Chapter Twenty
“I never understood why in horror movies, when people are faced with danger, they just stand there. Run you idiots! Run!” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Eric vaguely heard the distant sound of barking, but it was hard to really process much beyond the thundering blood in his ears. As he held Gracie’s soft curves against him, sliding in and out of her warmth, his breathing became ragged. Being with her consumed him. He’d been dreaming of sinking into her, of having her wrapped around him and breaking into a million pieces because of the things he did to her. Because she wanted him.
Now that he had it, he didn’t want to stop. Never wanted it to end.
But he could feel the thread of his self-control snap as she squeezed her muscles around him. Her hips jerked over him, and he sensed that she was close again.
Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and thought of anything else but the slide of her tits against his chest. Of the way his dick vibrated with restraint to the point of pain.
When she mewled loudly, he covered her lips with his and let go. He groaned into her mouth as he came inside her.
He finally pulled away, sucking in air and trying to speak, and realized they hadn’t even talked about birth control. He assumed if she wasn’t on the pill, she would have stopped him, but if he was wrong…
“Please tell me you’re on the pill.”
Gracie laughed breathlessly. “A little late in asking, but yeah. We’re good.”
“Good. Good. And I’m clean, if you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t. I trust you not to give me some nasty-ass STD.”
Eric’s chuckle turned into a cough as he realized how dry his throat was. “Ah, you trust me? That’s so sweet.”
She hit his upper arm with the flat of her hand. “You’re ruining the afterglow.”
“Sorry, won’t happen again.” He kissed her neck, and she pulled away with a giggle.
“You’re gonna have to lose the beard,” she said.
His jaw dropped. “What? You want me to give up my beard for you?”
“Yes, it tickles and scratches.”
“Come on, you know you love the beard. You think it’s hot.”
Gracie pursed her lips. “I do, huh?”
“Hell yeah. Didn’t you call me a sexy lumberjack?”
“Ha, in your dreams maybe—”
The deep bay of a dog made them both jerk, and their heads swung toward the only exit to the little shack.
“What is the matter with you, Brutus?” Mr. Melvin’s gravelly voice was loud enough to be heard through the door, but there was no telling how close he was.
“What do we do?” Gracie hissed.
“I’m thinking.”
“This was your idea, Eric Henderson, and if you get us arrested—”
“Quiet, woman!”
Gracie grabbed him by the nipple and twisted. He let out an unmanly yip as she pulled away from him and climbed out of the pool. He didn’t have time to truly admire her small, tight ass or the nipped-in waist above it before he heard heavy breathing outside the shack. The door rattled, and the sound of scratches against the wood told him Melvin had let Brutus out to run the property. Deep growls and whimpers dissolved into frantic barking.
Shit, we really are humped.
Gracie was just pulling her shirt on and faced the door. Her eyes widened, and she turned toward him, glaring and pointing.
He got the silent message. It was up to him to fix it.
He climbed out of the pool and pulled his boxers, clothes, and boots on. He figured that he had minutes before Melvin came out to investigate why his dog was having a meltdown.
Getting on his jacket, he faced Gracie, keeping his voice low. “I’m going to distract them, and while I’m doing that, you run back to the car.”
“What? That’s stupid. We should just open the door and holler at Melvin. He might just make us pay for the use of the tub—”
“Or, he’s pissed enough to call the cops and they call your parents to bail you out, thus proving your mother right.”
She paused, her cheeks draining of color. “Yeah, you better get your ass running, Skip.”
He walked over and grabbed her around the waist and kissed her hard. “For luck.”
“You’re not going to war, idiot! You’re outrunning a dog.”
“Hey, it’s a big fucking dog.”
She pushed him away, laughing. “God, I wish I had a video camera with a night vision. I so want to record this and put it on YouTube.”
“You’ll pay for that.”
Eric took a deep breath as he went to the door. “Okay, flick off the light.”
She did as he asked, and the room went pitch-black. As if sensing he was ready to run, the dog started growling again.
Eric gripped the doorknob, and with a quick jerk, he threw the door open, pushing the dog out of the way.
And he took off, his boots clomping against the crunchy snow. He could hear the dog behind him, panting. Melvin shouted something, but Eric kept running.
Suddenly, a heavy weight crashed against his back, and he hit the cold, hard ground with a curse.
He didn’t move as the dog stood above him, growling. The hot air of its breath tickled his bare head and he realized he’d left his hat in the shed.
This was a bad fucking idea.
Suddenly, he heard the slam of a door, and Gracie’s cry: “Hey, puppy, puppy!”
The dog’s weight was suddenly gone, and he looked up in time to watch her running her ass off toward the fence, the huge beast hot on her heels.
“Move, you idiot, move!” she hollered.
Eric climbed to his feet and did what she said. The dog seemed to have a hard time deciding who to chase, since every time he started after one, the other would whistle or yell.
Melvin was coming down the hill, huffing and puffing in the dark.
“Who the hell is out there? We shoot trespassers, you know!”
Gracie was climbing up the chain link, which left only Eric on the ground. He dived for the opening in the fence and had managed to squeeze in past his ass before the dog grabbed a hold of his pant leg with his teeth.
Eric clawed at the ground, trying to pull himself through as the dog played tug-of-war.
Gracie landed on the ground by his shoulder, and he had to hand it to her. For being such a girly girl, she could sure climb a fence.
Gracie grabbed something off the ground and threw it over the fence. “Get the stick, doggie.”
Brutus released Eric long enough to investigate, and Gracie grabbed the chain link and lifted it. “Hurry.”
Eric made it just before Brutus came back, barking and jumping, his big tail swinging. Eric laughed, realizing that the dog had thought it was a big game and wasn’t actually trying to eat him.
Gracie helped him to his feet, and they ran through the trees. Melvin called for Brutus several times in the distance, and by the time they made it back to the car, Eric was sure the old man had given up the chase.
They leaned over the hood, breathing hard, and when their eyes locked in the light of the moon, they both started laughing.
“God, that was crazy.”
“You’re crazy,” she said. “Next time, I’m picking the activity, and there will be no trespassing or giant dogs!”
“Deal.” Eric reached for her hand and pulled her against him. “It was still fun, though, right?”
She shrugged against him. “I guess. You know, the five minutes in the pool were pretty fantastic.”
“Five minutes? That was way longer than five minutes!”
She acted bored. “Fine, six minutes.”
He growled at her and slid his hands down her thighs, then lifted her up against his body. An owl hooted in the distance, and he carried her to the passenger side of the car as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She ran her hands over his shoulders and rubbed them into his muscles as he pressed her into the car. He held her with one arm and wrapped the other in her hair, bringing her mouth down to his. He rubbed his already hardening cock against the juncture of her thighs, and when she hungrily kissed him back, he almost ripped her pants off and fucked her again.
But he noticed the almost crisp texture of her wet hair and realized it was so cold, her hair was freezing. The last thing he wanted was her getting sick.
Their kiss broke, leaving them both panting heavily in the night. She leaned her head on his shoulder, her mouth right next to his ear. “Okay, we’ll say seven.”
He laughed roughly, shaking his head. “Let’s get the hell out of here before the cops show up.”
Eric let her slide down his body, almost groaning at the sensation, and helped her inside. He got in and turned the heat up, waiting for the car to warm.
“As nice as latent teenage rebellion is, I am ready to curl up in a nice, comfy bed.”
“Good thing you’re staying at my place, then,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “It’s less froufrou than yours, and it’s bigger.”
She pinched his arm. “Froufrou? It’s whimsical, and my bed is very comfortable.”
“I’m sure it is, but it’s still girly and tiny.”
“I love my room.”
“Yeah, but you can’t have a real man stay over. My feet hang off the end of it by a foot!” She leaned over and slid her hand down his body. “If your legs were bent spooning me, you wouldn’t have had that issue.”
Eric shook his head. “All I can say is I am so glad your parents are in town. I want you so bad, but if I had to origami myself into that doll bed again, I might never stretch back out.”
Gracie laughed, moving back to her side of the car. “Such a drama queen. Who says I’m up for anymore sexcapades tonight, anyway?”
He pretended to pout. “You don’t want to play with me anymore?”
“I guess I could be convinced.”
Eric backed the car down the road and was just about to pull out when Gracie laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“I was just thinking Miss Know-It-All would have had a field day with this.”
Eric heard the edge of bitterness in her voice and reached for her hand. “I meant what I said, Gracie Lou. No one needs to know our business but us.”
“Which is probably why we shouldn’t trespass and skinny dip, huh?”
Her lighter tone made him relax. He knew that the column would be a sore spot with her for a while, but was hoping with time, she could move past it and realize it wasn’t about hurting her. It was his voice, his release, and he wouldn’t have changed where it had brought him.
Sitting next to Gracie Lou McAllister in his car, reaching across to close the distance between them and kissing her in the moonlight.