Out of Darkness (30 page)

F
ive hours later, they entered the city of Gatlinburg. It was bordering on late night, but he knew exactly where they were going. He had called a friend a few hours before to make sure that the cabin he wanted was available. Snow had started falling the closer he got to the cabin, but that was why he had made sure the truck was properly maintained. A few miles ago, he’d stopped and put the snow chains on his tires. Meredith had yet to wake up. He reasoned that she probably needed this getaway even more than he did.

He parked at the cabin and was glad to see the stream of smoke coming out. His friend had obviously made sure there was heat, and hopefully there would be food because after driving all the way through, he was starving. Grabbing their bags, he took them inside before going back out to get her.

“Hey,” he nudged her awake carefully.

She snuggled deeply in his arms as he unbuckled her and carried her out of the truck. “Where are we?”

“Gatlinburg.”

She came awake quickly. “I slept the entire way?”

He chuckled. “You must have needed it.”

Rubbing her eyes, she took a glance around as he carried her into the cabin. “It’s a winter wonderland out here.” The pleasure was apparent in her voice.

“Sure is. I ordered the snow just for you baby.”

Her small hand smacked his chest lightly. “Sure ya did.”

He got the two of them into the cabin and set her down on her own feet. “I can’t believe I slept all that way. I didn’t even get to see the amazing views. Although,” she checked her watch, “with it being almost midnight, I’m sure you can’t really see them.”

“We can go see them in the morning,” he promised.

She turned around in a circle, admiring the cabin. “How did you get us this place on such short notice?”

It wasn’t grand like a lot of them in this area were. A bathroom and bedroom were the only rooms visible off this living area that boasted a kitchen. She wondered if there was a porch with a hot tub. That seemed popular with Gatlinburg cabins.

“This is a buddy of mine’s cabin. I called him and asked if he was using it, he wasn’t. So here we are. Do you want to look around? It’s not big.”

She shook her head in a no gesture. “I just have a question.”

“And I might have an answer.”

She poked his arm. “Smartass. Is there a hot tub?”

“Sure is, on the back deck. We’ll check that out sometime while we’re here.”

“Exactly how long are we here for?”

“Up to a week if you want to be.”

This was more than she could have ever asked for. This was exactly what she had needed. “I’m so happy,” she hugged him tightly. “We both needed this.”

“That we did. I’m gonna go take a shower, would you mind making some food? I’m fucking starving. I didn’t want to stop just in case the weather got worse.”

“Sure,” she walked to the kitchen as he walked to the bathroom.

Once there, she took stock of what they had. Someone had been kind enough to stock the pantry and fridge for them. Looking in the freezer, she saw hamburger patties. Tyler was hungry, and she couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard her stomach growl. Taking the patties out, she looked in the fridge and found cheese and bacon. A bacon cheeseburger sounded like the way to go. Chips sat on the counter as well as hamburger buns. She took that as a sign.

Walking out of the bathroom, Tyler ran a towel through his hair. He only had on a pair of boxer briefs, and she tried to hold back the moan, looking at his body. He really was a work of art.

“Food’s almost done,” she told him.

“It smells amazing. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m so hungry right now, I think I could eat shoe leather and it would taste amazing.”

“Bacon cheeseburgers and chips.”

He walked over to where she stood in front of the stove and slipped his arms around her waist, holding her body to his. “I love you,” he whispered. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to tell her, he just knew that trying to hold it back would have required more strength than he had. He wanted to use this trip to solidify their relationship.

That had come out of nowhere. She knew it wasn’t easy for him to express his emotions in words or actions, so this meant more than she could tell him. Expressing this feeling between them out loud was new, but the emotions weren’t.

“I love you too,” she whispered back, leaning her head against his chest and inhaling deeply.

The strength she felt there was her anchor. It balanced and centered her when she felt like everything else in the world was going wrong. Never before had she had that, and she loved that the feeling was shared with him.

“I don’t know what I would do if you felt differently about me because of what I did,” he started.

She reached up, putting her finger on his lips. “Stop. Don’t beat yourself up. We’re moving on, starting right now.”

He nodded, swallowing hard as she moved the burgers from the stove and set them on buns. Within minutes they sat around the kitchen table, both eating as if they hadn’t seen food in months.

“It’s weird,” she commented. “This food tastes better than it has in months.”

He knew without her saying that the reason it did was because her attacker was dead, the man responsible was behind bars, and they could finally move on with their lives. “I think you’re right about that.”

They shared the meal making small talk, laughing and smiling at one another. As the food settled, Tyler yawned loudly. “I guess I’m a lot more tired than I thought,” he apologized.

She yawned right along with him. Now that she could breath, she realized just how tired she was. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

He grabbed her hand, allowing her to lead him to the bed that beckoned them both. They lay down, wrapped in each other’s arms, sleeping better than they had in months.

Chapter Forty-One

H
e was having
the
absolute best dream ever. His hands were tangled in Meredith’s hair as she kneeled between his thighs, her lips wrapped around the erection that stood up from his body. He was directing her with gentle pressure from his hands as he slowly thrust his hips towards the warmth of her mouth.

Her nails scored his thighs and the slight pinch of pain brought him to reality. Quickly, he realized this wasn’t a dream. This was real life. The morning sunshine streamed through the curtains, bathing her in sunlight. It looked as if she had a halo surrounding her, giving her an ethereal look.

“Damn, baby,” he groaned, leaning his head back against the pillows. “Can you take it deeper?”

She opened her mouth wider, relaxing the muscles of her throat, allowing him to slip further in. Pulling him back out, she swirled her tongue around the head and couldn’t help but grin as the breath hissed from between his clenched teeth.

Tyler tried to figure out how long she had been doing this because he was ready to blow. He hoped it had been enough time to make this respectable, but the visual of her between his knees looking up at him with his cock in her mouth was enough to send him over the edge. His fingers tangled deeper into her hair, pulling tighter. His hips pumped faster, his breaths becoming more and more shallow.

She went after him with everything she had, using her hand to stroke the hardness that she couldn’t get into her mouth. He wrapped his big hand around hers, showing her the rhythm he needed.

“That’s it,” he groaned. “Back up, Meredith,” he wrenched from between his lips.

When she didn’t, he tried his best to hold back, but she was hitting all of his zones. He fired on all cylinders as he emptied himself down her throat, shouting hoarsely as his body kept shallowly thrusting into the warmth that surrounded him.

As soon as she pulled away, he was on her, pushing her back against the sheets. “Tyler,” she whined as he lightly ran his fingers along the core of her body.

“Jesus Christ,” he moaned, feeling the wetness that gathered there.

“What can I say? Giving you pleasure gives me pleasure,” she smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

He quieted her as he coated his fingers with the wetness and then shoved them into her body. She thrust against him, holding his neck as she threw hers back. His lips trailed down the column of her throat, moving down to encase her nipple. As his tongue swirled the hard bead there, she arched into him, giving herself completely up to the emotions he created there.

Using his thumb, he strummed the hard nub at the top of her womanhood, eliciting a growl from deep within her throat. “Feel good?” he asked her, his voice dark.

“Uh huh.”

He stayed after her, moving with her as her body moved. Using his tongue, his hands, nipping with his teeth as she thrashed against him. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling his mouth tighter against her nipple, and she started mumbling ‘oh God’ as he began thrusting his fingers in rhythm with the undulations of her body. Her thighs tightened around his hand before she gave a great heave and she screamed loudly.

“There ya go,” he encouraged her.

These feelings were different than anything she had ever felt either. This seemed to be another area that she was finally able to let go in. It had never been this good, never.

“Tyler,” she moaned, pushing her head back against the pillow, letting her body come to rest.

“Glad I could return the favor,” he grinned.

The two of them lay in each other’s arms. His arms around her, her hand stroking his hair. They lay in silence for what felt like hours, but she knew it was only minutes. Glancing over at the clock, she realized it was past ten am. She really wanted to get out and do some exploring with him.

“Let’s go do something,” she told him, hooking her leg around his and trying to sit up.

“Do you want to?”

She nodded. “I’ve never been on vacation with a boyfriend before. This is a first for me.”

“First for me too,” he admitted to her. “Let’s get dressed.”

An hour later, the two of them had made their way into downtown Gatlinburg and had parked. Tyler’s friend had thankfully had the presence of mind to provide them with heavy jackets. They were very appreciative as they made their way up and down the main thoroughfare.

Here it was different, since Tyler was alone, he didn’t wear his cut. They walked along just like two people in love, on vacation. His large hand held hers protectively as they made their way in and out of the crowds of people. They didn’t really have any plans, but they stopped at different locations and took pictures of each other with their phones. On a couple of occasions, she had kindly asked strangers to take pictures of them together. This felt blessedly normal after the months of unusual they’d both had.

“You want to go to the aquarium?” he asked as they came upon one of the tourist attractions this town was known for.

“Sure,” she shrugged.

They walked up to the ticket booth, and he paid their way. Both enjoyed the exhibits and continued taking pictures with one another. As they were about to leave, a young couple with a toddler and a baby struggled to get out of the door. Tyler walked ahead and held it open for them, smiling as they thanked him. She watched, her mind going to a place she hadn’t been sure it could ever go.