When Swan was no longer seeing cross-eyed, she stood and began to stroll about the adobe ranch. Slater had disappeared with Swan’s bag and was in the process of putting it in the master bedroom---if Swan objected, too bad. He had high expectations for the week and she might as well know it!
Seeing that Swan had recuperated, Slater gave her a quick look at the unique old home in which her overnight bag planted in Slater’s bedroom was not lost on Swan. He rushed the tour a little as he was anxious to depart to Jake’s ranch a few miles away. All too soon, Slater was helping Swan gather up her purse and slip into her jean jacket. They immediately jumped in the Durango and headed for “The Big Double J”.
Juanita greeted them both warmly with lots of hugs and led them into Jake’s bedroom. He looked pretty peaked, but much better than he did at the hospital yesterday. After visiting a while, they rose to leave. Slater hadn’t planned to spend the evening at Jake’s house as he had other activities on his mind, but Juanita insisted that they stay for supper. She was making his favorite dish of chicken, mash potatoes, gravy, and corn topped off with the promised peach pie. In spite of other plans, it did not take much urging for him to remain.
The sun was setting by the time they climbed back in the Durango and pointed the headlights in Slater’s ranch direction. The evening was getting cooler and the animals of the night were beginning to stir. The white stalk of flowers waving two feet in the air from the middle of the yucca plants took on a pinky hue. Deer had mixed-in with the cattle in the valley below helping themselves to a free meal. A coyote slunk behind a tree as the jeep jostled past. He seemed to have his eye on a rabbit dinner as they darted in and out among the brush. Snakes slithered around the boulders and birds were looking for a place to roost for the night. The hacienda soon appeared over the hill.
Having parked the jeep in the nearby garage, they headed for the old, but modern casa. Securing the outside perimeter with a sophisticated alarm system, Slater began to build a fire in the inner courtyard fireplace on the Mexican tile patio. Pouring a glass of wine for each of them, they sipped the Chianti under the twinkling stars as the fountain with a spotlight on it gushed nearby. Soft romantic music from a central sound system played in the background and floated through the air.
Slater put his arm around Swan and tried to gage her mood. So far, she was giving no clues. He decided that it was time to help the situation along. Moving in for some smooching, he took away her wine glass and tilled her head upward. He meant to take it easy, but he was a starving man in spite of Juanita’s yummy meal. Good intentions didn’t last long. He thought that he was receiving all the right signals, but when he maneuvered her into the bedroom and began to unzip her dress, she bulked. She turned around to face him putting some distance between them.
“Oh, hell,” he thought, “he knew fast moves made her jumpy. When would he ever learn?!”
Then, she did an amazing thing as he watched totally mesmerized. She slowly pulled down one sleeve and then the other of her jean dress before letting it float softly to the floor. Slater’s mouth went dry. She stood before him in scarlet panties, bra, and cowboy boots. She looked like a calendar girl out of one of Vargas’s creations. “Miss Firecracker” would have been her title he decided. He stood motionless taking in this fantasy picture. She leaned over giving him a fabulous view of her bosom, shook out her hair, put one hand on her hip, looked him directly in the eye and said, “Your turn.”
That was all it took to galvanize Slater into action. His jeans, shirt, boots, and boxers were off in a flash and thrown in a heap on the floor. He walked proudly toward Swan, scooped her up, placed her on his bed, and their lovemaking began--finally.
Slater woke with the early morning sounds of birds chirping outside the window and cattle mooing in the distance. Swan lay snuggle next to Slater, her arm slung over his chest and her thumb so close to her lips that he thought of Quinn. He hadn’t used any birth control last night. He wondered if she had---not that it mattered. He missed the first pregnancy and he was anxious to watch her grow with his second child. He wondered how she felt about having his child again. The idea of Swan swelling with a little brother or sister for Quinn was exhilarating. He smiled thinking of the night before and the soft mewing sounds that Swan made during their lovemaking. He knew he was an accomplished lover, but she made him feel extra ordinary as they climaxed together each time in the rhythm of life.
Slater watched the rise and fall of Swan’s breasts. He knew that he would be satisfied with this woman for the rest of his life. It was imperative that she felt the same. He had no doubt that he could convince her if she did not. He would not be letting her leave the ranch without some sort of a verbal agreement that marriage was eminent.
Swan woke to the smell of coffee under her nose. She opened her turquoise eyes to be greeted with Slater’s light blues. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She was purring a little herself. She sat up as her tasseled hair fell over her shoulders and the sheet bunched around her breasts. Slater found himself reaching out to remove the strawberry locks from her smooth white shoulder hoping to expose a little more boob to his view. He held the coffee slightly out of her reach so that the sheet had to slip a little farther down when she reached for it. He was rewarded with a peek. He was hard pressed not to jump her again. He squashed the urge only because she looked too contented with her cup of coffee to be interrupted. His good intentions, however, didn’t last long. After Swan had finished her first cup, temptation was too strong and Slater joined her beneath the sheets.
After another round of lovemaking, they dressed and headed for the kitchen to prepare a little breakfast. By this time they were both absolutely famished. Swan made pancakes while Slater fried the sausage. Having satisfied their physical hunger for food and each other temporarily, they headed over to Juanita and Jake’s.
Juanita came out on the porch when she heard the Durango drive up. She had a dishtowel in her hand as though she were in the middle of drying dishes. The smile on her face told them she was glad to see them and that Jake was healing nicely.
Their home had a rap-a-round porch that provided lots of shade for when Juanita and Jake sat on the porch swing in the evenings. It was a comfortable two-story house with three bedrooms. The decorating was simple and homey. The master bedroom was on the main level, which certainly came in handy for Jake and Juanita as he recuperated. After greeting and hugging Juanita, Slater and Swan walked through the front doorway of their modest home. Jake could be heard hollering all the way down the hall. Juanita smiled and said, “I think he’s getting much better.” Indeed he was as he started shouting orders as soon as they entered the bedroom.
Juanita was not oblivious to the feelings that appeared to be jumping around between the two lovers. She had waited a long time for Slater to bring a special woman around and she was more than willing to help it along. While they had been visiting with Jake, she had been packing a picnic lunch. By the time that they appeared in the doorway and ready to leave, so was the basket of picnic goodies. Slater was delighted even though he had had other plans back at his casa. He also knew that lovemaking with a picnic near a trout stream could be just as satisfying and he knew the exact spot.
Leaving “The Big Double J”, the Durango ascended a short incline and then plunged into a wooded area. They bounced along before they came upon a bubbly brook with trout swimming in and among the smooth pebble rocks.
The brook had clear cold water that descended from the mountains above the tributary. It was translucent enough to be entertained watching fish, turtles, and other little creature’s dash down the mountain stream. Having helped Slater roll out the plaid blanket that he kept in the back seat of his Durango, Swan proceeded to take off her boots, roll up her jeans, and wade in the ice-cold water herself. Slater watched as this little hot mama of his child squealed and laughed in amusement when a fish tickled her extremities.
It wasn’t long before Swan’s feet turned pink and a little numb with c
old. She was soon out of the water and back pleading for Slater to warm them up. He was more than happy to accommodate if it meant touching her. Warming Swan’s feet up a bit, Slater was more than anxious to get their picnic out of the way so that they could move on to the other things he had in mind.
Slater dove into the basket that Juanita had prepared and pulled out a bottle of red wine. She had even remembered to stick in an opener and wine glasses. Occupying Swan with a full glass, he rummaged around to see what else Juanita had packed for consumption--cold roast beef sandwiches with home grown tomatoes on homemade rolls, potato salad, chips, baked beans, and chocolate cookies---yum! It wasn’t long before he and Swan had pretty much demolished the meal.
Pouring Swan another glass of wine, Slater leaned against a tree and pulled Swan between his legs. They sipped their wine and enjoyed their companionable silence as the brook babbled nearby and a hawk swirled lazily above them. While Slater sipped wine with one hand, his other hand began to wonder over Swan’s perky breasts. Shortly after that, the buttons of her shirt were undone and his hand had slipped inside. After the first tiny moan, the shirt was off and Swan lay half naked in Slater’s arms. He couldn’t get enough of the sight of her naked breasts and her laying across his lap giving him total access to anything he chose to do to them.
Slater rubbed the back of his neck. It prickled. He couldn’t get over the unsettling feeling of being watched. Abruptly he sat up and put Swan back in her shirt, gathered up the remains of the picnic, and headed back to the four-wheeler not saying a word the entire time. The countryside looked normal enough, but the nagging feeling of being spied upon continued to haunt him.
A miffed Swan drummed her fingertips on the car window sill as they jostled back to Slater’s casa. She was more than a little annoyed that Slater had suddenly thrown cold water on their lovemaking and ended their romantic outing with not so much as a word. He remained lost in his thoughts. She was seething and becoming a little steamed with frustration until they reached the ranch and Slater appeased her by finishing what he had started.
CHAPTER 38
Slater had just finished cooking a breakfast of bacon and eggs the next morning when the phone rang. It was Jake. He sounded much perkier than he had yesterday. He called because he was concerned about some cattle that had gotten loose. It appeared that some two-legged animals were up to no good and had cut the east fence. They killed a calf according to his ranch foreman.
Sometimes, local teens from Malibu would wonder into the hills looking to create a little mischief. Other times, harden criminals and drug pushers would find their way to the ranch by sailing down the coast invading the tide caves that were sprinkled along the shoreline. The drug dealers seemed to think their cache was safe in these caves along the beach. Little did they know that these tide caves had not been safe hiding places since pirates had graced the shore three hundred years ago.
Whenever the banditos wondered inland they often made the mistake of thinking that Jake’s place would be “easy pickings”. More than one criminal had made that miscalculation and ended up serving time in the California State Penitentiary. Slater assured Jake that he and Swan would check it out as soon as they could corral the horses and saddled-up.
After being assured of Swan’s riding skills, she was perched on the palomino, Scotch, that was gentle and well-adjusted. Slater mounted Origami whose hind withers had healed mouths ago and the two headed for the east end of Jake’s ranch. Scotch obediently followed behind Origami as Slater’s sharp eyes darted across the countryside looking for any signs of disturbance. They rode in silence each thinking their own thoughts.
Swan was enjoying the Malibu morning mist, but most of all she was enjoying Slater’s backside. This morning his top half looked a little more like an urban cowboy as he wore a navy merino turtleneck pushed up to the elbows. The bottom half looked a little more like a working cowboy with well-worn jeans and dusty boots. Speaking of the bottom half, he certainly looked all male in the stonewashed denim with a rather full front fly. Not that there was any doubt after last night, but it was fun to look and fill her head with naked images of their lovemaking. She was particularly fascinated with the way he handled his pinto, encouraging when needed as well as gentle and soothing with every touch. Somehow, his actions seemed lovingly familiar.
Slater’s waist was trim with a smooth muscular butt attached to it of which Swan had enjoyed immensely the night before---thank you very much. Her eyes riveted back to his waist and the lump that was at the back of his waistband. “Oh my goodness, he appeared to be packing!” Suddenly, the whole scenario took on less of a lark and more of a serious event as she looked about Yucca Point imagining the dangers that might be lurking about the countryside.
As they approached the cut fence and butchered heifer, a sober Slater became much more alert and tense. It was obvious from the footprints that a total of three scavengers had been prowling about the area. They did not seem to be particularly concerned that the remains of their intrusion would be noticed as they had made no pretense at covering up their dastardly deed. That meant that they were probably a pretty rough crew and just cocky enough to think that they could delude or handle any law enforcement that might be called in to investigate. It also meant that they were probably a well-armed scummy low life.
Evaluating the situation and alerting the local Malibu law enforcement by cell phone, Slater was concerned about getting Swan back to the house--pronto! He didn’t want to be out in wide-open spaces trying to protect her against a group of rough horny bastards. One look at her beauty and the scenario that would unfold would not be pleasant. Unfortunately, at the present time unbeknown to either Slater or Swan, Swan was being followed with field glasses. The motley group of three had already begun to salivate at the thought of a party tonight in her honor.
Steaks were thrown on the outside grill late afternoon along with baked potatoes. Together, Swan and Slater made a salad on the outside patio in an atmosphere of relaxed camaraderie where they sipped wine and began to know more about each other. It wasn’t long before a cherry tomato was thrown and a food fight began. It was a real shame that they needed to wash off and they ended up naked in the hot tub, which was followed by kissing and touching of course it was. Before they had the joy of consummating the spa, they were reminded that steaks were cooking when the fire flared up from the outdoor cooker. With his usual flamboyant language, Slater jumped out of the tub with little regard for his total arousal and began to flip their supper.
Swan was more delighted with the male meal in front of her than what was on the grill. It was the first time she had seen Slater in such a blatant state in the light of the golden sunset. There was more than one sculpture that would have paid big bucks to have him for a model. Somehow, she didn’t think that he would ever have the patience to sit long enough to even get a snapshot of that hard muscled butt and he certainly wouldn’t have any patience with cranky creative photographers. One five minute setting and they would probably be dangling from the nearest balcony.
Having put the steaks and potatoes on the plates set at the nearby table, Slater turned to help Swan from the tub with the finesse of a perfect gentleman who could have been dressed in formal attire instead of his birthday suit.
“Enjoying the view?”
Giving him a big smile she replied, “Immensely!”
Slater’s eyebrows wiggled up and down letting her know that he was enjoying his view as well.
Having seated the naked Swan with the flourish of a true gentleman, he reached for his napkin that only tented over his male attributes. With a lopsided grin and a shrug of his shoulders, he enthusiastically attacked his steak.
The evening ended as would have been expected back in the hot tub making love. After a little wine, there was a Round Two before Slater carried a wary Swan to bed and crawled in beside her for the night.
Slater awakened very early the next morning with a mop of red hair draped across his chest tickling his
chin. He lay there for a while enjoying Swan’s body wrapped around him before he very carefully untangled himself and moved from her luscious body with some regret. After quietly dressing, he went into the kitchen to make some coffee. Having had his first cup with the chirping birds, he looked at his watch. Peeking in on Swan he assured himself that Sleeping Beauty would not be up for some time. Not wanting to wake her, he decided to make a ten-minute run into Malibu to pick up the morning paper. Writing a quick note to Swan, he turned off the main alarm, but kept on the silent alarm around the outside perimeter that would feed into the Malibu authorities in case of a break-in. He then steered the Durango for the quiet community down below.
Slater headed for the local coffee shop, which was already bustling with early morning activity. The morning paper had not arrived, but it was expected at any moment. Slater walked over to the resident police officer, Jeb, who was having a morning wake-up cup of coffee in the shop. Slater had long ago gotten acquainted with the local authorities. They were friendly and easy going as most small town folks are, but savvy and tough when they needed to be. Just as he reached out to shake hands in greeting, Jeb received a code 350 on his walkie-talkie. He looked directly at Slater who had a dreaded premonition.
Clicking off the radio Jeb said, “It seems as though your home alarm just went off. Maybe, you would like to go with me to check it out.”
Slater was through the door of the coffee shop and in the Durango before Jeb finished his last sentence. Accelerating to over 90 mph, he arrived at his adobe in less than five minutes. He reached for the magnum in the glove compartment of the jeep and made a flying leap to the entrance.
Sirens blaring and four squad cars soon followed in his dust. If there were a break-in, Slater no longer envisioned any hope of a surprise. He tried the double front door entrance. It easily swung open. It looked as though a crow bar had hacked the latch. The second entrance looked much the same. Slater had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He instinctively knew in his gut that Swan was in trouble.
Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) Page 12
