Her Chance Encounters Read online

  "You just want to get your hands on River Oaks so you can run your psychic bullshit con in a spooky setting."

  "Excuse me, but would you both refrain from speaking about me as if I weren't in the room." Adrienne demanded. Neither of them paid any attention. They kept tossing insults and accusations back and forth, ignoring her completely. Maybe she should dump her hot coffee on their heads to get their attention. The urge to do just that disappeared when the strange smell seeped into the room, followed by the cool breeze.

  A gay giggle drew her eyes towards the hallway. Cherice's white face greeted her, and a waving hand beckoned Adrienne to follow. Since the other two were ignoring her anyway, she went without a word. Cherice's childish giggles led her through the house toward the second floor. Remembering Chance's decree about staying away from this area, Adrienne hesitated at the foot of the stairs.

  "Come see what I found," the child called out.

  With one last look toward where she left the other two, Adrienne mounted the stairs and searched for a light switch. She found the child in a room on the right. It seemed to be some sort of storage area. The little girl was rummaging through an old, dusty chest in a corner of the room. "Cherice, where have you been? We've been searching for you."

  "Please do not be cross with me. You are my only friend."

  "I'm not mad, honey. I was just worried."

  "Come and see," Cherice motioned. "This is my mommy's hope chest. After she left, Daddy packed all of her things in it and brought it up here. Sometimes at night, when he is not around, I look inside."

  Adrienne moved closer to the cedar chest and helped Cherice look through the items. They found dozens of dresses, books, jewelry and other personal items. Adrienne felt as if they were trespassing. The little girl sent a chill through Adrienne's body when she touched her arm. "Mommy's pretty blue necklace is missing. She wore it all the time, but then she must have misplaced it. I am not supposed to mention it to Daddy, because he might get mad. Maybe Mommy is with the necklace someplace."

  Adrienne's heart swelled with pity as she knelt beside the child. "Tell me about your mother, honey."

  "She is the most beautiful woman in the whole world. We used to walk all around the parish, looking at all the other ladies and their pretty houses. No one was as pretty as my mommy. Mommy said our house was the finest of them all, except for that big plantation down river."

  When the child picked up a silky dress, neither of them noticed the leather bound book that silently slipped from the chest to the floor. "This was Mommy's favorite dress. Holding it to her nose, the child giggled with joy.

  "Would you put it on Adrienne?"

  "I couldn't do that, Cherice."

  Clapping her hands with delight, the little girl started jumping up and down. "Mommy would not mind if you wear it. Please, Adrienne? It would be as if my mommy was home again. I miss her so much."

  Adrienne wondered what harm there was in putting on an old dress. Making Cherice happy outweighed any concerns. Pulling off her clothes, she let the silky dress flutter around her. The material clung provocatively to her slender figure. Her great aunt Wynona must have been close to her own size.

  Cherice stared at Adrienne as the woman looked at herself in an antique mirror near the wall. The little girl stopped seeing Adrienne all together. In her mind, this was someone entirely different. "Mommy? I have finally found you!" The child vanished into the breeze blowing out of the room as loud footsteps echoed up the stairs.

  Chance's eyes locked on Adrienne's perfect figure, as did Madame Lenore's. Both were fascinated by how closely she appeared to resemble the woman in the portrait downstairs. Unaware of their presence, Adrienne addressed the child, "This dress is beautiful, Cherice. No wonder your mother loved it." Looking around, she noticed the new arrivals. Startled by the child's disappearance and their appearance, Adrienne gasped.

  "What the hell are you doing up here, Adrienne? I warned you it was too dangerous." No doubt about it, Chance thought, she was due another trip over his knee. She was smart, though, he told himself. Eventually she would learn to listen when he gave her orders for her own safety.

  Looking from Chance to Lenore, Adrienne gave them both disappointed glares. "There does not seem to be any noticeable bruising. You two managed to avoid coming to blows over River Oaks?"

  Catching a whiff of a strong odor, Madame Lenore turned around in a complete circle, looking for its cause. The echoes of childish giggles greeted her. "You weren't alone up here, were you?"

  "Don't even try that crap with us, Lenore."

  "No, I wasn't." Adrienne was relieved someone finally believed her about the child.

  "This is a bunch of bullshit," Chance insisted, wanting to get Adrienne out of this part of the house before she got hurt.

  "Chance, please," Adrienne groaned at his rudeness.

  "Don't bother." The other woman offered. "People like Chance don't put much faith in my talent. They want solid facts. Members of my family have lived with this distrust for centuries. My own grandmother faced the same distrust from Stanislaus Hymel when she came to visit him more than seventy years ago. She tried to warn him, but he would not listen. Within a month of her visit, both his wife and his child died mysteriously."

  Having had enough, Chance picked up Adrienne's discarded clothes from the floor and pulled her out of the room by the elbow. Adrienne argued with him, but stopped short of pulling away from his grip. She did not want to make a scene in front of Madame Lenore. But the moment the other woman left, Chance would catch hell for his bossiness.

  Madame Lenore started to follow them when her boot accidently caught on a leather book on the floor. The hardback opened as it slid across the room. Bending down, she picked up the book and read the handwriting. Vibrations of the past rippled from within, making her talisman stone warm against her chest.

  Immediately she knew this book belonged to Wynona Hymel. It was the woman's personal diary. Considering what to do with it, Lenora fought an inner battle. She wanted to hand the book over to Adrienne, but Chance made that impossible. He was still suspicious of her, and there was no mistaking the relationship developing between him and Adrienne. No, she could not hand over the diary yet. She needed to keep it and use the contents to help further her own cause.

  One thing was certain, Madame Lenore thought, as she hid the diary under her oversized shirt, Adrienne Claireborne was in grave danger, and she did not even know it yet. The younger woman's best hope was to escape River Oaks before forces from the past reached out to swallow her back in time.

  "And if I manage to get River Oaks in the process of saving Adrienne, so be it," she whispered.

  Chance had not been far off the mark when he accused her of wanting River Oaks to enhance confidence in her talent. Lenore did need it, badly. There was an energy in this house, which stemmed from its tragic history. Being here sharpened her skills to connect events between things in the past which repeated in the present. Even her talisman stone was not as strong. With River Oaks as her backdrop, she realized she could open the largest psychic business in the area.

  As soon as Madame Lenore exited River Oaks, Adrienne rounded on Chance. "I think an apology is appropriate."

  Grabbing her hand, he yanked her toward the living room. "I agree," he told her, gazing around for the perfect place. The coffee table where his laptop sat was too flimsy. The couch was too saggy. Looking at the frame, he decided it might be strong enough for his purpose. "You can apologize after I give you a reminder to stay downstairs."

  Raising one leg to rest on the frame of the couch, he guided her over his now raised knee. The silky dress was quickly lifted up and over her waist. Her thin panties wound up trapping her ankles together as Chance began to communicate his frustration. River Oaks was quite drafty, she discovered as a breeze cascaded across her neither regions. But the area was not cool for long, Adrienne yelped as his hard hand connected. How could she find herself in this situation again? She would never survive
another epic spanking like the last one. Yet, Chance seemed raring to repeat the performance. "Damn you, Chance Breaux. You are the one who needs to be sorry."

  Stopping to consider her words, he raised his head. Then he shook it confidently. "Nah, I don't feel any remorse. You?" Returning to his task, he doubted she was ready to admit fault for going upstairs yet. Lucky for her, he was a guy dedicated to seeing this through until she did. If she did not have the sense to look out for her own safety, he would do it for her. Sooner or later, she'd catch on. He had faith in her.

  Damn him. He was over reacting. Nothing had happened when she was upstairs... besides meeting a seventy-year-old ghost. All right, maybe she should have waited to go upstairs until it was safe. But did he have to punish her as if she were a naughty child? She longed to yell at him to 'use your words’!

  Instead she grunted in frustration. "Sorry I ever fell in love with a bastard like you," she shouted in between groans. Surely she had to love the man. How else could she explain allowing herself to get into this situation yet again?

  Chance halted mid stroke. "You love me?"

  Adrienne cursed herself. She really needed to learn to control her mouth when this jerk was around. Pursing her lips tight, she refused to answer. The spanking continued after a few seconds. "In the future, I will enjoy reminding you that you admitted you loved me first. Right now, I'll just satisfy myself with showing you how much I care. Upstairs is off limits until I know it's safe."

  His hand continued assaulting her ass. Without the panties, he could indeed monitor his work. Priding himself on paying attention to detail, he insured every inch of her beautiful ass was a delightful shade of cherry red. She loved him, he smiled. Now all he had to do was get her to follow his lead, and he would not have to worry about her putting herself in danger all the time.

  Why she let Chance Breaux make love to her that night, Adrienne would never understand. Instead of kicking him out the moment he let her down, she let him carry her to their bedroom. Their bedroom? When did she start thinking of it as theirs? This man was infiltrating her life completely. At least his lovemaking helped her forget the pain in her ass. Lying flat on his back, he entered her from beneath. He was good.

  Even on his back, he managed to slam into her in a rhythm that had her gasping for air. She didn’t even notice when his hands dug into her ass to keep her in place as he thrust deep inside her. Just when her channel started flooding, Chance reached his hand to rub her nub. Adrienne's control snapped and she screamed as her orgasm overtook her control. Even in the bedroom, he managed to gain her submission, she realized. Adrienne could not understand why that thrilled her, but it did. Falling asleep in his arms, she wondered why Chance had to ruin being perfect by having a spanking fetish.

  As they dozed, a cool breeze blew across the bedroom. Turning her face into Chance's chest, Adrienne sought to escape the odor that accompanied the cool air. Glittery specks swirled outside the door, gathering in a whirlwind. Cherice materialized from its center. Walking quietly to where the woman slept, the little girl reached over to stroke Adrienne's black hair.

  "I knew you would come back to me, Mommy. I do not understand why you always want to hide from me. Why are you pretending to be somebody else? I will not let you leave me behind again."

  Six

  "Horseback riding? I don't even know how to ride a horse." Adrienne could not believe he really planned to show her around the property today. She was sure he was bluffing last night. How ironic she wore her Western boots today.

  "Just another thing I'll have to teach you. I am the world's most patient teacher." Chance smiled innocently.

  One hour later and one mile into the thick swamp of River Oaks, Chance was forced to admit this trip was not thought out properly. First of all, Adrienne's already sore backside kept bouncing on her hard saddle, and she muttered grumpy complaints the entire time. "I should have gone shopping with Lenore. This is ridiculous."

  "Stop pulling back on the reigns like that. We won't get anywhere unless you ease up on your hold." Chance was finding it hard to be very patient with her after repeating that same direction no less than ten times.

  Jerking in her saddle, Adrienne shrieked causing her horse to get skittish. "Was that an alligator, Chance? Oh, my goodness! Look at that huge rat over there!"

  "It's a nutria, Adrienne. Calm down. If you look to your left up ahead, you'll see a family of armadillos, too."

  "Where the hell are you taking me, Chance Breaux?"

  "Welcome to the rest of River Oaks, babe. This is your backyard. How do you like your pets?"

  Adrienne tightened her hold on the reins even more. Her legs were clamped tightly to the sides of the horse, worried she would fall off and get attacked by the wildlife surrounding them. "Nice horse," she whispered over and over again, praying she would make it through this experience.

  "Angel won't throw you off, babe."

  "She won't get a chance," she muttered darkly. "Did the parish experience a lot of rain lately. The water here hasn't gone down much yet."

  "This is a swamp, Adrienne. This water won't be going down anytime soon. I warned you that most of River Oaks was useless."

  "Then why are you trying to get your hands on it?"

  They reached a section of high ground. Chance dismounted and tied his horse on a low branch of a cypress tree. This was the spot he was looking for, just deep enough in the swamp to ensure returning to River Oaks for the night would be impossible. Poor Lenore would have a hell of a long wait if she showed up to take his woman shopping this evening.

  Adrienne longed to get down, too, so her sore ass could get some relief. Yet she resisted the urge. There was no telling what creatures were waiting to attack. She turned her head side to side when Chance tried to reach for her. Hands on his hips, he waited for her to calm down.

  Now that they were involved, Chance did not feel as reluctant to share his plans for River Oaks. He knew she would not use the information against him. "I could do a lot with this land, Adrienne. Ten years ago, I discovered the oil company could save millions of dollars by running a pipeline across this land. I drew up some papers to lease the land, but your uncle refused to even consider it. He refused access to this part of his property to anyone."

  "So the mystery of why you want this land is finally revealed. Why didn't you just explain all this before?"

  "Because I wanted to get the matter of this property settled before I started seducing you."

  "I'd let you use the land," she offered. For some reason, she was not ready to part with the house yet. This nasty swamp was another matter. If she never stepped foot back here again, it would be too soon.

  He whistled, surprised how easy getting her on board had been. "So you'll sell me the land."

  "Sell? I was thinking more of leasing it to you, but give me some time, and I'll consider it."

  Turning to throw his baseball cap on the ground, he tried to fight his frustration. "More time? Do you know any other words than 'give me more time'?"

  "Get back on your horse so we can head back, Chance. This place creeps me out."

  "It's too late to head back." Returning to his horse, he started unpacking some supplies he brought along.

  "What do you mean, it's too late? Lenore is coming over to take me shopping later. This isn't funny, Chance. "

  "It's supposed to be romantic, dammit." Two sleeping bags unfurled, and he started a fire. "Let me know when you're ready to get down. You can help me fix our supper before the sun goes down."

  For the first time in her life, Adrienne wished she were even taller and heavier. She really wished she could spank Chance Breaux's ass for a change. "You are going to regret this," she promised, trying to dismount on her own. Her legs weren't strong enough to hold her up, and he ended up grabbing her before she fell on her face.

  Walking her to sit by the fire, Chance helped her settle on one of the sleeping bags as the sun started to set. "I hope you like po-boys, babe."

&
nbsp; They ate in silence. Adrienne tried to concentrate on thinking about poor Lenore waiting for her to go boot shopping. Damn him, Chance's presence kept disturbing her thoughts. Even when she wanted to punch him, he got to her. Some of the juices from his roast beef sandwich lingered on the side of his lips. How she longed to lick it off for him. Don't do it, she ordered herself. Think about school instead. Falling test scores. Budget cuts. Anything but Chance Breaux's sexy lips.

  Oh, hell. They were stuck out here with nothing to do. She launched herself at him, causing him to fall backwards. Her tongue reached to capture the roast beef sauce. Chance was pleasantly surprised, but decided he preferred being in control. Rolling her over, he took the lead. Before long, they were scaring off the wildlife with their urgent lovemaking.

  This time he positioned her on her knees, her head and hands resting on the ground. Kneeling behind her, he entered her slowly, allowing her to feel every inch of him sinking inside. Then he eased out slowly, only to slam back inside. His hands gripped her hips tight, pulling her back to meet him as he increased the pace. Then one hand reached to the center of her backside, and he pulled her cheeks apart. One long finger caught some of the juices collecting where they were joined. Then he circled around the virgin area. She stiffened against him, but his other hand reached around to rub on her nub.

  The finger near her puckered hole slowly inched inside until it passed the first ring of resistance. Chance rewarded her by increasing the speed of his rubbing and thrusting. "Come for me, baby. I want you to explode."

  Something about the position, the submission, the forbidden passage being breached sent Adrienne soaring to a new high she did not know existed. She screamed as her release washed over her, every nerve in her body exploding. Suddenly Chance slammed deep inside her, groaning aloud at his own release.

  "Damn, woman. You might be the death of me. Making love to you just keeps getting better and better." He pulled her up and kissed her lips. Then he fell on his back, looking sated and exhausted.