Embracing Ellie: Chapter 4

Previously on Embracing Ellie:

Daniel and Ellie, on a trip to Queenstown, discuss their plans for the day over breakfast. Daniel suggests a gondola ride, while Ellie prefers shopping. They notice a muscular man, Hemi, enter the cafe, and Ellie becomes captivated by his rugged appearance. Daniel learns that Hemi is a hiking guide, and devises a plan to join Hemi's tour to make Ellie uncomfortable, but as Ellie continues to admire Hemi, Daniel begins to feel uneasy.

Elena and Daniel join Hemi and a group of hikers at the trailhead. Hemi introduces them to the group and begins the tour, pointing out local flora and sharing stories about New Zealand's history and Māori legends. Elena and Daniel listen attentively, captivated by the tales and the scenic views. Elena shares that she went bungee jumping the day before, impressing Hemi. The group continues their ascent, eager for the adventure ahead.

*

Hemi led her and Danny and the other tiki trampers back to the trailhead, all heads counted, no cuts, scrapes, bruises, or emergencies. It had taken the group five hours to scale the Ben, but only about two to come back down. She was famished. Her back ached. They would go back to the lodge now and give that big tuba whirl, bubbles for sure, and about as hot as they could take it.

Despite the aches and pains of the group—and she and Danny were the youngest—the banter was high and animated, everyone chattering about the highlights. As they reached the parking lot, the group began to disband, exchanging warm goodbyes and promises to keep in touch, and Hemi hugged some of them as they headed back to their vehicles, shaking hands, and offering Kiwi phrases, winks and smiles. 

Ellie lingered, watching as Hemi hoisted his backpack into the bed of his dusty truck. Daniel stood beside her, hand touching the small of her back. She smiled when Hemi turned to them, his blue eyes reflecting the late afternoon sun.

“So, whatya think of Ben Lomond?”

“It was incredible,” Elena replied, offering genuine enthusiasm. “The views were breathtaking, and your stories made the hike so much more meaningful.”

“That’s the Ben for ya,” Hemi said, cheeks dimpling as he grinned. “Glad you enjoyed it, Ellie. It’s not just a task for me, you know. Not a job. I love sharing this place.”

Daniel’s shoes scrunched the gravel behind her, coming to join them. “Yeah, you’ve got a real, uh, talent for storytelling,” Danny said. “Made the history, uh, come alive and stuff.”

She side-glanced at him again, scrutinizing him. Something bothered Danny, and she couldn’t figure out what it was. What bee had buzzed under his bonnet?

Hemi chuckled, running a hand through his sandy hair. “Well, I reckon we’ve all worked up quite an appetite. How about the three of us grab a feed and a pint, eh? My shout.” He thumbed his chest, and she took a “shout” to mean dinner was his treat. “There’s a great pub not far from here, real Kiwi feel to it. Authentic as. Whatya you say?”

Danny looked over his shoulders, saying, “Only the three of us?” everyone else was packing up and leaving.

“Sure, why not? We fit well together, don’t we?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty close in age, I’d say.” Versus the rest of the tiki tramp gang. She looked at Danny and Danny smirked and shrugged a shoulder. She turned to Hemi, the decision made. “We’d love to,” she said, voice rushed with anticipation. “You lead the way, and Danny and I will follow.”

  *

Elena’s laughter filled the cozy pub, her eyes sparkling as she recounted the story of their unexpected bungee jump. Hemi leaned forward, elbows on the worn wooden table, captivated by Ellie’s animated tale. Daniel watched them, a small smile forming as he enjoyed the sight of his wife’s honest happiness.

Hemi looked across the table at Danny, amused and impressed. “You plotted that, mate? Get ‘er off the plane and spring a good ol’ surprise party, eh.”

Danny shrugged his shoulders, smiling and looking away, like he was too polite to accept the accolades, but certainly thought he deserved them. His eyes went around the bar; Hemi wasn’t kidding. This was authentic Kiwi shit. The pub was in the middle of nowhere, just a stone house by the roadside, no paved parking, just pull up onto the bare beaten earth, if you please. Aged wooden beams crisscrossed overhead, casting long strange shadows from the fire crackling in the brick fireplace. The walls sported old photographs and faded newspaper clippings. The place reeked of roasted meat and vegetables, and old beer. It was a good smell.

Ellie still chattered a hundred miles an hour; his wife had been supercharged. Laughing with ease, getting close to Hemi, shoulders almost touching sometimes as she flashed wide smiles and played with her hair. And she was jumpy and fidgeting, shifting in her seat a lot, sitting in a curved booth between the two men. Thing was, he really loved to see it. He knew what sparked her up, but he didn’t care. He just loved to see her smile like that.

He raised his glass in a silent toast to the serendipity of the moment, an oddly renewed connection to his wife. One that he’d never experienced before, which was crazy, because they’d been together for so long. He’d never seen Ellie from this sort of angle. It got him hot, and he was struggling to make sense of why.

Hemi’s voice broke through Danny’s musing, a deep laugh echoing through the pub. “So, Danny boy, what’s next on your list of adventures for our lovely Ellie here?”

Our? Daniel smiled, his eyes meeting Elena’s over their dwindled pitcher of Speight’s Summit. “We have a notebook filled with things we’d like to do.” Now he looked at Hemi. “But we’re game for anything.”

Hemi raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at Danny and Ellie. “Anything?”

Ellie said, “Well, I mean, just about anything. Danny, don’t get too crazy.”

Danny said, “Ellie’s braver than she looks. What are some wild rides we need to see before we leave New Zealand?”

“I can make a list for you,” Hemi said and winked. He hauled back the end of his pint and poured himself another. He’d doffed the fleece in the pub’s warmth, and his huge forearm muscles were on striated display.

Hemi topped up Ellie’s glass, and Ellie said, “Are you doing any more tours?”

Hemi said, “Nah, love, not too much now. She’s getting cold out there for the tourists and all. Plus, I’m back up to Wellington to for school at the end of the week.”

Ellie showed true, sad disappointment. But she brightened a moment, turning a hopeful expression Hemi’s way now. “But could you, uh, take us some places before then?”

“You mean am I available?” Hemi winked and laughed, saying, “I’d make myself available for you.”

Ellie thought this was the funnest night ever and practically cackled at Hemi’s sly banter. But damn, she looked so happy. So gleeful. So alive. She leaned away and rubbed her hands together, now giving her Danny lovey-eyes. He gave them back, wondering if he could muster the courage to do this again with Hemi; go out on an adventure. And the next time, maybe not in a group. Just Danny and Ellie and big, friendly Hemi Armstrong. All to themselves. Or all to Elena.

Now he had to shift in his seat, frowning, putting a hand under the table and tugging his pant leg. This was getting him hard? Here, in a restaurant?

Hemi nudged Ellie with his shoulder, resting his massive forearms on the table. “What was it made you two want to come all the way to New Zealand for some adventure? Out of all the places in the world, how do you think of New Zealand all the way back in…?”

Danny said, “California.”

Ellie said, “San Diego. Uh, Chula Vista actually. Outside San Diego.” Then she glanced at Daniel, her expression softening. He nodded, encouraging her to continue. She took a deep breath, her fingers tracing the condensation on her glass.

“This is going to sound so silly,” she said. “Our old high school was torn down recently. Make way for the new improved Sweetwater High”—her hands were moving with wild expression—“it’s time for a big new concrete box to take on three times as many students. . . . Anyway, Danny and I went to see it when it was gone. Just a field they’d prepped for construction. Like every memory we had was wiped from the board with a single swipe.” She swiped her arm over the table, jostling her beer glass. She might have had a little too much. “When we saw it, it hit us way harder than we expected.”

“That’s not silly, Ellie. Nah, yeah, quite the opposite. That’s some serious existentialism, eh? Nah, I get it. So what, you like, wanted to make new memories, something like that?”

Danny said, “Yeah, kind of. We wanted to break away from suburban life, really. Everything’s just so transient. The experience is what matters. We spent so much time devoting ourselves to our community, but, like, it’s all so temporary. Not like we’re giving up on the community, you know, nothing like that. No, we’re still devoted. It’s just…”

Ellie said, “We were prom king and queen. I was a cheerleader, he played football. All for Chula Vista. All for Sweetwater High. But what was that? It’s not even there anymore. We want to be more about adventure—”

“For the sake of adventure,” Danny finished. 

“More global than local,” Hemi said.

Ellie giggled and scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, I guess, kind of.”

Hemi raised his glass, toasting them. “To Ellie and Danny, Global Prom King and Queen.” Hemi’s voice was loud enough a nearby weatherbeaten local joined in, saying some garbled thing and raising his glass as well.

Danny raised his drink now, adding, “To not getting stuck in the past.”

  *

Daniel led her from the Land Rover and up the chalet’s porch stairs at a determined pace. Holding her hand. Eyes burned dark. Her husband throbbed with passion. She sensed it in his grip.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Daniel’s lips were on hers, kisses heavy and demanding. She melted into his embrace, her body responding to his touch. He tugged at her shirt, pulling it over her head, and she gasped as his hands roamed her bare skin.

Then Danny goes: “You’re so into Hemi, aren’t you?”

She pulled back, indignant. “You think I was flirting with him?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow, expression playful. “It sure looked like you were enjoying his company.”

It was hard to tell if he was serious. He didn’t sound angry—but if she thought he’d been flirting with a female tour guide, she would be livid. Instead of angry, Daniel seemed riled; riled with lusty machismo. His voice came in a low rumble she liked. She rolled her eyes, scrutinizing the mad love of her life. “We were just having a conversation, Danny. You’re being ridiculous.”

Daniel chuckled, fingers deftly unclasping her bra. “Maybe so, but it’s still fun to see you so entranced by another man.”

She protested. “I’m not,” she exclaimed. This accusation was out of bounds and it offended her; hurt her feelings. But her breath hitched as Daniel’s hands skimmed her bare breasts, his touch sending waves of pleasure coursing through her body. She arched her back, pressing her tummy closer to him.

Daniel said in that sexy growl, “It’s like you’re a whole different person when you’re around him. It’s intoxicating. I love to see you like that.”

Daniel’s lips trailed down her neck, his kisses leaving a trail of fire. She moaned softly, her body trembling with anticipation. While she was mad and definitely offended, something about Danny’s desire right now was so hot she simmered from her husband’s heat. her fingers went through his thick hair while he sucked on her throat. She said, “You’re talking so crazy, Danny. What are you even saying?”

Daniel’s hands slid down her body, fingers working to unbutton her jeans. He got them unzipped, and she shimmied out of them as Daniel pushed them down her legs. Now she stood before him naked but for pink underwear bottoms. He admired her, those dark eyes flashing their desire, showing glints of steely blue. She fell back against the door and let him look at her; liked the feel of his eyes on her when he held this kind of intense expression.

She said, “Are you jealous?”

Daniel’s mouth curved into a slow, seductive smile as he pulled her close, his hands roaming with possessive intent. She surrendered herself to his touch, trembling with desire. His hand went down the back of her bottoms and he squeezed her ass. His kisses went from her neck now and down the centre of her chest, between her breasts, and down her hot stomach. Danny went to his knees before her, his mouth exploring the curve of her hips, the flat of her belly, his kisses sending waves of pleasure coursing through her. Erotic intensity flared with a strange and forbidden heat she hadn’t felt in years. Daniel’s hands slid up and down her thighs, his fingers teasing the sensitive skin just below her hipbones. Her breath hitched as he kissed her inner thighs, his lips soft and warm against her skin.

“Danny,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “What are you doing?”

Daniel looked up at her, his eyes dark with desire. “I want to make you feel good, Ellie,” he murmured, his voice low and husky.

Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? It certainly seemed like it, but that sort of thing hadn’t been done in a very long while. It had made her uncomfortable the first time he’d tried it. But that was years ago, and right now she was quite sure she wanted to try it again.

And sure enough, Danny pulled her down to the floor with him, and she complained. “What? Here? In the foyer? Danny!” But she complied, smiling wide, heart galloping in her chest, fever-heat burning her brow and her cheeks. Wanting him to do what he was intending. He got her on her knees, then down to her rump, laying her out on her back on the cold tile foyer floor, kissing her chest, then down her stomach again. She played with his hair and stared up at the huge timber beams overhead, blown away that he would do something like this, something so unexpected.

He kissed her mound over top of the cotton, and the pressure of his mouth there sent her brain reeling. She raised her knees and Danny pulled off her underwear, getting her totally naked except for her Fitbit and wedding ring. He kissed her belly. he tongued her navel. She shivered and trembled and squirmed. Danny kissed her pelt, mouthed her mound. Oh my god, sucked her vagina into his warm, wet mouth. She moaned aloud and closed her eyes.

Danny kissed and sucked her membranes, stretched them out with gentle pressure, tongued her most intimate place. And when his tongue rooted out her fattened pink pearl, the moan became a high cry. She covered her mouth with a hand as Danny worked her sex over, his tongue twisting and exploring, his mouth sucking and kissing. Soon, his pleasure had her whole body shuddering. 

“Oh god,” she moaned, fingers tangling in her husband’s hair. “Danny, that feels so good.”

Daniel chuckled, his breath hot against her skin. She began to hump her hips into his tongue, wanting him so badly, but feeling the pressure beginning to break. “Danny,” she gasped, voice barely audible. “I’m going to... I’m going to...”

Daniel’s lips curved into a slow, seductive smile as he looked up at her. “Let go, Ellie,” he murmured. “Let go and let me take care of you.”

She surrendered herself to Daniel’s mouth, her body quaking with wild pleasure as she reached the peak of her climax. She cried out so loud her voice echoed through the room as Daniel’s mouth continued to deliver hot, wet pleasure, his tongue sending her spiraling into a world of ecstasy.

As her body slowly came down from the high, Elena looked up at Daniel, panting and gasping, her eyes filled with gratitude and love. She had never felt so connected to him before. She caressed his shiny cheek, and he laid his head against her inner thigh, his thumbs stroking her flesh.

  *

Later, they lay in bed, cuddling, her still naked, Danny in pants but with his shirt off. She played her nails over his tanned shoulders. He carried her into the bedroom from the cold floor and got under a blanket. She was sure he was thinking of more sex, but Danny broke the quiet by saying, “You ever think of that? Think about stuff like that?”

“Like what?”

He looked up at her, kissing her arm. “Like about other guys.”

She said, “No, Danny. Never. Wait, do you? Do you think of other girls?”

“No, of course not. It’s just . . . seeing you all, I don’t know, lively when you talk to that guy got me thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” She sat up, concerned.

Danny lay back, twisting at the waist, the light showing off his lean muscle. “You know. You and me, we’ve been together so long and all.”

“Yeah?”

“But, you meet a guy like Hemi, and maybe you start to think, or wonder, I guess, what it might be like with, uh, a-another man.”

She scoffed. “No, I don’t, Daniel. I don’t think like that.”

Danny chuckled, a little too smug for her liking. He said, “You sure about that? You sure about that?”

She clucked her tongue. “Don’t say it like that. I hate that bit, that Tim Robinson thing.”

“It’s not a bit, Ellie. Damn it, I saw you checking him out.”

“No, I didn’t!” She was angry, but he’d got her laughing. It was ridiculous.

Daniel laughed too, amused but disbelieving. “You sure did, babe. You checked him out, up and down. Your eyes went all over that dude.”

“You’re crazy, Danny,” she said, bothered now.

“Ellie,” he said, getting serious. Some of this had been fun, but some of it maybe really bothered him. “You checked out his, you know, his, uh . . . package.”

Her mouth fell open, and she swayed back from him, offended. Insulted! “I most certainly didn’t,” she said, firm. 

“You most certainly did. In the cafe, right in front of me. Hemi was standing by the table and I watched you check him out, and you looked right at his bulge.”

“Danny, you’re being crazy,” she said, head jittering, putting up her hands as though this was all too much to even suggest.

“You’re being crazy if you’re telling me not to believe my lying eyes. I saw it,” he said, taking two pronged fingers, zipping them from his eyes to her. “You can deny it all you want, but it just makes it look worse. Like you’re hiding it.”

She slumped, perplexed, looking away. “I mean, if I did, I don’t know that I did, Danny. I swear.”

“Well, you did,” he said.

She pouted, brow lowering and bowing in the middle. She gathered up the bedding to cover her naked breasts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay,” he muttered.

“Are you mad at me?” She reached out and cupped a hand on his collar.

“No, Ellie, not at all. I just . . . I just wanted to talk about it. I wanted you to know I saw you.”

“I’m sorry.” She pouted further, concern tightening her expression.

Danny took her hand and held it between his. “But do you ever think of that? Think how you’ve only ever been with me?”

She shook her head no, sullen, eyes wet. “Never, Danny.”

  *

While Ellie was in the bathroom cleaning up, Danny lay staring at the bedroom ceiling, feeling pretty good despite the little ache in his chest. Maybe he liked the ache. No, he did like the ache. maybe he didn’t like that he liked the ache. that was probably it. Under the covers, his erection raged. A steely upright bar. While he’d gone down on Ellie, he’d thought terrible things. Terrible things about her and Hemi, and her and Hemi doing naughty things. The way it turned him on made no sense. But, yeah, one particular fabulation stuck with him: Hemi and Ellie in the woods and Hemi taking her like a beast from the forest, a Sasquatch, and he’s pounding into Ellie and Ellie’s on all fours crying out with rage but also immeasurable pleasure. And Hemi’s huge round butt muscles are flexing as he drives his massive thing in and out of poor, poor Ellie. Only, in his fabulation, Ellie really loves it. Hates that she loves it, the way he hated even thinking it.

He woke his phone as the sound of the shower switched on in the bathroom. He’d join Ellie in a minute, but first…

He rang the provided number and Hemi answered. After the banter and chit-chat, Danny laid out the plan. “I want Ellie to have the time of her life,” he said.

And Hemi said he was game.