Jane's Melody Read online

  “This is crazy,” Jane mumbled.

  The scream came again, louder this time with both doors open. Jane caught Caleb’s eyes, but he only shrugged.

  A minute later, the officer came back inside and pulled the sliding door closed. He approached Jane with an embarrassed-look on his face and attempted an awkward smile.

  “Sorry to have bothered you, ma’am.”

  He stepped past her and went outside. He apologized to Caleb and led his partner away toward their patrol car.

  “What was it?” Jane heard his partner ask.

  “He wasn’t lying. There’s a darn goat back there.”

  When Jane and Caleb were alone again, inside the foyer with the door shut, they both broke out laughing.

  “You should have seen him grab for his gun,” Jane said.

  “You should have seen the other one’s eyes. They got big as dinner plates.”

  “Where did you get this goat again?”

  “I found it.”

  Jane raised an eyebrow.

  “You found it?”

  “Well, I kind of borrowed it.”

  “How do you borrow a goat?”

  “I just found it and brought it home.”

  “So you stole it?”

  “No, I borrowed it.”

  “Does the owner know you have it?”

  “No, but it was starving.”

  “Then you stole it.”

  “Yeah, I guess I stole it. But wait until you see how many of those blackberries I’ve cleared with its help. It just eats and eats. You won’t believe it. We’re almost done and ready to start tilling for some grass seed.”

  “Well, tomorrow it’s going back where you got it.”

  Caleb took a step toward her.

  “Let’s talk about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  “What do you want to talk about tonight then?” she asked.

  The corners of Caleb’s mouth rose ever so slightly.

  “I don’t want to talk at all.”

  “You don’t?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then what do you want to do?”

  “Everything,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Like what?”

  The question had hardly crossed her lips when his mouth pressed against hers. He kissed her, and she forgot everything else. She was no longer standing in her foyer; she was no longer on planet Earth. She felt his hands rise to her breasts. She felt his thighs press against hers, and she felt the hardness between them through his jeans. She walked him backwards down the hall, breaking away just long enough to take a few steps, then stopping to kiss him again. He stripped his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, his lean chest flexing, then grabbed her and kissed her again. She pulled away and took a few more steps, frantically unbuttoning her blouse. Suddenly they were in the doorway to her room. Did she really want to go through with this? Was she sure she wouldn’t regret it?

  He flicked on the light.

  She shook her head and turned it off.

  He reached around and unclasped her bra, and her breasts fell free. He bent his head and took her nipple into his mouth.

  Jane couldn’t believe that this was really happening. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She wondered if he’d still like her as much afterwards. She wondered if she’d be any good. After all, it had been a long time. Way too long.

  She buried her fingers in his thick hair. Light leaked in from the hallway and she could see the muscles of his bare back. She felt him reach down and unbutton her slacks. Then he slid them over her thighs and pulled them off. She stepped out of them and stood before him in the shadows, naked except for her panties.

  He’s fifteen years younger than you, she reminded herself. What if he’s disappointed with your body? What if he’s used to twenty-year-old nymphos who know how to get it on? What if he likes it freaky? What if. What if. What if.

  As she stood thinking, he stripped off his jeans and stood before her in his bulging boxers. The sight made her shiver with excitement. He walked her backwards toward the bed, and she hit the mattress, sat down, and was eye level with his waist. She reached her fingers beneath the band of his boxers and brushed her nails against him. It moved slightly with hard anticipation, his thigh muscles flexing. Then she pulled the boxers down, and he sprang free. Her nervousness fled, quickly overwhelmed by the excitement of seeing his naked perfection standing in the shadows in front of her.

  She cupped him in her hand and took him in her mouth. She felt him shudder and moan. He reached down and took her breast in his hand. Then he placed his other hand behind her head and guided her. She reached around and buried her fingers in his muscular ass, and she felt him harden even more. Then, when he could stand it no longer, he pulled away and pushed her back onto the bed. He crawled on top of her, and they kissed for a long time. He kissed her tenderly and slowly at first, his desire gradually working into frenzy. He gently bit her lip, and she felt herself go tense with anticipation. He left her mouth and kissed her neck, then traveled down her bare chest and made his way to her thighs.

  Oh, God, yes. Right there.

  A last flicker of nervous fear crossed her mind, but it was quickly chased away when she felt his warm breath through the thin fabric of her panties. Her long neglected juices began to flow, soaking the thin fabric through. He gently slid her panties off and tossed them aside. She lay naked now beneath him, nothing between them but the shadows. She gripped his hair and pulled him up to her, and their lips met again.

  He lowered himself between her legs.

  She gasped when he entered her.

  It had been so long that it was almost like the first time all over again. He moved inside her with gentle thrusts of his hips, and she dug her nails into his back, watching over his shoulder as his body rose and fell. He was long and lean—his body a picture of perfection. He smelled like sweat and grass and sex.

  The bliss that she felt was almost too much, as if she might burst into tears because it felt so good. The pleasure, the relief.

  When he kissed her again, his lips were gentle, and his eyes were open. She could just make out the whites in the dark and she knew he was looking right into her soul. This wasn’t just sex; this was making love. She began to relax, letting him have her completely, and she fell into his rhythm and rolled her hips along with his as he drove her higher into a place where all thought was replaced by only need. Here there was no corner of fear left. Here there was no doubt.

  Her breasts bounced, her nipples brushed against his chest. Sweat rose on his skin, and still he moved as if he were dancing her to the moon. She felt herself rising, lifting off the bed. The darkness was chased away by a warm red glow, and all sound disappeared from her ears. His head dropped, and he teased her nipples with his tongue—first one, then the other.

  She gripped his hair.

  She felt him going deeper.

  She tightened herself against him.

  Then he seemed to lose control and thrust faster, and she threw her head back and rose to meet him. She was almost there. Wait, she told herself. Wait for him. She felt his muscles tense, his entire body ridgid and slick with sweat.

  “Jane,” he called out. “Oh, God, Jane!”

  Then he moaned, and she knew he was cumming, and she let herself go. It came in vast waves of pleasure that surged up to her head and down to her toes, and she released his hair and reached down and grabbed his ass and pulled him deep inside her and held him there. He arched his back and she could feel him throbbing inside her, a small moan escaping her lips, and she turned her head and let the ecstasy wash over her.

  When the flood had subsided to tiny waves of pleasure, he pulled free, rolled over onto his back, and pulled her into his arms. She heard him sigh. She was smiling, and although it was dark in the room, she could tell that he was smiling, too. This silent after moment was almost as good as the climax.

  Several quiet minutes passed with
just the sound of their heavy breathing, together, side by side, fatigued. Jane sank into the mattress, and she couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so good, or so relaxed. After a while he leaned over and kissed her—a long, gentle kiss that said more than any words could. Then he rested his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes, as if to relive the entire experience in his mind.

  She lay there, watching his naked chest rise and fall in the shadows. She had no idea where they went from here, but she was sure that this moment had been more than right—it had been exactly what she had needed. She also knew that she was completely and hopelessly in love with him.

  She only hoped that he loved her, too.

  At last she snuggled in beside him and closed her eyes. She thought of running to the bathroom, but she felt too good to even move. The last thing she heard before she drifted off was a shrill and distant call from the backyard. Somehow it set her to dreaming about Sirens calling to a passing ship.

  The song had been heard; the crash was imminent.

  Chapter 10

  SHE WAS ALONE IN THE BED WHEN SHE WOKE—

  For a brief moment she thought that the events of the night before had been only her fantasy. That she had somehow dreamed that Caleb was making love to her.

  But she felt too good for it to have been imagined.

  Plus, she could still smell him on her skin.

  She got up and went to the bathroom and freshened up. Then she checked herself out in the mirror. From certain angles she could still see the youthful figure that everyone had always complimented her on. But from other angles she could see the effects of forty years on her body. The slight sag of flesh here; the subtle wrinkle of skin there. She was almost certain that Caleb was used to co-ed hard bodies, and she was nervous over how he felt about her this morning when he woke.

  But then she remembered him calling her name the night before—“Jane. Oh, God, Jane.” He had said it as if he meant it, as if it were a cry of surrender ripped from his lips.

  She brushed her teeth and gargled with mouthwash. Then she pulled on her cutest Victoria Secret sweats and T-shirt. She walked to the bedroom door, hesitated, then went back to her bathroom and put on mascara, blush, and some pink lip gloss. Then she smiled at herself in the mirror.

  “You’re beautiful,” she said to her reflection. “And you’re smart too. Any man would be lucky to have spent the night with you.” She laughed at herself. “Oh, shit. Not even my own reflection would believe that. Just get out there already.”

  She found the kitchen table set for breakfast, but Caleb wasn’t there. She poured herself a mug of coffee and walked to the living room and stood looking out the slider at the yard. The sun was up and glistening on the dewy lawn where there was still grass. The blackberries were completely cleared on this side of the creek. The bridge was fully exposed, and on its other side, near the fence that marked the edge of her lot, stood the goat with its head bent into the remaining blackberry thickets. She could see a chain around its neck leading to a stake in the ground.

  “So you’re the culprit, eh?”

  “Guilty as charged.”

  Caleb hugged her from behind, and her heart skipped. When she leaned her head back to look up at him, he smiled at her, his hair wet from a shower. He kissed her, and it was all she could do to hold the coffee mug steady in her trembling hands. He pulled away and looked at her. There was none of the usual sadness left in his eyes, and his smile relieved any insecurity that she had been harboring

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Yes,” she smiled back, “it is.”

  “How’d you sleep?”

  “Better than ever.”

  He grinned to hear it, as if he were somehow responsible. Which, of course, he was. Jane felt herself blush, so she looked out the window again and nodded toward the goat.

  “Is that your new friend out there?”

  “That’s him. He’s an incorrigible little bastard, but he must eat twice his weight a day.”

  “Well, he’s got a head start on us this morning. What did you make for breakfast? I’m starving.”

  “Oh, you still expect me to cook, do you?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “And then I’d like a bubble bath and a foot rub too.”

  “As tempting as that sounds,” he said, “It’s a work day for me, and I’ve got a yard to finish and a tyrant for a boss.”

  Jane laughed and followed him into the kitchen.

  “Today your boss might make an exception for bed rest.”

  “Is that right?” he asked, pulling out a chair for her to sit.

  “If he’s particularly good,” she said, “then yes.”

  “Don’t you mean if he’s particularly bad?”

  The way his grin curled his lips as he said “bad” brought up images of last night, and she felt her face flush. She considered skipping breakfast and dragging him back into her room that instant, but he had already turned his back and was cracking eggs in a bowl and whipping them. She sipped her coffee and enjoyed watching him work. Whatever he did, whether playing his guitar, cooking eggs, or making love to her, he gave it his full and undivided attention. Now he stood over the stove with the tip of his tongue between his teeth and chopped ingredients. Jane could smell butter in the pan. When he finished cooking, he presented her with a spinach and mushroom omelet and a side of wheat toast.

  “I thought you hated mushrooms,” she said.

  “Still do,” he replied, “but I bought you some at the store because I know how much you like them. And look what else I picked up for you?”

  He stepped over and opened the pantry door and showed her an entire shelf lined with bags of Doritos. She felt her face blush with embarrassment, but she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “That’s just mean.”

  “Oh, come on,” he said, “You’ve never looked cuter than you did that night. And, I did knock, by the way.”

  “You really think I looked cute?”

  “Yes. But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you off the hook for the orange stains in my T-shirt.”

  Jane laughed. She waited for him to sit, and then she tried her omelet. It was good. They talked comfortably as they ate, him telling about his adventures with the goat, her telling about her adventures with the insurance salesman in Portland. When they had finished eating, a silence fell over the small kitchen, and they sat looking at one another across the table. Jane began to feel a little self-conscious again, and she wondered what she looked like to him in the natural light coming in through the kitchen windows. She wondered if it showed her age.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she finally asked.

  Caleb cocked his head to the side and smiled.

  “Because you’re gorgeous.”

  “Oh, come on. I can’t be that great to look at.”

  “Best thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “You know, all those others mornings I was sneaking glances at you, too. The only difference now is I don’t care if you catch me staring.”

  “But don’t you think I’m too old for you?”

  “I think you’re perfect.”

  “But I’m—”

  “Perfect,” he cut her off. “You’re perfect. Listen, there’s nothing more attractive than a mature woman.”

  “Oh, is that what I am now? Mature.”

  “Maybe that wasn’t the right word. I’m just saying that there’s something very sexy about the fact that you’ve lived a little. Seen and experienced some things, you know. Like, you have some substance to back up your looks. That and you’re just incredibly gorgeous. And I’m not even going to mention how ... um, well, how skilled you are in the sack.”

  Jane felt her heart beating and an ache rising.

  “You’re just trying to get me back into bed,” she said.

  “Definitely so. But I mean it, too. Truth is I was a little nervous last night.”

  “You were?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nervous
why?”

  “Because I wasn’t sure I was experienced enough.”

  Jane smiled and looked down, batting her eyelashes as she ran her finger along the edge of her coffee mug.

  “Well, you maybe could use a little more practice.”

  “Are you offering your services for that?”

  She looked up and smiled flirtatiously.

  “Offering? I’ve been sitting here for ten minutes, making small talk and wondering when you’re going to drag me back to my bed and ravish me.”

  He was up in a flash.

  Her heart hammered in her chest as he led her down the hall by her hand. Her entire body was tingling with excitement, and she felt like she was doing something naughty. But this time he took things slow. He laid her on the bed and kissed her, eventually moving around to nibble on her ear.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

  “Tell me again.”

  “You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful.”

  Then he lifted her arms over her head and peeled off her shirt, exposing her naked breasts. The bedroom curtains were only partially drawn, and sunlight filtered in and landed like liquid gold on her skin. It felt good. Caleb kissed her breasts and smiled up at her. He flicked his tongue across her nipple. Then he moved down and kissed her belly, inching lower and slowly peeling back her sweats, kissing his way down her legs until he stripped the sweats entirely off and tossed them aside. He took her foot in his hands and massaged it.

  “Is this what you had in mind?” he asked.

  “That feels really good,” she moaned, “but I was thinking maybe something a little higher up.”

  He moved his hands past her ankle and massaged her calf.

  “Here?”

  “A little higher.”

  He moved up her leg, leaning down and gently kissing the inside of her thigh.

  “How about now?”

  “You’re almost there.”

  His smile disappeared, and all she could see was his thick hair. She felt her panties pull aside, and she felt his warm tongue on her. A shiver ran down her legs; her toes curled over.