Desire's Golden Dreams Read online

  Bolt loved both his parents, but they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Although he was fast approaching thirty, he felt like a kid being shuttled between parents with joint custody. He pulled off his clothes and buried himself under the shower spray. Hannah always was, and always would be, his salvation and all he needed in life.

  The memory of her naked body in the woods a few minutes ago brought a silly grin to his face and to his heart. The way she straddled him and madly rode his cock made the dang thing rise again. He turned the water to cold. That got him out of the shower quickly and into a tee and the lounging pants his mother insisted on in her house. No one would be wandering her halls in underwear.

  He couldn’t keep his mind on anything but Hannah. The way she spaced out and said things she couldn’t recall was odd for a woman with an MBA. She might be coming down with the flu or something. He grabbed his cell and texted her. “R u ok?”

  She answered immediately. “K and going to a movie with Melia. Sleep well. Luv u.”

  Her curt message did not relieve Bolt’s mind. About to dress and run over to see her, a knock on his door turned him to ice. Not tonight. He could not deal with his mother tonight.

  “I’m in bed, Mom.” He hopped into bed hoping she’d hear the mattress creak or something.

  She opened the door and came in anyway. “Good, then we can talk with no distractions.”

  He had to smile as she sat on the bed down by his feet. She looked, as always, like a character straight out of The Great Gatsby. She favored pastel, waistless dresses with a rope of long pearls. This evening’s selection was pink with three rows of ruffles at the hem.

  “Why in bed so early? It’s not yet ten.” Alice patted his feet.

  “You know why. Four a.m. comes awfully early.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. You’re not a saddle bum. You’re a doctor and could get there anytime convenient to you.”

  “Is there something else you wanted to talk about, Mom?”

  “Yes, dear. I saw you running across the yard to the Janes residence next door. You’ve been spending a lot of time with Hannah Janes. I hoped you’d outgrown that infatuation.”

  “I love Hannah. Love is not something I wish to outgrow.”

  “You know her family has an unfortunate past. Some of her relatives were quite unsuitable. Oh, they have money and travel in the highest circles of society, but no one takes them seriously.”

  “I take Hannah very seriously and if she were a derelict living on the street, I’d feel the same way.”

  “You do know her parentage is in question.”

  “Of course it isn’t. Her parents were married for years before she was born and would still be together if her mother had lived. You knew her mother, remember? She was a gracious woman, and your good friend. You always referred to her as a true lady.”

  “I don’t mean her parents. I’m referring to the first Hannah Tolliver who everyone knows had three or four lovers. You can’t be sure who the father was in a case like that.”

  “Let me go to sleep, Mom. I’m not going to worry about something that happened or didn’t happen a century ago.”

  “You may not worry, but I do. These are my grandchildren we’re talking about.”

  “No, you may be talking about them. I’m going to sleep.” He pulled the blankets up to his chin and turned his back to his mother. After a few seconds, she left the room.

  * * * *

  Hannah dressed in jeans and a tee and pulled on a jeans jacket. “Okay, Melia, I’m ready.”

  “Really, Hannah, really? You’re going like that?” Melia swept a hand over her own cropped top showing bare midriff and a flounce of a skirt that skimmed her bottom. She stomped a glitter-spangled, strappy stiletto heel. “How do I meet the man of my dreams if I tag along with a geeky friend who will be totally ignored by all red-blooded males?”

  “I’m not trying to attract any men, red or blue or purple blooded.”

  “I am. I can’t be seen in the company of a woman who doesn’t even try.”

  “What would you have me wear? I’m too tired to argue. I’ll put on anything you say.”

  Melia searched the walk-in closet and came out with a sheer, white blouse and a short white skirt and red, distressed leather boots. “Put these on.” She laid the clothes on the bed. “Sweep your stupid ponytail to one side and skinny these boots up your thighs.”

  Hannah groaned but dressed in the outfit Melia chose. “Happy, now?”

  “Your hair?”

  Hannah tugged her ponytail to one side of her head. “That’s all I can do. Is it enough to attract your Mr. Right?”

  “It’ll have to do, I guess. And I’m not looking for Mr. Right. I’m looking for Mr. Right Now.”

  “This outfit will probably get me arrested,” Hannah mumbled. “Okay. Now, quid pro quo time. Will you do me a favor tomorrow?”

  “Anything, sweet cheeks.” Melia appeared to be studying Hannah’s bottom.

  Hannah tugged the hem of the short skirt. “I need some space tomorrow. My dad’s in his computer room. Go down and tell him I’ll be staying at your house tonight and that tomorrow we’re going shopping all day.”

  “Are we?”

  “No, I have somewhere to go tomorrow and my dad would have a fit if he knew.”

  “Where? Can I come with?” Melia bounded down the stairs.

  “To the mine and no, you can’t come.”

  Melia ran into the room where Walter Janes sat at his computer. He put down the papers in his hand when he saw her.

  “Daddy, Walt, I’m kidnapping your daughter for a couple of days. We have some serious shopping to do.”

  “Okay, girls, have fun.” He waved to Hannah who stayed in the doorway because she couldn’t lie to her father’s face. She shook her head at his referring to her and Melia as “girls.” At twenty-four, they hadn’t been girls for years.

  Melia turned to Hannah with a thumbs-up signal and a shrug. “Piece of cake,” she whispered as they rushed out of the library, into the vestibule and out the front door. “You driving or am I?”

  Hannah drove because she needed her car tomorrow and feared she’d be stranded if Melia hooked up with someone tonight. Halfway through the movie, Melia disappeared into the lobby for the third time and never returned.

  Hannah made her way to her car in the dimly lit parking lot. She saw Melia plastered to the side of a grey van with a hunk of a man leaning over her. Hannah watched for a few minutes until the man lifted Melia up to his groin and she wrapped her legs around him. A white scrap of panties flew into the air and Melia’s husky laughter echoed all over the lot. Hannah smiled and left with no real destination in mind. Melia’s parents would ask questions if Hannah showed up there alone. She’d have to wait until Melia got home before going into her house. However, if she waited outside in her car, Melia’s parents might notice and wonder what was going on. Hannah circled the block twice with no sign of the gray van.

  Since Melia lived practically across the street from Bolt’s mother, the choice as to where to wait wasn’t difficult if she could manage to get to Bolt without his mother seeing her. This was crazy, since she and Bolt were independent adults, but Hannah tried to avoid his mother whenever possible. The woman peered at her as if expecting a gargoyle to pop out of Hannah’s neck at any moment. She drove her BMW convertible into the circular driveway in front of Bolt’s mother’s house, taking care to leave room for other cars. Before she cut the motor, a van drove up, came to a rolling stop, and out hopped Melia. The van sped off. Hannah drove out of the driveway, parked at Melia’s, and walked over to her friend.

  “I didn’t want you to have to hang around outside so we made plans to meet up later,” Melia said.

  “Fucking a stranger in the parking lot? Really?” Hannah huffed with hands on hips.

  “He works for my dad. We’ve met before.”

  “Oh, that’s okay, then.”

  “Don’t give me that high-and-mighty look
. I really needed that fuck. You don’t know how lucky you are to have that big guy of yours anytime you want.”

  “Oh, yes I do know how lucky I am to have Bolt. Come on, let’s get inside before we draw a crowd.” Hannah locked her car and followed Melia into the house. “What do you mean you’ll meet up with him later?”

  “Well, I sort of invited him over.” Melia ran up the stairs and into her room.

  “Seriously? You invited him over for a booty call?” Hannah burst in on her.

  “Yes, Mother Hannah, I did.”

  “Someone who works for your father and whose face you’ve seen once in passing? What if your dad wakes up and sees him here or your mom hears you two going at it?”

  “Dad is so deaf without his hearing aids, he won’t wake up and Mom sleeps with ear plugs so she won’t hear Dad snoring. It’s the only reason I continue to live here. That and the money I’m saving for shoes. This is not my first foray into crime of passion under my parents’ roof.”

  “Okay, I’ll be quiet. I guess you know what you’re doing. Far be it for me to be a killjoy. I’ll be in the adjoining room, right through that door. If you need help, holler.”

  “I’m sure Mr. Right Now would like your help, but I want him all to myself.” She shot Hannah a saucy wink. “At least the first time. After that feel free to join in if you want.”

  Hannah stopped in the doorway of the next room and turned to Melia, hands on hips. “Please tell me you at least know his name.”

  “Names, shames, he has a cock thick as a redwood log. That’s all I want to know tonight. Now, stop judging me. After all, I saved your ass for whatever nefarious deed you’re up to tomorrow.”

  “Yes, you did. I’ll say no more.” She took a step toward her room. “Maybe one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Would you mind if I watched from my side of the door?” Hannah couldn’t imagine fucking a man she didn’t know and wanted to see how it was done. Was talking first the norm or did they just go at it in silence?

  “Whoo-hoo that would be a real turn-on. Just don’t let him see you. Now, I’ve got to run to the back door and let him in. I have to punch in alarm codes and stuff so we don’t alert the media.”

  Hannah grabbed a tee shirt from the walk-in closet between the two rooms Melia used as hers. It had once been the nursery and nanny’s room and had a glass panel in the door so the nanny could check on the baby without walking into the room and waking her. It came in handy now. Hannah could watch without the guy knowing as long as she stayed in the shadows.

  While she dressed for bed in one of Melia’s tee shirts, heavy footsteps alerted her to Mr. Right Now’s presence.

  Pressed against the wall so as not to be seen, she looked through the glass as Melia and her date undressed each other. Melia gave her a surreptitious wave from hip level at one point. The guy was a magnificent specimen and certainly booty-call worthy. He seemed quite attached to Melia’s generous breasts and sucked and kneaded them with abandon.

  He quickly maneuvered her to the bed and lifted her on top of him. They played around a while before Melia slid down his body and gave him a five-minute blow job that had the guy panting and grasping Melia’s hair until Hannah was sure hunks of it would be falling out. Melia laughed when he spurted all over her tits.

  “I wanted you drained so you’d last a long, long time inside me. I’ll just be a moment.” Melia threw him a towel from the bathroom doorway before disappearing behind it.

  The heat from Hannah’s own pussy had her wiggling and wishing she’d crawled into bed with Bolt before Melia came home to let her in. She ran a hand over her nipples as the guy in Melia’s bed cleaned his cock and stroked it into readiness for Melia’s return.

  Bolt had been her first and only bed partner and she’d never desired anyone else, but watching this anonymous man jerk his hand along his cock made her want to join the fun in the next room. The ghost in the mine took over Hannah’s thoughts. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see if he actually existed or if she’d conjured him. That kiss…

  Luckily, Melia returned sans cum on her tits. She slid into bed beside her booty call and pet his now rigid member while he enjoyed playing with her tits again. They rolled around for a few minutes before the guy pushed up Melia’s knees and began eating her out. Hannah feared her friend’s screams would wake even her deaf father and ear-plugged mother.

  All became quiet after Melia was satisfied, but the peace only lasted a few seconds before the duo were at it again. Melia always said she liked being on top. She pushed her guy onto his back and slowly slid down his shaft with a contented sigh. She controlled the rhythm, first slow then fast and furious. Melia’s ass bouncing on that fat cock made Hannah so wet she had to use her fingers on herself to relieve the pressure building in her groin. The three of them came together and Hannah slid to the floor, exhausted.

  The shower in the next room was turned on but went silent when the lovers closed the bathroom door. Hannah went to bed thinking of tomorrow and her visit with a ghost. What craziness. Ghosts don’t exist. Then, whose kiss continued to burn on her lips? Whose touch was making her hot even now? Would the spirit, ghost, apparition, whatever it was, really be there again or had she imagined the whole episode?

  Since Melia’s father had left for work and her mother had gone to an appointment with her hairdresser, Hannah had breakfast with the kitchen help before Melia woke up the next morning. She’d heard moans of passion every time she woke up during the night. Mr. Right Now must have stayed until dawn. Her friend would not be up for hours. Good, she didn’t have to explain anything to anybody and she’d told no one except Melia where she was going. Her father would forbid her going alone if he got wind of her intentions. But he was off to his offices in Sacramento and would be gone all day. Melia would never tell. One never-to-be-broken rule between Melia and Hannah was that secrets were sacrosanct. Hannah wolfed down some toast and coffee and lit out as quickly as prudence would allow.

  Chapter Two

  Bolt only had half his concentration on his father as they walked toward the area where the sick cow had been isolated. He couldn’t figure out Hannah’s strange behavior after she’d been in the mine alone for only a few minutes. They usually talked about it if something was bothering one of them, but all she wanted to do was fuck. No conversation, no foreplay, just raw sex. It wasn’t like her not to want to talk and cuddle. The sex had been great, he had to admit. Anyone would think he was crazy to complain about it, but something seemed off about her. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she’d seen a ghost.

  “This is the animal we were worried about. See how his stomach bounces when he walks and how slowly he moves?” Buck Carmody had to shake his son’s shoulder to gain his attention. “Where are you, son?”

  “Sorry, Dad, I was thinking of something else.” Bolt bent to examine the animal’s eyes, then stood to watch the cow meander slowly and stiffly away from them. The veterinarian took over from the worried lover part of Bolt’s attention. The cow was definitely not well. “He does seem a bit gaunt. Wise of you to take him away from the herd. No use spreading whatever this is to the other stock. Looks like he’s going to rest under that tree. If he does, I’ll be able to do a preliminary exam right there.”

  After a cursory look at the animal’s limbs, mouth, ears, Bolt took a rectal temperature. “This early in the morning his temp shouldn’t have risen naturally yet. Have you examined his manure for mucus or blood?”

  “No signs of anything unusual since we pastured him here.”

  “Good, and his temp is normal. Have one of the hands keep a log of his behavior for the week I’m here and I’ll check on him every day. If he improves, fine. If not, I’ll do some lab work before I leave.”

  They walked back to the ranch house for a big breakfast. At the long wooden table in the kitchen, Bolt spent most of the time trying to text Hannah instead of eating. His father gave him some raised- eyebrow looks, but didn’t say anythin
g. Jewel, his stepmother, puttered about and chatted but didn’t question Bolt.

  Later, as they rode out together to check some fencing, Buck turned to Bolt. “Havin’ trouble with that filly of yours?”

  “No, no trouble. I just can’t seem to locate her this morning. She seemed out of sorts yesterday so I wanted to make certain she was okay today.”

  “You know, son, that Jessica up the road a piece is mighty sweet on you and with a body like hers you could have some fun before you get hog-tied to Hannah.”

  “Dad, I have no interest in Jessica. She comes on too strong and if I were to look for another woman, I’d want to do the pursuing. But I am not now nor will I ever be looking for anyone else. I love Hannah.”

  Buck dismounted to check the rust on a section of fence. “I get that, but Hannah’s the only woman you ever had. Although I don’t often agree with your mother, she thinks Hannah is wrong for you and I think she may be right for once.”

  “Whoa, Dad. Are you actually saying you listened to something your ex-wife had to say? That’s a major miracle.” Bolt hopped down and joined his father on the ground hoping to deflect the tone this conversation was taking and keep it as light banter.

  Buck put his hands on his son’s shoulders. “That girl has had her hooks into you for years, since before either of you had a chance to know what you wanted in a mate. I realize you didn’t have time to play the field when you were in school all these years. Now, you have time. Use it to find out what you really want and need in a woman.”

  “Dad, I’m an adult. I know what I want and it’s Hannah.”

  Buck dropped his hands, took out a pad and pen, and made a note of the place with a rusty fence. Head dropping, he walked back to his horse and mounted. “I just don’t want you to make the same mistake your mother and I did. You should see what’s out there before settling down. Spread your wings. Get some experience before promising to be with one woman for the rest of your life.”