11. Savanna
SAVANNA
One week later…
The trail turns a corner and opens up to a stunning view. Emerald Lake winks in the distance as Hope Valley spreads out before us.
I ease the pack off my shoulders and rest it on a boulder that’s smooth with age. Logan stops beside me and shades his eyes with his hands. “Is that the Emerald Lake Resort that Axel runs?”
I squint at the buildings by the lake and can just make out the gondola, taking people up the slopes. There’s no skiing at this time of year, but the views are stunning and tourists flock there in the summer.
“Yup, that’s Axel’s place.”
“I met Axel at bonfire night,” Logan says. “Seems like a solid guy.”
Axel is an older veteran and a good friend of Joel’s. It was his money that helped bankroll Jake’s Retreat.
It’s been a week since I let Logan into my house and between my thighs.
Since then, he’s been true to his word, giving me orgasms with his hand and his tongue and never once asking for anything in return.
He doesn’t seem to mind that I use him for release.
I’m taking from him, selfishly, and it feels freaking amazing.
It’s a satisfactory arrangement, while he pays off his debt for breaking my heart with orgasms.
Sometimes he makes me dinner, sometimes he gets straight to giving me what I need. Then he slips out the door and leaves me in peace.
And if last night I felt an ache when he left, if I wanted to call him back to my bed and give him a release and have him beside me while I slept, then I kept that to myself.
It’s only sex. Not even sex. We haven’t gone all the way, and I’m okay with that.
Mostly. But the last few nights, I’ve wanted to share my pleasure with him.
I’ve yearned to undress him and feel him inside me.
“You hungry?”
I snap out of my thoughts as Logan unzips the daypack. I insisted on carrying it so it wouldn’t hurt his shoulder. He grumbled about it, but I said I’d tell Cliff, and no one wants to piss off the big man with the strong hands who is my colleague.
Logan pulls out a brown bag with two sandwiches he made. I could get used to a man making me food and giving me orgasms.
I climb onto the boulder, and Logan hands me a sandwich. Instead of climbing up next to me, he leans against the boulder, and we eat in silence, looking out at the view.
The hike was his idea, as was getting up at silly o’clock and starting out early.
I was wary about coming out with him, but it’s been fun. The conversation has been easy, and it’s nice getting to know him again.
“What brought you to Hope?” Logan asks.
“The job and the location. It’s only a few hours away from my folks and Cassie, when she’s not touring.”
“It’s a beautiful spot; you got lucky with the job.”
I shrug. “I got lucky with the location. I wanted to work with veterans. I worked in Fayetteville for a while, but when I heard the retreat was opening here, I applied.”
He looks at me sideways. “But your folks are in Fayetteville.”
“How do you know my parents moved to Fayetteville?”
His eyes dart away, and he shrugs. “You must have mentioned it. So you prefer it here in Hope?”
I don’t remember mentioning it, but I guess I must have.
“I like having a little distance from my parents and from Cassie’s reputation.
Cassie still has her place in Pinehurst where we grew up.
I’ve grown up in the shadow of my sister.
Everyone in Pinehurst knows me as the little sister of Cassandra Hart.
Here, I’m Savanna the physio. I can be my own person. ”
He nods. “I get that. And why veterans?”
I raise my eyebrows. “I think you can figure that out yourself.”
I take a bite of the sandwich, and Logan goes quiet as my meaning sinks in.
“Because of me,” he says softly.
I swallow my mouthful and look out at the view. I hate to admit that the man who broke my heart also influenced my work.
“Yeah, well, I try to do my bit to help.”
“Thank you.”
I finish my sandwich and lean back on the boulder, letting out a contented sigh.
Because of our early start, it’s mid-morning, and the sun is warm enough to feel nice and not too hot to make it uncomfortable.
I close my eyes and enjoy the heat on my face, the sounds of the birds, and the breeze on my cheeks.
I hear Logan shift next to me and then the pressure of his hands on my thighs.
I pop one eye open, and he’s moved in front of me with a mischievous grin on his face.
“What are you doing?”
The grin widens, and he slides his hand around to my inner thigh and applies pressure between my legs. My entire body heats, my panties flood, and my mouth drops open in a tiny gasp.
“Logan.” It comes out as a moan. I like this way too much.
His thumbs hook over my shorts, and I sit up as he tugs at them.
“We can’t do this here.” My neck whips around at the empty path.
“No one’s around.” His hand caresses me, and my body wants this, but the sensible part of my brain tells me we shouldn’t be doing this on a public hiking trail.
“Someone might come.”
“You’re the only one coming, Savanna.”
He slips a finger inside me, and a groan escapes me. How does he make it feel so darn good?
“But…” His palm circles my clit, and I forget what I was going to say.
“Why do you think we started early? We haven’t seen anyone on the trail.” He flicks my clit and I gasp. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you come quick and hard.”
As he says it, he tugs my shorts down further and pulls one foot out of them, all while his other hand is doing amazing things that make me forget why this is a bad idea.
“Lean back and enjoy it.”
Then he dips between my legs, and my mind goes blank.
My body wins, and I’m lost in the sensation of his warm mouth, his rough tongue, and his thick fingers.
I lean back on the boulder, grazing my elbows, and the breeze sweeps across my bare thighs; the birds chirp, and all my senses are alive.
This is so much better than a vibrator, so much better than my fantasies, so much better than anything I could have imagined.
I open my thighs wide and let Logan in. I let him kiss me and strum me, and I forget every hurt he ever did to me. All I want is him between my thighs.
I lift my hips, and he grabs my backside and pulls me onto his tongue. It’s intimate and feels freaking amazing, but I want more of him. I want to watch him. I sit up, and he adjusts to my new position. I grab his hair and pull him toward me as my pleasure builds.
“Logan.” I say his name as he draws me closer and closer to the edge. Then I’m over the edge and falling, and I cry out his name as my body shatters on his tongue.
He looks up from between my legs, and his stubble glistens, and his eyes are full of desire for me. And suddenly I want him. I need all of him.
“Logan.” My voice is a whisper as I pull him from his knees. He nestles between my thighs, and I pull at the waistband of his shorts.
“I want you.”
His eyes widen, and he sucks in a breath. His palm caresses my cheek, and I’ve never felt so cared for and so cherished. I should be wary of those feelings, but my pussy throbs and I need him inside me.
“Savanna.” My name on his lips is a throaty whisper. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
I slide my hand into his shorts and grip his hard length. He groans, and slick pre-cum coats my fingers.
“I’m not eighteen anymore, Logan. Don’t hold back for my sake.”
“Fuck, Savanna.” His words are tortured as I stroke him.
“I’ve waited a long time for this. It’s never felt right before, but it does with you.”
He pulls back and peers at me.
“What do you mean? Have you never…?”
I cover my face, trying and failing not to feel embarrassed. “It’s no big deal; I just never met anyone I wanted to go all the way with. But now I’m twenty-nine and I feel safe with you, or at least my body does, so I’d like to finally lose my virginity with someone who knows how to make it good.”
I hook my feet around his back and nudge him toward me. His tip grazes my pussy opening, and he jerks back.
“Whoa, we can’t do it here.” I look around the trail, but it’s as empty as it’s been all morning.
“Why not? You said yourself there’s no one around.”
He shakes his head. “Your first time is not going to be a quickie against a boulder.”
I stare at him in disbelief. I’ve just offered myself to him, all of him, and he’s pulling away.
“You’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“Deciding what’s best for me.”
He takes my cheeks in his palms. “Peaches, this isn’t about me deciding what’s best for you. This is about me telling you what you deserve. I would love nothing more than to slip inside you. Hell, I’ve fantasized about it often enough. But it’s your first time. It should be special.”
As he speaks, he plants soft kisses on my neck, moving his way up my throat. “You deserve to be taken time over, for me to make love to you slowly.”
He does make it sound epic, and I let out a long sigh. But the kisses also make my pussy throb, and I want to decide how and when I lose my virginity, not him.
I tighten my legs around his waist and draw him to me, and at the same time tilt his face up so he’s looking at me.
“This is my decision, Logan, all mine. This is how I want to lose my virginity. With you at the top of a mountain. Let me choose for once.”
His eyes are hooded with desire, and there’s a crease between his brows. He’s struggling to let me win on this one, but I need to win. I desperately need to know he’s not still trying to decide my life for me like I’m a naive eighteen-year-old.
To help him along, I slip my hands inside his shorts and take his dick between my palms. Logan groans, and his resolve slips away.
“If you’re sure this is what you want, Peaches.”
I grin as I tug him toward me. “This is one hundred percent what I want.”