Page 91 of Obsession Under the Southern Stars

I think he’s warning me in case I don’t want him to come in my mouth, but I’m more than happy to taste him, so I carry on, and he eventually says, “Fuck,” holds my head, and presses deep into my throat, almost reaching my limit before he shudders and comes. I drink him down, moaning my pleasure, only stopping when he gasps and releases me.

Licking my lips, I let him help me up, and he presses me up against the tiles and leans on them while he holds my face and kisses me, oh-so-tenderly.

“I’m turning into a prune,” I joke weakly when we eventually come up for air. “I’ve spent so long in the water this week.”

He chuckles, makes sure all the conditioner is out of my hair, then turns the spray off. “Sorry.”

We go out, retrieve a couple of towels, and wrap them around us. Then he pulls me into his arms, and we stand there like that for a long time.

“That was amazing,” he murmurs.

“Mmm.” I kiss his neck. “I suppose we should get ready for the day.”

He sighs and kisses my lips. “Yeah.”

As we dry ourselves off, I remember him saying how he wished we could stay at the cabin, so I’m sure he’s feeling the same way here. It would be nice not to have to return to the real world, and to just live here together, without a care. But of course life doesn’t work like that. You always have to face reality in the end.

He goes off to his room to find some clean clothes. I dry my hair, then put on a short summer dress, and take my time on my makeup, as I won’t be going back in the water today.

When I’m done, I go out into the kitchen and find him making coffee. “I’ve ordered some breakfast,” he says. “It’ll be here in a minute.” Sure enough, just a minute later there’s a knock at the door, and the waiter brings in a large tray with two huge, cooked breakfasts.

“Oh my God, Joel.” My eyes nearly fall out of my head. “How did you know this is exactly what I needed?”

“Sixth sense,” he says, seeing the waiter out.

I lift the two plates off the tray and set them on either side of the breakfast bar. He joins me there, and the two of us tuck in.

There are two perfectly cooked poached eggs, a pork-and-fennel sausage, a pile of crispy bacon, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, a few small potato rosti, sourdough toast, a small pot of baked beans, and a dish of a spicy tomato salsa. It’s delicious, and for a few minutes we eat in silence, interspersing bites with mouthfuls of steaming hot coffee.

My hunger is just dying down when I look up from the breakfast and discover Joel watching me while he bites off a piece of toast and crunches it. “You okay?” he says eventually.

I nod. “Of course.”

He has another bite of toast. “I get the feeling you’re freaking out.”

I give him a wry look. “No… well, only a little bit.”

“You don’t have to,” he says softly. “We’re going to take this slowly, okay?”

I look down at my breakfast and pierce the last poached egg with my fork so it spills over the bacon.

“What are you doing over the weekend?” he asks.

I look up in surprise. “I need to go and see my parents. They want to make sure I’m all right.”

“Sure, I get that. But I was wondering if on Sunday you’d like to come to Hanmer Springs?”

My jaw drops. “You mean… to Greenfield?”

“Yeah.”

“And meet your parents?” My heart thuds. “Joel… We’re not even dating properly. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

“It’s not about meeting my parents. Well, not just about that. I want you to see where I grew up. And there’s something about the place that’s restful and healing. We can go for a walk in the forest, sit by the river… just spend time together, and talk about what’s next.”

“We can do that in Wellington,” I protest, feeling a mixture of fear and pleasure that he’s asked me. “You can come to the flat when I get back if you like.”

“Yeah… but as much as I want to get you into bed again, we need space and time to talk. I don’t want to get distracted by your naked form.” His eyes gleam as he sips his coffee.

---