An Afternoon by the Pool

The third of my Halloween stories. An original rather than a pastiche this time. Hope you all enjoy!

***

It was just so much like Thomas. He allowed himself to become wrapped up in his vocation, his business, and then he neglected things that just couldn't afford to be so ignored. Then, of course, when it came time to sort out the resultant mess it was left for her to deal with.

This time the mess was quite literal. The water in their pool was frankly green and stinking. Filled with algae that had rejoiced in reproducing under the hot sun.

Just because the busy schedule of Thomas had taken them out of the country for a while he had apparently imagined that everything would be preserved in aspic back here. Well the alarms and gates kept criminals out and the estimable Esperanza kept the house up to standard but no-one had considered the pool. With no treatment the algae had found its way to having a fine old party in there.

Fortunately it was hardly a disaster. Like most problems there were men that dealt with such things. It was Amanda Hostler's good fortune that there had always been men to deal with such matters. Growing up as a daughter of the Vandermeer old money, then attending prestigious schools and colleges, now as the wife of a successful and admired businessman. There was always a man who would put such things in order, just as she desired them.

This was no exception. Jake Pulaski was a man in his late forties, the makings of a beard showing on his chin. He was dressed in a cap, baggy shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with 'Pulaski Pools' embroidered on the chest. Clearly dressed for practicality rather than to impress. Now he was rubbing the greying stubble on his chin.

"I'll confess it's a deal easier to keep these things managed. Much better to have a regular check on the pool and a thorough clean of the system especially at seasonal places like this. The pool is pretty bad but it ain't nothing that can't be sorted."

'For a price,' thought Amanda. However, that wouldn't be an issue. At least Mr Pulaski seemed to have an idea what he was doing. He explained it in tedious detail to her but she rather let it wash over her head and just nodded her approval. Pulaski then got onto his phone and that very afternoon two of his men arrived with their equipment to get on with the job.

Amanda had no problem with watching men work but on this occasion she chose to pop over to Marine Town and do a little shopping. There were some delightful stores there and it was pleasingly exclusive since the vacationing multitudes preferred the more affordable resorts on the Bay. All in all a little shopping trip was much more enjoyable than watching the men slopping their chemicals around and cleaning out all of that smelly slime.

It had indeed proved to be rather fun. A delightful new designer clutch-bag and a reassuringly expensive pair of heels seemed an appropriate punishment on Thomas's credit card for leaving her to deal with things back here. She had also found a really very attractive top, perfect for the summer. That would be a little treat for Thomas when he got back. Like most men who had married a second wife almost twenty years his junior he expected her to look good. Even if, recently, he seemed not to be able to show his appreciation as he once had.

That was hardly a burden however. Thomas Hostler was in his early-fifties and quite frankly in much less good shape than even the portly Mr Pulaski whose men were currently looking after the pool. It meant her wifely duties largely consisted of looking good on his arm and that was very easy. Though it did tend to mean that her eyes could roam sometimes - even over a slightly rotund pool man! She felt no guilt about that. There really was very little harm in just looking.

Even less harm when she was out here and Thomas was away. Marine Town and its environs had much to recommend them but the demographics were distinctly not young and studly. Handsome young men had served her at both of the stores there, that was true, but she had a strong suspicion that neither had much interest in the female of the species. Perhaps that was for the best. Amanda had a good thing going with Thomas. While her roaming eye was restricted to the likes of Mr Pulaski she was unlikely to be unduly tempted!

She arrived back to find the men still hard at work. Both had dispensed with their shirts and were displaying some impressive muscles and a veritable art gallery of tattoos to anyone choosing to admire their tanned torsos. Esperanza, bless her heart, had been keeping an eye on things while she had been away. Now her cleaner took a drink out to the men and even watching from the house Amanda could tell that they were flirting with her. Clearly it was nothing serious but rather just a little bit of fun. An amusement on a hot, hard, day of work.

Esperanza didn't seem to mind either. At least not judging by the smile on her attractive Latina face as she came back into the house. She had clearly enjoyed the attention and why not? Amanda almost regretted that Esperanza had taken the drinks out before heading off to collect her boy from school. A little male appreciation would be a welcome change. Nonetheless, Amanda happily gave her maid a little cash bonus, on top of those few extra hours, before she went. Life as a single mom had to be hard sometimes and she knew Esperanza hadn't much spare cash lying around.

The men clearly hadn't spent all of their time chatting up her maid. You could see the sweat glistening on their foreheads and on their muscled arms. The pool had been drained, treated and thoroughly cleaned. The mechanism had been flushed and treated too. Even with mechanised pool cleaners that was some good going in the few hours she had been away. She would commend Mr Pulaski on his service and recommend him to her friends.

Now the men were loading up their van again. She couldn't help watching them. She wouldn't necessarily have described them as her type but it was undeniable that they were very easy on the eye. It was equally undeniably a disappointment when they put their work-shirts on before coming to ring the door-bell and take their leave.

"Ma'am," said one of the men almost touching the brim of his cap, "just to let you know not to swim in the pool overnight. The process is almost complete and we'll be back to flush out any last chemical residue at eight tomorrow if that's fine by you. Just a fifteen minute process and then our colleague will come by with the automatic cleaners to give the fresh intake a once over. After that your pool will be good as new and clean of all and any algae - that's the Pulaski guarantee. Any return within the month and we'll give you a do-over free of charge." He smiled. "Not that it's happened all the time I've worked for Pulaski Pools. We do the job properly first time, every time."

Amanda nodded at his obviously well-rehearsed spiel and took the literature offered with its advice on future maintenance. All very professional and businesslike. None of the flirtation that she had seen earlier between these men and Esperanza. Amanda knew that wasn't any reflection on her own appearance. It was no sort of pride or hubris on her part to understand that men found her attractive.

There was a reason that Thomas had courted her for two years and had ultimately left his first wife for her. A decade had passed by since then but she was fortunate enough that her looks had blossomed rather than faded with additional maturity.

No - the men were being all business-like because she was the boss-lady of this piece of work, the person paying the bills. They were both in their late thirties and that meant they were old enough to understand the possible consequences of making unwelcome advances to a woman like her, even if they were only meant in fun. Her status made her a very different proposition to Esperanza and for the first time she found herself envying her cleaner for a reason other than the obvious one.

Amanda watched the van drive down the hill and through the gates. She turned and instinctively pushed all such nonsense out of her mind. She didn't even know their names and she recalled the better looking of the two had worn a wedding band. Not that such things had necessarily stopped her before but now she had rather more motivation to behave. Motivation like this attractive house and a basically free hand with a well-provisioned credit card. Still, just like anything else, such things could grow stale. A young woman could wish for a little more.

***

Her husband had failed to ring her again. She remembered when he had always rung her, every evening and without fail, when he had to be away. Not that such things necessarily mattered but it was rather symbolic of how her marriage had become. All by the numbers and purged of passion and excitement until there really was only that one word for how things felt - stale.

For fuck's sake - he hadn't even remembered to message her. To let her know he was OK. That things were going well That he missed her.

Her mild annoyance with her husband kept her awake a little that night and sent her mind down avenues where it ordinarily might not have gone. She wasn't going to do anything foolish but she did want to feel that frisson of excitement again. the one you got when you looked in a man's eyes and knew that he desired you. The 'male gaze' got a bad rap but in certain circumstances it could help a woman's self-confidence.

She rose early, for her, and had a light breakfast after her shower. Then she settled down to making herself look good and she knew that she had the perfect ammunition to ensure just that. She was 5'9 with long naturally blonde hair flowing down to below shoulder length. Her little flower-embroidered top wasn't anything notable but did show the curve and cleavage of her 36C breasts and they were all natural too. Then a pair of her designer yoga pants that cupped and highlighted the flatness of her tummy and the broad curve of her butt. Mother nature had given her a fine figure and she put the work in at the gym to keep it that way.

Amanda considered herself in the mirror. The result was very satisfactory. A beautiful woman who looked sexy but didn't look as if she was trying to look sexy. Almost perfect but she sat down and applied just a little lipstick and make-up. The latter wasn't really needed but making the effort was something men tended to notice even if they didn't know it.

It was almost one minute past eight when the men arrived. The sun's power was already making itself felt but the hard physical work had been done yesterday. The men's shirts annoyingly stayed on during their short visit. However, that certainly didn't mean they didn't notice her today. She nonchalantly got them both a coffee and strolled around as they worked. They probably could have done it rather quicker if so much of their attention hadn't been on her. Every time she looked over to them she just about caught them looking away, Enough to let her know that when her attention seemed elsewhere she was getting plenty of that 'male gaze'. A little tribute to the fact that Amanda Hostler most definitely still had 'it'.

It was amusing but, just as they had said, this morning's visit was a short one. The two men packed their gear and then the older one again approached her.

"Ma'am", his eyes flickered and then darted down to her cleavage. She very carefully didn't notice. She was rather sure his friend was 'admiring the view' in exactly the same way and so why make a fuss?

The man grudgingly dragged his eyes back up to her face. "All done properly ma'am and like I said there's just an auto skim to do. Our colleague has had to deal with a family matter and so he's running behind. Don't worry none though he's sure to get here by the end of the day. Hoping that will be OK with you ma'am."

She gave him one of her perfect smiles, letting her piercing blue eyes meet his brown ones. "No problem at all. You two have done a wonderful job." She reached in her little bag and found a nice crisp $100 dollar bill for them each. They really had done a splendid job and she felt a wee bit guilty teasing them as she had this morning.

They thanked her and then they were gone. Leaving the house empty. It was Esperanza's day off and she would be taking her boy out somewhere. Amanda thought about the two of them. Esperanza had to work hard at three jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Amanda had tried to help at times but her maid was a proud woman. Proud of her independence and proud of her child. Amanda had seen him a few times - a young boy who had inherited a mix of his mother's beauty and his father's stature.

The father hadn't stayed around and Esperanza's family would probably have rejected her even if that 'gentleman' hadn't been an African-American. As it was she was out and working for herself and her unborn son at the age of eighteen. You had to admire her grit and the fact she hadn't let hard work grind her down. Now her boy really was someone to be proud of. Doing well in school and with that sort of handsomeness that only certain Black men had.

Amanda laughed softly to herself and picked up her book. The fact she found such men attractive was very definitely her own little secret. Never acknowledged and certainly never even thought of being acted upon.

She tried to read but found her concentration wavering time after time. Her thoughts drifting back to Esperanza and young Marshall. Her maid apparently had none of the advantages that she had but in one respect she was so blessed, so fortunate. Amanda's husband had no interest in children and seemed unlikely to change in that. It was a trade-off that apparently she had to make if she wanted this lifestyle. Once it had been an easy choice but now...

Just before eleven the mailman arrived. That reminded her to call the gate of their little community and warn George that another pool man would probably be coming around. Old George would probably have been asleep or reading his racing form anyway but there you go. The 'security' was rather more a show than a reality but that show seemed to work in keeping annoyances out.

She had to sign for a large and rather official looking manila envelope and did so without really glancing at it. Only when the mailman had gone did she look at it properly and realise that it was addressed to her. Her next glance took in the business details printed in the top right hand corner and she felt her insides seem to turn over with anxiety.

She knew that firm and she knew their business. She had to steel herself to open the envelope and read the covering letter within.

It was what that printed business name had suggested that it would be and she first felt shock and then a frisson of anxiety before both sentiments were swept away by a torrent of pure rage. The motherfucker! Worse. The cowardly motherfucker! He couldn't even tell her to her face!

It explained a few things. His developing lack of interest in her, his sudden call back overseas, her inability to contact him. She knew how it worked. Her husband had decided he wanted to explore new and no doubt younger pastures. It didn't escape her that she had once been those younger pastures herself but that didn't assuage her anger any.

It was all there in black and white. His desire for a nice quick and easy divorce. Her anger made her contemplate fighting him over it but good sense rapidly crushed such ideas. They were foolish and her father had certainly never raised any fools. She blessed his memory and the fact that he had been so assiduous in drafting the pre-nuptial. Her husband's lawyers were the best and yet they would have found his work airtight.

Amanda scanned the papers and found the proposed settlement. She nodded a grim satisfaction. Just exactly as drawn up in the pre-nuptial. A cool 50% of the joint assets including one of the houses. That would be this one - much better than that gloomy old mausoleum back in the suburbs. By delivering her these papers her husband, soon to be ex-husband, had accepted those very generous terms. No doubt his lawyers had tried to dissuade him but when he went looking for a replacement wife his penis definitely made all the decisions. She could now confirm that from both sides of the equation.

After a few moments her anger had rather dissipated. Once you got the insult out of the way wasn't this rather a good deal for her? She sorted the papers and read them through again carefully. She rang her own lawyer, a friend of her dear departed father, to made an appointment for the next morning. He would read the papers through and then she would sign them. It wasn't as if the marriage had exactly retained its excitement for her. The break would be clean, quick and very satisfactory. There was a certain blow to her feminine ego and pride but such things could be borne.

Whatever the foolishness of humanity it remained a very beautiful day. The sun was shining down from the heavens and the sky was a glorious blue. As blue as her own eyes. She went inside and checked herself in the mirror. There had been tears but they were few and they had dried. She touched up her make-up. Such things were easily repaired.

On a whim she found the top she had bought the previous day. It was sleeveless and cut back to reveal a little side-boob and a clear couple of inches of flat toned midriff above her yoga pants. The material was designed to cling to the smooth perfect curves of her natural breasts and it did that job to perfection.

Reading legal papers was important but also tedious and she felt tired. The lounger and the sun were very attractive propositions but even so she took care to cover her exposed skin with high-factor sun protection. Her skin was very fair and it burned very easily.

That done she took a long cool drink and her book outside. Laid out on the lounger her book soon slipped from her hand and she slept. The morning had been emotional and had perhaps taken more out of her than she had liked to admit.

***

"Hello - um - Mrs, er, hello."

The words seemed to merge into her dreams but then her waking consciousness understood that they were being addressed to her. She opened her eyes and was grateful for the sunglasses she had put on. Even with them the sun was still bright and strong.

A young African-American man stood a few steps across from the pool. His presence was a little disconcerting as well as surprising. There was a buzzer 'visitors' were supposed to press rather than to just come back here on their own.

Besides that fact how had he got by George? What were they paying the old fool for?

"Sorry Mrs, um, I pressed the bell but no-one came and I'm here trying for some work."

Now she understood! He had an odd way of phrasing it (was that urban?) but he had to have come to finish off the pool. Mr Pulaski was clearly an equal opportunity employer. That explained why George had let him come up here and also explained his lack of gear. The men had left their skimmer and automatic pool cleaner here.

"You can skim the pool right? The equipment is over there"

"Um, yeah, sure Mrs, um. Great." The young man walked over to the equipment and picked up the net.

He clearly wasn't great at oratory but he certainly seemed ready to work. He didn't take the easy option either. The auto-cleaner was left behind and the young man got to work the old fashioned way. He found brushes and began cleaning the whole environs of the pool as well as scooping the water itself.

It was just past one o'clock and the sun was beating down with a vengeance. The young man was wearing baggy shorts to just above the knee and a thin sleeveless top but even so it was hot. The work almost immediately had sweat on his brow and after only a couple of minutes more he peeled off his top to reveal a youthful, but muscular, physique. The body of a young athlete rather than a bodybuilder. Still not quite filled out fully but delicious none the less.

It was a householder's responsibility to keep an eye on work being done. That said it wasn't exactly a chore. The young man was very attractive. Not just his body or his deep dark coffee skin-tone but also his features. As she watched she noticed him look back at her.

"Have you done this long? How old are you?" She asked the questions almost automatically. A little annoyed at being caught staring at him even if her sunglasses had probably hidden the fact.

"I'm 18, um," he paused as if finally capturing a word he had been seeking, "Ma'am. I done this as a vacation job before and now I'm raising some money before I go off to college." He sent her a handsome smile showing even white teeth..

He was going to college? Then she again admired his youthful body and understood it was probably some form of athletic scholarship. Not one of the more lucrative sports perhaps but enough to earn him an education. Every dollar he put aside now would help with expenses and she liked the fact he had found work. A responsible young man.

"You are from Rosalie?" This part of the state was not exactly known for its minority population. Some old history dating back to the civil war or beyond had meant that particular township was much more friendly to African-Americans and Hispanics. Esperanza lived in Rasalie for instance. Not least because it was rather cheaper to rent there.

"No Ma'am I'm from the city."

'The city'. Amanda knew what that meant. She preferred its real name but most folk around here called it 'the city' or by that awful nickname, 'H-Town'. Gentrification had touched the edges there but she knew that this young man didn't come from one of those areas. Her father had generally reckoned H-Towners were lazy welfare moochers, if he wasn't calling them something much worse, but this young man wasn't scared to work it seemed. His physique spoke of intensive training and he had certainly set to work at the job she had set him with a will. Perhaps her father had been a little unfair, a little prejudiced.

The young man had worked quickly around her own side of the pool. However, it wasn't surprising if perhaps the heat got to him a little. He took rather more time when working on the side of the pool opposite from her. Perhaps she was slow on the uptake after her short sleep but it took a while to understand that he wasn't hurrying because from that side of the pool he could look at her,

It was a little ridiculous. She was fourteen years older than him, almost twice his age, quite apart from the fact that he was - well - who he was. With his looks he had to get plenty of attention from girls. He shouldn't be spending all of his time staring at her.

But there it was.

She knew Mr Pulaski's other two men had caught an occasional surreptitious peek at her but this was very different. This young man wasn't really bothering to hide the fact he was admiring her. Perhaps he was too young to know better or perhaps he just didn't care. Either way it didn't exactly hurt a woman's self-esteem especially if it had taken a bit of a knock a couple of hours earlier.

"Would you like a cool drink?" He certainly seemed to need something to cool him off a little.

"Ma'am - that would be perfect. Thank you Ma'am."

Such manners - but they didn't hide the way he was looking at her. Not that she felt in any way threatened. Her instincts told her he wouldn't actually try anything with her. It was more likely he was just mentally storing up images. For his own later 'entertainment.' Rather a grotesque thought but the fact that she excited him so was causing her no pain at all.

She turned back into the house and understood that his eyes would follow her all of the way there. She made sure to put a little extra wiggle into her step for him and smiled to herself. A little naughty of her but sometimes it was fun to be naughty.

She made him a nice long cool drink with ice and then made another for herself. The process let her take control of herself a little. She had to have been fooling herself didn't she? She might still be an attractive woman but this young man was eighteen and had to have the pick of all the pretty girls of his own age in his neighborhood. She had obviously been misreading him.

Well that idea lasted about one second after she had given him his drink. His eyes really were all over her and those eyes sent a very simple message. Appreciation and Desire - both with heavy capital letters. He wouldn't try anything but he also clearly wasn't going to bother to hide the fact he was looking at her. Judging by the way he stood before her as he drank from his glass it was pretty obvious that he had no problem with her looking at him either and so she did. Fair was fair after all and he was quite something to admire himself.

They left their glasses half-drunk in the shade and the young man returned to his work. He was efficient and she understood that he wouldn't take too much longer. At that moment the idea struck her and she went back indoors. Yoga pants weren't exactly perfect when the sun was like this. She changed into her bikini bottoms and then, after a moment's pause, she changed into the matching bikini top.

If her curves and some bare skin had been on view before then now, in her bikini, that was ramped up to the nines. She took her sun protection with her and went back out to her lounger where she began applying it to her long shapely legs. She hardly needed to peek up under her sunglasses to know that the young man was watching her. Watching her every move and making no bones about it. She excited him and the recognition of that fact excited her too. Even as she watched him tidy up the last of his work and then put his tools back where he had found them.

The young man came around the pool and stood a few paces from her lounger. Had his workmates told him about her tipping them? Well she didn't mind that. This young man had made her feel better than she had in a long while and just exactly when she had needed it the most. She reached into her bag and found her little cluster of $100 dollar bills. She selected one and then thought again and picked out four of the crisp bills. All the while she was aware of his eyes exploring the depths of her cleavage.

She handed him the $400 Dollars and saw his eyes momentarily register something other than the firmness of her breasts.

"That's very generous Ma'am. I'm not sure I..."

That was so cute. If he was going to college she was sure the money would come in handy. However, the young man obviously felt a little embarrassed that she was giving him so much,

"Is there anything else I can do for you ma'am?"

She was sure that there was no innuendo intended. He genuinely was asking whether she had any other odd jobs needed doing. However, her own mind wasn't quite so pure. She couldn't quite escape letting it venture into places she really shouldn't. He might be almost young enough to be her son, if only she had a son, but he was very much a young man rather than a boy. His physique was beautiful with his muscles defined deliciously beneath the smooth rich darkness of his skin. His face was undeniably attractive and his eyes, oh his eyes. There was a power and a hunger in his eyes and she had to be careful not to let her own meet his for too long.

Glancing away from him she saw her bottle of sun protection and the words escaped her mouth almost before she realized it.

"Maybe you could help me with something. My skin burns horribly in sun like this and it's so hard to apply my lotion evenly on my back. Could you?"

Applying suntan lotion wasn't part of his previous existence. That was very obvious. However, there was only a moment's hesitation before he nodded and picked up the bottle.

Amanda Hostler lay down on her front on her lounger and put her hands under her chin. She felt her muscles tense as she lay there - awaiting his touch.

It came and the moment sent jolts like electricity through her whole self. A reaction to the thrillingly warm and gentle pressure of his fingers as he applied the lotion over the back of her legs. Perhaps he had done something like this before after all or maybe he just had a natural talent. He applied just the right amount of pressure and Amanda felt like she was getting a wonderful massage. She almost purred with pleasure. She laid her head down and allowed the sensations to flow through her very being.

When he finished and his hands moved up above her bikini bottoms to the small of her back it only felt better. He assiduously applied the lotion to her back, her arms and her shoulders and every touch was welcomed by her.

Then there was a pause and she opened her eyes. It had to end of course but she could have happily let it go on all day. He was behind her and so she couldn't see him but she heard his voice, deep and mellifluous for such a young man.

"This string is in the way. Can you undo it? I'd like to do the job properly."

It took a moment to understand what he was talking about. He meant the string of her bikini top across her back.

She felt a rush of excitement through her but she stifled such foolishness with the knowledge that he was surely only being practical. Her skin could indeed burn if that string shifted as she moved. Besides she was laying down on her front and so it wasn't as if he would see anything he hadn't already - well hardly anything anyway. Against that she could just extend this moment a little - a moment that had been as pleasurable as it had been unexpected.

Amanda reached back and untied her bikini top. The strings and material slid down to rest beside her on her lounger. His precise and wonderful fingers massaged the lotion into the fresh band of pale skin made available to them.

It didn't take long of course. The end of a blissful moment had only been deferred. Unless. She couldn't could she?

Amanda reached down and untied the knot of her bikini bottoms. This time his fingers gently removed the material to expose her body. Her firm and beautifully curved booty exposed to the hot sun and what she imagined was his even hotter gaze.

His touch had been sending waves of sensation through her from the start but nothing like this. Now his fingers worked the flesh of her buttocks and the movements triggered reactions in the very heart of her. Her excitement changed from amusement at being a little naughty and teasing him into something else - something undeniably primal. She felt the desire building up inside herself and her body reacting to it in the most physical of ways. She knew that when he left she would have to go inside and find her vibrator.

After a while she felt the touch of his fingers move off her.

"You can turn over now."

He wasn't asking her and he wasn't ordering her. She understood the tone and the meaning of his words. He was giving her permission.

It was only natural to hesitate. Turning over now she would expose her whole self to his hungry gaze. To his wonderfully talented fingers. The temptation was extreme but she clutched her bikini top over her breasts as she swung herself into a sitting position.

The young man said nothing but simply picked up her discarded bikini bottom and placed it on the table next to her half-finished drink. Then his eyes met hers and she saw the ghost of a half-smile on his handsome face. He held out a hand to her.

"Give me that so we can do this properly."

There was a common sense maturity in his voice for such a young man. He had begun a task and he desired to finish it. Having come so far and having the lower half of her body already naked it was pretty ludicrous to stop now. So she handed her bikini top to him and he again carefully placed it on the table.

She could feel her body's reaction to being naked there for him and she knew he could see it too. Even if other factors were not quite so obvious she was very aware of just how hard and proud her nipples had become. A fact that the young man had certainly noticed as she handed him her top.

Now, however, she could see him too. As he leaned across to the table and then back to her. He was wearing the sort of long baggy shorts that basketball players wore but they couldn't quite hide his own reaction to her body. For a moment there was a long stiffness outlined in the material and even though it was only momentarily visible she understood its meaning and again she felt her whole body's automatic response.

She had been robbed of any such sensations and of any such attention for far too long. Now she luxuriated and revelled in every moment of it. She knew it would end, of course it would end, but she wanted to prolong the moment as long as she could. Now, too, she could see the young man's hands as they spread the sun protection over her skin. She could see the contrast of his dark fingers and the smooth pale skin of her belly and she found it undeniably intoxicating. Even closing her eyes did not help as she felt his hands roam up to reach the swell of her breasts.

He wasn't overstepping the bounds she had set him. She had made her request and then had acceded to his. As a result those insistent hands had roamed over almost every inch of her. Almost. She opened her eyes again and saw the young man's eyes fixed intently on her. Once again a shiver seemed to flow through her very essence. Her own eyes broke the contact and glanced down. It was there again - that undeniable bulge inside his loose shorts.

The excitement got to her and she couldn't resist the temptation to tease him.

"You like what you see?"

"Yes ma'am," he said even though that bulge in his shorts made his vocal confirmation totally unnecessary.

"You don't have lots of pretty girls chasing you around back home?"

He smiled now showing his perfect white teeth. "Some. But they just girls and they ain't like you."

His big city accent was a little more pronounced now. Just a little additional proof of how much he was enjoying this. He seemed cool and under control but such little signals told her how much he was into her and that idea excited her more than she would have believed possible. It all made her feel better than she had in an awfully long time.

Perhaps that was why she kept pushing the boundaries. Now as she saw his eyes drinking in her beauty she knew just what she wanted and she wasn't inclined to deny herself.

"It's a little unfair isn't it?"

"What's that?"

"Well I'm naked and you still have those shorts on. If you enjoy what you see then maybe you'll put that right."

For the first time the young man seemed a little flustered. Just enough to remind her that he was only eighteen for all of his impressive gravitas and physique. He glanced back at the house as if he feared a husband with a shotgun. Amanda had to smile inwardly at that - it was a little late to think of such things.

"If you won't play fair then maybe I'll go get my robe." She gave him a seductive little smile. His earlier words had given her a hint of how much he was enjoying this. She knew that enjoyment was fuelled by her maturity and ethnicity rather then being denied by them. It excited her to know how much she could still attract a young man like this. After the morning she had endured it was just exactly what she needed.

She assumed he didn't want her to go indoors and she knew that he didn't want her to get her robe. The proof of her assumption came as his long dark fingers moved to his shorts and pushed them down from his hips. Down his legs and to his ankles, letting him step out of them.

She couldn't resist letting out a little murmur of appreciation. He was like a statue of a young Greek God, a dark Apollo. Except, of course, that they often seemed a little under-provided for in one region. That certainly wasn't true of this young man. Nine inches of hard, dark, flesh standing up against the muscles of his chest. Hard with desire for her.

A beautiful naked young African-American man with a very large, very hard, cock. Stood right there in front of her, his eyes fixed on her own nakedness. How the fuck had things escalated this far so quickly? Amanda knew that she had to 'defuse' the situation. After all if her husband found out...

The recollection was sharp and painful. For all intents and purposes she didn't have a husband any more. So what if he'd hate the idea of her with another man, so what if he'd particularly hate the idea of her with a young Black man. It no longer mattered what that old fool thought or wanted. Now all that mattered was what she thought and what she wanted.

The realization of just what it was that she wanted seized her consciousness like the mob storming the Bastille. She let her tongue trace its path over her lips as her old self battled with the realization.

"Is there anything else I can do for you ma'am?"

His words made her wonder just how long had passed since he had stepped out of his shorts. How long had she been staring at his beautiful young body? How obvious had her desire for him been? This was so very unlike her. She had always been able to maintain a cool detachment, to retain control of herself. If men had pursued her then it had been on her terms. Never like this.

She tried to reassert control. "Can you think of anything?" She gave him a coquettish smile almost automatically.

The young man looked at her, his dark deep eyes seeming to draw her very spirit towards him. Then he shook his head. "You need to say it ma'am."

He was right of course. For all of his youthful looks and his obvious desire for her the boy was displaying maturity. She was the mistress of the big house and he was the tradesman's help. She was the married woman and he was the young man. She was White and he was Black. If he was misreading the situation or if she had subsequent regrets then the implications for him could be very serious. There had to be no chance of confusion or misunderstanding.

She processed all of that but did not need to consider any further. She knew what she wanted, she knew what she had wanted since the moment his fingers had played so deliciously over her skin, what she had known she needed since the moment he had stepped out of his shorts like a potent young god.

Not that she had completely lost her mind. She took a deep breath. "Do you have a condom young man?"

The boy's eyes did not leave hers. Not that she wanted them to - they were as beautiful as the rest of him, imbued with the humor of a young man but also it seemed with a surprising wisdom.

"Why would I need a condom ma'am? What have you got in mind?" He smiled as he spoke and she understood. He wasn't going to let her off easy. She was going to have to say it.

Well - she was no wilting violet, no timid virgin. She was a grown woman and now, courtesy of that dipshit Thomas, an entirely free one.

Free to enjoy herself, free to indulge herself, free to give herself.

"I want you to make love to me..." She suddenly realized she didn't even know his name.

"Do you really want me to make love to you ma'am?" He picked up his phone, and his eyes finally broke from hers to glance at its screen. "Mrs Amanda Hostler." His eyes moved back up to hers and she welcomed the restored communion. "You need to tell me what you really want Amanda. The real truth"

"I want you to fuck me." Six little words - so easy to say but once she had said them it seemed that a weight was lifted from her. Of course that was what she wanted and needed, it had just been a case of summoning the courage to admit it to herself.

He smiled, showing perfect white teeth contrasting with his deep almost blue-black skin tone. "I don't think I heard that Amanda. Perhaps you could repeat it."

The young bastard! He was making sure there was no mistake in anyone's mind about this. He was almost making her beg him for it! It was so different to anything in the past, it made new feelings and desires surge through her body. She wasn't sure that she liked his attitude but strangely she wasn't sure she hated it either.

Suddenly she remembered his phone. He'd tapped its screen as well as glancing at it. Perhaps it was recording her - making sure no-one could have second thoughts later and fob off an enraged husband by making serious and false accusations. Understandable for him but also potentially very dangerous for her.

She hesitated a little and again ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. The young man took a couple of steps forward and kissed her. Took her in his arms and kissed her deep, with a passion and a meaning that she had not felt in the arms of a man for so long, maybe for ever. She relaxed into the wondrous pleasure of it and returned his deep soul-kiss until finally the young man broke away.

His beautifully deep dark eyes found hers again and she knew she couldn't break free. It had been so long and she could not deny herself

"You want to say something?" A small smile played on the edges of his mouth, a smile that she could sense almost more than she saw.

He was playing her. This beautiful young man was playing her and she knew it but she didn't care. What should have infuriated her only seemed to make her want him more. Like she had been possessed or drugged or something. Except that she knew she had not. It was just the events of the day and his unexpected arrival. It seemed like an amazing coincidence, a chance to throw off the shackles of years. Of being what others thought she was or expected her to be. A chance to be herself, to do what she needed for herself.

"I need you to fuck me... " She gave a nervous little laugh that was very unlike her. "I don't even know your name?"

"I am Mukasa," replied the boy.

"Mukasa." She rolled his name on her tongue as she spoke it. "Well Mukasa I really. really, need you to fuck me and to fuck me right now. That's what I need to say."

She said the last sentance as a statement but she knew it could also pass as a question. Maybe Mukasa had taken it that way because he nodded before he reached down to again tap his phone. She saw him look at her lounger and smile as he calculated that it would take their weight. She knew what he had in mind.

"But we do need to use a condom Mukasa. Quite apart from the fact I don't know anything about you or you about me it's my, um..." She decided maybe she didn't need to go into details about that and let the sentance fade out.

Mukasa smiled. "Ain't got much time for rubbers Amanda." He paused and smiled again. "And I ain't got none - they are kind of against my religion."

She gave him the sort of look she was sure his teachers had often had to give him. The 'that's quite enough' look. Then she got up. "Fortunately I know where we have some." Then she strolled into the house without a backward glance. Something told her the cocky young man wouldn't be going anywhere.

She knew where her husband kept his condoms. He'd always used them - even when she had tried to raise the possibility of starting a family. That had royally pissed her off but she had been careful not to let Thomas know how much. She'd always figured she'd find a way of working things out but somehow it hadn't happened and anyway in recent times it had become something of a moot issue.

Still - it had perhaps been for the best. Firstly, children would have made things very difficult now. Secondly, she had no idea just who, or how many, her bastard of an ex had been fucking around with before sneaking back into her bed. Lastly, it meant she knew where there were condoms when she really needed them. Ironic wasn't it?

She pulled open the drawer and looked with some surprise at its bare interior. Not so much surprise at his having taken them, waste not want not and all that, but rather surprise at his having taken the risk of doing so. Had she opened that drawer before he had made his nice clean, sterile, break then there'd have been some questions for him to answer and the cowardly little shit wouldn't have liked that!

Still it was, she had to accept, probably for the best. Her rational, sensible, mind was able to inform her, in a suitably hectoring tone, that what she had been planning to do was ridiculous and frankly irresponsible. Now she had a perfect excuse to stop this nonsense right here and right now.

In her annoyance and frustration she found that the drawer wouldn't close with the serene smoothness that furniture of its quality and price-tag should be assumed to achieve. This was undoubtedly because she'd failed to line it up properly but she still couldn't stop herself rattling its handle in annoyance.

The vibration was just enough to dislodge something and she glimpsed it slip down into the very back of the deep drawer. A very familiar wrapper. She seized it and forcing that annoying sensible mental voice of hers into silence she hurried outside.

As she did so she felt the heat of the sun on her naked skin again. However, her eyes were only for him as he lay on her lounger. Naked and magnificent, his beautiful young form sent the blood pulsing through her body, the primal feminine need surging back to drown out any little inconveniences like a conscience or good sense.

She ripped open the package and only in that moment wondered if it would be up to the job. Her ex-husband had been distinctly average in that department. Absolutely not something you could accuse young Mukasa of being. She understood that they made extra large condoms for just such an eventuality but she hadn't got one and that was it.

She offered the condom to Mukasa but he just gave her a cheeky smile back.

"You want me to wear it Amanda then you gotta put it on."

He eased himself off the lounger like a sleek leopard and stood there in front of her. She took a gentle hold on his cock. Thomas had generally need a couple of strokes to get him nice and fully hard. Not the case with this young man - she could feel the heat of him, sense the blood pulsing through him. He was so alive and vital and... potent.

Which is why they had to get that condom on. It proved something of a stretch and at one moment she feared she might hurt him but when she looked up he was just watching her and smiling. Finally she was satisfied - the condom safely in place, stretched taut over his hard cock. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing in any way but there you go. It was very necessary.

Mukasa gestured with his hand towards the lounger. Like he was the man of the house or something but she didn't mind. She'd been more worried he might want her to suck him because condoms always tasted foul to her. Even when they were supposed not to. Something to do with their texture perhaps.

She lay on the lounger and expected him to join her but instead he began to massage her again. Almost immediately taking her back to that wonderful state of relaxed pleasure that he had taken her to before. She closed her eyes and again felt his fingers explore her. Moving across her body, gently stimulating her, until they reached her pussy. Then they explored for a moment before they were joined by something else. The warm vibrant sensation of breath immediately followed by the warmth of a tongue.

There was little worse than a man who didn't know what he was doing trying to pleasure you like that. Her ex had demonstrated the fact on the few occassions he had tried. With this young man, even from that first moment, Amanda knew things were very different. He teased and caressed her in all the right places and in all the right ways. An assured touch that seemed impossible in such a young man. Where had he learned to be so good at this? The thought raced through her mind before being dismissed by another wave of pleasure. Another building feeling of arousal that he only allowed to rise and then to ease back without reaching its full crescendo. Building the latent desire that had been within her, maybe from the first moment that she had laid eyes on him. Destroying any possibility of further doubt or hesitation, making her ready and open for him.

"You need to fuck me now - I need you to fuck me." She didn't scream the words or even particularly say them out loud. It was more like she breathed them out into the world, direct from her soul to his. He stopped what he was doing, smiled and moved his athletic body up onto the lounger and onto her. She caught a glimpse of the ridiculous pale condom, stretched obscenely over the magnificent dark form of his cock, then his mouth was on hers and she felt his hardness against her.

She returned his kiss and at the same moment eased her legs a little further apart while reaching down to guide him into her. She breathed out a half-gasp, half-laugh, as she felt him push into her. It felt so good, so right.

'Yes Amanda, give yourself to me. As you know you have always wanted to.' The words didn't seem to entirely make sense and Mukasa was kissing her deeply so he had not said them. However, she heard them in her mind, was in no doubt that she had heard them.

Her body didn't care. Her arms were now wrapped around the young man's strong shoulders. Opening herself to him, making herself an offering to his beauty and her own passions.

He began to fuck her, long deep passionate strokes that filled her up, stimulated her in places and ways that she hadn't known existed or maybe had just forgotten. How many years with her ex-husband, how much time wasted! The thought was fleeting. The present too sharp and vibrant to allow for consideration of such nonsense, such irrelevances. It was really very, very, good but she knew most of her pleasure was coming from just being with him, from the ministrations of his mouth on her lips and neck. From the nearness of his beautiful young form, the feel of his skin, the warmth of his breath, the taste of his sweat.

He was good - she knew that, amazingly good for one who could only have so much experience given his age. However, there was something not quite right. Something between them - preventing this being perfect. That feeling was very strong and she knew it in her heart, understood exactly what was the cause of it. She tried to stifle the thought and just to enjoy the moment.

It worked - or maybe the young man's evident power and stamina worked. Soon all that filled her mind was the pleasure of being made love to, of being fucked. It was what she had been missing and needing for so long. Sensation built on sensation, pleasure upon pleasure, making a great tottering edifice of passion within her that seemed to capture every part of her, spicing her with anticipation for the moment when the wave would break.

"Ugghhh - oh sorry!

Suddenly Mukasa was pulling himself out of her, slipping out of her grasp. She couldn't believe it, she wanted to scream with frustration! She knew he was young but couldn't he have held on for a few moments longer!

Then her eyes registered what they were seeing. Mukasa was not moving further away and his cock was still stiff and hard. He stood tall and proud with the remnants of the condom hanging from his cock. Maybe it had been stretched too tight or maybe it had been in that drawer a lot longer than she had suspected.

"Shit!" She said. "Did you cum?"

"Not yet," he replied, "but this is way too small. You need a much bigger one if you want me to use it."

She knew there was no such thing in the house or anything less than a car drive away. She hadn't even got any more of her husband's rubbers and anyway they'd proved as useless as the man himself. Fuck - she'd been so close!

She made up her mind. "You'd have to be very careful, I mean ultra-careful."

"Don't worry Amanda. I don't need this." Mukasa smiled his brilliant smile at her as he removed and discarded the last fragments of the condom.

She assumed he was letting her know he was fit and healthy. Well that was great but condoms did have another purpose, perhaps youngsters didn't call them 'birth control' any more.

"I know it was good. Well like this it will be so much better." Mukasa took a hold of his now bare cock as if he was tempting her with it.

Fuck it! She needed to feel him in her again. "Just be careful," she half-grumbled the reminder and then she was opening her legs in invitation to him. Mukasa moved forward and over her, onto her, into her.

It did feel different, it felt like she could feel the blood pulsing through him, the warmth and strength of him. It felt like they were two beings joined in communion, two spirits joining together. With nothing separating them, not age or skin-color or background or financial status and, most of all, not some piece of latex. This was truly making love, this was real fucking, something else she had not enjoyed in way too long.

He built his rhythmn and the power of his strokes again. Fuelling the sensations within her, taking her back to where they had been so rudely interrupted. Kept on as the heat of their love-making flooded through every part of her being. Forced her passions to build and build and build until they had no choice but to pay their tribute to him by peaking and crashing down in a visceral orgasm. Potent and powerful and extremely fucking enjoyable! Amanda forgot that she was the lady of the house and she howled out her release as she clung tightly onto him with her arms and legs. Feeling the slickness of the sweat on his body, a sweat built up by fucking her, the product of his obvious desire for her.

He didn't break his stroke, he kept going, long and deep thrusts into her. She just held on tight as her passions rose and peaked again. Fuck - could that even happen! It felt so fucking good! She hung on tight until she could recover a little and then she opened her eyes to look into his.

There were beads of sweat on his brow and his mouth was fixed with intense determination. He was going all out to please her and he was doing a damned fine job of it! Then his eyes seemed to meet hers and locked together for a moment before she saw his eyes slightly widen.

His body shifted a little in her arms but things were building again and she knew that she didn't want this to end quickly, maybe didn't want it to end ever. She clung onto him desperately, locked her legs round the curve of his buttocks and kept him there.

His mouth opened and then he seemed to relax somehow and she knew what was happening. Maybe she couldn't feel him cumming inside her but she knew that was exactly what was happening. She wanted to blame him but knew that she couldn't. He had tried to pull out, she thought, but she had held him to her. She was still holding him to her, still desperate for this not to be the end of it. For the first time in so long she had felt the person, the woman, that she really was. She didn't want to go back.

"I'm sorry Amanda - I couldn't help it."

His words were contrite but the tone in his voice didn't exactly suggest sorrow, his eyes had just a little too much triumph embodied in their dark depths. She remembered that he'd told her that he didn't like condoms. She had a very good idea why now.

Which was all very good but this was not a good time for this to have happened. Mukasa was a strong and fit young man, those balls of his just teeming with potent baby-makers. It only took one of them to find the egg she knew was waiting for them. Far from a certainty but definitely way too much of a risk for a woman like her to take.

"Perhaps there wasn't much..." Again the young man's words did not exactly match his demeanour or his attitude. Was he laughing at her?

She got up off the lounger and stood for a moment, wondering what she should do. Maybe she could go inside and have a douche?

She walked a few steps around the pool and then felt the sensation of liquid on her leg. Not much of it? It was already running down her thigh. His sperm was inside her and she was taking way too long to make a decision. How long did it take for things to happen? She moved towards the pool and thought about trying to wash herself but then remembered the possibility of chemicals in there.

She stood in continuing indecision, something stopping her from just telling the young man to see himself out (or words to that effect) as she rushed to the bathroom. Instead she just stood there with her mind in a whirl. Some dread, some fear, some panic - but not only those things.

Then she sensed him behind her again. His arms came around her and linked before gently settling on her stomach. His mouth found the smooth curve of her neck, gently kissing her. Then she felt something else. Hard against her back.

She knew he was young and fit but even for a young fit man that short a recovery time was quite impressive. She felt her body yearn for him again - despite everything. His hands moved up to cup and caress her breasts.

Fuck but that felt so good! He made all of her feel so damned good!

"You are so beautiful Amanda. We were made for this moment - it's not something to regret or to fear. It's something to enjoy and to cherish."

Such honeyed words should not be coming from so young a man, unless Mukasa was just a natural seducer. Maybe that was exactly what he was, because she knew that was what he was doing to her. He was seducing her. Using her own deepest desires against her 'better judgement'. She knew what he was doing and she knew that it was working. She wanted him again. She knew that as she stood there, his sweet words still being poured into her ear.

Would it matter now anyway? She was pretty sure Mukasa had already done enough to fill her belly, to leave her pregnant with his baby. A baby that couldn't help but look like his or her father, at least a little and probably a lot. A baby that would change everything but a baby that would also make her a mother.

It was all going through her mind as she eased her legs apart in silent invitation to him. Her body and soul knew what she needed from him. Her mind could accept that if there was risk then it had already been taken. The young man accepted her silent invitation and moved closer behind her. A moment and then she felt him enter her again, his cock seemed to fill her perfectly. His mouth was again kissing her neck, just the way she had always found irresistible, his hands were again on her breasts. Glancing down she saw the stark contrast in skin-tones between his fingers and her skin. Saw again just how hard and excited her nipples were. Gasped as his fingers teased and played with her while that beautiful big cock of his worked its magic.

Without realising it she ceased to bother with rational, coherent, thought. Instead her consciousness allowed itself to be lifted into a new plane, a place she was taken by the stimulus from so many different parts of her body. All reinforced by the knowledge of what could be the consequences of this afternoon's actions. The knowledge that the woman she was, even a couple of days ago, could never have done this and for so many reasons. The fact she was a married woman, the fact he was a stranger, the fact he was so much younger than her. The difference in social status and of course, always there, the difference in skin-color. A taboo that now, looking down at his hands on her body, she knew was ridiculous. She understand, in the moment, that what had seemed dangerous and prohibited now only seemed beautiful and natural.

"Yes, yes, make love to me." She felt her legs shake a little but stretched out her arms to grip a railing. Held herself there while she felt her whole self centered into her sex, into the wonderful feelings that Mukasa was gifting her. Nothing that felt this good, that felt this right, could ever be wrong. She didn't even notice that all the time she was softly repeating those same six words. Urging her young lover on, surrendering the fact that this was more than just a casual thing for her.

She held herself there until the sensations rose beyond the point of control. Until her legs buckled and she thought she would fall but for his strong arms around here. Keeping her there as she cried out in ecstasy and he filled her again with his seed.

He kissed her and she felt hot, like she had just run a race. His mouth was at her ear again.

"You're tired. Take a rest."

She thought her legs might not carry her but of course they did. The momentary weakness had dissipated. She again felt something on her thigh and knew it was his cum but that much more was exactly where it was supposed to be. What had once frightened her was now accepted as a natural thing, an inevitable consequence. She lay down and her eyes closed.

How long did she sleep? Perhaps only a few minutes, perhaps as long as an hour. She looked about her and saw Mukasa sitting with his feet dangling in the pool. She might have thought that she had been dreaming but for the fact that the breathtakingly handsome young man was naked. Every perfect aspect of his athletic form uncovered and obvious.

A few moments later he noticed she was awake and smiled. He stood up and strode around the pool towards her. Her eyes drank him in and then she saw that as he walked towards her his cock was rising. Becoming hard again until it stood up proud and potent against his body.

"Again!" She couldn't help but laugh a little, knowing it was an expression of shock as well as humor. Maybe she'd been around older guys too long!

He simply smiled and looked her up and down, as if pointing out to her his inspiration in these things. She felt her own wave of desire for him seem to respond and then she was back in his arms and kissing him. Not caring who might see her, not caring what implications might result, not caring about anything but that perfect moment.

"Sit down," she said when their lips finally parted.

He looked like he was interested in where she wanted to go with this and she was sure she could make it a nice surprise. As he sat on the recliner she found a band to tie her hair back and then carefully dropped to her knees between his legs. She reached for him and took him into her mouth.

Mukasa gave a little laugh of pure delight as he looked down at her. He was enjoying this and so he should. Amanda had the benefit of experience in knowing just how to please a man like this. She had to know far more than any of the girls of his own age he had been with. Now those skills were put to use to the absolute maximum of her ability. Her lips, her tongue, her breath, anything that could stimulate and excite him.

Not that it was all one way. Up close and personal Amanda was able to lavish her attention, almost her worship, on Mukasa's beautiful cock. It wasn't just that it was big, or even that it was Black, it went much deeper than that. He had filled her so beautifully and completely - as if she and he had been made for each other She nuzzled the warm firm flesh of him, licked at the heavy balls swinging below. Balls that still seemed heavy and full even after he had twice cum inside her. Potent youthful cum, the perfect production of a perfect body.

Now we wanted him to cum again, to taste that potent seed. She used all her little tricks, all the ones that worked so quickly and so well with her ex-husband. Sometimes it had been convenient or preferable to just quickly get Thomas off without too much fuss or bother. It had never been too difficult. It couldn't be more difficult with an excited youngster like this.

Amanda glanced up into Mukasa's face and instantly understood her miscalculation. The young man had arrived here and she had taken him for a boy, just learning his trade. This wasn't a callow youth looking down at her. His face showed pleasure and satisfaction, yes, but it showed no signs of a lack of total control. As her eyes met his she knew that Mukasa was no boy. He was a man - a proud powerful man. A man who knew what he wanted and made sure that he got it.

She felt her body react to the realization, felt her need for him increase. Made no move to protest when he gently raised her to her feet and led her back to the lounger. When he laid her down there and then stood, his deep dark eyes still fixed on hers and one hand leisurely stroking his big cock.

Of course he wasn't going to settle for just a blow-job. Any more than, as things had worked out, he had settled for using a condom or just making love to her once. Of course he wouldn't. Mukasa knew what he wanted and Amanda was now achingly aware of just what it was that he wanted.

He wanted to plant his seed in her, to have his baby grow in her. To maybe see her in a few months and know her big belly was his work. That her fine breasts were swollen with milk to feed his baby, to make the next generation big and strong. As he looked into her eyes she knew, yes she knew, that he understood her. He knew she would carry his baby to term, he knew she would cherish and pour all of her love and being into raising that child, he knew that he was only giving her what she had needed for so long.

She raised her arms to him. "Mukasa - please..."

Again his little smile and nod and then he had joined her and joined with her. Again making her feel complete, causing her body to rejoice in their perfect union. He didn't hesitate to set up a strong deep rhythmn, his face over hers and his eyes boring deep into hers. Making their spirits and consciousnesses mesh even as their bodies were. She could only let out a long gasp and shudder of emotion, feel the now familiar sensations of her building arousal. He was so fucking right, so fucking perfect for her at that moment.

For that moment and for many more moments. This time it was no quick fuck followed by a heavy load of cum. Now it was a long, almost leisurely, love-making. The young man startling her with his stamina, with his strength, by the way she saw no weakness in him even as the sweat grew on his forehead. There remained the same confident little smile, the same power in his eyes that meant she could not break her own away from his, could not even blink. He owned her in that moment, he possessed her and she knew that she wanted nothing more in the whole wide world. Nothing else real mattered beyond what they were doing here now.

Her body finally surrendered to her own passion - making her cry out and grip his arms tightly. Still he went on, fucking her and fuelling every sensation within her body, mind and soul. Refusing to release her from his exquisite bondage, denying her the chance to recover, pushing her onwards and upwards through apparent climax after apparent climax. Because, however good each one felt, the next was always better, harder and deeper. Letting her understand for the first time how a woman could truly feel. Priming her for the moment they both knew would come. Finally forcing her to say what she knew she had to say.

"Please Mukasa - please - make me pregnant. Make me a mother."

Did his little smile change, broaden a little. She'd never be sure. The young man finally lowered himself onto her and began to fuck her with a potent intensity, making her cry out and hold him tight. Such intensity could not last long and it did not. This time she was sure that she did feel him cum inside her, four, five, no six, heavy spurts of seed.

Strong young seed perfectly designed to grant her the gift that she had cried out for. With all that meant, with all of the consequences.

They lay together for many seconds, unwilling to break the moment. Then, finally, he pulled out of her and rose, walking over to collect his clothes. She watched him dress, lying there with his seed deep inside her, watched with reluctance as he covered that beautiful body of his. Watched as, again fully dressed, he came back to her.

"Thank you Amanda. I think you will make a fine mother." The same little smile but now with an additional confidence, an additional... something else. He leaned down and kissed her forehead with exquisite tenderness, a kiss that felt like a benediction. She couldn't put it into words but she knew, yes she knew. She lay there long after he had gone, letting the events of the afternoon wash over her. Reluctant to move, happy to allow what might well be happening within her to claim her destiny.

She only moved when her phone rang and she retrieved it to answer.

It was Mr Pulaski, ringing to apologise that his young man hadn't been able to make it over there. Some sort of trouble with his vehicle.

***

Amanda Vandermeer was feeling the heat and she was also feeling her back. However wonderful were nature's little miracles it was undeniable that being eight-months pregnant with twins could be a real bitch!

She ran her hands over the taut full swell of her belly, thought about the babies that were in there. Almost ready to make their appearance into the world. A lot would change in that moment. A lot had already changed in the months since that incredible afternoon.

For starters she'd reverted to her maiden name and had sold the big old holiday place that had come to her as part of the divorce settlement. The latter hadn't been her original plan but when the first signs of her condition had become undeniable...

The resort was an exclusive one. Single moms with a baby by a Black father wouldn't fit in there. They'd just assume Thomas had kicked his cheating wife to the kerb when she got herself knocked up by a...

Well, you all know what they would have said.

Not that it mattered. She felt somehow more at home where she was now. She certainly had more support around her than she would ever have had in the old place.

There was Esperanza of course. Now more of a companion-cum-roommate than a maid and absolutely invaluable. Amanda was not stupid. She knew that life for women like her was not a bed of roses. The experience and knowledge of a woman, a friend, like Esperanza was so valuable. If she over-paid for her refuge by covering the whole rent and utilities for Esperanza's little house in Rosalie then that was not something that she regretted.

In an area of increasingly exclusive resorts Rosalie was the living space for those who cleaned the houses, who tended the gardens, who staffed the check-outs. It had the demography that you would expect. It was a place where Amanda and her coming family would not be out of place

Marshall was out playing ball. Esperanza came and asked if she was ready.

"I'm not sure," she protested, "it feels so hot."

Esperanza smiled like she knew how that felt. Which, of course, she did.

The buds were starting to appear on the trees. There was a slight hint of Spring though the winters around here were never less than mild.

She carefully followed Esperanza down the path and across the road. Feeling the weight in her body, the new life growing there.

It wasn't far to Mama's place. The old woman's name was Patricia but most everyone called her Mama. She had been a trained Midwife and though she was long retired she still had all of the experience and the knowledge that any impending momma could need. More importantly, for most folk around here, she didn't charge.

"Hey Mama," called Esperanza.

"Hey girl," responded the old woman whose wise old eyes, almost hidden in her wrinkled face, were already looking over Amanda with a practised air of competence.

A few questions and Mama was satisfied that all was going as it should do. Which meant Amanda could ask the question that was currently never far from her mind.

"How much longer do you think Mama?"

The old woman smiled, showing a full set of well cared for teeth. "They make their own minds up about that girl - they won't be rushed and they won't hold back. But I'd say maybe three weeks. You know the signs and when to call it in?"

Amanda nodded. Mama had told her often enough. Protective of a first-time soon-to-be mother like a momma-duck over her brood.

Mama went to find them something cool to drink and Amanda eased herself off her chair to take a look at some of the paintings and ornaments that made this room of Mama's house like a cross between a gallery, a curio shop and Ali Baba's cave.

For the first time she noticed a small painting in the corner. A young man's face looking out over the room with a look of confidence and a small knowing smile on his almost blue-black face. A face that Amanda knew very well.

When the old lady came back, fussing her back into her seat and offering her a tray of cool drinks, Amanda had tried to keep her voice level as she asked her.

"The little picture I was looking at - is that your son or your grand-son?"

Mama looked at her like she had gone crazy but then she stopped and laughed. "Lord no - I'm guessing a lot of folk wouldn't like me putting him there but I don't guess it can do no harm. He's from the old country - the spirit that the folks back there reckoned looked after the waters and the powers of fertility, especially women in your condition girl. Nah - that ain't no relation of mine." She paused and took a sip of her drink. "Thass Mukasa. Thass who that is."