************
They took the short trek to a clearing near the lake that Katie had shown them the previous day. Five stacks of hay bales set up at different distances. All had paper targets attached to them. The circular targets had three outer rings surrounding the red bulls-eye in the center. The ring furthest out was a solid blue while the two rings in between remained white.
"Okay people," Katie began, clapping her hands together soundly. "The blue ring is worth one point...the white three...bulls-eye five. I'll keep score for you; this is just a little friendly competition. It means nothing for your government record."
"Archery?" Shay looked at the row of recurve bows and several quivers full of arrows. "Damn...its been...."
"Many years," Monica finished, her eyebrow raised.
"Care to make a little friendly wager?" Christian piped up.
Shay cast him a sideways glance. Why did she get the unmistakable feeling he was up to no good? "Such as?"
"Loser does the cleanup for the duration."
"Losers," Frankie joined with a nod. "Men vs. Women."
"Frankie..." Shay pulled her to the side. "You do realize Donovan is an expert?"
"Shit."
"We'll take that bet," Ty added his two cents.
"Thanks a lot, Frankie," Monica groaned.
"Don't worry, guys...remember...they've got Cody on their side."
"Whoa...whoa. That's five men...four women. Katie, you in?" Shay asked, hoping Katie was good with a bow.
"Why not?" she agreed, smiling playfully. "What's the worse that can happen?"
"Frank burns dinner again," Shay quipped and all five women burst out laughing.
"Practice shots?" Frank asked, choosing to ignore his wife's remarks.
"No...do it cold," Alex insisted.
Cody opened his mouth to make a lewd comment but was stopped by a whisper in his ear. "Don't think that would impress her too much," Jake said quietly.
"Who?"
"Puh-lease." Jake shook his head and went to pick out a bow.
"First up...Christian, since this was his bright idea," Katie insisted. She pointed to a bare patch of earth. "Stand there. One arrow per target."
He placed the arrow's nock on the string and pulled back, taking aim at the target closest to him. White - three points. In succession, he hit white, blue, blue, blue for a total of nine points.
Alex went next. White, white, blue, white, miss. Ten points.
Tyler followed Alex. Bulls-eye, white, white, blue, blue. Thirteen points.
Monica went next. Blue, white, white, white, blue. Eleven points
Jake followed Monica. Bulls-eye, bulls-eye, white, bulls-eve, blue. Nineteen points.
Frankie followed Jake. Blue, white, white, bulls-eye, bulls-eye. Seventeen points.
Cody went next. Blue, blue, blue, white, miss. Six points.
Katie chose her bow. She felt bad for Cody even though he played off his score. She was almost tempted to shoot poorly, but was not willing to clean up after the men for the next week or so. White, white, bulls-eye, white, blue. Fifteen points
Men = forty-seven. Women = Fifty-three.
Frank insisted on going last. Shay stuck her tongue out at him when he pushed her gently to the mark. Blue, white, bulls-eye, bulls-eye, white. Seventeen.
That brought the ladies total score to seventy. Frank would have to get four bulls-eyes and one white, at the very least. He smiled confidently and stepped up to the mark. Taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, he went for the target farthest away. Bulls-eye. The next farthest. Bulls-eye. The next. Bulls-eye. The next. Bulls-eye.
Shay looked nervously at her "teammates". While on the other side of the fence, the men were whooping it up.
"Damn, Frank...one more to go...this ought to be a walk in the park for you," Cody commented.
Frank grinned and shrugged. "No big thing, Cody. All it takes is concentration. Blocking out all outside stimuli. Don't let the distraction in. Make the shot when you must." He stepped on the mark, placed the arrow's nock on the string, steadied his aim and slowly pulled back on the bowstring.
Shay winked at Frankie as she quietly approached Frank and leaned close. Just as Frank firmed his grip, she whispered so that only he could hear, her breath fanning the shell of his ear, "How I would love to wrap my fingers around your shaft." Frank's grip on the string slipped, sending the arrow wide and into the unknown with a loud 'thwip'. "Sonofabitch," he cursed, laughing. He set the bow aside and turned to "glare" at Shay.
"Oh, shit!" she squealed and took off running with Frank close behind her. The sound of men and women's joined laughter followed them.
************
Shay released a loud whoop when his arms captured her from behind, lifted her and spun her playfully around several times before setting her back on her feet and turning her around to face him. She watched as his lighthearted look hardened and her laughter ebbed. "Frank?"
"You'll pay for that, Shay Ashling Donovan," he stated matter-of-factly. Surprisingly, he wasn't upset with her at all. He was enjoying the mischievous mood the group had, and would not want it any other way. Their lives held too much seriousness in them as it was. However, that was not going to stop him from letting Shay think he was upset. If only to see how she would try to justify what she had done.
"Oh?" She shivered at the sound of her full name. Unlike most people, he only used it when he wanted to make her crazy with desire. The way her name sounded coming from his lips sent tremors of longing through her and settled low at her core.
He advanced and she retreated until she was pinned up against a large oak tree. "You know damn well you lost that competition," he accused.
"Okay, okay...I'll help with the duties," she caved.
"To hell with the duties," he growled lowly, pressing the length of his body against her as his lips caressed the soft hollow of her throat. God help him, he was hard with wanting her.
Shay moaned softly as she worked his shirt loose from his jeans and slid her hands lazily along the smooth skin of his back. "Mmm..." she murmured in his ear. "Say it again, Tiger...say my name..."
He whispered to her, gently, like a soft breeze on a summer day. "Shay.... Ashling ....mon cadeau, mon rêve, ma vision," he managed to say before she crushed her lips to his hungrily.
Between torrid kisses Shay whispered, "How do you...do this...to me? I...need you...so...so badly." She whimpered softly as he nibbled and suckled her tender throat. He had worked her tank top free from her jeans and his hands kneaded her breasts, his thumbs flicking over the hardened nipples causing her to cry out her pleasure.
"Shhh....they'll hear," he joked, remembering her embarrassment earlier that morning.
"Screw 'em if they can't take a joke," Shay quipped as her fingers worked at his belt. She growled her frustration as she fumbled with the catch.
"Easy there, Ashling..." he chuckled softly as his hands covered hers and he captured her lips, kissing her deeply and thoroughly. He released the catch on his belt and she resumed her task of unfastening his jeans while he worked on ridding her of hers.
Sliding his hands inside the waistband of her jeans, he slid them down her hips, removing her panties at the same time. Moving slowly, deliberately, he brought a hand to her sex as she parted her legs slightly. Already moist and ready for him, he slid a finger inside her, delighting at her sharp intake of breath. With his other hand, he pushed her top upward, allowing him to worship her bare breast with his lips and tongue.
Shay was in heaven of his making. She closed her eyes and leaned heavily against the tree as Frank took her soaring, coiling her desire until she thought she would collapse from the strength of it. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he pleasured each mound in turn, teasing the hardened buds until she whimpered her pleasure.
His kisses were soft and moist as they trailed down her stomach. She shuddered when she felt his breath fan the triangle of soft hair above her center. Slowly, ever so slowly, he slid her jeans down the length of her legs, all the while kissing, licking and teasing the inside of her thighs. She groaned in frustration, her hands trying to guide him to her secret place, but he thwarted her efforts.
Thankfully she had not worn her boots that morning, only a pair or tennis shoes, which she slipped off easily and stepped out of her jeans. Gone was his biggest obstacle and he grinned boyishly as he urged her legs further apart while he knelt before her. Unhurriedly, he resumed his efforts until his lips met her most intimate place. His tongue danced over her, delving inside, tasting her, delighting in her. He felt her fingers slip through his hair and dig into the muscles of his shoulders as she ground herself against him. As his tongue flicked over her trigger again and again, he could hear her whispering, moaning "Le ciel est dans vous, mon Tigre chéri" as she shuddered violently within her orgasm.
As he stood, he lifted her at the waist. Shay wrapped her legs around him possessively and could feel his hardness through his jeans. She clutched his shoulders for balance while he shucked his jeans down to his thighs. "Now, now..." she begged, needing to feel him deep inside.
"Shay, my gift," he murmured against her neck as he entered her slowly, agonizingly slowly. "My darling, darling Ashling, my vision."
He moved within her slowly, enjoying the silky feel of her wrapped around his hardness. He dipped his head and captured a hardened nipple between his lips and laved and suckled as he thrust rhythmically within her until she cried out softly, digging her nails into his shoulders as she climaxed around him.
Her eyes were wild as she looked upon him. Her breathing was labored as he continued to love her passionately and her heart beat erratically and intensely. "Cum, Tiger...cum with me..." she begged as she reached the peak again and heard his throaty groan as he tensed with his release.
"Dear God," he whispered.
"You said it, Mister," Shay replied and collapsed against him when he set her back on her feet.
mon cadeau = my gift
mon rêve = my dream
ma vision = my vision
Le ciel est dans vous, mon Tigre chéri = heaven is within you, my darling Tiger.
************
While Frank and Shay are discovering nature...Jake and Frankie have a serious issue to discuss...don't turn that dial!!!