The Path to James by Jane Radford Page B

forever.
    My core tightens exquisitely. Everything tenses and I throw my head back with an extended cry. I explode around his erection as he continues his relentless penetration. Waves continue to crash over me. The walls of my vagina choke James' penis, milking him as the walls constrict with my orgasm.
    James growls as he finds his own release. Slipping in and then out of me, finishing with gritted teeth as I lay enraptured upon his table. When he is finished, he bends over me. His elbows support him as he kisses my chest, right between my breasts, directly on my sternum. “You unravel me.”
    “The feeling is mutual,” I kiss the crown of his head. How I could have been so lucky as to find him. If I had been any earlier or any later, if I had strayed from my path in any way, I would have missed him entirely. This dream would have been lost to me.
    “I am glad I found you,” he says as if reading my thoughts.
    Our panting slows, our needs are sated. I'm left with only the uneasy feeling of what tomorrow will bring.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 16
     
     
    Time is against me. As I clutch Alex closer to my chest, I can feel her slipping farther and farther from my grasp. Today has been the best day of my haunted life. Holding Alex with hands covered in proverbial blood, she makes me feel good again. Her purity cleanses me.
    Laying in my bed, the moon slips from one side of the sky to the other, cold and unkind. The stars care nothing for my plight. I stare off with bleak thoughts that match my bleak exterior. I know better than to relax and close my eyes. I know better than to allow my mind to drift away. But the curve of Alex's body is so warm and so inviting. Her scent is comforting. Her innocence and compassion, they make me feel whole.
    I fall asleep with the fantasy of a fresh start. I dream of discarding the sins of my past to don an unencumbered future with my woodland goddess. She is pure and sweet. Beautiful and intelligent. She is everything I have ever wanted. And with these perfect thoughts of golden beginnings, I sink into oblivion.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 17
     
     
    Like most true hikers, I wake before the sun. I rouse from my sleep only to find myself cradled within James' embrace. He is fast asleep, but even unconscious he manages to utilize his body as dead weight to pin me to his mattress. Effectively imprisoning me—my perfect, naked restraints.
    When I move to leave, his arms reflexively tighten, pulling me to him, then release. Even subconsciously he wants me, but is willing to set me free.
    I gift him with a feather-light kiss on the corner of his lips. I don't want to leave, but I know what future a relationship holds. He will find me sweet and engrossing. I will find him witty, affable, utterly perfect. And then, as our endorphins and oxytocin peter out to tolerable levels, his disinterest will inevitably ensue, followed by my despondence at having lost the dreams and future that I had been craving.
    I slip out from under his muscled arm. He is still fully naked. By leaving, I solidify the perfection that was yesterday. I scoot to the edge of his bed and allow my legs to dangle off of the side. I hate the feeling that I am missing something.
    I get up from his bed and shuffle across the floor. I can see well enough in the moonlight to find my way without bumping into anything. I lean a hand against the railing as I walk down his walkway, toward the stairs.
    Down the stairs, in the kitchen, I find my pack waiting for me. The backpack smells like sleeping in the dirt and meager snacks to pass as meals. I pick it up and sling it over one shoulder—it feels like the key to my freedom and the means to reach all of my dreams.
    I stop again, feeling as though I'm missing something. What if I could have it all? What if I could take my freedom and have James in the process? I drop my pack back onto the ground.
    I have an idea.
    Reaching into the long pocket I pull out