Page 16 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Ares

More so than embarrassing, I think it’s against the rules. Although, we decided to scratch the rules. I’m sure there still some, though… right? Am I spiraling?

I put the last bag into my trunk and slam it shut. I make a mental list of anything I might be missing, but I can’t think of anything. So, I head out to grab the girls.

I drive to Katherine’s house first because I’ll need her to tell me how to get to Luna’s house. I also left a little early because I promised her I would make sure she had everything she needs for the weekend.

She’s never been camping and is a little clueless on the matter. She’s asked me about fifty times if I’m sure no one will laugh at her for wearing dresses while we camp .

Normally that’s not a promise I could have made, but I made sure to tell every single person not to say a word about it. I know she’s most comfortable in a dress and I’m most comfortable when she’s comfortable.

I walk up to her front door where she’s already standing outside waiting with her bags. I reach down to grab them and she swats my hand away.

“I can carry them myself,” she scolds.

I pluck the bag out of her hand. “I know you can, let me help anyway.” She shows her palms in defeat and lets me carry the bags to my car. She follows closely behind me, watching as I throw her bags into the trunk. I make a mental note that we’ll have to put some of Luna’s stuff in the backseat.

“Are you nervous?” I ask her. She shakes her head, but I know she’s lying by the way she slides her nails against each other. “Nothing to be nervous about. If you hate it, I’ll drive you home,” I assure her.

She drops down into the seat next to me and we head for Luna’s house. Once we’ve picked her up and thrown all of her luggage into the car, we’re on the road.

Remind me why I signed up to drive with these two? I know the answer is Katherine. I’m losing sight of that, though, when we’re on the fifth utterly devastating song in a row blaring from my car speakers.

“Do you guys ever listen to anything happy?” I ask.

“Not really,” Kat answers.

“Sad white women feed us amazing music. Who are we to turn our cheeks to it?” Luna adds.

“The best part of music is a gut punching lyric,” Kat confirms with a nod of the head.

I just shake my head and let them listen to whatever they want. By the time we’re pulling up to the camping grounds, I’m contemplating my life at a level I never have before. Is this what women do for a good time?

Within twenty minutes, we’re all parked up and unloading our cars. Lugging bags and tents to the clearing we’re posting up at. We set things up so the tents are all in a big circle with a spot for the fire and chairs in the middle.

I drag all of Katherine’s bags and all of my own to the tent. I also set the tent up while she stands there looking pretty. She offers about twenty times to help me but to be honest, I don’t like the idea of her bent over in one of her sundresses in front of everyone.

When everything is settled, we all sit in a circle around the fire pit to talk about what we’re going to do today.

Everyone starts tossing ideas and I hear everything from relax in our tents for the first day all the way to skinny dip in broad daylight.

Alright, so the last one was my idea. Sue me.

Katherine shakes her head like a disappointed parent when the suggestion comes from me.

“Didn’t know it was a crime to wanna see what the homies are working with,” I exclaim. Everyone bursts out laughing, which was the goal considering the only one here I actually want to see naked is Kat.

We all agree on relaxing for the day, and spend the afternoon laying around in hammocks talking about random stuff. Beck tries to get a card game going and Ravyn laughs at him. We all scold her and tell her she has to be nice.

Nighttime rolls around and everyone has settled around the fire with drinks. Except for Katherine. She’s sipping on a bottle of water and I’ve been nursing my first beer for over an hour.

The day started hot but now that the sun has set and there’s cool air rolling in off of the lake, it’s a little chilly. The fire radiates heat just far enough to keep us all warm enough to stay outside.

“We should play a game,” Ravyn suggests.

“Games are trouble, especially the ones you pick,” I tell her.

“Last time Ravyn picked the game, Ares and I didn’t speak for days,” Audra adds.

“Yeah, I also recall that night not being particularly fun,” Roman chimes in. Ravyn huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

“I like the idea of a game!” Luna exclaims.

“I’m with the girls, sounds fun,” Sebastian agrees.

Katherine shifts in her chair next to me.

“We don’t have to play anything,” I assure her, leaning over to whisper. They all pour drinks getting ready to play. Kat and I share a look that tells me she doesn’t want to play.

“We’re going to sit this one out. We’re going to go down to the water, actually,” I announce to the group.

When we stand and begin walking away, we get a couple of looks. Especially from Ravyn, who shoots me a wink. I just roll my eyes and keep it pushing.

Katherine wobbles as her heels sink into the soft ground. I stop walking and bend down to one knee. I pat the knee that’s propped up.

“Come on, put your foot up here.” Kat looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“The heels have to go. You’re going to break an ankle walking in those out here.

” She tosses me a look somewhere between unsure and irritated, but braces herself with both hands on my shoulders anyways.

She lifts her foot up onto my leg and I unbuckle the strap to slide it off.

She drops her bare foot on to the soil and we repeat the process with the other shoe.

“Can I just leave them here and grab them on the way back?” she asks, and I nod.

“Get on my back. Wouldn’t advise walking barefoot out here,” I tell her.

“You’re taking me on a walk, but you’re going to do all the walking?” she questions.

“Oh, we’re not going for a walk. I lied.” I bend down for her to climb up and she jumps, wrapping her legs around my back and arms around my neck. It’s the first sure action she’s taken since we arrived and I could shout in excitement over her finally settling in with me.

“Then where are we going?”

“Secret.”

I carry her around for what seems like forever before I find what I’m looking for, a pond that’s decently large for what it is. In comparison to the lake, it’s tiny, but it’s exactly what we need. Right at the edge of the water, I carefully place her on her feet.

“There’s got to be alligators in there,” she says, taking a step away from the water. I know there isn’t because when we were growing up, all of us kids would sneak off to swim in the pond when the grown ups were asleep.

“There’s not, promise.”

“We’re not getting in there, are we?”

“Of course we are. We’re skinny-dipping.”

“Who is we ?” she exclaims, eyes going wide.

“Well, I am. You’re welcome to just hang out there and watch.” I give her a wink and watch as her cheeks turn my favorite shade of pink.

I stand at the edge of the water and pull my hoodie up over my head, tossing it to the ground next to her. Her eyes flick to the hoodie then back to me, dragging her gaze from my eyes down to my waistband.

I slide my sweatpants down my thighs and throw them to make a pile where the hoodie is.

I’m in just my boxers and Katherine is standing there eye fucking me with crimson cheeks.

She doesn’t even pretend not to stare. Her tongue pokes out to wet her lips.

Seeing her all worked up over me makes my fucking day. It’s the ego boost of a lifetime.

I turn back to her and slide my boxers down my thighs. I kick them back toward the pile of clothes. I hear a giggle ripple out of her.

“Nice ass!” she calls out to me. I just shake my head and step into the water. I expect the water to be cold but it’s still warmed from the afternoon sun.

I turn back around to face her and she’s chewing on her bottom lip, fighting a smile.

“You’d love it in here, it’s warm,” I coax, moving further into the water. I watch her mull it over in her head. Finally, she pulls her dress up over head, leaving her in a matching baby blue lace set. Immediately, all of my blood rushes south.

“If I get bit by an alligator, I’m killing you.”

“Deal,” I agree.

“Will you turn around?” she asks, and I sound off in agreement before turning my back to her. Water splashes softly as she steps into the pond. The sound gets closer and closer until she finally says, “You can turn around.”

I turn to face her and she’s wound her blonde waves into a bun at the top of her head. The water is just high enough to cover everything on her, sitting just below her collarbones.

“You look pretty in the moonlight,” I tell her, stepping into her space. “Even if you are all sunshine,” I add.

“I am not all sunshine,” she argues. When I don’t argue with her, she softens up. “Thank you, though.”

“I like doing things with you that you’ve never done before,” I admit.

“You don’t know, I might have done this before,” she teases.

“I know when you’re doing something you’ve never done before because your cheeks turn this same shade of pink,” I trace a finger over the bridge of her nose and across her cheek.

“And you get this excited look in your eyes, I think I might be addicted to it.” I’m crowding her space now and she’s letting me, looking into my eyes with thick lashes batting.

“I like trying new things with you,” she whispers. We’re close enough now that I can feel her breath hit my lips. She leans in and I think she’s going to kiss me but instead she lands her mouth right by my ear. “I brought the toy like you asked,” she adds .

A low groan vibrates low in my throat. She pulls away from my ear, smiling ear to ear, knowing exactly what she does to me.

“What are we doing out here, then?” I ask. She laughs, swimming away from me.

“Swimming, I think,” she says, splashing water at me. The water hits me in the side of the head and I shake it from my hair. I lunge forward, chasing after her. She slips out of my grip and grabs my shoulders, pushing me under the water.

I stand back up, shaking the water from my hair once again.

She’s right in front of me, watching me with big eyes.

The rapid rise and fall of her chest tells me she’s waiting to see what I’m going to do next.

I think she expects to be dunked in retaliation but instead, I reach out and grab her by the waist, yanking her body flush with mine.

I don’t get the chance to lean down before she rises up on her tiptoes and meets my lips with hers. Her hand snakes around the back of my neck and wraps in my hair.

I wrap a hand around her lower back, holding her close to me. She lets out a breathy moan against my mouth. I feel drunk on her, like I can’t form a coherent thought. The only thought I can conjure up is getting her alone in our tent and laid out for me.

“Let’s go back?” I breathe out. She nods excitedly. We waste no time heading for the bank of the pond. As soon as we’re there, we realize that Katherine’s dress and clothes have been completely soaked.

“I didn’t know the shoreline of ponds even moved,” she says with a pout.

“They don’t, honey. You must have just taken them off too close to the water,” I explain. “Why don’t you wear the dress up to the outdoor showers? And once we’re cleaned off, I’ll give you my hoodie and boxers to wear back to the campsite,” I offer.

“Okay. Won’t everyone think we…” she trails off.

“They’ll probably be asleep.”

We slip out of the water and into our clothes. She climbs back up on my back and I walk, looking for the outdoor showers.

“I didn’t know you had a tattoo on your back,” she comments.

“It’s my only tattoo.”

“Does it mean anything?” she asks. The tattoo is a bundle of flowers wrapped in barbed wire.

“The flowers are all either birth flowers or favorite flowers of my family.”

“There’s six?”

“Ravyn and Audra are my family too.”

“I love how close you all are. I envy it a little bit. I don’t get along with my family well and Luna has been my only friend for a long time.”

“You know they’d hang out with you anytime, right? The girls like you.”

“I’m sure they’re just being nice.”

“They’re not. Trust me, Ravyn doesn’t have it in her. You’d know.”

“Either way, those are your friends. I’m not trying to encroach on your space. I’m just happy to be here.”

It takes about double the amount of time to find the outdoor showers as it did to find the pond, despite being closer together. I might have gotten us a little lost in the dark. I may also have been taking my sweet ass time talking to Katherine.

Finally, we’re at the showers. I let her slide gently off my back and onto the cement of the shower floor.

It’s dark and eerily silent. It’s clear no one in any of the nearby cabins or tents is awake.

There’s a heavy smell of burning wood from all of the fires people have put out before heading to bed.

I don’t know what time it was when we left the site or even what time it is now, but I know it’s late by the lack of sound and light around here. The faintest crack of something in the woods echoes into the night and Kat jumps, letting out a little squeak in the process.

“Will you come in with me?” she asks nervously, wrapping a hand tight around my bicep.

“Planned on it,” I assure her. I walk over and open the creaky wooden door, allowing Kat to walk in first. I follow closely behind, pulling the door shut after us.

“Give me your clothes and I’ll hang them outside with mine.” We both strip down to nothing and she hands me her clothes. I hang them just on the other side of the door.

We stand just outside of the water, until it’s warm enough.

Standing under the warm water and seeing Katherine so relaxed is torture.

Her nipples are pulled into stiff peaks and all I can picture in my head is bringing them between my teeth.

Imagining the way her body would react has my cock stiffening.

She turns around to rinse her chest and brushes up against me, causing a groan to escape. Her head whips around at the sound, eyes snapping to mine then down to my cock. She quickly looks back up at me. Even as dark as it is, I can see the deepening color of her cheeks in the moonlight.

“Sorry… I was just—I didn’t mean to,” she stumbles over her words.

“I know.”

“If it helps, I didn’t see anything. It’s too dark.”

“Kat, I don’t care if you see me,” I tell her.

“Can I touch you?” she asks, voice low and soft.

“Let’s go back and you can do whatever you want with me there,” I tell her. She gives me an excited nod.