Rachel was rubbing her hand over her daughter's back in soft slow circles. She kept going for another minute after the girl's breathing went slow and even. After the unexpected contact with her paternal aunt, Dakota seemed fine. It wasn't until the party started winding down that she told her mother she was scared. If her Aunt Angela knew where they were, that meant Dakota's father knew where they were. Rachel did her best to assure her daughter that they were safe, but Dakota was still afraid that the man was going to show up in the night and take her away or hurt her mother. Her fears weren't totally unwarranted. Daniel kicked in their apartment door on more than one occasion. But even Daniel wasn't stupid enough to come for them here. Especially not with the whole party campout going on. There were too many witnesses.
Rachel slowly eased herself out of bed, tucking the blankets in around her daughter. She smoothed a lock of Dakota's sapphire hair back from her face, brushing her knuckles against the last bit of babyish roundness the girl had left in her cheeks. Dakota fell asleep with the pocket knife Carter gave her clutched in her hand. Rachel gently pried her fingers open and pulled the weapon away, setting it on the bedside table. She felt a stab of guilt. As the mother, it was her job to make her daughter feel safe. A job she wasn't able to do. Things will be better now, Rachel reminded herself. After turning her husband into an addict and killing her parents, she felt like the universe was finally cutting her a much needed break.
Tugging her jeans on under her well worn t-shirt, Rachel tucked her phone into her back pocket and gave Dakota one more kiss before she snuck from the room. Rachel fought back a giggle, feeling a funny sort of role reversal. It ought to be the teenage daughter sneaking out to meet a boy after her mother fell asleep. Not the other way around.
Rachel padded quietly down the stairs, smiling when she saw that Jamie was still on the couch waiting for her. She approached, rubbing her hand through his thick crop of coarse dark hair. His head was lolling against the back of the couch. But his eyes blinked open at the feel of her touch. He reached up, catching her by the wrist and guiding her around the arm of the couch and down onto his lap.
"Sorry I took so long," Rachel whispered, relaxing into his embrace. "I thought you might've gone to bed." He shook his head before he moved in to kiss her. The kiss was sweet and lingering.
"I said I'd wait," Jamie said, stroking his hands over her hair. "Is she alright?" He'd been witness to part of the breakdown Rachel's daughter had before she whisked the girl away upstairs. He felt a lot of sympathy for Dakota. For both of them. John Dutton was a hardass. And he'd done his share of unsavory bullshit. But he never would have even thought to lay a hand on their mother. Or any woman for that matter.
"She will be. It's just gonna take some time," Rachel whispered, glancing towards the stairs with a wistful expression. She wished she could wave a magic wand and take her daughter's pain and trauma away. Especially since it was her fault. Dakota didn't decide to have a lunatic for a father. Rachel gave that to her. It was her burden to bear. And she wished she would have been able to shield her daughter from everything that happened.
"Dakota's in my room. We could sleep in her room," Rachel suggested. Jamie's face turned sour, making her wish she hadn't suggested anything. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Rachel stammered. "...you don't have to stay over with me if you don't want to."
"What?," Jamie asked. He tightened his grip on her, anchoring Rachel in place before she could even think about wriggling away from him. "Of course I want to stay with you," he promised. "...it's just …it's bad luck to sleep inside during the Gather."
"Oh," Rachel sighed with some relief. She followed her sigh up with a giggle as she collapsed against his broad chest. She tucked her face into his neck, kissing along the exposed skin and sucking at the sensitive spot behind his ear. He gripped her tighter and turned his head, capturing his mouth with his. She parted her lips to allow him entrance to her mouth. And the heat began to grow between them as his tongue tangled up with hers. After how good he made her feel the night before, Rachel was less nervous and more eager for the feel of his skin against hers without so much fabric between them.
"Outside to the tent?," he asked, sucking in a hard breath between kisses. "Or if you need to stay near Dakota, we can go upstairs." He was over worrying about bad luck. They needed to go somewhere. Or they were going to end up naked on this couch in his dad's family room.
"Outside," Rachel said, forcing herself up and out of his lap. She was well aware that she was about to do the very thing she promised herself she was going to wait a while to do again. She had strong feelings for Jamie. And there was no doubt that she wanted him. She just thought maybe they ought to slow things down after what happened at his house. She told herself earlier that they should get to know each other a little better before they got to know each other's bodies. But those thoughts flew from her mind the moment she felt his lips against hers.
As Jamie led her through the yard and towards the area where the tents were set up, Rachel sent her daughter a text telling the girl she was camping out. That way Dakota would know where she was if she woke up in the night. They carefully weaved through the dimly lit area. All the tents looked the same to her. She had no idea how Jamie was able to navigate directly to the one he'd apparently claimed for himself earlier in the day. But when he pulled her into a tent, it was obvious that they were in the right place. Because all the other tents were occupied. There wasn't much inside. Just a full sized cot with a set of pillows and rolled up sleeping bags on top. Rachel and Jamie worked together, unzipping the sleeping bags and spreading them out so they could lie down on one and use the other as a blanket.
Once the bed was made, Jamie came back over to her side of the cot and gathered Rachel into his arms. He pulled at her clothes as he kissed her. And Rachel assisted him in getting them off, lifting her arms so he could pull her shirt over her head and wriggling her hips as he pushed her jeans down. There was something erotic about being completely naked while he was still fully dressed. Rachel could feel the heat building between her legs as they kissed. And when he palmed her ass, his fingers digging into her flesh as he spread her cheeks apart, she gasped. His hands slid lower, prodding and exploring the glistening folds of her sex. She sucked his tongue into her mouth as he penetrated her with the fingers of his right hand. His left hand moved slightly up and back, his slick fingers grazing across her sensitive back entrance. She gasped into his mouth when he slipped the tip of one finger inside, her hips bucking at the unfamiliar sensation.
"I want to take you from behind," he whispered, "...is that okay?"
With the memory of how good Jamie made her feel the night before still fresh on her mind, Rachel was quick to nod her head and moan affirmatively. She could barely think with his fingers inside her. Let alone make a decision about what position she wanted him to fuck her in. All the ways she could possibly imagine is how she wanted him.
Settling herself down on the cot, Rachel leaned back. She gazed up at him as Jamie rid himself of his own clothes, letting them fall to the ground with hers. From the dark curls of hair on his chest to his muscular thighs, every part of him was distinctly masculine. But it was his broad shoulders and the hint of definition in the muscles of his hips that made the warmth pool in the pit of her stomach.
Given the act that she'd agreed to a moment before, when Jamie climbed onto the cot with her, Rachel half expected him to flip her over and take her immediately. Instead, he gathered her back into his arms and picked up their makeout session where they'd left off before she laid down on the cot. Rachel wasn't sure how long they kissed. She just knew that at some point she lost herself in her desire for him. And there was nothing left in the world except for the feeling of his lips against hers. By the time he began to kiss down to the cords of her neck to her breasts, her insides were already throbbing with need. She writhed against him as he sucked at one hard pink bud after the other.
Pulling his head back, Jamie rose up onto his knees. He slid his hand partly under one side of her hips. And she was eager to comply, letting him move and position her body the way he wanted. After rolling over and lifting her hips, she found herself with her ass in the air and her elbows resting on the cot. She felt a rush of cool air against her slick folds as he nudged her knees further apart. Rachel waited for him to touch her, feeling like a coiled spring that was ready to unravel at the slightest breath. She sucked in a hard ragged breath when she felt the swollen head of his dick bump against her clit. Adjusting his grip on his rigid cock, he rubbed it back and forth across her clit before dragging it down the length of her cunt all the way to the little pink rosebud of her ass. Stopping there, he rubbed the head of his dick back and forth across her tight back entrance like he had with her clit. And instead of jerking her hips away from the forbidden contact, Rachel found herself pushing her hips back slightly. She was so desperate to get him inside her that she was even tempted to allow him to take her there.
Jamie pulled back, repeating the same maneuver he'd just done until Rachel's legs were shaking and she began to audibly beg him to take her. Please, I need you. I want you inside me. She was dripping with need. And the head of his dick was already coated in her essence when he lined himself up with the outer folds of her pussy and entered her. Her insides were slick and burning hot. He meant to start slow. But her walls squeezing in around him broke through the last bit of his self control. He entered her with his full length, his balls tightened at the feel of his dick being fully enveloped. Jamie wanted to pull out and slam back into her again. But he stayed still for a moment, not wanting the act to be over as quickly as he knew it would be if he started to fuck her as hard and fast as he wanted to.
Rachel was moaning as she pushed back against him with her hips. The best part about having her bent over, other than the view of her ass, was that he could see his dick sliding into her pussy. Her entire pussy and most of her inner thighs were glistening with her luxurious fluids. And since he'd used his dick to spread them out over her entire sex, her back entrance was coated as well. Keeping his dick in place, he began to massage her little rosebud with his thumb. The contact was whisper light at first. As he rimmed the sensitive area, he slowly began to apply more pressure. Heat from her pussy flooded around his dick as he sunk the tip of his thumb into her ass. He pulled his thumb completely away before penetrating her with it again. He pushed in further this time, not withdrawing completely when he pulled back. His fingers splayed out across the her cheek as he began to liberally fuck her ass with his thumb until she cried out and her insides started convulsing around his swollen dick. Shoving his thumb as deep inside her ass as it would go, he left it in place as he began to move his dick. He fucked her hard and fast, forcing spasm after spasm out of her. And when he came, he felt her come with him. Her insides clamping down around him as he filled her with his release.
The moment Jamie withdrew and loosened his grip on Rachel's hips, she collapsed like a rag doll onto the cot. Every muscle in her body was limp, completely spent after being so thoroughly well fucked. Jamie snuggled down next to her, pulling the sleeping bag over their bodies.
"Happy?," he whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair. Rachel mumbled something to the affirmative, snuggling in closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her. Before he'd even gotten completely comfortable, her breathing had already gone slow and even. And he fell asleep to the feel of her warm skin against his, thinking about all the second chance he'd been given and convincing himself that he wasn't going to fuck things up this time.
Jamie woke to the morning sun streaming in through the pale fabric of the tent and the sound of Rachel's soft laughter. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, smiling when he realized he could still feel her naked body against his. She spent the night with him.
"What's funny?," Jamie asked, rolling towards her and rubbing his hand across her stomach. Rachel pushed her phone towards him, allowing him to take the device from her hand without any reservations. Which made him realize that no other woman he dated had ever given him free access to her personal phone before. Jamie glanced at the screen. Rachel was laughing at a message from her daughter. There was no text in the message. Just an eggplant emoji and a question mark. Jamie laughed as he handed Rachel her phone back. He was glad that Dakota seemed to like him.
"You tell her about the dinner tonight?," Jamie asked. Rachel shook her head, tapping at the phone screen with her thumbs. The phone buzzed back almost immediately when Rachel sent her daughter the message about their dinner plans.
"She doesn't care that we're eating at your house, she just wants to know what's for dinner," Rachel said, another laugh bubbling out of her as she let her phone drop back onto the ground near the cot. Rolling back towards Jamie, she tucked herself into his side. She hiked one leg over his thigh, her head resting on his chest. She stroked her fingers through the soft patch of hair on his chest, sighing softly as he stroked his hand over the bare skin of her back.
"I could get used to this," she hummed.
"Me too," Jamie agreed. Waking up to Rachel's smile and the press of her soft body against his made him feel complete in a way he would be hard pressed to describe. "I'm sorry we didn't get to do this last night." Jamie could have punched his own mouth in the moment the words escaped his lips. What was he thinking bringing up what happened last night? Did he want to ruin the beautiful moment they were having? He was terrified for a moment that Rachel might get up and storm out. Instead she only wriggled, adjusting her body into a slightly more comfortable position.
"Things happen the way they're meant to happen," she said, tilting her head back and offering him a smile.
Jamie smiled back. He liked the way Rachel looked at life. It was completely contrary to the you make your own destiny talks his dad had been giving him since middle school. He'd been taught that life was like a vending machine. You put in hard work and success came tumbling out like the last bag of corn chips. But what he was slowly starting to learn was that success and happiness were not mutually exclusive. And that no matter how much planning and preparation he did, there were still and always would be things that were out of his control.
"Maybe you and Dakota better pack an overnight bag," Jamie suggested. "...In case you're meant to stay over at my house tonight." Rachel giggled, lifting up on her elbow so she could press a kiss to his lips.
"I'll think about it," she teased. Rachel kissed him again, her lips lingering against his before she pulled away. "I'm gonna pee and I smell coffee," Rachel announced as she eased herself over to the edge of the cot. Jamie relaxed back into his pillow, enjoying the way she wriggled her hips as she tugged her jeans on.
Rachel attempted to rake her fingers through the wild tangle of hair on her head. But she quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort. Blowing Jamie a kiss on her way out of the tent, Rachel headed for the bathroom facility first. When she was done there, she followed the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Rachel poured herself a cup, lowering herself down next to Beth and smiling at the woman.
"Yer sure in a good mood," Beth observed. She narrowed her eyes, her voice filled with disgust when she spoke again. "You fucked my brother didn't you?" Rachel nearly shot coffee out her nose at the unexpected inquiry. She recovered quickly, flashing Beth a wicked grin.
"You fuck my brother on the daily," Rachel pointed out. "So now we're even."
