The Stranger in the woods
1
Emma Pinkerton never married. Not because she didn't want to or had no interest in forming long-lasting relationships, over the years she had had quite a few short affairs but nothing seemed to come of them, there was no fire between her and anyone else and at fifty-two Emma was resigned to the fact that she may never find the right person to spend her life with. There were some regrets at not finding the right man apart from companionship and closeness, Emma always wanted children - her maternal instinct was still very strong and she would watch children playing in the park or sitting in a cafe with their parents, making lots of mess with complete innocence - a loving family unit which she always felt was missing from her life.
But that said Emma liked living alone, it gave her freedom and autonomy - she was able to cook what she wanted as well as come and go as she pleased. Life was good with no ties. Although being her own personal chef meant she was heavier than she liked, she wasn't round but voluptuous in every way and as she had been told by many people - a very attractive woman with curves in all the right places - the curves were just bigger than she wanted.
Emma was always prepared on the off-chance that the right man would come along, with drawers full of feminine underwear and perfumes filling her bathroom cabinet. Every now and then when she was feeling sexually charged and usually after she had shaved and scraped all the hairs from her body, she would stand in front of her full-length mirror trying on her unused expensive underwear as a reminder to herself that she was a woman that men would find beautiful. The evening usually ended with her multi-speed lover, taking her from climax to climax, buzzing gently on her clit and slipping inside for other sensual delights.
Occasionally Emma's sexual urges were satisfied when a ballet was shown on BBC2, not that she enjoyed ballet but she really liked to watch the male dancers stretching and leaping. Something about their muscular thighs and perfectly round bulges did something to her in a primal way, although this was a complete secret, she could never tell anyone else about her 'ballet porn'. A couple of years back she saw a ballet on TV called Spartacus, not really knowing anything about the ballet she was glued to the screen, the main dancer spent most of the time wearing a leather loincloth and nothing else - ballet tights were lovely but a dancer without them - yes please she mused.
Emma fell asleep that evening massaging and caressing herself, fantasising about that hard-bodied dancer seducing her; her hands running over those taut arms and chest, the feel of his soft leather garment pressing against her body, her fingers exploring and making him naked...oh my God, Emma came over and over as her imagination took it to new heights.
As for Emma's work, it took her nowhere at all apart from the odd trip into London for a briefing, being a freelance illustrator for Dorling Kindersley and also being extremely good at what she did meant Emma could work from home, a small idyllic cottage she had lived in for over ten years with an acre of wooded land surrounding it, nestling in the heart of Oxfordshire. Life was good, but also quite lonely sometimes.
But Emma's life was about to change.
2
One of the loveliest things Emma felt about her home was the large wooded area surrounding her cottage - it was all hers, so much inspiration for illustrations. She would take her sketchbook and some pens out and sit, lost in her own world. She would sketch wildlife and plants to use at a later date - her friends asked why she didn't take photos with her phone but that just seemed far too instant and anyway, you only really see things when you look properly and drawing made that happen.
On this particular evening, while walking through the woods Emma saw something ahead in a clearing, for a moment a stream of fear ran through her - a person standing looking at her but not moving. As she moved cautiously closer she saw it was a young man. 'Hello, can I help you? This is my garden, are you lost? 'There was no answer, he just looked calmly but blankly at her. The young man was dressed oddly too, Emma thought he must be a college student on his way to a party. He was wearing what looked like a white knee length toga made of cotton tied at the waist with a shiny black sash and leggings made of what looked like plastic or rubber - definitely a student thing, Emma thought. She repeated her question again but with no answer.
Emma stood looking at the young man and was struck by how beautiful he was, slim body and limbs but with a dancer's look about them (oh, those dancer's again) - there was a look of strength in them but without the defined muscles. His arms were bare from the shoulders so Emma could see he must be about eighteen - twenty at the most. His skin was milky white and unblemished, his face smooth with full lips and a mop of light brown hair, and those eyes were of a striking green she had never seen before.
He did look a bit lost and something about him looked a bit well, simple. Emma thought this was a cruel joke to play on a fellow student, dressing him up and leaving him in the woods to freeze, although it wasn't really that cold. 'Are you alright? Let's get you indoors to warm up.' Emma said. Again, there was no reply, the young man stood and looked around at the trees calmly. 'I'm Emma, are you okay - can I call someone for you?' There was still that blank expression on his face and again he didn't answer, Emma was a bit shocked when the young man took her hand as a child would and smiled. 'Oh, right...erm, let's get you inside then.' She smiled nervously and led him back to the cottage.
While they walked Emma noticed how slight this stranger was, he stood at about five four, the same height as Emma and because of his slight build seemed to float with every step, Emma had the feeling he was a lot older than he looked - something in his eyes showed experience and deep knowledge.
At the cottage, Emma fumbled in her pocket for the front door key and took him inside. Oddly, for a woman alone who wasn't used to receiving strangers into her home, she didn't feel uneasy letting him in, sure that she could overpower the young man due to his size, she must have outweighed him by at least 20lbs.
When inside the stranger let go of her hand and sat on the floor by the fireplace. Emma tried speaking to him again but he just looked at her with that faint smile, his large green eyes again seemed to belie his apparent age with that look of old experience in them. Emma disappeared into the kitchen and made them both a hot cup of tea, she set his down on the rug in front of him. She thought she should call the Police as the strange man was saying nothing and gave no reason for alarm, but for some reason she didn't think she should. There was something quite compelling about him which Emma felt was reassuring, it seemed to give her strength in some way. A feeling she'd never had from meeting anyone before.
After the stranger had finished the mug of hot tea Emma took the cups out into the kitchen and when she returned the boy was laying on the rug asleep on his back, one leg outstretched and the other bent to his waist, his arms under his head which made the toga ride up around his thighs. Emma could see that he wasn't wearing leggings after all but long stockings strapped around his thighs with a wide strip of the same shiny fabric, a small wedge of white flesh above the stockings and below the hem of the toga. This made her heart flutter - a brief memory of Spartacus flashed through her mind - a movie she watched every time it was on when she was a teenager, only to study the gladiators in their loin cloths and togas. Why on earth would that make her feel different she thought to herself, of course this strange young man was wearing fancy dress, it was a bit kinky but he's probably just been or going to a party or something! And anyway, he was far too young for her to have interest in. 'Why did I think that?' Emma muttered to herself and blushed.
Was it too late to call the Police, this half naked stranger asleep on her floor (wearing stockings) ...what would that look like? She decided to let him sleep and fetched a blanket from the bedroom. Covering him up she decided to sit and read on the sofa with a glass of wine. She was definitely distracted, the vision of those long shiny stockings kept stopping her from concentrating and she kept looking over at his sleeping form.
The glass of wine became four and she knew she was losing grip on herself control, the wine fuelling her libido.
After half an hour Emma took another look over the top of her book and noticed the stranger had kicked off his blanket, he was still laying on his back, arms above his head and toga mostly around his waist. 'Oh my word, he is actually wearing plastic knickers!' Emma's mind jumped. They were the same shiny black material as the boots and sash, the material was seamless, they wrapped high around his waist, covering his navel and arced sharply down from his hips to between his thighs below, where a large tightly packed pouch reflected the lamplight in its shiny mound, it was so big she thought he must have a couple of socks jammed down there. Emma also noticed a tattoo of what looked like a Z on his thigh just above his right stocking.