Just to be Left Alone (15 page)

I
thrashed around as much as possible, but he used his weight to over power me.
He kept whispering my name over and over, like a chant. His hands were groping
me through the covers as I was pinned in place. I realized I was trapped again
with no where to go. I was beyond panic as I fought to get away from this
menace.

“Samantha,
honey, please wake up.”

Conrad
was lying on the bed trying to nudge me awake. “You’re all right, sweetheart.”

His
voice cut through the fog in my head. I opened my eyes. His chest was bare and
his long hair was hanging around his concerned face. I sat up and hugged him as
I tried to dispel the cold feeling from my nightmare. I still felt Jason’s hot
breath crawl across my skin.

“Was
it Jason you were dreaming about again?”

“Yes.”

After
catching my breath I went over the dream with Conrad. I had to stop once, to
gather myself, as the fear dripped from my words.

“No
matter what I did he wouldn’t move, he just kept laughing and pawing at me. It
was awful.”

“He’s
not here. It’s just us,” he said as he wiped the tears from my face with the
pads of his thumbs. “Do you want me to stay in here?”

“Yes.
Stay.”

He
nudged me over so he could slide under the covers with me. I felt the brush of
a hairy thigh against mine. I snuggled against him. I knew this would be difficult
for him considering we were pretty hot for each other earlier.

He
was a true gentleman as his chest lay under my cheek with an arm around my
waist. In fact, he must be in for sainthood with the restraint he was showing.
I started to tell him what I was thinking when he interrupted my thoughts.

“Don’t
think I’m only doing this for you, I am selfish just like anyone else,” he said
as he ran his fingers through my hair.

“You
are, huh?”

He
laughed softly.

“I
feel better already.”

“I
hope that’s not all you feel, but considering the current events, I’ll live
with it,” he chuckled again and I rubbed my face against his naked chest.

“Now,
now. None of that, you little minx,” he chuckled. “Curl up and go to sleep so
one of us can get some beauty rest for tomorrow. We can’t both look like hell.”

He
gently squeezed me to show he was joking with me, although I knew he was serious
about me touching him.

I
listened to his even breathing, knowing he was pretending to be asleep. I guess
the comfort of him being there eased me into sleep because I opened my eyes at
sunrise to the beautiful view outside the enormous window above the fireplace.

I
looked at Conrad’s sleeping form and found it just as entrancing as the colors
outside. Careful not to disturb the limbs tangled with mine, I touched a kiss
to his nose. He grinned in his sleep and snuggled closer to my warmth, so I
stayed with him until he was ready to start his morning.

The
next thing I knew, the bright sun was in my face and a warm mouth was on my
neck. I smiled even though I tried to remain stoic. He made a noise against my
throat. A nice sky line in front of me and a gorgeous man spooned against me.
He noticed I was staying still so he moved his mouth further down my throat and
onto my exposed shoulder. His hand snaked up my thigh. My racing heart gave me
away.

“Good
morning, gorgeous,” was whispered against my tingling shoulder. “How does
French toast and coffee sound?”

Keeping
my eyes closed I joked, “I don’t know how they sound, but they better not growl
louder than my stomach or there will be a problem.”

As
if on cue, my stomach rumbled—embarrassing, yet funny. Conrad growled in
response and then we both cracked up laughing. What really got us out of bed
was Conrad’s stomach chiming in with mine. By then our sides were hurting from
all the laughter. Barely containing ourselves we got down stairs, brushed our
teeth and he started fixing breakfast.

I
put the coffee on while he started the French toast. Sorting my way through the
cabinets, I got out the maple syrup, creamer and plates. He already had the
silverware out and was steady browning the flavored bread. This felt so right.
I was awestruck.

We
worked instinctively, as if we had been doing this for years. Watching him, I
saw him flipping the toast without a spatula again. He made it look so easy.
Wrapping my arms around him, I put my face between his shoulder blades and
inhaled deeply. His hands came around to grip my hips and he squeezed before
getting back to his task. He let me remain where I was.

He
had a special way of knowing what I needed and when, maybe even what I was
thinking. At that point I decided that no matter what that maniac did, I wasn’t
going to let go of Conrad. Even if things didn’t stay snapshot perfect, I knew
this was 85 percent heaven on earth.

I
thought of Chastity for a moment and what Felicia had said the other night
about making moves on a guy. Even if we had drawn a line in the sexy sand, I
had to touch him. I saw the pan slide off the burner and knew it was the right
time.

I
got him to turn around in my arms. Placing my right hand on his cheek I
beckoned him to my lips. As soon as I felt them on mine, I sucked in a breath
and dove right in.

His
lips were so soft and gentle. I yearned for more. I opened my mouth and traced
his full bottom lip with my moist tongue. His broad chest expanded as he held
his breath and I knew he was waiting to see what I would do next. Taking his
lip between my teeth, I gently pulled his head lower. I started sucking the
full lip until there was no room between both my lips and his. I felt his hands
grip my waist for leverage as I slipped the tip of my tongue past his teeth and
into his hot mouth. The kiss was wet, intense, and lasted several moments
before he pushed me against the kitchen island.

He
lifted me on top of the island without releasing my mouth. Grabbing my butt, he
slid me against him with my legs spread around his hips. I could feel the
pressure of his enlarged groin against my core and locked my ankles together
behind his back. His fingers tightened into my rear end before grinding me
against his manhood.

I
slid my hands across his chest and loved the feel of the smoothness of his
skin. His chest had only a slight trail of dark hair that disappeared into his
shorts. His nipples puckered as I lightly touched my fingernails to the tips.
My own nipples tightened as I felt him respond to my touch. He felt them
straining through the thin camisole. He slipped his hands under the fabric to
trace the bottom of my full breast, as he had the night before.

A
whisper of a moan came from my throat as I realized he was teasing me again. I
hunched myself over in order to take the advantage as my nipples grazed his
fingertips. Electric tingles shot through my aching nipples and went straight
to my heated core. Sliding my upper half back and forth a few inches I got the
sensation I was looking for.

Taking
my lead he grabbed the fullness of each breasts in his hands and used his thumb
pads to rub back and forth in a dizzying pattern. I threw my head back as the
feelings ran rampant and felt his tongue on the low center of my throat. I
gasped with the sensation of both movements and knew I would melt onto the hard
countertop. His hands left my breasts. I whimpered my disappointment.

He
bathed my neck in moist kisses as his hands traced down my sides and onto the
hem of my shorts. Even though they were bunched up, they were still roomy
enough for his fingers to move under them. Pushing my breasts against his skin
I placed my palms against the counter to brace myself against the onslaught of
his hands and lips. His fingers were rubbing the crease between my legs and
hips, and it didn’t take long for him to realize I wasn’t wearing panties
either. A guttural moan came from him as he started tracing the juncture of my
core while it was still pinned against his.

He
stopped the kiss before I could move any closer to our eventual destination. He
pulled back to look at me. I closed my hungry eyes and drew in a shaky breath.
Putting his hand to my check I opened my eyes. He looked at me with the hunger
he had been feeling just a moment ago. My breath was more uneven than his as we
looked into each others souls for that brief moment.

“You
don’t know how bad I want you right now, but I don’t want our first time to be
on a counter in the kitchen, right next to the maple syrup. We need to just set
this moment aside until things are a little less complicated for us. When the
time comes, and it will, I want you in my bed with no distractions or doubts. ”

I
took several cleansing breaths and soaked in what he was saying. It was the
same as the night before, except it was harder to get back to reality. He was
still right. I would need to quit pushing the case until things were less
complicated. Nodding, I straightened my clothes and hopped off the counter. I
fought the shame that I felt at my actions and kept silent.

I
placed the plates on the bar. Conrad came up behind me with breakfast and
dished everything up as I filled his coffee cup. We quietly started our meal.
It was still warm, then again, so was I.

When
we were done, I complimented him on the nice breakfast and started washing the
dishes in the sink. He wanted to put them in the dishwasher, but it kept me
busy while he went to take his shower. I needed to divert the desire rolling
through me and manual labor helped to ease it.

I
went back upstairs to get my clothes and washed them along with the ones on the
floor by the washer while I waited for him to finish. When it was my turn, I
used his herbal shampoo and woodsy soap. I wondered if he would notice. As soon
as I came out of the bathroom, Conrad kissed me on the nose for doing his
laundry.

“You
told me to make myself at home, well I do dishes and laundry there,” I said as
I towel dried my hair.

He
set up to shave his face, even though I liked his five o’clock shadow I wasn’t
going to stop him. I sat on the toilet seat and watched him take so much care
with his face. When he was done I threw him my towel to wipe his face. He
gestured for me to come closer as he grabbed up a brush to run through my
tangled hair. It was very soothing to have this done by someone. My scalp was
tingling as my hair fell nicely around my shoulders. I kissed him on the nose
in return.

He
caught me quickly and voiced my thoughts from breakfast.

“I
really like having you around like this. It’s as if we’ve known each other
forever. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah,
I was thinking that while you cooked breakfast. I didn’t want to say anything
since it sounds wacky,” I replied as I ran my hand down his now smooth cheek.
“I guess I’m not so crazy after all.”

“No,
I guess not. I’m glad we agree on that as well as our insatiable lust for each
other.”

“There
is that. Breakfast would’ve been much later if we didn’t have that lust you
mentioned.”
 

“We
would still be going at it if I hadn’t stopped us at that time.”

“I
might’ve kept you from food all day,” I countered playfully.

“I
would starve with a smile on my face that would stump the mortician,” he
answered with a gleeful look in his eyes.

“That
might work, and then we’ll have to wait to see who gives first,” I dared him.

“Yes,
young lady, we’ll see who cries ‘Uncle’ first and leave it at that.”

He
spun me around and back into the den where we sat on the couch together.

“So,
what do you want to do today?” Conrad asked while toying with my still damp
hair.

“Why
don’t you show me around your land? How big is this place?”

“I
have three and a half acres with a creek that I share with a neighbor. My shop
is behind the house and that’s also where I keep my motorcycle. If you want to
go out there, then go get your shoes on.”
 

His
property was beautiful and made me feel as if I was in the country. We trekked
over the creek and into the pasture that belonged to his neighbor. They had a
few horses and I ran to the corral fence. There was an Appaloosa, two chestnuts
and a painted mare munching on grass by the fence. I immediately fell in love
with the gray freckled Appaloosa as it butted his head up against me for
attention. Conrad was scratching the muzzle of the largest chestnut and smiled
at me over its bent head.

“Next
time we’ll have to bring treats to these guys. I would’ve normally brought
something, but was distracted by some good looking thing at the house,” he said
as he patted the horse’s strong neck.

“Well,
let me know who this person is so I don’t give it away that we’re hot for each
other.”

“Yeah,
don’t get me in trouble. I have a way of getting into all sorts of dilemmas for
beautiful dames. Now let’s head back so I can feed you lunch. I need to spend a
little time in the shop before the evening is over. My boss has a project that
took up all my extra time and I have a commission to finish up,” he said as he
gave the calm beast a little scratch before turning toward the creek again.

 
I found out along the way that the creek,
which was actually a small stream, even had fish in it. He not only offered for
me to go fishing with him one afternoon, but also wanted to ask his neighbor
for the use of his horses on the trail circling both of their properties.

Of
course, I was ecstatic over the thought of riding that beautiful creature and
hoped the neighbor would allow it. Conrad said he rode both the chestnuts on
occasion, just not the painted since it was only boarding there. The Appaloosa
belonged to the owner, but he never seemed to have enough time to spend with
him since taking on more borders plus giving riding lessons. I offered to
exercise the friendly male horse any time that the owner needed, even if Conrad
got jealous. That caused many a joke by the time we finally reached the cabin
and my sides were hurting from the laughter we shared.