Page 75 of Breaking All The Rules
“Well,” he said, passing the bottle, “that’s good news for me.”
Five minutes later, he grabbed the wrapped cones off the griddle, and they sat side by side, devouring the treats, nothing but the occasional pop from the fire, the low resonance of appreciative moans, and the licking of fingers to break the cold, clear silence of the night.
When he was done, Austin watched Beatrice make what he was fairly sure was a deliberately pornographic display of licking her fingers clean, and he shook his head. “You missed some.”
She held her hands up to the fire, fingers spread, an orange aura outlining their shape. “Where?” she asked, turning her head to face him.
Austin smiled. “Here.”
And he closed the distance between their lips and claimed her mouth. She melted like the proverbial marshmallow, leaning into him, her immediate moan like rocket fuel to Austin’s bourbon-infused state. His heart raced and his breathing turned thick as soup as he plundered her mouth with his tongue, licking up every last sweet morsel as she was doing to him.
“Mmm,” she said when Austin eventually relinquished her mouth, his forehead pressing into hers as they both panted raggedly into the night air. “I think it’s time we made use of all that pumping you did.” And she squeezed his leg.
“My thoughts exactly.” Austin stood, grabbing her hand and tugging her up, taking two steps toward the pickup, when he felt the resistance. He turned. “Problem?”
“Yeah…I’m going to need to empty my bladder first.” She looked out into the darkness beyond the fire. “I don’t suppose you stashed a port-o-potty out here somewhere?”
Austin laughed. “I’m afraid not. I’ll get the flashlight. Just head to the tree line and go there.”
She took a step closer to him. “What? By myself?”
“It’s only thirty feet away.”
“Sure. But…what about the…” She glanced out again. “Animals?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Like rattlesnakes?”
“Yes.” She turned reproachful eyes on him. “Like rattlesnakes. And…wolves and coyotes. And…do you get bears out here?”
A big belly laugh escaped Austin’s mouth. “I think you’ll be safe from wolves, coyotes, and bears.”
“But not rattlesnakes.”
“You know they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”
She shoved her hands on her hips. “You wanna bet?” Then she looked out into the night one more time, chewing on her bottom lip.
“I can come with you.” God knew he could certainly do with a little bladder relief, too.
Her shoulders sagged a little. “Thank you.”
Austin smiled as he trudged to the cab of the pickup for the flashlight. Returning with the light, he clicked it on and held out his hand. “Come on.”
She slid her hand in his, and they followed the powerful beam to the first row of trees. “Here should do,” he said, handing the light over and stepping away a bit.
“Where are you going?” she asked, a slight edge of panic in her tone.
“Just giving you a little space to do your business.”
“It’s fine. Stay close, okay? Just…turn your back.”
Austin pressed his lips into a line so he wouldn’t laugh and turned dutifully around. He heard the noise of a zipper coming down and then rustling as the beam of the flashlight danced. He heard a thud and the beam went low, and she cursed, but within seconds the light bounced around again as she picked it up off the ground.
All was quiet for a beat or two, and then he heard, “Can you whistle, please?”
“Whistle?” Austin frowned.
A loud, exasperated sigh hit him square between the shoulder blades. “Yes. The thought of you hearing me tinkle is putting me off, okay?”
