back to kissing him, sweeping her sweet tongue into his mouth and setting every part of him ablaze. Her other hand cupped his balls, rolling them and gently tugging as she stroked up and down his shaft.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was losing control. Sensations roared up through him in waves, drawing up for an inevitable release. Nothing had ever felt so good. As he rushed towards the point of no return, he opened his eyes. In the distance were two figures, exiting the tree line and looking out across the creek. They were far away and facing downstream, but when they turned?
‘Sherilyn, people are coming.’ His voice was breathless and ragged.
She glanced over her shoulder, then pulled him around so his back was to them. She pumped him faster, sucking on his neck.
‘Sherilyn, you have to stop,’ he begged as his body bucked into her.
‘Where’s your sense of adventure?’
Holy fucking shit. He huffed out another laugh as he held her gaze. She was breathing as heavily as he was, her pupils fully dilated. As her hand swept up his cock, her thumb rubbed under the head, amplifying every sensation. His climax raced towards him, every muscle inside him straining and shuddering. Then it smashed into him with the force of a freight train. He held his breath, clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth to stop a yell forcing its way out as his release ripped through his body. She continued stroking as wave after wave of blinding pleasure pulsed and flowed through him. He lost all sense of his place in the universe. The cool water around them, the warm sun on his shoulders, her soft touch, everything was an endless unity of bliss and perfection.
30
Sherilyn lay on the picnic blanket watching the sunlight glinting through the branches above her, Tristan next to her. He was far enough away to maintain Southern standards of social decorum, but the way his hand stroked hers, nudging up into the creases between her fingers, felt positively indecent. She could feel the heat of unresolved tension beating between them, and her body burned. When more people had arrived at the creek, they moved off the rock, further up the bank. She didn’t want to go back into town yet. Even though this place was public, it was far enough out to make her confident they wouldn’t bump into anyone she knew. She wanted to stay out here forever with him under the rustling trees, letting the sounds of nature drown out her guilt. She was lying to the people she loved most in the world. Last night she’d told her mother she was spending the day helping out an old friend and crept out the door that morning without saying goodbye. And in a few hours she would present to Tristan two people she barely knew, but was passing off as her parents. She’d been in such a blind panic when she found out he was coming to Midway that the plan put forward by Clara and Emmett seemed the only solution. She’d thrown all her chips into the game and now it seemed inevitable she would lose everything. Back in February, when Tristan had told their team he wouldn’t be moving to Chicago, she thought that was it. So she’d applied for a transfer to an office in another city and told no one. What was the point of dreaming about a future with Tristan? He would always remain a nebulous fantasy.
But now he was here. What they had was more wonderful than she could ever have imagined and she never wanted to let him go. She focused on the point where her skin touched his, committing the feelings to memory as her lies and self-recrimination echoed around her head.
‘Hot Sauce?’
‘Mmm?’ Had she been asleep? Her thoughts were lazy and scattered. A kiss brushed her forehead.
‘I didn’t want to wake you, but we need to start thinking about heading back into town if we’re to meet your parents at three.’
Adrenaline shot through her and she stumbled to her feet, immediately losing her balance. Tristan caught her.
‘Hey, it’s okay, we’ve got enough time.’
She couldn’t meet his gaze. Nausea rolled up into her throat. She turned away to pack their bags but he’d already done it. She glanced at her watch – he was right, they didn’t need to rush. His hands landed on her shoulders, drawing her in for a hug.
‘It’s going to be fine. I’m the one who should be nervous, not you,’ he murmured into her hair.
Fuck. She was an asshole. She squeezed her eyes tight. This was not how she’d been brought up to behave. People might judge Fender, but he was a saint compared to her right now. Tristan was an angel, thrown out of heaven for being too hot. How did she ever think this perfect man could be hers? She couldn’t do this anymore. She pulled back.
‘Tris, I need to tell you something.’
