Wandering Bk. 06: Charlie

Charlie turned back to me and smiled. She had been embarrassed by the actions of her ex-boyfriend, but I sensed she was relieved that it was over. No damage had been done to either the hosts or the guests - just an unhappy event that was soon forgotten.

"I think I've come out of this ahead," Charlie volunteered as she looked at me. Her gaze was unwavering and her bright blue eyes didn't blink.

I said nothing, but I was pretty sure there was a smile on my face.

We sat there, chatting comfortably as Lew talked about the plans for the lodge and his need to hire some additional help as the place grew. There were currently ten rooms and that meant twenty meals, three times a day, plus housekeeping and maintenance. They had help in the barn from an old local cowhand who looked after the horses and the trail rides. Lew handled the bookings and there was a part-time bookkeeper for the accounts.

If they expanded to handle up to ten or twenty more couples, they would need more help to manage the extra people and facilities. Their operation was virtually full from April to October, so any expansion would have to happen in the five quiet months. Both Lew and Francine were genuinely enjoying their life. It was demanding but they were well suited to the task.

I volunteered my limited skills for the remainder of my stay, and they happily accepted. Both of them knew the reason for my travels this spring and summer, and sometimes having a task is helpful therapy as well. Charlie noticeably brightened when I made it clear that I would stay as long as I could be useful. I was pretty sure Francine picked up on that as well.

It was ten o'clock when Francine and Lew shuffled off to their quarters. I poured Charlie and me each a small brandy and returned to my place beside her.

"It sounds like you had an exciting start to your vacation," hoping I wasn't opening an old wound.

"That's an understatement!" She was shaking her head. "I don't know what I was thinking when I invited him. I didn't even like him that much. I guess it was a sign of desperation."

"I find it hard to believe you would be desperate." I meant it. She was a handsome and very alive woman who should immediately attract men.

"I suppose that my business life puts some of them off. I'm at the shop all day, every day but Sunday. We often work nights on special projects."

"You do some of the work yourself?" I asked, surprised.

"Yup. Dad taught me just about everything I needed to know, and he still does. I can handle an English Wheel as well as anyone," she said with some pride.

"I thought those days were gone. Don't you just buy a replacement body panels now?" I asked.

"Yes, for the regular work. But we specialize in working on collector and antique cars. It's the most profitable part of the business. Parts aren't easily available, so we have to repair and restore and even fabricate a lot of the panels."

I was nodding in admiration as I began to understand just how involved Charlie was in her business.

"Do you think that hinders your finding ... dates ... I mean ... a guy?" I asked tentatively.

"I suppose. I've been so into the business in the past ten years since Dad got sick that I haven't given myself much of a chance for a personal life. Maybe that's why I'm not having much luck with my choices." She was looking off at the fireplace as she spoke, lost in her thoughts.

I reached over and covered her hand with mine without saying anything. She turned toward me and smiled, then leaned into me and kissed me lightly on the lips. I wasn't surprised. We had been heading in this direction since we met earlier. She trusted me and I desired her.

I reached back into my voluminous supply of clichés and asked, "Your place or mine?"

She snorted and chortled briefly as she composed herself. "Yours. If you can't cut it, I can just get up and leave."

"And if I can?"

"Well then ... we can make other arrangements for the future," she said with crinkled smile.

I pulled her toward me and we kissed much more passionately. She was responding very nicely, I thought. I was looking forward to what would come next. We were pretty conspicuous out in the middle of the great room, so I rose and helped Charlie up from the sofa. We walked wordlessly back to my room, closing the door behind us.

Neither of us was interested in lingering over a sensuous undressing of each other. That was for another time. At this moment, we knew exactly what we wanted and both of us quickly stripped. I placed the small night table lamp on the floor and covered it with my shirt after switching it on. With all the other lights off, it provided a nice, softly-lit atmosphere as we slipped under the covers. We resumed our embrace from the sofa.

Charlene was a big woman, but she wasn't fat. She was simply an oversized female with dramatic proportions. A large head with a prominent nose and a mass of curly blonde hair. Her eyes were a pale blue, her large mouth displaying an almost perfect set of white teeth. Big shoulders and big breasts, with large irregularly shaped areolas and prominent nipples.

Her rounded tummy featured a quarter-sized birthmark and a small navel cavity. She had trimmed and shaved her pubic hair to highlight her extended pink lips at the junction of her hefty thighs. She was truly all-woman, and a formidable challenge to me as I gazed at her voluptuous form.

"Foreplay?" I asked softly.

"No ... I'm too horny to wait."

I slipped my hand between her thighs and gently rubbed her outer lips, testing for lubrication. There was some, but not a lot, and so I carefully entered her with my index finger and massaged the opening to her vagina. In a matter of seconds, I felt the increase in wetness and I was satisfied it would be effortless if I was careful.

I invited her to guide me in and she quickly took me in hand, stroking the head of my cock over her now moistened labia and then moving me to her opening. Her hips arched upwards as she tried to pull me in. She wanted me inside her and she wanted me now.

As I pushed forward, I could feel her hands gripping my ass and pulling me in, demanding my full penetration. I began to relax and allowed her to set the pace. Within a few seconds she was telling me what she wanted.

"Faster, Lee! Harder! I need it harder!" she moaned.

I did what I could, still a bit worried about being too rough. She was thrashing about on the bed, her hands slapping my ass and then falling to her sides. I felt like a jockey riding a horse, but the horse had the whip. At some point, I let go and allowed myself to give in to her demands. If this was what she wanted, then I would give it to her for as long as I could.

Charlie was silent. She was grunting and sucking in air as I pounded into her, but saying nothing. Her head was rolling back and forth for a while until suddenly she stiffened, almost lifting her shoulders off the bed. A grunt and then a long, shuddering sigh signalled her orgasm. That was the trigger for me as well.

I rolled to the side with my arm fondling one lovely, big buttock. Charlie's eyes were closed, but she was still awake. She was breathing heavily and her hand reached out to caress my face. I heard a sigh of satisfaction accompanied by a smile as I waited for her recovery.

A couple of minutes later, her eyes opened and she smiled at me.

"Did that help?" I asked softly.

"Yes. That was a big help. I'm sorry if I was impatient. I really needed you to just ... fuck me. I didn't want a nice, slow, loving, sex session. I needed a good hard, old fashioned fucking."

I nodded my understanding.

"Does that put you off?" she asked carefully.

"Not at all," I assured her. "There's a time and a place for everything when it comes to sex."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I have some ... special needs. I hope they don't ... discourage you," she said, her eyes searching my face for a reaction.

"Tell me about them." I briefly wondered if I truly wanted to know everything.

"I like rough sex now and then. I'm a big girl and some men act a bit nervous around me. I like to be dominated by a man every so often, just to feel more like an ordinary woman."

"I can't bring myself to think of you as an ordinary woman. But I understand what you mean. What else?"

"Uhhhmmm ... I like anal sex. Not all the time, but it can be great with the right man." Again, she was tentative with her admission.

"Well, I've don't have much experience, but ... I'm OK with that," I said. "And?" I continued.

"Uhhhmmm ... a little bondage?" She was obviously testing the water and seeing just how adventuresome I was willing to be.

"Oh ... well ... I have experienced a bit of that a long time ago with my wife, but nothing ... violent, you know."

"I like to be tied up and blindfolded. I like to pretend I'm a damsel in distress and that you are going to take me against my will. It's sort of a rape fantasy," she explained.

She was very unsure of how I was reacting to all this. To be truthful, I was very unsure of how I was reacting to it as well. On one hand, it sounded exciting. On the other, was it too kinky or depraved or even dangerous? I decided to let Charlie take the lead.

"Don't worry, Lee. I know you won't hurt me and it really turns me on. It isn't something I want to do every time. Just once in a while ... you know ... to keep things exciting?"

"I think I understand, but you'll have to make allowances for a poor city boy who's lived a sheltered life," I chuckled.

My humor lifted her doubts and she smiled back, reaching for me to pull me close. We held each other for a while until she turned to me again.

"You think you can help me put out the fire again?" she asked.

"I think I can ... but just how would you like me to put out that fire?"

"Well, this is a ranch, and I do like to ride, so ... why don't I saddle up?" she grinned.

"Your steed awaits." We were back to having fun. I always thought it was the best part of sex.

I was almost erect and Charlie looked after fixing that with her tongue, lips and fingers. She mounted me and slid effortlessly down on my again rigid cock and quickly began to stroke. I could have remained still, but with my hands on her hips I was involuntarily moving with her, revelling in the sensations.

I placed my hands on her lovely big breasts and began to knead them, running my thumbs over her nipples at the same time. That elicited a groan and a sigh from Charlie as she closed her eyes and surrendered to the sexual waves passing through her. Instead of the reckless abandon of our first joining, it was brimming in erotic intensity.

We carried on quite a while in this position, but remained dangling on the edge of the precipice. It was Charlie that broke the spell.

"Lee ... I want to play a different game," she said breathlessly.

"Hmmm," was all I could manage.

"Let's play 'get along, little doggie,'" she said, looking down at me.

I must have had a quizzical look on my face until it dawned on me and I smiled.

She lifted off me and then crawled up over me until her sex was directly over my mouth. She lowered herself on me and I was quick to capture her clit in my lips and stroke it with my tongue. She responded immediately with a jolt and I felt her stiffen.

It was just a pit stop on the way to what she said she had wanted. She must have decided it was too good to pass up. I think she expected me to take my time before I went for the 'bull's-eye.' I heard her gasp and croak out a cry as I pressed my lips over the sensitive nub and dragged the raspy top of my tongue over the end. Having achieved the result I expected, I released her.

"Oh fuck ... that was a surprise," she gasped.

"Don't you like surprises," I chuckled.

"Love 'em," she said, still coming down from the shock of the sensation.

I slid out from underneath her and moved up behind her. She leaned back into me and my hands went automatically to her breasts. I gently squeezed and pinched them and Charlie squirmed in my embrace. Her head came back on her shoulder and I leaned forward to kiss her.

By now, my entry into her was effortless and we resumed our easy, rhythmic pace. I wasn't in any hurry to finish and the thrusts and moans Charlie responded with were the tell-tale that she was well into the zone. We could cruise like this for some time, I thought.

Charlie had other ideas, however. She began gripping my cock with her internal muscles and her push-back was becoming more insistent. I had a hunch what was coming and I was right.

"Harder, Lee! Do me, baby! Do me!"

I smiled as she began once more to pick up the pace, pleading for more action. I was only too happy to comply. This woman had big appetites. She enjoyed sex and made no bones about it. If we were going to become a couple for the next while, I was going to get a workout ... that was guaranteed.

I was hoping to last a little longer, and I was able to get Charlie off at least once more before we collapsed. We lay facing each other, breathing heavily from our exertions. I reached over and lightly pinched a nipple between the knuckles of my index and forefinger. My thumb stroked her areola and I could feel her nipple grow and respond. Her eyes flickered open and she smiled.

"I think we're going to be just fine together," she mumbled sleepily.

Who was I to argue?

My next conscious thought arrived sometime after six the next morning as I heard sounds from the kitchen and guessed that Francine and Lew were up. I looked over my shoulder at Charlie, still asleep at my back. I carefully extracted myself from the bed, picked up my bag and moved to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, I had showered, shaved and dressed. I slipped quietly out the door and padded down the hall toward the kitchen.

"Good morning," I said quietly as I walked in on Francine and Lew working in tandem, just as they had the previous afternoon.

"Hi ... you're up early," Francine said brightly.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Sure ... if you'd like, you can set the table," Francine responded.

I set about my task after ascertaining the setting she wanted. It took less than ten minutes and I was back in the kitchen, accepting an offered coffee.

"So, you've made a new friend then?" Lew smiled.

"Yeah. So it seems," I grinned. "I think she was a bit lonely and down, but trying hard to hide it."

"You should have seen the jerk she brought. Movie star looks, movie star ego and no class ... not a speck," Francine said.

"We were pretty concerned for a while. It's the first time I've ever thought I was going to have to call in the cops to deal with a customer. Luckily, he was all talk and no action," Lew continued.

"Neither of us can figure out what Charlie was doing with a jerk like him," Francine said, shaking her head. "She's got more class in her little finger than that guy was ever going to have in a lifetime."

"She's a very different kind of woman, alright," I volunteered. "Smart, ambitious, talented."

"You forgot good-looking and sexy," Francine laughed.

"Oh no I didn't. I was just trying to be a gentleman for a change," I kidded.

"Who are you guys talking about," a sleepy voice came from behind me. Charlie shuffled into the kitchen. She had obviously gone up to her room to get a change of clothes and was dressed in shorts and a baggy t-shirt.

"You, of course," Lew and I chorused. That brought about more laughter.

Charlie strolled up behind me, wrapping her arms around me and hanging her chin on my shoulder.

"I have an announcement," Charlie said, smiling over my shoulder. "Mr. Dickhead has been replaced. I'm pleased to introduce my new good friend," she paused. "What did you say your name was?"

Another round of laughs. I turned my head and gave her a good morning kiss on the cheek.

"Smart move, Charlie. This one comes with references," Francine bantered.

It was a light, fun mood in the kitchen. All the while, preparations for breakfast were continuing. It was also plain that Charlie and Francine had become friends. Their playful sparring was unforced and dissolved any possible tension from that first day. The fact that Charlie and I had become lovers was accepted without comment.

I found gainful employment in the barn that morning. I needed it. The breakfast was fabulous and I made a pig of myself. I figured some strenuous exercise would be the only way I could even face the prospect of more food before the evening.

The back of the lodge faced toward the old buildings of the ghost town and the large swimming pool took up most of the area behind my room and the kitchen. I had volunteered to help move some hay from the loft to the ground floor of the barn. Any grass in the large, fenced paddocks had long since burned off and hay was the order of the day, along with the twice-a-day ration of oats and other feed supplements.

The horses were an expensive asset and they had to be cared for regularly. A vet called in at the lodge every month, just to review the health of nearly thirty animals. Each day featured a trail ride to one of the many locations nearby, including a lake, a forested area, the cattle range, and some rolling sagebrush-strewn hills to the west. There were plenty of streams, so even the hot weather of summer could be managed as long as the horses were well-watered and not ridden hard.

Stripped to the waist, I was soaked in sweat by noon, with prickly bits of hay irritating my skin. I had moved almost a hundred bales. More than needed, but I had filled the day-feed pen. It felt good to be active, but I expected my muscles would be sore from the unaccustomed effort.

The pool looked too good to pass up and I slipped into my room, showered quickly, donned my trunks and returned to the pool for a swim. It was the perfect answer. I was standing on the bottom along the side, up to my shoulders in water when I felt a soft pair of hands clasp my head. I didn't need to guess who it was.

"Hi Charlie."

"Hi Lee. Are you all finished your work?"

"Yup. There's enough hay there for the rest of the week. I've earned my lunch."

"You've earned more than that," she said seductively.

"Hmmmm ... whatcha got in mind?" I knew perfectly well what she had in mind.

"How about a nice siesta after lunch and then maybe we can go for a ride by the lake," she said in that same sexy voice.

"Will I get much rest during my siesta?"

"No chance in hell," she laughed.

"I didn't think so. Well, I guess we all have to make sacrifices."

I demonstrated a great deal of restraint at the barbeque luncheon. I had a hot dog, a tossed salad and a beer. I was still working off my excess from breakfast. I'm glad I did. Charlie had a full schedule planned for siesta, and I was the main course.

I had no illusions that I was falling in love. This was lust, friendship, but nothing more. On the other hand, Charlie wasn't expecting anything either. She wanted to feel good and feel wanted. I had the sense that it had been some time since someone ... anyone ... had made an effort to make her feel desired. It was something I could do without a second thought. I found her enormously sexy and open. She was another in the recent parade of women who had restored my ego and self confidence.

Our "afternoon delight" was slow, sensuous and interrupted by little rests. Touching, kissing, talking softly, watching and learning what pleased each other. It may have been the perfect siesta after all. When we rose it was nearly three. We put on our swimwear, holding hands as we strolled to the pool. The ride could wait for another day.

Before and after dinner, I resumed my role as bartender and Charlie and I had a chance to spend some time with the German couple. They were a bit shy, primarily because they were uncertain of their language skills. They needn't have been. We had no problem understanding them. In typically direct Teutonic fashion, they asked about Charlie's original "escort." We laughed as he was dismissed from our thoughts. In equally characteristic European fashion, my liaison with Charlie was accepted as nothing unusual.