Threading the Needle Ch. 05

After making one last check to make sure the rafts were secure, Liz got into the van and headed towards the tavern. She would find someone to help drive out thoughts of Indigo, Lena..... and Winnie.

*****

Although the weather was foul, the drive home was trouble free. Rikki was careful on the back roads to restrain her instinct to speed. There were multiple small towns before getting out to the freeway. Traffic from the ski resort up at the pass was just starting to build, so they weren't caught in any backups. Once Rikki dropped off Winnie, it was a short twenty-minute drive home.

Before going in to see her family, Rikki got out all her rafting gear and hung it up to dry in the mudroom. Putting on wet rafting gear was no fun. She wanted to take advantage of every minute of drying time. Only when that was done and everything was organized for the morning did she go in.

As she opened the door from the mudroom, Marika took a deep breath. There were no nice aromas from a dinner being made. She sighed. It wasn't that she expected that Samuel would make dinner; it just would have been nice.

"I'm home," Marika called out.

"Mommy!" she heard her son shout from the family room. The patter of his feet followed it as he ran to give her a big hug. Reaching down, she picked him up and gave him one in return.

"I missed you!" they both said at the same instant. Kieran's giggle made her laugh long enough that he got to say "jinx" first. Marika opened her mouth in mock surprise and anger. That only made Kieran giggle harder.

"Say my name," Marika mouthed. With a huge grin, Kieran shook his head. "Please?" she added without a sound.

"Nope, I'm not saying your name all night!" Kieran said with delight. When Marika pretended to cry, he took her hand. "Don't cry, M...." he started to say before cutting himself off. "Not tricky enough!" he told his mother with glee. He was so cute that Marika couldn't help giving him another hug.

"Oh good. You're home, Marika," Samuel said as he came into the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Kieran yelled at him. "You broke the jinx!" He pouted until Marika started to tickle him. His anger disappeared as quickly as it appeared, dissolving in a fit of giggles.

"Sorry, Champ," Samuel told him. "Didn't know. I would have been happy to keep your mom quiet if I just knew."

Despite the smile he gave her to say he was kidding, Marika couldn't help the little feeling of hurt. "I wonder if he really feels that way," she thought. She watched as Samuel grabbed his coat and headed for the door. Even though she had been gone all day, he didn't ask how her day was, nor did he come give her a kiss goodbye.

"Game is going to start soon. I need to get going," he said as he opened the door. "Have fun you two. Love you," he said and then he was gone.

Marika wasn't even sure whether Samuel addressed the last bit to her, to Kieran or to both of them. She noticed the door was slightly ajar and went over to close it. As she got there, she caught a whiff of cologne. "That's odd," she thought. Samuel was just meeting his buddies at a sports bar. It wasn't unusual for him to wear cologne though. "It must have just been on his jacket," she told herself.

"I'm hungry," Kieran announced, startling her from her thoughts.

"I bet you are. How about pasta with tomato sauce?" Marika asked. She turned all of her attention over to her son. For a while, he even helped by bringing her cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and helped to mix garlic in with butter for garlic toast. After a little while and making a little bit of a mess, he went back into the family room to finish the movie he was watching when she came home. It finished just as she came in to tell him dinner was on the table.

Kieran got up, turned off the television, and then ran over to hold his mother's hand as they went to the table. His little hand gripped hers tightly. She smiled at him and thought to herself, "I love him so much. At least I got him from this marriage!" The last thought surprised her. It wasn't like her to be so bleak about her relationship with Samuel.

"So what did you do all day?" Marika asked him, once they were both at the table.

Kieran was already taking a bite of his garlic bread. "Watched TV," he said with his mouth full.

"Swallow first before talking," Marika automatically said. She waited until he swallowed. "All day?" she asked.

This time he looked at her and waited before taking another bite. "Yeah. Daddy was working in his office so I got to watch." From the tone, he clearly regarded it as a huge treat.

Marika, on the other hand, frowned. "That's too much TV time, Kieran. Promise me even when Daddy is busy, you will play with your toys. Use that great imagination and build your Legos," she told him.

His eyes lit up when she mentioned Legos. In the luxury of unlimited TV, he forgot about those. They were by far his favorite toy. "Can we do Legos after dinner?" Kieran asked.

"Sure," Marika said. It wasn't like him to be as lazy as he apparently was all day. "You have to help me, alright?"

"I will, Mommy!" Kieran assured her. Once again, she felt her heart swell with love. Then he looked at her and cocked his head slightly. "So tell me about your day," he said, sounding and looking more like her husband than usual. Completely unlike Samuel, he actually was interested and Marika told him about rafting.

"When's Auntie Ewizabeth coming to see me?" Kieran asked.

"Maybe this week, and that reminds me," Marika got up and gave him a big hug. "That's from Auntie Elizabeth. She told me to give it to you," Marika said.

"Are you going to see her tomorrow?" Kieran wanted to know.

"I will."

Getting up on his chair, Kieran gave Marika his tightest hug. "Give her that from me, please!" he said.

"I will, Sweetheart," Marika assured him.

Even as they continued to talk about the day, Marika couldn't help thinking about Samuel letting Kieran just watch videos all day. "That just isn't acceptable. Even if he doesn't have time, Kieran can play. And why doesn't he have time? It's the weekend and he is with his son. He should do something." The wind picked just that moment to blow hard, driving the rain against the window.

"Okay, maybe not going outside today, but a play date or something. That was kind of our deal," Marika told herself. Whether it was coming up with somewhere to go, getting together with one of Kieran's friends, or just having something planned at home, Marika made sure that he didn't just sit around watching television or, even worse, playing video games.

When dinner was over, Kieran went to get out the Legos while Marika cleaned up. She took a few minutes to call the mother of one of his little friends down the street. They talked for a few minutes.

"Thanks Nancy. And remember, you called me to set this up, okay?" Marika reminded her. She chuckled as she put down the phone. Samuel could just deal with getting Kieran over there for his play date.

"Mommy? Are you coming?" Kieran yelled from the family room.

"Just one more sec, Sweetheart," Marika called back. She finished writing a note to Samuel explaining about the plans for tomorrow. Putting the pen down, she headed in to play with her son.

An hour and a half later, Marika closed the door to Kieran's bedroom door. It was funny how quickly he could go to sleep. One minute he was playing with a Lego car in his bed as she read to him, and the next he was out like a light. She sighed. It was nice having the time with him, but it made for a long day. She still felt grimy from the day on the river. Beyond that, there was still a chill in her bones that hadn't disappeared.

Looking at her watch, Marika realized she didn't have any idea when to expect Samuel home. She wished they had some time together tonight. When she started rafting, she hoped it might make Samuel treasure their couple time a little more. It didn't seem to make a difference. Tonight was just one more example.

With a sigh, Marika went around the house and turned off most of the lights. There were enough to light Samuel's way to the bedroom. Once she finished that, she went in there and then into the master bathroom. It had a nice big soaking tub and she began to draw a bath. A long soak in a steaming hot tub sounded like just the thing. While it was filling, she lit all the candles that she kept around it and then turned out the lights. She liked the warm glow that filled the room. As a final touch, she added some peppermint scented bath salts.

Marika began to get undressed. Once she had her turtleneck and her pants off, she looked at herself in the mirror. She knew that she wasn't old, but being around all the pretty women in rafting reminded her that she was no longer 22. Her figure was more mature than it was then. Her hips were a little wider and her breasts a little heavier. Still she worked hard at keeping her figure. She turned left and then right. The wider hips actually gave her more of an hourglass figure since her waist was still about the same.

Self-consciously, Marika looked around for anyone watching even though she knew she was alone. Curling her arms up, she flexed her muscles. The way her biceps and triceps firmed up made her smile. Her shoulders showed their muscles a little more too. Between rafting and spending more of her time in the gym with weights, her body was harder than before guide training.

Taking off her bra, Marika ran her hands over her breasts. It felt good to have it off. She massaged the little lines left on them from the bra. Her fingers strayed onto her areolae and she felt a little prickle as her nipples began to harden. It felt nice. A spark of arousal ignited.

"Damn, Samuel," she thought. It had been too long since they made love. She remembered what Yamile said about how often she made love with Claudio. Maybe every couple of days was too much, but it was better than going for weeks. Her nipples hardened more as she thought about it.

A shiver ran through Marika. It wasn't from arousal. Standing almost naked, she was getting cold. Putting her hair up, she peeled off her panties and then stepped into the tub. The hot water was almost too much. She slowly lowered herself into the water, gritting her teeth as the hot water covered her. Even when she was seated, Marika couldn't quite lay back and let the water fully envelop her. She sat with her hands balled up under her chin and got used to the heat. Finally she settled back and let the water come up to her chin. She let out the big breath that she had been holding and closed her eyes.

For a long time, Marika just enjoyed soaking in the hot water. Her mind was still and peaceful. She didn't feel drowsy. It was just nice to have no demands upon her. Almost all of the demands in her life were good ones. She didn't mind them, but all together they sometimes wore her down. The muscles in her shoulder and back felt sore but slowly the hot water worked its magic. Marika felt them slowly loosen. She twisted her head from side to side and heard them pop. It was a surprisingly good feeling.

After a while, Marika roused herself and began to run her hands over her arms and legs. Maybe all the remaining sweat from working hard rafting was gone, but the gentle scrape of her fingernails felt nice. As her fingers came up her thighs, the arousal from earlier began to come back. It was just a little tingle at first. Marika barely noticed it. When she came all the way up her legs, she avoided touching her pussy. It wasn't that type of arousal, at least not yet. It was the sensuous feeling that she enjoyed.

"We never get that," she thought. When she and Samuel actually made love, it lacked any sensuality. It was hurried. Samuel never took his time to build her excitement slowly. "He knows my buttons; I'll give him that," she admitted to herself. There were certain spots on the side of her breasts and her lower back that really got to her. When Samuel played them just right, Marika couldn't help herself. She got wet and ready to fuck. "That's what it is," she thought. "It's fucking, not making love."

Sometimes that was good enough. When she was really horny, she liked how Samuel could get her ready so quickly. Samuel had good stamina so she usually came as he fucked her hard and fast. There was something sexy about the way his cock drove into her as she thrust up against him. Fucking that way scratched her itch and left her sexually sated.

It was just that wasn't her only need. There were many times when Marika desperately wanted to make love. When they were first going out, Samuel took his time and his feelings came through. If Marika was getting too excited, he would back off and let her calm down some. He never let her completely calm down, but the urgency of her need died back. When they finally made love, it began as slow strokes, building over time. In the end, they were going just as hard as when they fucked. It just had a completely different feel. And when it was all over Marika was content with the feeling of being loved as much as from cumming. Over time, they made love less and less often. Now, it seemed rare for them even to fuck.

As she thought about making love with Samuel, her fingers lightly brushed the undersides of her breasts. Tonight was a night when she would want to make love. The disconnect between the two of them was widening. She wished she heard him getting home right then. She would wait for him in the tub and then try to seduce him. Her fingers slid up between her breasts to caress her collarbone and then ran her hand back down her body. She felt the hard bump of a nipple. The friction from her hand made her jump. When her fingers reached down to her thigh, she held still and listened. It was hours since he left. Maybe he was there now. Time stretched on.

Nothing.

"Claudio wouldn't leave Yamile alone like this," Marika thought with a touch of anger. He travelled enough for work that he wanted to spend his time at home with his family. From the stories Yamile occasionally told her, Marika knew that by her definition, some of the time the two of them fucked in a raw and passionate way. One time, Yamile told her about how she gave Claudio scratch marks deep enough on his back that he needed a Band-Aid or two before going to work.

Those type of stories were the exciting ones that Yamile was most likely to share. Marika wondered how they made love. The way Claudio looked at her; there was no question about their making sweet and slow love. She tried to imagine the two of them in bed. Her hand moved and she brushed her fingers against her mound. They ran through the little bit of hair she left on her pussy.

While touching herself helped to build her excitement, Marika found it hard to picture Claudio. He was gorgeous. If they were both single, he would find it easy to seduce Marika. It was just hard to think of her good friend's husband that way. Somehow, it felt a little like she was betraying Yamile.

"Yamile," Marika thought of her friend. "She's gorgeous too. Although she was older, she had dark luminescent eyes above strong cheekbones. When she smiled, she managed to make everyone around her feel good too. Her caramel skin was flawlessly smooth. Her body was still great too. Even though her breasts weren't as big as Marika's, she had even more of an hourglass figure with nice wide hips. Marika's fingers gently stroked over her slit and she felt a naughty thrill go through her body.

A stray thought wandered into her head. "I wonder if she flirted with Elizabeth when she hit on her." Yamile wouldn't have taken offense. Secure in her relationship with Claudio, she would take being hit on as a compliment. One finger slipped in between Marika's lips. She made a low moan. "I bet Yamile flirted with her. Maybe for a few moments, she even got Elizabeth to think she was truly interested," Marika thought. That would be just like her. It would be one of Elizabeth's few failures; not like with that woman in the bar. Marika drew her finger back and forth against her clit. Her body began to move in the water, setting off little ripples.

Not that Elizabeth would get anywhere. Marika laughed. She didn't realize how low and throaty it was. "Yamile has that sexy aura that she puts off," Marika thought. That would be just like Yamile to end up being the one who did the teasing. It would be one of Elizabeth's few failures; not like with that woman in the bar."

"Or Indigo," Marika thought. Her other hand slid back up her body to find a nipple. She thought about how pretty Indigo was. Her fingers pinched her nipple. She had a fit but slim body. It was easy to see why Liz was attracted. She remembered how Indigo's face looked as Liz kissed her by the fire. The sensuality there reminded her of those early days with Samuel.

As her finger began to press against the entrance to her pussy, her mind drifted. "What it would be like with a woman, with Indigo," Marika wondered. In her mind, "Rikki" took Liz's place. She imagined what her lips would feel like. They would be softer and fuller.

In the bathtub, Marika sank a little further into the water. Her back arched and her finger slipped into her pussy. She very slowly pushed it deeper. The palm of her hand gently pressed against her mound. Her lips parted and she let out another soft moan.

Indigo's hair was long, especially compared to Samuel's short hair. It was dark too, a natural black, not Samuel's sandy hair. It looked like it would feel luxuriant, full yet soft. She imagined running her fingers through it while gently kissing Indigo. Would Indigo like kissing Rikki?

Marika pinched her nipple again and lifted it. It stretched out until it slid from between her fingers. She did it again. It felt so good. Moving over to the other nipple, she rolled it between her finger and thumb. Her body jerked as she released the stretched-out nipple. Her hips flexed back and forth in the same leisurely way as she slid her finger in and out of her pussy.

Samuel's skin was always a little rough against hers. Indigo would be different. Rikki touched her cheek in a gentle caress. "She would feel soft like this," Marika thought. She almost felt like their cheeks were brushing against each other. Her mouth opened and her tongue ran around her lips, trying to see what it would feel like if Indigo did that.

The excitement in Marika's body grew with each thing that she imagined. Her hand reached behind her head and ran through her hair the way Indigo might do it. "Yes," she whispered. Her fingers caressed her scalp, as if she encouraged Indigo and she responded. Her whole body arched and she pushed her finger in deep. She felt herself getting closer.

"Not yet," Marika told herself. Just like with making love with Samuel, this wasn't about cumming. It was making love. Maybe it was just to herself, but Marika wanted to take her time and enjoy it. She pulled her finger out of her pussy and rested her hand against her thigh. She gently caressed her leg while she tried to regain some calmness by breathing slowly. Her other lay on her belly, just below her breasts. Even though she was able to regain some control, Marika still felt a throbbing in her pussy. "Don't worry. I'll make you cum," she said softly.

She wished she had taken her finger out of the water and licked it off. It was too late now. All the pussy juice on it was washed away. "Maybe next time," she whispered.

Thoughts of Indigo came back to her. "Poor thing," she said aloud. From the way that she looked at Liz by the fire, it wasn't just a casual thing. Whatever she told herself, it was clear to Marika that Indigo was under Liz's spell. "Just like Lena," she thought. At least Indigo actually was with her sometimes. "Lena just longs for her right now."

Thinking of Lena brought a picture of her to mind. "She's even hotter than Indigo. I don't know how Liz resists," Marika thought. Her fingers moved on her belly, sliding across it. Lena's eyes were forest green and penetrating. They were almond shaped and contributed to her exotic beauty. Although her lips were fuller than Indigo's, her mouth wasn't quite as wide. She had that beauty that came with perfect symmetry.