Hope noticed the French doors slightly ajar. Tiptoeing barefoot, she came out onto the courtyard and looked around.There, under a single apple tree that sat in the middle of the garden, was Graham.
He was sitting against it, his back pressed into the trunk as one long leg laid straight and the other bent. It was strangely light out, and Hope saw a full moon shining just above the western horizon. The vague scent of burnt tobacco carried on the gentle breeze. Her attention was pulled back to Graham who held the faint glow of red embers blazed in his hand. He was smoking a pipe and before she knew it, she was coming down the staircase and walking toward him.
The night air was surprisingly warm so early. Hope could smell a dozen intermingling flower scents as she entered the garden.
He seemed aware of her approach as he shifted his position, though he remained seated. Hope was curious why he was awake still or if he had recently woken up. He glanced up at her as she stopped only a few feet away.
“Hello,” she said softly.
The hand that held his pipe came to rest against his bent knee. He watched her. Though it was bright for the night, she couldn’t quite make out the expression on his face so she came closer. He seemed contemplative.
“Hello,” he replied.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” she said, nodding back towards the house. “I’m sure you had expected to … well …”
“I didn’t expect anything,” he said, his tone gentle. “Do not worry yourself about that.”
“Oh,” she said, biting her bottom lip uncertainly.
She needn’t be obvious in her disappointment, so she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders.
In a sudden and swift motion, he was standing. She nearly took a step back, but stopped herself. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of. Not from him.
“You were tired,” he said, his hand coming up to her face. The pad of his thumb pressed against her cheekbone. “Are you still?”
“No,” she said as she stared at him. “I’m not.”
“Good.”
His hand caressed her cheek and inched down her neck and further still, as his fingers pressed firmly into the tightness in her shoulders. She let her eyes close as he massaged muscles she hadn’t even realized were so tense.
“That feels nice.”
“Does it? Turn around.”
She obeyed, rotating slowly to face away from him as his second hand came up to rub the other side of her neck. He kneaded and worked out the knots of her neck and upper back, his large hands warming her skin.
Though he handled her so readily, Hope sensed he meant this contact to be more healing than amorous, though her body seemed to react of its own free will. After a profound point of tension finally released, a moan escaped her mouth, and his hands stilled. Worried that he might have found her tawdry in her uninhibited reaction, she spun back only to see his heated gaze.
Graham’s bottom lip dropped, as if he wanted to tell her something, but in the next instant, his hand slid to the base of her skull and he reeled her against him in a searing kiss. Hope met his urgency with equal fervor as her arms wrapped around his neck.
His other hand held her lower back in a nearly painful grasp as it drifted down her body, kneading at her bottom most deliciously. His kisses were deep and purposeful, as though he were discovering every inch of her. Hope gasped as his mouth dragged away from hers.
He was panting heavily as he stared at her. Though she wasn’t sure what he saw when he looked at her, he appeared confused.
“Graham,” she whispered, breathing unsteadily.
“Aye?”
“Don’t stop.”
In the next moment, he was on her again, holding her and kissing her as though she were some sort of life essence. Hope’s mind swam with half-thoughts as she moved with him. He gently pressed her back against the tree he had been leaning on. Hope’s hands trembled slightly as they came up and landed on his shoulders. He let out a low sound, something between a growl and a hiss. It was audacious to be taken beneath the stars, outside, but Hope pressed her cheek to his fingers as they trailed against her face.
His hands skimmed down her sides, pinning her as he kissed down, reaching the tops of her breasts that threatened to spill out of her dress. With a gentle tug, he slid down the front of her dress, exposing her pale flesh to the night air. She gasped as his warm mouth fell over the taut skin of one of her nipples, sucking and feasting on her.
Hope began to wrap her arms around his neck, but he was quick to reach for her hands. He dragged them slowly above her head as her skin scraped against the rough bark of the tree trunk. With one hand, he held her hands above her head as his other hand stroked down her abdomen to her hip. Gathering her skirts as best he could, he yanked them up as he continued his campaign.
Hope could barely make sense of what was happening when he began to speak in words she didn’t understand.
