9. Jack

9

JACK

" W e're doing what?"

The look on Suzie's face is worth the airfare alone. I've never met anyone who shows their emotions as freely, and right now her expression is one of horror, disbelief, and panic.

"Rock climbing." I pull the harnesses out of the trunk and stuff them into the bag with the other gear. One of the guys I met at Angie's bar, Symon, lent me the kit and told me where the good crags are for beginners.

"You might not have noticed, Jack, but this body was not built for scaling cliff faces."

She puts her hands on her curvy hips, and I use the invitation to run my gaze down her delectable body. I have noticed her body, all right. Every new luscious curve that I'm aching to get my hands on.

"You'll be fine. We'll start with a grade three." I shoulder the bag and start off down the trail. "Come on."

Suzie trudges behind me, muttering curse words under her breath. She may hate me for this, but I couldn't stand another stilted meal together. I'm best when I'm active, and since we can't do the activity I'd most like to do together, this is a good second best.

Twenty minutes later, Suzie's gripping the rock face with her glorious butt sticking out in the air as she leans back in the harness.

"There's a hold for your foot on the left."

She glances down, and her look is pure determination. "I see it."

She pushes up with her strong thighs and slots her foot into the hold. Then she reaches her hands to the next one and pulls herself up. In a few more moves, she's at the top of her first climb.

"I did it!" she calls. "I fucking did it!"

The euphoria is replaced by anxiousness as she peers down at me. "How do I get down?"

She's clutching the rock face liker her life depends on it. "Sit back in the harness and let go. I'll bring you down."

"Did you say let go?"

She looks worried, and it makes me chuckle. This is always the bit learners find the most difficult, trusting the person spotting them to get them down safely. "Let go, Suzie. I've got you."

She hesitates, and her anxious face peers down at me. "Can you hold my weight?"

"I've spotted guys twice your size. Let go and trust me."

She looks back to the rock as if the answers are going to be there. "Okay, I'm going to do it."

She lets one hand go, and I brace my legs ready for the weight. "Now the other hand."

Finally she lets go and sits back in the harness. She gives an exclamation of surprise as she hangs on the side of the cliff held by the ropes.

"I'm going to let you down slowly, love. You've got to keep your feet on the cliff and walk down it as I let the top out."

She does as instructed, and a few minutes later she's back on safe ground. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes bright in a way I haven't seen since I came back.

"That was fun. Can I go again?"

Her enthusiasm warms me and makes me smile. "You want to try a grade 4, or 5.5 in US grading?"

"Why not?"

We move down the ridge until I find the grade 4 marked in the climbing guide Symon lent me. Suzie takes to it like a pro. I teach her how to belay, and she spots me while I take a turn.

I climb the cliff easily, but on the way down she lets the rope out too fast. I run my feet down, trying to keep pace with it, and she pulls up at the last minute. But it's too late. I crash into her, knocking her to the ground as I crash land on top of her.

The air goes out of her with an oomph as her soft body absorbs my hard one. Instinctively I roll off her, but the ropes have us tangled and I pull her with me, so now I'm on the ground and she's on top of me. Which is not a bad position to be in.

We come to a stop and she's breathing hard, her face inches from mine. Her breasts press into my chest, making my pulse race and my blood head south.

"Sorry," she whispers. "I didn't do that right."

Her breath carries the scent of coffee and cinnamon and I glance at her lips, longing to kiss them.

"It depends on what outcome you were hoping for."

She smiles. I love making Suzie smile. It was always a mission of mine, to make her face light up in that way.

"I must be crushing you." She starts to move and I clasp my hand around her waist, pulling her body into mine. My hardness digs into her, and she gasps.

"You're not crushing me. I like it."

"I can feel that."

Her lips come closer to mine, and I raise my head to close the distance. She parts them for me, and our mouths collide.

Heat flushes through me, and desire burns in my veins. She tastes as good as I remember, and I'm transported back to her double bed in the cottage on an autumn morning when we made love until the sun was high in the sky. I slide my hand down her body to cup her ass and pull her closer to me.

Suzie moans in my mouth, and that little sound sparks a thousand memories. My body responds and I kiss her deeper while my hands run over the curves of her body.

"I want you, Suzie," I whisper into her ear, remembering how sensitive she always was in that spot.

Her skin is as soft as I remember and I trail tiny kisses behind her ear, breathing in the scent of her citrus body wash and something floral in her shampoo.

I didn't plan it like this. I wanted to win my way back into her heart before I tried to get into her bed, but once I've had a taste I can't pull back.

Suzie kisses me with abandon, and the little noises she makes spur me on to keep going.

We're tangled in ropes and harnesses and our hands paw at them, needing to get them off. I unbuckle her harness, and she wiggles out of it. I undo mine, and finally we're free of the ropes. I pull her to her feet, and my arms slide around her waist.

"I imagined this so many times," I confess as I kiss her behind the ear. "Kissing you again."

I stop to look at her, and she's looking up at me. There's still uncertainty in her eyes but desire there too. Maybe this is the way to get back in her heart. Maybe this is what she needs, a reminder of how perfectly our bodies fit together. It's sure as hell what I need.

"I missed this too, Jack," she confesses. "I've not been with anyone since you."

The confession gives me pause and fills me with hope. "Oh love, you must be aching for it."

As I say the words, my hand slips between her legs. She moans at my touch even through her yoga pants. She bears down on my hand, and her head tilts back as she rocks against my palm.

I walk her backwards until her back hits the cool cliff face. There's no one else around, but I push us into the shadows just in case. I don't want anyone else to see my woman come undone.

As one hand slides between her legs, I cup her neck with my other hand and hold her in place. My mouth closes around her ear, and I whisper the dirty words she used to love.

"Have you been saving your pussy for me, Suzie?"

She whimpers, and her thighs clench together. I slide my hand under the fabric to find her panties soaking wet. I'm one layer closer to her center, but I'm not sure she can handle the contact.

"You've been saving your pussy for my cock like a good girl."

She moans, and her eyes tip backwards. I watch her face, more beautiful than I remember, especially as she takes her pleasure on my hand.

"I've been saving my cock for you, Suzie. It's all yours."

She moans, and I slide my hand inside the waistband of her panties. She's soaking wet, and my finger slips easily between her folds. Suzie cries out, and her hips buck.

"Jack!" Her words are cut off by her soft cries as the orgasm takes her. She explodes from just one touch, and I keep my hand pressed to her center until she goes off again.

After the second orgasm carries her away, her eyes flutter open. Her pupils are dark pools of desire. "I want all of you, Jack."

I slide my hand out of her panties and snap the elastic back into place. "Are you sure?"

In answer, she kisses me hard and rubs herself against the hard mound in my pants. She slides her hand inside and pops my cock out.

Her touch sends pulses of pleasure through me and I stop her hand, not wanting this to end too soon.

I do a quick check of our surroundings, but we're still alone.

Her hands run over my torso, and it's hard to keep my thoughts together. It's everything I imagined and better. But if we're doing this, then I need to know she's mine.

"I want you, Suzie."

She gives me a saucy smile. "I can tell."

"Not just like this. I want you in my life. I fucked up, and I regretted it for three years. If I get inside you again, Suzie, I'm not going to want to let you go."

She hesitates. "I can't promise you that, Jack."

It's too much too soon, and I understand that. But I need something from her. "Promise me you'll give me a chance. I'm on a three-month visa. Let me stick around, let me convince you in that time that I'm your man."

"But what happens in three months? You leave."

She's not getting it yet. I take her hands in mine and bring them to my chest, over my heart. "In three months I'll marry you, Suzie. That's what I came here to do. To make you mine forever."