WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Viva La Valentine Edition (16 page)

Afraid he’d notice her blushing, she returned
to the car to grab more supplies.

Everything was set up in what must have been
some sort of record. “You weren’t a boy scout were you?” she
couldn’t help but tease.

“No Miss,” he responded with a formal bow,
“just a Guardian at your service.”

Her heart fluttered at the traditional
gesture and it skipped a beat when he slid off his jacket to reveal
his tight t-shirt encased chest again.

Dara found a large rock in the sun that
formed a perfect seat and tried to calm her thoughts. They would be
rescued long before nightfall and would be in Las Vegas by tomorrow
at the latest. Then she and Gabe would part ways. She just had to
keep her head clear and her thoughts out of the gutter for a little
bit longer. Unfortunately, the compassion she now felt for Gabe
from his earlier confession had seriously challenged what she’d
always thought of him. Besides, even if her feelings had changed,
there was no guaranty he would even be interested in her. She
reminded herself she was small and quiet and he was handsome and
charming.

He was much better suited to one of her more
attractive family members like her sister Corazon. Corazon was
5’11” of supermodel good looks. Next to her, Dara felt
ordinary.

She was roused from her melancholy by the
command, “catch!” and turned to discover Gabe tossing a fishing
pole her way. Dara deftly caught the pole and rapidly launched into
protests of what he had planned.

“Gabe, I don’t fish, and besides, fishing
requires a license in most states, and I certainly don’t have one
in California,” she argued.

With a wicked grin Gabe countered, “I’m sure,
given our dire circumstances, the law won’t care. If I didn’t know
better I’d say you’re scared to try.”

Gabe had picked the right buttons to push.
Dara would never admit to being scared of anything, so she promptly
stood up and marched towards the pond, pole in hand.

Unfortunately, her bravado failed her when he
held out a wriggling earthworm for her hook. She involuntarily
cringed away from it, tripping over a tree stump in the process and
landing on her ass.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a concerned voice
before offering her one of his large hands and pulling her upright.
She’d never noticed how large his hands were, with long elegant
fingers.

Corazon always had a saying about hands: the
larger the hands the larger the goods. Picturing Gabe’s goods
caused her cheeks to color even more so, but she managed to croak
out, “I’m fine” before adding, “plenty of padding after all.”

Suddenly his hand was on her ass and she
gasped at the sudden contact. His touch was so electric that she
wondered if she’d carry a permanent mark from his touch.

“I’m just brushing off the dirt,” he teased,
clearly noticing her response. Sensing her discomfort, he stepped
back, retrieving her fishing pole from the ground and baiting the
hook for her.

She accepted his offer to cast and grabbed
the pole from him, purposely avoiding any further contact.

She hoped they would become so involved in
fishing that they could avoid further talk or personal contact, but
unfortunately her bait kept drifting back to shore. Dara watched
Gabe cast several times before attempting it on her own. She pulled
the rod back and released the button.

Instead of a fish, she caught the back of
Gabe’s jeans and created a tangle of fishing line. Once Gabe had
quit laughing, he gestured to the hook still attached and requested
her assistance in removing it.

Dara reluctantly approached him, aware that
she would have to touch the firm ass she’d been admiring in his
jeans. She intended to pull the hook out quickly, but as the barb
caught in the denim she found her other hand spread across his rear
to hold the fabric still. Her hands itched to forget the hook and
squeeze both cheeks, but all she allowed herself was a brief caress
to smooth the fabric after the hook was removed. She thought she
heard a groan and part of her hoped she was right.

• • •

Gabe felt her hand linger on his ass and he
stifled a groan. That girl had no idea what she did to him. He had
to get closer. Seizing the opportunity caused by her wayward hook,
he offered to teach her to cast and she reluctantly accepted.

He motioned her over, and when she moved to
stand next to him he moved her so that she was positioned directly
in front of him, her lush derriere pressed up against him. He could
smell her sweetly fragranced golden hair. Despite their size
difference she felt like a perfect fit.

He reached around her to take her hands in
his, grasping the pole. He had to keep up the pretense of teaching
her how to cast, after all. Pulling her a little bit closer, he
positioned her hands correctly on the pole before leading her
through several casts, never loosening his grip.

She was trying to put too much of her body
into the cast so he pulled her closer, moving and arm around her
waist to hold her hips still. The both stopped breathing
momentarily.

When it finally appeared she had the hang of
it, he reluctantly stepped away, his body yearning to pull her back
to him. To his satisfaction, she appeared equally flustered.

As the lazy afternoon of fishing progressed,
he couldn’t help but think things were working out perfectly, as
long as she didn’t find the full gas can hidden in the trunk or
Elias didn’t arrive prematurely.

Four.

The afternoon passed pleasantly for Dara.
She’d never spent much time camping and was surprised at how much
fun she was having. She was also surprised at the way her body was
responding to Gabe. Most importantly, she found herself no longer
waiting for rescue. Instead she was waiting to see what would
happen when the sun went down.

“What did she have to lose by having a fling
with Gabe?” she pondered. No one in her family would fault her; in
fact they’d probably cheer her on to embrace the passionate side of
life. It would definitely give her a little more street cred as a
Cherub.

There were no rules prohibiting a Cherub and
a Guardian from hooking up, and Dara hadn’t been intimate in a
very
long time. It was suddenly like an itch that
desperately needed to be scratched. She’d intended for Steve to
scratch it, but Gabe was a much more logical solution and a
tantalizing possibility. When she was pressed against him learning
to cast, she’d became keenly aware that he was attracted to her as
well, as evidenced by the large bulge against her backside. She’d
barely been able to concentrate.

She risked a glance at Gabe. He’d managed to
catch two rainbow trout and was cleaning them in the pond. Dara was
keeping a safe distance, as fish guts were right up the same alley
as earthworms in her book. He looked so masculine cleaning his
catch and she was glad he hadn’t expected her to do it.

Digging through the food rations, it appeared
they had the choice of beef stew, rice pilaf, or pork & beans
to accompany the trout. Thankful that Gabe had started a campfire
earlier to make their camp more visible, Dara decided to boil the
water for the rice pilaf. How hard could cooking some rice over the
campfire possibly be?

Thirty minutes later when she tasted the
congealed mass of what used to be rice she felt like dying of
embarrassment. Gabe, always the gentleman, scooped two plates of
the rice without saying a word and added the seasoned trout he’d
pulled from aluminum foil packets in the fire. One taste and it was
clear Gabe was a natural chef. He’d even salvaged the rice by
breaking it up with a fork and adding some butter.

To her surprise, Gabe pulled a bottle of wine
out of thin air and soon she found herself enjoying a nice glass of
pinot gris. Daylight was rapidly leaving the sky, reminding her
that it was still February despite the earlier sunshine and she was
glad for the warmth of the fire.

Noticing Dara examining him, Gabe leaned back
in the one of the camp chairs he’d set up and gazed up at the
stars. Looking up, Dara couldn’t help but be in awe of the sheer
number of stars and constellations visible far from city lights.
She remembered the stars looking like this when she was a little
girl, before the family relocated to flashy Las Vegas and began
developing the first casino resorts. Some family member was the
driving force behind almost every casino on the strip. In Las
Vegas, neon lights had rapidly replaced the stars.

“It’s beautiful,” she declared and was
surprised to hear Gabe begin reciting Lord Byron.

She walks in beauty, like the
night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes.

“Why Gabe, I never would have picked you as
one to quote Lord Byron,” Dara teased.

In response he stood and pulled Dara up to
stand before him. He gently cupped her chin and tilted it up to
gaze into her eyes.

For a few moments Dara forgot to breathe,
then all breathe was taken from her when he finally spoke. “I never
had a reason to quote Byron until I met you. You’re the embodiment
of that verse.”

Dara weakly protested “you must use that line
on every pretty girl you meet.”

He silenced her with a kiss, touching his
lips to hers and setting her body on fire. The night had quickly
taken on a chill but Dara no longer noticed. His lips, at first
gentle, were now firm and probing and her lips were eager in their
response.

Any thoughts of protest soon slipped from her
mind as his lips slid lower to the sensitive spot just behind her
ear before nipping at her lobe and trailing kisses down her
neck.

The sharp wail of a coyote howling somewhere
in the distance brought Dara’s attention back to the fact that they
were still out in the open. Sensing her sudden hesitation, Gabe
picked her up as if she weighed no more than feather and carried
her to the tent, setting her gently inside.

The air mattresses made a surprisingly soft
bed, and to Dara’s delight the sleeping bags were filled with
fluffy down. Once safe inside the tent the distant sound of the
coyote fueled Dara’s primal instincts. Surprised by her sudden
boldness, she ran her fingers across the broad chest she’d been
admiring from afar, his muscles palpable through his tee shirt.
Gabe’s groan in response urged her on.

Tugging his shirt off, she was struck by how
beautiful he truly was. She’d always found him attractive even
though she had chosen to ignore him, and now in the lantern light
his tanned skin practically glowed.

His muscles were even more impressive out of
the constraints of clothing, his chest flawless other than the
tattoo of the Guardian seal over his heart and a small dusting of
fine hair.

She gently traced her fingers over the tattoo
before he captured her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing
the tip of each finger gently. There was something both sweet and
erotic in his gesture and she was lost to all else but him.

When he finished with her fingers, he trailed
kisses up her arms while his hands slipped under her shirt, tugging
it off. His hands on her bare skin intensified her desire. Dara had
never recalled simple skin on skin contact being so erotic, but
here was the proof.

His hands cupped her breasts through her bra,
giving them a playful squeeze before reaching around back to
unfasten her bra and slip it off. She was pleased it took him a
couple of attempts. It would have been unnerving to have him get it
undone on the first try, an obvious sign of too much practice.

Even though she was expecting his touch on
her now bare breasts, she was surprised when the first touch was
his thumbs across her sensitive nipples and moisture flooded her
panties.

“Don’t stop” she murmured. He captured her
mouth in a kiss while he cupped and squeezed her heavy breasts. His
thumbs continued to tease her nipples. Dara began her own
exploration running her hands across his chest again, his muscles
twitching under her ministrations and then buried them in his silky
dark hair, pulling him closer.

He smelled delicious. A hint of soap mixed
with fresh air, sunlight and pine – both fresh and masculine. His
fragrance was an aphrodisiac. Emboldened by it, she broke their
kiss to catch his earlobe between her teeth and lightly bit
down.

“You’re teasing me, woman,” he growled in
response before distracting her by sliding his hand into her jeans
and a long finger under her panties into her slick cleft.

Not wanting to be outdone, she lowered her
head to draw one of his small nipples into her mouth and sucked.
Suddenly, she found herself flat on her back with her hands trapped
above her head in one of his.

“Beautiful, but still too many clothes,” he
pronounced, trapping her in his heated gaze.

Using his other hand he tugged off her jeans
and she said a silent prayer of thanks that she was wearing a pair
of black lacy panties rather than her usual plain white cotton.

He released her hands in order to lower his
head to reach her breasts, sucking a nipple into his mouth while
lightly stroking her cleft. Dara moaned at the combination of
sensations and he sucked deeply in response before flicking his
tongue over her hypersensitive nipples.

He removed his hand from her jeans in order
to tug down his own and she gasped at the sight of his erection
straining to escape a pair of simple Hanes cotton briefs. Her hand,
taking on a mind of its own reached out to release his erection
from its cotton prison, but he deftly pulled away.

“You first,” he stated, and lowered his head
to her black lace panties “Mmm- I love the taste of lace,” he
whispered before allowing his tongue to rasp over the fabric,
igniting a flame inside her.