Hearts Afire

by Jennifer Hartley

  “Now?”

  His smile was all play and lust as he looked up at her from between her breasts. Her nipples were hard red little buttons, aching and wanting. “Now. Isn’t it exciting?”

  Still, she glanced at the windows. The vast, verdant estate of Shady Grove was right outside, and with it gardeners, servants, staff -

  Justin, seeing her distraction, leaped right into the next course of action: he claimed her nipple in his mouth and started to suck.

  “Oh, god,” She cried out, snatched right back into the moment. ”Justin.”

  She was a mass of knots as he took leisurely pulls from her nipple before moving to the next. As he did this, his fingers sank her sex, drawing more of her honey, sliding deeper with each thrust as she was stretched open. Her fingers tugged at his hair, her hips rocked against his fingers, not knowing what she wanted, only that she needed more of the burn, needed it harder, faster, rougher. It was easy to get lost in the storm of sensations Justin drew from her. It was like being flung in a tornado; she felt like a ship tossed in all directions in a violent, swirling sea. Release, her body screamed as he took a particularly hard draw from her nipple, his cheeks hollowing from the effort.

  When she began to ripple around his fingers, he thrust into her more vigorously and returned his mouth to her lips. She was reduced to a gasping, writhing thing at this point, her lips half-parted as Justin licked at the corners, nibbled on the plump, red, glistening bit of tissue. She grunted against his tongue when she came, hips snapping and pushing toward his fingers, gripping them as if to snap them off his hand. Through it all, he kissed her, fiery brushes of lips to the gentlest, the touch so light she thought it a dream, a whisper, if not for the cloud of soap, aftershave and Justin’s fragrant skin wrapping her in a cocoon. His fingers, having sped up to keep up with her orgasm, were slow pushes inside her sex now. A final squeeze, her hips rising from the desk before she collapsed heavily, panting.

  Justin pulled his fingers out, his eyes hot and the expression on his face a tight mask that made her heart pound though she was still catching her breath. His eyes took in the deep pink flush all over her body, her bright, blue eyes, her swollen lips. Sweat gleamed from her breasts, down to the strong span of her waist. Her auburn curls were dark and soaked. His sudden, tender kiss on her thatch made her jump, and he stood up, his grin that of a very satisfied male. She would shoot him a glare if not for the relief that made her limp as a kitten.

  During his perusal of her, Valerie was doing her own with him. Justin was still dressed, but the tension coiled in his body was evident in the stiff set of his shoulders, and his hands curled into fists. His jeans were loose, but his erection was thick and bulging, straining the zipper. She would get up if she weren’t so damn useless right now, she would get up and drop to her knees and suck his beautiful cock, but she couldn’t even turn her head. This was how Justin Aston always destroyed her. She could only look at him with longing, the embers of her desire awakening once again.

  Suddenly, his face cleared though the tension remained in his body. She watched, dazed, as he unzipped his jeans and dropped them to the floor. The most beautiful cock in the universe pointed straight toward her, and in the light of the sun, the round, bulbous head gleamed with that tell-tale drop of moisture. His smile strained, he fisted himself, spreading the moisture with his thumb around the head and to his thick shaft bulging with veins. Her moan filled the library.

  Justin tore off his shirt and then grabbed her right leg and pulled it toward his shoulder, licking her from calf to ankle. Positioning himself between her spread legs, he got his cock again and began to guide it to her warm entrance, still shuddering from the aftershocks of her release.

  Gone was the ferocity of earlier - Justin made love to her with long but easy thrusts, head falling back, mouth falling open before straightening, and looking at her hungrily. She obeyed his husky command to play with her nipples, and the result was her sex walls squeezing him harder. He held her leg to his shoulder, his thumb rotating her clit as he continued with lunges so gentle it was driving her mad. Her fingers on her nipples contributed to the conflagration racing in her body.

  Justin’s thumb threw her to another breathless release. As she gasped and grunted, his gentle thrusts transformed into erratic, frantic motions pounding hard into her sex. Once again, she cried out, and she had to press her palms flat on the smooth surface of the desk lest he’d end up fucking her right toward the other edge. But she couldn’t - there was no friction at all. Her arms flew to the sides, knocking the book to the floor. She dug her nails on the desk and there, there, she could stay. She could meet his thrusts. Justin still held her leg on his shoulder, but his other hand joined hers, gripping the edge of the desk. Hard waves of his warm breath hit her face, hinted with coffee. Her breasts shook from the violence of their joining. She inhaled deeply. He grinned, green eyes playful. She smiled back, blushing. Their mouths fused for a deep, sucking kiss before she suddenly snapped her head back, thudding heavily on the table.

  For the third time this morning, she came, shouting. Justin was with her this time. They moved against each other, blue and amber eyes wild and hot with lust. As she peaked, he thrust three more times before growling, whipping his head back, the tendons and veins in his neck straining under his golden skin. A familiar warmth began to flood her womb, and she sighed, her hips softening, her hands falling to the sides. Justin released her leg and collapsed on top of her, heavy and warm, both of them slick with sweat. He whispered her name as she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him for a kiss.

  Justin took her two more times - once against the shelves, his fingers digging in the soft flesh of her buttocks, then on the floor, her on her hands and knees. They were bruised and flushed, their skins pink with the burn from the carpet and rubbing against each other. They got dressed - she in his shirt because he had flung her dress somewhere behind the shelves. Neither could move much. He zipped up his pants, his motions languid and threaded with the need for sleep and rest. She felt mushy and weak - they wouldn’t make it back to their bedroom. He agreed and proposed they recover on the chaise lounge.

  Valerie looked at it dubiously. Curved and a rich, deep crimson, it was more beautiful than practical. She knew it was an antique but looked like it was only upholstered yesterday. Despite its charm, she didn’t trust it: it was neither long enough nor wide enough to accommodate their tall, broad frames.

  Seeing her frown, he assured her, “We’ll fit, don’t worry.”

  “If we saw off six inches off our legs probably,” she retorted.

  Justin rolled his eyes and plunked down, stretching fully. His feet dangled off the edge. More unconvinced than ever, she proposed they man up and try to make it to their bedroom.

  “Wife,” he growled impatiently. He was lying on his side, golden, sleepy, looking like the master of his house who had just conquered the universe. “Get over here. Now.”

  “I’m taller than you. I won’t fit.”

  “Trust me.”

  With a huff, she dropped on the itty-bitty chair and stretched out. She turned on her side, and she heard and felt Justin do the same behind her. As she shifted and twisted, he slipped his leg between her thighs.

  Then he started pulling the shirt up.

  Shocked, she demanded, “What are you doing?”

  “Pilates,” came his snarky reply. He yanked it to her waist despite her trying to pull it down. “Quit it. The only way we’ll fit is to be as close as possible.” He squeezed her hip.

  “Then why are you stripping me again? I’m tired, husband.”

  “So am I. But as I said, as close as possible.”

  And with that, his arm snuck around her waist, pressing her against him. She gasped as she felt the familiar hardness of his cock pushing between the cheeks of her ass. She blushed- it had been so long since he had sex with her there, and she just realized she missed it. Then his hand lowered to her sex before two fingers slipped inside her. “
Oh,” she groaned, quickly clenching.

  “You’re still dripping,” he marveled, giving her a couple of rough strokes as she squirmed. “I'd like to keep you wet for later, wife. Can't wait to take you again.” He felt her blush; her entire body went warmer. He bit her shoulder playfully.

  “I knew you had something nefarious under all that argument about space and having to be `as close as possible.’” But there was no hostility to her delivery, not when his fingers were inside. She closed her eyes out of tiredness and pleasure.

  “So glad I married a smart woman,” he teased her, nuzzling her nape.

  “Bloody idiot,” she muttered, moaning as he started sliding his fingers in and out of her again as if he had all the time in the world. Still, she was breathless.

  “Ha. But you fell for it,” he mumbled against her skin. “Sleep. When we wake up, we’ll have sex again. You've worn me out. Taking your tight hole takes everything I have.” But he said the words with glee. She would turn around to frown at him if he wasn't unleashing astounding magic between her legs right now. She tightened around him, and he grunted before kissing her hungrily on her throat.

  “We’ll have sex again in bed,” she clarified. His finger bumped a very sensitive spot. “Oh. Justin.”

  “Hmm, Valerie. We’ll see.” He licked her neck. “You're delicious.”

  Her eyelids were getting heavy. But her mind wouldn’t rest until she asked him the question that had been nagging her in the last few minutes.

  “It’s the middle of the day, and no one has come in to clean.”

  Justin was quiet, his fingers continuing their lazy pace before stopping, still buried inside her. She was about to repeat the question when he started snoring.

  Four

  That same afternoon, Justin and Valerie went for a drive around Sandy Bay. They spent the morning recovering in the library, with Justin waking up first and finding Valerie sound asleep in his arms. He would be happy to hold her as such the whole day, but her beautiful eyes opened seconds later, squinting at him, blinking up at him, a frown twisting her face before clearing, followed by a soft, sleepy smile. It was the easiest thing to lean over her, nudge her legs apart, and push his cock inside her, but he was happy enough to just smile back at her and kiss her tenderly on the cheek. He stared down into her eyes, the moment the sum of all things wonderful.

  As they changed clothes in the bedroom, Justin suggested they go out for lunch and drive around. Again, he would much rather spend the rest of the day, making love to his wife and going deaf at her cries, but he knew she loved being active. They had been together for a long time, but he had not really given her a tour around Sandy Bay since their stay would only be a few days or even shorter, and often with other family members.

  Sandy Bay was supposed to be home, but Justin had left when he was fifteen when Donald sent him to boarding school in St. James Prep. He returned during summer vacations, but the place had become a stranger to him. The death of his mother Amy a few years ago had made it all the more unknown despite landmarks and familiar scents that should evoke home. Only when Valerie came into his life did he start going back. Now that they had children - sons who would demand to know what their father did at their age, what he liked as a child, as a teenager, Justin felt a strong urgency to keep ties to the place, no matter how tenuous it felt.

  So they drove, swinging by his old elementary school, now with more buildings but still a generic tan and yellow. They went to the zoo, where his mother used to take him, Samantha and Asher on weekends and treat them popsicle, telling them with a gleam in her beautiful amber eyes that the indulgence was their secret. So he bought Valerie a popsicle , as was the tradition in his family. They walked holding hands, looking but not really - he was touched at the seriousness of his wife’s face as if she were cataloging and filing them in a secret drawer in her head. Nobody had taken this kind of interest in him before until Valerie. He read the longing in her eyes too, and he knew she was missing their sons, especially as he caught her gazing wistfully at a family with two rambunctious little boys.

  As the day grew warmer and the sun climbed higher, so did their appetite. It made sense to take Valerie to one of the restaurants - Sandy Bay had a lot of great restaurants - but he liked seeing her in the sun too much right now. Her denim dress-crumpled and covered in dust balls - was now in a hamper in the bathroom. She had replaced it with an unexpected pale blue peasant blouse with white stitching around the collar and puffy sleeves - a bit too feminine for her usual taste but Justin loved how the color emphasized her pale, freckled skin, how the vivid blue of her eyes seemed to match the light colors of the stop - almost that of the sky. Her shorts were faded denim cut-offs showing to the world how strong her thighs were, how long her legs. She was delectable and didn’t know it, making her more enticing to Justin’s eyes.

  So Justin took her to the weekend market. It was crowded and the noise level deafening, but Valerie had looked around with a huge, excited smile, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink under the sun.

  They stocked up on freshly-baked, artisanal bread, cold cuts, fresh cheeses. Valerie steered him to a vegetable stand where they stocked up on tomatoes and lettuce. Then Justin, catching a whiff of sugar, followed the scent of the trail. She laughed behind him as he tugged her towards a stall selling cakes and pastries straight out of a dream. They got Donald a box of ultra-moist revel bars while they ordered two slices of cream pie for themselves. They continued their tour of the weekend market, buying more stuff.

  Laden with packages and bags, they made their way back to the car. “Where are we off to next?” Valerie asked, climbing in.

  The rough, auburn strands of her bob were on her forehead, her cheeks. Her face was red, and so were her shoulders, down to her arms. She looked carefree and fresh. He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand, and she smiled at him, gently, shyly, flushing deeper as she turned her head to kiss his palm.

  “I love you, Justin,” she whispered, eyes looking very blue.

  His breath hitched. “Don’t stop.”

  She held his hand to her face, cradling it between cheek and shoulder. “You could tell me you love me back,” she chided him gently.

  He chuckled and grinned at her. “I do love you. More and more every day.”

  “Damn it, husband. Why are you always better?” She growled, but the shine in her eyes told him she was just playing with him. He relished the reluctance of her dropping his hand as she sat down and slammed the door.

  “Well,” he said, “it could be because you make me better.”

  She rolled her eyes, blushing. “You’re so cheesy.”

  “You like me cheesy. Now buckle up.”

  They arrived at Vershaw Forest twenty minutes later. As they got their things from the car, Valerie let out a sigh. She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun as she looked at the thick cluster of trees that stood tall and proud in the sun. Around her was the scent of leaves and bark, recalling an older era, a much older era.

  “My family used to go on picnics here a lot,” Justin told her as they walked.

  “Used to?” She blurted out then, realizing her mistake, she muttered. “Oh, Justin. I’m so sorry.”

  He kissed her quickly on the mouth. “It’s alright.” And it really was.

  He took her hand, loving the sure, warm grip wrapping around him instead. Justin was six-foot-two, with long strides. One of the many things he appreciated about Valerie was he never had to slow down for her, nor had she asked. He did wonder if she willed her long legs to slow down a bit so he could keep up. It was a pleasant, sweet thought that he suddenly pulled her to a stop. She turned to him, curious, as he wrapped his arms around her - filled with bags - and tipped his chin up. She breathed his name, in exasperation or desire, he didn’t really care, just that when she said it, he had to hold her tighter. She lowered her head, giving him the kiss he asked for.

  Her mouth was warm, and she tasted like sunlight. “Valerie,” he groan
ed, tongue tracing the full, plump curve of her wide mouth, begging to be let inside. He felt her nod, and her lips parted. Eagerly, he sought her tongue.

  When the kiss ended, he grinned at her. He was weak in the knees, and he was sure he looked like an idiot with his lopsided grin. She didn’t look any better, blinking rapidly, licking her swollen lips. He couldn’t resist giving her another kiss, swift and full, and then he was taking her by hand again.

  The forest had grown thicker, but he still saw the old trails. In his mind, the old markers were still there. He grinned upon hearing the wild rush of a stream, telling him they were approaching a good spot.

  They spread out an old blanket on the grass. They kicked off their shoes and sat down, rooting in their packages. The stalls had been able to provide them with disposable utensils, and Valerie was using one of the knives to saw through the crusty roll of bread as Justin assembled the ingredients for their sandwiches. Both were starving, so once the sandwiches were ready, they plunked down on the mat, folding their legs under them and began to eat.

  A very little conversation passed between, but neither was worried. Valerie liked to tease Justin of being incapable of shutting up, but moments like this proved her wrong. There was a lot of Valerie that could never be put into words, so this was where Justin was thankful to see her, listen to her, appreciate the entirety of her. The sun was higher, the day getting warmer, and the redness of her nape was getting more vivid, as well as at the back of her shoulders, her amazing legs, long, freckled, and stretched out before her. He told her they should seek shade, pointing out the beginnings of a burn on her nape with a tender swipe of his fingers. They took the blanket and their food and retreated to the trees.

  Justin leaned against the back of one and spread his legs, caught Valerie’s gaze. Understanding, she sat between them. It would be better, probably, if they reversed positions - he was shorter by a hairline - but he liked holding her in his arms, this breathtaking woman. He leaned against the tree, taking her with him.