EXTRACT FOR
Hot and Steamy: Tales of Lust & Desire
(Darren G. Burton)

The forest was bathed in an eerie gloom as the afternoon sun was consumed by advancing storm clouds. Lightning flickered intermittently overhead, casting the trees as spectral shadows. Light rain began to fall as the wind whistled through the trees.

Lance and Charlotte weaved their way through the forest, the ground soft underfoot with fallen leaves. Spying something, Charlotte stopped and pointed off to the right. Lance looked in the direction she was indicating.

Through a gap in the trees he could see what looked like an open field. Without saying a word they both strode purposefully off in the direction of the open pasture.

The forest gave way to a field of lush green grass. But it wasn't the verdant pasture that that captured their attention. It was what lay nestled at the other edge of the forest that really caught their eye.

Lance grinned and turned to Charlotte. "I think we just found a setting for our fantasy, Babe," he said, an excited gleam in his friendly green eyes.

Charlotte returned his grin and nodded with anticipation.

Lance took one look into her beautiful blue eyes and just had to grab her and kiss her hard on the lips. "God your eyes are sexy!" he quipped.

Still smiling, they walked quickly across the soft green field towards the forest's edge.

Thunder rumbled overhead. Fingers of lightning rippled across the darkening sky. The drizzle intensified to heavy rain.

Filled with excitement from the impending storm and an insatiable thirst for fun and lust, Lance grabbed Charlotte's hand and they ran for the cover of the rustic old barn. A large wooden door hung loosely on one rusted hinge. They ducked through the gap and found themselves enveloped by the dark and musty interior.

As his eyes became accustomed to the dim light, shadows materialised into solid images. Lance could see that the barn was empty and probably hadn't been used for some years. At the far end of the barn, towards the ceiling, was a window that emitted soft grey light from outside. Revealed in that light was an upper level, like a loft.

Charlotte had seen it too. "I can see a ladder," she told him.

They made their way over to the ladder, water dripping off their sodden clothing. Rain pounded on the tin roof as they scaled the ladder to the loft above.

With a lewd smile, Charlotte said, "This is exactly what we've been searching for, Babe!" She took in the surrounds of their fantasy location. Bales of hay were stacked against the far wall in a step-like pattern. Covering the wooden decking were thick, loose strands of dried fodder. Sighting something else of interest, she bent down and retrieved and old blanket. Shaking the dust out of it, she looked at Lance and said, "This will help stop our butts from getting spiked."

Lance found himself grinning again, water glistening on his face. "This is absolutely perfect!" he said.

Crunching over the hay, Charlotte made her way to the bales at the far end. There she draped the blanket over a few of them and sat down to remove her shoes. Emulating her actions, Lance did the same.

As he turned to say something to her, he was met with her soft wet lips on his.