STORY EXCERPT

Eitan strode up to the protective rock-and-metal fence that surrounded the outcropping of tree-strewn rock. He had known exactly where he planned to execute Mary’s final wishes. Mary wanted her ashes to be spread over the water, sent to ride on the tide as a few people over the years had done in barrels. He wondered if there were places in Niagara Falls to purchase a barrel? With enough money, one could buy just about anything. Unfortunately for him, money wouldn’t buy the one thing he wanted the most, it couldn’t buy closure. He and Mary had grown up together. They had dated all through high school and had gone to the prom. After school, they had both attended Yale. The plan had been that they would be married as soon as they finished school.

Mary never got a chance to finish. She had been hit by a drunk driver one Saturday night nine months earlier.

Eitan had been in the library studying for his final exam. His best friend Francis had come running up to him and had leaned over, his eyes wide in shock. “Eitan, you need to come. Mary is dying.”

“What? Mary is sleeping.”

“No, Eitan. She was just hit by a car. It’s really bad. She is calling for you.”

Eitan had left his books on the table and had run after Francis. Mary had still been lying on the pavement, her face bloody and torn. The police had arrived moments later with an ambulance, but it was too late. All Mary had said was that she was sorry. Her final words had been “Niagara Falls.” As the facts of her death had slowly revealed themselves, Eitan had discovered that Francis was the reason that Mary wasn’t in her room sleeping. She had gone out to meet him for a drink. They had quite a few drinks, and on the way back to the dorms, Mary had staggered into traffic.

Eitan looked down at the cardboard box in his hands. He had considered not doing as she asked. If anything, he was tempted to simply throw the box in a dumpster and be done with it. Instead, he lifted it into the air and threw it over the falls. The box sailed high and flew for about ten feet before it dropped straight down. Rather than follow the flow of the water as Mary had wanted, it simply plummeted to the bottom without every touching the falls. Eitan turned and was about to walk away when he saw a woman sitting in the shadows. What he had just done was probably illegal. Would she rise up and turn him in? Why was she sitting in the darkness alone? Maybe her intentions were less noble and he was witnessing a suicide about to happen.

Eitan had been raised with high morals and a sense of purpose. He could not possibly walk away and chance reading of this woman’s death in the morning paper. With a sigh of resignation, he walked over to her. Eitan extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Eitan Green. Can I sit down?”

The woman pursed her lips in obvious irritation. “I suppose. I’m Sage Pastor. I’m not looking to pick anyone up if that is what you are thinking.”

Eitan smiled. “No I wasn’t. I was kind of worried about you. Are you okay?”

“Peachy. Are you okay?”

His amusement faded. “Not really. Did you see what I just did?”

“You threw something over the falls. It wasn’t big enough to be a human body or an animal, a cat maybe. Tell me it wasn’t alive.”

The expression of horror on her face threw him. “No. Of course not. Why would I throw a living thing over the falls?”

“I don’t know. Why would you throw anything over the falls?”

Eitan examined her. She didn’t look like someone who was about to jump up and arrest him. “Are you the police or a parks person?”

“Neither. If you want the honest truth, I’m waiting for you to go away so I can add my package to yours. Mine is biodegradable.”

“So was mine. It was cardboard.”

She bent forward and pulled a large shell out of the bag. “Mine is made from recycled food grade paper. It is supposed to float briefly before it sinks, but I don’t think it will hold up well to the power of the whitewater.”

If the concept weren’t so morbid, Eitan would have laughed. They were both doing the same thing. The odds of it happening on the same night were astronomical. “Who is in there?”

“My husband. What was in the box?”

“My fiancé.”

“I’m sorry.”

Eitan chuckled, but his laugher held no amusement. He was sorry, all right. Sorry that he hadn’t been able to confront Mary. Sorry that he had pinned his future on a woman who had been having an affair with his best friend. Sorry that Mary’s parents were too ill to travel and they had begged him to take her ashes to Canada. “I’m sorry for you also. Were you married long?”

“Three years. Well, three years before he died. I guess it would be almost four now. I wanted to bring him here, but I had things to settle first. When did your fiancé pass?”

“Nine months ago. It was two nights before my finals and I flunked two of them. I hung around, and because of the circumstances was able to make them up. Then I headed home for a while. Mary’s parents called me a few weeks ago and asked me to bring her ashes here. It took me a while to make up my mind.”

“Oh.” She frowned and he shrugged.

ADULT EXCERPT

Sage was slightly embarrassed that her climax had happened so quickly and that it had not continued. It had felt wonderful, but she had always been rather speedy about release when her pussy was empty. She wondered why Eitan had chosen to take her with his mouth. Was he not aroused enough to use his dick? Should she take it upon herself to do something to remedy the situation, or let him make the first move? Things with Eitan were new and unknown, which was making her slightly uncomfortable. She had never had a problem talking to Hank, so why was she hesitating with Eitan?”

He shimmied off the bed and walked around to lie beside her. Sage smiled and forced herself to speak. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You know, make me come with your tongue?” She had no idea how to finish the question. Did he have a problem with his dick? Did he not find her attractive enough? Had she done something wrong?

“Why, didn’t you enjoy it?”

“Of course I did.” He appeared as nervous as she felt.

“Oh. Then what is the problem?”

“That’s what I wanted to know. Do you have a problem, with…down there?”

He frowned. “No.”

“Oh.” So what was the problem? It had to be her.

“Now why do you suddenly appear upset?”

Sage sighed and shrugged. Obviously he didn’t like her as much as she thought.

The frown on his face deepened. “Okay. If you want the honest truth, I used my tongue because I wanted to see if you would come that way. I tried with Mary and she never did.”

Sage felt like a complete idiot. “Oh,” she replied with a giggle. “I was wondering if you didn’t find me attractive enough to get turned on.”

“Wow. I guess we were both off base. You turn me on a lot. I have been fighting a hard-on since I met you. You’re beautiful.”

He said the words with such reverence that Sage was touched. “So are you…Well, handsome.”

“Glad you think that.” His hand wafted over her face and then he swiped back her hair, before running a single finger down the bridge of her nose. It drifted over her lips, tracing them softly before he leaned to kiss her. The feel of his mouth was overwhelming, his tongue caressing hers with the perfect amount of pressure. Then he lifted his head slightly to gaze at her for a second with his amazingly dark-blue eyes. Their noses softly touched, and the kiss was renewed, their lips colliding gently before they were sealed together by desire.

She drove her fingers into his hair again, the ringlets calling to her fingers as they snaked around her skin. The feel of her body raging warmer was a magnificent delight, his hand floating over her breast like the brush of the softest fern.

Sage was completely attentive, her mind and body floating in the wonderful bliss of the flesh. It had been so long since she felt this way, high on the sweet passion that a loving man’s touch could create. Sage missed it far more than she had realized. His palm on her body was a sensual delight as he kissed his way downward, caressing her breast as he again drew the nipple between his lips. “Ooh…” He was sucking on her pert flesh, flicking his tongue over the tip of her sensitized skin. Sage arched her back, giving him full access so he wouldn’t hesitate to consume her with bliss.

Eitan was so attentive, taking his time to pay equal attention to both nipples. His hand cupped her, coercing her breast upward toward the lovely heat of his lips. His tongue was swirling, licking, such a lovely sensation it created as tendrils of pleasure drifted their way down to her needy cunt. It felt wet and warmly achy, the inner muscles detonating like a perfectly orchestrated Fourth of July display. They tightened and then loosened, each consecutive throb feeling ever more wonderful. She wanted him to touch her, to again push his tongue into the throbbing pit of her clit.

The sound of her own raspy breathing made her smile. It was a sound that she hadn’t heard in such a long time.

Looking down at him, she saw that Eitan had his eyes on her. His gaze was intense, the tender touch of it caressing her face, even as his hands slid slowly downward. “Are you really enjoying this that much?”

She giggled. “Yes. Why, is that bad?”

He smiled, shaking his head from side to side, his beautiful curls shimmering around his face. “I think it’s wonderful. The sounds you are making tell me that I’m doing something right.”