The Geary Series Boxed Set (13 page)

I froze deep inside her, and I felt a chill run through the air. It was like the world had been silenced for a split second and then I heard the cars speed by her open window. I had never called out another woman’s name when I had sex, ever. Mel pushed me out of her using her arse and then scooted up the bed, she turned over to face me and brought her knees up to her chest.

“Untie me.” She said, a pained expression etched over her face.

I went to her wrists straight away and unravelled the silk and massaged the reddened skin. She didn’t pull her hand away from me which was more than I deserved. I searched her eyes while still holding onto her hands. I was silently pleading her for forgiveness. I felt wretched.

“Go and get cleaned up in my en-suite, get dressed and meet me downstairs.” She said and got up off the bed and walked out of the room. I watched from the bed as her naked form sashayed away as she disappeared across the hall to her guest bathroom. I had never felt so bad that was unforgivable. Olivia had messed up my head so much I could not stop thinking about her, even when I was fucking another woman.

I shook my head to shake out the insanity of being affected by a woman for only the second time in my life. It was unnerving. I showered quickly and dressed back into my three piece suit, straightening my tie in the mirror I sighed heavily and made my way downstairs to face Mel.

As I entered the empty kitchen, I smelt the coffee and sat myself at her kitchen table and waited patiently for her to appear. I was lost in thought when the soft palm of Mel’s hand stroked the skin of my collar and ear. It felt comforting, I was fully expecting to be thrown out on my arse. I leaned into her touch and whispered sorry as I kissed her wrist.

“Thank you for the underwear, it’s elegant, I adore them.” Mel said and poured two cups of coffee and sat down at the table facing me. I helped myself to sugar and milk and cupped my hands around the giant mug in front of me. I didn’t know where to start apologising.

“I’m so sorry Mel, what I did was unforgivable, I feel like a right scumbag.”

Mel stretched her hand out and covered mine around the mug, her touch was warm and soothing. I looked up at her for the first time. It seemed that the pain I saw earlier had disappeared and was replaced with compassion.

“Tell me about Olivia, who is she?”

“I don’t know where to begin.” I said and sighed dropping my head for a moment and then looking back up, her smile encouraged me to tell her everything.

“We met online when she left a review for one of my corsets, I approached her first and we starting chatting. Well, to be honest I started goading her and she took the bait every time. I enjoyed the connection we had and began to read her books. After each book, I read I sent her pictures that represented different parts of the books. She didn’t have a clue about the correlation, and I enjoyed the subtle messages I was sending her. After a while, we exchanged email addresses and began to talk about writing, her books and my corsets. She was fascinated with my lifestyle and would regularly ask about who I was with and what I had got up to. She was greedy for the details. At first I thought she was attracted to me and was flirting, but after a while I asked her straight she explained that she needed to switch from clean romance to erotica and needed ideas.”

I stopped talking and sipped on my coffee remembering that first time I had asked her to come to Scotland. She hadn’t spoken to me for weeks after that, I thought that I had lost her friendship. Eventually, I got her to talk to me again, and we never mentioned the three-week silence.

“I asked her for months to come and see my lifestyle up close and personal, but she always said that her husband would not approve of such a thing. That didn’t stop me asking, the more I got to know her, the more I wanted to see her in person. She was a beautiful woman inside and out, and I was desperate to see whether the individual I was getting to know was a real person. She’d never asked me fully what I do for a living she just knows that I work in lingerie. I think she assumes that I work in an office somewhere.”

“Wait, she doesn’t know who you are?” Mel said her tone full of mirth.

“No, she doesn’t know. She never probed and at first I was grateful and then I was hurt but then realised that it didn’t matter to her what I did. She doesn’t care what I do, I have dated so many women that have only wanted to sleep with me for who I represented in their minds.”

“Wow, she’s a keeper Jack if she doesn’t care and still wants to spend time with you. Is she attracted to you?”

“Without a doubt but she will not let me touch her.” I said and chuckled at the thought of a woman saying no to me.

“Is she mad, you’re the hottest guy I have ever met let alone fucked.”

“Thanks babe. She will not let me touch her because she is married, and she takes her vows seriously, even though she has not had sex in three years.” I said and regretted my omission instantly. I had managed to tell two people in twenty-four hours her secret that had taken her a year to tell me. I trusted Elijah and Mel, but I still felt like I had betrayed her. I needed to talk about her, and this was the only way.

Mel spat out the coffee she had in her mouth all over the table and her hands. I laughed at her reaction to such a statement and stretched over to the towel hanging from the oven door handle. Wiping down her hands and then the table she resumed her composure.

“How is that possible?” she asked me.

“I don’t know, it’s beyond my comprehension, but somehow she feels that it’s not right. She can’t leave him but remains locked in this marriage. I had never heard a woman say no to me before, and it intrigues me to know what it would be like to make love to a woman who has not had that connection in years.”

“Make love? Jack you have gotten it bad. You just fucked me thinking about her. I’m not offended just overjoyed that I’m hearing you talk about a woman and love in the same breath. Speaking of which even if you hadn’t made the ultimate sex faux par upstairs this would have been our last tryst. I have met someone I care about.”

“That is excellent news, I’m pleased for you, who is he?”

“He’s fabulously wealthy and adores me, what more is there to say?” Mel said in her flippant manner. I knew she was covering up something, I wasn’t sure if she was just saying this to save her ego or that she was settling for him.

“Do you love him?”

“I do, enough to give up you and this lifestyle, he doesn’t fuck me as well as you do, but I still get my orgasms.”

I laughed at her bluntness and was grateful for her being understanding. It was time for me to leave, I needed to get back to Scotland and Olivia and had nothing more to do in Ireland.

“I need to get my flight Mel, thanks for listening and for understanding. What I said upstairs was unforgivable and I’m sorry.”

She waved a hand at me to indicate I should forget all about it, and I got up from my seat and rinsed my mug and left it in the sink. When I turned around, Mel was standing right in front of me, and I kissed her soundly, taking one last taste of her before I left. Walking out her front door, I felt a spark of excitement that I was rushing back to see a woman I may have fallen in love with.

I called Olivia again to find her voicemail message greet me, I left another message that I would meet her at Blue’s, hoping she would meet me there.

Stepping out of the airport back in Edinburgh, I raced to the taxi line and waited impatiently for my turn. After what seemed like an eternity I was speeding through the city to Blue’s Bar. Olivia hadn’t called me back, so I wasn’t sure if she was going to be there. If she weren’t, then I would try the hotel.

Paying the taxi fare, I grabbed my bag and nodded to the doormen as I walked into the bar. Thursday nights were busy in any city, but Elijah’s seemed to attract the clientele that started the weekend on a Thursday. Shouldering my way to the busy bar I stood at the end and handed my bag to one of the bartenders. I asked him where Elijah was, and he nodded to the small dance floor over in the corner. It was full of dancing couples, slowly grinding against each other and that was when my heart stopped and then burst right out of my chest.

Olivia had her back to a man grinding her arse into his pelvis as the man’s hands grabbed her hips. His mouth was on her neck nuzzling the gap just under her ear, and I could see Olivia’s eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open. The rage I felt was consuming my whole body, I had to clench my fists to my sides in order to stop myself from ripping his fucking head from his shoulders, for touching her.

Elijah was standing at the table nearest to the dance floor sipping a drink, his eyes glued to Olivia and the mystery bloke. I approached Elijah slowly hoping my roaring jealously would subside enough to have a conversation. Elijah saw me coming and nodded to me saying hello.

“What the hell is she doing with him?” I barked out to Elijah.

“I’ve no idea, she turned up drunk about half an hour ago and grabbed the nearest man and has been dancing with him ever since. I’m keeping an eye on him because I know he has a reputation of fucking his women down the side alley. He is not a particularly nice guy.”

My blood was boiling, I needed to part them, right now. I walked towards the pair on the dance floor and glared at the man and nodded my head in the universal sign that said fuck off. He took one look at me and then to my side, I looked too and saw Elijah at my side. He waited for a few seconds and then thought better of it and let go of Olivia. She swayed slightly at the loss of support, and I was by her side in a flash.

I took over his position behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into my chest. Bending my head, I buried my nose in her hair and breathed in her scent. I was hard, the way she smelled drove me wild, I wanted to lick every inch of her body. I tightened my hold on Olivia and ground my hips into her, and she dropped her head back like she had with the other guy. I wanted to kiss her neck like he did but resisted the urge. If we were going to take whatever we had a step further, I wanted her sober and willing.

I leant down and put my mouth next to her ear and blew lightly, I felt her shudder in my arms and smiled at her sensitivity.

“Why are you so drunk sweetheart?” I whispered in her ear.

Olivia spun around in my arms and closed her eyes and faltered slightly. I held her tight, and she brought her hands to her face. Burying her head in her hands, she leaned into my chest. I kept her moving to the slow music as she gathered herself. After a few minutes and a change of song, she dropped her arms and wrapped them around my waist and pressed her cheek to my chest. Pulling her tighter to me I slowly moved us across the small dance floor and waited for her to talk. Holding her felt incredible, and I was in no hurry to let go.

Slowly, Olivia pulled her head back off my chest and looked up at me, her eyes glassy and unfocused. I had no clue why she was drunk, but she seemed a happy drunk. A lazy smile graced her beautiful mouth, and I wanted to kiss it, hard and taste her.

“You’re here?” She said, searching my face to see if I were really there.

“I am, I left you many messages that I would come for you.” I whispered back into her ear.

“I thought you would never get here. I’ve been waiting for a long time for you to get here.”

“I’m here now sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

“I feel dizzy, I think I need to sit down.” She said and closed her eyes trying to steady herself.

I led her by the hand off the dance floor and to the booth set aside in the VIP area, as soon as we sat down Elijah came over with two bottles of water for us. I nodded my thanks, and he left us to it.

“Yes, I’m here, I left you many messages, but I didn’t hear back, where have you been all day?”

“Getting drunk.” She said, grinned and then hiccupped. She was adorable. She was proud of her drunkenness.

“Drink this water, you will feel better.”

I held the bottle up, and she took it from me and smiled, taking sips from the bottle she looked everywhere but me.

“Look at me Olivia, why are you drunk? Did something happen?”

She finally looked at me and stared right through me, her eyes had cleared and she was focussed.

“I’m celebrating. Let’s have some shots so you can celebrate with me.”

She stood, swayed, and flopped back into the seat. She burst into a fit of giggles that had her clutching her sides. Her laugh was infectious, and I started to giggle with her until she burst into tears. I grabbed her, lifted her onto my lap and cradled her, stroking her arm and rocking her.

“What’s wrong Olivia, please tell me, you’re starting to break my heart. I can’t stand to see a woman cry.”

She sat up straight, I wrapped my arm around her back while I used the other hand to grab the handkerchief out of my inside pocket. She took it and smiled shyly and then promptly blew her nose into it. It melted my heart, she looked so lovable, and I just wished she wasn’t crying.

“Today I officially sold my millionth book, isn’t that just the best news to celebrate?” She said, her tone was off, angry, bitter.

I didn’t understand why this was bad news, had I missed something? Her tears had dried up, and she was still sitting in my lap. Fiddling with the hem of her indecently short dress, she took a deep breath in and exhaled it after what seemed like an eternity.

“It was also my wedding anniversary today. We would have been married four years.” She said and then before I could think or blink she was up, out of my arms. She left the booth with impressive dexterity and shoved her way through the crowd. I watched as she headed for the ladies’ bathroom. Elijah materialised out of nowhere with her bag and mine and suggested I take her back to the hotel. I had to agree with him that she needed her bed.