I’ve awakened a beast, plowing into her with a force I’m worried will leave us spent for days. My hand around her neck tightens, and Collie makes no effort to pull it away, just runs her nails up my back, marking my bare flesh. “Choke me, Easton. Make me beg for you.”
“How is this real?” I groan, my head falling back and eyes closing in ecstasy as I grip her neck tighter. The pleasure is mind-numbing. So intense I forget where I am. But seeing Collie just as immersed as me, meeting me thrust for thrust, rights my thinking. “That’s it, baby. This pussy was made for me. You’re squeezing me so tight.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, Easton,” she whimpers,breathing labored. “Ready to give myself to you. All of me. So make it fucking count.”
“With pleasure.” Our hips are in sync, bodies wired together as our orgasms hit in unison, cries from both of us cutting through the silence of the night.
I know now that nothing will ever compare to this. The connection. The feeling. The equality between two people.
It never did years ago. Never with Sydney. Only ever with Collie, it seems.
So, where do we go from here?
25
COLLIE
“What does this one stand for?”
Easton runs his pointer finger along the jellyfish surrounded by underwater sea life across his left arm. “I got this sleeve after I graduated from trade school. It took me a long time, but I realized I hated what I originally planned to study in college and knew I was better off helping people. Working with my hands.”
“What were you planning to study?” I ask.
“Graphic design.” I bark out a laugh, and he follows suit. “Ridiculous, I know. My way of feeling like I had a purpose, when all along I knew deep down what it was. I was just too chickenshit to admit it to myself. I lasted a whole week before quitting and signing up for Line School through the tradesman program.”
“You didn’t want to let anyone down.” It’s a statement, not a question. He knows it. I know it.
Easton nods, and my heart aches for him. I hate that he’s always felt like a shadow of his true self.
“So, after I graduated and completed my commercial driver’s license, I got a permanent job in linework and starteddeep-sea diving for fun. We fish and hunt a lot back home, but diving felt dangerous. Risky, even for me. I needed the challenge. Something to make me question my purpose. I got this piece for myself and the first step I ever made toward something for me.” Easton admires the tattoo like a father would a son. It represents something incredibly important in his life, and I respect that.
“What about the others?” I point to the crest on his chest and the full sleeve on his opposite arm. It’s a wilderness scene with gloomy vibes. Predators, dark woods, and eerie paths. It’s fascinating the way every detail seems deliberate.
Beautiful.
“I feel at peace in the woods. Alaska is otherworldly. If you ever get the chance to, you should visit. There’s so much to see. But being in the woods, alone and without anyone asking anything of you…there’s nothing like it. The distractions are nonexistent, and sometimes I need that. To be alone with my thoughts.”
I get that more than he knows. “I can understand that. It’s why I travel so much. No one understands me. My need to move. To not stay in one place for too long.”
“It’s not about them. It’s about your inner peace.”
I had the deepest feeling he would understand. And I was right.
“Exactly.”How is it possible to feel so understood by someone after such a short amount of time?
Easton continues, “The chest piece is my family crest. It’s a shield and a fox. The last name Voss symbolizes strength and agility. The mindset of a Viking.”
“That’s really beautiful, Easton. If I ever decide to get a tattoo, I want it to mean something.”
“Do you know what you would get?” he asks sincerely.
I shake my head, cozying myself into his hold. “Nope.But you’ll be the first to know when I do.” I pause, contemplating a question in my head. He might not answer me, but it’s worth a shot.
“Can I ask you something?”
Easton doesn’t hesitate. “I can’t promise I’ll have an answer for you, but go for it.”
The sun is just starting to rise, the stillness of the forest cocooning us in the small camper van. I’m not sure what time we finally went to sleep, taking each other again and again until exhaustion finally won.
