Chapter 24

 

The two young women stood against the dining room wall, staring at Wiley and Buck.

“Lila, Sara, are you okay?”

“I didn't hit you, did I,” Wiley asked, dropping the brick and grabbing Sara's hand. “I thought you were the Klan coming back for more mischief.”

Sara glanced at Lila and grinned. “Lookie here, Miss Lila. These two brave boys were frightened to death of us little ol’ girls. I wonder what we did to scare them so?”

“Lordy Sara, I wish I knew. Maybe they're just a couple of girly men.”

As Wiley and Buck watched with open mouths Sara and Lila rolled with laughter, holding each other to keep from falling down. It was obvious they were both still very inebriated. Lila strutted into the solarium giving Buck's rear a solicitous pat as she strolled past. Her sleek black one-piece bathing suit rivaled Sara's skimpy bikini for pure sex appeal. Bringing a large jug of red wine with them, they spread their towels by the pool.

“Guilty,” Wiley said when Buck gave him a dirty look. “I got them started with the whiskey. They found the wine all by themselves.”

Buck and Wiley returned to the hot tub as Lila and Sara, the half-empty wine jug clearly the cause of their levity, dissolved into another giggling fit. They finally spotted the hot tub.

“Well, look here Sara,” Lila said in the brash voice of a drunken southern belle. “I think we found ourselves a couple of hot tub bunnies.”

Lila's garbled statement caused Sara to giggle even more inanely as she stumbled over to the tub, leaning against it for support. “We're out of luck,” Sara said. They both have their suits on.”

“Maybe we can persuade them to take them off,” Lila said.

“Would you girls like to join us?” Wiley said, his invitation making Buck even more uncomfortable.

“Sara, let’s take a plunge in the tub.”

Grabbing the wine and her towel, Sara followed Lila up the stairs to the redwood tub. Lila squeezed between Wiley and Buck, implanting a sultry kiss fully on Buck's lips as she did. Savoring his stunned look, she said, “Um, Sara, look at these muscles.”

Sara sat the jug and towel on the top of the redwood deck and slithered into Wiley's lap, wrapping her long arms around his neck. “You boys don’t mind a little company do you?” she asked.

“Plenty of room for everybody,” Wiley said.

“Good,” Lila said, removing the cork from the wine bottle. She hefted the bottle over her right shoulder until wine poured from the spout, spilling out the side of her mouth. A mighty hiccup launched Sara into another fit of laughter. “It's warm in here,” Lila said as she untied the straps of her suit.

Like a sultry stripteaser, Lila vamped as she slipped the top of her bathing suit down over her breasts. Wiley grinned and Buck watched in near shock. Wine, burgundy red in muted light, dripped down between her breasts. A single drop hung momentarily suspended from an erect nipple. When she hiccupped again, the motion shook the wine into the water and she grabbed her mouth to hide her foolish grin.

“Sara, you're not going to let me sit here half naked all by myself in front of these sex crazed men, are you?”

Sara untangled herself from Wiley's grip and stood up on the bench. Straddling him, she pulled the bikini straps slowly over her shoulders. After working the tiny bra loose of her breasts she slipped the bottoms down over her shapely legs.

Wiley and Buck stared as only Sara's dark tresses covered her coffee au lait shoulders. When Lila switched on the jets, Sara looked like Venus rising from the foam. To Wiley's embarrassment, she slid slowly back into his lap, her arms encircling his neck. Once in that recumbent position she closed her eyes, the gentle sound of her breathing soon signaling she had either passed out or fallen asleep. Lila wasn't far from doing the same.

Leaving the hot tub, Buck plunged into the swimming pool, the cool water barely calming his ignited ardor. Wiley was busy reviving Sara and Lila, and then helping them out of the tub. Once he had them standing, he draped their shoulders with large towels.

“These two have had enough for tonight,” he said. “After I escort them to their rooms, I'm going home for a little shut eye myself.”

“Good idea,” Buck said.

He completed a slow lap of the pool before trudging upstairs where he undressed and sprawled on the bed's feather mattress. The swimming pool had revived him and he remained awake after turning off the lights and closing his eyes. A half hour had passed when he heard footsteps in the hall.

The outside storm continued, unabated. At first, he thought the noise outside his door was the old lodge creaking in the wind. A turn of the doorknob belied his theory. Someone entered the room and tiptoed toward the bed as he flicked on the lamp.

“Lila, what the devil are you doing?”

“Something I need to tell you,” she said.

Her pale blue nightgown, revealing every not-so-subtle curve, clung to her lithesome frame. Buck had maintained a healthy sexual interest in the lovely Miss Richardson since their first meeting. Now, her near nudity and unexpected appearance in his bedroom sent him into another paroxysm of lust.

“You're a surprise all right,” he said.

Lila dimmed the light and sat beside him on the edge of the bed. “I hope you didn't get the wrong idea about what happened tonight in the hot tub. Sara and I had too much to drink and we're not really the loose women that you may think. I don't wish to lose your respect.”

Respect wasn't what Buck had on his mind, his racing thoughts focused on something else. His memories momentarily returned him to a hot summer night in the back seat of an old Ford. Dressed in her revealing nightgown, he assumed Lila had similar desires in mind. He was wrong. It was, in fact, the furthest thing from her mind and Buck was about to find out.

She kissed him lightly and tried to back away but he pulled her toward him until she was draped across his chest. Her heart was pounding. Warmth and softness emanated from beneath the sheer fabric of her negligee. Still, he sensed her unexpected reluctance after a prolonged kiss.

“Wait,” she said, breathing heavily and struggling to pull away. “Please stop. This isn't why I’m here.” He still didn't get the message. When he reached for her again, she pushed him away and slapped his face. This time it was much sharper than a love tap. “Stop it,” she said.

Free of his grasp, she slid off the bed. Her negligee had fallen to her waist during the short tussle and she pulled the silken garment up over her breasts.

“Lila, I'm sorry. I thought . . .”

“It's all right,” she said, her frown disappearing. “I have to go now.”

She backed out the door into to the hall as Buck remained on the bed, his skin moist from the frenetic moments of intense body heat. Realizing she wasn't returning to her room, his curiosity overcame his shame and he followed her into the hall. Tiptoeing to her room just to make sure she wasn't there, he found her door ajar, the place dark and empty. Something moving downstairs caused him to glance over the railing. It was Lila hurrying toward the front door, still wearing her silken negligee.

Rain continued to fall but now in large, slow drops. Lila didn't seem to notice, the flowing fabric of her gown rippling in the dim light of distant lightning as she moved across the clearing. She made her way to Ray's room at the marina where light radiated from his window. When he opened the door, he quickly embraced her. His ardor was immediately reciprocated, leaving Buck with little doubt of their intentions.