Haunting Refrain

by Mary Marvella

  “Hello?” Did she sound like a woman whose best friend had brought her to the brink of orgasm?

  “Sarah, did I wake you? I just wanted you to know your daddy and I plan to go to an estate sale, then have lunch out.”

  “An estate sale?” Sarah echoed. She still fingered William’s hair. William rubbed her hip lazily. He had yet to look up at her, which was good.

  “William called before we left. He said you two have plans. Well, have fun.”

  Her mom hung up. Sarah placed the receiver in its cradle.

  William raised his head. He pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts, then sat on the edge of her bed. Silence stretched between them. Was the awkwardness because of what they’d done or what they hadn’t done? Her mother’s call had definitely cooled their ardor, at least for now.

  “Princess, I-“

  “William, I-“

  “You go first.“ William looked as confused as she felt.

  “Just don’t you say you’re sorry. I started it …”

  “I’m not sorry I kissed you, I just can’t believe I lost control like that.” He rubbed his hand over his mouth as he often did when he was deep in thought. “I felt like someone or something took over. It was like I was someone else, someone who had needed you, or someone like you, more than anything. It was like we were two different people, people who had been lovers.”

  “I know what you mean,” Sarah said. She wasn’t ready to tell him just how well she understood. He’d think she’d fallen off the looney wagon if she told him about the ghosts and the way reading the diaries had affected her. “When I kissed you I had been dreaming and…”

  “About some jerk named Walter?” He glared at her. His bottom lip actually pouted.

  ”What makes you think he was a jerk?”

  He shrugged. He shook himself, as though shaking off something unwanted. “Why don’t I fix breakfast while you shower and get dressed? I have a surprise for you.”

  “What surprise?” Sarah jumped from the bed and grabbed him by the collar. “Give. What surprise?”

  “Get dressed.” His voice was husky as he looked at her silky gown then at the door. She felt her nipples pucker at his scorching look. She needed a shower, a cold shower.

  Releasing his shirt, she turned, walked to her bathroom, and stepped over the tall sides of the tub. She turned on the shower and drenched herself, nightgown and all.

  Oh, Sarah, girl. You are in trouble! She let her sodden gown fall into a pool in the tub. Big trouble!

  She washed her body and her hair, but no amount of washing would get him out of her heart. His essence lingered.

  ##

  By the time Sarah made her way down to breakfast William had everything under control, especially his libido. He still couldn’t believe what had taken hold of him. For months he’d had erotic dreams about Sarah but he had never acted on them.

  He was an adult, a psychologist who would make sense of this development. Her parents had been better parents to him than his own and he mustn’t disappoint them.

  His parents’ lack of warmth had left him wary of long-term relationships. They had taught him little about love. Until lately, he’d believed he could be content with things. His job gave him satisfaction. He’d dated interesting women, always breaking thing off before commitment became an issue.

  Sarah and her parents were his family. Whatever had possessed him upstairs, he’d deal with it. He couldn’t afford to let a sexual attraction screw up his most valued friendship.

  He’d learned his way around her kitchen during the years he’s visited and babysat Sarah. They’d cooked meals together. He knew she liked her bacon crisp, her eggs over easy. He’d cooked their grits with cheese and garlic, her favorite, and squeezed fresh juice from the supply of oranges her mother always kept, adding the juice of one crushed tangerine.

  Her laugh was music to his ears. “Like the apron,” she said as she yanked the bow in the back. “Accentuates your cute tush!”

  She grabbed the toast from the toaster and the tea pitcher from the refrigerator. He scooped eggs onto heated plates and spooned grits beside the eggs. Sarah grabbed the bacon platter and they sat down to eat.

  “So, what’s my surprise, huh?”

  Sarah sat across from William, looking sexy enough to … any other time he’d have been able to complete that thought without a tightening in his jeans. Their kiss-gone-crazy had spoiled any chance of innocent thoughts when she looked so delicious.

  William had insisted they clear away all evidence of the meal before they left. Any other time they’d have played and had fun cleaning the kitchen. This morning every move, every word reminded him of the sex he’d almost had with Sarah.

  ##

  Riding in William’s Mustang, Sarah felt like a kid waiting to open the big birthday gift. “Come on, how much longer?”

  “Be patient, Princess, not much farther. You can wait.”

  “But if it’s not much farther why can’t you tell me?”

  “You can wait.”

  “Ohhh!”

  Orchards and pastures sprawled along both sides of the narrow highway. White fencing lined a long stretch of road on Sarah’s side. Horses grazed in small groups. This part of Georgia was peaceful and inviting. William turned right onto a gravel road leading between tall wooden posts with a sign saying Hauster’s Horse Farm.

  “Why are we here?” Sarah asked. Were they going riding? Wearing shorts and sandals, she wasn’t dressed for it. Actually she wasn’t a rider, so it wouldn’t have mattered what she wore.

  He turned right again when the gravel turned to dirt then became a driveway.

  “Let’s have a look around.” William seemed excited. Was this where her surprise would be? He opened her door.

  He led her to a fenced-in pasture. Beautiful horses and colts grazed. A tall, lanky man ambled toward the fence.

  “Hi, William, is this the little lady?” His voice rumbled and his tanned face and polite manner were those of a cowboy with a Georgia drawl.

  “Sarah, meet James Hauster, a former classmate.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Miz Sarah.” His handshake was gentle, firm, lingering, and almost sexual.

  Sarah almost laughed aloud when William eased his arm around her waist. “You got something special for us?” he asked the cowboy who slowly released Sarah’s hand.

  James put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, two long, three short. The sound of galloping preceded the entrance of the most beautiful chestnut horse Sarah had ever seen. By the time the magnificent animal slid to a halt, Sarah was in love.

  James shook his head. “Never seen that horse take so quickly to a stranger.”

  Sarah held her breath. She’d never owned a horse. Before the velvet nose touched her arm, she’d thought she knew nothing about them, then suddenly she did. Maybe it was just instinct.

  Sarah reached out to touch the copper forelock, mesmerized by the animal.

  “Hello, baby. You’re so pretty, yes, you are.” She murmured. “Wanna go for a ride? Hmmm?”

  The proud horse bobbed her head as if in agreement.” James pulled a lead rope from his pocket and clipped it to the halter.

  Gazing into the beauty’s huge brown eyes, Sarah forgot there was anyone else in the world.

  “So, you like her?” James asked.

  “I love her.”

  “Want to ride her?” William asked.

  In answer, she climbed to the top rail of the fence, then slid to the ground beside her horse. She took the lead line James offered, then tied the free end to other brass ring.

  As if she had done this a hundred times before she looped the rope over the mare’s neck, grabbed a hand-full of mane and vaulted to the horse’s bare back. She touched her heels to the horse’s side and took off at a canter. How could she have known what to do? Or even that she could do this?

  When horse and rider finally returned William and Bob still stood staring. How could she explain to William? They
had both grown up in the same town and neither had been away for long enough for her to have learned to ride a horse without his knowing about it.

  She hated to end the magic, but she had to give her thighs a rest. She’d be sore tomorrow, but she didn’t care. She’d wear jeans next time, if there were a next time.

  William reached up and spanned her waist with his hands. Easing one leg over the mare’s back she slid into his embrace. Her arms encircled his neck. “Thanks. That was wonderful.”

  “You were wonderful. How --”

  Baby nudged Sarah’s back. Off balance, Sarah stumbled and William caught her, pulling her close.

  Sarah wanted to rub her body against him, lick his lips, and caress his tongue with hers, so she ended the embrace and stepped back. “She’s magnificent.”

  William touched her flushed cheek and stared into her sparkling eyes. “She’s yours. Happy Birthday.”

  “Omigod.” She leapt onto his body, with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “I love you!” All the years of caring for this man poured into the exuberant best-friends kiss she gifted him.

  This time Sarah ended the kiss before it became too physical, too sexual.

  William led her back toward his car. “For now she’ll be boarded here. Your parents chipped in two months’ boarding, as an early birthday present. Ask me nicely and I might pitch in a couple more. She has papers and everything.”

  Sarah floated home on a cloud. Every few minutes she’d turn toward him to speak, but she grinned instead. How could he have known she wanted a horse when she hadn’t realized it herself?

  Chapter Five

  William drove home in a daze. Sarah and Baby were perfect for each other. He’d learned a little about riding at summer camp, one of the few times he and Sarah had been apart for as long as a week. Funny, the only thing he’d liked about camp had been the horses and riding lessons. He hadn’t minded being away from his parents, but he’d missed Sarah and her parents. Sarah seemed so different lately. At times she looked at him as though she didn’t recognize him. At others, she failed to answer questions or gave the wrong answers.

  She’d been obsessed with the attic and old things lately. Why would that one antique trunk, of all the trunks in the attic, have been so important to her? Whatever the reason he’d have a serious sit-down talk with her tomorrow.

  ##

  At three-thirty the next morning William sat on his back porch, facing Sarah’s house, thinking about the woman he’d known for twenty-seven years. He felt like he’d been trampled by a herd of horses. Maybe because for the short time he’d slept he’d dreamed about horses and surprising things.

  His thoughts about the antique trunk had spurred thoughts about the journals and the entries in it. He’d had the craziest dreams about Sarah in an old fashioned dress. She’d looked like herself, yet not quite.

  In one dream she’d been a vision, bathing in a creek. Her body had been slender, her hair longer and more fiery. He’d felt like her lover, so in love he’d hurt with wanting her.

  Dreams were caused by reality. He’d been trying to solve a problem, simple enough. As much as he hated the thought of ruining his close relationship with Sarah, he wondered if maybe it was time to explore a different one. In plain talk, he wanted - no he needed - to make love to her.

  The psychologist side of him kept telling him this was a phase. The man wanted her with every fiber of his body. She filled his dreams. She made him want to shower her with gifts, to dress her in sexy lingerie, to pay homage to each part of her body. God, what was he going to do?

  William leaned against the smooth wood of the porch rail. He stretched his legs and flexed his bare toes. Maybe if he tried treating her like a woman he wanted to seduce, she’d break his face, tell him to kiss-off, and he’d get over this craziness.

  Right. He’d find out if she wanted a different kind of

  relationship with him and see what happened. What if she told him she didn’t think about him that way? What if he didn’t get over it? But she had kissed him in her room this morning. God, how she had kissed him.

  Now he watched her dark house, imagining that she sat on her porch, too. Funny, he thought he could make out a white shape on her swing. The swing moved and the shape rose. The ghost-like apparition glided to the end of the porch, then down the steps.

  William’s breath froze in his throat as he watched the wraith-like shape pause, then move in his direction. The closer she came the drier his throat became. Could he be dreaming? The figure gliding toward him was so much like the woman in his dream he thought he must be out of his mind. Moonlight shone through the loose garment, silhouetting the very shapely form. If this was a dream he didn’t want to awaken.

  Silvery light bathed Sarah’s skin. Her smile tugged at his heart. He felt full of love and need so desperate he couldn’t find his voice. With effort he flexed his legs enough to stand.

  Sarah’s smile grew. Her gaze locked with his. Still, she moved slowly, sensuously, steadily. William stepped down the last step to the ground. Sarah didn’t seem surprised he was out at this ungodly time of the morning.

  “Hi.” Her sultry voice washed over him. She stopped. Her bare toes nearly touched his. A sheer gown draped her body, leaving little to the imagination.

  His voice was rusty, but he answered. “Sarah?”

  “You were expecting someone else?” Her amusement drew a grin from him.

  “The woman of my dreams.”

  “Disappointed?”

  “Hell, no!” He touched his fingers to her lips. “Never.” He closed the short distance between their bodies. He could feel her breasts against his bare chest, her hips and thighs touched his.

  Tilting his head, he touched his lips to the corner of her mouth. Her womanly scent filled his head with each shallow breath. He kissed the other corner of her mouth. Her breath seemed as shallow as his.

  “Ah, Sarah, love,” he murmured against her throat. She tasted of temptation. Her lips trembling beneath his nearly undid him. Desire pooled in his groin, pushing against the fabric of his cut-off sweats. He moved his hands from her face to her sweet throat. The pulse there beat as erratic as his own. His kiss begged her to open to him. She did. When her tongue darted out he captured it in a kiss so carnal he tasted her desire.

  Sarah clutched his waist. Moving his hands down her back he pulled her close. Her lush breasts pressed against him as she brushed against his arousal.

  “Make love to me.” Her demand caused a roaring in his ears, stealing any last doubt. If she had asked for his soul he’d have ripped it out to give her.

  William wanted to tell her he loved her, that he would protect her. He wanted to say they should wait. He could only show her how much he cherished her.

  Lifting Sarah in his arms he carried her up the steps to his porch. Her arms wove around his neck. Her mouth opened against his throat, making his knees weak. If he didn’t get them to his bed soon he wouldn’t have the strength to stay upright. Moving through the nearly dark house, he dodged familiar furniture. Light from a street light dimly illuminated his room.

  “Sarah.” Her name escaped his throat. “God, Sarah.”

  When her feet touched the floor her head barely reached his chin. She kissed his throat, then his chest. He’d never last long enough to make love to her unless he took charge.

  With one hand William lifted Sarah’s chin so he could see her eyes, her very expressive eyes.

  He'd make every second count, in case she regretted this later. She mustn't. A lifetime would not give him enough of her.

  Her gown barely covered the fullness of her breasts. Lowering the stretchy neckline past her pale shoulders he memorized each silken inch of her skin. Her mauve nipples beaded from exposure to the night air. He warmed them with his palms, enjoying the texture against his skin.

  “A goddess,” he uttered.

  He uncovered her body, inch by inch, caressing along the path of the fabric. Her arms stayed at
her side, captured by the edge of the neckline.

  He absorbed the smoothness at the curve of her waist, then her flat belly. He let the silky garment drop to the floor. Lifting her again he laid her on the rumpled bed, cushioned her head on his pillow. Sarah had come to him. She lay on his bed. For now she belonged to him.

  Only by concentrating on his task did he maintain some small control over his passions. As far as he knew she was an innocent. He wanted to be her first lover and her last. He wanted to be the only man who touched her intimately. He would teach her all the wonderful ways a man could please a woman, to be sure she knew only the wonders of physical love.

  “William,” She smiled. “gonna keep those on?” Following her gaze he realized she was naked, but he wasn’t.

  In one motion he slid the worn shorts down. She rose on her knees to run her hands over his chest. He held his breath. She kissed the scar beneath his nipple.

  “Remember this one?” he asked. He did, from a canoe tip-over. She had doctored it for him.

  Her hands on his body made him harder. He closed his eyes to enjoy her caresses. He opened them when she slid her hands down his thighs. When her hand encircled his shaft he jerked.

  “Oh, my goodness,” she said as she stroked his length.

  Maybe later he could allow such a caress, but not this time. He knew she wanted to make love with him, but was she ready? Taking her hands in his he kissed each palm, then lowered her back on the bed.

  “Let me lead this time, please.” He kissed her parted lips.

  She squirmed with each kiss on her breasts. He licked the birthmark he knew he would find there in the soft underside of the left one. Her hands fisted the sheets when he kissed her navel. When he slid his hand between her thighs she tightened around it. His Sarah was ready for him.