Hunting grounds, p.3
Hunting Grounds, page 3
“Split it?”
“Yeah. I pay, but I also get to pick the movie. Half the victory to each of us.”
Her brow furrowed as she thought it over. “Alright, done.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “But no horror fests. I’m not into that.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Sitting in the dark with a complete stranger will be scary enough,” Tyson said back. He summoned his charming smile again. “Will I be safe?”
Suann swiveled on her seat. She was careful not to touch him, but one of her bare legs tucked in between his slightly spread ones. “I never promised you could trust me in the dark.” Tilting her head to one side, she asked, “You know my name. What’s yours?”
“Tyson. That’s where the T comes from. I was boring and went the initials route.”
“T-E-C? At least it doesn’t spell anything embarrassing.” She didn’t ask what the other letters stood for and didn’t offer her own. “Wanna go?”
He chuckled. The sizzle she put behind those two words hinted at more sinful places they could end up. “Go to the movies, right?”
“That was the idea. Unless you’ve got a better one?”
The urge to growl began deep in his chest. Damn, is she ever the slinky minx. He pushed down the desire to drag her off into a hidden corner. “A few. Unfortunately, there’s this one movie I’ve been dying to see. I’ve left it long enough.”
Suann raised a challenging eyebrow, as if wondering what could be better than having her alone somewhere. “Are you going to tell me which one I’m in for?”
“Immortals of the Dawn,” he said, naming a film that wasn’t easily categorized, blending the traditions of sword-and-sorcery fantasy with a few elements of science fiction and a healthy dose of rock opera.
Her eyes lit up. “Nice choice. I’m sold. But you better be ponying up for popcorn as well as the tickets.”
“A movie ain’t a movie without popcorn.”
“Mm, I knew there was more than one reason I liked you.” Suann did that thing with moistening her lips again, then extricated her leg from between his and spun to the far side of her bike-controller, swirling away from the intimacy they’d briefly shared. “Next showing is in about twenty minutes. No time to waste!”
Tyson levered himself off his own bike-controller and followed her. “No time at all.”
* * *
As the pair settled into their seats, Suann asked, “This came out almost a month ago and was the biggest summer blockbuster from the last decade. How is it you haven’t seen this?”
Tyson settled the popcorn bag in easy reach for both of them. “I travel a lot for my work. The last couple months have been especially hectic. I’ve been chasing the movies I’ve missed, catching each one just as it goes out of circulation. I kept postponing this one since I knew it would last forever.”
“Not forever,” Suann noted, waving at the empty theater around them. “There’s only one showing a day even at a huge cineplex like this. They can’t keep that up for long for just two people cuddling in the dark like it’s our own personal living room.”
“Too true.” Tyson met her eyes. “How about you? How’d you miss it?”
Before she could answer, the house lights went out and the opening music for the credits blasted from the speakers. The house wasn’t even bothering to put in commercials and upcoming features. They wanted the showing over fast to get the minimal crowd – equaling precisely two – out of the way before the night dragged on.
Suann folded one leg over the other, sure to point it his way so that her dangling foot bumped up against his calf now and then. “Here we go!”
The film kicked off on a grand scale. Epic vistas, half of which were computer generated. The blend was good. He couldn’t really tell the transition from one to the next. The characters emerged from the background naturally, without any forced exposition or ham-handed narrative. When the primary knight character crossed swords with the first-tier villain, the fight scene was artfully yet believably choreographed.
Beside him, Suann clearly approved. She crunched her popcorn while admiring the visuals and giving soft moans of disappointment each time the female lead and romantic love interest misinterpreted the main character’s words.
And yet… while he knew her reactions were genuine, he had the sneaking suspicion that they weren’t fresh. Half-an-hour in, a werewolf lashed out from the shadows. It was well done, not telegraphed at all. Even Tyson twitched at the jump scare.
Suann didn’t. She had proclaimed to hate scary movies, and this was a near-horror element in the middle of an otherwise epic fantasy movie, and her only reaction was to get keyed for the inevitable fight scene against the monster.
Since the entire theater was empty, Tyson didn’t have to whisper. He still did out of long training toward polite reflexes. Plus, it meant he could lean closer to her and catch the creamy vanilla scent of her perfume. “You’ve seen this before.”
Having gone this far, she might have tried to deny it if he’d formed it as a question. Hearing the certainty in his tone, Suann returned a sheepish shrug. “Umm, yeah.”
Tyson’s suspicions grew. Zero response to a jump scare. Thinking back, she seemed to get excited for various exciting parts before they ever happened. When the main characters had first kissed, she had curled her hand around his own and stroked his skin affectionately before the romance had bloomed. “How many times?”
Guilt flushed her face. “Maybe… seven?”
A helpless laugh escaped him. “Crap.”
“It’s okay! Was probably gonna do number eight myself before it vanishes from the big screen later this week.”
He groaned, not feeling much better. “I mean… we could slip out. No one will notice if we pop over to another theater. There are a half-dozen that will be kicking off in a few minutes.”
“But then you’d miss it,” she argued.
Tyson wanted to put her fears to rest, but she was right. He’d be out flying and then on SERE for the bulk of the upcoming week. He’d be watching this on his home computer or TV, neither of which could do this movie justice.
Reading his reaction, Suann clamped a hand on his arm, pinning it to the chair. “You earned the pick fair and square.”
“You’re sure you won’t be bored?” It was a good movie, after all, though eight times was a lot, even for a super fan. She could probably recite the bulk of the lines after four or five.
“Hm.” Her expressive lips crafted a devilish smile. “It may be necessary to find an alternate way to entertain myself.” Shifting the popcorn bucket from the space between them, she moved it to the seat beyond him. He found it evocative enough that she pressed against him. When she didn’t pull away, his breath caught in his throat. Her clever fingers stroked over the bulge beneath his pants, dipping the zipper and relieving the pressure by freeing his hardening shaft from its captivity.
Her wave of blonde hair concealed what she was doing, making Tyson follow by touch alone. First came the hot wash of her breath along his length. He issued a soft groan as her tongue massaged deliberately against his balls. She traveled up his throbbing cock, tasting every inch and ratcheting his desire higher as she ascended.
When her mouth finally enveloped his tip, he couldn’t resist the urge to touch her further. One of his hands slipped under the hem of her tank top and caressed along her spine. Any doubt about the presence of a bra was dispelled. He found only bare skin. The fingers on his other hand wove into her hair. He had a type. He was honest about that. His hand made no effort to hold her down. Playing with her blonde tresses was an accent to the pleasure. Tumbling her hair stirred up her perfume, filling his nose and dizzying him with lust.
Her lips sucked moistly as she drew back and his cock popped free. Without looking up at him, she murmured, “You’re supposed to be watching the movie.”
“What movie?” His hand on her back massaged deeper along the muscles of her back.
“Mm hm hm.” Her laugh was muffled as she sank back onto his shaft. Her tongue painted his iron hard flesh as she took him in. A sweeter heaven he’d never known until she began to bob slowly up and down, adding a tender suction that wasn’t urgent. Each motion was drawn out, wet and seductive. She treated it like she was making love to his cock, and it was blowing his mind.
His hand clenched lightly in her blonde hair. The sensation sparked her lust. Suann delved a couple inches further down, spearing him right to the entrance of her throat. He heard the light gags as she reached for his base. The wickedly erotic sounds combined with the aching pleasure she was causing.
Tyson had no idea how long he lasted. He wanted to exist like that for hours. As great a movie as this was, the scenes flowed by without him really seeing anything. His whole world became focused on the decadent pleasure of her lips wrapped around him. His hand under her shirt ventured further, reaching around to cup one of her petite breasts. She let out a purr of approval. Her nipple hardened against his palm and her wet pumping upon his shaft built in intensity.
Wanting more of her, he slid his hand down to the waistline of her shorts. They had a stretchy quality, which allowed his hand to sneak past. Her claim of no panties was proven to be a lie, though the slinky cut to the fabric hugged her buttocks. Not a thong, but he had no doubt they would frame her cute butt perfectly. His hand cupped her firm flesh, squeezing her ass and teasing with his fingers to show he had every intention of going further as soon as he could tear the shorts off her.
Her response was magic. Her own fingers clawed along his leg while her tongue wove spells along his cock. So complete was her intimate tracing that he felt sure she was memorizing every line and bulge on his length. The physical pleasure was intense, but what truly drove him crazy was her deep commitment to the task. She acted as if her existence depended solely upon the continued slathering of warm, wet attention upon his cock.
His blood was steam in his veins and a surge toward orgasm began that couldn’t be stopped. Intimately coiled around him, Suann had to feel the onrush coming, but he warned her anyway with a heady groan. “God, damn, Suann, I’m gonna cum.”
She didn’t back off. A muted vibration rippled along his length as she hummed in overt welcome to his release. Unable to hold out any longer, his cock throbbed and spurted first on her tongue. She swallowed, in itself an amazing addition as he felt her mouth and throat work along his length. The fresh suction compelled another jet of his seed. In the best sort of cycle, her swallow brought out another. Her hunger for him chased his pleasure round and round, milking him for every drop he had inside. Every nerve ending in his body resonated with ecstasy until there was nothing left.
Suann came off him with a succulent, slow, moist slurp. Rolling her head onto his thighs, she peered up at him out of the corner of her eyes. She breathed, “Lovely start.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her on the temple. “Only a start.” He rose from his seat, capturing her hand and drawing her for the exit.
“What of the movie?” she laughed.
“What movie?” He swirled her up, tossed her over his shoulder, and marched to the main corridor where hundreds of people were checking in and out of the various theaters in the cineplex.
She swatted his back. “Don’t you dare!”
Veering sideways, he took the rapid-exit path instead. It dumped him out into the parking structure. The risk of being caught was far less. He listened for footsteps, then strode down the alley of parked cars to the stall where his own was stashed. His wheels were a decade-old Mustang, suitable for his general personality and occasional need for speed, but roughed up enough that he didn’t have to treat it with kid gloves. He tipped Suann off his shoulder and laid her out on the hood.
“Hey!” she whooped in mild surprise, then gave off a soft moan of delight as dove between her legs to kiss along her inner thighs. Her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling him closer, eager for whatever he had in mind.
Tyson’s hands circled her trim waist, tugging her shorts and panties away from her core. Leaving them looped around her knees, he ducked his head back between her legs and kissed his way toward the heaven between. She parted for him, cooing her encouragement. His kisses renewed their fiery path until his tongue could lick through the sensitive folds of her sex.
She had made love to him with her mouth. Now he returned the favor. He pressed his mouth flush against her, emulating his best version of a French kiss. His tongue wove back and forth, chasing the spots that provoked the best moans. He teased her clit from behind its tiny hood, suckling it between his lips until she let out a soft peal of delighted laughter.
While one of his hands tucked under her tank top to find her breasts, the other shaped a path to her honeyed entrance. Dipping two fingers into their last knuckle, he curled the tips inward, rubbing against the pebbled g-spot that soon had her gasping. Those gasps changed to a sharp scream of delight. Her hands clung to him, riding his face as she crashed headlong through a beautiful orgasm.
Coming down from her high, her head thumped against the steel of the hood. “I sure hope there are more of those.”
“As many as you want.” Tyson curled her up high enough to kiss, then took her into his arms. Carrying her to the passenger side, he lowered her into the seat before kissing her again with lasting passion. When they finally parted, he asked, “Where to?”
“My place,” she whispered, slipping a hand under his shirt. “It isn’t far, and that’s about as long as I’m willing to wait.”
“Show me the way.” He closed the door, got behind the wheel, and peeled out of the lot with all the speed he dared put on.
* * *
The clock in the corner of Suann’s bedroom clicked over to midnight. A small door opened on the yellow contraption and a fluffy yellow bird popped out to caw twelve times before retreating into its wooden roost.
Tyson remained where he was, splayed out naked on Suann’s bed. His breathing hadn’t entirely calmed down. Commenting on either the late hour or the kitschy time keeper wasn’t a priority.
Suann was face-down beside him, one arm draped across his chest while one of her feet caressed idly up and down his leg. It was a sign that intimacy was desired, but the heat of their steamy bodies in the room with only a weak ceiling fan prevented them from cuddling any closer.
She let out a giggling laugh. “Well, that was fun.”
“Fun was what I was shooting for, so I’ll take it.” Tyson used his sparse remaining brain power to check out the room. Their torrid passion had prevented a thorough inspection of it on the way in. He remembered the tight alley barely wide enough for his car. Then the steep stairs leading up to the top of the garage. She had dragged him into this apartment, which was really the converted loft above that garage. It was actually quite spacious, if somewhat rustic and without any sort of modern amenities. The bathroom was a joke, and a bad one at that. There wasn’t even a kitchenette. Apparently, she went into the main house to cook her meals.
But that left plenty of space for living. The bedroom was twice the size of his own, and her main living area had space for a small home gym, couches, and storage. She obviously didn’t have any problem being friendly, which meant having to share food and cooking appliances with other roommates probably wasn’t a huge issue for her.
“Mmm,” Suann groaned, stretching her back with a sexy little arch. “What I wouldn’t give for a cold drink.”
“Let me guess, no fridge?” Tyson asked.
“I’ve thought about getting a mini one, but I’ve never gotten around to it.”
Tyson wondered if that was code for her inability to afford one. Living with roommates implied she wasn’t yet financially stable enough to get her own place, and she had clearly settled for the crude accommodations to lower her share of the rent. Their video game feud, movie, and plunge into impulsive sexy times had cut off conversation about small things like what each other did for a living. Living in Fairfield, and him with a sharp military-style cut, she’d probably guessed he was employed at the Air Force base. But she could be anything from a waitress to a stock broker… though if the latter, probably an unsuccessful one.
He looked around on the ground for his clothes. “Guess I could put my pants on and hunt us down a couple glasses of something.”
“Don’t bother. There’s a couple robes in there. Grab one of them.”
He raised his head so she could see the eyebrow he cocked. “No one’s going to mind me prancing around in that?”
“At this hour? They probably won’t even see you. And if they do, they better not give you a hard time. I’ve had my fair share of them doing stupid stuff. They don’t exactly ask me before they throw a party or have guests over.”
“Huh,” he huffed. Doesn’t sound like the easiest people to live with. He didn’t dwell on it. Every set of roommates that ever existed worked out their own way to live with each other or ended up fighting. If ignoring each other’s idiosyncrasies was their way of keeping the peace, who was he to argue?
Summoning what little strength he had, Tyson padded over to the bathroom and found the aforementioned robes. One was purple and one was pink. Neither was his color, but the dark purple was reminiscent of a toga costume he had once worn, so he went with that. His shoes were slide-on boat shoes, so he put them on to ward off any sharp things hiding among the grass and stone path between the garage and the main house.
He found the back door unlocked, which led directly into the kitchen. He was glad he didn’t have to go exploring. Clicking on a light, he spent a couple minutes getting his bearings. It didn’t take long. The layout was familiar, probably the same as a dozen other cookie-cutter houses he’d been in over his 25 years of life. Soon, he’d pulled a couple glasses from the cupboard along with a small plate. A rumble of hunger was building in his stomach, and he suspected Suann wouldn’t turn down a few pieces of fruit or whatever else he could find to nibble on. Fuel for round two. He grinned, looking forward to a night that wasn’t over for either of them.
