Chapter 10 Out of Control #2
Nyree led the group around the rusty machinery and over the ramp where the whalers dragged the massive mammals up for butchering.
She scanned the faces of the men and women who followed her around the small settlement.
Most of the guests listened attentively to her spiel and took photos.
Tāwera remained on the outskirts, and whenever he caught her gaze, he gave his version of a wink, charming her.
Her skin heated, and her belly tightened. Nyree breathed carefully and tried to focus on her tour. At the end of half an hour, she was pleased to finish because her mind hadn’t been on the job. Tāwera kept intruding, and each time she spotted him, she thought of the coming full moon.
She was heading straight to her bedroom during her lunch break.
Today, they had a narrow window between cruise ships, and she intended to take full advantage of the respite.
Never mind food. She’d whip out her vibrator.
Too bad if Tāwera heard. She’d explain this to him in upfront detail.
Given the sizzle of her skin and her swollen sex, she’d self-combust if she didn’t have an orgasm or two to release the sexual pressure taking her body by storm.
An hour later, Nyree stalked to her quarters, and Tāwera trotted beside her.
They dodged a seal and two Gentoo penguins.
A brown skua wheeled overhead, letting out a predatory squawk that had the black-and-white penguins diving for cover.
Now the ship had left, leaving the settlement peaceful.
However, the tempest that raged within her had her balanced on a knife-edge.
“Why are you walking so fast?” Tāwera asked.
“I have something I need to do,” Nyree said, tension leaking into her voice.
“Can I help with something?”
“No. No.” And if she told herself that enough, she might come to believe this.
Nyree reached the doorway of her place and unlocked it.
She flung the door open and stepped inside.
“I’m feeling the effects of moonlust. I am going to my room and getting out my vibrator to take off the edge before I do something crazy. ”
“What’s a vibrator?”
“Huh,” Nyree muttered, closing her eyes and praying for patience. “I’ll explain everything later.” Nyree marched directly to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Her skin warmed and tingled while every nerve ending in her body pulsated.
She yanked off her boots and dropped them haphazardly on the floor.
One. Two. She tossed her socks on top and rapidly stripped off the rest of her clothes.
The cooler air caused her nipples to pucker and pull tight.
She dragged in a deep breath, and a groan squeezed past her lips. Every breath smelled of Tāwera.
Before she thought better of the action, she marched to the doorway and flung open the door.
Tāwera stood there, his fist raised as if he’d intended to knock.
Nyree grabbed his biceps and dragged him inside her room.
He looked startled and unsure for an instant until she began tearing at his clothes.
He tugged at his T-shirt when she tried to yank it over his head. “What are you doing?”
Nyree didn’t dissemble. “It’s moonlust. I have to work this afternoon, but I can’t concentrate. I don’t have time to go for a flight. I was going to get out my vibrator, but I can smell you.” Nyree stared at her feet, unable to keep talking without extreme discomfort.
“What should I do?” Tāwera asked.
“I don’t want you to do anything,” she snapped, angry at herself and her heritage. “I’m sorry. Go. I’m getting my vibrator out of the drawer. I’ll get myself off so I can calm down and go back to work.” She sniffed. “Why is this happening now? I’ve never reacted this strongly at a full moon.”
“Nyree,” Tāwera whispered. He walked to the door and didn’t leave.
Instead, he shut it and returned to her side.
He tugged her against her chest and embraced her.
For an instant, she held herself stiffly, then the fight went out of her.
Tāwera kissed her cheek and followed this with another kiss closer to her mouth.
She twisted away, her heart beating so fast she wondered if it might burst from her body.
“Let me help you,” Tāwera said, his gaze meeting hers. “My moonlust isn’t as bad as yours, but I can still help.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Nyree said. “I have my vibrator. Leave me on my own, and I’ll take care of the problem myself.”
Tāwera screwed up his nose, and she couldn’t decide if his reaction was good or bad. “Please, Nyree. What is a vibrator?”
He wanted to know. She’d show him.
Nyree stomped to the rickety veneer nightstand.
Years of use had taken their toll on the cheap piece of furniture.
She’d found a book of the perfect size to keep the cabinet level.
She ripped open the top drawer and tugged so hard, the contents flew out, scattering like a colorful explosion of confetti.
Hair ties. Two filmy scarves. Tampons. Her electric blue vibrator.
“Gah!” Nyree shouted.
Tāwera—sensible man—took one giant step back and stared at her and the contents of her drawer with wide brown eyes.
When he said nothing, Nyree sniffed and plucked her vibrator off the floor. She stomped to the compact bathroom and gave it a wash. Although she’d cleaned her accommodation thoroughly on her arrival, one couldn’t be too careful with hygiene.
On her return, she found Tāwera had picked up the fallen items and stacked them neatly inside the drawer.
He held up a tampon and turned it over. “What is this?”
“A tampon,” Nyree snapped, refusing to allow embarrassment to take control. “For the time of the month when I bleed.”
He frowned and glanced from her to the tampon. “How does it work? Aroha used a special moss. Does this contain something for the pain?” He inspected it from all angles.
His matter-of-fact acceptance eased some of her angst. “The tampon comprises special material. It goes inside me and swells. I change it as necessary. If I get cramps, I’ll take a painkiller.”
“Do you go to a special place with the other women?”
Her lip curled. “A place of banishment?” Her words carried a distinct bite.
“No!” He sounded shocked. “We never banished our women. They went to rest and do as much or little as they wanted. It was their time of celebration, and if they bled for the first time, it was extra joyful with gifts and waiata.”
“They sang songs because they’d started their period?”
“Yes. This was a time of acknowledging the connection between the people and the land, the common ground with our ancestors.”
“Huh,” Nyree said. “That sounds much nicer than what happens now. We seldom discuss a woman’s time of the month.”
“What is that? It looks like a weird ure.” At her frown, he gestured at his cock.
“Yes, that is exactly what it is. It is a fake cock that a woman can use to pleasure herself if she does not have a man.”
When he continued to look puzzled, Nyree handed over the vibrator. It looked small in his big hands. “You place this inside you?”
“Yes.” Now she sounded defensive. “I can’t get pregnant with a vibrator.”
“You don’t want children?” His gaze was intent as he asked this.
“Yes, I’d like to have babies, but not right now.”
“You cannot choose when to have tamariki,” he said.
“These days, you can. I take a pill each day to stop a child from forming. And we’re finished with this discussion.” She grabbed the vibrator from Tāwera and somehow hit the start button before she had control of it. It sprang to life with a loud buzz.
“Gosh-golly!” Tāwera let out a manly shout and released the vibrator. “It moved,” he said in horror, his eyes big rounds in his pale face.
“It does that. Out. Time’s a-wastin’. I need to be back at the store in time for the next cruise ship.”
When Tāwera didn’t move, Nyree shrugged.
She could do this with him in the room. If she shocked him enough, he’d leave anyway.
A shudder went through her, arousal a riptide that left not one inch of her skin untouched.
She dropped to the bed and splayed her legs, uncaring of what Tāwera might think.
She closed her eyes, desperate for release.
Nyree slipped the vibrator inside her, turning up the power and manipulating the fake penis to hit her G-spot. She dragged it out, her pace slow and steady, a groan working free as she massaged her clit at the same time.
A soft touch at her breast had her eyes flying open.
“Let me,” Tāwera said, his eyes darker than usual.
Nyree’s breath caught. His irises were almost black, and she got the sense she was staring straight into the heart of his taniwha.
Without breaking their visual connection, he stroked the side of her breast. A shiver ran through her, down her torso, and straight to her sex.
A jab of pleasure resounded back, and her eyes drifted closed.
Tāwera settled on the bed beside her, his big, callused hands caressing and stroking her breasts, her nipples.
He seemed to understand what she wanted instinctively.
He grounded her with his firm touch. His pinches.
The way he rolled her nipple between finger and thumb.
His hand lifted, and she moaned in protest at the loss of contact.
Now that Tāwera had touched her, she craved more. Much more, and she was aware of the ticking clock. He settled beside her, a muscular, warm and naked body.
“Let me love you,” he whispered against her ear.
“But we’re friends. Your camaraderie is important to me.” That was the truth, but she experienced an extra something that wasn’t solely friendship. This growing emotion was going to cause trouble for her. She knew this, but at this moment, she didn’t care.
“I will always be your loyal friend,” he said. “Always.”
She slid the vibrator from her needy body, turned it off, and set it aside. Her flesh pulsed, and she stirred restlessly, urgency thrumming through her body.
Tāwera didn’t speak, but Nyree didn’t care.
An action man—that is what she needed at this moment.
Tāwera didn’t disappoint her. He cupped her breasts and settled between her legs.
His mouth landed on hers, and as he pushed into her hot flesh, his pace unhurried, she started to come.
Her body twitched. Bliss poured from her clit and rushed up to her chest and down to her toes.
She pulsed around his cock as he thrust. The joy and excitement didn’t fade or tail off.
Instead, she exploded into a second orgasm even more powerful than the first. Nyree gripped Tāwera’s broad shoulders and clung.
“Nyree.” Her name was a masculine rumble of satisfaction.
Nyree bit his shoulder, astounded and amazed, a little shocked at her reaction to Tāwera. Tāwera issued a guttural groan and increased the pace of his strokes. Without warning, he stilled, embedded deep in her while tiny spasms continued to dart enjoyment through her.
“Are you all right?” Tāwera whispered.
His first thoughts, first words were of concern for her. His example of caring made her fiercely glad she’d kicked Ari to the curb and left New Zealand to regather her mental strength.
“I’m perfect,” Nyree whispered, peppering his broad shoulders with kisses in a show of appreciation. She relaxed against his body, at peace for the first time in ages. Yet, a small part of her knew she’d made a mistake because Tāwera differed from modern-day men.
“Thank you for sharing your moonlust with me,” Tāwera murmured against her neck. “I’d forgotten how it is to hold a beautiful woman in my arms.”
And bull’s eye. A few kind and tender words and she turned to mush.
“I should have a quick shower and go back to work.”
“You have not eaten.”
“That wasn’t the appetite I needed sating,” Nyree said, her tone dry. “I’ll be fine.” She forced herself to pull from Tāwera’s embrace, the sexual release leaving her level and less volatile. “I should thank you.”
“It was my pleasure. Any time.” Tāwera relaxed his grip and let her stand. “I am at your disposal. All you need to do is ask.”
That was precisely what worried her. Another man in her life would bring complications she didn’t need.