At 9 am the heat of the sun had hit Dan Carney like a wall of fire. Scrambling his six-foot frame into his van had been like squeezing into an oven. On the road with the windows wide open allowed the rush of warm air to give some relief. He reckoned that it had to be the hottest day ever. He pulled the peak of his baseball cap lower to counter the glare of the sun.

How he wished he could afford a van with air conditioning. But his art work was not yet earning him enough to take such extravagant steps. Dan was twenty-six years old, and since leaving university his art only just kept the wolf from the door. That door was fixed on a tight little downstairs flat in a city which was a long way from where he was at present.

Most of his earnings came from doing carbon sketches of people. He could do caricatures if requested, but mostly factual representation that, if he rendered them in a slightly flattering way, usually ensured a better fee. Yes, a few successes with portraits in oils, which he was good at, had helped his bank balance, but he did not yet have the contacts or the stability to build on that.

He would admit to an equal expertise in landscapes, oils or water colours. This meant that his little flat was often uninhabited now. He was always on the move, chasing that illusive masterpiece. His dream was to one day have his own studio, and people would come to view and buy his landscapes or to request a sitting for something more personal. But right at this moment, all his art equipment and finished paintings were stored haphazardly in the back of this van

Hitting the main road east that the hotel manager had indicated, Dan sighed, knowing the fulfilment of his dream might be many years away. This near nomadic life he was leading had already cost him a two year hectic and hot relationship with Vanessa. She had been keen to show Dan how generous her voluptuous body could be in bed. Without ever commenting about it, Dan had sensed her motives very early in the relationship. It was her mistaken belief that attaching herself to this, then twenty-three-year-old artist might one day repay her sensuous attention. But Dan had to admit he had learned much from her profound sensuality.

It had taken her a year to learn that it wasn't easy to be good in bed with somebody who was rarely there. So, six months earlier, Dan had returned to his flat from one of his trips to find Vanessa, and her whole wardrobe gone. A note, written on the back of an envelope, merely stated, 'Bye, bye, loser!'

Dan's regrets had been short-lived. Although he had looked forward to coming home to experience her avid attention, her frequent moaning and griping during those later weeks he could do without. Now, she was gone and near forgotten.

On this particular day, he was heading for the Arrowhead Falls, one of the features of the Ascow River, which he had noticed in a magazine photograph. The falls and various aspects of the river life intrigued him, and he hoped to do some justice to it in watercolours or even oils.

This road passed through open farmland, a mix of cereal, crops and cattle. There was the occasional farmhouse set well back from the road. At one point, about two miles out of town he saw on a hill partly shaded by trees, a large white-fronted house, which he thought seemed slightly out of place in the general lay of the land.

Dan groped beneath his seat. Dammit, he'd left his water bottle back at the hotel. The intense heat had his shirt sticking to his back, and a drink would be essential. A slurp from some dubious stream might be his only option.

Without giving it too much consideration he turned the wheel left at a cross roads. Was this the right turning? Driving two or three miles along this road there was no sign of a river, let alone a waterfall. Up ahead was a farm house, the first that had been close to the road, set just a hundred yards back. Maybe the farmer could give him directions.

He pulled the van up onto the verge, under a patch of convenient sheltering trees. Hauling himself out, he stood for a moment, stretching his legs and easing the shirt that clung to him. A wide gate blocked the drive up to the house. Dan clicked it open, stepped inside and closed it behind him, having noticed a pig and several hens loose beyond what looked like a small garden in front of the house.

As he took the first few paces towards the house, a woman appeared out of the front door, holding a glass of something. She was about to sit down by a table on the porch when she noticed Dan's approach. She put her glass down and stepped to the edge of the porch.

For some crazy reason, Dan had not expected a woman. From this distance, he could not tell much about her. Her figure looked fairly neat in a yellow summer dress, and the way she stood suggested that she was not an aged old crone. Conversing with younger women always made him slightly uneasy, despite what he'd experienced with Vanessa.

Cassandra Masters, known to everyone as Cassie, wasn't expecting anyone as she watched the tallish man coming down the drive. Presumably, the blue van out on the road belonged to him. Seeing a strange man approach always produced that initial frisson of concern, mainly because it was so rare. Ever since Gordon, her husband, had been killed two years earlier she had run the small farm.

Gordon had been the first and only man she had ever slept with. After succumbing that first time, she had found that she was pregnant. As a consequence, and under pressure from parents, they had married when she was twenty years old. The birth of her son, Vince, had brought some joy into her life, as, very early on, she knew the marriage had been a mistake.

Gordon owned the farm and filled the role of farmer very well. The role of husband was a different story. His demands on Cassie were that she helped with the farm, kept the house tidy, cooked his meals, and, when he was in the mood, parted her thighs for him to relieve his physical tension.

One of those cold couplings had resulted in a second pregnancy, and the blessing of her daughter, Angela, who was now eight years old. Cassie could not recall any time when words of love had spilled from his mouth.

Both children were away at summer camp until the weekend, and she missed them terribly. Watching this stranger approach had her feeling that at least here was a break in routine. As he strode nearer, she was taken by the easy movement of his body, a sway, a rolling walk that she found quite fetching, but didn't know why. She saw the damp patches under his armpits, and the way his checked shirt was glued to his broad chest by sweat. He took a kerchief from a pocket, removed his baseball cap and mopped at his brow. A crop of short, black hair curled out in all directions, and a smile creased his face, as their eyes met.

Something jumped inside her, and she was strangely glad that, because of the heat of midmorning, she had changed out of her working jeans and boots into her thin summer dress. She didn't even question why she was bothered about not having brushed her hair or applied any lipstick. She rarely wore lipstick.

His walk, his hair, the smile on his open face, all combined to scramble her thinking. When he spoke, his voice had a deep brown quality that so fit in with the rest of his persona, as he smiled again, and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'm not sure if I've taken a wrong turning. I'm supposed to be finding the Ascow River, and particularly the Arrowhead Falls."

Cassie's breath had seized up in her throat. Somewhere inside her brain had developed the realisation that something was about to change. As she stood looking down at him from the porch, taking in the pure masculinity of him, noticing the deep brown eyes, the way his light blue jeans pulled tightly across his thighs, she struggled to formulate an answer.

"Th-the n-next turn off would have been better. But there isn't that much in it. Just a mile down this road there's a right turn along a narrower lane, and that bends directly to the falls." Having spoken she was even more breathless, as the stranger's head nodded, and he half turned away, before turning back to look up at her. God, were his eyes on the front of her dress?

Cassie would never know what prompted her next move. This was a complete stranger. He could be anything, but nothing else seemed to matter except to make him the offer, "You look awfully hot out there. Come and sit under the porch. Would you like a cold lemon drink? I was just about to have one." Vaguely she waved a hand at her glass on the table.

For a moment he appeared to hesitate, a serious look on his face. Then he said, as he took the two steps up to the porch, "That's very kind of you,"

Standing on level ground he seemed to tower over her. Looking up into those deep eyes, Cassie could smell the sweat on him mingled with something unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. She was wrestling with twin impulses, one to step back and the other to move closer to him. "Please, sit," she mumbled, before scuttling into the kitchen for his drink.

Just a little confused, Dan eased himself into a chair. Whoever said distance lends enchantment was totally misguided. His early impression of this lady changed as each step along the drive brought him closer to her. Definitely not an old crone, and in that yellow dress her figure was a few points ahead of just 'fairly neat'. As he neared the woman standing on the porch, a wayward breeze stole in from the heated atmosphere and pressed the yellow dress against her thighs emphasising the point where they met.

As he gave her his warmest smile in an attempt to reassure her of his innocent intentions, his eyes took in the way her hair tumbled wildly around her face. Hair that was somewhere between brown and blonde, a tawny colour, that happened to be his favourite.

That hair framed a face that was just lovely. No make-up, the bluest of eyes, which regarded him with some concern he felt, and a mouth that was full lipped and looked so kissable. Dan tried to think of any woman he'd known who could look so good without make-up.

After she had kindly given him directions, he had turned away, then her offer of a drink gave him a real buzz. Mounting the stairs, he couldn't help noticing that her nipples pushed out against the thin material of the dress. Did that signify that she didn't need a bra?

When she made the offer for him to sit, he was sure his heart had pushed in an extra beat, as, for the first time, he'd wondered where her husband might be. Dan had noticed the ring on her finger. Standing on the porch close to her, he had thought she had swayed for a moment. A good rich aroma of the earth and something floral, not perfume, came from her.

As she came back holding out the glass of iced lemon, he couldn't help noticing that her hair was less mussed than it had been. Dan felt flattered. "This is very kind of you," he told her, as she settled down in the chair on the other side of the table. Dan took a quick thirsty gulp of the contents of the glass. It tasted so refreshingly quenching that he had to congratulate her, adding, "I'll enjoy this and not delay you any further."

Cassie felt a twinge of regret that he would leave. Yet common sense told her it was inevitable. To hell with common sense, as she looked directly at him and said, "I don't get much company." She needed to know much more about him, and asked, "Why do you want to see the falls?"

"I'm an artist. I want to paint them and the general river area."

An artist? Cassie tried to cover up her surprise. Somehow she did not equate his stolid masculinity with an artist. Still, it was intriguing. "Might I have seen any of your work?"

He gave a rather bitter chuckle, "Only if you looked in the back of my van." And then, as though he wanted to change the subject he asked, "Is your husband out working the fields?"

Cassie looked from that strong face, out to where one of the pigs was trying to nose his way past the wire mesh into the vegetable garden. What to say? Let him know she was alone and defenceless in this house? But her insides had already told her how she felt about this stranger. Besides, telling him might delay his departure

"My husband was killed two years ago," she said in what she hoped was a matter of fact voice as she could muster.

The stranger's face showed instant sympathy and concern, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise—"

"How could you? "

"How did it happen?"

"He was helping a neighbour, and drove a tractor along a dip in one edge of a field. The tractor toppled throwing Gordon out but it rolled on top of him. They said it was instantaneous." Cassie was surprised how easy it was to talk about it now. She was almost tempted to tell this compelling stranger how her personal grief had been short-lived.

Brown eyes were fixed on her face, "Have you managed the farm alone?"

Cassie had to look away from the intensity of his gaze. "The farmers around here all help each other," she told him, "but I'm lucky enough to have a couple, Anna and Barry Naylor, in their late forties, good honest farm hands, who live in the small shack we have just over the hillock behind the house there."

She looked back at him, into his eyes, so deep, so genuine, and wondered how old he might be. Younger than her thirty years, was her immediate thought, yet there was a worldliness about him that made his age difficult to read.

He glanced at his watch and said, "It's been really pleasant, but I really must get on."

As he stood up, Dan knew he had to keep up his resolve to move. Staying here with this lovely lady had so much appeal, so much so that he found himself trying to make pointless conversation.

"I saw a big white house on a hill just out of town. It looked so out of place."

For a moment he thought she looked just a little annoyed that he would move the conversation to something meaningless. But she did answer, "Oh, the Cunningham place. Great-grandfather made a fortune in timber, but descendants have become general entrepreneurs, fingers in many pies, very rich, very boring."

Looking down at her, at the subtle curves showing at the split neckline of her dress, had him quivering inside. On a sudden mad impulse, he said, "Are you able to come with me to show me the way?"

For a moment, he was sure her eyes had lit up, but just as quickly her face fell as she said, "That might have been good, but I have two friends calling for coffee this afternoon."

Dan nodded, hoping his disappointment didn't show. If her reason was genuine, fair enough, or maybe she was just uncertain of him.

"Will you be going back tomorrow?" she asked.

Was this a door opening? "Oh, yes," he said positively, "I'll only be doing a preliminary inspection of things today. Maybe make a sketch or two, ready to make a start tomorrow."

His invitation for her to show him the way had set her heart pounding. Did he really want to be with her beyond this brief meeting? By the same token, she wondered what she was getting so excited about. Why was he affecting her this way?

Nevertheless Cassie had cursed the fact that Dianne and Claire were coming around today of all days. Desperately she had wondered if she could phone them, but no ready or believable excuse would come to mind. Yet his request deserved something more than a blind refusal, didn't it? Are you going to take that big step, Cassie Masters?

There he stood, looking down at her, and maybe, down the front of her dress, and she didn't care. Take the step, you fool. Coming to her feet, she asked, "Would you allow me to come with you tomorrow?" And just to divert her motives she added, "I've never watched an artist working before. If you wouldn't mind?"

His answer came back faster than she'd dared hope, "I don't mind at all." he said, as he moved to the edge of the porch. "Nine o'clock too early?"

The fluttering in her chest would not go away, and she said, "I'll be at the gate." A moment's pause, then to add extra garnish to the prospect, "Could I ask your name?"

His laugh warmed her insides even more. "That would be useful. I'm Dan. Dan Carney.”

"My name is Cassandra, most of my friends call me Cassie."

His smile was as effective as his laugh had been when he said, "I hope I will fit into that category."

She tried to keep her voice calm as she replied, "Yes, I think that will be all right. But only if you let me bring the refreshments we'll need tomorrow."

"That'll be good. Till then," he said, and the look he gave her was so intense, so full of something she could not read, it brought a rush of blood to her face.

She watched his tall figure stroll down the drive with that enthralling rolling style, and she noticed how small and firm his buttocks looked under the tightness of his jeans. Another first. Had she ever noticed a man's buttocks before? Oh, tomorrow was too far away.

Opening the door of his van, Dan took a last glance back at the figure in the yellow dress. A small, distant figure, but her image filled his mind. Face, hair, the body hinted at under her dress, her gentle voice, her kindness, all remained with him as he drove away.

He found the falls without any problem, thanks to Cassie Masters, no, concentrate on work. There was initial disappointment as he came to the falls. Not as high as he'd expected, seven metres maybe, but there was no large flow. Four separate streams poured into the river below, each flow scattered thinly as they struck jutting rocks. The photograph he had seen suggested a torrent. It certainly wasn't that.

Cassie prepared to retire that night after having spent much of the afternoon trying to concentrate on what her friends had to say, while her mind continually drifted to that six-foot image called Dan Carney. As she removed her clothes, she did something that she could not recall having done for many years. She stood in front of the mirror and viewed her naked body critically. Her breasts had acquired little droop, her belly maybe had a slight swell, but was acceptably level, and her thighs remained strong.

She could be quite pleased with what she saw but still could not reconcile herself to why she should be viewing herself in this way. There was only one obvious reason, and that was Dan Carney, but what was she expecting? She had been a sensuous person, in her late teens, but Gordon had cooled most of that. All she knew, from chats and gossip with Dianne and Claire, both married, was that she had been missing something in her married life.

Climbing into her bed she wondered how well she might sleep, but when the alarm woke her at her usual six thirty she was quietly surprised. There had been no dreams, but the day ahead, the Arrowhead Falls and Dan Carney were quickly to the fore, as she occupied her time with the daily routine of the farm, with the able assistance of Anna and Barry.

After advising them she would be missing after nine o'clock, she had a quick shower, before deliberating on what to wear. She chose jeans with a white blouse, suitable for the kind of terrain they would be on. Bra or no bra only took a moments consideration, no bra. She brushed out her hair, and again, after a little thought, she applied a delicate touch of pink lipstick.

A good twenty minutes before nine she completed and packed the refreshments she had promised for the day ahead. She wondered what else the day might promise, before advising herself that basically seeing an artist at work was all that had been promised.

Dan awoke feeling good in anticipation of seeing Cassie again. Driving his van down the road towards her farm, he was contemplating what if she wasn't at the gate waiting for him. Would that mean she had changed her mind? Should he just stop the van and wait to see if she arrived?

Given the camber of the road, the house came into view first, and then, he saw that his fears were unfounded. A pure white blouse appeared to glow in the sunlight, and the heat Dan experienced had nothing to do with the sun. Getting closer, he saw her step out to the roadside, her hips slim in light blue jeans, her smile wide as she held up a basket, obviously keeping her promise of refreshments.

Cassie knew she was at least five minutes early, but she couldn't help worrying that he wouldn't turn up. The first sight of the blue van appearing over the brow of the hill, had her insides quivering. Calm it, Cassie, she warned herself, as she stepped out holding up the basket. The van stopped and there he was, his black hair wind-blown, his tanned face so manly, his smile so genuine as he opened the passenger door for her to scramble in.

He took the basket and placed it behind the seats. Cassie could see the mixed range of items in the back of the van, and, as she settled herself she realised that the undefined aroma about him on the previous day had been something to do with his artwork. It was a smell that dominated in the van.

"You look very cool," he said, as he set the van in motion, paused, before adding, "and very neat."

Neat? Was that a compliment? But since it raised her pulse rate she reckoned it had to be, and she was compelled to respond, "And so do you." Now how vague a reply was that?

Seeing her up close as she climbed into the van, Dan had immediately noticed the light coating of lipstick, the slickness of her tawny hair, and the subtle perfume which might have been lavender. He just could not resist making his comment, using that obscure word ‘neat’.

Once again he had to remind himself that, in spite of her company, he was here to paint. When Cassie asked whether he'd found the falls easily, he told her how he had been a little disappointed at the way the flow was split into four.

"A dry spell with little rain always has that effect," she told him. "If you saw it after a few days rain you'd see a real tumble of solid water."

Dan went on to tell her about other aspects of the river he'd viewed, and how he had selected a point from which to start his painting. Then, he moved his hand from the wheel to indicate his A4 pad between the seats. "See my first impressions in there."

Having driven into the narrow lane he regretted not being able to take his eyes off the winding road to see her reaction to his sketches. But her keen comment gave him some satisfaction. "Oh, they're so good. So accurate. Even in black on white, you've really caught the sense of flow." Even as he was revelling in her admiration she added, "You're really good."

"Did you doubt it?" he asked, having his words carried on a laugh.

"Never," she replied, joining in with his laugh.

Then he was applying the hand-brake exactly where he had parked on the previous day. Dan risked a quick look at the lovely face beside him, telling himself that she didn't really need the lipstick. This lady had a natural beauty which, in his opinion, was very rare. The urge to kiss her was massive, as she looked at him questioningly.

"Now we unpack and prepare," he said, breaking the spell, and taking his sketch pad with him, he climbed out of the van. At the rear door, he took out the easel, a canvas, pulled a small box containing his oil paints to the edge.

Perfume hit his nostrils, before he realised she was standing beside him. Once again, the sun was not responsible for the warmth that suffused his body at that moment.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

Everything off-loaded, she had watched, from under the shade of a large parasol, fascinated as he set up his easel. His movements were so co-ordinated, so positive. Cassie found time to clamber down to the river's edge and deposit the few bottles she had brought in the water to keep them cool.

It had been a long time since Cassie had been at the falls, and she had to agree with Dan when he commented about what a beautiful area it was. He had brought two folding chairs which he placed in the shade of the parasol, and gestured for Cassie to sit in one, while he remained standing as he set out his palette and chose his starting colours, explaining to her as he went exactly what he was doing.

He fell silent as he commenced painting, and Cassie took the hint that he was in deep concentration. She was perfectly content just watching his movement, the creasing of his brow as he worked, the movement of his fine hands. They were indeed fine, long-fingered, and she wondered what it might be like to be touched by those fingers.

After almost two hours Dan put down his brush, and turned to give her a smile, "Bored yet?" he asked.

"Not at all," she replied, adding rather boldly, "I enjoy watching you."

"A drink of water would be appreciated," he said, and had his eyes wandered down over her blouse as he spoke?

"Just water?"

"There's a choice?"

"There are a couple of bottles of beer or a flask of coffee."

His eyes on her face were appreciative as he said, "Water would be fine."

Cassie stood and moved towards the descent, "I hope it's cool enough."

Dan watched her nimble figure, move easily down the rough descent. He would never admit it but having her near did impinge on his concentration. Time and again he found himself wanting to look at her, to see that face, the hair, the eyes. Just a moment earlier, when he'd been asking for a drink, he couldn't help noticing that the way she was sitting had tightened her blouse over her breasts and the nipples were prominent once more.

The bottle of water she brought back was indeed cool enough and he gulped at it gratefully. As he lowered the bottle he saw that she had been watching him, and she immediately looked away and began drinking from her bottle. The bending back of her head, revealed the throbbing motion of her throat as she swallowed. It also tightened her blouse, so that he had to look away, and bend to his brush once more.

Shortly after he started and almost as though she sensed she was distracting him, she said, "It's so long since I've been here. I think I'll take a little stroll downstream. Find you some other interesting subject locations maybe."

She put on her wide-brimmed hat, and Dan laughed as he said, "Mind you don't fall in."

"I'll be careful," she replied, and quickly disappeared behind some shrubbery. Dan immediately began working furiously at his painting. Despite Cassie's presence, he was quietly pleased with how it looked. Now he had to make as much progress as possible as some instinct told him that he wasn't going to get in a full day's work.

Cassie took wary steps as she moved down towards the river edge. She knew that even though there was a rough path along the water's edge, it was still very uneven underfoot. She had noticed that he hadn't protested when she told him she was going for this stroll. Yet at the same time she was hoping that her presence had some effect on him. She tried to advise herself that she shouldn't be thinking like that, but surely, she hadn't misread the way he looked at her.

After finding a shady place to rest under a lone sycamore, she sat for a long while watching the busy activity of a kingfisher, and the comings and goings of a pair of water voles. When she got back to where Dan was stooped over the canvas, his smile of greeting was so warm she had an eager compulsion to reach out to touch him. Cassie gave a gasp in admiration at how much he'd done.

"I've been working rather faster than I usually do," he admitted, "just to see how it turns out."

"Could you eat now?"

Once again his smile bathed her, "I thought you'd never ask," he said.

Eagerly she watched him eat and listened to his complimentary words as he tucked into the sandwiches and other snacks, all washed down with the coffee she had brought in a flask. While eating, and in answer to his question about children, she proudly told him about Vince and Angela.

Suddenly, Dan picked up his sketch pad moved to sit on the ground across from where Cassie sat, and said, "Just sit still and look towards the falls."

"What are you going to do?" She knew very well what he was going to do. "Oh, you're not — I'm not a good subject." But she patted nervously at her hair.

"Please, just sit still."

In a surprisingly short time, he stood and showed her what he had drawn. Her first comment when she saw his representation of her face was a defensive, "You've flattered me. You've made me look... too attractive."

"It's in the eye of the beholder," he said quietly.

It took her only a moment to grasp the significance of what Dan had said. She looked up at him standing over her, trying so hard to ignore the sparks that seemed to be there between them.

Dan knew he had been taking a chance in doing the sketch. For a start he had not asked Cassie's permission, fearing that she would refuse. But, after the excellent refreshments she had provided especially for him, the compulsion to do something to show his gratitude had been strong. The sketch itself, although done quickly, had been easy, and he felt it portrayed exactly the way she looked.

When he had made his comment about 'the eye of the beholder,' he had felt the glow of that moment immediately afterwards as their eyes met. Now they were silent, and Cassie was looking away down towards the base of the falls.

"See something down there?" Dan asked.

She shook her head, "No, I was just remembering Vince, my son, talking about his father taking him behind the waterfall."

"You can get behind the falls?"

She looked up at him, "Oh, yes. Want to see?"

The prospect really appealed to Dan. There could even be an angle he could put on canvas sometime. "It will certainly be a place to stay cool."

As she stood up, he advised her, "It looks pretty rugged down that way. Just stay close and step where I step."

He took very deliberate steps all the way down the rocky slope, very aware that she was close behind him. Just before the flat pebbles of the river's edge, there was a drop of almost a metre. Having made the jump himself, Dan, without even thinking about it, held up his hand to guide Cassie down. For a brief moment, she looked at his hand, then at him, thus reminding him of what he was doing.

Cassie took his hand, and easily jumped down to the pebbled base. It was the first time there had been any physical contact between them, and there appeared to be no hurry for either of them to let go. But eventually they did.

Taking Dan's hand could have been a bold move for Cassie, but she hoped she had just planted an idea into Dan's head which was going to lead to the most provocative move she had ever made with any man. The plan having just materialised in her own mind as she'd looked at the falls, had her asking herself if she could really go through with it. Had she really become so eager? She knew exactly what they would encounter if they went under the falls.

Dan had already moved to the cliff base where the first spout of water began. He was trying to peer beyond it.

"There's spray right across the gap," he told her, looking back dubiously.

"I remember Vince saying they had to dash past that."

Dan nodded, "You game?"

Was she? She had gone through with it this far, now she was ready for some revelation. "If you really want to have an experience."

Cassie wondered if Dan had caught her double entendre as he nodded, smiled and turned away. Ducking his head, he darted through the spray. Standing out in the sunshine, Cassie could see his shape through the water spout.

"It's fine, once you get past that spot," Dan called above the splashing of water. "Just dash."

Bending well forward, Cassie made her move, feeling the chill of water on her back. Then she was standing beside Dan, as he asked, "Okay?"

"Nicely cooled," she said lightly. "Can we go on?"

Dan was looking along the route ahead of them, and he turned back to Cassie. "Looks like there could be much more spray ahead. Want to turn back?"

"How bad can it be?" she asked, knowing well that this was why she had brought him here. Revelation time, she called it in her own mind.

"Might get your hair wet."

"My hair will dry in the sun."

Dan nodded, turned away and moved forward, "It's the way each spout strikes the rocks on the way down."

Cassie knew that the two centre spouts were bigger than those at the sides, so she was ready for the heavier splash on her back as she followed Dan.

When she came alongside him, her own hair was dripping, and she saw Dan's had been flattened. He reached out to flick at a strand of her hair from across her face. The very gesture excited her, as they stood and looked at each other. Cassie realised that she was breathing heavily as though she had run a race. She knew a very big moment was not far away.

"So I guess we're dead centre in the falls. It must be impossible in the rainy season." Dan was looking out to where the river ran away from them. "Any point in going further?"

Cassie shook her head, "We'll get just as wet going back." Saying it almost brought a smile to her face, as Dan darted away in the direction they had come. She followed close behind him, but as the spray fell over her, she remained straight-backed, and felt the chill of the water all over her. What was Dan's reaction going to be when they emerged from their exploration?

Dan went straight on through the spray of the first spout, and stood in the sunlight, pushing back his hair, squeezing water from the shoulders of his shirt, contemplating taking it off to dry on a bush. But he turned to look at how Cassie's hair had coped with the return journey.

When she appeared, his throat seized up, his heart hammered in his chest, his legs trembled. It wasn't her hair, it wasn't her delightful face. His eyes could only stare in some time stopping wonder, at the front of her blouse. Only it was no longer the blouse he could see there, it was as though it no longer existed.

Cassie's breasts were completely exposed by the clinging wetness of the garment. So thin was the material that the whiteness had been absorbed by the colour of her flesh underneath. Dark brown nipples were stabbing through the material. As his lower belly responded, he wondered how only the back had been wet as they entered.

Looking up at her face as she stood so close to him, what he saw in the lowered lids of her eyes, in the pouting curl of her lips could only be pure desire, matching exactly what he was feeling.

"You should be out of that wet shirt," she said, her voice strangely hoarse, as she reached out as though to unbutton him.

Manly respect went out of the window as he pushed her groping hands to one side, pulled her towards him, briefly noticing pleasure in her face, before their mouths came together, and they clung to each other, wet and wild. Dan's tongue probed for hers, and he found it just a little slow in responding although her lips were hot and eager.

Wasn't this what she had planned for? Locked in his arms, lost in his kiss, Cassie knew for certain, that from the moment she first saw Dan Carney striding up the drive, a moment like this had been her priority. Initially, she wouldn't have dared admit it, knew her uncertain life would have had difficulty with this recent sensuous act, this desperation to reach out to an unknown man.

How had she come upon the notion of what effect her wet blouse would have? His sketch of her and that suggestion from him, that she was beautiful. She hadn't misread that, had she? No, this kiss, his tongue searching for hers, gave her that answer.

In directing Dan's interest to going behind the falls, she had long known, Vince had told her, that it was rather like taking a cold shower back there. Oh, she had known so well what affect this thin white blouse would have when wet.

Dan's hands were moving over her back, her own were on his shoulders, wanting to move down over his chest. What now? The moistness between her thighs was almost a new experience. It had been so long since it had happened. They were surely heading that way. The thought of that, the time since she'd had this kind of feeling, made her long for it, but also concerned about how it would be.

That was the moment that Dan broke the kiss, "I've wanted to do that ever since—"

"Yesterday — same for me," Cassie was happy with his response. His hand moved over her breast, and as she gasped, he moved it away.

"I'm no perfect lover, if that's what you want."

This was an admission she hadn't expected, but she was ready with her answer, "All I want is whatever the fates have in store for us. I'm not used to this kind of consideration."

He leaned back to look into her face with a puzzled expression.

"I'll explain sometime," she said. "What do we do now? I seem to have interrupted your work."

As they kissed Dan had the distinct impression that the wet blouse had not been accidental. That thought didn't bother him, rather it delighted him. Cassie was sending out clear signals that overcame his initial inhibitions about coming on to a lonely lady.

There were other aspects of this wonderful, hoped for, yet unexpected, turn of events. As Cassie said, it was stopping his work, and that was something he could not allow to happen. Against that, they were here, wrapped in each other’s arms, already committed to something.

Dan had noticed how her tongue had delayed in meeting his own. That had felt like inexperience, yet she had been a married woman for ten years. There was so much about Cassie that he did not know, and right at that moment he wanted to know everything.

He looked into her face, so open, such a look of abandonment there now, "It has to happen, doesn't it?"

Her head nodded, but she said, "You'll think I'm being silly, but having wanted it, I'm just a little nervous now."

He gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, whispering "Don't be. I'm nervous too."

They stood there laughing together at their mutual admission, then he said, "Do you want it to happen out here?" And he gestured around the rough mix of grass and rocks.

"I've never done it in the open air," she said quietly, "but on this occasion, I think a little comfort would be more fitting."

"You want to go back?" Dan glanced at his watch and was surprised to see that it was past three o'clock.

"Oh, but your work?"

Dan nodded, "My work is important." Deliberately he tightened his arms around her. "But once in a blue moon something comes along that transcends that importance. I like your idea of comfort."

Clambering back up the slope their hands touched each other almost indiscriminately. When she was in front of him he pushed at her neat tight buttocks, while she reached back, and her hand brushed over the spot where his jeans were under pressure. She muttered a little, "Oh."

Reaching the level, they kissed deeply once more, and he stroked her breasts, finding that the blouse was already nearly dry. Then they were on the road back to the farm. Dan really feared that his excitement would let him down. The pressure of his erection showed no sign of abating as he drove. From time to time he took his hand from the wheel and placed it high on her thigh, and when he did that Cassie leaned across, kissed his cheek, nibbled his ear, but her hands stayed in her lap.

In a sense, Cassie could not believe this was happening. Briefly, her mind had wandered into a future beyond what was already rushing towards them. What would come next, fond farewells? She dismissed that thinking. More urgently she was aware of the continuing dampness between her legs. When Dan touched her thigh, she longed for him to go further as his touch only added to the eagerness in her loins. Scared to move her hands from pressing the physical ache in her lower body, she was happy to peck at his cheek and ears. She was very aware of what his jeans were disguising. The journey seemed to take ages.

At last, they were at the gate, and Cassie said, "I'll open the gate, so you can drive up and park on the other side of the house." She paused and gave him an apologetic smile. "The neighbours would wonder — you understand?

Dan understood her worry very well. He watched the delightful movement of her as she opened the gate, and he drove inside, waited until the gate was closed. As she climbed back inside, he leaned across and kissed her. Her mouth and tongue responded immediately and with unsuppressed passion.

They managed to break apart, and as he parked the van behind the house, Cassie leapt out and hurried up onto the porch. When Dan got there, she was standing by the open door, a welcoming, yet nervous smile on her face as she held out her hand for his.

His hand was gripped tightly as she led him into what appeared to be a surprisingly large kitchen, with a table in the centre and a low cupboard against the wall opposite a sink and work top. A radio stood on shelves to the rear, but Cassie led him to a door on the right, on to a corridor where there were other doors. More importantly, there was a staircase which they were quickly mounting.

Dan was trying to control his breathing and the bursting sensation in his belly. Maybe he should have showered before they did anything, there were streaks of paint on his hands.

As Cassie pushed open the first door, and he saw the large bed with its blue cover, he made that suggestion.

Cassie turned and put her arms around his neck before gasping, "Do we have time for that?"

Dan managed a quick, "I guess not," before their lips came together and their bodies crushed against each other. They stood there for minutes, simply devouring each other. Dan ran his tongue along the inside of her cheek, and she responded by doing the same to him. The tingling that provoked seemed to run all the way down to his already aching groin.

At last, he broke away, reached for her blouse buttons, "We're overdressed."

He was surprised when one of her hands reached up reflexively as though to stop him. "God, I'm so nervous, Dan."

He gave her what he hoped was a dubious look, "After what you allowed to happen under the waterfall?"

"You noticed?"

"Isn't that why you took me under there?" And since her hand had dropped away he continued to unbutton her blouse.

Cassie was totally bemused by her own state of mind. She was wanting all of this, yet she was trying to hold back from it. It was the kind of feeling a young bride might have. Well, she was hardly that, and in a few seconds her naked breasts would be before his eyes, unfettered this time. Beyond that, she would soon be revealing that part of her body that only Gordon had viewed.

Was that why she was so nervous? Especially since she was so wet down there. Without further thought and as Dan pushed her blouse off her shoulders, she rapidly pulled at the buttons on his shirt.

Her breath shuddered in her throat as his fingers trailed down over her breasts, followed by his mouth and she could not hold back a 'hiss' of pleasure as his lips trailed over a nipple. She pushed his shirt away and stroked his broad muscular chest. Everything was coming to a peak, her lower belly, and her insides were pulsing with her need.

Dan was on his knees, unfastening her belt, unbuttoning her jeans, pulling them down, snatching at her panties. He was going to see her, going to see that part of her that so desperately demanded his entry. His lips moved over her belly, seeming to move down. Too much, too much, her insides were begging for it. Frantically she pulled at his head. "No, Dan. In me. Come into me."

Cassie staggered back towards the bed, not believing that she was actually demanding the indecent haste that Gordon had usually imposed on her. But this time her desire was so much greater, so demanding. Her legs struck the edge of the bed and she allowed her body to fall backwards into the familiar comfort. This she knew would be over quickly, but it didn't matter. It was a need that had to be filled.

Dan was standing over her, and she saw that his jeans were being pushed down. He was viewing her whole naked body, her bare skin, her intimate places exposed under his eyes. But, as his shorts fell away, she had a quick glimpse of his erect cock. That was going to be inside her, and without any delay.

"You sure?" Dan was asking, bending over her, his hands moving up her waist and onto her breasts.

Don't ask, she wanted to yell, just do it, but all she managed was, "Yes, oh, yes." She was aware of him gently parting her thighs, and almost giggled in realising that she hadn't thought of that being necessary if he was going to enter her. But then, Gordon's rough groping had not prepared her for this caring preparation.

Dan was against her, he was placing himself. Oh, yes, oh, please let it be good for him. Then he was inside her, and her hot passage seemed to widen to accept him, but this was no rough penetration that her husband had subjected upon her. Dan was moving his rock hard cock so slowly up into her, that she felt her hips heave to urge him towards her satisfaction.

Trembling everywhere, she knew that Dan had taken the hint from her hip spasm, as his whole length filled her. Oh, great God, he was immense, jerking up high into her. Her whole belly seemed filled by his hardness. This was the point when Gordon usually spilled. He had been that immediate. As Dan drew back she thought that it was over for him too, and the stirrings inside her told her that this could be mutual.

Yes, oh, yes, she knew she had been so ready, and like some great hot, raging storm her orgasm was upon her. But even as she let go, and her body and mind soared, she realised that Dan was plunging up into her again, as strong as ever.

"Dan — I'm — I'm — oh, God — going..."

As though from another planet his voice floated into her brain, "Let it come, Cassie. Love it. Enjoy it."

The keening noise she was hearing over his voice was coming from her as she experienced his hardness thrusting over and over again, deep, then even deeper into the very soul of her.

His voice again, low and sweet close to her ear, "You are just so wonderful."

This solid log inside her didn't stop. His low voice enchanted her and she knew he had missed exploding with her. Yet now, having had an orgasm like she had never experienced in her whole life, Dan's prolonged pounding was continuing. His massive heaving inside her, was surely driving her towards something new. Was there yet another dam that was ready to burst?

Dan, having been so pent up by all that had happened in the past hour, had feared that he would be premature when he entered Cassie. Add to that the sheer pleasure as he lowered her jeans and found her sweet tawny bush. Then he had the urge to kiss her belly intending to move his mouth lower, before she made him aware of her desperation.

Touching the smooth skin on her thighs, belly and breasts as he rose over her had not lessened his worries about how he would perform. Yet once he had been reassured of her need, had parted her thighs and made that first easy probe into the surprising moistness of her entry, he knew it was going to be all right.

At some point, he would remind himself that this was one part of his affair with Vanessa that he could give her credit for. She had always been the leader in their 'screwing' (her word for it), and it was she who had schooled him in the ability to hold back his orgasm no matter how provocative she might be.

For Dan, it was a joy to sense the pleasure he was giving to Cassie. From the moment he entered her he had been overcome by her passion. When her hips had jerked to urge him deeper, and his keen response had made her cry out as her orgasm was almost instant, he knew how great her desire had been.

He had tried to kiss her, but her head had been jerking from side to side, her lioness hair sweeping across her face. Dan, happy that she had experienced her orgasm, found the strength to continue to push deeply into her, at times drawing back a good length to make some thrusts long and vital. All the time, Cassie's internal muscles gripped and pulled him onwards.

It didn't take much of this for him to sense her build up again. Her breath gasped out of her. Could he give her two orgasms? He had done it for Vanessa once, but Vanessa had always been highly sexed. Dan was fairly sure that this hadn't been true of Cassie. But yes, he was sure she was on the verge of another burst. Should he let himself go along with her?

Cassie could not believe that Dan had kept going and was taking her up to this new high. Her whole body was alive and tingling. His hands had fondled her breasts, and she was aware that he had tried to kiss her lips, but she just could not keep still. She had never felt like this. Every orifice would have gladly taken his hot penetration. God, did she really mean that? These were sensations that had never ever crossed her mind.

Dan's hands were gripping her hips as he pulled her further onto his driving rod. Cassie tried to respond with thrusts of her own but as soon as she moved, as soon as she felt him reach her cervix, it started again.

"Dan!" she heard herself yell, as her whole body opened out and her thighs gripped at him, her heart pounded like a mad thing that was pumping electrified blood into her veins. Every part of her felt each stab of his eager shaft.

As she calmed and marvelled that she had experienced two orgasms when, over the years, one had been something of a miracle, she felt that Dan's movements inside her were different. How did he do it? But yes, his strokes were shorter and faster, much faster. For the first time, she noticed his breathing, more like grunting.

He was about to pour inside her she was sure, but his renewed movements were giving her added pleasure, heightening her already ecstatic emotions. His arms tightened around her, his rod pushed, pulled back, and pushed again, rapidly and with greater power. Then as his head came alongside hers, she heard his massive groan of pleasure and release and was positive that she could feel his seed spilling and spurting inside her.

All good things must come to an end, and for Dan, having been overjoyed at Cassie's reactions, his climax had been massive. He lay for a while flat on top of her, as, very slowly, his cock slithered limply out of its delightful nest, and he sensed Cassie dabbing at herself with something, a tissue maybe.

Catching his breath he was preparing to ask her how it had been. He had a pretty good idea, but he wanted to hear it from her lips. But he didn't have the chance to ask, as Cassie was only too keen to let him know. "Dan, you might not believe this," she began her hand stroking his chest, "but I've had nothing like that in my whole life."

"It was all right then?"

"For me, any kind of orgasm has been a rarity, but what you've just given me..."

She went on to tell him about how her husband had treated her body. "It was merely a receptacle for his only occasional needs. I was grateful that they were only occasional. And yet—" She paused.

"Yes?"

"I still can't understand why you'd say you weren't a perfect lover."

Since she had been so open about her husband, Dan told her about Vanessa, and how she had been the dominant one in their brief relationship. "So I was never sure about my performance because she was always so critical."

There was a long silence as Cassie seemed to be weighing up what he had told her, and then she asked an important question. "That wasn't just a one-off, was it?"

Dan sat up and looked down at her, all of her, lying there, superb in her nakedness, "I don't want it to be. Your husband never caressed you? Kissed your body?"

"He pulled my thighs apart, complained if I was dry, but didn't let that stop him."

Her face was so lovely. He kissed her before saying, "Before I eat you, some real food would be welcome. We might have an interesting evening ahead."

Cassie sat up alongside him, her mouth came up to his once more and as they parted she said, "You go and get a shower. You'll find towels in the small cupboard. And there's a man size towelled robe—" She paused, and her eyes were wide as she looked at him,"—unused. I'll cook us a meal. I only have sausages I'm afraid, but I'll make them special for you. And then — I'll have a shower. And then—"

"We have a lot of talking to do," Dan completed for her, keeping his tone light. They laughed together.

Standing in the shower, with the warm water flowing deliciously over his body, Dan had to face the fact that there was indeed a lot of talking to do. On the one hand, he was sure that there could be so much to look forward to with this lady. But the future? Could it be together?