A Faithful Whore Ch. 01

I crossed the final few steps to the bench at the overlook and collapsed as gracefully as I could. I'd had a stitch in my side for the last half mile, but I was determined not to show my discomfort. Anders was an avid hiker, and I'd pretended to be a little more experienced than I really was.

I felt like I had a personal responsibility to do my part to dispel the myth that Americans are all fat and lazy. Really, Anders had enough experience with Americans to form his own opinion. He'd been a foreign exchange student his senior year of highschool, living with my husband Erik's family. They'd stayed in touch through college, and when Erik graduated, Anders helped Erik get a job with the Atlanta branch of a Swedish software company.

It was only natural that Erik and I welcome Anders into our home when he was sent to Erik's office as a consultant. It saved the company from having to pay for a hotel room. Actually, the two of them had pulled strings to get Anders assigned here for the summer just so they could hang out.

A quick glance at him beside me made me feel a little better about my own exhaustion. He was leaning back on the bench with his eyes closed, ignoring the view we'd hiked so far to see. His breathing was measured and heavy, his dark hair was damp with sweat, and his t-shirt was clinging to his chest. Perhaps he was learning that hiking in Georgia was a whole different ballgame than hiking in Sweden. Even exhausted and sweaty, he was gorgeous enough to make my stomach flip.

"Ready to start back?" I teased.

He opened one eye and moaned. "Not funny, Linds. I feel like I'm in the world's biggest sauna. How do you manage?"

I laughed. "Ah, well. I'm faking it, actually. I'm about to keel over, and my heart feels like it's going to explode."

He reached over with one arm and laid his hand on my chest. "Wow." He raised an eyebrow. "Don't have a heart attack, ok? I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it back myself, I know I couldn't carry you." He grinned, but there was something in his eyes that made my heart pound even faster. Did he feel that, I wondered?

My tank top was fairly low cut, so there was nothing between his hand and my thudding chest but bare skin. Hopefully he would chalk it all up to over exertion and not his effect on me.

He closed his eyes again, but didn't move his hand.

I leaned forward as if to tighten my shoe laces, brushing his hand away in the process. My damp auburn hair fell down in a curtain to hide my eyes, and I spent much longer than necessary fiddling with my socks and shoes, hoping to regain my composure before meeting his eyes again.

When I finally sat up and leaned back, his arm was across the bench behind me. I shot him a quick look from the corner of my eye, and saw that he was staring off into the distance. I could have sworn there was a smirk playing around his mouth.

I pretended to admire the view, trying to process what was happening. We'd hiked five miles uphill, to the top of what could pass for a mountain in Georgia. The overlook was perfectly situated to catch a panoramic view of the valley and surrounding hills. I couldn't appreciate the trees, or the small waterfall in the distance. His arm rested across the worn wood of the bench, barely grazing my neck, and that was all I could focus on.

He'd been staying with Erik and me for a week now, and this was the first time we'd touched. I'd never even caught an interested glance from him. Now, the first time we were completely alone, I thought I was picking up signals from him. But was I? Maybe he was just comfortable with me, maybe the Swedes have different cultural mores regarding personal space.

He shifted slightly and brushed his fingertips against my upper arm, tracing lines of fire across my skin. No, this wasn't just friendly, comfortable contact. This was deliberate. Sensual.

I squirmed out from under his arm and turned to face him. "Anders." I said in as flat a tone as I could manage.

"Linds." Yes, there was definitely a smirk on his lips. Kissable, soft, full lips... I shook my head a little.

"Are you ready to head back? Erik is expecting us." There. I'd mention my husband, remind him that I was married to his best friend. Remind myself that I was married to my best friend.

"No, I need a minute. This... humidity, right? I'm not used to it. How's your heart?" He wrapped his strong fingers around my wrist, as if checking my pulse rate.

I made a half-assed attempt to pull my hand away. "My heart's fine, thanks." I wanted to tell him to stop with the not-so-innocent little touches, but a part of me really didn't want him to stop.

He slid his fingers up my arm, across my shoulder and rested them on my neck, just under my jaw. I tried not to shiver at the contact. "Yeah, your heart seems fine. So what's wrong?"

I gave him my best don't-fuck-with-me look. "Seriously?"

I was not about to play that game with him. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had leaned in so his face was just inches from mine, and it was all I could do to maintain eye contact. I'd never noticed his eyes before. Another strike against the stereotype- Swedes were supposed to have blue eyes, but his were a dark, warm brown. I had to look away.

"Am I bothering you?" He grinned and his hand dropped back to his side. "Sorry." He was still grinning, obviously unashamed.

"Yeah, well. It's Erik you should be apologizing to." Remember Erik? Your buddy? My hubby?

"Do you think he would mind me checking your pulse?" He tilted his head to the side, feigning innocent curiosity.

"Hmm, I think he'd mind your arm around me, and your hands on me, yes." My own hands were twitching, wanting to tangle in his hair and pull him towards me.

I should have known better than to be alone with him, when I'd been fantasizing about him for days.

He flashed me his sweetest smile, making my heart skip again. That serious look was back in his dark eyes. "Would he know?"

I could hear my own pulse pounding in my ears, and butterflies were springing to life in my stomach. "Oh, wow, Anders. He's your best friend. What are you talking about?" I tried to insert some steel into my voice, so I would be believable. It sounded forced and pathetic to me.

My mind was racing with possibilities. All of my late-night fantasies suddenly seemed to be in reach. I shuddered and slid away from him.

He leaned back, and actually had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "I don't know. I mean, I wasn't going to..."

"Damn right you weren't." I shot back, my voice shaking a little.

We definitely weren't. Were we? No, Jesus Christ. Never. I'm married.

"Linds, I'm sorry. I didn't think- I mean, I thought you... I didn't mean to bother you like that."

He thought I didn't WANT him to touch me. I should have left it at that, but it didn't seem fair.

I sighed. "Actually, it wouldn't have bothered me one bit, if it wasn't for Erik."

His eyes lit up, and the smile crept back onto his lips. "Oh? Really?"

I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Yes, really. But I'm freakin' married, Anders."

I leaned back against the bench and tried to picture Erik. Guilt surged through me and I felt a little ashamed. "I love him. I mean, you love him too, in your way. He's amazing. He deserves a lot better than his wife and his best friend sneaking around to fuck in the woods."

His eyebrows shot up. "Wow, Linds. Language."

"Well, what would you call it? 'Making love?' We're hardly in love." Just lust. Super hot, burn-your-clothes-off-with-a-look lust.

He thought for a second. "No, I think you got it right the first time. So, if there were no Erik you'd like to fuck me in the woods, huh?"

I burst out laughing despite myself. "Sounds about right. But, there is an Erik. And he's expecting us to be home when he gets back from work. It took us forever to get up here, if we don't start back, we'll be late." I stood up, my legs trembling just a little, and looked at him expectantly. "Coming?"

His smile was wicked. "Coming? Yeah, in a minute."

I shook my head and walked off, his eyes following me. I could feel his eyes watching me, like an electric current down my back.

I was glad I'd decided to wear my cute workout clothes, rather than my dumpy, baggy set. The shorts I was wearing were so short my underwear might have shown, if I hadn't been wearing a thong. My tank top was thin and tight, with a built-in bra. Overall, the outfit was pretty slutty. Still, it was practical for the hot summer weather. I'd planned to be back in time to change before Erik got home, anyway.

Suddenly anxious to get home, I spun around on the path to make sure Anders was following. My eyes widened when I saw that he was- and he'd taken off his shirt.

He must have seen the flash of desire. "What, my shirt was wet. It's hot out here. Besides, you're practically fucking naked."

"Language, Anders!" I couldn't help staring at him for a moment before turning back to the path. I saved the image in my brain for future fantasies. He wasn't necessarily better looking than Erik, who had what I'd always considered the perfect body. Both men were lean and muscular, and surprisingly our Swedish friend had developed a tan to rival his Georgia buddy. Still, there were just enough subtle differences in the planes and angles of his chest and abs to make his body seem new and exciting.

I stepped over a twisted root in path, and started on a downhill slope when I felt his finger hook into the back of my waistband and tug. I stumbled back, and found myself pressed up against his hard chest.

"What the fuck, Anders!"

He laughed softly in my ear. "There's a rock there. I didn't want you to trip over it." His hand slid around my waist, teasing my hips and setting me on fire inside.

I spun around to face him, but didn't step back. I wanted to slide my hands up his chest, wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him to me. I wanted to press my mouth against his, to run my tongue across his firm, full lips.

Instead, I kept my hands by my side and stared him down, breathing raggedly.

"I managed to walk up here without your help. I can walk back. Really, you can't do this."

He stepped back, and threw his hands up. "I'm not planning to do anything, Linds. Really, I'm just messing with you. I could never actually 'fuck you in the woods.' Or anywhere else. Even if you would, I couldn't do it. Erik's like a brother to me. Besides, his mom would kill me." He gave me an appraising up-and-down look. "Of course, she might understand if she could see you in that outfit..." He smiled his heart-melting smile, and I had to smile back.

"What are we doing, then? I'm not going to cheat on Erik. You wouldn't sleep with your friend's wife. So why play games like this?"

He looked devilish. "Why not? You've been teasing me with your ass hanging out of your shorts all day. I'm just doing my best to tease you back."

"Yeah, well, it's working. Still. We can't touch each other. Jesus, Erik would have a fucking fit if he saw you grab me like that. And honestly-" I paused and looked away before finishing. "Honestly, if you keep this up, I'm not going to want you to stop." I instantly felt a fresh pang of guilt for Erik's sake. It needed to be said, though.

When I looked back at him, his devilish smile was gone, replaced by the dark, smoldering look I'd seen earlier. "Fuck, Linds. Why'd you have to say that?" He tried to smile, but I could tell he was struggling to restrain himself.

"Yeah. So maybe you just shouldn't touch me anymore. Okay?" My stomach was quivering, and a big part of me still hoped he'd close the gap between us and do something, anything, that would lead us down the wrong path.

He was a good friend. He gestured for me to continue walking back to the car, and followed along without another word or touch.

The walk back seemed much longer than the walk up, and I was painfully conscious of my ass bouncing as I hurried down the trail. Stupid slutty clothes. After what seemed like an eternity, we made it back to my Volvo and climbed inside.

We rode back to the house with the air conditioner blasting, still maintaining our uncomfortable silence. It was hard to remember that just a few hours ago, we'd been totally at ease around each other. Now it felt like one of us had pulled the pin on a grenade and it was just a matter of time before it went off.

Erik's truck was pulling in to the driveway just as we rounded the last curve.

"Shit!" I glanced down at my shorts and tank top.

Anders laughed. "That's what you get, tease." He hopped out of the car and started talking to Erik. From his gestures, he seemed to be complaining about the heat. Seeing the two of them together, I couldn't help but compare. Erik was slightly taller than Anders, and built like a competitive swimmer. His dark hair was cropped close to his head, in contrast with Anders' messy brown mop. He had light blue-green eyes, and the most amazing smile I'd ever seen. Anders lips were sexy, but Erik's were irresistible. I was probably a little biased by the fact that Erik was my husband. An outside observer would have a hard time choosing which one was hotter.

I parked the car and grabbed my bag from the back seat. Might as well get it over with. I swung my legs out and stood up. "Hey hon."

Erik raised his eyebrows and walked towards me. "Now I know why you were so hot, man." He called over his shoulder to Anders. "Linds, what the hell? Trying to kill my friend?" His eyes swept over me, and I felt a sudden rush of desire for him. I'd been feeling sorry for him, but really, he was going to benefit from all of the sexual frustration Anders and I had built up this afternoon.

"Hey, I know how hot it gets here. I dress accordingly. If he can't handle the heat..." I trailed off, locking eyes with Anders over my husband's shoulder.

Erik laughed and slid his arm around my lower back, pulling me along with him into the house. Anders stood aside to let us pass, then followed. I could feel his eyes on me, on Erik's hand resting on my waist.