WILD PLEASURE {short erotic stories} Chapter 81: Fired Up (7)

She stared at him, wishing the answers to the questions she didn’t know

how to ask were written on his face. Had he come here just to drop off a radio—or had he come here for her? And if she was the real reason for his pit stop, how did she feel about that?

“You want to check the place out, be my guest. I won’t leave you down here where the bears can get you. Come on up. Do what you need to do.” She gestured for him to go first, though, because damned if he needed to know what she was—or was not—wearing beneath her towel. Having his hands and his eyes all over her second-best bra was embarrassing enough.

“Sure, sha.” Rising gracefully to his feet, he swung himself up the ladder and started climbing hand over hand.

The man certainly had a spectacular ass. She gave him a head start, hanging back some, because taking an inadvertent boot to the eye was painful and the view from here was fantastic. The muscles in that toned ass flexed beneath the Nomex with each step he conquered.

When he reached the top, he shouldered open the trap door and reached down a hand for her gun. Giving up the weapon went against the grain, but she handed the shotgun over when he waggled his fingers. Honestly, this close, he could hurt her a half-dozen ways and they both knew it. Either she trusted him or she didn’t, and so far, he’d been nothing but honest with her.

She could always shoot him later. The thought made her snort, and he shook his head. “You find somethin’ funny?”

Yeah. He had her veering between homicidal and horny as hell, so he was lucky she’d opted for laughter.

Another day, with a less male companion, and she might have taken a moment to appreciate the panoramic view of mountains and forest unfolding around the watchtower. She had a real sweet setup. He didn’t seem to care, though, because as soon as he’d gotten his boots on the platform, he shifted her stuff to his left arm, bent down, and hooked his

 right beneath her elbow, giving her a quick boost and pull. The towel hitched, slipping lower over her breasts.

Hope you enjoyed the show.

She headed inside, snagging her stuff as she pushed past him.

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised when he deftly blocked the closing door with a booted foot. Yeah, clearly he wouldn’t put it past her to slam the door in his face. He wasn’t wrong either. Seeing him here in her private space evoked a visceral reaction. The small cabin seemed even smaller, pulling her toward him.

“You sleep in here?” He stepped in after her and gestured toward the mattress on the floor. The words came out as a question, although the truth was obvious. Of course, she did. Some of the other lookouts preferred to camp below their towers or had small cabins nearby, but she’d always enjoyed the sense of security and privacy she got from being so high above the forest floor. Nothing could get to her up here.

“This is my place.” She thought maybe he flinched a little at her words, but she had a hard time imagining a big guy like him being put off by a cabin in the sky. He was certainly no stranger to rough-and-tumble.

“Not too much room to spare.” He drawled the comment from her doorway, clearly in no hurry to come inside despite his claims earlier. So, okay. He was so far out of her league, it wasn’t funny.

She crossed her arms over her chest. His eyes followed and her nipples puckered in response. He took his time looking, in no hurry to drag his gaze back to hers. She didn’t know if she should be offended or turned on.

His slow smile decided her.

Turned on.

The folds of her pussy were swollen and overly sensitive, making each

step she took an exquisite agony. If Cole would just make himself scarce, she had no doubt her battery-operated boyfriend would give her an orgasm in minutes.

“I’ve got a roof,” she volunteered when the silence stretched on for too long and he showed no signs of leaving. No, the damned man just stood there, watching her. “And there’s plenty of space between me and the wildlife. That works for me.”

“Oui.” He shrugged. “Me, I’d rather be outside.”

She bet he would. His feet would hang off that mattress, and they’d be banging knees and elbows. This couldn’t, wouldn’t work, and the sooner

 her libido got that message, the better.

Now that she got a good look at him, she saw the warning his face

broadcast. Not only was he a big, hard brute of a man, but the scars alongside his jaw and throat said someone or something had tried to slice the skin there and almost succeeded. If his body were a map of where he’d been and what he’d done, he was clearly dangerous because of what he’d survived. He even moved with the sure, confident prowl of a wild cat. He knew he was in charge and that his very presence sucked the air out of the room. She should have grabbed the radio from him and sent him packing down the mountain.

She should not be imagining forty different ways to keep him there.

“Turn around,” she demanded, because standing here in her towel was a bad idea. “Or get the hell out. Today’s peep show is over.”

He shrugged, like he didn’t understand what the big deal was, but he turned and she got the unmistakable feeling this was the first and last time he would take orders from her. While she studied his broad back and the way the faded cotton stretched over powerful muscles, he scanned the horizon. She did that, too, when she wasn’t distracted by sexy hotshots, automatically looking for smokes. Tonight, the forest was real quiet. Close by, a hawk screamed and dove, hunting dinner, but the canopy of treetops spread away unbroken by new smokes.

The rustling sound of the towel hitting the floor seemed overly loud. She didn’t know whether she wanted Cole to stay put—or to move. God, she’d bet he could move.

His next words were a surprise. He didn’t comment on the view or even the potential for trouble brewing out there on the horizon. Instead, the man she would have sworn would avoid anything personal headed right there.

“I scare you.” His declaration was matter-of-fact.

“Some,” she admitted, because it was the truth. Having him here was like being shut in with a large tiger. She had no idea what he really wanted, or even if he wanted something.

“We’ll work on that.” A powerful shrug of his shoulders accompanied the easy declaration.

That just confused her further, because he was only here for one night. Looking at him made her think about sex—hot, nail-clawing, fierce sex— but he hadn’t said that was what he wanted. Instead, she pulled on clean clothes: panties and a cotton tank top, shorts, and flip-flops. She skipped the

 bra because her skin was hot and the idea of anything binding her was unbearable.

“It’s safe now,” she said dryly.

“Tell me about last night.” He didn’t look away from her million-dollar view. “The lightning-hittin’-things part.”

She shrugged and hung up the towel. “It’s not your problem.”

“Like hell it isn’t.” His words lacked any heat, though. “We talk every night for two weeks, sha, and then you go off radar? Of course I’m comin’ here and checkin’ you out.”

The words hung there in the air between them, a potent reminder of sex. Don’t go there. She didn’t know what she wanted.

Or, if she was being honest, she knew exactly what she wanted—she just didn’t know how far she’d let herself go.

“I don’t need protecting,” she said, when the silence stretched on for too long.

He turned away from the window. “You still shouldn’t be out here alone.” Outside, night rolled in, slowly wrapping the watchtower in shades of gray.