I breathed a sigh of relief as James pulled into the driveway of my parents' empty home. The long drive left me cranky and stiff, but I tried to hide my discomfort. My relationship with James was in its early stages, and I was trying to present the best version of myself.
Still, I couldn't resist easing myself into the chair by the door after I had put down my bag. The grin on James' face showed he sensed how grateful I was to be out of the car. He knelt in front of me and rubbed the tops of my thighs gently. "I know," he said. "I'm glad we're finally here too." He planted a light kiss on my lips and stood to examine the scene before him. The foyer gave way to an expansive gourmet kitchen. The cathedral ceiling between the kitchen and the living room allowed for a generous view of tall pine trees and a wide, pristine river.
"This used to be a logging river, no?"
I so enjoyed that James was more interested in the river than he was in the giant plasma screen television. It was clearly visible thanks to the open concept of the house, but I doubted it would be getting much use that weekend. My heart fluttered at the thought of the days to come. We would be isolated in an idyllic house in the woods. The two of us had spent most of the previous weekend a tangled mess in James' bed, but we were about to spend nearly a week alone in my parents' house while they were on vacation.
I walked toward the giant living room window, pretending to contemplate the river while really I was considering our options for dinner. James stood behind me and leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder. A wave of bliss crashed over me as his tanned, well-muscled arms wrapped around my waist. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his tank-like figure enveloping my small frame. There was no space between our bodies as James nuzzled my neck. He had a habit of rubbing his lips back and forth over my collar bone. The first time he did it, an electric sensation traveled up my neck all the way to my scalp. It took only another week or so before I had realized that was the feeling of falling helplessly, relentlessly in love. To James, it was his silent way of saying, I want to fuck you and then I want you to stick around.