Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Author's Note: Thank you for taking the time to read my work. This is my first time writing pretty much anything. I've always enjoyed reading erotica, but wanted to try my hand at writing them. I did my best with editing and used Grammarly, however I'm sure there's still some errors so I ask that you please excuse them. I'm open to constructive criticisms to help improve my writing too.

Now, onto the story...

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Whoever thought it was a good idea to send me over the Sierra Nevada mountains at the end of February was now officially on my shit list. Usually, I would've loved the drive, but in the later part of winter, when the snow machine was in peak form, it was miserable and downright dangerous.

"Shit," I muttered as I downshifted into 3rd gear, feeling the 2H turbo diesel engine in my 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser send a jolt of power and torque to the snow-covered road.

"Joel?" The worried voice of my young Croatian co-worker Ljubica caught my attention. I knew she wasn't used to these conditions since she'd grown up in the mild climate of Pula, Croatia.

"We'll be alright, Lu," I offered reassurance as I grabbed 2nd gear to climb the steep grade. "She's not fast, but there's not much this old Landy can't get through. Although, I wasn't expecting it to be this snowy."

"Me either," Ljubica's voice was still shaky. "How far is it to Reno?"

"We're just outside of Colfax," I said, glancing at Google Maps. "Looks like 80 miles or so. It'd be about two hours in good weather, but in this shit, who knows how long."

All my scared co-worker could do was nod and then look out the window at the blanket of white covering the mountains. Any other time it would be beautiful, but on the road and driving to a client's office? Not so much.

To try and reduce my worry, I started thinking about what the next day had in store. Ljubica and I were in medical sales for a company based in Sacramento, California. Our job took us all over the Western US and while the company was quite large, we ended up paired together frequently. Being with her was always a plus; we always had fun wherever we went.

On this trip, we were heading to St. Mary's Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, before stopping at Renown just down the road. Then the following day, we'd head to Carson City to stop at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and up to South Lake Tahoe to visit a few clinics around there. While it had been a snowy winter, our director figured we'd be fine if we stuck to the interstate. As the snow piled up, it became apparent that we wouldn't be.

As we climbed in altitude and the snowfall became heavier, I glanced over at my co-worker sitting in the passenger seat. Ever since she started working in my group a year ago, I had found myself attracted to her. While she wasn't traditionally beautiful and had a few extra pounds here or there, she had the most enchanting personality out of anyone I'd ever met. Ljubica's ability to make me smile and melt away negative energy made her a perfect 10 in my book. Even just a simple good morning or how are you today would be enough to brighten my day.

This wasn't to say she was ugly though; in fact, I thought the opposite, although the other guys in the department disagreed with me. With silky smooth black hair that flowed down her shoulders, piercing green eyes that looked through dark-rimmed glasses, full pink lips, and milky white skin, she didn't fit the California mould. Ljubica was a bit on the tall side too, nearly coming up to my 5'10" frame while wearing flats. This seemed to intimidate other men for some reason, which always confused me.

I sighed, wondering if I'd ever get the courage to ask her for dinner. I knew deep down that I wouldn't since, in my mind, Ljubica was way out of my league and I didn't want to risk our friendship either. Still, by not asking, it continued to eat away at me with the what-if scenarios.

My pondering and train of thought were quickly interrupted by a buzzing from my phone. I tapped the screen and brought up the weather alert that showed the road was quickly going to become impassable if we continued going up in elevation. I looked back at the map, saw that we were coming up on Emigration Gap, and asked Ljubica to find a place to stop.

Unfortunately, there was only one option, a lodge just outside of what passed for a town. I eased off the freeway, ploughing through at least seven inches of snow and pulled into the Sierra Woods Lodge, which already looked pretty crowded.

"I hope we aren't shit out of luck with rooms," I said as we trudged through the snow. "I'm not sure how much further we can get up the road and going downhill in this will be a bitch."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," it was now Ljubica's turn to reassure me.

We approached the check-in desk and talked to the exhausted-looking receptionist behind the counter. It was clear they'd had a massive influx of people and that she was the only one trying to run more or less everything, including the coffee bar.

"We have one room left," the receptionist replied when we asked her if they had any vacancies. "Are you two a couple though? It's probably our smallest room and only has one queen-sized bed."

"We'll take it," Ljubica responded before I could tell the receptionist that we'd have to pass.

I was shocked, but given the state of the weather outside, it was likely the best option. I had no idea what the road conditions were like further up the mountain, but they were undoubtedly the same or worse and with the low winter sun starting to set, the danger would quickly ramp up.

We got the keys, pulled the Land Cruiser around, and parked it in front of the door. After taking out our bags, we entered the small room that was warm, toasty, and quite cosy, all things considered. It was also clean and new, which made me feel a bit better that we wouldn't be stuck in the equivalent of the Bates Motel in the Sierra Mountains.

"You can have the bed," I gestured to Ljubica. "I can sleep on the floor. I think some of my camping stuff is in the back of the truck."

"Nonsense, Joel," Ljubica gave me a stern look. "The bed is big enough for both of us. Plus, your back will be ruined if you sleep on the floor like that."

Ljubica wasn't wrong; the floor was rather firm and even with my camping stuff, it wouldn't be pleasant. Still, I didn't want to creep her out and I still felt a bit uneasy, but I ultimately agreed since trying to drive the rest of the way to Reno tomorrow with a backache didn't sound ideal.

With that out of the way, we settled in, got out our laptops, and Ljubica texted our director to inform her that we wouldn't make it to Reno due to the weather. While Ljubica typed away on her phone, I flipped on the TV to better understand the weather. Unfortunately, the forecast was pretty grim and it looked like we might be stuck here for a couple of days. The highway behind us was already closed and further up the mountain, they were expecting upwards of 50 inches of snow.

I informed Ljubica of the news and she sighed before going back to texting our boss, presumably to tell her we were in a dire situation.

"So, ready to live here for a couple of days?" Ljubica said, setting her phone on the bed.

"I guess?" I was weary from the drive and really didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. However, if I was going to be stuck, there were certainly worse people I could be with. Although, I was apprehensive about how our sleeping arrangements would go.

"Could be worse, right?" Ljubica joked. "You could be stuck with Dave."

We both let out a shutter at the thought and then busted out laughing. Dave was the most annoying human on the planet, and the thought of being stuck with him in a car drove me mad. The idea of us being stuck in a hotel together was just unfathomable.

"So what should we do?" Ljubica asked, looking around the room. "I don't really feel like doing any work."

"Me either," I agree, but there really wasn't much else to do at the moment. "I'm kind of hungry though but the restaurant at the lodge is closed so I'm not sure what we're going to do. I mean I have snacks in the truck but that's it."

"Go get them," Ljubica replied and I set out again into the snow to retrieve the grocery bag with pretzels, chips, and Clif bars from the back seat. As I rummaged through the back, I saw a bottle of Larceny bourbon that a friend had given me and I'd forgotten to take in. I grabbed that as well and headed back inside.

"Good news," I announced, opening the door with a blast of cold air following me. "We have snacks and I found a bottle of bourbon. I don't know if you drink that, but it's the best I got for now."

"I normally don't," Ljubica laughed. "But I'll make an exception since we don't have any wine. Hand it over."

I passed her the bottle and she cracked the seal before uncorking it. Then after taking a whiff of the golden brown goodness, she brought the bottle to her lips and took a good pull off of it before handing it back to me. In turn, I opened a bag of pretzels, grabbed a handful and then exchanged it with her for the bourbon.

So there we sat, idly chatting about life, snacking on salty goodness and downing a not-so-insignificant amount of bourbon. While not ideal, I was honestly pretty happy and felt very content with this beautiful woman who made me forget how shitty everything was outside.

"Can I ask you something?" Ljubica said as she took another swig of the bourbon.

"Lu you've been asking me stuff for the past hour," I joked. "But sure, what's on your mind?"

"Do you find me attractive?" she asked and ice water shot through my veins. I didn't know how to answer; all I could do was stumble over a bunch of sounds as my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth.

"Would you hold it against me if I said yes?" I managed to eke out, attempting to sound as suave as possible.

"Of course not," she replied, putting her hand on mine. "So do you? Be honest too. I'm a big girl. I can take it."

"Lu I..." my voice trailed off as I collected my thoughts. "Lu, I'm being 100% honest with you, but you are the most attractive person I've ever met in my life. This isn't the bourbon talking either. You're smart, you're funny, your personality is amazing, and I find you not just sexy but beautiful too."

Sweat ran down my forehead and I suddenly felt very hot. Why had I just said that? That was completely uncharacteristic, and I was sure I'd just made her hate me.

"Are you being honest?" Ljubica asked, her face blushing bright red and her eyes wide.

"Every word of it," I responded, figuring I was already in this deep.

Ljubica didn't respond; instead, she leaned forward and placed her lips on mine. My mind started to go fuzzy as I wondered if this was real. All I could think was that we had crashed in the snow and I was in a coma at UC Davis.

But as my mind returned to focus and I felt Ljubica's soft lips on mine, I knew it was real. I started kissing back, letting my tongue explore her mouth and savouring the taste of bourbon on our kisses.

Finally, we parted and looked into each other's eyes. I was dumbfounded, barely comprehending what had just transpired, but enjoying it nevertheless. I just hoped it wasn't the alcohol controlling Ljubica's emotions and that she genuinely felt the same about me.

"No one's ever said that about me before," Ljubica finally broke the silence. "You really meant what you said?"

"Absolutely," I grabbed her hands to emphasise my sincerity. "When you first started I thought you were hot, but as I got to know you, I found that you were more than just a pretty face. I've been too shy to ever say anything to you though because I didn't want to mess up our friendship."

"Čega nema, ne može se ni uzeti," Ljubica giggled.

"Ok help out the dumb Midwestern boy," I returned the laugh.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Ljubica translated. "My mama told me when I was uncertain about moving to America. I was nervous, I was scared, I lacked the courage, but she set me straight. If you never try, you'll never know."

"Your mama is a smart lady," I smiled, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy wash over me. "So I just spilled it all out to you, so what do you think of me?"

"Truthfully?" Ljubica seemed just as lost as I did while looking for the words. "I never thought about men all that much, especially after my divorce. My ex-husband treated me so poorly that I just wrote off men altogether. Then I started at Russo's, met you, and slowly changed my mind. I guess I was afraid to say anything though because, like you, I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But something felt right about tonight, being stuck here with you. Plus, as we say in Croatia, djeca budale i pijani pravdu govore, which means children, fools, and drunks tell the truth."

"Since you're not a child or a fool, then I'm guessing the bourbon is hitting you a bit hard then?" I teased playfully.

"You could say that," she laughed and shook the bottle that was missing ⅔'s of its contents. "But you know what alcohol also does? It makes me horny."

I didn't need to be told twice and we started kissing again before falling into a pile on the bed. Our hands were exploring one another's bodies and flinging clothes all over the room as we quickly undressed. However, I had to stop once her black thong flew across the room, landing on a lampshade. I just needed to look and soak in the Balkan beauty that was lying there in front of me. The sight was more intoxicating than the bourbon and I could hardly believe what I saw.

Ljubica's pale skin was smooth from her head to her toes, accented only by a few freckles and small, pink nipples that sat perfectly centred on her ample and perky c-cup breasts. Venturing down and soaking in the sight, I found that her stomach didn't pack a few extra pounds like everyone said but rather showed pure toned muscle. I could hardly believe it, she was stunning and I cursed myself silently for ever thinking that, even though I never let it change how I felt about her.

"You know it's not look but don't touch right?" Ljubica giggled and ran her hands down her body before resting them just above her glistening sex on a mound of neatly trimmed, black pubic hair.

Shaking myself free of my trance, I crawled on top of her and began to kiss her again before moving on to her neck. Moans filled the room as I planted light kisses and nibbles down her body, focusing heavily on her delicate-looking nipples before continuing my downward journey. Goosebumps covered her body, not because it was cold but because she was enjoying every second of it.

After several minutes of exploration, I finally reached the prize, Ljubica's soaking wet pussy dripping with anticipation. I admired it for just a brief second before diving in and letting my tongue get to work licking her clit.

Her taste was unlike any other woman I'd ever been with. She was clean, fresh, and slightly sweet. There was no sour or metallic tang and her smell was neutral. I honestly couldn't get enough as I continued my oral assault, lapping up juices and letting my tongue taste every square centimetre of her wondrous sex.

"Jebati!" Ljubica moaned loudly as her hands grabbed my hair before switching to English. "I'm going to fucking cum!"

Ljubica's body began shaking and her legs wrapped around my head as I felt a warm gush of wetness coat my tongue. I couldn't stop though; I needed to keep tasting her and continued devouring her pussy and sucking on her clit as she rode wave after wave of pleasure.

"Holy shit," she panted, trying to catch her breath after tapping out at the tail end of orgasm 5 or 6. "That was unreal. My whole body was just, fuck, I just, fuck. I just can't anymore."

I kissed her, amused by her inability to form a complete sentence.

We lay like that for several minutes, in complete silence, with only the sound of the furnace dumping warm air into the room. It was wonderful and if that was all we did the rest of the night, I would be happy. However, we both knew that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Please tell me you have condoms?" Ljubica finally asked.

"Fuck," I cursed at myself for not having them. "I wasn't expecting any of this, to be honest. I can try to go get some. I think there's a gas station down the road a bit."

"No, that would be foolish," Ljubica responded and I knew she was right. The road was in no shape for driving, and the gas station was unlikely even to be open.

"Trust me," I chuckled. "If I'd known this trip was going to turn out like this I would've brought one of the Costco size boxes of condoms. I'm not much of a one night stand kind of a guy though so I typically don't carry them just in case."

"I mean, it's not that I don't trust you," Ljubica blushed with embarrassment. "And it's kind of my fault too. My IUD is expired and I don't have an appointment until next week with the OB. It would probably be fine, but, you know."

"No need to explain anything," I squeezed her. "It's your body and I will respect your wishes whatever the reason. If all we do is lay here and cuddle until the snow melts, I'd still be the happiest man in the world."

"That was cheesy," Ljubica cracked a smile. "But sweet and kind of refreshing. I can't tell you how many guys would beg and plead until I gave in. So thank you for that."

"Always," I meant it, too. I would never pressure any partner to do something they weren't totally comfortable doing. As soon as she'd asked for a condom, that was all the explanation I needed.

"I mean there are other things we can still do," Ljubica gave me a hungry look as she rolled me onto my back and straddled me. Just as I had done with her, she started kissing every bit of me as she started her journey down my body.

It was an exhilarating experience too. No woman I'd ever been with had paid much, if any, attention to my body outside my lips and dick. But now, as Ljubica placed kisses and bites down my chest, I felt an overwhelming sense of pleasure; all I could do was moan. With a giggle, my new lover continued, paying particularly close attention to my nipples.

I was in heaven and lost to the world. However, I quickly snapped back into focus once I felt the warm and wet sensation of Ljubica's mouth envelop my cock. The feeling was indescribable and while I'd had blowjobs before, I never remembered a mouth feeling so velvety smooth before.

Ljubica's tongue danced around my shaft and flicked the head of my cock, causing me to groan. I felt agonisingly close to cumming at that very minute, but I didn't even want this to end, so I did my best to hold back. However, I made the mistake of looking down and saw Ljubica's bright green eyes staring at me as her head bobbed up and down.

"I can't hold back anymore," I managed to eke out as I felt the pressure building inside me.

Without a word, Ljubica relaxed and let my cock slide down her throat as she brought her lips all the way to my hilt. Seeing her deepthroat me was enough to send me over the edge as my body started to shake and my dick began to pulsate, pumping rope after rope of hot cum down her throat.

Once my spasming cock calmed down, Ljubica let it fall from her mouth and returned to lie beside me.

"I..." Now it was my turn to be speechless, but before I could find the words, Ljubica just kissed me tenderly and pulled me close. It felt incredible to have our naked bodies entwined with one another, and as good as the blow job had been, this was somehow even better.

We both must have eventually fallen asleep as we lay like this. The next thing I knew, I was jolted awake by the sound of the weather alert buzzing on my phone. Doing my best not to disturb Ljubica, I slid off the bed and looked at what it said.