Meet Me at Wisteria Cottage

by Teresa F. Morgan

  There was a knock at the front door, making Maddy jump and close the fridge door. She took a deep breath – in through her nose, out through her mouth, like she’d been taught in a yoga class once – before opening the door.

  ‘Hey, there you are,’ Harry said, beaming at Maddy.

  ‘Did you get my text?’

  ‘Sorry, my phone died on me.’ He waved it at her. ‘So I came straight to the cottage first.’ His chest was bare, dirty and shimmering with sweat. All doubt about Harry whooshed right out of Maddy as she smiled back. Without hesitation, he approached her and reached for her, placing his hand behind her neck. He planted a firm kiss on her lips, knocking the breath out of her. His other hand swept up her thigh and under her cotton dress, to squeeze her bum.

  ‘You need a shower, you stink.’ She screwed up her nose as she pulled away from him.

  ‘That’ll be the horse manure.’

  ‘Nice.’

  ‘I’m thinking you should come shower with me.’ He tugged her closer.

  ‘But I’m not dirty, and I’ve just had one.’ She drew back.

  ‘That’s not a problem; I can get you all dirty.’ Harry pulled her into his arms, as she tried recoiling while laughing at him. Again his hands wandered, and the sensation on her skin was thrilling, sending heat between her thighs. ‘See you are dirty now.’ He sniffed her hair, while his arms enveloped her. His groan was of approval as his hold tightened. ‘You definitely need to shower with me.’

  ‘Need someone to scrub your back, do you?’

  ‘Something like that.’ His expression was mischievous. How could Maddy resist someone so bloody sexy? ‘I’ve got some tension in my muscles.’

  She rolled her eyes, then sensibly, Maddy gestured towards the kitchen. ‘But I could start making dinner while you’re—’

  ‘No. I want you.’ He was seriously sexy when he got all authoritative. He tugged her into another kiss, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as if to make sure she got fully dirty and couldn’t escape him.

  Maddy followed Harry up the stairs, holding his hand. ‘These were clean clothes.’

  ‘You can wash them.’

  ‘As if I haven’t done enough washing.’

  ‘Shhh … and get in the shower.’ He had the audacity to pat her bum. Harry turned the shower on, then stripped off, pleasantly surprising Maddy to see how turned on he was already. Maddy found a stray hair band on the windowsill and tied her hair up in a messy knot – she didn’t need to get all her hair wet again. Harry assisted Maddy in the removal of her clothes as if she wasn’t getting them off quick enough.

  Harry stepped into the shower, then holding Maddy’s hand as if escorting her, he helped her in, too.

  Water ran over his tanned torso. He had a brown tan line around his waist, his skin white to halfway down his thighs. His darkness was a contrast against Maddy’s paler skin tone. Harry had squirted some shower gel over his body and lathered it up quickly, clearly not fussed about its citrus scent. Maddy slid her hand up over his chest, massaging the bubbles over his skin. Then she slid them around his neck, pressing her body against his as she kissed him, the bubbles finding their way between them. The water fell around them, as their passion built, his hardness against her softness, his arousal solid against her flesh, making her ache for him, pooling low in her belly.

  ‘You know, the bath also fits two …’ she said between kisses. In this shower, they were probably using enough water to fill the bath.

  ‘We’ll have to test it,’ Harry replied, his lips still pressed to her neck.

  As one hand stroked his neck holding his head to hers, her other found his erection and pumped, the rain of water adding to the sensation. With this, one of his hands grabbed her buttock and squeezed, pulling her closer, while the other delved between her thighs, urgent to return the same pleasure.

  Between the kisses, she said slowly, ‘This isn’t getting you very clean.’

  ‘I don’t care.’ Harry rumbled the words slowly in her ear. The assertiveness and sexiness of his voice made her crave him more, her kisses no longer soft, but urgent, nipping his tongue, his lip, making him growl with excitement.

  ‘To hell with this.’ Harry let go of Maddy, quickly rinsed off any soap then turned off the shower. With both hands he ruffled his hair to get rid of the excess water and scooped Maddy up into his arms, making her squeal – she held on for dear life, and gave a silent prayer he wouldn’t slip or drop her in the shower. But with ease, he carried her from the bathroom to the bedroom.

  ‘You’ll get the bed wet,’ Maddy said as Harry carefully lowered her onto the pine bed.

  ‘I don’t care. This weather, it’ll dry quickly enough.’

  Maddy buried the practical side of her and relaxed onto the duvet, her worries soon forgotten when Harry gently stroked her legs, running his tongue along her inner thigh, then kissing her intimately. Maddy closed her eyes and allowed her whole body to sink into the covers, grasping the bedding into her fists. The man knew how to paralyse her with pleasure. Slowly, the pressure built in her lower abdomen, the butterfly sensation increasing until she could hold on no more and her body gently pulsed with the electricity only an orgasm could provide.

  Harry appeared on all fours, kneeling over her, with a smile of satisfaction, ‘Would you like to do that again, but this time with me inside you?’

  ‘What are you like?’ Her eyes widened.

  ‘But you enjoy it.’

  ‘Hell, yes, I do.’ Maddy grinned, then held her hand up against Harry’s chest. ‘Did we just get clean so we could get dirty all over again?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’

  ***

  ‘I’m a mess, thanks to you,’ Maddy said, finally getting out of bed.

  Harry watched with admiration as she slipped on her underwear and chose a fresh summer dress out of the fabric IKEA wardrobe and pulled it over her head. Her cheeks glowed from their lovemaking. ‘You look absolutely beautiful to me.’

  ‘You’re going to say that after what we’ve just done. It would only be polite.’ Maddy tugged at her hair with a comb. The sex had been fantastic, and Harry had done everything with his willpower to keep it going for as long as possible. There had been a couple of times he’d come close to losing it, letting go, but he’d changed the position, decreased the intensity for him, so he’d had longer buried inside her with their bodies entwined. He didn’t know what he felt for Maddy – far too early days for that – but he definitely knew he fancied the pants off her. The sooner he had her naked, the better he felt. Whether it was sex induced, or not, his head had cleared too as if a great big cloud had been swept away; the pain of losing Karin finally lifted. When he wasn’t with Maddy, she was in his thoughts. He treasured every minute he could spend with her.

  ‘I am not saying it because I’ve fucked you senseless,’ Harry said, dropping a kiss on Maddy’s bare upper arm, then nuzzling into her neck, noticing the goosebumps rise along her arms. He smiled knowing he clearly did have an effect on her. ‘Okay, if you think you look a mess, I’ll agree with you. But I know how you came to look so dishevelled.’

  ‘Yes, and you were the cause of it.’

  ‘And so, I find it bloody sexy.’ He kissed her again.

  She turned in his arms. ‘By the way, have you got any clean clothes with you?’ Maddy looked him up and down. He was still naked except for the towel he had just wrapped around his waist.

  ‘Luckily, I carry clean clothes on me in the pickup. Just in case I have to meet a client, and I’m covered in mud.’

  ‘Or manure.’

  ‘Take your time, I’ll go fetch my clothes …’ he smoothed his hand from her waist to her hip, ‘before I lose it again, and have to get you all dirty.’

  He made his way to the bedroom door.

  ‘Harry, are you going out like that?’ Maddy frowned at him.

  He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Nobody will see. And besides, they’re not your neighbours, are they?’

  She chuckle
d, shaking her head.

  ***

  ‘Shall we go out for dinner?’ Harry shut the fridge door.

  ‘Oh, um … I don’t really feel dressed for it.’

  ‘You look great. I look like a tramp in comparison.’ He gestured to the clean jeans and dark blue polo shirt he was now wearing. ‘Come on.’ He grabbed his wallet and Maddy’s hand, escorting her out of the back door and along the garden path. Once he’d shut the gate behind them, he took her hand back, and they headed out towards Tinners Bay. ‘I’m so hungry.’

  ‘It’s your fault we’re eating late. You dragged me into the shower.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Much more fun.’

  There were only a few places to dine in Tinners Bay. They chose a pub that overlooked the beach on the opposite side to the cottage. They found a table and Harry placed their food order at the bar, returning with a bottle of white wine and two glasses.

  ‘I’d better have only the one glass. Driving, remember?’ Henry said, pouring only a small glass for himself.

  ‘Nonsense. You can stay at mine.’

  Harry liked that Maddy had invited him to stay at the cottage. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping without Maddy. He would much prefer sleeping with her. He didn’t care if he had broken sleep with her beside him, he’d still prefer her to be next to him.

  They finished their food, and still had some wine left, which Harry emptied into their glasses.

  ‘After this, shall we go for a walk?’ Harry said. It was getting dark, but there was enough light for an evening stroll.

  ‘Yes, all right.’

  Harry finished his wine before Maddy. She grabbed her cardigan off the back of her chair, took her last sip, then they set off for a walk through the town and onto the soft sand of the beach. Harry held her hand as they strolled, fingers linked, palms touching. When they stopped to look out at the ocean, he stood behind her, and Maddy snuggled into him. Encouraged by this closeness, he wrapped his arms around her to stop Maddy feeling the chill in the wind. There was the constant roar of the waves crashing, and occasionally the breeze would bring the scent of the fish and chip shop to them over the otherwise salty sea air, but all the seagull cries had disappeared with the approach of dusk.

  ‘Red sky at night …’ Harry said, looking at the sky on the horizon.

  ‘Does that mean it will be a good day, the next day? Shepherd’s delight … Or it’s been a good day? I’m never sure.’

  ‘We’ll see tomorrow won’t we?’ He hugged her tighter.

  She turned in his arms, to look up at him, and he dropped a kiss on her lips, which she deepened. He could taste the wine on her tongue. Standing on the beach, oblivious to other late evening strollers, the sun sinking beneath the horizon, they kissed.

  Harry withdrew, the intensity of the kiss moving south in his body. ‘At this rate, I’ll be wanting you all over again.’ He needed to let go of Maddy, except her hand, to allow the breeze to cool his thoughts, and reduce the tightness in his jeans.

  ‘We’d better keep walking then; we wouldn’t want you being done for indecency.’

  Chapter 21

  Harry awoke with Maddy curled into him, his skin a little clammy from their body heat. His hardening groin had awoken him. Nothing to do with the light mornings, the sound of the ocean and the birdsong outside – if that’s what you could call seagulls squabbling.

  Last night, they’d drifted off to sleep, cuddling. Their post-shower sex had left them exhausted and satisfied, mutually agreeing they needed to sleep. But sometimes that intimacy alone was better than sex. However, this morning was a different matter altogether. He wanted Maddy. Now.

  He started kissing her, nudging her belly with his hardness. ‘Good morning, gorgeous.’

  ‘What time is it?’ She rubbed her eyes.

  He’d already checked the time on his phone charging by the bed. ‘It’s just gone five thirty.’ He nuzzled her again, stroking her hair off her face to find her lips.

  ‘Oh, Harry, it’s far too early. Go back to sleep,’ Maddy grumbled, her eyes still closed. She rolled over, her back towards him, her warmth leaving his side but her naked form now revealed to him. In the short time they had lived under the same roof, Harry had learnt Maddy was not a morning person. But he was sure he could persuade her.

  ‘I can’t help it. You make me like this.’ He traced a finger down her spine, kissing her shoulder blade.

  ‘I haven’t done anything … I’ve been asleep.’

  ‘But I’m in your bed, and you’re wonderful.’ Harry ran his hands gently over her body, stroking and caressing, from thigh, to buttocks, along the side of her back, and down, brushing the side of her breast, loving the feeling of her body at his fingertips.’ Naturally, I’m going to wake up horny.’ He snuggled in, kissing her neck and along her shoulder, and she gave a whimper of appreciation. She was responding, waking slowly, her mood lifting. He slid his free hand between her parting thighs and inserted a finger up into her moist warmth. Finding the soft, smooth internal spot, he massaged it with gentle strokes. Her body reacted, relaxing into his touch.

  Then, surprising Harry, her hand reached behind her back and grasped his erection firmly.

  ‘Well, it would be a shame to waste it,’ she said, still sleepy.

  Wide-awake, Harry quickly found a condom and tore at the foil wrapper. Once protected, he gently eased himself in from behind, becoming one with Maddy. Spooning her, slowly, rhythmically, in and out, the intensity grew. He reached around with his free hand to gently rub where it would please her most.

  The more-awake-Maddy soon wanted the position changed, and Harry was happy to oblige. They moved into the good old missionary position, where he got to kiss Maddy, and hold onto her. He loved how her nails would scratch along his back. Not too deep, breaking the skin, but enough to tantalise and excite him.

  They played, toyed and experimented, until Maddy, now straddled on top of Harry, began to breathe more heavily, her skin pink with heat and excitement, and gave a humming moan, letting Harry know she’d climaxed.

  She relaxed onto him in a heap, with him still inside her. He stroked her back. ‘Feel better?’

  Her breathing slowed. ‘Hmmmm.’

  ‘Not so grumpy now, huh?’

  She lifted herself up onto her hands, moving, rocking her hips slowly. Her core tightened around him. Fuck, that felt good. Harry gripped her hips more firmly, and exhaled a breath as his body tensed. It wouldn’t take him long if she continued this rhythm.

  ‘Me? Grumpy?’ she said, then nipped his lip.

  ‘You know you are … Moody.’

  ‘Well, before I change my mind, and jump off—’

  ‘Not a chance!’ Harry grabbed her hips, holding her on him.

  ‘You better take me then.’

  ‘Take you?’

  ‘Yes, however you like.’ Maddy lowered her head to his ear, kissing near his earlobe, then whispered, ‘Fuck me hard, soft, however the hell you like.’

  ***

  Maddy wasn’t sure where the naughty side had come from, but maybe with Harry she needed to keep things sexy, spicy. Men liked being talked dirty to. Connor always insisted on it, but it never felt right with him. Maybe that had been one of the early signs she should have read, that she wasn’t totally comfortable being intimate with Connor. But being playful with Harry seemed natural. He responded too. Even when he played it a little rough, he never hurt her, always wanting to make sure she enjoyed the experience as much as he did. A thoughtful lover. Had Connor been a thoughtful lover? Maddy was finding it hard to remember. Maybe in the beginning, but then he started to become more controlling, even down to the sex: he’d tell her how she liked it … whether he was right or wrong.

  Although her body ached from the morning’s sexual antics, Maddy was alert and in a fantastic mood, her morning blues dispersed. She was positively glowing – at least that’s what Valerie’s comment would be if she could see her. Which she couldn’t, becaus
e Maddy had to wait at her house for the Loss Adjuster to arrive, so Valerie would be at the gallery opening up for her today.

  Harry’s early wake-up call had been necessary after all. He’d needed to leave early to go home and load his truck ready for today’s work, and Maddy was meeting the Loss Adjuster. Thankfully they’d both left the cottage before Simon and his builders arrived.

  While Maddy waited she checked her Facebook updates on her phone. Did she put on her status what a terrific mood she was in? Update all her friends back in Bristol? No, early days. Maddy didn’t want to jinx anything. Plus the Loss Adjuster might ruin this good mood. Although it would be brilliant to finally get things moving on her house. Maddy sent a tweet instead. She’d been neglecting her social media accounts lately – Instagram and Pinterest she used for advertising her paintings. It was a free marketing tool. Twitter was a good way to share news too.

  ‘Loss Adjuster coming today. Can’t wait to get my house back. Can’t believe how long it’s been since the #fire #FedUpOfSmellOfSmoke’

  In the silence of her home, she pondered on Harry again. Was this normal? Did this happen? What was this with Harry? They had gone from living together – as a favour – to sleeping together, and it seemed to be propelling into a full on relationship. Not really dating first, apart from dinner on Sunday evening. Although Harry made her feel amazing, Maddy couldn’t help listening to the alarm bells going off inside her head. She needed to take this slower, she never wanted to go through another Connor scenario again. Moving to the cottage hadn’t even helped slow it down. It was too tempting to move back into Harry’s – she hated being apart from him. It would be better to live separately and just date – like normal people – wouldn’t it?

  No, she would use Wisteria Cottage as a haven, a place to distance herself from Harry, so things didn’t get too intense, too quickly.

  On the dot of nine a.m. her doorbell rang.