“Oh, hello. How are you?” he says, clearly taken aback.
I glance at Declan, and he smiles at me in encouragement. “I’m good, thanks. Dad, I was thinking of having dinner with you. Meet Terri and—” I stop abruptly as I search for my stepsister’s name and draw up a blank.
“Her name is Michelle,” he says mildly.
“Yes, of course,” I say as if I’d known all along and had just been taking my time to say it.
“I’d like to see you. I’ll text you the address,” he says. He doesn’t sound as sure of himself as I remember.
“Okay, Dad.”
The phone goes quiet, and I think that he’s disconnected the call. Then he clears his throat. “Uh, Marian, thank you.”
I grip my phone as sudden tears come to my eyes. When I disconnect, Declan gathers me in his arms and holds me tight. The tears drop from my eyes and run down my cheeks.
“I’m a mess,” I tell Declan later when I’m back in control of my emotions.
“It’s fine.”
“We’re supposed to be headed to my mom’s for lunch and the meeting,” I say and gather my paperwork from my bag.
“Are you going to make her sign a contract?” Declan says.
I grin. “Yes, of course. I have to file it.”
“I love how professional you are,” Declan says.
It would have been nice to spend the afternoon in our room, but I’m here for work and work must happen.
Declan inputs my mom’s address in the navigation bar and follows the directions. We drive down Main Street, and I’m surprised to see the town has grown bigger. There are new stores that were not there when I lived in Arlen. I recognize the yarn store as well as the diner run for decades by the Samson family.
The advantage of Arlen is that no place is ever more than a fifteen-minute drive, and before long, we’re parked in front of Mom’s house. The front door flies open even before Declan kills the engine, and she comes bounding down the porch steps.
“Mom,” I say as I get out of the car.
I rush to her, and we cling to each other. Josh comes down the porch as well, and I hug him next. Declan joins us, and more hugs are exchanged. Josh feels like an old friend, and I’m glad that my mom has him to spend her life with. Arlen can be a lonely town, especially for singletons. I know because Mom told me about it every time we spoke on the phone.
We troop inside, and a teasing scent of food hits us as we walk into her living room.
“I can’t wait to tuck into whatever it is that’s smelling so tantalizing,” Declan says.
“It’s ready if you’re hungry, Declan,” Mom says. “We can go straight to the table.”
“Let’s,” I say, hungry as well.
In the bathroom, while we’re washing up, Declan pulls me into his arms and kisses me. “It’s been too long,” is the only explanation he offers.
Back at the table, we compliment my mom on the spread that she’s laid out.
“We’re going for dinner at Dad’s and Terri’s,” I tell her minutes later.
“That’s nice,” she says mildly.
Josh has changed her. A year earlier, she would have thrown a fit at such news. She’d become a bitter woman, and it had saddened me that there was nothing I could do to help her see life differently.
“Your father will be pleased to see you,” she says. “Now, can we talk about the wedding?”
“Have you thought about a small wedding?” I ask her without holding out much hope.
“No, I haven’t because I have no intentions of having one,” she says briskly, which makes Declan laugh. “This is my last wedding, and I intend to make a mark.”
“There’s no other way to do it,” Declan says.
I slap his thigh lightly. “Don’t encourage her.”
Chapter 23
Declan
Marian is quiet on the drive back to the Resort, but that doesn’t surprise me. Judy had outrageous demands for what she wants for her wedding, and Marian fought her all the way. Now I see why she’s so successful at what she does. She keeps her feet firmly on the ground and makes sure that her clients do as well.
“I have plans for you, ma’am,” I tell her.
“Like what?” Marian says with a tired smile. Protective feelings come over me, and I want to wrap her in my arms for the rest of the day.
“We’ll start with a massage for the lady,” I say.
“Can I take a shower first?”
“Sure, anything that the lady wishes.” When we’re together like this, I wonder how I lived before Marian came into my life. She’s quickly taken the center stage, with my plans revolving around her.
The Resort feels like a sanctuary, away from the noise that is the world.
“Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Carter,” the nice lady at reception says.
We thank her and head to our room through the quiet, carpeted hallways. I keep Marian’s hand in mine until we get to the room.
“Go on and have your shower; I’ll come in after you,” I tell her while gently propelling her to the bathroom.
She bats her eyelashes at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in with me?”
My body heats up in an instant at the loaded invitation in Marian’s voice. “You know what will happen if I do, and I want to give you that massage. Your job is to shower then come and lie face down on the bed.”
“Bossy Declan is back,” Marian says before she disappears into the bathroom.
Minutes later, I hear the sound of the shower. While Marian is at her father’s for dinner, I’ll have dinner at a bar nearby. After five minutes Marian turns the shower off and I strip off for mine.
Stripped to boxer briefs, I enter the bathroom just as Marian leaves the bathroom. We pause in the doorway to kiss, drawn to each other like magnets. Her lips are soft and warm, and it takes every ounce of my self-control to pull away and enter the bathroom.
Marian’s laughter follows me into the bathroom. She can laugh all she wants, but I’m determined that she’ll get that massage, and nothing will distract me. I shower as fast as is humanly possible and emerge from the bathroom to find Marian sprawled on the bed, wrapped in a towel that barely covers her ass cheeks.
I inhale deeply. My cock jumps to attention.
“Just following instructions,” she says in her throaty voice.
“Good girl,” I growl.
I grab a fresh pair of boxers from my bag and slip them on. I notice a bottle of oil on the bedside table and reach for it. “Perfect.” I open the lid and sniff it. It smells of Marian. Peppermint. I could drink the stuff.
“I’ll be your masseuse for the evening,” I tell her as I arrange myself between her legs.
She giggles. A sound that I love. “What services do you provide?”
“A sensual massage.” I pour a dollop of oil into the palm of my hands and rub them together.
“What, no extras?” she asks with a pout in her voice.
I chuckle. “That depends on whether the madam needs them or not. Only time will tell.”
I massage the oil into her left leg, starting at the foot and working my way up to her knee. She makes the same sounds of pleasure that she makes when we’re making love, and it signals all sorts of things to my brain.
Like my cock should be sheathed in her pussy, or I should be sucking something, not massaging.
I ignore my sex-obsessed brain and switch to the other leg. “Is the massage to the madam’s satisfaction?” I ask Marian in my fake foreign accent.
“Mmm, the masseuse could concentrate on my thighs, which are in terrible pain,” Marian says.
“Yes, of course,” I tell her. “Is it okay with madam if I push up her towel? Just for the massage, of course.”
Marian is silent for a moment as if she’s seriously considering the request. My cock is going mad, jerking around in my boxer briefs. It feels confined, locked up in jail.
“That will be fine but no further than necessary.” Marian’s vo
ice is thick with what I’m sure is arousal.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I carefully push her towel further up to the point where I can see her ass cheeks.
“Madam has a beautiful body,” I tell her as I pour more oil into my hands and rub it over her thighs.
I make circles that go all the way to her inner thighs. She throws them further apart to give me access. Her scent of arousal wafts up my nose, and I let out a loud groan.
“Is there something the matter?” Marian asks.
“Hell no … um, everything’s under control,” I say, resuming my foreign accent.
Marian giggles.
My hands massage her inner thighs and go up until I can feel her curly pubes. She moans softly as I massage the outside of her pussy with feather-light strokes that have her squirming for more.
I’m so turned on by the softness of her skin, the scent of her arousal, and by the writhing movements that Marian is making on the bed. I pry the towel from her body, exposing her perfect curvy ass. I caress and then massage her ass cheeks and then move my hands up to her back and shoulders.
“One moment,” I say, five minutes later. I slip out of my boxer briefs and get back on the bed to kneel between her legs. I grip my cock and use it to tease her clit.
Marian raises her hips back and opens up her pussy for me.
“Fuck,” I say at the juices gleaming from the slit of her pussy. I rub the head of my cock up and down, coating it with her pussy juices.
“Please, Declan,” Marian says as she claws the beddings. “I need you. I want you.”
“I need you too, babe,” I tell her as I press the tip of my cock into her entrance. Her pussy walls give way, and I push my cock deeper and deeper.
It’s exquisite to have all of my cock buried in Marian’s sweet, hot pussy. I pull out completely and watch my cock go back in slowly. I grip her hips and nudge her further back so that her curvy ass is raised in the air. Heaven.
My grunts fill the room as I plunge my cock in and out in a steady rhythm. Marian’s sweet moans are music to my ears.
“Faster. Harder.” Her words spurred me on. She gyrates her hips, driving me insane with the sight of her ass jiggling. My cock is coated with juices, and it slides seamlessly, in and out.
“Yes,” Marian says. She pushes herself up on all fours taking more of my cock in.
I adjust my position and grip her hips. I thrust into her hard, once, twice, and on the third count, we come simultaneously, crying out each other’s names.
“You’ve turned me into someone I don’t recognize,” Marian says later as we lie side by side, facing each other.
I run a thumb over her lower lip. “I recognize you.”
Marian rolls her eyes. “I wish we were staying here all evening. Like this.”
“You know that wouldn’t happen,” I tell her. “It wouldn’t take too long before you’re riding me like a cowgirl.”
She giggles. “You paint a very vivid picture.”
I grow solemn. “Are you sure you’re okay going alone?”
“I’ll be fine,” Marian says. “If I go with you, I’ll just be hiding behind you. It’s time to face up to the fact that my dad has a new family and to accept them.”
“I found a bar that’s not too far from his address. All you’ll need to do is call, and I’ll be there in a flash,” I tell her.
A sweet smile comes over her features. “You realize that I’m not entering a lion’s den, don’t you?”
“You can tease all you want, but I take my vows very seriously.”
“Which you cannot remember,” she says.
I grin foolishly. “Most vows use the same wording.”
We fool around in bed until it’s time to get ready for the evening. We take a shower together, which leads to another quick session and a rinse.
“This is ridiculous.” Marian laughs as she slips on a pretty pale blue dress.
“What is?” I say and move to pull up her back zip.
“The way we can’t keep our hands off each other no matter how many times we make … have sex,” Marian says.
“I much prefer to make love,” I tell her with mock seriousness. I kiss the delicate skin of her neck before pulling up the zip completely.
“Okay. Make love,” she says in a soft voice.
I place my hands on her shoulders and whirl her around. She looks at me with her big expressive emerald green eyes, and my heart splinters into a million pieces. All my protective instincts scream at me to accompany her to her dad’s place.
I manage to hold my tongue. This is one of those times when Marian doesn’t need my protection. She needs to deal with her past with her dad. Without interference.
I kiss her one more time before we leave. She’s very quiet in the car, but it’s completely understandable. She’s about to meet her father’s family, and there’s bound to be tension.
I make small talk that doesn’t need a lot of input from Marian. When we get to her father’s place, she looks at the house as if it’s going to gobble her up.
“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” I ask her.
She lets out a nervous laugh. “It’s very tempting, but I need to do this on my own.” She leans across her seat to kiss me.
“Remember, call if you need me,” I tell her and watch as she gets out of the car and walks up to the front door. No one would tell by watching her that she’s nervous. I want to pound my chest like a gorilla, with pride.
Only after she has entered the house do I drive off toward the bar. It’s five minutes away and knowing that Marian is close by makes me feel better about the whole situation.
The bar is a typical small-town bar. Dark when you enter, and curious eyes immediately swing toward you. I make my way to the counter and slide into a barstool.
“Hello there,” the bartender, a middle-aged man, says. “What can I get you?”
“A beer is fine,” I tell him while glancing at my surroundings.
A slight man is seated to my right, and he watches me covertly until I turn to him, and he looks away. I inquire about the food, and I’m delighted that their cook is in. I order a steak and potatoes and sit back to enjoy my beer.
I listen to the conversation between the bartender and the man on my right. They’re discussing some town hall meeting a few days ago. Ten minutes later, the bartender slides a plate in front of me.
It smells wonderful, and I eat with gusto without stopping until I’m done.
“Another one for you, Leonard?” The barman asks, and I go still.
“Sure,” the guy on my right says.
It’s him. Marian’s ex. The one who hit her. Anger coils in my stomach. I study him and notice that he has a permanent smirk on his face. I’d like to punch it off.
“I haven’t seen you around here,” he says when he notices that I’m watching him. “You must be new.”
“What’s it to you?” I ask him.
“Whoa,” he says, raising his hands in the air. “Just making conversation. I’m not looking for a fight.”
“I know you’re not,” I say, unable to control my anger. “Men like you like to punch women, not men.”
His face scrunches up, and his eyes bulge with sudden anger. “Do you want to take that back?”
“No.”
He stands up, and as quick as a flash, I get up too. I need him to throw the first punch, which he does. I easily move to one side, and it flies past harmlessly, unbalancing Leonard. I wait for him to right himself, then land a nice hard punch to his nose. Blood sputters, staining both our shirts.
“That one’s for Marian,” I tell him.
Chapter 24
Marian
This dinner has got to be the most awkward that I’ve ever been to. For starters, it looks as if Terri and Dad fought as she keeps shooting daggers at him. The only hit is Michelle, my baby stepsister. She’s a little blonde girl with a gorgeous toothless smile and a happy disposition.
She is
a good distraction until she has to go to bed just after dinner.
“We can have wine in the living room,” Dad says and stands up.
“I’ll help clear up,” I say, and he and Terri say no at the same time.
I follow Dad to the living room and sit down while he wrestles with a wine bottle before he gets it open. Terri returns to the living room with three wine glasses. She hands one to each of us, and Dad pours.
“A toast?” Dad says and stands up. “To Marian, may you continue to be part of our lives.” Tears fill his eyes.
“To Marian,” Terri says. “We missed you.” She sounds sincere. Maybe she is.
“Thanks.”
I feel the same tension that I’d felt at the dining table. “Are you guys okay? I hope that my visit didn’t cause any problems.”
“Of course not,” Dad says. “How can you think that?”
“It’s not you,” Terri says. She puts the wine glass on the table with more force than necessary. “You’re family, so I don’t see why I should pretend that all’s well between your father and me.”
“Terri,” Dad says in a raised voice.
She ignores him. I feel as if I’ve entered the movie set, and no one gave me a script, so I have to wing it.
“Your father is having an affair with his new secretary,” Terri says, her voice shaky.
“I am not,” my dad says. “She’s always accusing me of having affairs with all my secretaries. I’ll be honest with you, Terri, I’m sick of it,”
Angry, accusing words fly back and forth. I’m pretty sure that my dad is not having an affair. If he were, he would say it. He’s an honest man even when he’s cheating.
Karma is a bitch. Because Terri was Dad’s secretary, she knows how it starts, and her imagination is probably tormenting her. I see it as my chance to leave. I take out my phone to text Declan.
I’m ready to go.
He responds seconds later, saying that he’s parked outside. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I drain my wine and jump to my feet. Dad and Terri look at me in surprise.
“Why are you leaving so soon?” Terri asks.
“I have appointments early tomorrow morning,” I say.
“Oh,” my dad says and gets up.
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