New York, September 1777

Annabella gaped at her lover as he pointed to the hayloft with a quirk of his brow. “Not there either, Redmond,” she complained, her hands on her hips.

Redmond laughed and pulled her to him, a twinkle in his blue-green eyes. “I can think of no place more secluded to enjoy your luscious body, my sweet.” He greedily kissed her mouth.

For a second, she complied, until the whinny of a horse reminded her where they were. She shook herself free. “I will not go into a hayloft and mess my hair and dress. Lady Strathmore and I will be going to Chesterton this afternoon and I will not look like a harlot.”

Redmond grabbed her at the waist, securing her easily as he tantalized the sensitive skin of her neck with a slow stroke of his tongue.

“I will not lie with you in a horse stall nor a hayloft.” This time her protest was a bit more subdued. If it weren’t for the fact that she would not have time to bed her betrothed and fix her hair and dress before doing her duty for her mistress, Annabella would have lain with Redmond anywhere, in any position, damn the hay and smells.

“I have brought a very large, well-shaken, comfortable blanket for you, my love,” Redmond said, his mouth now at her cleavage. “And you may be on top. Your dress will not get mussed.”

He did not wait for an answer but grabbed the aforementioned blanket hanging over a stall partition and proceeded up the ladder to the hayloft.

“Oh, damnation!” Annabella muttered before following him.

By the time she reached the top, he was already lying on the blanket, his hands laced behind his head, his desire apparent from the bulge at his crotch, his lips spread in a devilishly inviting smile.

It was precisely that look that had captured her heart six months ago.

Before she met him, Annabella was just beginning to realize she had something men wanted, and that she wanted something from them in return. From their whispers and entreaties, she discovered her auburn hair, blossoming womanly figure, and new-found coquettishness gave her a certain power with the men in the village, and especially with the soldiers quartered there. And then she caught the attention of General Strathmore. He had come to the village to hire his household staff, his eyes betraying an ulterior motive the moment he espied her. He asked her intimate questions and she responded willingly, ensnared by his seductive charisma. She admitted she was a virgin, and he immediately paid her mother a handsome sum to live in the Strathmore home as the lady’s maid.

It was the general himself who gave Annabella her first kiss and taught her how to provide particular pleasures to a man with her mouth and tongue.

Annabella quickly realized she could get whatever she wanted from a man if she promised him a kiss or allowed him a grope or especially if she offered the services of her newly acquired oral skills. She could also withdraw her attentions to punish the men who worked for the Strathmore house. Annabella held sway over the footmen, butler, and boy-of-all-work—who was really a man at eighteen. Never, though, did she part with her virginity.

Then she met Redmond Moncrief. He was a groom in the Strathmore stables, strong and charming, with chiseled good looks and sandy blond hair, a little older than she—and at first not very interested. Redmond knew the general amused himself with Annabella and grumbled to her that he wanted no part of an illicit affair. Annabella flirted for a bit, then grew indifferent after his unwavering rebuffs. There were plenty of other men to play with.

But Redmond’s very presence weighed heavily. He was always, simply, there—saddling horses for the general and his men or harnessing a team to the coach for Lady Strathmore, laughing heartily, complimenting freely. She grew very fond of him, and his smiles let her know he responded in kind. One afternoon he announced he utterly burned for her and could no longer resist her, which was just fine as she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

His kiss was genuine, affecting, so different from all the others. It was not a kiss to satisfy a man’s curiosity as to what it was like to taste her full lips, but a kiss meant to be as pleasurable for her as it was for him. She learned from him that a man may kiss a woman in other ways, a kiss that would keep her virtue intact, but imparted unimaginable pleasure.

But it wasn’t enough. It didn’t take long for her to give in to their mutually pressing desires. It happened in the utter darkness, in the dead of night, amongst a grove of trees far away from the main house. Redmond promised Annabella he would marry her as soon as the general decided he no longer needed her services.

They had to keep their relationship secret, although Annabella accidentally told Lady Strathmore. With that admission, Annabella found herself in the middle of a little intrigue. Lord Strathmore must not know about her and Redmond, and Lady Strathmore must not know about her and the general. For a girl of seventeen it was all very exciting.

And now, here she was with Redmond in the hayloft. She had gone to tell him to prepare the coach when they both realized they were alone in the stable. Nowadays, they took every opportunity they could get, sometimes making love more than once a day, sometimes not for several days.

This time, it had been at least a day since their last amorous encounter and she was on edge.

“I see you’re ready for me, love,” whispered Annabella sweetly. As she crawled to him in the hayloft, her thighs chafed and squeezed her sex, already swollen and wet. She immediately set about unbuttoning his fly, swiftly and expertly, licking her lips as his thick eager cock sprang forth proudly once set free. No words passed between them as she pulled up her skirts and straddled him, holding the head of his prick at her entrance. She teased him, wetting the glans with her own slickness, then taking in just the plum tip. She nipped him with her now-expert muscles, clenching and releasing, watching ecstasy spread across his face as he closed his eyes and lolled his head on the blanket.

But time was not their friend. Their encounters always had to be brief. Redmond gave her a chastising look and grabbed her thighs as the signal to stop her playfulness. She bent over him and gently kissed his lips in response. Then, in one motion, she engulfed his enormous hardness and sucked his tongue into her mouth.

He encircled her with his strong arms, holding her steadily against him as he thrust into her from below, deeply, resolutely, a man in need of release. His ragged exhales matched his rhythm, while she gripped him with a syncopated beat until her first orgasm overtook her. His would soon follow, but he slowed his pace as he often did, generously allowing her to have as much sensual indulgence as possible.

Annabella buried her head in his shoulder to muffle her puffs and pants. She had learned not to scream, to not make any noise whatsoever, even as wave after wave of wanton orgiastic joy thrilled her. She knew Redmond’s cues, knew the excited pace of his breathing and the lost look in his eyes that precipitated his crisis. He was there now.

He let go of her, letting her sit up and take control, even while he continued thrusting. He nodded to her, his twisted expression reflecting the strain of holding out to the last possible moment.

She rolled to his side then held his cock to the blanket as he came in abundant spurts. He allowed himself to exhale audibly.

Annabella kissed his heated cheek. “I must be off to my lady, my sweet. I’ll see you when you bring the coach around.” She smoothed down her skirts and descended the hayloft ladder, unable to contain the smile on her face.

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Copyright © Regina Kammer, 2008-2013