Matters of the Heart

by Vanessa Devereaux

  Brad pulled on his sweatpants and t-shirt and headed downstairs where the wonderful smell of coffee and bacon hung in the air. He turned the corner to see Presley sitting in the high chair watching with great interest as Lucy turned a slice of bacon in the frying pan.

  He coughed to let her know he was standing in the doorway. She turned and oh boy, he was a goner. No make-up, her face looking prettier than ever, with her hair tied up in a ponytail with some loose tendrils framing her plump cheeks.

  “Good morning. I wondered if you weren’t feeling good or you were just tired,” she said.

  “Overslept so I thought I’d eat before I showered.”

  “I’m frying some bacon and there are some scrambled eggs too if you want some.”

  “Sounds great.”

  He kissed Presley before walking over to the coffee maker and pouring himself a mug. He sat at the table and tickled Presley’s bare foot as she kicked her legs against the chair.

  Lucy turned around and put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

  He dived into them, not realizing just how hungry he was.

  The chili had been good but the eggs were…too great to describe.

  “What’s in the scrambled eggs?” he asked grabbing a slice of toast.

  “Cream cheese.Another one of my grandmother’s secrets.”

  Pretty face, great cook…

  “About last night,” he said.

  She turned and yeah, she was already blushing.

  “Let’s just put it down to a spur of the moment thing and move on,” she said before he could say a word.

  He nodded. Maybe she wanted to but he wasn’t so sure he could.

  ****

  Presley sat in the playpen watching Lucy with great interest as she folded the laundry. She’d offered to do it when Brad had left for work earlier that day. Am I even blushing because I’m folding his underwear?

  She’d had every intention of handing in her notice but when she woke up this morning she had this feeling that it would be selfish because Presley needed her more than anything else. She casually told Brad they’d move on from the kiss and she’d intended to do just that, planning to keep her distance from him as much as she could. However, right before he’d headed out the door he’d reminded her about the Nature program they’d planned to watch together. It was on tonight. She couldn’t be rude and it would be the perfect opportunity to prove to herself just how much willpower she possessed.

  Lucy put the last of Brad’s underwear on top of the pile of laundry as the phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Lucy?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s Sadie.”

  “Hi Ms. Sutton. I mean Sadie.”

  “I just wanted to know what time you’d like me to come by tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I promised I’d babysit when you and the sheriff go to the play.”

  Lucy sat down. She’d done her best to tear up those damn tickets but she’d use it as another test for herself.

  “How about six-thirty?”

  “Perfect for me. And are things still going okay with everything at the house?”

  She wanted to tell Sadie about what had happened but stopped herself just in time.

  “Yes, fine. Presley’s doing great. I think she’s getting her first tooth.”

  “I know she and I are going to have lots of fun tomorrow evening. Well, I won’t keep you any longer but I’ll see you at six-thirty.”

  Lucy put the phone down as Presley babbled something and offered her biggest smile yet.

  ****

  Lucy hung around in Presley’s room, not only to make sure she was settled in and asleep, but also because Brad had reminded her that Nature was on in ten minutes.

  If only she’d kept her big mouth shut about how much she liked that show, but at the time she didn’t realized it would be coming back to haunt her. However, if she kept her distance, avoided the couch, and concentrated on the show, she’d be just fine.

  While heading down the stairs, she heard the familiar theme music for Nature. Brad was already in front of the TV sitting in the armchair by the fire which he’d lit earlier.

  “Can I get you one of these?” he asked lifting up a bottle of beer.

  “No, I’m fine.”

  She sat in the middle of the couch as the program began.

  They said nothing during the first few minutes, but then Lucy noticed him giving her minute sideway glances. She couldn’t resist doing the same. She wanted him more than she’d ever actually wanted Bryce. How weird was that? She’d only been around this man a short while but it was almost like she’d known him all her life, just like she had Bryce.

  Brad took a sip of beer and placed the bottle on the table beside the chair. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back.

  Things grew more uncomfortable by the second. She wished Presley would cry again then she’d have the perfect excuse to leave the room and flee the sexual tension slowly building within it.

  She glanced back at the screen to see two lions mating. The male was crouched behind the female and pounding into her. For some strange reason, Lucy squeezed her knees as Brad coughed. She pulled on the neck of her sweater wondering what was going through his mind.

  And then he must have changed channels without her realizing it because suddenly a commercial for shampoo was playing.

  “Oops, sorry, my finger must have hit the remote,” he said.

  Luckily by the time he’d switched back the mating scene was long gone.

  She really needed that beer he’d offered her. Not because she particularly liked it, but she wanted something to cool her down.

  “You want to see if there’s a movie to watch?”

  She was miles away, and obviously had been for longer than she’d imagined because the show was over and Brad was sitting looking at her.

  “Sure, anything good on Tuesday nights?”

  “Let’s take a look.”

  Lucy fidgeted on the couch, hoping it would swallow her because everything he clicked on seemed to be images of couples in various stages of making love. The first ones were in a passionate embrace, the second he was pulling down the strap of her bra, the third channel, a couple having sex, his bare butt lifting in the air and the woman withering in ecstasy underneath him.

  She expected Brad to turn the channel just as quickly as he had through the first two awkward images, but he didn’t. Lucy blushed and then he burst into laughter.

  “I can’t remember how many times I’ve watched TV on my own and never come across so many shows with couples having sex.”

  She couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing too, finding it just want she needed to release the tension in her body.

  “I guess it’s embarrassing for you to see it in front of a stranger,” she said.

  “It’s not that, it’s because…”

  “Because what?”

  He sat there looking at her with his mouth open but nothing came out in response.

  “Do you feel it too?” he finally said.

  She didn’t have to ask him what the hell he was talking about because she knew and in a way was relieved that he’d brought the subject up. More relieved to think she wasn’t the only one feeling horny every time she came within a few feet of him.

  “Yes.”

  She stood thinking that maybe she should hand in her notice right this second because she couldn’t hold out for very much longer.

  He stood too.

  They looked at one another and then he stepped toward her. He put his hand up and stroked the side of her face. It felt like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Although it was a small gesture it sent her blood racing around her body, and her heartbeat quickened. She lifted her hand and sandwiched his between hers and her face before turning her lips toward his palm and kissing it.

  “I can’t help what I need to do next,” he whispered.

  He pulled her toward him and kiss
ed her. The sweetest kiss she’d ever had, sweeter than even the one last night, as he ran his tongue slowly over her bottom lip. She put her arms around him, allowing him to pull her in closer to his body. And as he did so his cock jabbed her lower belly.

  Brad pulled away, still holding her face between both his hands.

  “I guess I’ve stepped across the line as an employer once again.”

  “If you had I would have slapped your face by now.”

  He smiled before kissing her again. This time she ran her fingers through his hair, wondering if tonight things would progress beyond kissing.

  “In the short time you’ve been here it’s been tough,” he said after he pulled away again. “I don’t think any woman’s affected me quite like you have.”

  “I hope you mean that it’s been in a good way.”

  “In the best way possible. I’m thinking maybe if we acted on the urges both of us are feeling we’d get it out of our systems.”

  Lucy hadn’t thought of that. Maybe he was right. Instead of fighting it, or her just fleeing, act on their urges and purge it.

  “I didn’t want you to think I was some predatory employer or have you bring sexual harassment charges against me.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve wanted to take lots of cold shower since I moved in here…actually since the first time I saw you, but I didn’t want to put my job in jeopardy.”

  “Shit, what a perfect pair we are.”

  Lucy couldn’t stand it any longer. She’d dragged her feet over Bryce and lost him. She wouldn’t repeat the same stupid mistake again. She leaned in to Brad and kissed him. He ran his hands up her back, making her spine feel like it had a life all its own. He pulled up the edge of her sweater as he touched her back. She closed her eyes, thinking she had to be dreaming. They stepped away and looked into one another eyes.

  “Have you ever made love in front of roaring fire before?” he asked her.

  She shook her head.

  Definitely dreaming.

  Brad pulled up her sweater, encouraging her to lift both her arms so he could remove it. When she did he touched her breasts through her bra. They suddenly felt heavy, achy, and their nipples throbbed in urgent need of his attention.

  She’d played the girl who waited for guys to make the first move far too long and it was about to change. Lucy reached behind her back, unclasped the bra and let it fall forward as Brad caught it and threw it onto the couch. He didn’t take his eyes off her breast. She knew she had a few pounds to lose but by the loving look in his eyes, she guessed he accepted her for who she was and that made her want him all the more.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he said as if he could read her mind.

  She turned her head to one side while he caressed her breasts, touching them softly like she might break at any second. When his fingers made contact with their nipples, a murmur escaped her lips. Brad’s fingertips were slightly calloused which set up a strangely welcoming friction. He tugged slightly on the right one and then circled its aureole with the very tip of his pinkie.

  She liked it… liked it a lot. Lucy eased her hand inside the opening of his shirt, feeling the muscles both firm and defined. She flicked open the buttons one by one, pushing the material aside, noticing that his body was just as wonderful as it felt. Leaning in toward it, she kissed his chest, smelling the soap he’d used this morning. She’d detected it the moment she’d walked into the bathroom after he’d exited it. Its spicy undertones had stayed with her all day. She took a deep breath, before pulling away from him. He was right, they needed to do this. To get it out of the way or it would eat them up and they’d never be able to co-habit without feeling on edge.

  Brad tugged at the button on her jeans, pulling it until it popped and opened for him. A warm tingly sensation ripped through her body as he eased down the zipper and parted the blue material before gliding the pants over her hips and thighs. Soon they sat around her ankles as he explored her belly, twirling his finger around her navel before sliding his hand inside her panties.

  He kissed her as he ploughed through her pubic hair, delving deep into the curls. She bit his lip and then slid her tongue along it as he got hold of the top of her underwear and finally freed her legs. She stepped out of both the panties and jeans and went to work on getting him naked too.

  They didn’t take their eyes off one another as she unzipped the fly of his jeans, opened them, and then leaned into him so she could get them off his butt and down his very muscular thighs.

  His erection was obvious as it strained against his boxers. She didn’t want to put any pressure on him and let him into a secret. She’d never had an orgasm other than one brought on by her own hand, the vibrator, or a guy playing with her clit.

  Lucy’s two previous lovers hadn’t taken her over the edge. She’d always thought it was her fault because each time she’d made love, in the back of her mind she’d known she really wished that each guy would have been Bryce.

  However, now he was out of the picture, out of her mind, and she’d turned the page to a new chapter in her life.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  He put his hand under her chin and brought it up so she could look at him. She hadn’t known this guy long, but he could obviously read her so well.

  “Just thinking about what’s going to happen next.”

  “You taking off my shorts for a start.”

  She smiled, putting her fingers under the band and pulling them down, tugging them over his hard cock until they fell onto the carpet. He stepped out of them, kicking them to one side. Lucy glanced down. His dick was beautiful, hard, pulsating and glistening with pre-cum. She reached out and took it in her hand, hearing him draw in his breath as he touched her breasts with the back of his knuckles.

  There was only one thing on her mind and that was she hoped that Presley didn’t choose to wake up wanting to be feed or changed anytime soon. Yes, it was Lucy’s job, that’s why she was here in the first place, but Brad drove her crazy and all she could think about was him making love to her.

  Without warning he picked her up and carried her over to the rug in front of the fire. The heat warmed her thigh and calf as he gently set her down upon. She lifted her arm, offering her hand to him which he took and got down beside her.

  “Condoms. They’re upstairs in my bedroom. Wait, there I’ll be right back,” he said standing again.

  She reached for a pillow from the couch and set it behind her and rested her head back, looking up at the ceiling and then the logs burning and casting the room in a low romantic light. A creak on the stairs told her that Brad was heading back to the living room. He sat down beside her.

  “Hope you didn’t start without me.”

  She burst out laughing before he leaned over and kissed her and played with her nipple as she ran her fingers though his hair. She’d always loved a man with a sense of humor.

  Brad pulled away and with the very tip of his finger, he made a path down the middle of her belly, passing over her curls and mound until it disappeared. Without him asking her to do it, she opened her legs, allowing him to continue the path around her folds. He found her clit and within seconds was circling it, teasing it, until a murmur escaped her lips.

  “Does that feel good?” he whispered.

  “It’s heaven.”

  She closed her eyes, enjoying the heat from the fire and another kind that was building in her clit. Brad pressed harder, teasing her, obviously knowing he was bringing her a tiny bit closer to bliss.

  Lucy reached out and stroked his cock as it sat close to his belly while he strummed her clit some more. She took a deep breath, feeling her pussy pull and juices slid from her opening. Bracing herself, she pressed down on the rug with her thighs and found release.

  Brad leaned over her again and kissed her the very tip of her nose.

  “Any man ever tell you that you get more beautiful when you come?”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, it�
��s true.”

  They kissed again, this time him rolling more on top of her. They held one another and rubbed noses, until finally Brad reached up behind her and grabbed a foil package. Lucy rested her head back on the pillow as got up on his knees, sheathed himself, and then set about planting tiny kisses that felt like feathers tickling her calves and inner thighs.

  He spread her legs and soon his cock was greeting her opening. Brad pushed upward and filled her, stretched her, and she wanted this moment to be frozen in time. No matter what happened after tonight, this very minute would stay with her for the rest of her life.

  Brad moved slowly at first, smiling down at her as his body moved in a steady rhythm over her. As she slid underneath him just a little more, his movement got bigger, harder and Lucy had no choice but to bring her legs up, cross them at the ankles and place them gently on his butt.

  They both murmured, whispered almost as they moved together like they’d been doing this for years. She held his arms, feeling the biceps strain against her fingertips as he balanced his body so she’d didn’t take his weight as he pushed further inside her.

  She rolled her head to one side, feeling something strange stirring in her pussy. A foreign sensation but yet, she knew that it was the makings of her climax. For the first time in her life she was about to orgasm during sex.

  It took her by surprise, unaware, and holy moly, it felt as good as everyone said. Deeper and more intense than she’d ever experienced before.

  Lucy almost couldn’t breathe because it felt wonderful as it shot though her belly and even down her legs and into her toes. She wanted to experience it again but then Brad exploded inside her, was still and held her just as Presley began crying,

  Back to reality.

  Chapter Eight

  He’d told her they needed to make love to free them of the sexual tension that had been brewing between them during the last couple of days. He thought that would cure things but now as he watched Lucy in the panties and sweater that she’d thrown on after Presley had cried, he wasn’t so sure. She stood by the crib and rocked his baby girl back and forth, singing gently to her.

  Brad stood in the doorway and smiled. It was easy to see that she loved his daughter and that the feeling was pretty much mutual.