Real Love Read online

“She’s revered by all of the aborigines who live around here. She’s known for her gift of sight.”

  “She can see things?”

  “She can sense things that might happen. She also has the gift of healing, as did her mother and grandmother.”

  “What does her other son do?”

  “He has taken to the old ways of the Bushman, like his father.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They will disappear for weeks on end, hunting and traveling in the bush, then show up like nothing has happened. They wear the traditional Bushman garb and participate in ancient ceremonies.”

  “Wow, I have a lot to learn,” Alicia commented as she began to undress. “I want to know as much as possible about where we live.”

  Rhea stopped to watch her girlfriend shed her clothes and couldn’t help but smile. Alicia was a constant surprise to her. She was physically beautiful, but it was her soul that Rhea found most attractive. She was as lovely on the inside as she was on the outside. She would work hard to fit in because she was naturally curious and friendly. Rhea hoped that it would be enough. She ran her hand down Alicia’s naked back and pulled her gently against her. “I can’t wait until after we take a shower.”

  Alicia’s fingers went immediately to Rhea’s jeans and fumbled with the zipper. “Come here, cowgirl, I can’t wait either.”

  Rhea was unprepared for the heat that encompassed her as Alicia’s fingers entered her swiftly, her jeans barely down her hips. A cry burst from her lips as Alicia’s mouth covered hers in a kiss that rocked her to her toes. She was thrown instantly into an orgasm that made her go slack. The two women slid to the floor as Alicia pulled Rhea’s blouse open and her hot mouth nuzzled against Rhea’s breasts. Rhea could barely breathe as Alicia unfastened her bra and feasted on her nipples, while her fingers once again filled her completely.

  “I want my mouth on you,” Alicia gasped as she pushed Rhea’s jeans further down her legs to just below her knees. She pushed on Rhea’s thighs to part them and unerringly found her with her mouth.

  “Jesus, Alicia, oh my…”

  Alicia feasted on her until Rhea was limp and completely drained. Alicia wiped her mouth on Rhea’s jeans and lay with her face on Rhea’s stomach trying to catch her breath.

  “I can’t believe what just happened,” Rhea’s voice was hoarse as she lay with an arm over her eyes.

  “Four times is what happened,” Alicia gloated as she looked up at her overwhelmed lover.

  Rhea opened her eyes and glanced down at her satisfied girlfriend and laughed. “I still have my boots on.”

  Alicia sat up and giggled. “Actually you still have everything on, sort of.”

  Rhea began to remove her twisted shirt and bra and bent to kick her boots off so that she could get out of her clothes. “I take it you like making love to a cowgirl?”

  “Oh yeah, as long as that cowgirl is you.” Alicia fluttered her blond eyelashes at Rhea.

  “Now it’s my turn,” Rhea grinned and pulled Alicia to a seat on her hips guiding her legs to either side of her.

  “So what do you have in mind, cowgirl?” Alicia snaked her arms around Rhea’s neck as she straddled her. Her question was answered quickly as Rhea shoved her fingers into Alicia tightly and held her motionless against her. “Don’t move, I want you to feel me inside you and know that it is going to be only me for the rest of our lives.”

  Alicia could feel her body responding to Rhea’s fingers and she wanted to move so badly. She needed to move. Her eyes locked onto Rhea’s and held her gaze as Rhea began to remove her fingers tantalizingly slowly. Again, she slid them into Alicia watching her reaction as she teased her.

  “I have to move,” Alicia sighed, her body slick with welcoming moisture.

  “Not yet,” Rhea whispered, her fingers soaked with Alicia’s wetness.

  She stroked Alicia repeatedly until her body began to tremble and Rhea bent to kiss her. She spoke against Alicia’s mouth before sliding her tongue into her mouth with the same rhythm as her fingers. “Now you can move.”

  Alicia’s body erupted as her hips pounded against Rhea’s hand until she fell limp against Rhea’s body. Rhea held her tightly as both of their hearts hammered loudly in their chests. Alicia’s lips tasted the smooth skin of Rhea’s neck as she nibbled sexy little kisses along her jaw.

  “I love you, Alicia.”

  “And I thought you just liked me because of the great sex.”

  Rhea grinned at her lover who lay sprawled naked on top of her. “That too.”

  “Good, because I kind of like having sex with you, too.”

  “Can we take a shower now?”

  “Yes, as long as you don’t put those cowboy boots back on. I can’t seem to control myself when you’re wearing cowboy boots.”

  Rhea laughed as she helped Alicia up off the floor. They both stumbled into the bathroom and entered the large shower. The hot water and the fragrant soap slicked over their bodies proved too much for both of them, and they shared another furious bout of lovemaking in the shower stall before toweling off and climbing into bed for a nap. Just an hour is all Alicia needed to be refreshed, but Rhea had other ideas as she wooed Alicia with generous kisses and gentle touches and once again made love to her.

  “I love touching you, especially right here next to your nipple. You’re so soft, and when I touch you just right I can feel you shake. When I suck on your

  nipples I can tell by the sounds you make how much you like me touching you. I love the scent of you right before I taste you”

  Alicia gasped as Rhea’s tongue slid against her awakening body. Arching her hips, she held Rhea’s head as she teased her. Rhea’s fingertips moved against Alicia’s clitoris squeezing and stroking until Alicia couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “Now please, honey, now” - Rhea smiled as she heard the urgency in Alicia’s voice. Her tongue darted inside her along with her finger and drove Alicia screaming into an orgasm. Rhea’s own body shuddered with pleasure as she held her lover until she ceased to move. She slid up to embrace Alicia as they lay quietly on the bed, recuperating.

  “So, I guess a nap is out.”

  “You can go to sleep. I’ll tell them you were too tired to eat.”

  “Not on your life! I’m not going to miss your first dinner at home. It’s a celebration. Besides, for some reason, I’m no longer tired.” Alicia whispered as her hand moved over Rhea’s backside, spreading her legs so that Rhea’s hips were sealed against hers.

  Rhea smiled at her lover as she recognized her body’s invitation. She rose up on her arms pushing her hips tight against Alicia’s until she could feel her wetness against her own body. Rolling her hips, she began to move, while Alicia’s legs hooked around her own and her hands tightened around her hips. The slap of bodies echoed in the room and Rhea reached down and hooked her arms around Alicia’s thighs pulling them up to open her even more.

  Rhea moaned as they glided against one another, her sensitive mound aching for release. Once, twice their bodies met and when Rhea heard the hitch in Alicia’s breathing she held their bodies tightly together, straining for that perfect connection. The spiral of pleasure started between her legs and blossomed, causing her hips to jerk over and over against her lover’s until she was completely spent and lay gasping in Alicia’s arms. Alicia ran her hands up and down Rhea’s back as she too recovered from their lovemaking. Rhea’s fingers crept their way into Alicia’s long hair and possessively twisted in it as she fell immediately asleep. Alicia smiled into her girlfriend’s slumbering face and held her tightly, filled with love.

  It had been like this between them since the first time they had made love. Intense, thrilling, and full of emotion, making love with Rhea had been incomparable. Alicia had known the instant she had met Rhea that she had fallen in love with the passionate woman. But she hadn’t known how deeply she would fill her heart until Rhea had made love to her the very first time. She just hoped

  that loving h
er would be enough, and she let this small bit of worry enter her mind. Alicia knew nothing about Australia and ranching. She had never ridden a horse before and she was deathly afraid of snakes, two things she knew she would have to deal with. And what if Rhea’s family didn’t take to her? It was so important that they accept her.

  CHAPTER 7

  Alicia followed Rhea into the elegant dining room at exactly six o’clock. Alicia had worn a dress not knowing whether or not dinner was formal. She was pleased to see Sophia was also wearing a dress.

  “Alicia, this is my wife, Sheri. Sheri, this is Alicia Moran.”

  A slender woman with short brown hair that curled appealingly around a pixie face smiled at Alicia. She was wearing a pair of slacks and matching jacket, stylish and fashionable. “Alicia welcome. It’s so nice to meet you. I can’t wait to see your artwork. I searched the Internet and saw some of your illustrations; they’re incredible!”

  “Thank you. Rhea told me you make one-of-a-kind jewelry. I’m absolutely fascinated by that kind of work. Could you show me some of yours?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Rhea stood next to Alicia smiling. She could tell Sheri had accepted Alicia already.

  “You don’t look like a pregnant mother.”

  “Give me a hug,” Sheri demanded, wrapping her arms around Rhea. “Believe me, I am. So what do you think about being aunts?”

  Rhea appreciated the fact that she had included Alicia and her smile acknowledged Sheri’s question. “I’ll love being an aunt. How are you feeling?”

  “Good most of the time. Mornings are a little difficult right now, but it’s worth it.”

  “We’re very happy for both of you.”

  “We’re ecstatic. We’d all but given up.” Sheri’s eyes filled with tears as she responded. Being parents had been a dream that they had all but forgotten.

  “Where are Dad and Ted?”

  “There was a problem in the big barn with the shearing. They’re on their way up now.”

  “They should have let me know.”

  Rhea’s mom slipped her arm through her daughter’s and spoke. “Honey, you’ll have plenty of time to get involved. You just got here, and you and Alicia should take advantage of some time off. You’re going to have plenty to do very soon with shearing starting.”

  “Shearing?” Alicia had no clue as to what they were talking about.

  “It’s when we cut the wool off our sheep. The sheep are brought into the barns and we cut the wool off with electric shears. We then sell the wool to be cleaned and processed.”

  “Do you shear your own sheep?”

  “We can, but we hire temporary workers to come in and do the shearing. We have almost one hundred thousand sheep that need to be sheared,” Rhea explained.

  “One hundred thousand sheep?” Alicia’s eyes were enormous.

  “That’s fewer than usual. We have managers who take care of the sheep on different parts of the ranch and we stagger the shearing so that we can cover the whole ranch.”

  “Wow, I can’t wait to see the whole process.”

  “I’ll take you down to the barn after dinner and show you how we shear a sheep,” Rhea promised with a grin.

  “Really?”

  “You aren’t going to show her how bad you are at shearing,” Ted teased as he entered the dining room with his dad. “Rhea’s first sheared sheep looked like a punk rocker.”

  “I can still shear one faster than you can,” Rhea boasted.

  “And I can still beat the two of you,” August stated as he bent to kiss his wife. She looked so tiny standing next to her tall husband, and her eyes glowed when she looked up at him. “Sorry, we’re late.”

  “Dinner is just being served. Let me go tell Mommo.”

  “I can do it, Mom.” Ted hugged his wife and then popped into the kitchen while the rest of them were ushered to their seats by Sophia.

  “Sit, sit.” Mommo shoved Ted out of the kitchen as she carried a platter of meat to the table. “Behave yourself.”

  Ted grinned at her as he sat down next to his wife. “I always behave myself.”

  The snort from Sheri and Rhea was enough to make Alicia hurst out laughing. This was a family that knew how to enjoy life. Rhea reached down, interlaced her fingers with Alicia’s and squeezed. “Welcome to the family.”

  The dinner was delicious and the conversation stimulating. They talked for over two hours. Sheri was very interested in San Francisco and Ted shared funny stories of their growing up. Rhea shared a few of her own, and Alicia found herself relaxing and enjoying herself immensely. She helped Rhea clear the table and as she passed through the door into the kitchen Mommo met them with a hard stare.

  “Do I look like I need help?”

  “No Mommo, but Alicia and I wanted to tell you what a wonderful dinner that was.” Rhea knew Mommo well.

  “It was delicious.” Alicia was smart enough to recognize the look Mommo gave them.

  “If I need your help, I’ll ask.” She began to clean up the remaining dishes in the already spotless kitchen.

  “Mommo, I missed you so much.” Rhea hugged the large woman, grinning the whole time.

  “Mommo missed you, too—now get out of my kitchen.”

  Rhea pulled Alicia out the back door but not before Alicia saw the hint of a smile on Mommo’s face. “She loves you.”

  “I love her. She’s never once said anything about my being a lesbian and she knew before anyone.”

  “Your mom and dad are going out of their way to make us feel welcome.”

  “They are, and I appreciate it very much. But it still stings when I think of my dad telling me to leave his house.”

  “Honey, parents don’t always react very well to finding out they have a homosexual child. It doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”

  “I know. I love you, Alicia.” Rhea smiled and hugged her diminutive partner.

  “You know what, cowgirl? I love you. Now, are you going to show me how to shear a sheep or what?”

  Rhea laughed and pulled her girlfriend toward the garage. “We’re going to have to drive to the barn. It’s a little too far to walk with you in a dress.”

  Rhea headed for a small jeep and climbed into it. The keys were hanging in the ignition. Alicia climbed into the passenger seat, and Rhea started the jeep and backed it out of the garage. She chatted to Alicia all the way to the barn, pointing out Ted and Sheri’s home and Mommo and Abo’s. She explained that

  most of the cabins were the homes of several aboriginal families that had worked for her father for many years. Most of the other ranch hands had homes somewhere on the ranch. Her father allowed them to farm small parcels of land and build houses for their families. The shearers were temporary workers that put up tents while they worked at the ranch.

  “How many people are currently on the ranch?”

  “Not counting the temporary workers, around seven hundred people; there are probably five hundred temporary shearers.”

  “Wow! And you’re one of the bosses!”

  “Yes, I am, and if you sleep with me I can guarantee certain favors.”

  “I already sleep with you,” Alicia giggled “But I’d love to hear more about these favors.”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Rhea promised with a lift of her eyebrow. “Come on. Let’s go look at your first sheep.”

  “Rhea, do they bite?” Alicia asked, her voice wavering, a look of fright on her face.

  Rhea laughed and was still laughing as she led the way into the massive barn. There were hundreds of people working, and the barn was full of smells and sounds foreign to Alicia. Rhea reassured her that the sheep weren’t hurt as they were placed into a restraint that held them securely for the shearing, even though they cried mournfully. Alicia watched fascinated as the sheep were rapidly stripped of their wool and were moved out of the device and replaced with another sheep. The speed at which the workers moved was impressive.

  “How long will they work?”r />
  “They’ll continue in shifts until all of the sheep in this part of the ranch are sheared. Then they’ll move on to another location.”

  “Can you do that?”

  One of the men shearing heard Alicia’s question and stood up when he finished his sheep. “Rhea, show her how it’s done.” Rhea shook his hand smiling in greeting.

  “Is that you, Raoul? How is your family?”

  “Good, my Gina is going to college to be a vet.”

  “Congratulations! Is your wife with you?”

  “No, she stayed home this time.” The man was small and wiry, his hair dark and long, pulled back into a ponytail. He looked like a Gypsy. Many of the transient workers were of different nationalities that had gravitated to Australia. Raoul was exactly what he looked like, a Gypsy. “So are you going to show this gorgeous woman how bad you are at shearing?”

  Alicia could see the teasing glint in the man’s eye. Rhea laughed and hugged him before turning to Alicia. “Alicia, this is Raoul Baptiste. Raoul, this is my partner, Alicia Manor. Raoul taught me everything 1 know about shearing sheep. He’s the best.”

  “Ah, she boasts. I didn’t teach her everything I know,” Raoul grinned at Alicia.

  “I’ll show you. Do you have another apron?”

  Within minutes Rhea was seated on a stool, a long apron covering her clothes. She winked at Alicia who stood next to Raoul watching.

  “Okay, get a stopwatch ready. I believe the record for shearing a single sheep is a minute and ten seconds.”

  A sheep was led into the rack system in front of Rhea and she waited for Raoul to give her the nod. A crowd started to congregate around the three of them as Rhea’s face grew serious. Alicia’s heart started to pound as she stared at her girlfriend. “Go!”

  Rhea’s head bent to her work, and the electric shears moved over the body of the sheep faster than Alicia could believe. The wool fell in rolls to the ground as the crowd began to whistle.

  “Thirty seconds!”

  Rhea’s face was glistening with sweat, her arms ropy with muscles as she moved the sheep around in the racking.

  “Forty-five seconds!”