Desire's Golden Dreams (11 page)

Her cries would have alarmed everyone, had anyone been in the house. Rocco’s release took longer and they rocked and kissed and fondled each other until he made it.

The blindfold and ties were removed and the game was over. Usually, she would become his mistress at this point and he her slave, but he was leaving the fold and she chose to soak in the tub with him, then cuddle and talk for the rest of the evening.

They romped again the next day, but their fucking was sweet and poignant in the way of saying goodbye. Rocco left for the mine after supper to say his farewells and to tell the husbands they could return.

San Francisco, Present Day

The master-and-slave story had sent Hannah’s already deprived body into overdrive. Four more days before Bolt would return from the ranch. She rooted in her bag and pulled out a water bottle, opened it, and swigged. “My, that was intense. Hannah Brown was some woman. I wish I had known her.”

“I wish I had, also.” Slim hoisted his glass to the original Hannah.

“Aha, you gave yourself away. So, you were not of Hannah Brown’s generation.”

“No, I was not.”

“Do you really know if she enjoyed the submissive role, then?”

“You wanted to know about the first Hannah so I’m giving you the inside story. All her accomplishments and many good works can be found on the internet. No one else has these details.” Slim went behind the bar and took a beer from the fridge.

“Then Rocco was out of the picture from that time on? He never came to Hannah’s bed anymore?”

“He did not. That was the deal. Rocco spent that last evening with Wade and the Princess and the next morning he was gone. They heard from him sporadically until many years had passed and he settled in Plantsville with his family. On trips Hannah made to Plantsville or vacations Rocco and his family took in San Francisco, he and Hannah never spoke of their time together.”

“Wade Tolliver gave his name to my mother’s family. How did he fare? I can’t find much about his public image or much of anything about him.”

“Wade’s story is a long one. Now, Andre’s tale is shorter and one I can finish telling before you have to leave today.”

“I hope it’s not sad.” She took a long drink from her water bottle. “I liked his French accent and the way he called Hannah ‘cherie.’ It always sounds so intimate.”

“Obviously Hannah liked it also. Andre’s story is rather sad. He had been quite carefree and fun-loving as a lad, but as the years went by, he changed.” Slim poured himself another beer and straddled a barstool. He told the story with his back to Hannah.

“Hannah Brown Tolliver was successful in most everything she ventured into. She bought and sold property for huge profits and invested her gold money wisely. Many years after Rocco left, the original house on Nob Hill caught fire for the third and last time. Hannah tore it down this time. She left the property barren for years until the price for the land became so inflated, Wade talked her into selling it. That was shortly after she built the house in the Berkeley Hills that overlooks San Francisco.”

“The one I live in now?”

“The original of it, yes. It has been rebuilt to suit the owners over the years.”

“Where did Andre live?”

“Andre preferred hotel life. He spent money as soon as he got it. He liked to treat his friends and himself very well.”

“Did he have a gold strike?”

“Only the one he had when Hannah met him. However, it lasted only five or six years. After that he was in on a few placer mines that ran out just as quickly and money had to be split among the owners.”

“He didn’t have any other skills or jobs he could do?”

“He thought himself above manual labor and had no other profession because he did not care to learn anything other than prospecting. Since Andre was not a part of the mine’s profits, he began to resent the other husbands’ wealth. His placer mines could have let him live comfortably if he hadn’t spent so lavishly. He hadn’t invested. He hadn’t saved a cent. He’d only spent. He gave lavish parties, treated his friends, and lent grub stakes to miners who never returned the loan.” Slim downed the beer and slammed his glass on the bar top. Hands in pockets, he slowly walked to the chair opposite Hannah’s.

“The civil war loomed heavily in the background over the United States. Andre could not understand it. When his money was nearly gone and his mine was defunct, he went back to France. He had fun for a while living off stories of California and its gold. Then he disappeared. Hannah and her husbands didn’t hear of him for years until someone sent them a newspaper article about a man who claimed he owned a gold mine being jailed for disturbing the peace.”

“Was that all? Did Hannah never look for him, never lend him money? Did he never come back?”

“He’d written letters making it sound as if he were doing well. After seeing the newspaper story, Hannah contacted a lawyer and managed to get him out of jail and pay his debts. She wired him money until he disappeared again. She would have sailed over to find him, but she was pregnant again. He’d made his wishes known through Hannah’s lawyer indicating he would not be happy to have her see him in his present condition. When her detectives found him again, Hannah wrote to him telling some huge lie about having worked his mine and found another vein. Until his death, which was only a few years later, she sent him a monthly stipend supposedly from his mine’s profits.”

“He died so young?”

“The non-stop drinking ate his liver.”

“And Hannah gave birth to my great-great-uncle Joel.”

“Yes, Joel Tolliver was born the day the Civil War ended.”

“He was what they used to call a rake, wasn’t he?”

“From day one, Hannah called him her little scamp and spoiled him terribly. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves. Next time you come, I’ll relate Wade’s story.”

“It’s a deal.” Hannah took Slim’s arm and he escorted her to the mouth of the cave. She reached up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

He swept her into a real kiss, claiming her lips and sparring with her tongue. When he released her, she was breathless. “Are you Hannah’s Little Scamp?”

“I’m not related, remember? Now, be on your way before night falls.”

He swatted her on the fanny and she chuckled as she started her car. All the way home her body hummed with the effects of his kiss. As she pulled into the garage, she checked her cell and found a text from Bolt. A wave of guilt racked her and she tensed. He couldn’t know she had enjoyed another man’s kiss. He couldn’t know her body sang with the touch from a ghost. She read the text.

Driving in for booty call tonight. Phone sex not enough 4 me.

Thank goodness. She didn’t think she could survive another night with her body in the state Slim’s kiss had aroused in her. She ran directly to her rooms, showered, shaved her legs, and waxed her pussy hair away. For ease of removal, she threw on a sundress with no underwear beneath it. Down in the kitchen, she grabbed a broiled chicken breast wrapped in cellophane from last night’s dinner. As she ate, she texted Bolt.

Ready 4 u.

She received an immediate answer.

On my way. C U in 1 hour.

Hannah’s nipples hardened in response. She finished the chicken and ran to her room to brush her teeth, soften the lighting, and choose the music.

Bolt came running up the stairs in less than an hour. He had her dress off as he was saying hello and his own clothes strewn on the floor shortly after. They melted together with the ease of longtime lovers. They fucked each other hungrily as if they’d been apart a year instead of a week, then fell back on the bed in each other’s arms panting.

“Man, I love you, cupcake.” Bolt removed his condom. “You’re always ready for me. I couldn’t have waited another second.”

“Same to you. How was the ranch?”

“A sick cow or two. Not much to do so I didn’t feel bad about leaving for the night. I’ll go back in the morning. Dad and I only covered half the grazing fields.”

“Did you speak to your mom about us again before you left?”

“Babe, don’t hold out any hope there. She’ll never change her mind.”

“So, she’s still convinced I’ll make your life a living hell if you marry me?”

“Yep, that’s about it.”

“Why did your grandfather ever leave your trust in her hands? It’s so nuts.”

“Hey, is your biological clock ticking or something?”

“No, I’m in no hurry for babies. I do feel like I’m in limbo, though. I want my own house. I want to feel like I’m the center of your universe. Just selfish, I guess.”

“You’re not one bit selfish and you are the center of my universe. Things will come together soon, I promise.” He palmed her pussy. “How soon will this be ready for me again?”

“With a little priming, I think about one minute should be sufficient.” She grasped his cock. “Can this guy be ready to go that soon?”

Bolt sucked a nipple while inserting his fingers inside her. He kissed her then slid to the foot of the bed between her legs and licked her pussy until it began juicing again. She pulled him up next to her and crawled on top of him. She used her tongue to stimulate his nipples, making him squirm. Slowly, she slid to his navel leaving wet kisses along the way. A few licks to the tip of his cock and it was hard enough for her to slip it into her mouth and suck while lightly fingering his balls.

“You’d better stop if you want to get fucked again.”

She stopped and positioned her body above him. “You have a choice, blow job or get laid again.”

He pulled her down on him and slipped inside her with a contented sigh. “Nothing in this world is better than being inside you like this.”

It occurred to Hannah that maybe something was better than this—having all her orifices filled at once. Hannah Brown may have been right about that. The image of Slim appeared in her head for a second and she could swear greedy fingers were pawing at her ass. She felt a slim object penetrate her ass. She sucked in a breath of surprise and clenched around Bolt.

“Take it easy, cupcake. I don’t want to come too fast. My cock is loving the nice, warm place he’s in right now and I’m content to keep him there as long as I can.”

The slim object she felt up her ass pulled out and two slim objects went in—two ghostly fingers? No, a finger and a thumb and they spread apart to stretch her. She relaxed into it and smiled.
Slim, you dog
. She closed her eyes and rode Bolt until he erupted and so did she.

By morning, Bolt was gone. Hannah took her time dressing for a cool day in the mine. Her mind kept straying to last night’s experience. Slim had been with them, she was certain. Her imagination could not have conjured so vividly the sensation of fingers attempting to stretch her ass for entry.

When she wasn’t contemplating Slim’s attack on her and what it meant, her anger at Bolt’s mother threatened to consume her. For years Alice May had tried to demean Hannah in Bolt’s eyes. Until Bolt had liberated himself from his mother’s pocketbook and began paying college fees with loans, he had to keep his affair with Hannah secret. It had been humiliating for Hannah to have to sneak around and meet him where no one they knew would be hanging out. Before he realized how unhappy the charade made Hannah, Bolt found their trysts exciting.

Melia told him the way Hannah felt and the next day he confronted his mother, took out loans to continue in college, and put their love front and center for all to see. That was five years ago and still the woman would not relent.

Hannah ate a quick breakfast while continuing to chew on her anger with Bolt’s mother. They had become polite adversaries who had to tolerate the other’s presence at certain events, but who otherwise never spoke. A brisk walk on a brisk day would be lovely, Hannah told herself. She grabbed a jacket and strolled over the back lawns to Bolt’s mother’s house. Alice May never began her day before noon. Hannah had no fear of missing her. The woman would be in what earlier women of leisure would refer to as a morning gown and most likely be finishing her toilette or, as Hannah would say, painting her face and nails.

Since the families were on good terms, at least to outward appearances as Hannah’s mother had been Alice May’s best friend, the butler directed Hannah to the breakfast room. Except for servants the room was empty until moments later when Alice May swept in.

“Ah, Hannah, nice to see you, my dear. Will you have some breakfast?”

“No, thank you. I’ve eaten already. I’ll take a cup of coffee.” She poured it herself from the urn on the table.

“And what brings you out and about so early in the day?”

Hannah bit her lip so she wouldn’t scream out the words in her head, “It’s nearly ten o’clock and not early for normal people.” Instead, she put as much sugar in her voice as Alice May was putting in her coffee. “I woke with a desire for a bracing walk and couldn’t think of a better trail than the one leading here.” The implied reference that Bolt’s frequent trips to Hannah had left a trail rankled Alice May. Hannah could tell by the way she set her jaw and took a moment to answer.

“Well, it’s always good to see you. And how is your father? I assume he’s away since you’re not dressed for work on a weekday.”