by Viola Grace
A deep snicker laughed behind her and a delightful tickle trickled down her spine as if the person whom the mirth belonged to was sensually trailing a finger down her naked back.
The dream presence. But it couldn’t be. He only existed in her fantasies. She clutched the stone tighter.
“Here at A Stone’s Throw you’re only a stone’s throw away from obtaining your heart’s desire,” the deep, sultry male voice breathed in her ear.
She turned to reply, but the light-haired man from the picture was several feet away. For a second her mind attempted to wrap around how he could be next to her one moment and not the next, but she pushed the matter aside as she was drawn into and captivated by his light blue eyes. He appeared slightly older than she, but trendy with his dark blond hair cut in short layers and texturized with some kind of hair product to give it that metrosexual, messy look. The long sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to above his elbows, revealing darker hair on his arms, and the bottom was tucked into a pair of form-fitting blue jeans. As he walked over to her, she had to tilt her head back since he was taller than her five six frame.
He smiled devilishly at her apparent attraction to him.
She dropped her head down. Her gaze fell upon his broad chest. The first couple buttons of his shirt were undone. She stared fixedly at the exposed skin and the gold chain and cross that perched there. Beads of moisture wet her panties. “Oh, hello,” she said shyly, breathless. The edges of the rock bit into her palm, bringing her out of the haze of her fascination with the man.
“Hello to you, too. I’m Joe. Have you found something you fancy?”
She wanted to say, yeah, you, but held her tongue and opened her palm to reveal the crystal.
He stepped forward and peered down at it. “Ah, I see you’ve found one of my favorite pieces. What you have there is a rough emerald.”
“It looks nothing like what you get at a jeweler’s,” she said quietly, cringing inwardly at how lame she sounded.
“That’s because when the stones reach those stores they’ve been cut, tumbled and polished. What you have in your hand is the gem in its primitive form. Would you like to know about it, umm…”
“Emma,” she replied, having realized he wanted to know her name. “And, yes please, I’d love to know about it.”
* * * *
Emma. So that’s her name now. Joe quickly took her measure. She almost looked the same as when he last saw her, fair of face and skin, eyes the color of the stone in her hand and hair the color of sunlit, dried pine needles on a forest’s floor. Her aura pulsed a healthy hue of green. She was a natural healer, just like in the old days and exactly what his tired soul needed after having waited many lifetimes to be with her again. And from how she blocked his feeding earlier, he realized she was trained in psychic energy. His heart sang with joy for her education would make what was to come so much easier.
He reached out and took the stone from her hand, making sure to contact her skin as he did so. Her forest green glow swirled up and caressed his fingers. A sense of calm and rest eased into his muscles. He sighed as he hefted the small rock. Her heat had warmed the stone nicely and the rock told him it wanted to be back in her possession. But he couldn’t give the rock back. Not yet. “The emerald,” he stated as he pocketed the gem, watching her eyes follow the movement and grow sad. “It’s said to be the sacred stone of the goddess Venus. There are claims it preserves love and is a symbol of hope. It’s a stone of great harmony, love and wisdom and is supposed to help ease a troubled mind.”
“That explains why I was drawn to it then. Could I have it back?”
“I sense you have a green thumb,” he said in reply.
“Excuse me?” she questioned, still staring at the pocket where the emerald lay.
“Green thumb. You know, good with plants. I’m getting that impression about you.”
She looked up to his face, appearing to finally register what he had said, and smiled brightly. “You’re right. I do seem to have a knack with gardening. People tell me it seems all I have to do is touch a plant, say a word and it grows like magic.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Why?”
“I have a sick plant in the back. It’d be great if you could take a look at it and tell me what it needs. If you do me this favor, you can have the emerald.”
* * * *
Emma thought about the stone in his pocket and gave him another once over. He seems decent enough. Plus, Addi was in the store so if something weird were to happen she could always scream for help and be heard. His turquoise aura slowly waved and shifted. She didn’t sense any ominous intentions from him. There probably wouldn’t be any problems. “Sure,” she ultimately agreed. “I’m not reading anything threatening from you. Let’s go take a look at your sick plant.”
He took the lead to show her the way.
Mmmm, she mused, watching his tight ass sway in his jeans as he walked in front of her. Nice butt. She was definitely putting this guy in her spank bank and would use him the next time she woke from one of her dreams and needed relief. He opened a door, motioned for her to enter and she stepped into a storeroom.
The sick plant, a sad little umbrella tree, sat in the corner. She headed toward it and, behind her, Joe shut the door. Thrown into complete darkness, she hid her face in her hands and cursed herself for getting into a dangerous situation. A cold shudder of fear stressed her body and, as her panic mounted, a gust of wind blew over her and ruffled her hair.
On the next breeze came the fragrance of flowers and honeysuckle.
A hand gently gripped her shoulder.
“Open your eyes,” Joe suggested calm and soft.
Slowly, she opened her eyes as he requested. She stood with him at the edge of a trail, which emerged from a dense forest out into a lush green, rolling meadow. Overhead a flock of birds took flight from the trees into the bright blue, cloudless sky and a buck grazing on some grass up on a hill lifted his head. “I must be dreaming,” she said in wonderment, the scene before her a far cry from the dry, dusty, tan dirt bowl she lived in.
“I’m afraid to disappoint you, my dear,” he commented smoothly, affectionately. “But you’re not.”
“Really?” she asked with child-like enthusiasm.
“Really,” he answered as a serious adult would.
Ecstatic to be in her dream world, she tossed off her shoes and ran through the meadow. As she neared the crest of the hill, the buck bounded off. She threw her arms straight out to her sides and spun in circle.
* * * *
Joe followed her up the hillside. Her head was thrown back, she was laughing and he enjoyed the sight of seeing his love being so carefree, so happy…so alive. He never should have left her that day, all those years ago, to wander in the woods alone. As an apprentice, she should have known better than to have tried a new berry without the guidance of her herbalist and alchemist masters. But eager to advance her healing skills, she went off, picked a poisonous cohosh and popped it in her mouth. By the time she had been found, the poison had gone deep into her system and there was nothing he or his healers could do. His brother could have saved her, but then she would have been indebted to Edom and that would not have been good. Joe had loved Betha with all his heart and wouldn’t have been able to stand seeing her with another man, especially his brother. Now his Betha was back as Emma and he was never going to let her go. “So, my dear, do you like it here?” he asked.
“I love it here,” she exclaimed breathlessly. “The grass is so soft and cool. The air is fresh. The water is crisp and clear.” She wanted to mention her dream lover lived here as well and she could sense his presence nearby but thought better of it. “I’ve been dreaming of this place since I was a child.” She spun around again and, spying some bushes down the way, ran to them. She pulled a stick off a bush and held it up. “Look what I found!”
When he reached her again, she plucked a flower from the large stem and moved the white,
long, bell shaped leaves toward her mouth. He shot out his hand and grabbed her wrist. “Don’t eat that,” he bellowed.
In the distance, several birds screeched.
“You’ve turned as white as a hospital sheet,” she stated. “Are you okay?”
“I will be if you don’t put anything from this land into your mouth.”
“It’s only honeysuckle.” At his peeved expression, she dropped the bud. “All right. Fine. I won’t sample the honeysuckle or anything else. What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing,” he snapped and gazed into her eyes, willing her to remember him, their love, their life together.
“Why do I feel I know you? We’ve never met before, have we?”
He brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek. “Oh, Betha, my pretty one, don’t you remember me?” he whispered.
* * * *
She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, her heart rate zipped up a notch and her crotch twitched. “Joha,” she whispered without thought, the name conjured from a distant memory.
“Yes,” he sighed as his lips descended on hers and he brought her close.
The warmth of his arms around her and being pressed against his heated, solid body was like being wrapped in a cozy blanket. The gentle sway of his hug and his heated lips molding gently upon hers sent ripples of desire through her core.
Cool air, bringing the heady fragrance of the forest and nearby flowers, swirled around them.
What started as a gentle, sweet kiss, turned into a passionate blending of bodies. His hands sought and cupped her breasts. His thumbs brushing over the areas of her nipples brought them to hard peaks. She trailed her hand down the front of his jeans, the denim taut against his bulging cock. She pressed her hand to the area, felt it pulsate and kneaded it in tender consideration as his hands wound their way to her back and held firm to her shoulder blades. He wasn’t allowing her any kind of escape while his mouth covered hers with a savage intensity.
A wave of hungry desire spiraled through her. She groped his ass with her other hand as her tongue met his, thrust for thrust. She couldn’t get enough of him and threw her all into the kiss to match him in his passion. A warm wetness trickled from the cleft between her thighs.
* * * *
Joe ended the kiss, but made no move to stop her active hand on his cock. He rested his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. Moments later, when he felt he couldn’t stand anymore of her teasing, he took her hand and led her to a shaded area under the high boughs of pine trees near a babbling brook.
He pressed himself up against her and took her lips in silent, demanding need. Years of waiting exploded forth and he hurriedly undressed her and himself, then tossed her onto a bed of soft pine needles. As he spread out on top of her, his massive, solid body generated a substantial amount of heat. He thought he’d melt her from it. Yet, she didn’t dissolve and didn’t seem to mind his weight as she pulled him even closer to her, her fingers splaying across his shoulders and trailing a path up the side of his neck to cup his face in her hands.
He forced her mouth open with his tongue, pulled hers into his mouth and sucked on it, giving it a playful nip before he let it go. His hands caressed her breasts, working the nubs of her nipples and, the more he tantalized them, the deeper she kissed him. A sensuous moan escaped his mouth into hers when she rubbed the cleft, then the tight opening of his ass. He flipped her over, allowing her to sit on top of him.
She straddled him, positioned her hands on his shoulders, then slid them down, engraving all the contours and nuances of his upper torso. As her fingers brushed over his nipples, he sucked in his breath. She continued to smooth a path down to his abdomen, where his muscles betrayed him by tensing, shuddering and releasing. When she reached the boundary of his crotch, she stopped, gazed into his eyes and gave him a sly smile. Bending forward, she ran her tongue down the midline of his torso and clasped her hand around his long, hard shaft. When her face reached his cock, she licked its head.
Her mouth wrapped him in warm, oral moistness and she suckled, stroked and massaged him with her lips and tongue. His hips thrust toward her and his eyes stared up at the dark green, pine ceiling. He grunted and stirred under her head, then stopped her ministrations. “It’s your turn now,” he said mischievously and, in mere seconds, had her flipped onto her back, his naked body stretched on top of hers again with a thigh between her legs. “Now, my dear, it’s payback time.”
His lips and tongue traced the outlines of her areola, flicked the hard nub in the middle of it as his fingers probed the junction between her thighs. Gingerly, as if he hadn’t a care in the world, he kissed his way down her body and replaced his fingers with his tongue. His tongue moved in and out of her vagina, occasionally laving her labia and stroking her clit. She moaned and writhed under his head, but he continued his assault. Her body tensed around his oral muscle and she cried out as a spasm of ecstasy vibrated through her. He kissed his way back up her body, ending with a soft peck to her nose.
When she looked at him, his breath caught in his throat. No woman had ever looked at him with such fiery intensity, such devotion. He parted her thighs with his knee and lay between her legs, the tip of his penis poised and ready at her opening. She gave a slight nod and that was all the encouragement he needed. He thrust in.
He held her close as he drove himself in and out of her. Several minutes later, he gasped as his whole body seized. The turquoise and green auras spiked all around them, then waned. All his muscles returned to normal, he relaxed and looked down upon her. A contented smile adorned her face. He eased himself from her and lay beside her.
She snuggled up close and sighed.
“I don’t ever want to be apart from you ever again,” he declared, holding her tightly. “And if you’ll have me, I’d ask that you’d consent to spending the rest of eternity with me.”
“I’d love to spend forever with you,” she replied and, before she could say anything else, a pull jerked on her aura again. He drank of her life force, the deep green auric glow surrounding her decreased in its depth and became pale. Her eyes fluttered and closed.
“Wake, my love,” he said, tapping her on the cheek. “Wake and breathe in my energy.”
He was pleased she did as he bid and when she verged on the edge of passing out, he halted her process and drank from her again. Hours seemed to pass as he then she transferred energy. With one last hesitant breath, he sipped on her deep green luminescence. The shade was sweet and tangy, fresh grapes off the vine.
“I feel wonderful,” she said languidly afterward, lying spent on the ground.
“And you’ll continue to feel such bliss. As long as you sip off the energies of others, you can live indeterminably.”
“Ah, like a vampire.”
“Yes, but not the sanguinary type. We’re of the psychic variety.” He sat up. “For now though, we need to get back to the store and your friend, and tonight over dinner, we will make arrangements for a proper, mortal wedding. How does that sound?”
“It sounds divine.”
Once she was dressed, Joha handed her the emerald. “They say giving your lover this gem will bring him or her closer as long as the giver’s motives are pure. It is also said it will help the lover to stay faithful. The emerald is yours, my love.”
“I thank you for the stone and your love, but I hope you know that I don’t need a crystal to keep me true. I’ll always be faithful to you because I have always loved you,” she declared and took the stone, placing it safely in her pocket. “And you were right.”
“How so?” he inquired as they morphed back into the storeroom.
“Because I found my heart’s desire.”
PERFECT VESSEL
Tierney O’Malley
Jade stomped out of Brad’s dingy office. “Go to hell, Brad!” She slammed the door behind her with force and continued walking. She dodged the filthy hands of drunken customers trying to grab her. The bar, as usual was full of men r
eady to spend money just to see and taste flesh. She glanced at the stage. Her friend, Pam, was dancing erotically with Guy, the newly recruited male dancer, as if they were having sex in the privacy of their bedroom.
They were both naked.
The crowd hooted and yelled obscenities that could make a seasoned whore blush when Pam slithered down Guy’s body like a snake until her mouth was directly above his erect cock. The noise faded until only the harsh breathing of customers could be heard.
Jade could feel the anticipation in the air.
Pam opened her mouth then tilted her head down. Guy cupped Pam’s head and then he thrust his hips slowly. His cock slowly disappeared inside Pam’s mouth. Guy’s groan as he fucked Pam’s mouth sounded like a boom in quiet room.
Loud cheering bounced around the room. The crowd clapped and was back to screaming filths. Jade looked away. She knew what would happen next. She didn’t have to see it. She’d call Pam later and tell her that the asswipe Brad cut her because…
God, she couldn’t even imagine what Brad had ask her to do in exchange for another six month contract. How could he even think that she’d perform sex with a fat donkey? A donkey!
A hard punch in the gut would be less painful than the humiliation his suggestion did to her ego. She was humiliated beyond belief. God, what a brainless asshole.
“Who the hell does he think he is? And what did he think I am?” she hissed through her clenched teeth. “A pig? I’ve been working for that god damn Sugar and Spice Club for six months. Didn’t complain, did what I am told and now, I am fired because I refused to suck a donkey’s dick?”
