Her Canadian Dream [Her Canadian Dream] (Siren Publishing Classic) (4 page)

Jesus Christ! I haven’t done that in ages.

He’d quickly sluiced down the shower and climbed out, grabbing a towel from the rack in the corner. As he’d dried off he’d lectured himself on the folly of getting involved in Aly’s life.

She’s taken. Don’t go there. She’s not going to be interested in you. Stop thinking with your dick and leave the girl alone.

Easier said than done. For the first time in years he was attracted to someone and it was sheer bad luck he couldn’t do anything about it.

After drying off, he’d sighed as he dressed and went down through his empty house to his kitchen to eat a lonely supper.

Now it looked as if things might be changing.

“So what’s she going to do now then? Isn’t she here on a visa?” Aiden enquired of Brett.

“Yeah, she is. That’s what Jan’s worrying about. But there is one good thing to come out of it.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow in enquiry.

“Gives you a chance, buddy. And don’t tell me you’re not interested, because I saw your reaction to her when you met. And by the way she made that quick exit, I would guess that she feels the same way.”

Aiden held up his hand as if to ward off his friend’s words.

“Hey, slow down. We don’t even know if she’s finished with him yet.”

Brett chuckled.

“You are kidding, right? You think Jan’s gonna let him anywhere near her now?”

The men both grinned. Jan was a typical volatile Italian and was fiercely loyal to anyone she loved. Aly had taken a place in her heart and that now made her family as far as she was concerned. Jan had also realised, from the books that Aly read, that she might have similar leanings into the BDSM lifestyle, and she would love to get the chance to show her just how special it could be.

He continued, “Jan’s talked about taking her to the club for some time now. She’s convinced she would enjoy it. Maybe now is the time. If this Sean guy is off the scene she’ll need a distraction.”

Turning away from his friend, Aiden surreptitiously adjusted his cock, now rock hard at the thought of taking Aly to the club. In his imagination he could see her, bound to the St. Andrew’s cross, fully open for him, her beautiful breasts free and waiting for his lips and hands to explore. He could almost taste her as his cock hardened even more and his mind threatened to run riot.

He cleared his throat.

“Well, talking about this girl won’t get this plan sorted. Did you see the changes the client wants?”

Brett grinned at the blatant change of subject, but let it drop for the moment.

He knew his friend was interested in Aly. Aiden had been going to the club for many years and had played with most of the uncollared subs that were members, but so far none had piqued his interest enough to have a full-on D/s relationship with. If Jan could persuade Aly to come along, maybe she could be the one for him.

Picking up the blueprint, he pinned it to the wall and started to discuss some changes, both men putting all other thoughts to the back of their mind as work now claimed their attention.

The ringing doorbell pulled Aly from her thoughts. Glancing at the clock, she realised that she had been sitting for over an hour, and was no nearer a solution to her problems than she had been when she’d first read Sean’s e-mail.

Dragging herself up from the sofa, she opened the front door. Jan came rushing in and pulled her into a bear hug that almost crushed her bones.

“Oh, honey, how are you? Have you heard any more from Sean? Have you eaten? God, you look awful!”

Aly gave a tearful smile and indicated the laptop.

As Jan scanned the e-mail, she tried not to show her irritation with a coward who didn’t have the guts to finish things face-to-face. She gritted her teeth and once again wished she had Sean in front of her so that she could extract some sort of revenge for the way he was treating her friend.

“What a total and utter bastard!”

Jan turned back to her friend, who had once again sunk down on the sofa. Aly looked shell shocked, and Jan felt drawn to sit beside her and hug her as she again started to cry and confess.

“But he’s right. I didn’t love him. I thought it would be OK once we got married. But I know that it probably wouldn’t have been enough. I’m a fool. I’ve been chasing a dream that isn’t real.”

Her gaze drifted round the room.

“I can’t stay here, Jan. I can’t afford it. The rent is only paid until the end of the month. That’s Halloween…and it’s only next week!”

As Jan started to speak she interrupted her.

“It’s not that you don’t pay me enough, Jan. You’re more than fair. But this place is so expensive. We managed with two salaries coming in, but there’s no way I can stay here on my own. If I can’t find a cheaper place I’ll have to try to get home…but my share of the savings isn’t much and I’m not even sure I can do that. Oh my God, what am I going to do?”

It was the question she kept asking herself and the knowledge that she had no answer was overwhelming.

Jan took her hand and spoke gently.

“Now don’t panic. I have a friend who has a spare room. I’m sure you can stay there until you decide what you need to do. Start getting your stuff up together, although you don’t seem to have much to pack, looking at this room.”

Jan looked around the sparsely furnished room, devoid of the usual knickknacks that might normally have been found in a home. She knew that Sean hated any clutter. On many occasions Aly had bemoaned the fact that she couldn’t have any of her mementos out on display. Most of her things were still packed in boxes in the spare bedroom cupboard. At least now it meant that she wouldn’t take too long to pack up and move out.

Aly looked at Jan with new hope in her heart.

“Where is this place though, Jan? I need to be near town so that I can get to work on foot. I’ll have to sell the car to get a deposit for an apartment.”

“Don’t you worry about that. You won’t need to sell the car and this place is only just outside town, out by Mary Lake,” Jan assured her.

Even though Aly had only been in the area for eight months, she knew that Mary Lake properties were out of her league. Most were built in the old style and commanded high prices when sold or rented out.

“But I couldn’t afford anywhere out there!” she exclaimed.

She blanched. What was Jan thinking? If she couldn’t afford this apartment how on earth could she afford a place on the lake?

Jan started for the door, saying over her shoulder, “Hey, would I steer you wrong? Give me five minutes and I’ll make a couple of calls while you start getting packed.”

In the small hallway she fished out her phone and hit speed dial. Brett answered on the second ring.

* * * *

“Hey, babe, everything OK?”

Quickly, she outlined her idea as Brett sat in his office listening intently, grinning as he agreed with her plans, glancing across at Aiden as he hung up the phone. Aiden looked quizzical as his own phone immediately started to ring.

“Jan? What can I do for you?”

Brett left the room with a wave as Aiden listened to Jan at the end of the line.

“So what do you think, Aiden? Are you happy with that?”

Aiden squirmed in his seat as the reality of what Jan was asking hit him.

“Let me get this right. You want me to rent Aly my spare room? I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jan. She had seemed scared of me when we met. Have you run this by her yet? Is she happy with the arrangement?”

Jan answered quickly.

“No, I haven’t but don’t you see? You have a spare room in that darn great house of yours and she needs somewhere to stay. She needs someone to look after her for a while, so this would kill two birds with one stone.”

Aiden sucked in a breath. Did Jan know what she was asking?

Of course she did.

She and Brett had no secrets between them and his friend knew the attraction he had for Aly. How could he live in the same house as her, though, and not jump her bones? Every dream he had nowadays seemed to feature her.

Aly on the cross. Aly bound and spread-eagled on his bed waiting for him. Aly under him, shattering as he pumped into her, filling her pussy with his rock-hard cock, until both were satiated.

He always awoke from these dreams with a stiff cock and a fast-beating heart. Whilst she had been with Sean she had been off-limits but now…

He broke his thoughts to say, “Sorry, Jan. I don’t think this is a good idea. Surely you can find her somewhere else? Somewhere she’ll feel more comfortable?”

But as usual, Jan didn’t listen, just retorted.

“Nonsense. This is the ideal solution. Look at it this way. It’s only for four months at the most. Her visa runs out in February and as she won’t be married to dickhead now, she’ll have to return to the UK. So you can put up with her for that long.”

He felt as if Jan was steamrollering him into a decision, but strangely, the idea that Aly would be leaving so soon didn’t sit well with him.

Before he could say anything else she carried on, regardless of his comments.

“That’s settled then. I’ll take her over as soon as she’s ready. Is the key where you usually leave it? Good.”

She hung up as Aiden admitted where the key was and before he could protest any more.

He put his head in his hands and groaned. Brett came back in the room and slapped him on the back.

“I hear you’re going to have a roomie.”

The only answer he got from Aiden was a scowl and a rough growl. Aiden knew his friend was enjoying this and gave him one final plea.

“Give me a break, bud. Call your woman off and help her find somewhere else.”

Deep blue eyes sparkled as Brett answered.

“No way, buddy boy. If you think I’m going to have a pissed-off woman at home over the weekend you have got to be kidding! Anyway, you need a woman around the house to keep you in line and who knows…”

Brett ducked as a whiteboard cleaner flew over his head.

“Temper, temper.”

“Go fuck yourself, Linden.”

The only reply he had to that was the sound of Brett laughing as he left the office to go out to the construction site they were working.

He was left to think about the mess he was in now. How on earth was he supposed to live with the vision of his dreams and not touch her? The thought of her wandering his house in skimpy nightclothes or just a towel after a shower was torture. He could strangle Jan for this. She knew how he felt about Aly and it was just like her to try to matchmake. The problem was, Aly was straight out of a bad relationship and he couldn’t see that she would be interested in another one any time soon.

He sighed and gave up on the papers he was working on. He might just as well go on home and get the spare room ready. The room was certainly ready for visitors. All he needed to do was put fresh linen on the bed and make sure there were enough towels in the bathroom. If he went now, he’d just have time to do that before lunch.

He sighed and lifted his eyes in a silent prayer that he could manage to keep his self-control, and not frighten her off before she was ready to trust again.

Bags packed, Ally looked around the flat with real dismay. Almost eight months of her life had been spent here, building dreams and planning for the future. Now it was all dust and she had to move on with her life.

The apartment was furnished so all she had was her clothes and her personal possessions. She’d left anything that Sean had bought her. Luckily most of her books were on her e-reader so the few books left on the bookshelves were mainly Sean’s. She didn’t have many clothes, so when all was done it amounted to two cases, three boxes, and a bag containing her laptop and e-reader. Her precious quilt was neatly folded and laid across the back of the sofa, ready to go.

Her hands were sweating as she took a last look around the room that she’d never really liked. She just hoped that wherever Jan intended to take her, it was more homey and less clinical than this.

Jan had left her an hour ago and would be returning soon to help her with her bags and take her out to the lake house. Once packed, she ran down the stairs to the landlord’s flat, on the ground floor. After explaining the situation and giving him Sean’s keys, she went back upstairs. It was a huge relief that he wasn’t intending to retrieve a month’s rent in lieu of notice, purely because he had a waiting list for his apartments and knew of someone who could move straight in. However, he would be keeping the deposit that they had paid when they first arrived. Although a blow, given her financial circumstances, she had to admit that he was being more than fair. He could have insisted on the full amount, which would have been a disaster on her part.

When Jan arrived, she was driving a covered truck which Aly recognised as belonging to Brett. It was a sad fact that all of her belongings, once taken down the stairs, only half filled the truck bed.

Climbing into her own car, she quickly texted Sean details of what the landlord had said, then started the engine and prepared to follow Jan to her new home.