Inlayed Romance

"I love big women. I love your rolls and everything that comes with it. I wanted you to feel what I have always felt since meeting you."

"Ah, that love at first sight chemical reaction thing." I murmured against his chest.

"Yeah." His hands stroked up and down my back.

"I admire your control. I felt every inch of you."

"I wanted you to. You'll never have a guy with as big a dick as I've got."

I barked out a laugh and swatted him. Hunter laughed with me.

"Well, I can admire your confidence, too. It isn't at all arrogant." I continued to giggle as we talked back and forth. The intimacy in the post coital climate amazed me as much as Hunter's skill level between the sheets. I had never been eaten out to orgasm before or given an insanely powerful climax like he had created. I couldn't wait for round two.

Chapter 10

Alicia

I woke up when I felt a familiar lightweight furry thing on top of me pawing at the covers. Jammie's little meows made me smile. I cracked my eyelids open and saw I was the only one in bed with Jammie. Soon as I moved to snuggle with him the newest addition to my family, Kimmie-Pie, jumped on the bed and also meowed at me. She began to purr when I petted her head. I realized their food dish must be empty. As I made a move to get up I got a big whiff of bacon. My stomach began to growl and I realized my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. My workout the previous night meant I needed some water, stat.

I threw on my pajamas which consisted of pants covered in jack-o-lanterns and my black t-shirt with Jack Skellington on it in rhinestones. I stretched and followed the cats out of the bedroom and made a beeline for the bathroom. When I emerged, I caught sight of Hunter in my kitchen. He had thrown on his boxers paired with my apron and was busy making a massive breakfast. One plate was piled with pancakes and buttered toast. Another held the bacon he was in the process of making. Yet another held cut fruit. I frowned. I don't remember having fruit in the fridge. Today was my grocery store day.

I smiled as I walked into the kitchen and hugged Hunter from behind. I kissed his bare back and ran my hands up and down his torso. I loved the feeling of his chest hair which was as soft as his beard.

"Hello, handsome, good morning," I said to the man who set me on fire.

"Good morning, babe," he looked over his shoulder. "Breakfast is almost ready. I took the liberty of stocking your fridge this morning."

"I...you did? You went to the store already? What time is it?"

I went to the pet container I kept the cat kibble in and opened it. I glanced at the stove where the time read 10:04. I scooped food into the cat dish and set it down for them. I was pleased to see Jammie was so nice to Kimmie-Pie and wasn't being mean about sharing the dish with her at the same time.

"I am usually up earlier than this. It's all your fault." I sat on a dining chair and yawned. Hunter brought over a coffee mug for me with my container of heavy cream. I scanned the table and found he had already set the sugar out.

"I didn't know how you take it, but assumed you liked coffee because it was in the cupboard." He went back to flipping the bacon after kissing my cheek and added the remaining raw bacon to the pan.

"I can't thank you enough for all this. I'm still in shock you already got up and went to the store. I'm not normally a heavy sleeper." I added cream and sugar to my steaming mug of coffee and stirred.

"I tried waking you up around 8 to see if you wanted to get breakfast or eat in. You sort of grunted and rolled over." He finished the bacon and set plates out. I stood up to help him, but he pushed down on my shoulder as he set the plates down. "Don't get up. I've got this. Great PJs," he said with a wink.

"Lydia bought these for me ages ago. I'm going to be bummed when they're worn out." I took a sip of coffee and I swear it was the best cup I've ever had.

Hunter sat down after bringing everything over and began to load his plate. My eyes must've widened because Hunter paused and looked at me. "I'm training to be a Strongman, so I need a lot of protein plus fruits and vegetables. I take some supplements, but I refuse to do steroids. So I eat a lot."

He continued to pile food on his plate and I admit I was impressed. For being a big girl I didn't eat a lot in one sitting. Mostly my weight came from not moving around enough and sometimes emotional binge eating. We ate in comfortable silence. I heard Jammie and Kimmie-Pie crunching their kibble.

"I'm calling her Kimmie-Pie from this old 1980s movie I liked as a kid." I told Hunter once I had finished my breakfast and watched him eat his raspberries.

"Which movie?"

"It's called 'Hello Again'. Did you ever see it?"

"I don't think so." Hunter ate the last piece of bacon on his plate.

"Shelly Long and Gabriel Byrne were in it. She died and her witchy sister brought her back. Her best friend and rival, Kim, was nicknamed 'Kimmie-Pie' by this old rich guy she married who died and never gave her the money. She was a gold digger." I snorted. "It was a great movie. For some reason the name popped into my head last night for the cat. Probably because with her long fur she will be high maintenance."

"Do you have the movie?" Hunter asked as he stood up and began to clear the dishes.

"Hey now," I said as I grabbed a plate from his hands. "You did so much already, let me clean up."

He smirked and said, "Nope." He set the dishes in the sink and began to load the small dishwasher. By now the cats had finished eating and were off doing cat things. Probably napping. "Do you have the movie?" Hunter repeated.

"Yeah, I've got the DVD."

"Let's watch it later. I have to leave and do some things then I can come back tonight. I'll bring dinner if you want and we can eat in. Or go out. Your choice." Hunter filled my kitchen with his presence. It was like he already lived here. I realized what a comforting feeling that was.

"You're assuming I'm free tonight." I cocked an eyebrow at him when he turned around. I noticed his nipples were hard through my apron he was wearing.

"Are you cold, dear?" I asked him sweetly.

He looked down and then back at me. "Perhaps I need to be warmed up a bit." He shut the dishwasher and began wiping down the table and counters.

I smiled and walked to him. I put my hands on his nipples and began to rub them on the outside of the fabric. I looked up at him and he was smiling at me. One of those secretive cat-with-the-canary smiles. I looked down and noticed his boxers were standing at attention.

"Oh. Well, we ate. Time for round two before you leave, perhaps?" Hunter removed the apron and I bent my head and began licking his nipple while I worked the other with my fingers. I heard his sharp intake of breath. My free hand traveled lower until I cupped him through the fabric. I began rubbing him and I felt myself get excited. I wanted him all over me again like last night.

I rolled my eyes up and stared at him. Then I let go of his nipple and began kissing my way down his chest and stomach. "You have important Strongman stuff to do, I'm sure." I kissed and suckled and kissed some more as I worked my mouth closer to the waistband of his boxers.

"Mmm, some things at the shop to do and then my Saturday routine. Ah, yes, feels so good."

My hands had slipped inside his boxers and began working at his hardness. I felt the precum on the tip.

"Let me give you a good send off."

I moved his boxers down so his cock sprang free. It was beautiful. It was big enough that I struggled to work my mouth down to the base. I cupped his balls as I kneeled in front of him and began giving him head.

Hunter grasped the counter with one hand and had the other in my hair. He was lightly pushing me down onto his dick. His moans of pleasure was all I heard as I continued to suck and move my mouth up and down. I eventually began using my hand to stroke him as I worked the head of his cock with my mouth. I maintained good suction and soon both of his hands were in my hair pressing my head down onto his dick. His hips began to move back and forth, so I knew he was close. I kept working the tip and let my other hand play with his balls the entire time.

"Alicia, yes, there, keep going." Hunter was moaning and trying his best not to face fuck me. I kept my rhythm up and soon I felt the warmth squirt in my mouth. I continued to move up and down on his head, but loosened my suction. I swallowed as he came. It was an earthy taste. I swear I could taste sweetness, too.

I stopped moving and held him in my warm mouth as his cock continued to twitch. I smiled as I moved my mouth off him and looked up at him. His eyes were still closed and his lips were parted. His hands were tangled in my hair. I moved his boxes back up to where they were and he helped me stand up.

He cupped my cheek as he looked at me. "That was amazing. I've never come so fast from a blowjob before."

I grinned. "I love it. I'll give you a blowjob whenever you want, Hunter."

"Don't. Even. Such a tease." He grinned back and then kissed me. I was surprised when I felt his tongue slide into my mouth. We kissed deeply and then a phone rang.

"Oh, that's me," Hunter said as he broke the kiss and walked into the living room where his pants laid from the night before. I trailed after him feeling pleased with myself.

Jammie was laying on his pants, so Hunter scooped him up and set him on the couch before reaching into his pocket.

"Ah, it's Dan." He answered and I went into the bathroom to get ready and give him privacy.

Chapter 11

Hunter

I was jelly legged as I walked into the living room to grab my cell phone. After moving Jammie, what a sweet cat, I pulled my phone out and saw Dan's photo icon. "It's Dan," I said to Alicia. I watched her as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Hey Dan, what's up?" I said. I heard Alicia turn the shower on and my thoughts went carnal.

"Hey, buddy. Are you still planning to come in today?" I heard lots of background noise and Dan was shouting into the phone.

"Yeah, I planned to finish those inlays for the chair backs by this afternoon. What's going on?" I began putting my jeans on and had to hunt for my socks and boots.

"Okay, good. I'm at Murphy's getting some more pieces of lumber for us. I wanted to know if you can stop by and take a load to the shop. I'm at the one in Murfreesboro. Got a great deal on this stuff. Wait til you see it, buddy." Dan was excited. I could hear it in his voice.

"Sure, I'll be there soon as I can. I'll call you when I hit the highway." I finished putting my boots on and was buttoning my shirt. Jammie and Kimmie-Pie were both watching me. Alicia was still in the bathroom, but the shower had turned off already. Damn, she takes quick showers.

"Great! Wait til you see the mahogany and holly. It's beautiful, man. See ya!" He disconnected and I realized I felt the humidity from the bathroom. I turned and saw Alicia standing in the doorway with her hair up in a messy bun and a dark purple towel wrapped around her. Her blue eyes looked at me with something I couldn't quite identify. She wore a soft smile. My God, she was absolutely the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on.

I slipped my phone in my pocket, felt the small gift I had for her, and walked over. I pulled her to me and planted a kiss on the top of her head. I felt her arms go around and squeeze me tight. It felt wonderful to hold her and be held.

"I have to go to Murfreesboro to pick up a load of lumber. Then I'm headed to the shop for a bit."

I felt Alicia make a noise against my shoulder. I smiled and stroked her hair. "I'm going to work out then I'll be free. Saturdays are my light workout days."

Again, I felt the vibration of her making a sound. I leaned back and we looked at each other. "Was that an 'uh huh' I felt?"

"Mmm, yeah. I don't have any extra clothes for a guy here."

"That's alright. I carry an extra shirt in the truck, so I'll change later."

"You don't even have time for a shower?" She asked.

"Nah, I'll be alright til I get by the house." I pulled her in for another hug and then planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"I'll make dinner tonight for us," Alicia said. "I have a few good recipes I want to try and one of them is this chicken dish that I think you'll like. You still wanted to come over and watch that movie too, right?"

"You know I'd say yes to anything so long as I was able to be with you," I stroked a finger down her cheek. "I hate to leave."

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, I was struck by how blue her eyes were. It reminded me of a blue topaz I once saw at a gem and mineral show Mary had dragged me to. She had been in her jewelry making phase and wanted some gemstones. I remember the cut stones being crystalline as a deep winter sky. It also reminded me of that Lana Del Rey song Mary was always listening to called "Blue Jeans" where it goes "I will love you 'til the end of time, I would wait a million years, Promise you'll remember that you're mine".

I am approaching middle age and the thoughts in my head flashed by so quickly. I knew without a doubt I was in love with Alicia Browning and had been since I first laid eyes on her. It was completely irrational, foolhardy even, to think this was anything more than lust, but I believed I found my soul mate. Or whoever was the other half of my pie.

"...cherry pie?"

I realized Alicia had just asked me something as I was mooning about staring into her eyes.

"What?"

"Daydreaming much?" She laughed and cinched her towel a bit tighter. What a shame. I wanted it to come off. "I asked if you liked cherry pie?"

"Oh, hell yeah! I love it. It's one of my favorites."

"Okay, I'm going to make one for dessert. Now get going. The sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back."

I began walking to the door. "That kind of sounds like a movie quote."

"It is! From which one I can't tell you. I watch so many movies. Now scoot and be careful heading to Mursfreesboro. They're doing construction on 24 and it'll probably be backed up like crazy."

"Alicia." I loved how her name felt in my mouth. "Catch!" I blew her a kiss as I reached in my pocket and tossed a small box to her, and closed the door as she beamed at me. I never felt so good in all my life.

As I made my way to Murfreesboro my thoughts kept drifting to my night with Alicia. I wanted to spend many more nights with her and really get to know her intimately as well as physically. Her body with all its soft curves and freckles and jiggliness- wait, was that even a word? I smiled to myself as I pulled into Murphy's. I saw Dan loading up his truck.

I parked next to Dan and hopped out. "Hey man! Looks like nice pieces you have." I eyeballed the boxes of lumber he was piling in the bed of his truck.

"Just wait til you see what we have here. There's oak, holly, mahogany, and, get this, a few big pieces of wenge."

"Wenge? Really?" I leaned over and started to really eyeball the lumber. Wenge is an African wood that can be difficult to work with, but it provided beautiful color and texture to pieces. It was also becoming endangered. I wondered how this small out of the way mill got their hands on it. The cost could be astronomical depending on size.

"Hi, Hunter." I turned when I heard the voice and saw Lydia stepping out around Dan's pick up.

"Hey, Lydia. I didn't see you when I pulled up." We hugged and started walking towards the roll door where Dan was sorting through boxes.

She poked me in the side and asked, "Did Alicia make it home last night? Usually we call or text each other to confirm."

I glanced at Lydia and saw her smirking.

"Yes, she did make it home safely. She also had a good breakfast this morning."

I chuckled and started to lift boxes to bring to my truck.

"Oh? Breakfast, huh? In bed?" Lydia carried a couple large pieces of lumber with me to my truck.

"Lydia, I don't kiss and tell." I shot her a look, smiled, and walked back to Dan. We had quite a few boxes to load up.

I knew Lydia was smug about Alicia. She was the one who had set it all up, but didn't know we had seen each other years ago. I thought about making her a nice thank you gift.

Between the three of us we loaded my truck as much as it could take and added some more to Dan's. Overall, the haul was amazing. I counted about 20 types of wood. "Dan, where did this place find the wenge and agarwood?"

Dan clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Dave set all this up through some contacts." He shrugged. "Don't ask me how he did it. It's all good though, isn't it?"

"Hell yeah! It's amazing. Agarwood, Dan, it's so hard to get because of the price. Those trees are endangered or critical or something last I knew."

"Hunter," Dan leveled a look at me. "Don't think about it. Just do what you do. We have a plan for the agarwood. Oh, you're getting a raise too."

"Damn, man, thanks." I smiled at him and Lydia. "For everything."

"Of course!" Dan opened the passenger door for Lydia. She looked back at me and gave me a huge grin. Then she hopped in with her hair swishing about her face and Dan closed the door.

"Meet you at the shop to unload all this then we need to take off. Some sort of cake tasting. Did Alicia tell you? We moved the wedding up to this winter instead of next. Lydia is in a hurry." He smiled and got in his truck. I was rearranging a couple boxes when they backed up and left.

I shook my head as I left the mill. I had all sorts of ideas about the things I could make with the exotic lumber.

After I helped Dan and Lydia empty our pick up trucks at the shop, I began working on the inlay design for the chairs I had started. It was an art deco inspired abstract design reminiscent of "Metropolis" and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The chairs were part of a set for a table that proved to be popular. Dan and Janna made it larger and turned it into a dining table and we all know a dining table needs chairs. I was really proud of this work I was doing. I couldn't wait to see a whole completed set. I had 50 sets of chairs and tables to do. I think I was going to have to start scouting for an assistant.

I wrapped up things at the shop by 3 and went home. I did a light workout and showered. I hurried, so I could be with Alicia again.

Just as I was toweling off my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Alicia's phone number on the screen. "Hello, babe."

"Hi, Hunter! What time do you want me to plan for dinner?"

"I can be there in about 20 minutes. I just need to get dressed."

"You're standing there naked?" I heard the intrigue in her voice.

"I just took a shower." I smiled.

"Bring an extra set of clothes, you know, in case you decide to spend the night. Dinner will be ready when you get here." Alicia's smile could be heard through the phone. I loved hearing it.

"I planned to." I gave a wicked laugh. I heard Alicia sigh and she said, "Okay, well, I'm going to make sure everything is done on time."

"Ha! Okay, hon. I'll see you."

We disconnected and I finished getting ready. I packed my bag and headed to her apartment. I circled the lot and realized what she said the night before was true. It was surprising to get a parking spot where I did because everything was taken tonight. I parked at the ramp the apartment complex shared with a neighboring condominium which proved to be quite a hike to Alicia's apartment. It made me wonder how she shuttled groceries back and forth, especially on those hot summer days.

I knocked on her door and held up a Halloween themed bouquet I found at the grocery store. She smiled as she took the flowers and gave me a hug.

"Thank you so much! I love flowers. These are so cute. Oh wow, is that a spider in them? How cool."