She didn’t know how she managed to get down those stairs without making any noise.But she did.
Had she just seen what she’d seen?Or had she been dreaming?
The cool night air hit her like a slap, but it did nothing to clear the images burned into her mind.
She moved quickly along the path to her ranch house.Every step felt unreal.Her world had shifted, and she wasn’t even sure where she fit in it anymore.
Axel and Nick.Together.Thatway.Suddenly, all the glances, the quiet touches, the unspoken bond between them snapped into focus.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to wrap her head around this.But she knew she would have to, because her body throbbed with a need she couldn’t ignore.It was raw, urgent, and impossible to soothe with willpower alone.
But she would try to soothe it herself.She would go into the guest room.She’d close the door so the dog wouldn’t be disturbed.
She needed release.She needed grounding.Something to quiet the storm inside her.
She let herself into the house and headed for the bedroom without the dog.
* * * * *
Axel noticed Jenna had been unusually reserved at breakfast this morning after he and Nick had taken turns in the shower.
She’d barely touched her coffee and answered questions with clipped replies, her gaze fixed somewhere distant, like she was preoccupied with something.The change in her energy had hit him like a cold draft.It was subtle, but unmistakable.
It was the total opposite of last night when she’d seemed happy, energized, and carefree.He’d wanted to ask her if everything was alright, but he also wanted to give her her space.
He figured the full brunt of Sam’s death might have hit her last night when she’d been alone, and maybe that’s why she seemed off.Grief had a way of sneaking up on people.He knew that all too well when two of his grandparents had died within weeks of each other.
So he had kept quiet.
Nick had noticed too, casting concerned looks his way when Jenna wasn’t paying attention.He’d remained silent as well, and Nick had left for Sam’s place with Daisy at the same time Jenna had headed out for the horses, so Axel hadn’t been able to discuss this new development with Nick.
As he rinsed the last of the dishes and stacked them in the dish rack, he caught himself glancing over at her seat, now empty, wondering if he’d missed something.
Maybe it wasn’t Sam.Maybe she was she upset about something he’d done?Or perhaps something had happened that he hadn’t noticed?Maybe he would just come right out and ask her the next time he saw her.
The kitchen felt empty without the two of them and the dog here and he couldn’t wait to get outside.
He was free from prison and being outside in the fresh air was making him feel so much better than being inside where the walls sometimes felt like they were closing in on him causing a touch of anxiety.
The faint warmth of early morning sunlight shone through the window and glanced off the countertops as he pulled the stopper on the drain and headed out the back way.
The air was heavy with dew and smelled earthy and clean, and the distant nickering of horses cut through the silence as he stepped outside.The morning was unusually cool with white mist hanging over the green pastures.Quite refreshing after yesterday’s humidity.But he knew too, that the heat would be coming later in the morning.It was after all, still August.
He needed to keep busy.Being busy kept his mind from spiraling back to thoughts about prison.About killing a man.About being away from Jenna for so many years.
Work was simple, predictable and something he could control.Before breakfast he’d collected the eggs and had done a quick clean up in the coop, so before getting to the roof, he planned on mucking out the stalls and maybe if he got lucky he could see Jenna.He told himself he just wanted to check on her, but the truth was simpler.He missed her presence already.
* * * * *
The shift in the morning light as it burned off the mist and chased away the coolness of the morning, made Jenna smile despite the storm inside of her.She loved sunny, cheerful days.Loved the warmth of the sun’s rays on her body as it chased away the dampness in the air.
She also loved to brush her horses.Just as she was doing now to the white mare named Sunny, named by her previous owner for her sunny disposition.She smoothed the brush across the mare’s coat, listening to the bristles softly scrape over her smooth hide.It was a rhythmic sound against the backdrop of the distant chatter of blue jays screeching in the nearby woods.
The horse’s flank felt warm beneath her hands and usually a horse’s touch would ground her, but not this morning.Her mind was racing with what she’d witnessed last night happening between the two men.She was haunted by the pleasure on Axel’s face, the eager to please expression on Nick’s face and how aroused she’d become watching the two men.
Her shoulders ached with a bit of tension as she focused on the mare’s soothing breathing and she tried to silence her self-doubt that maybe she was some kind of sicko, reacting so pleasurably to what she’d observed.Shame pricked at her, sharp and unwelcome.She didn’t recognize this version of herself.Could it just be her hormones and the widow fire?Or was it much deeper than that?
She wished she could simply lose herself in her work this morning, but her body felt tight, needy.Her masturbation session had done the job in relaxing her and she’d fallen asleep relatively quickly.
