Constance and Her B&B Pt. 01

"The eggs are perfect." He stared at her. "You are perfect too, all pink and fresh."

She bit into her toast, and said, "The novel must have a dark, brooding presence. Perhaps a month of nonstop rain and fog, then a late night arrival in a horse and carriage. A man and a woman in black, with a small child."

He washed and she dried. "You have a gift. We could work on our separate stories, and fight writer's block with sex."

"Do you believe in putting raw sex in your books? Real raw sex?"

"What is real? Sex induces fantasy. Marriage vows vanish and everyone thinks of a better lover as they are doing it."

Her arms were tight around him. "Yes. Tonight, I will tell you about my dreams."

She drove her pickup to town. It also had come with the house and was of an old and indeterminate age. "My uncle and my grandfather cherished this truck. They made me promise not to sell it. There is a mechanic in town who loves it to death."

He glanced across at her. "A little loving looks very good on you."

She smiled at him. "What about the baby business? You didn't answer. I could get some pills in town. You could get some condoms until I am safe."

"Babies are serious."

"Yes."

"Do we know each other well enough to start a baby?"

"Older mothers take more risks." Their hands were squeezing each other.

He said, "No more sex without protection until we work this through."

"Thank you. I was too flip earlier."

She had a list and he had a list and they agreed to meet at the coffee place in an hour.

After shopping, their sacks in the truck, they sat down with lattes. She knew everyone and introduced him as a visiting writer, not mentioning a name.

He had a brochure from the hardware. A fancy range hood was circled. "They could get this in two or three days. We might have to install a new duct for it."

"You are that handy?"

"What about my record so far?"

She wore a pretty beige cotton blouse that drew his eyes to her chest. "Stop that. You will embarrass me in front of my town friends."

"You are a pretty woman that deserves attention."

"Stop that too. You are making me tingle."

"I can't even have a coffee with the innkeeper?"

"I'll have to chain you in the basement."

"Speaking of which, I noticed the boiler is leaking and asked the hardware man about a replacement. He said I should talk to Tom Davis about it."

"What about the electrical?"

"Tony Guerro."

"You must have read that old country houses are a bottomless pit for naive city folks?"

"I wrote a short story about it once. Only got paid $100. Editor said it was a cliche, but a good one."

"Now you can rewrite it with wild Constance in it."

They held hands on the way to the truck. She skipped a few steps and bumped her hip into his.

"I thought we weren't supposed to embarrass your friends?"

She twirled them around and kissed him. "I love you. I decided not to buy pills."

He asked to drive and she handed over the keys. "Let's go see Tony. I've square danced with him. He has a beautiful Italian wife who keeps him very straight."

Tony gave her a hug and shook hands with Arnold enthusiastically. His wife Adriana came out of the adjoining house and invited them in. Tony looked at Constance and asked, "Your ancient wiring hasn't burned the house down yet?"

There was a large pot of minestrone on the stove, and they couldn't resist the invitation to have some.

She took Tony's rough hands in hers and asked, "Arnold is going to be my business partner and wants to know what we have to do to the electrical?"

Tony laughed hard and clapped Arnold on the shoulder. "You poor guy. The county probably won't let me touch it without a complete redo. Sometimes, I look the other way about permits, but you have paying customers spending the night. Neither of us should take chances."

Adriana was standing behind Arnold and running her fingers through his hair. "He is very handsome, you must have cast a spell to make him so foolish."

Tony looked at Arnold, "Be careful, she is the one who casts spells. Look at me."

Everyone laughed. Arnold asked, "If you have an apprentice who opens and closes walls and pulls wires, what kind of money are we talking?"

"My regular pricing is a hundred dollars a drop, but we would have to sit down and do a careful calculation after a site visit. You will want to upgrade things. Fans and heated towel racks in the baths. More outlets and arrangements for laptops and televisions. A lot of code rework in the kitchen. All new service entrance and breaker box."

Arnold noticed Connie shivering in her chair.

"When I was in high school, I spent a summer working for a guy like you. Still remember some of it."

"Non-union labor, eh? You'll be getting me in all kinds of trouble. I am booked solid for two weeks, but then nothing. I can give you special pricing if I get to take some other jobs as we go."

Connie said, "Maybe I should close after Christmas and just make a winter project of all this."

Tony said, "Your new partner is going to make a fierce mess with the sheetrock. Hard to have guests in the middle of that. And the kitchen will have to go back to the studs."

She frowned, "He is going to give me a Coleman for Christmas and expect French cooking?"

More laughter. They rose to go and Tony said he would be out in the next day or two. Adriana kept Connie behind, whispering.

He sat in the truck, feeling fine in the driver's seat and wondering if he was intruding in wild Constance's space. She climbed in and slid next to him. "Let's go by Tom's place and get the rest of the bad news. I've square danced with him too. He is a widower and the nicest man you'll ever meet."

Tom Davis opened his door and welcomed them with a hug for Connie. He had a ruddy face and a wonderful full white beard.

"Boiler failed, didn't it? Sorry, but it's out of warranty. Installed it myself twenty-five years ago." His smile was wide.

Arnold said, "Not dead, but leaking."

He offered a beer from a small refrigerator and they accepted. Seated on the sunny back patio, he cut immediately to the chase. "Constance, your boiler is past ready for the junk heap. Told your grandfather that five years ago. A new one will cut your heating bill in half. And you really should spend the extra to convert to propane from heating oil."

They looked to him for the punch line about money.

"I'm busy now with all the fall heating crises. If you let me wait until after Christmas, I should be able to bring it in for less than ten thousand. Not counting whatever we have to do to clean out those radiators. And what the propane people want for installing and connecting their tank."

He stood, "Emma Largent's toilet has failed and she only has the one bathroom. I need to go and help her. Call me with your decision."

The ride back was quiet. He had returned the driving to her. He leaned against the passenger door and let her have her space.

Inside, he removed an expensive bottle of whiskey from a sack and poured them each a shot glass full.

They stared at each other soberly and downed it. She coughed at the burn and looked around. "I'm not sentimental about this kitchen. If it goes back to the studs, everything has to be new."

She touched her lips to his and said, "I'm spending your money awfully fast. Sure you want to partner with me?"

His arm was tight. "Let's go sit in the parlor."

There was a shaft of November sunlight left, slanting through the trees. She said, "Beautiful and peaceful."

He grabbed a pillow and arranged her across him. "You don't have to take guests. My money won't run out for a long time."

She took another sip of whiskey and said, "I feel like I've won a special lottery. A lottery that provides a mate and a bag of gold and the perfect place to live and raise children."

"What about wild Constance who runs away?"

She stared at him with the wild Constance look. He laughed and rested his head on the back of the sofa. She rubbed his hand on her breast. "How come you aren't after my tits? Guys I've gone out with have always been grabbing me."

He turned her over and she wiggled under his hands. Her head to the side, she added, "How come you know my love life and I don't know any of yours?"

His hand reached under to release the top button, and he eased her jeans and briefs to her knees. She was lean and tough under his fingers, which wormed down between her thighs and encountered moisture.

"I suppose you are going to take me, right here in the parlor. What if mother comes down and catches us?"

"I've always wondered about your mother. With no man around for so many years, has she suppressed her sex drive?"

"He was a cold, nasty son of a bitch. Beats me how I was ever conceived."

"If we are doing it, or almost doing it, what would happen if I claimed her? Pulled her down on the floor next to you, flipped up her dress, pulled her panties to the side and just drove in?"

"I'm not a fan of rape. Maybe the story could have consent involved?"

"There's an open bottle of whiskey on the table. She sees we have been into it. Tips the neck of the bottle up and chugs a very large swallow, which she chokes on. Flops down on this sofa with her skirt up high and says, "What do you think you are doing, having sex in my parlor?"

"I flip us over and sit up. I'm riding you and smiling at her. "Wasn't there a time when you liked sex, mom?"

"She takes another swig and swears at us. "Nasty fuckers. You should be ashamed."

"I reach up and pinch your nipples and you squeal. She says, 'God, I used to like my tits attacked. Made me come every time.' "

"I say, 'Mom, bring the bottle and come sit on him with me. Get rid of the stupid dress. Makes you look like an old lady. Show him your body.' "

"I reach up from your hips and grasp hers. She's resisting but slipping into your arms and my hands guide her to my chest. The dress is gone, and plain white briefs are inches from my face. She smells herself and knows we are smelling her. 'No, I can't do this.' "

"You have her bra off and take a chug from the bottle yourself. Your fingers go to her chest and you say, 'Mom, he really likes tits that fill your hands. Lean over and feel his tongue on them.' "

"As soon as you have her tits under control, I am pulling the briefs to one side and finding a hard clit buried in her hairy mound. She wails at me, 'No, you can't. Pleaseeee.' "

Constance sat up. "I can't talk any more. You've made me gush three times. It's like phone sex. Take me to bed." She undid his zipper and fished out a rock hard cock. "I need this. Leave mother in the parlor and take me to bed."

Wild Constance was back. She swore at him and asked for harder. After the story talk in the parlor, they were coming in minutes.

"Nasty fucker, what do you think you are doing?"

They calmed down and he said, "Shit, I filled you up again."

She got him face down and sat on him, letting their spunk smear around. His ass was as tight as hers, and she pounded as hard as she could.

He asked, "What is wild Constance doing now?"

She switched around, grabbed the sheet and covered them. She licked his ear, and slid her front around on the mess she had just made. The quiet voice said, "I would have never dared let everything out with any of the men before you. Do you have a 'True Confessions' technique?"

He carefully turned over so they were face to face and kissed her. Her eyes sparkled in the dimness of early evening and she said, "We've destroyed the bed again."

He poked his tongue at her and asked, "About your mother. We left her in a bad way..."

"My real mother is a very sexual person and has a man around all the time. If she were here, you would have already had sex. With full consent. I would be jealous."

He said, "We have to get up or I'm falling asleep. That darn Constance does it to me every time."

He put his rough clothes on and went out to chop more wood. She started putting together a leftovers dinner. A below the stairs meal, with no pomp and circumstance. She had a ratty old robe on and laughed at their comedown from the formal dining room. Her new man was full of surprises. Who would have thought the rich novelist knew about electrical? Who would have thought he wanted to spend some of his riches on her?

She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and found him lounging in the doorway, chips from head to toe. He said, "You are a sight. The maid would be horrified to see you in that robe."

"She is out of here tomorrow if you don't stop comparing me to her."

"She told me this morning you are the hottest woman she has ever known and I am exceedingly lucky."

Connie walked into his filthy arms and asked, "Does she have a name? Does she like girls? Is she coming to bed with us?"

"Amy. She will faint dead away if we take her to our bed."

She went back to making a salad. "Did you ever have a threeway before?"

"Once. In school, with twins that were drunk out of their minds. Nothing much happened and I'm sure they didn't remember a thing the next day. What about your adventures?"

"One of my boyfriends made threats about it, but never delivered."

"What about your real maid?"

"She is very pretty and very lovelorn, stuck out here in the sticks with no eligible guys."

"What is she going to say when she finds me in the middle of your life?"

"You have to equip me with a plausible story to tell her."

"After dinner, we will conspire together. I'm going to clean up."

Christina Elliot was going to the community college thirty miles down the road and still living at home. Connie found her by word of mouth and she came twice a week now that things were slow. They liked each other and worked side by side. She was taking English courses and they often talked about Connie's years teaching fourth graders. And sometimes about her unhappy love life. "All the college guys want is to get me in bed or the back seat of their car. I feel like a piece of meat."

Connie had tried to cheer her up. "They are not all like that. Be picky, wait for the right guy." One night she and Tina went to the local bar, where everyone knew them. They had two beers apiece and danced with a few guys. Tina whispered, "We're not going home with any of these, are we? My mom would find out in a minute."

They laughed hard and disappeared into the night to Connie's pickup. Tina snuggled over on the bench seat next to her boss. "This old car is great for makeout, if we only had the right company."

Arnold appeared just she was serving the plates, and she pointed to the rest of last night's wine. He poured for them and sat next to her. They ate in silence for a minute, and then turned to the other at the same moment, about to say something. Instead, he kissed her.

"I'm not in a story when I say I love you. I know it's stupid to fall in love in a day, but that is the way I feel."

She elbowed him. "Give it time, it will go away."

He seized her in his arms, "I'm not sure whether the right word is predatory or proprietary, but I am not letting you get away."

She edged closer to him and said, "Eat your dinner."

He ran his thumb up and down her spine causing a giant shiver. He ate with one hand and wrapped the other around her.

"Are there any bears around here?"

"Once in a while. There is still a bear season and the young guys try to shoot them. My neighbor and I have our property posted. It won't do your reputation any good to say you are protecting me from the black bears. They are incredibly tame if you feed them, but that is a bad idea. I had a mother and cubs go by one morning, on their way from digging in the town garbage."

He cleared and she fixed ice cream for dessert in the parlor. He had made a fire and it was warm and cozy snuggling under a blanket on the sofa, his strong body beneath her.

"I had an idea about Tina."

His eyes were closed and his hands inside her blouse. "Hmmm. Tell me."

"She is here by eight. I'm usually in the kitchen and she will call when I'm not. You and I are in bed with the tray on our lap. I have a tee shirt on, but you are bare chested. She tries to leave but I tell her she has to meet my new boyfriend and to come and sit on the bed. We can have an extra cup of coffee ready. You give her all your lusty self and voice. I begin by saying that I have been just as unhappy about the shortage of guys as she has, and fell in love within minutes after you showed up. I tell her I have been meaning to ask you about available friends, but you have been so busy giving me orgasms that I keep forgetting."

"So we continue the conversation, you get her under the covers, where she finds you only have the tee shirt on, and let things progress from there."

"Yes. Just a friendly and totally consensual seduction."

He opened his eyes and kissed her neck. His fingers were busy on her bare skin. He said, "You know, there is a genre of those trashy romantic novels where the woman emerges as the smart, beautiful sexy dominant partner..."

"Yes?"

"I'm beginning to wonder about us."

"Arnie, why are you still in seduction mode? You've had me several times today. I've turned into a screaming maniac on your big cock..."

His voice was soft. "You are prettier than I am by far. You tell better stories than I do. You are strong and independent..."

"And broke, and neurotic, and out of shape, and cry a lot."

He was kissing her cheek and pinching her bare nipple. It was sending shocks through her and she was gushing into clean underwear. She buried her face in his shoulder and whispered, "I promised myself I wasn't going to ask for more loving, but it isn't working. Please take me to bed."

He thought she wanted a tender nightcap. He was wrong. She was hot and wet and demanding and twisting and wailing orgasms under him. He was tiring but she pounded on his ass with feet and hands and howled, "Damn it, give me more of your hot come. Now!"

She came back from the shower a little later, wearing a tee shirt, and fell limply into bed. He lay awake for a long time, trying to understand what had happened to his nice quiet one night stay in the B&B in the woods.

Monday morning, the fog was back, heavy enough for the outside world to be dripping. Connie padded across the room with a full tray and he helped her in bed. The clock said 7:45.

He asked, "Are we still going to do this?"

She smiled seductively, "It's for her own good. I want to see another woman coming and screaming with you. I'm selfish that way."

"My god." He quickly used the bathroom, splashed some water on his face and ran a brush through the mop of brown hair with the auburn tint.

She kissed him and said, "If you can't get the pants off her, I don't know who could."

Promptly at eight, a strong confident voice called from the kitchen, "Constance, where are you?"

"Here I am, Tina, come on back."

A slender body came hurtling through the doorway and halted with a gasp. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Connie laughed, "Don't mind us. Come over here and meet Arnold. He was going to be a guest, but now he is sort of like my boyfriend."

Tina advanced carefully across the room to the side of the bed. Connie handed over a cup of coffee. "Sit with us for a minute. The cleaning is light and won't take long."

Tina looked at Arnold and he extended his hand with a smile. "I'm pleased to meet you. Connie has a wonderful house and you keep it looking very nice." His voice and eyes were hypnotic and Connie could see their impact on the pretty girl.

Tina munched on a piece of toast and asked, "Isn't this a little sudden?"

Connie moved closer to Arnold and lifted the cover. "Slide in and stay warm."

She picked up Tina's free hand and kissed it. "I am a changed woman. This nice guy spent the last two days showing me his passionate side and uncovering mine."