Billionaire Alpha Romance: The Proposal (Mature Gentlemen Book 2) (252 page)

Chapter 8
  SECOND HALF

The conversation at lunch was rather stilted as nobody wanted to talk about what was uppermost in their minds, but once again the food was excellent and the drinks were cold.  As soon as they were finished, Blessings announced that after a rest period they would go driving again at four, and reminded them about the pool to deal with the heat.

As Brad escorted Shirlee to their tent, he made it clear that he was not primarily interested in resting. Shirlee sighed inwardly, but unwilling to contemplate a marriage with regular displeasing sex,  reminded herself that one of the things Harry had taught her was that foreplay was not the job of the man alone.  Perhaps if she took the lead, she could make the occasion more pleasurable for both of them. Stiff herself after the morning’s bumpy drive, she thought Brad might be so as well, and offered to give him a back and shoulders massage.  He agreed, but said he should take a quick shower first to wash off the dust and suggested that Shirlee join him, which she did.  They soaped each other lavishly and by the time they were finished, were pretty well aroused, especially Brad who was semi-erect. He suggested that they skip the massage, but Shirlee persuaded him not to, so he lay prone on the bed.   Shirlee took the free bottle of body lotion provided by the safari company and straddled his hip, slavered lotion lavishly on his shoulders and back and proceeded with the erotic massage Harry had taught her.  When she finished, she told him to turn over, and, applying more lotion, massaged his chest and belly and then his pelvic area.  Soon he was obviously ready to go and her juices were running, so she lowered herself on to him.

Woman on top was not a part of Brad’s sexual vocabulary and he started to object, but she quietened him with a kiss and proceeded to lean backwards and forwards bringing him deliciously but slowly to a climax in which she was able to join him.

When they separated, Brad looked at her suspiciously. “Where did you learn
that?”

“In a book on marriage.”

“It’s not right. The man should lead.  Let’s not do it again.  At least not very often.”

“Whatever you want, Brad. You know that.”  Her tone was light, hiding her disappointment. Years of the boring missionary position loomed, which was discouraging to say the least.

Brad was soon asleep, but Shirlee put on the bikini Harry had given her and she had hidden from her parents and headed to the swimming pool.  After a refreshing dip, she spread out a towel at the pool edge and lay in the sun, enjoying the heat penetrating to her bones, and fell asleep. Blessings soon arrived wearing only speedos with a towel around his shoulders.  Seeing his opportunity in the real need to wake Shirlee up lest she get sunburnt badly, slipped into the pool and after a few moments of admiring the body spread out before him as if on a platter, put his wet hand on her thigh.  It was risky, but he respected his instinct that she would not be offended, and the momentary smile she started before she woke up, showed him that he had guessed aright.  “Harry!” she exclaimed before fully awake, and then, realizing her mistake, sat up and said, “I’m sorry!”

“No problem. I should have called out. You need to cover up. The sun in Zambia can be dangerous. I think Harry’s a lucky guy!”

Ignoring his comment but taking his advice, she stood up and wrapped the towel around her before sitting on one of the lounge chairs arranged around the pool. Blessings sat on the chair next to her.  Shirlee tried not to look him over, but failed. She eyed him out of the corner of her eyes.  What a piece of eye candy he was!  And except for his hair, which unlike Harry’s was cut short without braids, every inch that she could see reminded her of Harry, and there was very little she couldn’t see, and even that, its shape clearly revealed by the speedo, looked like Harry.  She knew she should get up and go, but she couldn’t make herself do so, and really, such was the weakness in her legs that made her wonder if she could manage it if she tried.  It was all she
could
manage was to refrain from throwing herself on top of him.

Blessings, also taking care not to look at her directly, was very much aware of what was going on. He noted her accelerated breathing and her swollen nipples were obvious even inside her bikini. Though he was entirely aware of how dangerous it was, he couldn’t stop what was going on inside his speedo. He moved to cover himself with a towel, but then decided to risk silently telling Shirlee that he was as ready for her as she was for him.  Experiencing some pain, he reached into his speedo and adjusted things so that he was not only more comfortable but obviously more aroused. He inclined the back of the chair so that he was almost horizontal, just enough to make his message clear.

Shirlee saw and closed her eyes vainly trying to shut the sight out, but her memory was clear and wouldn’t leave her. There was a long silence as they both lay entranced, no longer pretending. Shirlee had no idea what she was supposed to do. Actually, she corrected the thought: she knew what she was supposed to do, but couldn’t do it. 

Blessings, also knowing what he was supposed to do, had no intention of doing it.  He intended something entirely different, but wasn’t clear how he could manage it.   He broke the silence by saying, “Our situation’s pretty clear, isn’t it.”

“I don’t know; I suppose so.”

“Do you fancy a stroll in the bush?”

“In a bikini and flip flops?”

“There’s a path that leads from here to a viewpoint over the river. It’s not far.”

“What if somebody comes along it?”

“The staff won’t and the rest of the clients don’t know about it.”

Shirley was sure it was more risky than he was letting on, but she was also beyond caring. “OK.”

With some speed they walked together to the viewpoint, surrounded by bushes on three sides and high above the river on the fourth, with a bench in the middle facing the river. 

When she reached the bench, Shirlee turned to him and undid her bikini top. Her breasts, swinging free, the nipples already swollen and surrounded by a huge aureole, were perfect.  She rubbed them across his chest, causing him to gasp and greedily took his lips in hers, her tongue insistent and then deep inside as he responded.  The kiss wasn’t long; in fact it hadn’t been needed.  Quickly shucking off the speedo, a job complicated by the inconvenient stiffness and shape of his organ inside, he grasped her shoulders with one arm and untied her bikini with the other, letting it fall to the ground.  Then with both his arms he lifted her up to him and let her slide down on his erection.  When her arms were around his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist, he used both arms to lift her and lower her on his shaft.  For Shirlee the whole world left her consciousness except for the feel of him inside her and the exquisite pleasure it gave her. Without her noticing, she began a rhythmical groaning in time to her movement.

Blessings concentrated on her as long as he could to prolong the pleasure, but when, despite his attempts he reached the point of no return, he sat back on the bench and stopped all movement, letting his climax grow on his own until with a cry, he jetted his seed into her.

As soon as the nerve tumult died, they put their swimming gear back on, conscious that they were very exposed, and headed back to the pool in silence.  When they reached the pool they both dived in and were surfacing when two of the Zimbabweans turned up.

“Come in!” cried Blessings. “It’s lekker!” They, of course, would have preferred that Blessings wasn’t in the pool with them, but it was too hot to quibble, so they joined them.  “Where are your friends?” Blessings asked. 

“Still asleep, lazy sods.”

“They certainly don’t know what they’re missing.”

“Definitely not,” replied one of the youths, eyeing Shirlee as she climbed out of the pool. Shirley beat a hasty retreat, not up to saying anything to anybody, her mind in a turmoil. Suddenly the thought of marrying Brad was repugnant.  She couldn’t imagine why she had agreed to do so.  They were poles apart, even in bed.

But at the same time she was terribly aware that she was setting herself up for another betrayal.  Despite all her good intentions, she had failed to act with the slightest circumspection.  No matter what she decided to do about Brad, she would have to stop this business with Blessings immediately, and she resolved to do so no matter what.

9

Chapter 9
  TIME OUT

That, like so many good resolves, not only those made on New Year’s Day, lasted only a short time –no more than a day.  The evening drive was rather boring as they sometimes are. There’s magic in being in the bush at night, and it’s the only time one can see exciting nocturnal animals like civets, genets, galagos and African wild cats, but quite often one drives for a long time without seeing anything much. On this particular evening, aside from a magnificent sunset, their best sighting was of several hippos walking in the bush a long way from the river, something they do at night in search of forage.

Despite her resolve, now that she knew intimately the body covered by Blessings’s closely fitting guide’s uniform, even the view of his neck from behind was enough to set off fantasies of a naked encounter with the rest of him. Not only that, Brad, bored, was even more surly than usual and despite Blessings’s reminders that talking frightened the game, meaning that they would see fewer animals, engaged the Zimbabweans in discussions and stories about hunting.  Sensing, perhaps, a change in Shirlee, he was extra rude to her. Had he had any idea of the direction her thoughts had taken in the afternoon, he could have taken care to please her, but he didn’t.

Shirlee, against her will, struggled to refrain from kissing that attractive neck just a few feet in front of her. The night being cool, they had thrown a blanket over their legs and to distract herself and perhaps divert Brad from thoughts of killing, she slipped her hand under the blanket and stroked Brad’s thigh, and then when that seemed to have no effect, his more intimate parts.  She could feel that she was having an effect, but he just whispered, “later” in her ear and set her hand on her own legs, while carrying on his conversation.

Her taking an initiative with Brad, both the night before and tonight, together with her awareness that both Harry and Blessings had expected much more than passivity from her, had planted the seeds of a questioning of her long-time assumptions about the role of women.  Her betrayal by Harry had been devastating, but was that perhaps merely because she had been expecting something different – assuming that a woman could have a full life only if she secured the permanent love and attention of a male. Shirlee had, of course, been aware of the voices calling for a reassessment of what women needed and could have if they wanted. She had always dismissed them as a passing fancy, an aberration of the corrupt modern world.  But were they?  She was quite sure that in the long run, she wanted a long-term marriage and children.  But did that have to happen right now?  She had a lot of years ahead of her, and just at this moment a long-term union with Brad seemed less than ideal.

Surely such ideas were subversive and she was determined not to act on them. And perhaps she would not have had Brad not developed the next day a rather severe diarrhea.  He managed the morning drive and lunch, but then took to his bed. Shirlee at first said she would stay with him in the tent, but he angrily told her to go enjoy herself.   He said he didn’t want to spoil her holiday, but really, he didn’t relish the thought of her seeing him in distress and weakness.  Real men didn’t
get
diarrhea!

For Shirlee, who sensed the truth, that was the last straw. She was free, she figured, to enjoy herself, and enjoying herself meant having as much contact in every sense with Blessings as she could.  She had qualms about the future but squashed then. She would deal with the future when it arrived.

10

PLAY RESUMED

With badly concealed haste she showered and changed into her bikini and headed for the pool. Brad, she saw with relief, was beyond thinking about anybody but himself. Blessings, having taken in Shirlee’s supposed attitude change towards him since their encounter, was of two minds whether to seek her out, but decided that it was too early to give up. Accordingly he was at the pool in his speedo when she arrived.

Unfortunately the Zimbabweans were also there behaving like young Zimbabwean males, making the pool less attractive for others and any significant dialogue between Blessings and Shirlee impossible.  But Shirlee’s new attitude towards Blessings was very clear by her body language. Even the Zimbabweans noticed and grinned significantly at each other. So
that
was the way the land lay, was it? They would have a ribald discussion about it later, but refrained from doing so at the moment, fortunately.

Blessings managed when the Zimbabweans were fully engaged in mock fighting in the pool to say, “This evening” and Shirlee nodded.  That was all that was needed.

Blessings was waiting for her when she finished dinner and said, “Twenty minutes. I’ll wait for you near the beginning of the path to our special spot.”  Shirlee was not exactly pleased to be heading out into the African bush at night, but Blessings assured her that his having gone before would scare all the animals off.

Which it did.  Blessings was waiting just far enough down the path to be invisible from the pool. When she reached him, he put his arm around her back and escorted her.  On his other arm was a blanket. He didn’t want to be restricted by the bench.  He also had a bottle of “Peaceful Sleep” to deal with the insects. Neither he nor Shirlee had worn more than whatever clothing was essential, so they were naked very quickly. Blessings spread the blanket and invited Shirlee to join him on it.  When she did he began to anoint her with the Peaceful Sleep, slavering it over practically every bit of skin that would be exposed to  the open air. He took his time about it, starting with her face where special care had to be taken to avoid her eyes and her lips: her eyes because Peaceful Sleep would sting if it dripped into them and her lips because, as he knew from experience, it tasted awful and he wanted to enjoy her lips for a long time.  When he finished her face, he couldn’t resist a preliminary kiss, which turned into a long and passionate one which aroused them both.

Shirlee was ready to forgo the rest of the anointing, but Blessings knew from experience that that would be a mistake and began to cover the rest of her with the cream, ending with a finger suggestively penetrating between her toes.  Knowing from experience the probable effect he would be having, he had put the lotion on himself before he left his tent, so that no further delay was needed.

There was a moon and the bush was at its most beautiful, but for Shirlee, the outside worlds had faded away and she was wholly consumed by the tingling of her nerves. She was flying on a cloud of ecstasy wanting nothing more but the feel of him against and within her.  Running his finger gently around her nether lips, and then across the tip of the stiff column they protected took a moment to take in the sight of her white body spread open for him in the moonlight. “ Beautiful!”  For him it was all about peace, the sounds and smells of the bush at night blended with the very personal thrill in his body.  This was life as it should be lived!

But though he knew that making Shirlee wait would increase her pleasure, he yielded to her hunger and slowly inserted his organ into the damp and slippery warmth of her inner being. His own sudden urgency made it an act of will to go slowly, but he persisted until he was fully encased.  Then he moved quickly, Shirlee, legs tight against his waist, beat against his buttocks with her feet, urging him on and in a very few moments in perfect harmony, they exploded together with fireworks and kettle drums and the singing of choirs.

When they stopped panting and their nerves became quietened, Blessings withdrew and lay beside her blowing gently on her nipples until they began to respond, and the curtain rose on the second act – different but no less delicious than the first.

Much later, Blessings suggested a dip in the pool, being quite sure that they would meet no one there in the early hours of the morning. Walking naked in the moonlight, they both felt the oneness with the world about them that Blessings had felt earlier.  Blessings’s body, slick with sweat and lotion, seemed outlined in light to Shirlee a Greek god wrought in obsidian – beautiful! Perhaps more beautiful than Harry had been.

Thinking of Harry made her realize that she was cured.  She had survived one abandonment and could surely survive another, which she had no doubt would come in a day or two.  Meanwhile, her life was now infinitely richer than it had been. This was life! Not perfect, but well worth living.

THE END