by Shara Lanel
“What about her?” Evan flung himself down on the couch and kicked off his deck shoes. “He just met her. She’s using him.”
“Why do you say that? She seemed okay, considering how obnoxious you were to her. Personally, I would have punched you.”
Evan grinned, displaying a dimple on his right cheek. “I know you would have.”
Lydia chose the Victorian chaise lounge to sit on. It had always been her favorite piece of furniture, so out of place with the plaid overstuffed chair and 1950s couch. Depression glass sat on a lime green coffee table, along with a TV Guide and an empty beer bottle. “So, what’s the deal with Kerry? Is she living there?”
“She seems to be homeless. I towed her car yesterday and next thing I know Rick picks her up at a bar. I thought he’d gotten rid of her, but there she was back again.”
“Well, that’s nice of Rick to help her out then.”
“Rick’s clueless when it comes to protecting himself. He’s too nice.” Evan snorted. “He even has long conversations with telemarketers.”
Lydia couldn’t stop gazing into Evan’s gray eyes. She’d thought she was over this lovesick puppy bit, but seeing him again had brought it all rushing back. She blinked, trying to pull her focus back to the conversation. Evan had obviously wanted to distract Rick from Kerry. Did Lydia want to cooperate? She enjoyed Rick’s company, but more importantly, a dose of jealousy could be just what the doctor ordered.
“You’re sure Rick and Kerry aren’t an item?”
“How can they be? They just met. No, Rick’s free for the pickin’ and just the other day he mentioned wanting a family. I think he’s ready to find himself a wife and settle down.”
Lydia wished someone else she knew was ready to settle down. Evan, oblivious to her frown, went on. “He’s had enough of the celibate life. I’m sure of that.”
“Celibate?”
“I told you he’s been living in a monastery.”
“But I don’t think you said he was a monk.”
“Well, why else would he be living at a monastery?”
Why, indeed? Lydia shook her head. She could understand the allure of having Kerry living at his home then.
“Do you want a beer?” Evan stood and shoved his hand in his jeans’ pocket.
“Sure.”
Lydia heard Evan open the door of the fridge just as the phone rang. He answered it and, though he lowered his voice, Lydia could clearly hear his end of the conversation.
“What do you mean, ‘declined’? I jumped through every damned hoop, filled out every fuckin’ form, just like you said… You know I can’t pay. Why would I ask for the second loan…? Look, you can shove those papers where the sun don’t shine for all I care!”
Lydia cringed as Evan slammed down the phone. He stalked back into the living room and thrust a beer in her face. She knew he wouldn’t tell her, but she had to ask. “What was that all about?”
“None of your damn business.” He grabbed the remote and flipped on the Braves game, cranking the volume, which effectively eliminated further questioning. Lydia shrugged. “Pride goeth before the fall”, is what his mama would have said. Too bad she wasn’t here now to remind him of that.
* * * *
After a steaming shower, Kerry was again wrapped in Rick’s short white robe. Rick had been quiet before taking his own shower. Kerry wondered what he was thinking as she heated water on the stove, noting once again the absence of coffee. She found a bag of Darjeeling and put it in her cup then checked the answering machine.
Zero messages. Kerry frowned. She’d been hopeful that she’d find something right away. She wanted to get started on her new life. Perhaps they had all discovered her phony references. Was there something different she could do? Maybe get Evan to play a past employer? Fat chance that he would agree to that. She couldn’t use Rick because his phone number was listed as her phone number on the applications. Maybe she was simply expecting a call too quickly. It hadn’t even been a full day yet.
What a long day, though. Darkness had fallen as they drove back into town, bringing down the temperature and humidity. Kerry felt worn out. The shower had helped some, but she would have some muscle aches tomorrow. She was glad they’d decided to skip stopping at a restaurant on the way back.
The whistle from the teakettle startled her, making her jump. The house was so quiet that she could hear cars driving down Monument and two neighbors in conversation on a nearby stoop. Kerry poured the hot water over the tea bag then cradled the cup in her hands as it steeped. The scent and warmth were heavenly. She put a saucer under her cup and walked to the living room where she curled up on the couch and stared out the large front windows.
“Kerry?”
Again she jumped. “I didn’t hear you come down.”
Rick gave her a lopsided grin. “Sorry. Habit I guess.” He wore white drawstring pants and no shirt. Kerry’s mouth watered with thoughts of running her tongue over his magnificent chest. She sipped her tea instead, scalding her tongue in the process.
“Ow. Too hot.”
“But the right idea. Is there more water in the kettle?”
“Yes, plenty.”
Rick went to the kitchen to make his own tea—herbal she was sure. Kerry watched him walk, she couldn’t help herself. His back consisted of rippling muscles from his narrow waist to his deltoids, but it was his sexy butt that drew her eyes for the moment. She could easily imagine stripping his pants to the floor and running her hands over that ass. Kerry sipped her tea again. “Ow, dammit,” she said under her breath. Giving up, she sat the tea on the side table to give it a chance to cool. She thought of turning on the TV for something to do, but decided she liked the quiet. She closed her eyes.
After a moment, the couch creaked and Rick sat down next to her. Opening her eyes, she observed his dark chest hair. Not too much. And he had a five o’clock shadow. He must have skipped shaving during his shower. Probably too much effort at this point. She remembered how the stubble had felt on her cheek when he’d held her in his arms. His blue eyes met Kerry’s as he sipped his tea.
“It’s not too hot?” she asked.
“I added milk.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Finally, her tea was cool enough to drink.
Rick sat his cup down and put his arm across the back of the couch. “You were amazing today, Kerry.”
Kerry’s eyes widened. “I was?”
You kept your cool. You didn’t even seem frightened.”
“I’ve been in a couple squalls before. They usually leave quickly, so the key is to avoid capsizing.” She leaned back, recalling previous trips, some with family, some with school friends, all before she’d met Jason. How she had enjoyed those times laughing and relaxing on the open sea. “But I’ve never been the one driving the boat and those boats were a bit larger and more seaworthy than Evan’s.”
“You were great. Lydia really appreciated you staying with her.”
Kerry didn’t want to think about Lydia. “I was holding on for dear life just like she was.”
She closed her eyes again, but this time instead of feeling tired and relaxed, she felt taut with awareness. Heat from Rick’s arm settled onto her shoulders. The aromas from the teas blended with the faintly spicy scent of Rick’s skin. She could hear his breathing, calm and even, and her own heart. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her intently.
*
Rick’s arm slid to Kerry’s shoulders without his conscious command. She turned to face him, the belt of her robe slipping as she did so, revealing a hint of breast. Rick inhaled deeply. She smelled clean and fresh. He lifted his other arm to the lapel of her robe, for a moment doing nothing. Then he pushed the robe down her shoulder, revealing smooth, peach skin. She shivered. Rick brushed his fingers across her neck, her collarbone, her cheek, watching her as she closed her eyes and turned her face into his palm. He shouldn’t be doing this. He would be using her dependence on him, and what about his interest in
Lydia?
All thoughts fled as she kissed his hand, then licked it.
Rick gasped and his penis stiffened. This time he wanted to show Kerry that he knew what to do, or at least he thought he did. And his wanting her had become almost painful.
Opening her robe further, Rick traced his finger along her breast, circled her coral nipple. Kerry made a sound, a gasp or a sigh, and he looked at her face. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open slightly, her breathing rapid. As he held her breast in the palm of his hand, she leaned back, letting the robe fall to her forearms. Her nipples peaked hard. His other hand cupped a breast. His thumbs circled slowly, each touch changing her breathing.
She opened her eyes and watched him. “Suck them,” she said.
She placed her hands on the back of his head and led the way. He trailed his tongue around each stiff peak. Her skin tasted of sandalwood soap and salt. He lifted a breast to his open mouth and sucked. Kerry whimpered. Her hands wove through his hair and held him there. He could feel her heart beating rapidly. His own was racing. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, sitting her where she could feel his extreme arousal.
Sensations washed over him. He had the immediate urge to push against her, but he also wanted to hold her close to his chest and never let her go. He wanted to watch her fingers dance over every part of his body, but he also wanted to kiss her deeply as if kama, love, had brought them together.
He pulled back to look at her. Tendrils of hair fell over her collarbone, one strand circling her nipple. He rubbed his thumb over the hard nub and watched her face as her lids lowered and her skin flushed. He tried tweaking the nipple. She gasped. He twisted it. Her hands gripped his shoulders.
Rick felt like grinning. He wanted to observe and learn, each sensation was new to him. He pulled her hip harder against his groin. The robe had fallen away completely, revealing silky thighs and a triangle of blonde curls. He rubbed his hand over her flat stomach to the apex, admiring the velvety texture. She spread her legs wide, giving him a view of her mons and labia, terms learned in his reading. Rick thought about the difference between reading and seeing first hand. Huge difference. The real thing was more beautiful, because it was part of the woman. The scent filling his nostrils was musky. His thumb traveled over her curls, applying a slight pressure to the pliant skin beneath.
In the distance, the phone rang.
“Don’t stop,” Kerry said, her voice throaty and low.
*
Please don’t stop, Kerry thought as his fingers slid across her pubic hair, down and down to her mons. Unbidden, an image from the first night came to her mind. Would he pleasure her, then stop as he had then? His fingers parted her labia and she bit her lip. It felt so good, but she wanted him to feel good as well. She wanted him hard inside her. She moved her hands down his sculpted chest to his nipples, which she pinched gently. She enjoyed hearing his sharp intake of breath. His dick pressed against her bottom. He wanted her.
His fingers had slowed their journey, exploring, but Kerry wanted more, so she lifted herself until she straddled his thighs. His fingers still touched her, but now she could rub her body against his hardness.
“Sundara,” Rick whispered.
“What?” She didn’t want to break his concentration, but she’d never heard the term before.
He opened his eyes and pushed her until she was prone on the couch. “Sundara, beautiful.” He moved above her, rubbing against her, his lips claiming her nipples again. She wanted him naked. She wanted him inside her.
His tongue wandered down her flat stomach and into her belly button, then lower still, through her bristly curls. He drew back to observe as his fingers spread her folds, ran his thumbs along the tender skin inside, squeezed gently.
“Is this okay?”
Kerry laughed in reply, so he continued his experiments, blowing breaths onto her swollen clitoris then licking it slowly, from the base, around the sides, to the quivering tip.
“Rick,” Kerry breathed as he placed his lips around her clit and sucked. He sucked it as if he were drinking a thick milkshake through a straw and exquisite sensations shot to her brain, setting off an erotic chain reaction of images in her mind, and heat and wetness in her body. The juices filled her vagina and rolled onto her thighs as she exploded. Waves rocked her body.
Kerry’s hands fisted in Rick’s hair and she knew it caused him pain, but it only made the experience more intense. He continued to suck, then dipped his tongue into her vulva, increasing the contractions of her orgasm and sending cascades of pleasure through her whole body.
*
“Come here.” Kerry guided Rick up her body to her lips. When their mouths met, she sucked his lips just as ferociously as he had sucked her. His breath left him, his heart raced, and he still wore his drawstring pants. Her legs wrapped around him and he rocked his cock against her.
“Take off your pants,” she whispered, her breath tickling his ear. He sat back and did as she instructed while she licked his nipples, sending electricity sparking through him. His conscious mind had left him. He was totally in the moment, reveling in every sweet touch of Kerry’s fingers.
Finally naked—and then he remembered the condom. “Damn.”
“What?” She was looking at his body admiringly, which turned him on even more.
“I need a condom.”
“Where are they?”
“Upstairs.”
Kerry pulled herself up and grabbed his hand. “Then let’s go.”
They both smiled and raced up the stairs to Rick’s bedroom. Kerry pulled the covers off the bed as he found a condom in the nightstand. He tried to rip the package open, but apparently all his coordination had gone elsewhere. Kerry laughed, watching his struggle with the plastic wrapper. She sat naked on his bed, long legs in front of her. Picturing those toned and shapely legs wrapped around him had Rick renewing his efforts with vigor and yet to no avail.
Finally, she took pity on him and helped open the package. His cheeks burned red as she took the condom from his fumbling fingers and rolled it slowly down his penis. The sensation of her soft fingers on his sensitive skin was heaven. Once the latex reached the base of his shaft, she stroked his balls and lower, touching his ass, sliding her fingers along the fissure but going no deeper. Her nails raked along his inner thighs, until she once again focused on his balls, cupping them in the palm of her hand, pressing, petting, moving them around. She was very gentle, as if she knew the power she held over him when she held his testicles in her hands. Rick smiled a bit at the thought. Not that he wanted someone to wield power over him, but he liked knowing she cared enough not to hurt him.
She kissed his stomach, causing his muscles to flex in reaction, then she lay back on the bed and spread her legs in offering. Her honey glistened between her feminine folds and on the tips of her golden curls. He moved between her thighs, admiring the strength evident in the slope of muscles from her calves to her quadriceps He took her left foot between his palms, massaging the heel and arch until she mewed in contentment, then he moved on to admire her ankle. Her other foot needed the same attention.
As excited as he was, he found that now that they were on his bed, he wanted to take his time, wanted to rebuild her excitement so that they could climax together. And he was curious about the female body, every facet of it, from the narrow tendon at the ankle to the ticklish skin under the knee. He kissed a course up each leg, holding her firmly when she jerked reflexively. She always settled back with a purr of pleasure.
When he reached the juncture of her legs, her thigh muscles flexed against his cheeks. “Fuck me, Rick.” She tugged at his shoulders. “I can’t wait any longer. Fuck me.”
She lifted her knees as he levered his body over hers, parallel. His shaft jounced in readiness. He lowered himself and was glad that Kerry’s hands guided his penis to the proper location. Her juices slicked his glans, easing its entry into her body, inch by inch. Her vagina squeezed and his patience ran
out. He watched her face as he plunged into her. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open. She was murmuring the words, “Fuck me, fuck me.” Those words sent him over the edge. His whole body convulsed as his come shot warm into the condom.
He stayed inside her, enjoying the warmth, the slickness. For a moment, she stilled, her arms holding him tight, then she moved her hips, helping him thrust in and out of her body, though he was growing soft. She slid her hand between their sweat-soaked bellies and moved her fingers to increase her pleasure, he presumed. Her sex convulsed around him as she felt release yet again.
For long moments, they remained entwined until their heart rates slowed. Finally, Rick rolled over and sat up. Kerry missed his weight, but found she could breathe better. He was looking down at himself, at the soggy condom, Kerry realized.
“I think I’ll go to the bathroom,” he said, sounding embarrassed.
She chuckled. “I understand.”
He met her eyes and suddenly he laughed too.
Kerry also wanted to use the bathroom to freshen up, but she waited until Rick was through. She knew from when she had first moved in with Jason that it was an odd sort of intimacy to be in the bathroom together. She didn’t think Rick was ready for it, neither was she for that matter.
“All yours,” he said a few minutes later, as he scooped his pants from the floor and pulled them on.
“Thanks.”
When Kerry had finished washing and put on an old T-shirt, she found Rick leaning against the headboard, legs crossed in front of him and arms behind his head. Good, he hadn’t left, but now she felt awkward. What was he thinking?
“Come here,” he whispered huskily.
Kerry sat down next to him and he put his arms around her.
“It’s getting late. Do you want to sleep or are you hungry?”
Kerry yawned in response. “Normally I would be hungry at this point, but today has completely worn me out.”
