He raised himself on his arms and his eyes swept over me. He laid me bare with his heated gaze, and I shivered beneath such heat. "So beautiful," he whispered.

  I blushed as he lowered himself atop me and slowly penetrated my body. He pushed himself deep inside me, and my warm walls captured him in their loving embrace. He paused and shuddered. "So. . .tight. . ." he gasped.

  I brushed his hair through my fingers and rubbed our cheeks together. "So right," I moaned into his ear.

  He pulled out and penetrated me, deeper this time. His strokes slid against my sensitive nerves, and each slide was a taste of lustful heaven. My body trembled and begged for more. More of him, more of our lovemaking, more of us. He pushed faster and our hips slid against each other, helped by our sweat-soaked bodies. I arched my back and moaned as he pressed again and again into me, each thrust more desperate and demanding than the one before it. His grunts filled the air as sweet music that made my body tremble with lust. We needed to be one, to know each other as only lovers could know one another.

  "Oh god. Oh god. . ." I murmured as each push from my lover sent thrills through my body. He quickened his speed. Each penetrating stroke demanded I yield to him, to our joined, lustful desire. The ache was too much. I needed satisfaction, and I needed him with me. "Yes! More! Oh god, more!"

  He grunted and thrust faster. Our slow lovemaking turned to a demanding rut as we each tried to make the other come with us. Feral thrust after feral thrust made my body quake with lust-filled tremors of a pleasure I couldn't imagine but longed to know. I ached for and dreaded the fulfillment of his lustful passions. I couldn't stop him in his wild thrusts, nor did I want to. Each penetration brought me closer to sweet, sensual fulfillment. All I could do was pet his hair and murmur into his ear words of encouragement.

  "Yes. That's it. Oh god, yes. Faster. Oh my god yes!" I leaned my head back and reveled in the tremors that wracked my body with their sensual vibrations. "Take me! Yes! Yes!"

  My body exploded into sweet, lustful orgasm. Waves crashed over my flesh and left me filled with pure, sensual pleasure. He thrust wildly into me, heightening my bliss until I knew nothing but him inside me stroking me hard and fast. I thrashed and screamed his name to the secluded cabin. He was my god and I his servant, and oh god did the worship feel good.

  He finally spilled into me and fell atop me. I wheezed at the feel of his heavy, limp weight as it oozed over me. He wrapped his arms around me, slid onto his side and took me with him so I was pressed against his warm chest.

  I snuggled against him and smiled. "Not bad," I teased.

  He chuckled. "Not bad at all."

  My smile faltered as I thought about tomorrow and a few tears sprang into my eyes. "So what happens now?" I wondered.

  "Now we wait out the storm."

  "No, I meant with us."

  He pulled me to half an arm's length and his twinkling eyes smiled down on me. "Have you ever thought about dating a frosting king?"

  I snorted and wiped away my few annoying tears. "Not really, but I'm willing to give it a chance."

  And that was the start of a long and beautiful relationship that ended with me obtaining the title 'queen of frosting.'

  TRAPPED IN TEMPTATION #2

  CHAPTER 1

  I was almost free. The clock on the wall of my cubicle ticked closer and closer to the noon hour. Just fifteen more minutes and I would enter the heavenly abode known as 'vacation.'

  "Stare at that clock like that long enough and you'll melt a hole through it," a voice piped up.

  I jumped and whipped my head to the entrance to my six-by-six domain. There stood my best friend, Georgiana Alva. She had a smile on her face and leaned against the entrance to my little hovel.

  "Maybe they'd give me a faster one. This one makes the time slow down," I defended myself.

  She snorted and shook her head. "Not when you've got a vacation coming up. You still going to the beach on that train?"

  I smiled and gave a nod. "Yep."

  "I don't know why you want to take that clunky old thing. It takes twice as long to get to the beach that way as driving, and it already takes a day to drive there," she reminded me.

  I shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't have to be the one doing the driving, and I can enjoy the scenery from my sleeper car."

  "But those sleeper things cost a fortune," she pointed out.

  Five minutes left. I prepared to shut off my computer. "A lot, but I've never been in one and I'm hoping it's a lot more comfortable than sitting overnight in a chair or the dining car." My computer screen went black and I grabbed my purse. Just a few more minutes.

  Georgiana pushed off from the entrance and shook her head. "Well, just call me when you get to the beach, okay?"

  I stood from my chair and rolled my eyes. "Taking the train is just as safe as a car. Maybe safer."

  She laughed. "Not with you on board. You would hijack the thing and rob banks if you thought you could get away with it."

  I grinned. "I'm not that evil. Usually."

  She glanced at the clock. "Your train leaves in two hours?"

  "Yep," I replied as I slung my purse over my shoulder. I glanced around at the gray, artificial walls and sighed. Around me were the sounds of typing and whispered chatting. The smell of food as people opened their bags for lunch. Feet and chairs scuffed the floor as people stood to join the rat-race to lunch at the countless cafes in the city. "One week away from it all."

  "Just remember to come back. You have rent to pay," she reminded me.

  "I know, I know. All those adult responsibilities for the working stiffs," I agreed. I turned to her and opened my arms. "A hug for the rails?"

  Georgiana smiled and wrapped me in a hug that took my breath away. "You just be careful out there, okay?" she whispered in my ear.

  I pulled away and smiled. "I doubt I'm even going to talk to anyone, much less be kidnapped."

  "Yeah, but if anything did happen to you I'd never forgive you," she returned.

  "I'll cal when I get to the beach and tell you all about my unexciting train ride," I promised.

  Georgiana smiled, stepped aside, and put her hand on my back. "Good." She pushed me toward the cubicle entrance and the hall beyond it. "Now get out there and go get a tan. Get one for me, too, while you're at it."

  I paused in the doorway and turned to her with a grin. "How about a sunburn?"

  "Pass, but how about you find me a boyfriend, and maybe one for yourself?" she suggested.

  I snorted and gestured down to myself. I wasn't fat, but calling me big-boned would have been a stretched compliment. "Aren't you afraid I might eat him?" I teased.

  She rolled her eyes. "Let's not start this again. Besides, you don't have enough time for me to scold you about you not being fat." She scooted me into the hall. "Now get along before you miss your rail ride."

  I obeyed and skipped to the elevators. My place of work was a tall, steel-constructed office building in the downtown section of a large city. Beyond the city limits was a large expanse of farmland and wilderness that acted as a border between the city inhabitants and the surf and sand of the ocean. The sand was my destination. For a week I would be free of paperwork and stress. There would be only me, the sun, and a strawberry daiquiri in each hand.

  First, there was the stop to my apartment to grab my bag and my ticket. I could live without the bag, but the ticket was my passport to fun-in-the-sun. I squeezed into the crowded elevator and was reminded why this vacation was so precious to me. The smell of sweat and food permeated the small space. There was enough room to breathe, but not enough to twitch your elbows. People chatted on their phones or watched the lights above the door tick closer to their floor. A floor was reached, the doors opened, and humanity streamed in and out of the small elevator.

  It would have been heaven for a sociologist, but for me it was just too cramped. I wanted room to breathe and air worth breathing. I wanted to feel the sun on my pale, chubby cheeks and have a fresh wind w
hip my hair into my face. The only wind that whipped my face right then was when someone broke it. I shuddered, closed my eyes, and imagined myself on the beach. I would be lying there in my lounge chair and a shadow would fall over me. Opening my eyes would reveal a handsome young man. His muscled body would be covered only by a flimsy pair of shorts, and in one hand would be a tray with my daiquiri. He would smile, I would blush, and he would set aside the tray and join me on the lounge chair. His lips and body would press against mine. I would slide a leg against him and groan.

  My groan was a little too loud. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a few people who stared back at me with looks of concern. Damn Georgiana and her talk about men! I blushed under their scrutiny and tried to squeeze myself into the wall. I was saved by the bell, or rather, the ding of the elevator. We'd reached the lobby, and our mass of humanity squirmed through the open doors and into the river of humans that flowed through the front doors and onto the streets in search of food. I was in search of a bus.

  My job barely covered the rent, not the expenses of having a car, so I bounced my way on the public transportation system to the place I called home. It could've also been called an ancient apartment building bordering on being condemned, but to me it was what I could afford. The neighborhood also left something to be desired, namely clean streets. Heck, calling the pothole-filled, trash-filled concrete slabs streets was being nice.

  I stepped off the bus and looked up at home. It was an old four-floor apartment building built at the turn of the last century. No, not that one, the one before it. The one where you had a greater chance of stepping in horse manure than dog crap. I climbed the steps worn smooth by thousands of footsteps and used my two keys to get past the heavy metal door. There were bars on the windows and the smell of urine permeated the bricks that made up the outer walls. Like I said, a great neighborhood.

  Inside was a hellish wasteland. On a good day it was reminiscent of a dystopian novel. On the bad days it was a dystopian novel. This was a good day so I didn't have to pay the bum toll. That was when one of my lovely neighbors would sit in the foyer and bum money off of me for drugs, drink, etc. You name the sin, they wanted to buy it. I slipped into the fire stairwell and walked to my third-floor apartment. There was an ancient elevator, but you put your life in Jesus' hands going up it. Not having gone to church in a few years, we weren't exactly on speaking terms so I wasn't sure how much lift he'd give me if the old cables snapped and I plummeted to the basement.

  I reached my floor and walked down the hall of peeling and mismatched wallpaper to my dingy door. Inside was a dingy apartment with small touches of home. Pictures of my family, my friends and myself, and a few mementos from past vacation trips. There was a rock from a neighboring dude ranch, a stick from the forest lodge a hundred miles off, stuff like that. This trip I intended to bring back a seashell.

  I snatched my ticket off the coffee table in my small living room and looked over the details. My thick, electronic ticket with its bar code on the bottom would also be my key to my compartment. "One sleeping compartment. Single occupant. Compartment Number Two," I read the words on the front.

  Perfect. I would be alone without any distractions and anybody to bother me.

  CHAPTER 2

  I checked the time. Only forty minutes to reach the station and get into my sleeping compartment. I grabbed my packed backpack from my room and rushed out the door. Public transportation, like cops, is never around when you need it, and at the nearest bus stop I had to wait ten minutes for a bus. The bus zoomed along the streets like a turtle suffering from arthritis. We reached the train station with ten minutes before sendoff.

  Fortunately, I knew where my track was and the number of my train. I scurried off the bus and rushed through the terminal to my track. The train lay beyond a pair of sliding glass doors. Its loud, chooing engine warned passengers that it would leave soon. I slipped past fellow travelers and wound through benches filled with commuters. Almost there. Just a few more yards and I-I didn't see the guy until it was too late. We collided like a bowling ball hitting a pin dead-on. Unfortunately, I was the pin and he the ball. I fell back and had the wind knocked from me. He stumbled backward on his feet, but caught himself before his rear kissed pavement like mine.

  I whipped my head up and glared at him. "Will you watch-" I froze. He was the most handsome man I'd ever seen. His age was about thirty, or on the good side of it. His short hair was dark and cut to a becoming length over his perfect ears and brow. He looked at me with brown eyes that shined with humor and concern. Slung over one shoulder was a large duffel bag. The man wore a white polo shirt with slacks and shiny black shoes that reflected the dumbfounded look on my face. He looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite place his face.

  He knelt down and offered his free hand to me. "Are you all right?" he asked me. Even his voice sounded romantically handsome.

  "I-I-" was my intelligent response.

  "Train 22 for North Beach will leave in five minutes. All passengers please board immediately," blared the female voice over the intercom.

  That was my train. I shook myself and ignored his hand as I stood. "Watch where you're going next time," I scolded him.

  He stood, and my angry reply didn't knock the smile off his face. "I was, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I found an angel in a dingy train station."

  "Well, go yell at her for you knocking into me," I bit back.

  His mischievous smile widened. "I'm looking right at her."

  I blinked at him, and looked over my shoulder. Nobody stood still. Everyone else was in motion. I turned back to him and saw his eyes were on me. "Did our collision break your glasses?" I guessed.

  He chuckled and shook his head. "No, but it looked like I got the best of our unscheduled meeting." His warm eyes swept over me and I felt my cheeks blush under such scrutiny. "You're sure you're all right?"

  "Everything's in one piece, if that's what you-"

  "Train 22 for North Beach will leave in two minutes. All passengers please board immediately," interrupted the female voice.

  "Shit! I gotta go! Nice crashing into you!" I told my mystery man as i swept past him. The doors to the track lay just ahead. I swept through them, but didn't hear them close behind me. One look over my shoulder told me why. The man was following me. "I said I'm fine!" I called back to him.

  "With how fast you walk I don't doubt it!" he replied.

  I didn't have any more time for witty banter. I counted the cars until I found mine near the engine, and none too soon. I jumped aboard at the rear door and turned a left into the car when the train lurched forward. I was on my way to my vacation retreat away from people and work.

  My happy-place moment didn't last long. The narrow hallway in which I stood was crowded with people filling their compartments with luggage, spouses, and children. The hallway followed the far side of the car. Behind me a door and a narrow walk separated my abode from the rest of the train with the coach class and its tall seats. In front of my car was the dining car. I hugged my backpack to my chest and took a deep breath, then dove into the fray.

  "Excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me," I chanted as I pushed, pulled, slipped and slid past the others.

  My compartment number was on my ticket, but I'd memorized it. The compartment turned out to be at the front and had an entrance of two sliding doors that were locked with the electronic lock. I stopped and smiled. My own little retreat. I reached into my pocket for my ticket. It was gone.

  My eyes widened. My fingers stretched and clawed inside my pocket. It had to be there. It just had to be.

  "Missing something?" came a familiar voice. I spun around and my backpack slapped into the hard chest of the stranger from the train terminal. He smiled down at my bag. "Is that your usual welcome or are you just fond of me?" he teased.

  "I-I'm sorry. It's just that-" He held up something in his hand. My eyes widened. It was my ticket. I turned my eyes to his smiling face. "How-?"

  "You
dropped it after our collision and I thought I'd personally return it. I meant for you to get it earlier, but I missed my chance at the same entrance and had to catch another car farther back," he explained.

  My mouth was slightly ajar. He'd followed me this far just to return my ticket. "And you followed me onto the train just to do that?" I asked him.

  He glanced down at the ticket in his hand and for the first time his smile faltered a little. "Actually, I was looking at your ticket and I think we may have a problem," he admitted.

  I frowned. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. "What kind of problem?"

  He nodded at the compartment door. "This is my compartment."

  I whipped my head between him and the compartment number above the door. That was the number on my ticket. "No, it's not. It's mine," I argued.

  He smiled and pulled out a ticket like my ticket-key. "This should clear matters." He inserted the key into the lock and, with a twist, I heard the door unlock. The man swung open the doors and turned to me with a smile. "That kind of problem."

  This couldn't be happening. There had to be a mistake. Something obvious we were both missing. "Maybe I have the wrong room," I suggested.

  He held up my ticket-key. "Let me try your key." He locked the door and tried my ticket-key. The door unlocked and swung open to reveal a very big problem. "We have the same key to the same room," he insisted as he handed me my key.

  I looked down at the ticket-key as though it was a creature from another world. "But how?" I asked him.

  He shrugged. "Probably double-booking. It happens sometimes, but I must admit I've never been accidentally put with such a pretty young lady."

  I was too flustered to blush at his compliments. "How do we fix it?"

  He looked past me down the hall. "We'll see if we can do that right now." He raised his hand and increased his voice volume. "Conductor!" I glanced behind me and saw a uniformed man stride towards us.

  He smiled at us. "Something I can do for you?"