Chapter Four
Gunner
It’s nearly dusk when I finally get to the lake and put my pole in the water. Usually this time of day is good fishing, but nothing is biting tonight. Maybe it’s the wind. There’s a rainstorm that’s been sitting on the ridge all day. So far, we’ve only seen wind, but that’s enough. It’s been blowing my line all over the place, and the lake is choppy, scattering the fish. There’s an alcove to the left I could tuck into, but I don’t have the focus right now. I haven’t since this morning.
How the hell did I let Zoe walk away?
I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly, studying the sun as it sinks behind the mountains. Truth be told, fishing has never been about catching fish for me. Sure, I like a day when the haul is plentiful and I can stock the freezer full, but more than that, I’m here for the casting of the line, the slow reel in, the serenity and quiet of the mountains.
“Hey… oh my God! Stop!” The shrill of a woman echoes across the lake, forcing me onto my feet.
Fifty feet away, a brunette is jumping back and forth, scrambling around as though she’s losing her shit. I squint my eyes and walk further up shore, crunching over the stones that line the lake’s edge as I get closer to the flailing woman. I assume she’s in distress, but you never know. She could be high on drugs or God knows what else. Strange things happen in the mountains after dark. In Wyoming, we have wind whisperers. Folks swear that they can hear people singing and chanting after dark. Subsequently, it draws out the kinds of people that like ritualistic dances and ghost hunting. Maybe that’s what’s happening here. Maybe this woman is performing some sort of exorcism. Sure as hell looks like it.
“Ma’am… are you okay?” The faint hum of a buzz takes over the closer I get but it’s so dark I can barely see.
“Bees!” the woman screams. “They’re everywhere!”
Fuck!
I run toward her, crunching over smooth edged stones, and grip her close without thinking, then drag her into the cool mountain lake. Together, we plunge beneath the surface and away from the chaos. I hold on to her, feeling the tight grip of her hand around my arm as I kick upward. When we break the surface, gasping for air, I stare toward her. Her hair is plastered to her face and her light brown eyes are searching mine.
My heart stops. It's Zoe. What’s she doing up here so late?
“You okay?” I ask, my voice steady.
She nods, lips trembling, and for a moment, the only sound surrounding us is the gentle lapping of the cold water as the full moon hangs above.
Her hair clings to her face in damp strands as she searches me for something—a story maybe. A reason as to why we’re here, together, again.
I push the strand back, absorbing her aura. The citrusy scent on her skin. The way her eyes somehow shine in the light. Her shallow and quick breaths. I’m not used to softness and I’m not sure I should even be acting this way. We decided earlier that we shouldn’t do this. We made the decision based on facts and rationality. We made the decision because it’s best for us long term. Our age gap is too large. It would be too much for both of us.
That said, here she is, looking back at me like I’m someone worth holding onto, and whatever reserve I had left is dissolved. I land my hand on the back of her neck and brush her cheek softly with my thumb. I lean in, my jaw tight, my heart hammering.
What the hell am I doing? I should stop. I know I should stop. We decided less than five hours ago that we would stop… yet my lips meet hers with a hard, unrelenting, permissionless growl.
She’s so fucking soft. I don’t deserve this. I know I don’t deserve this, but right now, I’m letting myself have it.
She groans softly into my mouth, and I deepen the kiss as the cool water seeps into my skin and tension crackles between us.
We’re so close. Her chest against mine. Her hard nipples spearing through the thin fabric of her t-shirt. Her warm breath on my neck. The tiniest of aches escaping her lips.
I’m not gonna make it. I should stop right now before I do something stupid, but I can’t. My hands are wild and busy, memorizing every rise and fall of her frame.
“Fuck,” I growl into her mouth. “You taste so good.”
“Touch me, Gunner,” she moans, nipping my lower lip and sucking it into her mouth. “I need you.”
I draw in a ragged breath and drag my hand beneath the water until I’m cupping her big, round, perfect ass. Then, into her leggings, onto her thighs and over the bare silk of her pussy.
“Right there,” she sighs softly against the lobe of my ear, spreading warmth across the coldest parts of me.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been this cold and hard at the same time.
She kisses with more demand and moans, hanging her head back as I palm over her soft, little mound. “Yeah, right there. Touch me.”
“I like the sound of all that begging,” I groan, nearly seeing red. “Come on, honeybee. Tell me you have to have it.”
A slow playful grin lifts onto her face. “ Honeybee? That’s cute, but I don’t know what’s happening.”
“What do you mean?”
“My body… it’s like vibrating. I need you. I felt it all day. You were working, and I was working, and I kept looking at you. You’re so,” she looks away for a moment, then back again, “so hot.”
Never in my life did I think anyone would find me ‘hot.’
Lids hooded, breath heavy, I slide two fingers inside of her, thrusting back and forth slowly as I growl into the nape of her neck, scraping my teeth against her skin.
“Yeah, don’t stop!”
“Mmm,” I groan, “my little honeybee sounds good moaning.” Her pussy feels so small in my hand. I squeeze harder and shake, thrusting in and out of her as water splashes around us.
This isn’t good. The blood in my head has nearly all drained to my cock, and I’m about three seconds away from tossing her against the boulder near the shore and having my way with her.
She digs into my shoulder with one hand, her other stroking my cock beneath the water. “You’re huge.”
“And you’re so tight and wet,” I growl. “I bet you taste amazing.” I thrust in and out of her tight little channel, salivating, desperate to taste her, desperate to sink into her, desperate to fill her up and coat her with my seed.
“Yeah?” she pants, pushing up against my touch. I have no idea how long we’ve been going at it. The world has frozen around us. I’ve stopped seeing the water, stopped feeling the cold, stopped hearing the crickets. My entire existence is focused on this moment, on Zoe’s body.
“I need to get you out of here.” I lean into her ear, my voice low as I say, “I need to feel you.”
Her gaze meets mine. “I need that too, so badly. Take me to your truck. No… that’s a mile hike. I won’t make it.” She pants as she says, “Fuck me here, on the rocks!”
It’s tempting. I’ve been thinking about it. I’d love to drag her soft little body up onto the rocky shore and fuck her wild and free until her thighs are quivering and her noises disturb the still of the night, but I think I’d regret it.
“I don’t want to start things off like that. You deserve better.”
“I need you! I can’t wait ! Please! ”
I never knew I was so turned on by pleading. Turns out, I am.
Reluctantly, I pull my fingers from her warm frame and lift her from the water, carrying her toward the shore before taking off my shirt to lay it over the rocky shoreline. It’s not perfect, but I don’t care. I can barely see straight. I can barely think. The fact that this caveman version of me got his shirt off is a miracle. Never mind the fact that we don’t have a condom… but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I grip the waist of her soaking leggings and begin to tug.
“Oh look, Peggy the Pirate is trying to bury something.” I hear the words, but I don’t see where they’re coming from. There are too many shadows cast against the water and the woods.
Zoe stares up at me, her cheeks red, her mouth open as she says, “We need to go.”
I lift off her curved frame and help her up from the stoney shoreline as I notice three young men walking toward us. I’d say they’re in their early twenties given their patchy beards and oversized hoodies.
I don’t have to ask who they are. I know this is her ex and the asshole friends she told me about a while back. No one else could be so cruel.
“It’s okay,” I hold her shoulders and stare down at her, “I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t want you to take care of it. I want to go.” There’s urgency in her tone that hadn’t been there before. “Come on.”
“No. He’s not talking to you like that.”
“Please!” There’s a begging in her eyes that’s nearly tearful, and I feel bad, but I won’t be here in two days. I can’t walk away knowing these assholes haven’t learned their lesson.
“Zoe, Zoe, Zoe,” the boy says, circling my girl. “You’re soaking wet. Didn’t you know you have to kick when you swim?”
I have no fucking clue what kind of shit this kid is talking, but he’s about to die if he keeps it up.
My brows narrow, and I step toward him with my fists balled. “Kid, you’ve got one minute to get the fuck off this shoreline or we’re gonna have problems.”
The kid shakes his head and grins, stalking back and forth as his little friends stand back watching. “What problem is that, old man? You’re gonna hurt me? Come on… I’d like to see you try.”
I almost think the kid must be high. He’s got confidence like he is. I’d say he’s five foot nine, one hundred and fifty pounds soaking wet, and he’s got bitch boy hands. There’s no competition here. I could take him and his friends down easily.
I laugh. “Kid, walk away or get hurt. Your choice. Either way, you come near my girl again and I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
Zoe tugs at my arm. “Can we go? I want to go.”
The kid grins wide and menacingly. “Zoe, did you tell him your secret, or are you going to surprise him with it, like you did me?”
Whatever Zoe has or hasn’t told me is her own business. She doesn’t owe me anything and I really hate that this little prick is acting like she does. I step forward, grab him by the shirt, and land a solid punch square in his jaw before I put two into his ribs. Blood drips from his nose and slides down his chin as his soft dick friends run off into the woods, leaving him behind.
“You stupid fuck,” the kid yells, pushing his hat back as he stumbles away from me. “You’re gonna be in so much shit. My uncle’s a cop.”
“Cool. When you call him, you might wanna ask him to teach you how to fight.”
He runs off into the woods, and I highly doubt I’ll ever hear from his cop uncle, though I hope I do. I’ve got an earful to give the guy.
“You okay?” I turn back toward Zoe who’s wrapped her arms around herself as she shivers. Shit. I really need to get her out of this cold.
“Yeah, I’m good. Can we, ugh, can we go somewhere warm? We should probably talk.”
“I’ll talk to you all night long,” I say, kissing the top of her head before lifting her into my arms, “but whatever secrets that kid’s talking about, you don’t owe me anything.”
She drags in a deep breath and lets it out slowly as she lays her head against my chest. “I think I do owe you this one.”