Elephants and Ever-Afters [Dark Desires 5] (Siren Publishing Sensations)

by Suzy Shearer

  “Listen to Toby, Jules. You talked about lost time, well imagine if you find out in a few years that Rachel wanted something serious and you were too chicken to tell her how you felt.”

  “Shit! Never thought of that!” Julian exclaimed excitedly. “We’re going out for the day tomorrow, going up the coast for a drive. I’m going to talk to her.”

  Laura cheered.

  “Yay! Good thinking.”

  On Sunday they got a call from Julian asking if they were busy. When Tobias said no, he asked them to come down for lunch. When they arrived, it was a beaming Julian who greeted them at the door, Rachel glowing behind him. When they were eating, Julian told them he and Rachel had decided they both wanted a relationship, they would then see how things went. Laura couldn’t have been happier. Julian was a lovely man, funny, full of wit who deserved someone special, and from what Laura had seen of Rachel she was perfect for him. Tobias teased his friend a little, then told him just how pleased he was for them both.

  “You both deserve the kind of happiness Laura and I have found together.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Friday night had rolled around again and once more Laura felt excited. With Tobias staying at the house from Friday night until Monday morning, it was through the week that she missed him terribly. If he wasn’t too busy he would come over for a few hours or manage to take a day off, but it wasn’t the same as having him sleeping there. She heard the car pull up and then dogs barking. Going to the garage door she let Tobias in, although the dogs came in first, jumping and barking at her, so excited to be there. She gave them a quick pat then turned to Tobias.

  He wrapped her tight in his arms and sighed.

  “I love Fridays. I love knowing I’m staying with you till Monday.”

  “So do I. I love seeing you through the week but the weekends are always perfect.”

  He kissed her and they walked into the kitchen, Tobias’s arm around her waist. She watched as the dogs raced out through the dog door and went crazy in the yard. She and Tobias walked out to the barbecue area to watch them.

  “This is so great for them, plenty of room to run about and play. Look at the two of them!”

  The two dogs were chasing each other around the huge fenced area. They would run down to the fence line then race each other back to where she and Tobias were before heading off again. Ten minutes later they both almost drank their water bowls dry then flopped down totally exhausted. She and Tobias were sitting on one of the couches.

  “Laura.”

  She looked at Tobias, his voice had sounded so serious.

  “Laura, I really love you and I hate that we have to part on Mondays. I…will…”

  She cocked her head looking at him puzzled at what he was trying to say.

  “I love you, too, Toby. What is it?”

  “Can we get a place together? I don’t want to keep seeing you just every weekend. I want to go to sleep every night with you beside me and wake every morning knowing you’re there.”

  Laura couldn’t hide the happy glow she felt.

  “I want that, too, Toby, but why buy a place? Can’t you move in here? Or would you rather live somewhere else?” She looked contrite. “Sorry maybe you don’t like this one enough to live in.”

  “Are you kidding? Heck, I love this house, it’s perfect but I don’t want you to think I’m pushing in.”

  Laura laughed.

  “Don’t be silly. Anyway, I love it, too, there’s something about it that’s just…I don’t know—ideal.”

  “There’s one other thing, my dad. I can’t leave him, he’ll be eighty in May and I’d be worried about him living alone.”

  “I honestly don’t see that as a problem, Toby. There are plenty of bedrooms here then there’s the guest house, it’s empty and unused. If he wanted some semblance of independence he could live in that. It’s big, there’s everything in there he’d need, as well as a spare bedroom if he wanted friends to stay. He wouldn’t feel as if he were underfoot but at the same time, you would know he was okay. On top of that I truly like him, he’s funny and interesting.”

  Tobias looked at her in surprise.

  “You mean that, don’t you? You’d take on me, the dogs, and my father.”

  “Of course I would. You’re my family now.”

  He pulled her close and she smelled the aftershave he wore, woodsy and very masculine.

  “Oh, God, I love you so much. Well, if you’re happy with that arrangement, I’m even more so. I could never have planned a better house than this one.”

  “So you’ll move in?”

  “I will.”

  “What about your father? Will he be upset uprooting himself from where you live now?”

  “He’ll miss his friends for sure, but I know lately he’s been worried I was going to move out and leave him alone. He hasn’t actually come out and asked, but he’s dropped hints about not wanting to live alone.”

  “Well, if that’s the case we can set his mind at rest.”

  “Tomorrow we’ll drive over and ask him. I don’t think he’ll say no,” Tobias said then laughed. “I never thought I’d meet someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with until I met you.”

  “I feel the same way. Who’d have thought getting a broken wrist would lead to something so wonderful?”

  “I really was a bull elephant that day.”

  “You certainly were, a real Tembo.”

  “Ha. You called me that a few times on the day. At the time I wondered why on earth you were calling me that, then I looked it up on the internet.”

  “I remembered it from a documentary as the Swahili word for elephant, and it just popped out that day.”

  “I honestly never gave a thought that someone may have been behind the door.” He shivered and she felt him hug her tighter. “I could have killed you.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “Only through sheer good luck.”

  Laura took his chin between her fingers and made him face her.

  “Put it behind you, Toby. You told me not to dwell on the past when I found out about my family, so I’m telling you the same thing. Okay?”

  “Yes, you’re right. You’re a smart woman, you know that?”

  “Of course,” she answered seriously, then laughed. “This smart woman knows what she wants and right now she wants you naked.”

  “She does, does she? In that case, I’d better comply.”

  Laura watched in delight as he stood then proceeded to do an impromptu striptease.

  “Very nice, so where’s my lap dance?”

  Rather awkwardly, Tobias straddled the chair and her legs. He did a grind and thrust but Laura kept laughing at how uncoordinated he was. Finally, she let him stand in front of her.

  “Very nice, but I think you need to be spanked after that performance.” Laura looked at his feet then let her eyes roam up his body. His cock was already standing at attention. “Your choice—hand or flogger.”

  “Flogger.”

  “Good boy. Go get it for me.”

  She had to grin at how quickly Tobias raced inside to collect the flogger. She knew how much he enjoyed her wielding it all over his arse. He’d told her he loved knowing she was in control and the pain from the flogger seemed to make him all the more aroused. Laura had to admit using it excited her a lot more than she could ever imagine.

  “Bend over that table,” she ordered when he returned and gave it to her. “And don’t you dare come from the excitement of being hit.”

  The table was high enough that he wasn’t too uncomfortable, but low enough that his arse was stuck in the air. Laura stood and planted a kiss on each cheek, then struck.

  He always flinched at the first hit, but then he began moaning with each successive one until it sounded like he was about to come. She laid a hand on one cheek, it was bright red and hot to the touch. Satisfied, Laura told him to stand then sat on the table after removing her clothes. She made him sit on the ground, kno
wing it would rub against his already painful cheeks.

  “I’m sure you’re hungry, you know what you can eat.”

  She widened her legs and Tobias smiled in delight. He leaned forward and began to lick and suck. Laura held tight onto the table and closed her eyes. His tongue teased at her entrance then he would poke it inside before licking from her arsehole to clit. She loved it when he sucked hard on her clit, pulling it into his mouth. He certainly knew how to please a woman.

  Laura clenched her hands on the table’s edge as her orgasm shook her. Tobias kept licking and sucking, drinking every drop of her juice. When her pussy finally stopped shuddering, she ordered him to stand and carry her to the wide chaise lounge.

  “Make me come again, then you can. But not before,” she reminded him.

  His cock got even harder at her words as he spread her legs and pushed his dick into her pussy. He fastened his mouth over one nipple and sucked hard while thrusting. Laura gave over to the sensations and let her body take control.

  Her butt lifted to allow Tobias to push deeper while his mouth continued to suck and nibble. He squeezed a hand between their bodies to play with her clit. Already sensitive from her first orgasm, she wasn’t at all surprised to find her next one building.

  Tobias must have heard her quick intake of breath because he began thrusting faster and deeper, his fingers pulling and pushing on her bead. Like a wave crashing against rocks her orgasm burst from her, her muscles gripped his cock as she shouted his name. Tobias’s climax wasn’t far behind her own, so her muscles were able to milk the final cum from his cock. He lifted his mouth from her breast and kissed her.

  Both of them wrestled with their tongues as the last spasms of their orgasm shook through their bodies. Laura wriggled to one side of the double chaise so Tobias could lay on his side and hold her.

  “My Tembo, I love you so much.”

  “My life is complete with you Laura. Never could I have imagined how much I could love someone the way I adore you.”

  The next morning, they drove over to Tobias’s house. His father was sitting in the living room, reading a book when they walked in. He greeted them warmly.

  “Hello, you two. I didn’t expect to see you.”

  Laura laughed as she kissed his cheek hello.

  “Hi, Dad. Wanted to talk to you.”

  “Ooh, that sound’s serious. Let me guess. You’re moving in together and giving me this house.”

  She and Tobias sat down.

  “Well, half right, Dad. Laura and I talked about things last night and she has a suggestion.” He gestured to Laura to continue.

  “Conall, you know how big my house is. I’d love it if you came and lived with us. You can take any of the bedrooms you like, or if you’d prefer it, you can have the whole guest house, it’s just sitting there empty. Never been used. It’s big enough to put all your stuff in and still have plenty of room, plus you’d still have your independence.”

  He looked from Laura to Tobias, then back to Laura again.

  “You really want an old man cramping your style?” His voice husky with emotion.

  “Ha ha, I doubt you’d do that. No, Conall, I’d really love you to come up to Kurmond. I know you’ll miss your friends, but I’m sure you’d soon meet people. I hear there’s a thriving senior citizens group in Kurrajong, I often bump into some of them when I go to the bakehouse. They have coffee there and chat about how they could make the world better.”

  Tobias laughed and pointed to his father.

  “You’d fit right in.” He looked at Laura. “That’s what he and his mates do all the time.”

  Laura stood and knelt in front of Conall, putting a hand on his knee.

  “If you don’t want to move I really understand, but we both would love it if you came and lived with us.”

  She noticed his eyes fill with unshed tears as he cleared his throat and patted her hand. “I’d like to come, but if I do I live in the guest house. I look after myself, I don’t want to be a burden.”

  “Rubbish! As if you would. Well, it’s all settled, you’re coming.”

  He lifted Laura’s hand and squeezed it.

  “Thank you, Laura, thank you.”

  “You’re most welcome.”

  “I have to admit I was worried.” He looked at Tobias as Laura went back to her seat. “I know I’m getting old, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before you two moved in together. I know I couldn’t look after this place by myself. These stairs are getting harder and harder every day, and to be honest I’d miss having you around, Toby. Thank you.”

  Tobias gruffly said, “Well, get packing. I’ll get a van through the week and you can settle in next weekend.”

  Laura caught him wiping away a tear surreptitiously. They spent the rest of the morning with him discussing what they would take and what they wouldn’t need. After a walk through the house, Tobias suggested she take one of the coffee tables for her library as well as two tan, very comfy looking winged-back leather chairs that Tobias had bought on a whim but never used. They both had their own leather ottoman. Laura discovered a standing lamp in one of the bedrooms that she also claimed for the library.

  When they left after lunch, Conall hugged Laura, thanking her again and giving her the warmest smile.

  The following Friday, Tobias took off work and he and his father officially moved in. They used some of the furniture to fit out the guest house as well as adding spare beds to the empty upstairs bedrooms inside the main house. It now meant they had three bedrooms to offer guests, plus Conall had another spare bedroom arranged in the guest house. Everything from the kitchen and laundry at the Freshwater house was now in the guest house, as well. Conall wouldn’t need to stock up, the pantry was now full, as well. He had utensils, pots, pans, china, a microwave—everything he would need.

  Tobias took over the large room opposite the gym, it had so much space. He had his desk, leather chair and filing cabinets as well as a couple of visitor chairs. There was still room if he wanted to add anything else. Finally, the house was looking like it should have with all the rooms being used. By seven all the boxes had been unpacked, the furniture placed and the three of them were sitting outside enjoying a barbecue.

  “Tomorrow we can drive down to North Richmond to the supermarket. We have to go anyway so you can stock up on anything extra you need,” Tobias told his father.

  “Good idea, although I doubt I need all that much. That’s a nice kitchen in there Laura, plenty of room and there’s plenty of space in the pantry. It’s almost as big as the one in your house, Toby. I know I’m going to enjoy living here.”

  “I want you to treat it as your own, Conall, and that includes everything. You want to swim, dig holes in the garden, paint the walls, it’s all yours.”

  “Thanks, Laura. You really have made an old man very happy in more ways than one. A lovely home, my son finally settled and the knowledge I have my family close. It means a lot.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Okay, Dad. Enough with the sentimentality.” Tobias’s voice was filled with amusement.

  Stinky came over with a ball and dropped it at Conall’s feet. He picked it up and threw it for the dog.

  “I’d miss the dogs, too, if I’d stayed in the house alone. By the way, what are you going to do with it?”

  “Sell it. I’ve already spoken with my agent. I’ve had him looking for places for me for ages, he’s bloody happy now I don’t need him to search. I think he was frustrated that every place he found I said no to.”

  “Don’t blame him.” Conall looked at Laura and pointed to his son. “You know, I think that poor real estate agent showed him over two hundred homes in the past three years, and every single one he found something wrong with.”

  “You did?”

  Tobias shrugged.

  “I knew what I wanted, but couldn’t find it. You know what the funny thing is? As soon as I saw this place I thought ‘this is what I’ve been looking for’.”
r />   “Why didn’t you build?”

  “Figured it would take too long. I honestly thought when I started looking I’d find something straight away. I had this idea by the time we finished building Marsden Park I’d have moved into something perfect.”

  “But you finished building that last year.”

  “Yeah, but by the time we bought the land, had the plans drawn up, got approval then built it took about three years. Even Julian had trouble finding something. It was only when that large block of land near Windsor Downs came on the market that he was finally happy.”

  “It is a lovely place. Do you think Rachel is going to be wife number three?”

  “I hope so. He deserves someone nice after the bimbo and the gold digger. Rachel is perfect for him.”

  “She is. I know she really likes him, she told Adam and he told me.”

  Conall had been throwing the ball for the dogs and half listening to Laura and Tobias. He’d stood earlier and walked around, now he came back and sat down again.

  “Laura, what’s that patch of ground over there?”

  She looked where he pointed and replied.

  “I got Andy, who does the lawns and the pool, to make me a veggie patch. Only trouble is that’s all that’s happened.”

  “Can I take it over? There wasn’t enough room at Freshwater to have a vegetable garden, and we always had one when Toby was young. Remember?”

  “Yes, I remember that. You grew all sorts of things, you had that little greenhouse and we had chickens, too.”

  “Of course you can, Conall. I told you this is your home, too, now. Anyway, I’d love fresh stuff growing. I’d talked to Andy about planting things, but he was as much in the dark as me about growing things. He just mows the grass and trims the bushes back.”

  “I remember the greenhouse, Toby. Well, in that case I’ll have a look at what we can plant. It’s February so things like beetroot, cauliflower and broccoli. What sort of vegetables do you like, Laura?”

  “Me? I eat them all. I love tomatoes home grown, they taste so much better.” She recalled the taste as she added, “Been a very long time since I had a real home grown tomato.”