Our hiking bags drop, the ruse of this being a deep forest hike now over. I hoist her up and carry her to the bedroom, well prepared for what I was planning all along. Clothes start to drop as we tumble toward the bed, both of us giggling madly.

  We hit that fancy big king-sized mattress in only our underwear, and even that isn’t going to last for long. We’re rolling along, giggling, and laughing.

  “This is the first time we’ve been together in an actual bed, isn’t it?” I wonder aloud.

  “I think so? You’ve taken me in countless spots around the forest, the bed of your truck, and that one time behind the bar because we were giddy and couldn’t control ourselves?”

  “Sounds about right. It’s amazing if I can ever control myself around you, Tabitha.”

  I’m forever stunned about how beautiful she is. Her hair is as bright as the sun and yet seems so utterly dim when compared to her smile. The hair is so soft, so luscious as I run my fingers through it, its scent majestic. I want to wake up every morning with my face full of it.

  Tabitha’s hands go down my body, over my muscles, to my boxer-briefs, intent on finally fully stripping me. My cock enjoys its freedom, springing forth hard and ready for her, and her gentle caress challenges me not to just explode immediately as if I’m some teenager with no self control.

  With her other hand, she unhooks her bra and lets those marvelous tits of hers fall free, and I can’t help but be as captivated by them as I was when I saw them for the very first time. They go so well with the rest of her curves, her being such the most beautiful definition of a woman I’ve ever known. I can’t help but lean in and kiss each tit, suckle on them so wonderfully, and watch her shudder underneath that pressure, and the anticipation of what is to come. Hearing her coo is one of the sweetest sounds I’ll ever hear.

  I continue my descent, sliding down her form, pulling down her panties as I go. She’s always so eager to fully strip herself for me. True love is when the enthusiasm you have for someone is only matched for their enthusiasm for you in return. I bring my face to her sex, kiss her on the clit, and watch as she briefly shudders for me. She’s already so dripping wet for me that I could just plunge my cock deep inside of her right now, but I’m never going to settle for just good enough when it comes to Tabitha.

  Tongue pushing past her folds, hands massaging her thighs, even my nose tenderly nuzzling her clit, I put my mind and focus entirely into her pleasure. My tongues lashed at her with a steady, strong pace, every little moan of hers enticing me to go at her harder and harder. I hold her steady as her body tosses and turns against me, the pressure and pleasure of it all being too much for her to just take it quietly.

  Her legs cross around my head, and she pulls at my hair in desperation. She’s singing my praises, and I just keep licking, massaging, loving, and most importantly worshiping her like the very goddess she is. She sings a beautiful song, calling out my name in a less coherent and coherent fashion. It’s truly an adrenaline rush, even as it starts to come out as ‘Fucks, Fax, Fulch’. She’s just enjoying this so much her brain is breaking from the intensity of it all.

  It’s not long until she hits her highest of highs and is moaning just the most wonderful, visceral sounds. She’s hit her climax and I make sure to wring every single bit of bliss I can out of it for her. There is no amount that is too much for her, she deserves everything, and even everything isn’t enough.

  She’s laid out flat on the bed before me, already very satisfied. A lesser man would have been happy with that, but no, I need to make her cum again. I need to feel her around me, in all of her tightest glory.

  My cock has been throbbing with need from the taste of her juices, knowing what’s in our near future. I lean over her, my body pressed against hers. We share another kiss, her not caring that my lips are already soaked in her juices. My chest pressed against her soft breasts, my hands in hers. It was all so sweet and wholesome, clashing so profanely with how intensely adult it’s about to become.

  “Take me,” she whispers. “Fuck me. Claim me once again. I’m yours, now and always, Fox.”

  I pur, bringing my cock toward her slit. She seductively rubs herself and spreads her folds, as if her words weren’t enough to express her intense desire for me. I bring my sex toward hers, and soon, we become one.

  Fuck, she’s so intense. She squeezes me so wonderfully, her hot pussy the closest thing to heaven on Earth that I could ever comprehend. After a brief moment of just enjoying the majesty of it all, I start to give her what both she and I want. Every stroke, from the most tender and slow of the first to the rapid fucking of pure lust are appreciated all the same, the sweet symphony between us so goddamn wonderful.

  She shakes so beautifully, every bit of her curvaceous body trembling with each and every thrust. She purrs at first, but it’s quickly building back up to absolute mad lust. We’ve gotten to know one another so well that getting to exactly what we both want hardly takes any time at all.

  I hook her legs, and push into her deeper. I had no idea if the so-called G-spot was actually a thing, but I knew that Tabitha especially liked it when I took her a certain way, when my cock hit her just right. She moaned a little louder, screamed a little harder. Everything for her. I give her my all, taking her like a machine, wanting her to sing my praises so loudly and clearly.

  And she does. It is glorious. She makes me feel like the king of the world, and she’s right there beside me as my queen. We press harder. Every tryst between us seeming hotter than the last. It doesn’t seem possible for it all to keep getting better, but with Tabitha?

  I can’t say that it wasn’t that. It is always the best I’ve ever had.

  We’re not going to hold out for much longer. Neither of us are ever going to claim to be tantric masters, but that’s okay. As long as the two of us are having the time of our lives, nothing else matters.

  I’m barely holding on. The pressure inside me is so intense. My cock wants nothing more to unleash its payload, and give every single drop it has to Tabitha in tribute, but I know my biological shortcomings as a man. I’d long ago learned that a true gentleman always makes sure that his girl comes first.

  Sure, I cheat a little. I place a finger on her clit, and press it with the rhythm of the fucking. I’m not sure that Tabitha cares in the case of this so-called competition, not with how once again she’s screaming for me, and how it’s all going to leave her voice so hoarse in the morning. I’m barely hanging on though, and I’m waiting for whatever little thing it’ll take to finally push her over the edge.

  Finally, I succeed. She shudders, holds me so goddamn tight, and screams my name. I feel her body tense up in my arms, and her pussy squeeze my cock so much. How she lets everything out, and how that’s permission for me to let everything out too.

  She does things to me. Amazing, wonderful things. The pulse of orgasm with her is so far beyond anything else I’ve ever experienced before. I give her my everything, it all rushing out. When I cum with Tabitha, it’s truly a wonder that I have anything left to continue on.

  I collapse into her, and I give her a kiss. It’s brief, but’s the perfect exclamation for everything we had just done.

  “I want you here with me,” I whisper. “In this cabin. By my side. For the rest of my life. I’ve never been more sure of anything else in my life, Tabitha.”

  She softly smiles. “And I want that to be just as true, Fox. I want it to be more true than anything.”

  I can sense the slight bit of doubt in her voice.

  There is something we need to talk about. I’ve put it off long enough.

  But I’m tired. She’s tired.

  It can wait just a little bit longer.

  For now, I pull her into my arms, and shift in the bed, holding her close. I hold her how I want to hold her every night for the rest of my life.

  NINE

  tabitha

  The morning sun peers through, none of us bothering to properly close the blinds the night before. I guess the two of us were preoccupied with more important things.

  I stretch myself out, aching the good ache, the night before being quite the exertion. It’s as good a time as any to get up, as I’ve never been much for spending days rotting in bed. I’m too much of a busybody I guess.

  As I sit up in the bed, I realize I’m not alone, and there’s already someone there pondering their life. Fox, still buck naked, sitting on the edge of the mattress, looking down at the floor, lost in thought.

  I scoot up beside him. “Good morning,” I say, trying to bring a smile to his face. I don’t succeed.

  “Morning,” he says.

  “Something bothering you?”

  “Yeah, there is something bothering me.” He takes a deep breath. “My father is a crook.”

  I shrug. “Well yeah, what real estate people get away with should be criminal, but society has decided to tolerate it for whatever reason.”

  He shakes his head. “No, not that. I mean, he’s a legitimate, actual criminal. Like, he should be being arrested for what he’s doing.”

  I exhale with relief. He’s finally opening up. “Okay. Go on.”

  “I guess I should be more clear.”

  “Yeah, that’d help.”

  “I was poor growing up, Tabitha. I grew up in Evergreen Valley, because there was no way my parents could afford anywhere else. My Dad busted his ass at a lumber mill at minimum wage. He always wanted more for us, but playing by the rules? Ain’t no way he was even going to pay the bills.”

  “So, he became... a real estate developer?”

  Fox shakes his head. “Not directly. He somehow gets in contact with the mob. He does low level stuff for them, for whatever interests they have in Evergreen Valley. It’s not much, but they need someone.”

  I pat him on the back, giving him a slight massage. “I’m not going to hate someone for just going outside the law a bit to survive, Fox.” If this was why he was protecting me from ever seeing his father, it was all striking me as a bit silly.

  “If it was that, yeah, no. We wouldn’t be here. It was that they started to need money laundered, and they viewed my simple father as the perfect avenue to do so.”

  And there it was. How Fox’s family came into their money. A low level mob goon didn’t become rich off loyalty alone, after all.

  “We went into Smithport a bit to build funds, all until it was time for my Dad to come back home and start building homes to make the more nebulous mob money look legitimate. And of course, my young dumb ass didn’t realize all of this was kinda illegal.”

  “What did you think it was?”

  He shrugs. “I was young and stupid, and thought my father worked hard and long enough that he finally got a legitimate opportunity. So when he recruited me into this newfound family business? I jumped aboard.”

  I sigh. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You need intent to be able to commit a crime.”

  “I mean, technically, I don’t think I’ve actually broken any laws. Not yet. But it’s coming. And some of the stuff I’m doing is just... it’s worse than breaking the law, Tabitha. I’m going to be part of the problem that robs Evergreen Valley of its charm, and likely run people from their homes. You think some stubborn old man refusing to sell is going to stop things if someone tries to use some threats at him? All these rich people who want to pretend to be more folksy will go through our business. It’s probably profitable enough on its own merits at this point, but the money to start it all? Filthy.”

  I take it all in. It doesn’t really change what I feel about Fox. I always knew he had a dubious profession, and that he wasn’t particularly gungho about it.

  “And you wanna know the dumbest thing about all of it?”

  “That I still think mob goon is a probably less objectionable profession than real estate developer?”

  “That he has the nerve to think I need to marry someone to strengthen the bonds into the mob family. He’s been pushing random daughters of other family big wigs that he thinks I need to be marrying. That’s why I haven’t wanted to bring you home, Tabitha. I don’t think he’d be happy to see someone like you as the woman I love.”

  I take another deep breath. “Yeah, I guess I’m not the type of woman most people think of when they think of successful businesses.” I mean, I thought I’m doing fine. I’m never going to make millions doing what I do, but I swear, not everything has to be about making zillions of dollars.

  “I don’t think my father would ever do something like hurt you, or ask someone to hurt you. He’s... he’s not that bad of a guy. I don’t want to risk it though. I love you with all of my heart, Tabitha. And I don’t want anyone to ever hurt you. Or to ever even consider the thought. I think if I’m with you, I’m going to have to walk away from all the opportunities my father has given me, and I don’t know what I’ll do then. I only really know how to get stuff built, and do some of that building myself.”

  “Fox...” I sigh. “Money comes and goes. You could lose it all tomorrow. But I think of our love. The real, true powerful stuff? That lasts forever. And I want to stand by you no matter what happens.”

  He softly smiles in my direction.

  “I love you, Fox. That’s all that matters in this weird, crazy world.”

  His smile only widens. “Thank you, Tabitha. You mean the entire world to me.”

  We sit together on the edge of the bed for a time, embracing one another, deeply considering our words.

  But there is more to talk about. More confusing life to try to sift through. Fox leans on his hand. “Uh...so... um... now what?”

  “You don’t want to work with your father anymore. Or the mob. Then you should just stop.”

  “You can’t just do that with the mob, Tabitha.”

  “They can’t be that unreasonable. They might not be on the right side of the law, but at the end of the day, it’s just business. You should be able to work something out. I don’t know. You don’t hate your Dad. Yet. Talk to him. Maybe he’s more reasonable than you might think.”

  Fox leans into me. “Standing up to the old man, huh? Sounds tough. But I think I’m up to it.”

  “I’ll be right here beside you. Make it happen, Fox. It’s for our future. And for the future of Evergreen Valley.”

  He nods. “I’ll make the call. When’s a good time for you, then?”

  I perk up. “A good time for me to do what?”

  “For you to meet my parents.”

  I smirk.

  I love this man. And now, more than ever, I am convinced everything is going to work out just fine.

  TEN

  fox

  The moment of truth is terrifying.

  I always thought of myself as a man's man. I stood up for myself, didn’t back down from fights, but I also didn’t go looking for those fights either.

  Standing up to my father was never easy. It wasn’t like he was particularly intimidating or anything. He’s a good six inches shorter than I am, and I got all my muscle from my Mom’s side of the family apparently. It is just that I know how much he’s worked to make sure I had everything I needed to succeed and flourish, and be healthy and happy.

  Just that he did it through some nebulous means. Which in some ways made me appreciate it even more.

  We’re gathered around our dining room table. The table itself is more expensive than the house we grew up in back in the day. Tabitha is by my side. I told her to dress up formally, and she obeyed in the most Tabitha-way possible. It’s a black dress, but with hand-crafted sequins that made a sort of spider web pattern over the fabric. It’s nothing you’d ever see on a Paris runway, but I love it all the same because it’s just her.

  “So,” Dad says, sipping his wine, “This is your new serious girlfriend.”

  He’s dressed in a suit, no tie. He always took the ‘dress for the job you want’ advice completely seriously, so it was rare to ever see him in anything casual these days.

  “Yes, is that going to be a problem, Dad?” I ask, leaning forward on my hand.

  “You’re lovely, Tabitha,” my mom adds. “So creative. And I can see she really makes you happy, Fox.”

  Dad stares into his wine glass. “I guess you and the Finkle girl didn’t hit it off.”

  “Never even talked to her. Not once,” I state, with total honesty.

  “So there goes the plans to get us closer to the family.” He speaks wistfully. His disappointment is clear. “I take it you wouldn’t be bringing her to meet us unless things were really serious with her.”

  “Serious as sin.”

  “Hank, you should be happy for our boy,” my mother chimes in. I never had any doubt that she would be supportive. I just kept her in the dark because, as much as I love her, she’s terrible at keeping secrets.

  “I’m not just here to introduce you to the woman I care deeply about, Dad. I’m here for something far more important.”

  He clasps his hands as he looks my way. “And that would be?”

  “I’m done with the company. And whoever the company is affiliated with.”

  Dad lets out an even longer sigh of disappointment. “And what’s bringing this up, Fox? Is your girl bothered by what we do?”

  “Slightly?” Tabitha says with a smirk. “Mostly the big fancy estates in small town Evergreen Valley thing. I couldn’t care less about the rest.”

  “And that too,” I nod. “I want you to stop agreeing to build in Evergreen Valley, Dad.”

  He’s silent for a time. The lack of him saying anything is nerve-wracking, as I can see he’s wracking his brain on how to reply to me coming at him with all of this at once. I’m expecting the worst, and start preparing myself mentally for a massive shouting match.

  “Alright. It’s done,” he says, all too suddenly.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Wait, what? That’s it?”

  “Fox, I’m proud of you. You’re standing up for what you believe in. And if that’s what you want, I’m going to support you all the way.”

 

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