Free Pieces of Three by Kim Carmichael

other.
    What pain did she cause him? All she knew was she resisted the urge to pull him closer and wrap her arms around him. “Do you feel better?”
    “You are making it worse.” He opened his eyes halfway.
    “What am I doing?” She put her hand on his chest, preparing to push him away.
    He placed his hand over hers. “Being around you for is affecting me in ways I tried to forget.”
    “What do you mean?” She slipped her hand out from under his and she dug her heels into the dirt to move back.
    He held her in place. “I’m going to show you”
    She wanted to turn away, kick him off her and run. Instead, she faced him. His gaze met hers, her cheeks and her body heated.
    He moved his face closer to hers, and as if she were on automatic, she tilted her chin up.
    Rather than his mouth melding to hers, and before she had time to consider what she was allowing, Porter lowered his face to her neck and kissed her there.
    Shudders ran though her and she arched her back.
    With his tongue he traced an abstract design behind her ear, creating chills down her spine. His light ministrations were not nearly enough, and she curled her arm around him, taking in the way his muscles moved beneath her hand.
    Gentle and soft, he kissed, nibbled and caressed her, moving down her shoulder. Show her pain? Nothing hurt, in fact quite the opposite. He prodded her body into pleasure, running his fingers over her breasts on the outside of her shirt, sucking on her earlobe, and giving her an open mouthed kiss on her shoulder.
    No pain. Like earlier with Julian her body took off and flooded with desire, she had to have more and squirmed beneath him. “Porter.” A small amount of relief found her as the evidence of his own need ground against her.
    His hand slid down the length of her body, taking in her waist, her hip, her thigh.
    Every reason why she shouldn’t be even glancing in the direction of Porter or Julian entered and left her mind. Her focused remained solely on Porter, what he doled out, what he denied her, what she wanted. His lips drifted to different parts of her body until they reached her jaw line. She held her breath, waiting for him to connect their mouths, anticipating his taste, and soothing the ache he created.
    Suddenly, Porter pushed himself away, and the heat vanished to be replaced by a cold breeze as if someone threw icy water over her.
    “Porter?” She inhaled, choked on the air and coughed.
    He stood, towering over her. “How do you feel now?”
    She covered her mouth with her hand. Anything she answered would come out as a plea for him to quench her desire, ease the pain.
    “Understand now?” He crossed his arms, turned and resumed his seat by the water’s edge.
    She forced herself up and ran into the forest, away from Porter and away from Julian. With a quick glance at the sky, she tried to heed Julian’s words and remember she wasn’t alone, though she’d never felt more isolated.
     

Chapter Five
     
    Porter kept his lock on Alyssa and walked backward onto the beach, joining Julian at the fire.
    “You reek.” Julian continued to stare into the fire. “Where is she, cleaning up?”
    “You don’t even have a clue.” He leaned back on his elbows and took in the full moon. The burning ran rampant through his body, made more acute by the fact he took a taste and the small sampling wasn’t nearly enough. Too many full moons had passed since he touched another female. Even though the animal side of him longed for satisfaction, he couldn’t let go, no one would compare to what he once possessed. Then along came a little human, someone who should be disposable, but something drew him to her.
    “Don’t take me for a fool, she’s been all over you.” Julian ran his hand through his hair. “You can go to the boat with her. I’m going to stay out here and make sure the two of you stay away from me.”
    It appeared the politician had it as bad as he did. Porter couldn’t even muster a smile, but he