Blurb

Karen Page had never ventured too far out of her comfort zone. She has her eyes on her five-year plan and nothing is going to interfere. Coming home is an eye-opening experience. Latham Rogers is her neighbor. He’s the older bad boy and has grown into a fine specimen of a man over the last 10 years. She spies him after a decade of being away and wonders what lurks underneath his tight jeans.

Latham Rogers has a secret and is keeping it from his family. He stayed to look after his mother. His time in the military has left him scarred with memories he doesn’t want to talk about. Karen dresses to make him yearn for something he shouldn’t. He tries to resist, but her perseverance leaves him at a loss for words. They will learn that time means nothing when the heart is on the line.

Chapter one

Karen

I was walking from the bus station intent on surprising my family by showing up early. It was interesting to be back after a decade. I had my five-year plan and nothing was going to derail my rise to journalistic greatness.

My hometown was what you would expect it to be.

Everything was exactly the same except for one glaring exception on the side of the road on the way into town. The diner had changed hands. It had taken on the guise of the fifties. It was a throwback to a different era. I could see through the windows. The girls were dressed to mimic the style back in the day. They even had them on roller skates for takeout service.

My world consisted of the day to day grind of schoolwork. College wasn’t easy, but nothing in life worth doing was ever easy. My father was known to pile on sage advice from time to time to keep me on the straight and narrow.

My long blond hair had been exchanged for a pixie cut. It accentuated my long neck and added extra emphasis to my endowment. I was blessed more than others in a certain department.

It had come on me rather suddenly a year after I had left home for college. I was no longer the same girl looking for the approval of the opposite sex. I could bat my eyes and show some skin to get them panting after me like a dog in heat.

I was unassuming at 5’2, 120 pounds with the kind of piercing blue eyes to make you look at me like a sexual object. My blood flowed with passion, but I had yet to find anybody to match me in the bedroom. I had left them out of breath and staring at me lifeless from the mattress after I was done with them.

There was really only one man who I had measured everybody else against. None of them came close to the specimen that lived across the street.

Latham Rogers was a name that lingered on my lips during those twilight hours. I had high expectations and wanted every man to be him in some regard. They had no idea what kind of Herculean task it really was.

“Karen…Karen Page…why would you come back to this one horse town. How long has it been?” Julia Cameron had been my best friend since childhood.

“I had a few days to kill after midterms. I thought I didn’t get enough criticism from my parents on the phone. This way I can cut out the middleman and make it easier for them to crucify me in person.” They were on me constantly to find a good man to settle down with, but the one I wanted had gotten away.

“I’m not going to let my best friend come home without having a party in her honor. Do you remember how we used to blow off steam on the beach? It will be fun to get the gang back together again. Get in and I will take you the rest of the way.” Julia had settled down with her Prince Charming and the little baby to follow.

She driving a nondescript minivan and I felt sorry for her. She looked happy with her mom dress and children’s cup sitting in the holder. I could smell what appeared to be burnt popcorn and found it scattered on the seat behind us.

I had on a custom blue denim shirt unbuttoned to show the swell of my breasts. I was no stranger to the concept of flirting to get what I wanted. Life was about sacrifice. Climbing the ladder wasn’t easy without making the best out of every opportunity. I had gotten an internship last summer at the Chicago Tribune. There was a job waiting for me after I graduated.

The leather skirt was a little scandalous. Bending over at certain angles could give a guy the wrong idea. My long legs were a focus for the male gender. It was a little awkward being home, but it felt like an old shoe I had lost and found again.

“You know it was hell on them when you decided to leave for college 1000 miles away. Having children gives you a new perspective. Wait and see. One day you will have children of your own.” I was an only child living with helicopter parents hovering over my every move.

I felt like I was twice my age with an old soul in my 25-year-old body. I was self-sufficient at a young age. My childhood was more about responsibility than playing.

“I got away from them living vicariously through me. It was time for me to take those next steps on my own. Cutting the apron strings and spreading my wings was necessary for my emotional well-being.” My shape was like an hourglass and I could make men burn with desire.

“They still talk about you on Sunday in church with pride.” Religion had been crammed down my throat with the threat of damnation over my head.

I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 18 on the eve of leaving for college. I didn’t even remember the guy’s name. He was a drunken idea in the back seat of my father’s roomy sedan. It wasn’t the life changing moment of my life. It was somewhat disappointing and over with way too soon. It wasn’t like I had anything to compare it to.

“I still have my faith, but I don’t prescribe to the collection plate. Everybody has to worship in their own way.” Julia had turned into a pen pal friendship, but being in close proximity made me realize how much I had missed her.

The familiar row of mailboxes along the side of my street had me all aflutter. I was getting close to the threshold of where I had felt like I was suffocating. The only saving grace was the stretch of private beach along the properties. The ocean was steps away from my door. Skinny dipping at midnight was a delicious moment of rebellion.

“Wait until everybody hears that you’re back in town.” I wasn’t ready to scream it from the rooftops.

“I would like for you to refrain from telling them anything until I reveal it myself.” The one very lonely green duffel bag with whatever I could carry was sitting at my feet.

The smell of a multitude of flowers assaulted me from those backyard gardens. The fragrance adorning each stem was making me smile despite my misgivings about coming home for a few days.

“I like the way you think. Can you imagine their look of astonishment when you step out from the shadows? I do have a few appointments with some interesting buyers in the city. Evan is away on business and my little one is staying at their grandparents’ house for the weekend. This party is going to happen. I’m not taking no for an answer.” She was a real estate agent with a fine reputation behind her.

The scenery when I stepped from the minivan was a sight I knew too well.

The white paint was still peeling with the cracks in the sidewalk leading up to the front door. The black 65 Mustang was my father’s pride and joy. He sometimes tinkered in the garage for hours.

The garage door was open with him under the hood. I didn’t want to disturb him, but I didn’t want to give him a heart attack either. I took a few small steps forward when I heard the spray of a garden hose at work.

I turned on my black boots to see Latham Rogers without his shirt on. Washing the car with droplets of water splashing against his skin was giving me a hot flash. I was lost in a sea of memories, but they couldn’t hold a candle to how he had developed into a man over the last ten years.

My mouth was open and my palms were sweating. I swallowed hard with this overwhelming need to reach out and touch him. The water outlined his muscles and made him this tasty little morsel to be savored with each bite. The man’s hair was military cut. Those years protecting the country had made him an example to others.

He hadn’t seen me and I didn’t want him to. Being tongue-tied and unable to speak was not an attractive quality. I was well on my way to getting several accolades in journalism. Speaking in public wasn’t an issue.

Latham’s jeans were molded to his frame. He was making me lick my lips with the anticipation of what was hiding underneath the pronounced zipper.

I bypassed my father and found the door in the back open as usual. I stood on the deck looking at the water. A deep breath made me sigh with contentment. The salt water was lapping seamlessly against the shore. It was nice to be back.

Chapter two

Latham

I saw her out of the corner of my eye. She was a breath of fresh air, but I wasn’t interested in anything permanent. Fleeting moments in the bedroom wasn’t out of the question. Women were puzzles and I could figure them out after a few stiff ones. They weren’t the problem.

“I have to say having you home these last couple of months has been a godsend. It wasn’t right for me to ask you to stay. Losing your father put a strain on me financially. He left a lot of things undone with one project after another unfinished.” My mother was good at manipulating me, but what she didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt her.

“I lost my best friend. That is a void that nobody is going to be able to fill. My father taught me everything there was about being a man. I will always have a special bond with you, but the time I spent with him is never going to be forgotten.” I had finished washing the car, but I did have enough time to admire the swing to Karen’s hips.

“I have been a basket case. Having you here with a shoulder I can lean on kept me from losing it. Dinner will be ready shortly. I decided to take a shot at making your father’s ribs for old time’s sake.” I turned rather abruptly and found her smiling knowing full well the men of the Rogers Clan was responsible for making the ribs.

“You had me there for a second. I will need a few special ingredients for the sauce. I’ll go across the street and borrow what we don’t have.” My father’s recipe had been passed down from one generation to the next with him imparting on me the same tradition inherited in his will.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve mentioned to your father how he could make a fortune on the open market. He has always claimed the recipe will live and die within the family.” It could’ve been quite lucrative, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell off the family legacy.

“I will never go against his wishes. There’s no amount of money that could possibly convince me to sell.” The only way the family recipe was going to die was on the premise that I wasn’t going to have any children to pass it on to.

The very idea of raising a child sent a shiver of fear down my spine. I was 6’2, 230 pounds of solid muscle and could run into a hailstorm of bullets without blinking an eye. My men depended on me in the heat of the moment to protect them. I was responsible for giving them the courage to stand strong against the enemy.

With all of that, children were my Achilles’ heel with this belief the next generation didn’t have a chance. Seeing the horrors had awakened something inside of me. It was lying dormant until the strict discipline of the military brought it out in me. Killing for any reason shouldn’t be easy. Death is final. There is no coming back when the light is turned off.

I made my way across the street and knocked on the door with no answer.

The black mustang with its hood open was mocking me. Getting my hands on the steering wheel had become a guilty obsession. It was tempting to ask Mr. Page to let me take it out for a spin. I knew what his answer was going to be. I didn’t take rejection very well.

I went around back and opened the back door. There was something cooking on the stove with a medley of different spices including onions and peppers. It smelled fantastic. I grabbed the handle and pulled back the lid. It was on a slow simmer.

The keys usually on the rack by the door were mysteriously absent. It dawned on me that they were going to have a special dinner for Karen. I could easily procure an invitation. Karen was no longer the little girl across the street spying on me with her friends. She was a dish better served hot right from the oven.

I heard the sound of the shower. It was a stupid thing to do, but my body and mind were at odds.

The door to the bathroom down the hall was slightly ajar. I stood with my hand on the door leading to the girl that had captured my interest. The right thing to do was to announce my presence, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Steeling myself for more than I bargained for, I pushed open the door to witness a sight worth more than 1000 words.

She was under the hot water and the silhouette of her body was clearly defined. Those mountains were enough to release my inner fantasies. She was born to be naked under the careful watch of my eager eyes. This woman was a heartbreaker.

“There’s no reason to be shy.” Her response startled me and I took a step back thinking that a discreet exit was in order.

“I have to apologize and this is no way for a military man to behave. I came over to borrow some spices. I couldn’t help myself when I heard the shower. I hope you can forgive me.” I was concerned she was going to make this a problem between both of our family’s.

“My mother and father went out earlier. It seems only fair for you to get a chance to look at me. I did enough of that growing up with my binoculars on you.” I was stunned by how easily she opened the glass enclosure stark raving nude.

“I need to leave.” I felt her hand grabbing my wrist and my fingers came in contact with her nubile flesh.

“I never said you had to leave. I don’t know how much time we have, but we should make the best out of it.” I didn’t have to see her to know what part of her body I was touching.

Those nipples were hard enough to cut through glass. Her smooth skin was soft to the touch. I didn’t dare look. It was in bad taste to take advantage of her in her current undressed condition.

My mouth was dry and my jeans had filled out with the bulge of my little soldier at full salute.

“Are you trying to… seduce me?” I stuttered and my words sounded like a prepubescent teenager cracking under the pressure.

“It’s up to you to find out.” My fingers were feeling the heat of her mound.

She had recently shaved and those lips sheltered the heaven I wanted to taste. She directed the action and I was soon penetrating her tight glove of persuasion. It sank into the first knuckle with the warmth and the wetness giving me ideas.

“Please…you don’t know what you’re doing to me. Karen, I didn’t intend for any of this to happen. You have to believe me." I desperately wanted to turn around, but it was erotic to play with her body like a blind man does with Braille.

“I know exactly what I’m doing to you. This is what I call home field advantage. I’ve been thinking about this day for longer than you can imagine. You were the fantasy that was out of my reach. It doesn’t look like you are a figment of my overactive imagination. Just to be sure, I should pinch you to make sure you’re real.” I was prepared for her to grab my ass, but that wasn’t what she had in mind.

“I can’t believe I have my finger inside you.” She reached around and I saw her painted pink fingernails drawing a line along my waist.

“It feels amazing. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t return the favor.” She expertly undid the button on my pants.

That same hand found the heated column of my excitement inside my briefs. She grabbed it in its flesh and blood state. Stroking me to the same rhythm of my finger was daring me to cross a line. Her hot breath was on my neck and she was obviously on her tiptoes to reach me.

“I am this close to pinning you up against the wall.” I saw a flash in my mind’s eye of this young fresh face screaming in terror.

“I don’t know why I was hesitant to talk to you when I came home. This is the universal language. There can be no mistaking what I want from you.” My appendage jumped in her fist with the vein down the back throbbing with an incessant need to fire off indiscriminately.

“You don’t have to paint me a picture. I don’t deserve you. I won’t make the same mistake again.” The blood was still on my hands and the look on ‘her’ face was a noose around my neck.

“Relax…there’s no reason to say something you can’t take back. You can tell me this isn’t what you want, but I’m not going to believe you. Cum with me. Don’t hold back. Let me feel the hunger you have for me.” Her words were having the desired effect with my manhood at its full potential.

“You are a bad girl for putting me in this position.” The flicker of flame between her legs was burning the tip of my finger.

“I don’t think I’m the one that is in need of a shower. You are a dirty boy for coming in here without asking for permission. I’m glad you did. I doubt anything would have happened had you not felt compelled to see me.” I heard the catch in her throat and it was a telltale sign of her arousal getting the best of her.

Her fingernails were scratching the length of my shaft with the other one digging into my shoulder. She was moaning underneath her breath. I prolonged her orgasm by using my thumb to elicit the same uncharacteristic response from touching her clit. She was squeezing my equipment and I was close to the moment of sweet release.

I heard the clang of their family car with the muffler hanging on by a thread. I pried her fingers from my cock. I left her standing there and didn’t bother to look back on my way out the door. I had the semblance of mind to grab a few spices on the way out.

I was able to skirt being discovered by going around to the other side of the garage. It was a little disappointing that I wasn’t able to finish with her. It was probably better that way.

My mind was preoccupied with the secret for the reason why I had stuck around after the funeral.

Chapter three

Karen

I thought it was a dream, but the feeling he had inflicted was too strong to be anything other than the real thing. I still remembered the length and shape of his masculinity. It was ingrained into a shadow presence in my hand. I didn’t get a good look, but that was something we both had in common.

Things weren’t made any better by my mother inviting him to have dinner with us with his mother.

He was across from me at the dinner table, slurping his spaghetti with the homemade meat sauce my mother had made from scratch.

“Things do have a tendency to change, but others stay the same. I don’t know when the last time we all had dinner together. I think that we should make this more than for special occasions.” My father was making a proposition for our two families’ to be a little closer. He didn’t have to know how close his daughter and their son had gotten lately.

“I second the notion. We have to come together when we face adversity. We are neighbors and there’s no reason why we can’t make an effort.” His mother was grasping onto a lifeline and using her loss to be a little more cordial to those around her.

Latham wasn’t saying much, but I was feeling in a particular naughty frame of mind. I took my foot out of my high heels with my bare toes stretching over to where he was looking at me from time to time.

“Karen, tell me what is the best part of being home.” His mother was saying a mouthful and I was inclined to play a bit of a game at Latham’s expense.

“I would have to say the best thing so far is the food. I don’t know when the last time I had something like this in my mouth.” I had my bare toes in his lap and he was trying to push me away without making a scene.

“I would have hoped to hear you say it was being close to your family again. You never know when the day will come that they won’t be around. We learn the hard way how life has a tendency to throw curveballs when you least expect them.” She was reminiscing and I could tell from the look in her eyes that her main focus was her late husband.

“Don’t get me wrong, being home has given me a good chance to catch up. I remind myself it’s the little things that matter the most. You have to take time to find those joys in life. They’re having a party down on the beach tomorrow night.” The provisions had been arranged with several varieties of seafood to be consumed in a boiling pot over an open fire.

“Latham could use a break from me. Invite him along and the two of you can have some fun together. He never gets the chance to let his hair down.” I was hoping she was going to make the request.

I could think of a few things I could accomplish by getting him alone.

I was using his package as a roll of quarters between my toes. I wanted to see it up close and personal. I not so innocently dropped my fork and ducked under the table to retrieve it. The sight that greeted my eyes made my mouth water. There was no way that he could hide his current dilemma if he were to attempt to leave the table.

I reached out and pulled down his zipper. It wasn’t long before I had him fished out and raging with the hormones of a man with only one thing on his mind. It wasn’t the time or the place to get intimate. It didn’t stop me from moving my tongue in a long line up to the head and back down again.

He was choking and I came up to see his mother patting him on the back. If looks could kill, he would have burst me into flames for trying such a thing. I dabbed the corners of my mouth with a napkin smiling with my eyes ablaze with mischief.

“I don’t mind if he tags along. I’m sure there will be people there he knows. He does seem a little stiff. He should take a breath and center himself.” I could tell he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t going to ruin a family dinner.

“I might want to stay home and read a good book.” He was trying to play hard to get, but his actions spoke louder than words.

“Don’t be silly. My friend promises it is going to be a summer blast to remember. Everybody who is anybody is going to be there. You look like you could use somebody to drag you kicking and screaming to have some fun.” He was stuck and his mother was trying to coax him into doing it for her benefit.

“Karen is right. You have been cooped up in the house with me for days. Being with friends your own age is just what the doctor ordered. I insist that you leave me alone for one night.” Latham wasn’t going to be able to get out of this one without some fancy tap dancing.

“We are old enough not to have chaperones. You never know what’s going to happen when you least expect it. Sometimes the best things can be totally out of the blue. I’ve tasted life on the tip of my tongue and it’s delicious.” I slipped my tongue from my mouth and moved it across my lips seductively.

“You do drive a hard bargain. I need to remember never to get into an argument with any of you without backup. I was ambushed from the moment I sat down. It was clear I was outnumbered from the very beginning.” I volunteered for the both of us to do the dishes.

There was a method to my madness. Being alone with him made it easier to touch him inappropriately. Our parents were having coffee together. They had no idea what was happening underneath their noses. It was half the fun to play on the side of the fence I never got the chance to growing up.

“I hope dinner was to your liking. My mother goes out of her way to make every meal something memorable. I do my part to make everybody feel comfortable.” I splashed water on his shirt and I immediately got my first look at his hardened nipples.

“It wasn’t right for you to do that. I have a good mind to put you over my knee to teach you a lesson.” I got this explicit image in my head of him pulling down my jeans and underwear to give my hindquarters a healthy crimson glow.

“Don’t make promises that your ass can’t cash.” I handed him the dishes and he put them away in the right place.

It wasn’t the first time he had been invited over to dinner during his lengthy absence from the military. My parents had told me they had given him time to speak candidly, but he was reluctant to open up.

“Push me any further and you’ll find out that I don’t make threats without backing them up. I’m warning you to keep your distance. Nothing good comes from getting involved with the likes of me.” He was trying to tell me something without saying the words.

A little healthy female persuasion would go a long way to loosening up his tongue. He would feel better when he got it off his chest. I made it my personal mission to find out what was keeping him up late nights roaming the halls. He was dealing with something private and failing miserably.

“There’s a story there. You have an unbiased audience. Take advantage of it.” He was in a trance looking out the window.

I took it upon myself to wrap my arms around his waist with my fingers interlocked together. His sculpted body was making me hang on for a little longer than necessary. It was plainly a cry for help and I was ready to be there for him without judgment.

“It’s not a good idea to go pulling at that thread.” He was doing his level best to push me away and I wasn’t having any of it.

“Everybody carries their own form of baggage in one form or another. You came back from the military a little weathered from the experience. It’s to be expected. Some things are better left unsaid, but there are others which will lift the weight from your shoulders if you give it a voice.” The comforting gesture of the hug wasn’t rebuffed.

“I know you mean well, but this really isn’t any of your business. I don't mean to be rude. I’m tired and sleeping doesn’t come easy for me. It looks like your parents have been whispering in your ear about my insomnia.” There was no satisfaction in any kind of seduction that wasn’t requited.

“Get your mind off of things by coming to the party tomorrow night. Agree to that and I won’t bring it up unless you offer the information.” I had a feeling his answer was going to be an unequivocal yes.

“I do this and you get off of my back. I get enough of this from my mother on a daily basis. I don’t need it from you.” I could have grabbed him and made him kiss me with my tongue foraging in his mouth.

“I can see how it can be draining to answer questions. You have my solemn vow to give you the space you need.” There was laughter coming from the dining room and he went out to rejoin the party without saying another word.

I wanted to chase out after him and slap some sense into him. I had to take things in baby steps not to scare him away. I had nothing to prove, but my libido was screaming at me to take him for a test drive. Surrendering to him would’ve been easy. Waving the white flag of my panties dangling from my finger would have given him all the incentive he needed.

I had to take a few deep breaths to contain the inferno of ecstasy running through my veins. Grabbing him and making him a spectacle on the table was at the forefront of my mind. Moaning in submission and pushing my hips down on top of him repeatedly would have put a new spin on service with a smile.

I went back in and sat down with my eyes on the prize. They were talking, but nothing of what they were saying was penetrating my thoughts.

I had a seductive arsenal at my disposal which I was going to utilize to draw him into my web of depravity.

There was an obscene bathing suit in my duffel bag barely more than a piece of floss. The white fabric was virginal, but there was nothing innocent about me. I would feign innocence, but my sexual fangs were ready to strike at a moment’s notice. It was a matter of getting him in the right frame of mind with a few drinks to loosen up his inhibitions.

Chapter four

Latham

I was rethinking about what I was going to wear until I realized I was giving it way too much power over me. I didn’t want to come off too casual, but jeans and a tee shirt would mix well with the crowd.

I carried a six pack down to the beach through the path beside the two properties. It was already 7:00 PM and there was the illumination of a fire burning with sounds of revelry in the distance. The stress of what I was going through washed away when I caught sight of her in the bikini. There was a buzz of electricity from those men trying to get her attention.

She was laughing off their advances, but I wasn’t amused. I put my arm around her shoulder signifying the Alpha male had arrived. She snuggled in. I made sure to cocoon her with the warmth of my body.

“I was wondering when you were going to arrive fashionably late. You should see what they have cooked. Come with me and I will get you a plate.” She was using me to escape the clutches of those men undressing her with their eyes.

“I shouldn’t act like a jealous Neanderthal. It bothered me to see you with them, but I think you did that on purpose to get a rise out of me. Do you always have to have an angle?” I wasn’t sure what her response was going to be, but the giggle to follow only infuriated me further.

“You take things too seriously. Have a drink and live a little.” I unscrewed one of the bottles from the six-pack using my teeth to a chorus of applause from the crowd.

“We only get this one life to live. There’s no way that you could possibly know how lucky we really are. Kids grow up starving never knowing where their next meal is going to come from. Dying for a cause becomes second nature to some of these kids who have no clue how the other half lives.” I was going off on a tangent angered by how they were laughing while the world was burning.

“Most of us stick our heads in the sand. We always say the same damn thing over and over again. Thank you for your service. We never quite know the sacrifice you make for us to be happy and living free.” She understood to some degree and it made me wonder whether or not I could share my feelings with her.

“People have no idea how others suffer. I was no stranger to living with my eyes closed. The military showed me life is messy. There’s too much confusion. I can’t seem to find any relief. A part of me is still over there lost forever scarred by the battle and fatigue.” I was waxing poetic and no doubt getting on her last nerve.

I could’ve easily plucked the string from around her neck exposing her heaving bosom to everybody. It would’ve been juvenile. I had come too far in my evolution to take a step back.

“I can see the pain in your eyes. It can’t be easy. This party wasn’t such a good idea. Take a walk with me and we can leave them to their fun. Grab a plate. We’ll sit down on the sand and talk a little. No presumptions. No expectations. Nothing untoward is going to happen.” I was pulled by the gravity of her statement.

It wasn’t long before my plate was heaping with fresh crustaceans like lobster and clams. There was a healthy amount of crabs and mussels. The aroma was intoxicating but nothing compared to the natural scent coming off of her in waves.

I didn’t know how to begin the first sentence. I was wide awake. Being bored with her didn’t seem like it was possible. I was a freak show in a pleasing package. On the outside, I was smoldering with confidence, but the inside was a bundle of nerves.

My footsteps were imprinted in the sand and my flip flops were following in my wake. She was in front of me. I couldn’t help but wonder aloud how she would look with the bikini at her feet. Those half moons were enticing me to drop to my knees in servitude.

“This is exactly what I needed. My friends have no idea. I don’t want to burst their bubble by laying my problems at their feet. Death follows me like a shroud. There’s one in particular and I’ve never been able to get over it.” The food and the company made me lose the walls I had erected to protect myself.

“Whatever you say is between the two of us. I would never dream to repeat any of what you say to me to anybody else. Treat me like I’m a priest…with boobs.” She made me laugh and it felt good to let my guard down.

“If you looked like any of the priests back in my day then things would have been different. I might have taken an interest in religion more than I did. Hallelujah.” I exercised my right to raise my hands to the heavens.

“Life is mysterious.” She was gazing into my eyes and seeing the real man I had hidden from others.

“I’ve seen too much. Random things happen to good people. They say God works in mysterious ways, but sometimes I think that he might be deaf and blind to the plight of others.” It seemed unfathomable to give her insight into what was the most trying ordeal of my life.

“You don’t mean that. Everything happens for a reason.” There was no crystal ball to see the future and she was deluding herself into thinking there was.

“Let’s agree to disagree on this particular subject.” The food was succulent with the warm garlic butter trickling down my chin.

She moved her finger to catch it until I was sucking it off the tip. The chemistry was bubbling over. The heat had increased with the temperature climbing exponentially.

I leaned forward and traced her lips with my finger. Her heaving bosom was moving with each breath.

The nipples were emblazoned in the fabric. My other hand grazed those protrusions and I heard her intake of breath. Words meant nothing. Actions spoke volumes. I was getting closer. Her lips and the tip of her tongue were calling my name.

I grabbed her hair forcefully and her exclamation of surprise gave me the opening I was looking for. Our lips came together and the electricity was hard to ignore. It was a shocking development. The taste of her strawberry gloss was an intense aphrodisiac.

My hand on the back of her neck scratched lightly and unintentionally released her from the burden of her bikini top. It didn’t uncover the rosy hue of her tips. It hung there with gravity mocking me at every chance.

Her exploring tongue caught mine in a vise-like grip and we dueled to see who was going to come out on top. The whole thing lasted no more than a couple of minutes. It felt like an eternity.

We came up for air to catch our breath. Her strawberry gloss was smeared and I could taste her on my lips. We were barely standing still feeling the lasting effects of what we had done. She was a fine drink of wine to be savored to the last drop.

“I don’t know quite what to say. I hope that wasn’t your way to keep me quiet. I still think that you have some unfinished business to discuss. We can’t go any further until you let it go.” She was going to accomplish what no therapist had been able to do.

“I need your assurance nothing I say will be repeated. It’s extremely personal.” She nodded her head in compliance and left me with no other choice than to say what was on my mind.

“I feel honored you have chosen me to be your confidant.”

The heavyweight of burden had taken me hostage.

The sound of the water was a calming influence. To shed a few layers of mistrust was necessary for any kind of longevity in this relationship. I had others who claimed to know what I was going through. How could they if they didn’t walk a mile in my shoes?

“I was dating a young woman in Iraq. One morning, I was making breakfast for her and her young son Jamal. He convinced me to let him go outside and play with his friends. His mother was sleeping when there was a deafening explosion.” I remembered how my heart stopped at that moment and didn’t beat again until I kissed Karen.

“I don’t even want to ask what happened next.” I didn’t know how to say the words without choking on them.

“I didn’t have a chance to react. His mother ran screaming from the room and I found her cradling what was left of her son. She blamed me. I blamed me. I lost the instant family I was looking for.” I gave it some time, but the icy reception when I returned was like a cold knife in my heart.

“You have been carrying this with you. It wasn’t your fault. You have to forgive yourself.” I reflected on the pain and I got up to take off my clothes with my feet moving quickly to the water’s edge.

I dove into the surf with the waves bouncing me around until I found my footing. I stood up and I could see her clapping for an encore performance. I lay on my back with the periscope of my excitement bobbing up and down.

It was liberating to give myself time to grieve for the family I lost. I had done enough crying, but this was a cathartic exercise to help me move forward. The material of her bikini finally fell away leaving me speechless.

She tried to cover up feigning embarrassment, but I could tell she was waiting for me to say something. I waded back in with the weight of the water slowing my progress. I tripped over my own feet and was propelled into her until she was lying on the sand underneath me.

“If you wanted to get on top of me then you just had to ask. You don’t have to attack me and knock me off of my feet. I want more of what you have. I see a new light in your eyes that wasn’t there before. This is the man I have been waiting for.” I gave into my sexual appetite and fighting it any longer seemed pointless.

“You have opened a Pandora’s Box. I hope you’re ready for what’s going to follow.” I stuck my hand in between us to feel her body trembling to my touch.

I circled the nape of her neck with my tongue. It was easy to find the pleasure buttons to push. I wasn’t just going by the numbers. She was moaning. The tip of my tongue began its adventure down between her breasts.

“I feel like a new man. It’s all thanks to you. Let me show you my undying gratitude.” I took a moment to appreciate the woman in front of me.

“I’m glad that I could bring it out of you. I feel a little cheated that you stripped without any help from me. I have a way for you to make it up to me.” She squealed from how I inhaled her nipples putting direct suction on those hot little buds.

“I have a pretty good idea of what you are referring to. I’m not as dense as some people think. Clueless isn’t even a part of my vocabulary.” There was no performance anxiety with my cock pointing straight up into the air.

“I want to feel the earth shake underneath my feet.” I spread her legs and found the dainty piece of material wedged in between.

Pulling it free made me well aware that part of my job had already been done for me. She was soaking and waiting with intense desire in her eyes. The warmth of my breath made her squirm on the sand.

“Never let it be said that I don’t give a woman what she wants.” I drove the pointed end of my tongue into her with the rest striking against the fuse of her sex drive.

“I wasn’t ready for that… I wasn’t fucking ready for that.” She had picked up fistfuls of sand and was letting them fall through her fingertips.

I was darting my tongue in and out between her lips. I used my thumbs to spread her to my oral invasion. I wasn’t content with one technique and was purposely keeping her guessing. She was twisting in my grasp and kicking out her feet with her toes pointed towards the sky.

My face was a sticky mess, but my thirst was unquenchable. The way that her inner muscles fluttered against my tongue told me she was right there on the edge. Karen’s orgasm was threatening to go off like a firecracker.

I continued relentlessly and the scream echoing in the night sky was enough to raise the dead. It tickled my ego to hear her outcries of pleasure. The storm inside of her washed over my lips and trailed down the length of my tongue. I sealed my lips over her clit with two fingers pushed deep inside of her.

“I can’t stop it…I don’t want to…I need…YOU.” She was throwing it back at me and I felt the complexity of losing myself in her arms.

I rained kisses on the inside of her thighs, biting the flesh between my teeth to hear her cries of release getting louder. It was music to my ears. Nothing escaped my notice.

I backed away with my lips shiny from going the extra mile. The remnant of her arousal made it unnecessary to manually stimulate myself during the act. This was serious. This was an expression of our feelings for one another. Somehow she had gotten underneath my skin with this itch I couldn’t scratch alone.

Her eyes were blinking back into focus. She grabbed my shoulders and used the lingering effect of her orgasm to overpower me. I was on my back looking at her straddling my lap. I’d had my fair share of dancers in private rooms, but this was head and tails over all of them.

“I don’t know how you knew how to do that, but I have never been completely overwhelmed like that. The fantasy is nothing. It was the fuel to feed me during those sleepless nights with your face on my mind. It doesn’t look like I’m going to have to do much to keep you in rare fighting form.” Her bald mound was drizzling a hot shower of her juices down the length of my shaft.

“You had me when I saw you coming out of the shower. I couldn’t possibly get you out of my mind after that. It wasn’t like you were entirely innocent.” She was rubbing back and forth using the friction of my meat to keep her preoccupied for the moment.

“You have awakened something in me. I don’t ever want to lose this part of myself. I like this no-nonsense take charge attitude. I thought you were off limits because of our age difference. 10 years is nothing when it comes to the kind of pleasure we can inflict on one another. Let me show you that you don’t have me figured out.” I flexed instinctively, slapping hotly against her sensitive clit.

It was my way of initiating a war of the sexes.

Chapter five

Karen

I dropped my hands to either side of his head with my body taking the brunt end of those sensations. The plum-sized knob making a direct hit on my clit was dirty pool. His mouth was permanently imprinted on that piece of my anatomy.

“I didn’t mean it. It sometimes has a mind of its own. I’m sure you’ve heard that in the past from other men. It’s not like you are a born-again virgin.” I tried to keep men from getting too close, but there were a few who broke down the barrier of good sense.

“Each man was a mistake. Present company excluded. I don’t know how you bring upon these feelings in me, but I can’t complain.” I finally found my composure and was determined to give as good as I got.

“Karen, my conquests have not been what I would call memorable. Sex sometimes can be a matter of getting one out of the chamber. I want to be with you beyond this point. I know it’s a bold statement to make, but I feel empowered to show you my heart.” I could echo the same sentiment, but I felt showing him was better than telling him.

I kissed him again until his eyelids were fluttering. I played with his nipples, pinching them between two fingers to make his member dance to a different tune. I worked my way down still flicking those hardened tips. I circled his belly button and dipped inside for a swirling moment.

“You have this way about you. I don’t mind saying your oral expertise is above reproach. I hope you can say the same thing when I’m done with you.” I was staring at the ghost of the man he used to be.

Emerging from the turmoil in his mind was a red-blooded American man with needs. I had the medicine to cure him of his ails. This was a surgical approach. I found myself in a position to see things bigger than they were before. I took a hold of it and gave it an exploratory search with my tongue.

“I get the feeling you already know I’m going to.” I surrounded his knob in the warmth of my mouth with the first inkling of his arousal dripping like a faucet.

He responded in the way that I was expecting. Grabbing my hair and forcing me down 1 inch at a time was his way of enforcing his will. What he didn’t know was that I was allowing him to insert his dominance. I was famished with only one meal on my mind. It was nothing I was going to find on the menu at a restaurant.

The mushroom top and the first few inches were encased in the constricting motion of my throat. I could feel it pumping with the elixir of life along that pronounced vein. A tickled it with the tip of my tongue and it spilled forth a long stream from within his boiling nuts.

A few more discernible motions of my head and he was rising up to meet the challenge. His lower half expelled some energy by thrusting into the air. The first intense shot went directly into my throat. I released it from my throat to feel it explode all over my tongue. I reveled in the experience of having him in the palm of my hand.

His moans of encouragement incited a riot between my legs. I was ready to sit in the driver’s seat and see what I could do about putting a smile on both of our faces. I tasted the byproduct of his overdeveloped glands. I was prepared to find out what was left inside of him after riding him to completion.

He flipped me onto my back with my legs locked around his waist. I had seen some faces in the throes of ecstasy. His moment of truth had turned him into a wild stallion with one purpose. The reins of power were firmly in his hands. There were drops of his intense deposit clinging to my clit. Looking at me and touching me was giving him a resurgence of adrenaline between his legs.

“I’m ready whenever you are. Do you need me to get you started?” The feeling of him growing proved to me he was a cut above the rest.

The moon was full over our head with a scattering of stars witnessing our union.

The first thrust separated the petals of my hole. I opened up to welcome him into the heated embrace of my sex. We kissed hotly with a passion unparalleled. The intrusion to my personal space was stretching me open to capacity.

“There’s no way a man could ever be ready for you. I feel like we were made for each other. It took us this long to find one another. I say we have a lot of time to make up for.” He was balls deep and wasn’t moving an inch.

“That is a healthy specimen between your legs. You must’ve had a lot of women squealing. It looks like you’re going to have one more.” He retreated until the head was the only part of him still feeling the hot kiss of my womanly caress.

“Do you like having me inside you? Is this what you dreamed of during those lonely nights? I don’t need you to answer to know the truth written in your eyes.” He began to give me long strokes courtesy of his hips rising up and coming back down.

“I love how you feel inside of me. I wanted to be with you for longer than I care to admit. I thought it was never going to happen. This body is yours to explore. I want you to feel comfortable to express yourself.” He was riding me hard and about to put me away wet.

The slapping sounds of our flesh making contact were releasing a special form of endorphins. He had his hands wrapped around my thighs. He stood up with me hanging precariously with gravity threatening to pull me back down to the sand. He brought us to where the water was coming ever closer. I could feel it lightly grazing my feet. It sent chills down my spine.

“I would like to see you from a different position.” He made a gesture with his hand and I turned to where the pendulum of my breasts was swinging underneath me.

He put his hand on my back and my lower half was arched to accept him. My upper half was flattened to the sand with my face turned to the side.

“Is this what you wanted to see? Don’t leave me in suspense.” My knees were pushed open and he situated himself in between with his hands on my hips.

“I have to say this is quite the sight from where I’m kneeling.” He had an unobstructed view of my ass.

“I want more than your admir….ATION”. I let off a banshee cry of pleasure for the record books.

“Your wish is my command.” His bloated tip was deeper than it was before. I didn’t think it was possible.

I tried to get up to fight fire with fire, but my limbs were dangling uselessly beside me. I slapped vainly at the sand. It was hard to keep up with the high demand. His body was driven to heights of passion unheard of. His lust couldn’t be contained.

“Damn it…somebody has come to play.” I was given an injection of beef to keep my hunger satiated daily.

His cock burned in a straight line to bottom out inside me. My lips circled his thickness with the syrup of my excitement. He was glistening from the head down to his heavy laden balls.

The smell of sex permeated the air. I was pushed beyond any boundaries and felt alive for the first time. His hammer was nailing me with an intensity that was unrivaled by previous lovers.

They were pretenders to the throne with Latham wearing the crown. He made me yelp when he slapped my ass. I would have thought that kind of brash behavior would appall me. It did the exact opposite. The fire inside had turned into something of a blaze starting at my toes and working its way through my body.

His heavy hand continued to abuse my flesh. The long and unyielding object of my affection was slurping easily in and out between my lips. The sloppy sound was the audio component to our lovemaking.

“I fucking love it… I fucking love you.” He stopped for a moment and I thought for a split second I had said something to ruin the mood.

His hot breath was in my ear. I was waiting for a response to my statement. It came in a breathy whisper.

“I never thought I was capable of love. It looks like I was wrong. I do love you and it scares me.” He punctuated his remark with strong and intense thrusts of his hips.

I became a symphony of sex with sounds that would have put porn stars to shame. I pushed back to feel him in deep.

His body was showing signs of coming to the end of his rope. It was well over an hour. His grunt each time he came forward was enough to make me moan in absolute surrender.

“Latham, I want this to be what I wake up to every morning.” I came and felt the presence of his member on the verge of doing the same thing.

I pushed him over the edge by reaching underneath to manhandle his family jewels. They were full to overflowing, plump and ready to discharge at a moment’s notice. The squeezing sensation of my inner muscles working him with a profound massage brought forth the catalyst.

The floodgates opened and I was vividly aware of my surroundings. It was the perfect environment for this declaration of love. Every single spurt was captured within my wanton body. My limbs failed me and I dropped with his weight following me.

He was still deeply encased with those muscles inside squeezing in reflex. The hot and animal loving was with the fierceness of a warrior beating in his chest. I couldn’t believe sex could be breathless and exhilarating. Every other man could learn a thing or two from him on what it was to please a woman.

He came out of me with the head still feeling the effects of my orgasm wrapped around him. He rolled onto his back and was breathing heavily with a smile on his face.

“I meant every word I said to you. There have been times in the past I have used those three words to get into a woman’s pants. This time there was real feeling behind them. I’ve found the part of my heart that was missing.” I glanced in his direction and ran my fingernails lightly down over the hairs of his chest.

“For the first time in my life, I actually believe those three little words. You never know when Cupid’s arrow is going to find you.” We finally gathered our clothing together and put them on without any embarrassment.

“Karen, I hope I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I see you take off your clothes.” I saw the inner teenager inside of him clamoring for one last look at my naked flesh.

“I will do everything in my power to keep things fresh in the bedroom. I hope you’re not squeamish about trying new things. An open mind is preferable. Life is precious and we need to hold onto those that we love with an iron grip.” My cloudy days were behind me with sunshine ahead.

We walked back to where the party was in full swing. Nobody seemed to notice that we were gone and we blended back into our surroundings without being missed. I could see this goofy little grin on Julia’s face. It was like she had this sixth sense. There was no way that I could wipe the smile from my face.

“I want us to find a place together. I have mentioned in passing to your folks about my mother coming to live with them. They thought it was a great idea.” He reminded me of how my life had turned upside down.

“I still have to finish college and then I have a job waiting for me in Chicago. I can’t ask you to go with me.” The band-aid of his secret had been taken off and it was going to take some time for the wound to heal.

“I will follow you anywhere. There are all sorts of work I can get in the private sector with my military record.” We soon left their hand in hand looking toward the future in each other’s eyes.

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