On The Dotted Line

by Kim Carmichael

  “Just like the ring and the house, Nan and the pet are only on loan.” She laughed and ran her hands down her neck to her chest.

  “I need to go to the office tomorrow.” It wasn’t lost on him that her things were alive. “Should I turn off the light?”

  “If you like.”

  Right as he went to lean over, she snaked her leg out from under the comforter to apply her lotion. Her nightgown rode all the way up to her upper thigh and he knew his wife didn’t wear anything else under her pajamas.

  He froze and took some time to take in the graceful curves only a woman possessed. Only last night he sampled all the goodness she displayed. Maybe she wasn’t his usual type, but she was a beauty. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to ask her out, he simply never thought about the possibility. Though his mind was spent, his body could use a little relief. “Willow?”

  She tended to her other leg. “I thought you were going to turn off the light.”

  “Do you like the light on or off?” His mouth watering at how her hands ran over skin, he turned on his side toward her. Maybe she said those things before because she wanted him to ask her out. Well, he gave her the whole package. He put a ring on it, literally. The woman might say it was only a contract, but it was what went unsaid that really spoke volumes.

  “I can sleep either way.” She stretched. Her nipples jutted out from the thin fabric of her blue nightgown.

  A twinge of jealousy rang through him at her admission, but he had a surefire way he could make himself tired. In fact, he could downright guarantee he would be able to exhaust both of them. “I wasn’t talking about sleeping.” He reached forward and touched the lace piping on her sleeve. Maybe with the right persuasion and his spouse at his side, he wouldn’t play battle of the bed anymore.

  She put the lotion bottle down on the nightstand and turned to him. “Forget it. Didn’t you hear what I said before?”

  “Yes, earlier today you said you were surprised by my passion.” He flashed her a smile topped with a bit of an eyebrow raise for effect. “I’ve never been told that before.”

  “I am choosing to file that away as a memory.” She pulled the nightgown over her legs and got under the covers once more.

  “We can make it the present.”

  “I think we need to leave the passion out of our business partnership.” She adjusted her pillows. “It’s better this happened or we may be having too much sex.”

  “I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much.”

  “Well, at least you have the memory as well.” She reached over and turned out the lamp.

  The room darkened, but the small amount of moonlight allowed him to make out her form. Not one to lose a deal, he needed to travel a different path to the win. “Willow.”

  “Yes.”

  “I know I told you before, but last night was truly spectacular, actually amazing. Maybe I’m only passionate with you.” He lowered his tone to ensure the sexy came through. While he wanted to remind her of how he felt how hard her climax hit her, he held back. Maybe rather than sleeping they could try for two. A real wedding souvenir.

  “Randolph.”

  He licked his lips, priming the pump. “Yes.”

  “We are not having sex.” Her voice cut through him.

  At least she didn’t say ever. He ground his teeth together, but got the next words out. “We’re newlyweds.” Fine, he would beg.

  “Newlyweds don’t have contracts specifying when they will get divorced.” The bed bounced as she turned over. “This bed is so comfortable.”

  The woman appreciated beds. She mentioned the same thing at the hotel.

  The room became silent. Instinct told him to let the sex go. He stared into the black nothing wanting to head out, but his own contract demanded he stay or take her with him. “Willow?” He never had anyone else sleep in his room before.

  “Yes.”

  “Is it weird to sleep somewhere else like this?” The tree outside flickered a bizarre pattern on the wall, a perfect abstract background for a painting.

  “No weirder than marrying you yesterday, wearing a diamond that costs more than most people’s homes and living in a real mansion.” She yawned, but let out a chuckle. “Who would have thought?”

  Once more the bed shook with her movements.

  Any other time he shared a bed with a woman it was for the sole purpose of having sex, and it was never his bed, and he never slept.

  He inhaled. Willow was in here, even a dog was in here.

  Dog.

  “Willow?” he whispered.

  She answered with a grunt.

  “Is Jeb going to be all right?”

  Rather than Willow, a jingle answered. The little bells made their way across the bed until the fur ball came over and sniffed him.

  “Jeb is here,” he informed her.

  “You’ll live.”

  Since no one could see him in the dark, he gave in and patted the animal.

  The dog rewarded him with a lick on his nose.

  “Oh my God.” He tensed.

  “Go to sleep, Randolph.”

  “He licked me.” He tapped her and wiped his nose. “Jeb licked me.”

  “That’s what dogs do. Why don’t you pet him? It will calm you down.” Again, she turned over and adjusted the blankets.

  “You sure move around a lot.” He thought he should tell her. “I have to go into the office tomorrow.”

  “If you were asleep you wouldn’t notice.” She huffed. “Maybe you should sleep instead of telling me twice you have to go to your office.”

  He turned to his back and Jeb climbed up on him. The dog did his turning in a circle extravaganza and curled up on his chest. “I can’t sleep.”

  “Randolph?” Willow sat up.

  He decided not to respond.

  “Have you ever slept with anyone before?”

  “Well, I guess since we’re married, we can discuss our pasts.” At least with someone in the bed he had a person to talk with. “You already know mine, how about you.”

  “I meant sleep,” she growled.

  “No.” He sunk his fingers in the dog’s fur.

  “Do you have issues sleeping?” Her tone was most definitely accusatory.

  “What gives you that impression?”

  “You are like a little boy.” For the millionth time that night the bed shimmied and shook with her various movements.

  “You are not much more mature yourself.” He set his jaw, but softened when she slid next to him. Maybe she changed her mind about the sleep sex.

  “Go to bed, Jeb.”

  The dog stood, tumbled off him and returned to the foot of the bed.

  “He sure obeys.” Randolph waved to him.

  “Better than you, I’m sure.” She lay down next to him. “Give me your hand.”

  He held his hand out and stayed silent to find out where her actions may lead.

  She took his hand in both of hers and proceeded to treat him to a massage.

  “Um,” he moaned. “That’s nice.”

  “Shh.” She paid attention to each of his fingers and squeezed his palm with perfect pressure.

  A calm claimed him and he closed his eyes, concentrating only on how she touched him.

  Without saying a word she laid his arm out and took her spot next to him.

  “Willow, that was exquisite.” He turned and wrapped his other arm around her. If her massage was her version of foreplay, it was fantastic. “Do you want to make love?” Though he asked, he could just as easily fall asleep.

  “Go to sleep, Randolph.” She pulled the blankets up over them.

  “Why are you over here? I thought we were only business partners.”

  She grabbed his hand and massaged again. “The energy in here is all off. No wonder you can’t sleep. We may be business partners, but we are married and married people shouldn’t sleep at opposite sides of the bed.”

  Married people also made love, but he swallowed his words,
choosing instead to focus on the way Willow’s hair brushed his cheek. “You washed your hair.” He breathed in more lavender.

  “Shh.” She settled down.

  “One more question.”

  “Just one.”

  “May I kiss you goodnight?” He spoke into her ear. “I would kiss a business associate on the cheek. It’s for the sake of good energy.”

  She tensed.

  “I’m not making fun. I feel a lot better, please.” Okay, maybe his voice carried a little whine.

  “All right then.”

  He moved her hair aside and pressed his lips right behind her ear. “Good night.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on Willow’s breathing. Maybe he would have asked her out if he hadn’t gotten her all screwed up in his life.

  Chapter Six

  The bell at the Willow’s Wonders door chimed, indicating a customer. Willow finished measuring out a canister of her herbal tea blend and leaned back. None other than Peter Ward decided to grace her with his presence.

  “I’ll be right there.” She tightened the lid down and carefully applied the label.

  By the time she entered the front of the store, Nan had already staked her claim and she hid a laugh.

  “You are Randolph’s secretary?” Nan crossed her arms.

  Peter glanced at her and then back to Nan. “Personal Assistant.”

  Nan narrowed her eyes. “What’s the difference?”

  He tilted his head. “I work directly for Randolph, I don’t work for the bank.”

  Nan shrugged and trundled over to the tea bar.

  She hadn’t seen much of her husband’s assistant since the day after their wedding. For almost a week she had been living in marital bliss. Well, not really, but she did start to have a routine.

  Normally by the time she woke up, Randolph had already left for work. For all the people living in the mansion it was unusually quiet. To date she never saw anyone except Nan, Jeb and staff members in the morning. With the variety of maids, cooks, butler, assistants scurrying around them, she and Nan would have their breakfast and then the chauffeur would take them to her shop. Actually, she asked the chauffeur to take them a block away from her shop and they walked to the shop. Thus far, though she answered questions from Slate and Jade about her romp with Randolph, she managed to not reveal her secret. The deception ate away at her, but she had her principles.

  Like an alarm clock, Randolph called twice a day, once to ensure she arrived at work and once to remind her when he would be home for dinner. Since she didn’t make dinner she wasn’t quite sure why he told her, but she figured it was his way of reminding of their deal.

  After work, the chauffeur picked her up a block away, she cleaned up and she and Randolph had their all-important meal, and then he worked while she studied with Nan or created crafts or strolled through the grounds until it was time to sleep by midnight.

  Then they hit repeat, which was why the appearance of Peter seemed a bit unusual.

  She patted his shoulder. “What brings you here?”

  With his eyes wide, he glanced around her shop. “Randolph would like you to come down to the office, so I came here to pick you up.”

  She wrinkled her nose at the break in the routine for her husband who seemed to thrive on knowing everything in advance, and without a warning call.

  “He wanted to call, but got stuck in a meeting and just told me to come get you and help.” As if he sensed her question, he offered her the answer.

  “What will I need help with?”

  Peter reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper. “We need to see your check book, both personal and business, business licenses, rental agreement and insurance documents.”

  She bit the inside of her mouth, staring straight at some of her crystals and watching them catch the last bit of morning sun, trying to visualize where these items could be or if she owned them. Maybe she could buy herself some time. “While I get ready, why don’t you have a cup of tea?” She motioned him toward the tea bar.

  He shrugged and sat down, strumming his fingers on the counter and nodding to himself as if he were deep in thought.

  “You okay?” She went over and heated the water.

  He tilted his head.

  Before choosing his tea, she reached out and put her hand over his. The man’s energy was through the roof, he didn’t want to be inside his own skin. “You seem confused.” She tried to prod him in a direction to pick his blend.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “I have a lot going on.”

  “Okay.” She chose a tea and prepared a cup of tea for both of them. Once steeped and ready, she put one of Nan’s homemade crackers on the saucer and set the cup in front of him. “Try this.”

  He lifted the cracker, studied it and took a bite. With a tilt of his head he took a sip of the tea and nodded. “Different.” He gave the tea another taste, followed by the cracker. “What’s in it?”

  “It’s my Clari-tea.” She grinned at the name.

  He raised his eyebrows at her.

  “It has peppermint, spearmint, ginkgo, rosemary and gotu kola, it should help you bring things into focus, improve mental function and circulation.” She took a sip as well, praying her brew would help her remember where she stashed the documents Randolph requested.

  “I need this.” He gulped it down. “Now if I could just get some direction.”

  She smiled. The man spoke her language. “How about we do a reading?”

  “Of what? I don’t think I have any time to read books.” He polished off the cracker and glanced at his watch. “We should get going.”

  “You need direction, sometimes the cards can provide it.” She reached over to Nan’s deck of tarot cards and held up the purple velvet pouch.

  “Like fortune telling?” He wrinkled his nose.

  “The tarot only provides insight, but your future is up to you.” Nan shimmied by and took Peter’s dishes. “Willow is very skilled. She has been studying the tarot since she was young.”

  “We can do a simple reading.” She took the cards out of the pouch and offered them to him. “Give them a shuffle.”

  “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” He took the cards and shuffled them.

  She took the cards back and placed the deck in front of them. “Now cut the cards.”

  He did as she requested and she divided the cards into three piles.

  “We will do a simple past, present and future reading.” She motioned to the cards, turning over the first card on the first pile.

  Peter leaned over and studied the image of a man kneeling over a pool of water with a star in the sky. “The star?”

  “Yes, but reversed.” She concentrated, focusing on the picture she had seen too many times to count.

  “Is that bad?” Concern took over his voice.

  “Nothing is bad or good, it’s merely a guide.” Everyone’s first time scared them. Hell, sometimes it still scared her. She shook her head. “The star is opportunity, renewal.”

  He smiled.

  “However, when it is reversed it represents unfulfilled dreams.” Every bit of his energy spoke of some sort of disappointment. “Sometimes you need to go after your dreams even if they are in the past.”

  “Yeah.” He shifted in his seat.

  She appreciated the way he didn’t discount her, but seemed to absorb the words and flipped over the card from the middle pile. “The four of swords.”

  “That’s a dead guy.” Peter’s color left his face at the picture of the man lying on the coffin, three swords above him one on him.

  “No.” She held her hand up. “He is resting. This is the card of mediation and reflection. Have you gone through a lot of arguments?”

  “I quit med school and I’m a personal assistant to a man younger than me.” He touched the card. “I haven’t heard from my girlfriend in three days.”

  He began to fill in for himself. Her job was to guide him. “Maybe you need to ask yourself why you made certain dec
isions.” Without wanting to pry she turned over the top card on the top pile. “Oh, that’s interesting.”

  “The tower is my future?” He lifted the card depicting a tower with lightening striking it and two people falling. “Well, at least it’s not like I chose the death card.”

  “The death card only means transition, an end.” She chuckled. Terror struck every newbie at the death card.

  “Then why is this interesting?” He returned the card to the pile.

  “It represents extreme, unexpected change.” She softened her voice.

  “Bad change?”

  Nan stepped over.

  Willow took a breath. No matter what the cards said, she couldn’t lie. “Many think it means a catastrophic change.” Some felt the card was a bad omen.

  “Catastrophe?” He jumped out of the chair and smoothed his suit jacket down. “My future contains a catastrophe?”

  “The future is yours to change.” She hurried around the bar and took him by the shoulders. His trembling vibrated through her palms. “I think it is a sign to change your outlook or your path?”

  He mimicked her actions and grabbed her shoulders. “Do you think so?”

  Before she answered, the bell on the door rang out.

  “I saw a familiar car outside your store.” Jade rushed inside the shop, stopped in the doorway and pointed at them.

  As if they were caught in the middle of committing a crime, they jumped away from each other.

  “Jade.” She breathed her friend’s name.

  Instead of one of her artistic costumes, Jade wore a normal pair of black pants and a matching shirt. She sauntered over and put her arm around her. “I want to know who you are with.”

  Peter opened his mouth.

  Unsure if he remembered to keep her nuptials under wraps, she stared at Peter trying to send him any psychic message. She held her left hand up to her face showing him her empty ring finger. Every day on their way to work she took her ring off, replacing it on the way back to the mansion.

  Peter gave her a slight nod. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Something is strange.” Jade glared at them. “I will get to the bottom of it.”

  Willow gave her a huge smile. “No art today?”