by Shara Azod
“Give me the email address,” she said to Lee, her voice like her hands, trembling with emotions.
Chapter 8
A month later, November
Nestled against her sofa, playfully stroking her cat, Moby, Sky watched through her windows as the first flakes of snow from the predicted blizzard fell to the ground. With her blinds opened and a small fire flickering in the corner fireplace, the living room seemed as if she had been transplanted to someplace else. A ski lodge in Aspen, or Lake Tahoe, anywhere but where she actually was—high desert New Mexico. Lying beneath her Lobos blanket, Moby cuddled beside her, meowing in complete contentment which Sky envied.
“Moby, they’re predicting four to six inches for the valley.” The purrs grew louder as if glad for the precipitation. “For us, six to eight inches.”
Dozing against the shadowy warmth created within the room, Sky’s mind wandered to Cashmere. Ever since she came back, all she’d been able to think about was him. She’d caught herself doodling his name across her notes at faculty meetings. At night she’d even woken herself up screaming for him in ecstasy. And the shower and baths all centered on him. Her dildo had a new name—Cash because the payoff orgasm was based on him. She’d given up even trying to think about or meet anyone else.
Lying there, cozy and warm, with the vibrations from Moby’s excessive purring humming through her, Sky closed her eyes and at once Cashmere appeared. His inky hair and charismatic smile that said everything would be given to him—in time. Her body, her soul, her heart, yes, he’d win them all.
“Smug bastard,” she said aloud, making Moby stretch in annoyance. “If he hadn’t been so smug, so freakin’ all about tasting the berry, things might’ve been different, Moby.”
Moby meowed in chorus and hopped off with his tail high in the air as if saying “Whatever.”
Three solid knocks roused her from the sofa.
Who the heck is out in this mess?
Lee, her mind plugged in the blank, answering her question. She had few other friends. Her correspondence with Cashmere had gone to nowhere because although she took the email address, she couldn’t write him. Each time she sat at her laptop with the email address typed in, her mind went blank. What was she supposed to say?
Hey, I masturbate thinking about you every night. Write back, okay?
Yes, that would’ve gone over well.
“Oh, Lee, it’s a mess out there,” Sky said, tossing the blanket to the end of the sofa. “Coming!”
Outside the darkening sky showed only cold, steel gray clouds. Sky slowed. Why would Lee be here? She was heading to Durango for skiing. She left right after work, no doubt, for that was at least five hours away. Being Veteran’s Day weekend, they had four days of vacation time, so why would Lee be outside her door on her front porch?
Nervous, Sky inched closer to the door, her socked feet falling silently on hardwood floors. Crackling and licking the air, the fire glowed against adobe walls casting long shadows with careless abandon. She shuddered.
To open or not to open.
“That is the question,” she said to herself aloud. Right. When she’s started talking to herself, then she knew her sanity was next.
Even Moby didn’t want to hang around. He’d vanished back into the rear bedroom with a shrill “meow”.
“Thanks, you coward,” Sky whispered.
Three more knocks in rapid session made her jump.
“Who—who is it?” she called, hearing the tremble in her voice, she deepened it and said, “I’m not alone in here.”
“Me.”
The one word shot directly through to her heart.
Me.
Cashmere.
Ripping the locks off as swiftly as she could, Sky couldn’t believe her ears. Was it possible he’d come to see her? In this terrible storm? Lee had hinted, but Sky hadn’t dared to believe it.
Before she knew it, the door was flung open and standing on her porch in a slick, ebony trench coat with the collar pulled up against the wind, matching hat and leather gloves, Cashmere grinned at her.
“You trying to make me into an icicle or what?” he asked.
“No, no,” Sky unlatched the screen door and pushed it opened. “Come inside, please, get out of this storm.”
Stepping out of his path, Sky couldn’t believe it was him even though as he passed, she smelled his scent, not his cologne, but him. The masculine aroma of MAN made goose bumps sprout and her clit pulsed at once.
He stopped short in the foyer, looking around the living room, and nervously wringing his hands.
She took her time shutting the doors, using the moments to try to come up with something to say. If she couldn’t think of anything to say via email, what the hell was she going to say with him in her living room?
At the same time, she pondered how she was going to kill Lee for passing on her information to a complete stranger.
When at last she turned to finally take a look at him, Sky sucked in her breath. He’d removed his hat and his hair was tousled and wild, as he shook it for rogue snowflakes. One hand held both his leather gloves, while his free hand ruffled his hair, shaking icy chips to the floor. Feeling her eyes on him he stopped, his cheeks pink with cold.
“This is New Mexico?”
She smiled.
“Yes, actually, it is. We get all four seasons this far north, just like everyone else. This is Albuquerque, not Phoenix,” she said, coming closer to him, but not daring to touch him.
Cashmere began unbuttoning his coat, taking his eyes off her.
“Yeah, I had to buy this here. San Diego never gets this cold. Ever,” he said, voice flat, the cheeriness gone. “Look good?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice squeaking out of the thickness of her rapidly closing throat. God he looked more than good, he looked delicious, delectable and she wanted to unwrap him from that coat like a piece of smooth, creamy candy.
Stunned she couldn’t quite get over the fact that Cashmere was in her home, standing in her living room. A man she never thought she’d ever see again.
“What are you doing here?” she croaked, hugging herself. “How is it that you’re here?”
Cashmere caught himself mumbling about snow and winters in Montana.
His eyes moved up to meet her at last. The smooth, cool grin he gave her the first time he saw her was on his face. Disarming her fear, Cashmere’s smile was infectious, but it didn’t erase her question, or her eagerness to have it answered.
“I’m here to see how you are,” he said defeated. “I’ve been worried and wondering about you for months, I’ll be honest. I didn’t like how you left in Vegas. It’s nagged at me something fierce.”
Struck temporarily mute, Sky grappled mentally for words.
No way. He didn’t come here to see if I was okay. All this way? The expense alone wouldn’t be worth it.
“I know it’s hard to believe, and I know this is awkward as hell, but I needed to see you. Your friend, Lee, she didn’t give me your address. I hired a private investigator to track you down. So, don’t be angry with her.”
Sky couldn’t believe it. She stalked over to her sofa and plopped down.
A private investigator. The boy toy had done all of this, flowers for weeks on end, a P.I., and now a flight from San Diego here. Why?
“If I didn’t find you, Sky, I would be locked in a mental ward, homeless or both. I was losing myself to nothing but thoughts of you,” Cashmere said as if he had heard her mental questions loud and clear.
He hung his coat on the coat rack and stuffed his gloves and hat into the pockets before turning around to the sofa and Sky.
“Me?” she managed to gasp, heart full out galloping.
“Yeah,” he said, hands on his hips, a heat erupting in his eyes, the quick lust making them shiny, bright. “Is there anyone here with you?”
“That’s an odd question.”
Feeling a fluttering in her chest, Sky shifted uneasily. He came here not
knowing if she was married or living with someone. How crazy was he?
Young. Impulsive. Spontaneous.
“I—I’m sorry Cashmere. This is all coming way too fast for me,” she said, sitting straight up. “There’s no one here, but Moby, my cat.”
“Oh,” he said, his entire body relaxing.
“What do you want?”
He laughed, turning to her direction, walking over to her, but stopping short of invading her personal space or touching her. Standing before her, he didn’t sit, or even ask to sit. As if knowing she was alone had somehow reinforced his hope, he grinned more and his body language loosened up.
“I’ve come from San Diego to do what I said I would do four months ago. What I want, right now, more than anything is you, Sky.”
“Stop!” she said firmly. She hugged herself as flashes of him with Dante came spiraling to the forefront. “It—it isn’t that easy, boy toy.”
His eyebrow rose.
“Ah, boy toy,” he said, shaking his head as if he knew this was coming.
“It never really mattered that you were older than me. All that really mattered was that I liked you and you liked me. Haven’t you gotten my flowers?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak any more.
“Then you know how I feel about you, about our age difference. I don’t give a damn. I can do whatever men your age can do. Let me show you.”
“Dante,” she whispered. “You and she were lovers.”
A harsh sigh as if this was ridiculous rushed out him.
“Dante and I weren’t lovers the night you were in my hotel room,” he said gravely. “I told you that then and it’s still true now.”
“I saw you leave with her,” Sky accused, not understanding why it should matter, but it did. She had to know, or else this stumbling block wouldn’t ever be removed. Call her old fashioned.
“You did. If you want the full story, I’ll tell you,” he said with a weariness infiltrating his voice. “She—she gave me a blowjob.”
Sky waited.
Cashmere didn’t go on.
“Get out! You’re lying.”
What’s the matter with me?
Startled, but recovering quickly, Cashmere frowned, his eyes glittering out from the fall of dark hair. “I’m not. You can ask her.”
He pulled his cellular phone from his hip and thrust it in her direction. “I even called her you while she was going at it.”
“What?”
He nodded that it was true. “It took a lot of dinners at Anthony’s to get her to forgive me and if she wasn’t dating my best friend she wouldn’t have helped me find you.”
He… that was it? No, I made a mistake.
“You didn’t, uh, return her favor?” Sky asked, feeling her cheeks grow warmer still and she could even envision a little dunce cap on her head.
“No,” he said firmly and with so much conviction, Sky believed him.
“I told you. I’m here for you. I wanted you that night in Vegas too, but you didn’t want to hear it. But believe it. Listen to my voice, my words, look at my face. Do I look like I’m lying?”
“No,” she pulled her knees up into the chair. “You’re so young and then the Dante thing...”
Frustrated, embarrassed, overwhelmed, Sky sighed, feeling her head throb as if it wanted to explode. Pressing her hands to either side of her temples, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Do I believe him? He’s a boy toy, a youngster with a massive hard on…this isn’t real.
“Don’t,” Cashmere said softly, crouching down beside her.
She opened her eyes to gaze upon him.
“Please, Sky. I’m in love with you. Believe this. Allow your heart to live again. I—I don’t know who hurt you so much, but I’m not him. Trust me.”
Trust him?
“I don’t even know your last name,” she whispered through trembling lips. She forced herself to look at him. To take in the lust smoldering in those eyes.
Cashmere’s green eyes met hers and he brushed his hand across her cheeks, gently kissing the trails left in its wake with his thumbs.
“Martin,” he said softly. “My name is Cashmere Lionel Martin.”
She smiled, a small one.
“You know my name,” he said, getting to a standing position. “Now, what’s yours?”
“P—Parker.”
“It’s very lovely to meet you Ms. Parker,” he said and stuck out his hand. “I’d like to take you to that sofa and fuck your brains out. May I?”
She sucked in her breath as if he’d hit her. The response was so out of the blue she reeled back and every button on her body burst to ON.
“What?”
“You heard me,” he said, pulling his gray sweater over his head. Underneath was a white tee-shirt. He smelled so nice, of soap and some spicy cologne.
God, the boy is nuts for real.
Thinking about what he had said moments earlier, and her own strong longing to do it right if she had it ever to do again, Sky got up. Watching Cashmere’s clothes descend to the floor in a heap, she couldn’t turn her eyes away from the lean, muscular body in front of her. He caught her staring at him and grinned, his hair spilling around his shoulders. His cock hidden in the thatch of dark brunette brush, he posed with both hands on his narrow hips.
“You like this, don’t you? Come on and touch me. I know you want to or else you wouldn’t have ever come to my hotel room.”
Blushing, Sky turned her head away. When he put it in her face like that, it embarrassed her—turned her own, yes, her clit was already beating at a feverish pace threatening to explode the moment he touched her.
He offered his hand and pulled her into his embrace.
“You—you could get laid anywhere,” she said, voice a mere smidgen above whisper. “Why me? I’m an old bag. You’re new shoes. We don’t match.”
He sighed. “Because, beautiful creature, I’m in love with you. Didn’t get the memo? Okay, I’ll say it again, this time louder so that your heart can hear it too.”
And then, he screamed as loud as he could, “I LOVE YOU!”
When he fell silent again, he was smiling.
“I like old shoes. They’re comfortable, loved. So, get over here and leave that emotional shit over there,” he said. “I’m Cashmere Martin. Not some asshole who made you believe you weren’t fucking hot. Look, no Sky, look at me. This is for you, because of you.”
He ran his hand over his growing phallus. “I want you. Believe that. I’m not here for the weather or the sights, except the ones tattooed on your curvy, completely lovable body.”
Does he mean all of this?
Does it even matter? Does this young boy love me? He thinks he does, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except having his lips on mine.
She stood in front of the sofa, her fuzzy orange slippers and white gown still on. In that moment, she let go of everything.
Cashmere twisted her around and he sat down on the sofa. He beckoned her down to sit between his spread eagle legs. She sat down between his outstretched legs. Curious as to why he chose this position.
With each one of his legs on either side of her, he scooted up until his crotch was positioned between her buttocks. Sky could feel his hardness against her ass, but didn’t run. No, she was done running for tonight.
Maybe forever.
Sweeping her hair over her shoulder so that it fell against her face, Cashmere planted a soft kiss on her neck, just behind her ear. Drawing her back into him, his tongue drifted up to her earlobe and he nibbled on it, taking it between his teeth and rolling it across his tongue.
“I am so in love with you,” he breathed into her ear, sending shivers across her body. “Me and you forever. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she hissed as his hands roamed over her gown, brushing her nipples and bellybutton. “God, yes.”
Yanking on the gown, Cashmere pulled it up and over her head, leaving her naked at last in his presence. She t
ensed and with him behind her she didn’t know what he was thinking or seeing. The love handles? The rippled back. She wasn’t a spring chicken anymore.
To her surprise, instead of his laughter or worse, his erection inflate, Sky felt his cock grow taller against her. In minutes his fingers were on her back, tracing invisible shapes and his lips dropped kisses here and there. He rubbed his face against her shoulder blades, moaning as he did so.