by Mlyn Hurn
Sean couldn’t explain his reluctance to discuss Rayne, or his relationship with her, with anyone. He knew Bob only had his best interest at heart, but that didn’t change the strange feelings he’d been experiencing since he’d first seen her. It was more than just being physically drawn to her. There were things beneath the surface beyond his last job for the Agency to check her out. Last night he’d felt more than arousal and satiation. In fact, his feelings were deeper than any he’d ever experienced before, and he was angry that he was feeling anything at all.
Hell! All he’d wanted was to leave the Agency and enjoy his life in quiet, without danger and intrigue waiting around every corner. From their advance check, everything had indicated that even if Rayne had some psychic power, it wasn’t a great deal. Most psychics used their powers to further their financial gain whenever possible. Seeing the modest house, and the miniscule farming concern, it was obvious she wasn’t bettering herself in any way other than the old-fashioned way—hard work. So his involvement, if that is what it was, couldn’t be construed as anything else.
Sean stopped as he realized he wasn’t making any sense. Was it possible that she had robbed him of logical thought? Maybe she was a modern Delilah and she could steal his “strength” by having sex with him.
“Aren’t you two the early birds? What in the world are you both doing up at this hour?”
Both men rushed to answer her at the same time, but then Sean gestured for Bob to answer first.
“You were so restless, honey, that I just surrendered and got up.”
“Just restless, I guess.”
Colleen looked at him for another second before she nodded once and crossed the porch to take the chair beside her husband. She folded her hands atop her belly. “We had planned that conference call for tonight at nine. I assume you’ll be around for it.”
Sean absent-mindedly nodded his head in agreement. The word “night” had him imagining another night in Rayne’s bed. How he’d get through the day without seeing her was beginning to loom as a major problem. He knew he was acting as randy as a virgin bridegroom on his honeymoon. It didn’t matter what else was going on, where they were or how much money they’d spent—all he really wanted was to be in bed, with his new wife.
“I’m going to shower. We’ve got a lot to get done today.”
“And the call?” Colleen asked again with determination, evident by the tone in her voice.
“I will do my best to be around for the big call with the rest of the family.” Sean held his hand up in the traditional Boy Scout honor signal before turning toward the door. As he ran upstairs, he heard Colleen expressing her doubts to her husband.
“I’d better work on a good excuse for why Sean couldn’t be home for the call.”
“Don’t fret, love. Sean will do his best…”
* * * * *
Later that day, when Sean was so distracted he almost caught his hand in the blades of the machine he and Bob had been working on, he excused himself and went into his office to do the never-ending paperwork. He didn’t get anything accomplished because his attention kept wandering. All he had to do was close his eyes to recall every second of last night with Rayne. Each touch, caress and kiss was re-examined throughout the afternoon as he sat alone, staring at the computer screen.
Somehow he made it through dinner and excused himself to go back to his office again. He sat there until Colleen and Bob joined him for the call with the rest of the family. It surprised him that during the entire call his thoughts were focused more on a woman he hardly knew instead of on the lively family discussion. Once the call ended, Colleen and Bob informed him that they were going to bed early.
A few minutes later he wandered out to the front porch and sat down. As he propped his booted feet on the porch railing, he thought that the night was still warm and he couldn’t help but wonder if Rayne was watering now. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was still a few minutes until ten, which was the time she told him that she usually started.
If he drove to her place, he would be there in about seven minutes. His boots hit the wood a second later and he was jogging to the truck. The keys were in it and he was driving almost too damned fast toward Rayne’s about a minute after he’d finished the thought.
* * * * *
Rayne looked up as the truck lights started up the short gravel road to her place. Even though she wasn’t expecting anyone, there was no doubt in her mind whose truck it was. She turned her attention back to the old-fashioned water pump, continuing to fill her assortment of buckets. A minute later, a pair of boots came into her peripheral vision. Without looking up she spoke softly.
“Hello, Sean.”
“I came to help you water. With the two of us, it won’t take as long.”
“That is true, but you don’t have to help me. I assume you came over for sex.” As the words left her lips, they didn’t sound as uncaring and casual as they had when she’d practiced being nonchalant and light-hearted. She didn’t want to reveal how deeply her emotions were running already for this man. Caring for him would be to break all of the rules. It would be risky and she was not a risk taker. Maybe her sisters could do it, but she wasn’t strong enough to cope with the circumstances. That’s why she kept separate from others, to keep her heart safe and whole.
Years earlier, when it came time for her to leave home, she had asked her grandmother if she could have an old trunk in the attic. As expected, Maile had nodded her head, never asking which trunk or if it held anything. Nestled deep inside were some very old keepsakes. The most valuable, in her opinion, was the diary she’d found buried at the bottom of the trunk. The diary had belonged to her great-grandmother and contained facts that Rayne doubted had been recorded anywhere else.
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted as Sean grabbed her forearms and pulled her up as he stood. Facing him, she could see the anger on his face. “I’m sorry if my honesty offends you, but I thought if that’s what you came for…” she paused and shrugged her shoulders, “then we could go on in and do it before I water. After you leave, I’ll come back out and finish.”
For a minute, Sean didn’t reply. Rayne could see that he was struggling to control his anger. Knowing that keeping her mouth shut probably would have been the wisest choice she went on talking.
“I just mean that I don’t expect you to help water before we have sex. That is too much, it’s almost like having you pay me for sex.”
“Shut up, damn it! Good God, woman, do you have a death wish or something?” Sean relaxed the hold on her arms, slowly releasing them completely.
Rayne could see he was breathing rapidly. She was lucky, realizing belatedly, that he had not struck out at her. She guessed he had every right to be angry. Basically she’d accused him of treating her like a prostitute, except instead of money the payment for sex was work. Not that she’d ever think he would have to do that. He was too damned good looking for that.
“I guess I should apologize,” she spoke quickly, rushing the words. “I didn’t think about it from your point of view. I didn’t mean to insult you. Gosh, Sean, anyone looking at you would know that you didn’t have to pay for sex, or bribe a woman either. I mean…well, you are probably the best looking man I’ve ever seen. And, well, to be honest, I just wasn’t sure what would happen after last night. Nothing was said about seeing each other again. All day long I kept thinking…anyway, that’s what I came up with…that perhaps if you came back, it would only be to have sex.”
Sean’s hands grabbed her shoulders. “Shut up, Rayne,” he muttered a second before his mouth covered hers.
While his mouth and tongue mastered hers, his hands began roving her body. When his hands discovered her unbound breasts beneath the thin cotton T-shirt, she felt his groan rumble in his chest. She moved her hands down his chest and did something she’d wanted to do since the first night she saw him. One of her still-wet hands cupped his manhood, pressed demandingly against the zipper of his jeans. His
groan was even louder that time, but when she began to stroke and squeeze his hard cock, he suddenly moved away from her.
“What’s wrong?” Rayne asked quickly. “What did I do wrong?”
Sean shook his head at her, and ran one slightly shaking hand through his hair. “You did nothing wrong, Rayne. But if you’d continued for much longer, I’d have taken you right here in the mud.”
Rayne felt the warm feeling inside her start to grow and brighten, like a small candle. She couldn’t stop the grin that curved her lips. For the first time she felt power as a woman, a sexual being. She was very fit and strong, as a human being, but she’d never had any confidence in her appearance or her womanly wiles.
“Okay,” she forced the words out, her stomach in a jumble. “I’ll start over. Hello. Nice evening, isn’t it?”
Sean grinned at her words. “Yeah. There is still some warmth from the day, but cooling off enough to be comfortable sleeping weather.” He moved over to the water pump and began filling another bucket. Without looking at her, he went on. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Me either,” Rayne told him softly, preparing another bucket to be filled. “I’ve never shared a bed before.” Immediately as the words were said she realized how naïve that made her sound. It was true, but that didn’t mean she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Hurriedly she added, “Except for my sisters. We shared a bed growing up, at different times.”
The last bucket was done and Sean picked up two of them. He started walking down the row, leaving one every other row. Rayne grabbed two herself, the water sloshing slightly as she hurried to reach the next two rows. Sean met her and told her to start the watering and he’d take the buckets down the line. Nodding her head, she started with the first row. Near the end of the second row, Sean was starting on the third. It took even less time tonight.
Nearing the last row, Rayne quickly moved to it, skipping two in between. “I’ll do this last one, if you don’t mind. If you get done before me, I’ll meet you at the house.” Turning quickly, she saw the odd look Sean gave her before he followed her directions.
Behind the protective netting, Rayne used the small flashlight she kept in a plastic box to check her precious plants for damage, insects or anything else. They all looked very healthy, though, and she was soon walking back up the lane. She could see that Sean was seated on the porch swing, looking quite relaxed and at home. For a moment she let her thoughts wander about the two of them living here, in her small house. But logic soon took over. With the huge white house on his property he’d have no reason to ever consider her place as anything but a shed at best, or an outhouse at worst.
As she took the first step, Sean patted the empty seat beside him. “Join me?”
Rayne nodded and sat down while he stopped swinging for a moment. Once she was seated, he began the gentle motion again. It was easy to close her eyes and let her body relax. All around were the gentle sounds of the night and the soft wind barely moving the leaves of the bushes and trees. Behind her she felt the warmth of his arm, which he had lifted back up after patting the seat. It was so easy to let her head ease back and rest against his arm. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this relaxed and peaceful…actually it was not since she’d left her grandmother.
“Do you sit out here often, Rayne?”
She nodded her head without thinking that he might not be able to see in the darkness. Then she remembered she was leaning back on his arm. She lifted her head. “I’m sorry to lean back like that. I just…I don’t know. It felt right.”
Sean smiled and she could see the flash of his white teeth for a moment. She turned her face forward again, looking out at the dark sky. “To be honest, Rayne, I was getting ready to gently nudge you into moving over and resting your head here.”
Rayne watched as he patted an area on his upper chest, near his shoulder. “I would, but I think I stink, from working all day and then again tonight.”
“Here I was thinking I would be the one. We could go back and use that shower of yours.”
“Are you thinking about using my shower and leaving? Or did you have something else in mind?”
Sean stood and pulled her up beside him. “I’ll be willing to do anything else you have in mind, pretty lady.”
They walked around the house to the shower. Rayne paused, not completely sure how to continue…gracefully. She kicked her sneakers off, leaning over to tug the muddy socks off. When she looked back up she gasped in surprise. So much for going slowly…Sean was already stripped to his shorts and watching her.
Her words slipped out without thinking.
“Oh my!”
And her eyes seemed to be fixated on his aroused cock.
Sean came closer. “You know, that is the first time anyone has ever said that when they’ve seen me nearly naked.”
“Have there been a lot of ‘anyones’ in your life, Sean?”
Sean was unsnapping her jeans and beginning to push them down over her hips. His fingers caught under the elastic of her panties and dragged them along as well. Her T-shirt, which had been tucked in, was long and fell to the top of her thighs. She slid her hands to the bottom edge, starting to pull the shirt up. Sean’s hands stopped her.
“Not yet,” he whispered to her softly. “I have a little fantasy, if you don’t mind.”
Rayne shook her head, aroused and a little scared. Then she realized that she trusted him not to hurt her, no matter what might happen. He would never lose control and harm her in any way. She couldn’t explain how she knew this, but it seemed instinctual, this trust in him. When Sean shifted her toward the shower, she went with him. He reached out and turned on the water.
“Eek!” Rayne cried out as the cold water rained down over them. As she became wetter, she lifted her hands and slicked her hair back, off her face.
“God! You are so beautiful, Rayne!”
She heard Sean’s voice a second before his hands cupped her breasts. Her nipples were hard points jabbing into his palms, covered only by the thin white cotton. His hands massaged and rubbed her full breasts. His voice was hoarse as he spoke.
“This is my fantasy. Seeing you that first night…and now! That night I hardly slept for the erotic dreams I kept having—all of them starring you.” Sean lifted his hands to her face. His thumbs gently rubbed across her cheeks. He moved them up and slicked her hair back once again. “Tell me, Rayne, did you dream of me? Or was that first time all my emotion?”
His honesty in revealing his emotions surprised her. She couldn’t hold her own words back. “I dreamed of you, Sean. You took me outside, up against the house. We were both soaking wet.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, except that…you didn’t wear a condom.” She stumbled over the words, surprised that she had allowed that detail to creep out.
Sean groaned at her revelation. “Rayne! I wanted to feel your flesh against mine, but the risks these days are too great. Please believe me when I say that I’ve always been very careful. I would never do anything that might put you at risk.”
Rayne nodded her head. She could tell him how she felt, about her inexperience. Instead of speaking her emotions, she moved her hands down his back, slipping under the elastic band of his shorts. She curled her fingers into the tight muscles of his ass for a moment before continuing their downward movement, dragging his shorts with them. Freeing his cock, she let the shorts fall on their own accord. Her hands curled around his hard rod, exploring his flesh while the water still rained down over them.
Sean reached his hand toward her, managing only a few light strokes across her lips before she stepped away.
“Turn the water off, Sean,” Rayne asked him quietly. She didn’t wait for him, but walked away, over to the small patch of grass. Dropping onto the grass, she duplicated his earlier motion. Except instead of wood, she patted the soft green carpet.
He shut the shower off, walking the short distance. Looking up at him, Rayne apprecia
ted his masculine differences. Obviously he had left his shorts behind before crossing over to her. She could see his doubt before he spoke.
“Maybe we should go inside, sweetheart. It might not be a safe time of the month for you.”
Rayne shook her head negatively while she pulled him down beside her. Once he was down, she pushed him until he lay supine, on his back. His surprise was evident on his face as she straddled his thighs. Her hands explored his chest, pausing to tease and toy with his hard nipples. Slowly she worked her way down, past his waist. Scooting farther down, she took his hard manhood into her grasp. One hand didn’t circle his shaft as she stroked upwards. Her other hand lightly stroked his smooth, shaven groin area.
She looked up as she spoke. “Why did you shave?”
Sean grinned up at her. “I used to shave all over, when I swam all the time. But feeling how wonderful it was last night…well, I couldn’t help but think about what it might be like if we were both smooth.”
Rayne smiled, not knowing what to say. “Thank you” seemed trite. Instead she shifted off his legs for a moment, rearranging her body. He moved his legs to give her better access. Rayne started to stroke and caress his cock with her hands. It was obvious that she was eager, but inexperienced. Sean sat up suddenly and lifted Rayne’s face. Kissing her lips, he smiled gently.
“I’ll show you what to do, but I don’t expect this.”
“I know. Somehow I knew that you would not, but I want to please you as you did for me last night. I would like to share what I felt when you touched me. I’m sorry I don’t know more and have more experience.”
Chapter Seven