Role Play (17 page)

I sat down again, as I watched Sierra loosen up, raising her arms, and finally smiling again. I was so glad to see her feeling better that I didn’t mind sitting on the bumpy log while she circled again and again. There was something touching about her abandon.

As it went on,
I wished I could feel the same way. But I knew even if I stood up and moved my body to the beat, circling the fire, it wouldn’t work for me. I could never let go like that. I had never felt that childlike innocence that allowed you to trust that everything would be okay.

Because
I knew it wasn’t okay. There were times you were cold and hungry and nobody cared, and if you couldn’t do something about it yourself, you were screwed.

But for a while
I could almost feel it by watching Sierra, as she threw all care away and danced.

...

When I got up the next morning, Sierra was still face-deep in her make-shift pillow made from a towel I had brought. She had danced around the fire last night for over an hour, and I had to support her as we made our way back to our cabin. She was weaving and trying to kiss me as we walked, almost as if she was punch-drunk. Dancing in the circle had raised her endorphins, like a long-distance run, exactly like a good scene did.

So I
had tucked her in bed, kissing her smiling lips. Her eyes were already closed, and despite the noise coming from the still-partying Festival and a guy snoring over in the corner, she fell instantly asleep.

I
went to breakfast alone and left a message for her, but when I got back, she was still sleeping. Two others in our cabin were also still asleep. It showed how hard she must work so that when she finally released that tension, she passed out for this long.

When she
finally woke smiling, and I heard her singing in the bathroom next door in the common showers, I realized Sierra didn’t have any problem with the inconveniences of camp life. Luxury wasn’t a necessity for her. Unlike Adrianne, who would have hated the Festival for its bugs and noise and most of all, the other people rubbing elbows with us in the cabin.

I
had expected that Sierra, with her high heels and pretty dresses, wouldn’t like to be without a fully-stocked private bathroom and her own plug for her flat iron. But she twisted her hair into two knobs on the top of her head, like ears, and was ready in minutes, sans makeup. I liked that about her.

We
spent the afternoon in the giant pool outside the mess hall. It was busy and people came and went, while we lay in the deck chairs or bobbed in the water on noodles. The sun moved in and out of clouds, keeping it from getting too hot. Her swimming wasn’t very good—it was actually dog paddling—and she said her brothers used to take Lola and her to the public pool a few blocks away when they were kids. I could tell the pool was a place she remembered fondly.

I
would have been perfectly happy, but she made a few comments about how wonderful it must be to swim in the fancy hotel pools when I traveled. And how great it must be to be able to get away from city heat whenever I wanted to. She also asked me more about places I had visited, like Thailand and Peru, and did I ever go to Egypt? I usually liked to talk about my travels—I had perfected the art of doing it on a dime. But I didn’t like the eager way she asked, like she was imagining herself going along with me. I knew she wasn’t thinking about youth hostels and grimy bathrooms with a hole in the floor—she figured I stayed in a real hotel and ordered room service every morning.

And even though she wasn’t high-maintenance, s
he never once offered to pay for her food or drinks, and she eagerly accepted a chain rope bracelet I bought for her when she admired it on the marketplace row where vendors were selling toys and clothes. For me, every dollar was parted with painfully, but she didn’t think anything of it because she assumed I was rich and able to give her this trip with a snap of my fingers.

Keep
ing tally on her kept me from thoroughly enjoying myself like I did last night. There were times when I caught her looking at me curiously as the black thoughts consumed me, making me frown or turn away from her.

One th
ing was undeniable—I couldn’t keep my hands off her. In the pool, my fingers slid over her wet waist, cupping her curves, supporting her butt as I held her in the water. We kept kissing each other, long and slow, as people splashed around us.

She didn’t suggest that
we go back to the drum circle where Lola was camping. I didn’t suggest it either. I didn’t want her distracted from me.

When
we finally tired of the pool, and were wandering back to our cabin, we were drawn to the cool shade of the barn that had been converted into a giant hall with a stage across one end. Play furniture was set up here and there, along with giant pulleys that riggers used for suspension bondage. This was one of the places that had been packed last night with people playing, but Sierra had taken one look and turned away. She wasn’t a voyeur and the sounds of people crying out seemed to be too much for her.

But today it was empty. The late afternoon sunlight slanted through one door, illuminating motes in the beam.

This time when we kissed, there was a new urgency. The long teasing caresses all afternoon suddenly exploded between us now that we were away from the watching eyes. We strained against each other, as if we couldn’t get enough.

She ran her hand down to stroke
my cock through my swim shorts. It stiffened from turgid to rigid under her fingers. I groaned as she encircled it with her hand, sending a shiver down my spine.

“I wish we had some
place private to go,” she murmured between kisses.

I
backed her up to the stage. “This looks private enough to me.”

“Here?” She look
ed around. “Look at the doors. They’re open.”

Through the doors,
we could see people outside walking back and forth. Dinner would be starting soon in the mess hall.

“I don’t care if anyone
sees. People are having sex all over.”

“I care!”

I shrugged. “Then we won’t.”

I
kept kissing her, drowning in her, losing myself in the smell of her skin and the soft fullness of her lips. I dared to hope this could be real, that it wasn’t just my promise of wealth that turned her on.

I
kissed down to her neck, and she arched back against the stage. Her lips opened with a moan. The luscious softness of her made me crazy.

Putting
my hands at her waist, I lifted her up so she was sitting on the stage. It was the perfect height for me to press my cock against her. Her legs wrapped around me, holding on. It wasn’t sex—we still had our swim suits on—but it was as close as you could get. I loved the flair of her hips under my palms, as she ground herself against me.

Then
I realized she was taking quick looks through the doors, wary of people walking in on us. I pulled off my bandana and held it between us in both hands.

“Let me put this over your eyes,”
I said.

Nervously, she checked the doors again.

“It will help you relax,” I told her. “And heighten your other senses.”

She looked into
my eyes. I couldn’t see where the pupils ended and her irises began, they were one dark pool. I felt like I was looking right into her. I knew I could hurt her because I had done it before. But it would be worse now because she trusted me.

Then
she let go, like she did the night before at the drum circle. Her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded, gazing deep into my eyes.

I
kissed her, holding her cheek. Like a promise that I wouldn’t fail her.

I
placed the blindfold over her eyes and tied it at the back of her head. She touched it, sightless. It made me feel bigger to see her go helpless in front of me.

Slowly at first,
I began to grind against her again. Now she felt every motion, no longer distracted from me. I always wanted her this way, completely focused on me. I knew it was just a game, but it meant more somehow.

She arched back in
my arms, her legs tightening around me. Though constricted by my trunks, I rubbed the length of my cock up against her, right against her pussy.

We
rocked together, like we were resting on the ocean waves, lifted up and down together.

“Yes…,” she breathed.

“Yes,” I agreed through clenched teeth. “I want you.”

“Yes.”

Her hips moved back and forth, urging me on.

“Yes?”
I asked. My fingers went down to her crotch, feeling the slick dampness on her inner thigh. My fingers shifted aside the fabric of her suit, pressing against her silky lips.

Her inward gasp drove
me higher. By sheer force of will, I held myself on the edge of sanity. I couldn’t go further, though every fiber of my being was screaming at me to get inside of her. To pound her and never stop—

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I want to.”

“You do?”

“Yes!”

Shoving down my trunks, my cock was out and pressing against her pussy. As I pushed the tip inside of her, she tilted back, letting me in deeper. That was all the encouragement I needed.

I
pumped into her, lifting her off the edge of the stage and holding her up with my arms. Possessing her completely, feeling every breath and clenching muscle in her body responding to me…

And suddenly
I was stripped bare again, feeling like nothing came between us.

She rode
me, crying out as she came. It went on for longer than I thought possible, as she arched and strained against me.

As she
gradually went limp in my arms in a post-euphoric daze, I laid her back on the stage and lifted her legs so I could dive even deeper. She was laid out for me, open for me, giving herself to me.

As
I pumped into her, I leaned over her. My lips were close to her ear, whispering, “They love watching you.”

Her body tightened as she gasped. “Watching…,” she repeated breathlessly.

Her hands went to her blindfold, as if to take it off, but I blocked her. “Leave it.”

She slowly dropped her hands to my shoulders.

“They love how you move, like I do,” I whispered. “Like your whole being is being consumed.”

I
kept thrusting into her, loving how she let me do it, even when I told her other people were watching. She wanted to give me that. She wouldn’t stop me, even though she could. Because she wanted to please me.

“I’m letting them watch you,”
I growled into her ear. “To prove to you that you’re
mine
. I can do whatever I want with this body. Because it’s
mine
.”

Her back arched and she began to come again
, surprising us both. It sent me right over the top. I had never felt so connected to anyone, like we were both feeling everything together. My breath was her breath, and we needed each other to survive.

As my climax overtook me, crimson waves ran over my sight. The last thing I saw was Sierra, her hair fanned out on the old wooden stage floor, her skin glowing with life and fire. Her eyes covered because I wanted her to only see me.

I
collapsed on her, weak-kneed, my strength sapped by this beautiful woman. I only knew that I had completely opened myself to her.

Maybe this one is
for real.

Chapter 1
5

Sierra

I wanted to lose myself in the wonderful feeling of Victor lying on top of me, a welcome comforting weight. My fingers idly twined in his silky bronzed hair at the back of his tanned neck. If we had been in bed, I could have laid there forever.

But
I kept thinking about the people watching me. Like he said.

Sneaking one hand up to
my face, I lifted the blindfold. Only to see… nothing

N
obody was in the barn. Through the closest door, people were walking past outside in the meadow, but there was nobody inside.

“
There’s nobody here,” I said with a laugh. “Why did you say that?”

“It made you come.”
His smile was wicked.

I
put my hand to my mouth. I had come like being struck by lightning. Only it wasn’t the thought of being watched. It was him, his hands, his voice in my ear, telling me that I belonged to him.

I
felt almost shy with him, as if I had revealed more than I intended. When he said “mine” my heart had sung. I felt giddy and happier than I had ever felt before. Could I really be this lucky? To find a man like this, in such an unlikely way…

But
Victor wasn’t easy to read. There were moments when he was so distant that it seemed like he wished he wasn’t here with me. Like when I reminded him of the differences between us, that he was successful while I was poor and struggling. I had a feeling he wanted me to forget about that, but how could I? He was way out of my league. The more I saw of him, the more I realized that. Maybe he was okay with camping once in a while, but if I wanted this to be more than a wild fling, sooner or later I was going to have to go into his world and see if I could get by on his terms.