Naomi came slowly back to awareness, briefly wondering about the sense of total peace that she felt for the first time in as long as she could remember. It took a few moments for her addled senses to realize where she was and what had just happened. She lay cradled in Aidan's arms, with his firm chest pressed against her back and one large hand cupped around her naked breast. His strong, steady heartbeat against her back was like a soothing balm to her soul.
Only she knew how astounding it was that she had seduced a total stranger. Prior to meeting Aidan, the only man she had ever felt desire for was her husband. She had met Nathan when she was seventeen, and she had been instantly smitten with his handsome face and charming wit. She had been full of girlish dreams of having a husband and family of her own.
Naomi was an only child, orphaned at the age of twelve. Having a big, happy family of her own had always been important to Naomi. Her parents had died the night their house burned to the ground, and she had been left homeless and alone. An aged aunt took her in out of obligation, but she always let Naomi know that she was not really wanted. During the five years that she lived with her aunt, Naomi nurtured her dreams of making a life for herself with a loving husband and children she could cherish. When she met Nathan, she just knew he was the right man to fulfill her dreams.
At thirty years of age, Nathan had barely noticed Naomi at first, but she had made up her mind that he would be her husband some day. She had been dedicated to making him see her as a woman and winning his affection. It hadn't taken long for Nathan to fall under the spell of Naomi's enchanting beauty and sweet disposition. Before he quite knew what had happened, he was madly in love with her. The day he proposed marriage, it seemed that all her dreams were coming true. Nathan swore that her agreement to become his wife made him the luckiest man alive.
Nathan was an adoring husband, a tender lover, and her best friend. Naomi blossomed as his wife, and it seemed their marriage was perfect. Nathan was a prosperous businessman in Sacramento, California. He provided Naomi with a lovely home, clothes, and fine furnishings. He lovingly nurtured her as she grew into a mature young woman. His relatives became her family, his friends became her friends. She built her entire world around her husband, and her life became happy and full. She was no longer alone. She no longer felt unloved.
Their life together had indeed been perfect, except for one very important thing. The one thing Nathan asked of her, she could not give him. In all the time they were married, Naomi never got pregnant.
They hadn't worried about it at first. In fact, during their first few months together, Nathan teased her that they would simply have to try harder. They shrugged off the comments of family and friends who kept asking when they were going to have children. Over time, the comments stopped, to be replaced by pitying glances. It was obvious that everyone thought Naomi was less than a perfect wife. She was a disappointment. She was a failure. Nathan's parents, anxious for grandchildren, didn't bother to hide their outright disapproval. A woman who couldn't bear children was something less than a real woman.
As months and then years passed, their lovemaking became more of a chore than a pleasure. Each time Nathan came to her, it seemed he was on a mission, and each month when she had her courses, his moods would alternate between despair and anger. He never said it in words, but the blame was there in his eyes when he looked at her. He eventually stopped making love to her at all.
Then, just as quickly as Nathan had come into her life, he left her. One day, he was a strong, vigorous man in the prime of his life, and two weeks later, he was dead. At first, her friends and Nathan's family gathered around her, supporting her through her grief. They visited her often, trying to comfort her. When her prescribed period of mourning was over, they seemed to think she should move on with her life, meet someone new and remarry. She ignored their advice. Over time, the visits became more infrequent, and finally, they stopped altogether. Naomi was once again alone.
As far as Naomi was concerned, a second marriage was out of the question. Knowing she could never have a real family of her own, she preferred to remain a widow. In the two years following Nathan's death, not a single man had stirred her emotions or inspired even a hint of desire in her. The idea of being some man's wife left her feeling completely disinterested.
Naomi spent two years feeling depressed. She barely ate, didn't go out of the house, and spent most of her time sleeping. There was no sparkle in her eyes, no smile to brighten her face. She felt like her life was utterly pointless, without any purpose or goal.
Then, one day, fate stepped in to dally in her life once more. One of the maids gave notice that she would be leaving Naomi's employment because she was getting married and moving to Oregon with her new husband. Naomi began to dream about what it might be like to go to a new place, where no one knew her or pitied her or disapproved of her. She could be alone and not have to worry about the opinions of others. She was sick of being told what she should do.
Naomi began to read about Oregon. She began going to the library, tracking down old newspapers and maps of the area. It sounded like a land of opportunity, a place for new beginnings. It sounded like the place she wanted to be. When she came across a newspaper notice of a farm that was for sale in the Willamette valley, it sounded like it was heaven sent, just for her. It sounded like this farm in Oregon might hold some tiny bit of purpose for her life.
Without a second thought, Naomi put in a bid on the farm. When she found out that her bid had been successful, she sold her house and furnishings. She raised just over two thousand dollars, enough to buy the farm and still have enough money to see her through the first few years while she made a fresh start. With only the barest of goodbyes, she packed her things and left. She told no one where she was going. She didn't want any reminders of her old life to follow her.
She hadn't been looking for a man. She had only been looking for peace and solitude. For two long years, she had believed that any womanly desires she possessed had died with Nathan.
Meeting Aidan had changed her entire perspective. She had been astonished to realize that not only were her passions alive and well, they were stronger than ever before. The desire she felt for Aidan was not the girlish infatuation she had felt for her husband, but the full-bodied, overwhelming, mature desire of a twenty three year old woman. In fact, the passion she felt for Aidan was an all-consuming need that she had never felt before.
Naomi knew she should probably be feeling shameful or guilty. She had not only seduced Aidan, she had encouraged him to totally ravish her. Yet shame and guilt were not among the emotions she was feeling. She felt invigorated, amazed, incredibly feminine and desirable, and surprisingly ready to repeat the experience. She had thought that making love with Aidan would satisfy her hunger, but instead, she found she was ravenous for more.
Aidan stirred behind her, and his hand tightened reflexively on her breast. Naomi shivered, moaning softly as she pressed the mound against his palm and rubbed the back of his hand in encouragement. He came awake with a start, lifting his head to stare at her in amazement. She wasn't just a fantasy, the result of his lewd imaginings, she was actually lying naked and thoroughly tempting in his arms. The sight of her nubile body writhing sensuously against him shook the last few cobwebs from his brain.
Naomi turned in his arms to face him and feathered kisses along the strong line of his jaw. "Hello again," she purred. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, trailing kisses down his throat and chest as she exposed more and more of his flesh. "I thought you would never wake up."
At her prompting, Aidan shrugged out of his shirt, somewhat in a daze. This was not what he had planned. From the moment of their meeting, he had known he wanted a relationship with Naomi, but he had been thinking along the lines of a courtship and marriage. He hadn't intended to seduce her the first day, and he was struggling to comprehend where they now found themselves.
Naomi pressed lightly on his shoulder, and he fell onto his back. She began exploring his chest with her soft lips, nipping and suckling his nipples and running her fingers through the crisp matting of hair. He gripped the sides of her head and lifted her face until she met his eyes.
"Naomi, we need to talk. Everything is happening so fast. I hadn't planned to take advantage of you. Believe it or not, I've never been a despoiler of honorable women."
