by L. C. Giroux
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dear Reader
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
His Lady Godiva Lovers and Other Strangers Book One
Pay Back Lovers and Other Strangers Book Two
Disclaimer
His Deception
Lovers and Other Strangers Book Three
L.C. Giroux
copyright 2012
Dear Reader:
This is a self published work. That is a fact, not an excuse. I hold myself to high standards and as such, if you find something that needs to be corrected please let me know at http://www.lcgiroux.com
My website is also where you will find information about upcoming releases and promotions. I love hearing from my readers and try to write back as quickly as possible. I also have a blog there where you’ll find all kinds of Smart, Sexy, Fun information.
I hope you enjoy this book. The heroine is French and uses a mix of French and English in her sentences. She also drops the ‘H’ at the beginning of words so that ‘him’ becomes ‘im. It will look odd the first few times but after a bit you will start to hear her voice better and it will not be noticable. Typically, if I use a French phrase the English will be used also or another character will summarize the phase in English. I hope you find this amusing and who knows maybe you can surprise someone by whispering ”embrasse-moi” in their ear the next time you want a kiss. Way more fun than high school French!
"Au secours! Aidez-moi! Merde!"
"Your mother would not be happy with your language, La Reine."
"Allain! Allain! Aidez-moi! S'il vous plaît!
"This is not one of your tricks is it?"
"Non, I climb too 'igh. Allain, I am scared!" He could hear the fear in her voice. The little pest had gotten herself up a tree, literally. He was a 24 year old man, spending the summer in the South of France and instead of chasing after women his age he had spent the better part of it extricating Violet's youngest tomboy cousin from one scrape after another. If he wasn't rescuing her he was trying to avoid her little tricks and traps.
"Je suis venue, I am coming up. So now you understand how the kitten feels."
"Allain, Dépêchez-vous! 'urry please." The poor thing must be scared if she resorted to saying please. Allyn started climbing, luckily she had chosen a tree with lots of thick branches. Maybe if he teased her while he climbed it would distract her from being so scared.
"Marie-Hélène, I will rescue you if you can say my name correctly." He was about half way to her already so it wouldn't take much of a distraction.
"Merde! You say your name wrong!"
"No, remember I am English not French. My mother named me after her father and was called Allyn, A, L, L, Y, N, admittedly an odd spelling but I quite like it. Go ahead, say it."
"Non."
"Then maybe I will climb back down without you?" He was right across from her now.
"Non!, Oh, please don't leave me 'ere!" She nearly jumped into his arms but he had braced himself so he would be able to grab her anyway. She clutched at him as if her life depended on it. When he put one of his arms around her she started to sob.
"I wouldn't ever leave you pest. Ne pleure pas, sweet, don't cry." He managed to shift his weight so that he could sit on a branch and wrap both arms around her to calm her. He stroked her hair and back as she cried herself out. He held her for a long while, soothing her. "Why did you climb so high?" She hiccuped a few times as her sobbing finally subsided. She glanced up at him and then ducked her head to hide behind her hair. He pushed it out of her face and tilted her chin up to him. Her eyes were rimmed with red from her crying but that didn't diminish their beauty. It always took him by surprise. His personal little pest had the eyes of an angel, not a fairytale version but more like those painted by the old masters, fierce, powerful, and knowing. They were like a forest canopy dotted with sunlight. "Hmm? You are almost twelve years old, you are too big to do things like this anymore." He wasn't really scolding her, nor did he expect that anything he said would stop his little demon from any of her antics.
"I was trying to see..." She chewed on her lower lip trying to figure out how much to say.
"Come on spit it out. What did you want to see?"
"I wanted to see if you kissed her." She ducked her head again and he started laughing.
"See if I kissed who?"
"Madame Ricard. Violet said you were going over to 'ave dejeuner avec elle."
"Yes, I had lunch with Madame Ricard but no, I did not kiss her. She is a little old for me, non?" The woman was probably thirty but already a widow with two children. Of course he was twenty-four and his fourteen year old sister's guardian so dating was an odd thing for him. Women that would accept Violet as part of their lives seemed too old for him and women his age certainly didn't want to start off with a teenager in the house.
"Oui, much too old and mean aussi, even if she is very pretty."
"Hmm, mean huh? So you thought to climb up here to spy on me and keep me from kissing her? How would you have stopped me if I had?"
"I would 'ave screamed."
"I only found you because you were screaming. I certainly never would have heard you all the way down there."
"It was not a very good plan, I think." She looked more embarrassed to have concocted a bad plan than she did to get caught spying on him. She glanced up at him again with a big smile on her face. "You don't have to kiss Madame Ricard. I could be your wife." He choked on his laughter but managed to get himself under control quickly.
"Sweet, don't you think you are a little young to get married to an old, old man like me?" He tried to say it in his sternest voice so she would think he'd taken her seriously.
"You are a little old. But you can still climb trees so you must be strong like Papa." He shook his head trying to hide his smile.
"Pest, if we were married you would have to kiss me, every night." That should squash this crazy idea of hers.
"Chaque nuit!" The look of horror on her face almost undid him. He was caught somewhere between laughter and wounded pride. He wasn't that horrible to look at. She pursed her lips and was carefully considering the options now. "D'accord, I will kiss you." She sounded like she was trying to figure out how to get out of it already. "Mais, not like Gabrielle kisses her boyfriend. They look like they are eating each other." She made a face of absolute disgust.
"So I am not the only one you have been spying on then?"
"I 'ave four sisters, Violet and I watch them and learn all about how girls act with boys. Kissing like Gabrielle is, how Violet says, oh, gross!" Now he did start laughing.
"I'm so glad my sister is teaching you English. You will understand Gabrielle better when you fall in love, sweet. Now, are you calmed down enough to get out of this tree?" She clutched him tighter. "Relax, you will hold on to me and I will climb down. All you have to do is hang on. Can you do that? She shook her head yes. "Probably better if you were on my back. Here curl around me like this. He had her loop one arm over his shoulder and reach up under his other arm so she wouldn't choke him. "Wrap your legs around my waist. Good? Ready to go?" He felt her shake her head against his back. The climb down was quick and blissfully uneventful.
When they landed on the ground he reached behind and pulled her in front of him.
"I want you to promise me, no more spying and no more climbing too high. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. She gave him a big smile, she seemed to be thinking about what he had said t
hen she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth, hard. He was so stunned he almost dropped her.
"You will see, I will make a good wife." Then she jumped down and darted off. All he could do was stand there stunned. Considering the disaster of his love life he probably shouldn't try so hard to talk her out of it. He just shook his head, the girl was going to make some man's life far too interesting for his own good.
Pick up La Reine, love you, V
Six words that may as well have been have been his death sentence. Violet had invited the brat, yet here he stood waiting for Marie-Hélène in international baggage claim. Allyn had been dreading her arrival since Violet had blithely announced her invitation. The woman quite honestly unhinged him. She was chaos incarnate, also beautiful and bewitching. How was he supposed to function like the head of the second largest family foundation after Bill and Melinda's, when this mere slip of a girl could snap her fingers and he would come running like a lap dog. Allyn adjusted his tie again despite not needing it. He pushed his glasses a little higher on his nose. Maybe it wouldn't be too terrible, La Reine had after all graduated from one of the top law schools in France. Allyn smiled at her nickname. She earned it through her sheer force of will even as a child she controlled those around her with an iron fist. Surely law school had forced Marie-Hélène to organize her life somewhat.
Allyn heard an air horn blast behind him much further down the baggage area. Oh, no, he shook his head. He should have known. No doubt, by the time she graduated she had completely reorganized the curriculum to her liking. When he turned he saw Marie-Hélène riding on the prow of the baggage cart like Napoleon on his way to battle. Of course if Napoleon had had La Reine, he never would have lost at Waterloo.
She was even more gorgeous than the last time he had seen her. He smiled at the memory of the first time he realized that she was a grown woman. He had stopped over for a few days in Grasse with Tante and Oncle. He had gone to the market and seen a woman that had taken his breath away. He had decided to follow her and was shocked when she walked back to their house. It wasn't till Tante had re-introduced him that he realized she was his pest La Reine. The minute she took off her sunglasses it was obvious. Her eyes were still like an angel's only now the rest of her was like something from a fantasy. She had grown up while she was at University.
Now she looked like she belonged on the beach in Southern California. Her golden blonde hair was almost waist length. She was wearing an outfit both perfect for the beach and utterly French. The miniscule cut off denim shorts showed her tawny legs to perfection. She had on a gray t-shirt that no doubt came from the boys department. His sister had informed him that was the only place French women shop for such an item. On top of that she had an old navy blue cashmere sweater. Her cheeks had a perfect bit of pink, like she had just been thoroughly kissed. He loved that he could see her freckles. They made him want to trace his fingers over them in a sensual connect the dots.
She gave another blast of the air horn as they got closer. She signaled her driver to stop and then bent to give the man a kiss on the cheek. Allyn felt his gut twist but made certain that his face showed nothing. She stood up and stepped over the front handles of the cart and ran down the front of the vehicle. Unfortunately she hadn't taken into account she was wearing flimsy sandals with no traction. She ended up skidding and then launched herself into the air. Allyn stepped forward and caught her as carefully as he could. Of course she knocked his glasses to the ground. In the excitement, the poor driver let his foot off the brake and Allyn heard the tell tale crunch of plastic and acetate.
"Allain, as always, my 'ero."
"La Reine, as always needing one." Holding her was too dangerous. His body would no doubt betray him. He put her on her feet. "You are in an English speaking country now, ma petite reine. We have a lovely letter called an H here. You might try using it, maybe you'll grow to like it." As a little girl she had teased him mercilessly about his ugly English and then his sorry attempts to speak French. Why he had spent the entire summer of his twentieth year at Violet's Aunt and Uncle's practicing French to impress a little girl had been beyond him. That he loved her now he didn't doubt but he could never tell her. She was family even if they shared no blood themselves. Besides there was their age difference. She was fresh, innocent twenty-six, he was a very jaded thirty-eight.
"Allain, I am so glad you no longer have your glasses. They make you look old and, how do you English say, stuffy."
"I am sorry to disappoint you but I do still wear my glasses, or at least I did until the driver ran them over." He bent down to retrieve the mangled frames. "How ever knowing my glasses almost always die a painful death around you I took the liberty of bringing a driver for the ride back to the house."
"Dommage," She smiled wickedly at him. "too bad, we could have had some fun and you let me drive your little sports car."
"Not if my life depended on it. You forget, I have known you over twenty years and I was one of the poor souls you talked into letting you drive while you were still learning. Never again, jamais plus, jamais plus!
When they got to the car Allyn breathed a sigh of relief. At least with Harold there they would outnumber her. It almost evened the odds.
"Harold, this is Marie-Hélène, Violet's cousin from Grasse."
"Enchanté Mademoiselle."
"'arold, Vous parlez Francais?"
"Oui, Je suis Hatien."
"Harold, I had no idea you spoke French."
"Yes, sir. I speak it with your sister. Usually when she doesn't want her husband to know what we are saying."
"But your accent is British?"
"I moved to the Bahamas when I was sixteen, sir."
"Harold you become more surprising every day. And I won the bet, she managed to mangle my glasses well and good."
As proof he handed the broken glasses to Harold as the man opened the door.
"Then it is good you brought me along, sir."
"Yes, Come La Reine, let's hope you don't do any damage in here."
"Bouf, I did not break your glasses, the driver ran them over."
"True, but they were on the ground because of you."
"Oui... I'm sorry." Allyn tried to keep his face placid but the smile broke through anyway. La Reine had earned her nickname in part because she never apologized. That she had now, showed maybe she had grown up after all.
Marie-Hélène stared out the window. She had hoped that Violet would pick her up or she could have gotten a taxi. Allyn Bellows made her heart beat too fast and confused her thoughts. He had when she had been a girl, and as a teenager, and now as a grown woman. She had tried everything to get him out of her system. She had tried dating boys her age but she couldn't ever think of them as anything but boys. She tried older men but they didn't set her heart galloping like Allyn. She smiled as she stared blindly out the window. There was something about his combination of exterior cool and the fire she always saw burning in his eyes. His hair was longer than when he had been to the house last. He had enough gray at his temples now to make him look distinguished. His eyes were the palest blue that could be fire une minute et ice the next. He looked so handsome and commanding in his suit. It made her fingers itch to unbutton him, loosen his tie, see what was under all that expensive wool.
"Allain, you must be trés chaud in that wool suit. Are you going to work today?"
"If you can not use an H properly, can you at least say my name correctly. I am English. My name is Allyn, rhymes with tin. You persist in calling me Allain, rhymes with lane. Do you hear the difference?"
"It is not my fault you pronounce your name wrong. Are you going to work? I am 'ungry for dejeuner. 'Arold? Do you know any bien Vietnamienne restaurants, s'il vous plaît?"
"Oui, Mademoiselle."
"Do I get a say, La Reine?"
"Non, and take this off." She reached across the car to the opposite seat and yanked on Allyn's tie. As she was undoing the top button the car hit a pot hole and she
ended up sprawled in his lap. He caught her before she fell over completely but ended up pulling her down on top of him. She was stunned for a second. When she looked up at him his eyes had a faraway look like... he was in love. When she didn't move he pulled her closer.
"Are you okay?"
"Oui." She whispered but her heart was going to burst from her chest and it hurt to breathe.
"Good, if you got hurt... Violet would blame me." The look in his eyes was gone now but she knew what she had seen. Could this man she had loved forever, love her too. He lifted her across the car and put her in her seat. "We will go for some lunch and then if you'd like I can take you by the foundation, no real work to do today but I can show you around so you'll have your bearings tomorrow." He was talking to his knees now.
"I would like that, Allain." She had to find out if it was true but he would never tell her. He would think he was too old for her and he was too stuffy to do something unexpected. Of course that was part of the attraction, to get him to do all the wonderful fun things he would never give himself permission to. She would start at lunch.
Harold either deserved a raise or to be terminated. Allyn looked at the wonderful food in front of him. Marie-Hélène had charmed everyone from the waitstaff to the kitchen and the owner had insisted she try all the dishes they reserved for special guests. Allyn had no idea what most of this was but it did look good. Unfortunately, without his glasses he was having a horrible time with the chopsticks.
"Allyn, you are not eating?"
"I'm afraid with my glasses broken, I can barely see so..."
"Oh, Mon Dieux, I forgot. Here I will feed you, it is the least I can do."