Seducing the Gardener

“GET OUT!” I yelled.

“Daphne, be reasonable,” he pleaded. “It was nothing!”

“Nothing, huh? Nothing? Plastering your body up against some no-nothing in a bar?”

“It was just a night out — she doesn’t mean anything!”

“It means something to me — you’re just a waste of space! Get out of my life!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“I saw you! I walked in the bar! I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Daphne!”

“SHUT UP! I’ve had it with this! I can’t live with you any more! I can’t deal with the snide comments, the gaslighting, the constant belittling, the put-downs, the ‘oh-I’m-so-much-better-than-you’ constant one-upping! GET OUT!”

Raymond grew angry. “Listen, woman! I won’t take any more of this! If you -”

I pushed against him, so that he staggered down the front door step and onto the garden path. “Get out, get out, get out! I can’t stand the sight of you any more! Get lost!” I saw Eddie with the lawnmower out by the garden gate. He looked astonished.

Raymond shook his fist at me. “How dare you treat me like this!”

“Treat YOU?”

“I’m warning you — now you’ve pushed me, I’ll be back — and I’ll do a lot more than push you!”

“You dare lay a finger on me, I’ll call the police! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” In a furious temper, I grabbed the front door and slammed it shut in his face.

Raymond continued to yell at me as I walked down the hallway of my own home towards the kitchen. Placing my head in my hands, I burst into tears. Raymond starting banging his fist against the door, again and again.

“Go away!” I wailed, hoping he couldn’t hear me from this distance.

The banging continued for another thirty seconds or so. I sat down at the kitchen table and looked back at the front door. There was silence. The kitchen window was open and I could hear birds singing in the back garden. It was another sunny day in June, in pretty Summerville, South Carolina.

My family had lived here for generations, just like Raymond’s, although his family were a lot more well-to-do than mine. Yet this house was new for me. My family’s ancestral home was downtown but those houses were small and belonged to the historic area. After Granny died, Mom and Dad took over the ‘main house’ (as we called it, despite it being the smallest any of us owned). Granny Everson had left me part of her inheritance, which was double-sized since Grandpa died seven years earlier. She had given Grandpa’s larger inheritance to the eldest and youngest of her three children, since they had relatively normal-sized homes but small families, with one child each, while she had given the house to Dad, her middle child, as his inheritance, but no money, figuring the house was worth more than any money she had (which was correct), because he had three kids. As for her own money, she shared it equally among her five grandchildren, of which I was the eldest of Mom and Dad’s children. That money, together with the money I had earned in my twenties as a real estate manager in Charleston after I finished uni, meant that I could afford a mortgage on this place. With house prices on the up in Summerville and a new job closer to the family that paid well, I figured I would make a down-payment on this larger place in the ‘burbs as an investment in the future.

However, my boss’s contact at another firm had wanted me to meet Raymond, one of his employees at another real estate firm. I hadn’t been too interested at first, yet he had been insistent, charming me and offering coffee dates. Feeling new in an area where I didn’t know anyone, I guess I had been feeling overwhelmed, as we had quickly become an item. The sex was average but things had been OK until he lost his job, when he had started frequenting bars. We had often gone to bars earlier in our relationship, so I didn’t think much of it at first. Then he started drinking too much, then I had heard rumors from people at work that they had seen Raymond with other women.

Last night I had shown up at the bar where he usually went and seen him making out with some blonde, and that had been the last straw. He had slept on the couch last night, but now this row. I don’t know what to do any more, but what I do know is that I don’t need this in my life. Everything had been great until I had met Raymond, and as far as I was concerned, he needed to leave my life now. I’m thirty-three and not a kid any more. I don’t need this junk. He can find some other woman to be a loser to.

There was a tap on the back door. “Miss Everson?”

It was Eddie, the gardener. Bummer, I didn’t want him to see me like this. “What is it, Eddie?” I called out.

Eddie poked his head around the open door. “I’m done for today — but do you need to mow the back lawn on Wednesday?” He noticed my tear-streaked face. “Are you OK?”

I stood up from the kitchen table, and rubbed my forearm over my face. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, not believing my own words 100%, but hoping they would be able to live up to reality in a short time. I don’t believe in telling lies; but I do believe in future truths. “That would be great, thanks, Eddie. Same time, yeah?”

“Yeah, 8:30.”

“Great.” Eddie Dalton stood in the doorway, obviously wondering whether to intervene. His short mop of dirty-blond hair, sweat-stained green T-shirt filled out by a masculine, hard chest that had obviously seen some work in the gym, faded blue jeans ripped at the knees and scruffy, white sneakers emphasized a moderately handsome face, with slightly full lips, a strong jawline, aquiline nose and dark eyes set below a wide, wrinkle-free forehead that revealed his twenty-two years walking the face of the earth. Right now, though, that face looked concerned. “Is there anything else I can do to help?” he asked, gingerly.

“Not really, ” I smiled, weakly. “Thanks for asking. I guess I’m old enough to handle my own junk. I don’t need anyone else getting involved.”

Eddie hesitated, fidgeted slightly, then spoke. “I think I need to tell you — I saw your boyfriend Raymond banging on the front door. He kept it up for quite a while, so I came over to tell him to cool it.”

“What!”

“He chewed me out with some choice words, but I told him to knock it off and get his backside moving out of here, or else I would call the cops.”

“Oh, Eddie! You needn’t -‘

Eddie put up a hand. “It’s OK, no sweat. He stomped up the path, headed for his car and drove off in a huff.”

“I don’t want you getting involved; you don’t have to -”

“It’s totally OK, Miss Everson; but he can’t behave like that — that’s crazy behavior. You’ve got a right, and I figured he was stepping over the line. If he does it again, I think you should call the police. That’s abusive.”

“Well, I know that, but — you didn’t have to go to that trouble!”

“Don’t worry about it — it’s no problem, like I said. I’m just concerned about what he might have done if I hadn’t been here.”

“I hadn’t -”

“He might have come around the back through this door, and if you weren’t in the kitchen…”

“Well, when you’re not here, I keep the side gate locked,” I explained.

“Still, if he was determined, he could try to climb over it — I know it’s a big heavy, wooden thing, and tall, but it’s not impossible to get over it.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to be careful to lock the back door when I’m upstairs or at the front of the house,” I thought, aloud.

“Right,” agreed Eddie. He stood there, thinking for a moment, a worried expression. “Listen,” he said. “I’ve noticed what time he usually shows up — kind of 9:30 or mid-morning — it would be no problem if you need me to swing by for an hour tomorrow, say, nine until ten, just in case he causes trouble — it would be no charge — I could do two hours Wednesday instead of three, and we would be even. I’ve got the free time.”

I put up both hands, defensively. “Oh, well, I don’t want you to go to any trouble, I mean -” Then I stopped. Come to think of it — that would be handy. “Er, well, actually,” I continued, wondering just how much trouble Raymond might become, “That would be kind of helpful — not for a long time, maybe just a week or two or until this stuff dies down -”

“Yeah, sure, my pleasure,” smiled Eddie, his boyish grin lighting up the room. “Besides, I can rake the leaves and do a few small bits that I wouldn’t have time for usually — it’ll be good for the garden.”

I crossed my arms and smiled at him. “Well, I guess you would be the expert on that.”

He smiled. “All right, Miss Everson. I’ll see you tomorrow at nine, then. I hope you keep well and safe in the meantime. Here’s the gate key.” He handed me the keys to the side gate.

“Yeah, sure, you likewise,” I replied, with a grin.

“See ya.” Eddie turned and went out.

I watched him walk around to the side gate through the kitchen window. Opening the gate, the heavy wooden door closed noisily behind him with a loud click.

Well, hmm — what a day, I thought. Perhaps Eddie was right — better safe than sorry. Still, I’d better get on. Turning back, I walked out of the kitchen and along the hallway. I stopped at my long, vertical mirror on the wall. Somewhat scraggy blond hair, wavy and shoulder-length, framing a still line-free pale complexion looked back at me. A pink cotton blouse, slightly baggy, showed the outline of my 32C breasts — average-sized but shapely. Not that the shape was all that visible right this second, but I was proud of them, as they still looked youthful and perky, despite my being thirty-three years old. The blouse led to some white, tight jodhpur pants, accentuating my long legs; and these led to some cute, black velvet ankle boots.

I dried my tears and went upstairs.

The next day at breakfast, I was enjoying a mug of coffee. I had taken a week off work, figuring I could use up some of my two-week vacation time to enjoy the hot, June weather. I had hoped Raymond and I would spend some quality time together. We had both been busy in the last six weeks or so, working flat out at our respective jobs; we had arranged a concomitant week off, figuring we could go out fir picnics, go shopping downtown, maybe do some home improvement, or anything where we could basically hang out; yet Sunday’s big flare-up about the bar had already killed all my plans for this week, so now I had endless hours of nothing to do.

It was another sunny day outside and everything felt like summer in Summerville. I suppose I could still go out to picnics, for shopping and all the other things I had planned. Maybe I could call a friend – we could meet up someplace and go into town, or else grab a bite to eat, or maybe just hit the supermarket for some groceries, then come home to cook together and reminisce over some white wine. Hmm! Yet — bummer! I had wanted to do this with RAYMOND, not some long-time girl friend, and I really didn’t fancy just doing it all alone, despite how I considered myself a free woman, fully able to enjoy my life on my own terms.

Now I had to worry about Raymond showing up and causing scenes, and I grimaced as I considered how that was highly likely to wreck all my vacation plans. Would I need to stay indoors the whole week, just in case he comes around when I’m out and does something reckless or dangerous? My heart sank at this.

Sighing, I got up, then washed the dishes, bringing my cereal bowl over to the sink. Whatever. Just lie low for a while and see how things pan out.

About half an hour later, the phone rang. “New phone, who dis?” I began, when I saw Raymond’s number.

“What? Is that Daphne?”

“I dunno.”

“Look, it must be you — I recognize your voice! Quit playing around. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I lost my cool and I said some things I regret. I wanna start over. Can we possibly, you know -”

“Listen, Raymond, I don’t need this in my life. I took a week’s vacation to spend time with you – and only you – and you blew it. This isn’t the first girl I’ve heard about — word gets around, and I’ve been informed that you’ve been hanging out with maybe two or three more.”

“Oh, yeah? Who told you that?”

“Real estate in Summerville’s kind of a small industry, Ray — everyone knows everyone, you know that. All it takes is a coffee with a few of the women contacts I know, and I can keep up with all the gossip.”

“What! Honestly, you women can’t be trusted with anything. Women!”

“I won’t put up with your sexist garbage, either, Ray. You can SHUT UP talking like that!” I retorted, heated.

“I’ll say what I like, woman,” replied Raymond.

“Ugh, you disgust me,” I said. “Misogynist trash!”

“Right, that’s it, it’s over between us,” announced Raymond.

“It’s already over, Raymond — I ended it yesterday, remember?”

“I’LL SEE TO IT YOU REGRET THIS!”

“I’ve regretted knowing you for some time already, Ray,” I countered, calmly.

“You’ll regret it even more by the time I’m finished with you,” he threatened.

I became deadly serious. “You set foot near my house, I’ll call the police on you!”

“We’ll see about that!” cried Raymond. He hung up.

I put down my cellphone. I was worried about what he would do, even though outwardly, I felt calm.

There was a tap at the window that startled me. I turned suddenly to see Eddie’s kind face outside in the back garden. He was wearing the same jeans and sneakers, but this time he had a tight, white T-shirt, with short sleeves that showed off his toned biceps.

“Oh, come in, Eddie,” I said, moving forward to unlock the back door. I let him in and he stood there.

“Any news?” he asked.

So I filled him in on the phone call that had just taken place.

Eddie frowned. ‘Well, it just happened right?”

“Just seconds before you came in,” I replied.

“Well, he won’t be here just yet,” remarked Eddie. “If he’s planning to come over, he’ll either show up in a hurry by himself or else make a plan and come later.”

“What kind of plan?” I asked, alarmed.

“Oh, not much, I expect — he’ll just need time to get his thoughts together and decide what to say, I imagine. In which case, he’ll come over a little later, if he’s planning to at all.”

“Hmm, I see,” I said, not quite understanding him. “I hope you know what you’re talking about.”

Eddie looked at me. “Frankly, I don’t know what he’ll do. It’s just that if he actually comes over super-fast, that just tells me he’s more out of control than I expected.”

“Uh-huh.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows at me. “Right, Miss Everson. I guess I’ll head back outside to the garden to do a few bits and odd jobs. I’m happy to be here for an hour or so, to make sure you’re OK.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks, Eddie. You’re a good man.”

He grinned. “I hope so.” He turned and went out into the back garden.

I watched him as he headed off towards the wooden shed at the end of the garden, that had all the tools inside. I busied myself organizing the kitchen.

After about ten minutes, he popped his head around the door. “Keys?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I responded. “Here.” I gave him the keys for the side gate.

“Thanks.” He went back out. I looked out of the side window of the kitchen and saw Eddie jerk his thumb towards the front garden.

“Right!” I yelled.

He unlocked the gate, carrying a shovel, fork, trowel and other implements out to the front garden.

With him out of my range of sight, I figured I would finish up in the kitchen. Ten minutes later, I was done. What now? I felt a frisson of anger. Stuff Raymond and his nonsense! I wanted to go out to enjoy my vacation! Yet here I was, moping around the house like some middle-aged housewife, dusting the mantelpieces in the living room and washes the dishes in the kitchen — and all this with all that glorious sunshine outside — and I can’t go out!

Annoyed, I made a halfhearted attempt to clean the living room.

Some minutes later, the doorbell rang. Oh, no. With the vain hope that it might be an innocuous postal worker, I sneaked a peak through the net curtains. BUMMER! It was Raymond!

With a deep breath, I considered my options. Eddie was right — Raymond WAS our of control. Sucking air between gritted teeth, I girded myself as I headed for the front door. Come on, let’s get it over with.

I arrived at the front door and opened it. “Hi, Raymond,” I began, without enthusiasm.

“Hear this, woman,” threatened Raymond, wagging his finger at me. “Let me in, I want to speak with you.”

I held the door close to, poking my head out. “You can speak to me here,” I replied.

“Open the door!”

“I don’t need to.”

“Do as I say!”

I frowned in anger. “You can’t order me! I’m not your slave!”

Raymond used his hand to push against the door and hissed, “Open the door I said, woman, or I’ll knock your brains out!”

“RAYMOND!” yelled a voice.

I saw Raymond look startled. He turned and suddenly, I saw Eddie hove into view.

“Get away from her!” shouted Eddie.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Raymond.

“Minding my own business, until you showed up,” retorted Eddie, sharply. “I suggest you do the same.”

“What on earth?” Raymond walked away from the door and across the grass towards Eddie, who was standing there with the shovel. “I don’t take orders from the gardener. I believe you take orders from me.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “I don’t recall ever being paid for my services by you.”

Raymond stood over him. He was taller than Eddie, maybe six feet two inches, but was thinner, with a lighter build. He was wearing a gray suit and pants, with a white shirt and a checked tie, and had short, dark hair with a side parting. He pointed at Eddie. “You can shut your mouth! I don’t wanna hear any more lip from you!”

“You’ve got no right hanging around here, harassing Daphne!”

“Since when is this your business?”

“She’s my boss and I hope she remains so,” Eddie responded.

“So you take orders from a woman, do you? I should have thought, coming from a overgrown brat like you! What is this, anyway, extra cash for college? Get yourself a proper job!”

“Get lost and get out!”

“Oh, yeah?” cried Raymond, shoving Eddie back. “Oh, yeah? Gonna make me, huh?”

“Stop it, Raymond!” I wailed, yelling out from the front door. “All the neighbors can see!”

Raymond turned back to me. “That’s why I wanted to come inside, stupid! Open the door!” He ran towards me suddenly, swiftly increasing speed to barge down the door.

I saw Eddie sprint towards Raymond. The younger man grabbed Raymond’s shoulder.

Raymond furiously turned around and tussled with Eddie. “Get off me!”

“Get away from the door!” cried Eddie.

Raymond aimed a weak punch at Eddie’s abdomen. Eddie pushed back, his hands on Raymond’s shoulders.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” managed Raymond. This time he swung a punch at the side of Eddie’s face. It made contact, and Eddie staggered back. He grabbed Raymond’s waist with one hand, then delivered a punch to Raymond’s stomach. The taller man fell back, almost on the ground, but managed to right himself, punching Eddie back harder in the stomach. Astonished, Eddie landed a right-hander across Raymond’s face, then Raymond returned to punch back at Eddie’s face. He then rained a series of blows against Eddie’s chest, yet Eddie withstood this, shoving forward with brute bodyweight to overbalance Raymond’s lighter frame. He delivered a sudden uppercut to Raymond’s chin, knocking Ray flat on the ground. Ray hastily got up, but then another sucker-punch to the stomach from Eddie folded his body. A further upper cut launched him towards the front gate, before Eddie took three steps forward to deliver a final right-hander to deck out Raymond onto the gravel near his car.

“GET OUT!” shouted Eddie. He turned back to me. “Daphne, call the police!”

Well, huh, I thought, as I made the call, feeling dazed.

Some twenty-five minutes later, with a police car outside, a police officer was interviewing Eddie out in the garden. I stood near him, helping to answer the officer’s queries. Raymond was totally beat, winded and gasping, leaned up against his own car, with another police officer standing over him, asking forceful questions, which Raymond struggled to answer. I turned to watch Eddie.

“Well, officer, it’s like this,” explained Eddie. “I’m just the gardener, see, and I’ve been working for Daphne these past few months, just after she moved in. I figured I would make some money over the summer. I’m done with college and I’m looking for a career in construction, so thought I would do this gig just for now.”

“When did you know about Raymond Carter?”

“He’s been coming over these last few weeks, I guess -”

“Ray and I have been seeing each other for a couple of months now,” I interrupted.

“I see,” remarked the officer. “He’s never behaved like this before?”

“No, not like this,” I replied. “He’s been drinking lately, though, acting kind of threatening and abusive, plus he’s been seeing other women on the side. I found out on Sunday for sure and we had an argument, so I told him to stop visiting just yesterday.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Now today he’s shown up, started threatening me and getting violent with Eddie.”

“You see, sir, I was here yesterday when Daphne told him not to come around any more. I was working here in the front garden and saw it.”

“You’re an eyewitness to that verbal confrontation?”

“Yes, I am. I can vouchsafe for it. I suggested to Daphne that I be here today, knowing that Raymond usually shows up to see her around about this time, since I had free time on my hands and thought I might as well make sure she stayed safe. I guess that was a good idea, now that this has happened.”

The officer turned to me. “Anything else?”

“No,” I replied. “That’s about it.”

“OK, thanks.” The officer walked over to the other cop to speak with him. Eddie and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. We stood there as the cops spoke with each other. Then there were further questions to Raymond. This went on for some time, so Eddie and I wandered back over to the front door and waited.

After a while, one of the officers approached us. “All, right, we’ll take him away. He won’t bother you any more. We’ll put in a report and see to it that he stays away from this house from now on.”

“Is he under arrest?” inquired Eddie.

“He is,” answered the officer. “We’ll bring him in for further questioning, then see how things go. He may be released in a short while. If he makes an attempt to return here, you have the option of applying to the courts for a restraining order.”

“Very good, officer, thanks,” I remarked. “I hope that won’t be necessary.”

“Same here. Well, thank you, ma’am. Good day.” The officer tipped his cap, then walked away.

Eddie and I watched as the two officers forced Raymond to move his car off the driveway and onto the main road, then call his family to meet him at the police station. They bundled him into the back of the police car, then drove away.

We went inside, and I closed the front door behind us, leaning on it for support. I took a deep breath and sighed.

“Come on, let’s go in the kitchen,” suggested Eddie.

I followed him down my own hallway back into the kitchen, then slumped into a wooden chair by the kitchen table. Eddie grabbed another, then spun it in his hands to sit on it back to front, his strong arms resting on the backrest, facing me.

“Well, that was that,” he remarked.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “That was a close shave, though. What if you hadn’t been here?”

“Sure. I’m glad I could help. I’m just concerned about what he’ll do next. Hopefully, the police will shake him up well enough to keep him quiet for a while, but we can’t know whether he might try it again in the future.”

“The officer said I could get a restraining order,” I said.

“That’s not easy to achieve,” replied Eddie. “You have to go through the courts to get one, so you’ll need a lawyer, and that could prove expensive.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I’ll worry about that when I come to it. Right now, I’m thankful everything worked out.” I smiled at him weakly, still feeling shocked. “Thanks for risking yourself for me.”

Eddie looked at me steadily. “No problem.”

A pause. “That was quite a fight,” I continued.

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, it was. I wasn’t expecting that.”

I stood up. “Yet you still volunteered, so you must have known beforehand that something like this might happen.”

“Might,” said Eddie, with emphasis. “Not would.” He stood up, too.

It was then that I noticed bloodstains soaking through his white T-shirt. “Eddie, you’re bleeding!”

He looked down, surprised. “Oh, I didn’t notice,” he remarked.

I walked over to him, concerned. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Er, no — just a few scratches and bruises, I think — no big deal.”

“No big deal! Get that thing off — let me have a look at you.”

“No, no, it’s OK, Miss Everson, I can handle it! I can just go home and fix this up, I can grab some Band-Aids at the pharmacy on the way back or something -”

“Forget it! Wait a sec, I’ve got some iodine in the drawer…”

“No, it’s fine, really, Miss Everson — really, I can -”

“Quiet!” I found a squeezy bottle of iodine and some cotton wool. “Another thing — quit with the ‘Miss Everson’ junk, huh? I’m Daphne, and you know it.”

“Yes, Miss — er, Daphne.”

“All right, that’s better.” I stood with the bottle in my right hand and the cotton wool in my left. “Come on, get it off, I’m waiting.”

Eddie looked surprised. “Er, yeah, sure.” He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and, gingerly at first, in case he ripped open any already-congealed cuts, separated the fabric from his skin, then pulled it quickly over his head.

My eyes widened as they drank in heavy, muscled pecs, that looked like two slabs of muscle, rounded, developed shoulders, sinewed biceps on strong arms, and a ripped midsection, with pronounced abs and some defined sex lines leading diagonally south. I saw a large bruise next to the abs, another smaller one on his left, plus maybe a couple of smaller ones high up on the pecs. There were various cuts, some still bleeding, across his whole torso, as well as some smaller grazes. “Hmm, well, OK,” I said, impressed. Then I suddenly felt annoyed that Raymond had caused this. “Stuff Raymond for doing this,” I remarked.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Eddie, with a small smile.

I raised one eyebrow. “I do worry about it! Now get on the floor.”

“What?”

“Get on the floor. Sit down on the floor and lean back, so I can deal with this.”

Eddie obeyed. Leaning on his arms behind him, he sat flat on the floor, his legs outstretched in front of him, his chest at a 45-degree angle.

I knelt down on his left side. Taking the lid off the squeezy bottle, I pulled a piece of cotton wool off the main piece, then inverted the bottle onto it. Then I stretched out to dab it onto the worst of his cuts.

“Aargh!” cried Eddie.

“It will sting a little,” I said.

“Hmm.”

I did the first one, then moved onto the next. Eddie grimaced as the iodine did its work, cleansing the wounds so they wouldn’t get infected. Soon enough, his chest was a patchwork of brown-colored smudges — and no more bleeding. “There,” I said.

Eddie laughed. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“What’s the matter? Did you never play ‘doctors and nurses’ at school?”

“Ha! Not since I was, like, six.”

“Really? You’ve never played the adult version?”

Eddie grinned. “No, but it sounds like it could be fun. Is this it?”

I said nothing, but smiled broadly. “We’ll see.” I stood up. “Hahaha! If you’re lucky.”

Eddie made a move to get up. “Well, thanks, Miss — er, Daphne -”

“WAIT! Stay there! I’m not finished!” I held out one hand.

“Oh, really?”

“Really! Now where did I put that thing?” I opened some cupboards to see if I could find the cold pack. Aah, there it is. Grabbing it, I then went to the freezer section of the refrigerator to tip some ice cubes in it. I did so, then returned to Eddie, who had obediently returned sitting on the floor in his previous position. I knelt down beside him again. “Here,” I said, placing the cold pack on his bruises, figuring they would reduce faster with some ice.

Eddie smiled up at me. “Quite the nurse, aren’t you?”

I beamed at his handsome expression. “Yes! Problem?”

“Not at all,” he replied.

Presently, I finished tending to the wounds of my heroic knight. I suddenly felt all girly and playful. “There,” I giggled. “That’s the least I could do to pay you back for all your help.”

“Thanks so much, Daphne, I appreciate it,” said Eddie, warmly.

We both stood up, and I looked him over to view my handiwork. Hmm, not bad. I put the cold pack down in the sink. “Now how about a clean T-shirt?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I can -”

“What — walk down the street bare-chested, covered in iodine?”

“Er, no — I would just throw this back on and change when I get home -”

“No, no, no! Give me that! I’ll throw it in the washer, then you can borrow one of mine and you can give it back to me tomorrow.”

Eddie looked down at his broad chest. “Will it fit, even?”

“Don’t worry — I’ll lend you this baggy old thing I’ve got upstairs — hold on -” Then I ran off suddenly to head up the staircase to my bedroom. I pulled open a bedside drawer hastily, rummaged around, found what I was looking for, then dashed back downstairs. “Aha, here!”

Eddie had continued standing in the kitchen while I was gone, and hadn’t moved when I got back, which reassured me. He held out his hand for the clean, blue, baggy T-shirt.

“Put it on!” I ordered in a hurry.

Eddie smiled, unfolded it, then raised his arms over his head to put it on. The light cotton garment smoothed over his muscled torso.

It was a little short but definitely big enough around. “It will do until you get home at least,” I remarked. I looked up at his face. Feeling suddenly vulnerable, I flung my arms around him. “Thanks again for saving me,” I said.

Eddie instinctively wrapped his strong arms around my waist, and I felt his hands clasp me closer against the small of my back. “It’s OK, Daphne,” he said, softly.

Ensconced in his embrace, I felt very safe. After a few moments, I disengaged and looked at him. He seemed a little surprised, but he wasn’t shocked. “Well, anyway,” I remarked. “It’s good to know that you’re around — it’s dangerous sometimes to be a woman living alone, you know?”

“Yeah,” agreed Eddie. “If you need anything, just call. You know my number.”

“Sure.”

Eddie looked around the kitchen, then turned to me and smiled. “Well, thanks for that, Daphne — I sure appreciate it — and your time. I’d best be going, I guess — I’ve gone way over how long I’d said I would be here for, and I wouldn’t want to waste your day.”

“Ha! You’re never a waste of my day, Eddie,” I grinned.

Eddie grinned back. “Thanks. OK, I’ll be heading off.” He made for the back door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, what — about nine?”

“Er, yeah — sure!”

“Great. See ya!”

I leaned against the kitchen table. “‘Bye, Eddie.”

He went out and left.

Well, that was exciting — and I’m not talking about the punch-up, I smiled, thinking of how things had unfolded since the police left. What an incredible body Eddie had — that chest was absolutely gorgeous. Once the cuts, bruises and scratches healed up, he would be as good as new. I kind of liked the ‘grizzled warrior, fresh from the battlefield’ trope — it always reminded me of that old 1980’s soft rock song, ‘Holding Out for a Hero’; who sang that? Bonnie Tyler, wasn’t it? ‘He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be tough, and he’s gotta be fresh from the fight’? Hahaha! That woman knew a good thing when she saw one — or sang one, huh? Well, so did I.

The next day was Wednesday and I was a woman on a mission. My mission, should he choose to accept it, was to seduce Eddie Dalton. I was going to do my utmost to make sure he did accept it. I had spent last night remembering the safety of his embrace, the manliness of his chest, the warmth of his smile. This morning, as the coffee awakened me and the caffeine surged through my veins, I recalled the playfulness of our impromptu ‘doctors and nurses’ game, the giggles and the smiles. I hadn’t realized at the time, but I had really needed that, and not just because I had just been saved from Raymond and from the violence of the scene in the front garden. He had awakened me to a deep desire, not necessarily for sex, but for excitement. For surely, there was precious little of that here in sleepy Summerville, with its elegant lawns, white picket fences and ‘olde worlde’ South Carolinian charm. I wanted adventure, not just a fight scene; an experience, not just sex; a life, not just gossip with friends.

The thing is, would Eddie be interested? Hmm. Why should he be? I was thirty-three, eleven years older than him. He looked absolutely ripped. Couldn’t he attract someone far younger, some hot blonde with incredible hair, fake double-D boobs, a plastic Kardashian butt and endless legs, who spent twelve hours in the gym, who was drop-dead gorgeous, with a roaring sex drive to match? Why should he make do with me? I knew I wasn’t bad-looking, definitely passable, but I couldn’t compete with a woman like that. I bet there must be tons of women falling all over themselves to grab a piece of Eddie — I certainly didn’t know other guys who looked like him. On the other hand, though, who was I kidding? When was the last time I actually went out? What, with Raymond? Those barely counted as dates, and already, I could hardly believe that I had rushed into a relationship with him. What was I, desperate or something? Why had I done that? Was I that needy?

Why hadn’t I noticed Eddie before? He had been my gardener for a few months now, yet I hadn’t noticed even his chest. What! Why on earth not? Had I been blind? Why had I been running around trying to please Raymond, with this hunk flexing his muscles every day in the back yard? I must have been nuts.

I’d had boyfriends before Raymond — five, in fact. Yet, they had been shallow and not much to write home about — forgettable men with forgettable bodies, who gave out forgettable sex. In college, I had gone through phases — sometimes intimidated, shy, and reticent to get romantically involved, especially if I had thought my parents might have found out; at other times, wildly promiscuous, like the time I had effed three guys in one week during Spring Break, just because I was far from home and nobody would know. Other times, I had made out with guys in bars, kissed in alleyways outside cinemas, or delivered the odd handjob or BJ in the backs of cars — all rather seedy stuff I would rather forget. Yet, as for the grand passionate love affair, the exhilarating thrill ride — well, nothing like that had ever happened.

Well, huh. I was getting a bit carried away with myself. The guy’s a gardener, for goodness’ sake. Not exactly a dominant, successful billionaire, whisking me away into a life of exotic sexual abandon, private jets, casinos in Monte Carlo and penthouse suites in five-star hotels. Eddie wasn’t rich — and I knew that. I only paid him five bucks an hour.

Sighing, I got up. Oh, well, time to do the dishes.

At around 8:30am, it was time. Stomping upstairs to the bedroom, I got changed. I wore a white top with wide shoulder straps formed by two twisted, ruched pieces of material that covered the fullness of my breasts, leaving a deep V to show off my cleavage. My arms were bare for the summer. Below I wore a tight black miniskirt, not too short, almost down to the knee, plus stockinged legs and moderate, high heeled, strappy shoes. Looking in the mirror, I fluffed up my blond, shoulder-length hair and looked myself over. I wanted to look sophisticated and sexy, not cheap or slutty. I was pleased to see that I was still young enough, and statuesque enough, to pull off this look without looking cheap. Give it a few more years, though, and I might not be able to do this any more. With a little more weight and the wrong side of forty, I would look ridiculous in this get-up. I decided to take full advantage of my remaining youthfulness. You’re only young once, and I wouldn’t be coming this way again, so let’s take the plunge and enjoy this sexy look while I still can!

Nine o’clock came and went, and at about 9:10am, I went into the spare bedroom to see if Eddie had arrived. Sure enough, he was working in the back garden, wearing his regulation T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. Today’s T-shirt was black, I saw.

I decided that I didn’t want to reveal my appearance to him immediately; besides, he actually had work to do, so I still needed him to do it. I flung open the bedroom window. “Woohoo, Eddie!” I waved.

Eddie turned around, looking for the voice, then glanced up to see me. He smiled and waved back, then returned to clipping the hedges. Cool.

I closed the window and went down to the living room. Today was going to be my own self-made No Bra Day, and Eddie was definitely going to know it.

I busied myself for the next couple of hours, while Eddie worked outside. I decided on a mid-range restaurant I knew, not so far from my house. It offered hearty meals for a man like Eddie, doing physical labor, with a Mediterranean twist — kind of like Olive Garden, but a little less commercial.

Eleven o’clock arrived and, impatient, I made my way into the kitchen. As usual, Eddie popped his head around the back door.

“I’m all done — wow, Daphne, you’re looking great. Going somewhere?”

I leaned my hand on the kitchen forward, which forced my torso forward. “Actually, yeah, I was thinking of going for lunch. I could go by myself, but it occurred to me that I might invite you. Would you fancy going to lunch with me today? I’ll pay — I know this cool place that serves some great Mediterranean — pizzas, pasta, Greek food, salads, you name it. Wanna come?”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Well, I -”

“You know, only if you’ve got time. If you got something else on…”

“No, that’s fine. Er, yeah, that would be nice -” He looked down at his clothes. “I’m not really suitably dressed — is it fine dining?”

“No, casual — your jeans are not soiled or anything. Did you just trim the hedges?”

“Yeah, plus raked over the grass to remove some leaves, watered the flowers, and sorted out the tools in the shed.”

“Got it,” I said. “The weather wasn’t too hot, I hope?”

“Er, no — not like yesterday. The sun’s out, but there’s a fair bit of cloud, and the temperature’s reasonable. It might rain in the evening, maybe.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I don’t think that’s so bad.” I smiled at him, warmly. “Come on! It’ll be fun! I’ll just grab my handbag and car keys and we’ll go.”

“Cool,” Eddie remarked.

In a jiffy, we were out the door and through the side gate. Locking it, I made my way to the car. “I’m driving, Eddie,” I stated, seeing him make a beeline for the driver’s side.

“Oh, yeah,” he laughed.

Once he was safely ensconced in the passenger seat, I got in, turned the key in the ignition and off we went.

Driving along, I remarked, “I can’t believe I’ve never offered this to you before — it’s very remiss of me.”

“No problem, Daphne. I don’t expect it — I’m just the gardener.”

We made small talk until we arrived at the restaurant. Inside, a server greeted us and showed us to a nice alcove with a window and some flowers. Eddie got in one side. I got in on the same side.

“You don’t want to take the other side? There’s more room,” Eddie remarked.

“No,” I said, decisively. Sitting next to him, I motioned to the server, who produced two menus. She spent the next couple of minutes explaining the menu. I ordered a steak, well done, with tartare sauce, plus a small Greek salad as a side and a mineral water because I was the designated driver. Eddie had a fettucine alfredo and a white wine.

“Well, huh,” I said. “I thought you’d be the one ordering steak, and me on the pasta and white wine.”

“I love Italian,” replied Eddie. “So I figured I would take advantage of the opportunity.”

“Go for it,” I smiled. A man of culture, perhaps? “I’m not one of those women who are constantly on diets, mincing around ordering salads and spritzers. I like red wine, juicy steaks, dark chocolate and black coffee. I’m a red-blooded woman. I like what I eat and I eat what I like.”

Eddie turned to me, and smiled. “I like that in a woman.”

“Oh, yeah?” I challenged. “How so?”

“It’s how you keep your figure, I imagine,” he replied.

“Really?”

“Sure. I work out in the gym. If you pump iron, shifting weights, picking up and putting down heavy junk, you gotta eat protein. Steaks are great for that. Red wine is heart-healthy. Black coffee revs up your metabolism, and dark chocolate gives you energy. Plus it’s all good for women’s hormones. With all that going on, you can expect your body to keep looking good for a long time in the future.”

I grinned broadly. “Is that so? So you think my body’s looking good, huh? From what I saw yesterday, I think yours is looking a lot better than mine.”

“Hahaha! Mine’s not as interesting to me, though.”

Hmm, I thought. This is going better than I had hoped. “I see. Well, if I went to the gym every day like you, I could make it a lot more interesting.”

“Why don’t you? You could go.”

“I’ve only got this week off. Next week, I’m back to work!”

“Well, it might only be three times a week. If you don’t have time, you could just be a weekend warrior or something.”

“Maybe,” I considered. “I’ll think about it.”

The food came and we dug in. The steak tartare was absolutely awesome, and Eddie seemed to really enjoy his pasta. I took my time with the mineral water, so that Eddie didn’t have to gulp down his wine. I took advantage of the time it took him to drink it.

“Fancy a dessert?” I asked.

“No, thanks, I’m stuffed,” he replied.

“OK,” I said. I placed my hand on top of his, as he rested it on the table. “Eddie, I really appreciate what you did for me yesterday.”

He smiled at me, wine glass in hand. “It’s no problem at all.”

“I figured I would pay you back for your kindness, so I thought you might appreciate this little occasion.”

“It’s really good of you, Daphne. I was surprised when you asked me, since I thought you had done me quite the favor yesterday when you patched me up in the kitchen.”

“Oh, pffft! That was nothing!” I cried,

“Still, I really appreciated it.”

“Ha! Whatever,” I smiled. “I can’t decide if it was more fun for me or for you.”

“For me, definitely,” Eddie grinned.

“Are you sure? I seem to remember I was the one who got an eyeful. You were half-naked.”

“I was obeying orders.”

“Hahaha!”

“It’s not often I get women touching my chest and tending to my needs.”

“What! I don’t believe that!”

“Sure. I couldn’t exactly rip my shirt off in class at college, and if I get a job in some office in September, I’ll have to wear a suit or a jacket and tie at least.”

“Maybe, but surely they have been other women, maybe in your free time? At the weekend, being a ‘warrior’, perhaps?”

Eddie blushed, still smiling. “Well, maybe there were one or two.”

“I knew it.” I looked at him. “So I daresay I’ve got competition.”

“Before, maybe,” he replied, somewhat ruefully. “Not since I finished college, though. That was then, and now I’m just focusing on making some cash over the summer before heading out into the wide blue yonder, into the world of serious work.”

“Hmm, I see. So right now, you’ve got no one on the boil?”

“Not any more. The last girl I went with was maybe four months ago. That was a date at the movies, just a kiss and a make-out session. My last serious thing was a couple of years ago. She was at college but not studying my major, so we couldn’t get enough time to really make it work. Then she changed colleges, anyway.”

“Uh-huh.” I looked down below the table, and placed my hand on his thigh. “Eddie, I’m going to be really bold here. This isn’t my usual style, believe me; but I’ve really enjoyed this lunchtime with you, and would like to do this again. I don’t have Raymond any more, so suddenly I’m alone at home, and I don’t fancy living my life like a recluse; I still need you to do the yard work, but next week, I’m back to work, so I’ll be at work all day. It’ll just be like it usually is — you showing up when I’m not there, pottering around in the garden for three hours, then leaving a note under the door that you came and what you did, then I pay you at the end of the week. I would like to see you more often than just Friday afternoon when I give you the cash. I’ll have most nights free now, so it would be fun to spend more time with you then. Would you like that, you know, if you’re free?”

Eddie looked at me steadily, and his look told me that he knew exactly what I wanted. After a long pause, he held my arm and said, quietly, “Sure.” His face broke into a smile. “I would love that.” He looked at me directly, and I felt like his gaze was boring its way straight into my soul. He looked down at my lips, then back up to lock eyes with me once more.

I half-closed my eyes as he leaned forward slowly. I could feel my heart beating as I parted my lips, slowly inhaling as his full lips closed the gap between us. Suddenly, our lips made contact, and a tingling frisson of excitement made itself felt as I surrendered to his kiss. He stayed there, motionless except for his lips, which pressed my lower lip. My hands found his waist under the table and I drew him in, our kiss intensifying as I felt his passion increasing. The more I acquiesced, the more my desire for him grew, until a long-dormant horniness inside me began to smolder.

I brought my hands to his shoulders to break the kiss. “Let’s take this somewhere more private,” I whispered.

Eddie nodded, and gestured to the server. Time seemed like a blur as I paid the bill and we made our way back outside in the sunshine to my car. Once inside, we kissed again.

“Daphne -” Eddie began.

“Don’t speak,” I interrupted. I kissed him again, our mouths parting this time. He introduced his tongue, and I felt it dance against my teeth momentarily, before exploring beyond. His manly presence made me feel wonderfully submissive, and I sucked on his tongue with abandon. Deciding again that we needed to be indoors, I broke the kiss once more, turned the key in the ignition and drove back home.

On the way, my hand wandered to his thigh as I felt his thick leg.

“You’re an amazing woman, Daphne,” remarked Eddie, with a small smile.

“Not as amazing as I feel, knowing I’ve got YOU to enjoy all summer,” I smiled.

We arrived in my driveway, got out and headed for the front door.

As soon as I closed the door, I pinned him against the hallway wall, my hands all over his chest, my feverish kisses raining down on his face. “I want you,” I gasped.

Eddie grabbed my waist, spun me around and slammed me against the wall. “Fine,” he smirked.

I grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, ripping it off his upper body. “Oh, wow,” I gasped, again, as I took him his fabulous muscled chest, the incredible pecs and abs. “I’ve never had a man like this before.”

Eddie smiled, and, in a display of strength, picked me up bodily from the floor. I flung my arms around his neck as he carried me through the living room door to the sofa. The back of it was facing the door, so he sat me down on top of the backrest. He instantly dropped to his knees, spread my legs and ravished my stocking-clad thighs.

I moaned as I felt my miniskirt ride up my thighs, revealing my long legs to him, enjoying the feeling of his hands rising higher and higher. He pulled the hem of my skirt higher, and I lowered one foot to the floor to push my butt off the backrest enough to pull it over my butt, so it was around my waist, exposing my silken, black underwear.

Eddie lunged forward, inhaling my scent, his mouth and lips brushing firmly against my vulva and mons through the flimsy material. Kissing my inner thighs on both sides, he slowly made his way up to my impatient pussy. I felt so turned on, and moaned again as he buried his face between my legs. I instinctively clasped his head between my thighs, reveling in his masculine essence and the fascinating contact. After teasing me for a couple of minutes through the material, I gasped as he finally took hold of the waistband of my silken panties and pulled down, peeling them off sexily as I once again supported myself on one foot to allow him to take them off. Eddie seemed to relish smoothing them down my thighs, and I began to realize that he took incredible pleasure in feminine things. The panties removed, he rose to waist height, and gazed for a few moments, enraptured at the sight of my pussy, making me feel like the most desired woman in the world. Then, slowly, he moved forward, his hands grabbing behind my butt, before I felt his mouth make direct contact with my waiting vulva. I moaned again, louder, as I felt his tongue lick all the way from my fourchette to my clit, then gasped as his pointed tongue parted the folds of my labia to plunge into the depths of my womanhood.

His tongue explored deep inside my pussy; I couldn’t believe how much I wanted this. My vagina, juicy, with the walls engorged, inflamed with passion, forced me to pump my hips against his moth. I grabbed the back of his head with my hands, pushing his tongue deeper inside me. The sensitive entrance, the nerve endings tantalized by his attentive tongue, dazzled me with tingling sensations, which rapidly morphed into a raw and intense desire for more friction.

Amazing me, Eddie seemed to notice this. He removed his tongue and replaced it with two fingers, which he pumped in and out of my vagina rapidly, the fingertips deliberately sliding against the first two inches of the top wall.

“Yes,” I managed, as I pumped my hips against his fingers, desperate for friction.

He plunged both fingers deeper, curling them upwards to make contact with my G-area. Pumping upwards, his fingers caused me to cry out loud with pleasure as my slick pussy took pleasure from his delicious onslaught. “Oh, Daphne, you’re so wet,” panted Eddie. Suddenly he covered my mouth with a deep kiss. I felt the flame of his passion suddenly ignite, his mouth opening, his tongue plundering my mouth just as it had done to my pussy, my mind surrendering to his desire.

He continued his onslaught upon my G-spot. I felt a sudden rise in pleasure, my heartbeat quickening, and I felt my body suddenly breaking out in a sweat. Looking down, I saw the deep V of my top revealing my cleavage flushed red with desire. “Oh, wow, I’m going to come! Eddie, Eddie!” My legs flailed wildly, my back arching, as an intense explosion of desire erupted in my loins. My orgasm roared through my body, and I heard my voice give a guttural cry as my body flooded with pleasure, my juices drenching his hand that still frantically pumped my pussy.

My body relaxed, but Eddie was only just starting. Using my limp torso, he ripped off the skirt around my waist, pulling it all the way down my legs and off. My white V-top, now loose on my body was yanked off. I allowed my arms to rise above for him to remove it, allowing him access to my full, 32C breasts. Glancing down, I was surprised to see the wide areolae surrounding nipples hardened with desire.

It had been years since I had seen them like that, and a thrill of excitement zinged through me as I realized this was going to be one of the best experiences of my life.

Eddie, beside himself with desire for me, grabbed both breasts with his large hands. I flung my head back, opening my long legs wide to allow him between. He ravished them with abandon, his manner urgent and insistent. “You’re amazing,” he managed to whisper, before I looked down to see my whole areola disappear into his mouth. He sucked hard, forcing a groan from my lips. His right hand squeezed the breast, as if trying to get as much into his mouth as possible. I couldn’t believe how amazing this felt.

There was a loud sucking sound as he removed his mouth, then buried his face in my cleavage.

“Oh, Eddie, I’ve wanted this so much,” I said. “Make love to me, Eddie, make love to me! I need it!” I could barely believe I was saying this, astonished at my need for him, unsure of where it was coming from, but in full acquiescence of its desire. Yes, I wanted this, and I was going to make sure I got it. I grabbed the back of his head once more, burying his face between my breasts. I arched my back, swaying my shoulders rapidly to wobble my breasts to and fro, knowing full well the ways of men: that this would inflame him, raising his desire to a fever pitch.

This had exactly the desired effect. “Oh, woman!” he cried, engulfing my other areola, sucking the nipple had, lashing the tender nub mercilessly inside his mouth with his tongue. I wailed, my head flinging back to take the exquisite pleasure.

He was like a wild man, and I marveled at this gorgeous muscled hunk inflamed with desire for me — a dream every woman has fantasized of, but few have experienced.

Then he moved back, and hastily undid his jeans, grabbing them and his underwear simultaneously, and ripping them down his legs. I was astonished at his muscled thighs and the incredible shape his body was in, then gasped as a hard, thick, veiny cock sprang free, loudly slapping against his toned abdomen. My eyes widened as I took in its large size. It looked about seven inches, with thick veins, and a pink, straining head that looked delicious.

Now, with both of us naked, it was my turn to enjoy this fabulous specimen fully, as a red-blooded woman. Standing up, I hugged him tightly, the hardness of his cock against my abdomen, before slowly lowering myself down the front of his body. My hands, hungry for his incredible physique, ranged wildly across the unbelievable pecs and the toned sides of his torso, before I rained kisses on his abdominal muscles, owning my womanly desire for the sexiest male body part known to womankind. I gritted my teeth, nibbling at the skin of his abs. As I lowered towards the pronounced sex lines that led in diagonal lines directly towards his manhood, I heard in breathe in deeply, reveling in my female attention.

Finally, I arrived at his swollen cock. Grasping the shaft in my left hand and fondling his large, heavy balls in my right, I licked from his balls all the way up to the tip.

“Daphne,” he managed, before I angled my head to suck against the side of his shaft, my soft lips sliding up and down his member, while my hand began to stroke him. Eddie murmured as I increased speed, then flattened his cock against his abdomen to suck in one of his balls. They were low-hanging and, despite the size, easy to suck into my mouth. Eddie moaned as I pleasured both of his balls, before finally licking up the shaft to the tip.

Blowing slightly on the tip, I looked up at him, making direct I contact, before opening my mouth wide to take him in. He cried out as I took him in deep, grabbing his toned butt. I easily engulfed five inches of him, before slowly sliding all the way back up, then quickly back down. Eddie gently held the back of my head as I continued moving slowly in and out. As I gradually increased speed, he began to gently rock his hips, beginning to make love to my mouth. I felt wonderfully submissive, looking up to see his gorgeous, muscular chest in all its glory above me, his head flung back, looking at the ceiling as he took his pleasure.

I continued pleasuring him, feeling his member twitching, and I massaged his balls, as I felt his pleasure rising. He had already given me an orgasm, so now it was his turn.

Suddenly, he pulled out. “I want to be inside you,” he gasped. Surprised, I stood up, wide-eyed, as my lover leaned me against the backrest of the sofa, before lifting my legs high, flinging them on his broad shoulders. Then, positioning the straining head of his cock against the entrance of my pussy, he used one hand to tease me, sliding the head up and down my labia.

“Please,” I cried.

He needed no second pleading, as he plunged his whole length inside me. The sudden hugeness deep within the swollen folds of my inflamed pussy made me gasp, crying out loud with pleasure as I felt his hands on my shoulders, my legs on his, as he pounded me strongly, his hips delivering indescribable pleasure to my pussy, milking it of all its treasures, my intense desire for friction creating a rising sense of a new crescendo. Realizing that another climax was imminent, I felt him increase speed, his hard cock wildly pumping inside me. In an instant, a wave of seductive pleasure rushed up my spine as I once again succumbed to a spine-tingling orgasm.

Eddie, seeing this, then grabbed my right leg, taking it off his shoulder and moving it sideways, forcing me to turn over, swiveling on his cock, so that I was face down over the backrest of the sofa.

“Oh, yeah,” growled Eddie, “I love your pussy!” He banged me, doggy-style, his big hands around my waist, pulling my hips and butt onto his cock as he roughly pounded my pussy.

I thrilled at his manly dominance, choosing to relish in the feeling of being taken over the sofa, something that I had often dreamed of in my fevered imaginings late at night.

“Rrrr,” managed Eddie, as his powerful thrusts sent aftershocks through my loins. I was still coming down from the previous orgasm when I felt his rhythm become slightly off-kilter, his thrusts slowing and becoming gentler, as he milked his cock with my pussy, deliberately lengthening out the strokes to maximize his own pleasure. Slowing down to almost nothing as my own waves of pleasure ebbed away, I felt his cock pulse powerfully. “Aargh!” he cried, as wave after wave of pleasure overwhelmed his cock, releasing eight or nine loads of semen into me; an incredible amount, and my eyes widened as he unloaded his heavy balls into my pussy. Astonished at how much semen he could produce, I marveled at the incredible sensation of being filled with my lover’s seed.

Panting with exertion, I finally felt him remove his cock from me.

I stood up quickly and turned around to face him.

“We’re not done yet,” he smiled.

“Good,” I replied. “Neither am I. Let’s go to the bathroom.”

Suddenly feeling young and girly, I rushed out, giggling, then dashed upstairs. Laughing, Eddie chased after me.

Arriving first, I stepped into the bathtub, grabbed the shower head and turned on the water. Rinsing myself off, I looked up as Eddie arrived. “I’ll be there in a minute,” I grinned, my eyes drinking in his gorgeous body.

“You’re an amazing woman, Daphne,” he said. “An incredible lover, too,” he remarked.

“There’s more where that came from,” I replied.

“I hope so,” he said. “I’m up for more.”

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the bathtub and onto the carpeted floor. Eddie grabbed me, folding me in his arms. I drank in his kiss, feeling womanly and completely owned. I felt Eddie’s hands wander down my slick, wet sides and rest on my wide hips.

I looked down to see his cock hardening with desire. “Wowee, you’re ready already,” I remarked.

“You’re incredibly sexy, Daphne — I can’t get enough of you,” he said, breathlessly.

I smiled seductively. “I could say the same thing about you.”

A pause. Then, in a voice becoming seductive with desire, he said, “Turn around.”

I obeyed, thinking he was planning to bend me over the bathtub at a low angle. I was surprised to feel one hand encircling my waist, then the other coming behind my legs to whisk them up off the floor, as he stood up at full height and walked backwards until he was leaning against the bathroom wall. Folded up with my legs in the air in front of me, I said, “What are you doing?”

There was no answer, but I felt his hands grab the back of each of my thighs. I flung one arm around his neck and shoulder for balance, as he gently lowered my pussy onto the tip of his cock. “Oh, wow,” I managed to say, suddenly realizing what he was doing. Suddenly, I was impaled on his seven-inch cock, gravity doing its work to plunge his member deep inside me. Crying out with pleasure, my eyes widened as he used his strength to pull me back up his cock, then slam me back down. Then I felt him thrust his hips. Establishing a rhythm, he effed me like that, plundering my pussy with his hard cock.

“Your gorgeous pussy,” panted Eddie, as he increased speed. “I can’t believe how it feels!”

I turned to look at him. He was gritting his teeth, his handsome face entranced with pleasure, as he felt the walls of my pussy caress his cock as he thrust deep inside me.

I had never done this position before, and marveled at how deep he could go, the tip of his cock pumping right to the back, next to my cervix. The pounding it was receiving suddenly awoke a deep and gnawing knot of pleasure, and I felt transfixed as the insistent pumping of his cock reverberated within my pussy. I felt a sudden strong contraction deep inside, causing me to unexpectedly yell out. This was new, different, exciting, novel; I was awestruck as the deep pounding of the head of his cock then let loose another strong contraction, the walls of my pussy awakening to a new sensation, something primeval, as if something long-dormant was awakening. Now another wonderful contraction, more delicious than the last; a few seconds more, then a fourth; I became aware of a huge emotional wave building up, a deep vulnerability. Overwhelmed, I opened my mouth wide as yet another contraction sent shockwaves through the walls of my pussy. Then suddenly they came faster, faster, beginning to merge into one huge wall of pleasure. I wailed out loud as a huge, enormous wave took hold of my whole lower body and, succumbing to unbelievable pleasure, I yelled, “Oh, Eddie, EDDIE!” before a vast wave crashed through my frame, blowing my mind, my conscious awareness lost as all I could feel was the blinding pleasure, Eddie’s marvelous cock and the feel of his strong hands holding my legs.

I vaguely heard Eddie cry out, before releasing another huge shot of semen into my quivering pussy, the feeling drowning out my senses as I rode the strongest wave I’d ever known.

Eddie slowly bent at the knees, lowering me gently to the floor, before tipping me forward to remove his cock from inside me.

I was staggered, unable to comprehend what had just happened, on all fours on the bathroom floor. “Wh-what was that?”

Eddie, almost as astonished as me, breathlessly panted, “I think it’s called the A-spot.”

This was instantly hilarious, and I burst out laughing, the waves of laughter rising up my body and mingling with the aftershocks of the orgasm, in a blend that could only be doing amazing things for my body. Now this was the hormone replacement therapy I could sign up for, I thought – a ridiculous suggestion from my brain that made me laugh even louder.

I put one foot on the floor, leaned on it, and stood up.

“Come on, you!” laughed Eddie. He picked me up once again, this time carrying me like a big baby out of the bathroom.

I loved the way he was strong enough to carry me. He led me across the landing to my bedroom. Kicking open the door, he threw me bodily onto the bed. Laughing, I immediately got up, and pulled his hips close to the edge of the bed. Grabbing his semi-hard cock, I began stroking it, feeling the thickness in my hand. It must have been around six inches around. Eddie, still super-sexed up, began breathing heavily. I felt his cock getting bigger, heavier, and soon his full seven-inch length was at full mast once more. “Wow, you’re so horny,” I remarked.

“For you!” he said, managing to get the words out.

“Good, because I am for you, too,” I replied, engulfing his cock in my mouth once more. Sucking strongly, I felt Eddie’s fingers entangle themselves in my long, blond hair, as I pleasured his thick member. In less than two minutes, he was panting, breathing deeply, and I looked up to see his gorgeous, magnificent pecs heaving up and down. Removing my mouth from his cock, I scooted my hips up to the edge of the bed and straightened my legs, then spread them wide. “Now eff me like you mean it,” I commanded, with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” grinned Eddie. Grabbing my legs in a long, V-shape up his chest, he positioned the head of his cock against the entrance to my vagina. Looking directly in my eyes, he slid slowly in.

“Aaah,” I moaned, thrilled to have him inside me once more. Now already up to the hilt, he withdrew quickly, then slammed back inside me; paused, then repeated the movement. I cried out with his long, hard thrusts. Eddie groaned as the slow thrusts maximized his pleasure, and I could see that my pussy walls were delicious to him.

Slowly he increased speed, taking his pleasure from me, his sinuous hips rocking in unison with my undulations. Our rhythm perfect, he arched his back, the better to feel the smoothness of my womanly legs against his chest. “Oh, woman, your pussy is unbelievable,” he said, now losing control, his hips pumping his cock inside me with abandon.

I pumped my hips in time with him, the rhythm once again energizing the walls of my pussy, the friction creating a roaring need in my loins that demanded satisfaction.

Eddie pulled my hips full off the bed, my legs bending over his shoulders. He grabbed my hips and pounded me as hard as he could.

That was just what I needed. Arching my back, I felt et another huge wave of pleasure rise within me. My moan turning into a wail, I cried out in pleasure as another huge wave rose up my spine, higher and higher, stronger, faster, reaching a crest, before suddenly breaking into a huge crash. My body broke out into a sweat once more as my torso undulated wildly, taking its pleasure from Eddie’s cock.

Just then, Eddie gave one huge thrust, before I felt his seed erupt from his cock, unloading another six or seven spurts of semen into my aching pussy. Crying out, he ran his hands up to my breasts, relishing the feel of them as he rode the waves of his own orgasm.

As the waves of my own climax subsided, I felt his cock slowly slide out of me, then his heavy body lie down next to me on the bed, spent.

We lay there for a few moments, getting our breath back.

I recovered first. Laughing, I said, “Well, you’re quite the stud! You’ve performed three times already!”

He smiled, still breathless. “You’re worth it.”

I turned to him. “Is that so? Well, guess what? So are you.” I sat up. “I think I’m going to enjoy this summer after all. I think I can make it enjoyable for you, too. Let’s say we make this a regular situation.”

“Hahaha! Deal,” replied Eddie.

Well, huh. That had been an amazing session and, what is more, I had badly needed it, without even realizing that I did. Now I had a fabulous new boyfriend — all because of seducing the gardener.