by Yvonne Heidt
*
Natalie parked her car in the driveway. The sun was setting and turned the windows in the front of the house blood red. She stared through the windshield, grateful to find the window closed as she left it.
She was delighted to find the colossal mess in the front of the house. Any normal person would see chaos, she thought. She was pleased with the progress and could see the amazing potential. She was tickled pink. Like her house. She giggled, amused by the thought.
The day in the city rejuvenated her. Natalie had stopped in her favorite salon and got her hair trimmed then spent happy hours in the art supply warehouse putting a major ding in her credit card. After lunch, she sat and people watched.
Natalie studied every attractive woman that she spotted and tried imagining getting naked with them. Every time she attempted, each woman became Van. Well, that answered one of her questions. It was Van she wanted.
On the drive home, Natalie decided she would go with her impulses and quit living in her head. If there was any negative aftermath for being impulsive she would simply deal with it later. She was done hiding and pretending.
She felt lighter when she opened the trunk to retrieve her bags. Natalie quickly realized that she would have to make two trips. Had she really bought that much? She dropped the purchases in front of the staircase and went to the kitchen.
A note lay on the table from Van.
Natalie, tried calling you several times. Please get a hold of me when you get back. I would love to see you. Van.
Natalie was puzzled and dug in her purse to find her phone. The only person that called her that day was the manager at the art gallery. Her previous works were sold out, and he asked if she could provide a few more in time for their show in the early fall as they still needed to stretch and frame the large canvasses.
She checked the call log but didn’t see any from Van. Weird. The answering machine light wasn’t blinking either.
Natalie jumped when the wall extension rang loudly in the quiet kitchen.
“Hello?”
She heard nothing but static on the line. “Hello?”
The sound of heavy breathing filled her ear and she slammed the receiver. The phone immediately rang again.
“Hello?”
Natalie got chills when guttural laughter erupted. She was immediately aware of dark energy emanating from the sound and hung up again.
Her cell phone sang on the table. Okay, this was scary. “What do you want?” she screamed.
“Um, Natalie, is that you?”
“Van? Oh, God.” She laughed nervously and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were a crank caller.”
There was a pause. “Get many of those do you?”
“Just lately. How was your day?”
“Better now that I’ve finally got a hold of you. I thought you were trying to avoid me.”
“I saw your note.”
“Every time I tried to call your cell, it wasn’t accepting calls. When I tried to call your house, it was always busy.”
“For some reason, they didn’t even register.” Natalie was still spooked.
A door slammed upstairs and echoed in the kitchen. Natalie’s thoughts sprinted. Let me see, choice here. Home alone with a ghost or in bed with a beauty.
She closed her eyes briefly. Duh. “Van? Do you want to go out tonight?”
Chapter Thirteen
Van came around the bend in the driveway and found Natalie waiting on the front porch. She had barely put the truck in park before she surprised her and jumped into the cab. “Let’s go to your place.”
Van stared at her. Where was shy Natalie? This one had her pinned to the seat with a smoldering look that was so hot; Van instantly felt heat between her thighs.
“Okay,” she said simply before throwing the truck into reverse and speeding back the way she came.
Van hesitated before she pulled into the garage. “Last chance, Natalie. Are you sure about this? Because once I start, I’m going to really, really want to finish.”
Natalie unbuckled her seat belt and threw herself to the driver’s side. She held Van’s face in her hands and looked straight into her eyes. “I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now.”
Van growled deep in her throat.
“Omigod, Van. Now. Get out of the truck, now.”
Van pulled into the garage, opened her door, and reached to pull Natalie out of the driver’s side. They had barely made it into the kitchen before Van picked her up and Natalie wrapped her legs around her. Van staggered to the counter to sit her on it.
Natalie grabbed her collar and kissed her breathless. Van didn’t hold anything back; she threw herself into the kiss, barely letting either of them even catch a breath.
Wait. Van pulled back. “Stay here for a second.”
“What?”
“I’ll be right back.” Van left Natalie on the counter and raced to her bedroom where she lit several candles and turned down the comforter. She was nervous about being Natalie’s first, which unsettled her. She’d never had that responsibility before and it shook her confidence a little. She turned and saw Natalie standing in the doorway, looking stunning and fragile at the same time. The flickering candlelight reflected like flames off her hair. She walked toward Van and pulled the pins out of the mass of hair until it tumbled around her shoulders.
Van traced her hands down Natalie’s back and entangled them in her hair. She pulled her away from her chest so she could look at her. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered as she lowered her head to kiss her. The heat that bubbled below Natalie’s innocence took her breath away as she tenderly probed Natalie’s lips with her tongue. She felt the impact of Natalie’s soft sigh of submission charge her skin. Urgency made her lift Natalie onto the bed and her hair fanned out beneath her. Her eyes, oh God, her radiant eyes held unfathomable depth and traces of unspoken promises. It was the image already burned into Van’s mind, made real in one glorious moment.
Natalie was shocked at her own behavior. For someone who avoided sex as a rule, this aching need to be with Van threw all her inhibitions right out the nearest window. There would be no pretense, no guile, just a mutually driving force to sate their desire for each other. She reached up to unlace her dress at the collar. She laughed when Van did that sexy growl and moved her hands out of the way. “God, I love that,” she said. “Do it again.”
Van’s voice thickened. “You like that?”
Natalie arched her back in response when Van growled for her again. Van pinned her wrists to the bed and bit the top of the lace tie, pulling the bow out with her teeth. When she felt Van’s hands cover her naked breast she heard whimpering. She was stunned to discover it was coming from her own throat. She put a hand out to Van’s shoulder so she could sit and finish unlacing her dress then pull it off. She reached up for Van’s shirt and unbuttoned it with shaky hands. Natalie’s heart raced as she watched Van slip the shirt off and unhook her bra to throw it behind her. Her mouth went dry at the sight of Van peeling off her jeans to stand naked at the edge of the bed.
Natalie shyly touched her palm to Van’s stomach and felt the hard muscles jump at the contact. She brought her other hand over to trace Van’s hip. When she heard Van sigh she felt an answering tug in her own stomach and her body felt heavy. Then she felt herself being guided onto her back. She registered the flickering candles and the sound of her own heavy breathing before time no longer existed. This moment, right here, right now became her world.
Natalie felt Van’s breasts brush her stomach as she lowered herself gently onto her. She jumped with electrical desire and pulled Van closer to feel naked flesh alongside her own. She nipped Van’s lip and was rewarded with another growl. Pressure was building in her body, and she felt a sense of urgency that almost scared her.
Natalie melted when Van’s hand began stroking her gently, first circling her neck and then down her sides, lightly raking her nails along her inner thighs. L
iquid fire rushed to her center and they shared hot, tandem breaths. Van’s eyes stayed open and focused on her own. Natalie’s fingers clawed into the mattress when she felt Van’s teeth bite her nipples in turn then she trailed kisses down her stomach. Van’s knee pressed insistently between her thighs until Natalie realized she wanted her to spread them. She let her knees fall open and Van mounted her, pinning her with her pelvis and moving in tiny circles. Natalie strained against her, bucking her hips. Van’s soft skin sliding against her own was a whisper of ecstasy filled with a heat she had never felt. “Please, Van.” She dug her nails into Van’s back and hid her face against Van’s long neck.
“Sssh. Baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Van reached between their bodies, her fingers probing gently for Natalie’s clitoris. “God, you are hot, so incredibly wet. Is this for me?” Van leaned up on her elbow to look at Natalie’s face.
“Yes.” Wave after wave of emotion assaulted her, leaving her trembling, as vulnerable as she was naked. Her orgasm ripped through her and her body arched into Van’s. The pleasure was almost too intense. It didn’t plateau; it kept rising until Natalie closed her eyes and trembled with aftershocks.
Natalie finally opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze at Van. The disappointment and acute shame she usually experienced the proverbial morning after was glaringly absent. Sex with Van had been a miracle. The part of Natalie’s brain that criticized was blessedly silent.
Van looked concerned. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“That was incredible, you know? Is it always like this?”
“Always like what? Mind-blowing? Magnificent?” Van gave her a slow smile, teasing her. “Did you see fireworks?”
“Van, I think I saw God.” Natalie chuckled and sat with her legs crossed, pulling the sheet to her waist, leaving her breasts bare. It’s like I’ve been ordering pizza my entire life when what I really wanted was Chinese food.”
Van laughed and stroked her sides gently. “But the pizza man kept telling you that you loved his pizza, right?”
Natalie nodded. “I knew that I really didn’t like it. For some reason, this”—she waved her arms over the completely disheveled bed—“this didn’t occur to me.” Natalie felt the tears threaten behind her eyes. “How could I not know about this?”
“How about because you always did what was expected of you?”
Natalie rose on her knees and straddled Van’s hips.
Van grinned wickedly at her. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making a memory of this most important moment of my life.” She lightly caressed Van’s breasts, elated that her nipples instantly went hard. “I can’t believe how amazing this feels.” Natalie softly traced Van’s lips and jumped when her finger disappeared into her hot mouth. She gasped, instantly drenching Van’s thighs. “Oh. My. God.”
“There you go again. No, sweetheart, it’s just me.” Van flipped Natalie onto her back and kissed her long and hard. When she was gasping for breath, she whispered in her ear. “So, wanna go to heaven again?” She smothered Natalie’s giggles with a deep kiss.
*
“Do you have to go to work?” Natalie asked.
“Yes. There’s a big shipment coming in from one of our main suppliers at noon and I have to be there to inspect it. My father doesn’t want to be bothered with that aspect of the business anymore. He just wants to sit outside on one of the rockers and shoot the breeze with the customers.” Van watched a thought cross Natalie’s expressive face and thought she knew what she was thinking. On many levels that she didn’t want to explore yet, Van knew Natalie wasn’t a one-night stand for her. She thought of all the lines she could spit out and make Natalie feel better. Words that she could give to anyone else without even blinking twice. But the reassurances stuck in her throat.
The awkward silence stretched out between them until Natalie broke it, clearly trying to ease the tension. “Where are my panties?”
Van laughed and slapped her lightly on the ass, relieved for the moment. “They’re in my scrapbook, where else?”
“Seriously, Van.” She ruffled the covers. “A-ha! I found them” Natalie stood and fell back on the bed. “Wow. I am pleasantly sore in places that I didn’t even know I had.”
Van smiled at her. “That’s a good thing, sweetheart.”
Natalie cupped her hand on Van’s cheek. “I’m overwhelmed, and I don’t know how to articulate it yet. But I don’t know what the rules are here. Morning afters always felt shameful and uncomfortable. This is completely new territory for me and I don’t want to get lost. This has been the single most amazing experience of my life, but I don’t know where we go from here. I’m all wrapped up in you and I’m terrified.”
Van had a few of those same thoughts as well this morning but preferred to shut them down until she could think about how she felt. Natalie humbled her this morning. “Better to be terrified of the ghosts in your house than me.”
“Did you have to go there?” Natalie asked.
“What happened yesterday?”
“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you earlier.” Natalie smiled and flexed her long fingers. “I’m an artist. I have selective memory, and I can be temperamental and downright eccentric.”
Van was amused. “It’s part of your charm, right?”
“Damn straight.” Natalie said and reached for her dress to head into the bathroom.
“Natalie?” Van asked. She looked like a goddess standing there in her skimpy panties, tumbled hair, and wearing a blush on top of it all.
“Yes?”
“Brace yourself.” Van smoothly launched herself, tackling Natalie back onto the bed. “I am the boss and I can be late.”
*
After a red-hot kiss at the door and a promise to call later, Van dropped Natalie off and left for the nursery. With Van out of physical proximity, Natalie could think about the major turn her life had taken.
Flashbacks came to her in an intense rush. She thought of soft breasts and hot skin that felt like velvet over solid muscles. Natalie smiled. Everything had felt so natural. There were no awkward moments, at least until they had to part. Of course she was a bit shy and uncertain, but only because she hadn’t ever been made love to before, not like that. How could she put into words the way colors bled into her consciousness and splashed over all the shades of gray she had lived with for so many years? The passion she had only previously had a hint of when painting flooded her senses until all she could do was feel? How terrifying and satisfying it was all at the same time.
Natalie felt gloriously alive while she took her shower. She couldn’t help but smile while she thought this is what well-loved felt like. The depth of satisfaction made her want to purr. Natalie dried her body tenderly. There was not an inch of her that wasn’t kissed, caressed, or nibbled on. She hung up her towel and turned to the mirror then saw the new message written in the steam.
Run!
“The hell I will,” she said in an even tone, even as she was royally mad for the intrusion. She marched to her dresser to pull on comfortable clothes then went to her studio.
The completed sketch on the wall begged her attention. Though she desperately wanted to paint Sarah and Beth entwined on the chaise, she had the gallery obligation to fulfill.
Natalie propped two of the promised three paintings against the wall so she could create another to complement them. She crouched in front of the canvas women, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
The Winter Queen on her throne of ice stared back at her. She touched the woman’s mouth and wondered if she’d been thinking of how it would feel to kiss those full red lips in the back of some recess in her mind when she created her.
Frigid. Jason’s voice whispered in her memory.
The word intruded, but Natalie smiled. The ugly label no longer had any power over her. She turned to the Fire Empress standing defiantly in front of her throne. Flames licked the hem of her gown and piercing eyes dominated her face. Her long
hair blew around her, filling the canvas. She almost seemed to be inviting someone to come get burned while at the same time her expression said she knew that no one would dare.
Had she painted this one to represent her buried passion? It certainly seemed so. Yes, the signs were here in her art. Her dream lovers and hidden selves. Natalie felt fresh pride in her work, looking at it with clear eyes.
The next in the series would be Earth Mother. Natalie assembled her new supplies, faced the empty canvas, took a deep breath, and systematically closed out distractions—the landscaping crew, her thoughts, the ticking of the clock in the corner. An idea formed. And then reformed.
Natalie picked up her brush and began creating.
Some hours later, she became aware again and set her brush down. Natalie looked out the window and saw dark storm clouds rolling and gathering in the evening dusk. She rubbed her aching shoulder and turned to look at what she’d nearly completed. In an instant, her breath left her lungs in a rush and she dropped to her knees.
Natalie had painted herself. No, not her—Beth’s gaunt face stared out at her, a horrific purple and yellow bruise covered the left side of her face and her bottom lip was bloody and swollen. Natalie gasped and reached up to touch her own face and watched, terrified, as Beth mirrored her movement.
Tears were falling down her battered face and she appeared to be trying to speak. Rain pelted the windows and Natalie realized it was herself making the wounded noises in her own throat. She backed up to the wall in a sitting fetal position and rubbed her eyes.
“Help us!”
“I can’t help you!” Natalie cried out. “I don’t know how!”
“Find the key!”
The door at the bottom of the stairs slammed shut. Terror raced through Natalie’s bloodstream, churning her stomach, and she broke out in a cold sweat. She willed herself to wake up, to believe that this wasn’t real.
The door slammed again and Natalie thought her heart might burst. More thunder shook the house and the lights went out. One of the front windows shattered; the curtains blew in with the force of the wind, rain soaking everything in its path.
