My Three Wives update

Rough ground gritted against Lara’s knees as she knelt, painstakingly clearing away the granules of sand from what appeared to be a large animal bone that’d been carved into a wind instrument. The implication was obvious. Dravidians had lived here, long enough to dedicate attention to creating musical instruments and other artistic culture. 

Lara got up and carried the carven instrument to the artifact tent, where she set it down on the table and logged it. She let her mind wander as she worked. Sometime in the 3rd millennium, the Dravidians had been attacked by other Indo-European tribes and fled into the Thar Desert. It had been a primitive existence compared to the idyllic life they’d enjoyed in the Indus Valley. Still, it had been their home. How much had they suffered to stay alive, and what had finally happened to them?

“What have you got there?” Nate asked, coming up behind her, his arms moving to either side of her, leaning on the table to her left and to her right. 

He loomed over her with his superior height, pressing himself just firmly enough against her back for her to know he was there even without him introducing himself. With his catlike tread, she’d never have noticed him. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to.

Lara choked back any sound that was too surprised, even though he most especially pressed against her at her hips, between her buttocks, his firm maleness fitting between her svelte cheeks. Lara instinctively wanted to press back against him, that hardness he offered her, and she had to fight off the urge. It was too sudden, too impulsive. And yet, if it had occurred to her to do something so daring herself with some sexpot, she’d be willing them to do what she was now cautioning herself against.

A riot of emotions clashed inside Lara at the dichotomy. She was cross with Nate for forcing the sudden choice on her. Her mind zig-zagged between hope and fear. She breathed in a quick, shallow panting.

His teeth grazed her earlobe. She wanted to melt against him, and the very fact of how much she wanted it convinced Lara of the necessity of rebuffing him. “Nothing for you,” she told him, voice crackling with emotion. Maybe letting slip how hard she was wavering, or maybe convincing him he had pissed her off just that much.

Nate pulled his hands back, but one caught on Lara’s arm, turning her around to face him. Lara’s palms were sweaty. She rubbed them against her pants.

There was a devilish glint in Nate’s eyes. “Maybe I could give you something then.”

“I’m certain you could. Perhaps you should see a doctor. There are shots for that, I hear.”

Nate chuckled. His eyes darted away before meeting hers again, really focusing on them, like he was zeroing in on her with a directness he hadn’t used before. It was curiously intimate. Lara felt seen by him—not her chest, not her shorts, her—in a way she rarely was. But, not knowing what he was thinking behind those coolly wicked eyes, she didn’t know if she liked the contact or not.

“You’re trying real hard to tell yourself you don’t want something that you do,” Nate told her.

“Maybe. Perhaps I might call it self-control.”

“Maybe. But I always heard it called delayed gratification. And what’s the point of that if you never get gratified?”

Lara was taken aback. It was a good point. If she were to enjoy sex with him, what was the point in waiting? Wasn’t it better to enjoy it now rather than later? Or, preferably, now and later, assuming Nate had reason to be as cocky as he was.

She thought of the long nights she’d spent alone. Nights when she was hot-blooded, aroused, her body in peak condition, but with no one to share it with. Now, one of those nights could be spent with Nate. 

Nate could see how she was wavering, teetering between different answers. He pushed with surprising subtlety, considering the erection he sported. “Come to dinner with me tonight. Seven o’clock. I’ll cook you something to ease you out of civilized meals and into camp food.”

“You’re a cook?” Lara asked risibly.

“No. That’s why it’s a transition.” Nate smiled easily. “Don’t answer now. Just show up if you want to. I’ll have the food ready at seven, whether you’re there or not.”

He left her alone with her thoughts. There were plenty to keep her company, but one circled around for pass after pass. Considering the electric chemistry between them, Nate would be an amazing lover. Perhaps that was reason enough to break this strange vow of chastity Lara seemed to find herself with.

Lara had never been good at waiting. She occupied herself—washing her hair, showering, perfuming her body, and eventually realizing that as she refused to let herself think, she had prepared herself for dinner with Nate.

The harsh orange sun had been cooled by the night, turning purple by the time she went to see Nate. He had rented a cabin on the edge of Jakhanur, half an hour from camp. It was primitive, cramped, but cozy. There was only so much damage Nate could do while living out of suitcases. 

Work accounted for most of the graffiti on the otherwise neat rental. One corner had been reserved for maps and newspaper clippings and colored string running from this to that. It was discreetly far from the table, a small wooden thing covered by a spotless white cloth and set with two places. Lara wouldn’t be tempted to take a peek at Nate’s research—her eyesight wasn’t so good.

“How long are you staying in India?” she asked him, eyeing the suitcases that were serving as his dressers.

“A while,” Nate answered. “But I believe in being ready for a quick getaway.” His eyes were half shut, watching her from beneath dark lashes. “Nadine told me about what you did.”

Lara went wide-eyed. “She did?”

“We don’t have any secrets.” He stepped toward her. She stepped back, until she was pressed against the wall. Nate didn’t touch her, but having him so close to her was pressure enough. Arousal enough. “That’s partly how I know that you want this. The other part is just fucking looking at you.”

“I am not a one-night stand,” Lara told him, even as sleepless nights, lonely nights, cold nights loomed over her. And the bulge of his erection pressed so close to her stomach that she could feel it throb.

“I never said you were.”

“Then what do you want me for?”

“As long as I can have you,” Nate answered. “But tell me, doesn’t just one night spent in ecstasy make up for weeks in waiting?”

Lara’s mind and body said yes, but she refused to let them speak. Offering herself to Nadine had been different. That had been her choice. Nate had come onto her; she’d been on the defensive. He was dangerous in a way that teasing Nadine hadn’t been.

“It—“ Lara didn’t say anything more. His hungry mouth was against her lips, finding out the truth for himself. 

Inside, she heaved and swirled. Her hips involuntarily jolted, rocking her mound against his leg, giving herself away in a seismic twitch of pleasure. Nate’s hand traveled up her skirt, urgently massaged her inner thigh. Then he really exerted himself. Lara let him ease her legs apart. His bulging erection pressed against her belly. 

Lara realized it was going to happen. He was going to fuck her; she was shaking like a bride on her wedding night. He had gotten to her, gotten inside her head, making this far too intimate to be just another fuck. But that was what she had to think of it as. That was it—just a quick fuck.

Nate slid a finger under the legband of her panties, touching her. Both of them realized how wet she was.

Nate grinned. That was good, but not good enough. She could get wetter. And she would. He wasn’t going to fuck her yet. He wanted to drive her wild with desire before he satisfied her. Perhaps he was spoiled from Chloe, Elena, and Nadine, how utterly sexual they were with him. Now he wouldn’t settle for anything less. He wanted to make Lara as sensual a creature as they were, stripping her of all her artifice. She was in heat, a beautiful woman with an amazing capacity for pleasure, and he wanted to show her that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Her clit was already swollen and pulsing. He teased it with one hand, letting Lara know the pleasure he could give her. With his other hand he took her wrist and pulled her fingers down to his tented crotch.

“Hhrgh.” The sound came from the very center of Nate as Lara clutched him ardently, with more gusto than he would’ve expected this early on. She was even more passionate than he’d thought. His manhood jerked and throbbed inside her grip.

Suddenly, Nate stopped kissing her, taking his hand back from underneath her skirt. It was with a shock that Lara realized Nadine was in the room. She had seen what they were doing!