Loving Against the Grain (Into the West #2)

Chapter 1

The boathouse creaked in the murky darkness, announcing its unwanted guests, while the late summer breeze tickled along the wooden walls. Milky moonlight peeked shyly through the chinks between the logs, bashfully ducking behind clouds at the actions transpiring within the abandoned storage area. Sighs and whispers, punctuated by the occasional giggle, filled the space, chasing the witnesses back to their hiding places. A hiss and fizz from a quickly lit match shed flickering light on the confines of the boathouse, revealing its occupants as eager shadows upon the walls. Groping hands from the midnight silhouettes reached for each other's clothes, throwing the items off in gleeful abandon.

"Sshh! Sounds carry on the water!"

"You know how to shut me up! Mmmm..."

Divest of most clothing, the nebulous shapes melded together in the blackness of the boathouse, rising on knees upon the wooden floor while mouths crashed together in forbidden lust. Sucking lips, hiccupping gasps, along with hungry grunts and feverish moans, peppered the stillness of the river at night, until greedy mouths broke apart for a new supply of air, only to tumble against each other once more. Necks twisted for better access, while seeking hands streaked over straining curves and angles, learning the landscapes of love.

"Please! I want more! I need more! You promised me tonight would be the night!" One of the shadows broke away, head downcast at a sullen cant, chest heaving, while the other, larger figure remained still; deliberating. At last it replied, words emitting cautiously from its mouth.

"Are you sure? It's not like we can go back to before. Not after tonight. It's everlasting-"

"That's what I want! You. Me. Everlasting. Oh, God! I want you so much! I want to be with you! I want you inside me. Now!"

The bigger shadow, most definitely male, reared back slightly, shocked at the indecent comment, grabbing the smaller figure's hands as they reached out. He chose his words with care, head cocking in consternation.

"That's...quite a bold statement, coming from you. Are you sure you're a...virgin?"

The word hung between the silhouettes, an expression never spoken in polite circles, and never spoken between the sexes! It was the sudden elephant in the room, lying heavy and unrepentant between them. The smaller, female shape froze as she confronted her companion with squared shoulders and raised head. Slowly she spoke, clipping her words like a spinster governess.

"Of course I'm unspoiled; untried! I would know! And I know I'm giving myself freely to you. You love me, and I love you. You even said yourself, after this next trip, we'll never be apart. Right?" She leaned forward slightly, ghostly fingers rising to the ribbons at the neckline of the plain under shift she wore. Her companion's eyes, shining even in the darkness, riveted upon the movements of her hands, tongue licking his lips in anticipation. He watched avidly while the woman carefully untied the strings, dropping them as she hoarsely whispered, "Take it off me. I want you to undress me. I want to feel your hands on me. It's not like we won't be husband and wife. But I can't wait that long. I want you to make me yours." She leaned forward, allowing the shift to hang open, its cap sleeves sliding off her shoulders, and her companion, her lover, was lost. Quickly, unsteadily, his hands rose to her shoulders, pulling the shift down clumsily, till the woman wiggled her arms free, breasts spilling out and the garment bunching at her waist.

"Oh, my God! You're beautiful! Perfect! So perfect!" Unable to contain himself, the male silhouette bent his head, mouth latching onto one pertly tipped breast, sucking like a starving babe while his hands roved over her smooth, virginal skin.

The sensation of a man's lips at her breast, his fingertips gliding over her body, foreign, erotic, and arousing, brought the woman's hands up to cradle her lover's head, while her own dropped back on a sighing moan. He knew what to do after his initial hesitation, and soon laid her out on the blanket they'd smuggled in with them. She laid spread before him, a seductive banquet, unabashedly comfortable with her nudity while she urged him on with whispered words of love. Soon his body covered hers, and the shadows became one on a swallowed cry of painful surprise, turning to groans and moans of pleasure as the man initiated his young lover in the art of love-making, but also taught her how to please him, over and over.