Then, There's Love (Revealing)

by Rena Manse

  Clearing his head, he recognized his surroundings and paused at the spot he’d found Jonathan and Ashley only minutes before. They struck him as friendly, not intimate. If Jonathan waited for her to prove her affections…

  A bitter taste rose on his tongue.

  He moved on to his neighbor’s estate, handed over the bay, and started for home. How did Ashley find out about Jade and him in the stables? Had she walked in on them? He chuckled.

  It wasn’t what she thought. The idea hadn’t thrilled him so he and Jade left the upper loft—under her protest. Not long afterward, he escorted a whining Jade to her car, him quickly losing interest. Instead, his mind had been highly disturbed by memories of Ashley’s horrified face upon hearing the news of Val’s sudden illness. A look Jade never shared, one he’d not soon forget.

  Once home, Aaron removed the tack and released Junction to the small field, admiring the horse’s athletic form. Jade’s recent photo shoot had inspired their hayloft fiasco.

  “The games we play.” He whistled for Junction. She galloped over and he fed her fresh apple slices the stable hand left in a nearby pail. “What do you think? Nobody does something for nothing.” He stroked her long nose. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He made his way to the house. Whatever game Ashley played, he wanted a turn.

  Taking care of her patient didn’t diminish the thoughts racing through Ashley’s mind. She left Val in Janet’s company, showered, donned a halter top and jeans, and hurried back downstairs.

  Experience under a bush. Heat engulfed her in the empty hallway. I can give that to you. Her skin tickled all over. The prospect of making love to Aaron hadn’t deterred her, only her commitment to God.

  “How close to the edge do I have to be to make that distinction?”

  Ashley thought back to recent Bible Study discussions. Is this what Joseph faced with Potiphar’s wife? She chuckled. Well, at least she wasn’t the only one to go through something like this. Potiphar’s grandson wouldn’t want to waste any more time on her anyway.

  She paused in the middle of the hall, wondering what would have happened if she’d kissed him in the stables. Or last night?

  Listen here, Imagination, this is not how a romance is supposed to go. Not her romance. She didn’t have anything against white men, but everyone knew she preferred a docile, black, preacher man, who’d respect who she was and what she did for a living. He existed somewhere. And one fine day…

  Her vision latched onto a familiar approaching figure.

  “Your lover boy’s steed is home safe and sound.”

  She answered to the huge blood and muck stain on Aaron’s shirt. “You didn’t have to.”

  “Sorry, did I snatch away a prime meeting opportunity?”

  “Drop it, will you.” She attempted to move around him but he backed up.

  “Did you forget you kicked a hole in my chest?”

  Her eyes settled on it again, and he opened the shirt. His chest had swelled to something truly ugly.

  “Don’t open it!” she squealed, seeing a new trickle and thick, dried river testifying to his earlier blood loss.

  Aaron squinted. “I’m conscious enough to take care of it.”

  Conscious en—? “Why on earth did you wait?” Her astounded voice echoed in the hallway. He had a gaping wound and he thought she was out of her mind? Was he the only person on two thriving estates available to take back a horse? “Follow me,” she ordered.

  With herky-jerky movements, she set up a first-aid kit in the restroom beside the kitchen. Aaron perched against the counter in the open working area, and removed his shirt without her breaking a sweat.

  She pulled on latex gloves, then soaked a hand towel in warm water and avoided eye contact while she pressed over the wound to clean it out. Ashley gritted her teeth during her thorough inspection. The extent of her incredible footwork stole her fire.

  “I’m so sorry, Aaron.” For goodness sake, she could have done serious injury to him. “Does it still hurt?”

  “It’s throbbing.”

  “Any dizziness?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Earlier.”

  Staring at his sincere-looking face, she didn’t want to get sucked into his vulnerability like last night. Nor in the fact that his confession of earlier could only mean when he’d been on horseback, and susceptible to falling unconscious, doing more damage, and lying helpless in the woods for hours. “Good. There’s no way I’m plucking you off the floor.”

  His bright smile caught something inside of her. She took his closed eyes as an opportunity to soak up the live sculpture. Blood smeared in a line from shoulder to jeans, but she liked the untamed look of him. The defined features, medium-dark lashes that hid outlaw eyes, traveling down to his jaw, neck, and broad shoulders. She lingered on his biceps and abs. For someone who spent a lot of time behind a desk, he sure kept defined.

  A polished, black steel or titanium ring adorned his right ring finger. She leaned closer. Three crosses lay lengthwise, etched in the rectangular surface. A crown of thorns off-center. Ashley straightened. Odd, and interesting. Nice hands. She tipped her head, recalling how those fingers felt against her skin. How knowledgeable he moved around her even though, intimately, they were strangers.

  Breathe.

  Air streamed slowly.

  Get this over with, or faint.

  Like a dream, Aaron spoke into the silence. “You’re so gentle. It feels good.”

  His chest expanded. When she looked up, his eyes were open. Apparently he’d watched her checking him out.

  “I’m sorry you waited so long to get it cleaned up. You have sweat and dirt in here.” The pointless information hung in the air. She must have blinked five times to his none. “I’m—I’ll buy an ointment later so you won’t scar. Much.”

  She had an instant flash of another bathroom session applying cream. He stared like he knew it. Her lips became the focus of his concentration, and Ashley foolishly gnawed the corner. Wrong thing to do. She turned away. Hot in here. She snapped off the bloodied gloves and busied preparing disinfectant until a shiver racked her as a solitary finger delicately glided down, then up, the back of her bare arm.

  “I’m glad Grandmother isn’t the only one receiving your soothing attention.”

  The giddy laugh inside embarrassed her—and she was the only one who’d heard it. “You won’t think I’m so soothing after this disinfectant goes in.”

  He picked up the damp towel and wiped dried blood from his torso. “Thanks for the warning, now let me warn you. For every second this stings, you owe me a second of a kiss.”

  She pulled back from administering the disinfectant. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.” He dumped the towel behind him. “We have a situation you want to pretend doesn’t exist. If you expect us to tip-toe around each other for the next two months, I’ll be honest. I’m not gonna’ last. My suggestion, a business proposal if you will, is to get it over with. Just a kiss. No strings. And our mutual curiosity can be put to rest.”

  “We don’t have a mutual curiosity.” She hiked her eyebrows to show denial of his accusation.

  His guttural response called her bluff. “Then just put me out of my misery. ’Cause I’m dying to.”

  A faint smile and hooded eyes returning to her lips wiped all coherent thought. Stiff as a mannequin, she stood with a raised hand. Pungent liquid dripping from the cotton swab to her thumb and wrist. He was dying to kiss her? Curiosity indeed.

  Put the swab down or put it on his chest. What a stupid ultimatum. She was a professional, despite what he may think. Besides, how she hated Aaron Gilyard.

  His eyes flinched when the sting hit his nerves. She wasn’t even certain she addressed the entire wound, but returned his glare in sweet revenge as she slabbered it on. Punishment for his brazen proposition. Punishment for her. After looking thoughtful, he stood.

  “I forgot to count,” he said innocently.

  Ashley dropped her arm wh
en he gathered her into his. She focused on the five translucent freckles on his nose as his face came near. She could do this. He wanted to cancel her from his system? She could cancel. Delete. Obliterate. That tempting mouth touched hers.

  Oh, how this man made her contradict herself. His arms tightened and comfort permeated her being. Even the hint of sweat from his ride was an appealing aroma.

  Aaron broke the connection, impatiently wheedling the swab from her stubborn fingers. Oh, right. Reluctant, Ashley let him loose her cotton-ball safety-net before he positioned her arms around his neck and fixed her snug against him. ‘Like so,’ his pointed expression told her.

  Persuasive lips teased hers as if to compensate for her shyness. They coaxed her into longer and longer seasons of pulling and fondling.

  She refused to succumb to her full physical attraction for fear of what might happen. And she was only kissing the man. But her arms contracted, drawing him closer. She couldn’t help returning each stroke of his mouth. Aaron made it easy to match his slowing tempo. They soon fell into leisurely draws with one another.

  When his tongue peeped in, she pulled back. But he followed, moving her to a new level. Aaron held her as a master musician cradles his instrument, and not once did she feel he would turn it into anything more.

  True to his word, it was just a kiss. His hands didn’t roam, only one moved to support the lower part of her head. And his body didn’t turn to pin her against the counter. His mouth was a masterpiece, closed and nudging or open and seeking.

  He raised his head and scanned her face. Came back, and they enjoyed each other once more. Ashley liked his playfulness when he hovered in place sporting a thrilled, crooked smile. He leisurely snuggled a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

  “Are you going to feel awkward about this?” Warm breath flirted over her lips, but his eager ones didn’t wait for an answer. They closed over hers again. “I hope you don’t.” He brushed over her mouth. “You’re so hard to resist.”

  What did that mean? He’d cancelled her from his system, right? Deciding to decode later, she joined the next slow give-and-receive. When Aaron pulled back he looked like he still expected her answer. She shook her head no.

  “When will you fail to surprise me, Ashley?” He watched her lips as the tips of his fingers mapped them.

  Basking in his closeness now that they’d shared a wonderful moment, she smiled. His confident and unhurried presence put her at ease. She wasn’t ready to stop. Pale brown ash-dimensioned eyes, trickling fingers on her lips, and a sexy mouth that had worked her to relaxation beckoned her into action. Ashley stood on her tiptoes, raised her head, and for a fraction of a second, witnessed the astonished withdrawal in Aaron’s eyes before the unthinkable happened.

  The dull buzz, the hand to the hip. And Aaron didn’t even look this time, he simply answered the cell phone with a,

  “Yeah.”

  ...and they slowly untwined.

  Ashley faced the mirror, balanced her thighs against the counter, and stared at her reflection, then at his. Was her kissing expertise so bad as not to warrant another peck? He chose the phone over her, and the conversation didn’t sound that important.

  She prepared the dressing, which he would be applying himself, large enough to cover the scrapes, then made a mental note to purchase more appropriate supplies that afternoon.

  He chose the phone!

  Her pride dropped somewhere to her left shoe. Ashley wiped down the counter, and then tried to push by him, but Aaron grabbed her upper arm. He seemed completely comfortable half dressed with cell phone in hand, oblivious to the private atmosphere crumbling around them. How did his mind operate? He conducted business in the middle of an intimate moment.

  Mortified by her recent behavior, she closed her eyes. The thing to do was find a rock out back and evict whatever maggot was in residence.

  His strong hand glided to her wrist with tantalizing precision. The fact that he talked budgets or shipping expenses blew her mind.

  Where was that rock?

  She opened her eyes. “I need to find Valerie.” She spoke loudly, not caring who on the listening end heard; to whom the words ‘no’ and ‘nothing’ were uttered not far behind. Idiot.

  The bathroom echoed public response to their previous private whispers. Cold and hollow. She shouldn’t be so upset. She’d accepted his offer. Cancel them from their systems. Maybe he’d go to work at his office from now on and leave her be.

  “Ashley, dear?”

  She jumped at Valerie’s voice, tried to swat Aaron’s hand away, but he held firm. The sensitive inside of her wrist received a contradictory light stroke, defying her to stay put. What are you doing? She jerked in self-preservation, and he let her go. He stood up and brushed into her turned back, as she faced Val rounding the corner in her wheelchair.

  The smiling woman’s curious gaze looped between them. Ashley stepped away from the heat of Aaron’s bare chest and walked toward Val. She hoped the gruesome looking, but clean clotting wound created a distraction.

  “She kicked me, Grandmother.”

  Approaching Val, she witnessed the humored acceptance. No doubt Aaron expected her to squirm through some sort of explanation. Why did she feel obligated to comply? “I was on the horse and Aaron startled me and Tempest started to gallop and—”

  Valerie waved her hand in kind dismissal, but kept her demure smile on Ashley as she asked, “Aaron, we’re about to have breakfast. Will you be joining us?”

  Instructing the person on the phone to hold, he bumped past Ashley. With all the space in the hallway, his contact was totally unnecessary. She clenched her jaw at both the message he sent to Val, and the arousing scent he made travel through her system.

  “No, I have a full day ahead of me. This is Kavin on the line. We have a problem to take care of. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  He gave his grandmother a kiss before his lissome strides took him towards the stairs, bandage in hand, shirt slung over his shoulder. He was a masterpiece in motion. Ashley gave his form all of her attention. That’s the opposite of that what I asked for.

  Coming to her senses, she followed behind Valerie towards the patio. Something sticky crusted on her right side. Quickly, she wiped bloody smears from her arm, shoulder, and armpit. She’d have to wait to clean the blue strap of her halter. She shook her head, wanting to fall through a crack in the universe.

  Aaron had seen and let her walk out of the bathroom. It’s what Valerie had smirked at, knowing the only way his blood had been able to rub off in this way was full contact.

  “Just shoot me now,” she breathed.

  She looked to the front of the house expecting to see nothing, but caught sight of Aaron. Feet apart, hand in pocket, he stood with a tense carriage at the end of the hall as he spoke on his cell. He’d disguised the telephone conversation when they were in the bathroom, for right now, he looked serious; and worse yet, he looked seriously at her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jonathan’s silver and black sports coupe sped along the deserted road toward the pier. Ashley changed lanes and flicked on the signal for a right turn. The start of the July Fourth weekend promoted smiling faces and loud party music around her. The exhilarating atmosphere inspired a reckless streak in her behind the wheel as she came to a screeching halt in one of the parking spaces.

  “All right, I drove you here. Now, what? Lunch at the club or your yacht?”

  “I think we have to go back for a few car parts.” Jonathan feigned anger, reached over, and tapped the ignition button. “Car off,” he ordered the machine, then opened his door. “Ashley, remind me to give you driving lessons before we set off again.”

  “You only wish you could drive like me.” She met him behind the car and shoved her nose in the air.

  Taking her hand, Jonathan led her through the double-gated fence and along a dock. He’d said they were going for a quick lunch, but the pier was a dead giveaway to his latest acquisition. She’d missed the v
essel’s christening due to one of Val’s appointments, so looked forward to lay her eyes on SeAngel.

  He helped her onboard, and then snagged her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. “You smell great. What are you wearing?”

  Her scent? She smiled. The economy ensemble Janet recommended reaped better rewards than she’d imaged. “Nothing special,” she teased, and shrank away laughing when he kissed her neck.

  “I’m not kidding. I forgot how terrific you always smell. Can you believe it’s been two weeks since we’ve been out?”

  Ashley lost her smile. She didn’t want to remember the day she’d volunteered herself as a lab rat for Aaron. He’d been his usual cool self at dinner. The next day he’d flown to Toronto. Though he called to check up on Val, he never once mentioned the kiss. Each morning she woke up denying she missed his overbearing presence, and that she looked forward to his return today.

  Jonathan took her hand again, and led her around the fine craft. Here stood a handsome, interesting, black, wealthy bachelor, and she was stuck in the first grade playing nah-nah-nah-nah-nah with the class bully.

  Aaron. Even now she rolled her eyes behind closed lids with a miniscule shake of her head at her stupid reactions. He heightened everything. Whenever he was around she had to let her emotions die. It wasn’t right for her to feel such strong urges of…whatever.

  Flooded with images of a man who’d hung her new shoes over his third-floor balcony rail for all to see, she scarcely absorbed the information recited to her during the yacht tour.

  Jonathan went to the club up the peer to get their lunch, while she altered her vocabulary from kitchen to galley and bathroom to head. They enjoyed lunch on the lower deck. Fresh fruit, chocolates and a beautiful breeze helped cool the afternoon she knew flew far too swiftly.

  “Next week we’ll go for a sail,” Jonathan promised. His arm curled around her as she lay snuggled between him and the back of the sofa. “You’ll love it.”