Clifford Arbor: The Seduction of Raven Peters (4 page)

"Aren’t you with Harley?" It was the only sensible thought she allowed herself to think.

"You don’t want me?"

Raven noticed he evaded the answer and tensed.

****

Jackson instantly released her the moment she tensed. He didn’t do unwilling women and he’d never hurt a woman. Damn it! If he couldn’t find the will to hurt a lying, manipulative bitch like Patricia, he was never going to risk hurting Raven. Especially when she smelled so delightful. Harley was right. They’d found their woman. The possessive nature he felt overwhelmed him. The desire to pick her up, take her home and keep her there, loving, fucking and having babies, was incredibly strong. Being in her company he could already sense how genuine this woman was. Her innocence, her love. Insane. It should be insane but it felt so right. The assurance was scarier than anything he’d ever felt before.

This was more than a chemical attraction. This was fate, destiny, whichever word you wanted to use to paint the picture. This was it.

It came as no surprise she was concerned about Harley. If only she knew how much Harley would love to see this. The horny bastard would be getting off on it.

Thinking about Harley sent Jackson’s cock into overdrive. She would look amazing between them. He wondered if she had large nipples or small, red or pink in color. Did she have dimples above the curve of her ass? Did she wax? The images kept on coming making the bulge in his jeans tighten. He wanted to reach down and adjust himself but he didn’t want to appear vulgar in front of her. What she thought of him really bothered him. He never usually cared for a woman’s opinion. Why now?

Jackson brought his palm up to cup her cheek, gently stroking, loving the smoothness of her skin and watched her eyes widen. She didn’t pull away. Instead Raven gazed at him watching, waiting. His hand moved down and rested on her neck and he could feel the rapid beat of her pulse. The flush of arousal moved up her chest and neck giving her a glowing radiance. Giving him a signal that her body was his and he could demand anything from her.

"I don’t know you very well," Raven’s voice invaded his thoughts, stopping his hand from moving down her body to the delightful swell of her breast. He pressed his head against hers relishing her smell. He brought his other hand up so both hands delicately cupped her face.

He gazed into her eyes, holding her in place as feelings of nervousness and that other emotion he knew so well, desire, overtook him. It would seem Raven was affected by him as well. Even without Harley present.

"Do you think sex has anything to do with how long a person knows you?" Jackson asked.

Big mistake. Too soon. He saw and felt her withdraw from him. Her hands covered his where they lay on her neck. He felt her getting ready to pry away. But he wasn’t ready to let go.

"It takes more than a sexy neighbor to show me some attention for me to jump into bed.

What’s the matter, not enough single women around here for you? Or are you test driving the new girl before someone else gets in there?" Raven pulled his hands away and stepped back, the flush on her skin betraying her words.

"Whoa." Jackson held his hands up. He'd really hit a nerve. "I meant nothing by it." This was why Harley talked to women. He always knew what to say, always charmed women out of their pants. Jackson on the other hand, seemed to scare women away. Suddenly he wished he had the ease Harley possessed with women. He could use some of that charisma with Raven. Usually his dark aloofness intrigued women or maybe it was the promise of being with Harley.

They had an agreement within their relationship-no women unless both were present. It worked. Jackson began to wonder how many women had actually wanted him and how

many were only interested in him to get to Harley. Usually women were attracted to his brooding. He would fuck them and share them with Harley, but with this woman he wanted to single himself out. To show her not only would he be good as part of a ménage, but he’d be good as a man himself. A single entity. That she could trust him.

"Raven, I..."

He didn’t get the chance to finish.

"Is that Jackson Cole I hear?" Beatrice interrupted.

"Yes, it’s me, Beatrice." Jackson looked at Raven one last time. Hating the anger and hurt he’d caused her, he offered an apology. "I’m sorry," he muttered and went towards the front of the shop where the older lady stood behind the counter clucking her tongue.

"Well are you going to come and see me, boy, or are you going to keep molesting my pretty assistant?"

Beatrice could put anyone at ease and Jackson laughed out loud turning to see Raven’s blush change to one of embarrassment as she sneaked past him up to the desk, putting the older woman and the desk between them.

"She’s a hard person not to molest, but I’l keep my greedy man hands in my pockets." He shoved them down into the confines of his jeans, a good excuse to adjust his cock. Besides, if he didn’t keep his hands busy, he would have reached out to stroke her hair. Raven’s hair seemed to shine and glow at him. Full dark strands, it called to him to sink his hands in its depths.

"She is pretty. I’m sure that’s why we’re getting more male visitors here. The two Jeffrey boys were here the other day asking all sorts of questions about Raven. Completely besotted. Anyway, I’m old school so anything to get visitors in here and I’m ready to exploit it."

Beatrice didn’t notice how Jackson fisted his hands at the mention of the other two men who were known for sharing their women. Two brothers with a reputation for loving them and leaving them. He didn’t want to even imagine Raven between those two. She was his. His and Harley’s. She deserved something better than two men who were going to use her.

"I can only imagine," he managed to squeeze out but in truth he didn’t want to waste his time imagining this woman with anyone else but him and Harley.

Jackson noticed how uncomfortable Raven became at the mention of the other two who’d taken notice of her. For some reason he felt she didn’t want the other two and their persistence bothered her. He and Harley would soon put a massive stop to that. One good thing about Clifford Arbor, no man pissed on another's territory or took another man's woman. Raven was about to be marked in a big fucking way.

"I got to go." He smiled at both women, his eyes lingering on Raven. This Friday she would be all theirs.

"Now there goes a man who knows how to please a woman and I’m not just talking about in the bedroom, dearie. Just looking at him gives me joy." Beatrice shook her head humming in appreciation.

Raven couldn’t believe it. She laughed out loud. It was the first time she’d heard Beatrice speak about a man.

"He’s one of my neighbors." A note of pride entered Raven’s tone.

"You could do far worse."

"How do you know him?" Raven asked, looking at the cash register trying to pretend she wasn’t at all interested.

"I’ve lived here my whole life and so has Jackson. Not always been a nice boy I admit, but life has straightened him out like it always does."

Raven wanted to know more.

"What straightened him out?"

"Nothing that I’d like to talk about. I’m not a gossip. I just know he’s dealt with some serious issues and it’s nice to see him happy with Harley."

Raven thought she saw Beatrice eyeing his ass. It really was a nice ass but to see this woman eyeing it made Raven want to cover the other woman’s eyes. That ass was hers.

Not yet but it would be hers. Whoa, where the hell did her thoughts come from today?

"I tell you, dearie, if I was thirty, no make it twenty years younger, I’d have that boy for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still have time for dessert and snacks in between."

Raven laughed at her, struggling to see this little woman eating such a large man.

"No laughing, Raven. In my day I was a right tart. I loved men and they loved me. It’s just a shame. My honey bee came to me so early in life."

Beatrice referred to her much loved husband. They’d been husband and wife for forever and in love even longer. Raven had seen them from time to time and even now they looked at each other as if the rest of the world ceased to exist. Love shone out of the couple and it was spellbinding to see. Raven hoped one day she’d have a man like that and still feel the same after forty years of marriage.

"What else do you know about Jackson?" Raven found herself asking, cringing at the enthusiasm she displayed.

"Interested are we?"

"He’s my neighbor and you just got me all interested by talking about him." Raven pointed out, poking a finger at Beatrice and the door which the man in question had just vacated.

"How gorgeous he is?"

"Come on, Beatrice I’m being serious."

"Alright, alright. Give an old woman a break."

"Beatrice, you’re not an old woman. You know that. I know that so don’t try to bamboozle me. I know you," Raven told her.

Beatrice stuck out her tongue making Raven laugh.

"Jackson is just a hard man through and through. He’s always been with his friend Harley and always will. I don’t know if they’re a couple, dearie, so don’t ask. I just know they’re the best of friends and like some friends, they do a little sharing along the way," Beatrice replied.

"Sharing?"

"I’m not blind or stupid or a prude. I thought you knew me better," Beatrice chided. "Sharing a woman. You know, two men, one woman. Blah, blah, blah."

"I know what you mean, Beatrice."

"They’re good men. Any woman would be blessed to have them. They deserve it, too. Hard working. You have to get use to stuff round Clifford. We protect our own and we don’t gossip."

Raven was under no illusion about Clifford Arbor. People here were a nice and friendly bunch but they gossiped with each other, about each other and it seemed to be the given thing for a small sea side town.

Beatrice went out the back leaving Raven to think about her two neighbors and what hadn’t been said about Jackson. Sharing? Did the men of Clifford Arbor share their women?

Raven began to think of all the couples she’d seen but she couldn’t put any sharing couples together. Maybe that was the point. Clifford Arbor appreciated its privacy and accepted the way people lived no matter what they did in their private lives. Harley and Jackson, to be sandwiched between such masculinity was appealing. Would she even survive a night of being with them? Would they want to share her? Two men devoted to one female body.

Tingles of delight worked through her system. To have those two men work her over would be truly sensational. What about if they were a couple? Would she want to see them working on each other? The answer quickly came to her. Raven could feel her pussy convulse. The image of Jackson and Harley together sent her through the roof.

"So, a little bird told me you accosted the delightful Raven at the book store." Harley dumped his shopping bags on the kitchen table questioning his friend at the same time.

Jackson sat at the table reading the paper, drinking a bottle of beer.

Beer. He could use one of those. Harley reached into the fridge grabbing a bottle and opening it. He joined his friend at the table, waiting for an answer. He continued to stare knowing Jackson would soon budge.

Any minute now.

Harley wondered what it was like being so close to Raven. To have her in his grasp. In truth, Harley felt a little envious. To have a rounded, beautiful woman in your arms. To be that close.

"All right, all right. I went to Beatrice’s book shop to apologize for my scowling this morning.

You mentioned it. I didn’t want her to feel on the edge on Friday when she came round for dinner." Jackson closed the paper but didn’t look up.

"And?"

"And I may have upset her."

"How the hell could you upset her in such a short period of time?"

"I said something about sex and she freaked. Closed down like a block of ice. The way she reacted we wouldn’t have a single problem with global warming if you had that woman near," Jackson said.

"What the hell did you say?" Harley straddled a chair, facing him, resting his chin on his arms which crossed the back of the chair.

"Some stupid shit about not needing to know each other to have sex..." Jackson trailed off.

Harley could see how upset he was but he refused to comfort him. Right now Jackson didn’t need comfort.

"What did she do?"

"Froze. Started accusing me of planning some sort of test drive for the new girl. Try her out before anyone else got a chance with her. I want her Harley. She’s the one."

****

Never before had Jackson been so sure of anything. All day her face plagued his thoughts.

Her happiness and joy at seeing and talking with Harley this morning and her upset at thinking all he wanted to do was to test drive her. Not going to happen.

At lunch he sought out the two Jeffrey boys, Carl and Edward, warning them away from his woman. Serious bodily harm would come to either of them if they didn’t leave her alone and Jackson would know. There were people in town that cared for him and would do anything to make sure he never got hurt by anyone again. People would watch out for Jackson's interests.

It was just a relief. Beatrice liked him. She would keep Raven safe and he’d even phoned her when he knew Raven had left for the day to try and convince her to give him some information about the woman he and Harley had fallen in love with. He knew in his gut Harley felt the same way.

What the hell was going on?

No one should have this effect on a man no matter how well stacked or good looking they were.

"I want her, too. Carl Jeffrey came by to see me and told me what you threatened. He came to confirm I felt the same way about the delectable Raven Peters and to double check I would slice of his balls and feed them to the fish if he came near her." Harley smiled.

"She’s ours, Harley. Surely you feel it, too. Do you? Want her in your life, in your bed?"

Jackson needed to be sure, needed to hear the verbal reassurance.

"Yes."

"Do you love her?"

"I know I shouldn’t feel this way but after watching her for a month and finally talking to her, I know I can call it lust and love at first sight. I hope she wants us both." Harley went off deep in thought.