Her Irresistible Guardian

by Lisa Torquay

  The sight of her deepened the need of his body. Mark’s mind recognised she was telling the truth though. She could have gone back to Nice if she had decided to. Like the first time. “But we do have a deal and you must stick to it.” He reinforced for fear she broke free again.

  She forced herself to calm down and to sit leisurely on the chaise-longue again, arms folded. “It does seem I should follow through with my life, after all.” Either she made him see how she felt or he’d keep doing it.

  “The hell it does!” His voice barely contained his fury. He walked fast into the room and stopped right in front of her, on the verge of losing control over his desire. “I won’t tolerate anyone making his claim on you, when I am your man!” His countenance froze in stone-like vexation.

  “Making his claim?” She frowned. “What kind of word is this anyway?” He was her man, yes. And hearing him say it so pointedly made a rush of blood run hot in her veins, part of it parking on her cheeks.

  “Yes! Exactly what you heard.” His eyes intent on of hers.

  “How very...traditional.” And she reclined again, defiant.

  This exposed her body to Mark, the folds of the hobby opening slightly, revealing her naked skin. He sucked in the air in search of some slippery control. Denied by his lower abdomen.

  The way Mark looked at her had direct effects on her. Her lungs craved more air, her heart speeding faster.

  He gave one more step towards her. “I don’t care about the label you give it.”

  Her wide eyes lifted slowly to him and their eyes locked in battle. Desire boxed direly with strong-wills. Automatically she sat up as tension built. His fierce commanding eyes were melting the whole of her and were about to extract her expected response.

  “No other man will ever claim my woman!” He reached the chaise-longue.

  She couldn’t bear it any longer. Her eyes lowered unhurriedly, until they registered a certain part of his swollen anatomy. Quickly, her honey pools darted up at him, wide. Desire was winning shamelessly. She sucked her breath through her parted lips. Now his look held hers captive in a spell. Her abdomen reaped with fire waves. On its own accord, her body leaned back, growingly lax, as her head found the upholstery.

  Without leaving her stare, he approximated the chaise-longue. She flexed her knees, making the hobby slid to her thighs. For God’s sake, he had never met a more sensuous woman in his life. She made him totally weak before her. He was at her mercy. Forever. Slowly, he knelt on the upholstery. His hands rested on her knees. His stare strolled over her semi-naked state. He parted her knees, his hands travelling to her inner thighs, reaching her moist centre, peeling her. His mouth followed, his tongue daring. She sighed and her arms stretched over her head in blunt offer, hazy eyes.

  Waves and more waves shot through her, making her writhe under his maddening skill. She felt his tongue drawing the most exquisite patterns as it drove her to utter wantonness. His hands travelled over her narrow waist, her rib-cage and reached her bare breasts, completing her downfall. His fingers clipped her nipples, the sensations orchestrating with the ones bellow. And her hunger grew, widened, almost swallowed her.

  But he wouldn’t let her go all the way. Oh, no. He stopped when she reached the verge of the abyss. He lifted his head and eyed her supplicating countenance. He bent over her. They would sort the discussion out. Yes, they would. Not now. Not now!

  “Amy, you belong with me.” He kissed her deep and hard. “Never forget that.” He murmured in her ear.

  She just glanced at him, lost in her own urge. He freed his turgid eagerness. She arched onto him in expectation. When he entered her in a long slow thrust, the world disappeared. Only their entwined bodies remained real, moving in flammable need, in search of completion. He invaded her mouth as his arms circled her in a calid embrace.

  It’d always be like this with them, a random thought surfaced in her cloudy mind. The growing flames would always melt them in each other, leaving passion and agony in its wake. His arms tightened around her waist and her spine curved even more. His mouth found her fully awoken breast, nipping, suckling it to perdition. Her head fell back and her parted lips let out groans.

  Concentric hot waves spread on her abdomen as he moved deeper. Her legs circled him tighter. As she neared the abyss, blood rushed to the surface of her skin, burning all of her body. She was finally thrown over the precipice and exploded in countless contractions, gasping and holding Mark firmer.

  He lost control completely. He thrust deeper, faster in mind-numbing rhythm, burying his face in the curve of her neck, heaving. He released himself in her with a primitive groan that emptied him of all he had. He fell on her exhausted, resting his head on her breast.

  Lying there on her soft, welcoming body, Mark thought that Amy could well have a difficulty with commitments. She had lost her mother at a tender age; it was a while until her father had re-married. The process of creating new bonds with Linda, his cousin, her step-mother, must have been painful. Mark had the chance of witnessing that she had been fondly loved by both of them. But then she had been sorrowfully alone all over again. She seldom talked about her life before she came to live in the Georgian mansion. Her father had died a month before she showed up at his door step. He had done what he could to help her mourning period, but he had never seen a tear roll down her cheeks. It occurred to him that he should have paid more attention to this in the past. The fast growth of his company kept him so busy and the thought never crossed his mind. Even though she may not be aware of it, it could be playing a role in the way she regarded the pair of them. And he was almost sure it did.

  They stayed there snuggling lazily for a long time before they reluctantly left her home-office. They chatted pieces of nothing and enjoyed the warmth of each other.

  Much later they came down to warm up the dinner Mrs Smith had left for them, as usual.

  “Don’t you ever think of Cardiff?” Mark asked about her hometown as if he was making small talk.

  Her eyes darted to him and hesitated. “Not so much recently.” Her tone was reserved.

  “But you used to.” He plied.

  “I used to miss it, when I first came to London.” She wouldn’t deny it, even though she felt awkward to talk about this bittersweet period of her early life. “It’s the place where I spent my childhood.”

  “Have you never wished to see it again?” He asked before taking a sip of his red-wine.

  She let herself think about the question for a while. “There was nothing left there for me. Going back would have felt...strange, to say the least.”

  “I see.”

  “I uprooted myself when I decided to come here.” She added pensively. “I dare say London feels more like home to me now.” She ate a piece of boiled potato.

  “No wonder, after all these years.” He eyed her searchingly.

  “I believe it’d be curious to see it now.” She shrugged. “Places tend to change along the years, you know.” She never went back because she was afraid of the way she’d feel upon seeing it again. How would it be to re-visit a place where she’d known so much happiness only to lose it all in a clap of fingers? She didn’t want to find out the answer.

  Amy fell suddenly silent and Mark thought it wise to let it drop. They changed subjects and dinner elapsed as normal.

  When Amy lay her head on the pillow that night, with Mark holding her possessively, old memories from her hometown and the life she led there crowded her mind. A melancholy kind of mood hung over her as bits of recollections passed before her mind’s eye. She never wanted to go back to Cardiff. She never wanted to relive the pain of loss she was sure she’d find there. Talking about it made her nostalgic though and she wondered if she shouldn’t think about visiting it.

  Chapter XXI

  “Why should I change my management style?” Mark asked, arched brows. “It’s been working so far.”

  “The company has grown a lot as well.” Susan replied. “Changing may be the way of fost
ering further progress, you know.”

  Mark, Susan and Amy were sitting in the meeting room, following up the results of the staff survey that Amy had collected.

  “As MBS gets bigger, you won’t be able to make all the decisions yourself, you’ll have to delegate more.” Amy stated. The management style was one of the most complained about issues in the survey.

  As time elapsed, the staff seemed to become used to Amy as Mark’s partner in a broad sense. Quizzical looks were lessening and people seemed less awkward in that respect. Amy was very particular in showing that her private life wouldn’t mix with her professional posture, which put everybody more at ease.

  “No problem with the delegating part.” Mark said. “Sharing decision-making is a new concept for me though.” He sat back on the chair. He was so very attractive in his dark-green suit and green-striped tie, Amy thought, observing him discretely.

  Of course sharing decision-making didn’t agree with his strong personality. He was a fierce leader, so charismatic that his team respected and followed him. But it didn’t seem enough, according to the results of the survey.

  “If we don’t address the issue up front now, it can get in the way soon enough.” Amy warned.

  “I agree.” Susan said. “More ideas will add to the company’s assets and pulverized decision-making strengthens commitment.”

  Commitment was a word that had dwelled in Mark’s mind a lot of late. He had been thinking about how Amy could go through the defences she had erected due to her life experiences. He looked at Amy’s up-nosed graceful profile, admiring the perfection of her beauty. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help her there.

  “I see your point.” He stopped and thought for a while. “Alright. Amy, you and Susan can draw up a plan to put this new idea in motion.”

  Susan smiled relieved. The feedbacks she’d been getting weren’t very promising. “That was a sensible idea.”

  “We’ll take one step at a time and make sure staff will be involved in all levels.” Amy added.

  When the meeting finished, Amy left the room carrying her laptop. She walked the hallways towards the stair case and she almost bumped into Juan.

  “Amy.” He held her shoulders to keep her from falling. “Be careful.” He eyed her with a serious countenance.

  Amy startled and looked up at him. “Oh, sorry.” She smiled politely and stepped unperceptively back.

  After the night of the exhibition he had been acting a little oddly. Amy didn’t know what to attribute it to and didn’t want to risk asking. But he directed her too long stares, talked little and didn’t seem quite the carefree, flirty young man he used to be.

  Juan stepped back too. “How’s everything?” He clasped his hands behind his back.

  “Not bad.” A scratchy feeling of discomfort invaded her for no apparent reason. “And you?”

  “Going.” His eyes didn’t meet hers and he was glancing around.

  “Fine.” She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “Ok.” She saw him looking through her. “I have to go back to my office.”

  He showed a plastic smile. “I also have to go back to work.”

  “See you.” She said and started walking.

  He nodded his head briefly and went his way.

  His change of behaviour felt a trifle weird. As she came to her office, she immersed herself in work and forgot all about it.

  Later that evening, Amy and Mark were in the sauna relaxing after a busy day. Both were naked. Mark was sitting, leaning on the wooden wall and Amy was encased between his legs, leaning on his chest. He had her wrapped in his arms. They had been like this for a long while, just enjoying each other’s company. A hot languor seized their bodies and they sighed with lazy pleasure.

  “I ran into Juan when I left the meeting this afternoon.” She murmured casually.

  “Really.” Mark’s head was resting on the wooden wall. His hands caressed her arm tenderly

  She rolled her head and looked up at him. “He was acting a little strange.”

  “How so?” He was more interested in the warm dripping of her skin than in Torres.

  “He seemed rather...aloof, to be precise.” She cradled herself more cosily against his muscular chest.

  Obviously, Mark hadn’t told Amy about the conversation he had with Torres the day he saw Torres in her office. She’d certainly tell him off if she came to know that Mark had practically told Torres to keep away from her. Ms Independent would ride again, no doubt.

  “Well, he’s been busy these days.” Mark answered evasively. He lowered his head and started scraping his lips along her face and held her tighter.

  She stopped talking to savour his tenderness. Her head fell back, giving him more to caress. He just did that. “I only thought it remarkable.” She continued.

  He slowly removed her hair to caress the nape of her neck. “I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”

  He nibbled the curve between her neck and her shoulder, causing her to shiver.

  “Understood, boss.” She said teasingly.

  “What would staff management suggest us do now?” He followed her playful tone.”

  She breathed out a chuckle. “Every hard-working individual should relax at the end of a long day.”

  “Now that’s a valuable hint.” His hand went up from her arm to her shoulder caressingly.

  “Isn’t it?” She smiled faintly, enjoying his tenderness.

  “Any alternatives for relaxation?” He murmured in her ear.

  As an answer she turned her head and reached to kiss him, entangling her fingers in his dark hair. He returned the kiss eagerly as his hand cupped her full breast.

  Next afternoon, Amy was working in her office when her telephone rang. Her assistant, David Mason, said there was a call for her. Mason was proving to be a very hard-working young man of twenty, eager to learn and become ever more efficient.

  Amy got the call coming through. “Holt.”

  “Good afternoon, Ms Holt. This is Randal Burns.” It crossed her mind that it was a little strange her stock broker to ring her. She hadn’t made any financial request of late

  “Hello, Mr Burns.”

  “I’m calling about a spectacular offer I got for your MBS shares.”

  She frowned. “But I didn’t put them in the market, Mr Burns.”

  There was a little pause. “I know. A colleague of mine from the Exchange called me saying there’s someone in the market very keen on buying whatever MBS shares are available.” As Burns recited the value offered, Amy was taken aback. It was several times over what she had paid.

  Amy gaped, her mind racing. The London Stock Exchange had put together strict guidelines for share negotiations. Nobody could buy high amounts of it from the same company without direct and transparent negotiations. “This seems very much against the guidelines.”

  “It certainly does, but my colleague is just collecting information so that open negotiations can start.

  “I see.” Amy’s forefinger went to her chin, pensively. “Do you know who’s behind this?”

  Burns cleared his throat, seeming in discomfort. “I’ve got no names so far.”

  “My shares are not for sale at the moment anyway.”

  “Fine. Just call me if you change your mind.”

  Amy set the receiver back. She became very intrigued. Who might be behind this? It was true MBS had surpassed its competitor, buying it in the process. But all happened out in the open and both companies knew the rules of the game they were playing. When the takeover was completed, Mark made sure that the least possible employees were made redundant. An extensive re-employment package was drawn up for the ones who had to go. Eventually, most of those were re-hired, since MBS growth was overwhelming. With this, MBS rocketed up to the first security systems company in the global ranking, leaving the others far behind. And those others didn’t have much possibility of reaching MBS. Unless something changed dramatically. If so, news would have been out a
nd about. Fishy actually.

  Amy immediately took the phone and called Mark. “Mark? It’s Amy.” She said curtly, when she got through.

  “Amy!” His voice sounded pleasant.

  “I’ve just received a call from my broker.” She felt edgy now. “There’s an exorbitant offer for my MBS shares.”

  Mark was silent for several seconds, before he spoke. “That’s weird.” Apprehension wired through him.

  Amy reported her conversation with Burns and she perceived he was getting angry about that. As with everything else, he was protective of the company he had worked so hard to lift to success. She knew he wouldn’t give it up so easily.

  “Thanks, Amy. I’ll make a couple of calls to see if I can dig up some information.”

  They hung up and Amy only hoped this wasn’t sign of something serious.

  After making those phone calls, Mark could retrieve very little information. His broker hadn’t heard of anything and one the major shareholders was suspiciously reticent about his inquiring. He sat in his office mulling about this. Of course MBS ownership wasn’t endangered. He, Mark, held the majority of the shares. Since Amy had said she wouldn’t sell hers, then there was no real threat. But still... Competitors were bound to keep lurking in search of any breach through which to attack. He’d have to call up a meeting with the shareholders very soon.

  One thing made him happy, though. One tiny little action coming from her. Amy showed she was loyal to him by refusing the offer to sell her shares and by warning him about this issue as soon as it happened. The thought made his love for her swell as if his heart was going to float. Maybe, just maybe, he stood a chance with her.