A Seal Upon Your Heart (22 page)

Deep down he knew that Martier wouldn’t be here forever. And he wouldn’t want that. She was smart, she was beautiful and she was destined to go forth into the world and shine. But the idea of her going forward made him feel desperately lonely. He grabbed towels, turned on the radio and went out to prepare the grill.

Martier stripped out of her clothes and stared at herself naked in the mirror. Maybe she should shave her legs again. Only a few of the nuns shaved their legs and underarms. Some really should shave their chins and upper lips but you weren’t supposed to think that.

She placed her hand over her mound. It was covered in black curly hair and would surely sprout from the white bathing suit. She’d never shaved her pubic hair before and her razor wasn’t the best tool for the job, but when she was finished and ran her hand over the smooth flesh it made her quiver and grow warm. She immediately moved her hand away and concentrated on the hair on her head.

Removing all of the pins she let down her bun. Her hair fell into heavy waves along her shoulders and down her back where they bounced at the middle of her shoulder blades.  Making sure that everything looked hair-free where it should be hair-free, she slipped on the bathing suit that Claudette had called a tool.

Martier knew that Claudette had thought her too naive to understand. But she did want Tim to look at her as more than a charity case that he had to take care of.  If it was a tool, then so be it. She didn’t bother with a towel or shoes. She shook out her thick hair, and then nervously left the house feeling naked; as naked and vulnerable as a newborn kitten.

Tim added extra coals because he wanted indirect heat and for the meat to cook for hours so that it fell off the bone. He poked the coals until he was satisfied that they took up no more than half of the grill. He heard Martier’s approach and turned. The poker fell out of his hand and clattered to the ground.

Tim’s mouth parted and he stared at the beautiful woman approaching him. If this was a movie the world would have converted into slow motion and everything except the sight of her would have been blurred out. She wore a simple white bathing suit. It was not cut high at the thighs, the neckline did not plunge down to show cleavage. There was nothing singularly erotic about the suit. But it seemed to Tim that it was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. The contrast between the deep darkness of Martier’s skin and the stark white fabric was but one element. But then add to that the way the fabric clung to her every curve. And yes she was lean but she was curvy in a way that her previous wardrobe could have never told.

Her breast weren’t large but they didn’t have to be. Their perfect roundness was evident even beneath the fabric. Lithe and tall didn’t mean skinny, far from it. Her narrow waist swelled toward hips that swayed softly as she walked. Her thighs and legs were toned and nicely formed. His eyes moved up to where her face was haloed by luxurious waves of cascading black hair.  She wore no make-up, no jewelry and yet he thought she could rival any Hollywood actress or any Parisian runway model.

“Martier…” He managed.

She smiled and tried for brave, maybe even alluring but she thought it only ended up as embarrassed.  Tim blinked. His eyes darted away; only then could he think those thoughts that needed to be thought. Because when she had smiled at him, in just that second when she was innocence mixed with seduction, Tim Singleton’s heart soared.

“You look…beautiful.  Your suit! I mean…you.” He stammered and then wanted to palm his face for sounding like an idiot schoolboy.

She tried not to duck her head, or wrap her arms in front of her, but to stand still and accept his compliment with good grace.

“Thank you.” She cocked her head and glanced at the grill. “Is it ready? I left the meat in the refrigerator-” She gestured back to the cottage.

“I’ll get it.” He was already darting across the yard to the little cottage. Once inside he shut the door and took a moment to try to reign everything in. He pressed his erection with the palm of his hand, but that actually felt way too good. Walking to the kitchen he tried to think of things to curb the sudden spike of desire. Nuns didn’t work this time. He just kept picturing Martier.

“This is no good.” He muttered while storming into the kitchen. He gripped the counter. “Tonight you will jerk off like a beast, but right now pull it together Tim!”
She is beautiful, but she is innocent. Help her the way Corrine would have wanted, but keep your hands off! 

Martier had seen the look on Tim’s face. He found her desirable. She smiled faintly. But…he’s been without a wife for nearly a year. And more than feeling desired she felt manipulative. She should have never done this. Just because a man desired you didn’t mean he loved you.

Tim returned with the ribs. He avoided looking at her from the neck down as he explained that he would slow cook it over indirect heat for several hours.

“We could swim for a while.” He wanted the coolness of the water to hopefully cool his desires. “And don’t worry, I won’t let you drown.”

“You’ll show me how to swim?”

“It’s easy.” He punctuated his words with a nod. They walked to the pool and Tim swept off his shirt and tossed it to the lounge chair. Martier tried not to stare. In recent weeks, from their time outdoors, Tim’s white skin had tanned slightly with a healthy glow. His torso, by comparison, still maintained its paleness. The contrast of tan to white captivated her attention—almost as much as the sight of his muscled arms and torso. He was big, but not the least bit fat.

The light covering of hair on his chest was both white and dark and it made her want to reach her fingers out to run along the cut plains of his chest and the slight swell of his belly and then over his big arms where she was surprised to see a tattoo.

“You have a tattoo.” She said aloud and he looked down at his bicep, a serious expression on his face. There he had tattooed three bands; two thick the other thin.

“Machu Picchu.”

“What?”

He shook his head slightly. “Corrine and I went to Peru for an environmental cause that she was involved in. And while we were there we got matching tattoos, hers on her ankle. They are Incan tribal bands.”

Tim stepped into the cool water and offered her his hand. She thought of the years of history he had with her; Corrine. He probably looked at her and thought that she knew nothing of the world.

The water felt wonderful and almost too cool. She shivered and he kept hold of her hand. “Here it’s only four feet.” He looked to the far end. “There it’s ten feet.”

“Feels good.”

He nodded. “Hold a sec. I’m going to dip my head.” Without releasing her hand he dipped below the surface momentarily and then used his free hand to wipe the streaming water from his eyes. 

“We didn’t have a real pool at the school; just a few wading pools for the little ones.”

“That’s sad. Every kid should learn to swim.” He walked her around the shallow end and soon her body became acclimated. He placed her hand onto the edge. “Don’t let go of the edge. I’m going to take a lap.”

He did a backstroke watching her before turning to swim the length. When he got to the far end he checked to make sure she hadn’t let go. She was watching him and had allowed herself to float a bit as she hung onto the edge.  He swam back to her.

“Want to float?”

She nodded slowly and then looked at the water nervously.

“I won’t allow your head to fall below the surface.” He assured her. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

“I do.” She stared into his blue eyes. “I know you won’t let me drown.”

“Right.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Lean back.”

She immediately did as he asked, allowing her feet to leave the floor and her hand to stop clutching the edge. Immediately she felt his hand beneath her, supporting her body. She looked at him and grinned.

“I’m floating.”

“Indeed.” He was grinning at her excitement. She allowed her head to tilt back a bit, just so that her hair was completely wet and his hand was there beneath her neck making sure she didn’t fall below the surface.

Knowing that his strong body was only inches from her made her feel safe, and the light touch of his hand on the small of her back and beneath her neck made her feel even closer to him. She allowed her eyes to close as she concentrated on the feel of his hands.  Her body relaxed and became as liquid as the water surrounding her. She didn’t think that there could ever be a feeling more enjoyable than this.

Tim couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her dark hair flowed about her like an inky black wave. Droplets of water glided slowly down her dark skin and the sun seemed to live in each one of them. Her perfectly formed lips tilted upwards at the corners forming a slight smile and with her closed eyes her face seemed full of serenity.

He wanted to lean forward and kiss her. He wanted to run his hands lightly over her wet skin and feel her shiver beneath his touch…

A sigh escaped his lips and knowing that it would cause her to open her eyes he glanced out into the horizon. When he looked down again she was watching him with her dark eyes.

“This is a beautiful day.” He commented. Her hands strummed along the water’s surface luxuriously.

“It is.”

Such restraint it took not to grab her and pull her to his body and take her lips with his.

“How do you like floating? Do you want to try swimming next?”

“Mmmm.” She sighed. “Let’s float a little longer.”

He shivered. “Whatever you say.”

He led her around the pool and when he got to the deep end he told her to move her arms like she was swimming, allowing her to control the direction that he would take her. She grinned enthusiastically at this game.

She floated/swam and her eyes closed. Unconsciously her feet began to make the motions of swimming, next her hands and arms began to flow and somehow she knew…Martier swallowed a deep breath and rolled away from Tim and dropped into the deep end of the pool.

He clutched for her but she had gone straight to the bottom, easily with no panicked flapping of her arms. The panic was all his as he followed only to find Martier crouched at the bottom of the pool easily keeping herself below the surface. He gave her a surprised look. She was looking at him with equal surprise.

She swam to him with long limbs moving assuredly and placed her hands on his shoulders. Their eyes locked and Tim pulled her to him, holding her close to his body. His hand moved up to trace her cheek and then he stopped. Instead he swam them up to the surface and breaking through to the air above. And then sucking in air, still clutching each other, heart pounding with adrenalin Tim gently gripped the back of her head and kissed her.

Martier’s arms went around his neck as her lips locked onto his. He now was doing the swimming for the both of them and barely noticed. His lips sought hers at the same time that hers pressed against his. A low groan escaped him as he swam them to the edge. He needed to touch her.  He pulled her against his body and felt her legs move up and slowly lock around him.

He groaned, feeling himself becoming impossibly hard. He could imagine himself reaching into his shorts and withdrawing himself, nudging the material of her swimsuit aside and taking her right there. But the thought brought a rush of reality. Christ! What was he thinking even to contemplate taking Martier’s virginity in a freaking swimming pool?!

He squeezed his eyes closed and did something that was damn near impossible; he broke the kiss and gently pushed her away.

“Martier…we better stop.”

She had a confused look on her face.  “Oh…okay.” She stammered.

He quickly climbed out of the pool and because his trunks clung to every bulge he discreetly kept his back to her. “We should dry off and get dressed.” He grabbed two towels and held one out to her while keeping the other pressed in front of him. Martier climbed out, masking her disappointment.