Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (33 page)

Leaning back into his chair, Joe
put his hands behind his head effectively putting an end to their session.
Rachel slipped back into her jacket trying not to focus on his posture. The
position of his arms made his biceps bulge huge against his cotton shirt
sleeves and made his chest expand so much she swore she could hear the buttons
on his waistcoat screaming in protest. He had long ago loosened his tie and the
curl of dark hair at the base of his throat was too sexy. She knew what he
looked like in a lot less clothing and the memory of that big practically naked
body pressed up against hers, flashed through her mind having her blushing in
seconds.

Joe coughed and Rachel realised
she’s been caught staring and her stomach flipped crazily.

“Anything more I can help you with
Rachel?”

“What? No. Er, no thanks. No,
we’re all done here” she stammered pathetically, instantly wet at the double
meaning in his words. Catching the sparkle in his steely grey eyes left her in
no doubt that it was a statement designed to throw her off balance again. He
liked to play games but after their last few productive hours, she had hoped
they were past that. Rachel was deeply disappointed but not entirely sure
whether it was due to the fact that she finally thought he was taking her
seriously as a lawyer or because she realised Joe didn’t want to have sex with
her; he just wanted to fuck with her head.

**********

Weary from a day full of ups and
downs and a lot of hard work, Rachel jumped into her car in the station car
park and drove home looking forward to a hot bath and a very tall glass of
wine. It was Friday night and she intended to chill out and then spend tomorrow
pampering herself for the Cocktail Party in the evening. But a wonderful
surprise greeted her as she pulled in to her driveway; a little cream Mini was
parked in her space meaning one or both of the twins were home.

“Jess? Lucy?” she called up the
stairs as she dumped her bag on the hall floor.

“Muuuuum!” The twins came running
down the stairs skidding to a halt.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Jess, “Who are
you an what have you done to our Mum?”

“You look fab, Mama!” Lucy cried.

Rachel looked at them both and
then promptly burst into tears. “Oh my gosh,” she snivelled, “I am so pleased
to see you both. Just the tonic I needed.” They all huddled together in a big
hug in the hall until Rachel calmed down. “I didn’t realise you’d be back this
weekend!”

“We wanted to surprise you Mum
– you’ve been so busy.”

“Is Luc with you?”

“Luc? No why?” asked Jess with a
puzzled frown.

“Oh, no reason, it’s just I’ve got
so much to tell you. Grab a bottle of white wine from the fridge and come to my
bathroom. I need a soak while you fill me in on how your exams went and what
you’re going to do for the summer.” With a much lighter heart and all thoughts
of Joe Mason pushed to the back of her mind, Rachel went to run her bath.

Rachel and the twins spent the
whole evening catching up; drinking wine and ordering in pizza. Jess and Lucy
had plans to trek around Thailand for a couple of months and much to Rachel’s
dismay would only be home for a few days before they left again. “But you just
got home” she complained.

“Mum, Mum – we’re going with
George and Leo and this is the best deal we could get.”

“I know; I just miss you that’s
all but as it so happens work is going to be hectic and I’ll be working long
hours anyway.”

Rachel told them about Genesis and
Joe’s opposition to it.

“He doesn’t sound at all like
Daddy.” Jess remarked.

Rachel snorted. Lucy was on her
iPad.

“Oh my god, Mum!”

“What?”

Lucy turned the iPad around
reminiscent of Karen the other day, and there on the screen was a whole panty
melting page of Google images of Joe Mason.

“How do you work with that all day
without climbing on top of him and having your wicked way with him?”

“Lucy, believe me; he may look
lush but he’s mean and rude. And anyway; I’m your mother; don’t say things like
that to me.”

Jess laughed, “lol Mum; we know
you’ll always love Dad, but we don’t expect you to never have sex again!”

“We are so not having this
conversation!” Rachel laughed and hugged her girls close to her. They fortified
her resolve to keep trying the best she could.

“It’s been a long day my babies.
I’m off to bed. See you in the morning?”

“Yeah Mama – love you.” The
twins chirped in unison.

“Love you too.”

**********

CHAPTER 17

Rachel and her daughters managed
to get in a spa day where Rachel was scrubbed; de-fuzzed and polished. She had
a mani/pedi in dark burgundy and then a wonderful massage to relax her. The
girls also had their nails done and Rachel treated them to a facial each.
Leaving late in the afternoon, she felt happier than she had for weeks and Joe
aside, was quite looking forward to the party.

“What you
wearing Mum?” Jess was lying across Rachel’s bed tapping away at her phone.
Lucy was sitting at her dressing table fiddling with her jewellery.

“Hmm, I
have a little black dress I never got to wear in Paris when Dad took me. I
think it would be appropriate for tonight.”

“Let’s
see it.” Jess said not looking up from her mobile. Rachel took the dress out of
her wardrobe and removed it from its plastic cover.

“Holy
shit is that a Herve Leger?” Lucy gasped.

“Yup
– I bought it to surprise Daddy on our last trip, but that didn’t happen
and I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet.” They all looked suitably forlorn
for a minute but it passed quickly and Rachel shooed them out so she could get
ready.

A short time later Rachel called
them back in to see what they thought. Both girls reassured her that she looked
amazing; they even took photos and posted them on Facebook. Shortly after she
got a text from Luc predictably similar to the last one she’d received from him.
“OMFG MILF!” She laughed and text back a ‘X” the boy never failed to warm her
from the inside out.

Jess and Lucy insisted on giving
her a lift to the party and they teased her all the way there about fighting
off admirers. Rachel was glad of the distraction, as she had begun to fret
about seeing Joe. She hoped he would be civil to her tonight and not ruin her
evening.

“Bye Mum, have fun!” The twins
cried as she stepped out of the little cream mini at the entrance to her office
block.

Exiting the lift at the Reception
to Gyles Bishop, Rachel checked her lipstick in the mirror on the wall. Feeling
quite good about herself she made her way to the boardroom that had been
cleared for tonight’s event. She could hear quite a buzz of noise already and
hoped Angela was easy to spot in the crowd.

“Rachel, you look wonderful”
Benjamin Pierce greeted her with a peck on the cheek; he took her by the elbow
and guided her in to the party.

“Thank you Ben, it’s lovely to be
here.”

“Go on to the bar and get yourself
a drink.”

Rachel smiled and nodded and made
her way through the crowd. The bar was busy but she knew people in the queue
and was soon chatting away with them. She couldn’t see Joe but occasionally
heard his deep voice over the crowd and as much as she tried to deny it, the
sound made her warm and tingly. However, tonight she was determined to behave
like the professional woman she was and not some infatuated teenager; maybe
she’d get lucky with someone else because if she had to walk around much longer
feeling as horny as she had done for the past couple of weeks, she would
self-combust. Luc had left her hungry to explore the sexual side of her nature
further and quite frankly, losing Nate so unexpectedly had freed her
inhibitions because who knew what life held for you just around the corner. She
wasn’t getting any younger and Rachel wanted to have some fun.

Joe hated every minute so far, not
that anyone would know it. He was outwardly charming and sociable, talking to
members of staff as they approached him and feigning interest in their inane
conversation. As CEO he knew he had a responsibility to encourage team bonding
and lead by example, but it was in his alpha male nature to work autonomously
and exert absolute control. He was slowly learning that Brits didn’t respond
well to that approach and he had to be more transparent if he was to earn their
respect and gain their support.

Suppressing a yawn as he listened
to another totally boring anecdote from one of the ancient partners, Joe
immediately perked up when Rachel arrived.

“Holy shit!” he cursed under his
breath. “She looks fucking gorgeous” he thought to himself. The woman could
seriously rock a cocktail dress. And what had she done to her hair? Usually she
tied it up in some kind of bun or ponytail, but tonight it hung down her back
in long silky waves. He had never noticed how the highlights in her chocolaty
brown mane complemented her olive tones skin, of which there was much on
display tonight.

 
His steely grey eyes had followed her
around the room as she made her way to the bar where she was now sitting
chatting to some nerdy idiot fellow he’d never seen before. When nerdy idiot
boy leaned in to say something the guy put his hand on Rachel’s arm and Joe
growled. It must have been amusing as Rachel threw her head back and ripples of
laughter filled his head. It was like he couldn’t see or hear anything else in
the room he was so dazzled by her. Her long neck was exposed as she laughed and
her chest shook with the vibration of it. Idiot nerdy guy was so close to being
hauled off his stool and thrown out the window if he didn’t get his eyes off
her tits in the next five seconds. God, she was a beautiful woman oozing sexy
sophistication. Joe had gotten so used to his bottle blond waifs he had forgotten
the attraction of a real woman.

As if Rachel could feel Joe’s gaze
on her she looked away from Idiot nerdy guy and locked eyes with Joe across the
room. Her eyelashes fluttered several times as she fought to maintain her
composure under his scrutiny, but she stood her ground, smiled and raised her
glass at him.

Joe dropped his gaze as he rapidly
buttoned up his jacket to hide the instant hard on as his cock reacted to the
sight of Rachel’s curves in her black Herve Leger bandage dress. His expression
revealed nothing as his eyes roamed down her body. There was no fucking way she
could be wearing any underwear, the fabric was tight enough to see the blood
running through her veins; vpl didn’t stand a chance. The Lycra enhanced dress
gripped her perfect arse and body at the back whilst the front revealed a
cleavage he wanted to bury his face in, and tits that begged to be cupped and
caressed. Continuing his assessment of her fine assets he noted her bare legs
ended with her feet pushed into the highest fuck me shoes he’d seen on her yet.
They were black strappy things which tied around her elegant ankles. She wasn’t
short but against his height she usually only reached his shoulders; he bet
she’d be at kissable height in those heels.

Joe’s cock twitched in his suit
pants as he glanced back at Rachel. It was obvious that he’d been checking her
out; he hadn’t tried to hide it.
 
She raised her glass at him again with a smirk on her face, and Joe
raised his eyebrows in surprise that she hadn’t turned her back on him or at
the very least mouthed “fuck off” across the room. Clearly he had
underestimated Mrs Renton somewhat. He had assumed she was still playing the
grieving widow but apparently not if her appearance and defiant mood were
anything to go by.

“Jesus, I am so screwed” thought
Joe. There was no way he’d be able to speak to her tonight without fighting the
urge to kiss her. He needed to taste her so badly and reacquaint himself with
the feel of her body grinding against his; preferably naked this time. All he
could think about was peeling that little black number off of her and driving
his dick into her until she screamed his name.