The Naked Gardener

Van had secretly hoped that this night might lead to a greater physical intimacy between them, but his expectations had not gone much beyond kissing and perhaps some careful petting. Clearly, she was every bit as horny as he was and wasn't afraid to show it. The view of looking down at her mouth as it went up and down on his cock, with her breasts swaying gently just beneath, was almost as arousing as the physical sensation itself.

Liz clearly had some experience with fellatio, since she had him rocketing toward an orgasm within a couple minutes of skilled tongue and hand technique. As he felt himself reaching a climax, he gave her fair warning and she pulled him out of her mouth and stroked him the rest of the way by hand. Several surges of white cum shot out, coating her chin, neck, and chest. She grinned up at him proudly while the final glob slid down the freckled valley between her breasts.

"God, that was fantastic," he said when he finally caught his breath.

"You're most welcome," she said. Liz then took the tip of his slowly softening cock back in her mouth and licked the residual cum off him.

"You, uh, want a tissue or something?" he asked when she finally let go of him and stood.

"Yes, please," she said, cheerfully. He was relieved that she didn't seem to be too squeamish about a little mess.

He snagged a couple tissues from his night stand and handed them to her, figuring it would be safer to let her wipe herself than for him to do so and cause her a lot of unnecessary pain. After she wiped off and discarded the tissues in the waste bin, she returned to his arms and they gently kissed.

"So, you wanted to do that all week?"

"Yeah," she said. "You didn't mind?"

"Not one bit. Kinda along the lines of a few of the things I'd wanted to do with you."

"Oh really? Do tell."

"Well, if you like, we could try reversing roles."

"I like."

After a little more kissing, Van arranged for Liz to lay back on his bed with her legs hanging off. It took her a moment to get over the discomfort, but she soon gave him a smile that said she was good. He knelt on the floor beside the bed, took her legs over his shoulder in a firm grip, and lowered his lips into her thick brown curls.

Still uncertain about how much pain she might experience down here, he was a little hesitant as to how to proceed. He started by simply kissing his way around and over her pussy and clit. That seemed to go okay until his cheek accidentally brushed up against the inside of her thigh and she let out an audible gasp.

"Crap, sorry," he said, feeling the mood at risk of slipping away. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her pain.

"No, it's okay," she said, though clearly still in a bit of pain. "Just, careful of the thighs. They're particularly sensitive."

Van held her legs higher and wider, giving him more clearance. Nervously, he resumed his kissing and licking around the folds of her pussy lips. Her body seemed to relax a bit after a little attention, allowing him to calm down just a bit as well and start building some sort of rhythm. Slowly, he began to alternate between licking along her pussy and flicking his tongue across her swollen clit. The smell of her arousal blended with the faint saltiness of her taste in a delectable ensemble.

After several minutes of alternating, Liz began to moan softly and thrust her hips each time his tongue made contact with her clit. He focused on that, alternating between quick flutters and long, slow strokes of the tongue until he finally brought her to a climax. She was not a screamer, but she certainly wasn't shy about moaning and gasping.

Once she had come down from her climax, Van stood and wiped her juices from his mouth. She was looking up at him, glowing in a sheen of perspiration and grinning widely behind gorgeous bedroom eyes. He would die a happy man if he was blessed with that sight regularly.

"Thanks, I needed that," she said.

"You're most welcome."

Liz moved further back onto the bed and Van joined her, laying side by side and holding hands. For several minutes, they just stared up at the slowly rotating ceiling fan and savored the company. Van idly wondered what he had done to get so lucky.

Eventually, they began to chat about inconsequential things, as if to speak about their budding romance would somehow jinx it. For Van, this felt just like the last week's worth of their nightly conversations, only a thousand times better with Liz laying beside him. They laughed and whispered and gave each other longing looks.

Liz rolled onto her side to face Van, cringing a bit for the effort. While maintaining eye contact, she reached out and gently touched his flaccid cock. Within moments, it swelled to life. She smiled back at his obvious pleasure.

Van turned partially toward her so they could kiss. She stroked him more insistently as their tongues danced. He could feel her rising passion in the depth of her breathing.

He ran his hand up the arm with which she was holding him, and immediately regretted it when she sucked in her breath to stifle a whimper. It was a simple, innocent gesture, and he'd completely forgotten that it was the sort of thing that caused her the greatest pain.

"Shit, sorry," he said, immediately removing his hand.

Liz closed her eyes for a few moments, taking a couple deep breaths, and then reopened them.

"It's okay," she said, though he could tell she was saying that for his sake. "It happens."

"Sorry," he said again, still feeling terrible. His arousal threatened to fade until she forced a smile and resumed stroking him.

For several minutes, they simply held their positions -- kissing with Liz gently playing with him. He wanted desperately to touch her, wrap her in his arms and explore every inch of her body with his fingers and lips. All he could bring himself to do was lay still and kiss her back.

"You want to give this a try?" she said, her voice husky with desire.

Van was paralyzed between fear of hurting her and the strong urge to make love to this fantastic woman.

"Yeah," he whispered. "What's gonna work best for you?"

Liz pushed him into his back, kissing and stroking him the entire way. When she threw a leg across him, Van decided that she wanted to be on top, which suited him just fine. Straddling him, she leaned forward and kissed him with a renewed fervor, her breasts dangling tantalizingly above his chest.

Tentatively, Van placed a hand over one breast and got a slight flinch out of Liz for his efforts. He bravely left it there, though, hoping that as before the pain would vanish under constant pressure. When she reached back for his cock, he took it as a sign that she was still okay.

As Liz slid back to guide him to her, however, she grimaced at some frictional pain. Despite the fact that it wasn't something Van had done, he started to really feel terrible. She was enduring entirely too much pain for his sake. That thought interrupted his enjoyment of the encounter, and he could feel himself losing his erection even as she was trying to slide him inside her wet pussy. She must have noticed, since she tried to stroke him back from his semi-soft condition, but that awkward effort seemed to cause additional irritation to her skin as well.

"I'm sorry," Van whispered, removing his hand from her breast.

Liz looked down at him with resignation in her eyes before leaning down to kiss him gently. "It's okay," she said.

She carefully dismounted and laid on her side next to him. She traced her fingers across his chest in exactly the sort of intimate gesture he couldn't share back. Her face was sympathetic, though it did little for Van's mood.

"It's really tough, keeping the mood when I know you're in pain."

Liz nodded. "I know. And it sucks."

"Because I don't think I've ever wanted someone so badly before."

"And you can't touch me the way you want."

"Exactly."

"It's always the worst with the best guys."

Van gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you're a good guy, and I probably should have waited a bit until I was ready to explain this better. But, well, I guess I wanted you pretty badly, too."

Van raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

"You see, I've found over the years that sex works better for me when there's pain involved. Not the sort of pain that comes from my nervous condition, though. When there's an intentionally applied pain that I can focus on, something with...intimate connotations...then I seem to be better at blocking out or even using the other pain as a sort of turn on."

"Okay, I think I kinda see that."

"And that's why good guys sometimes have a problem with me, because they're not the sort to engage in inflicting pain on a woman for gratification."

"Er, yeah, no," Van said. He wish he'd known that in advance. She was right, though, that he wasn't sure he could do that sort of thing to her. He wasn't even sure what sort of intentional pain she was talking about.

"The line between pain and pleasure is closer than most people realize," she continued. "And much of that is in the head."

"Yeah, it might take a little work to get my head wrapped around that one," he said. "But, I can try."

For a fleeting instant, Van saw in Liz's face doubt and regret, but it vanished a moment later as she smiled at him and nodded.

"Can I ask what sort of things you like?" Van asked.

Liz blushed and cringed. "Unfortunately, this is when I tend to get cripplingly shy," she said. "Go figure -- I'm comfortable parading around nude in front of pretty much anyone, but get all uptight talking about what gets me turned on. Especially when I'm in bed and naked with the guy asking."

Her self deprecation brought a much needed laugh from both of them.

"I understand," Van said. "I'm not much of one for open talk, either. Always just kinda tried to fumble my way through things to see what worked."

"That's not always a bad thing," Liz said.

"But, I'm always open for helpful hints."

"I know, and I'll try," she said. "Look, I'm pretty well beat after the trip and should probably get home so I can unpack and sleep."

"Okay," he said, trying to contain his disappointment. They had jumped in pretty quickly after very little time together. And after the way the evening had kinda fizzled, maybe inviting her to stay the night would be more awkward than it was worth.

"But, it was great seeing you tonight. Thanks for dinner and, well, the rest."

When they kissed again at the door, Van tried to shake the feeling that Liz wasn't as interested in him as he'd first thought. He knew it was probably unfounded self-doubt, but he couldn't help it after the complete crash and burn at their first attempt at love-making. It wouldn't be until he saw her again that he would be able to get a read on her true feelings toward him -- would she distance herself, or would things be back to where they had been about an hour earlier when she was undressing him in the bedroom?

* * * * *

The following morning, Van resisted the urge to run over to Liz's house to pay her a visit. She would undoubtedly still be in the process of catching up after the trip -- unpacking, going through mail, and such. Had they enjoyed mind-blowing sex, she may have either stayed the night or at least he'd be justified in visiting early for a follow up. Following their fizzle, however, he didn't know how to play things. He wondered if he shouldn't just wait for her to contact him.

To distract himself, Van decided to head into the closest town for some groceries. The town itself was little more than a small congregation of businesses and a post office in the middle of a widely dispersed rural community. And the grocery, unlike what he was used to back in the city, was essentially an over-sized convenience store. At least it carried most of his modest cooking needs.

"Van, isn't it?"

Van turned from the shelf of bread products and it took him a moment to recognize Liz's neighbor without the cowboy hat or horse.

"Clancy," Van said, shaking the man's hand. "Nice to see you again."

"You too. Getting settled in?"

"Yeah, finally got most of the boxes unpacked and the house presentably cleaned up."

"Good to hear. I'm sure you'll love this part of the country. Beautiful scenery, beautiful women."

Clancy said this last with a knowing grin.

"Couldn't agree more on both counts."

"Speaking of, mind if I nose a bit about you and Liz?"

"What do you mean?" Van wondered if Liz had told Clancy anything about their budding relationship, which seemed unlikely since she had been gone for most of the intervening week.

"Well, maybe I was just reading a bit much into things, but I'd bet half my property that she fancies you something fierce."

"Oh, really? How could you tell that?"

Clancy leaned in close and lowered his voice. "She doesn't invite many people over to her place. And that poor girl doesn't get dressed for hardly anyone. Not when it's warm out, anyway."

"Yeah, she told me about her condition."

"Between you and me, I think it hurts her a lot more than she lets on. I've seen her a couple times when she probably didn't think I was paying attention and I think she hides it well."

"I'll definitely have to keep that in mind," Van said, seeing a few things in a fresh light.

"Shame such a lovely young lady has to have to suffer so much."

"Yeah," Van said. "Well, just between you and me, I happen to like her a lot, and we haven't gone a day since that night without at least talking."

Clancy smiled. "Glad to hear that. Take good care of her."

Van lingered in the aisle as the old man wandered off with his hand basket. He began to realize just how much it may have cost Liz in terms of physical pain for the sake of his comfort. She wouldn't do that if she didn't feel every bit as attracted to him as he felt for her. Last night, she had found the courage to tell him what she needed, and he resolved to try to figure out how to get over his own discomfort for her sake.

* * * * *

Van could feel himself trembling with nerves as he worked his way through the woods toward Liz's house. He could have driven, which would have spared him from much of the heat, humidity, and bugs of the summer afternoon, but somehow it seemed more fitting to walk. And, he had hoped, it would give him more time to settle the nerves that were more on edge than when he had first come over to her place for dinner.

When he reached her yard, he spotted LIz in the garden, almost hidden behind a row of vines. As best he could tell, she was wearing the same gloves and straw hat as the first time he'd seen her -- and very likely nothing else. Seeing her like that, the naked gardener in her element, somehow heartened him to see this through.

"Heya, neighbor," he called out when he stepped onto her lawn.

Liz looked up and gave him an enthusiastic smile and wave. "Howdy yourself."

"What's up?"

"Oh, just trying to beat my garden back into submission. Should've known better than to leave it for a week at the peak of the growing season."

"Hope you're not working too hard."

"Well, you have good timing, since I really should take a break. Hang on, I'll be right out."

Van followed her to the edge of the fence and offered her a hand as she climbed over the chicken wire perimeter. Just as before, her freckled, tan skin was beaded with sweat. His eyes were irresistibly drawn to a couple drops as they ran down between her breasts.

"I know, I'm sweaty," she said with good humor, causing Van to flush.

"Yeah, me too," he said. "Starting to wonder if the decision to walk instead of drive was a smart one."

"Drink?"

"Sure."

Liz led him to the picnic table near the pool where a single glass and a sweaty pitcher of iced tea sat. She poured up a glass and downed it in one long drink before refilling it and handing it to him. He drank most of it and handed it back.

"Thanks," he said.

"So, what's up with you?" she asked, not so subtly glancing at the small package he carried.

He held it up for her. "A gift," he said.

"For me?" Liz looked a little puzzled and skeptical.

"Yup. But, I have to warn you about it. This might be the single most inappropriate gift ever given to someone just a week after having met. So, I stand a good chance of you kicking me off your property for good."

"That bad, huh?"

Van shrugged. "Possibly."

"If you didn't want to be with me, you could just say so. You didn't have to give me a break up gift." Her tone said that she was having fun with him.

"I'd much rather be with you," he said.

"Good," she said, taking the gift and tearing through the tape on the brown packing paper.

Van watched her expression carefully as she removed the paper and realize just what he had given her. She was clearly surprised, but he wasn't as certain as to whether it was a good surprise or bad.

"Well, this is inappropriate," she said, causing his heart to thud nervously. "But, maybe the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Van's nerves vanished at the appearance of her smile when she looked up at him.

"You're not upset, then?"

"What kind of girl would I be if I got upset about nipple clamps?"

Liz reached around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Well, I could think of a few girls who probably wouldn't appreciate those," Van said when they finally separated.

"Guess that's what makes me special."

"Very special."

"This is really great," she said, opening the packaging. "I really appreciate what it means that you got them for me."

"You're welcome."

"And, since I've never tried these before, I may need a little help getting them on. Any volunteers?"

"I suppose I can help."

They fiddled around with the adjustable screws for a couple minutes before finally getting the clamps sorted out. Her nipples, likely from arousal, were already very perky, and it was easy enough to situate each inside its respective clamp. He released them slowly, just in case they were set too tight. She gasped slightly as each was put in place, but that was soon replaced with a smile of delight.

"They okay?" he asked as he stepped back to admire them. Between the silver clamps, a thin chain dangled under her breasts and just above her navel. It was a lovely sight.

"Perfect," she said, bouncing gently to get the chain swinging.

Liz embraced him once again, kissing him fiercely. He cupped one of her breasts, firm and deliberate, and was treated to an appreciative moan. He even dared to run a fingertip over the exposed tip of her nipple where it squeezed out of the clamp, and she smiled at that.

"I like it when you touch me," she whispered.

Van liked it very much, too. And, at least for the moment, he was able to act out on some of his impulses. Mostly, though, he was relieved that Liz was happy.

"Take a dip in the pool with me?" Liz asked. "I need to cool down and rinse off."

"Sure," Van said. He shed his clothes, hoping that none of his pasty white bits got burned in the harsh sunlight.

Liz, having already discarded her sandals and hat, took his hand and they jumped into the deep end of the pool together. The shock of cool water was a welcome relief following the hike through the woods, cleansing and refreshing. He also found he was less worried about incidentally touching Liz while she was in the water after she described its buffering effect on her pain response.

"I'm glad you came over," Liz said, lacing her fingers together behind his neck. "I was worried that I might have sent the wrong message leaving the way I did."

"Don't worry about it. It was a little frustrating, but nothing worth doing right isn't worth a little effort and challenge."

"That's the spirit. Just try not to worry about me so much. I'll let you know if or when the pain becomes too great."