I'd been driving for hours and needed a break. I'd blown past the last services in the hope of just pushing through and getting home. Instead I was fading fast and I didn't know when the next chance to stop would present itself.

My own stubbornness annoyed me.

I'd been gently weaving between traffic for miles as the daylight faded and the twilight took hold of the sky. The sunset had been beautiful and vibrant on my right as I zoomed my little car along the motorway towards home but even that, now, was moving towards darkness and all I had to show for my determination was a numb arse.

My little G reg Triumph Spitfire was about forty years old and the springs in the seats were well worn but I loved her anyway. She ran well and I liked the colour - the original satin black - and it was sporty and convertible but the interior, whilst well cared for, was... 'classic'.

It kept things uncomplicated, though. No gadgets, screens or buttons to distract from the simple pleasure of feeling the wind whip around you and through your hair.

I'd be coming up on where there used to be a building at the top of the hill soon. I could pull into, what once was, the car park there and stretch my legs. The numbness in my rear was slowly working it's way down my legs and I needed to walk it off before I caused an accident.

The road begins to incline and I push the accelerator to the floor, trying to get every last one of those horses under the bonnet to pull it's weight. Eventually, though, I have to change down a gear; and then another. Telegraph Hill was never kind to my car but I'm sure her engine could do with a tune. Or at least a clean. I don't have to hit first gear today though, so maybe she's trying after all, bless her. I note how dark it is as I pass beneath the canopy of trees overhanging the winding road and realise that the perpetual twilight that I had been driving in was the light of a full moon; now hidden from me by leaves and branches. It must be later than I thought. At least past nine o'clock by now if the moon was up.

I still needed to stop though. Not for too long, mind you, and if there were other cars parked there then I would just carry on - I wasn't really in the mood to become an accidental dogger tonight – but if not then a quick shake of my legs would be helpful about now.

The foliage above me begins to thin out as I reach the top of the hill and I see the sign directing me to the next left turn. I move left into the lane and ease on the brakes as I round the corner on the slip road. The beams of my headlights briefly illuminate a flash of red and white as the shadow of a person catches my eye on the pavement along the side of the road. There is a cafe on this corner, I remember, and I pull left again into the car park, indicating much too late to be of any use. Luckily, no one was behind me so I didn't cause any fatal accidents this time round.

I'm left feeling oddly confused with myself. I clearly pulled in because I saw a person on the pavement but the decision to stop wasn't an entirely conscious choice. More of an instinct than a willing resolve. When do I ever stop for random strangers while I'm driving? Okay, that's an unfair, rhetorical question; I stop for people all the time. But never in the dark, as far as I can recall, and not when I don't know the person in question, let alone haven't even seen them.

I decide to reverse and turn the car around so that the headlights shine towards the entrance to the car park. I consider getting out of the car and going to have a look but my arms and legs obviously think that is a bad idea as they don't move. Instead, the shadow rounds the corner and stands in the beams, the flash of red and white obvious to me now. A woman stands before my car. She is wearing a black leather jacket and a dark blue scarf which bunches around her neck and above the zip of her jacket at the front and a pair of mid-calf brown boots over her jeans. Her hair is a flaming red aura framing her face. I've always adored redheads, but have ended up hurt by them on more than one occasion but I figure, subconsciously, that this is probably the reason that I stopped. I realise that I can't actually see her face as, whilst one hand hangs at her side holding a white motorcycle helmet, she is holding her other hand up to shield her eyes from the light.

“Hey there!” I call out with a smile.

“Hey yourself!” she retorts, her body at an angle to the car and her hand still in front of her face. “You aren't heading in that general direction by any chance, are you?” She indicates the road that I have just left and the direction that I was travelling, her voice a mixture of soft English Rose with a hint of inner-city unintelligible slang. I'm reckoning that she had an educated upbringing but now she drops her t's from her words and writes text messages in text speak because that's how she rebels.

“I will be.” I reply, hopefully seeming approachable. “I just need to stretch my legs first. I was going to park around the corner and walk around, quickly. Where are you headed?”

“Into Torquay.” She hesitates momentarily, as if not wanting to give too much away.

“Not a problem,” I say “so am I. Any particular area or just in town?”

“Somewhere along Teignmouth Road would be fine if you're passing it.”

“I can do. I'm pretty much going that way anyway.” I felt no shame in that little white lie. I wouldn't be passing there to get to my house. In fact I'd be going past my house to get to it and then have to come back on myself. It's only a couple of miles or so and about ten minutes extra, though, so I decide that it's worth it. “You want to jump in now or shall I pick you up in a minute on my way back?”

She contemplates having to stand out here for another half an hour as opposed to getting in a strangers car but the car wins out apparently as she gingerly moves forward towards the passenger door, finally dropping her hand as she steps out of the lights.

“Where do you want this?” she asks as she holds her bike helmet up for me to see.

“In the boot, please. Unless you want to hold on to it?” I reply. The flame haired woman starts to make her way to the back of the car so I jump out and quickly unlock and open the boot for her and return to my seat. The boot closes and the door opens and she steps into the car and settles into the seat next to me. The faint glow of the interior lights highlight the outline of her face as she studies me nervously, looking me from top to bottom and back up again. The curves of her profile stir a feeling of appreciation for how stunning she appears to be.

“Are you alright?” I ask her, hoping to allay any fears she may have about hitching a lift with a crazy person. “I'm not planning on murdering you. Not yet anyway.” I add along with my best I-hope-you-know-that-was-a-joke smile.

She gives me a brief half-smile and nods “Yeah, I'm OK. Just tired.”

I nod sympathetically and commiserate “Me too. It's been a long day. For both of us, by the sounds of it.” She turns her face away again and stares out of the window. “I'm just going to drive round the corner and then I'll sort my pins and needles out and we'll make a move.”

“OK. Thanks.” She mumbles lost in her thoughts.

I put the car in gear and pull out of the cafe car park and up the road to the left. I reach a junction at the top and turn left again and almost immediately right. My new passenger makes a sudden movement as she jumps. I admit, it does seem as if we're driving off the road and into the bushes but she calms slightly as we drive along the unmarked track, even though I think she's becoming more nervous the deeper we go in to the overgrowth. Murderous intent or not, it's probably creepy if you've never done it before.

The bushes part and we end up in a clearing surrounded by trees. It's open enough that the moon can light it easily but hidden from view on all sides. The redhead makes a visible effort to separate us as she shifts towards the door. I stop the car, pull the handbrake and turn the engine off as I fling my door open. I hope that if I get out first Red won't freak out and try to make an ill planned escape.

“I'm just going to walk around a bit until I get some feeling back then we'll make a move, OK?” I inform her as I move off in front of the car. I walk backwards and forwards just far enough away to seem less threatening but not out of sight or earshot. I don't want to seem like I abandon the people I randomly pick up.

The walking stretches my legs and I feel the blood flowing back into them, waking them up. My arse feels better now too. I'm pacing slowly but contentedly when I realise that I'm not alone. A second set of foot steps has joined my own. I glance at the car and see that Red has left the relative safety of the vehicle and come over to help me pace. I start to slowly adjust my pacing until I'm moving back towards the car.

We don't say much for a while, instead concentrating on our steps and the sound of our breathing in the night, until I comment on how quiet it is and all I can hear is us both breathing.

We lean against the bonnet of the car and discuss the moon, the stars, the quiet and my trip. My story was easy; I was on my way home from visiting a friend. Red's story was avoided. I asked but her eyes dropped to the floor before she brushed me off with a generic “I just got stranded here.” excuse. Fair enough. If she doesn't want to talk about it, who am I to push the issue. I drop it immediately but resolve to come back to it later. I'm currently just happy to be helping her out.

I'm not sure how long we stood there talking. Hours, possibly. It seemed that once we broke the ice we found the words easy to flow. The moon had moved but I hadn't paid attention to where it started so I only really noticed as it brushed the tops of the trees and their shadows moved in front of me. I liked this woman, it seemed. She was nice and easy to talk to. I suppose it helped that she was beautiful and I felt that I wanted to be there but at that moment I could have carried on talking about everything and nothing forever. Finally, my brain gave me a kick and began nagging me to get a move on. We'd both wanted to get home and, instead, we were stood in the dark making small talk. Reluctantly, I turned to her.

“See? No murdering.” I exclaim sounding rather pleased with myself.

She smiled cheekily and added “Or trying to jump me.”

“Nope. No plans of jumping you... as of yet.”

“Shame.” she said flatly. There was no humour in her response and her smile had receded back to barely a grin that kept the corners of her mouth upturned but she had turned her head and fixed her gaze on me and I found it nigh on impossible to shift my own away from it. She was weighing my soul and I had been found wanting. Shit.

“How do you feel about kissing?” she asks suddenly as she stands. My mind races through all the thoughts that I would normally have under the circumstances trying to find the one that fits the situation and doesn't make a fool of me in the process. Over thinking things is a curse of mine so I try and place my self in her shoes and wonder what would have made me ask someone else that. Shoes: I look down at her boots. Brown leather boots; simple but still practical. My eyes rove upward along the length of her legs, drinking in her shape; her posture. I've lost my initial thoughts by now and I concentrate on the shape of her.

Her legs are trim beneath her tight jeans and her calves seem taught. These are the legs of someone who spends more than her fair share of time in heels but her thighs and rear are curvy and deliciously soft, suggesting a desk job; or at least a lot of sitting down. I had stood, I realise, and I place my hands on her hips and they seem to be moving of their own volition. Is this OK? Should I be doing this? Red barely flinched beneath my touch and stares at me intently, almost expectantly. My head dips slowly, nearly imperceptibly, towards her as I take in every detail that I can make out in the dim light. Her auburn hair that falls in waves past her shoulders, her brilliantly elvish face with a mouth that smiles a warmth into my soul, the freckles that start very faintly across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose and don't seem to stop, continuing down her neck and across her clavicle. I assume that they don't stop there either as I can imagine tracing those freckles down her arms, across her chest and dipping down lower between her breasts.

I hadn't noticed how close to her I had gotten. She hadn't looked away or moved backwards, which was an encouraging sign. Her eyes had appeared dark brown at first glance but, this close, I can see that they have gold and amber flecks amongst the brown giving her them an iridescence that, I suspect, only previous lovers would have noticed. I wince mentally at my obvious and cliched thought process that clearly means I'd, at the very least, subconsciously entertained the idea of taking this fantastic fiery goddess into my bed – or in this case, my car. Under the circumstances, though, it may have been cliched but possibly not far from reality. I swallow audibly as I realise that, even though neither of us says it, we both know that we're going to make love and that we both want it.

Red reaches up and brushes my cheek with her fingertips, a startlingly pleasurable feeling. Her breath is warm and soft on my skin. I look into her eyes; in the darkness, the whites are faintly glistening around the dark, sparkling depths. I'm not aware that either of us moves but our noses brush gently. Her fingers are in my hair. "Because I really want to kiss you." she whispers the response to her question, our mouths so close that I can feel her words on my lips. I reach up to take her face in my hand and draw her in to kiss her, soft pecks on the mouth and cheeks deepen to become long, wanting kisses as we open and explore each other's mouths. Who knew kissing could feel this good; this intimate?

Unexpectedly, Red breaks the kiss and pulls back from me. Did I do the wrong thing? Was it awful? I didn't think so but maybe she did. I have to ask so I try to keep my voice as calm and composed as I possibly can.

“Is everything OK? I was enjoying it but if you're not...” I leave the implication hanging in the air.

"Yes. I'm longing to get my hands on you, to hold and kiss you but... I... don't know what happens beyond kissing. I've never, um..."

"Never slept with a woman?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Her eyes dart briefly downward in a momentary bout of shame or embarrassment. She nods her head gently. I'm suddenly speechless. She made the moves and she seemed so sure of herself.

“It's easy,” I say with a warm smile “just do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." Red mulls over the twofold meaning, unsure as to whether I'm mocking her. Her eyes flash with a hint of naughtiness at the use of a, typically Biblical, phrase to describe something that can still be seen as taboo. "Why don't we get in the car and turn the heating up? We can just sit together and you can snuggle into me and take it easy."

She smiles. "Maybe a kiss... or two?"

"Hmm. Maybe. We'll have to see." I said with a smirk.

Red slips into the passenger seat as I'm turning the heater three quarters of the way to hot and I start the engine. The heater starts to blow air that isn't quite so cold as the engine warms up.

I rested my hand on the gear stick and I accidentally brushed her knee. I pulled my hand back quickly and prepared to apologise but Red hadn't moved. Did she not notice or was she not bothered? I put my hand back down and did the same thing again. Still, she didn't move except to glance down at what I was doing. It became something of a little game, each time I'd leave my hand against her knee for a little longer. After about nine times of me gently touching her knee I slowly let my hand slide from the gear stick to her leg, rubbing my hand against her thigh. Slowly, I slide my hand further up the outside of her leg and move it around her and finally pulling her closer to me. I reached down and let my seat slide back to make room for her, then pull her leg over the top of me. She straddled me, my hand along the back of her neck and urging her head closer to mine. The kiss was not a shy or restrained kiss but a deep passionate kiss, intense with a desire that engulfed us; a hunger that needed to be sated. I brought my hand around to caress her face, and she pressed her cheek into the comforting warmth of my palm. She pulled back slightly and I followed her, craning my neck to reach her lips. Suddenly, a loud honk startled us. We both jumped, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I could feel her pulse against my cheek as we both searched desperately outside for the source of the sound. When nothing moved and no other car became visible I realized that her arse had honked the car's horn as she moved backwards. I reached to the side of the seat and reclined the seat back as she gave me a quizzical look.

“It was you.” I said to her with a grin. She stared at me blankly for a few moments before realisation dawned across her face and she looked behind her, smiling. “Your sexy arse wants everyone to know how hot it's getting in here.”

Apparently a quick burst of adrenaline was all we needed because that was the moment that the slowly-slowly approach ended and we took it up a notch. My hands went up and unzipped her jacket in one deft movement as she pulled off her scarf and threw it behind me. Our mouths met in a frenzied embrace as I helped her slip her arms out of her sleeves and pushed the jacket into the passenger seat. I went to help remove her top but I couldn't find the hem. I broke the kiss to look down and I was stunned. There was no top. A simple red bra was all that separated my hands from her breasts at that moment. She was looking at me with a concerned expression as if I was going to back off after noticing a distinct lack of clothing. My head made a mental note to ask questions later but my body moved my hands up to gently cup the soft lace surrounding the most impressive breasts I had ever seen, easily bigger than my hands. I looked up again but the expression this time told a different story. Her pupils had dilated and her eyes had darkened with lust. Her lips had parted and her she was breathing shallowly. She reached behind her back with both hands and the fabric of her bra slackened as she undid the clasp.

I put my hands on Reds' shoulders and softly brushed the straps of her lacy undergarment down and off her arms. My touch made her warm skin tingle and break out in goosebumps. I was right about the freckles but I noticed three in particular that formed a triangle from her collar bone to one boob to the other and back.

Those nipples, merely inches from my mouth were irresistible to me. I placed my hands on her hips and locked my gaze on her, looking deep into her eyes as I leant forward and tentatively flicked my tongue out. A slight gasp escaped her lips as my tongue contacted her skin. I did it again and got the same reaction. Feeling bolder, I leaned forward and enveloped her nipple in my mouth and swirled my tongue around it. Her body responded and it became a hard little point. I never broke eye contact with her until she wrapped her arms around my head, holding me in place while her eyes closed and her head went back, enjoying the feeling of me sucking, twisting and nipping at her. My hands came up off her hips and cupped her soft globes as I worked my mouth across them from one to the other, making trails with my tongue.

I'd barely noticed but Red had unbuttoned my shirt half way down and was working her fingers into my own bra, no doubt hunting for my nipples to repay in kind. Of course they were already hard by now. I'd become surprisingly aroused at stripping her and making her look at me with wanton desire. I felt a tingle travel down my spine.

I pushed her off me and back into the passenger seat. Her expression was one of dejection and, possibly, rejection. I still didn't look away from her as I finished unbuttoning my shirt and unclasped my own bra. She caught on to what I was doing and her face lightened with a smile as she slipped off her boots and started tugging at the button on her jeans. My trousers were off before she managed to get hers undone and I helped with removing her legs from their fabric prison. Mmmm... black lace panties with a strappy waistband. Just the sort you could remove with your teeth. I grinned inwardly as I looked down to my black lace underwear. 'It must be a fashion thing' I thought as I pressed my thighs together, feeling the dampness of the fabric between my legs.

I wrapped my arm around Red again and pulled her towards me, laying her back at the same time. Her head was by the door and her feet were on me as I knelt up on my seat, sitting on my heels. I hooked my fingers into her straps and pulled quickly and firmly, relieving Red of her last item of clothing. This elicited an audible gasp from her as she was completely exposed to me. I'm not sure if it was because of her sudden vulnerability or because she was excited but either way excited me even more. Her underwear was as wet as mine felt, I must have been doing something right. I knelt upright and placed my hand on my pussy cupping my mound as I gently stroked backwards and forwards making a show of how turned on I was. In truth I didn't really need to show off. My panties were so wet I'm sure she would have noticed anyway. I slipped my thumbs into the waistband and slid them down and under my knees, pinging them off one leg and to the floor.

It's very dim now, just the wavering light of the moon between the trees. Her skin glows in the yellow moonlight, delicately tracing Red's form as I crawl up towards her and she is, without a doubt, the most beautiful sight I've ever witnessed. I slide myself on top of her and we snuggle down tight into each other's arms. I feel the smooth skin of her sex brush my leg, even as her thigh presses against my own womanhood and our breasts meld. It is a feeling of intimacy, togetherness. Our legs are interlaced, bringing hot, tingling pussies together against thighs; slick with the wetness of our arousal, and moving gently against each other for our own exploration.

Leaning forward, I knelt on all fours and kissed her deeply. Our tongues played together as I took her nipple between my fingers before moving my hand down her sides and across her stomach, feeling the smooth warmth of her skin under my fingertips. I marvelled at how soft she was where she had shaved as my hand continued downwards and my fingers traced the slippery folds of her lips. The kiss broke as a moan escaped her lips and she arched her back upwards towards me. I took the hint and pressed my hand against her hard, my palm pushing on her clit and two fingers working their way into her. I slid easily inside her. The feeling of her warm wetness wrapped around my fingers was exquisite as she made little moaning sounds while I flexed my fingers backwards and forwards, curling them upward behind her clit. Her hand shot out to my shoulder as she gripped, digging her fingers into me. The other one was holding onto the back of the seat. I applied pressure to the spot underneath my fingertips.

“Uhhh...” Red let out an audible and guttural moan as the sensations of my hand stimulated her.

I kept up a steady rhythm of pressing and stroking against her g-spot with my fingers while my palm rubs back and forth against her clit, her pussy is wet enough to make my hand slip smoothly into and over her lips. I get a sudden urge to taste her. It's not like I haven't had the pleasure with other women before but she looks divine and certainly good enough to eat. I shuffle backward slightly and bow my head to her sex, inhaling the aroma of her arousal. God, it makes my mouth water. I wet my lips and slip my tongue out between them searching in the near dark for the delicate traces of her womanhood. As I bury my face in her depths, Red grinds her hips in rhythm with my tongue as I explore her, my touch turning the spark inside her into lightning that shoots down her spine.

She lets out a long, dark moan at this onslaught of sensations within and upon her and I gently increased the tempo of my tongue on her clitoris while similarly making my fingers press a little more firmly into her pussy.

She could feel the build up; sense the peak coming, as she grasped the back of my head and pushed me firmly into her slippery softness. Even as she convulsed, cumming hard and begging me to stop because she was done, I didn't stop licking and sucking her pussy and clit, pushing her to her true limit. Her moans became louder, her climax intensifying, building up again for a second time. And then I stopped...

She gasped for breath and looked down at me, taking in the satisfaction on my face. I grinned. Smiling, I quoted some proverb about the virtues of patience. Red pouted, she seemed to be the kind of girl who had always gotten what she wanted. Not tonight though. She would have to put up with it but, right now, she really didn't care about the second time around. Her grip on me and the seat loosened and I knew that I'd have bruises on my shoulder tomorrow. Not that I minded, of course. Red lay there looking up out of the window at the slowly ebbing moon, lost in her thoughts.

“That was better than I feared.” she whispered.

“I was going for 'better than you hoped', though.” I retorted, just as quietly.

She looked down and flashed me a brilliant and disarming smile. “That's what I meant.”

I turn the engine off and move up along side her. We wrap our arms around each other as I pull a blanket, that I keep behind the seat, up over us. I just wanted to keep warm but sleep is too fast coming.

I wake to the grey light of dawn at the window and Red in my arms, her supple form spooned against me as I lie curled against her. Her, naked against my bare skin because, shockingly, we are naked in my car together. I can feel her breathing, soft and even, that tells me she is sleeping soundly and I cannot resist the temptation to slide my hand gently up down her body, feeling how smooth and delicate her skin is. I notice that I was right last night; her freckles do go practically all the way down. My fingers trace them, making a feeble attempt at an impossible dot-to-dot. The movement and the tickling of her skin rouses her.

“Hey there...” she whispers contentedly.

“Good morning, sweetness.” I whisper back. “It's time to get up sadly. We need to throw some clothes on before we set off again. Come on.” I feel a bit guilty as I was the one who kept her up but I manage to get Red up and dressed whilst discussing what happened over the previous night.

I decide that I won't rush the trip back from here. I'm enjoying Reds' company and I'd rather it wasn't over too soon, so I pace myself for a smooth cruise following the main road back home. Our shoulders and arms touch, inevitably, as she leans over the handbrake and rests her head on my shoulder. It feels so very comfortable and safe that I cannot help wriggling a little bit closer to her as we talk quietly about everything and nothing whilst the car sways gently along it's meandering path. Sleep soon takes her again and the rising sun gives more than enough light to see her sleeping face: she looks beautiful and peaceful and I think that I may be able to get used to this.