ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance) (52 page)

Chapter 2

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I cursed as I struggled to clear away the images of our last encounter.

The relaxation was gone as my muscles tensed and the blossoming heat between my thighs was impossible to ignore as my body betrayed me. I was trying my best to hate Conrad for the way he treated me, but also knew that the passionate sex we shared was the best of my life. All I wanted was to finish my bath and get out of the tub, but hot desire flared to more as I touched my soapy hands on my chest. My nipples came erect as I rubbed my palms across my breasts and what I was doing quickly became about more than just cleaning myself.

“You’re so weak,” I chided myself, but was unable to stop.

My breathing became ragged as I settled down in the water and rested my head on the side of the tub. My neck stretched out as my lower back arched and there was no stopping what I was doing. I continued to tease my palms over my nipples and it made the arousal climb towards the point where I knew that I would need to take myself all the way to get some relief.

A shudder rippled through me as I conjured up images of Conrad’s naked body and the solid, throbbing erection he would get from simply looking at my big, beautiful body. I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and bit my bottom lip when I slid my fingertips from my breasts and trailed them down across my rounded belly. Water splashed over the side of the tub as a spasm made my leg kick out and I gave in completely to the longing pervading my body.

There were no thoughts of stopping now and I hurried to get my hand between my thighs. The pulsing spasms continued to make my legs shake as I spread them wide open to make it easier to play with myself. I worked my fingers in a circular motion to ease them between slick folds of skin until I was stroking on my clit. My body lifted up as the burst of heat erupted to make my buttocks clench tightly together and it made me rub all the more enthusiastically.

I grabbed hold of a pendulous breast with my free hand to brush my fingertips over a fully erect nipple and it added to the pleasure coursing through my veins. More scenes of the shower sex played out in my head and I worked my hand fast on my clit to take myself closer to what I now desperately wanted. My breath came out in heavy gasps as I slid fingers to my pussy entrance and I bit my lip firmly to hold in the cry that threatened to come out.

The penetration of three stiff fingers stretched my pussy lips wide and as I pumped them in and out more water splashed on the floor. My body was trembling as I gradually increased the pace of the finger fuck until my excitement began to burn out of control. I took myself right to the cusp of the orgasm before dragging my fingers out to punish my clit again.

It was the stimulation I needed to take myself all the way and the trembling ceased as my muscles went taut. The tension ended in juddering convulsions that ripped through me. I fucked my fingers in my quivering cunt to enjoy it rippling around the stiff penetration and let the ecstasy build up to a peak that left me struggling to catch my breath.

The high came to an end when I collapsed down to lie in the water and I waited for the power to return to my body. There was a certain annoyance to having let myself lose control over thoughts of Conrad and I guessed that it was going to take some time to forget about him. The urge to let out a scream of frustration filled my mind, but I knew it would just get my mother asking questions.

I’d been liberal with the truth since I got home early from college and mentioned nothing about the relationship that spectacularly went up in flames in the lobby of a hotel. I eventually finished bathing and got out of the tub. After drying myself, I got dressed and made my way down to the kitchen.

“I told you to shout,” my mother said.

“Oh yeah,” I replied. “I forgot.”

“Well, sit down and I’ll get you the soup now,” she told me.

It was nice to be pampered for a change and we sat to enjoy a chat as I ate a couple of bowls of homemade soup. My father and brother eventually came in from the fields to end their day’s work and they sat at the table as my mother cooked a meal. Apart from the fact that everyone was a few years older, it seemed like old times as the cheeky comments flew across the table.

“I’m going in to town later if you want to come,” Sam told me after he finished eating.

“To do what?” I asked.

“To meet my new girlfriend at a bar called Bartons,” he told me.

The alternative was sitting in and thinking about my situation, so I agreed to go and went to get ready. We set off not long after and I wondered what I was letting myself in for. I was introduced to Sam’s girlfriend, Paula, when we arrived at the bar.

“It’s nice to meet the intelligent one in the family,” she joked and I liked her straight away.

“Hey!” Sam complained.

“She’s only telling the truth,” I told him.

“Maybe inviting you wasn’t such a good idea after all,” he grumbled and shook his head.

“Just get the drinks like a good boy,” Paula teased him.

“Yes Miss,” he shot back.

We told him what we wanted and chatted while he went to the buy the drinks. Paula was easy to talk to and fun to be around, but she decided to play matchmaker when she found I didn’t have a boyfriend. My protests were ignored as I was introduced to a few of the boys she was friends with in the bar. Some of them I already knew from growing up in the area, while others were strangers to me at first.

I tried to make the effort, but with most of them it was quickly obvious that they weren’t attracted to a bigger girl like me and the lack of maturity they showed meant that I wasn’t remotely interested in them anyway. It was when I found myself comparing one of them to Conrad that I decided it was time to give up. I’d come out hoping to put him out of my mind and it was slightly depressing that it wasn’t working.

On the trip home with my brother, I sat wondering what it was I was going to do to get Conrad out of my head. That idea disappeared straight away when we pulled up to the front of the house and I saw the familiar car parked there.

Chapter 3

“Ah shit,” I let out in a loud voice and was aware of Sam’s gaze on me.

“Someone you know?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I let out in a frustrated tone.

“Nice motor,” he commented.

“I wish it was anywhere but here,” I replied and shook my head.

Seeing Conrad was the last thing I wanted to do and the urge to ask Sam to drive me away came in my mind. It was a stupid thought, however, and there was no avoiding the meeting. I walked up to the front of the house and tried to compose myself when I opened the door to walk inside.

I found Conrad with my parents in the lounge, but said nothing as I walked in the door. There was an awkward silence as we stared at each other and it was my mother that broke it.

“Aren’t you going to say hello?” she asked.

“I didn’t ask him to come here,” I let out petulantly. “In fact I would have preferred it if he hadn’t.”

“Melissa,” My father said in a stern tone. “You know that’s not how we treat guests in this house.”

“Aren’t guests supposed to be invited?” I went on. “Maybe he should have brought his fiancé as well and we could have celebrated their union.”

“Maybe you should just listen to what he has to say,” my mother intervened.

“Oh, so you’re on his side are you,” I complained. “That’s nice to know.”

I knew I sounded like a little kid, but I didn’t care. Getting Conrad out of my head wasn’t easy and made all the more difficult with him sitting not more than six feet away from me.

“Couldn’t you have just listened to my roommate,” I said as I turned my attention to him.

“I just wanted you to know the truth,” he replied.

“I think I’ve heard that already,” I went on harshly.

“Why don’t you show him up to the guest room,” my mother interrupted us. “You can talk in private there.”

My jaw dropped open as the comment registered in my head.

“You invited him to stay the night?” I let out in an incredulous voice. “This day just gets better and better.”

“I can go if you want,” Conrad offered.

The uncertainty returned to cloud my mind. I knew I should say yes, but couldn’t bring myself to do it for some reason beyond my understanding. The turmoil raged in my mind and I couldn’t decide if I wanted him to stay or go.

“Fine,” I eventually snapped. “I’ll show him the room.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Conrad said to my parents as he stood up.

“You’re welcome,” my mother replied and smiled.

I wondered just what they’d been discussing in my absence, but there was no way for me to know.

“Why did you come here,” I hissed when we walked out of the lounge.

“To see you,” he replied simply.

I shook my head as I stomped ahead towards the stairs to lead the way up to the first floor. Conrad followed as I walked along to a door and opened it.

“This is it,” I said. “Goodnight.”

His hand on my shoulder stopped me from moving away, but I shrugged it off.

“I only want to talk,” he said. “If you want me to go after that then I will.”

My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. I remembered my weakness in the bathroom that afternoon and the last thing I really wanted was to trap myself in a bedroom with him. Just being near him was making me remember our night in the hotel, but I forced myself to think about what happened in the lobby the following morning

“What do you want to say?” I asked sharply.

“I don’t have a fiancé,” he told me.

There was no way I could keep the suspicious expression from my face as I replied.

“That’s not what your parent’s friend seemed to think.”

“It’s not what my parents think either,” Conrad went on.

I eyed him even more suspiciously.

“What do you mean?”

“Can we go inside the room?” he asked, but I shook my head. “OK, well I already told you that I come from what would be described as a wealthy and powerful family.”

“So what.” I replied in an attempt at showing I didn’t care.

“Marriages in that rarified atmosphere, if you want to call it that, aren’t always about two people meeting and falling in love.”

I said nothing and just stared as I waited for him to go on.

“A lot of times it’s about getting the right two people together to make connections and create dynasties.”

“You make it sound like royalty,” I interrupted him.

“A lot of the families see it like that,” he replied. “Parents will look to marry their children to the most suitable candidate as they see it.”

“That’s very romantic.”

“Romance doesn’t come in to it,” Conrad went on. “The fiancé you heard about is one my parents have decided would be a good marriage for me…, and the family.”

“And what do you think about that?” she asked.

“I’m a grown man that can make my own decisions,” he said and laughed.

“And you’re going to defy your family,” I pointed out.

“Would you marry someone your parents set up for you?” he asked.

“Well…, no,” I replied.

I let out a sigh as I tried to take in what I was being told. The tiredness of an evening out and the alcohol I drank was making it difficult to think clearly and I really wasn’t sure what to make of the information I was being told.

“Look, I need to rest,” I said.

“Do you want me to go?” Conrad asked.

I unconsciously tightened my lips together as I thought about it, but eventually shook my head.

“No,” I replied. “But I just want to get some sleep.”

I turned to walk away from Conrad, so he didn’t get a chance to change my mind. When I got to my bedroom, I looked along the hallway to see he was still standing watching me.

“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, but quickly walked in my room.

It was a long, restless night as my mind went over what I was told and I wasn’t quite sure what to believe. On the one hand, I’d never known Conrad to outright lie to me, but on the other the story of his parents selecting a bride in what would be a marriage of convenience seemed like something out of a movie and not real life. Then again, I’d never exactly moved in the circles he did, so his story could be plausible for all I knew.

The fear that it was just his fetish for my larger curves rather than me resurfaced and I was as confused about what to do when I got up as I’d been when I went to bed. I went down to breakfast to find Conrad sitting with my father and brother and the three of them appeared to be getting along very well.

That didn’t particularly surprise me, since I knew all too well how charming Conrad was. Not that he was putting it on, however, and he genuinely appeared to be enjoying the company of the men in my family. He looked across the table and smiled when I sat down. It seemed churlish to ignore it, so I returned the smile although said nothing.

I remained relatively subdued during breakfast and the few glances I threw in Conrad’s direction were met with smiles. My father and brother eventually got up to start their day of work and I didn’t want to be left sitting alone with the man opposite me, so got up to help my mother wash the dishes. I saw she was about to say something when we finished and instinctively knew what it was. A grimace crossed my face as I shook my head to try and stop her, but it was too late.

“Why don’t you show Conrad around the place?” she said

“I’m sure Conrad has business that he needs to attend to,” I quickly replied to try and head off a tour of the farm.

“No, I don’t need to be in the office until tomorrow morning,” he said.

“There you go,” my mother went on to end the discussion. “I’m sure he would love to see where you grew up in to the fine young woman that you are.”

“Great,” I said without much enthusiasm.

Conrad was already on his feet and I made a face at my mother before turning to walk to the door of the kitchen then leading the way outside.

“I was serious about what I said last night,” he commented when we were alone. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a fiancé.”

“Tell that to your parents,” I replied.

“I have already,” he told me.

It made me stop and turn to face him.

“And what exactly would they think about their favorite son getting involved with a twenty year old student that lives on a farm?”

“They’d love you,” he said.

“Yeah, right,” I replied and shook my head before starting to walk again.

He caught up quickly to stroll along beside me.

“By the way, didn’t I say your mother would love me?” he let out in a cheeky voice to break the silence.

I remembered him making the comment before and couldn’t help laughing, but I cut off the sound almost straight away.

“Shut up,” I told him.

He bumped his hip against mine as we walked.

“Go on,” he teased. “Admit it. Your mother loves me.”

“Shut up,” I repeated, but let out another laugh. We walked along quietly for a few steps before I went on speaking. “Why did you come here?”

“I didn’t want it to end with you running out on me in the hotel,” he replied. “I tried to get in touch to explain, but you made it difficult.”

I let out a sigh.

“Can’t you just go and marry your fiancé,” I said with a rueful smile and was only half joking. “Then we can get on with our lives and everybody will be happy.”

“Everyone except us,” Conrad responded instantly.

“Yeah…,” I admitted in a quiet voice. “Except us.”

There was silence for a few seconds as he stopped walking to look around.

“What’s this building?” he asked.

I’d been concentrating on the conversation and needed to check where we actually were.

“It’s the hayshed,” I told him. “I spent almost two hours loading bales in it yesterday.”

“Not just a pretty face and a smart mind then?” Conrad said with a grin.

“I was brought up here,” I went on. “I can pull my weight if I have to.”

“And how did it feel after a few years away at college?’ he asked.

“Terrible,” I said and laughed. “I needed a long, hot bath afterwards to recover.”

I saw the way he glanced at me and knew my comment probably got him thinking about me naked in a bath. He said nothing though and walked across to step inside the hayshed.

“Rather you than me,” he said when he looked at the bales.

“I’m sure those muscles would cope,” I told him.

We were both inside the building now and there was a sudden tension in the air when our eyes met.

“I missed you,” he told me.

I cursed myself inwardly for getting myself in the situation where I was alone with him, but there was no avoiding the chemistry between us.

“Are you telling the truth about…, well, you know,” I said.

“Yes,” he assured me. “There really is no fiancé…, or at least not one I’m interested in. There is only one girl on my mind.”

“One body,” I let out quietly.

“That is an attraction,” he admitted. “But you’re more than that to me.”

He moved closer and I was aware of the turmoil in my mind. I wanted to turn and run, but not as much as I wanted Conrad’s touch. He moved right in front of me and I knew I wasn’t going to leave the building. The memory of the western books I used to read came in my mind and it made me shiver. So many times I’d read about secret liaisons between handsome cowboys and innocent girls in a hayshed and it fuelled my fantasies during my late teenage years.

I couldn’t confess to being innocent and Conrad was no cowboy, but what we were on the verge of doing was more than a fantasy. His hand came up to caress my cheek and I was unable to resist as he leant in close to kiss me. I caught the scent of his aftershave as our lips brushed gently together and it was such a hot turn on.

“Close the door,” I told him when the kiss ended.