Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) (8 page)

Her long firm thighs were now gently parted,
her left hand moving between them, slowly, but with purpose. Her
right was at the swell of breasts, toying with the firm peaks
encouraging them higher, brushing, stroking. Her face was taut with
the tension of impending ecstasy.

“This is giving me some serious wood, Jen,
baby,” he thought quietly, but out loud. Nothing in his SEAL
training had prepared him to be able to pull away from this. Adam
stood unwavering and undetected, mesmerized by her body, and the
eroticism of watching her pleasure herself.

He quivered with her as she bucked her hips
against her now quick hand. Growing rock hard below his Navy issue
belt, it was all he could do not to join her as he watched her body
arc, and heard the final rush of her climax, a silky alliteration
that rose from her throat. Adam closed his eyes for a second,
trying desperately to refocus. He was still transfixed as he
watched her final strokes, and her body settling, coming down from
her incredible high.
I want to give you that look on your face,
baby.
He longed to touch her. He smiled, watching her roll
away, pulling the covers around her before falling into blissful
sleep. Their conversation would have to wait.

Laurel’s daughter, Shannon, was helping in
the compound’s small hospital, attending to a couple of soldiers
injured in a boat rescue drill. Extending her nursing training was
important to Shannon. Laurel was proud of her children and their
drive to excel. Shannon’s absence left her only one option for
female company. As the only other uncoupled female in the
resort-style compound, Jen joined Laurel on the beach again the
next day. Everyone that was under protection had grouped together
for the day to have fun.

“Well I’m glad today that I’m a matter of
‘national security’!” Jen joked, yelling the familiar thought to
Laurel over the roar of jet skis. Laurel was, for once, glad to
have known Jake LeGrande. The acquaintance had some perks
apparently.

The two women had the opportunity for quiet
conversation later that day. “I think I know what has me stuck.”
Jen broke the silence in their sun-soaked position on the beach.
Laurel was glad to see Jen relaxing and opening up.

“Oh?” Laurel turned her head toward Jen.

“I need to find out who is responsible for my
parents’ death. It’s the cold case I’ve never been able to
solve.”

Laurel waited to see if she had something
else to add, then asked, “I know I’m no detective, but I do like
details. Do you want help? We could work on it while we are here. I
think I can get ‘
Navy
’s’ cooperation.” Laurel smiled, and
she thought of mystery books she’d read as a child.

Jen nodded, “Sure.”

She thought of herself for a moment as a
detective. It would be nice to be of help and to have an adventure.
They were interrupted by a Navy administrative clerk who
approaching them stiffly.

“At ease, soldier. We are in the middle of
the frickin’ Caribbean!” Laurel’s saucy side was showing again.

The clerk acknowledged her, tipping, his hat.
“Ma'am.”

He let a slight grin creep in. “Your presence
is requested,” he noted while handing envelopes to both her and
Jen.

Laurel read the note and looked at Jen.
“Shall we?”

Jen nodded.

“Dinner is at seven o’clock. Have a good
afternoon.” He tipped his cap again and went on his way.

“Private dinner—the four of us. Huh. Wonder
what that’s all about?” Jen mused. Laurel laughed, “Jen, have you
not seen the way Adam looks at you? I know I’m his mother, but—are
you blind girl?!”

“It would never work,” Jen dismissed the
thought.

“Why? Sweetie, if you always run from the
possibility of getting hurt, you are going to miss something
amazing, I promise you. Besides, I know Adam would never hurt you,
at least not on purpose. He’s like his fa—, like his daddy.” The
verbal trip didn’t go unnoticed.

“Your turn.” Jen prompted Laurel attempting
to change the subject.

“Huh?”

“Yesterday, I told you about myself. Now it’s
your turn.”

“What do you want to know?” Laurel hid behind
her sunglasses.

“Just start,” Jen pushed.

Laurel shrugged her shoulders. “Well, Grandma
Maralee always did say, ‘...the beginning, honey, just start at the
beginning...’.” Really, though, there isn’t anything exciting or
fabulous. Just regular folks. Life.”

“Okay. Derrick, then. You said his story was
for another day. It’s another day.” Jen chirped.

“Well, Derrick came to stay with me about a
year after Jahn died; it was around the middle of May, about nine
years ago....” Laurel looked off into the distance, searching for
the pieces of her life in the deep blue water.

__________________________

Smiling, she’d watched the house disappear in
a cloud of dust, behind the Chevy 4x4, as she turned onto Siddy
Creek Road. The lilacs in the drive were in full bloom and the
scent had filled the cab of the truck. The oaks were leafing out
and everything was turning green. The fields held the promise of
future champions with new foals and calves everywhere.

Getting away for an afternoon was nice, but
coming back would be even better. The year’s foal crop was playing
tag in a lush green pasture below the horse barn. Mid-Missouri
couldn’t have been more beautiful. The homestead had a view that
her grandmother had said would, “...stop a city boy and make him
cry...”.

It had been Grandma Maralee, who’d told her
about the magic of the big red barn. Laurel choked up a little as
she realized how much she missed her grandmother. Grams, as Laurel
so affectionately referred to her, had told her the love story of
her and Siddy when Laurel had been of age.

From her children’s births, all the way back
to her days as a bubbly teenager and back to the day she met Siddy,
Grams would jump in time, but you could always follow her
stories.

Grams was a free spirit and believed in
passionate living and loving; it was part of what Grandpa Siddy had
found so wonderful about her. She didn’t mind talking about love,
sex, and relationships; her granddaughters had grown up the same
way. Laurel had hoped to live out her days, and grow old with the
same man, the way Grams had. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Laurel sighed. Loving that farm might be the
death of her.
It wasn’t supposed to go like this.
She was
alone trying to make
their
dream happen—without him. She’d
kept it together in the months since he’d been gone. Her education
helped, and she knew how to network, but it was still a lot to
handle. The horses had always been hers and Jahn had managed the
row crop and hay operation. Now it was all up to her.

On her way to town, she considered how badly
she needed a break. She was looking forward to her dinner date, and
seeing Addy. Siddy Creek Farm faded behind her; she hit the main
road and picked up speed toward the interstate. It would be good to
catch up.

Laurel arrived at City Creek Bar &
Grill—mid-afternoon to beat the rush. The restaurant had the farm
for its namesake with a clever spelling twist. She loved that about
it. It would be a good time to chat with her sister, Adrianne
Hanson. Adrianne had been “Addy” for as long as she could remember.
Walking into the restaurant, she noted all the things she loved
about it. The place was incredibly upscale, while maintaining
rustic roots.

She loved all the special touches she and
Addy had enjoyed designing. The stone fireplaces, the water fall,
the hand-scraped oak floors in the VIP areas, and in the bar. The
stone-look exterior with an entrance framed in large timbers had
set the tone for the entire building. The design had been the
perfect marriage of modern and rustic.

Addy enveloped her sister in a bear hug. “Hey
sis, it’s so good to see you!”

“Hi ya!” Laurel squeezed her tight, “How’s it
going?” She smiled brightly at her sister.

“Good, good. Well—any hot dates? Still
single?” Adrianne teased her.

“Geez Addy, you think we could sit down
first?” she said chuckling. Laurel had known it was coming. Addy
wanted to see her happy and it was her way of telling her it was
okay to try for love again. Her sister knew better, there was no
one special. They spoke often on the phone, but it was good to hug
and see each other face to face.

“So, how we doin’?” Laurel pointed to the
reports in Addy’s hand, as they scooted into one of the plush red
leather booths that had become the preferred seating of City Creek
customers.

“Good to great. Here, take a look.” Addy
pushed the reports to Laurel. They were impressive, consistently in
the black, and very profitable over all.

“Good job, gal!” The younger sister grinned
at her sister’s praise.

The waiter politely interrupted the exchange
so they could order drinks. When her Maralee’s Margarita arrived,
Laurel sat back and sipped it, relaxing. “Best drink in the house!”
she laughed with Addy. Laurel spent a few minutes bemoaning her
problems with the farm. Addy was a great listener with an excellent
head for business. They could always find a solution to a problem
together. The conversation soon drifted to other things.

“Who is it this time?” Adrianne Hanson raised
her brows at her sister.

“Ellie. Darra’s daughter.” Laurel sipped on
the drink again.

“Good grief, you missed your calling, Laurel.
You should have been a sex therapist. Well, Dr. Ruth, is it bad?”
Addy prodded.

“No, and you know I never kiss and tell on a
friend—or anyone. You know, ‘doctor-patient privilege’ and all
that!” She smirked. Laurel might have been open, but she didn’t
share other people’s problems.

“I know, I know, just in the mood for a juicy
story. Where’s Grams when you need her?” The two of them fell into
peals of laughter, both knowing the depth of Grandma Maralee’s
stories.

Ellie Tanner surprised them.

“Oh,” a worried look covered Ellie’s face, “I
thought we...,” she looked questioningly at Laurel.

“I was just getting up, Ellie. No worries.
The grill chef is having a fit about the steak cuts. I’ll be busy
all afternoon solving that one.” With a hug for Laurel and a wave
to the worried young woman, Addy scurried off to the kitchen.

Ellie Tanner slid in beside Laurel, instantly
spilling everything about her relationship with her husband. She
was married to Daniel Tanner. Adam was friends with Daniel. Ellie
had met Daniel while she, and her mother Darra, had stayed at the
farm after Darra’s divorce. Desperation was in Ellie’s voice.

“You need to figure out that you
are
in love with him, and that he loves you, Ellie. That love will give
you the trust you need to open yourself to him—your body, your
mind.” This was Laurel’s intro to the advice she was about to
give.

“But I do!” Ellie flipped her hands to the
sides of her head in exasperation, and then buried her face back in
them, elbows on the table. She was blushing from embarrassment and
frustrated with her situation.

“Ellie, is there something you feel ashamed
or scared of?” Softly, Laurel pushed her to open up.

Ellie's frustration boiled over, and she
bared her intimate life for Laurel. Ellie Tanner would tell her
friend some of the most private details of her marriage. Her
reservations about oral sex, her difficulty climaxing, her image
issues with her round bottom, her scar, her none-to-big breasts,
her fear of Daniel leaving her, everything—splayed into the air for
review.

Looking side-to-side to assure herself they
were still reasonably alone that afternoon in City Creek, she
continued, “What do I do?!”

Laurel had never been known to mince words
with it came to sex. She just couldn’t see a reason to hide
something so beautiful. As far as she was concerned, the world’s
view of sex, body image, and morays were convoluted, ill formed,
twisted, and wrongly promoted.

“Honey, two people who love each other wholly
will learn to worship each others’ bodies completely. He loves you.
I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He loves your boobs and round
butt and doesn’t see the scar. Let him give you pleasure and you
give back. He loves everything about you. Let him have you, let him
see you.”

“Ack! You mean, like,
do it
with the
lights on?” Ellie sounded panicked.

“Yes, for starters. Let him undress you with
the lights on. Turn them off before you climb into bed. He will
appreciate the view, Ellie. Relax and let him see all your curves.
Big or small, everything is right for him. Not every man likes the
same thing; we aren’t all driving a Ford. Your body is what
he
wants. You are what he wants. You are beautiful—don’t try
to hide it. Offer yourself to him completely. There is no greater
offering to the man you love. Once you see that he really loves to
see you, to feel you, you will relax and enjoy the experience too.
He loves you Ellie. Trust him.”

Ellie nodded, her pouting lips and misting
eyes told of overwhelming emotion. Ellie was the daughter of one of
Laurel’s oldest friends. While Ellie had trusted her mother, Darra,
with a lot, there were just things that “Aunt Laurel” was the
“go-to gal" for. This was one of those times. She hugged her
confidant. “I’m sorry for being so emo, Laurel. I don’t want to
lose him; I don’t want it to fall apart because of my hang-ups.” A
tear trickled down her face.

“Hun, it’s not going to, or you wouldn’t be
here talking to me. Don’t worry, Ellie; he loves you.
You
.”
Ellie dabbed at her tears with a napkin and moved to slide out of
the privacy of the booth.