Claire stood for a moment looking into Jack’s eyes.
No, no it wasn’t just the heat of the moment. Those feelings she’d had last night under the cover of darkness were real.
What am I going to do now?
Turning loose of the towel, she let it drop to the floor around her feet. Jack took a step back, holding her hands, gazing intently into her eyes.
“You can watch the expression on my face as I look at you to see just how beautiful you are.”
Claire nodded as she felt embarrassment flush her face with emotions.
Jack removed his gaze from Claire’s eyes and slowly traveled down her face to her full, luscious mouth. His own lips parted as he imagined kissing those lips and running his tongue inside. He knew how it tasted inside and he yearned to taste it again.
His gaze lowered to the creamy curve of her neck. A neck he longed to kiss.
Lowering his eyes to the top curve of her breasts, his breath stopped as he gazed in amazement at something so simple as a curve but yet so breathtakingly beautiful.
When his eyes lowered further to her full globes, the mere sight of her hard protruding nipples sent him over the edge and he moaned, reaching out to caress them with his fingers.
Claire stepped into his arms and arched her back presenting them for his pleasure. Jack’s lips captured hers, demanding entrance which Claire gave freely. Their tongues locked in exploration, seeking out sensitive spots to thrill and be thrilled. Claire’s fingers twined through the thick waves of his hair, then lowered to the bottom of his t-shirt, lifting it upwards to remove the unwanted barrier between their flesh. Hot skin touched hot skin.
Jack’s blood pounded through his body like a waterfall pounding on the rocks below. This woman did things to him he didn’t understand. He had to have her again and then again.
His hands cupped her buttocks as he pulled her hips tight against his pulsing arousal. He ached to be inside her.
Claire could wait no longer. Her hands slipped to the band of Jack’s sweatpants and slid them off his hips revealing the object of her desire. She tentatively grasped it with both hands, as she knelt in front of him.
A drop of moistness hung to the tip waiting for her. She licked and Jack’s knees buckled as he groaned.
“Bloody hell” were the only words that escaped from his mouth.
Claire took his hardness into her mouth and savored the pungent taste. She ran her tongue around the ridge and played on the underside with her fingers.
“I can’t take anymore Claire,” Jack said as he pulled her to her feet. His mouth covered hers and they fell backwards on the bed. Jack had awoken the woman in her and she needed him now.
Claire climbed on top of Jack and straddled him. Lowering herself onto his penis, she slowly took him deep within. She sat for a moment savoring the fullness.
Jack reached up and cupped her breasts, rubbing her hardened nipples with his thumbs. Claire leaned over placing her breasts just above his mouth. She wanted his tongue on them but yet it was exquisite torture to have them so close but yet just out of his reach.
She lifted her buttocks and slowly let herself lower again onto his stiff shaft. The fullness within her felt heavenly. She took her own pleasure with each stroke. When she could stand it no longer, she lowered her breast to Jack’s mouth and he took as much as he could inside.
He suckled long, hard strokes. Claire moaned throwing her head back and yet pushing her breast into him further.
Her strokes increased in rhythm until she pounded at him, naked flesh slapping naked flesh. She groaned and leaned backwards giving him full view of what he was doing to her.
A scream from her throat rose as her climax heightened taking her to a blissful ecstasy. Her muscles contracted around his shaft, pulling at him, demanding his release.
Jack watched as passion overtook Claire’s face. Her nipples were swollen hard and he could see each stroke as it entered into her core. He was excited watching her take her pleasure from him.
His own pleasure erupted with a force that filled her to overflowing and still she rode him as if her life depended on it.
When she had succeeded in drawing the last drop of liquid passion from him, Claire collapsed beside him.
Jack kissed the top of her head and with one hand stroked her hair and the side of her face.
“That was wonderful, Jack. I want to do it again after I rest a while.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you have to give me a little time to recuperate. But we have from now until we’re rescued and we don’t have to get out of bed at all.”
“I think I’m gonna like this.”
“You’re insatiable, woman!”
At that moment, Ralph crept back into her thoughts.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was almost noon before she heard Jack moving around in the bedroom. Claire had been up for hours. She’d spent the morning looking through a photo album that lay on an end table beside the sofa. Interesting photos of people and places she wanted to ask Jack about. Now, she had coffee brewing and bacon frying.
“Great sex with a beautiful woman and hot food are my two most favorite things,” said Jack as he stumbled from the bedroom, running his fingers through his tousled hair, sleep not quite gone from his eyes.
Claire loved his sleepy head look. His dark wavy hair flipped down toward one eye and the rest of it going in all directions.
“Well, I’ll do my best to provide both of those. Grab a stool. I’ll get you some coffee. Lunch’ll be ready in a few more minutes.”
“Wow, noon. You wore me out woman!”
“I did my best.”
“And you were fantastic at it. How long have you been up?” he asked as he padded across the floor and took a seat at the counter.
“A few hours. I’ve been looking through your photo album. I hope that was okay.”
“Sure,” replied Jack as he took a sip from the hot steaming coffee Claire sat before him.
“There’s lots of pictures of a little boy with a woman. Is that you?”
“Yep, that’s me and Auntie Em.”
“Auntie Em?”
“My nanny. When she first came, I guess I couldn’t pronounce her last name, Emeric. So she became Auntie Em to me.”
“So where are your parents now?”
“Mom’s somewhere on the French Rivera and Dad, I’m not sure where Dad is. He sends a postcard from his latest archeological dig whenever he thinks about it which isn’t often.”
“But at least he tries.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m not faulting him for not keeping in touch. That’s just him. His brain gets engrossed in what he’s doing and the rest of the world gets shut out.”
Jack shoved his fingers through his hair before continuing. “That’s the problem mom had with him. She just couldn’t take months and months of not hearing and being alone. They fought about it a lot, until they just finally agreed to call it quits in a way.”
Taking a sip of his coffee, he said, “They both’ve gone their own separate ways and they do their own separate things and sometimes they run into each other for a day or so. They were both gone a lot so I spent most of my time with Auntie Em.”
“Lunch is served. Eat it while it’s hot.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The sun was just beginning to make its trip up into the morning sky. Ralph had spent the rest of the night playing the DVDs he’d made of his time with Mary and going through his photo album of the still shots he’d printed of the women he’d “counseled”. But he didn’t want to see the other women. He pulled the pictures out one by one and pitched them absent-mindedly to the floor leaving only his treasured pictures of Mary strewn out on the coffee table in front of him.
At daybreak, he placed the album on the coffee table and took one last look at his favorite photo of Mary. It pictured him laying across the width of the bed, Mary astride him, her head thrown back in the throes of their lovemaking, a heated flush on her face. She was beautifu
l.
Removing his car keys from their hook beside the door, and taking his coat from the hall closet, he trudged through the snow to his SUV and headed back to town. He needed to get his Sunday sermon ready. His heart just wasn’t in it.
His shoulders seemed heavier and the air stung his lungs. The lightness of his step had disappeared. He’d never fully realized just how much Mary was a part of him.
He had performed Matt’s marriage ceremony in the church with only a couple witnesses present. Something kept bothering him throughout the ceremony and try as he might, he couldn’t figure out what it was until Mary had left the church.
The room was bright and alive when she was in it but the moment she and Matt had left, it was as though the sun had been pulled from the sky. At that moment Ralph had realized, but it was too late. He was in love with his half-brother’s wife.
He needed to prepare himself to face the many women in his congregation. Most of whom he’d “counseled” at one time or another. Today, his heart was not in it. Today, he was a broken man. A single tear slid unnoticed down his cheek.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jack and Claire returned inside after spending the rest of the morning adding to their snow family which now consisted of an addition of a boy and girl along with a dog and cat. Jack wanted a dog and Claire wanted a cat so they compromised and built both.
Now engrossed in conversation and sipping hot chocolate, they did not hear the snowplow making its way up the drive until it reached the end of the drive where the snow family stood.
“Hey, that sounds like the snow plow,” said Jack as he stood up and walked to the window.
“You mean we’re rescued!”
She jumped from the sofa and joined Jack at the window. Seeing the plowman, Jack waved his thanks and the big machine began to turn before it headed back down the path it had cleared.
It was a good thing the plowman was a neighbor. The plows were always sent out to dig their employees out first in order to get more roads cleared as quickly as possible. The neighbor had then cleared Jack’s drive when he knew Jack was there.
Like two kids, Jack and Claire jumped up and down with excitement, hugging each other. Their hugs became longer and Claire ceased jumping and gazed into Jack’s steel blue eyes.
Jack never took his eyes off hers. He simply lifted her and walked to the bedroom, softly laying her down on the bed. No words were spoken as he undressed her before doing the same for himself.
He did not want this time to end. He wanted to be locked away making love to Claire forever. But, he had said no strings and she agreed. He would have to let her go.
Placing his knee between her thighs to open her legs, he lowered himself on top of her shivering body, and pulled the covers up over them both.
For a long time, he simply lay there gazing into her eyes, his fingers tracing the outline of her lips and caressing her face and hair. Claire turned her head toward each caress trying to feel as much of him as she could. She wanted enough to last a lifetime.
Jack’s mouth descended to the tip of her nose, kissing and nipping at the tip before placing gentle kisses on each of her eyelids. He placed warm moist kisses down her cheek before touching lightly on her lips. With his tongue, he licked at her lips to get the full taste of her. Claire’s lips parted and his tongue assaulted hers. At last, his kiss deepened, demanding more.
Claire responded with a hot, fiery passion of her own. Her tender lips bruising with Jack’s assault.
When Jack could at last stand no more, he pulled his lips from hers and buried his head against her neck as he kissed the pulsing hollow he found there.
His hands found the globes of her breasts and Claire groaned as he gently squeezed and massaged her female flesh. His hand encircled her breast before letting his tongue lightly touch her nipple.
Claire arched with pleasure. Jack flicked her nipple with his tongue and massaged each breast with his hands. Then pulling the nipple inside his mouth, he sucked and licked until Claire’s head rolled frantically from side to side.
Her hands grasped at Jack’s shoulders and her groans were almost continuous. Jack switched to the other breast continuing his onslaught. Once he had paid equal attention to that one, he placed a hand on each, kneading the soft flesh and teasing the moist hard nipples between his fingers, his mouth going from one to the other sucking, nipping and pulling.
Wave after wave rocked from the core of her being as her climax overtook her. Claire’s groans became gasps of pleasure as Jack kept up his onslaught until her breathing began to slow. Then he kissed each red, swollen nipple before leaving a trail of kisses down her stomach to her center below.
Jack nuzzled her hot, moist petals of flesh and inhaled deeply to get the pure sweet smell of her sex embedded into his nostrils. She was so wet and he loved the fact he could give her such pleasure.
He nuzzled and nipped at her woman flesh and at the same time began to insert his finger into her. With his tongue, he found her nubbin and flicked it, continuing his onslaught of her opening with one finger and then two. It hardened in response and Jack circled it with his tongue and nipped softly with his lips.
He let his thumb rest on the crevice that ran toward her backside rubbing her own juices there before he began to trace a circle around the flower bud of her anus. Jack heard the quick intake of Claire’s breath. He sucked at her nubbin as he slowly began to insert his finger into her nether region. Claire moaned with pleasure.
Jack’s fingers picked up a rhythm that matched the sucking of his mouth. Claire rocked to meet each stroke. She was on fire. Hot and filled to the core with Jack. Her hands reached to grab at Jack but his head was between her legs and she could barely touch his hair. Her body rocked to the rhythm that Jack demanded. Her orgasm exploded into a thousand pieces, her body screaming for more, more, just a little bit more until finally she lay motionless and exhausted.
Jack pulled himself up atop her and softly kissed her lips. Claire could taste her own juices and hungrily sought Jack’s kisses. He pressed his hips hard against her and she could feel his hardened arousal and then he was inside her thrusting as though he were a madman.
They both shared an urgency to their lovemaking. He felt Claire meet his thrusts and pushing her hips into his. His sac pounded against her butt cheeks as he thrust himself to full hilt.
Her mound was slick with juices. Hot wet skin slapped against hot wet skin intensifying Jack’s hunger for her.
He watched Claire’s face and saw her tell-tale sign and at the same moment felt her muscles tighten around him.
Her moment was near and he closed his eyes and thrust even harder, giving her all he had to give.
Claire screamed out in pleasure as Jack gasped out a moan at the same moment. His thrusts became slower and gentler as their climax began a downhill slide, muscles relaxing and finally, Jack lay beside Claire.
* * *
The rest of the afternoon was spent dozing off between lovemaking sessions and when night began to fall they reluctantly returned to the bar to pick up Jack’s car.
“I don’t see it in the parking lot,” said Jack. “Someone must have taken it home for me. We can check there.”
“Okay.”
* * *
Jack pulled in his driveway behind his car and stopped. He turned off the ignition, opened his door and went around to assist Claire out of the car. Pulling her as tight to his body as he could, he touched his lips to hers. Against his better judgment, he deepened the kiss.
They fell back against Claire’s car. Finally, Jack released her lips and held her to him.
For a long time, they stood that way, wrapped in each other’s arms. Neither of them spoke.
“Claire,” Jack started.
“I know Jack. No strings, no expectations. Just a man and a woman enjoying each other for a brief moment in time. I’ll treasure the memory always.”
“Me, too.” But what if I have expectations Claire? What if you’ve already
tied me up with strings? What am I to do now?
“I should go,” said Claire.
Jack forced a smile and cocked his head.
“Yeah, here’s looking at you kid,” he said.
“And here’s looking at you.”
Jack watched Claire trying to blink away the tears. There was a sadness behind her smile.
With that, Claire got into the driver’s seat, backed out of Jack’s drive and was gone.
Jack waited until she was out of sight before turning and slowly walking into his house with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Merle, Merle, you’ll never guess what I just seen,” said Francine the moment she heard Merle’s hello on the other end of her phone line.
“Francie, I’m in the middle of looking over these grades for our students this year, just tell me what you saw.”
“Just because you’re a principal and you’ve got more education than me doesn’t give you the right to be snippy.”
“I’m sorry Francie, it’s just that I have this horrendous headache. Several of the kids in Mrs. French’s second grade class were misbehaving and I wound up expelling two of them. Then, their no good parents called me all upset because their precious baby got expelled. It’s not my fault they raised little heathens. It’ll teach those kids they’d better sit quietly in class.”
“Slow down, Merle, slow down. I can’t keep up the way you’re rattling on so.”
“Why it was luck I just happened to walk by Mrs. French’s class,” Merle continued, undaunted by Francine’s words. “and I saw those children talking out of turn. They hadn’t even raised their hands. Why if I hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t have even known about it. The teachers I have to work with are just unbearable, Francie. They don’t know how to hand out discipline in the least. I have to do it all myself. It’s just overwhelming at times.”
“This may not make you feel any better either, Merle, ‘cause I just saw one of your teachers who’s supposed to be getting married to the Reverend, kissing Mr. Wakefield who’s also supposed to be getting married to that uppity woman. They’re supposed to be getting married to other people and they were kissing each other. Now what do you make of that.” She giggled.
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