9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter Page 4

  Bobby appeared contrite. “I guess not. Sorry, bro.” Bobby stepped out of the truck and stood with his brother while they looked under the hood. Both of them were fairly decent mechanics, but Ethan could tell one of the u-joints had broken, leaving one end of the drive shaft on the pavement, and that wasn’t something they could fix by the side of the road. He flipped on his cell phone and called a tow truck. In a few minutes, a friend of Ethan’s appeared and the truck was hoisted and ready to be moved. They made arrangements to have it delivered to an area mechanic and soon they were ready to head back to Lost Maples. Ethan handed his keys to Bobby, “Here you drive; I need to think.” Bobby looked at him curiously.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Lise Evans is at the B&B.” Ethan said the words evenly; not betraying the upheaval he was experiencing.

  “Lise, the girl that disappeared on you so long ago?”

  “Yeah, she’s back and I don’t know which end is up.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I know what I want to do.” Ethan didn’t have many secrets from his brothers.

  “What’s stopping you?”

  “Well, I’m here with you…” Ethan loved to pick at his little brother. “No. Bobby—so much has happened. There’s so much I need to know. I don’t even know why Lise left me to start with.” Remembering the hot kiss they had just shared and her obvious response to his passion, he had no doubt the most basic desire they had shared remained unchanged. “It feels like things are the same between us, but we haven’t said the words. And the words have to be said.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got some work to do.” Bobby concentrated on the driving, giving Ethan time to think. Closing his eyes, he remembered the first time he ever saw Lise.

  * * * *

  It had been the week of the Orientation Advisers annual campout. Ethan was a senior and this year, all of the OA’s reported to him. He had a varied group to work with. There were the usual gung-ho crowd that loved Texas and couldn’t wait to pass on the treasured traditions, such as Bevo, Big Bertha, the Hex Rally, and so forth to the next batch of incoming freshmen. There was also the Sorority/Fraternity group that did this type of a thing just for community and college service credits. Francine sure fell into that category.

  She and her sorority sisters felt that since he, Ethan, was in charge this year, all they would have to do was just show up. They wouldn’t have to do any kind of real work. Francine Shepherd had been after Ethan hot and heavy. Everywhere he turned, she was there. She was attractive, but as far as Ethan was concerned there was something missing. Francine wasn’t that hard to resist.

  Lastly, there were the ones that did it because they really needed the summer work. Ethan suspected the hot new girl fell into that category. Her name was Lise Evans. He didn’t know much about her, except she kept to herself and had done everything asked of her. She was very attractive. Hot, actually! Ethan was having a hard time keeping his eyes and hands off her.

  Francine had noticed him noticing Lise and that just served to make her try harder to turn his eye. Francine hung on him and she practically walked around naked, but none of it was a strong enough incentive for him to take his gaze off Lise Evans.

  He had caught her watching him. Their eyes locked and for what seemed like an eternity, they had been oblivious to anyone else in the room. Finally, she tore her gaze away and went on about cleaning the cabin. It was something he had asked everyone to pitch in and do, but invariably only one or two were actually doing any work.

  Ethan was doing his part. He moved the furniture so one of the other girls could sweep. His eyes kept returning to Lise, who was deftly changing the linens on the bunks. Hard work did not seem to be a stranger to her. She didn’t let the Sorority girls get under her skin either. Lise worked around them, ignoring their condescending looks and tacky comments. Ethan couldn’t help but admire her.

  Later that evening, they had all gone out to fish off the pier. There were some big catfish in Lake Travis and he had told them if they could catch enough, he would fry them up with some French fries and hushpuppies. Everyone had been willing to give it a try. Lise seemed to know her way around a rod and reel. Ethan couldn’t help but notice how lovingly the blue bikini top she wore cupped her high, proud breasts. Francine was very aware of Ethan’s growing attraction for Lise. Accident or not, what she did next had far-reaching results.

  In a temper, Francine whipped the rod and reel in the air, slinging the sharp treble hook far out over the water and then with some insidious motive in mind, whipped it right back around. It shone in the evening sun as it plied its dangerous path that appeared to be on a collision course with Ethan’s head or shoulders. He had been otherwise occupied, tending his own bait. Lise, foreseeing the horrible end result, acted swiftly and stepped up to quickly push Ethan out of the way. She was successful in preventing the hook from hitting its chosen target, but she wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way herself. The vicious three-pronged weapon buried itself deep within the upper swell of her right breast.

  When she gasped, Ethan turned to see what had happened. He watched in horror as she recoiled from the pain. Amazingly, she did not cry or make much sound at all. Jumping to her rescue, he grabbed Francine’s line before she could jerk it the other way, doing irreparable damage to the soft flesh of Lise’s breast. He watched her close her eyes and attempt to stay on her feet.

  Cursing himself, he realized he had sent the only vehicle they had back to Austin for supplies. They were some thirty miles from the nearest hospital. Thinking quickly, he took his pocketknife and cut the line, and then he scooped Lise up and carried her back to his small private cabin. He got rid of the curious onlookers and laid her trembling body on his bed. He grimaced at the sight of the sharp hooks embedded in her pale, torn skin. “I am so sorry, sweetie.” He tried to comfort her. “Why in the world did you step in front of that hook?”

  “I was afraid it would hit you in the eye.” She said in a tight, small voice.

  “That idiot Francine, she was just showing off. Now look at you…there is no way I can get this out without hurting you. Do you trust me?”

  She looked up at him and answered without hesitation. “Yes, Ethan, I trust you.”

  Well, he didn’t know what good that would do since he didn’t trust himself. But no one else was there to do it, so Ethan did what had to be done. He untied her bikini top and cast it aside, giving her a towel to hold over her nakedness if she felt exposed. She ignored the towel; he tried to ignore her body. He gathered antiseptic and bandages and a strong pair of pliers. “I’m going to have to push them through, honey, and then snip the ends off of the hooks…that’s the only way I can get this thing out.”

  “All right.” This was tearing Ethan apart. He knew it could have been much worse and if this had been Francine, she would have been screaming and fighting his every move. Lise just lay there and submitted to his awkward attempts to help her. When he had to press on the hooks to make them come up through her flesh, she tensed up so tight he had to caution her. “Easy, babe, just give me another minute or two and this will be over then I promise I will do something to take your mind off of the pain.”

  Then miracle of miracles, she had looked up at him with brave eyes and asked, “When you finish, will you kiss me?”

  His heart lurched in his chest. “Done.”

  He returned to the sorry task of hurting her to remove hooks that could have easily been torturing his own flesh. He had to put unkind pressure on her sensitive skin to push them through, but when he finished, he snipped the ends off the hooks as quickly as he could. She gasped with the pain, but again—she never cried out or fought back at him—she endured the ordeal better than he would have ever thought a girl could do. Ethan gently cleaned the area with some stinging salve and applied a small bandage to the wound. Then he allowed himself to look at the body he had been so absorbed in tending. It wasn’t as if she were flaunting herself, the thought hadn’t e
ntered her mind. For some wild reason, she was just completely comfortable with him.

  Unable to resist her, he pulled the covers up over her shivering body and lay down next to her. Pulling her toward him, he kept his promise, touching his lips to hers. It was his intention to share the most innocent of kisses, but he quickly realized that would be impossible. Her mouth was so sweet. She opened it for him and her tongue was there to meet his at his first tentative foray between her lips. For the first time she moaned, but it wasn’t from pain—it was from pleasure. She touched his face and then tangled her fingers in his hair, letting him know she wanted more. He kissed her until she pulled back, gasping with excitement. Ethan thought she was pulling away, but he was wrong.

  “Can I touch you?” she asked tugging at his shirt.

  Ethan couldn’t believe her passion. He readily accommodated her request and she wasted no time before she was caressing his chest and shoulders. He wanted to return the favor, but he was so afraid he would cause her pain. He made a move toward her unhurt breast and she anxiously pushed it up toward his mouth. When he took the hardened nipple between his lips, she sighed her relief.

  Ethan was past thinking. The taste of her breast in his mouth was like the sweetest wild honey. As he tugged at the nipple, she brought his hand up to the other soft mound—Ethan stopped and drew back to look at her. Her face was flushed and both nipples were puckered with need. He leaned down and pressed the lightest of kisses around the small, yet painful injury.

  “You won’t hurt me, please don’t stop,” she begged. His control snapped and he voraciously returned to her breast, sucking deeply on it. Her hips lifted in invitation and Ethan knew there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to sink himself deep within her. Quickly, he shed his jeans and shorts and then carefully removed her bikini bottom. He looked at her delectable body waiting there for him to take his pleasure. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

  Annalise parted her legs and offered herself to him. Her little pussy was pink and glistening from her excitement. The outer lips were plump and inviting and her clit was obviously engorged with need his hand went where it had wanted to be all day. At the first touch, she sighed and he gasped for breath. She was so soft and damp with desire. “Oh, baby. You are so sweet, so wet.” Ethan caressed the folds of her pussy and she closed her legs tightly around his hand as she rode it in eager anticipation of what he would do next. “Does this feel good, baby?”

  “So good, Ethan. It feels so good.” At her whispered admission, he grew bolder in his caresses. “That’s right, love. Let me make you feel even better.” He could no more resist her than he could resist his next breath. With a touch from his other hand, he persuaded her to open her legs again. He needed better access to pleasure her the way he wanted to. Pressing tender kisses on her taut belly, he lovingly fingered her, caressing the silken folds. “More, Ethan. More” The shivery demands were music to his ears. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. In answer to her heated words, he gave her more.

  With trembling hand, he plumbed her depths, easing one finger and then two into her tight little channel. “Oh, my Lord, Ethan. Don’t stop. I’ve never felt anything like this before.” Laughing with joy, Ethan captured her cries of passion with his lips. She kissed him hungrily, rubbing her breasts against his chest, holding him close.

  “That’s it, baby. Come for me.” He began a repetition of strokes specifically designed to drive her out of her mind. He would dip into her slit then swirl outward and around her hot button. Faster and faster, each time with just a little bit more pressure.

  “Oh, that’s it. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop. My heavens…” Annalise screamed and Ethan caught that scream with his mouth. He didn’t really care what the others thought, but he didn’t want to make her an object of speculation.

  “You are precious. Did you know that?” He gazed down at her with wonder. She didn’t answer. She wasn’t able to. Little quivers of passion were still causing her to shake and there was no way she could carry on a conversation. She merely looked at him with eyes full of desire and smiled the prettiest smile he had ever seen. Ethan’s heart lurched. He buried his head in her neck and just enjoyed being close to her.

  “Don’t you want to…” Annalise asked softly.

  “More than you could ever imagine.” Ethan whispered. “But you’ve been hurt.”

  “Take me, please. I want you so much.” Maybe at another time, Ethan would have been able to resist. But he was so turned on from the bounty of her breasts, the sweetness of her pussy and the miracle of her passion he couldn’t have held himself back if his life depended on it. And she wanted it. She wanted him. Him! Without getting up, Ethan pulled a condom from the pocket of his pants lying at the end of the bed, sheathed himself and rose over her to move between her thighs.

  Lifting herself to accept him, she waited for his next move. He did not hesitate very long, he let his raging cock hone in on its destination like a heat-seeking missile. With one mighty thrust, he plunged into her. Before he could react or stop his forward momentum, he felt a slight resistance, then a small give in her canal—oh, God! This was her first time and he had plunged into her as if she was as experienced as he was!

  Ethan stopped cold, he didn’t want to cause her any more pain than she had already endured today. He propped himself up on his elbows and kept himself perfectly still. She had her eyes closed, but when he stopped, she opened her eyes and met his gaze levelly. She placed her hands on his shoulders for support and moved her hips upward, forcing more of his considerable length inside of her. Ethan groaned. “God, baby. You’re incredibly tight. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. The muscles of her pussy began to caress his rod, causing it to swell and grow. “I want all of you, Ethan.” She lifted her hips, urging him to move and so he did. His control was razor thin, and at the ultra-tightness of her sheath and the mind-blowing little movements she was making with her hips that massaged his rod—he completely lost control.

  He pumped into her repeatedly, but she gave as good as she got. She wrapped her legs around his hips and caressed his chest with her hands, urging him to take his full pleasure. His control broke and a tidal wave of ecstasy flashed through his body, not wanting to leave her behind he slipped his hand between their bodies and tenderly touched her swollen clit. The slight stimulation was all it took; she began to shiver and buck against his hand—her inner muscles squeezing his cock, milking it with undulating spasms.

  Their lips touched in mutual gratitude and Ethan knew he had found a treasure he would never willingly part with.

  But part with her he did and he never even knew why.

  * * * *

  Annalise took Tiny for a walk. He had been her best friend for a long time. Dogs are so good and kind. They are always glad to see you and they never care if you have makeup on or not. They never judge you or criticize and if you are anything less than perfect—it doesn’t matter to them at all. She kissed Tiny’s hard little head and let him lead the way. She walked to the back of the property, next to the creek meandering through the thick grove of trees. The lawn was too perfectly manicured to allow a dog to do his business there.

  This morning when she left home she had no idea what the day would bring. Now she knew she would look back on this day with either great joy or great sorrow—there would be no in-between. Ethan had been in her heart for so long the idea of being this near him—in his home—was tremendously exciting. Obviously, it wouldn’t be the same, but she could see him a few times, in passing.

  Pushing the sadness aside, she decided to concentrate on the joy. She couldn’t believe they had kissed! They would have to chalk it up to old times and old excitement. Ethan was married and she couldn’t afford to forget that. For the next few days, she could look at him to her heart’s content. She could hear him laugh and…just watch him breathe. Annalise decided the mission, in addition to getting some much nee
ded writing done, would be to store up as many memories as she possibly could. Then later, when she was alone she could take out those memories, cherish them and cherish him. She had kept an eye out for his wife, but so far no female younger than fifty had made an appearance.

  * * * *

  Bobby parked the truck. As they were getting out, Ethan’s eyes went straight to Lise’s cabin. In the distance, he could see her walking down by the creek. Hurriedly, he went to join her. There was no way on earth he could stay away. He so wanted to take her in his arms that he had to clench his hands into fists to keep from walking up to her, arms outstretched. As he grew close, she heard his footsteps and looked up. She smiled that same sweet smile he remembered. There was such joy in her face when she looked at him that his good intentions flew right out the window and instinctively he reached for her. She met his hands with her own, preventing him from drawing her into his embrace, yet intimately weaving her fingers with his. “Not exactly the greeting I crave,” he admitted hoarsely.

  “We shouldn’t have kissed before you left.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked hoarsely.

  “I’m older Ethan, but I’m not blind. The sign out front reads plainly, Proprietors - Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Stewart.”

  He laughed with relief. My God, I actually laughed about Francine. Then he spoke out loud, “The sign is no longer true. I’ve been divorced for almost two years. My brother, Alex, you met him, says the sign deters unwanted female attention.”

  “I can see how it would.” They still stood, hand in hand—his thumbs tracing circles on the centers of her palms. His blood pressure was bordering on the danger zone.

  “Let me walk you back to your cabin.” He let go of one hand and tucked the other next to him, up over his heart. “I didn’t see your name on the reservation list.”