Running Wild

Alexa took a quick look at the chauffeur as she stepped out of the car. He kept his gaze averted, a model of impersonal behavior. After he shut the door, he returned to the driver's side, standing by the car but looking off into the distance, leaving them alone.

Tomas took her hand. "Ready?"

She nodded, even though she had no clue what she was agreeing to be ready for. He led her on. The horizon was thick with clustered oaks and beeches. Ahead, tall ash trees lined the path and the grass beneath them grew dark and lush compared to the clearing where the limousine stood. The heat shimmered outside of the air-conditioned car, and the gloom in between the trees ahead looked inviting. Tomas led her twenty feet or so into the woods then drew to a halt before they reached the shade of the denser trees. He reached into his pocket and drew out a strip of black velvet, which he held between his hands and pulled taut.

"I would like to blindfold you." He looked at her for a reaction.

She could scarcely breathe, let alone respond verbally. She stared at the cloth and then back at him. "Is there a specific reason why?"

"Yes." He smiled, apparently impressed by her question. "It will help you engage with the location. Blindfolded, your other senses will be stimulated and you will quickly learn about the place that surrounds you. I'll stay with you while you do that."

Stay with me? What the hell did that mean? He couldn't mean to leave her alone, not now he'd got her out here and fired up for a good shag.

"The whole time you are blindfolded I will be close by. When I feel you are sufficiently prepared, I will tell you to take the blindfold off and you will begin to walk in the direction ahead of you."

"You won't be with me?"

Tomas smiled. "Alexa, I am only setting you free because I intend to hunt you down and catch you."

Her legs went weak under her. "Ah, I see."

His eyes glittered, his expression filled with essential male power. "You are my prey, and a very worthy prey you are." He traced his finger over the place where her erect nipple lifted the fragile fabric of the dress she wore, making her squirm.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Any questions?"

"None." She had to fight to keep her breathing even, but she was so wired by his suggestion that she didn't think twice about her response.

Stepping closer, he lifted the blindfold. He paused for one long moment before covering her eyes with the fabric, scrutinizing her in a way that made her feel even hornier. She glanced away and when she did he moved the velvet strip into place, unnerving her again.

He tied it behind her head, and then he did the last thing she expected him to do right then. He kissed her. Softly, at first, then with more persuasion, his tongue plying into her mouth until she trembled and grew pliant in his arms—and bereft when he broke from her and left her standing there alone.

Instinctively, she reached out for him. Her vision was almost totally obscured, just a hint of light filtered through the cloth. When she felt him at her back, she gasped aloud. He drew her arms to her sides, keeping her locked in position.

"Take a deep breath, familiarize yourself with your surroundings."

She did as he suggested, her intake of breath faltering. Focus, she told herself. When she did, she could smell the distinctive scent of wild summer grass. She hadn't noticed it before.

"What can you feel?"

It was so hard to concentrate with him so close against her back. "The sun on my skin, your breath against the back of my neck."

"Beyond that. Feel beyond that. When you're in the wild, you need to engage a high level of awareness. I know you have the capacity for this, Alexa, because of the attention to detail you show to your work. Now, concentrate, tell me what you hear and feel."

His body felt deliciously hard against hers and again she struggled to focus on the environment. Her body was still wired from the episode in the car, and she wanted more of that, but she took a slow, deep breath and gave it a shot. "I hear birds. Some are close by, a songbird further away."

"Yes, what else?" He had his hands around her hipbones and he pulled her back in against him. Something kicked in, and she sensed the things that were around them, things she would barely have noticed, until he made her. "I hear…something mechanical? Really far away. Like maybe a plane, or a train."

"Good."

With him at her back every sensation became heightened, as if a greater degree of intensity was gained through the two of them sharing the experience this way.

He stroked her upper arms. "Do you think we're alone?"

"The chauffeur. He's still standing on the far side of the car. I didn't hear him move. I don't hear anybody else, not nearby."

He eased her back against him, and she could feel his erection.

She trembled in his grasp.