“Randy …” he said, his voice a deep groan.
She moved to his lips, kissing him with all the passion she was feeling. He returned that passion with all of his own. For the first time in their relationship, Randy made love to him. She delighted in her ability to make him respond to her, and it made her feel powerful and confident.
Afterwards they lay entwined in each other’s arms. Joe looked down at her, with a wide grin on his face.
“My … what a little power will do to a woman,” he said, his voice still husky from their lovemaking.
“No,” Randy said, looking up at him, “it’s what you do to me.”
“Hell, tell me what I did, I’ll do it again, gladly!” he said, and she laughed.
They fell asleep a half hour later. Joe woke the next morning to the sound of someone knocking lightly on the door. He had been half-awake anyway or he wouldn’t have heard the light tapping.
Assuming it was Mason, he made sure that both he and Randy were covered, then he said, “Come.”
It wasn’t Mason, it was Roslynn.
“Well, well now,” Roslynn said quietly, looking down at Joe, taking in his bare chest and the girl sleeping next to him.
“What do you want, Roslynn?” Joe whispered harshly. He was hoping to keep Randy from waking, but she was already stirring.
“I’d say a little of what she obviously had,” Roslynn said, her voice still low, her eyes staring down into his.
Joe was shocked by her brashness. Randy’s eyes, to his dismay, were now open and she was staring up in amazement at the nerve of the intruder.
“Sorry, dear, didn’t mean to wake you,” Roslynn said with a conciliatory tone.
“Roslynn,” Joe said, keeping his voice calm and cool, “get out of here.”
“Why Joseph, you haven’t gotten shy on me have you?” Roslynn said, her eyes widening at him.
She sat on the chair across from the bed.
“Roslynn …” Joe started to say, his voice issuing a warning.
“Oh Joseph don’t be a prude,” Roslynn said, waving her hand at Joe. Then she looked at Randy, who was staring at her almost dumbfounded by her boldness. “You see dear, Joseph and I … well we’re no strangers. Well my parents they thought that I was a sweet innocent virgin, but Joseph he changed all that, and—”
“Roslynn!” Joe yelled then, cutting her off with a swift gesture of his hand. “Get the fuck out of here, before I have you thrown out.”
“Oh, now you wouldn’t do that Joseph. I know you remember the good times we had, and we can have those again, if you’ll just come to your senses …” She looked at him, her eyes those of a vixen.
Joe just shook his head, not believing that this was the same blushing girl his parents had wanted him to marry. To his utter shock, Randy sat up, her eyes staring defiantly at Roslynn. The marks of their passionate lovemaking were evident on Randy’s neck and Roslynn’s eyes narrowed at the sight of them.
“I believe Joe asked you to leave,” Randy said, keeping her voice cool.
“Well …” Roslynn said, measuring up her adversary. “Don’t think that you won’t be next, dear.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Joe put in, as he sat up and pulled Randy back against him.
“But you are,” Randy said, settling herself against Joe, still facing Roslynn, her eyes never leaving the other woman’s face.
“Is that so?” Roslynn said becoming very haughty.
“That’s so,” Randy replied.
“You think you can handle a man like Joseph little girl?” Roslynn said, her voice full of derision.
“I think I have,” Randy said, her voice full of meaning, her smile provocative.
“He’ll get bored with you in no time,” Roslynn said, her eyes narrowing.
“Like he got bored with you?” Randy asked, her voice mockingly sympathetic.
“You dirty little bint!” Roslynn said, her eyes flaring with anger. Randy knew she’d hit her mark.
Joe chuckled, still astounded at Randy’s fire.
“Takes one to know one, doesn’t it Roslynn?” Randy fired back.
“Well, you won’t keep him,” Roslynn said, trying to regain her composure. “No one ever does.”
“No one else has ever married him and that’s just what I’m going to do,” Randy replied, placing her hands on top of Joe’s where Roslynn could see them clearly.
Roslynn noticed that Randy wore Joe’s signet ring on her left ring finger. Randy caught Roslynn’s eyes on the ring, and noted the subsequent widening of her eyes. She smiled evilly at the other woman then.
“I think you’d be wise to leave now, Roslynn,” Joe said, his voice derisive, “while you’re ahead.” Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right you’re not even ahead now … better yet you better leave before Randy here actually beats you into the ground.”
He grinned, moving his head down to nuzzle Randy’s neck. Her hand came up to touch his face. Joe looked up at Roslynn from the tendrils of Randy’s tousled blond curls, his light blue eyes reflecting victory. Roslynn inhaled sharply at the look in his eyes, then she looked at Randy. Randy had her head tilted down, so that Joe’s lips could touch the hollow of her neck, but her eyes stared at Roslynn. Joe was her man, and nobody, not even a ghost from the past could have him. Roslynn got the message loud and clear. She stood without a word and walked out of the room.
Roslynn walked outside the room, closing the door, and leaning against it. She had expected Joe to be ready to jump into her bed. She had grown up a great deal since he’d seen her last, and she thought that she would make him drool. She hadn’t expected this “Randy” to be the blond-haired vixen she had turned out to be. Taylor had said that Randy was very meek, but obviously Taylor had underestimated the girl. As she leaned against the door, she could hear what was going on in the room. She reluctantly listened to Joe and Randy for a moment, then strode away down the hall, tears gathered in her eyes.
“Jesus!” Joe said, after Roslynn left and closed the door. “Where did you come from?”
“I’ve always been here, I guess it just took someone like her to bring out that side of me,” Randy said, leaning back against him, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers.
“Well, stay, please …” Joe said seductively.
Randy looked up at him, smiling. “Oh I intend to,” she said, her voice low and sexy.
“Good …” Joe said. He leaned down to kiss her lips and his hands caressed her breasts.
She gasped as she felt his hands on her, and the intensity of their kiss increased. After a few minutes, Joe turned her around to face him, his eyes burning with desire.
“God,” he said, his voice husky, “You’re gonna be the end of me yet.”
“Not the end, Joseph,” Randy said, her eyes staring seductively up at him, her voice like silk, “just the beginning …”
She ran her hand through his hair and brought his head down to hers. Joe found himself reacting strongly to her sudden change of character. He very much liked this side of Randy too. He had enjoyed being the teacher, guiding her through lovemaking, but now that she had discovered her power over him, she was using it, and he liked it, a great deal.
As they kissed, her nails skimmed the sides of his head as her hands moved through his hair. Joe found himself responding wildly to the sensation. His hands gripped her and he dragged her body over to him, and pressing it against his, which only served to excite him more. Her tongue slid seductively along his lips, and once again he responded with an intensity that surprised him.
“Baby …baby …” Joe murmured over and over, as he felt himself losing all control.
She pushed him back on the bed and slid her body along the length of his, her own pulse racing at having excited him so much. As she slid down and his body entered hers, they both groaned loudly. They made slow passionate love, both of them holding back, wanting to extend the sensations they were feeling. When they finally reached the height of
their passion, they both exclaimed loudly, their hands clasped tightly.
Afterwards, Joe stared up at Randy, knowing the student had now surpassed the teacher, and glad of it. She grinned down at him, feeling absolute power, and reveling in it. Just let Roslynn try to take this man away from her now!
****
Over the next week, Joe showed Randy around London and, at her gentle insistence, around the estate. They rode horses over the hundred acres of the land that was the Sinclair estate. Randy was surprised to find out that her husband to be was also a generally accomplished horseman too. She wondered if there would ever be an end to the things that she didn’t know about this man.
Randy herself was slightly afraid of horses, but Joe talked her through the saddling of the horse and helped her onto the back of the Arabian mare he had chosen for her to ride. Once she was on the horse, he gave her gentle instructions to keep the horse in line. A few times he gave the black Friesian stallion he rode a quick kick and galloped off ahead. Randy watched as he rode; he was even more attractive astride a horse. It reminded her of the movie they had watched “Ladyhawke.” It had starred Rutger Hauer, who played the Captain of the Guard. In the movie he had ridden a Friesian stallion, known for their grace and beauty as well as their exceptionally long manes and tails. Joe looked as handsome to Randy as Rutger Hauer had in the movie. Even more so because she loved him.
They stopped for a while and sat under a huge oak tree on the estate. Joe was a little quiet, and she noticed a far off look in his eyes. It had been a week and three days since they had left America.
“Hey,” Randy said, laying down next to him in the grass, and looking up at him.
He was sitting with his knees up to his chest, his ankles crossed, and his arms resting on his knees. He looked down at her smiling.
“What?” he asked.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, her voice in no way suspicious or prying.
“Home,” he answered simply.
“I thought you were home?” she replied, smiling up at him.
“No, I mean America.”
“You consider that home now?”
Joe thought for a moment, realizing what that would mean to him. And after a few long moments he nodded. “Yeah, I guess I do, I mean, all this”—he gestured to the wooded area around them—“it’s not mine, it’s theirs. It’s like I’m just keeping it for them … you know?”
“Is that how you feel? Like this isn’t really yours anymore?” Randy asked, sitting up, and her eyes searching his.
“It never was mine, Randy. It was always their house. I didn’t buy it, I didn’t earn it. It’s their money, their house, and their land.”
“But they left it to you. Don’t you think they’d want you to have it?” Randy said.
“I guess so, but it’s hard, you know, taking what they left. It seems so wrong somehow.”
Randy reached out, touching his cheek. “You loved them, and they loved you, and they left you all of this so that you could live your life the way you wanted to, and that’s what you’re doing. Does this have to do with that stuff with Roslynn?”
He looked at her, eyes not giving anything away. They hadn’t talked about Rosylnn since the morning she had barged in on them.
“I guess in a way it does. Knowing that my father was going to change his will, and knowing that he didn’t want me to have all of this if I didn’t marry her. I guess it has a lot to do with that, now that I think about it,” he said, coming to the realization as he spoke.
He looked apologetically. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she had asked him and he didn’t want to lie to her.
Randy was silent for a few minutes, looking out over the landscape. They were sitting in a clearing, surrounded by big beautiful trees, the sky was clear, but there was a definite chill in the air. Then she finally brought her gaze back to him.
“Joe, I think that your father was going to change his will, because he wanted to make sure that you did something that he felt would, in the end, save you from yourself,” Randy said, her tone reasoning. “Okay, so you didn’t marry Roslynn, but you did save yourself from yourself didn’t you? You went to the States and straightened yourself out. You became a police officer, you’ve done so much …” she said, her voice trailing off as she canted her head. “Don’t you think that you’ve done so much more than they could have hoped for? Don’t you think they’d be proud of you now?”
“Marriage isn’t the only thing that can straighten someone out, or settle them down,” she continued when he didn’t answer. “It’s very unfortunate that it took the loss of your parents to make you realize what a foolish path you were headed down, but you did realize it, and it made you stronger for it. So now, you’re marrying me. You’re doing one better than your parents wanted, you’ve straightened yourself out, you’ve settled down and now you’re marrying for love. What could possibly be wrong with that?”
Her voice was very calm during her speech, and he could see that she honestly believed every word that she was saying. Joe once again found himself astounded by her way of seeing things.
It was obvious from her words that she had been thinking about this. Joe found himself loving her even more, for the fact that she worried about him enough to try and ‘save him from himself’ as she had put it. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her close and kissing her.
“What if someone rides by or something?” Randy said, suddenly realizing they were totally out in the open and feeling like an errant teenager necking in the woods.
“Randy, this is my land … no one rides on it but me … and you.” He smiled at her then.
She had caught the fact that he had said ‘my’ land. She hoped that meant that she had gotten through to him. She had wondered what he was thinking about the situation with Roslynn, but she hadn’t wanted to bring up a sore spot.
Later that night he suggested that they take a trip.
“A trip?” Randy echoed.
“Yeah, somewhere like Paris …” Joe said, his eyes twinkling at her surprise.
“Paris?” Randy repeated, her eyes widening.
“Love, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump from here.”
“It is?”
“Yeah, it’s a two hour drive to Dover, and then a three hour drive from Calais. Not too bad a trip if you want to go.”
“Yes, of course I want to I’m just not used to the idea that we can do things like that … I mean … Paris.”
After a little more discussion they decided to leave the next day and stay in Paris for three days, which would put them back in England the day after Rick and Midnight were due to arrive. They figured they should have leave Rick and Midnight to have a day to themselves to get over the jet lag. The next day they left the Sinclair estate with Joe driving one of the Mercedes that were kept on hand. He thought to be chauffeured was too pretentious. Once on the ferry Joe pointed out the fabled white cliffs of Dover to Randy and hugged her closer at her childlike joy. He enjoyed showing her new things. He knew she would appreciate all the things that people like Roslynn, and even himself, took for granted. But this was all new to Randy and he loved that he was the one that was showing it all to her. He loved her.
Chapter 6
When Rick and Midnight’s flight touched down at Heathrow Airport, Midnight was asleep. She’d slept most of the way over. Rick chalked it up to the hectic two weeks that they’d had since Randy and Joe had left. There had been loose ends to tie up, and all kinds of last minute things to work out. FORS was not equipped to have both its leaders out of the office at the same time. Spider was taking over, with the assistance of Tiny. They had both been set to start the police academy the day before, but Midnight needed them at FORS for the time being so special arrangements had been made for them to split the time between the academy and FORS.
“Night,” Rick said, rousing her gently, loathe to wake her.
“Hmmm?” she responded, rubbing at her eyes like a little girl. Rick smiled d
own at her.
“We’re here babe.”
“Wow,” she said, opening her eyes and looking out the window. “I thought it was supposed to be a really long flight?”
“It was, you slept through most of it,” he responded.
She looked at him. “I’m sorry … guess I’m not much of a travelling companion am I?”
“Not the best, no.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “but I love you anyway.”
“Oh good, so I don’t lose points for that one?”
“Don’t push it,” he said, smiling.
He stood and stretched. Midnight noticed there were other admiring glances at him, besides her own. Let ’em look, she thought to herself, he’s mine. She reached up touching his waist, when he looked down at her, she just smiled up at him. He responded by leaning down and kissing her on the lips, his hand touching her face gently. Let ’em look now!
Later on the drive to his parents’ house, Midnight had a chance to look around the countryside.
“It’s really green here,” she said, her voice surprised.
“It does nothing but rain, what’d you expect?” he replied, humor in his voice. He was driving a rented jaguar, and of course to Midnight’s way of thinking on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road.
Midnight was silent for a while, taking in the scenery and trying to orient herself with her new surroundings.
“So, how does it feel to be back?” she asked after a long while.
“I’ve only been gone for a year.”
“Yeah, but I thought you Englishmen were supposed to get homesick real easy.”
Rick laughed. “Well I wouldn’t say real easy. I did miss it if that’s what you mean and it is good being back, especially with you here to share it with. My family will be thrilled that I’ve brought you home with me.” He glanced in her direction, his blue eyes shining.
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