No man she has ever known would have spoken to her in such a way, but in this moment, Hannah found his words, uttered in that deep, compelling voice while his large, heavy body moved over and inside of her, exciting. “You don’t have to last long, Mitch, I’m used…” His hand over her mouth ended her sentence abruptly and even in the semi-darkness she could make out the angry glitter in his chocolate eyes.
“Little word of warning, sweetheart, men, especially me, do not want to hear about your experience with another man, especially not when I’m balls deep inside of you.” When her frown cleared he removed his hand, his irk disappearing as quickly as it came.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I…Oh God!” The feel of his hand wedging between their bodies, his finger exposing her clitoris so his pummeling shaft rubbed repeatedly against it sent her tumbling back into that huge abyss of pleasure so intense it left no room to feel chastised over her blunder right now.
At the feel of her slick walls rippling around his cock, Mitch slid his right hand behind her neck, holding her head still while he grabbed her left thigh, lifting her leg high and wide, keeping her immobile while he increased his thrusts into a pounding rhythm. Confident she was with him, he kissed her as his own orgasm erupted in a spurt of heated pleasure, her soft moan mingling with his deep groan, the old fashioned squeak of the bed almost making him smile against her mouth.
By the time Mitch roused himself, Hannah was stiffening under him again. Rolling to his side, he saw she still had a white knuckled grip on the headboard. Running his hand down her damp body in a way he hoped was soothing, he teased, “You can let go now, Hannah.”
“No, no I really don’t think I can.” She was afraid if she let go she might find out the last hour was a dream, that the most exquisite, intense pleasure she has ever felt hadn’t been real. As long as she was holding on, doing what Mitch told her to, it had to have been real, didn’t it?
Remnants of the stunned look of disbelief on her face when she climaxed were still shadowed in her wide eyes. Hoping to set her at ease, ever mindful of her inexperience and sensibilities, he said lightly, “I smelled something really good when I came over and it wasn’t coming from under your sink. Am I invited for dinner before you boot me out?”
“Oh, of course! You must be hungry…” Her own stomach took that moment to grumble and the smile that spread across Mitch’s face eased her uncertainty over what to do next.
Hannah wiped her damp brow with the back of her ha
nd before yanking on another stubborn weed. She waited until late afternoon before coming out front to work on cleaning out the gardens along the walk, hoping it would be cooler. Even though she was in the shade, she still felt the ninety degree heat, making her question, not for the first time, why she didn’t trade in her traditional Amish garb for more comfortable clothing. After meeting with her first clients last Tuesday, a newly engaged couple, and seeing their skeptical looks based on her attire, she had intended to do some shopping before today to avoid the weekend crowds, but every time she thought of relinquishing yet another part of her roots, she balked and put off the decision. She was already overwhelmed with mixed emotions about indulging in a one-night stand and how desperately she wanted a repeat performance.
There was a lot about dealing with the modern world that left her feeling inadequate and stupid, but nothing so much as last Sunday night. Not only had she been completely out of her element that evening but this past week she had been left to struggle with the newfound knowledge of all that had been missing from her relations with Caleb. She used to think those small tremors she felt with her husband constituted an orgasm, but now she knew they were just a prelude to the big bang.
It bothered her more than she liked to admit that she hadn’t been able to share such pleasure with Caleb, but even more than that, it hurt her that he hadn’t taken the time or effort to see that she was as pleasured as he had been. He had not been a selfish man, but now that she could look back without grief clouding her vision, she could see he not only put his beliefs ahead of hers, but his needs and desires as well.
If all of that wasn’t enough to cope with, it hadn’t taken her long after they ate and Mitch returned home to discover that once wasn’t going to be enough to relieve the invasive, irritating, awesome feelings and sensations she has been struggling with since meeting him. On the contrary, last week only seemed to have exacerbated her situation, had robbed her of the ability to concentrate on anything else for long without the memory of the explosive pleasure he had introduced her to slipping in. As thrilled as she was to have been hired by both the engaged couple and a high school girl to take her senior pictures, as eager as she was to get started, she was still plagued with the desire to have sex with Mitch again, if only to settle her curiosity about whether those phenomenal sensations were due to her long abstinence or if it was possible to erupt into pleasure like that over and over again. It made her uncomfortable to seek a sexual relationship outside of marriage, went against everything she has always believed in, but as Mitch said, they were single and weren’t hurting anyone. She finally decided a repeat performance was necessary before she could decide whether or not she wanted to continue pursuing exploring these new feelings.
The sound of the lawn mower turning off followed by a white truck pulling into her drive to park behind Ethan’s older, red pick-up, had Hannah shoving aside her moral misgivings as she wondered who could be stopping by. Other than her aunt and Patty, Ethan and Mitch, whom she hasn’t seen all week, she didn’t know anyone in Lexington. She definitely didn’t recognize the attractive redhead who greeted Ethan with a hug. A loud, distinctively happy bark from the back seat drew her attention and had her grinning widely when the woman opened the door and the shepherd mix bounded out, practically knocking Ethan over with his enthusiastic greeting.
Brushing her hands down her skirt, she waited as the trio walked over, then pet the dog when he nudged her hand. “Well, hello. Aren’t you a sweetie?”
“Hannah, I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Anna, my sister-in-law, to drop Duke off here instead of taking him out to the farm to wait for me. You wouldn’t know it, but he just got neutered,” Ethan said. The truth was, Mitch had come into the stables when Ethan was talking to Anna about what time to pick Duke up today and it had been his suggestion that Anna drop by Hannah’s, adding it would be nice if Hannah had a female friend to talk to while her aunt was out of town. Anna’s eyes lit with curiosity when Mitch strode off in search of Donovan, and Ethan couldn’t help but tell her about his show of jealousy last week at seeing Ethan leaving Hannah’s so late at night.
“His abundance of energy is why I kept him kenneled overnight. Hi, I’m Anna McGilley. Ethan’s told me a lot about you, all of it having to do with your cooking,” Anna greeted her, taking her outstretched hand and noting the overly conservative dress, lack of any embellishments like make-up or jewelry and, except for a few escaped tendrils, her long, tightly woven hair. Put all together, it was obvious she came from an Amish background, which made Mitch’s interest in her all the more intriguing. “It’s very nice to meet you, Hannah.”
“Young men his age are easy to please when it comes to food. It’s nice to meet you, Anna, and no, Ethan, I don’t mind in the least. I had to leave my collie when I left Ohio and I miss her very much. Are you a vet?”
“I am. That’s how I met my husband, Donovan, one of Ethan’s older brothers. I made a house call when one of his pregnant mares went into pre-mature labor after a few weeks of stress.” At Ethan’s guilty look of discomfort, Anna patted his arm, saying, “Water under the bridge, Ethan. Let it go, your brothers have.”
Hannah sensed a story there, but wasn’t one to pry. Instead, she told Ethan, “Speaking of food, I need to check on my meat loaf. Bring your dog in and I’ll find some scraps for him. He deserves a treat after what he’s been through.” Not wanting to be rude, she turned to Anna, extending her invitation. “There’s plenty if you’d like to join us.”
“Great idea, Hannah. Donovan won’t be back from delivering that filly until tomorrow, will he?” Ethan asked Anna just as Mitch pulled into his drive. Plotting quickly, he asked Hannah, “Do you have enough for four?” Ethan wasn’t above taking advantage of circumstances in order to see if there was anything going on between Mitch and Hannah.
“Oh, of course. Mitch is more than welcome to join us.”
Just what she needed, Hannah thought as she watched Mitch stride over at Ethan’s wave, her body sitting up and taking notice of his perspiration damp navy blue tee shirt that clung to his broad shoulders and hard as a rock chest and tight jeans that did nothing to disguise the strength in his muscled thighs when he walked. As if her fantasies about their one evening together weren’t enough to disturb her on a very basic level, she now had to sit across the table from him and act like they were just friendly neighbors with no intimate knowledge of each other. She doubted her ability to pull that off successfully. It went against her moral fiber to be deliberately deceitful, but more than that, if obsessing over that one encounter this past week without seeing him had left her flustered and unsure, what would being near him again do?
Ethan and Anna shared a knowing look as Hannah’s eyes clung to Mitch, her face reflecting chagrin as well as longing. Anna knew what she was thinking because it hadn’t been that long ago that she had the same reaction whenever she saw Donovan. She suspected Hannah was raging an inner war against what she had always believed was good and bad sexual behavior, a war she knew from experience wouldn’t be fought, and won, with one battle.
Chapter Five
Mitch’s first reaction at seeing Hannah again when he pulled into his drive had been a warm, pleasant feeling that eased the stress of his day followed swiftly by a surge of lust so powerful it fucking took his breath away. The hour he spent with her over dinner last week after they had sex, listening to her excitement over starting her photography business, studiously avoiding any mention of sex to help ease her discomfort, had been as hard as leaving her with a simple ‘good night’. Staying away from her all week had been difficult, but not nearly as difficult as trying to forget the way she looked when she climaxed for, unbelievably, the first time. Just the memory of the glazed look in her fey eyes as she stared up at him in shock followed so swiftly by stunned surprise at the profound pleasure sweeping through her could make him hard, make him sweat for want of her. But he had to remember, had to keep telling himself, it was a one-time thing. She had been curious about what she had been taught was forbidden, he had satisfied her curiosity, in spades, and now they needed to go back to being neighborly, if for no other reason than to preserve his fucking sanity. Because once had not been enough for him. One hour of vanilla sex with Hannah was like eating the cherry off the top of an ice cream sundae and leaving the decadent tastes of sweet caramel, warm fudge, salty nuts and cold, creamy ice cream for someone else to indulge in. A sweet appetizer that left him craving more. And when that analogy had him seeing red, he knew he was in deep shit.
When Ethan waved him over, he wasn’t happy about it. Instead of strapping on a tool belt and joining his crew after lunch today like he usually did, he spent the afternoon in his trailer office dealing with red tape on back logged orders and permits. He much preferred physical labor to desk work, but some things could only be handled by him. Instead of thinking about alleviating his irritation and edginess at the club this evening, he found himself walking next door with more anticipation than he usually got from planning out a scene.
He was pleased Anna had stopped by. He hoped the two of them would hit it off well enough to eventually become friends. With Mary and Patty gone for another two months, Hannah didn’t have anyone to talk to if she needed to vent or get advice on something personal she wasn’t accustomed to dealing with, like awesome orgasms that her husband had failed to give her for ten years. That one still boggled his mind, but not enough to pursue a relationship, even a temporary one, with someone who was so unsuitable for his desires. Ignoring the contradiction between that thought and his anticipation at seeing Hanna
h again, he smiled at the three of them before scratching Duke behind his ears.
“What’s going on?” He directed his question to the three of them, but his eyes stayed on Hannah. What the hell was it about her that had him so twisted up in knots at seeing her again? She stood there in another God awful skirt streaked with dirt and a garden stained white blouse, loose tendrils of hair that had once again escaped the tight confines of her plait clinging to her neck, her damp face smudged and those silvery/blue eyes devouring him and he wanted to strip her right here, pound into her wet heat over and over, staking his claim in front of Ethan and Anna. The primitive, uncharacteristic thought made him take a step back, as if physical distance could keep him from lusting after her. He knew coming over here was a bad idea.