The Morning After

Matthew's hand trails up my thighs, making my legs part to give him better access. His fingers slip into my already wet folds before he pushes them inside me, causing me to let out a moan. His lips kiss mine almost as a reminder not to be too loud and wake the others, then moves to my neck, then down to my breast. 

My hand reaches down to feel his cock, which is already ready for me. Even after a few drinks, Matthew didn't have any problem keeping up with me, something I hadn't experienced in a very long time. The idea of him inside me has me pulling him on top of me as I'm no longer able to wait.

Matthew lets out a low chuckle and positions himself between me, then presses his thick member inside me. He pushes himself as far as he can go inside me, my body reacts instantly, wanting to clasp down on him to never let him go. 

Almost as if instincts kick in, I flip us over so he's now on his back, and I'm on top. My hands reach down and are placed on the headboard to give me leverage while his move to my breast and waist as if he's tracing me. I rock my hips back and forth, throwing my head back in ecstasy from how much we move in sync. 

After what feels like hours of strokes and different positions, we finish at the same time, collapsing on the bed and taking a much-needed rest. Our chests rise and fall as we catch our breath. I roll over to get some water when I notice it's almost five in the morning. 

"You better get out of here if you don't want Marcy or you kids to catch you in here."

"In a moment. I'm still catching my breath, plus Ma doesn't wake up until seven, and the kids don't wake up unless I wake them. They don't think I know, but I know they don't fall asleep for another few hours after I tuck them in," Matthew says breathlessly.

"Fine by me," I say, climbing on top of him to give him a kiss before falling back into the mattress.

"Did you still want to go out into the forest?" he asks. 

"Yeah, I just need about an hour of sleep, then I'll be good to go," I yawn through my final words.

Matthew slides out of bed, kisses me on the forehead, and then tiptoes out of the room. I manage to get two hours of sleep but wake up when I hear the shuffling of Marcy's footsteps as she makes her way downstairs. 

I decide to get up and get ready for the day while praying Marcy will have coffee ready by the time I get to the kitchen. I unplug my laptop so I can finish reviewing the photos I barely got to last night. Although I'm not complaining, hopefully, another distraction will come to me later. I put my hair in a messy bun and slip on some socks then head downstairs. 

"Good morning, dear," Marcy greets me, "would you like a coffee?"

"Yes, please," I plea.

"Did you sleep well?" she asks, causing my cheeks to start to burn.

"I did," I say, pausing to think of an excuse other than your son kept me up all night, "but I still have so much work to do on those photos I took last night, so I need the extra jolt coffee gives me to finish up."

"Can I see some?"

"Of course, just give me a moment to get set up,"

"Yay, I'll get the coffee and some tea cake for us to snack on."

I turn on the laptop and open up the files from yesterday, quickly touching up some. Thankfully, there wasn't much I needed to do. I save some of the best ones to show her, and just in time too, as Marcy walks over to me with coffee.

"Thank you," I say, taking the mug from her.

 I inhale the sweet aroma and let it soothe my body. I take a drink of the dark liquid and can instantly feel myself relax and slowly wake up a bit more. Marcy takes a set right next to me after bringing some snacks, a few mugs, and the rest of the coffee in the pot. 

I turn the laptop to face her and tell her to scroll down so she can look through the pictures. Almost immediately a smile comes across her face. She puts a hand to her chest as if she's overcome with joy.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I am," she sniffles, "I'm just so happy. These are so wonderful." Marcy turns to me and wraps me in her arms, hugging me tightly.

"I'm glad you like them. Is there a store I can send them to so they can print them out?"

"Yes, Matthew can take you there later before you guys go exploring later," she squeals in excitement.

"Did somebody say my name?" Matthew says, appearing in the doorway.

"Morning, Matty. Have you seen these? They are absolutely fabulous. I was telling her that you will take her to Gerald's convenience so she can print them out and I can hang them up," Marcy tells Matthew, although since he entered the room he hasn't once taken his eyes off me. Marcy notices and looks between him and me with keen eyes.

In the nick of time, Luke comes running down the stairs with a ton of energy, which takes some of the attention off of us. 

"I'm hungry," Luke declares, looking up to his dad.

"Come with me, Luke, and help me start breakfast," Marcy orders, giving me and Matthew look as if she's saying I know exactly what has happened between you two.

"How are you?" Matthew asks, coming closer to me to sit down. 

"Good, you?"

"Great, did you get any sleep," he leans in to whisper.

His breath hits my cheeks, sending some of those memorable shockwaves from last night through my body. With his lips so close it would be so easy to kiss him, but it feels weird to do it when his son or mom can walk in at any time. He sits back in his chair and looks behind me, smiling and waving at his son, who is calling his name to show Matthew he is cracking an egg.

"Will have plenty of time for that later, once we leave," Matthew smirks.

I work on the pictures and show him some of the ones that would be great for printing while we wait for the food to be ready. A few minutes pass by when his daughter Juliana comes downstairs and jumps into his lap.

Moments later, Luke comes in with plates, followed by Marcy, who brings in the first tray of food. We all eat together, and once I've had enough to eat, I head back to my room and prepare to leave. As I'm putting on my shoes, there's a knock on the door.  

"Yeah," I shout.

"You ready?" Matthew's voice comes from behind the door. 

"I'll be right out," I call back.

He opens the door as I finish lacing up my tennis shoes.

"Did I say you could come in?" I tease.

"It's not like there isn't anything in here I haven't seen," he teases back. 

"Let's go. I actually want to see more of the forest today."

"Then let's go, but we will stop at the store first to get the pictures developed, so by the time we are done, they should be ready," Matthew says extending his hand to help me up from the chair.

We leave, and after a short drive in his old pickup truck, we get to the store. A few minutes later, inside, we finish and head back to the inn. Right before the afternoon, we walk back into the treeline, and seeing all the trees surrounding me reminds me of the reason I'm here. 

I think back to the journals and try to find anything that resembles any of the sketches that were drawn in them. We spend a few hours looking when we come upon an area that opens up. It seems out of place here, but it reminds me of one of the sketches. As I get closer, Matthew grabs my hand and stops me from moving forward.

"What's wrong?" I ask, snapping out of my trance.

"We should be heading back now?"

"Why? I think this is what I've been looking for. Can't we keep going?"

"This area isn't safe. Bears are known to come out of nowhere out here and kill people," he says, leading me away from the area.

Even as I protest, he doesn't stop and continues to drag me away from the area. I mentally take note of the area so I can return when I'm alone. I pull my hand from his and practically push him away to stop him from dragging me. 

"What's with you?" I scoff, annoyed I'm being treated like a child. 

"We should be heading back before we lose any more light."

We walk back in silence, aside from our usual laughter and deep conversation. When we get back to the inn I head to my room and shut the door behind me, locking it in place. I grab the journals and verify that what I saw was actually what I was looking for. When I find the page, my heart stops.

It is what I was looking for!