Sophie's Journey: A steamy adult romance (Eternal Flame Book 1)

by A. J. Milton

  Then she quietly said, “I love you.”

  I wasn’t expecting her to say that. Did she definitely mean it? I knew that I was falling for her too, but I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. We were very compatible, but did we have any chance of lasting love?

  A minute later she leapt up and straddled my chest and looked deep into my eyes. “I mean it,” she said very fiercely, “That’s not just after sex talk. I really am in love with you. I want to be yours.”

  “Oh, little darling,” I said, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. So much for being Mr Macho.

  She bit her lip and looked worried, “hey what…?” she murmured.

  “It’s OK”, happy tears,” I said. “I am definitely falling in love with you. I wasn’t expecting to feel this way and for some reason it’s just a bit emotional, sorry.” She endearingly kissed my eyes and licked my tears away.

  We cleaned up and then lay together whispering more words of love to each other until she drifted off to sleep. I was awake barely a few minutes more.

  Chapter 6

  Naughty Girl

  ~ Sophie ~

  When I woke in the morning, I could still feel the emotion from the night before. It had felt right to tell him that I loved him. It was all happening so quickly, but I couldn’t deny my feelings.

  He said that he is falling in love with me too, and it makes me feel fantastic. Is he worrying about our age difference?

  I eased quietly out of bed in the morning and borrowed his dressing gown. It was too big for me but it smelt of him and I pulled the belt tight. I made some of his favourite Columbian coffee and carried the two mugs back to the bedroom. I slipped back into bed again and nibbled his ear. He sighed and turned towards me, rubbing his eyes. I kissed him softly and lovingly. His early morning unshaven skin contrasted with the softness of his lips.

  “Mmm, now that’s a wonderful wake-up call, and fresh coffee too. You’ve got the job, little darling. Much nicer than that damned alarm clock.” I hugged him back.

  The temperamental April weather had changed from sunny with an occasional shower, to dull and grey with a steady misty drizzle. Going out again was not at all inviting. So, we took our time getting up, and lingered over breakfast, talking. I described my student accommodation and my housemates, and that I knew that I would subjected to a major interrogation upon my return.

  He laughed when I compared Suzie to a young and persistent Miss Marple, with her ability to sniff out the gossip regarding everyone around her. But then he said quite seriously, “I suppose we are going to have to get used to being judged by people one way or the other. I’m so sorry that you will have to take that pressure too.”

  “It’s not your fault, Alex.” I sighed, “but I don’t quite know how to tell my parents or my sister.”

  “Yes, family will be tricky,” he agreed. “Same thing with my parents too. They are in their eighties now, and I’m not sure how they will react either. They are pretty broad minded for their age in many ways. They are very positive to my cousin Alistair who is gay, and they like his partner. They even went to their civil partnership ceremony. But they have known you since you were a baby. I don’t suppose you remember, but you actually stayed at their house a couple of times when you were a few months old. It was when your parents were visiting for some family get together. It’s a funny old world!”

  “Wow, we have created rather a tangle, haven’t we?” I murmured. “But I love you, and that’s not going to change. And we will have to do our best to show everyone that we are happy together.”

  “Being happy with you is dead easy,” he smiled.

  Our mood lightened and we switched to talking about my course and business studies again. But the weather stayed dull, wet and miserable so going out for a walk was clearly not going to happen today.

  “So, how about working up an appetite before lunch in some other way?” he asked.

  I smiled coyly, “What did you have in mind big boy?”

  “You have such a smutty mind, for such a sweet little thing,” he laughed. “I was actually thinking of a workout in the gym room. Hot and sweaty can be achieved in other ways you know!”

  “Yeah, all right then, my man. Lead the way.” And a workout means a shower afterwards which means an opportunity to get my hands on you again, I thought. “But I don’t have any gym gear with me apart from trainers.”

  “I’ll find you something to wear,” he said. He found me a t-shirt which was more like a mini skirt on me, and a pair of swimming shorts with enough elastic in the waist to do the trick. “Not quite Beverley Hills country club chic,” he laughed, “but you still look gorgeous.” I huffed and thumped him playfully.

  His gym room had an exercise bike, a cross trainer, a rowing machine and an ab-cruncher, plus a few small hand weights. Plenty enough for a good basic workout. There was a big TV screen on the wall, and he switched on one of the music channels to provide us with some entertainment.

  We did twenty minutes each on the machines, chatting to start with and then the conversation dropped off as we got warmed up and more out of breath. So, I half watched the TV and also watched Alex. I liked watching him. He wasn’t a super fit athlete, but he had an easy grace of movement and I could see his muscles working during a few of his high-intensity bursts. Seeing him panting and sweating was sexy too.

  After about an hour, we slowed into a warm down and smiled at each other. I needed some time to recover, because although I was relatively fit, I only ever managed the student gym at Uni once or twice each week at most. Whereas I knew he exercised most days of the week.

  “Time for a shower and I will need someone to scrub my back.” Little Madam Sophie inclined her head in a way that brooked no argument.

  He wiped the big grin off his face when I gave him my sternest look, and muttered something under his breath which I’m sure included the word ‘spanking’. I turned and marched imperiously towards the bathroom, although I could hear his low chuckle behind me.

  In the bathroom, we both burst into laughter as we removed our clothes. We kissed and cuddled under the shower and I ground my body against him as suggestively as I could. As we washed and dried, I pressed against him again and said, “I think I might need a bit of sorting out now.”

  “Hmm,” he said in an ominous tone. “I’m not so sure that little girls who are so full of themselves deserve to be ‘sorted out’. I think maybe Fetish 101 lesson one, might include seeing how naughty girls get their butts tanned for being cheeky to their elders.”

  I tried hard not to giggle and kept my eyes downcast. After all, I had even dared him to spank me the other day. The thought of him being dominant was genuinely very sexy. He led me through to the bedroom and laid me face down on the bed.

  Then he grabbed all the pillows and said, “Put those under you and get that butt in the air, I will be back in a minute.” Back in a minute? What was that about? Just how serious is this going to be?

  I heard him return and he climbed onto the bed behind me. He stroked my butt which made me jump from the anticipation. Then he rested one hand on my hip, and I heard a swishing noise as he tested some tool in the air. OMG, what has he got? My heart started beating faster… Swish… smack! I yelped as there was a sharp sting on my right buttock. A small pause then, Swish… smack on the other side. And the next time I squeaked again. My face reddened, and I could also feel my pussy getting hot and my nipples starting to get hard. Oh wow, this was partly a flush of embarrassment, but it was also turning me on.

  Swish… smack. “I wonder how many strokes a naughty girl deserves,” he pondered aloud. I bit my lip but said nothing. Two more strokes and the last one was a bit harder which made me yelp again. But by now I knew my pussy was very moist. I could take a bit more spanking but I truly wanted him inside me badly. Then I felt him softly kissing me where he had spanked me. And his hand gently stroked my pussy. I moaned as I felt my entire body tingle and flush with warmth.

  “Please…” I sa
id. The head of his cock probed the entrance to my pussy, and then he thrust into me from behind. I pushed back towards him to take him as deep as I could, and I heard him sigh. As our momentum increased his balls were bouncing against my clit when he was buried deep, and sending shivers through me. This was our first ‘doggie’ session but I somehow doubted that it would be the last. His hands were tight on my hips and I could hear his heavy breathing. And then I could sense that familiar tingle and knew I would come before long. He seemed to sense my impending climax and just before I came, I felt him press one thumb into the tight little ring of my butt-hole. He didn’t try to push inside, just pressed down and rubbed it. It was as if a bolt of electricity had shot through me and met my orgasm coming the other way. I just screamed in ecstasy and collapsed as my body quivered in its climax.

  I stayed bent over the pillows and when I recovered he started thrusting into me again. I didn’t come again but I guess we can’t always have multiple or simultaneous orgasms (greedy girl!). But it was wonderful feeling him inside me. And it was nice to be able to feel all the sensations of him coming inside me, which I miss if I’m coming at exactly the same time.

  He turned me over and gazed into my eyes. He said, “Little darling, I don’t think I can describe exactly how much you turn me on, any more than I can find words for how much I love you.” I pulled him down to kiss him.

  “Spooky, I feel exactly the same,” I whispered. We cuddled up together, wanting to be touching each other. My abused buttock was still glowing slightly but wasn’t at all painful. I suddenly realised that I had an unanswered question. “Hey, what was that thing you spanked me with?”

  He reached down by the side of the bed, and showed me one of those flexible plastic cooking slices. He grinned, “I know you wanted to improve your cooking skills! And talking about cooking, how about lunch now?”

  We made a simple lunch of pate and toast with salad, and then curled up on the couch together to listen to some music. The afternoon slipped by and then it was time for me to gather my things and drive back to Southampton.

  I knew I was going to miss him, but I also knew that he would be there for me if ever I needed him and that it wouldn’t be long until I could see him again. This time leaving him was so much easier because somehow our relationship had moved on another step. It already felt that much more real and secure. That didn’t stop me from kissing him as if we were the last people on Earth, but I drove away feeling happy rather than empty. And I was looking forward to wherever we were going next.

  ~ Sophie ~

  It was about eight pm when I got back to my student house. The other girls were still sitting around a half-eaten meal in the kitchen as I entered.

  Suzie leapt up and blocked my way to the stairs, and said, “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere until we get the whole story!”

  I sighed resignedly and said, “OK, OK, I’ll dump my bags in my room and I’ll be down in five minutes, honest!”

  When I returned, Rachel said, “There’s a slice of pizza and some salad left if you’re hungry.”

  “Thanks”, I replied and went to the big American style fridge. From ‘Sophie’s Shelf’ I grabbed a can of beer as I figured I would need it, and then helped myself to a slice of pizza. Fiona said nothing in her usual cool analytical way.

  But Suzie was clearly ready to explode with her need to know what was going on. “AND ???” she said.

  “You know I was going on a diving holiday this Easter break….”

  “Yes, Yes,” interrupted Suzie “We know that. You were going with some old relatives, so where did this new guy come from?”

  “Well it was just one relative, and he’s a guy. And well… we sort of hooked up and got together.” I took a large sip of my beer.

  “You mean you got screwed by your cousin?” exploded Suzie.

  “Give me a chance to explain it all,” I said. “Firstly, he’s not my cousin. He’s like a second cousin and only by marriage, so there’s nothing dodgy or incestuous about it.

  Secondly, well… ummm, I sort of seduced him rather than the other way around. And thirdly, he’s quite dishy and really fantastic in bed.”

  “Ewww, I’m not sure I want too much detail,” said Fiona.

  “Yes, we do!” said Suzie.

  “So exactly how old is he?” persisted Fiona.

  “He’s forty-eight,” I said and paused, waiting for their reactions.

  “O M G,” said Suzie. Rachel said nothing but did look a bit uncomfortable.

  “Oh, Sophie that’s way too old,” said Fiona. “Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far?” I didn’t want to be too confrontational with my friends, but I wasn’t giving in either.

  “It’s my life,” I said. “And I feel just fine about what I’m doing.”

  Suzie said, “Rachel, you went out with an older guy, didn’t you?”

  Rachel replied, “Yes but he was only twenty-nine. It’s not really the same thing at all.”

  Fiona said “I can’t really process this all in one go. I think you have some trouble ahead, Sophie.” And she got up and left the room. We heard Fiona switch on the TV in the living room.

  Rachel said, “Well I wish you luck, Soph”, and started tidying up the remains of the meal. “I’ve got some studying to do, so good night,” she said when she had finished.

  That only left Suzie and I. Suzie still looked gobsmacked, so I gave her a hug, and said, “I’ll be just fine, really!” I handed her my can of beer and she took a big gulp.

  Then she said, “I can sort of understand a wild holiday fling, but now you are seeing him again. Be careful you don’t get in too deep and fall for him.”

  “Oops,” I said, and her eyes widened in horror. “I am totally in love with him already and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. Oh, and by the way, he’s still married even though he’s separated.”

  “Oh Soph, don’t get yourself hurt!” she said.

  “Suze, truthfully, I’m happier than I have ever been in my whole life. I know the age gap is a pretty massive thing and it’s not going to be easy. And if it lasts, god knows how I’m going to tell my parents. But I love him and he loves me. I feel so totally energised both in my studies and with this relationship. All I can do is follow my heart and it feels so right.”

  Suzie took another swig of my beer and said, “Wow, this is like some Jane Austen or Thomas Hardy story of star-crossed lovers. Except that you are two hundred years too late. Well, I’ve simply got to meet your Colonel Brandon now!”

  We giggled and hugged each other again. “You know I wish you the best Soph,” she said. “Just take care, please.”

  “Thanks, girlfriend,” I replied.

  I guess one positive, one negative, and one sort of neutral response was not a bad result. I finished my beer, said good night to Suzie, and headed for my room.

  It was too early to sleep, so I lay in bed for some time pondering how to deal with the way people reacted. I had known that even though the age gap was not important to Alex and myself, that we would inevitably be judged by other people. And now I was starting to see how even people who knew me had varying degrees of tolerance and understanding. So even though I hated to admit it, Fiona was right when she predicted trouble ahead of us.

  And yet it is so crazy. It’s true that I am the happiest I have ever been in my whole life. Loving Alex and being with him had all of a sudden transformed me from someone who didn’t quite know where life was going, into someone who wants to meet life head-on and make the most of every minute.

  My childhood had been stable and contented. But it hadn’t all been plain sailing, like most kids I had encountered some issues along the way. I have always been very bright, but even that can cause problems. At the time I first started high-school I was a bit of a geek, top of the class and teacher’s pet. Unfortunately, I was also the smallest girl physically and my development of womanly curves and attributes was a bit behind most of my peers. Inevitably I got bullied. It wa
sn’t a rough, tough school and the bullying was not that bad compared to some that you hear about. But it was still pretty upsetting at that age.

  During the next couple of years, I had learned to carefully manage my coursework and homework. So, I became mostly a B-plus student with only an occasional A. That way I stayed in the top half of the class. But I became almost invisible in the pack and the attention shifted away from me. Ironically it made my Dad get even stricter with me as my grades dropped, and he was pushing me harder and harder to catch up.

  By the time, I was fifteen I was just little miss average until I got straight A’s in all my exams, which surprised everyone somewhat.

  After that when I was sixteen and seventeen, I went to the other extreme and became quite a wild and rebellious child. I skipped classes but still got A grades. As soon as I was legally old enough I went to my family doctor and went on the pill. And then I became something of a slut and slept around with quite a few boys, which I regret looking back at it. But it did bring me back into having a social life which I had missed in my earlier years at school when I had virtually no friends. I got four straight A’s again in my A Level exams, despite being suspended at least twice. But I decided that I needed a break from education, so I took a gap year and got some casual and part-time jobs to pay my way. I think I grew up a lot that year finding that work is not so much fun if it’s not something you enjoy. And the wild child toned her act down quite a lot.

  Despite my excellent grades, my less than squeaky clean behaviour at school, meant I had no real chance of getting into Oxford or Cambridge. But to be honest that didn’t matter. Southampton was a respected university well into the top half of the league tables and its business school had a good reputation. It was two hours away from my parent’s house by car, which is far enough to feel independent, but not so far that going home was a real chore.