by Amanda Ward
Yesterday they’d visited the grange. When her parents suggested having her children stay with them for a few days, Laura agreed. Then her father had the strange idea of Rhean moving in to Laura’s cottage for the time that the teens were away. This would enable them to find out what it would be like to live with each other. Rhean and Laura agreed with one stipulation—Rhean would sleep in the boy’s room. After discussing the plan with Laura’s children, it was all arranged. So it was with a heavy heart, that Laura said goodbye to her children and her parents. Rhean moved in the previous night with his suitcase, and computer. So far, all was going well. Mentally, Laura crossed her fingers. She prayed that her insecurities would not put Rhean off. Unfortunately, Laura didn’t know what was going through Rhean’s mind at the moment.
Later on that day, Rhean took Laura grocery shopping. He helped make a boring chore into a fun one by kissing her in every aisle. He also embarrassed her in the pharmacy department when he pointed out different kind of condoms, then asked her in a loud voice which one she would prefer.
That evening, they went out to a Chinese restaurant and afterward watched a DVD while they snuggled together. More kissing led to a very frustrated woman and, as she climbed the stairs, she muttered about ‘honorable men.’
Chapter Ten
It was Friday and the following day, Laura’s children were expected home, so Rhean organized a day out together. They had an appointment at the Registry office to sort out the marriage license and choose Rhean’s wedding ring. Laura’s was all sorted out; hers would be made by a friend of Maire’s.
For some reason there was something in the air Laura could not quite put her finger on. Rhean seemed to be very picky about his ring. It was past lunchtime, and Laura felt tired and hungry. She was also very aroused which made her irritable. Rhean had been very open in his display of affection, even more so than usual, kissing her and stroking her pulse point as they held hands. Once he pulled her into a small alleyway and kissed her so thoroughly he was sure she must have smoke coming out of her ears.
Walking down the high street together, the rain that had threatened all day, finally started, which really did not help lift Laura’s mood. She was tired, hungry, miserable and now wet. Just as she suggested going to get something to eat, Rhean stopped them outside a small shop. The sign read,”Creations by Ceara.” She rolled her eyes in frustration.
“Just this last shop, I promise,” Rhean wheedled. “We’ll get something to eat after this.”
Laura’s felt resigned as they went inside. From the outside, it wasn’t much to look at, with a few small pieces of jewelry. Inside though, was totally different. Lit boxes filled the store, enhancing the colors of the jewels inside—enigmatic emeralds, dazzling diamonds, radiant rubies and stunning sapphires. Each box had a collection of jewels inside, with the color of the light matching the specific stone. The rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings were breath-taking. In one corner, a large woman with a mop of titan-colored curly hair, worked at a table. She turned when Rhean coughed.
Laura looked longingly at a chair in the corner.
“Would you mind if I sat down for a minute?” she asked the woman.
“Of course,” she replied in a broad Scottish accent. “I’ll fetch ye a cup of tea, if you’d like.”
Laura looked at her wearily and nodded in gratitude. Rhean, meanwhile, perused the cabinets. The woman came back with a steaming cup and saucer and - a small bowl of sugar.
Laura drank deeply, and then remembered her manners. “Thank you so much, I really needed that,” she said gratefully.
The woman smiled at her, and then turned to Rhean. “What can I do for ye?” she asked.
“I’m looking for a wedding ring,” he replied.
“For your lady?” she asked, looking at Laura.
Rhean shook his head. For me,” he answered. “I can’t find what I’m looking for.”
“Can’t he ever?” Laura muttered irritably, though somewhat soothed by the hot sweet tea.
Rhean’s head whipped round and stared at Laura. “Pardon, my darling?” he asked smoothly.
“Nothing dear,” Laura replied as innocent as she could, her eyes not meeting his.
“Rings?” the woman reminded him.
Rhean turned ’round to face her. “Of course, sorry,” he apologized.
“Anything particular ye looking for?” she asked him as she bent down under the counter. When she came back up, she carried a velvet tray of wedding rings. “They are all made individually,” she explained.
“By you?” asked Laura.
The woman nodded.”I’m Ceara,” she told them.
Rhean’s face was transfixed. He saw it the second she brought the tray out—a ring made of burnished rose gold. Thick and solid, just like its potential owner, around the ring there were symbols carved into it. Although very beautiful, it also had a masculine feel.
“This is the one,” he declared and picked it up.
“Are you sure?” Laura asked. She walked over to Rhean and looked at the ring.
“It’s incredible,” she breathed.
Rhean looked at Ceara.
“Try it on,” she encouraged.
Rhean held the ring out to Laura. “Practice,” he coaxed her with a smile.
Laura slid the ring on his finger; it fit perfectly, as if it had been made for him, and the rose gold was a perfect foil for his dark coloring.
“What do the symbols mean?” Laura asked.
Rhean handed the ring to Ceara. She boxed it up and put the sale through on her till. “Two lives as one,” she said simply. After Rhean paid, Ceara handed the card and receipt back to him with a small velvet bag. As they went to leave the store, Ceara called out, “I’ll have the rest delivered to the grange, my lord.”
Laura heard Rhean groan.
“Thanks Ceara,” he called back as he followed Laura into the drizzly weather.
Rhean took Laura’s hand as they walked quickly to a large restaurant. Laura was irritated, her mouth set in a thin line. They found a table and Rhean ordered two large coffees, then looked through the menu as Laura sat in the chair with her arms crossed. Their coffees arrived and Rhean took a sip of the fragrant brew. He sat up straight in his chair, assuming his headmaster pose again, and said, “Okay, out with it.”
“Out with what?” she asked. Her eyebrows were raised and she felt the beginnings of a major headache.
“Whatever is bugging you,” Rhean replied.
“There’s nothing wrong,” she lied. She rummaged in her handbag for her painkillers, took two and drank some coffee.
“One thing you aren’t Laura, and that’s a liar.” Rhean said. She could hear the steel in his voice. Resigned and waiting for the tablets to take effect, she sighed.
“I’m bloody well annoyed that we went into every sodding jewelry shop in three towns, only to find that you had already ordered it to be made for you,” Laura told him between sips of coffee. “I’m tired, hungry, have a headache coming on and bloody frustrated,” she blurted out.
Rhean smiled at her and excused himself to order their lunch.
By the time Rhean returned, Laura calmed down somewhat. She finished her coffee and was reading a text message from Maisie.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Would another coffee and a burger make it up to you?” Laura nodded, smiling at him. He had a knack of turning on a lost puppy expression. He knew she couldn’t resist when he did it. ‘The rat,’ Laura thought.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m just grumpy and miserable today. So what else did you order from Ceara then?” Laura inquired.
Rhean flushed and shifted in his chair.
“She’s making your wedding ring, among other things,” he admitted. Their burgers arrived and the conversation stopped while they ate. Eventually, Laura spoke.
“What do you mean, ‘other things’?” she asked again, refusing to let the subject drop.
Rhean wiped his mouth with a napkin, and d
rained his mug.
“You aren’t going to let this lie are you?” he asked.
Laura shook her head.
“I didn’t think so. Ceara is designing and making your jewelry set,” he admitted. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess I blew it.”
Moving her chair back, she stood up and sauntered over to Rhean. She sat down on his lap and slowly, sensuously slid her lips over his. He responded instantly. Not caring that they were in a restaurant, she slipped her tongue into his mouth as she caressed his tongue in soft smooth movements. He groaned. As she relaxed into the kiss, Rhean pulled away, as if remembering where they were. Laura took advantage of his discomfort and wriggled her backside on his thighs, feeling his arousal through her skirt.
“Let’s go home,” he said in a husky voice.
On the way home, Laura’s painkillers started to take effect and she half-dozed while Rhean drove them home. Classical music played softly in the background helping her to relax When they arrived back at the cottage, they hurried her inside and switched on the lights.
“Go upstairs and have a long soak in the bath,” Rhean suggested. Laura nodded; she was bone-weary, and she felt desperate for some alone time.
“I’ll bring you up a hot chocolate,” Rhean told her. She trod up the stairs compliantly and ran her bath, adding lavender oil to try and relax. As she lay down in the scalding water, bubbles surrounding her body, she began to feel the tension drain away. Laura closed her eyes conjuring Rhean’s image, his shirt unbuttoned, exposing his wide muscled chest. Laura imagined how it would feel to have the dark crisp curls against her soft breasts, to run her hand through them and tug gently. How it would feel for him to touch her in a more intimate way, his mouth kissing and suckling gently on her breasts. Would she be able to give him as much pleasure as he gave her? Her nipples peeked through the bubbles on her breasts, and a pooling of her own heat seared between her thighs. She sighed out loud as her imagination ran riot.
A knock at the bathroom door brought Laura out of her fantasy. She barely had time to spread the bubbles around her body before Rhean came in through the door carrying a steaming mug. He stopped dead. His heated gaze ran over the parts of her body that were exposed. Laura knew she looked steamy, sultry and sensual. She met his gaze head on, daring him to move closer yet aching for his touch.
“Hmm...aaaah...ahem...” Rhean seemed to have trouble speaking. “Here’s your hot chocolate,” he said quickly and left the bathroom.
In all her years with Max, she had never experienced such an intense sexual pull. Their intimate life had been routine, perfunctory, and mechanical. Her body’s intense reaction to Rhean amazed her—especially after the abuse she had suffered.
Laura smiled wickedly to herself, sliding under the water to rinse off her hair. She knew he was rattled; the flare of desire she had seen there as his gaze raked her body, thrilled her.
Chapter Eleven
Rhean leaned back against the wall, his chest pounding in his throat. A certain part of his anatomy throbbed with arousal. He watched as the cat came upstairs to sit down in front of him. Tubs looked up at Rhean in that disdainful manner cats have perfected. Then he began to lick himself.
“It’s okay for you Tubs, you’ve been done,” he muttered. Breathing heavily and trying to regain some control over his body seemed to take ages. “I swear that woman is going to turn me into a bloody eunuch,” he cursed and went downstairs. He heard the telephone ringing, and rushed downstairs to answer it.
“Hello,” he said when he’d picked up the receiver.
“Is that you Rhean?” asked a familiar voice. “It’s Maisie.” There was an anxious tone in her voice.
“What’s up Maisie?” Rhean asked, immediately concerned. His jaw clenched, and an icy shiver ran up and down his spine.
“Look, I don’t want Mum to know, but Aunt Nicki has been ʼround, and I overheard some stuff,’” she told him in a rush of words.
“Such as?” His voice hardened. “Maisie, I can’t do anything if I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I overheard Aunt Nicki say that she lost the baby and that Dad’s furious with her. Rhean, it’s Aunt Nicki making those awful phone calls to Mum. I recognized the hiss in her voice. Maisie sounded as though she had been crying. “She also talked about Dad wanting us back to live with him.....Rhean...are you there?”
“I’m here,” he answered in as calm a voice as he could muster. “Maisie, I will sort this out. Please don’t worry,” he attempted to reassure her, but inside his protective instinct kicked in.
“If I tell Theo or James they will go ape,” Maisie said. “You won’t let Dad take us will you?” She sounded like a little girl instead of the fifteen-year-old, confident young woman she was.
“Theo and I have known about the phone calls for a while now, Maisie. We weren’t sure who was behind them. Now I know, I can do something about it. You can trust me, Maisie. Everything will be okay,” Rhean told her in the calmest voice he could muster. Inside, though, he simmered with rage. “Trust me Maisie, nothing will happen to any of you,” he stated in a firm voice. He heard Maisie sniff. “Come on sweetie, please. Let me deal with all this.”
“Ok Rhean, I’d better go. Gran will be here in a moment.” She sniffed again. “Bye Rhean, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow Maisie. Stay calm, please?” Rhean found it difficult to talk as he attempted to bank down his rage.
“Bye Maisie. Be strong,” he said and hung up the phone.
Rhean paced around the living room in a restless manner, squeezing and releasing his fists, and rolling his head around his neck to release the pent up tension.
Bloody Nickie, What the hell was she playing at? This was nothing compared to the thought of seeing Laura and her children threatened. He went to the cabinet in the corner and helped himself to a glass of Irish whiskey. The liquid slid down his throat with welcoming heat. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down before Laura saw him. Glancing at his watch to see the time, he realized that they hadn’t done anything about dinner. He picked up the telephone and ordered in a takeaway.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked gliding into the living room. He swallowed audibly at the sight of Laura wearing an excuse for a pair of pajamas. The sleeveless lilac top caressed the tops of her breasts. Floral shorts exposing the cream skin of her thighs. He cleared his throat, she looked delectable and he ached for her.
“Nothing,” Rhean replied hurriedly. “Do you want a glass of wine?” He picked up the bottle as Laura nodded, and poured the ruby red liquid into a wine glass. Laura sipped it and smiled up at him in a flirty way. Rhean didn’t respond. He drank down another glass of whiskey and sat down. He patted the seat next to him, and Laura curled up next to him.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“Oh......Chinese, its being delivered,” he replied, distracted.
“Are you okay?” Laura pressed him. “What’s wrong? You seem very tense and somehow not here.” Rhean turned to face her. Her open admiration of him was Rhean’s undoing. He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. “I’m fine,” he tried to reassure her.
“Really? You don’t seem to bet,” she countered.
“I’m, fine, I’m relaxed, I’m chilling,” he said, forcing a smile.
“I’ve seen corpses more relaxed than you,” she muttered. Rhean burst out laughing.
“When have you ever seen a corpse?” He was still chuckling at that comment. Laura pointed to the television.
“On the TV,” she said in a quiet voice.
Rhean gathered her into his arms and held her tight.
“Oh I do love you so much Laura.” He sighed and kissed the top of her head.
“When will the food be here?” she asked in a muffled voice against his chest.
“Oh, I think we have time,” he replied huskily. Giving into the demands of his raging hormones, Rhean kissed her thoroughly, exploring her mouth sensuously with his tongue. He press
ed her back onto the sofa, his body flush against hers, his mouth demanding more of a response from her. His hands slid down over her satin-clad body, cupping her soft breasts through the silky fabric. Laura’s hands roamed over Rhean’s shirt, and as she pulled it apart, he heard it rip and thrilled to the sound. Her hands entwined in his chest hair, teasing his nipple to a throbbing point. He wanted to shout with sheer pleasure as he pressed his groin down onto the soft vee of her satin-clad thighs in lieu of full intimacy. His mouth trailed from hers down her throat, as he nibbled and sucked every part of her soft, fragrant skin until he came to her breast. He felt her nipple harden and plucked it with his fingers. Bringing it to a peak, his mouth opened around it through the satin, sucking gently and teasing the tip with his teeth. As Laura buckled underneath him, she writhed and squirmed. Her hand slid slowly, sensuously downward, cupping him through his jeans squeezing gently. He cried out Laura’s name, leaned his head back against the sofa in abject pleasure, and then, as he pulsated in her hand, he ejaculated a warm dampness. Rhean shuddered, moved away from her on the sofa and leaned his head on his hands. He was mortified at his lack of control...
“It’s okay,” Laura told him in a husky whisper, “I understand.”
Rhean’s eyes clashed with hers, his face flushed red from embarrassment as well as passion.
Just as he was about to offer an explanation, there came a loud knock at the door.
“Ah crap. What great timing. That will be the Chinese.” He groaned, reaching into his pocket for the money and flexed his hips.
“Could you get it Laura? I don’t think I’m in any condition to see anyone,” he said wryly.
She smiled, took the money from his hand, grabbed her large coat, and put it ʼround her before she opened the door. Rhean thundered up the stairs to wash and change.
****
She was dishing up their meal when she felt a pair of strong arms around her, and warm kisses on the back of her neck. Smiling she leaned back, allowing Rhean better access to the silken skin of her throat...