by C R Riley
But nothing about this relationship has ever really been easy. Larkin is the one woman who could truthfully tell me no, have me dropping to my knees as I beg for her to change her mind. So yeah, I’m nervous, because for the very first time in my life, her answer to this one question is the only one I really care about.
Chapter 25
Larkin
It doesn’t take Antonio long to return with a jacket that he has draped over his arm. I’m not really buying that he went to his room to retrieve a jacket, but I don’t say anything.
He reaches out and takes my hand then leads me towards the security office in the back. We pause at the door where both men stand as soon as they see us there.
“Sit.” He motions for them to do as he says.
Neither man moves.
“We are going for a walk. Taking the path up to the orchard so I can check on how the trees are looking.” He reaches in his pocket and shows them some device. “I grabbed the tracker so that should you need to know where we are you will have no problem locating us. However, we are not to be bothered unless it is a family emergency or the world is about to end. Are we clear?”
“As day Sir.” Both men nod as they travel around the room, doing what it is they must do for us to leave.
“All clear Sir. Team one is checking the orchard now, so by the time you arrive they should have moved on. A perimeter check was done ten minutes ago and we received thumbs up. What time should we expect you back Sir?” Isaac glances up from the laptop he moved to right after Antonio told him of our plans.
“Two at most.” He is getting anxious I can tell.
“We will buzz in one. Remember to respond within five or expect a second buzz. No response and you can be sure that team one will be on you all in two.” Isaac sets a timer that I can see counting down now on all visible screens. “Good to go Sir.”
“One more thing.” Antonio waits for both men to glimpse up at him. “Kitchen needs cleaned. Take care of it. Larkin was kind enough to cook dinner for us, so it’s the least we can do so she doesn’t have to do it when we get back.”
Gino straightens and crosses his arms. “We? No offense Sir, but I believe you are passing the buck.”
A wicked smile crosses Antonio’s face. “Does it? Well since I was the only one in the kitchen with her earlier helping. Seems only fair that you all get this job. Now see that it gets done.”
We turn before the guys can respond. I can hear them arguing about who will get the privilege, but don’t get to establish which one ends up losing.
As soon as we step outside a chilly breeze blows, so Antonio lifts his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. “Early summer evenings can sometimes get a little chilly. Thought this might come in handy.”
“Thank you.” I tell him as I slide my arms through the sleeves. “I haven’t spent many evenings outside since arriving. Where are we going again?”
He points towards the field that dips down and then back up towards a large grove of trees. I’ve seen them but haven’t ventured off in that direction yet. It’s the opposite way of the chateau, which has been my main focus since my arrival.
We discover a rocky path that has obviously been maintained. “What kind of trees?”
“Apple and pear. We have Gala, Jazz and Zari apples; they are just now getting started. The pear trees are either Concorde or Gorham. They were both already here when we bought the property. There is also a strawberry patch in the east fields, blackberry bushes towards the west, and wild gooseberries all over the property.” He informs me as we walk slowly, surveying the land. The chateau sits on hundreds of rolling hills that are very pleasing to look at.
“You once said you liked this place and thought it would make a great family home. Why?” We are just starting to walk up the hill towards the orchard.
Antonio pauses and scans the field. “It’s very peaceful don’t you think. No noisy traffic. No people rushing around in a hurry to get wherever it is they feel they need to go. It’s just you and the land out here, if it takes you an extra five minutes to get where you are going no one cares.” He starts walking again, tugging me behind him gently. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, although I have never lived anywhere but the city. The quiet at night can be eerie until you get comfortable with it. Each night has been better and better and now you are here so.” I stop there not feeling like I need to finish.
“I’m here now, so what exactly?”
I guess I was wrong about not needing to finish. “Suddenly I’m kind of partial to the quiet. Feels sort of like a bubble that could be way too easy to get lost in. A good way to forget about the outside world and all the responsibilities that are just beyond the hills waiting for your attention.”
“A bubble.” He repeats those two words as he helps me up the last part of the rocky path. “I like that.”
Antonio continues walking in silence as he strolls down a row of trees. I simply follow because I have no idea where we are going. It also gives me a chance to appreciate the larger than life man in front of me. The one I told nearly thirty minutes ago that I loved him.
If anyone walked by us right now, they’d not realize who he is, I’m sure. He seems relaxed in a way I’ve never gotten to witness until now. Dressed in everyday clothing, wearing a pair of tennis shoes that look, or should I say looked new on his feet. A very tall ordinary man that steals my breath almost every time I look at him.
He finally stops and turns around with a smile pasted on his face as he motions for me to have a seat. I look where he is gesturing and notice a rock bench. If I had to guess I’d say it’s quite old, like as old as the home I am currently working on.
I take a seat and nearly forget to breathe when I catch sight of the view. I have never wished I had my art supplies with me more than I do right now. We must be facing west at the moment, or at least in that general direction. The sunset is sending up the most perfect colors of purple, pink, orange and yellow, all mixed in a way only God can truly mix them. The large chateau sets just to the south at an angle surrounded by newly green grass and overgrown fields.
Without thinking I simply speak the first thought that pops into my head. “I want to paint this. I want to stand here with a canvas and my paints and capture this view. Hang it in the library I am going to build for you. I want this to be the first painting I have done in over five years.”
Antonio finally takes his seat next to mine. “I thought it might inspire you once you saw it.”
“You were so very right about that. The colors are explicit. The view breathtaking.” I am staring out over the land, memorizing it so that later I can try and sketch it with my colored pencils.
“I agree one hundred percent.” He whispers near my ear. “Breathtakingly beautiful.”
I shift my eyes to determine if he is looking at what I am looking at. He’s not of course, he staring directly at me. “Stop ogling and study it before it disappears. God painted this picture for us to enjoy and you are too busy gawking at me and missing out.”
“Guilty as charged.” He chuckles but switches his gaze towards the horizon. “Could you live here with me? Away from all the city noises and busyness if you got to sit and look at this every evening.”
“I need to work Antonio. My work will take me away sometimes. You do realize that right. Sometimes months at a time.” I breathe in the clean air slowly.
“When you aren’t working could you though? Would you want to live here? Raise a few little ones with me here.”
“How many little ones?” I twist so I can regard his face when he gives me his answer.
He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Tradition has always let that be up to God. As a chosen servant of him it has always been custom for a man, or woman, in my position to let him decide the number of descendants he allows. My family is rather small in comparison to some of the past ones. My father was the eldest of nine, his father had eight siblings.”
I know my facial expression has to be
priceless. No way am I birthing eight children, no way batman. Four seemed like a rather large number to me even if I’m being honest. Two was the number I always had in my head as an acceptable one. I had always wished for a sibling. Three might even be something I’d consider, but that would all depend on how brutal labor was. I might have one and declare never again. Pain and I are not the best of friends.
“So, you are telling me that they all just took their chances and keep having babies just because. No. No, I don’t think I could do that Antonio. That is why God gave man the knowledge to create all these different forms of birth control.” I am having a tough time wrapping my head around this. “Or even let us figure out that if we did a little cut, snip and tuck on a man he would no longer be able to father a child.”
Instinctively Antonio reaches down and covers his male appendage. “Why must you always want to do him harm? He’s done nothing to you.”
I giggle. I hate it when I giggle like a schoolgirl. “Yet. Although I do believe in order for all those before mentioned offspring to be a possibility, he has wicked proposals on what he’d like to do.
“You’re serious though, about this birth control issue. Should I agree to all of this one day being mine, I’d be expected to keep birthing children for you? I guess that explains why they designed king and queen quarters. Eventually the queen smartens up and sleeps separately from the ever so potent king, which means I should really take a good look at that space in the chateau. Make sure it has all the amenities I would want or need.”
“You will do no such thing. Your place will always be next to me in our bed. Separate quarters were done for many reasons in the past. I suppose that your suggestion might be one, although the main one I came to learn about was so that the king didn’t feel guilty when he wandered.”
Antonio reaches out and takes my hand in his. “I will never be a wandering spouse my love. I hated how it affected my mother and grandmother. Embarrassed because neither of their husbands were discreet about it. My father invited his mistresses to stay in the Palace, urged them to stay until he was done with them. He possessed a few at a time and paraded them around to make my mother jealous. After she finally moved out and left him it got much worse if you can believe that. I’m actually surprised that he hasn’t fathered more children.”
“Did he not practice safe sex? I mean you know, because you just never know. I mean I know condoms break and all, but I believe they were invented for more than one reason.”
I can’t believe we are actually having this particular conversation. “So, you’ve never? I mean because you are thirty and I’m sure lots of women have thrown themselves at you. Offered you to use them however you wanted. Not just because you are King or were the Prince really. Although I’m sure that would be very tempting for many of them, to be able to say they had been with you for that very reason. But also, because you are a very handsome man, a very large man, so I’m sure they have all often speculated if you are equally as large all the way around. I mean you know, because there are those women who always seem to be debating about the size of a man’s package. Not that I have ever wonder or anything, or thought about it really. Oh, please do something to stop me from embarrassing myself anymore. Otherwise I am just going to keep …”
Antonio smiles as he leans forward and kisses me so I have to stop talking. I really love it when he kisses me, anytime really. The man knows how to kiss, or at least he knows how to kiss me.
“I’ve never been with a woman like that Larkin. Yes, over the years I’ve received several invitations. Women can be very blunt when they want to be. I however had no desire to be with any of them. Safe sex was preached to me much like I am sure it is with many other young boys.
“My father sat me down before I left for boarding school and we had a very detailed discussion about it. I was twelve remember, so sex with a young lady was the last thing on my mind. But he made it clear that even at twelve there would be those who would try, and he was right there definitely were.
“By fourteen he sat me down again and handed me a box of condoms. Told me to carry at least one with me always so I would never be caught off guard, or have to rely on the girl to provide one for me. Made it very clear to never let the girl provide, because one can never trust another person completely. So of course I did, because at that time I did as my father suggested. Thought maybe a few times that I might need it, but didn’t in the end for many reasons.
“By sixteen I however stopped carry them. That was after I walked in on my father giving it to one of the younger servants who was supposed to be working. I decided right then and there I did not want to be like him. Vowed that I would do my best to not be like all those who came before me. I would marry for love and only love. Even save myself for that woman, so that I would not be able to compare her to another.
“You will be my very first love. Will I be yours?” He asks as he pushes my hair behind my ears.
“Yes. I’ve never even come close honestly. I had a boyfriend once try to convince me to, but when I wouldn’t he ended it. I never dated a guy that did it for me I guess.”
Time to be honest right, so I might as well lay it all out for him. “It actually terrifies me. I have trouble even using tampons when my period is at its heaviest. I have to use the smallest size and even then, they are extremely uncomfortable. My doctor assures me that it’s a common issue for women who have never actually had sex and still possess that barrier God designed down there. Many of her younger, less experienced, patients suffer so she presented me with a few options. One was to remove the barrier for me. Another was that I could do it myself. Last she said there was a surgery that could be done to open it some. Eventually my mother and I opted for the surgery. However, my doctor explained that until I became sexually active, stretched it out a little on a more regular basis, I’d continue to have issues. So, there is that, and since pain and me are not the best of friends, I figured I’d just wait it out until the right guy came along.”
Wow that was not as dreadful as I thought it might be. Probably because Antonio didn’t seem at all shocked by my extreme honesty. He only nodded his heads slightly as I talked. When I finished, he leaned in and kissed me again, letting me know how he appreciated me not shying away from that subject.
“I promise to make it not so terrifying for you my love.” Antonio cups my face. “I shall be extremely gentle with you in all areas. I never, ever want to hurt you. And to be clear about the children business, we shall have as many as you my love want to give me. I have no problem using birth control or even getting cut, snipped and tucked if it means you will allow me to continue loving you in the most intimate of ways.”
“I know.” I whisper. “I mean it could take us a very long time to get me ready for you.”
“I’ll enjoy every step along the way I can assure you of that.” He whispers back. “Worrying about it will only make matters more difficult, so keeping you relaxed will be my goal when the time comes. Of course, I also want you to enjoy it so that we can do it as often as you are comfortable with.”
I have no idea how to respond to that so I don’t. Instead we sit there in the fading sunlight and stare at each other, letting it all sink in for a few minutes.
“I love you Larkin.” Antonio finally breaks the silence. “Earlier you spoke from the heart, they were such lovely words. So now I will speak from mine and hope I do this right.
“Those words I said earlier the first part was basically that. I also said that I love you and will always love you. I mean that, deep down inside I know you are the woman for me. The one who will always be there for me when the road seems long and hard. Loyal to me, to us, and not let others whisper in your ear as they try and remind you how you got to where you are right now. You got here on your own. No one helped you, or organized our chance meeting, except God perhaps. Meaning you will owe no one any favors, and that my dear Larkin, makes the reality of this whole affair seem at times unreal.
“A ma
n like myself does not by chance run into anyone, there is always a person behind the scene who is playing puppet master. We possess what many others only ever dream of having, a no strings attached kind of love. I know what that typically means, but it means something different this time. It means that we are free to make our own choices, without the influences of those who always seem to want to have a say. The only attachment will be the bond we form between us and it will be so strong that no one will be able to pull us apart.”
Antonio leans forward and kisses my lips before he stands. He reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a velvet box. His hands are trembling and right about then I hear a buzzing sound.
“Prefect timing gentlemen.” I hear him grumble. “I have to answer this or they will never leave us alone.”
“Sure.” I swallow hard as I stare at the box he is now squeezing.
“Checking in. All is good. We should be heading back within one.” He pauses for a moment while he listens. “Isaac, I swear that’s not funny. It will be your head if that happens. Then Gino will become my new head of security. Now if you will let me get back to business.”
“What’s not funny?” I ask him when he hangs up his phone. “Are they watching us? Do they know what you are about to do?”
“No one is watching us; I can assure you of that. And it’s their job to know these kinds of things, whether I tell them or not. So, my guess is yes, they know and evidently, they are way too familiar with me. Can we please just forget about being interrupted and get on with it?”
“Are you nervous Antonio? Are you afraid I’ll give you a different answer than the one I believe I promised I’d give you? Do you not believe I am a woman of my word?” I can’t help but tease him in his moment of uncertainty. He is most definitely a man on the edge right now, so I plan on taking this all in. I don’t imagine there will be very many times in this life where I will get to witness him like this.
