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AS HAZEL WOKE THE NEXT morning she was again serenaded by the distant sounds floating in from the bay and that soft breeze carrying the beguiling aromas of lemon and sea spray, surrounding her in a tantalizing enticement to get up and meet the day.
The scent of the jasmine cascading over a nearby wall was almost overwhelming in its seductiveness, and she could feel herself falling back through the years in her attitudes and her reserve. The chill of her London solitude was definitely drifting away.
She was feeling much more the way she used to in her late twenties, and she wondered if her resignation to acknowledge the passing years with a tempering of her ego might not have been a bit premature.
This morning she was feeling young and vibrant, and she liked that feeling a lot.
Coming out of the marbled bathroom after her shower, with hair still damp, she slipped on a pretty floral dress and wedge sandals that showed off that pleasing bit of golden tan she had already acquired, reasoning that her hair would dry in the heat of the morning sun without any problem.
She checked herself in the full-length mirror.
The lean bare legs in the short, flared skirt and the carelessly tousled hair lent her an edgy, defiant allure, and with a bit of a start she recognized someone she used to know very well years ago – and that person was, modesty aside, pretty hot.
It was a buzz. She was young again and not just in her head. She was rocking that dress, there was no question, and she knew she was about to rock Jeffrey’s world.
A final check of her hair, and she turned to waltz through the living room area with its plush sofas and tasteful art pieces, and out onto the terrace where Jeffrey was already pouring her a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, having sensed her progress through the suite.
Smiling, he stood to offer her the glass, and she could see his broad shoulders outlined against the deep blue of the bay behind him. The sun was flooding the terrazza in golden light, a feast of ripe fruit and crispy local pastries awaited her, and the birds were singing even more in tune this morning.
“Good morning, Hazel. How did you sleep?”
Jeffrey watched her settle into her chair and was taken by the challenge in her demeanour. She looked extremely sexy, and he felt slightly thrown off his confident stride by the powerful allure she was exuding.
Hazel smiled a confident awareness in her reply and watched his face for signs.
“I slept fine ... it’s very invigorating this place, isn’t it?”
She stretched, slightly arching her back to pull her shoulders back, tightening her stomach and lifting her breasts to good effect. It was a fluid, natural move, but it arrested Jeffrey’s attention in an overt appreciation.
“Well, you do look rested, I’ll say that. We must take you on boat rides more often if this is the result ... you look absolutely fabulous!”
His eyes were speaking volumes, but the words were a nice confirmation, and Hazel was revelling in having back that special power that can make men do and say silly things. But she wasn’t a tease, and she wasn’t toying with him. She was just so happy to be feeling as she did, and she knew that it was all down to Jeffrey.
They watched the colourful boats slowly cross the bay in their decorative way, not knowing or caring about their exact purpose but thinking that they looked great. Maybe they were fishing boats and maybe they were taking tourists here and there, but whatever the case, they were the perfect complement to the glorious scene before them.
“So, Hazel, do you want to go shopping today?” Jeffrey was hoping she would say ‘no’.
Hazel heard the courtesy in his question, but she could also sense his preference spilling out and into his eyes.
“Why don’t we take a day off from going out and just laze here by the plunge pool? I’d like to work on my tan.”
Hazel was pretty sure it was what he wanted to hear, and with some amusement she watched his eyes try to conceal his relief.
“Sounds good. Okay then, the plunge pool it is.”
* * * * *
BACK IN HER BEDROOM after breakfast, Hazel searched out her swimsuit.
The one-piece was brand new. She had tried it on a couple of times just to check but had never worn it in public. It fit, thankfully, she thought. Yes it fit, and with the bit of tan she already had, it would do. One more time she checked in the full-length mirror the view that Jeffrey would have, turning to see that her hips had thankfully stayed where she had left them some years ago.
Outside, the sun was high now, and the heat was bringing on that indefinable sound that one detects in hot places. It rides on the warm air like a faint, brittle, ever-present crackle. Was it crickets, or was it the plants bursting out in response to the sun’s call, or was it just the clarity of the day, with not a cloud in the sky to dull the sound of burgeoning life?
Hazel walked out into that heat, and onto the beautiful hand-painted terracotta tiles decorating the deck around their private pool. It was open to the sun but shielded on all sides by vegetation.
She could feel Jeffrey’s eyes follow her hips, which had somehow suddenly and mysteriously acquired a bit of a continental swing. She privately relished the effect she was having but schooled her features to an expression of unaware innocence.
She was just north of Copa Cabana now, and she had no idea how she had got there, but she was enjoying the benefits.
Jeffrey’s eyes were easy to read, and she felt more than complimented by his appraisal.
“Wow! That is some swimsuit ... if I may be so bold as to say, without being too overt or offensive, ... that is one hot swimsuit.” He smiled his sincere appreciation, and Hazel knew the road they were travelling down was a one-way street.
She sat down on the pool deck surround with feet dipping into the invitingly cool refuge from the sun’s heat. The water felt silky to the touch, and it inclined her to slip over the edge and sink into its welcoming embrace.
Jeffrey took his cue to join her from the other end, and Hazel watched as he swam towards her, mesmerized by the rippling play of his muscles.
The heat of the day was brilliantly encouraging, and Jeffrey was feeling all the sensations any man would feel in such a situation start to manifest, but he cautioned himself, remembering Hazel’s history and her loss.
“This is glorious, Jeffrey. I mean, this is just a slice of paradise!”
Hazel had resurfaced, and Jeffrey couldn’t help notice how the water had drawn the fabric of her swimsuit tight against her body, outlining every beautiful curve and contour.
She caught his look and realized that he was being incredibly well-behaved, but she knew she wanted to allow him his natural instincts. She had decided today would be the day.
She moved a little closer to him by way of encouragement, and he just had to say it. “You’re driving me crazy with that bathing suit and ... oh, you know what I mean. You know what I want, I’m sure you can see it in my eyes.”
He searched her face for an answer, not with pleading but with an honesty that was completely disarming.
Hazel stood up halfway out of the shallow depth, the water drawing that suit even tighter against her breasts. “Yes, I suppose I know what you’re thinking, and I think I might have a solution to the problem.”
She leant back enticingly against the pool wall and reached her arms out for him to walk into.
As they embraced, he could feel every part of her moulded against his own body. Her cheek now touching his, she brushed her lips against his ear and whispered, “Yes, I want it too.”
She held his broad back and felt those gorgeous muscles tense as he kissed her and started to peel the wetness of her suit from her body. Her bare breasts against his chest felt like the most natural thing in the world, and the sun’s heat confirmed the folly of their clothing.
Her one-piece came off easily in the water, and she felt like the original woman in paradise.
Their kisses deepened, and their hands started to explore and experiment in mutual discovery of their intimate sensitivities. Hazel’s body responded with searing heat to his touch, and Jeffrey felt the approach of his point of no return.
“That yes was a real yes?” he huskily whispered in search of permission.
“It was,” she purred back to him. “You have my definite and complete yes.”
For the first time in a very long time, Hazel felt the swell of emotion as a man entered her kingdom and asked to be made king.
The flood of sensations was immense, and she swam in a sea of delight, happily drowning in her sensuous reawakening.
She was having sex in a gorgeous pool in the sultry heat of southern Italy, and she was revelling in the power of manhood and in Jeffrey’s obvious intensity of feeling.
His fluid motions set the water in a rhythmical ebb and flow, the liquid caress intensifying their pleasure. She started to feel his momentum build and smiled contentedly that she could still elicit such force, from such a suitor. She felt deliciously wicked in her power.
Jeffrey was on fire and, with each soft moan, Hazel fanned the flames of their passionate union until, with a final unstoppable surge, their shared journey came to a glorious end of all the torrents of temptation she had engendered. Spent but fulfilled, he relaxed into her comforting arms, and looked into her eyes to see them glowing with affection.
They rested together for a little while, locked in a tight embrace against the pool wall, smiling at each other in their contentment, and then she felt Jeffrey slowly and suggestively slide down her body and submerge beneath the surface.
A shock of pleasure surprised her with its intensity of arousal, and she braced herself to withstand the surge of delicious sensations. She felt Jeffrey hold her thighs as she sought to steady herself, and her head spun as he brought her to a place she thought she would never visit again. And then he took her farther.
Her body signalled its approach to her sensory overload. There was no holding back now. She was succumbing to his pleasing, and with his hands firmly holding her hips, she pulsed violently to the dictates of her climactic apex.
They clung together as they drew from their climax the deliciously intimate privacy of the moment, and Hazel melted against Jeffrey’s chest in confirmation of their passionate unity.
Her breathing quietened slowly as she descended from the summit, and her shivers of delight became a soft embrace in his arms. She felt the soothing calm of the water and the languorous embrace of the sun hold her still in her corner of paradise.
“I suppose there is some upside to having a bit more experience under one’s belt,” she teased him gently, batting her eyelids in obvious suggestion.
“Oh yes ... quite a lot of upside.” Jeffrey let his fingertips drift across her skin, and he watched her eyes close in pleasure and her body register a soft pulse of aftershock.
“I think I’d like to do this kind of thing more often,” Jeffrey said, broaching the subject on his mind and testing the waters. “Do you think you might like living at the Albany?” he asked.
Hazel opened her eyes wide to look at him properly and, behind his casual humour, there was a thoughtful gaze of exploration and hope.
“Are you asking me to move in with you, Mr Moncrieff?” Hazel could see the shy seriousness in his eyes.
“Yes, I suppose I am.” Jeffrey kissed her again passionately, leaving her in no doubt. “Of course I am.”
