Even in the dark of night, with only the dimmed deck lighting to provide illumination, Ben could see how brightly her green eyes were glittering as he slowly withdrew his fingers from inside her still-clenching pussy and brought them to his lips.

“Mmm.” He smacked his lips with an exaggerated gesture. “Delicious. Tell you what, sweetheart. You can keep those brownies for yourself because you’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Lauren grabbed his wrist and brought his fingers to her mouth, sucking the middle digit between her lips. “Hmm, kind of salty, actually,” she murmured. “Not all that different from the way you taste. Speaking of which.”

“Uh, uh.” His fingers clamped firmly around her wrist as she tried to unzip his jeans. “Not now, sweetheart. Not when I’m this fucking hard. You’d only have to touch me – one little fingertip – and it’d be over with in about two seconds.” He drew her hand to his lips, this time sucking her fingers into his mouth. “And I want it to last a whole lot longer than that. I want to fuck you for hours. Starting like this.”

He lifted her nude, curvy body off his lap and then brought her over to the edge of the deck. He placed her hands on the railing before smacking her lightly on the ass.

“Hold on to that railing,” he instructed in a husky voice. “Don’t let go no matter what. Bend over now, keep that gorgeous little butt up in the air for me.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied sarcastically, wiggling her ass in deliberate provocation.

Ben chuckled as he shucked his clothes in record time, then stepped in until he was standing directly behind her. “Good girl,” he whispered in her ear, his hand slipping around the front of her body to tweak her nipple. “Keep doing what you’re told now and I won’t have to spank you.”

Lauren snorted in derision. “As if that’s ever going to happen. Look, you can play at being the big, bad Master all you like but there will be no spanking, no – mmph!”

He grinned wickedly as he secured Lauren’s discarded halter top around the back of her head, the cotton garment making quite an effective gag. He ran his hand down the curve of her spine to pinch her ass cheek.

“You didn’t say no gagging,” he taunted teasingly. “Now, relax, hmm? Relax and enjoy and – surrender.”

Each time they fucked, Ben didn’t think he could possibly want her more, didn’t believe that his cock could feel any harder. But as he worked himself inside of her tight, juicy cunt one slow, delicious inch at a time, he thought that surely his dick was an inch or two longer and wider than normal, and definitely a whole lot harder. As he sunk himself fully within her welcoming body, the groan he emitted threatened to echo for miles around. And even though Lauren had assured him repeatedly each time they’d had outdoor sex – on the too-small settee, or on a deck chair, in the hot tub – that no one could possibly hear them, Ben had yet to be completely convinced.

But now, as he began to fuck her in earnest with deep, rapid thrusts, he wouldn’t have given a damn if a hundred people were gathered around to watch them. It was too good, too unbelievably satisfying for anything to make him stop, and from the muffled sounds Lauren was making beneath her improvised gag, she was feeling the same way.

He wanted this to last for hours, to keep fucking her all night long, but he was too aroused, too needy, and he felt his release approaching like a runaway train despite his efforts to slow it down. At the last minute, he jerked the gag away, grasping her chin between his fingers and tilting it back to meet his blistering, demanding kiss.

The orgasm almost knocked him off his feet, and he had to band an arm around Lauren’s waist to hold her upright, her legs shaking beneath the force of his thrusts.

And when they did eventually sink to their knees, their arms wrapped tightly around each other while they struggled to regain control of their equally ragged breathing, Ben longed for time to freeze in place at this exact moment, knowing he would never want to be anywhere else but right here – with this beautiful, enchanting woman entwined around him.

Unfortunately for him, time not only didn’t stand still but went by far too quickly for his liking.

Chapter Four

In the end, he stayed with her for ten days, more than twice as long as he’d originally planned to remain in the area. But every time he thought about moving on, driving south to the next stop on his itinerary, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted more than anything to stay here forever – in this wild, rugged coastal town that he’d felt an instant affinity with; in this cabin that after less than two weeks already felt more like home to him than either of his parents’ houses back in Ohio ever had; and with this beautiful girl who was really still in the first throes of womanhood, the girl who could easily be “the one” for him, his soulmate, his once in a lifetime.

They had never actually talked about how much time they would have together before he needed to move on to his next stop along the route. And neither of them had ever once mentioned the future, where they went from here, or tried to define exactly what this relationship of theirs was or could be. They seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement to live in the moment, to enjoy each precious minute they spent together, and not to think beyond the next hour or two.

And enjoyment was exactly the right word to describe the past ten days. They had managed to cram a year’s worth of living – of memories – into a scant week and a half. Each day with Lauren was an adventure, a crazy, madcap experience, and that was saying a lot for someone like Ben, who’d already traveled to every continent except Antarctica and frequently engaged in extreme sports like mountain biking, rock climbing, ocean kayaking, and snowboarding. He’d gone bungee jumping in New Zealand, on safari in Kenya, and climbed to the top of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. But his time with Lauren had been far more exhilarating and definitely more memorable than any of his previous experiences.

She’d continued to drag him out surfing with her each morning until he was able to stay upright on the board for nearly a minute at a time. And he’d learned that most of the guys who flirted with her so outrageously had all grown up with her, and they were more than happy to welcome Ben into their close-knit circle.

Lauren had taken him for hikes on several of the trails her Uncle Malcolm had first introduced her to as a young girl. And while the hikes had been challenging, over some very technical terrain, it had actually been the drives up to a couple of the more remote trailheads that had scared the shit out of him. Lauren had insisted on driving, and she’d maneuvered that beast of a pickup truck as though it were a Formula One race car. During the drives along a series of dusty, unpaved roads with more than their fair share of steep grades and hairpin turns, Ben had alternately shut his eyes, clutched the roll bar for dear life, and dredged up some long forgotten prayers. He’d exited the truck on wobbly legs, almost kissing the ground in relief, and thanking the stars above that they had made it this far in one piece.

The hikes themselves had been amazing, and for most of the time they hadn’t come across another soul. With the camera Lauren had insisted on giving him – after a series of protests on his part and stubborn rebuttals on hers – he’d snapped dozens, hundreds, of shots to accompany his article. Lauren had packed snacks and drinks into their backpacks, along with a space blanket so that they could have an impromptu picnic along the trail. And in between sips of soda and bites of peanut butter sandwiches, the little minx had brazenly stripped off her clothes before tumbling him onto his back. His rather feeble protests about someone walking past had quickly been swallowed up beneath the sweet pressure of her lips on his.