Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Trent

Run? No, she was the runner. The second part of her sentence hit me. Trails. Oh, that kind of running. I pushed my chair in and leaned on it.

A run with Maureen? Was this an olive branch? Had we finally found common ground?

"Yes, I still run. I've been using the treadmill, but running outdoors is what I prefer."

"Would you like to join me then? I don't like running alone since there's always a possibility of a twisted ankle or a fall. And since it's last minute and later than I normally go, my usual partner likely won't be available."

"A run sounds perfect." She'd definitely made it sound as if I was a last resort, but I'd take it. I'd take anything.

She looked at her watch. "How's twenty minutes? I'll meet you out back. There's a lake behind us." She jabbed a finger toward the back of the university. "We can meet by the benches."

"Okay." My eyes narrowed slightly, remembering that she left me for almost an hour last time we were supposed to meet.

She held up her hands. "Twenty minutes. No more. I promise. But let's exchange numbers in case either of us get waylaid." She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out her cell, handing it to me.

I nodded, grinning that she'd read my look so well. "Twenty," I repeated, and pulled up her messages to text myself.

"I usually do about five miles. Around the little lake, to the big lake, around that, and then back again. Can you handle that?"

Was she trying to give me an excuse to back out or was that challenge in her eyes? My grin turned into an easy smile. "Five miles is perfect." I handed her back the phone and mine chirped the text I'd sent myself.

I watched her eyes narrow a fraction. "Good. See you in twenty."

I wondered if she thought I'd be petty and show up late, so I gave her a reassuring nod. "Looking forward to it."

Maureen waved a hand to usher me out of her classroom, so I left, not waiting for her to pack up her things when she clearly didn't want me to. I just hoped she didn't change her mind in the next twenty minutes.

I arrived first, so I stretched while I waited. She was a few minutes late but I said nothing about it, not wanting to trigger her. She obviously had a problem with Doms, or at least me as a Dominant and I was happy to keep that side of me on lockdown, for now , knowing she didn't appreciate it.

Did that mean I stopped wanting her? Hell, no, but I wasn't willing to push her away either. Being friends was better than nothing at all, wasn't it?

"Thanks for waiting," she said, acknowledging her tardiness without apology. "I really didn't intend to be late."

"No problem." With my hand on my elbow which was pointed skyward, I tugged, stretching my tricep.

"I stopped by Mira's room. Her roommate said she had left the Ranch for the night."

I stopped stretching to look at Maureen. "Does she do this often? Do we know why she's so desperate to graduate?"

"I don't know, is the answer to both of those questions."

"Hm." We needed more information because what I knew now was worrying me.

"Ready?" she asked and I nodded.

I let Maureen take the lead because I wanted her to set the pace so she didn't feel like she had to prove anything to me. Being on equal ground with others seemed important to her. I saw the other advantage once we took off.

Her sculpted legs were long and smooth, and her running shorts hugged her ass. I could be a gentleman and look at the gorgeous Montana scenery instead, but my feral side won out.

It was a long run, with a lot of elevation changes, but as we rounded a group of trees and the small lake came into view, Maureen picked up her pace. I followed suit until we were sprinting toward it. With my longer legs, I could have passed her, but I didn't. I matched her but stayed ten paces behind instead.

I was rewarded with a brilliant smile when she made it to the bench by the lake and spun to watch me. And then, just as I got to a spot near her, my foot landed on a patch of damp grass and I slid.

There was some pinwheeling, some unmanly grunts, and several curses, but despite it all, I went right into the lake in a graceless splash. The water was cold, the kind of cold that took your breath away for several seconds.

When my head popped up, Maureen's eyes were wide and her mouth open in an O of shock. I raised a hand in a wave.

"That was totally intentional," I said, the cold and my need for oxygen making it more of a stammer.

Maureen blinked, then doubled over, clenching her knees and laughed. She was still out of breath from the sprint, so it sounded more like gasping wheezes.

Recovering from the shock, I started to swim. "It's rather refreshing."

More laughter. "I don't think that's the word I'd use."

"Oh, downright balmy then? Come on in."

She laughed again. "I think I'll pass."

I began treading water so I could watch her. It was as if the endorphins, and my comical fall lowered her guard. She took a bottle of water from the belt around her waist and took several swallows. She had a runners glow and a sheen of sweat covered her skin.

Sweat dampened her shirt beneath her breasts, but it did nothing to deter me from staring. She was just as gorgeous as ever and I still wanted her. Even though my brain knew we weren't sexually compatible, that we both craved control too much, my cock didn't care.

But I'd been here before, and letting my hormones loose, didn't work out so well for my heart. Unfortunately, even with that reminder, I couldn't peel my eyes from her.

When she slipped her bottle back in her belt, I noticed a drip of water rolling down her chin, it hung there a moment as if teasing me about where it was headed, and then it dropped right between her breasts.

Her perfect breasts, glistening with sweat, which wasn't a turn off at all.

"Your lips are turning blue. Still sticking with the ‘it's balmy' story?"

I glanced back up at her face and gave her a half-smile.

"Okay, you caught me. It's about as balmy as Alaska in March."

"You're going to freeze to death, Trent. Come on." She extended a hand to me, and I took it. The feel of her warm hand in my cold one gave me an unmanly flutter in my gut.

My limbs were numb, making my movements awkward, so when she tugged me forward, I collided against her.

"Gah!"

She yelped as my wet clothing hit her hot skin, but she didn't push me away. Instead, she stood her ground, staring up at me, her eyes heating.

When she started rubbing her hands up and down my arms, her gaze still locked on mine, my cock swelled against the cold material of my shorts. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed that while my other extremities were malfunctioning, my dick seemed impervious to the freezing bath I'd just had.

In one swift move, she yanked me forward. Suddenly our mouths were crushed against one another and we were making out like fucking long-lost lovers in some epic teen-romance novel.

And then it turned R rated.

Her arms looped around my neck and my fingers plowed through her hair until my palm was at the back of her head, my fingers gripping her in place. She hitched her leg up onto my hip and I grabbed the back of her knee with my free hand to pull her against me. Pressing myself shamelessly against her hot middle, I moaned.

She mewled against my mouth and it was the most feminine sound I'd ever heard. I'd never felt so greedy for the taste of someone in my life. And by the way she tugged at me, I wasn't alone in my feelings.

As our mouths mated, I released her head to grab a handful of her ass and yank her up tighter against me. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I squeezed her supple ass.

How many fucking times had I imagined this? How many fucking times had I wanted this? Suddenly all higher thought was gone as she reached down between us and palmed me through the material of my shorts.

I growled. Like. A. Beast.

Spinning us, I sat on the bench, her in my lap, and tugged her hair until her head went back and her neck was exposed. She shivered as I kissed, licked and sucked the sensitive skin. She kept rubbing and squeezing my cock, her hand wedged between us. It lurched and strained against my shorts fighting for release. God, I wanted to be skin to skin with her.

Yanking her tank top down until the zipper of her sports bra was accessible, I nipped her collarbone and unzipped it. It popped wide; ample milky breasts swelled out.

"Wet… clothes. Not good… catch your death," she said, her words coming out in choppy huffs as she tugged at my head, pulling me to her now free breasts.

"You're… keeping me… warm. Hot actually." My words were just as ragged as hers. I nuzzled a plump nipple free and sucked it into my mouth while massaging her bottom. "You okay?"

She moaned her response so I released her ass, reaching between us instead. "Open those legs wider, darlin," I drawled, as my hand forcefully did just that.

"That's my girl." I rewarded her obedience by drawing her nipple deeper into my mouth and rubbing her mound through her shorts. "So hot."

She gasped as my hooked finger pressed against her, circling. She closed her legs, as much as she could while straddling me, just as I found a nice rhythm, so I tutted her. "Open for me, Reenie. I'm going to give you what you want. What you need."

Her legs relaxed again, and I continued to massage her until her mewl from earlier was back and she was rocking against my hand. She fumbled down the waistband of my shorts, reaching inside to… fuuuck.

Her fingers skimmed the head of my cock, and it almost threw off my rhythmic stroking. Almost, but I was too focused on her, and my desired outcome for her.

When her warm fingers encircled me, I clenched my teeth, unable to hold back a moan. I considered stopping what I was doing to get her shorts down, put my mouth on her, but she was too close. And we weren't done. I had time, didn't I? Maybe I didn't.

"Gawd, oh," she gasped as I worked her through her clothing until she was clinging to me with one hand, her other awkwardly stroking me. And then I realized the shorts were loose enough to reach inside the leg and touch her bare skin.

This information made my nostrils flare, and I moved her from my lap to the bench, laying her onto her back.

I pushed aside the dampened cloth between her legs, my thumb finding her nether lips, spreading them, sweeping through her to lubricate my thumb. A hiccup sound caught in her throat and she spread her legs wider.

I fondled her, playing her like an instrument, increasing the tempo of my thumb, until she was gasping and panting. Kissing wetly across her chest to her other nipple, I rolled it between my teeth. Her fingers pressed into the skin of my shoulder where she clung to me, and her other hand tightened on my cock.

I left her nipple to kiss her mouth so I could swallow the cry of her building orgasm as I pressed harder on her button. Swallowing her cry into my mouth, I pinched her clit at the last second. With a guttural wail against my lips, she shuddered against me, but I didn't stop. My thumb stroked, gentler now, but still there, coaxing every bit of release from her.

"That's it, honey, come for me," I whispered against her wet, supple lips. And then her head fell back against the armrest of the bench, her eyes closed.

It took me several seconds to realize she'd released my cock, her hand no longer down my pants. Her breathing was still labored but she didn't move. Several long seconds passed before she opened her eyes, avoiding my gaze.

"You okay?" I asked even though everything about her shouted she wasn't. I loosened my grip on her, but I wasn't letting her go. I wasn't letting her pull back and raise her walls. Reaching for her hips, I yanked down her shorts. Her lacey purple panties came with them.

"Stay with me, Reenie," I crooned, and lowered my mouth to cover her. Her sweet scent filled my nostrils and urged me on. My tongue parted her, finding her swollen nub. I licked it, and then sucked until her breathing picked up again.

She'd come back. I hummed against her, my tongue probing and darting until she was gasping. And then I slid a finger into her, the wetness of her pussy dripping down my hand.

"Trent. Please."

My name. That please. It brought me to life while simultaneously killing me.

"I need you…" She gasped. "Inside me, now," she said, her words both begging and demanding in a way that was as contradicting as she was.

"Protection," I asked, still pumping a finger inside her.

"The pill," she answered, in a gasping breath. "Clean bill of health. Haven't been with anyone in over three years."

"Medically pristine here too," I murmured, distracted by her last admission.

She hadn't been with anyone since before our date. That information did something to me. I was suddenly feral and wild with the knowledge. Pulling the tie of my shorts, I shoved them down, and pushed inside her.

Her moan mixed with my growl and I saw fucking stars with how tight she was. Her pussy spasmed on my cock and I swore. "Fuck, Reenie, Fuck."

I began moving inside her, slowly at first, until she impatiently grabbed my hips and ground her pelvis against me. Again Reenie was a contradiction of begging and demanding, but I had no desire to stop and ponder which, so I obliged. Increasing my tempo, I pistoned into her, driving deep until she howled in pleasure. I fumbled to kiss the sound from her mouth as we drove into each other, our bodies meeting in a collision of pounding flesh.

We came within a minute of each other, my groan starting at the end of her cry of pleasure and we were left in a limp, panting pile of tangled limbs, until…

She shoved me back, frantically as if I was suffocating her. I moved back quickly, my cock slipping from inside her as I did. I sat upright, tucking myself away before extending my hand to help her up. She didn't take my offered hand, but she didn't swat it away either. And just like before, she couldn't meet my gaze.

"Reenie."

She swallowed hard, moving to grab her discarded shorts and panties.

"I'm…" She looked down as she stepped into her clothes. "We shouldn't have done that." Even though she wasn't looking at me, her face wore a mask of guilt and embarrassment.

I pressed my lips, her taste still on them and nodded. "Okay." Rising, I stepped back, hands raised. "I don't regret it though."

Her eyes shot to mine, hot anger flared, and then fizzled. "Well, I do. It was wrong."

She shifted on her feet and nibbled on the corner of her mouth. As much as I hated that things had come to a screeching halt, like an iceberg in a hot spring, I wasn't mad. I had no right to be. That was the first rule of consent. And I believed wholeheartedly in it.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at me, unsure. "I just… shoved you."

"Yes, I'm fine." I smiled to reassure her.

"You're not mad?"

I shook my head, reaching down to adjust the band of my shorts and tie them tightly. "No, Reenie, I'm not. It happened in the heat of the moment, you regret it. I understand."

She nodded, looking down at her feet again. She'd never looked so unsure. She'd never looked so vulnerable. But it wasn't the kind of vulnerability I wanted to see.

"Honey." I tipped her chin up with my finger. "We're good. And stop berating yourself. We're both adults. Both responsible. What's done is done."

I shivered involuntarily as the breeze picked up, suddenly aware of my wet clothes now that I was out of the lust haze. And she looked at me, hesitating only a second before wrapping her arms around me.

"Take the shirt off," she said and tugged it up and over my head. "You'll be warmer without it." She looked down at my shorts. "Nothing we can do about those I guess."

"Isn't this the part where I'm supposed to get dressed?" I chuckled and she wrapped an arm around me. Back in control of the situation, her vulnerability fell away and in its place the strong capable Maureen Stahlbaum took over.

"Come on, stay close for heat. God, I should have gotten you home right away. Instead I…"

"You what? Ravaged me? Defiled me?" I shook my head, chuckling, but then my teeth started to chatter. "Both adults," I reminded her with a shiver.

I didn't protest as she moved us forward, still keeping me close. The cold had fully taken over and I couldn't control my shivering no matter how hard I tried. "Good plan."

Luckily it wasn't a far walk to our apartments because the shivering wasn't very manly.

She looked at me when we got to my apartment door, examining my face. "I don't like this." She gathered a breath. "I'm coming in."

"I'm fine. Nothing a hot shower won't cure." I considered making a joke about her joining me but swallowed it.

"Hm," was all she said, and fished my keycard out of my shorts.

"Strip," she demanded as soon as she walked into my apartment. "I know the layout. I'm getting the shower going."

I stepped inside, a little bewildered at the way she took charge of the situation. On one hand, I wasn't used to being bossed around, on the other, I liked seeing her so capable. I liked this change in her. I was proud of who she'd become.

My cock hardened again, and my brows rose. So soon? The feral part of me sensing a challenge was turned on. What would it be like to dominate a woman so strong-willed? To make this woman want to submit to me?

Here I was, numb from the cold, my limbs clumsy and stiff, shivering like a newborn foal, and my fucking cock was hard. And my mind busily formed a new fantasy to keep me awake at night. I stared down at the tented material of my shorts with a frown. "I clearly need that blood elsewhere," I mumbled with a shake of my head.

Untying my shorts didn't go as I expected. My brain was telling my fingers what to do but they weren't getting the message. Without proper dexterity it took way too long before the string hung loose enough that shoving the wet material down would be possible.

And just as I was about to do that, I'd realized there was another issue.

I wasn't ashamed of my body, not even after the icy swim, but I knew as soon as she walked back in here and saw me naked, and hard, despite my freezing state, she'd be reminded of what happened. And reminding her of our visceral reaction to each other wasn't what she needed.

"Here." A towel flew around the corner and I caught it, wrapping it around my waist.

"Thanks."

"Water's warmed up." This time she came around the corner and, as she did, my shorts fell in a wet splat to the floor.

She ignored them and, thankfully, didn't seem to notice the tenting towel as she walked past me into the kitchen.

"I'm going to make you some"—she opened a few cupboards acclimating herself to my arrangements—"tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?"

"Coffee's good. Thanks." I headed for the shower.

The water felt amazing but I couldn't seem to really warm up, not even after half an hour under the hot spray. When I stepped out, the steam in the bathroom was as thick as fog.

Maureen knocked on the bathroom door. "I found some jogging pants and a sweatshirt in your room. I warmed them in the microwave."

The thought of her in my room had me picturing her in my bed, me on top of her, this time her wrists and ankles bound. I still wanted so much more of her. Our quickie by the lake would never be enough. This woman was going to be the death of me.

"Wait, what? You microwaved my clothes?"

"Yes, you're probably frozen to the bone. A hot shower won't be enough."

"Have you done this before? Did you slick up the grass before our run in a grand plan?" I could picture her rolling her eyes. "Are you rolling your eyes?"

I heard a snick of a laugh she probably didn't want me to hear.

"Can I hand them in to you?"

"Yeah, just a sec." I opened the door and she reached in holding a pile of warm clothing. I took the clothes and she shut the door. They were warm. She was warm. If I'd been worried she'd hardened in the years we'd been apart, I shouldn't have been. You're still sweet as ever, Reenie.

She was a caregiver, one with walls to protect herself, but a caregiver, nonetheless. And somehow her walls had come down today, even if only slightly.

When I walked out fully dressed, she was sitting at the small two-person table in the nook by the window. She held a cup between her hands and there was another in front of the empty seat.

"I hope you don't mind." She motioned to her cup.

I shook my head. "Not at all. I'm okay, though. You don't need to stay."

Her eyes, which were staring out the window, shot to mine. "I can leave if you don't want me here." She started to rise.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I don't want you to leave. I just meant you don't have to stay because you're worried about me."

She swallowed, sitting back down, her eyes on her mug. "I need to shower, but I'll just finish my hot chocolate first."

I slid into the chair across from her and took a sip of my coffee. "It's good. Just what I needed. Thanks again."

Her gaze rose to mine. I knew by her behavior she was having some sort of internal battle but I said nothing.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Not a big deal, really. I've got a chill but I'll be fine in a few hours. I shouldn't have been so cocky and stayed in the water so long." I smirked. "Death by stupidity. Or maybe death by trying to impress a beautiful woman."

"Oh, you thought swimming in a freezing-cold lake like a nutjob would impress me?" The corner of her eyes crinkled with amusement.

"You were totally impressed," I replied, my mouth curving in a smirk.

The mood shifted when she frowned contemplatively. Eyeing me, she fingered the handle of the cup. "You're not a typical Dominant."

I sipped my coffee letting her words sink in. "Why do you think that?"

"You didn't try to control the situation. None of the situations."

My brows rose and she made a frustrated huffing sound.

"You're letting me handle Mira, you let me take control of…" She smirked. "Your near-drowning?—"

I laughed at that. "Near-drowning? Is that how you're going to spin this?"

"Anyway, you know what I mean." Again her eyes were on the birdfeeder outside the window. "And you didn't… you weren't…" She sighed. "Well, the sex was…"

"I'm a person, Maureen. Just like you. And I'm not your Dom. Are you trying to control everything all the time? Is that what you think being a Dominant is?"

Her eyes lifted, not quite landing on mine though. She turned her head slightly. " No, of course not. But that's because I'm not a typical Domme." She stopped speaking so quickly I wasn't sure if she had more to say.

Swallowing, her eyes settled squarely on mine.

"Can you explain what you mean by that?" I asked this gently because demanding anything from Maureen would be foolish, but also because I was genuinely curious.

"I should… uh… go." She showed me her cup was empty and stood.

A prick of panic rose in me. We'd gotten somewhere today, her walls had been lowered. Her leaving meant I could lose all momentum.

I gathered a breath and stood. Patience was what Maureen needed, and I was good at that. I could give her whatever time she needed because she was worth waiting for.

She walked to the kitchen, rinsed her cup, and set it in the sink. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Taking a risk, I smiled, reached out and pulled her into my arms.

"You're such a caregiver, honey, and I love that about you. Always have. Thank you. I'll be fine."

She stayed in my arms longer than I expected, sinking into me. I hugged her tighter, instinctively knowing it was what she needed.

"Thanks for the run," she said, easing out of the hug after another thirty or so seconds.

"Did it help?"

"It was a distraction but…" She let her words trail off.

"It didn't?" Not even the sex ? I wanted to ask. I wondered if it was because it was too vanilla for her.

"Not much." She licked her lips. "But the sex…" She smirked. "That was a distraction."

I laughed. "Agreed."

And then her face grew serious. "Have you met anyone here?"

"Met anyone?" I was thrown a little by the abrupt change in conversation.

"A good play partner, or whatever." She turned, reaching for the door handle.

"I've played, but I'm not much for casual encounters beyond that, if that's what you mean, but it occasionally happens."

Her eyes flicked to mine. "Me either. I mean I've never had a play partner who wasn't just casual, and those never go beyond the basic Dungeon scene." She chewed the inside of her lip. "I mean it's never been sexual."

I was reminded of her statement in the heat of the moment. I haven't been with anyone in over three years.

"Ever settle for vanilla sex, Trent?" Maureen twisted the handle and I got the sense she wanted to run but was forcing herself to stay for the answer.

"Settle?" My gut tightened. I didn't want her settling for anything with me if that's where this was going. And I wouldn't settle either.

"You know what I mean." She swallowed. "Be with someone to fill an ache…"

"I don't know if I'd call it settling but, yes I've had relationships with women who weren't into power dynamics, but not to scratch an itch. I loved them. Fell in love with them before I knew we weren't compatible." I shifted my jaw, thinking of women I'd fallen for, loved, and then split with, because I'd never been fulfilled and they'd felt it no matter how hard I tried to hide it. It's why I decided not to wait to make my needs known from the get-go.

"But I also decided that wasn't for me. It's not something I can live with. I know I told you that when…" I paused and considered my phrasing. I needed to tread lightly with her. And I'd said I'd stop throwing our past in her face and I meant it.

"When we went out."

She answered for me. and I nodded.

"What's this about, Maureen?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just…" She tugged the door open and smiled at me. "Have a good evening, Trent. Let's run again."

And she was gone, her walls back up and armor in place, and I was left watching the door close on whatever might have happened had I not been so adamant.

As much as I felt disappointment, I also knew I was doing the right thing. Maureen had to work through this on her own. She had to find herself and decide what it was she wanted without my influence.