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RAVEN

O ne thing I am now sure of, I was born to be in wide-open spaces. It’s so freeing to be outside without fear.

The Oakum Ridge Ranch is beautiful. There’s still a whisper of snow on the mountain caps, but it’s warm like summer by the winding bank of the river. Trees shield us on one side, leading into a forest.

The river flows fast due to the melted snowcaps, Wraith tells me.

Grudge and Catfish stand in waders, fishing in water cold enough that I believe Wraith’s snowcap story.

We’re laid out on a thick picnic blanket, Wraith on his back, me dozing against his chest as the weak sun warms us.

I’m trying to rest. There’s no reason I shouldn’t. I’ve had my fill of good food. There’s easy rock playing. And I haven’t seen that woman, Isla, since Wraith asked Grudge to keep her away.

But somehow, I can’t relax.

Because that ride stirred me up. And now I think I’ve unleashed some kind of pent-up sexual desire because all I want is to lure Wraith back to the clubhouse so we can get into mischief.

His palm strokes my lower back lazily, and I’ve never been more aware of a man’s hand on me in my life. Even the way his chest moves when he breathes is turning me on.

I see Smoke head into the woods behind us with Nola, but before they disappear from view, he picks her up, slams her back against the tree, and kisses her aggressively.

I must gasp, because Wraith opens his eyes and glances in the direction I’m staring.

My cheeks heat, and I look away quickly.

“It’s okay to watch,” Wraith whispers, his voice gruff. “It’s hot.”

“It’s a violation of their privacy,” I say.

Wraith nudges me to one side so he can stand. “Trust me, he likes it. Come on.” He offers me his hand and tugs me to my feet.

“Where are we going?”

He moves us far enough from the others, then stops to hold my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You think I don’t know when a woman is turned on and just waiting for the right time to seek out that orgasm she wants?”

I glance over at the people at the gathering, most of whom are paying us no mind. “Was it really obvious?”

Wraith presses his lips to mine and kisses me in a way that makes my knees weak. “You think I didn’t notice the way you’ve been unable to get comfortable? That you clenched your thighs together whenever I ran my hand over your ass? You’re the one who didn’t want to go for a ride and make out with me, remember? I’ve been waiting for you to ask, but now it’s time to take care of my girl.”

He leads us in the direction Smoke disappeared with Nola.

“But the clubhouse is back that way,” I say.

Wraith grins. “We don’t need the clubhouse. Just be quiet.”

The temperature drops as we step into the cool shade of the trees. A woman’s laughter cuts through the rustle of the leaves, and Wraith tilts his head in the direction of the sound.

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

He stops for a second. “Honesty. Are you curious?”

My initial thought is that it’s wrong. That it’s a violation of privacy. “It lacks consent.”

“Smoke and Nola fuck everywhere in the clubhouse. They’re both exhibitionists. If they knew we were watching, it would increase what they get out of it.”

I want to say no. I want to go find Wraith’s bed in the clubhouse. But only because it’s safer.

Expected, even.

I look up at Wraith, and whatever he sees written on my face has him kissing me tenderly. “Fucking beautiful watching you struggle with what you think is right and what you actually need,” he says. “Do you trust me?”

The nod comes unbidden.

“Then come and show me what a good girl you can be for me.” He takes my hand and leads us deeper into the trees until we can see Smoke and Nola, but hopefully they can’t see us.

Wraith’s chest presses up against my back, his hands stroking down my sides. “I like watching too,” he says as his lips clamp down on my ear.

Smoke is on his knees, and Nola is naked from the waist down, one leg over his shoulder while he eats her.

Her head is thrown back in ecstasy.

Wraith’s fingers hit the hem of my sundress and begin to slide it up my thighs slowly. “You see the way her thigh is shaking, holding that position, too scared to move because it feels so good?”

His hand drifts to the top of my white boy shorts. His fingertips dip below the waistband, and I gasp when he reaches my clit. But he doesn’t stop there.

“Fucking drenched,” Wraith whispers. “That’s my girl.”

Nola cries as she comes, and my hips buck as I get a contact high.

When Smoke stands, his face is intense. He drops his jeans enough to free his cock, and I can feel Wraith rub his erection between the cheeks of my butt.

Smoke rolls a condom on, then turns Nola so she faces the tree. When he pulls her hips back, she bends forward, placing her hands on the trunk.

As he thrusts into her, Wraith slides one of his fingers deep inside me. “You know what makes it hot for me?” His voice is a raw whisper that makes me shiver.

“What?” My mouth feels dry, my skin burns.

“How primal it is. When someone forgets who they are, who they should be, and just fucks hard.”

Wraith’s fingers move at the same tempo as Smoke’s hips. “Please,” I hiss.

I need something, anything. I want to come. My knees shake like Nola’s.

Wraith unzips my sundress all the way down, undoes my bra, smooths a hand around my ribs, and reaches for my nipples.

“Give in to it, Blue,” he says as he tugs and twists my nipples before biting the skin between my neck and shoulder.

Sensations explode within me. I can’t decide what’s causing it. It’s like every part of my body is wired to detonate at the same time.

A cry escapes me, but I find it hard to care. I slam my palms onto the tree trunk next to me as my knees shake.

Wraith’s fingers are jammed inside me. I can feel them as everything in me tightens and releases in hard, pulsing waves.

The orgasm makes my head spin. Everything feels too much, too bright.

He drags his fingers out of me and pushes them into my mouth. “Suck off what you worked so hard for.”

I do as he says, tasting myself, feeling vulnerable yet immortal. Breaking the invisible line of propriety has never felt so all-consuming.

When I’m done, Wraith slips his cut off his shoulders and puts it on the ground in front of me.

Smoke grabs Nola by the throat, tugging her to standing as he continues to thrust into her. She wraps her hands around his wrist but doesn’t try to tug him away. They haven’t seen us, too wrapped up in how good it feels.

Then Wraith pushes me down, his strong hands on my shoulders. First to kneeling, then onto all fours on his cut.

Wraith drops down behind me. I hear the rustling of a condom wrapper, then feel the cool air on my butt as he lifts my sundress and yanks my panties down to my knees.

“You gonna let me fuck you like this?” he asks, and I nod. “Good fucking girl. Want you more right now than I’ve ever wanted anything else in this life.”

His entry is not smooth. It’s rough, demanding, and urgent. He plants his hands over mine, a reminder that he’s so much bigger than me. We must look like animals, doing this in the dirt, but I want it.

I want him.

I want all of this.

The epiphany is liberating.

Sex doesn’t need to be sanitized or boring or limited to a bed. It can be all these things and feelings and emotions, and they’re all okay.

“Wraith,” I gasp.

I lower my forehead to my forearms.

“Shit, baby,” he says.

Everything shakes. I’m sweating. Running hot and cold. My skin is on fire.

“Please, give it to me,” I say, uncertain what I even mean. Beyond that I want this man. Who he is.

The relentless pounding of his cock takes me out of my body. My mind is silent. I can’t feel the earth beneath my knees and palms. Everything centers on the place where the two of us are joined.

“Give me another, Blue. Want to feel that cunt of yours choke my cock when I come.” He scoops some of my cream onto his thumb and dips it into my ass. I gasp at the fullness of it as he pushes in farther. He presses down, and everything shifts.

I’m lost to this man. I want him to use my body however he wants, because in this moment, I feel utterly owned and consumed, and yet, free.

My body breaks apart. This time when I cry out, it’s not quiet. Tears spill onto the earth, and when I come, I feel so shaken, I don’t know how to get back down.

“Yes. Fucking, yes,” Wraith cries, the words devolving into loud grunts as he thrusts through his own orgasm.

He sucks in air, then groans it back out. Over and over as his thrusts slow.

I place my hands on my forehead and cry so hard, my bones shake.

“Hey,” Wraith says, and I realize some time is missing. He’s no longer in me and has shifted so he’s lowering back against the tree with me in his arms. “Come back to me, Blue. You did so good. You were everything I wanted and needed, and you came so hard.”

As he continues to praise me, he strokes my skin and covers my half-dressed state with his cut.

My sobs subside, leaving me utterly hollowed out.

And yet a warmth spreads within me.

One of fulfilment, replacing the empty.

“What’s happening to me?” I ask.

“We’ll talk in a minute. Just…get your breath. Close your eyes. I’ve got you. Won’t let anything happen to you. You were just so brave and so raw and so honest. I’m so proud of you.”

Suddenly, I remember Nola and Smoke and try to look over his shoulder, but Wraith puts his hand on the side of my head and cradles me close to his chest. A move so tender, tears threaten again.

“They’ve gone,” he says. “It’s just you and me. Breathe, love.”

Love.

I do as he says and drift off to sleep.

When I wake, Wraith has his head back against the tree trunk, eyes closed. But when I try to move, he tightens his hold.

“Welcome back,” he says.

“You must be uncomfortable,” I say.

He smiles, then lets out a breath. “Not even close.”

“I’m sorry I fell apart like that.” Heat so intense that it must surely color my cheeks, burns through me. “I don’t know what just happened.”

Wraith runs a knuckle down my cheek and along my jaw. “What happened was so fucking special, Blue. It was so primal and raw and real that we both just dropped into a space where everything was intense. You couldn’t have been any more perfect. Tell me how you feel about it.”

I think about the question, and it’s hard to formulate an answer. “I feel so peaceful right now. Like I took a twelve-hour nap. It’s almost like a fever dream. I’m a little embarrassed that I watched your friend, and yet I don’t think I could have moved. And it was heady, how much you wanted me. I felt worshipped and safe, yet dirty and defiled, and I have no clue how to reconcile the two.”

He presses his lips to the top of my head. “I love how you’ve tried to be honest with me at every turn. I feel fucking honored it’s me you’re saying this to. I found it hot that you watched, hot to play with your body while you experienced that. Primal play is something I really enjoy. It’s not something everyone does.” Tenderly, he begins to put me back together, repositioning my bra before he fastens it, sliding my panties back up my legs, zipping my dress.

When he’s done, he kisses my lips gently.

I feel the need to ask one question. “You wouldn’t ever want to…share?”

Wraith shakes his head. “Never. That wouldn’t work for me. Don’t ever want another person to touch this body, and the only hands I want on mine are yours. I love you, and you alone, Raven. I didn’t think it was possible, but you’ve glued my heart together. Will you be my old lady?”

I nod, my heart equally full. “I love you too. And yes, I’d be honored.”