"Yourgirl?"
"Yeah – I mean, if that's okay with you."
She nods, then stretches up to meet me halfway as we lean in for a slow, deep kiss.
Every time our lips connect, I feel fire course through my veins. It's more than simple lust. The feelings I have for Audra are starting to spin out of control. What's more, I'm sure that she is starting to have feelings for me as well. Her tongue tentatively meets mine as the kiss deepens, our hands roaming everywhere, my palm slipping down her back to caress her perky ass.
A car door slams on the far side of the parking lot, causing us to jump apart a few inches. "I'm sorry," she whispers, looking around guiltily.
"Why sorry? It's all my fault. You're too hot for your own good, and apparently I can’t control myself around you."
Her hand lands square in the center of my chest. "Maybe you shouldn’t. Control yourself, I mean."
"Let's see if you still say that after I’ve dragged you out into the middle of nowhere.” I look down to double-check that she’s wearing sturdy hiking boots and has her gear bag. We get buckled in, then drive out of town, toward my house.
"Oh wow," she exclaims, looking around. “You didn't have to pick me up. I could've easily come out to you."
"Not with the way your Jeep is running. Also…" I reach out and squeeze her hand. "I like taking you places."
The drive flies by as we chat about our favorite holiday meals and guilty pleasure junk food. Eventually, I turn off the back road and onto a narrow gravel driveway.
Audra spots the no trespassing signs and looks at me nervously. "Are we allowed to be here?"
"This is the McNiece farm. They’re out west visiting relatives for a month, so I'm keeping an eye on the place."
We drive past the house, garage and new modern barn, then turn down another laneway to an abandoned barn that has seen better days and is practically falling apart before our eyes.
"Last time I walked through here the floor was safe," I explain, lifting her down from the truck. “But please be very careful."
"Um…okay." She eyes up the crumbling structure suspiciously, then follows me inside…though, to be fair, the term "inside" is kind of debatable, since a large chunk of the roof and one wall have completely caved in.
I pause two steps inside the huge open door. "Listen,” I murmur. There’s a rustling coming from what used to be the hayloft.
"What's up there?" she barely breathes.
"Keep still. You'll see."
A few moments later, her fingers dig into my bicep and forearm as an owl swoops down from the top rafter, flies through the barn, then out into the field.
"That's amazing," she whispers. "Do you think we can set up the equipment right here? Or will the sound of them swooping inside the barn cover up their hooting noises?"
"It should be okay," I explain. "Owls fly silently. Microphones don’t pick up any noise from their wings. I saw a thing about it online – scientists are still trying to figure it out."
She grins, looking up at me, that special light again in her pretty, brown eyes.
We spend the next hour watching the owls, recording some of their sounds and just hanging out in the barn and nearby field. We laugh together so easily. Listen to each other's rambling stories so well. I'm definitely not one to chat a lot. Like mybrothers, I'm quiet and reserved. But with Audra, I find myself sharing more than I ever have before.
Listening carefully to Audra's stories of her childhood, it sounds like most of the time she was alone. She rarely mentions her parents, or what they do. I don't like it. The thought of this lovely woman spending so much time by herself as a child makes me feel prickly. Like I should've been there to help, even though I didn't know her yet.
There's an old picnic table beside the barn which is surprisingly clean. She moves her gear over, then we sit.
It's like flipping a switch. One moment we're looking out over the field. The next moment I’ve pulled her into my lap, threading my fingers through her hair as I tilt her mouth to mine. I’m enjoying this new side of myself that she has awoken.
Audra’s hair, her skin, her breathy gasps… Everything about this beautiful girl is so soft. Maybe she's the softness that my life has been missing. My hand skims down the side of her curvy ass, and I feel her inhale sharply. The urge to see her naked sends all my blood rushing to my cock, and I clamp my hand around her hip.
Her eyes sparkle as she pulls back to smile at me. "Whatever you're thinking," she whispers, "I'm thinking the same thing."
My heart pounds. Back in college, women used to throw themselves at me. I wasn't interested. I knew they were only interested in my huge frame and my family name. Everything is different with Audra.