I stood up with him still holding on and holding tight. “Did you turn it off?” he whispered, his mouth against my ear. I nodded and mumbled in the affirmative. Erik moved his face from my ear and pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Did you wanna do this?”
“It’s all I’ve wanted to do,” I admitted. “Since the day we met at the studio when I prayed that you would be the last pick available.”
Erik smothered my mouth with his. We kissed without inhibition. Every wall in my heart, every fear I’d ever had, melted away with the warmth of Erik’s touch. I pulled him into me as hard as I could. I would never be able to get him close enough to me even if I was inside of him. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be part of his life. Whatever that meant. Whatever that would take.
CHAPTER NINE: ERIK
Day Twenty-One
With the inside of our tent sealed from the elements, the temperatures at night were bearable but still quite frigid. October was just a couple of days away, and the sun was setting earlier every evening. We’d been lucky to have an Indian summer in the Pacific Northwest with mostly sunny days and temperatures still hitting the mid-sixties. I’d dragged cedar bows back to camp several days prior in an attempt to line the dirt floor of our space, arranging thicker layers to one side and creating a comfortable bed for us. I also found a vinyl-wrapped cushion that may have come from a boat. After letting it dry in the sun, we used it as a pillow that we also shared.
Drew was out foraging for the last bit of fall berries that grew in abundance on Vancouver Island, their ripeness perfectly timed to the fall. Blue elderberry, wild salmonberry, and red huckleberry, all grew in these parts of the woods. We couldn’t eat them all so I made what was left into dried fruit leather, baked over the fire on top of any fish we caught.
Before arriving on location, I hadn’t had a clue about things like starting a fire or sleeping outdoors naked, but I’d read several books on edible plants and berries. I wasn’t a lumberjack, but researching was something I did well. Very well. I’d always been interested in plants, distinguishing what was consumable and what could kill us. I even found a canopy of trees that afforded the damp shade necessary to grow many edible mushrooms. And in competitions like Bare Naked, that knowledge was a lifeline.
“I guess I hadn’t expected us to eat so well,” Drew had said after I’d found the fishing hooks. He’d taught me how to catch trout and never expressed frustration whenever I failed to secure food.
“Me either. Thanks for your patience. Do you wish you had a more experienced partner?” I’d asked.
“Not even close,” he’d disagreed.
“Did you make any real connections with your previous partners?” I’d pushed, not sure why it was important to hear how those experiences had turned out. I supposed I wanted to know because I wasn’t sure if he was playing to the cameras or actually enjoyed being around me.
“Sometimes,” he’d responded, looking at me warily. I let it go, and we never broached the subject of his previous partners or what had happened between us on the beach six days before.
Drew was still out gathering whatever he could find to eat, so I put a pot of river water on the fire and waited for it to warm up. I figured I may as well clean up while he was gone. Before the water began to bubble I moved the pot from the fire and dipped the bar of soap into the much warmer liquid and began sudsing up.
I didn’t think I was more than a minute into bathing when Drew pulled the plywood aside and stepped into our space. His eyes locked with mine as I ran the bar of soap over my skin, making sure to get every part of my body. After staring for a few seconds, he emptied a small piece of canvas we’d found that he’d filled with more berries.
“Good haul again today,” I said, breaking the silence. His eyes remained glued on me, offering no response. “Plenty of wild cranberries this time too I see,” I added, dragging the bar of soap under my armpits. Still no words came out of his lips. “You okay?” I asked, finally.
“Can I get your back?” he whispered, closing the gap between us with his hand out.
“Sure,” I answered, handing him the soap.
“You know you don’t stink if that’s what worries you,” he said. I turned my back on him and he moved the soap across my shoulder blades and down the center of my spine, stopping at the place where the spine met the crevice of my ass. I trembled when his hand made gentle circles above my ass.
“I just like being clean,” I said. “I’ll rinse off in the river.”
He stood inches away from me, cupping my ass cheeks in his calloused hands, alternately moving the soap up and down my crack. My dick perked up, and I subtly moved a hand to cover the evidence of my attraction to Drew. He hadn’t made any move on me since the kiss, and I did not want to discourage him. I’m making a mistake with a straight guy, I thought to myself, but I was too weak to resist him.
My eyes traveled to the handheld cameras resting on a stump we’d salvaged. Both of their red lights were off. We were not filming. “I’ll go in the water with you if you’ll help me clean up as well,” he said, his warm breath fanning my cool neck. I couldn’t speak, lost in his touch. One of his hands came around, gripping my swollen cock, jerking me off. “Is this okay?” he said, licking my earlobe.
“Yes,” I whimpered.
Drew’s hand, the one jacking my dick, quickened its pace while the other hand massaged my balls. “You like that?” he asked.
“Oh my God.” I tilted my head back and against his chest. He towered over me, and I felt petite encased in his arms. He released my balls and ran his free hand over my abs, stopping at my right hip and pulling me back hard against his massive cock.
“I’ve never done this, Erik,” he admitted. He licked the side of my neck, and if I wasn’t careful, I would bust. “You feel incredible. Your ass…your…”
I reached behind me and grabbed his cock. He sucked in a lungful of air, his breath hitching when he exhaled. “Oh fuck me,” he groaned, fucking my hand while he stroked my cock.
“I’ve never done this before either,” I confessed. “Ever. With anyone.”
He removed my hand from his dick, sudsed my inner thighs with soap, and squatted a bit so he could position his cock between my legs, below my pulsating asshole. “How about I stroke your cock while I pretend to fuck your ass,” he growled, sending an electric shock directly to my cock and taint. My carnal desire for Drew was uncontained.
“I want you,” I moaned.
