Slow Fever Read online

  Karla and I both slept in our separate vehicles, and the kids got the one tent we set up before turning in. I’d decided last minute to allow them their privacy, mostly because my old bones didn’t want to sleep on the ground. I made up my mind that I’d buy a cot for our next trip and wished I’d thought of it about a week earlier.

  With Karla in her nearby vehicle—I never did ask her why she hadn’t pulled out her tent—I wanted to find some privacy of my own. I settled for a bit of sleep and hoped for more later.

  Sebastian

  Sebastian woke up to Ruff in the Bronco with him. Cramped like pretzels, his legs had no room to stretch, but he’d made it through the cool night. He opened up the back door and finagled his way out. His body reminded him that, at nineteen, he’d been much better equipped for roughing it, confirming his choice not to sleep in the tent. Hell, even twenty-five seemed a piece of cake. Now?

  He groaned as he stood straighter and stretched. As his arms reached as far as he could get them, he stared out into the early morning light and the forest. Peaceful. That was why he’d needed to come. Peace. Nearby, the horses neighed quietly. The crisp breeze held a hint of water from the nearby river. He took in a deep breath of the refreshing air.

  However, Ruff suffered such appreciation for a quiet, peaceful morning and ran to the tent and about knocked it down in an attempt to get in. In a playful hug, Sebastian stopped the excited dog, opened the flap, and put him in with Jack and Rachel. Ruff did as Sebastian wanted and snuggled up in between the two of them, face down.

  He fought a laugh as Rachel woke up, realized what had happened, and screamed a little.

  “Jack!” she giggled when he shoved the dog over to her sleeping bag.

  “Go away. It’s not noon yet,” Jack said, his voice groggy with sleep.

  “Tell that to Ruff,” she replied, still giggling and hiding her face from Ruff’s relentless licking.

  Sebastian walked away, leaving them to their banter. It felt so good to hear Jack’s laughter. What if he’d given Jack up for adoption during those first few, overwhelming months? His own code of honor demanded he take responsibility. People had told him to let Jack go, to release himself of the burden of raising a child alone. When he’d finally asked the question, “If I were a woman, with a newborn and a man who’d run off, would you tell me I couldn’t do it? Or would you help?” That shut up his parents and his real friends.

  The rest ended up being nothing more than partiers and he’d never felt sorry to see them go. But he would have been sorry in ways too deep to articulate if he’d given up on fatherhood, his son, himself. Instead, he had the lanky lad in his life and precious moments like this.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Karla said quietly from his side.

  He turned at the sound of laughter and watched the teens as they left the tent. “Just thinking how lucky I am. And how I almost missed it all.”

  Her eyes strayed to where he watched the teens head off on another walk. “Your son?”

  “I almost gave him up for adoption when his mother abandoned us. But I didn’t, despite the odds, and now look at my son. He’s handsome, gets mostly good grades, appreciates life, and loves deeply. You see how he is with her. What if the adoptive family hadn’t been able to give him that? Those two, they’re forever. You can feel it. I know they’ve goofed off some, but he loves her so much. No sex.”

  “No sex?” He heard the incredulity in her voice and saw it on her face.

  “Hard to believe, but Jack and I are close. He’d not lie about that. I’m fortunate they haven’t. It’s coming. I know it is. They’ve been together since they were thirteen. I didn’t think much of it, you know. Kids are kids. One day, I realized he’d been with the same girl for two years. I started having panic attacks about fathers and shotguns. So we talked.”

  “I’m impressed,” she said quietly.

  “As am I. I’m so proud of him, I can’t stand it some days.”

  Ruff ran back and forth between the two teens, licking their hands, barking and laughing. A return to his normal self. Maybe the weirdness earlier really had been the heat.

  “You have reason to be proud.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” Perhaps not the response modesty demanded, but why should he pretend otherwise? Especially with her. “I’ve worked hard and sacrificed. But we both know, we’ve both seen for ourselves, how the upbringing can only do so much if the child doesn’t want to listen,” he said, referring to the kid of one of their coworkers who’d been caught stealing from the tills at their office.

  “You’re right.” She slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow and leaned her head on his shoulder. “He really is something else.”

  “But what I’m the most proud of has nothing to do with me as a parent. It has to do with his choices. How he makes them, and his ability to love. His mother gone, how she left; he could have let that embitter him. Instead, he learned to be gentle. Learned that people get hurt and do things we don’t understand. I love him so much.”

  What had brought the maudlin on? While all he said was true, he didn’t make a habit of speaking that way. Karla brought out his tender side, so maybe he could put the sudden dip into emotional speech down to that.

  They stood in silence for a long time, enjoying each other’s company. She leaned into his shoulder as if she’d done it a hundred times before. Now he wished he hadn’t waited, hadn’t worried about her age, but let her choose. They fit somehow, and he planned on exploring all the ways he could. He’d just gathered the courage to ask her what she felt about his age and having a teenager around when they came bounding back with that same youthful energy.

  “Dad!” Jack began before reaching them, dragging Ruff by the collar. “There are a lot of dead animals up that way. Can I take the camera? It’s not far, and I’ll be careful.”

  Sebastian pretended to hem and haw a bit, but really, he’d gotten the camera when Jake showed a propensity for photography. The pictures he took on the phone were stunning.

  “I guess. But don’t touch the dead stuff. And try not to gross out our female guests.”

  Rachel and Karla both rolled their eyes at him.

  “I know how to skin a deer,” Karla said.

  “And I’ve been cleaning fish and squirrels forever. My dad even made me eat it,” Rachel added.

  He backed up, his hands in the air. “Uncle. I can’t even skin a deer, and squirrel meat? Good thing I brought steaks!”

  They all laughed. Ruff stayed behind, though he whined at Jack’s command, and the teens left again, giving him another opening. “Karla, I—”

  She stopped in the middle of putting a log on the fire. Her eyes met his, and he couldn’t speak. “Sebastian?”

  “Karla, I don’t know why you asked to come.”

  “Don’t you?” she asked softly.

  “I’m not going to presume why you asked to come,” he amended. “But you mean something. And though part of me wants to seduce you into a puddle of wet pussy that I lap up, I want to see if there’s more.” He closed his eyes. Had he really just said that? It was as if his nineteen-year-old self had come back to haunt him. Classy, Seb, real classy.

  “Um, yeah. Those few dates weren’t enough. I’m looking forward to getting to know you a lot better away from the office,” she said, the blush flaring out on her cheeks. “And I can’t wait to be seduced into that puddle you’ve mentioned.”

  “Well then.” Why wait? They had now. Two years was a long time for flirting and playing, and he already knew she meant something, that she was more. He’d be crazy to wait any longer. He moved in closer, giving her ample time to back off, but she stood her ground. Softly, as if approaching a wild horse, he moved in on her. With his arms, he encircled her waist as he stared down into her beautiful eyes. They were so full of life, of passion, of lust. With a moan low in his throat, he gave in and kissed her.

  On their dates, they’d kissed before, so he thought he knew what to expect. Pleasant, h
ot, and ready for more. Well, the hot part was right. Hot, wild, and furious, as if she’d been pent-up for a long time. Her tongue met his, and he pulled her body closer.

  Those soft lips of hers sent flames shooting straight to his cock, and it, too, felt ready to explode at the slightest touch. Her arms lay wrapped around his neck, and he couldn’t be sure when she’d put them there. He’d been too intent on her lips, her tongue, and the effects on his lower anatomy. Now she tugged at his hair, and he groaned.

  He loved that. In fact, it was a secret trigger. Her hands still firmly gripped his hair as she kissed him more, then trailed her lips down his neck. His breath caught. He swore his body acted as if he’d never been touched before when she did that. His skin tingled, his nipples ached, and his dick, well, he wanted to plunge it into that sinful mouth of hers.

  Instead of pulling back as he had on their dates, he pushed her on by grabbing her ass and letting her feel the full length of him against her pelvis. As tall as she was, that put her breasts on his chest, nipples level with his own. “Karla,” he rasped.

  “More,” she replied, her voice husky with need.

  He brought her legs up around his waist and carried her over to the picnic table, then pulled her shirt up and unclasped her bra. Her rosy peaks flared up, taut and pointed, as if to say, “You, here, now.” He couldn’t resist their demands and bent his head to suckle.

  Her hoarse gasp of pleasure sent him into a flurry of need. He rocked himself against her opening and rubbed her other nipple with his thumb and forefinger. She kept her hand in his hair, pulling, and pushing, and gripping. Her whole body tightened beneath him as if waiting to be released. After he moved his mouth to the other one and nipped before sucking, he took his free hand and kneaded her breast. Then he moved up to her neck and stroked.

  She came unglued under him and cried out. Quickly, he covered her mouth with his before she finished the scream. He kept rocking against her, wanting, needing more, but happy to give her this.

  When her orgasm ended, he gently did up her bra and pulled down her shirt. “Next time, I won’t stop at one orgasm,” he promised.

  The look of heat she gave him made it hard to deny either of them right then, but he wanted more time than they had with the teens out there. When he made love to her, he would do so thoroughly, making her come over and over.

  “I might die,” she squeaked.

  His laughter came out low and deep. “I’ll bring you back. We’ve been playing music for two years now. It’s time for the dance.”

  She stood up and brushed nonexistent stuff off her jeans. When she looked up at him, her face remained flushed, and her eyes sparkled. “Yes. Well. Now, would you like some breakfast?”

  Chapter Six

  Damn, but it had been hard—pun intended—to walk away from her without plunging myself into her willing body. My parent brain kicked in in time, thankfully, but the rest of me screamed in denial. I needed that release. I’d waited. Masturbation held its appeal, but nothing compared to the real thing with her.

  I held back a groan as I fixed my pants and stepped away. I couldn’t help the brag, no, the promise, really. I planned to make her time with me memorable. I wanted to please her beyond measure. And fitting that it would be away from everywhere, everything, where I could finally relax. Her, my love for her, would prove to be a shining light to me in a world gone mad with hunger lust.

  God, but she is beautiful out there in the wilderness, her face fresh and natural. I didn’t tell her so. It felt too cliched. But I could still appreciate her natural beauty.

  Karla

  Karla thought it cute that he looked so embarrassed by his own words. As if, after the heat they shared, the romantic words were too girlish. But they meant as much as his kisses to her. He was right about it. They’d been going too slow and playing at dating for two years. If they didn’t take their chance now, when would they ever? Those were thoughts to ponder later. Her body still sang his praises, wanting an encore, a chorus, to go along with the tune he’d strummed on her. But she understood his duty as a parent. They couldn’t risk anymore because the teens wouldn’t be gone that long.

  The laughter as they returned to camp and started playing with Ruff rang in her ears as if to give her a glimpse of her possible future. Her horses grazed nearby, munching from the meadow as much as the hay she’d put out for them. Contentment started in her heart. A man both sensual and responsible, able to love and protect? Yeah, she could get used to that.

  For now, though, she busied herself with breakfast, made the teens clean up, and put together a bow and arrow walking kit to practice a short distance from their main camp. Her skills were a little rusty, but she taught Jack and Rachel a bit about archery. They took to it like ducks to water, and the pride she felt in them surprised her. Her heart…

  Seb came over a short time later to watch. He asked to learn, and she let him. She handed him the bow and arrows, wishing for a moment she dared play at showing him close up. But, as she’d just showed Jack how to use the bow without it, she didn’t try for that too obvious move to get close to Seb. Seb’s first arrow flew straight over the top of the target, but the rest hit with strong precision. Well, if they all went hunting, they’d be able to bring something down anyway.

  Was there anything this man couldn’t do? He surprised her with how comfortable and capable he was in their current setting. So used to seeing him as the debonair office man, she hadn’t thought about him elsewhere. Stupid, since she loved to camp herself. Stupid because she’d pigeonholed him when she herself could last a long time in the wilderness alone, yet she showed up to the office in heels and makeup. Of all people, she should have known better.

  They put away the bow and arrows, and next came the guns. She made sure the horses couldn’t’ bolt before they started in case the noises startled them despite the training she’d done to prevent them from being so skittish at loud noises, but not too many shots were fired before she tension swamped her from the loud reports. . “Hey guys, can we try something else? The sound of the shots is grating on my nerves.”

  “Sure, I’m game,” Jack said. “What about knives?” So they all tried throwing knives next, Jack commenting on how like Fable whatever number or Halo it was.

  Karla lost her train of thought and shook her head. However, she laughed with the others. For, although part of her thought it to be funny, part of her thought it sad. “More like Survival 101,” she said.

  They all stopped and looked at her, and she wanted to groan. In her mind, she’d planned on saying it so it could be a bit like a joke, but the tone of voice which had come out had been unintentionally sharp.

  “Sorry,” she said as they all looked away. “I’ve had the jitters since leaving town. For some reason, the gunshots really set my alarm bells going. Like maybe we shouldn’t have announced ourselves.”

  Sebastian walked up to the target and pulled out their knives and the darts Jack had thrown in. “That’s odd,” he said as he strode back. “I had the same feeling. I ignored because I couldn’t put my finger on why”.

  Jack and Rachel exchanged a look. “So did we. Maybe it was the news announcement. We turned on the radio on the way up here, and someone had tried to eat someone else at a bar,” Rachel said and made a disgusted face.

  “Yeah, we heard the same report. It sort of reminds me of that guy in Florida who had his face eaten off recently. Creepy,” Karla replied.

  “Plus all those dead animals we saw this morning. I don’t know what killed them, but it’s really strange.”

  That got her attention, but before she spoke, Seb beat her to it. “Why strange? Animals die out here. Prey and the hunted. Nothing unusual.”

  She’d heard that tone before. He used it when he sensed some information was missing from clients or something didn’t feel right. They’d avoided trouble more than once from Seb using logic the shady client couldn’t answer. She doubted Seb thought Jack lied to them, so he must be fishing for informa
tion.

  “I’ll show you, Dad. It’s the strangest thing and why I had to get the camera. Rachel felt it was undignified to take pictures of them like that. But I felt I needed to.” He came back shortly with the digital Nikon and scrolled through the pictures.

  “Here, they start here. See for yourself.” Jack handed his dad the camera, concern etched into his young face.

  Karla moved closer to Seb to look while he did. Jack was right. Even though it looked like a larger animal had killed them, there was too much meat left on them and too many scattered in a small area.

  “Maybe it was coyotes,” she said nervously with a worried glance at Thunder and Lightning. Yeah, that’s it. That would account for the multiple animals in a small area. Coyotes. Should she put the horses in the trailer at night?

  “Maybe after they died, but look at this picture. Something big tore the head off of this animal. That doesn’t look chewed off, like a dog or wolf would be likely to do. Plus, a cougar is a little big for the coyotes to have taken down. They wouldn’t try unless they were really hungry, and definitely not when there was obviously plenty of smaller game available for them.”

  There were rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, possums, and even a couple of foxes, along with the one cougar. Is that a fingertip in that squirrel’s mouth? Her stomach rolled, breakfast not sitting so well. “That doesn’t look natural,” she said, swallowing hard as she decided against pointing it out.

  “Agreed. Perhaps we should employ the buddy system as well as post a guard. Other animals may be attracted by our food, and we don’t want whatever did that to come our way and not be prepared.”

  “Agreed.” And what about our body parts?

  Even Jack looked relieved. “That means you have to carry the whistle too, Dad. And Karla. Same rules.”

  “Agreed. Let’s all get the whistles now and put them on. Part of camp uniform.”

  They all grabbed a whistle and solemnly put it in their pockets. She tried to laugh and blew the whistle as if to test it, making it into a game, but that finger…the picture wouldn’t leave her head. What the hell happened to all those animals?