by Marnie Perry
‘You’re welcome…again.’
Her smile was not shaky this time but wide and genuine but then she flinched and touched her lips. He removed her hand from her mouth and to her surprise raised it to his lips and kissed her fingers as he had earlier that evening, again that tingling feeling spread through her hand and all over her body. He released her hand and said, ‘do you have any spare pillows and blankets?’
She looked perplexed, ‘well yes, but why?’
‘Because I want to be as comfortable as this couch will allow me to be.’
‘This…this couch, what do you mean?’
‘I thought that was obvious, I intend to stay the night.’
She almost fell from said couch as she jerked back, ‘oh but really, there’s no need. I told you, I’m perfectly fine.’
‘No you’re not, you said yourself you’re in shock.’
‘I said shocked not in shock, there’s a difference.’
‘Not to me. Anyway, you’ve been through an ordeal and I’m not leaving you alone, you might have nightmares and I intend to be here just in case.’
‘But…
He interrupted, ‘no, no buts, unless you want to try to physically throw me out I’m staying.’
Part of her desperately wanted him to go and part of her, a much bigger part, was relieved and overjoyed that he wanted to stay. She tried to keep those feelings hidden and to sound stern but her voice came out more petulant than firm, ‘I could call the sheriff.’
‘Oh yeah, your good friend the sheriff, he’ll be round here in a nanosecond no doubt, probably bring old Maxwell with him as back up. Of course then you’ll have to explain why I refuse to leave, make a statement, name names, point fingers, then don’t forget the line up followed by the arrests, and then the coup de grace, the trial.’
She flinched and looked away from him, but looked swiftly back as he made a sound that sounded very much like a chuckle. He said, ‘I’m sorry, it was meant as a joke, a very bad one I grant you under the circumstances, but I couldn’t resist teasing, it’s a natural reaction when threatened with the town sheriff.’
She gave him an exasperated look, ‘you’re awful.’
‘I know. But you do want me to stay don’t you?’
Yes, no, maybe, perhaps, I’m not sure.’
He grinned, ‘have you always been so indecisive or is it just that shock we talked about?’
She gave him an impatient look then laughed.
He smiled and said, ‘so it’s settled then, I’m staying.’
‘It certainly looks that way. But you should know that if I didn’t have a pounding headache I would have thrown you out.’
‘Tried to you mean.’
‘Humph.’
‘Was that a derisive snort by any chance?’
‘You’re very quick.’
‘Humph.’
They both laughed again.
She stood up, ‘I’ll get those pillows and blankets.’
For the third time since they’d entered the cabin he pushed her back down and said, ‘stay where you are, I’ll find them, but first I’ll make that tea.’
She was content to let him wait on her, partly because no one in all her life had ever done so and partly because she liked being cosseted by him. But it was very hard to quell the butterflies which were going berserk in her stomach.
He called from the kitchen, ‘where’s the sugar?’
‘Oh, in the back of the cupboard. I don’t use it myself.
‘Sugar is supposed to be good for shock apparently.’
‘Is it also good for the shock of realising you’ve put on about twenty pounds in weight?’
He laughed out loud. She liked making him laugh like that, it made her feel warm inside. He finished making the tea handed her hers, put his own on the coffee table then went in search of the pillows etcetera.
When he was gone she lay back against the cushions on the coach and closed her eyes. What a night, what a strange and macabre night. She couldn’t believe that so much could happen in just a few hours.
His voice jerked her eyes open, ‘are you okay?’
‘Oh yes, just relaxing. This is lovely tea.’
‘Just one of the things I do well.’
‘A man of many talents huh?’ Her mind involuntarily went back to the way he had dealt with those men. Did he consider that a “talent” too she wondered.
He said, ‘I have a few.’
‘And making tea is right up there.’
‘At the top.’
‘Closely followed by administering first aid to an injured female.’
‘Actually, that was my first time.’
‘Well you can put that right up there now too.’
‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’
They looked at each other then simultaneously laughed.
They were silent for a few minutes sipping their tea until she said, ‘Sterling, can I ask you a question?’
At this point he thought she was going to ask about the man who had accosted her and whether he would have choked him to death if she had not intervened. He would not tell her the truth of course, which would have been, damned right. He said, ‘sure.’
But she surprised him when she asked, ‘Mr. Bentley, Carson, do you mind if I ask what happened to him?
He looked away from her and stared at the opposite wall as if deciding whether to answer her question. She added quickly, ‘if you’d rather not it’s all right, I shouldn’t really have asked, it’s none of my business.’
He looked back at her, ‘no, it’s all right, Carson wouldn’t mind. I was just recalling it that’s all. ‘Carson,’ he smiled, ‘in his younger days Carson was something of a rogue, truth to tell we both were, just petty stuff, nothing serious. We ran errands for some guys, delivered packages, collected debts, that kind of thing. We thought we were tough in those days, as most young men do, we believed that nothing could touch us, not the other kids, not the police, not,’ he paused for a moment and Adela noticed his fist clench before he finished, ‘anyone.
But we were proved wrong. Some guys, older than us, we were sixteen and seventeen…Carson is a year older than me…moved into the area and wanted a piece of the action. We sent them on their way with bloody noses and a few broken bones, but nothing too serious.
We didn’t see them again until one night the guy we worked for sent Carson to Meridian with a package, he stressed that it was important and that he was to tell no one where he was going, not even me. I was pissed that I was being left out. Plus, I didn’t like Carson going places by himself, what we did was dangerous and we had always watched each other’s backs. But there was nothing I could do, we had to obey orders if we wanted to get paid and not get our asses kicked. Anyways, Carson went and the next time I saw him was in the hospital, his mama screaming and crying his father white and lost looking. Carson had been on his way back from Meridian, alone, when he was jumped by the guys we had knocked about. They had taken him to a deserted warehouse, tied him down and used an electric sander on his chest, neck and face.’
Adela gasped and covered her face but removed them again when he continued, ‘he was very badly burned and scarred. They did plastic surgery of course, but there was only so much they could do back then. And now when he perhaps could get better treatment to look a little better he couldn’t give a rat’s. He’s looked like that for so long now he’s used to it, and so are the people around him. Good thing he’s not a vain man, huh? Besides, I always told him he was the ugly one of the two of us.’ He smiled and she tried to respond though she was still very shocked at the dreadful story he had told.
She said, ‘poor Carson, what a dreadful, awful thing to happen to a young man.’
‘You’re a very compassionate woman, Adela Faraday.’
‘I think anyone would be compassionate on hearing such a dreadful story.’
‘Some people might say he deserved it for being involved in criminal activities.’
He watched her face as she spoke and wondered if everyone deserving a second chance included him, he doubted it.
He said, ‘that’s why the family came back to Mississippi. They couldn’t feel the same about Louisiana after that.’
She nodded, ‘I can understand that. But you must have missed him.’
‘I did. But not long after he left I joined the marines.’
‘Were the perpetrators ever brought to justice?'
He looked into her eyes and his voice was very low as he answered, ‘oh yeah, they were brought to justice all right.’
Her eyes widened at his tone and the look in his eyes, a look she had seen before when he had been choking the drunken man. She found it hard to look away and that was when she suspected that for all his sophistication and charm, for all his good humour and excellent manners there was much more to this man, something that belied the affable, friendly man she had come to know, or thought she had.
As id he had read her mind he suddenly smiled that bright, sexy smile and the cold malevolence in his eyes was completely gone and the strange feeling she had felt passed. She chastised herself for thinking such things about him. She told herself that she had been so well treated and met so many friendly people since she had been in this country, that the shock of what the drunk had done had affected her common sense. She was being influenced by what had happened tonight; she was now seeing malice where there was none.
Hennessey studied her face and as usual he could see her thinking about what he’d just said. He could see the uncertainty and apprehension in her eyes until he had smiled and her expression had changed again to one of self reproach.
Suddenly he started chuckling. She said, ‘what, what’s so funny?’
Still chuckling he said, ‘Mr. Jaws?’ She narrowed her eyes and punched his arm. He laughed outright now. ‘I’ve met a lot of people in my time, some strange, some weird, some downright nasty and some extremely polite, but I‘ve never met anyone quite as excessively polite as you.’
She was stung thinking he was mocking he and said rather abruptly, ‘so, so what’s wrong with being polite? You make it sound like a crime.’
He grinned, ‘oh please don’t get all irate. I just meant that even while you were in shock and pain you still remembered to say goodnight and thank you to Mr. Jaws.’
She looked away exasperated with his making fun of her. He put down his tea reached over and took her hand in both of his all amusement gone now and his tone gentle he said, ‘I’m sorry. I know it sounded as though I was laughing at you, but all I meant was that you’re so very nice,’ he leaned towards her so that there lips almost touched, ‘so very, very sweet.’
Once again her eyes locked with his so that it was impossible to look away. His voice was now low and husky as he said, ‘I was going to say this in the morning when there was a little distance between what happened tonight, when you had recovered a little. But I want to say it now so that you might sleep a little better.
I know you didn’t want me to stay because of what I said to you earlier, about wanting you, about desiring you and I meant what I said, every word. But you have nothing, absolutely nothing, to fear from me in that regard. You can sleep soundly and safely tonight. I would never take anything from you that was not offered or given freely and willingly. I would never rush you.
You’re a lovely, warm, decent, kind hearted woman and one day you’ll make some lucky guy a wonderful wife and be a loving, nurturing mother to his children. I don’t want you to regret that you didn’t wait, to throw away that special gift on a one night stand with a man you’ll never see again. Your first time should be with someone you care about and not someone you’ve only just met and hardly know.’
If I was lucky enough to have you I would take time with you, respect your innocence and inexperience.’ The room seemed to fade away even the rain seemed to have ceased as if waiting for what would happen next in the cabin in the woods. All Adela could see was two sincere blue eyes and all she could hear was his voice so soft and earnest, ‘I would be gentle and loving with you, and I would never do anything you did not want me to do. Just promise me that that when you do finally give yourself to a man, that he is a considerate and thoughtful lover, and treats you as I would have done if I’d been lucky enough to have you.’
Never had Adela felt this way, never had she felt such sensations and emotions. She knew he had picked up on her inexperience, that he had guessed that she was a virgin. She was not a woman of the world, not the world of passion and intimacy between two people, not the world of sexual intercourse and he had picked up on it, because he was a man of the world.
He had said he would be gentle and loving with her, that he would respect her innocence. And she was innocent, emotionally and sexually and he knew this and honoured it as very few men would. He had told her she had nothing to fear from him and the really strange thing was that she didn’t fear him, not psychically, not emotionally, not even sexually. She only feared her own inexperience. He had been a marine; he had been around and must have had dozens, maybe even hundreds of women. Would she be a disappointment to him? God, she didn’t even know how to kiss properly let alone please a man in bed.
She wished she could read his mind, she wished she knew what to do to please him.
Every fibre of her being wanted him, wanted to be close to him, to be enveloped in his strong embrace and feel those full, sensual lips against hers. She wanted him to take her to those places she had only read about in her books. It always seemed so easy when the two protagonists came together in bed, so straight forward, but then they were experienced people comfortable with themselves and each other, and besides that they were not real.
Why hadn’t she read books about sex and love making and how to please a man instead of stories about FBI Agents and private investigators? Her fantasies had always been enough before, perhaps because she never envisioned any man wanting to be with her, spend time with her, make love to her, so she lost herself in what was safe and comfortable. How she regretted her naivety and stupidity now.
Hennessey watched the emotions flit across her features and knew he was in luck. He knew he had said the right things in just the right way to put her at ease. Well, maybe at ease was pushing it a bit, but she was no longer afraid that he would jump her in the middle of the night. Oh, she was afraid all right, but of her own feelings not of anything he might do.
He had successfully shifted the onus onto her; put the ball in her court as it were. He had all but told her outright that the next move was hers, if she wanted to take it, and if he knew anything about women or about her, she would. He had seen hope in her eyes, she would be like a lamb to the slaughter.
He reached out and ran his fingers gently through her hair, he smiled and his voice was low and husky as he said, ‘your hair looked beautiful before, but it looks even better all mussed up like this. But then it looks beautiful whatever you do with it.’
His fingers travelled down the side of her face to her cheek, she closed her eyes and as before when they’d danced she leaned her cheek onto his palm. His other hand rested gently against her thigh but even this slight touch scorched her skin through the material of her dressing gown. She swayed slightly towards him.
But as before he suddenly leaned back then stood up abruptly. He didn’t move but stood perfectly still and she could see his jaw clenched tightly as though trying to control himself. He took a deep breath and let it out forcefully. The without looking at her said, ‘well, it’s been quite a night, so I think we ought to get some rest, don’t you?’
Without waiting for her reply he walked towards the bathroom went inside and closed
the door. Adela sat for a few moments just staring at the spot where he had stood then turned and looked at the bathroom door. The closed door seemed like a symbol somehow, a sign that she had been shut out, or he had closed himself off from her. And she knew why, he had been about to lose control again, he had wanted to take it further with her; he had wanted to kiss her but believed that she would not welcome his advances. Oh if only he knew how much she would welcome them, welcome him.
She was frightened of course she was, terrified in fact, but she had never met anyone like Sterling Hennessey and knew she never would again so why not let him be the one who initiated her in the art of lovemaking, why not let him teach her all she should know about men, about herself. She liked him, oh how she liked him, he did things to her insides, to her senses, to her body that she had never imagined could be done to them and she wanted to feel more of it, wanted him to make her feel them again.
She again heard her mothers voice, “My God, Dela you’re more stupid than I thought, how could you possibly think he’s even contemplating being intimate with you? Look at him, he can have any woman he likes and you think he likes you?” Her mother’s laughter grew almost hysterical now and Adela closed her eyes tightly against it and said out loud, ‘you’re wrong, mother; he does like me, he does.’ She wasn’t sure whom she was trying to convince.
*********
In the bathroom Hennessey leaned against the door and once more let out a long breath.
Then he chuckled, if he had been looking in the mirror he knew he would have seen a grin that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.
He took out his phone and called Glissando. This was the part he hated most, but he didn’t want Glissando to think he wasn’t on the case, that he was losing his perspective, his edge. When the phone was picked up he said without preamble, ‘just thought I’d give you an update. I’ve come to the lady’s rescue yet again and this time I get my reward. I’m staying the night in her cabin. She’s primed and ready for it, so I’m just one small step from getting her to trust me.’