COZY MYSTERY: Lemon Pie Murder Series (Lemon Mystery Murder)

by Lorrie Bannett

  Daniel was taken off guard at Meri’s suspicions. Admittedly, he had not been happy about the pregnancy, but he would never have done anything to put Meri or the baby in danger.

  Chapter 6

  Meri had thrown herself back into her classes. She had doubled up on some of them so that she could perhaps graduate a little sooner. Daniel had denied any fault in what happened to the baby, but she wasn’t sure. He seemed to be handling the loss better than her. And then he had made the statement that perhaps this was a sign that it just wasn’t the right time for the two of them to be bringing a baby into the world.

  Daniel was having a hard time with Meri’s accusations. How could she possibly believe that he would put her life in danger by intentionally running the bike off the road? He loved her, and he hoped to one day spend the rest of his life with her, it just wasn’t the right time now. The loss of the baby was tragic, but he thought it would give them more time to get to know each other. It would give her time to complete her studies, and get her licensing exam behind her before having to worry about taking care of a baby.

  Meri did not share Daniel’s feelings. She had made no plans about the future, and she had no idea what she was going to do once the baby arrived, but she knew that it was a baby that her and Daniel had created, and she had wanted it. She felt so empty now. Her pregnancy had been in the early stages, but she had been aware that her baby was growing inside her. It was Meri’s responsibility to take care of the baby’s welfare and she had failed miserably. She alternated between blaming Daniel for the accident, and blaming herself for getting on the back of that motorcycle when she knew that she was pregnant.

  One evening after class Meri and Anna were in their room studying. Meri decided she wanted to confide in Anna about what had happened. She desperately needed somebody to talk to and her mother was out of the question. Anna listened while Meri told her about Daniel, their passion, and the loss of the baby.

  “Wow,” Anna said. “I had no idea you were in this type of relationship. I knew that you had been staying out a few nights, but I didn’t know that it was anything serious.”

  “I never planned for it to get serious,” Meri said. “It just happened. He has been so gentle and so kind, and we have had some really great times together. I don’t want him to be out of my life, but I don’t know if I can trust him now.”

  “There is no reason for you to make any decisions right now,” Anna said. “You have time to explore your feelings. Maybe the two of you need some time apart so that you can heal. Once you heal, then perhaps you two can start over.”

  “I don’t know if I will ever get over the loss of the baby,” Meri said. “I know it wasn’t the right time for me to get pregnant, but I was really starting to look forward to having the baby.”

  Anna told Meri that it would not be a bad idea if she asked a doctor to give her some type of birth control. Meri didn’t feel it was necessary at this point, but Anna pointed out that if she had used birth control before she would not be sitting here right now mourning the loss of a baby. Meri agreed that Anna was probably right and birth control might be a good idea. She was upset with Daniel right now, but she remembered the passion he had introduced her to. She knew that she could not trust herself to not give in if the right time arose. She decided she would get an appointment before the week was over.

  The following day Meri found herself once again in the office of the doctor on campus. She explained to him what had happened, and told him she wanted to discuss birth control with him. He agreed that was the right thing to do if she did not want to risk another pregnancy. They discussed the different types of birth control that is available. The pill is very effective, but there are side effects. They can cause irregular bleeding, there had been studies that indicate they may play a role in developing breast cancer, and it could possibly take her longer to get pregnant when the time is right. Shots were fairly safe and had few side effects. She probably would not experience her monthly cycle as long as she was taking the shots, but she would have to visit the office on a monthly basis to get the shot. The IUD was safe and long lasting. It is a small device that is inserted into the uterus and is designed to release a mild medication that kills sperm. She would have to visit her doctor’s office annually for an exam and to get a new IUD, but otherwise the device was undetectable once in place.

  Meri found herself alone again as she undressed and sat on the end of the examining table. She had decided to allow the doctor to fit her with an IUD. It seemed to be the best birth control option with the least amount of side effects. She lay back on the table and spread her legs wide to allow the doctor access to her vagina and uterus. She felt a sudden sharp pain when the doctor used an instrument to open the mouth of her uterus wide enough to put the IUD in place. The procedure was soon over and she was on her way back to the dorm. She could not get over this empty feeling that she had been going through ever since the accident. She had agreed to go out with Daniel on Friday night. Her feelings for him had not really changed. She loved him, wanted to be in his bed, and wanted to feel that passion that only he could give her. But she was having trouble getting beyond the loss of her baby.

  When Daniel picked her up on Friday evening, he suggested they find a private place where they could eat and have a talk. It troubled him that they had lost the closeness that had been developing before the accident. He wanted her to understand that the accident was just that, an accident. While they were waiting on their meal, Meri noticed that Daniel was being very sweet. He tried to engage her in conversation and take her mind off the loss that she was feeling. He felt a glimmer of hope when she told him that she had seen a doctor for birth control.

  After their meal Meri agreed to go back to the apartment with Daniel. She knew what would happen, but she had to see if she could still feel the passion that she once had for him. When they entered the apartment Daniel took Meri’s jacket and placed it across the back of a chair. He was on fire for her and took the chance of leading her down the hallway toward his bedroom. He felt relief when she did not resist.

  Once they reached the bedroom Daniel placed his arms around Meri and kissed her deeply. She could feel that familiar fire began to build deep within her stomach. She didn’t resist when he started removing her clothing. To her it felt good to just forget about the reality for a while and enjoy the pleasure Daniel could provide her body. When she was completely naked she lay on her back across the bed. She watched in silence while Daniel divested himself of his clothing. She saw that his manhood was already fully engorged. She remembered how full she felt when she had taken it inside her body.

  Daniel was trying to take his time. He wanted to make Meri remember the passion that the two of them shared. He knew that right now things were strained between them, and he hoped to rectify that situation tonight. He planned to take her to ever higher places that she had been before. He had remembered how much she had enjoyed the vibrator. Perhaps tonight he would take a different approach. He began slowly worshipping her body with his tongue. He nipped at her breasts while his fingers worked their magic between her thighs. He inserted one finger inside her while his thumb began working on her clitoris. She knew that she was lost in desire, and she intended to make the most of it.

  Daniel kneeled between her wide-spread thighs to work his magic with his warm mouth and hot tongue. He would tease Meri almost to the point of release before stopping and allowing her ardor to cool a little. He wanted to take as long as possible. He wanted Meri to experience passion unlike any she had experienced before. He continued in this matter for several minutes, taking her almost to the brink, and then withdrawing.

  Soon Daniel turned Meri over on her stomach and started once again driving her body crazy with his mouth. He kissed back and told her to close her eyes and enjoy. She felt something cool pour across her skin. Then Daniel began gently rubbing some type of oil into her skin. His fingers felt wonderful as the gently massaged her back and slowly moved lower. Meri could fee
l a slight tingling as Daniel worked the fragrant oil into her skin. She felt him pick up her hips and he reached for a pillow that he placed under her stomach. This allowed him better access to her womanhood. She felt his fingers separate her lips and spread the oil all over the outside of her womanhood. She then felt his fingers as they entered her, taking that tingling oil all the way inside her.

  Meri didn’t think she could stand any more. She was on fire between her legs where Daniel had rubbed in the oil. She started to beg him to give her relief.

  “Please,” Meri said. “Please, I can’t stand much more without some relief.”

  Daniel spread her legs as wide as he could while lifting her hips to allow him a good view. He gently placed the vibrator inside her and turned it on. Meri started groaning with pleasure when she felt that gentle vibration go to work both inside and outside of her. The heat from the oil was adding to the pressure she was feeling for release. Daniel was moving the vibrator in and out, watching Meri’s womanly canal start to convulse around it. He switched it on high and for Meri all thought was lost. Her entire body was one passionate sensation after another. She had never felt such enormous pleasure. She heard herself begging Daniel to not stop.

  “Please, I want you inside me,” Meri said. “I want to feel your cock inside of me. Please, put it in right now.”

  Daniel withdrew the vibrator and rammed his hard cock as deep inside Meri as he could possibly go. She was hot and ready, and he knew that neither of them would last long. He began pounding hard into her. He pulled open her hips in an attempt to get deeper. He could feel the warmth of the oil as his rhythm increased. Soon he felt her canal start to convulse. He pounded as hard and as fast as he possibly could as the two of them exploded in midair. He spilled his hot seed deep inside her while her juices flowed from her and dripped onto the bed.

  When Meri returned to classes on Monday, she reflected back on the weekend. Daniel had complete power over her body, but the pain of the lost pregnancy was still in her mind. She wished that she could let go of the doubts that she had about Daniel causing the accident. Somewhere deep inside of her she could not possibly believe that Daniel would do something so sinister, but she was having a hard time trusting him again.

  Soon Daniel and Meri were facing a problem of a totally different kind. Their parents wanted to get the entire family together for Christmas dinner. The thought sent shock waves through Meri. How would she sit through dinner with Daniel at the table and act like they were basically strangers? The last time she was home she had been a virgin. Surely her mother could look at her and tell that was no longer the case.

  Daniel was feeling some of the same fears as Meri. After getting off the phone with his father he wondered how he could possibly be under the same roof with Meri and not touch her. He had absolutely no control over his manhood where Meri is concerned. How could they possibly sit through dinner without either of their parents picking up on something?

  Chapter 7

  Christmas was strained, at best. They arrived separately and acted like they hadn’t seen each other since the Florida vacation. Harold looked at Meri and asked her if she remembered his son. Boy, if he only knew!

  Amanda told Meri they had left her room as it was when she left for college. She told Daniel that his room was located at the end of the hall next to the upstairs bath. Amanda asked Meri to show Daniel where his room was when she took her bags upstairs. Daniel was thinking that he could not possibly have Meri and a bed in such close proximity without making love to her.

  When Meri took her bags to her room, Daniel followed with his. At the top of the stairs she directed him to his room and the end of the hall.

  “How are you doing,” Daniel asked.

  “Probably about as well as you are, but we must not allow our parents to suspect anything,” Meri said.

  Meri went directly to her room and looked around. Her mother had left it exactly as it was when she was home. Somehow it now seemed like a room for a little girl. There was nothing in the room that belied the passion she had experienced since the last time she was here. She placed her bags on the bed and opened one to find her red sweater that she planned to wear for dinner. She threw it over her shoulder and went back downstairs to see if there was anything she could do to help her mother.

  Amanda wanted to hear all about college. They were seated around the table enjoying an elaborate Christmas dinner and so far Meri and Daniel had avoided any slip ups.

  “So how are you doing in your classes,” Amanda asked.

  “I’m keeping my grades up,” Meri said. “My roommate is Anna and we get along great. We both joined the student participation program and we have been able to make a little extra money by being guinea pigs for the medical students.”

  “Oh really,” Amanda said. “What types of tests have you volunteered for?”

  Meri blushed. She knew that she could never tell the whole family about her and Anna volunteering for the pelvic exams. Daniel would likely have a cow. Instead, she told her mother they had given blood, had ultrasounds, allowed the students to place casts on various parts of their body, and do ekg’s.

  “Well tell me, have you met any young men while you have been in college,” Amanda asked.

  Daniel just about got choked. He was coughing and sputtering about something going down the wrong pipe while Meri was trying to figure out how to answer that question.

  “Actually, I have spent the majority of my time on my studies,” Meri said. “I know that when I start in my medical classes I will have to work even harder. I have managed to get out with Anna a few times, but I mostly stay close to the dorm.”

  Meri found herself lying with the best of them. She did actually stay fairly close to the dorm, but she neglected to tell them that Daniel’s apartment was not far from her dorm. She dared a glance at Daniel who was still trying to compose himself after his coughing spell.

  Daniel soon joined Meri in the lies when his father asked him if he had been riding lately. Meri felt a swift pain in her chest when Harold mentioned the bike. Daniel told his father the bike was currently in the shop getting a tune up and new tires. At least part of that statement was true.

  Meri was desperate to change the subject. If things kept going as they were, either she or Daniel would screw up and say something wrong. She asked her mom how things were going with her job.

  When the long dinner was finally over, Meri told her mom she would help her clean everything up. Amanda insisted that she could do it later, but Meri was not going to be put off. She started toward the kitchen with an armful of dishes that she placed in the dishwasher.

  The evening went on with Amanda and Harold giving each of them a gift. Meri held up a blue chiffon blouse that had delicate embroidery on one pocket. Daniel’s father presented him with a handmade billfold with an engraved picture of the Harley on it. After setting around the tree and chit chatting about school and Daniel’s job as investigator, it was finally time to go to bed. Meri could not wait to get into her bedroom and close the door. It was disconcerting to be this close to Daniel and not be able to acknowledge their relationship.

  The following morning they enjoyed a homemade breakfast of sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, homemade biscuits, and gravy. Meri couldn’t wait to get out of the house and head back toward Memphis. She knew if she stayed here much longer something would slip and their parents might get suspicious.

  After breakfast Daniel told them he needed to get on the road. He had to return to work the following morning. Amanda tried to talk Meri into staying a few days since classes did not start up until after the first of the year. Meri told her that she was going to take this time to get in some extra studying, and she and Anna had plans for the New Year. She failed to mention the fact that those plans were not the two of them together.

  It was a relief to see the dorm. Meri let out a sigh of relief that the strain of the Christmas with family dinner was over. She and Daniel had somehow managed to get through it withou
t arousing suspicion. If things had worked out differently, she and Daniel might have been telling their parents about the baby. Instead, she was still dealing with her feelings of doubt where Daniel was concerned. She really wanted to believe him when he told her it was an accident. He said he would never deliberately put her in danger.

  With the holidays finally behind her, Meri was ready to get back to her routine. Once she got these classes behind her she would get to start actually studying medical related subjects. She was looking forward to finally getting into what she was there to study. Because her mother had been a nurse, Meri had always had a fascination with medicine.

  Daniel continued to see Meri on weekends, but things were just not right. She was still distant after losing the baby. He desperately wanted the passionate innocence back that Meri had when they first met. As hard as he tried, Meri just refused to allow him back in. He had to find a way to win her back. He simply could not picture his life without her.

  The trees were starting to put on their leaves and flowers were starting to bud. Spring was rapidly coming to the campus and it was one of Meri’s favorite times of year. It was a time of new birth. Daniel asked Meri to spend her spring break with him. He had arranged to have a week off from work and wanted him and Meri to take a trip to Florida. Meri wasn’t sure if she wanted to spend an entire week with Daniel in a romantic destination. It was Anna who finally convinced her that she should go.