by R. M. Healy
“Fuck, you’re so hot,” he grunted, wishing they could do it without the condom, the only barrier between them.
To begin with, he made sure his movements were slow and controlled, loving every moan that fell from Essie’s lips. He got to his knees and pulled her higher, knowing how good it would feel for her.
It was then he lost control, to the sounds of Essie’s screams as she tightened herself around his cock and gripped the sheets beneath her.
“I wish we didn’t need protection. I’ll go back on my birth control soon,” Essie commented as he took off the condom to throw in the bin.
“I can assure you I am clean. I always used condoms, and I got tested within the last six months. And you’re the only woman I’ve been with since then.”
As he turned back around and looked at Essie, he realized what a rookie mistake it was to even touch upon the subject of sex with other women after what they’d just done. That was until she laughed.
“We are both in our late twenties, it’s natural that we’ve been with other people. I am glad you practiced safe sex,” she said, lifting the duvet up to climb under.
“I didn’t want any little Anton’s running around,” he half-joked as he got into the bed beside her, tucking his arm under the pillow she lay on.
Her hand touched his chest, and she looked over his shoulder, seeming in deep thought for a moment.
“Do you not want to have children?” She questioned, her eye’s sharp as she looked at him.
“I didn’t want them with the wrong person at the wrong time. I’d never thought about it, really. Recently, since things have changed, and I’ve gotten to know you more, I have thought about it. And I can say yes, I want children, and probably before I am thirty,” he answered honestly. “How about you?”
“I’ve wanted them for a long time. I always said before I was thirty-two. My mom and dad really wanted me to have one with my ex, but we didn’t love each other, I wouldn’t bring a child into an unhappy relationship.”
Anton tried to control his annoyance at the mention of her ex, he was jealous, and it was ridiculous.
“I feel like I’ve known you so long, and I know you so well sometimes. Then others feel like we hardly know each other, does that make sense?” Essie commented as her hand rested on his chest.
“You’re right to some extent, I guess. However, for me, I’ve watched you since that first day I saw you in the restaurant. You were the most attractive person I had ever seen in my life. You had the kindest smile I’d ever seen, and I remember you were taller than me at the time, I hated it when you came in with Michael, and he was the same height as you, I was so jealous of him. You were engaged and out of bounds. It didn’t mean I didn’t stop thinking about you. Every time I came into the restaurant, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I still can’t.”
Anton did know her enough to know that there was nothing that she could say would make him stop wanting her. He hoped that as she got to know him more, she would feel the same.
“Well, you’ve grown up a lot since then. I won’t lie, I’ve always found you extremely handsome, but you were so arrogant and cocky that I thought you were a bit of an asshole. Especially when you kissed me,” she said quietly, as if embarrassed.
“Just a bit?” He joked, resting his hand on her hip.
“Ok, a big asshole,” she laughed as did he.
“I can assure you I have most definitely grown up. And I have something else I forgot to tell you, this house, what do you think of it?”
A small crease appeared between her brows as she spoke, “Your parent’s house? I think it’s lovely, why?”
“I’ve bought it from them,” he answered simply, waiting for her reaction.
She flashed her white teeth, and her eyes lit up, “Oh Anton, I bet your mother is so happy. What will you do with the place?”
“She is. And well, I was hoping someday, whether it be in a day or a year, you will share it with me?”
Esther sat up and looked away for a moment, then turned back with biting her lip.
“I do want that. Honestly, I do. This is my dream home, and I think I would love it here. But can I wait, say, at least a couple of months? When we have returned from Italy, and I’ve gotten my mother settled. I also want to contribute my fair share to the property. I am not moving in for free.”
Anton couldn’t contain his smile, and he leaned over to kiss her. Knowing how cautious Essie was, he suspected she would wait at least six months, two was just a small fraction of that.
“You can contribute whatever you want if you will be ready to sign the papers in two months,” he joked.
“I will be. If you cook for me every morning and make love to me like you just did, I am more than happy to live with you! That and the fact I love you.”
Anton would be making love to her like that every chance he got. The cooking, she would have to compromise on.
Several months later…
“It’s a beautiful little cottage, I think Anton’s parents will love coming to visit,” her mother said as they sat in the small vintage style kitchen and looked out at the vast fields of lush green grass.
Esther had moved into the farmhouse a few months ago when Anton’s parents flew to Italy, this was her mother’s first time coming here and seeing what else was on the grounds, she hoped her mother would love the surprise.
When Anton showed Esther around the many acres of the property the day he’d suggested she move in, he’d shown her two run-down outhouses. They hadn’t been used in the 26 years Anton had lived there.
She hadn’t thought anything of them until Anton said he wanted to have them refurbished. And when Esther’s mother said she wanted to sell her house to find something smaller, Anton suggested they give the single-story cottage to Esther’s mother.
“I mean, when we have children, you know your mother is literally a five-minute walk from us. I think your mother will love it,” Anton said as they stood outside of the partially finished cottage.
“How soon are you planning to have these children?” Esther questioned as Anton as he wrapped his arm around her. They’d already done it once without protection and knew that it was risky. Anton said whatever happened, happened.
“Since you’ve just turned 28, I’d say we should get started soon,” Anton teased as he smiled down at her.
“You’re kidding, right?” She asked. Did he really want kids that soon?
“Yes and no. Depends on what you call soon.”
Unfortunately, one of the men who was working on the cottage interrupted them at that point, and the conversation was never finished.
“Wouldn’t you love to live somewhere like this?” Esther asked as they drank their warm tea.
“It’s got the most stunning views, and it is so cute inside, who wouldn’t love it,” her mother said as she smiled at Esther.
The first few weeks after her father’s death, her mother seemed past the point of recovery, now she really seemed to be more positive. She wanted to sell the house, move closer to Esther and Jessica.
Esther had the utmost respect for her mother’s strength and willingness to continue despite how much pain she must have felt. A knock on the cottage door interrupted what Esther was about to say, and her mother looked a little startled.
“Come in,” Esther shouted, knowing it was Anton.
She felt the familiar butterflies she always did when he was around, her lust for him seemed to get stronger by the day. He’d been at work all day and wore a dark grey suit that fit his muscular frame perfectly. Esther hoped he would keep it on. She had plans of what she wanted to do to him in their home office when they were alone, plans she was sure he’d be more than happy to take part in.
“It’s lovely to see you, Anton, but why are you knocking when this is your property?”
“Have you told her yet?” He asked as he put down his tablet and car keys, then walked over to place a gentle kiss on Esther’s head, she loved the gesture.
>
“Told me what?” Her mother looked from Anton to Esther. Her hazel eye’s flickered to Esther’s hand then she opened her mouth widely. “Oh my god, are you getting married? But I see no ring? Are you pregnant? Oh, I’d love a grandchild! But don’t you want to get married first?”
Anton and Esther both laughed as they looked at her baffled mother, she was about to fire another round of questions out when Esther took a set of keys out and slid them across the table.
“This cottage is for you mom, we want you to live here,” Esther told her, waiting for her reaction.
For a moment, her mother seemed shocked as she picked up the key and held it between her fingers, then Esther saw her teary eye’s.
“Oh, Esther, this is…I can’t think of a way to thank you,” her mother sniveled, and Esther smiled. She knew her mother’s tears were out of joy, not sadness.
“How about babysitting?” Anton joked, taking a seat beside her mother, and embracing her as he would his own.
“You are pregnant?” Her mother asked again through her tears.
“Just kidding, but who knows about the future. This was just something we wanted to do for you, you deserve this,” Anton said kindly to her mother.
It made Esther love him even more for seeing how helpful and kind he’d been to her mother and Jessica. He was her soulmate.
A few hours later, Anton asked Esther to come out into the garden with him to watch the sunset. As they sat on a stone bench in front of the pond, Esther passed him a glass of wine. The golden sun hung just above the horizon, the hazy pinks, and reds it cast in the sky, reflecting off the water in front of them, it was beautiful.
“Do you remember when your father and I came out here? When he came here after your fall, and it was snowing?” Anton asked, looking straight ahead, his face serious. She hadn’t remembered that until he mentioned it and now she was curious.
“I do, I was nervous as to what you were talking about,” she answered.
“He knew about my feelings for you. I never told him. He could just tell. He wanted me to look after you, I think he knew we were meant to be together,” Anton smiled, drinking his wine as he looked down at her.
Esther didn’t know that and hearing it made her feel slightly emotional. Knowing her father was looking out for her and wanted Anton to be around her was such a considerate thing for him to have done.
“I promised him I would look after you. I meant it, and I plan to stick to that promise for the rest of my life. He gave his blessing too, for me to do this.”
As Esther wiped a tear from her eye, Anton stood from his seat and walked in front of her, blocking the sun. When he dropped to one knee in front of her, she gasped.
“Essie, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
She put her both of her hands over her mouth and couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“Yes, yes, YES!” She cried as she wrapped her arms around him before he even had a chance to put the ring on her finger.
His deep laugh vibrated through her, and she laughed too, her tears still flowing.
“You haven’t even seen the ring yet,” Anton joked, still bending down on one knee as she let go of him and held her hand out. When he took it from the box and slid it on her finger, she loved it. With a large dazzling clear diamond and a silver band, it was so simple yet perfect. He could have given her a plastic ring, and she’d have said yes.
“How about this summer?” She asked as she admired the ring and wiped her tears, “perhaps July?”
Anton turned his head as he spoke, his black hair falling over his face.
“That’s less than two months away? We’re going to South Korea next week, Italy two weeks after that. Do you think that you’ll be able to arrange a wedding that quick? I mean, I am more than happy to marry you tomorrow if that’s what you want.”
“I will be able to arrange it, I have just the place in mind,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him.
Anton sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder as they observed the sun falling beyond the horizon together. His face was glowing from the last of the golden sky, and his eye’s looked as if they were slightly damp.
“You’re the most important thing to ever happen to me, Essie, I don’t know what my life would be without you. I love you more than I’ve loved anyone or anything.”
Esther felt her own tears falling, her love for Anton so profound that she too couldn’t imagine a life without him.
“It’s just as well you feel that way, Anton. Because I plan to be with you forever.”
THE END
Erik’s Crime – The Romano Series 5
Aveline couldn't contain her smile as she walked through arrivals at Naples airport. This was it, the start of her new life. She was leaving her past behind, the one with her cheating ex Simon and her best friend, Amy. They deserved each other as far as Aveline was concerned.
It had been a few weeks since she caught her best friend of fifteen years, giving her boyfriend oral sex in the bed they'd shared.
That day walked out of their home and had only been back once. Making sure his car wasn't there when she did.
They had only been weeks away from getting a joint mortgage. In hindsight, Aveline was relieved that she'd found out when she did. Now her half of the mortgage deposit was safely in her bank, and she didn't need to see Simon ever again.
Simon had tried calling her several times a day until she'd changed her number and deleted all of her social media. She wanted nothing more to do with him or Amy.
It was time for her to have a fresh start, a new life in Italy where no one knew her or her past.
By some miracle, out of the many jobs she'd applied for, she'd gotten the one she wanted. Although she would be sad to leave her current role.
For the last few years, she'd managed to work her way up the ladder, her sheer determination earning her the respectable position of reception manager at a budget chain hotel. Even with the long hours and awkward shifts, it was still a job she enjoyed.
Of course, the luxury hotel she would be working in Italy was on a whole other level entirely to what she was used to. She was ready for the challenge.
Her interview had been conducted via a video call, and the manager had informed her that she'd been keen to hire someone who spoke fluent English. It seemed a perfect fit.
Now here she was, over 1400 miles from her old life, ready to start anew.
After she showed her passport to customs, she waited for her two suitcases containing everything she owned. Her life in the care system had taught her to let go of things.
It should have taught her the valuable lesson that the only person who could be trusted was herself.
It seemed with Amy and Simon, she'd gotten too attached, and in the end, they'd betrayed her.
Never again would she make that mistake. She was independent and had always been alone, she knew better than to get close to another person.
As she waited by the slow conveyer belt, she heard shouting, just like the other travelers waiting around, she turned to see what the commotion was.
Two burly men dressed in padded jackets were dragging a scrawny man along the floor, ignoring his screams of protest.
He was frantically kicking and shouting in Italian, looking over to where she and many other passengers waited for their cases. For a moment, she could have sworn he was shouting directly at her, but before she could be sure, the two security men had dragged him out of sight.
"What on earth was that all about?" A greying old lady said to no one in particular, looking around for someone to give her an answer.
Over her shoulder, Aveline saw a young dark-skinned man looking at her warily. He pressed a finger to his earpiece and nodded his head. Was he watching her? She thought for a brief moment.
No, she was being ridiculous, he was just a businessman traveling.
She was glad to see her cases
and finally make her way through the airport.
The aroma of the many restaurants hit her, and she was tempted to stop for something to eat. However, she needed to get checked into her hotel and start the search for a more permanent residence.
Her induction at the hotel was in two weeks, and she was confident she would find somewhere before then.
She had no other choice but to find somewhere. Otherwise, her many years of savings would be wasted on hotel bills.
Dragging the two suitcases behind her and feeling breathless, she decided to scrap the idea of getting the train or a bus and pay for a taxi.
Compared to England, Italy was delightfully warm, too warm, however, for the thick black coat that Aveline was wearing.
As she tried to take her coat off outside of the airport, one of her suitcases fell to the floor, and she swore under her breath.
"Having trouble?" A voice said, the unusual accent seductive.
A man in a dark blue suit bent down in front of her to pick up the case, his shoulder-length dirty blonde hair obstructing his face from her view.
"Thanks, I can be so clumsy," she said, finally getting her coat off.
When the man flicked his hair from his face, Aveline almost swore again.
He was a handsome man, the kind of man you didn't just run into, with unusually blue eyes against dark olive skin. His cheekbones were sharp, as was his jawline, and his brows were a few shades darker than his blonde hair. He oozed sex appeal.
"You seem flustered, perhaps I can help?" He offered his deep husky voice adding to his sex appeal.
Despite finding him insanely attractive, Aveline wasn't ready to get involved with another man. And after a short while with a man this handsome, she doubted she had the willpower to stop herself.
"No thanks, I need to get a taxi," she rushed her words out and hung her coat over her case.