by Amy Briggs
“Thank you,” I replied, taking in what he’d said. He was right. I considered Rayne a sort of family. I could be myself with her, and we’d been to hell and back together.
“You alright, darlin’?” Colin asked. His southern drawl came out more in our conversation today than I’d noticed before, and it was sexy.
“I am. Thank you for asking me. You know what happened, right?” I figured it was as good a time as any to discuss the elephant in the room.
“I know what the reporters said. But we can talk about that later. Let’s focus on having a little fun and getting some lunch, what do you say?” he replied as he turned the truck down a long dirt driveway. “We’re here.” He squeezed my leg before returning his hand to the wheel.
I wanted to tell him what happened, and the only reason why I could come up with was that I wanted to be honest. He was going to all this effort to get to know me, but without knowing about what happened, no one would ever really know me. He was right, though. There were baby goats that needed my attention, and apparently horses to ride, so we could talk about that stuff later.
“I have to admit that I’m really excited about these baby goats,” I blurted out.
Laughing loudly, he grinned from ear to ear. “Well, I can just about guarantee they’re excited you’re coming to visit them.”
Still chuckling, he parked the truck in front of a giant farmhouse that had another small house nearby, about a hundred yards away. “What’s that?” I pointed to the little house.
“Oh, that’s my house. We’ll go there later. If you decide you want to stay the night, that’s where we’ll sleep. But all the animals are up here,” he replied, before hopping out of the truck.
I stayed in my seat, looking around, amazed by all the beauty. Colin startled me out of my daze when he opened my door and took my hand to help me out of the oversized truck. As I continued to take in the beautiful house, the green fields, and the barn and equipment, I left my hand in his as he led us in the direction of the barn.
“Have you ever been on a farm?” he asked, still holding my hand.
“No, I haven’t. I was raised in the city, and except for traveling for my job, I never really got the chance to experience nature all that much. It’s absolutely gorgeous here.” I took in a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs.
“Well then, this will be a treat. The kids are out behind the stable here.” He continued to lead me past the large building I thought was a barn.
As we turned the corner, I stopped and gasped, bringing both hands to my mouth. “Oh my God, Colin!” I squealed.
In front of me was a large fenced-in pen, with at least twenty little baby goats jumping around like they had springs in their feet. They were making little silly sounds, playing and going bananas. It was the most wonderful sight and I wanted to leap into the pen with them.
“Come on.” Colin took my hand back and pulled me toward their enclosure. “You can go inside and play with them if you want,” he offered.
“No way,” I spun my head toward him. “I can go in there?”
Chuckling again, he replied, “Yes, of course you can. Come on.”
I followed closely behind as he made his way to the gate, unlatching it. The goats started to jump around even more, getting me just as excited as them. It was like watching joy unleashed. They were so happy, not a care in the world. Colin let me in behind him before latching the gate closed again, and walked over to a bucket filled with grains.
“Hold your hands out,” he said, grabbing a scoop and filling it with the dried grain.
Doing as I was told, I cupped my hands out, and he dumped grains into them. Immediately, I was bombarded by six little goats that wanted to feed right out of my hands. It was the most amazing feeling ever. Their little bristly chins tickled against the palms of my hands as they took mouthfuls of the treat from me. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was pure bliss.
I asked him to give me more until I was able to give all of the goats at least a little bit of the grains, and they began to follow me around the pen like the pied piper. I forgot every insecurity, every problem I’d ever had. I was lost in that moment, just experiencing sheer delight. Having no idea how much time had passed, I reluctantly left my new friends when Colin waved me over to him.
“I know you love them, but I have some other things to show you.” He smiled down at me as he leaned against the fence, his biceps bulging slightly, drawing attention to the tattoo that ran down his arm.
“Can I come back and see them again later?” I asked, leaning into him with my hands on his chest. I could feel his heart racing slightly, making me realize how close to him I was, which caused mine to race. I backed up a bit, attempting to play it off, when he took my hand in his again.
“Of course you can. I’d just like to take you to see the horses while we’ve still got a lot of daylight left.” He squeezed my hand gently, and tugged for me to come with him. We had just arrived, and I had already set aside any of my concerns about spending the day together. I was having a wonderful time, and in his company, felt looked after. That’s the feeling I’d been missing.
Chapter 10
Colin
The innocence of her excitement over the animals thrilled me. I had taken for granted how awesome it was to grow up there, and to get to experience them daily. Watching her play with the goats was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. She went around, making sure each one of them had gotten a bite of food from her, and she laughed and smiled the entire time.
I took her to see the horses after that, and showed her how to brush my mare, Ginger. She was an old girl, and she absolutely loved when you’d run the brush along her coat, and through her mane. I put the brush into Sarah’s hand, covering it with mine to show her how to make the long strokes down Ginger’s back. I was quickly forgetting that I don’t get attached to women, as I watched Sarah carefully brush the horse I grew up with. I’d never brought anyone to the ranch, and while my parents weren’t here for me to introduce her, a part of me wished they were. Sarah deserved family, and mine would love her.
“I was thinking that we could get cleaned up and I’d cook us an early dinner. What do you think?” I asked, still watching her.
She turned around to face me. “That would be great, I’m famished. All this playing has me starved.”She grinned at me.
“Are you having a good day?” I asked.
Turning back to brush Ginger, she said, “I’m having one of the best days ever, Colin.” She whispered something to Ginger, and then put the brush back where we’d gotten it, and gave one last pat to the horse. “Bye Ginger. It was lovely to meet you.”
Something in the gentle way she spoke to my horse shot an arrow right through my heart. As she turned back toward me, I reached out to take her hand and tugged her to me, planting my lips on hers as softly as my desire would allow. She melted into me, gently raising her hands to my waist, as I caressed her face, sweeping my tongue against hers. I kissed her over and over again, losing myself in her soft touch.
“You’re so beautiful, Sarah,” I whispered as I met her eyes, looking for the green flecks sprinkled throughout the hazel. She smiled up at me, her lips plump from our kiss.
“I want to stay tonight,” she murmured softly.
“We don’t have to do anything --” I started to say before she interrupted me.
“I know. I want to stay, though. I love it here. It feels safe. I’m happy here,” she said shyly, turning her gaze away.
I reached down to pull her chin back so she would look at me again. “I’ll keep you safe, Sarah.”
“I know you will,” she said before leaning into me for another kiss.
While I didn’t want to stop kissing her, I wanted to feed us, and take her for a swim in the lake after dinner, so I pulled away begrudgingly. “Come on. Let me feed you, and we’ll go for a swim after we eat.”
An excited smile spread across her lips, giving me the go-ahead to drag her alon
g.
I had called ahead and asked one of the ranch hands to purchase a few things and put them in my house so I wouldn’t have to go out to get us food later. Even though it was walking distance, I drove us down the rest of the driveway to my place, so I could bring our bags in.
“This is your house?” she said, sounding surprised as we entered.
“Yeah, my parents and I had it built when I was eighteen, so I could have my own space, but still technically live at home. They wanted me to have my own place to come home to after I was deployed and stuff as well. I paid them back for it over time, and now it’s mine for real. I also keep a place in Killeen, of course, because of work, but this is home for sure.”
I put our bags down and watched while she wandered around the house, looking at everything. “It’s so homey and comfortable, Colin. I love it.”
“Thank you, darlin’. I’m gonna take a quick shower, you make yourself at home. While you take yours, I’ll make us dinner. How does that sound?”
“I have a better idea,” she replied, biting her lower lip and walking toward me.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” I asked, curious.
She placed her hands on my chest, trailing her fingertips down to my waist. “Why don’t we conserve water, and shower together?”
Astounded by her suggestion, and unsure if it was the right thing to do or not, I stood still as a statue, trying to make the right choice. The gentlemanly choice.
"I've never met anyone like you before, Colin. My entire life, I've been unsure about my direction in life, and when everything happened in Egypt, I lost my way. I was simply living from day to day, hoping to move past my fears and anxieties. Then you happened. This day happened. And I finally know what I was missing. You were placed in my life at this very moment, for this very purpose."
When she grasped the hem of my t-shirt and started to lift it up, I no longer cared what the gentlemanly choice was. I quickly yanked my shirt over my head as she immediately started to trail gentle kisses across my chest. Within seconds, my cock was at full attention, and all rational decisions were out the window. I wanted this woman, and I wanted her now.
Almost gasping for air, I grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom where my master bathroom was. I gently hustled her to the bed, yanking her boots off so I could get remove the rest of her clothes. I’d been staring at her body all day, not once thinking that I’d have the opportunity to enjoy it. I kneeled on the floor between her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed staring down at me.
“Baby, are you sure this is what you want? It’s not why I brought you here.” I needed her to know it wasn’t my intent to sleep with her, as much as I wanted to.
“I know it’s not. That’s why I want to.” She pulled me to her, kissing me deeply. The way she caressed my neck with one hand, and ran the other down my chest, took my breath away. She touched me with such soft desire, such emotion, that it almost overwhelmed me.
I had a million things running through my head, like bees buzzing around in my brain. I stood up, pulling her with me. “I’m going to start the shower,” I murmured in between kisses.
“I’ll be right behind you,” she replied breathily.
I jogged to the bathroom, which was only fifteen feet away, but I was king of the world in this moment, and about to shower with the most beautiful woman I’d ever been lucky enough to kiss. My heart was beating out of my chest as I turned the water on and when I turned around to get her, she was standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a black lace bra and matching panties.
“Hi,” I panted nervously. I felt like I was fumbling and didn’t know what to do next. In comparison, she seemed extremely calm, which made me even more nervous.
“I didn’t want to wait any longer,” she said softly. “Plus, I really need a shower.” She unhooked her bra, letting it fall the floor as I stared at her beautiful body. Then she slowly rolled her panties down to her ankles, kicking them off in my direction. “I’m going to get in. Join me when you’re ready.” My mouth had fallen open in shock, and my cock was straining against my jeans.
I gathered my thoughts quickly, and took off my jeans and boxers, inhaling deeply before opening the shower door. Since I’d had this built, the shower was unusually large, with a waterfall showerhead above, in addition to the normal showerhead you’d find most places. She was standing under the waterfall, facing away from me, as the water cascaded over her face and down her body. I was finally able to see the full tattoo that was peeking out of her shirt the other night. It was a beautifully drawn bouquet of lilies and a large cardinal, probably representing her mother. The colors were bright and vivid, and as I stood there taking her in, she turned her head around slightly to ask, “Are you just going to stand there, or are you getting in?”
This was a side of Sarah I didn’t know existed, and she had me so flustered I was like a teenage boy the first time he saw a naked girl. I didn’t know what to touch, or what to say, but I wanted to get there desperately, regardless. I slowly stepped under the warm water behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders gently before sweeping her long dark hair away from the tattooed side. As the water fell gently over us both, I ran my tongue along her shoulder up to her neck, where I began kissing her softly. As she leaned her long neck to the side, giving me greater access, she let out a soft moan that awakened my animal desire for her.
I wrapped my arms around her wet, naked body and began to explore every inch of her. Running my hands across her abdomen and then up to her full breasts, her nipples hardened at my touch. I gently massaged them before giving them just a slight pinch, causing her to buckle slightly. Holding her tightly to me, my cock rubbing against her back, straining for relief, I turned her around to face me. When her beautiful eyes met mine, I wrapped her in my arms again, pulling her in to kiss me. I wanted everything about her. Her kiss tasted like sugar, her skin was perfect, and she reciprocated every move, every touch.
As we washed each other, kissing the entire time, unable to get enough, all I wanted was to take her to bed. “Come on, let’s get out,” I whispered in her ear.
“Okay,” she replied quietly, never taking her hands off me.
I wrapped her in a towel before getting one for myself, and led her to the bedroom. “Just lay with me for a minute?” I asked her. It felt like a tender moment to me, and I didn’t want it to end yet. I wanted to be inside her - I craved her - but having her close to me was suddenly just as important. In nothing but our towels, we laid on my bed with her in my arms and I’d never been happier with the time we’d spent together. I didn’t have to sleep with her to be intimate. In that moment we connected, and I had no idea just how much.
Chapter 11
Sarah
Hours after we’d showered together, I woke up suddenly, wondering where I was and why I was in a towel until I shook the sleep off and looked over at the man lying next to me. His towel was hanging off of his hips, giving me just a peek at what he had to offer. My own towel had stayed tightly wrapped around me, but I was cold and wanted to get some blankets, or put some clothes on. I had hoped we’d have sex earlier, but somehow that didn’t fall into the plans, which was disappointing now that I’d seen his beautiful cock. I considered waking him up, but we’d had a long day together, and he was clearly tired.
I glanced over at the clock, and seeing that it wasn’t that late, I attempted to sneak out of the bed to find some clothes to put on. I wasn’t sure where he’d put my bag, so I opened one of his drawers to find a t-shirt, getting lucky on the first try. I picked the khaki green t-shirt that read ARMY across the chest, and pulled it over my head, taking in the intoxicating smell of him all over the shirt.
“That shirt looks good on you, beautiful,” he said, yawning.
“I didn’t want to wake you, I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“No need to whisper, baby. Come here.” He stretched his long arm out to me and I took his hand, letting him pull me to him. “Are you okay?” he asked me
.
“Oh yes, I’m wonderful,” I replied. I was, in fact, feeling wonderful, although a huge part of me wanted to crawl on top of him.
“I didn’t feed you yet; you must be starving.” He sat up on his side.
“I could always eat, but I’d much rather be in this bed with you,” I said.
Letting out a chuckle, he replied, “Oh you would? Well, how about you get in this bed and let me devour you. Then I’ll keep my promise and feed you.”
“That sounds amazing Colin.” I slid onto the bed next to him, moving his towel and gently running my fingertip along his dick. As it hardened from my touch, my own desire was growing again, making me wet.
