by Brisa Starr
I let him in, his tongue searching and feeling mine. His hungry mouth possessing me, and I want more. I respond with desperation and my hands rake through his hair as I kiss him harder. Our bodies are slippery in the warm water surrounding us, and the heat from the hot tub intensifies my desire. I’m so horny. He pulls my legs across his lap, and the blood in my body rushes between my legs. My pussy throbs with desire as our tongues dance, in sync, perfection, and I’m aching for him to touch me all over my body.
He pulls my ponytail firmly, forcing my head back, exposing my neck. “I have been wanting to kiss you since I first saw you in the driveway,” he says as his mouth roves over me. He kisses me from my lips to my neck, and I gasp as my desire mounts even higher, and my hips want to grind. To release the pressure built up inside me. He kisses and sucks my neck so hard he’s going to leave a mark.
His mark.
I let him. I want him to brand me.
Just then, the wind picks up aggressively, and I hear the wind chimes bang fiercely against the window of the house. I instantly freeze with unexpected fear as I look desperately toward the umbrellas. Scarred mentally from last night’s accident, my surging adrenaline dissolves my sexual desire. I jump back, panting, and Landon sees my fear. After a split second, he understands what goes through my head.
“Don’t worry, the umbrellas are secure now.”
I release the breath I was holding. Relieved and confused at the same time, my thoughts line up in my head.
“Crap,” I say softly.
“What?” he asks as he moves closer.
“Don’t. I’m sorry. I gotta go. I can’t do this.” I scramble out of the hot tub, grabbing my towel and running inside.
7
Landon
I roll over in bed and pick up my phone to check the time. 6:26 am. I lie back again and look at the ceiling. I can’t get the kiss out of my mind. I don’t want to, either. Her soft lips, her sweet taste. I want more. So does my cock, clearly, as it stands proudly making a tent of the dark, plum-colored sheet over me.
I sit up and swing my legs off the bed, rubbing my eyes to wake up the parts of me that aren’t already standing at full attention. I make my way to the bathroom, and I’m amused at the excitement bubbling in my chest knowing I’ll see Emma today. And tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. Excited in a way I’ve never felt before about any woman. I want to see her, stare at her, watch her, touch her, and kiss her more. Much more.
How can I get her to stop resisting? Though, there has been progress. From her adamant denial to passionate kissing in less than a week, I’d say that’s excellent progress.
I wonder why I’m so intensely intrigued by this woman. I mean, I hardly know her. But, at the same time, I feel like I know her very well.
After brushing my teeth and shaving, I head back to my bedroom to get dressed… partly. I have no intention of wearing a shirt. I love how it riles her up.
I turn on the TV for updates on the virus. After ten minutes of local news, I confirm what Sadie said last night. All non-essential businesses will be closing, but supermarkets will stay open, along with pharmacies and a few other places. They’re reiterating the importance of hand washing and recommending that people practice social distancing of at least six feet and avoiding all large gatherings.
No mention as to whether golf courses will remain open.
There’s so much to think about with this unexpected turn of events. There’s a good chance I won’t be able to fly home when I’d originally planned. But — who am I kidding? I don’t mind that. I’d like nothing more than to stay here with Emma. Besides, I would never leave her here alone during a lockdown. My heart races at the mere thought. No fucking way. I’m staying.
I’ll need to let my partners know I plan to stay here longer, but I could do tele-medicine appointments for patients who have basic questions or need prescription refills.
I walk into the kitchen and smile, seeing Emma is already there making her coffee. This should be fun. I wonder how she’ll respond to seeing me after running out from the hot tub last night.
Her back is to me, and I clear my throat.
She turns around, startled. “Oh, hi. You scared me.”
She looks radiant. Is she blushing? “You’re beautiful,” I say, unrushed, and then add casually, “Good morning.” I walk over to her and she scoots away, giving me space at the coffee maker.
“You know, the six-foot social distancing rule doesn’t apply to us,” I tease and go back to getting my coffee.
“I made a whole pot,” she says, eyeing me from over her steaming cup, relaxing a bit, but sizing me up. No doubt wondering whether we’ll talk about our kiss last night, or pretend it never happened.
“I see that,” I say slowly. “Thank you.”
“Do you ever wear a shirt?” she asks, surprising me with a hint of desire lacing her words.
Two can play at this game. “Now, sweet Emma, you don’t really want me to put one on, do you?” I flirt and step toward her.
“Whatever,” she says and changes the subject.
Damn. Hot and cold.
She continues, “We should talk about the news and the virus because I don’t plan on talking about the kiss. Other than to say it won’t happen again. In case you were wondering.” Her glittering eyes betray her words.
“Yeah,” I reply. Oh, we’re going to kiss again. “It seems we’re both here for at least the next few weeks. That’s my best guess after watching the news. I also did a little research on how quickly it spread in China and Europe. It took them over a month to get a handle on it, and that was with extremely strict lockdown measures.”
“Wow. You really think it could take longer than a month?” Disappointment flits across her face, and her shoulders sag a bit.
“Most likely,” I reply, a little disappointed myself. Not because we’ll be together for a month but because of her reaction.
She sighs heavily. “I didn’t plan on staying here longer than a month. I mean, thankfully I can work from here as long as I want, but I didn’t budget for it.”
Oh, phew. Maybe money was her only issue. Seeing the stress in her eyes, I address it immediately. “Don’t even think about that,” I say with a wave of my hand. “If we have to stay put here beyond your initial reservation, I won’t charge you.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you, but no, I have to pay. That wouldn’t be right,” she insists, with determination settling on her face. She starts to pace a bit, still trying to process the news.
“Look, don’t worry about it,” I assure her. “And besides, looks like we’ll be in this together... so... we can get to know each other better,” I chuckle and wink, trying to make light of the situation. She’s stunning, and I keep watching her as she paces. She’s wearing a pair of gray cotton shorts that hug her sweet little ass perfectly and another loose, off-the-shoulder top, black this time, and all I can think about is biting that lovely shoulder.
She looks at me sweetly, too innocently in fact, and says, “Think again.”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t get wet from kissing me last night. You wanted it just as much as I did.”
She laughs nervously and blushes so pink her cheeks glow. “I did not!”
“Oh, you didn’t? You sure seemed to like it,” I say and step closer to her. I reach my hand toward her, and she steps back.
“What are you doing?”
“Relax, I’m your doctor. I want to check your wound,” I say as I step close to her again. This time, she lets me lift the bandage and inspect the wound. “We can play doctor later, if you want,” I tease.
“Oh my god, you’re the worst,” she says, finally giving in to my teasing, and it’s nice without her snipping at my flirtatious attempts.
I check her wound, and I notice she’s breathing a little heavier. I am, too, standing so close to her. I inhale her intoxicating scent of jasmine and spring. I think about kissing her ear when I take a closer look at he
r wound and see that it’s healing nicely. Even better than nice, I must admit.
“Hmm,” I say.
“What?” she asks and looks up at me, her full lips begging to be kissed.
“Your wound looks good. Seems you’re a fast healer.”
“Or the manuka honey and tea tree oil had something to do with it,” she says casually, and quickly steps out of my reach.
“Perhaps,” I admit. I look at her lovely face. She’s smiling, her gorgeous green eyes shine with victory.
Not wanting to upset her by challenging her honey remedy, and also not wanting to put her off too much with my flirting, I opt to lighten the mood. We make small talk, and before I know it, an hour has gone by. Then she realizes she needs to get to work. Damn.
She’s funny when she relaxes and lets her guard down, and we were actually having a good time. I like it when she smiles at me, and even when she gives me a hard time. I can’t help but laugh and enjoy every moment with her.
“Before you start work though,” I say, “we should make plans for food and necessities, given the lockdown. It’d be a good idea to make a schedule where we only go to the store once a week, if possible.”
“Good idea. I’ll start making a list of things I want for food.”
“We’ve got tons of bleach and disinfecting wipes,” I say. “I’ll check to see if my parents had any face masks in the garage. My dad used to sand and refinish furniture. There might be some N95 masks or respirators out in the garage. When I was doing research, I saw lots of people in China and Europe wearing gloves and masks. Some even wore protective goggles.”
She frowns. “Geez, that’s serious.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. If we do our part and stay home as much as possible, we’ll be fine.”
“What are you going to do for so long here in Arizona? Are you allowed to play golf?”
I think to myself, well, I plan on doing you, and my eyes roam over her beautiful body. She senses my shift to dirty thoughts and snaps her fingers in my face to get my attention.
“Hey,” she says pointedly, “we were planning?”
“Yes, I was, too.” I wink, and she slaps my shoulder. I get a kick out of this. Clearly, she feels more comfortable around me, and it makes me think about spanking her sexy ass.
“OK, serious again,” I say. “I will work remotely when possible, and that’s all I know on that front. As for shopping, I’ll order some things from Amazon, too. You want anything?”
“Oh! Yes. Good idea!”
“Thanks. What do you want?”
“What are you getting?” she asks, curiosity in her eyes.
“I’ll order some whey protein powder since I’ll be here longer than I’d planned. And I can’t go to the gym, so I’m going to order a chin-up bar to use in the bathroom doorway.”
“OK, cool,” she says and nods. “I want some immune protection for the virus. I’d like 2 bottles of elderberry syrup, a bottle of zinc with copper included in the formulation. It needs 15 milligrams of zinc with 1 to 2 milligrams of copper per capsule. I would also like 3 bottles of Vitamin C. But get the 1000 milligram capsules, and no tablets. Tablets don’t absorb as well. Also, please make sure it has bioflavonoids added.”
“Whoa! Slow down. Can you text that all to me?” I laugh and then add, “Elderberry? What can elderberry possibly do?”
She’s clearly annoyed with my laughing. “Duh. Elderberry is a robust antiviral, and the vitamin C and zinc will boost our immune systems.”
“I think it’ll take a little bit more than elderberry and vitamin C to protect us.”
“And that’s where your bleach and masks come in. Why, didn’t they teach you about elderberry in med school?” she asks, with a sassy tone that is actually pretty damn sexy.
“That’s because they don’t need to.”
“Google it, doc. You’re incorrigible. How many times do I have to be right before you’ll set your ego aside, admit you don’t know everything, and think — just maaaybe — I know what I’m talking about?” She puts her hands on her sexy hips and looks squarely at me, “Just order it! Please and thank you.”
“Fine, whatever. I’ll get you your hocus pocus plants.”
“You do realize that plants are fucking powerful medicine, don’t you?” she says through gritted teeth. “Did you know that quinine comes from a tree? Or that aspirin comes from willow bark? Or do you not know what quinine is? Or aspirin?”
“I know what quinine is. And aspirin!” I reply scornfully. This woman! I look at her, and everything about her is cold and sharp. So different from the gentle, playful woman from moments ago. And definitely different from the hot and sultry woman from last night in the hot tub.
Uh oh, she’s not done yet.
“For your information, doctor, there are thousands of peer-reviewed, double-blind studies proving the efficacy of plant-derived chemical compounds, and the only reason you’ve never heard of them is because they can’t be patented, so there’s no money to be made by Big Pharma. So they don’t educate you doctors about elderberry, which my Granny’s grandmother’s grandmother knew about.”
She turns to leave. “You’ll be thanking me later,” she says. “Now I’m off to work. Don’t disturb me!”
After cooling off from my heated exchange with Emma, I clean up around the house and do laundry. After dusting and doing dishes, I spend some more time researching the virus online, and then I complete the Amazon order.
For the hell of it, I research elderberry. Well, fuck. She might be on to something. I add a couple of extra bottles to the order. Sexy and smart. She’s not making this easy.
Just as I’m about to close my laptop, I hear Emma scream from her bedroom. I bolt out of my chair and run to her room to find her standing on the bed screeching and pointing to the floor, “Oh my god! Oh my god! There’s a scorpion!”
“Oh, fuck. Thank god,” I say, relieved.
“Thank god? What do you mean?” she asks, hysterical.
“When you screamed bloody murder I thought something serious had happened.”
“Scorpions ARE serious! Please kill it! Now!” she pleads.
“Welcome to Arizona.”
“I knew there were scorpions in the desert, but I didn’t think there would be one in the house!”
“OK. Try to calm down, Emma. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” I say as I walk over to the scorpion. “Just stay there.” I stomp on the scorpion and show her its crushed body on the bottom of my shoe. “See? All taken care of.” I smile, victory written all over my face after saving the damsel in distress. “Do I get a kiss for saving you?”
She glares at me, clearly not happy that I’m not taking her fear seriously. “I’ll even clean it up for you,” I offer.
“Thank you,” she mutters and hops off the bed. I get some toilet paper and wipe up the squashed scorpion. While looking around for the wastebasket, I take in the disarray of her room.
“Did you think your room came with maid service?” I ask with a disapproving look on my face.
She flashes her eyes at me. “No! And my room is not that messy. I can keep it however I want.”
“Let’s just say, if FEMA saw it, they’d start looking for survivors. Do you even know how to fold clothes?”
Oops. I might have gone too far with that last one.
“How dare you?!” she shrieks. “My room is none of your goddamn business.”
“I could help you straighten up if you want,” I say, twitching a little, hoping to make some order out of the chaos.
“Are you some sort of neat freak?” she barks and starts straightening her comforter, no doubt realizing that her room is, indeed, a mess.
“You could say I like things tidy and organized,” I say, slowly looking around and resisting the urge to straighten things.
“And you could say, I don’t give a shit. You can leave my room now.”
She’s vicious. “No problem. Happy to leave so I don’t have to see
the mess. Keep a sloppy room. What do I care?” I walk out.
She slams the door behind me.
Fuuuuck. Dammit. She is driving me crazy, and not in a good way right now. This situation might be worse for me than I thought. I’m supposed to be relaxing and starting a meditation practice, and the only thing I experience is frustration and distraction with this woman, highs and lows, ups and downs. She makes me want to pin her down and give her what’s good for her and set her smart mouth straight at the same time.
My life is one of organization and control. I graduated at the top of my class because I live my life like this. I like schedules. Knowns. Expectations. She seems to thrive on disorder. Messiness. “Natural medicine,” for fuck’s sake. Because she’s a liberal. What was I thinking even wanting her... is this nuts?
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out and see that my sister is texting me.
Sadie: Hey. Hope all is well and that you and Emma are figuring out a plan for self-isolation.
Me: You could say that.
Sadie: Good. Well, I received an email from the Sun City West Posse because my email is registered with the house now. They asked for anyone in Sun City West to put their porch light on tonight so they can get a count of the number of people who are there. They’re also going to leave two face masks and ten pairs of rubber gloves on all porches with the light on.
Me: That’s good news, I was just wondering where I’d get masks for us. I looked in the garage but didn’t see any. Anything else?
Sadie: That’s it for now. If the city emails me for anything else, I’ll let you know.
Me: Thanks.
It’s almost evening, and although it’s still light out, I turn on the porch light, as Sadie advised. I don’t want to forget to do it later. It’s been a long day, and I should probably work on my meditation practice. I guess now is as good a time as any.
I keep thinking about Emma, and while there’s a lot to like about her, I can’t help but think maybe she has a point about not taking this beyond our kiss. It’s true, we do have a lot of differences, and we seem to find ourselves in more heated discussions than not. And not the good kind.
