Of Roses and Thorns

The release was unlike anything I'd ever felt. It was like a long burst of energy that then flowed forth like a waterfall. I clutched the woman and bit down hard on my lip. She cradled my head close and continued to grind her crotch into mine. My tensing muscles were a huge contrast to her graceful motion.

My chest rose and fell at the surface of the water. I saw throbbing colors behind my eyelids. The coolness that cloaked my body was so relieving. I could have drifted into sleep right there on the steps of the pool. My senses came spiraling back to me. As my legs began to float upward, my eyes flew open to take in the stranger above me.

I was alone. I scanned the water but saw no one, no pretty blonde woman, no stranger in the pool. My brain turned flips in my head, calling into question every single freaking thing I looked at or touched. I breathed. What the hell was happening to me? Was I dreaming? Had I fallen asleep in the water? What troubled me most was the way I felt between my legs... spent and used.

I was so confused.

****

The door was unlocked. Typical of Rachel. Maybe she'd left it unlocked for me. I hadn't planned on coming home so late. I'd told her five. It must have been ten o'clock. She'd sounded really wierd on the phone. She wasn't her usual spirited self. I couldn't help but wonder what she must have thought when I told her I'd be running so late. Seemed to much like a conversation with someone else.

My body was weak and sore all over. I wondered if age was catching up to me at last. I kicked my boots off and looked down at my filthy arms. Of all times for Robert to bust a water main, he had to pick the week I was shorthanded, and it had turned into a much bigger ordeal than I'd planned. Between fixing that line all night and overseeing the work out by the new subdivision, I was worn out. I needed a shower.

The house was quiet and dark, except for the blue glow of the flatscreen in the bedroom. I knew what that meant. I nudged open the door to find my assumption confirmed. Rachel was sprawled across the bed wearing nothing but panties and one of my old t-shirts. I watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, admiring how peaceful she looked when she slept. There was something in her hand, a book of some kind. She was always a big reader.

I crept over to the bed and leaned over her. The woven designs of the tattoos on her arms looked like whisps of shadowy smoke in the gloom. Her black hair was a mess, splayed on the pillows around her head. I smiled. Rachel was so young, so unique and beautiful. I bent and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She didn't so much as twitch. Rachel could sleep through a damn tornado if it picked her own bed up and threw it into the air. Karen would have woken at the sound of the doorknob.

I pushed the final thought from my mind and headed into the bathroom. Closing the door as quietly as I could, I flipped on the single light that was above the walk-in shower. It was the dimmest in the bathroom. I took two steps when I spotted an item by the vanity sinks. Instantly I recognized the handkerchief that Rachel had found by the pool. The rose design was pretty detailed, and I couldn't imagine how anyone could have sewn such a complex bed of thorns around the flower. Rachel had apparently decided to keep the handkerchief after all.

In moments I had peeled off my filthy work clothes and stepped into the large tiled shower under the water. For a while I did nothing but stand there. It felt damn good to just let the hot water soak into my sore body and sooth my every ache. I felt like sprawling out on the tile floor. The shower was big enough that I could probably do just that. I needed to hire some more help. I couldn't keep working the trenches with laborers forever. My body was starting to get weaker after the years of stress.

I heard a soft sound from somewhere in the bathroom. It sounded like snickering. Smiling, I cut my eyes over toward the door. I couldn't see anyone, but I waited for Rachel to open the door and peek inside. Maybe she wasn't as heavy a sleeper as I thought. I turned to face the falling water, acting oblivious. I scrubbed my chest and arms, watching the grime run down the drain.

I heard the shower door open. A soft hand slid around my waist. Then another. I grinned wider and allowed her to explore my stomach. Her nipples brushed my back. Between the hot shower water and Rachel's tender touch, I felt at ease. Her hand slid lower, which made me exhale and relax. My cock nodded as her fingers took my shaft. With her other hand, Rachel rubbed my chest.

"Mmm, that feels good baby," I told her. "You really know how to make a man feel loved."

"I can do so much more for you than she can."

I spun around. The naked woman in the shower with me was not my wife. For what seemed like minutes I gaped at the blonde woman standing before me. My mind couldn't put it together. The girl smiled at me and tilted her head adorably.

"Did I frighten you?"

Her voice was little more than a whisper, but was as sweet and smooth as a song. My mouth moved to speak, but I couldn't. I stared blankly at her in shock. She was gorgeous. I was breathless at the sight of her flowing curves. Her tits were full and hung naturally. I tried to keep my eyes from the neat blonde patch between her thighs.

She stepped forward. "Do you like what you see?"

I stepped back against the tile. My heart was pounding in my chest. Finally I found the words to speak.

"Who are you? What are doing in my house?"

Her blue eyes twinkled when she grinned. "Does it matter?"

My eyes shot toward the door. It was still closed. Rachel was just inside in the bed. How had this girl gotten in here? What the hell was she doing?

The woman moved through the cascade of water and I forgot all worries. Shock became awe as my eyes followed the water streaming down her fair skin, over her breasts, down her flat stomach, and beyond. She seemed to glow in the dim light overhead. A breath escaped my quivering lip when she came to stand inches from me.

It hurt to look at her. The young woman's gaze drifted up my chest to my face. Our eyes met and I was hooked.

"You want me to leave?" She asked.

I couldn't even respond. Her sweet scent filled my nose and intoxicated me. The images of honeysuckles and flowers flooded my mind. A single hand cupped my side. Another closed around the shaft of my cock. It strained in her delicate grip. I gasped and went rigid. I glanced nervously at the bathroom door.

"Shh." The woman's fingers turned my chin toward her face. "Don't worry. You're with me now."

The door faded. She was pressing me down gently, and I sank until I was sitting against the tile. My chest heaved as I stared up at the radiant woman, but I couldn't keep my gaze from her thighs. She caressed herself right before my eyes. The folds of flesh beneath her yellow hair peeled aside. My cock throbbed and I trembled.

Then she was squatting. Without realizing it, I was positioning myself underneath her while the woman straddled my lap. Echoes bounced from wall to wall in my head, warnings and alarms, all screaming for me to resist. How could I? Why would I? She was there with me... or was it a dream? Had I passed out in the shower?

The woman placed one hand on my shoulder and another on my hard cock. She adjusted herself, and her motions caused her breasts to wobble right before my eyes. I couldn't stifle the moan that escaped when her stiff pink nipples brushed my lips. The swollen tip of my cock prodded her below as she guided me to her hole. It was like standing on a cliff waiting to take the plunge. I glanced up past her breasts and through the strands of her blonde hair.

She eased down and warmth coated my shaft. My jaw dropped as the woman sank into my lap. Though the last sane thought in my head was to push her away, my hands went to her pale thighs and pulled her closer. Pure lust took over. Jolts of orgasmic sensations hit the head of my dick when she rocked her pelvis forward. She was so moist.

The strange girl built a rhythm. She never slowed, but slid herself gently up and down my shaft. Her arms curled behind my head and I my face became buried in her breasts. I couldn't resist. My mouth opened and sucked her flesh into my lips. I was buried beneath this woman and drowning in ecstasy. I tongued her nipples, squeezed her clenching ass, and rubbed at the rolling arch of her back. The moans that wanted to burst from my mouth became stuttering, hissing, hot breaths against her skin.

She was laughing. It was a beautiful sound. I writhed uncontrollably while she fucked me. The girl was amazing. Her movements were more like a dance than anything, fluid and precise. At one point she threw back her head and drug her fingers across her lips, down her neck, and around her left breast. She cupped her flesh and fed it into my mouth. I sucked and bit harder as the burn in my cock built.

My legs began to kick. My ass cheeks clenched and my hips thrust. I clutched her thighs for dear life. As I throbbed inside the woman, her body rocked against me harder and harder. The breath rushed from my nose onto her tit. Part of me wanted to grab her and slow her down, to make it last. I couldn't. I physically couldn't. She was leading the dance, and I was about to explode.

My hips lurched. I came hard inside of her. She didn't stop. I went into spasms underneath her while she laughed and rode me relentlessly. I could feel hot cum leaking down onto my balls. God it was unbearably amazing. Groping at her plump little ass, I tried to reel her body in. It was useless. I started to see spots before I squeezed my eyelids shut.

At last her hips slowed. Her pussy sank to the bottom of my shaft. The girl held my face to her chest while my weakening cock pumped within her. It was so damn peaceful and I was so damned worn out. Only then did the thoughts of guilt come plummeting back to me. I thought about the woman's laugh. Rachel... she could have heard her. I opened my eyes and turned to face the girl in my lap.

I blinked and looked around. I was sitting in the shower. My dick was limp. My shoulders were slumped against the tile wall. A throbbing pain shot through my neck. I massaged the soreness while I tried to assemble the scattered fragments in my head. Retracing my steps wasn't easy. Everything seemed like a haze. Cold water hit my legs. I stood wearily and turned off the water.

I remembered her. The image of the blonde was so clear in my mind. She was so damn beautiful. Those tits, those legs, that body... I could still feel the lips of her pussy sliding up and down my shaft. Chills rippled out from my chest just thinking about that girl.

I had never had a wet dream quite like that.

****

I smelled bacon.

My eyes opened. I swept my arm around as I stretched and found that Rachel wasn't in the bed. It was odd for her to be awake before I was. It was also pretty odd that I smelled bacon. The thought had me up and out of bed.

I trudged into the kitchen. She didn't notice I was there. Skillets were on the stove sizzling. Rachel hurried from one side of the room to the other. She piled food onto a single plate, then placed it on the table. She turned quickly, her eyes scanning for something. Rachel stopped in her tracks when she saw me. Her fingers laced together and she smiled sheepishly.

I grinned back at her. "What is this?"

"Uh, well," Rachel said, her eyes flitting across the floor, "I... thought you might want breakfast. Your bacon is extra crunchy."

"You're cooking for me?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled wider. "It's just breakfast, Adam. You just heat a bunch of meat up."

She was adorable. My t-shirt was huge on her, but barely hid her thong panties. Her black hair was still in tangles and stood on her head in places. She was really getting tan. Something about those tats had drawn me to her in the first place, and they still looked just as sexy on that tan skin. My heart swelled and laughed at the same time. Rachel rarely managed to boil water, and yet there was a full plate of food at my spot at the table. I stepped close to her and put my hands on her waist.

"Baby, you don't have to cook for me."

"I want to," Rachel said. "I know it's what you were used to."

I looked into her full brown eyes. There was still plenty of hurt there.

"I'm used to you," I told her. "I'm used to this."

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. Holding her body against mine and kissing her still felt like heaven. Her hand pushed gently at my chest and our lips parted.

"Oh! You have to sit down! There's something I want to show you."

Rachel hurried past me. I eyed the plate of food and my mouth watered. As I took my seat and crunched into a strip of bacon, Rachel came back to the table. She seemed excited. It took her several seconds before she was able to speak.

"I, uh... there was someone here with me yesterday."

I glanced up at her. "Huh?"

"A woman." Rachel shifted. "It sounds really wierd, but like right after you left, I was swimming in the pool... and she was just there. This woman."

Instantly I got goosebumps. I thought of my dream.

"What are you talking about, babe?"

"A woman. She was swimming in the pool with me. I dunno how she got there, or where she came from."

Rachel bit her lip and her eyes fell to the table.

"She came on to me. Then, uh, she was gone."

I raised my eyebrows and forked a bite of egg into my mouth. In my head I kept seeing the blonde from my dream. Even thinking of that ravishing woman made me feel guilty in front of Rachel. Had Rachel seen the same woman? Had I heard her correctly? A woman had come on to her?

"What do you mean she was gone?" I asked. "What did you guys do?"

Rachel ignored the question and tossed something onto the table in front of me. It was a book. I looked up at my wife. She stared at me with anticipation. I reached and slid the leather bound book closer. There was a tiny strap with a button, but it appeared to be broken.

"What's this supposed to be?" I asked.

"I found that yesterday afternoon," Rachel said. "It was just sitting on my nightstand on top of the book I've been reading, like I was supposed to find it."

I looked at her skeptically, but Rachel continued.

"It's a diary. A woman's diary. I spent all night reading it and I'm nowhere near finished. But I'm pretty sure we have a ghost."

I stopped eating and looked at her. Ghosts. Of course she would say that. It wasn't the first time she'd come up with some paranormal daydream. She was quite the superstitious girl.

I cleared my throat. "A ghost?"

"Don't look at me like that," Rachel said giggling. "Look I'm serious. I know I saw a woman in the pool with me. No doubt. Then I find this book? Adam, it's a love diary. This woman, Rose? She wrote down every single encounter she had. And this chick had lots. She wrote about each person she was involved with, about how she had sex with them, and how she played them."

"Really."

"Get this." Rachel leaned forward. "Remember this thing?"

I glanced up from my plate to see that she was holding the handkerchief. For some reason I froze when I saw the thing. It was as if I could smell the sweet fragrance of flowers just looking at it.

"Rose used to leave a 'favor' for her lovers. She would leave this handkerchief some place where they'd find it to let them know... you know... that she was ready for them. It was like her calling card. If you found this on your doorstep, Rose was coming to see you that night."

I casually opened the diary and leafed through a few pages. The handwritten entries were inscribed beautifully with a red pen in cursive. A couple times I saw the words "wine" or "romantic", but there were also words like "cock" or "fingered". I looked at Rachel and grinned.

"So, you think we have a ghost that's a whore?" I asked chuckling.

Rachel sneered at me. "Her stories are hot, I'll have you know."

"So you found a handkerchief. Did she have sex with you?"

I took a bite of bacon and chewed loudly until I realized Rachel was silent. She was staring at the table, grinning with her tongue in her cheek. I sat back in my chair and laughed.

"No way," I said. "I don't believe this. You think you had sex with a ghost?"

Rachel merely blinked at me and smiled.

"Now I've heard everything. I thought it was bad when you and Rita tried to convince me that Mr. Tibbord had a dead girl in his basement. You girls gotta stop your Ouija board stuff."

Rachel smiled but rolled her eyes. "This is different, Adam, and it has nothing to do with Rita. I don't need a medium to tell me what I saw yesterday, what I felt."

"I never figured you as a closet lesbian."

"Oh, you'd love ghost girlie," Rachel told me, playing right along. "She was pretty. Had long blonde hair, big rack. What is it guys say, 'curtains matched the rug' or something? And blue eyes like I've never seen."

I froze. That was impossible. Rachel had just described the girl from the shower in my dream. I hadn't spoken a word to her about it. The vision of those crystal blue eyes and big pink nipples surfaced in my head. I stared at Rachel. She was studying me intently.

"Oh my god," she said. "You... you've seen her."

Rachel stood up from the table with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were shining with excitement. I sighed and scooted back from the table.

"Holy shit," Rachel went on. "You saw her, too! Where? Where was she? Was it last night?"

I patted the air. "Baby, it was just a dream, I was tired as hell last night."

"Oh, a dream?" Rachel wore a knowing smirk. "I'll bet you saw the handkerchief just before you saw her, didn't you?"

The idea did make me balk for a second. Had it not been on the sink? Still, I remembered waking up in a cold shower with a headache. It wasn't like she had necessarily described the exact same blonde. I rose from the table. Rachel was eyeing me.

"You did see her." The light in her eyes changed briefly. "What did she do?"

I planted a kiss on my wife's forehead. I took her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Baby, it was a dream. A wierd dream. You've fallen asleep I don't know how many times on a float in the pool. You might've dreamed something similar. It's wierd. Not ghosts."

Rachel motioned to the diary and the handkerchief on the table.

"I'm dreaming those, too?"

I glanced at the clock in the stove. I didn't have much time for a debate of logic and reason.

"I gotta get ready for work, babe."

****

When Adam left for work, I went about tidying up the kitchen. I hated doing dishes but it had to get done. If I was going to do this housewife thing and be a mother one day I had to get used to the whole cooking and cleaning thing. Sometimes I wondered if having two jobs was actually easier than the life I was planning.

I was excited. I wanted to get everything done so I could start reading the diary again. Adam could deny shit all he wanted. I knew I wasn't crazy. I knew what I had seen and felt that day, and it was incredible. It was still pretty surreal to think it was really happening. When I thought of ghosts it wasn't usually so... sexy.

Reading that woman's diary wasn't just exciting because of the ghost thing. I remembered the story about the lawyer. He'd won some case for her, some disability or insurance thing. She paid him not just with cash but by leaving her handkerchief at his office from time to time.

And fucking his brains out.

It was so forbidden, so sexy to read those diary entries. I had seen her. Rose had left me that token, she had come to me, and we... My panties grew moist just thinking about what had happened. I had to read more. I had to get to the end of that diary. Briefly I thought about calling Rita and telling her about it. No, I couldn't do that. She'd just tell me not to be dabbling with stuff like that.