Second Chances: Novella One (6 page)

He laughed at the image as he took a last swig from his glass, leaving just the final dregs in the bottom. The chime of the clock in the hallway echoed through the night air, intruding upon their thoughts and bringing them back to reality. It was one o'clock.

Layla stood up. Looking down at him, she stretched out her hand to encourage him to slip his own inside hers. “Shall we go back inside?” she asked.

Evan raised himself and took Layla’s hand. She had not moved, so his body was mere inches away from hers. As they stood facing one another, she could feel his breath in her hair. The wine had fired up a brave determination in her blood, giving her the confidence to tilt her head upwards and give him the smile that she used to save for him only, during their most private time.

Evan

That smile of hers used to make Evan’s heart miss a beat, and it continued to have the same effect now. Catching him by surprise, Layla went up on tiptoes and kissed him gently on the corner of his lips. “Thank you for the wine, and understanding,” she said gently.

Spurred on by her sudden display of affection, Evan couldn’t hold back the urge to return the kiss on the corner of her lips before replying, “Any time.” With one hand still enclosing hers, he moved the other to rest on her hip, feeling the warmth of her body radiating through her nightclothes towards his skin, almost burning him in the process.

“
I guess we should go to bed,” Layla said softly. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“
No, I’m totally free to entertain you, if you wish,” he replied, half playfully.

“
I shall have to give some thought to what we can do.”

Evan laughed, his palm still rested on her hip and the tips of his fingers gently moving against the material beneath. He heard Layla expel a slow breath of air as her body reacted to his teasing touch. Resting his forehead carefully against hers, he said honestly, “I guess I need to let you go inside, and up to your own room, so you can get a decent night's sleep after your plane trip.”

Layla lifted her head off his and looked at him, her eyes searching, as they both sighed. “I guess that would be best,” she agreed, giving his hand a light squeeze.

Parting, she followed him back into the house through the same double doors that she had opened earlier. Removing the key from her dressing gown pocket, she handed it back to him.

“
You know all my little secrets, Miss Keyes,” said Evan with a twinkle in his eye, as he returned the key to its usual resting place in the vase.

She grinned in return.

After walking up the stairs, they said goodnight on the landing, before Layla slipped into her room once again. Evan stood staring at her closed door for some moments before he pulled himself together and entered his own bedroom.

For him, sleep was elusive, his mind teasing him with thoughts of making love to her in
their
bed. When Evan finally drifted off, his thoughts merged into a sequence of memories from the first time he brought Layla to this house, shortly after she had agreed to front an advertising campaign for his company at the beginning of their relationship.

Throughout the evening Layla had been drinking more champagne than he suspected she was used to. The excess alcohol seemed to act as a springboard, blasting away any final inhibitions as she placed her body in his lap and proceeded to reignite their earlier tongue dance.

As the heat between them built up to a volcanic status, Evan suggested they retire to the private cosiness of the library. It was his favourite room and he had yet to show it to her. He would have taken her straight up to the soft comfort of his bedroom, but he thought that might send her running, and he wanted to savour this uninhibited Layla for as long as possible.

Evan closed the door of the library behind them and pulled her towards him. “Now, where were we?” he said, pressing his lips to hers as he placed his hands on her hips, drawing her as close as their bodies would allow.

As their tongues teased, he shifted their position, pushing her back against the upper part of the door. Sliding his palms up, from her hips to her breasts, he began to move each one in a circular motion over the nipples that protruded through her dress. Layla let out a gasp as the tingling that his touch induced began to spread throughout her. She arched her back in response.

“
Mmm, do you like that?” he whispered as he moved his mouth behind her ear to nibble on her lobe.

Layla’s hands urgently felt their way up and down his shirt-covered torso in return. “Oh, yes,” she answered, impatiently pulling out the neatly tucked shirttails from his waistband, and ripping all the buttons off their threads in the process as she parted the material to feel the washboard stomach concealed beneath. Leaning over, she pressed her lips to his exposed chest.

Stunned by this different side to Layla, he felt torn between feeling utterly turned on and concerned as to whether she would regret things once the alcohol dispersed from her veins. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked prudently.

“
Yes, I want to do this.”

She spoke with such strong conviction, backing up her words by placing her hand over his erection and squeezing it gently, that he finally allowed himself to put his apprehension aside.

Evan slid his hands around her back, and down to cup her soft arse, moulding her to him as he ground his building erection against her lower body. “Wrap your legs around me,” he instructed. With his hands supporting her bottom and the light pressure of her back against the door, she obliged him instinctively.

Capturing her lips once more, Evan carried her effortlessly over to the leather sofa and laid her down on the plump cushions. Moving to hover over her, he placed one knee on the cushion between her thighs as his other leg levered support on the floor, allowing his hands easy access to her apex.

All the while keeping eye contact, Evan pushed her dress up to her waist. His fingers pulled at the thin elastic holding up her thong, sliding the crotch area to one side before probing inside to seek out the hidden, pulsating clit. As his fingertips made contact, Layla emitted a soft murmur of his name, lifting her hips upwards greedily as his fingers swirled around the nub of flesh.

“
Layla...” The desperate sound of her name vibrated from his chest as her hand caught him unawares as it skimmed over his shaft, massaging it gently, as she cupped it through the material.

Feeling his need, she moved her hand to his waistband and began to unzip his trousers, pulling them down roughly to free his bulging boxer shorts. “Jesus,” he muttered with a desperate breathlessness to his voice; the sudden release of pressure on his groin providing him with an exquisite rush of lust.

Evan hungrily pushed her back against the cushion with the bulk of his body, as an urgent primal need sparked violently between them while his mouth explored hers feverishly. 

Sliding down Layla’s body, he dragged himself to a standing position, taking her thong with him. Casting the offending item aside, he stepped out of his trousers and flung them carelessly towards the nearby footrest. Evan then lifted her into his arms once more as she hooked her legs over his hips so as he sat back down on the sofa she was facing him.

 As Layla shifted in his lap, placing a leg either side of him, the friction of his raging hardness rubbed torturously against the soft folds of her sex. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” he groaned, burying his face in her hair before reclaiming her lips. 

“
Show me,” she pleaded, a low moan escaping her throat.

Lifting herself off the sofa, Layla impatiently pulled at Evan’s boxers, gliding her hands over his firm bottom as the material eased down his legs. Her eyes flashed with eager anticipation

Reaching for her again, Evan pulled her back onto his lap, her legs astride him as his hands sought her hips, before bending his head to nuzzle the curved length of her neck with his mouth. Lifting his caressing mouth from her collarbone, his hands began to wander up, past her ribs to her breasts, teasing the nipples beneath the material with his fingers and causing breathy gasps of pleasure to escape her lips.

Layla’s eager hips rotated rhythmically against his groin to ease the building pressure on her swollen clitoris, where her heated blood was pooling as his lips moved to suck her now painfully hardened nipples, first left then right.

Moving one of his hands on to her hips to still her flexing pelvis, Evan spoke huskily, “Let’s get this off you before I rip it off.”

Bringing his other hand down to her other hip, he gathered up the material of the dress before tugging it swiftly over her head. Layla’s eyes widened with heightened yearning as she maintained eye contact with him and bent her elbows back to unhook her bra.

At the sight of her pert breasts springing free, Evan exhaled a sharp breath and leant closer to recommence caressing them, causing Layla to tilt her head backwards and her facial muscles to form an expression of unadulterated gratification.  

“
So beautiful,” he murmured, as he twirled his tongue and nipped at her nipples softly with his teeth. His hands roamed south to the apex of her thighs, sliding two fingers deep within her, before pushing them in and out in a sensuous rhythm, triggering a loud cry of joy from her mouth.

“
Please Evan,” she begged

“
Please what?”

“
Please fuck me.”

The utterance was his undoing as he positioned her more centrally in his lap and guided her downward onto his shaft, her muscles contracting around his length, filling her perfectly. Unable to wait any longer, he cupped his hands beneath her bottom and plunged himself deeper into her wet core as she began to move downwards. Their rhythm soon matched intuitively as they continued to kiss and stroke one another. Her climax building relentless and fast, she cried out for him to thrust harder.

Turned on by Layla’s responsiveness, Evan pounded on and on, eking out every moment of her climax. Her inner walls quivered against him until he couldn’t hold on any longer. Crying out her name, he muffled the volume against her neck.

Breathless, they lay still. Evan sensed that, like him, she had never experienced anything quite so powerful before. It marked the beginning of something neither of them could resist.

Layla

Layla strolled into the kitchen, yawning. “Mmm, that smells good,” she mumbled sleepily as she watched Evan put the finishing touches to two portions of scrambled eggs and toast on the counter nearby.

Turning around slightly, he smiled before answering, “The tea should be brewed by now. If you can pour that we should be ready to eat.”

Evan was wearing a dressing gown, which, loosely belted, showed off his bare, well-toned chest and perfect v shaped abs that disappeared below the pyjamas bottom hung low off his hips. As he turned away to dish up the breakfast on to two plates, Layla could not help but let her eyes drop to admire his tight arse.  His bottom had always been her favourite part of his body, and she couldn’t help thinking that it still looked perfect and pert. She blushed inwardly at the delicious thoughts the man still provoked within her.

Layla felt the urge to lean in right now and pinch it. It used to be a regular occurrence that she would sneak up behind Evan and fondle him, catching him unawares. Usually, those incidents had led on to many lovemaking sessions over a piece of furniture. A warm, tingling sensation invaded, deep between her legs, as Layla thought back to a time when they had made love on this kitchen floor, and across the table. Life had been so carefree back then, before the miscarriage and Caggie's intervention.

Pouring the tea into two large mugs, Layla sat down at the table as Evan brought over the food. They ate in silence as she fought to keep her eyes from wandering over the parts of his chest that the gaping gown exposed.

“
Did you sleep well?” he asked, interrupting her concentration.

“
Yes, thanks, as soon as my head hit the pillow. Think the time-zone change took its toll,” Layla replied, trying to keep her tone casual and indifferent.

“
Is there anything in particular that you need to do today?”

She shook her head. “I don't have anything too pressing until after the weekend, other than to touch base with my assistant and interior designer.”

“
Interior designer?”

“
Yes, I just need to finalise a few last-minute details for my house and the office space. Now that I’m making Yorkshire my permanent home, I plan to move my design team up here from London in the coming months. I’m looking forward to being able to work while looking out at the countryside. The house has its own little forest and stream, and a stable area.”

A surprised expression flickered over Evan’s face. “Do you still ride then?”

“
Not as much as I’d like, but I intend to change that. This move is going to totally alter how my life has been up until now. I’m fed up with the fast pace in town, and looking forward to some peace and tranquillity for Bennett and me.” Layla casually injected the name into the conversation to see how Evan would react, unsure of whether he even knew she had a child at all.  After a good night’s sleep, she was ready to push through their initial awkwardness and untangle their past misunderstandings properly.

“
Sounds idyllic,” he began and then paused. “You know, I’ve got plenty of horses. Would you like to go riding today and blow away the city air cobwebs?”

“
Perfect idea,” she replied. “If you can give me an hour or so to make a few phone calls, I’m all yours.”

Getting up from the table, Layla began to place the plates and mugs into the dishwasher. She was curious why Evan had not asked who Bennett was; maybe he recalled Cameron telling him she had a child of that name. Layla hoped to be able to buy enough time to build a positive rapport with Evan, because she was going to need any advantage in her favour once he found out everything. But, if he started questioning the boy’s existence in finer detail, even before she was ready, she would not lie to him. There had already been too many untruths spun by others, affecting them both.