Sarah nodded, her chin pressing into his chest. She could feel him sigh again, but this time with disappointment. “I have a surprise for you, though.” She peered up at him, her face brightening with a mischievous grin.
“What’s that?”
“It’s more of a show than a tell,” she explained. She watched a look of curiosity spread across his face as she took his hand and led him back inside the cabin.
She instructed him to lie down on the bed while she went to dig the surprise out from the bottom of her suitcase. She’d wrapped it in some of her clothes so that he wouldn’t accidentally discover it. She returned, carrying it hidden behind her back, but stopped short a few feet from the bed to run her eyes lustfully over his body. He was reclining with his arms stretched behind his head, his biceps bulging. And that wasn’t the only thing bulging. His erection was straining against his perfectly sculpted abs, almost begging for her attention. How did I get so lucky to marry such a specimen? Sarah thought, her excitement sending blood rushing down to her sex.
She brought her hand around in front of her body, producing a black plastic tubular device. James’s eyes widened and his left eyebrow arched. “What’s that?”
“It’s a fleshlight, custom made with a replica of my own vagina.” She said it neutrally, not wanting to color the reaction she was anxiously awaiting.
"Oh really?" James challenged, his eyeballs sizing up the gift she held in her hand. It seemed as though he was testing her, testing to see if she was serious about using it. They had not used toys very often in their lovemaking. Sarah had a glass dildo and a silicone vibrator but that was pretty much it. She tended to use them only when James was out of town.
"Don't you want to see if they got it right?"
"I'm trying to figure out how they got the mold?" he smirked.
"That's for me to know and you to....not know," she clarified, laughing. She was a little disappointed that he was so fixated on the origins of the device and not on actually using it. But she realized it was natural to have some trepidation when one wasn’t accustomed to using toys, and with James’s Catholic background where masturbation was wholeheartedly frowned upon, it was completely understandable that he’d be reticent.
"I want to use it on you," Sarah stated, her words floating out into the air like little balloons. He didn't answer verbally, just closed his eyes as if he was
submitting to her whims. She took that as her invitation.
She knelt on the bed beside him and took his cock into her mouth. His erection had subsided a little, but in only a minute, she had him rock hard and throbbing again. She squirted a few drops of lube onto the head of his cock and used her hand to spread it up and down
his shaft, eliciting a soft, deep moan. Then she unscrewed the top of the fleshlight and slowly started to ease it down on his cock. There was quite a bit of resistance, and he groaned when he was finally all the way inside. "Almost as good as you," he breathed, and she smiled.
She moved the black plastic tube up and down on his shaft, very slowly at first, getting a thrill from seeing his thick tool disappear inside of it. She loved watching his face as she started to speed her tempo ever so gradually. He went from being relaxed to clenching all of his muscles in anticipation. She began to move faster and faster until he was moaning loud enough that if they had neighbors, they would know kinkiness was afoot.
She wasn’t sure why this turned her on so much, but it did. Parts of her wished she could have provided a surrogate, a woman for him to fuck and she could watch. She hadn’t been able to get the image of him fucking Felicity out of her mind since the house party. There was something about watching his muscles rippling as he thrusted in and out, immersing himself in the pleasure he was giving and receiving. Of course, the fleshlight was more of a one-way street as far as pleasure was concerned, but in some ways that made it even hotter.
“I want you to come inside it,” she said. “I want to watch you come.” He was beyond speaking now, his eyes tightly shut, his fists gripping the headboard behind him. She watched the tension mounting on his face, popping out in a little vein in his forehead. She could see his whole body straddling the narrow threshold between painful need and exquisite pleasure. Seeing his desperate need for release, knowing that she had brought him to that point was very gratifying.
Suddenly his mouth popped open with a growl and his body jerked so hard that she nearly lost her grip on the toy. She imagined thick white spurts shooting out his cock to the back of the fake pussy, and the mental picture alone made her so horny she thought if she barely touched her clit to push her over the edge, she’d be coming right alongside him.
After he stopped moving, a look of blissful repose spread across his face. When his jaw fully unclenched and his eyelids no longer creased, she gently removed his spent cock from the toy and set it on a towel she had flung over the footboard. She licked the last few drops of semen oozing from the tip of his cock, revelling in the saltiness as it tingled her tastebuds. Then she climbed up his body and straddled his face, lowering her dripping wet pussy to his mouth. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet but he smelled her desire long before her flesh made contact with his lips.
His beard was growing out since he never shaved when he was on vacation. She could feel its scruffiness scratching against her delicate netherlips, but it only made her more excited. The feel of his roughness against her softness, the stark contrast, was undeniably sexy.
James moved his tongue against her clit, now tasting the desire he’d smelled moments before. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her toward his mouth as he hungrily lapped at the swollen, wanton folds of her womanhood. She gripped the headboard like he had moments before, establishing a steady but gradually increasing rhythm of grinding her pelvis into his face.
It didn’t take long for her gyrations to culminate in an explosion all over his face, drenching him in her come. “Fuck!” she screamed several times in succession, once again grateful for their private retreat in the mountains where no neighbors would hear her ecstasy-induced utterings.
After she finished she moved down onto his chest so that he could breathe easily again. “So we can’t fuck, but we can do that?” he asked, his face glistening with the remnants of her orgasm.
She nodded. “No penetration,” she explained.
“Well, you know how much I love having my cock inside you, but you have to admit, that was pretty fucking hot.”
“I know,” she whispered, scooting down so she could put her head right where her bottom had been. “All this time together and it’s still hot. I think that’s a pretty good omen.”
He smiled, squeezing her against him. “Me too, baby,” he agreed. “Me too.”
***
As soon as she woke up and glanced at her phone, Abby realized it was her mother and James’s first wedding anniversary. Not wanting to disturb their romantic retreat back to the place where they exchanged vows, she sent them both a text: Congratulations on making it a whole year! Here’s to many more! I love you xoxo.
Abby remembered liking James from the moment she met him. He didn’t simply dismiss her as an awkward teenage girl; he genuinely tried engage her in conversation and find out what she was passionate about. She grew close to him when he was deployed to Afghanistan via Skype. They’d discussed her mission to find her father as well as some aspects of her love life, although she was careful not to give him so many details that he’d be uncomfortable. She found that he was a good listener and gave sound advice as well. It was refreshing to have a male point of view on some things. After becoming so close to him, she knew without a doubt that he and her mother were meant for each other. She was beyond thrilled when they finally realized it too!
She thought about how many relationships her mother had to go through to find the right man for her. She was thirty-six years old when she met James. I’m eighteen, Abby did the math in her head. Does that mean I’m still another lifetime away from meeting my soul mate?
That thought was looming over her like the mountains as she walked the short distance to the library. The campus was quiet and still on a fall Sunday morning, with dorms full of students likely suffering from hangovers. Abby wasn’t far enough removed from her own horrid hangover to not think about the vomiting and dizziness that was happening in each dorm bathroom. Despite those two divergent and pervasive thoughts, the sunlight beaming down on the campus from the impossibly blue sky made her impervious to negativity.
I’m going to get caught up on my research for my English comp class, she thought. How can I become a writer someday if I procrastinate all the time and miss deadlines? I can’t. I have to work for it. Her mother had found out she was pregnant at the beginning of her senior year, but she muscled through her last two semesters of classes, despite her burgeoning belly and mounting stress about the future. She remembered watching her mother work her way through her PhD program while simultaneously raising two young children and dealing with her absent husband’s shenanigans. Her mother was the best example she could possibly have of hard work paying off.
The librarian on duty at the reference desk was beginning to recognize Abby after so many visits and nodded at her as she passed. She guessed he was in his early fifties with gray hair tied in a ponytail, small wire-rimmed glasses and a penchant for flannel. Flannel was a staple of most people’s wardrobes in Colorado. Even being a Colorado native, she hadn’t quite been able to embrace it. She was more of a hoodie girl, as evidenced by the slouchy pink and silver one she wore with the hood pulled over her head. Two long honey-colored braids peeked out the sides.
She made herself comfortable at one of the computers and logged in. While she was waiting for it to load up her account, she noticed there were more students at the library on a Sunday morning than she anticipated. Two groups of four occupied the large oak-trimmed tables in the atrium. And like she had seen during an earlier visit, one of the group members was Star Tattoo.
She felt her heart begin to uncontrollably flutter in her ribcage. She had this strange sensation of wanting to disappear and wanting to go introduce herself all at the same time. How am I supposed to go make conversation when she’s with three other people? I can’t interrupt.
She sighed. How can this perfect stranger make me so crazy? To say she felt conflicted was a gross understatement. What choice did she have other than to concentrate on her work and furtively glance over to her table every few minutes to see if the landscape offered any new leverageable opportunities for interaction?
She wished she’d texted Maddy and asked her to meet at the library. Anything to distract her. And safety in numbers and all that. She logged into one of the library databases and began to search for articles on her topic, which was gay marriage. She was supposed to present both sides of the argument in her paper, but she was so firmly in the pro-camp, she wasn’t sure how she was going to see it from the other vantage. How could anyone actually know a gay couple – someone like my Uncle Adam and his fiancé Brandon – and want to deny them the legal and social benefits of marriage? She just didn’t understand. She was certain the stumbling block was that most of the people against gay marriage didn’t even know any gay people.
Speaking of which, she still hadn’t decided if it was time to “come out” to her father. Now it was true that she hadn’t officially “come out” to her mother and James either, but she was certain it would be a non-issue and she’d be fully supported. However, her father was politically and socially conservative, not to mention religious. He and his other daughters went to a huge evangelical Christian church every Sunday. He always invited Abby, and she always politely declined.
She sometimes forgot that Colorado Springs was a hotbed for fundamentalist Christians because her mother had kept her relatively sheltered from all that when they lived nearby. Now that she was here on her own and there were so many Christian groups promoting themselves all over campus, it was constantly on her radar. Not that there is anything wrong with being religious, she thought. Except when bigoted views hurt and exclude people, of course.
She began combing through the search results in the first database, checking off articles which looked promising for her paper. After ten minutes of that she felt a presence close to her, as if another body was radiating heat toward her from mere inches away. She looked up and found herself peering directly into the inky black eyes of Star Tattoo. She nervously gulped a mouthful of air and awkwardly scrambled to her feet, very nearly tripping over her own backpack.
Star Tattoo took a step backwards, alarmed by Abby’s reaction. “Hey, sorry if I startled you,” she apologized. She had a rich, honey-infused voice with a very slight southern accent, which Abby was not at all expecting.
“It’s okay,” Abby replied, trying to brush off her wild reaction with a laugh. “Did you need the computer? Or…?”
She shook her head and ran her fingers through her blue-streaked hair, tucking the dyed swatch behind her ear. “No, I just recognized you from our English class and wanted to say hey. And ask if you have started working on the point/counterpoint paper yet.”
Abby smiled. “I’m working on it now, actually.” She pointed to the computer screen with the database results visible. As if it’s not blatantly obvious that’s what I’m doing. Duh, Abby chided herself.
“Yeah I still haven’t picked my topic. I’m not really a good writer. I’m sort of a math and science nerd,” she confessed.
“Oh, those are definitely not my strong suit!” Abby laughed. “I like writing.”
“I’m Mia, by the way,” Star Tattoo offered.
Abby froze for a moment as she contemplated how to introduce herself. Finally words came to her: “I’m Abigail. Abby. Abigail, Abby, whatever you call me, I’ll probably answer.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wondering how apparent it was that she was nervous. And then she wondered if there was any way this sudden confrontation could be construed as flirting, or if it was just a friendly greeting and small talk. Well, at least I said my name four times; she’s not likely to forget it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Abigail,” Mia replied in her slight southern drawl. Abby almost expected her to extend her hand and offer a little curtsy, but instead she just smiled. Abby noticed for the first time that she had a tiny silver hoop lip ring in the corner of her mouth. And it naturally led her to imagine what it would be like to kiss someone with such a piercing, and more specifically what it would be like to kiss the person standing in front of her.
Abby couldn’t get any words to filter through her brain and out her mouth so she just stood there smiling. Finally Mia glanced back at the group she’d left at the table. They were shooting her looks as if to ask what she was doing and when she was coming back. “Do you think you could help me with my paper?” she asked. “You know, if you have time and it’s not too much trouble. Feel free to say no, I just…I just need all the help I can get.”
Abby tried to keep herself from flushing, but it was too late. She felt the heat spreading from her collarbones up to her neck and down to her breasts. “Yeah, I could probably do that,” she answered, trying to disguise her actual state of extreme willingness.
“Wow, that’s awesome, and really kind of you. I’ve got to run for now, but I’ll give you my number in class tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Abby replied, a little disappointed she didn’t hand over her number immediately. But this entire interaction was unexpected. She couldn’t help but be flattered and delighted. All this time I worried myself with approaching her, and then she just goes and does it herself. Kinda funny how that worked out.
Later that afternoon she Whispered: Sometimes patience really pays off. Thank the gods I went to the library this morning!”
***
Chapter Six
Hearts
Sarah held her breath as she answered the phone. The entire conversation lasted 39 seconds and the only thing she could recall after she hung up was the word "positive."
Fortunately, James was standing nearby to witness the joy as it spread across his wife's face. Her glow was contagious and began to illuminate his features as well, starting with his blue eyes which brightened as soon as she repeated the word to him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight to his chest. "So what's the next step?"
Sarah gulped, "Um, growing a baby? Or babies?" She laughed at him. She kept forgetting this whole world of pregnancy and parenthood were new to him. He'd already confessed wishing he'd paid more attention when his sisters were going through it.
"Yeah, yeah, but when do you go back to the doctor?"
"I'm going back on Thursday for another blood test to see what my hCG and progesterone levels look like. And then they'll schedule an ultrasound for the week after. We should be able to see the heartbeat...or heartbeats...then."
He nodded. "So you're happy, right?" he confirmed.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be? This is what we wanted!"
"I know. Just checking. So are we telling anyone yet or not?"
"Just my mom and Rachel," Sarah replied. They hadn't told Abby, Owen, Adam or any of James's family that they were trying IVF. Fortunately all of Sarah's doctor appointments had been scheduled while Owen was at school so he hadn't had a chance to become suspicious. However, with his sharp intuition, I'm sort of surprised he hasn't gotten the feeling that something is afoot, Sarah thought, wondering if Owen's pre-teen mind was interfering with his empathic abilities.
Sarah could hear Rachel jumping up and down on the other end of the phone; her voice was fading in and out as she screamed, "You're having twins! I just know it!"
The Mountains Trilogy (Boxed Set) Page 75
