One Husband Required!

by Sharon Kendrick

  Ursula blushed as he gently lowered her to her feet and tilted her chin with his finger, so that she couldn’t escape the understanding which blazed from his dark eyes. ‘Still scared?’ he asked.

  How could she be scared with this man? She shook her head. ‘Not any more.’

  ‘And what happened to change your mind?’

  ‘You did,’ she answered simply. ‘You happened.’

  ‘So did you.’ He touched her fingertips with his lips. ‘And I want to make this wonderful for you.’

  ‘But you will!’ she said in surprise.

  His eyes were darkly soft with question. ‘Do you realise we’ve done just about everything together? Worked together, been on holiday together, almost lived together, and looked after a child together. In fact, we’ve done everything a couple can do, Ursula. Except make love. And that is about to change.’ He smiled and spoke in a spine-tingling voice. ‘Do you want to make love, Ursula?’

  ‘Oh, yes, please!’ she said instantly.

  He laughed and kissed her again, and she wriggled with anticipation as he unbuttoned her dress all the way down, holding her breath as he slipped it over her shoulders and draped it over the back of the chair. Thank God her sister’s wedding had galvanised her into buying several new sets of underwear! The beautiful foundation garments had given her a new-found confidence in her shapely figure. Today she was wearing fluid silk camiknickers in the same deep navy as her eyes, with a lacy bra in the same colour.

  But even so...she had never stood before a man in just her underwear. She tried to close her eyes with embarrassment, but he wouldn’t let her.

  ‘Look at me, Ursula,’ he urged thickly. ‘Come on. Just look at me.’

  Mesmerised by his voice, she did as he asked, unbearably excited by the way he was watching her.

  ‘You are a beautiful woman, do you know that? Beautiful and delicious. Just like a rich, ripe, beautiful peach.’ His fingertips brushed against the swell of her breasts, where they spilled creamily over the confining navy lace. ‘All tinged with apricot,’ he sighed as he followed his fingers with the soft caress of his mouth. ‘And purest gold.’

  He pulled his tee shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. His belt followed suit, and he was just stepping out of his jeans when one glance at her startled expression made his dark eyes gleam with comprehension.

  ‘It’s okay to be shy, Ursula,’ he whispered, drawing her down onto the bed and pulling the duvet over them both. ‘Men find that very appealing.’

  ‘D-do they?’

  ‘Mmm. They do.’

  ‘And what else do they find appealing?’

  ‘This.’ He dipped his head to suckle her, his tongue slicking against the navy satin of her bra.

  ‘Oh-oh-h-h!’ she gasped.

  He seemed to take for ever to remove her underwear, and by the time he did she felt that there wasn’t a single centimetre of her that he hadn’t touched. And, although she was a complete novice, he kept saying wonderful things, giving her the courage and the confidence to explore him back.

  She drifted her hands over the contours of his body, discovering the firm swell of his buttocks and the long, hard curve of his spine. And she tangled her fingertips in the crisp sprinkling of hair which roughened his chest, nestling her soft body close up against the hard, muscular planes of his.

  ‘Oh, baby,’ he moaned, and then stopped her, capturing both her wrists within a grasp which was suddenly urgent.

  ‘No more,’ he said suddenly, and Ursula realised that he was trembling as he lowered his head to her breast and moved over her.

  He gave her time to grow accustomed to the unfamiliar weight of him as he held her in his arms. She felt safe beneath him, her limbs relaxing to enfold and welcome him. She felt the insistent tug of desire slicking her with its honeyed wetness, and opened to welcome him, her body instinctively learning everything he showed her.

  And when it happened, it was all so easy...easy as breathing, with only the briefest stab of discomfort to remind her that this was all completely new to her.

  Yet it felt so right...so unbelievably right. As if she had been put on the earth just to have Ross do that to her.

  And that...

  And...

  Ursula closed her eyes as sensation made her helpless in his arms. Everything he did to her he did with an air of discovery, his fingers moving in awe over her skin and all the secret places of her body, as though it were the first time for him, too. And his response made her relax even more, so that when at last her body began to shudder around him in a series of little spasms it took her completely by surprise.

  And Ross, too.

  Because afterwards—quite a long time afterwards—as he lay cradling her in his arms, idly stroking the black silken hair which had tumbled all over his chest, he remarked, ‘That doesn’t usually happen for a woman, you know. Not the first time, anyway.’

  ‘Doesn’t it?’

  ‘Nope.’

  Her body still glowing like a furnace, Ursula wriggled even closer and yawned. ‘Ross?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said sleepily. ‘The answer is yes.’

  ‘But you don’t know what I was going to ask you!’ she protested.

  ‘Yes, I do. You were going to ask me if you were any good, weren’t you?’

  Her eyes snapped open. ‘Are you a mind-reader, or something?’

  ‘No.’ He gave a lazy smile of contentment. ‘Just instinctive. I trust my instincts around you, Ursula.’ He turned onto his side and let his eyes linger curiously on her flushed face, brushing a damp strand of hair off her forehead. ‘Why has it never happened for you before?’

  Bathed in the dark glow from his eyes, she felt the very last of her inhibitions crumble away. ‘Lots of reasons,’ she told him slowly, finding a home for her finger in the dip of his navel. ‘When I was growing up, men frightened me. I knew so little about them. I’d grown up in an all-female household—my father died too young to be any kind of role model.’ Her voice faltered with the memory. ‘And all the other men on the estate where I grew up seemed to think of women as being good for just one thing.’ That had been the beginning of her plumpness, she realised now. A cushioned body had protected her and meant that the ferreteyed boys had left her alone.

  ‘Later, I was too busy trying to establish my independence.’ She shrugged her bare shoulders and he leaned over to kiss each one in turn. ‘So there was never really enough time for men. And because I’d lost my father so young I guess I didn’t give my trust very easily. There was someone once...but I was terribly young.’ She hadn’t thought of Martin Doyle in a long while. ‘Then he had the offer of a job in America, and...well, I wasn’t able to go with him—’

  ‘Because of your mother?’ he guessed.

  She nodded. ‘Yes, and because of Amber. She was still at school then, and she wouldn’t have been able to nurse my mother. I couldn’t leave them, but I certainly couldn’t take them with me. And it wasn’t fair to Martin, either—to saddle him with my family at the start of his life.’

  ‘But you didn’t ever—?’

  Ursula laughed at the expression on his face. ‘You can be very delicate sometimes, can’t you, Ross? No, I didn’t...ever! Amber and I had seen too many girls whose lives had been ruined by not thinking through the consequences of having sex. I was terrified, if you must know—’

  ‘You didn’t act like you were terrified today,’ he said softly.

  ‘That was different.’ It felt as if she had spent a lifetime waiting for what had happened today and she wondered if he knew that. Her voice was tentative. ‘Ross?’

  ‘Mmm?’

  ‘What was the...understanding you had with Jane?’

  His smile was rueful. ‘You want to talk about that now?’

  ‘Not really, but otherwise—’

  ‘It gets bigger inside your head?’

  She nodded.

  He ran a reflective finger along the curving dip of her waist and Ursula wriggled. ‘Do y
ou like that?’ he whispered.

  ‘No, I absolutely hate it!’

  He laughed, then sighed. This was a story it gave him no pleasure to tell. ‘When it became clear that the marriage was over, neither of us wanted to give up Katy. Jane felt that, as the man, I should be prepared to leave the family home, but I wasn’t willing to do that. I knew that if Jane won custody she would offload most of the childcare onto au pairs.’ His mouth thinned. ‘And I wasn’t prepared to let that happen.’

  ‘So you compromised?’

  ‘Well, we tried. We all three lived in the house, and Jane and I were civil to one another for Katy’s sake—but that was about it. We did the best we could under the circum-stances—co-parenting, I believe it’s called, but it doesn’t work, not really. If things are that amicable between a couple, then they wouldn’t be leading separate lives.’

  He picked up a heavy lock of black hair and twisted it possessively around his fingers. ‘Our “understanding”—for what it’s worth—was that if somebody else came along for either of us, then we would deal with it in an adult fashion. We would discuss what options lay open to us. Not disappear suddenly, and without warning.’

  He still hadn’t answered the question she was dreading having to ask.

  But she must. ‘And was it...was it...a proper marriage?’

  ‘You mean, did we still have sex?’ he asked bluntly.

  Ursula blushed. ‘Well...yes.’

  ‘No. We didn’t.’

  Her voice sounded tiny. ‘Can I ask how long?’

  There was a pause. ‘Almost five years.’ He saw the incredulous look on her face and smiled. ‘You’re having trouble believing that, sweetheart?’

  ‘Well, I know you wouldn’t lie to me, Ross.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said drily.

  ‘It’s just—’

  ‘You think it’s impossible for a man to live without sex for that long?’

  ‘I... well, yes!’

  ‘And yet you managed to do so? You had a busy and fulfilling life and sex didn’t enter into the equation, did it? In fact, you’ve never had sex—in twenty-eight years. Until now,’ he murmured, with a look which had her squirming with pleasure.

  ‘That’s different!’

  He shook his head. ‘Not really. Men can channel their energy into other things—just like women. And I had my daughter and my career to focus on. Believe me when I tell you, Ursula, that I’ve never been into loveless couplings as a method of relieving sexual frustration. And you keep blushing!’ he teased.

  ‘Are you surprised?’

  ‘With you—constantly,’ he admitted, and gave her a narrow-eyed smile which was gut-wrenchingly intimate.

  She wanted to bask in the warmth of that smile, but she also wanted to hear the whole story. Sort of. ‘Separate lives, then?’

  ‘Pretty much.’

  ‘But not a very satisfactory way to live?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, not really—but, like I said, it was our compromise. And so many people’s lives are built around compromise.’

  ‘But how long could you carry on living like that?’

  ‘Until Katy was old enough to decide for herself which parent she wanted to stay with. That time was rapidly approaching when Jane went and fell in love with Julian. I saw it happening. I think I saw it happening before Jane did.’

  ‘And didn’t you mind?’ asked Ursula curiously.

  ‘Emotionally, no, I didn’t mind. I have no respect for people who are territorial simply for the sake of it. Just because I wasn’t in love with Jane didn’t mean that I wanted her to have a loveless existence. In fact, after the initial shock of her going, I was happy for her. My life actually seemed much smoother.

  ‘Especially with your help.’ He flicked her a tender glance. ‘But I could also see that Jane running off could spoil all my plans, especially if she decided to fight me for custody of Katy.’

  ‘But without this crisis, and given the choice, are you so certain that Katy would have chosen to live with you? Not Jane?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, I am. And that isn’t meant to be an arrogant assessment. It’s just the way things were. Jane could be brilliant fun, but she was erratic. I was always the more hands-on parent, and my relationship with Katy was closer than the one she had with her mother. But Jane’s departure could have ruined all that.’

  Ursula stared at him. ‘Why?’

  She heard the anger which deepened his voice. ‘Because, even in these enlightened times, the mother will often win a custody battle simply because she is the mother. That’s why I decided to hang fire, because the longer the situation continued, and the more settled Katy became—well, courts are reluctant to disrupt the status quo. If Katy was happy and thriving with me, then it would be pretty foolish to uproot her to go and live on the other side of the world, wouldn’t it? Especially if she had no desire to go.’

  Ursula nodded. ‘So the longer Jane was away the better?’

  ‘Exactly.’

  She thought about everything he had said. And the things he had left out... ‘So, in all those years, you’ve never had a lover?’

  ‘Not until now,’ he answered softly.

  Ursula’s heart raced, but she needed to tell him her darkest fears, because if she hid them away any longer they would only grow and flourish. ‘Will you answer me one more question, Ross?’

  He smiled. ‘Tell me what you want to know, sweetheart. Ask me anything you like, and I’ll tell you the truth.’

  She believed him. She might be the craziest woman in the world, but she had never doubted his word—his fundamental honesty and integrity. Never. ‘If Katy hadn’t been part of the equation, then do you still think we would have ended up in bed together?’

  He looked surprised. ‘If Katy hadn’t been part of the equation, I think we would have ended up in bed a lot sooner! Because my marriage would have ended years ago.’ He traced the shape of her nose with his finger. ‘That’s not what I was expecting you to say. I thought you were going to ask me whether I loved you.’

  ‘Oh, no.’ She shook her head. ‘That’s an answer which must never be sought—it must be freely given,’ she answered proudly.

  ‘Because I do, you know. Very, very much.’

  She stared at him, unwilling to accept the evidence of her own ears in case it all turned out to be some sort of ghastly mistake.

  And maybe he knew that, because he said it again. ‘I love you, Ursula O’Neil—more than you could ever know. And I’m going to take great pleasure in showing you just how much.’

  ‘But why me?’ she asked him. ‘What’s so special about me?’

  He grinned. ‘Well, I like spending time with you—that’s the main reason. You’re my best friend. I can tell you anything. And I fancy you like mad—’

  ‘You can’t do!’

  ‘Wanna bet?’ he murmured, and began to stroke her belly in a slow, circular movement which should have been restful but which had exactly the opposite effect on Ursula. She squirmed with excitement, trying to pay attention to what he was saying.

  ‘Over the years you’ve crept into my heart and invaded my soul and taken up permanent residence there, Miss O’Neil. And the only difference that having Katy has made to our relationship is that it gave me the opportunity to see what love and understanding you could extend to a mixed-up little girl. You took her into your heart when she most needed you, and because of that Katy has grown to love you, too.’ He paused, and Ursula heard the raw emotion which roughened his voice. ‘Thank you, sweetheart.’

  ‘It was my pleasure.’ She laid a tender hand on his cheek. ‘And I love you more than I can say.’

  He began to kiss her again then, sweet, rousing kisses which were fuelled by commitment as much as passion. Kisses which marked their union and the bond which existed between them.

  ‘What time is Oliver expecting you home?’ she asked him breathlessly.

  ‘Midnight,’ he grimaced. ‘Or I could take you back with me...?’


  Ursula was sorely tempted, but she shook her head. ‘It’s too soon. Katy may seem fine about things, but we ought to give her time to adjust. Let’s not tell her until we think she’s ready.’

  They managed to keep the relationship ‘secret’ for four weeks, until Katy came home early from her tap-dancing lesson to find them standing in the kitchen, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  ‘Oh, good!’ she said cheerfully. ‘Do I get to be a bridesmaid?’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘I THINK I’m going to be sick!’

  Ursula turned round and grinned. ‘I don’t look that bad, do I?’

  Amber shook her head, then groaned. ‘Ouch! Remind me not to move!’ She stared at her sister in complete amazement ‘You look absolutely and devastatingly fantastic, if you really want to know, Ursula. What kind of diet did you go on, for heaven’s sake?’

  Ursula stared at her reflection in the mirror, and the brand-new and pencil-slim image she made, wearing the ivory silk satin dress that Mother had bought all those years ago. A dress she had never thought she’d get into, let alone wear on her wedding day! To go with her brand-new figure she’d had a brand-new hairstyle—a blunt-cut bob which swung fashionably to her jaw and made the most of her thick dark hair. Ross loved it, but then Ross seemed to love everything about her! ‘Well, I don’t want to sound smug—’

  ‘Yes, you do!’ chipped in Amber, with sisterly candour.

  ‘But I just kind of lost interest in food. I never really found the time to snack once I started living with Ross.’

  ‘You mean that sex replaced food?’ queried Amber bluntly.

  Ursula blushed. ‘There’s no need to put it like that!’

  ‘Well, it’s true, isn’t it?’

  Yes, it was true. Ursula’s world had changed immeasurably—Ross had seen to that. It had become brighter, sharper, clearer—more real than real. Mealtimes had lost their allure as the focus of her day. Not that she had become an unsightly skinny-ribs—a woman obsessed with the amount of calories she put in her mouth—or anything like that. No, it was just that the rounded hips had melted away to firm curves, and she definitely had an hourglass shape now!