What The Heart Wants (13 page)

He tried to concentrate on cooking. He got a pot and filled it with water. And he almost got the heat turned on before he heard the water turn on above him. He didn’t know what he was hoping to accomplish, but he walked slowly upstairs, down the hall and into his bedroom.

He sat down on his bed, his head in his hands as he tried to talk himself into going back downstairs and cooking like he promised her.

Then the water was off and a short minute later, the bathroom door clicked open. And there she was, her hair wet and wearing a baggy green t-shirt that almost reached her knees.

Anna stopped short, not expecting to see him sitting there. He looked up at her, his eyes almost seeming sad. But underneath that, hungry. “Come here,” he said, so quietly that she thought she misheard him.

She looked at him, his hand moving off the bed next to him. And, without thinking, she did what he asked. She sat down carefully as if upsetting the bed would awake a sleeping giant.

Before she had even settled, Sam reached for her, his hand pulling her face toward hers and his mouth coming down on hers. Her breath sighed out of her as she kissed him back urgently. His hand went to the back of her neck, holding tightly and pushing her tighter to him. His lips were hard and needy on hers. His tongue slipped inside her mouth to tease at hers.

Anna’s hand slid up his arm, resting at his shoulder, grabbing the fabric. Her body felt hot and sensitive. Her skin felt like it was sending off a thousand tiny shocks of fireworks. She shifted, feeling arousal build and become uncomfortable.

Sam pulled back, looking at her face with his hooded eyes. He half stood, grabbing her hips and scooting her toward the center of the bed. He climbed up in front of her, towering over her in his kneeling position.  

She felt his hands graze her thighs and before she realized his intention, he pulled the t-shirt up and over her head. Her arms came up immediately, clutching at her bare breasts.

Sam sucked in his breath, throwing the shirt toward the side. His fingers reached forward and brushed the tops of her hands. “Don’t hide,” he said and she felt herself letting go of her breasts, her hands falling limply to her sides. Sam’s eyes closed for a minute as he took a deep breath. He opened them slowly, seeking her eyes before dipping lower. She pulled her thighs tightly together, hiding her most private place. “You’re beautiful,” he said and she felt her stomach flutter.

He leaned forward, his hands landing at her collarbone, touching her soft skin before slowly sliding downward. When his strong, wide hands found her breasts she felt her back arch toward him, begging him to touch her.

Sam groaned, squeezing the soft flesh gently. His thumb brushed at her soft pink nipples, teasing them to harden slowly.

Anna felt desire spread from her breasts to between her legs, her wetness building. Sam shifted, coming half down on her body, supporting his body with his forearms. His mouth landing butterfly kisses over her neck and down her chest bone. His mouth shifted to the side, suddenly taking her hardened nipple into his mouth and sucking.

Anna’s back arched as she moaned. Her legs fell open and she felt the roughness of Sam’s jeans rest against her inner thighs. His tongue worked small circles around her taut peak, making her hands grab at his hair and pull her against him, begging for more. He lifted his head and moved across her chest, leaning down and gently nipping at her other nipple before taking it into his mouth.

Through the overwhelming building of arousal, all she could think was- more. She needed more. She was going to shatter in a million pieces if she didn’t find some release.

Sam seemed to sense a shift in her and his lips went between her breasts, kissing a slow line downward.

Anna groaned as his soft lips moved down the center of her belly at an infuriating slow pace.

When she felt his chin brush the juncture of her thighs, her body jerked and she reached down to push him away.

Sam looked up at her, his hands on her knees. “It’s okay. I want to, honey,” he said, his voice husky. “Let me taste you.”

At his words, she felt a tightness build deep inside and she relaxed back against the bed. She closed her eyes and felt Sam run his fingers gently up the insides of her thighs, up and down over and over until she felt goosebumps form on her skin.

Sam’s weight shifted on the mattress. His arms slipped under her thighs, reaching around and grabbing her knees, applying slight pressure to keep her legs spread.

Her whole body jumped a second later as she felt Sam’s tongue run up the slick wetness of her desire. Her thighs tightened and her hips thrust upward involuntarily at the contact.

She almost wanted him to stop. Almost. The sensation felt foreign. Strange, even. But a stronger part of her felt need so strong she could only grab at his neck and hold him against her.

His tongue moved back upward, slowly, then downward again. Her hips moved against him, demanding relief. His tongue went up again, stopping at her small round clit, rubbing against it quickly side to side. A moan wretched its way out of Anna and her legs went up over his shoulders, her hands in his hair pulling roughly.

He started working slow circles over her then, clockwise then reverse so slowly she felt her desire reach toward its peak. Then his tongue dipped quickly lower and she whimpered at the delay. His tongue laid flat against her flesh, rubbing quickly. Then his tongue dipped even lower, pressing roughly at the entrance to her body. Then his tongue curled inward on itself and pushed forward, penetrating her slightly.

“Oh my god,” she gasped, her hand slamming down on his back. “Oh my god,” she cried as his tongue quickly pushed in and out of her body. Over and over. And then the tension reached its peak and a climax exploded within her, shaking her insides in rapid contractions. She felt it in every inch of her body, overwhelming in its intensity. Her thighs clutched toward each other as she arched toward Sam’s mouth as her body clenched at his tongue over and over.

Sam gently worked his tongue upward after her orgasm was spent. Beneath him her body was shaking. He kissed her slowly up her belly before lifting his head.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, her hands grabbing at the bed sheets while she trembled. Sam laid down beside her, pulling her against his body and holding her tightly as she slowly recovered.

When the shaking finally stopped, he pulled his head back slightly, his hand stroking her cheek. “You okay?” he asked, his voice still rough from his desire.

Anna’s eyes fluttered open, hazy and far away. She nodded, a quick jerk of her head.

Sam smiled at her, a warm almost goofy smile. He leaned forward and kissed her gently for a minute.

She rested her head on his chest and his hand ran up and down her back for a long while before she felt his chest rising and falling steadily and realized he had fallen asleep.

Anna’s thoughts came back in a riptide, pulling her under. Sam had just went down on her, she realized with a faraway wonder. He had put his face between her legs and licked up and down her. Her thighs drew together at the memory, feeling like she should be disgusted or ashamed, but feeling only desire building again.

She slowly rose from the bed, grabbing the t-shirt from the ground and slipping it on.

What the hell was she doing? One night she was naked with Eric, making out and letting him touch her breasts. Then a few nights later, she was having Sam go down on her? Anna felt heat rise in her cheeks. She wasn’t that kind of girl. She wasn’t the kind of girl who got intimate with two guys at once. Hell, she wasn’t the kind of girl who got intimate with one guy at a time.

Anna shook her head, feeling uncertain about what exactly was going on with her life. She made her way quietly downstairs, getting a glass of water in the quiet kitchen. She saw her notebook and purse on the kitchen table and walked over to retrieve them before silently stepping out of the French doors and into the balmy early summer night air. She walked slowly back to her house, the moon bright in the sky, but only allowing her to see a few feet in front of her at a time.

A part of her felt bad leaving Sam there like that. But what if he woke up and wanted to… do more with her? She wasn’t ready for that. She needed to straighten things out in her head before she went forward with Sam. Or Eric. Or anyone.

Anna shook her head, amazed at the drastic change of direction her life was taking. What the heck was she going to do?

Twelve
 

She slept in short bursts, waking up sweaty and restless. At four am, realizing sleep was a pipe dream, she got herself up, bathed and dressed for her day. Before the sun was even up, she was sitting on her back step drinking her coffee.

In her mind she replayed the events of the last few days. Eric with his playful toying with her and his demanding kiss. Sam with his unbearable goodness and generosity and his tongue ripping a devastating orgasm from her body.

Anna felt her analytical mind making lists like she always did when she had a major decision to make. On one side was Eric. Their shared love for movies and music. His effortless charm. How he could practically read her mind. His ease of physical contact. The way she could talk easily with him for hours without awkwardness. But there was also his reputation. Would she be okay with having a short lived affair with him, as intense and mind blowing as she was sure it would be, and then suddenly have to act like strangers whenever they crossed paths?

On the other column was Sam. Sam with his ever-present helping hand and his understanding of the stress she was under to get her business up and running. Sam with his toe-tingling kiss and skilled tongue. Sam who everyone she met loved and respected. But maybe his kindness was just a result of his obligation he felt to Mam’s memory. And maybe his sexual attentions were just from long spans of time together. He had already told her he didn’t want to want her. That was hardly a good foundation to build on.

Anna sighed, standing and going inside. She spent the next hour or so writing out price sheets and drawing up invoices. The day before they had stopped a total of six times. Aside from the first stop with it’s absent owner, she had made sales at each place. Anna totaled the orders together on the calculator three times before she would believe what she was seeing. On her first string of orders, she would be making about a thousand dollars.

She didn’t have many living expenses. The mortgage was paid off years before and there was no air conditioning or cable. The water came from a well on the property. Aside from taxes and electricity, she really only had to worry about food and her wireless internet. If she could keep these vendors and expand on it slightly, maybe sell some herbs in town or set up some kind of online boutique shop, she might actually be able to do more than just keep her head above water. She could, if she was careful and frugal, be able to put some money away for a rainy day.

Anna spent the next hour typing up invoices, mailing the ones she had email addresses for and printing the ones out that she needed to fax. She jotted down a list of things she needed to look into buying in town: herb containers, freezer bags, and a large ice chest for storage.

The sun started shining through the windows and she knew before long the entire house would be stifling. She made her way outside, manually switching on the sprinkler systems Mam must have installed not long before she died.

She walked past bed after bed full of strong, healthy plants. She felt pride swell up in her chest, making it feel hard to breathe. She had done this. She had planted most of the seedlings and they were growing and healthy because of her.

Anna made her way back toward the back few acres of unused land with string and stakes, planning to map out the spots of future beds. For bay leaves like Lenny recommended. And lavender so maybe she could make her own soaps to sell at the town pharmacy or even to the inn to use in their rooms. It was getting too late to plant anything, but it would save her a lot of work next planting season if she at least got the land ready.  

Anna felt her pulse start to pound, noticing tire prints running from the far side of her property toward the back ten. She followed them, dread filling her. She knew like she knew like she knew that something else had happened. Someone had done something else. Someone was still trying to hurt her.

Then she noticed the land underneath her feet, oddly crunchy and whiteish. She knelt down quickly, grabbing a handful of crystals she found sprinkled across the ground.

Salt.

Someone had salted her land.

Anna’s memory flashed to high school history class. The tales of the Roman empire. The story of Carthage. The roman general sowing the land with salt after finally winning the third Punic war. Crops wouldn’t grow for a hundred years as the tale went.

She felt her heart sink to her stomach.

It was a curse on rehabilitation. It was a dare to her to try to rebuild her life.

Her hand closed around the salt, its roughness biting into her flesh as she finally sat down and gave up.

Sam woke up feeling disoriented, later than he usually slept in. He felt the fuzzy memory hanging on like a dream. He rolled over and realized it wasn’t a dream. Anna had been there. She had been there. In his bed. Naked. Moaning and grabbing at him as he licked her sweet wetness. The memory had his cock up and hardening before his eyes even cleared of sleep.

But she was gone. “Anna,” he called, his voice gruff. He got up slowly, glancing into the bathroom before heading downstairs. “Anna,” he called and got nothing back but stony silence. He walked into the kitchen and saw the glass of water on the counter and wondered when she had left. Why she had left.

He wanted to wake up next to her. He wanted to go down on her again. He wanted to slip his fingers inside her this time. He wanted to feel her hands close around his cock and stroke him. He wanted her mouth around him. He wanted her beneath him. He wanted to feel her body clench at his cock as he penetrated her slowly.