Sudden Legacy (17 page)

“I’m engorged.” I shared Alex’s proclivity for stating the obvious.

“I can see that.”

“All of the...
attention
they’ve been getting lately has seemed to reawaken my milk production.”

Julien just nodded, never taking his eyes off my chest.

I started rambling so quickly my words started to run together. “Alex nursed from the left this morning, but he fell asleep before relieving the right, and when I tried to express the milk manually it only made things worse, so would you please help me because you are the only person on the planet that can-” He put his hand up to my mouth to staunch my verbal outpouring.

He pulled my chair out from my writing desk and sat me down. “I only need you to get it started-” He shushed me again before I could keep rambling. Kneeling before me, he raised my tank top to expose my breasts. His eyes darkened and a familiar knot formed in my belly. “This is
not
sexual,” I reminded him.

“
Oui, Chérie
, but does that mean it cannot be
sensuel
?” My pulse sped up at his husky tone.

“No. That’s what started this mess in the first place.”

He smiled at me impishly. “Fair enough. I promise not to enjoy this.”

I rolled my eyes at him, trying not to laugh.

My heart never got the non-sensual memo, because when his tongue flicked over my nipple, my blood pressure skyrocketed. I grabbed him by the back of the head and pressed into his mouth. He gave a gentle, tentative pull on my taut flesh, sparking thrills in my core and making me squirm against the seat of my chair. “
Harder
,” I said. “Don’t be gentle.”

He obeyed, sucking with more vigor. My milk poured forth in an instant and I tried to pull away, intending to soak up the milk with my sweatshirt, but he wouldn’t let me go. He looped his arm around my waist, keeping himself locked onto me as he mercifully relieved the pressure. When the milk flow slowed he began sucking gently again. “No!” I gasped. “That will make it worse later.”

He obediently stopped and looked up at me. There was a tenderness in his gaze and I leaned in to meet his kiss. He deepened it immediately and I could taste the sweetness of my milk on his tongue. I broke the kiss before it became too heated. It was all too easy to forget myself when Julien’s lips were involved. I rested my forehead against his. “Thank you,” I said softly.

He nodded and rose. I stood too, pulling my tank top down and collecting my sweatshirt.

Julien had a dreamy air about him. He looked a little off. Enough for me to ask, “Are you okay?” I felt his forehead and ran my hand down to cup his jaw. “Does the milk not agree with you?”

That made him chuckle. “Quite the opposite,
Chérie.
That was...” He struggled to find the right words. “That was perhaps the single most intimate experience of my life.”

I was leaning over the railing at the bow of the boat, watching the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean pass below. She came up beside me, close enough to raise the hairs on my arm. I didn’t look at her. I was unsure how to act after the incident in the galley.

“Your devotion is unreturned,” she said softly. “You are but a temporary distraction to him.
Un chat familier
. A pet.”

I didn’t answer her, not trusting my voice not to waiver. I could feel her hawk-like stare boring into the side of my face. “You doubt me,” she said, “but even now as I stand here next to you, he is this moment asleep in my bed. If you were to kiss me again, you would taste him on my tongue.”

An unwelcome image of a sated Julien tangled in Marla’s sheets flashed through my mind. I finally found the courage to speak. “Well, if that is in fact true, I suppose I can’t fault him for doing his job.” I prayed I sounded like a sophisticated woman of the world and not the heartsick fool I actually was.

She laughed. I wish I could describe her laugh as a cackle, but it was a pretty, light-hearted sound. She seemed truly amused.

“‘His job’? I can assure you, Lara, he does not find his work to be tedious or loathsome. To the contrary, I think he rather likes the idea of being a kept man.”

I did not care for this conversation. It was raising my ire. “Be that as it may, he spends time with me out of pleasure rather than obligation. I needn’t offer him compensation to keep him in my bed.”

That shut her up for a minute. She looked at me with a mixture of indignation and respect. I met her glare full on. I could see it in her eyes when she decided to switch tactics.

“We don’t have to be enemies, you and I. If anything, you should be thanking me.”

I awarded her a derisive snort.

“He is a skilled lover. Did I not know first hand, I would only need to watch the way you pant after him for confirmation.” She leaned into me as she spoke. “I taught him every thing he knows. Each kiss, each caress he uses on your body, he has used before on mine.” She was close enough for me to feel her breath on my neck. I shivered involuntarily. “I can show you, Lara, if you’ll let me.

I stared out across the horizon. A few small islands dotted the expanse of water. They looked rocky and inhospitable. I caught a flash of movement behind Marla and watched a sleep rumpled Julien exit the cabin area to scan the deck. His
dishabille
served as subtle confirmation of Marla’s claims. I was suddenly angry. I could feel jealousy clawing its way up my spine and wrapping itself around my neck. It clouded my judgment so I couldn’t see how I was playing right into Marla’s hand.

I grabbed her, before my rage cooled and I lost my nerve. I kissed her. Hard. She pulled back, holding me at bay with a firm grip in the curve of my neck and shoulder. “Not like that.” She admonished. “You can be rough with a man. A woman is to be savored.” She set her free hand gently atop my waist and leaned in to kiss me properly.

Her lips danced across mine in a feather light caress. She was pliant and sweet. She moved to the column of my neck and I caught Julien’s gaze over her head. He was watching us without emotion, his face a polite mask. As my eyes locked onto his, something in me shifted. Marla’s lips and tongue on my neck did not feel sensual or arousing, instead they felt slimy and repellent. She sensed the change in me. She looked from me to Julien and back again. “I can see you are a lost cause,” she sighed. “You’re not doing yourself any favors, Lara. You are ill prepared and unqualified to be with a man like Julien. Enjoy your last few days together, but don’t delude yourself in thinking he will pine for you when you are gone.” She spoke quietly, for my ears only.

I just stood there, mute, unsure of how to respond.

“Go to him.” She dismissed me. “I wont take him from you again. He will reward my generosity once you depart.” She cocked her head to the side and looked right into my insecurity. “See Lara?” She smiled coyly. “I can be
agréable
.”

“We should go,” I said, fully aware that Pops and Nan were just downstairs, waiting for us to come down and report on Alex.

He nodded. “
Oui
.” But he didn’t step away from me.

He threaded his fingers through my hair, cupping the base of my skull. He was so close our breath mingled and the air I breathed back in was warm.

I don’t know which one of us initiated the kiss, but it was long, and slow, and thorough, and left us both trembling. With slow, deliberate movements we undressed, kissing each other after each article of clothing was removed, unwilling and unable to go more than a few seconds without touching.

He lifted me bridal style and lay me on my bed, then he joined me, sliding his body along the length of mine.

We were not rushed or frenzied, but rather we shared a gentle urgency; a need to be joined in the most natural way. He entered me slowly, my eager body ushering him in, stretching to accommodate him, welcoming his fullness.

He set a slow pace. I could feel my heavy heartbeat in my pelvis, pulsing around him. Each thrust drew from me a moan or a whimper. He hummed deep in his chest in answer.

We reached our climax together. I gasped at the sheer power of it as my body quaked with electric aftershocks.

“
C'est de cette façon l'amour est censé être
.” Julien’s eyes were glassy as he looked down at me. He stayed that way a moment, reluctant to leave my intimate embrace. “I stand corrected,” he said, giving me a sheepish smile. “
That
was the single most intimate experience of my life.”

Pops and Nan were at the table when we came down. Nan had set four small plates out next to the pink box of donuts Julien had brought. I could smell coffee brewing. As we approached the table Pops stood and gave us both a stern glare. After an uncomfortable beat, he focused his glare on Julien and spoke. “Young man,” he said, “I’ll know your intentions toward my granddaughter if you are to remain a guest in my house.”

I cringed. “Pops, please-” I was cut off by the sound of Alex crying. I quickly turned to go to him, then turned back, grabbed Julien to follow me, and charged back up the stairs. Pops and his inquisition would have to wait.

Alex was sitting up in his bed, tears streaming down his face. His sheets were bunched at his waist, and as I went to pick him up I realized he had thrown up.

“Oh, baby, It’s okay, Mama’s here,” I said, peeling off his wet shirt.

I picked him up and tested his temperature by kissing his forehead. He wasn’t as hot as he had been before. The medicine was working. I handed him off to Julien and began stripping his sheets.

Alex burrowed his face into Julien’s neck, clinging to him tightly, like a baby monkey. Julien rubbed his back and whispered comforting nonsense to him in Italian. Just as I had managed to gather all the bedding together to take to the laundry room, Alex jerked upright in Julien’s arms and vomited all down their fronts. To his credit Julien took it all in stride. He continued to hold Alex and tried to calm his cries.

Nan bustled in at the sound of all the commotion. “Oh, sweet child!” she exclaimed, seeing the mess covering the two male occupants of the room. “I’ll go draw him a bath.”

Nan disappeared and the sound of water filling the tub began a few seconds later. I dropped the sodden bed linens and took Alex. “Take off your shirt,” I said, “and I’ll throw it in with the sheets.” He unbuttoned two buttons, then pulled his shirt over his head like I had seen soccer players do after scoring a goal.