Surrender to Fate (Fate's Path Part One: A New Adult Romance Series) (15 page)

Margaret looked into his eyes, and down to his lips. The slight flicker of her eyes to his lips made William instantly want to pounce on her lips, they were right there for the taking. If ever there was a moment made for a first kiss, this was it. But something in him stopped him from advancing any further. He looked to her lips, but then made himself look away, and out into the field.

Margaret sighed, and looked out to the field too. Without looking at him, she asked, “Well, do you want a taste, or not?”

They both turned their heads and locked eyes at the same moment. “The honey,” she said quietly, “Do you want to taste it?”

William swallowed, but felt his mouth go completely dry. He could only barely whisper back, “Sure.”

Smiling and biting her bottom lip, she turned and picked up the jar. Lifting the lid, she tilted the jar so the honey could run down the side and be within reach. As it crept to the mouth of the jar, William sunk his finger into the warm sweetness. He twisted his hand so that his finger was completely coated. Just as he was bringing it to his mouth, Margaret stopped him by grabbing his hand. He looked at her, in genuine surprise.

Margaret didn’t say anything. Still holding his hand, she moved to where she was kneeling right beside him. “Wait...let me taste first.” She slowly turned his hand and brought his finger up to her mouth. Holding his hand in both of hers, she leaned forward until the tip of her tongue touched the base of his finger. In one slow, deliberate motion, she moved her tongue up the entire length of his finger, gathering the honey as she did. When she reached the tip of his finger, she looked into his eyes. “Mmmm…I want more, okay?” William slowly moved his head up and down. She bent William’s hand down slightly and put her mouth over his finger. Her eyes never left his as she wrapped her lips and tongue around the entire length of his finger and slowly sucked the honey allowing it to slide down her throat.

Slowly, and quite by design, she took his finger out of her mouth and licked her lips, “Now, it’s your turn to taste.” William knew exactly what she meant, and he knew exactly what he was going to do. He had never had such an exhilarating feeling as being in her mouth. A rush of animalistic desire flooded his body and he had never wanted something as much as he wanted to feel Margaret’s warm mouth again. That juicy mouth of hers was going to be his. He wasn’t going to fight it any longer. He leaned forward and engulfed her mouth with his. The taste of honey that met his lips only incited him with even more eagerness to taste every drop. She more than happily allowed his kiss, as she opened her mouth fully to consent to everything he wanted to give her.

Margaret’s mouth was soft, wet, and warm, and William was going to finally give in to feeling it. He put his hand behind her head and he came to his knees. Still exploring her mouth, he leaned forward, pushing her body back until she was lying on the blanket, and he was over her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him until his full weight was on her body. William pressed into her, and she widened her legs to allow William to fit between them. His mind flashed to watching her straddle the horse, and watching as she moved up and down on the saddle. He was instantly hard, knowing now that she had allowed her body to become exposed in such a way, for him. He felt her start to move her hips, in the same slow motion as riding the horse and he was wild with desire. He moved his tongue in and out of her mouth, ravishing her tongue with his. His mind was buzzing, and it felt good.

Margaret was more than accepting of William’s voracious tongue as she returned every ounce of desire with her own body. She breathlessly moaned into his mouth, “Will…yessss…”

Hearing her call him Will snapped him out of his mind numbing experience. Will. That is what Sarah called him. Sarah was the only one that ever called him that.
Oh my God, what am I doing? What about Sarah?
He stopped kissing Margaret and paused over her face.

She looked up, with questioning eyes, and pulled on his waist, encouraging him not to stop. William breathed heavily and closed his eyes. “I…I’m sorry, Margaret. I don’t think I can do this.”

“Yessss, William, yes you can. I want you, please…don’t stop! Don’t you want me, too?”

“No, it’s not that. I mean yes…I do. It’s just that…you’re not…” William couldn’t believe what he was saying, but now it was too late to stop what he had started.

“It’s just that I’m not…what, William?”

All William could do was stare at her, truly not knowing what to say, yet knowing that his body wanted him to just shut the hell up and pick up where he so incredulously left off.

Margaret pressed his hips firmly into hers and tightened her legs ever so slightly around him to keep him in place. “It’s that I’m not Sarah. Right?”

William could only nod, in disbelief that here he was, completely entranced in Margaret’s body, and somehow the moment had gotten turned around to be about Sarah. Margaret must’ve known this was delicate territory, and if she had learned anything from William’s fishing lesson, it was to be patient and wait for the right moment to set the hook.

She pulled William’s head back to meet her lips and whispered, “You’re right, William. I’m not her. I’m not a thousand miles away. I’m not the one that you haven’t seen for a year. I’m. Right. Here.” She lifted her head and gently kissed his lips. “I’m right here, William. Feel me. Do you feel my body under yours?” She leaned even further to kiss him more slowly and passionately. “I’m not her, William. Kiss me, William, because I know you want to.” Her kisses were coming as quickly as her plea to him. “I’m not some childhood crush. Kiss me, kiss me and show me that you know I’m here. Kiss me, William. Because I’m not her.” She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him deeper into her kiss.

William couldn’t react; his mind was reeling from her words and the feel of her tongue begging to be kissed back. He held his mouth on hers, letting her convince him, letting the actuality of her words sink in. He slowly started to move his tongue around hers. He knew she was right. She wasn’t Sarah, but she
was
completely willing to be his. And as his kisses gradually became more and more hungry on her mouth, he realized that he was willing to accept that this in fact, was his reality.

Sensing that she had successfully reeled in her catch, Margaret moaned between his lips, “William… Please, don’t stop.”

William moved slowly from her mouth and started a trail of kisses down her neck. Margaret turned her head, easing his access. Bracing himself over her with one hand, he slowly brought his other hand to run down the other side of her neck. His hand slowly moved down her neck, over her collar bone and onto her heaving chest. As his hand pressed into her breast, she moaned as he began to rub and gently clutch it. She arched her back, pushing herself into his hand even harder. Every movement that she made, she was telling him that she completely wanted him, and whatever he wanted to do to her was more than fine by her. William continued to massage her beautiful full breast until he could feel her nipple grow hard from under her thin shirt. He lifted his face from the nape of her neck and looked at her. She looked up at him as she moved her hands to her blouse, and one by one, unsnapped the buttons of her shirt. She pulled the shirt open, revealing her voluptuous breasts that were straining within the confines of a white lacy bra. His eyes drank her in. She pushed on his chest so he could lean back on his knees. She held out her hands and he pulled her up to a sitting position. Slowly, she pushed the shirt off of her shoulders, and pulled each arm free. He looked at her body, wanting to touch every inch of her creamy skin. Following her example, he slid each thin shoulder strap of her bra down, and helped guide her arms out of it. He stared at her for a moment longer, knowing what he wanted to do, but still unsure of actually doing it. She smiled knowingly at him and placed her hand behind his head and wove her fingers through his hair. With a slight pull, she started him on the path to where her breasts were pressed together and he gently buried his mouth between them. Putting one hand behind her back, using the weight of his body, he pushed her back down to a laying position so that her red hair splayed across the blanket. She was quiet, but breathing hard as her eyes gave him permission to continue. She put her hands along her sides, but made sure he could feel her hips rising to keep contact with his. William looked down at her breasts. He had imagined this ever since the day of fishing when he couldn’t take his eyes off of them being pushed out of her tight corset top. He slowly reached down to her trembling body and unhooked the center clasp of the bra. As soon as he released it, her breasts bounded out their constraints and stood at attention for William. She caught her breath as he slowly ran his hand across them, stopping to circle the buds of her nipples. She arched her chest again, and he could feel her body responding to his every touch. He cupped them and began to rub and grip them until Margaret couldn’t contain her moan of pleasure any longer. That sound sent a shockwave through him, and all he wanted to do was make her do it again and again.

He reached across her body for the jar of honey. He slowly tilted it until the golden liquid began to flow out of the mouth of the jar. He held it over her, letting it drizzle and drip all over her warm body. Margaret moaned again and her body began to writhe under the sticky concoction. Now it was William’s turn to truly, taste the honey. He braced himself and leaned over her body. He started at her stomach, feeling her flinch at its sensitivity. He guided his tongue along her navel and up until he was at the base of her breasts. He started the climb by slowing moving up her breast until his tongue was at her nipple. He licked at it with short, quick flicks of his tongue. Margaret tilted her head back and moaned again. With that reassuring sound, he descended completely over the hardening bud and engulfed it with the same passion as if he were kissing her mouth. He sucked and wrapped his tongue around her until she was barely taking a breath between her moans. She put her hands around his head and wrapped her fingers through his hair. He slowly drifted over to her other beautiful, sticky mess and began to gorge himself on that neglected nipple. Sucking and swirling his tongue around her nipple while his hand caressed her other breast was beginning to be almost more than he could stand. His desires could no longer be hidden. And feeling Margaret’s hips pressing and rubbing into him wasn’t helping.

After the honey was devoured to his satisfaction, he moved his kisses back up to Margaret’s neck until she turned her head to meet his mouth with hers. He loved that she continued to moan into his mouth while they kissed. She broke away from his lips to catch her breath, and needing air just as much as her, he rested his forehead on hers.

“William…” Margaret was able to get out between breaths, “…do you know what you are doing to me?”

William bent down and slowly started kissing her again. “Mmm,” he acknowledged. “And I don’t think I want to stop.”

“William,” Margaret stammered between his kisses.

“What is it?” He stopped and looked into her eyes.

“I…I don’t
want
you to stop, but…”

“But, what?” William was now thoroughly confused by her mixed signals.

“I think that we should…slow it down a bit. Believe me, what you are doing to me feels amazing. But, I think we should take it slow. Is that okay?”

William breathed heavily and slumped his head down beside her face into her delicious, soft hair. He lifted himself back up and looked at her. “Of course it’s okay. I would never do anything that you didn’t want me to.”

Margaret smiled up at him, “I know that. I completely trust you, William. You make me feel like I’ve never felt before.” She lifted her head again and kissed him softly. They laid together, with Margaret nestled against his shoulder and his arm around her, still and silent on the blanket for several minutes, both of them clearly trying to regain some sort of composure after their heated first kiss had become so much more.

William sat up and helped her put her shirt back on. As they stood up, Margaret put her hands around his waist and looked up at him. “I have to know one thing, William.”

He put his arms around her shoulders, “What’s that?”

“Did you like the honey?” Margaret couldn’t hide the glimmer in her eyes.

William laughed and looked to the sky trying to hide his obvious blush. He looked back down to her, “Ummm…yes, I did. But, I have the feeling that it’s going to become very…addicting.”

Margaret put her head against his chest and hugged him tightly. She couldn’t have been more pleased with his answer.
Fishing lesson number three, William. Don’t give too much bait all at once, or they won’t be hungry next time.

For it being her second winter in California, Sarah still couldn’t quite believe that the weather was so mild. She figured that deep down she would always be a Colorado girl and truly know what winters were supposed to be like. But, for now, she was happy that the cold, blowing blizzards were a memory and not her actual reality. The farming had nearly shut down for the season, and most the garden plants had been dug up, with only a few winter squash plants remaining. Sarah missed being able to spend her days outside, with so much to do. And worse, she was left to dwell upon everything that had happened over the last few months.

It had been weeks since she mailed her letter to Will, and her anticipation of finding a letter in the mailbox was starting to wane. Why hadn’t she heard from him yet? Part of her had hoped that she would only have to wait a week, or maybe a little longer, for his reply. But the week or so had become four, and Sarah was starting to have that uneasy feeling again.

But the other thing that kept her mind occupied was how she actually missed Adley. Not being around him made her realize, how they actually had had a relationship of sorts, and that it involved more than just the obvious physical attraction. She missed their conversations, sharing stories of their childhood, and he was always teaching her something new about running the farm. She wondered if it had been as easy for him to part ways as he made it seem. Sarah’s stomach flipped again, remembering him say how he wanted to
show
her how he felt. She felt her body twinge down low imagining Adley showing her things that had only been left up to her imagination. Well, her imagination coupled with the actual moment of feeling his rock hard shaft being pressed into her soft body.

Sarah’s futile attempt to read her book was interrupted by a knock at her front door. Sarah looked to her mother questioningly, who had been in the kitchen scrubbing potatoes. Anne returned her daughter’s look and shrugged her shoulders as she dried her hands on her apron. Anne opened the door to Ellie’s smiling face.

“Well, hello Anne.” Peering around Anne, Ellie cocked her head and saw Sarah sitting in the living room. “Hi, Sarah. I hope I’m not coming over at a bad time?”

Anne laughed, “Oh my goodness. Of course not, you know you can come over anytime you want. I’m just scrubbing some potatoes, that’s all. And that, I can do anytime. Please, come on in.” Sarah liked how her mother was comfortable around Ellie, but she could tell that the level of closeness that her mother and Catherine shared was something that was not easily going to be duplicated, if ever.

Ellie smiled warmly and stepped in from the front porch. “Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to pop on over and let you know that Oscar, Adley and I would love it if you would join us for Thanksgiving dinner this year, over at our house.”

Anne and Sarah quickly exchanged a glance of surprise at the invitation. The two families, while certainly had been friendly to each other from the get go, had not spent many social occasions together. And Thanksgiving dinner was a pretty big occasion to be starting with. Last year at this time, the two families had just begun to get to know each other and the two stayed pretty much to themselves throughout the holiday season.

Anne looked down at her apron, and then back up to Ellie. “Oh Ellie, that is such a kind invitation...”

“Up bup bup,” Ellie cocked her head at Anne with a look that said ‘not another word, missy.’ “Now, listen Anne, what I meant to say is that the three of us won’t take no for answer. Please come? Besides, I know I can’t make biscuits like yours and I’m afraid Oscar will leave me if I make him eat one more of my biscuits that practically chipped his tooth last time.” Ellie smiled and raised her eyebrows, glancing back and forth between Sarah and Anne.

Anne smiled at Ellie. Ellie was just the kind of person that was so easy to be around, and Sarah knew that her mother would never dream of hurting her feelings. “Thanksgiving dinner with you all sounds wonderful, thank you. What can we bring, besides the biscuits, of course.”

Ellie put her arms out and gave Anne a quick hug. “Oh good. I’m so happy. And listen, we can work on the menu together a little later and figure all that out. I’ll get out of your hair, for now. Say hi to the men of the house for me.”

“Will do, Ellie. And same to yours.”

Ellie turned with a smile and let herself out. Anne and Sarah turned to each other with same questioning look, but it was Anne who spoke first. “Well, that was awfully nice of them to include us in their plans, don’t you think? Sarah? Sarah!”

But Sarah hadn’t heard a word her mother said. Her mind was racing, knowing that she and Adley would be forced to be together again. There would be no way for them to avoid contact now. And as nervous as Sarah’s stomach was knowing that, she couldn’t help but feel the familiar rush of excitement that so easily came because of Adley.

She jerked her eyes up to her mother. “What? Oh yes, exciting…”

Anne looked at Sarah like she had just said the most peculiar thing. Sarah quickly recovered and added, “I mean nice. That was very…nice.”

Anne gave her a strange look but just turned back to the kitchen and the potatoes. Sarah’s mind had already drifted back to Adley. Her mind was racing with all of the different scenarios that could happen once she and Adley would be face to face again. But then she had sinking feeling. What if he completely ignored her like he had been able to do for weeks and weeks? He had told her that he would, and if Sarah had learned anything about Adley, it was that he knew how to keep his word.

The next few days were a blur to Sarah as the Thanksgiving dinner grew closer. Sarah was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything, and actually began to feel the flight of a hundred butterflies in her stomach just knowing she could be with Adley again. This time around, Sarah couldn’t ignore that her thoughts were more on Adley, than Will. She kept trying to reassure herself that her feelings for Will had not wavered. But even she could tell that her feelings for Will were facing some stiff competition with her feelings for Adley.

Between the biscuits, sweet potato pie, and mashed potatoes that they were bringing, Sarah and Anne had spent the whole day preparing everything to her mother’s high standards. In fact, they even had to make two batches of biscuits since Anne thought that the first batch weren’t light and fluffy enough.

Sarah didn’t have much to choose from, but it still took her forever to decide on what she was going to wear to dinner. She finally decided that her best option was a plain white cotton dress that her mother had made for her during the summer. The dress flattered Sarah’s shape perfectly, despite its simplicity. The short capped sleeves barely covered her shoulders and the waist was cinched tight with white sash that tied in the back. The dress went to just above her knees, and Sarah had to admit to herself that she felt pretty in it. She pulled her long brown hair over to one shoulder and loosely tied a white ribbon around it, letting it casually drape along her neck. With it being a summer dress, she borrowed one of her mother’s dainty white shawls that Anne usually reserved for Sunday’s church service back home. And finally, it was time to go.

The four Ellis’ arrived at the front porch and Edward knocked. Sarah could hardly breathe. And even though it wasn’t actually cold, she couldn’t help but shiver. Oscar answered the door and loudly welcomed them all inside. Ellie came to the door too from the kitchen, still wearing her apron and looking more than a little flustered. “Oh, Anne. Thank goodness you’re here. I’m afraid biscuits aren’t the only things that give me grief.”

Anne smiled, “Oh, I’m sure you’re doing just fine. But yes, let’s go. Show me what I can help with.” The two hurried back to the kitchen and Sarah wondered if Ellie was exaggerating, or if dinner really was going to be interesting. Oscar put his hand out to Edward and the two heartily shook hands. Matty held his hand out to Oscar and shook his hand, and once again, Sarah noticed how her brother was growing up.

Oscar smiled as Sarah, “Hello, Sarah. Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Thank you, thank you for having us.” Sarah still hadn’t seen Adley and she was actually starting to wonder if they would end up seeing each other or not.

Oscar motioned for them to follow him to the back porch where he had drinks and a few appetizers set out. Before they walked out of the room, Sarah asked, “Excuse me, Oscar? Where can I put my shawl?”

“Right there, behind you, in that closet would be just fine. Then come on back.”

Sarah nodded and watched the three of them walk into the living room and out the large double doors that opened up to the sprawling back porch. She turned and faced the closet, and closed her eyes. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She hadn’t even laid eyes on Adley yet and her feelings were already starting to feel crushed. She resigned herself to the fact that Adley really was going to do everything in his power to avoid her. She tried to hold back the tears that were brewing, and took a deep breath. Just as she was reaching for the door knob to the closet, she felt large, warm hands on her shoulders.

“Here, let me help you with that.”

Sarah caught her breath, not believing what she just heard, and even more monumentally, what she felt. She slowly turned, and blinked to make sure she wasn’t imagining, and stood face to face with Adley.

She sucked in a short breath and looked up at him. He was just as devastatingly handsome as always. He wore dark blue jeans, and a white button down shirt that he hadn’t managed to tuck in yet. His gorgeous green eyes were soft, looking into hers. Her first instinct was to put her arms around him in pure happiness to see him again. But, knowing that was off limits, she resisted the urge and just looked up at him. Sarah couldn’t believe how much she had missed being able to look into his eyes, and have him only inches away from her. Her heart began to pound, and she searched for something to say. Even though her mind was racing with a million thoughts, she could only whisper, “Adley…”, and then realized that no other words could come.

Adley looked deeply into her eyes, and she could tell that he was searching for words too, but having just as much difficulty. He placed his hands on her shoulders again and pushed the shawl over them. Slowly, he allowed his hands to slide all the way down her arms, his eyes following their path, until the shawl was off, and he held it in his hands. He looked back at Sarah, who still hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him. Adley’s gaze once again surveyed her body, and Sarah could feel her body react and start to tingle. When his eyes returned to hers, she noticed the softness had changed ever so slightly, and now they were looking at her with desire clouded with conflict. He brought his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek. She let her head tilt into his palm, relishing in the moment that Adley hands were once again on her. Adley’s hand slid down to allow his thumb to graze over Sarah’s bottom lip. She gently parted them and allowed his stroking to continue. She sucked in a quick breath as his grip slightly tightened and directed her face up to meet his. With intention in his eyes, he brought his mouth to hers, but stopped short of actually touching it. He closed his eyes tightly, dropped his chin and his hand and returned to his full standing position. Sarah stood stunned, the thrilling moment was instantly over, and she was forced back to reality.

Adley cleared his throat, “Sarah, it’s good to see you.”

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Adley looked at her, but also said nothing. He simply turned, and walked out of the foyer into the living room. After weeks and weeks of no contact with Adley, Sarah felt that this contact was even more difficult to accept. Not only were his hands just on her, but his kiss had been a mere second away from finding her lips. Sarah brushed her bottom lip with her fingertip. She had to admit that his hand on her cheek and his thumb on her lip left a delicious sensation. She realized that his lips were almost on hers, and she knew that in all reality, it would’ve been almost impossible for her to have rejected them.

Sarah retreated to the kitchen to help with the finishing touches on the meal. For it being a dinner for only seven people, there was a massive amount of food. In fact, it reminded Sarah of the community picnics, but that was food enough for an entire town. She marveled that Ellie’s spread was an equal contender to that. Sarah took a moment to take in where she was, and how different her life had become. She could hear the men laughing and talking on the back porch, and Matty was just off the porch throwing a stick for Riley. Ellie and her mother were bustling around each other, and she was left wondering how she would’ve felt had Adley actually kissed her.

“Sarah, dear, will you please go tell everyone that dinner is ready and to please come to the table?” Ellie asked as she brushed flour from her clothes.

“Oh, sure.” Sarah agreed, but had been quite happy in the kitchen for the time being, trying to settle herself from her interaction with Adley.

Sarah walked to the back porch where Oscar and Edward stopped their conversation to look up at her. Adley had been sitting in a rocking chair, and he too looked up at her. She swore she could feel his eyes all over her, but she intentionally avoided looking at him. “Dinner’s ready.”

Oscar looked at Edward as he hoisted himself from the rocking chair, “Well, let’s go see what Ellie’s burned this year. I’ll tell you what, I love that woman more than life itself, but she can’t cook to save her life. I swear, I think she’s even burnt boiling water.”

He laughed heartily shaking his head but stopped abruptly when he heard Ellie calling from inside, “Oscar Somerton! I heard that!”

Everyone filed into the dining room where a round table was set with a dark brown table cloth, fine white plates and napkins, and a gorgeous center flower arrangement that had been crafted from the shrubbery from the yard that had begun to change its leaves from greens to oranges and reds. Sarah admired how beautiful the table was. She had never seen such an exquisite setting and acknowledged that while Ellie may not be a good cook, she sure was a wonderful hostess, nonetheless.