Passionate Pleasures (8 page)

“Good grief!” Kathryn exclaimed. Then she added, “Poor Rowdy.”

Dickens the cat now stepped nonchalantly from beneath the bush, and while Rowdy practically clung to Tim the feline strolled down the brick walkway. Kathryn could have sworn it had a smug smile upon its face.

“I guess I’ve caused enough excitement for today,” Tim Blair said with a smile.

She noticed that the smile extended all the way to his eyes, and that his teeth were even. What was the matter with her? Kathryn thought. She wasn’t a woman to assess a man’s good and bad points as if he were a race-horse. “Rowdy can’t help it that cats scare him,” Kathryn said. She reached out to pat the dog. “He’s a good fellow. You’ve got a good house for a dog. I hear you rented the Torkelsen place. It has a lovely backyard. Martha was a sweet woman. She always returned her books on time, and brought us produce from her garden every summer.”

“The garden’s overgrown right now, but I’ll start it up again next summer,” he said. “I like fresh vegetables,” Tim told her. He wondered what she would look like with that hair of hers loose and falling over her shoulders. And those breasts of hers were perfect. Just how old was she? “Rowdy and I had better get going,” he finally said. “The week is half gone, and I’ve got to prepare to meet my staff next Monday morning. Can I get a library card for myself? I’m a reader when I have the time.”

“What genre, or are you non-fiction?” she asked.

“Most fiction genres, and non-fiction,” he told her.

“I’ll have a card ready for you next time you come by the library,” Kathryn said. She’d know soon enough what he liked to read, she thought, and then wondered why the hell she would possibly care. “Good-bye, Mr. Blair.”

“Good day, Miss St. John,” he responded, and untying the leash, he walked off, Rowdy bouncing along by his side.

Kathryn watched him go.
Nice butt,
she thought, and then chuckled. She had been assessing him the whole time he was with her. She couldn’t recall the last time a man had interested her enough to look him over. And maybe it was just because he was new in town. Probably that was it. She walked back into the library where Mavis was waiting eagerly for Kathryn to tell all.

“Well?” her best friend asked.

“Well, what? He apologized for the other day in the IGA parking lot. I apologized in return. We talked about the summer reading program. He wants a library card.”

“That’s it?” Mavis said.

“He’s got a nice butt,” Kathryn replied.

Mavis laughed. “That’s a rare commentary from you,” she said. “Usually it’s the men salivating over your butt.”

Kathryn grinned. “Yeah. Go figure!”

“You like him,” Mavis said.

“I hardly know him, but yes, I think he’s a nice guy,” Kathryn admitted. “Now let me go and eat my yogurt. I’ve got Rina Seligmann coming in to discuss a possible family program for the autumn at two.” She turned without another word and went back to her office. Pulling the foil lid off of her boysenberry yogurt, she took a spoon from her desk and began to eat. To her surprise her mind wandered back to Timothy Blair. Well, he was cute. No,
cute
wasn’t the right word, nor was
handsome.
His good looks, however, exuded the kind of masculinity she hadn’t seen in a long while. Or maybe she hadn’t been out of Egret Pointe in a while. Usually single women were left pretty much to their own devices in a small town, but she never had been. She had a lot of friends, her own age, older and younger. She actually had a social life when she chose to have one.

But the men in her life were all married with few exceptions. And until now she hadn’t cared. And why did she suddenly care now?

Rina Seligmann arrived unannounced. “You’re thinking,” she said as she came into Kathryn’s office and sat down in a chair. “Is that good?”

Kathryn laughed. “Dumb abstract thoughts,” she said.

“Sam and I had a rather interesting idea,” Rina began. “We thought it might be a good idea to do a family-oriented program during the Jewish holidays. Explain the different dates for the different new years worldwide. Show how they are similar, and how they are different, how some are tied in with the harvest and others not, and why.”

“What a great idea!” Kathryn agreed. “Ignorance about other cultures and faiths is the basis of prejudice, I’m certain. A program such as you’re suggesting shows how alike we actually are despite our differences. Yes! Tell me the date you want, and make it so, Rina. I love stuff that brings a light into the darkness.”

“I heard the new Middle School principal was in the library today. I also heard you two had a dust-up in the IGA parking lot on Monday.” Rina chuckled.

“It was a misunderstanding, more on my part actually. Here was this adorable shaggy dog howling its heart out in a locked car. Without checking out the situation, I barreled into the market and demanded to know who had left their dog in a locked car on a sunny August afternoon. Turns out the windows in the car were open, the dog had a water dish, and was just howling because he was scared. Mr. Blair put me quite firmly in my place.” She smiled. “Then he came in this morning to apologize, so I apologized too, and we got to talking about the summer reading program.”

“Mavis has high hopes,” Rina teased as she stood up, preparing to leave.

“Mavis should stop trying to get me married off. I’m too young to get married,” Kathryn said with a grin.

Rina chortled.

“Do you know how he ended up here in Egret Pointe?” Kathryn was curious.

“I think Joe Pietro d’Angelo had something to do with it. Ask him,” Rina said. “I gotta run. I promised Emily I’d babysit Sean Michael while she runs to the obstetrician. Sam will be tickled you like the idea. Later!”

When Rina had left, Kathryn picked up the phone and dialed the law offices of Johnson and Pietro d’Angelo. “Tell me about Timothy Blair,” she said to Joe Pietro d’Angelo when he came on the line.

“What do you want to know?”

“How did he end up in Egret Pointe?” Kathryn said.

“My cousin, Ray, in the city suggested him. They play squash together, and Ray knew he wasn’t happy where he was.”

“Why not?”

“No chance for advancement. The guy is forty-three, Kathy. He was the assistant headmaster. The head was your age, and he was going to hang in for a long time. So when Ray and Rose were here over the Memorial Day weekend, and Mrs. Riley dropped her bombshell, I knew we were going to need a new guy. Ray said his squash partner might be just the person for us. I asked Ray to have his friend get in touch with us if he was interested. He was. He came out and interviewed with the board just before the end of June. He’s got degrees up the wazoo, including one in administration and management. He had the experience. We liked him, so we offered him the job.”

“You offered him a job before you did a thorough background check?” Kathryn asked. “Was that wise, Joe?” She was surprised. Joe Pietro d’Angelo was usually a lot more careful than that. “I know the school board was hesitant to pick someone already in their employ for a lot of reasons, but to just hire a stranger seems chancy.”

“We did our background check before he even interviewed,” Joe told her. “We figured if we liked the guy and everything checked out, we had better hire him while we could get him. Timothy Blair is clean as a whistle. Never been arrested, not even for speeding. Never been married, but not gay. He was engaged once but she was killed in a hit-and-run accident. When his mother died, he came home to look after his father. That was his life for the last couple of years. Taking care of his old man, and working. Adopted the dog he has as a puppy from friends right after his dad died.”

“What did his parents do?” Kathryn couldn’t help herself. She wanted to know all she could about Timothy Blair, although she didn’t really understand why she was so interested in the man.

“His father was the senior partner in Ray’s firm until he retired. His mother remained at home. Did a lot of charity work. The family was very social,” Joe said. His eyes twinkled. “How come you’re so interested, Kathy?” He wished he could see her face right now.

“No particular reason,” she lied, and knew he knew it.

“Well, that’s all I can tell you, but I’ll ask Ray for more details if you want,” he teased her, grinning to himself as he imagined her pale cheeks coloring with a blush. Red-heads really glowed when they blushed.

“No, I was just curious. He seemed very nice, and liked my summer reading program,” Kathryn said. “Thanks for filling me in on Mr. Blair, Joe. Say hi to Tiffany for me.” Then without waiting for him to reply she hung up the phone. From what Joe had told her she suspected the Middle School was very fortunate in their new principal, but of course only time would tell.

The afternoon wore on. There was a library board meeting at six. Kathryn ate a sandwich, some salad, and iced tea before returning to the library. She then reported on the meeting her staff had had regarding the Christmas Book Fair. The board loved the idea of costumes and food, agreeing it would probably bring in more money than they would spend, especially if they could get some of the edibles donated, and the costumes were loaned for free. A committee was formed to handle that part of the event. The meeting broke up a little before eight P.M.

Kathryn fed Dickens, the library cat, before locking up. Dickens had his own cat door, and came and went at his leisure.

The cottage was stuffy, but Kathryn had turned the air conditioner on in her bedroom before she returned to the library for her meeting. She would open the windows downstairs in the morning. She considered which of the scenarios she had programmed into The Channel she would run tonight. Something simple. She just wanted some plain sex. Nothing involved. She showered first, and then climbed naked into her bed. Taking her remote, she pressed the OPEN button, and the doors on the cabinet opposite her bed swung open, revealing her large flat-screen television. Then she pressed the F button, smiling as she did so.

She was a maiden in a sealed tower with a witch’s-cap slate roof. Sitting on an upholstered bench at her dressing table, she brushed her long golden hair with a silver brush. It was night, and outside her tower a nightingale began to sing. The air was perfumed with the fragrant roses that climbed the stone walls of her tower.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”

Surprised by the sound of a masculine voice, she rose and went to the window. He stood in the shadows of the forest that surrounded the small clearing in which her tower was located. She could not yet see his face, but she could see he was tall and sturdy of limb. He had come before, but she had ignored his pleas. Had not the old witch who raised her warned her about the evil of men? Tonight, however, she found she was lonely. And she was curious too.

He called to her again. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”

“Why?” she asked him, leaning upon the window’s slate sill. “Why do you want me to let down my hair to you?”

“There is no door to your tower, Rapunzel. If you let down your hair I will use it to climb up to you,” he said.

“Why do you want to climb up to me?” she asked innocently.

“Why, so I may make love to you, Rapunzel. I will kiss your lips, stroke your breasts, and then I will put my cock in your sweet cunny so we may fly away to paradise,” he told her. “I can make you happier than you have ever been.”

Rapunzel considered his words, but before she could make her decision she had to know who he was. “Who are you?” she asked him.

“I am a king’s son, a prince, Rapunzel. Only my cock is worthy of you,” he told her. “I am called Everhard by name.”

Prince Everhard
. What a beautiful name it was, the maiden thought dreamily, and tempted by his sweet words and deep, sexy voice, Rapunzel lifted the great heavy length of her hair, which had never been cut in all her sixteen years, over the sill. It fell down the length of the tower, touching the grassy ground below. Her prince immediately sprang out of the shadows, and grasping the long tresses, began his climb to her chamber. Reaching her, he vaulted over the sill, taking her into his arms to kiss her.

Their clothing magically disappeared. They were both quite naked. She slid immediately to her knees before him, taking up his great long cock, licking the length of it slowly, slowly, finally taking it into her mouth to suckle upon it, her tongue rotating about it. When he was suitably hard he drew her up into his arms again, kissed her once, and then bent her over the sill of the window. She felt his cock sliding into her cunt, filling her full, and Rapunzel moaned with unadulterated pleasure.

He pushed her hair aside, revealing the delicate nape of her neck. “Ahh,” he said softly, kissing it deeply, “you are so deliciously tight, my love.”

“Go deep, and fuck me hard, my prince,” she told him. “That is what I want of you tonight. Good sex. Nothing more.”

He obliged her and she was shortly weak with her delight as the large and long cock probed her, teased her, brought her to climax. The prince, however, true to his name, remained ever hard. He took her leaning over the sill. On the floor before the blazing hearth. On her back on her bed. He was tireless and masterful. He kissed her lips, her breasts, and every inch of bared skin on her body. He licked and sucked on her various parts until she squealed and begged for mercy.

Instead he spanked her until she was again begging for mercy. Setting her upright he lowered her onto his massive cock as he sat in a wing-backed chair. She gasped with the delicious sensation and for the first time that night she actually looked into the face of the man who was so magnificently servicing her. Her eyes grew wide with shock and surprise.

“No!” she said. “You cannot look like this, my prince.”

“I look the way you want me to look,” he replied. “Now ride me, Rapunzel, so we may both climax this time. Then you must sleep.”