Cayman Desires (16 page)

“My mother and … Miguel
told me that you slept with Henry Scott to get the job … I didn’t want to believe
it, so four and a half months after you left I went to London to confront him
with it.  He confirmed it, took great pleasure in rubbing it in, even that you
met in between as well …”

The shock on her face,
the paleness of her skin appeared stark against the red spots of anger on her
cheeks.  She drew in a deep breath, tears burning behind her eyelids.

“Henry Scott … the
Personnel Director? That is a lie!  I only met him twice, the first time for
the first interview and the second with the Managing Director, David Hammond.” 
A forlorn sob escaped her lips and her distressed gaze swung to his.

“How could you even
believe that, Raymond?  You knew how much I loved you … how could you think
that I ever would give myself to someone else when my heart, soul and my body
only belonged to you!”

“Because you left! 
Your love for me could not withstand the lure of the great and mighty Princeton
Group!  You made a decision in a flash of an eye, Clarissa! You threw my love
in my face!  It was the only thing that made sense!  Even after Cecile told me
the tale, I believed you would realize you made a mistake … that you loved me
more.  I waited for months; you never once made any contact … that is when the
doubt took over.”

Clarissa shook her
head.  “I couldn’t … I could not take the hate and loathing in your voice.  The
night I phoned you before I left … my heart shattered and I promised myself I
would survive, locked my heart against you, but it didn’t work. I came back
within four months, realizing I made a mistake and that my life meant nothing
without you in it, but you were in your office, kissing Linda …”

“Linda was dy …” She
stopped him with her fingers on his lips.

“I know, Miguel told me
everything.  But I did not at the time and I was devastated. I believed you
never really loved me and went back to the Caribbean, and worked like a demon
to forget you.  I can’t tell you how it hurt to realize you had a child with
someone else … and so soon after …” 

He sighed, but did not
touch her.  There were still too many things to iron out.

“Linda wanted to be
married and have a child before she died; a legacy so to speak, a continuance
of her.  I could not bring myself to marry her, and did not even entertain her
desire for me to father her child at first, until the day Henry Scott told me
his story, and the day after that when I received your engagement ring in the
mail … that is when I committed to giving her a child.”

“You made love to her
…”

“Once … that very same
night, after I got your ring back … I got debilitatingly drunk … told myself if
you could do it, so could I.  The next morning I hated myself.  It was not fair
to Linda and I told her so, and that I could not do it again.  Fortunately, for
her, she got pregnant from that one time.  She died within six months’ of
Robby’s birth.  It is the one good thing that came from all of this … my son.”

She nodded her head,
Robby was such a dear child, and no one could help but love him … not even her.

“Who told you the truth
about Henry Scott?”

“Miguel, not so long
ago and regretted that it took him so long to do it.  He found out the truth
three years ago, but it was just after we reconciled and he didn’t want to
alienate me so soon.”  He caught her gaze with a direct stare.

“I am sorry for
everything I said, you didn’t deserve that, but at the time, it was the truth
as I knew it.”

“Does that mean you
forgive me then?”  His jaw tightened at her softly uttered question.

“You still left,
Clarissa.  That much is still the truth, and that didn’t change.  You turned me
into something I never thought I’d be, hard, merciless and ruthless.” 

“You … have been with
many other women.  Why did you not … marry any of them?”

His eyes shadowed his
feelings and he grinned.  “Jealous were you?”

“I … you made it clear
you had sex with many others … I cannot deny that it hurt to hear that …
especially as I never …”

“You never what?”

“When I told you it has
only ever been you, I was telling the truth.  I have not made love to any other
man since you.” 

“What about Michaels?”

“He was keen to have a
relationship, but I told him I was not interested.  He was only a friend.” 

The warmth that filled
his heart shone in the slight smile around his mouth upon hearing that.  He
caught and held her gaze, honesty shining in their depths.

“I will not lie to you,
Clarissa.  There have been women over the years, but not as many as I hinted
at, and only the odd one night stand here and there to release sexual tension.”

She nodded, lowered her
eyes and bit her lip so hard it turned white.  At least there were no
meaningful relationships, this was a hurt brought on by her and she would have
to work through it.  Her gaze swung back to his.

“What letter?” 

Raymond frowned at her
sudden change of topic.  If she did not know about the letter informing her of
the contract not being renewed, what was she doing here?

“Are you honestly
saying you did not receive my letter?”

“If I knew what letter
you are referring to I would be able to tell you!”

He was confused enough
to snarl at her.  “The letter informing you, that I am not renewing your
contract at the end of your current period.”

“You’re not renew … ing
my con … tract?” She stuttered and paled.  “That is why you … barter … you
thought I was here to plead for … you insulting son of a bitch!”  She swung her
arm at his face again, but this time he caught her hand before it reached its
target. 

“Once I deserved, but I
will not stand still for another!  Then tell me, Clarissa!  If you are not here
to plead for your precious job, what are you doing here?”  His eyes blazed fire
at her, diminishing her anger and her nervousness ate at her heart.

She pulled her arm
away, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Some of the misunderstandings
were resolved but he was still hurt, he still did not trust her love for him.

 He stood looking down
at her, patiently waiting for her to find the right words.  He saw her swallow,
open and close her mouth, swallow again, before she turned to him.  Her eyes
rose to meet his and his breath caught in his throat.

“I came here to barter
with you, Ray, but not for the job, for your heart. I have loved you from the
first day we met, and I never stopped, not even after that day I saw you
kissing … kissing Linda.” 

Her eyes were clear and
honest, the love there for him to see and he swallowed past the lump he felt in
his throat.  He kept quiet, allowing her the time to gather herself.

“It was such a shock to
run into you, but at the same time … I still love you, Raymond, with all my
heart and I can’t continue to live life without you in it.  No job or career is
worth losing you again.  Please tell me it is not too late for us?”  Her eyes
pleaded with him with her heart reflected clearly for him to see.

He lifted his hands and
closed them around her face; his lips covered hers in the sweetest, most tender
kiss ever.

“It is not too late for
us, my love.  I love you too, I have never stopped, but the hurt and
devastation you left behind when you left ran so deep, it nearly crippled me. 
That is why I was so hard on you when we met.  I had to protect myself, my
heart; I could not allow you to see how much you still meant to me.” 

His eyes shone warm
with love for her, he drew her tight into his arms and held her close, as if he
would never let her go.

He pushed her away,
walked to his drawer, picked up something and turned to her.  When he dropped
to one knee and held out her engagement ring, tears ran down her cheeks.

“Clarissa Langston,
will you please marry me this time, for real?”   She laughed and cried at the
same time and pulled him into her arms, but he pulled back.  “I need an answer,
baby.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” 

He smiled at her
exuberance and gently pushed the ring on her finger, lifted her hand and kissed
the finger with the ring on it.

“And make sure this is
never taken off again.”  Then only did he pull her in his arms for another
devastating soul searching kiss to seal their love.

It was much later, that Raymond pulled
Clarissa onto his lap, his hand gently caressing her belly.  A gentle, tender
smile on his lips, he captured her dreamy eyes with his.

“So, my love … when did
you intend telling me about the baby?”

His continued caressing
of her belly, the sickness, and a quick calculation, gave her a start and her
eyes flashed into his.

“Oh, how could I have
been so …I’m pregnant! I’m really pregnant!” 

Her hand joined his
gently on her stomach and she smiled her brilliance and happiness up to him.

“No, heart of mine … we
are pregnant.”  Her smile was brilliant at his possessive declaration.

“How did you know?”

“Knowing every inch of
your body as well as I do, I noticed your breasts immediately …”

She glanced down at
them, realizing that they were slightly fuller than usual and could kick
herself for not connecting all the dots herself!

“Then there is also the
small matter of deliberately setting out to make you pregnant…” 

She stiffened in his
lap, intending to jump up, if not for his arms, tightening around her.

“Now…now…it was all for
a good cause.  You did not want to give up your job for me, but I was
relatively sure you would not allow any child of yours to be brought up without
his or her father.”  He hugged her tighter against him.

“I’m surprised you did
not notice that I stopped using condoms within a week?”

“Well … I had other
things on my mind just then.”  The slight flush on her cheeks caused a burst of
laughter to erupt through his lips.

“Are you angry at me?”

“For getting me … us
pregnant?”  At his nod, she smiled and kissed him tenderly.  “Never … apart
from regretting hurting you all those years ago, that was my biggest regret,
that by now we would have had at least two children.”

Raymond rewarded her with such a tender
passionate kiss that her toes curled.

Robby was the most excited of all about
the turn of events, driving everyone crazy with all the questions.

“Does that mean you are
going to be my new mommy, Rissa?

“Can I call you Mommy
when you and Daddy marry?”

“When are you getting
married?”

“Why not today?”

“I am going to have a
brother or a sister? Whoopee!”

“May I please rather
have a brother?”

“When?”

“Why so long?”

And on and on it went,
until Raymond eventually picked him up and started wrestling with him on the
carpet of his lounge to distract him from all the questions.

It was much later after
making love, that Raymond drew Clarissa tight in his embrace, kissing her
softly on her cheek.

“What about your job? 
Are you going back?” 

He felt her stiffen,
but knew the question had to be asked.  She rose on her elbow and gazed
tenderly down into his shadowed eyes.  Softly caressing his nose, his mouth
with her finger, she smiled at him.

“I have a much bigger
job waiting for me, here with you.  I’ve heard it told being a mom is a full
time job … Even more so, being a wife to such a demanding husband like you will
be a lifetime job.  One I am never going to be prepared to leave!”

The tears that filled
his eyes were her undoing and her own spilled over to trickle down her cheeks. 
He gently dried them with his finger and leaned up to kiss her lips.

“You have no idea how
much it means to me to hear that.  Be warned, heart of mine, I will never let
you walk away from me again.  Not without fighting my fingers to the bone…”

She lifted on her
elbow, her one hand gently caressing his chest, circling his nipple and he
groaned, his body tightening immediately.

“Will you allow me to
make love to you now?  Please my love, I have been aching to do that since we
ran into each other …”

He reclined back against the pillows,
gripping his hands behind his neck, his eyes blazed molten fire at her.  His
shaft already fully erect and eager, the moment she asked the question. The
eager anticipation of the pleasure awaiting him was evident in his face and in
the hardness of his body.

Clarissa sat on the large patio of the
presidential cottage of the Princeton Hotel in the Cayman Islands.  Her eyes
full of love as she gazed down at her sleeping baby daughter in her arms.

She pushed her toe
against the floor to start the rocking chair, her eyes searching for the love
of her life.  He stood at the water’s edge watching the three little boys
playing in the shallow surf.

She smiled happily. 
How could one person have so much love and happiness in her life? She legally
adopted Robby as soon as they were married.  Oh … and what a beautiful wedding
they had!  She felt like a princess in her white flowing dress.  Having her
whole family sharing in her happiness perfected the day, ensured that all the
loneliness and unhappiness of the lost years remained buried in the past.

She laughed when the
waves pulled the twins legs from under them; they grabbed each other to stand
up.  Laughing and running into their father’s waiting arms.

Darius and Miguel just
turned two and similar to their grandfathers were not identical twins.  Miguel
had burst out in tears when they announced their names and needless to say,
spoiled them rotten.

Retha, of course, could
not wait for Mikáèla, her name chosen by Robbie, to grow up so she could start
spoiling her also.  Sometimes it felt like they had to fight to keep their
children at home; they spend so much time with their grandparents.

The arrival of the boys
and their father pulled her from her wool gathering.  Raymond ushered them to
their rooms, to shower and get dressed for dinner.  He walked up to her,
bending over he tenderly kissed his daughter’s cheek.

He looked into her
eyes, his, burning with deep desire.  She smiled lazily and caressed his broad
shoulder.  He leaned down further and took her mouth in a deep, but tender
kiss.

“How are the two women
in my life?  Any chance we can get Dad and Retha to babysit tonight so we can
have the night to ourselves?” 

His tongue delved in
her ear and shivers ran down her spine, desire burning down the center of her.
Her head turned into his neck and she licked the pulsing vein, caressing and
seeking his lips.

“When you do that heart
of mine, we better get them to agree … I won’t be able to wait until it is
dark.  As a matter of fact … that is a brilliant idea.  I’ll get Bette to find
us a room … dinner can wait!