QuarterLifeFling (2 page)

The path led me past other cabins, most of them with their
curtains drawn. Were their occupants taking naps or would I find them wandering
around like I was doing? It really sucked that Charlotte wasn’t here. She was
the people person in our friendship.

I froze in my tracks after rounding the next bend. Jude was
standing in the middle of what had to be the crystal garden, chatting with
another gardener. Both men were shirtless.

I had about three seconds to decide what to do before one of
them noticed me. But my mind was blank and Jude turned around unexpectedly. He
lifted one tanned arm in a wave, white teeth flashing in a grin. His reaction
sent a warming tingle all the way down to my toes. I knew it shouldn’t—he
probably just wanted to discuss my car in front of his buddy—but I walked
toward him anyway.

I could discuss cars if it meant ogling washboard abs.

As I approached, the other man walked off, carrying Jude’s
clipboard as he strode out of sight. We were alone and I had zero attention to
spare for the beautiful crystals surrounding us.

“I was hoping I’d see you again.” Jude closed the remaining
gap and suddenly I was hyper-focused on those ridged abs.

“Me too,” I blurted, and cringed internally. By now he must
think I was completely nuts.

“You thought any more about that road trip?” His head cocked
slightly to one side, hazel eyes resting on my face as if he really wanted to
know the answer. “Would anyone miss you while you were gone?”

“My boss, maybe.” I gave him a rueful smile.

“So you’re single?”

I moistened my lips. Whoa. “Yes.”

Then he was looking around, as if making sure we were alone.
I was just about to take a nervous step backward when he stepped forward and
kissed me. I wasn’t expecting
that
, so it took me a moment to pucker up.

Once I did…yeah, that was good.
He
was good. His
large hand cradled the back of my head, keeping me close as he guided me
through the deepest kiss I’d ever experienced.

His stomach muscles contracted against my hand as he moved
closer, and I blushed instantly. I didn’t even remember bracing my hand there.
His warm skin felt amazing, and almost of their own volition, my fingers hooked
down the waistband of his jeans, trailing against his pubic hair. I didn’t dare
go farther.

Not to be outdone, he curved his other hand around my ass
and made an appreciative noise against my lips. If this was a dream, I didn’t
want to wake up. This was crazy far out of my normal routine, so unlike what
usually happened that my mind simply accepted it and yelled for more.

When he broke it off I nearly wailed. What was wrong?

“You okay with this?”

Fuck
yes
, I was more than okay with this. I nodded,
maybe too enthusiastically, because the skin around his eyes crinkled in
amusement. Funnily enough, I got the impression he was laughing with me, not at
me. That was cool.

“You want to stay here or go somewhere else?” He eyed the
crystals in a meaningful way, and I immediately got his drift. The rocks would
be pretty uncomfortable if we ended up on the ground.

“Elsewhere is good.” I found my voice, and it didn’t shake
too much.

“Your cabin? Or am I moving way too fast?” He looked a
little bit abashed, which I found incredibly cute.

Even so…you weren’t supposed to fuck on—or before!—the first
date, were you? That was one experience I actually regretted not having. College
was supposed to be a time of testing things, pushing boundaries, and I’d spent
most of it programming stupid little games and studying. Sure, my programming
skills had gotten me a great job but hadn’t gotten me much in the way of life
experience.

“My cabin is fine.” I belatedly realized he was waiting for
an answer. I didn’t know much about the guy, but I knew I wanted him. Besides,
having a one-night stand (or one-day stand in this case) was something I’d
never done before.

Instead of holding my hand, he put one arm around me,
sliding it down to my butt and guiding me along like that. I exhaled hard as he
squeezed. My knees were pretty shaky by the time I stepped over the threshold
of the cabin.

“I haven’t unpacked yet,” I said inanely. I wasn’t sure why
I was apologizing, but he turned those gorgeous hazel eyes on me and smiled.

“More space for us to use.”

“Really? What did you have in mind?” Purely rhetorical
question, of course.

When he approached me with that intent look, I tried to keep
my eyes open, gaze locked on his. But my eyelids fluttered shut at the touch of
his lips. This was no fumbling teenage kiss nor was it an embrace stolen on
someone’s couch or in a movie theater. This was the real deal, and it was
toe-curling good.

The outfit I’d so carefully chosen that morning was rumpled
by the time he started peeling it off me. When he finally paused, I was
standing before him clad in Agent Provocateur lingerie, thanking my lucky stars
I hadn’t worn my granny underwear. I’d never expected a guy to see my new
purchases so soon. If ever.

My breath left in a rush as his hands slid upward, thumbs
feathering across my nipples. If it hadn’t been for the pleasure coursing
through me, I’d have felt way more self-conscious. But Jude’s concentration
never wavered, his eyes half-closing as he caressed me.

Unlike my former boyfriends, Jude knew what he was doing.
But my guard was still up and I suddenly couldn’t help but wonder why he was
here with me, doing what he was doing.

Then I happened to glance downward where his dick strained
against the fly of his jeans. Whoa. He found me a turn-on? Okay, maybe this was
the real deal. My brain chose that moment to short out.

It was a simple matter to tease the zipper across the bulge,
and his groan of pleasure as I did so melted away most of my doubts. Except…

“Um, I don’t actually have protection or anything.” I
blushed as I spoke. This really was one of those conversations best kept in a
Sex Ed class where we could all giggle as the teacher stretched a condom over a
cucumber. Jude felt nothing at all like a cucumber, his shaft warm in my hand
as I continued to hold him.

“I do, babe.” Sudden concern shrouded his eyes. “You a
virgin?”

I shook my head. “No. But I kind of wish I was. My first
time was spectacularly bad.” The times after that hadn’t been much better, but
that was probably way too much information.

“Sounds like you’ve got some memories to erase.” In his hand
was a bright-orange condom. He grinned at my reaction to the color. “It glows
in the dark too.”

“In case I can’t find your penis?”

He laughed. “That would be kind of difficult. Anyhow,
there’s a crazy amount of novelty condoms out there. I’d like to try them all
on you.” He moved closer, breathing the last words against my neck.

His hips tilted forward and I let go of his erection, his
jeans falling around his ankles. He leaned back to kick them away, affording me
a glimpse of his entire body. Double whoa. He had no tan lines.

Before my low self-esteem kicked in again, Jude’s hands
undid the clasp of my bra. He spared hardly a glance for the lacy garment as my
breasts spilled into his hands. I tensed as he bent to tongue them, drawing
each nipple deep into the warm wetness of his mouth then jolting me to the core
as he flicked out with his tongue.

I’d never been this built-up before sex. Jude was taking
foreplay to a whole new level. I was almost ready to come now, and when he
tugged my damp panties down, I couldn’t help but moan. The skim of his fingers
against my newly shaven pussy was about to drive me wild. I tried desperately
to hold on to the shreds of my dignity, clamping my mouth shut.

He backed me into the bedroom, teasing apart my clamped lips
with his kisses. The bed caught me at the backs of my knees and I fell into its
softness with a little grunt of surprise. Jude propped himself atop me and I
was a little disappointed to see he’d already put the condom on. The latex
glowed faintly in the dim light of the bedroom and I almost broke the mood with
a totally inappropriate giggle. Men didn’t like women giggling at their junk, I
realized just in time.

Fortunately, it didn’t take much to wipe the smile off my
face, just another few kisses. His hands parted my legs, cock pressing
maddeningly against my entrance. I shuffled a bit, getting impatient, and he
eased home. I gasped. I was so wet we hadn’t needed lubrication—a first for me.
I’d never been so turned-on, so ready.

I turned my head, admiring his bulging arms as I tried to
keep hold of my sanity. A tattoo wound its way around his biceps, linking the letters
S and P in discreet but elegant script. Vaguely, I wondered what they stood
for. Was he married? Were they the initials of a girlfriend? God, I hoped not.

That line of thinking evaporated as he thrust again. I
couldn’t help but gasp, wrapping my arms around his neck to urge him on. I was
used to faking it, making do with the little spikes of pleasure that were all I
had gotten from my exes. So when my breathing became ragged and the world began
to spin, my first instinct was to try to shut it down.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

I looked desperately into his eyes. “I can’t—I’ve never—”

“You’ve never fucking
come
?” His voice was
incredulous. “You gotta just let go, babe.”

Let go? I didn’t understand what he meant. I was barely
clinging to sanity here. But he kissed me again, claiming my lips with a
sustained ferocity that completely undid me. There wasn’t any
letting go
involved as I catapulted headlong into sensation. I couldn’t stop my reaction,
crying out against his lips as the first orgasm of my life shook me to the
core.

So
that’s
what I had been missing. No wonder half my
friends had fucked like bunnies throughout college. Pleasure laced with
smugness almost overwhelmed me as Jude came too, dropping his forehead to my
shoulder as he let out a long
Ahhh
of bliss. His hair was finally mussed
up, just like I’d wanted it earlier.

I wanted to cradle him close but I didn’t dare. If I
snuggled into him, I wouldn’t have to make eye contact. It would be cool if we
could put off that post-sex awkwardness for as long as possible…unless, of
course, he just got up and walked out. I tensed as he moved, but he wasn’t
going anywhere, only reaching for a box of tissues.

“You okay, Alanna?”

“Yeah.” My voice sounded small even to me.

“That’s good.” His voice, baritone and soothing, vibrated my
cheek as I lay against him. I suddenly wished I knew more about him. There was
a maturity about Jude that I’d rarely seen in most male college students, and I
really liked that.

Make conversation, dummy
, I ordered myself.
Before
you skeeve him out
.

“How long have you worked here?” I couldn’t quite bring
myself to use his name yet. It seemed too intimate.

“What? Oh, I don’t. I co-own a landscaping company and we
were hired to improve the grounds. So I’m staying here until the end of the week
while I oversee the project.”

“All right, so this one-night stand thing isn’t part of the
package I bought. Just checking.” I kept my tone light, playful, and was
relieved when he laughed.

“It’s more than a one-night stand, if you want it.” His
voice went lower, quieter, for the last four words.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

I took a deep breath, glad my face was still tucked safely
into his chest. “Um, I’ve never just jumped into a relationship with someone.
You’re single, right? And, uh…”

“Yeah, I’m single. And no, I don’t have any STDs.” I could
hear the smile in his voice. “We can go down on each other and all that good
stuff.”

This probably wasn’t the time to tell him that neither of my
exes had ever gone down on me. I was somewhat of an expert on blowjobs, though.
Mostly the hurried, inside-the-movie-theater variety. Or a quick,
snatched-in-the-dorm-room kind of deal, the one where one of us was on high
alert for a roommate returning.

The bed we were lying on now could hold three of those dorm
cots. It was way more comfortable too. Wait…was Jude planning to stay in one of
these cabins while he did his landscaping thing? I had to ask.

“Yep. Cabin number twenty, wayyy over on the outskirts where
my presence won’t bother anyone.”

“Or turn anyone on,” I muttered.

He laughed again. “You were looking at me when you got out
of your car. I was hoping you liked what you saw.”

“I thought you were looking at my car.”

“Well, I was. Then I decided you were more interesting.”

I turned my head, coming nose to skin with that intriguing
tattoo. “I’m not all that interesting,” I protested.

“To me, you are. Young woman like you shows up at a wellness
retreat where most people are middle-aged hippies, driving a BMW of your own.
Sparked my curiosity right away.”

“I work at a software design startup in Silicon Valley. I
got lucky, landed the job just before I graduated, and figured I’d splash out
on a car.” I shrugged self-consciously. “Actually, my boss is probably going to
kill me when he realizes how much work I’m not doing. I thought I’d have
internet access but they took my phone and laptop. They probably use candles
instead of electricity here.”

“Huh. I still have my phone if you want to look anything up.
And candles can be kind of fun. How long are you here for?”

“Until Friday. I might take you up on the phone thing.” I
finally found the courage to look up at him. Unlike my exes, who still retained
some of the gangly teenage boy look, Jude was filled out, with broad shoulders
and thick stubble that darkened his cheeks.

“How old are you?” I blurted.

“Twenty-six.”

“And you co-own a landscaping company?” A smile tugged at my
lips.