Murky Waters

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tristan and Claire agreed not to discuss the issue of the stalker while they were on their trip. Instead, the conversation moved to food. By the time they exited the interstate onto the highway leading to Gulf Shores, they were famished. About twenty minutes later, they came upon a restaurant that looked interesting to Claire.

“Hey, how about that place?” Claire asked excitedly. ‘Home of the throwed roll.’ How can a girl pass that up?”

“Claire, I am not sure I want to eat in a place where they throw the food.”

“Come on, Tris, be a sport,” Claire pleaded while bouncing up and down in her seat like a child.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was casual and relaxed. The cuisine was mainly Southern home cooking, which appealed to both women. After they had placed their orders with the waiter, they sipped iced tea and ate the rolls that Claire had bravely caught until their plates arrived heaped with food. The staff walked around the dining room with hot pots of side items and ladled huge helpings for anyone interested.

The food was wonderful, and Claire ate like there was no tomorrow. Tristan was enjoying her meal until she was knocked in the head by a rogue roll, which put a damper on her dining experience. Claire laughed all the way through dessert.

Claire was impressed with the small town of Gulf Shores. There were plenty of tourists but not so many that it was overwhelming.

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She rode along, grinning from ear to ear, pointing out all the places she wanted to explore.

Late that afternoon, they arrived at the condo. After unpacking, Tristan and Claire agreed that they were still too full from their late lunch to consider dinner. Instead, they opted for a sunset walk down the beach. When they came to a picnic pavilion, they sat and talked. Except for an occasional beach stroller, they were alone.

Tristan chose one of the picnic tables in the corner, where the large beams obscured them from sight. She began to kiss and nibble Claire’s ears and neck while slipping her hands underneath Claire’s shirt when Claire stopped her. “Tristan! Are you nuts?

Someone is going to see us out here. Not to mention, I have some nut running around snapping off pictures of me.”

“You have a good point. I’m sorry, Claire, I wasn’t thinking.

Sometimes when I’m around you, I get a little carried away.

Besides, this atmosphere is so romantic. I feel frisky.” Tristan wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Claire pulled Tristan close and nuzzled her neck. “Nothing to apologize for, my love. We can continue what you started when we get back to the condo. Matter of fact, we can spend the entire weekend doing that if you want.”

Tristan gave her a mischievous grin. She and Claire made their way back down the beach, walking a little faster than before. Most of the hike back was spent in the surf as they kicked water and sand all over each other. When they did eventually make it back to the condo, they were soaking wet and covered in sand.

Tristan gave Claire a seductive look. “Why don’t we conserve some water and shower together? That way, we won’t get sand all over the place. I assure you, my intentions are entirely innocent.”

Tristan’s jaw dropped when she got Claire’s answer. Without saying a word, Claire stripped off every piece of clothing and dropped it at Tristan’s feet. Then, she ran upstairs naked as the day she was born, leaving Tristan to stare wide-eyed after her.

Tristan joined Claire in the shower as Claire was shampooing her hair. Tristan stood back and watched the water and suds cascade down Claire’s shapely body. The beauty of her lover never ceased to amaze her. To Tristan, Claire was as pretty on the inside as she was on the outside.

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Tristan made no effort to resist the temptation of touching her lover’s slick body. She soaped her hands and ran them lovingly over Claire, watching as Claire responded to her touch. Once both women were free of soap and sand, they continued to explore one another’s bodies with their hands and mouths.

Tristan turned Claire to the wall and kissed her way down her spine. Claire gripped the slick wall, attempting to hold herself up, despite her weak knees. Tristan continued to blaze a trail of kisses down the back of each thigh and across Claire’s firm buttocks until she had showered the entire back of her body with kisses and nibbles.

“Claire, there is so much I want to do to you,” Tristan whispered hotly in her ear as she ran her nails lightly over Claire’s backside, grinning as she felt Claire’s body trembling against her. “Claire, tell me that I can do anything I want to you.” Claire simply nodded her head in agreement. Not satisfied with the answer, Tristan pushed a little further. “Tell me that I can do with your body anything I please, Claire, say it.” Tristan pinched Claire’s nipples to accentuate the point.

Claire lay her head back on Tristan’s shoulder as her body shuddered in Tristan’s hands. “Yes, the answer is yes. You can do anything you want with me, Tristan. I trust you completely.”

Tristan turned Claire around and looked in her eyes, seeing the truth revealed in their depths. “I will never make you do anything you’re not comfortable with, my love.”

Tristan continued kissing and nibbling Claire’s neck, igniting a fire in Claire that the now cool water could not suppress. They kissed passionately as Tristan lightly ran her fingertips down Claire’s body, teasing her, barely brushing against all the places Claire pleaded with her to caress.

Claire responded by weaving her hands through Tristan’s wet hair and pulling her closer. Tristan slid two fingers into Claire; the strokes were fast and hard. Claire dug her nails into Tristan’s back, encouraging her to continue. When she knew Claire was close to orgasm, Tristan stopped and pulled away.

Claire wrapped her arms around Tristan, pleading for her to continue. Untangling herself, Tristan pulled away and grinned.

“Sweetie, I’m not finished with you, but I do plan to make you beg.”

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Tristan turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She smiled at Claire as she toweled off, then Tristan did the same.

Tristan took her lover by the hand and led her to the bedroom. She stood behind Claire, kissing her neck and fondling her breasts.

Claire nearly went to her knees when Tristan pinched her nipples and whispered in her ear all the things she planned to do to her.

Fortunately, the condo next to them was unoccupied, or its residents would have heard Tristan’s name screamed repeatedly.

Claire had drifted off into the most peaceful slumber and was sleeping soundly when she heard a noise in the room that jolted her into consciousness. She opened her eyes and wondered if she had been dreaming or if there had been a noise. Tristan, who was snuggled beside her, was breathing heavily and whimpering softly.

Claire realized that it was the same noise that had woken her.

She lay beside Tristan, debating whether to wake her from the obvious nightmare. Tristan stirred and mumbled something in her sleep that Claire could not distinguish. Seconds later, Tristan began to thrash and moan Claire’s name in a pleading tone.

“Please, no, Claire.”

As Claire reached over to soothe her lover, Tristan bolted upright in bed. “Tris, honey, it’s okay. You were having a bad dream.”

Even in the darkened room, she could see Tristan’s eyes opened wide in terror.

“You were dreaming, baby. It’s okay,” Claire said as Tristan looked around confused for a moment before relaxing. Claire pulled her into her arms and could feel Tristan’s heart beating erratically against her own skin.

“What was the dream about?” Claire asked as she held her trembling lover. She heard Tristan swallow hard, but she said nothing in response.

“Tristan? Talk to me, sweetie,” Claire said, stroking Tristan’s dampened hair from her brow.

“You died, and there was nothing I could do to stop it,” Tristan said as hot tears rolled down her cheeks onto Claire’s shoulder.

“Baby, it was a nightmare. I’m here safe and sound. There is nothing to worry about.” Claire soothed Tristan until she was sure she had fallen back to sleep. Claire lay there in the darkness, 146

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waiting to drift off again, enjoying the feel of Tristan in her arms.

She had not stopped to think how the stalker business might be affecting her lover. She knew that Tristan was not one to open up and discuss the things that troubled her, but the dream confirmed to Claire that she was equally scared.

“Oh, Tristan, look what you did to this room!” Claire said as daylight filled the space. The bed was torn apart, and the blankets and linens were on the floor. The bedside table had been knocked over, and the alarm clock and phone were nowhere to be seen.

“I think I may have swallowed one of your earrings,” Tristan replied in a raspy voice. “Besides, it’s not like I was alone, Miss Innocent. You had your tongue in my ...” Tristan was interrupted by a pillow hitting her face.

Claire lay back down and burrowed against Tristan, her face coloring as she remembered what had taken place in that room the night before. No stranger to sex, she still blushed remembering how Tristan had pushed her beyond her limits and how she reacted. She was certain that Tristan’s back would be covered with scratches.

“I wish this place had room service,” Tristan sighed. “I’m too lazy to go downstairs for food. We could spend the whole day in this bed, and that would be fine with me. Of course, we wouldn’t get any sun, and we would have to explain why we don’t have tans.”

Claire’s stomach growled at the mention of food. “Let’s go grab breakfast somewhere quick and go to the beach. Then, we can explore Gulf Shores and have lunch at one of the places on the coastline.”

Tristan smirked. “When you say ‘explore,’ I’m sure you mean shopping. I bet you will drag me to every one of those shell shops you pointed out on the way in.”

Claire laughed. “You know me so well, baby. Get up and get dressed. I’m starving!”

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