Chapter 24 #2
When the source of the smoke came into view, my mouth dropped open.
It wasn’t smoke. It was steam. About halfway down the hill from us, water was bubbling up from the ground and spilling into several deep rock pools that led to a small river snaking through the valley.
The river had chunks of ice along the edges, but the clear pools of water steamed like a hot bath.
“It’s called a hot spring. The water’s hot all year round, but they all smell like this, unfortunately.”
“How?”
“Dunno. Comes up from the ground that way. You wanna soak? It’ll give Cinnamon a chance to rest, and I’m pretty sure the wolves are doing the same since they’ve gone quiet.”
I nodded, and Trey took the horse down to the river to get a drink and give her more oats while I stayed by the pool with our supplies.
I ate some of the food Zeke sent with us as I slipped my boots and socks off, rolling up my pant legs to dip my toes in the hot water.
I sighed. I couldn’t wait to submerge my stiff, sore body.
As soon as Trey made his way back up, I handed him the rest of the food I’d been eating, then shrugged off my jacket and pulled my shirt over my head.
When he came back into view, I almost laughed.
He was watching me undress with dark eyes, a smile playing across his lips, and his hand frozen halfway to his mouth as though he’d completely forgotten about the bread he’d been about to bite.
“You better finish that so you can join me.” I grinned as I pulled down my pants.
He immediately stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, and I laughed.
I waded naked into the pool, trying to avoid slipping on the rocky bottom.
Standing in the middle, the water came up to my chest, and it felt incredible, especially on my back.
When I turned to glance at Trey again, he was already wading in after me.
“This is amazing,” I said as he neared.
“You’re amazing,” he said in a rough voice, and his lips found mine.
I matched his energy, our tongues rolling over each other. I’d never wanted someone like this. Would it always be this way, like I’d never get enough?
His beard scratched pleasantly against my skin.
I slid my hand down between us, grasping him in the water, and his fingers tightened on my skin as his breathing hitched.
Our lips broke apart and I watched his face as I brushed my thumb across the velvet tip of his cock.
He shuddered, his hips thrusting into my hand as he swore.
I stroked him for a while, exploring what made his breathing hitch and what made him groan my name.
He moved toward my breasts, but I stopped him.
“It’s my turn.” I smugly echoed his words from that night in the woods.
He huffed a laugh, then swore again as I continued stroking him.
“You keep doin’ that, and I won’t be able to last much longer,” he rasped.
I grinned, releasing him, and he swiftly took hold of my waist. My feet left the rocky bottom as he stood straight up, and I wrapped my legs around his torso.
“I want to hear you moanin’ my name again,” he said. His lips ghosted over the shell of my ear as he lined himself up at my entrance. “I wanna see you glowin’ and comin’ undone.”
I shivered, heart racing, then gasped as he slid inside with one hard thrust.
“Fuck, Trey,” I choked out.
He began lazily rolling his hips, and my arm muscles strained as I tried to increase the pace. I growled in frustration, and he chuckled.
“Trey,” I begged, “please.”
“What do you want, Bones?” he teased, tilting his head back to see my face.
The steam rose around us in gauzy ribbons. Tendrils of his hair clung to his face, damp from my wet hands dragging through it.
“Is this what you want?” he murmured before I could answer, pulling my hips down hard and making waves of water crest over the rocks.
My fingers dug into the sinewy muscles of his shoulders. “Yes.”
He did it again, harder, and I knew I’d probably have bruises on my hips from his hands.
“Don’t stop,” I whimpered, heat coiling through me.
“Gods, I love you,” he groaned, slamming into me, making the water choppy with waves.
“Trey,” I gasped.
My blood buzzed through my veins, and I could feel my power building with the pleasure.
He continued his brutal pace. I keened through my teeth, skin beginning to glow faintly, and a devilish smile crossed his face. My head tipped back, my breath coming in fast pants, as electricity sizzled through me.
“Oh my gods,” I moaned, “right there.”
He pulled my hips down onto him even harder. “Right there?”
“Gods, Trey,” I managed to gasp before the entire pool filled with soft golden light.
“Fuck, darlin’.” His pace grew even more frantic and desperate.
I looked at him, bathed in the golden light that emanated from me, and thought he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I watched the pleasure shatter across his face, his muscles clenching as he panted. I’d never get tired of seeing him like that.
As he stilled, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again.
I meant for it to be gentle, but he pulled me tightly against him and sucked my tongue into his mouth, demanding and needy like he couldn’t get enough, even though his cock was still buried inside of me.
I kissed him back just as fiercely, and soon I felt him harden inside of me again. I grinned against his lips.
“What, that wasn’t enough for you?”
“This is what you do to me,” he murmured, rolling his hips. “I will never get enough of you, Bones.”
“Well, you make me literally glow.” My breath hitched.
That smug expression returned. He continued to slowly thrust into me, and a tiny whine escaped my lips.
“I love those noises you make,” he said, increasing his pace.
“I love you.”
His sunshine smile shone as bright as the golden light beaming from my skin.
—
We spent a couple of hours in the hot spring pool, soaking and enjoying each other’s bodies. Again, I never wanted to leave, but as we lingered, reality kept creeping closer.
Eventually, I sighed and wrapped myself around him. “I wish we had more time.”
“I know. Hopefully soon we’ll have all the time in the world.”
“Might not be enough,” I said, pressing my cold nose against his neck.
He laughed. “Might not be.”
“I’d rather not get eaten by a wolf, though.”
“Same.”
I forced myself to let go of him and leave the pool. My skin still glowed faintly, and as I stepped into the cold air, steam rose from my body.
“You look like a fallen star,” Trey said.
I turned to see him gazing at me, and I wished I had one of the cameras from Before.
I wanted to memorialize that expression on his face so I could always remember him staring at me with awe and love and desire.
It made my eyes burn with emotion, but then the icy wind gusted, and I scrambled for my clothes.
“Gods, I didn’t think about how cold it would be to get out,” I said through chattering teeth.
“Yeah, that’s always the worst part,” Trey said, emerging next to me, his skin also steaming.
“Do you think we could start a fire?” I asked as we quickly dressed.
Trey hesitated, glancing out at the quiet landscape. “I’d feel better if we put some more distance between us and the wolves.”
We made our way down the hill to where Cinnamon dozed on her feet. Trey saddled her back up and we ate more before starting out again. Trey handed me a small metal compass and showed me how to make sure we were heading west. Mountains and trees spread as far as I could see under the huge blue sky.
“Once we get through these mountains, we’ll come to a large river,” Trey explained as we followed a small deer trail in the snow. “If we follow it south, we’ll come to a dam. We can cross there and keep goin’ west.”
“Have you been this far before?” I asked.
“I’ve been to the dam, but that’s as far as I’ve gone.”
“What were you doing at the dam?”
“There was a group of people livin’ inside the dam, but they went radio silent. So Madame sent us out to go check on ’em.”
“Really?” It surprised me that Madame would care.
“Well, she wasn’t so much concerned with their well-being,” Trey clarified.
“They were people who used to be at the Vault, but Madame thought controlling the only crossing for miles and miles would be advantageous. So she sent a team to do that. I was a kid when they left. They ran the dam for years, demanding payment from people who wanted to cross.”
“What happened?” I asked, already guessing the answer.
“They were all dead,” Trey answered, confirming my suspicion.
“Either some group didn’t want to pay the toll or they were tryin’ to take control of the dam.
Looked like a massive firefight, and none of our people survived.
” He sighed. “So we collected whatever hadn’t been looted, burned the bodies, and left.
After that, Madame decided the dam was too far away from the Vault to maintain. ”
“Do you think the wolves are still followin’ us?” I asked after a pause, rubbing my gritty eyes and trying to stifle another yawn.
“Not sure,” he said. “I hope not.”
—
As much as I tried to stay awake, I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, Trey was shaking me, and the sun was disappearing behind the mountains.
“How long was I asleep?” I mumbled, disoriented and annoyed at myself.
“Awhile,” Trey said, but he didn’t sound mad. He dismounted and I realized we’d stopped to camp for the night.
“Have you heard the wolves at all?” I asked anxiously as I slid off the horse.
“No,” he said, but he didn’t look happy about it. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
I studied him as we started setting up our campsite. He moved more slowly than normal, his face lined with exhaustion.
“Trey, you should sleep, and I’ll take the first watch.”
He looked like he wanted to argue for a moment, but then he nodded. “Alright.” He cracked a weary smile. “Do I look as tired as I feel?”
I smiled. “You look pretty damn tired.”
He made a face. “Guess I do, then.”