Loon Mountain

Chapter 1 -- Morning Surprise

The sound of a shower turning on woke Amber from a dream about a Caribbean cruise from long ago. She opened her eyes just long enough to steal a quick glance at the time. Six-thirty in the morning. The sun would be just starting to rise over Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, lighting the verdant valley and encouraging all the songbirds to call to each other.

It was too early for Amber. She was on vacation and intended to sleep in until at least eight, preferably nine. Brad, on the other hand, had likely already finished his morning run, breakfasted, and was showering before reading one of the several books he brought for the weekend they would be visiting with his cousins on his family's ranch, nestled in the heart of ski country.

Amber closed her eyes, bundled the blankets over her shoulders and rolled to her side. She let the pulsing sound of the water lull her back to sleep. Before she could resume her dream, she felt the sheet lift at the bottom of the bed and a hand begin working its way slowly up her leg. 'Brad must want to get dirty before he showers,' she thought, smiling to herself.

The familiar hand found its way up her calf, glided softly over her knee, and slid under the loose-fitting shorts she wore to bed paired with a comfortable tank top. Amber tilted her hips towards the searching hand just enough to demonstrate interest and felt the rush of blood as fingers began stroking and caressing the treasure they sought. Her heart rate quickened, and her breath became shorter and shallower.

Rolling to her back, she allowed the hand to slide the shorts down her legs, off the ends of her feet, and heard them land softly on the floor. She never once opened her eyes, enjoying the strange mixture of drowsiness and arousal. A second hand joined the first and lifted her right leg off the bed enough for a head to slide underneath. Seconds later, the drowsiness was gone, and her body was electrified as she felt kisses along her inner thigh and the base of her ass cheeks. Finally, after what seemed a torturous several minutes, a tongue was sliding up and down her already slickened labia.

Amber's hands rose involuntarily from under the blankets and pulled the tank top to the middle of her chest, exposing both breasts. She grabbed them, teasing each nipple as she felt one hand slide under her ass, gripping it firmly, while the other began slowly caressing her throbbing clitoris with a thumb. The tongue continued its journey up and down, pausing occasionally to penetrate as deep as it could in her yearning hole.

Unable to further resist, Amber threw the blankets and sheets to the side, dropping them to the floor, giving her the freedom to writhe and arc without encumbrances. Her body was responding in ways it never had. The tongue, the fingers, moved in ways she had never known, and her ecstasy reached a crescendo with such force and speed, a flood rushed from her body and she spasmed, helplessly, unable to resist the will of the dexterous digits.

When the spasm ceased, the kissing resumed, navigating out from under her legs, over the tops of her thighs, across her stomach, brushed briefly over her breasts, and dove urgently into her mouth. She could taste herself on those lips and found a renewed desire burning in her. She wanted to go another round.

Amber reached up and grabbed Brad's head, running her fingers through his hair. It was then she realized, the hair was far too long to be Brad's. Come to think of it, his lips never felt this full. His lips were thin, and hard, like kissing two plastic straws held together.

For the first time since checking the clock, Amber opened her eyes. She was not kissing Brad! In fact, she had no idea whose face she was staring at. She jumped from the bed and quickly lifted the sheets from the floor, covering her exposed body.

"Who are you?", Amber demanded of the thin brunette lying coyishly on her side on the bed, head resting on her arm, with a look of bemusement on her face.

"Chloe," she replied. Chloe began teasing her brown hair, curling it around her fingers.

"What are you doing here?", Amber asked, searching the floor for her shorts. She found them buried underneath the sheets gathered at her feet, and pulled them on.

"I'm Brad's cousin. I'm here for the annual spring gathering, like he is," Chloe said. She stretched her long arms over her head, arching her back.

Amber heard the water shutoff and was immediately concerned.

"You need to get out of here," she insisted., pointing to the open door.

"You mad?", Chloe asked, sounding confused, feigning injury.

Was that an attempt at being coquettish, Amber wondered?

"You didn't seem mad a moment ago," Chloe said, that look of bemusement back on her face.

"I thought you were, him. Brad!" Amber whispered loudly. "You know, the guy in the shower. Your cousin!"

"Brad can't do to you what I just did", Chloe said with far too much confidence for Amber's taste.

"He certainly can," Amber protested, defending her boyfriend. She could tell by Chloe's smirk she didn't believe her. Instead of anger, Amber felt embarrassment. Like something about how she said it, or how she looked saying it, made it obvious to Chloe that Brad had never done that to her. At least, not to that degree.

"What will he say if he finds you in here?", Amber asked, trying to change the subject away from what they'd just done. What Chloe had just done to her.

"'Hi cuz', would be my guess," Chloe said. She spun her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Chloe was at least four inches taller than Amber's five feet, three inches. "I mean, we're just two girls standing here talking to each other. What would you expect him to say?"

"I mean, what if he had found us...before?" Amber clarified, upset Chloe had managed to bring them back to the topic she wanted to avoid.

"'Can I join?', I think." That smirk was back. "Relax. You're Amber, right?"

Chloe took a step towards her with an outstretched hand. Amber reflexively took a step back.

"Okay," Chloe said, lowering her hand and remaining where she stood. "Look, I'm sorry. I arrived late last night. You two were already asleep -- Brad always was the first to knock off. I heard the door close when Brad came back from what I'm sure was his morning run, and I came to say hello."

"That was not 'Hello'!", Amber contested.

"Fair," Chloe replied. "When I peeked in the room -- your door was open, by the way -- and I saw you lying there, blonde hair shining in the morning light, all wrapped up like a burrito, I couldn't help myself. I took a shot."

"Shouldn't I have had a say in that?", Amber demanded.

"You're right," Chloe submitted. "Would you like to do it again?"

Amber was about to reply, though she wasn't sure what her reply would be, when they heard the water stop and the click of a shower door opening. They stood in silence staring at each other, Amber in mild panic, Chloe with excited anticipation, listening to Brad dry off. When the door opened, Brad was stark naked, except for a towel around his head, and he was furiously drying his hair.

"I see you're six pack is gone." Chloe spoke first.

Brad paused drying his hair, pulled the towel to one side, looked quickly from Chloe, to Amber, then back to Chloe.

"Hi cuz!" he said, opening his arms wide and striding towards Chloe. He embraced her with a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.

"It's good to see you, too," Chloe gasped, finding breathing difficult in the tight embrace.

"When did you arrive?" Brad asked. He walked to his still packed suitcase resting on a chair in the corner of the room. Retrieving a pair of boxers, he slid them on and glanced at Amber. She responded with stunned confusion.

"Late last night," Chloe replied. "Derek is still sleeping. I woke with the sun. You know how I am, if the sun is up, I'm up, no matter what time I went to bed."

"Always the early riser," Brad agreed. "You should have gone on a run with me."

"Just because I'm awake early, doesn't mean I start my day early," Chloe replied, shaking her head at the suggestion. "I'd still be in bed meditating if I hadn't heard you in the shower."

"You in the room next to ours?" Brad asked. He walked to stand next to Amber, placing his arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, Derek's favorite," Chloe replied. "He likes all the animal heads mounted on the wall. Makes him feel like an exhibitionist when we fuck. Sick bastard."

"Two peas in a pod, if you ask me," Brad teased.

"Well, I'm sorry to have interrupted your morning," Chloe said, changing the subject. "I just wanted to say 'hi' and meet the lovely newcomer to our little party. I'm glad to have met you, Amber. I hope we have many adventures in our future."

"Nice to meet you, too," Amber stammered through a dry mouth.

Chloe returned to her room and Amber closed the door behind her. Brad watched as she reopened the door, looked up and down the hallway, then marched over to her phone and started playing music at top volume.

"What's all this about?" he asked.

"You two seemed...familiar," Amber demanded.

"She is my cousin," he replied, taking a seat on the bed. "She's a few months younger than me and we've known each other all our lives. Of course, she's familiar. She's family!"

"That is not what I meant," Amber spat. She balled her hands into fists, swaying back and forth.

"What did you mean?" he asked.

"You came out of the bathroom naked and didn't even bother to cover up!"

"She's seen me naked before. I've seen her naked. Hell, it's a pretty regular thing when you spend your summers out here and want to take a swim in the creek after messing around in the woods all day."

Brad pat the spot next to him on the bed, inviting her to sit down. Reluctantly, she did.

"That can't be what's bothering you. Your friends have all seen me naked. Remember the night we played strip poker and I lost, like, every hand?" He put his hand on her leg.

"I have to tell you something," Amber said. She had to be honest with him about why she was upset.

"I knew something else was bothering you," Brad said. "Tell me."

"I was still asleep when Chloe came into the room," Amber began.

"Did she wake you up? I know how you hate being woken before you are ready. I'm sorry."

"Yes, she did," Amber replied. "But it's more than that."

Amber paused and Brad waited patiently for her to continue.

"Well, actually, no she didn't. Not really. I had woken and heard the shower running. I figured you had just returned from your run and would be a few minutes, so I rolled over and tried to get a few more minutes of rest. I heard a door open, and then felt a hand on my leg and someone crawling under the sheet."

She paused again, waiting for him to reply.

"Continue," was all he said.

"I thought it was you. I let it progress. I didn't even look until it was over." She couldn't look him in the eye. She was ready for him to explode and demand she leave, never speaking to him again.

Brad didn't respond. They sat in silence, his hand on her leg, her staring at her feet, unable to look at him. Minutes passed, and she couldn't take it anymore. She turned her bowed head to face him.

He was smiling. The biggest shit-eating grin she'd ever seen on his face.

"She got you, too, huh?" he asked.

"What!" Amber smacked him hard on the shoulder. Her regret flipped to anger in an instant. "You brought me here, knowing she would be here, knowing she might try that, and didn't warn me?"

"I didn't know she still did that. It's been years since..."

"That doesn't matter! You owed me the courtesy of informing me you have a cousin who likes to sexually assault your sleeping girlfriends and that I'd be in the same house with her. We should have locked our door!"

"Hold on, that's a harsh way to put it. You could have stopped it at any time and you didn't," Brad said defensively. "You must have liked it."

Amber turned quickly away, facing the wall.

"Ha! You did like it, didn't you?" Brad accused, jumping from the bed. "Tell me. I want to hear more now."

"No," Amber replied. "I'm embarrassed and confused and.....I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about it. In shock, maybe?"

Brad gently cradled her chin and turned her face to look at him. He placed his forehead on hers.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not mad," he consoled. "If I had come out in the middle of it, I probably would have joined in."

"That's what she said!" Amber fumed, jumping up from the bed. "You've done that with her before, haven't you?"

"Maybe," Brad replied. He leaned back on the bed, resting on his elbows. "She's a beautiful woman. She sometimes like to be with other beautiful women; especially if those women are someone I'm dating. It's a kink she has."

"What does Derek say about that?" Amber demanded.

"I honestly have no idea. It hasn't happened since they got married. That's why I'm a bit surprised she did that. Like I said, it's been a few years. They all got married over the last four years, with Chloe and Derek being the last to pair up last year. I haven't joined them because I wasn't seeing anyone I cared about enough to bring to our annual gathering of cousins. Until you."

Amber felt her anger subsiding, and a very different emotion taking over.

"What's that mean?" she asked.

"It means...," Brad paused, reflecting on the best way to say it. "Look, this weekend is a very special event for all of us. Us five cousins are separated by just a few years, and we all grew up together, spending our summers here on the ranch with our grandparents. We continued the tradition as we went off to college, tapering it down to a month, then a week, then a long weekend, like this one. We used to bring whomever we were dating. After a few bad experiences, we agreed we could only bring someone we were serious about. Someone we would...."

"Someone you would what?" Amber asked, impatient.

"Someone we would consider marrying. Our weekend became both a litmus test and a welcome to the family event."

"Is this your way of proposing," Amber said, taken aback. "Because, this is not what I imagined it would be like, and, I'm not ready with an answer. I mean, we've never discussed. I'm not saying I'm opposed. Wow. I, well, I just didn't think you...we, were at that point yet."

"It's not a proposal," Brad assured her. "Not yet. You may not enjoy spending time with my cousins. No pressure, but that would be a deal breaker. Family first."

"Yeah, no pressure," Amber replied. She rejoined him on the bed, slowly lowering herself to sit next to him.

Brad sat up, gently laid her back on the bed, then spun himself on top of her, sliding between her legs. He pressed the full weight of his hips into hers, kissing her softly on her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. She kissed him back.

"Seriously, no pressure," he assured her. "If you don't enjoy spending time with my cousins, well, you wouldn't enjoy a life with me."

"That sounds a lot like pressure," she joked.

"You seem to have liked Chloe," he teased, kissing her neck.

"That's not fair," she said, feeling her body respond to the gentleness of his kisses. She could feel his response, too, pushing against her belly.

"Tell me what you liked about it," he said. He began softly stroking the inside of her thigh with his hand.

"I'm not ready to share that," she said. "I haven't decided how I feel about it yet."

"I could ask her how you felt about it," he teased, sliding a finger under her the open legs of her shorts and teasing the wiry hair he found there.

"Does she kiss and tell?" Amber teased back, starting to enjoy the banter.

"Only if I ask," he said. His finger ventured further, finding the wetness he was after.

"Would she say you felt like this?" he asked, moving his finger like he was motioning for someone to come over.

"I thought it was you," she said between sighs. She always found it hard to resist whatever he wanted to do with, or to, her.

Brad pulled at the top of her shorts with his other hand, and she lifted her hips to accommodate their removal. He dropped them to the floor and was removing his boxers when they heard a car announce its arrival with a constant blaring of the horn.

Brad jumped up and rushed to the window, leaving Amber aroused and wanting. She didn't move, expecting he would return and finish what he started. She was wrong. He motioned for her to join him. She glanced at her shorts on the floor and decided her tank was long enough she could stand next to him at the window.

"The rest of them are here," he said, nodding at the six people exiting the Tesla X that had pulled into the cobblestone circular driveway.

"The blonde is my cousin Evie. She's the oldest of all of us and was the first to get married. Her mom, my Aunt Ingrid, married my dad's younger brother, Steve. Uncle Steve was a leading engineer for a drilling company that worked with the Norwegian oil industry. They met when he spent a few years over there. He's filthy rich, and she was his trophy wife, but they've stayed together for nearly thirty years now.

"The muscular guy unloading the bags from the front of the car -- what they call a 'frunk' -- is Evie's husband, Fernando. They met at college in a communications class. She was studying to be a newscaster, he was doing what a lot of scholarship athletes do, majoring in communications to report on the games after they are done playing. He was really there because he could kick a field goal with near perfect accuracy from fifty-five yards out. He made the pros until, in his fifth year, a three-hundred-pound defensive lineman tackled him on a sixty-yard attempt, snapping his plant leg at the knee. He tried to come back from that, but his accuracy was gone. Now he's a motivational speaker making ten grand for a one-hour speech at these crazy executive retreats. That's his car they arrived in.

"Grant is the skinny guy who looks like a rocker. Because he is a rocker, just not very successful. He's Evie's younger brother and is still on the family payroll -- they both have a trust fund. Evie didn't become a newscaster; she decided being a wife was enough. The petite brunette dressed in all the high fashion is his wife, Heather. She's a model and earns all the money for them. She's walked the runway in Milan, Paris and Seoul. She's a California girl from a Mormon family who broke away from the religion to marry her bad boy rocker. They still don't talk to her.

"The last pair is Ines and Joe. Ines is the daughter of my dad's sister, Aunt Becky. Aunt Becky married a Spanish hotelier she met on the gap year she spent in Barcelona. Ines, like Chloe and I, is an only child. She met Joe in the Peace Corps. They were both building houses in Guatemala, or Nicaragua, I forget which. He's a laid-back hippie who made some amazing investments with the money his parents set aside for college, dropped out of college, and they live off the money generated from those investments. He talks about creating a venture capital firm, but he's been saying that ever since I've known him. Ines sells high end real estate. She only needs one sale each quarter to make seven figures, so they travel a lot.

"What do Chloe and Derek do?", Amber asked.

"Graphic artists," Brad replied. "He designs movie posters, she does most of the backgrounds for major network cartoons like The Simpsons and Family Guy."

"Doesn't your family have any black sheep?" Amber asked, stunned by everyone's success.

"Me," Brad said. "You'll see. They constantly tease me about adding no value to society as a patent attorney."

The new arrivals noticed Brad staring at them from the upstairs window and waved. He waved back and raised his index finger, indicating he'd be down in a minute. They watched as Chloe and Derek exited the house giving hugs all around.