Beautiful Burn (11 page)

“
You grew up
here?” Her eyes darted from the lapping waters of the bay and then
over to the rows upon rows of trees, heavy with ruby-red fruit.

“
Yeah,” I
answered, my mind jogging back to my childhood helping my dad plant
new trees and the happy chaos that always surrounded harvest season.
I couldn't move away from here, it had too many good memories. It was
home.

“
It’s
beautiful.”

“
It was a pretty
great place to grow up.” I smiled. “Wine?”

“
Sure. Thanks.”
She watched as I poured the wine into her glass, then mine, and
placed it back in the picnic basket, re-corking it.

“
It’s good,”
she hummed after taking a sip. “What else you got in that little
basket of yours?”

“
I cooked and
everything.”

“
Oh yeah?” She
raised her eyebrows, impressed.

“
Slaved for
hours.” I set the first container on the table.

“
Hmm...” Her
sudden laugh floated between us when I lifted the lid on the second
container. “Sloppy joes?!”

“
Homemade
sloppy joes. Secret family recipe, goes way back.” I tossed a bag
of chips on the table.

“
Wine and sloppy
joes, huh?” She shook her head and sipped with a smile. “You sure
know how to woo a girl. So what's the special occasion?” She cocked
her head as her sexy gaze nailed mine.

“
We're
celebrating. I'd committed to something this spring that had me
running up to Traverse three times a week,” I paused, the memory
triggering a powerful wave of anxiety, “but it's finished now.” I
reached across the table and dusted my fingertips across her hand.
“And that means I'll have a lot more free time...” My eyes fell
lidded when a humid breeze swirled in the space between us and
delivered her sweet scent to my nostrils. I inhaled, so thankful I
could celebrate this night with her, even if she didn't know what we
were celebrating.

“
Mmm...I like
the sound of that,” she hummed and twisted her fingers with mine. A
low groan escaped my throat -- she never ceased to have all the blood
marching straight to my dick. “Something wrong?” She purred, her
eyes large and innocent, her grin playful and sexy.

“
I'm trying not
to throw you over this table and fuck you until you can't see
straight.”

“
What's stopping
you?” Auburn shrugged out of her long-sleeved shirt and my dick
pounded in my pants.

“
Because I want
to woo you first, and the longer I wait the sweeter it will be when I
finally,” I traced fingertips at the underside of her elbow. “Get.”
I brushed past her breast and traced circles around the faint outline
of her nipple. “Inside you.”

Auburn's eyes
darkened in the warm candlelight. “Well, I've got a secret.” Her
voice lowered one sexy octave.

“
I like
secrets.” I ran a fingertip down the curve of her neckline,
whispering across the soft dip of her cleavage.

“
I'm a sure
bet,” she said. My breath caught when in the next moment her foot
brushed against my inner thigh.

“
I'm not usually
a gambling man,” I murmured as I ran the pad of my thumb across the
bow of her top lip. “But I'll take that bet.” Her eyes fell
closed and she sighed without answering. “...after dinner.” I
flashed her a cocky grin. “So, tell me your thoughts on ‘Lolita.’”
I leaned back, satisfied that I’d both turned her on and surprised
her with my change of topic.

“
I think Humbert
is a perv,” she replied, her voice low, eyes still lidded.

“
You think so?”
I smiled as I passed her a sloppy joe, barely resisting the urge to
lay her down in the dewy grass and taste her with my tongue.

“
You don't?”
She asked, as she picked up a chip, hunger finally overcoming lust.

“
I think he
loves her, but he's shocked by his love for her. He tries to deny it,
rationalize it, but love can't be rationalized.” I shrugged, biting
into my sandwich.

“
Hmm...” she
scrunched her nose up adorably as she thought. “So he's a perv with
a heart?” I burst into a hearty laugh as she smiled and took the
first bite of her sloppy joe and chewed, before her eyes fell and a
low grown vibrated from her throat. And straight to my dick. That
sound, regardless if she were eating a fucking sloppy joe, or riding
my cock, did devilish things to me. “This is amazing,” she said
when she'd swallowed.

“
Told you.” I
smirked. “My mom will be proud.”

“
She taught you
this?”

“
I called her
after I left this morning for the recipe. I tried to get her to make
it for me and I’d just pick it up, but she wasn’t having any of
that.” I laughed, remembering my mom goading me on the phone
earlier about being a real man and cooking my own dinner. I knew
secretly she’d loved that I’d asked; she may no longer have kids
in the house and under her feet, but she still loved to be needed.

“
Well, you did
good.” She finished the last bite and then took a drink of the
fruity wine. “Thank you.” She smiled and dabbed at the moisture
on her lips.

“
My pleasure.
I’ve been wanting to talk to you about your writing.”

“
Oh, yeah?”
She reclined in her chair, the wine glass dangling in her hand. She
looked relaxed, beautiful, she looked like mine. That very image was
the one I’ll link to my memory of her forever. It was the epitome
of what we represented -- laughing, literature…heaven.

“
I think you
should publish,” I said.

“
What? No, I
don’t think so.”

“
Why not? You’re
good, Auburn, you should put it out there. You can self-publish it
online. I’ll help you.”

“
No. I don’t
even know what...”

“
You’ve always
wanted to write fiction, right? I know you’ve got a whole pile of
half-finished manuscripts just begging to the see the light of day.”
She watched me dubiously as I spoke. “I can see it: Auburn
Lawrence, bestselling author of contemporary fiction.”

“
Hmm...if I
published anything it would probably be in romance.”

“
Ah…the new
D.H. Lawrence, perhaps?” I replied.

“
Wrong initials.
Maybe A.C. Lawrence?”

“
What's the ‘C'
stand for?”

“
Claire, my
middle name. It doesn't really stand out though...” She wandered
off in her own thoughts. “So what about you? Pot, meet kettle.”

“
Me?” I leaned
forward, elbows on the table.

“
Sure, why don’t
you publish? I know you’ve got a dozen stories half-finished.”
She winked as she repeated my words.

“
Nah, the stuff
I’ve messed around with is personal. My childhood, family stories…I
can’t imagine publishing any of it.”

“
You should.
You’re great, ya know.” She nailed me with her gaze.

“
No.” I shook
my head and looked out to the darkening water.

“
I mean it. I’ve
always thought your writing was so lyrical and fresh. I try to
emulate you,” she finished with another sip of wine.

“
Wow.” I
swallowed, rubbing a hand over the five o'clock shadow dusting my
face. “Thanks. I don’t think so, but thank you.”

She reached across
the table and clasped a hand with mine. “I wish you'd share your
words with the world, but I understand,” she paused with a smile,
“Now show me how to pick some cherries!”

I laughed, glad
she sensed my growing discomfort with the conversation. She was so
intuitive, just one of the things I loved about her.

Love. I couldn’t
even bring myself to imagine it possible so soon, while I was in this
unknown zone with my marriage and my future. So instead I pushed the
thought aside and stood to walk with her to the cherry trees.

When Auburn
arrived at the first tree in a long row of identical trees, she
leaned in, spotting a bright, ripe cherry, and caressed it with her
fingertips. I stood beside her and explained how to properly harvest
a cherry while I pulled at one of the stems just beneath next
season's new bud. I plucked the fruit from the tree easily and
dangled it in front of her soft lips. “Wanna taste?” She nodded
before her lips parted. Catching the fruit between her teeth, she
sucked it into her mouth and chewed.

“
Watch the pit,”
I muttered, eyes riveted to her full lips as she savored the sweet
fruit. She was enticing, intoxicating, and so addicting. Auburn tried
picking a cherry from the heavily laden tree. She succeeded and
steered it to my mouth. I smiled and just as I was about to bite,
before she snatched it away and popped it in her own mouth with a
grin.

“
Don’t make me
take that cherry from you,” I growled and advanced on her. Her eyes
shot open for an instant before that mischievous smile lit her face.
I caught her just as she backed against one tree, and holding her
face in my hands, I licked at her lips, tasting the distinctive sweet
cherry taste.

“
You’re
addicting,” I murmured as I fisted my hands through the long
strands of her hair. I thrust my tongue in her mouth and delved,
finding the abandoned pit laying perfectly on her tongue, just
waiting for me to steal it. I caught it between my teeth and relished
the taste of the pit she’d just fucked with her mouth, turning it
over with my tongue and savoring the flavor.

My dick ached and
I wanted to lay her out right on that two-track path and make her
mine, but I refrained. I had to get this out. “I can’t stay away
from you anymore,” I whispered as I held her face in my hands. “So
I’m not going to.”

“
What?” The
one-word question fell from her lips and into the heated night air
around us.

“
You want this,
right?”

“
Yes,” she
said without an ounce of hesitation. Another thing I admired about
her -- her decisiveness. She always knew what she wanted, and she
always chased it with abandon.

“
Ever since that
night on the beach, I’ve been trying to get you out of my head, but
I can’t. This is bad, Auburn. I'm married, I’m your teacher.”

“
Former,” she
interjected.

“
Former teacher
and current instructor of your writing class.”

“
I’ll quit,”
she rushed to say.

“
No. I
definitely don’t want that. But I don’t know what the future
holds. All I know is that I want to be around you all the time. It’s
the only thing I’m certain of. But if anyone found out about us, I
could lose my job. And Mel is a loose cannon…I'm getting a divorce,
Auburn. When we separated this spring we didn't define the terms but
I think deep down we both knew it was the end. But saying that word,
saying “divorce”, you have to understand, I never wanted that. My
parents have been happily married for thirty years, I never imagined
I'd have anything different. What we've been doing has been wrong,
but I want you to know, with complete certainty, that it's over
between Mel and I. A friend recommended me to a good lawyer, I just
need to tell Mel and then I'm going to file.”

“
Really?” she
breathed as hope soared in her beautiful eyes.

“
Really.” I
pressed against her with my mouth to her ear and my dick nesting
between the crux of her thighs, begging for more friction. “But I
still want what I want.”

“
Okay,” she
breathed.

“
I like getting
what I want.” I ran a hand between us and dragged it up the seam of
her shorts. She shuddered when a cool breeze lifted her hair and
twisted it around her neck, causing goose bumps to erupt across
creamy skin.

“
I need to be
inside you,” I murmured, slipping the button of her shorts through
its loop. Her fingers fumbled feverishly with the buttons of my
shirt. She slipped the first few through the holes and then lost all
dexterity when my fingers made contact with her soaked center. She
shuddered and her hips rolled, and before I knew it she was on the
grass beneath the cherry trees, pants down and waiting for me.

I pulled the shirt
over my head and tossed it aside, before rolling a condom down my
shaft, and finally, finally my lips made contact with her skin. I
licked and sucked as I teased my dick at her entrance. “I tried to
stay away from you.”