In addition to that, Abigail had a noticeable little baby bump. With the way Rich had spread himself around, was it possible that she’d had an affair with him? That the baby was his? Jillian had already given birth to a child Rich had abandoned, so why not Abigail, too? Thankfully, Jillian was engaged to a wonderful man now, Will’s stepbrother, Jesse Navarro, who was helping her raise her daughter. But Abigail appeared to be all alone.
Allison said, “I nominate Abigail Stewart as the most interesting woman here.”
Rand followed her line of sight to the pregnant artist. But he didn’t comment on Abigail or her condition. Instead, he asked, “What man would get your vote?”
Allison scanned the crowd again. This time, she laughed. “How about Dr. Chambers?” Vaughn Chambers was a respected trauma surgeon at Royal Memorial, as well as the heir to an oil fortune. But even with as young and handsome as he was, his social graces were sorely lacking. He looked as if he’d been dragged to the fund-raiser by his peers. “Could he be any more miserable?”
Rand chuckled. “Is he grumbling under his breath?”
“It certainly seems that way to me.”
“Then he gets my vote, too.” A second later, Rand went serious. “Royal is a fascinating place, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Allison would be returning to Dallas when their marriage was over, but Royal was definitely making a heartfelt impression on her. She was going to be sorry to leave it behind. Leaving Rand behind was going to be even more painful. She would miss everything about him. To keep from becoming sad, she said, “I forgot to tell you that I’m officially employed again. I received the contracts for the featured articles I told you about. The publisher emailed them to me yesterday, and I signed them this morning and sent them off.”
“Congratulations.” He straightened his tie in a businesslike manner, behaving like the CEO that he was. “I know how much your work means to you.”
“As much as yours means to you.”
He moved closer to her. “We’re quite the pair.”
She thought about the promise he’d made to strip her bare tonight. She stepped into his arms, pressing her body close to his. “I’m looking forward to being with you again.”
“Me, too.” He grazed her cheek with his chin. “But I think the fireworks are about to start.”
She turned to see people shuffling outside. “Then I guess we better join them.”
Hand in hand, they proceeded to the courtyard, the night air filled with scents of summer, fragrant flowers blooming on the club’s well-tended grounds.
Still holding hands, they watched the sky explode with pops of sound and color. As magnificent as the display was, the only thing Allison could think about was going home—where she and Rand could create their own brand of fireworks.
Nine
Finally, they were home, Allison thought. Together in Rand’s room, with the lights turned low and a candle burning. He claimed the candle held special powers and served a sensual purpose. The strawberries-and-cream scent did seem like an aphrodisiac. But she was already steeped in desire.
He worked her zipper and peeled off her gown, just as he’d promised to do.
“Step back so I can look at you,” he commanded.
She followed his instruction, and he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her sequined garment on his lap. Aside from his jacket and shoes, he was still fully clothed.
All that remained on Allison’s body was the skimpy lingerie she’d bought to go with her gown.
Rand roughly said, “Turn around. Let me see all of you.”
She made a complete circle, turning slowly, and coming back to face him once again. She refused to be shy. If he wanted to look at her, then she was going to let him take his fill.
While he roamed his gaze over her, she waited for him to give her another command. She would never forget this moment, this feeling—as if she belonged to him. But she knew she couldn’t let herself feel this way forever. Once their marriage ended, so would this crazy, wild affair.
“Take those off.” He used his chin to motion to her undergarments.
She did his bidding. She unhooked her bra and freed her breasts. She stepped out of her pale pink thong, too.
“You’re so damned beautiful,” he said.
For once in her life, she felt beautiful. “This is a magical night for me.” Like being in the midst of an erotic fairy tale, she thought.
He kept staring at her. “I’m letting the candle heat up. I need to be sure it’s warm enough.”
She glanced in the direction of Rand’s mahogany bureau, where the candle sat, burning inside of a tin container. “It already smells glorious.”
“I’m going to use the candle on you. I bought it for tonight to surprise you, just like you got your makeover to surprise me.”
She gulped her next breath. “What do you mean you’re going to use it on me?”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing kinky. Once the wax melts, it becomes massage oil.”
She gazed longingly at him, with a romantic quaver in her body, in her soul. “So you’re going to pour it on me and rub it into my skin?”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He placed her dress on a nearby chair, then headed over to the bureau and checked the temperature of the wax, drizzling some of it onto the back of his hand.
She stood back, so wildly aroused, she could hardly breathe. The feeling of belonging to him was getting stronger. But it was just part of their affair, she reminded herself. Part of the thrill.
He extinguished the flame. “It’s ready.”
So was Allison, ready and willing to try a new kind of foreplay. “Should I get in bed?”
“Yes, but I need to unmake it first.”
As he got rid of everything except the bottom sheet, her pulse throbbed in unmentionable places.
“Excited?” he asked.
“Yes.” Just thinking about what came next was almost more than she could bear.
“I’m glad you’re into it. But I figured you would be.” He pointed to the bed. “Okay. Get in.”
Swallowing hard, she climbed into his bed, realizing how cage-like it seemed with its brass headboard and footboard.
He came over to her with the candle. “It’s the edible kind, so I can taste it, too.”
She inhaled the sweet scent, inundating her senses with it. “I should have known there was a method to your madness.”
He knelt beside her, his lips curving into a randy smile.
Rand. His name filled her head. He dripped the oil onto her breasts, and she gasped in immediate pleasure, the sensation warm and sensual. He put his hands everywhere, all over her. Kneading her muscles, he gave her a luxurious massage. She moaned, and he lowered his head to flick his tongue, taking an ice cream cone–type lick right from her navel.
“Is it good?” she asked, on another moan.
“It’s better than good. And now I’m going taste you where it counts, like I did before.”
Except this time she would be covered in flavored oil instead of sudsy water, making it even more carnal. He lifted her legs onto his shoulders, putting her in a highly intimate position.
He used his mouth, skillful in his ministrations. Her husband, her lover, her friend; she was definitely his for the taking. She reached back, gripping the rails on the headboard.
He buried his mouth deeper, and she held the rails even tighter. He was making her wet, so incredibly wet.
By now, her entire world was centered on the heat, the pressure, the passion that overtook her. She arched her hips and rubbed against his face, participating in her orgasm.
He encouraged her to enjoy every tingle, every shiver, every arousing tremor, and Allison came in a stream of liquid ecstasy.
He kissed her, down there, one last time and removed his clothes, a
wicked expression alight in his eyes.
She sat up and stretched, feeling delightfully wicked, too. She could’ve come a thousand times for him.
He kissed her again, on the lips, giving her a musky taste of herself. Such a bad boy, she thought, such a libidinous man. She slipped away from him and got out of bed.
“What are you doing, Allison?”
“It’s my turn to seduce you.” She wanted to do to him what he’d done to her. She stood at the foot of the bed and gestured for him to sit in front of her.
He did as he was told, even if he said, “I think I’m in trouble.”
“Yes, you are.” She was going to make him beg for mercy. She gestured to the small silver tin beside him. “I need the candle.” She noticed that the wax was still pooling into oil.
He handed it to her, and she made a slick mess, dripping it onto his chest in circular motions. She poured a straight, thin line down his abs, too, where it moved in a slow and stirring trail. Pushing his legs apart, and being as aggressive as a determined woman could be, she dropped to her knees in front of him.
“Holy hell,” he groaned.
Hell wasn’t a holy place, but she knew what he meant. Allison roved her hands over the front of his body, rubbing the massage oil into his skin. His erection strained, growing bigger and harder, but she didn’t touch it. Not yet.
“Are you going to put your mouth on me?” he asked.
“Yes.” She was going to take him all the way to the back of her throat.
He toyed with her hair, the newly highlighted strands flowing through his fingers. “Have you ever done it before?”
“Yes,” she said again.
His body tensed in arousal, his hands tightening in her hair. “You never let any of your lovers do it to you, but you were doing it to them?”
“It was easier for me to give than receive.” But she’d never been as brazen as she was right now. “It’s going to be better with you. Deeper. As deep as I can go.”
“Then do it.” His voice went raspy. “Just do it.”
She took her sweet time, lapping at the oil glistening on his thighs. “You taste like dessert.” The strawberry stuff was yummy.
“Allison, please.”
The begging had begun, just as she’d hoped it would. But she waited another beat before she used her mouth to drive him mad. While she took him to euphoric heights, she looked up at him, glad to see that he was watching.
Rand praised her, telling her how incredible she was, how mesmerized he was by her deep, deep throat. He cupped her chin and moved his hips to the rhythm she’d set.
She planned to keep going, to bring him to fruition, but his desire took another turn. He told her to stop, insisting that he wanted to be inside her.
She considered testing his limits, but he wouldn’t let her. He dragged her up off her knees, making her as hot for him as he was for her. She fitted him with a condom and straddled his lap. He pulled her onto the bed, and with their bodies bathed in oil, they made voracious love.
He came quickly, fiercely, and so did Allison, replete with satisfaction. But she felt a bit dizzy, too, as if her heart was never going to stop spinning.
Needing to stay close to him, she cuddled in his arms and put her head on his chest. He stroked a hand down her spine, and she closed her eyes, allowing him to lull her to sleep.
* * *
On Sunday afternoon, just two days after the fund-raiser, Allison and Rand hosted a barbecue. Their guests included Ted and Sharon Marks, Ted’s mother, Mavis, and Rand’s granny, Lottie.
The menu consisted of grilled salmon, a fresh green salad, soda bread and champ, the latter being a traditional Irish dish made with spring onions, butter, milk and mashed potatoes. Soda bread was common in Ireland, too. For dessert, they would have a light and frothy lemon pudding.
While the men drank Texas-brewed beer and fired up the grill, Mavis and Lottie chatted in the dining room, and Allison and Sharon worked side by side in the kitchen.
Allison checked on the bread, but it wasn’t quite ready yet. In the old days, it used to be baked over hot coals in a covered skillet. She was making it the modern way, of course, using the oven. Earlier she’d taught Sharon how to make the champ, sharing that recipe with her.
At the moment, Sharon was in charge of the salad, creating a colorful masterpiece out of the vegetables she’d diced. She stood tall and slim in a casual blouse and ankle-cuffed linen slacks, her short blond hair perfectly coiffed. She took impeccable care of herself, wearing her fiftysomething years well.
Allison had fixed herself up, too, using the Clarity skin care products and cosmetics Selena had given her. She liked how being glamorous made her feel. She didn’t want her makeover to be a onetime thing.
“It’s interesting how Mavis and Lottie live in the same condominium complex and didn’t even know each other until today,” Sharon said, peering in the direction of the elderly women. “But it’s a big place, so I can see where their paths might not have crossed.”
“They certainly seem to be getting along well.” Allison thought it was nice that Ted’s widowed mother and Rand’s never-married granny were becoming instant friends. Although Mavis was about ten years younger than Lottie, they were both former socialites living quiet lives now.
Allison checked on the bread again. This time, she removed it from the oven and placed it on the stove top to cool.
“That smells marvelous.” Sharon sniffed the air. “I loved the hearty food in Ireland. I loved everything about it.”
“I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip.” Allison appreciated Sharon’s enthusiasm. “Rand has never been there.”
“Really? He needs to see where you come from. He needs to experience it.”
“We plan on renewing our vows in Kenmare next year.” The lie rolled off Allison’s tongue before she could take it back. And now that she’d said it, she was forced to expound. “The second ceremony will be held in the church where I was baptized.”
“Oh, how lovely. You and Rand make a fascinating couple.” Sharon lowered her voice. “Ted is impressed with the influence you’ve had on Rand. He’s so different now that he’s with you.” Her tone returned to normal, as if she realized there wasn’t any reason to whisper. They were the only two people within earshot. “It sounds like your family raised you well. I’ll bet they’re just the nicest people.”
“Thank you. That’s such a kind thing to say.” The compliments made Allison feel warm and homey, even if her influence on Rand wasn’t what it appeared to be. “My parents would be thrilled about how much you love Ireland. If you and Ted ever go back, I’ll put you in touch with them. They love having company at the farm.”
“That would be wonderful.” Sharon completed the salad, topping it with shredded cheese. “Hey, here’s an idea! You can invite us to your wedding ceremony in Kenmare. It’ll be a great excuse for us to return to Ireland, and we can meet your family and see the farm then.”
“That’s a brilliant idea.” Allison embellished the lie. But what else could she do? Telling the truth wasn’t an option. “A destination wedding like that will take some planning, so I should probably start compiling the guest list now.” To include no one, she thought, a lump rising to her throat. By next year, she and Rand would be long-since divorced.
When it was time to eat, they sat outside, enjoying the weather. During the meal, Rand and Ted talked sports. Both men were golfers with similar handicaps.
“Kenmare has a famous old golf course,” Allison said, joining the conversation. Since the gated community where Rand lived was a golfer’s haven, she wanted everyone to know that her hometown had a golf club, too.
Ted jumped in and excitedly said, “I golfed there.” He proceeded to tell Rand it was one of most scenic courses he’d ever had the pleasure of playing, with its breathtaking views of the Irish countryside.<
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Suddenly Allison wished that she and Rand really would be going to Ireland together next year. But her wish made no sense. What were they supposed to do while they were there? Hang out as a divorced couple?
After the afternoon wound down, everyone went home except for Rand’s grandmother. She wanted to stay and visit a bit longer. Instead of returning to the patio, they gathered in the living room, sipping mint-flavored iced tea and eating second helpings of dessert. Allison and Rand sat side by side on the sofa, while his granny took a wingback chair.
Lottie was an elegant sight to behold, with her snow-white hair, fragile skin and deep blue eyes. Pinned to the lapel of her blouse was a red garnet brooch. It looked like an antique piece, probably purchased from the same jeweler who’d provided Allison’s engagement and wedding rings.
They chatted about inconsequential things, until Lottie said to Allison, “I’m aware that my short-term memory is failing. I know that I’m being treated for it. But it’s strange because I can’t really tell how bad it is. When you’re the one it’s happening to, you don’t remember that you’re being forgetful.”
“I can only imagine how difficult that must be,” Allison replied. “To have other people reminding you of what you’re supposed to remember.”
Lottie dipped into her pudding, stirring it with her spoon. “At my age, I’m lucky I still have all of my other faculties. But you know what? I remember my past. I remember when Rand’s mother died. She was my only child, and I loved her dearly. I remember raising Rand and Trey and how much joy they gave me.” She quietly added, “And I remember the feeling of being in love.”
Allison’s heart thudded in her chest, and she glanced at Rand to get his reaction. He met her gaze, then returned his attention to his grandmother, letting her speak her emotional piece.
Lottie continued by saying, “His name was Eduardo Ruiz, and he was the love of my life and the father of my child. But I knew it would never work between us. That he was incapable of returning my love. I used to think that Rand had inherited Eduardo’s restless spirit. That he was just like him. But he isn’t.” Lottie spoke directly to him. “You wouldn’t have married Allison if you were like him. You wouldn’t have fallen in love with her.”
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