Indecision continued to snap through her. Should she go out and meet him? Check if he had the money? No, he would have the money. Dr. Liz said he came recommended. There shouldn’t be a problem, so she would be the demure sexual object he wanted.
Something heavy hit her kitchen table, making her tense. His saddlebag? Her money?
She could hear him breathing in the next room, the sound loud and raspy, as if he were aroused at being in her home. She’d left the bedroom door open, and she listened intently. There were a few moments of silence, and then her heart picked up a magnificent speed as his boots thudded against the wood planks of the old kitchen floor.
She thought he was coming into the bedroom, but then she relaxed again as she heard the creak of a couple of cupboard doors opening. She almost called out to him to ask if he needed something, but then the tinkle of glass and something being poured drifted through the air.
Another couple of minutes of strained silence drifted by, and Teyla could only sit and wonder what he was up to. And wait. Soon the rustle of clothing followed, and she inhaled deeply to steady the frantic pounding of her heart. Suddenly, he began walking toward the bedroom door. Toward her.
Oh, dear. Here we go. She held her breath. Tensed.
He appeared in the doorway with a bottle and two glasses in his hand. He wore his jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked good. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. Lean hips. He was a sex-on-a-stick stud.
His dark gaze latched onto her, and fire screamed through her veins at his potent look. Desire flared in his eyes as he studied her. His intense look screamed sex, and she could feel her body answering with a raw awareness she swore she’d not felt before.
“Shaving gear. Where do you keep it?” he asked.
“In the adjoining bathroom. Second drawer to your left.” She sounded too breathless. Bedroom breathless.
He nodded, ripped his gaze from her, and strolled into the bathroom. Her nervousness mounted as she listened to a drawer opening.
What in the world was the matter with her? Usually she was so cool, calm, and in control with her clients. But with this guy, she was both nervous and giddy with anticipation at the same time.
“Do you have a special man in your life?” The question erupted from the bathroom, rocking her world.
“Excuse me?” she called out, wondering exactly what he meant by that question.
“A boyfriend? Husband? Someone you’re dating?” “N…no.”
“Good. I prefer a woman who is available.”
Teyla blinked in astonishment. Odd comment coming from a guy who wanted to share her with two other guys. Three guys and her? Oh, lord, she’d better not think about it.
“Do you do this often?” she blurted, instantly regretting asking the question, realizing it was none of her business. But it was the first thing that popped into her mind, and when she was nervous, she did have the tendency to say stupid things.
He appeared at the doorway, shaving utensils and a couple of facecloths laid out on a folded towel in his hand. That damned bottle and two glasses clutched in his other hand.
He was smiling at her. That hot, sexy shadow made him look both dangerous and erotic at the same time. He wore that same crooked smile as when he’d caught her watching him at the window earlier. The smile made the sides of his eyes crinkle, and she noticed tiny laugh lines at the corners of his mouth also. The knowledge that he appeared to be used to laughing made her feel so much better. Safer, too.
“Why do you ask?” he asked. “Are you jealous already?”
His sense of humor was a definite asset.
“Maybe,” she teased, feeling some of the tension ease out of her shoulders.
He strolled to her dresser with the mirror and placed the glasses and the bottle, which she noted as whiskey, and the utensils and towel down beside her pitcher.
“Before we begin, I want you to shave me,” he said softly as he prepared the items, laying them out on the dresser.
When he finished, he looked at her, and his intense gaze made her catch her breath. She didn’t want him to lose that erotic-looking five o’clock shadow. It made him look so sexy and dangerous. The look excited her. But he was paying her. If he wanted a shave, so be it.
She made a move to stand, but he ordered her to remain sitting as he whipped up the lather. When it was a frothy cream, he turned to her, and to her surprise, his hand fell to the stud on his jeans.
Nervousness fluttered through her again. Gosh, she thought, she would have a few minutes more before they had sex. Or did he want her to shave him while they were having sex? Lordy, now that would be interesting.
“I…I thought you wanted a shave?”
Her eyes latched onto his fingers as he unzipped. “I do.”
She swallowed as he lowered his jeans. His package pressed boldly against his white briefs. Definitely big. Very big. Oh boy. Oh boy. Dr. Liz, girl, what have you gotten me into?
“I want you to shave me down here,” he said and stroked the outline of his big erection.
Her eyes widened at his words.
Down there? Oh my God.
“I’ll pass you the items. I want you to just sit right where you are.” His voice had gone deeper, hoarser. His eyes darker. They glistened with fire. His body scent, strong and dominant, whispered along her nerve endings, making her very aware of her sexuality. Very aware of him.
“Pull down my underwear. So we can get started.”
Both their breaths shot through the silent air like rockets, and her fingers trembled as she did as he asked. His flesh felt scorching hot to her touch as she slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his briefs. Tugging, she inhaled sharply as his giant, purple-flushed cock sprang free. He was already rigid, very long, and so damned thick that her pussy creamed at the intoxicating sight. As she pulled his briefs lower, his sack, swollen and huge, appeared.
Oh, yeah, definitely a big guy. Now she fully understood Liz’s letter.
She slid the briefs lower over his thighs and knees, and she let them drop to the floor where he stepped out of them, moving closer to her. She realized her cheeks had grown warm. She had grown warm.
Down there, he’d said. He wanted to be shaved around his cock and balls. She’d never done that to a man. Not one of her clients had ever asked. It had never occurred to her to do something like that. Should she voice her inexperience? No, she needed to appear professional. Professionals knew what they were doing, and they followed their client’s instructions. Especially if she wanted him to come back, and baby, with his generous size, she wanted him to come back.
She accepted the prepared brush from him. He inhaled as she slapped the lather along his hairy parts. She noticed his gut clench as she feathered her fingers around his cock, lifting the heavy shaft to lather the fine hairs beneath. She held onto his solid flesh longer than necessary, enjoying the way he throbbed against her palm.
Next, he handed her a throwaway razor. That item didn’t belong to her, so he must have brought it. Throwaway razors were another thing that were a luxury for her, so she tended to reuse the ones she had until they were totally dull before tossing them away.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she set about doing the intimate chore. His pubic hair felt fluffy and fine, a total opposite of her late husband’s, which had been wiry and coarse. Anxiety almost overwhelmed her as she began to shave him, and she found herself scrambling for something to say. But what did one say while shaving a man in such an intimate area on his body?
“Have you done this before?” he asked, his voice sounding strangled, as if he were maybe afraid? Well, maybe he should have asked before she’d gotten started.
“It’s a little late to be asking that question, isn’t it?” She couldn’t help but laugh.
“I hope not,” he retorted, amusement lacing his voice. There was that humor again. She smiled and lifted her gaze from his magnificent size to peer up at his face. She shouldn’t have looked up because his eyes were so dark with desire she could barely stand the spear of need bursting inside her lower belly.
The tips of his luscious lips tilted upward again and his smile zeroed in on her like a heat-seeking missile. Suddenly she just wanted to be swept away into his strong arms. To be held. To be taken by him.
Oh, boy. He was a client, for God’s sake! Becoming emotionally involved, even thinking emotional things was taboo! Men looked at her like an object. Nothing more. She shouldn’t want to have Logan holding her and making love to her. This is just sex, remember that, Teyla.
She continued with the shave, going slowly and carefully and keeping her mouth shut. Thankfully, he said no more, and when she finished, she wiped him with the wet face cloth he handed her. A couple of rinses later, he was as clean as a newborn.
“I assume you wish to supply the condoms?” he asked after he returned the shaving items to the nearby dresser. She nodded and pointed to the night table beside the bed.
“In there. Pick your size.” He slid the drawer open and skimmed the several boxes with his fingertips. Obviously, he knew the drill with pleasure girls. Most preferred to supply the condoms. She was one of them.
Condoms were expensive, just like everything else these days, but well worth the expense to ensure her condoms were fresh and hadn’t been tampered with or inadvertently damaged. Men tended to keep them folded in wallets or in areas where tiny holes were inadvertently poked into the protection. The last thing she needed was a sexually transmitted disease or a baby without a dad.
He lifted out a box of condoms, opened it, but didn’t take any out.
“Before we begin, let’s get a little more acquainted. You’ve touched me and seen some of me. Now it’s my turn. Let your breasts free.”
To her surprise, she creamed at his instruction. She liked the expectant look on his face, and for some odd reason, he didn’t make her feel like she was dirty as most of her clients did. He didn’t make her feel like an object. He just made her feel kind of sexy and shy.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the small, delicate buttons on the negligee. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he watched.
She’d undressed in front of her clients many times. Had felt embarrassed as the men eyed her as though she were a succulent piece of meat. It was the opposite with this guy.
She was ogling him. And she liked what she saw. Liked the sweet shivers of anticipation rolling through her as he watched her unbutton the top. His breath was the only sound she heard, aside, of course, from the pounding of her heart.
She swallowed and opened the sides of her top, tugging the material further apart, allowing her breasts to spill free. He said nothing, but his facial features told the story. Appreciation glazed his eyes. His nostrils flared like a bull’s, and as she dropped her gaze from his face, she was greeted to a most magnificent sight.
His cock, which had already been sticking straight out, was now rising proudly toward his abdomen. Such a glorious size.
She hadn’t realized she’d been so mesmerized by staring at his cock until he whispered in a hoarse voice, “Nice. Very nice.”
A savage look of lust zipped across his face, and she whimpered a deep guttural sound as he dropped to his knees in front of her. He maneuvered closer to her legs, his hands dropping like heat waves on her knees. He parted her knees and he moved in closer. Positioning his hands on top of hers on each side of the bed, he held them captive, his fingers intertwining with hers as his head dipped toward her right breast.
Sweet mercy, she couldn’t believe this was happening so fast. He opened his mouth, and she cried with surprise at how tightly he sucked her nipple between his firm lips. A waterfall of magic swept through her. That was the only way she could describe the cascade of shimmering sensations washing over her as he sucked on her nipple. This felt amazing. Incredible.
Heat and pressure kissed her flesh, and when he suddenly let go of her nipple with a loud pop, she cried out her disappointment and caught the pleasure twisting his face before he latched onto her other one.
“Oh, God,” she hissed.
More of those incredible sensations shimmered through her as his strong teeth held her tender nipple hostage, and his tongue lashed her flesh with quick, sharp darts that had her creaming harder.
Usually, she didn’t like to touch the client. Usually, she let him do what he needed to do, so she could get rid of him quickly. She’d just lay back and let her mind wander to other places, but this man wouldn’t let her mind wander and he wouldn’t let her body wander, either.
Damn him, he held her full attention as he sucked her nipple slowly, leisurely pulling her out of herself. She arched against him, losing control in the glorious sensations. She sucked in a shocked breath as his hot hands let go of hers, and he slid his calloused palms under her breasts. He cupped her, held her so tenderly that the gesture wrenched a sob from her. No man had held her so affectionately. Not even her late husband.
The clients came and they went. They used, and they paid, but this man needed her in a different way than just sexually. She didn’t know how or why she knew that exactly, but she sensed it somehow.
She didn’t realize he’d pushed her down on the bed until she felt the mattress touch her back. Letting her nipple go, he kissed the tips of each of her breasts. The beauty of his mouth suddenly became lost as he danced his lips with featherlight caresses across her chest and up along her shoulder blades.
Then he came over her. He didn’t touch her, didn’t lay on her, just kept kissing her flesh, but she sensed he wanted more than to kiss her body. They had just started, and she already knew he wanted to break her rule. No kissing on the mouth.
“Logan,” she warned as his mouth touched a flaming lash of heat alongside her chin.
“You said not on your mouth,” he whispered. He kissed his way to her right earlobe. Sucking it into his hot mouth, she gasped as tidal waves of sensations hit. He bit her lobe, then laved her flesh with his wicked tongue.
Oh, shoot, now she wished she didn’t have that no kissing on the mouth rule. She parted her lips and inhaled at the incredible sensations zipping through her as he licked a fiery line down along her neck. Then suddenly, he cursed softly and without warning, angled his head over her face and kissed her full on the mouth.
Bastard! She thought numbly as his lips melted over hers, bringing her into a heady world of sensations. Vaguely, she realized if she wanted to, she could break the kiss. She could push him away. But dammit, she didn’t want to.
She shuddered as he swept aside the bottom half of her negligee and his hard cock pushed into the opening of her panty and against her clit, giving the promise of pleasure, but then he moved his cock away again, leaving her frustrated.
“I like submission,” he whispered as he broke the kiss, and her pussy clenched at his comment.
Wrapping his hands around her wrists, he brought her back up into a seated position.
“I want you on the floor on your knees,” he said.
Her senses whirled at his command. He helped her to her feet, and she swallowed and shivered. Trembled, not with repulsion as she always did with the others, but with this odd sense of curiosity. She became more aware of him now. Noticed the scent of the soap he’d washed with. The whiff of the prairies. Of him. Spicy and fierce and needy.
The air grew heavy around her, and she got into position on her knees in front of him. Reaching out, she slid her hands onto his hips, feeling a bunch of muscles as his flesh met her palms. She slid her hands to his backside and cupped his hard ass.
He was breathing rapidly, and to her amazement, exhilaration lashed her at the thought of having his large cock in her mouth. Need thundered through her. A need to please. To be pleased.
She moved her head toward him. Toward his cock. His cockhead was plum-shaped and appeared flushed red. The skin felt so smooth as he pressed against her lips.
“Take me in as far as you can go,” he ordered. “Nod when that happens.”
She parted her lips and he sunk in, his hard flesh sliding over her tongue, his guttural groan saying he liked the feel of her mouth wrapped around his flesh. To her amazement, he stretched her lips like no other man had before. Stretched until her lips felt bruised and her body tense with awareness.
She nodded her head, and he wrapped his hand around his shaft, preventing himself from going in further. His other hand slid into her hair, and he clenched the back of her head, holding her there. She tried to tighten her lips around his hot, pulsing flesh, but he was just so unbelievably big and hard. He pulled himself out, and her tongue dashed against the heavy veins beneath his cock as he left. He plunged into her mouth again, and she hollowed out her cheeks, giving him a nice big suck.
He groaned. Held her head tighter, obviously enjoying her sucking. Surprise slashed through her as she realized she loved his hot, strong flesh thrusting out and back into her mouth. She slurped on his shaft, stroked him with her tongue. Looked up and watched the enjoyment flash across his face, saw his eyes close and his lips part as he panted.
His cock jerked violently in her mouth. He kept thrusting and she caressed his thick flesh with her mouth, loving the wondrous throbbing deep inside her pussy.
“I’m coming,” he warned. His hands tightened against her head, and he fucked her mouth faster, more desperately. He groaned and his hips jerked against her as he thrust deeper.
She struggled to take more of him. He pounded into her. Again and again, until she was whimpering as she imagined how strong and powerful his thrusts would be when he took her vaginally. In one swift jerk, warm semen pulsed into her throat. It tasted thick, and she swallowed quickly and sucked his cock. Milked him until he was moaning. Then he pulled free, and Teyla warmed as she noticed his cock was still hard and he was breathing in raspy gasps.
“Up on the bed,” he panted. “On your back. Knees up and spread.”
Her heartbeat swept into wicked fast mode at his instruction. He grabbed her wrist and brought her to her feet. She made a move to get out of her negligee, but he shook his head.
“Not now,” he whispered. To her surprise, he leaned in for another kiss. Sensations rocked her as their lips melted together, and she realized she’d forgotten to slap him again. He broke this kiss and nodded to the bed.
“In the position,” he ordered.
She licked her lips, tasted his semen, and lay down on the bed near the middle. Lifting her knees, she saw her breasts jiggle as he climbed up at the foot of her bed. Between her legs, she watched him climb toward her.
He’d removed his shirt, and his naked body was bronzed in places that really shouldn’t be tan. It appeared he sunbathed in the nude. The thought vanished when he lowered his head, and the vibrant need rushed to be fucked flared through her as his hot breath blasted like a furnace against the opening in her panty.
Heat and moisture swirled between her thighs. God, she knew she shouldn’t be wanting this so badly, but she did. She shouldn’t be opening her legs with such ease, without feeling the least bit hesitant or embarrassed, like she usually did. Her belly clenched as his face nuzzled between her thighs.
She moaned as something hot and moist touched her clit. A finger? She wondered. No, his tongue.
He licked her clit. Up and down with firm, unrelenting pressure until waves of exquisite pleasure pulsed and she dug her hands tighter around the comforter as he continued lashing her tortured clit. Beneath his face, she writhed and gyrated and dug her heels into the mattress.
Hot, sticky moisture seeped from her pussy, and Teyla gasped, her eyes widened with wonder as he thrust two fingers into her soaked pussy. His fingers were exceedingly long and felt so good as he continued to work her clit with his tongue and use his fingers to thrust into her like a miniature cock. He sucked and she cried out as his teeth nipped her clit sharply, then his tongue smoothed the hurt, bringing lashes of pleasure through her core.
She groaned as he grabbed her by the hips and brought her pussy closer into his face. Every nerve ending inside her throbbed. She jerked, cried out as a third finger slid into her. The penetration stretched her in such a good way, she bucked as shudders of arousal slammed into her.
She was about to come. Hard.
He gripped her so firmly she cried out in both fear and wonder as the magnificent orgasm began to take hold. But he let go of her pussy, and disappointment and desperation made her reach out and grab him by the shoulders, trying to bring him closer again.
He shook his head. “Condoms, baby, condoms,” he gasped, and she let him go, wanting him inside her. Needing him.
Her pussy was on fire, and she thought about bringing herself off. But the tearing of plastic and foil had her touching her nipples. They were nice and tender from his mouth, and her breasts felt firm beneath her palms. She yelped as the mattress moved and he climbed back over the foot of the bed.
Grabbing her thighs, he pulled her down until her ass almost hung off the edge. She swallowed tightly as he moved between her thighs. He came up and over her, his thick cock reaching toward his belly.
His thighs widened hers as he came down. His hard gaze pinned her to the mattress. Strong muscles bunched in his arms as he angled his body over hers. She struggled to make sense at how intoxicating his look made her feel. His face appeared so taut, his eyes so dark with intense need, she instinctively knew he hadn’t been with a woman in some time. At that thought, hunger raged through her. An unfamiliar need she hadn’t experienced before shot so deep into her, she moaned at its intensity.
Then she trembled as his thick, bulging cockhead nudged against her vaginal opening. He entered her swiftly and without mercy, her muscles stretching wildly as he impaled her. He filled her to perfection, his size reaching an area deep inside of her. An unexplored area that always wept with need when a man fucked her.
With this guy, there was no disappointment. Only awe as he withdrew and thrust into her again. Once. Twice. Three times. She unraveled, jerked violently as the orgasm exploded through her.
His mouth melted over hers, catching her cries. His heated shaft slammed into her over and over. His pubic bone stroking her clit just right. She rolled from one climax right into another one. He continued to thrust and kiss her. The only noises were that of his flesh slapping against hers and their erotic moans. Oh, she did love the sounds of their union mingling through the air.
She rode with him. Rode the waves and then finally she heard him whisper he was coming. His body went rigid and he shuddered, the condom filling with his warm semen. She felt him come up partway and shift into his own world of bliss. Afterwards, in the drowsy postcoital mode, her pussy spasms slowed and he withdrew.
Through heavy-lidded eyes, she watched him as he carefully removed the condom and tied it off, then he tossed it into the wastebasket she kept nearby for such purposes. The afterglow weakness of sex tugged at her body, and she felt fantastic. She wanted to curl up and go to sleep, but he climbed onto the bed, bringing her up beside him. To her surprise, he spooned against her backside and curled his arms around her, holding her against his hard body.
The thick knot of his cock pushed against the crack in her ass as he held her. For a long time, she hoped he would slip his cock into her pussy from behind. He didn’t, and yes, she felt disappointed as his breathing slowed. She thought he’d fallen asleep, he’d been quiet for so long, but then his deep voice cracked through the air, his question shattering the comfortable silence.
“Where were you when it happened?”
She knew he was talking about the Catastrophe. She wondered why he would ask such a question at a time like this. Maybe he was trying to find out a connection they shared? Heck, everybody who survived shared the same connections. Losing their loved ones, the shift in the weather, the fear of city-dwelling cannibals and apparent poverty. Or maybe it was just small talk on his part?
Whatever his reason, The Catastrophe, as everyone called it, was something she tried really hard not to think about. It was still very painful. Yet, Logan’s question brought it all back in vivid detail, and suddenly she ached to tell him.
She needed to tell someone who seemed to care at least a little about her. Maybe because he was the first guy who actually thought about her pleasure instead of just his own. Maybe that’s why she sensed he cared. Or maybe it was because he was her first client that she didn’t have to fake an orgasm with?
“The day started just like any other,” she began. “The sun was shining brightly…”
Excitement pummeled Teyla as she drove out of the town’s only mall parking lot with the truck cab full of two weeks groceries and the early pregnancy test kit sitting in the paper bag right beside her on the seat. Glancing at herself in the rear-view mirror, she couldn’t help but smile at her flushed pink cheeks or her windblown, shoulder-length wavy brown hair. Not one for wearing makeup, she looked a mess, but at the moment, she didn’t care because she just might be pregnant. For real.
When she’d stepped out of the farmhouse this morning, that same weird, nauseous kind of feeling was anchored in the pit of her stomach. She’d been feeling a bit sick intermittently over the past week. At first, she thought she had a touch of the flu, but then she’d had a lightbulb moment. Morning sickness?
As she watched her husband of eleven years working in the lush lavender fields, she’d barely been able to contain the bubbling happiness of what she suspected. She dare not raise Max’s hopes again only to find out it was a false alarm. It had happened three times over the past two years since they began trying to get pregnant.
The look of devastation on his face depressed her for weeks, and it made her feel like a failure as a wife because she knew he wanted a lot of kids and so did she. This time around, though, she was playing it nice and cool, at least in front of him. That is, until she found out for sure whether the early pregnancy kit gave her a positive reading or not. If it did, she would go to the doctor and have it confirmed this time before she so much as uttered a peep.
Trying to keep her mind off her excitement, she forced herself to gaze at her prairie surroundings. As always, the sparse dots of farmhouses, silver silos, and fields of round hay bales baking in the sunshine soothed her rattled nerves.
Heart Creek was a bustling farm town of five thousand people nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It had a main street with a bakery, a hardware store, two restaurants, and one mall. It also boasted the only drive-in theatre for miles. This area was her home, and despite having a three-year stint as a grocery cashier in the busy Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, after finishing high school, she’d come back home to marry her high school sweetheart, Max Sutton.
She’d never regretted her decision, but she sometimes wondered if Max did, especially when she caught him gazing longingly at their relatives’ endless stream of kids.
Since their lavender farm was around fifteen miles from town, it didn’t take long for her to swing her truck off the paved highway onto the dusty road that bordered their five hundred acres.
They’d named their place Heart Pond Farm due to the huge man-made pond her husband had created about half a mile from their two-story, three-bedroom farmhouse. She could hardly wait to get home and hoped Max was still out in the fields so she could sneak into the house and take the test.
With her excitement rising, her fingers tightened on the steering wheel and she gazed over the sparkling purple fields on both sides of the dusty road. They’d planted lavender over the last five years, finding it an extremely profitable venture compared to the mustard, corn, and hay they’d grown before. The crop was ready to harvest and the sweet smell drifted into the open windows teasing her nostrils. She thought she saw a trail of dust in the east field and spotted a metallic glint. Slowing her truck, she braked and let the engine idle while she listened.
Birds chirped cheerfully, the wind whispered through the lavender plants, and she smiled as she heard the grumbling purr of the tractor. Yep, he was definitely in the east field. Good, now she could sneak into the house and take that pregnancy test. With renewed urgency, she pressed the gas pedal.
Soon, she spotted her white clapboard farmhouse huddled between a handful of huge pine trees, and a moment later she’d pulled the truck into their parking lot. She was just about to shut off the engine when the bright flash of orange light sliced through the otherwise light blue noon sky, almost blinding her. Intense heat rocked her, and the truck stalled.
She could only sit there on the bench seat and stare out the windshield, stunned, as she swore she saw the sky waver momentarily. What the hell had that bright light been? Lightning? Why had the sky wavered like that?
She shook her head, her heart racing like it had never done before. She thought about twisting the key in her ignition but had this really bad urge to just get out of the truck. But if the truck had been hit by lightning, how would she get out?
Frig it! What did one do to get out of a vehicle hit by lightning? One thing she did remember was to make sure she jumped out of the truck with both feet leaving at the same time. The rubber on her tires was preventing the electricity from parting, so she couldn’t be touching the truck and the ground at the same time, right? If she did, she would be the lightning rod.
Adrenaline snapped through her, and she grabbed the bag off the seat, popped open the driver’s side, and maneuvered herself so both her feet were firmly on the edge of the door opening. Wouldn’t this just be great if she died of electrocution? And what if she was finally pregnant?
Emotions, thick and raw welled inside her, and she held back a sob. Her eyes blurred, and she wanted to cry. Oh, crap. What rotten luck. Maybe she should just sit here and wait for Max? Oh, heck, he could be out there in the fields for hours. He always got lost in his work, especially during harvest time. Maybe she could call him on her cell phone?
Sighing in relief, she dug the cell out of her back pocket and hit the End button. Nothing happened.
“Oh, come on!” She hit the button several more times. Nothing. Did the cell phone have a dead battery? She’d just charged it a couple of days ago, for Pete’s sake!
Okay, so she was on her own. All she needed to do was jump and not touch the truck and ground at the same time. She could do that. Simple. Yeah. Right.
And what if she was wrong about how to leave the truck? No, she wasn’t. She had to be right.
She held her breath, stared at the ground. The ground was safety. Yeah, she was right. She had to be.
She didn’t know how long she stood there, perched to jump. She prayed Max would come to her rescue. Even shouted into the eerily silent air a few times. He didn’t come. Come to think of it, she didn’t hear his tractor motor anymore, either. Nor any birds singing. And what was with the wind? It was getting very cold. Creepy weird.
Anxiety mounted. She felt sick to her stomach. Nausea. Distinctive and gut wrenching. Chills took hold of her and the frosty wind wrapping around her wasn’t helping. Oh, man, she was gonna be sick if she didn’t get out of this truck.
Teyla prayed. Hard. She prayed harder than she’d ever prayed. And then she jumped.
Nothing happened when she hit the ground.
Except she lost the contents of her breakfast. Bitter bile lurched out of her mouth, and her stomach ached like a bitch. Her skin felt cold and clammy. Perspiration blistered over her forehead and under her arms.
The flu? Morning sickness?
Oh, man, where was Max?
She shouted his name again into the deafening air. No answer. She made it into the house just in time to puke yet again into the kitchen sink.
If this was morning sickness, someone else could have it!
“It wasn’t morning sickness. I miscarried that day, and all I found left of my late husband was a pile of ashes drifting off his tractor seat.” She felt cold and numb inside of her, saying it out loud. Just as she’d felt that day.
“I’m sorry. That was tough to go through. I’m really sorry,” he whispered, and Teyla sighed as he caressed her hair. She liked the feeling of him brushing her strands. It was soothing. Erotic. Nice. She sighed again, and he squeezed his arms gently around her, and for the first time ever, she relaxed in a client’s arms.
“They say it had something to do with the solar flares targeting people that contained certain genes. They just evaporated. There wasn’t anything you could have done for your baby or your husband. It was just some freak scientific thing that no one saw coming. It was out of everybody’s control. Totally out of your control,” he whispered. The tone of his voice was soothing, and it just felt so normal to be lying here in his arms.
She’d lay here for just a moment, she thought to herself, then she’d get up and make him supper. But her eyelids grew so heavy. And she really liked listening to the steady way he breathed. He felt so warm and snug against her. She felt protected. Safe. She hadn’t felt like this in a very long time. Too long to remember…
Logan knew the instant she fell asleep. Her body softened and melted against him. Her breathing slowed, and her heart stopped hammering like crazy. Even now, after taking her, he wanted to fuck her again. There was vulnerability in her. A vulnerability he’d never seen before in the other professional women he’d slept with. An openness in her that brought out his protective side, and suddenly, he’d wanted to know where she’d been on that day that changed everyone’s life forever.
While she relayed her story, he’d realized she wasn’t bitter or hard. While they had sex, he’d also sensed she wasn’t putting on an act. She hadn’t faked her pleasure at his hands. He liked that. A lot.
Logan sighed and watched the strands of her hair move beneath his fingers as he caressed her. She had a really nice color of brown hair. In the twilight, he could see hints of gold and red twinkling there. And her hair felt so soft and silky as he stroked it.
She shouldn’t be living out here all alone. Didn’t she realize how dangerous the world had become? She needed a man to put down roots here. A man to protect her from guys like him. Guys that wanted to take advantage of a woman living alone. A guy who wanted to share her with his partners.
Logan smiled. Yeah, the other two would like this woman. He’d make sure Cassidy and Spencer dished out lots of pleasure. She wouldn’t be disappointed. Not at all.