He was new around here, he felt like a breath of fresh air. Living in a small village meant we all knew everyone thereabouts and sometimes that was extremely claustrophobic. Although he had found his way to The Manor with ease. I was now absolutely convinced he had to be here for Jack’s wedding.
Whatever he was here for, and for however long he was around, I made up my mind as he walked backwards and forwards, that for once, I was going to go with the flow. He had said I was refreshing and the way he had looked at me several times over, I had felt attractive for the first time in a while. I selfishly needed something to energise my dull, monotonous life. I didn’t need attachment, or commitment. I also didn’t need anything more than what we could both gain from a few days in each other’s company and perhaps, if I was lucky, each other’s beds.
The last load was now inside The Manor, all that was left in his car was the small package for the tearooms.
I returned the smile he was giving me as he jogged back to the vehicle. His hand found the handle and the door had just opened slightly when I heard a male voice call out to him.
‘Daniel…’ The door closed on a strong blast of cold wind and cut off me hearing anymore of the conversation.
So, that was my stranger’s name. I let his name roll off my tongue. It felt surprisingly comfortable there. Daniel swung around quickly to talk to the guy who came running outside.
Maybe, The Manor had paying guests before the official opening. I knew there were quite a few Americans over and if it was ready to go, then you’d have to be mad to refuse the business. There I was again! My business trained head kicked in. Turn off your brain, Amy.
I couldn’t make out the conversation, but found myself peering closer, trying to earwig at their interaction. The other guy was blond, around the same height as Daniel and he was also remarkably good looking. He had a checked shirt on over a T-shirt, and after spotting me staring at them both, his arm came up to give me a cheeky wave. They were obviously friends, I could see by the grin on his face that he was now teasing Daniel about me being in the car.
I moved back further into my seat as Daniel turned around to look at me, following his friend’s wave. I wrapped my coat around me a little tighter and quickly averted my eyes.
‘For goodness sake, Amy, grow up,’ I mumbled into the empty car, hardly moving my lips in case he saw me talking to myself. ‘You’re a grown woman, you’re allowed to be caught looking. Just own it.’ Despite the pep talk, my head refused to turn back towards them.
Finally, the door reopened and he jumped in and on instinct I turned to look. Once again, I had difficulty tearing my eyes away from him. This time I was taking in just how well his jeans fitted as I watched them pull over his firm thighs. To me he was the absolute perfect package and then some.
‘Okay, let’s go back to yours, shall we?’ he stated as we pulled away.
Yes please, I thought with a giggle that somehow I just managed to internalise.
‘I’m staying above the tearooms you mentioned earlier.’
‘Handy, that means you can’t refuse me… so you’re gonna let me take you for that late lunch?’ he asked again as he turned right, steering the car down the long driveway between The Manor and the outbuildings.
Hearing the word lunch, I glanced at the digitalised clock on the dashboard. I was twenty minutes later than I had said I would be. I knew just how full the tearooms were going to be right now. I was wondering if Kirsty was getting concerned about where I was. We had enough staff, but not enough to cover for the extended break I had now taken because of the accident.
‘About that, Daniel.’ I looked up and watched as he turned his head in question, for a moment he just looked at me and then he smiled.
‘What? Don’t tell me I don’t deserve to take you for a cup of tea after all that I’ve just been through.’ He laughed although it sounded a bit nervous.
‘What do you mean, all that YOU’VE been through?’ I smiled my question at him.
‘At least tell me your name?’ Daniel didn’t answer my question, but in a much softer tone he asked me his own question.
‘Amy… Amy Harper,’ I answered.
‘Amy,’ he copied. ‘Well, Amy Harper, just in case you hadn’t noticed I HATE fish.’ He lifted the front of his T-shirt, still wearing the blue gloves my nan had made, and sniffed at the fabric. ‘I now stink of the fucking disgusting stuff.’ He grinned at me.
‘Oh… For a minute, I thought you were going to say you were allergic to it.’ I relaxed and laughed at him.
‘Right,’ he grinned mischievously at me as we pulled up in front of The Fairy Garden and he switched off the engine. ‘Is that what I need to say, to get you to check me all over for a rash?’ He winked at me to drive the point home.
Laughter burst from me as his hand came up to hold onto my seat. Using his grip on my seat he twisted himself sideways to check my reaction.
I looked quickly at his hand so near to my shoulder. ‘You can try it,’ I countered with a smile. ‘What I was going to say was, that the tearooms are fully booked this afternoon.’
His forehead creased a little. ‘That’s a shame,’ he sighed. ‘How the hell do ya know?’
‘My cousin owns the place. I’m in charge of it this weekend while she works up at The Manor with our friend Winter. The small packet of salmon still left in the car is for the sandwiches I’m going to need to make almost immediately.’
‘So, that’s it? I’ve rescued you and all that shit and you’re giving me the brush off?’ He smiled at me.
‘It’s not a brush off. It’s just that I’m going to be in the kitchen for most of the afternoon.’ I looked as he rolled over his bottom lip at me like a sulky child. ‘Oh, come on… Do you think that’s going to work?’ I felt a grin spread over my flushed cheeks.
He nodded.
On impulse, I reached over and pushed his lip back up and into place, trying to completely ignore the strange feeling that travelled between us every time we touched. What I couldn’t ignore though was the response my body had. I dropped my hand quickly and changed the subject.
‘Come on then, I suppose you deserve a sandwich.’
‘And cake?’
I shook my head at him, relishing just how light I felt joking around with him.
‘Yes. You’re a big kid! And cake.’
‘You know it makes sense. Lead the way.’ I watched as Daniel pulled the black beanie he had been wearing yesterday firmly down onto his head and then he jumped out.
By the time I opened the car door, he was there to help me down the step. I became aware as I twisted to get out, that my body ached from the accident and I winced a little.
‘Maybe I should just take you straight upstairs?’ He lifted one eyebrow at me in question as his hands found my forearms and he helped me gently down the step. Then he smirked as he saw me take in his words.
‘Mmmmm… That’s not happening. Lauren is counting on me. I’m not letting her down. That’s the reason I went to pick up the fish today, she’s relying on me this weekend.’
‘Ah, that figures,’ he mumbled as his face fleetingly took on a thoughtful expression.
‘Sorry?’
‘Nothing… Okay, right, I’ll just stick around for a while after you’ve fed me, just to check you’re alright.’
‘You don’t need to.’ I stopped thinking about his previous comment and focussed on the fact that the last thing I wanted, was him feeling like he had been lumbered with me.
‘I may not need to, but, Amy, please understand… I want to.’
With his hands still holding my forearms I looked up into his face. For a few seconds, I couldn’t find the right words. It felt like his teal eyes were staring deep down inside of me. What he was searching for I hadn’t a clue. But what I did know was, I liked him holding me and whatever he was looking for, I wanted him to find it in me.
‘Come on then, “Oh knight in shining armour,” follow me.’
I knew I was
comprehensively fucked.
I’d been sitting in the corner of the small, spotless kitchen, eating my own fucking weight in sandwiches with the crusts off, pastries and cubes of sweet jellies. I’d finally topped it all off with several pieces of cake. The food in this place was everything I’d heard it was, and I had stuffed my face with far too much. My plate had been refilled several times over. As a very grateful Amy had replaced the food I had already eaten as she busied herself around the kitchen.
But it wasn’t the food that held my attention, but my own personal waitress. In fact, it seemed my new favourite pastime was watching Amy. I’d looked at her from every given fucking angle. The way she moved as she flew around the kitchen was the best fucking sight ever. Occasionally, I’d get a glimpse of her soft skin as her shirt rode up away from her skirt, as she stretched for something out of reach. But the unsurpassed view was when she was bent over in front of me. The sexist male in me knew he would kill to be the one who she allowed to run their hands over that ass.
What did they say? The best sort of women were cooks in the kitchen and whores in the bedroom?
Fuck me… the thoughts in my head are turning me into a sexist bastard.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and cleared the thought, she was all of that and so much more. The white shirt, black above-the-knee fitted skirt, and cock-charming heels all made sense now. It was the uniform that all the staff in the tearooms had on. But the stockings I was absolutely convinced she was wearing, were all her. Yeah, after a hell of a lot of looking, I was still fucking going there.
I finished my last piece of chocolate fudge cake and licked around my lips in appreciation. Once again, my eyes looked to her shapely legs and I was convinced I could see the small bumps of the metal catches on her garter belt. I’d been knocking green bottles off a wall in my head just to keep my dick from making an appearance as we spent time together. She made me feel like a fucking fourteen-year-old.
We hadn’t spoken much. She was too busy and, truth be told, I was far too busy gawping at her. I had found out that she had a degree in business management. She’d told me like I needed to understand that although this small area of Kent was her life and contained all the people she loved, she was capable of more, but had just chosen differently. She intrigued me and I wanted to know more about her, but for now it would have to wait.
‘That was great, Amy, thanks.’ I pushed my empty plate away from me and shifted my ass on the stool I was sitting on. I was trying to find a bit of space in my jeans, as they fought to contain my once again expanding cock.
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall. Ten green bottles… Come on, you fucker, don’t embarrass me now! Who would have thought that watching someone bake could be so erotic.
‘You’re welcome,’ she called over her shoulder as she rolled out some more pastry.
Her voice washed over me and I inhaled deeply. That was it, it wasn’t someone baking. It was watching her baking that affected me.
I leant back on the stool I was sat on, trying to rest my shoulders in the corner of the room. It was fucking uncomfortable; my shoulders were far too wide to fit. But I wasn’t prepared to stand up, she might think I was getting ready to go and that was far from the truth. In the seclusion of the busy kitchen with Amy, I felt content. In the warmth of the small room, I appreciated the peace and quiet away from the world. The busy world full of people that wanted a piece of me was no further than ten feet away. But here with a woman I hardly knew and one that certainly didn’t know me, I was completely at home and comfortable.
‘It’s warm in here, I think you could lose the hat.’ I watched her smile as she spoke the words that broke through my thoughts.
‘I’m good,’ I lied. I knew that when I did eventually peel myself away from the cool wall she would be able to see that my white T-shirt was soaked, but I felt the hat was necessary. Occasionally another member of staff would bolt in, collect the trays and dishes of food off the chrome racks and then disappear out through the door just as quickly. I had answered their greetings from under the hat, behind either stuffing my face or from the cover of the newspaper I had found on top of the stool. Their eyes had lingered on me for much longer than I wanted them to. I’d felt uneasy under their perusal but also euphoric, because I’d quickly realised what it meant. Although they all seemed to know Amy well, it appeared seeing her with a man was uncommon.
I was floating on air with that fucking insight. It shelved my fears from yesterday and the jealousy that had kept me awake last night. She had friends and family that cared about her. But no man in her life and I was fucking thankful.
‘You still feeling okay?’ I asked her as I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted on the uncomfortable fucking stool for what must have been the millionth time.
‘Uh, huh... I’m…’ She nodded her answer to me as she concentrated on what she was trying to achieve. Her hands were covered in flour as she rolled the pastry out onto the cold marble slab. As she pushed her hands forward again, shaping the pasty just the way she wanted, I watched as a piece of her thick hair that had been previously tied up and firmly placed under the small paper hat she was wearing, fell free. It fell straight into her line of sight. She turned to me smiling as she tried to blow the piece of errant hair away from her mouth and tried to answer my question. ‘Urrghhh.’
‘Hold on,’ I said, laughing as the piece of hair waved around annoyingly in front of her face making her eyes cross together as she tried to blow it back to where it had come from.
I pushed myself off the stool, hearing it rock back against the wall in the corner with force, and I made the couple of steps over to her. She removed her hands from the pastry on the slab and turned to face me. She held her dirty hands up and out wide, like she was surrendering to her fate.
Oh baby, you know it makes sense.
I picked up the piece of hair between my thumb and forefinger and tucked it behind her ear. Having been given silent permission to touch her my fingers stilled, almost glued to the spot. Our bodies froze in the proximity to each other’s and my eyes drifted down to hers. At first, she smiled in amusement at her predicament. Then the smile faded and her pulse accelerated under my fingertips. Her beautiful face had dustings of flour in various places and the pull was just too fucking strong to ignore anymore. I made my fingers move, running them down behind her ear and then out over her jaw. I realised that I was touching her more tentatively than I had ever touched another woman.
I had no fucking idea why.
Almost on instinct her eyes blinked and closed fleetingly, then they opened to find mine as she leant into my touch.
My fingers found their way to her chin and I lifted her face up to meet mine.
‘You’ve got flour on here.’ I kissed her gently on the cheek and heard a tiny sigh leave the small fissure in between her parted lips. It gave me all the permission I needed to carry on. ‘And here,’ I softly kissed her forehead, ‘and loads of the fucking stuff on here.’ I ran my lips down her nose, kissing the tip, and was rewarded with a small smile. ‘God knows how, but it’s also found its way here, too.’ I twisted my head to the side, lowering myself down to reach the base of her neck, where her shirt ended and her skin began. Flicking out my tongue I ran the very tip of it slowly up to just below her ear, taking in the taste of her skin and her subtle perfume.
Changing the pace, I quickly sucked the lobe of her ear into my mouth and allowed my teeth to gently nip her flesh. The gasp that freed itself from her lips fed my soul with expectation and hope. I released her lobe with a small pop and moved myself in front of her again. I could still taste her skin on my tongue, the faint traces of her musky perfume tempted my taste buds. I restrained myself, with our lips barely millimetres apart. For a few seconds, we were immobilized by the strength of the connection between us and then I gave in and sank my lips to hers.
I’d been dreaming of kissing her since I first saw her, I was going to tease and tempt her to open up, but that wasn�
�t how it went at all. As soon as our needy flesh found each other’s, the urge to take was far too strong to fight. She crashed her body into mine. Her hands found their way up to either side of my neck as her pastry covered fingers held me to her, in our mutual desperation. With our mouths fused together, taking everything we needed from each other, I walked her backwards quickly, until we reached yet another work surface.
My arms wrapped tightly around her body, making her full, soft breasts push firmly into my chest. Standing there almost fused together as one body, I could feel how she was trying to draw in small gasps of air. Releasing my hold on her body, but not my mouth on her warm, full lips, I ran my hands down her sides until they found the globes of that full ass I had been wanting to touch earlier. Both of my hands moved on instinct as I began to inch up her black skirt. I picked her up and then sat her down on the work surface. I wanted her legs open wide enough to welcome me. I moved in between them as our tongues continued to duel. Then I ran my needy hands up the outside of her legs until I found where the fine covering ended and her hot skin began.
I fucking knew it! Fuck!
The awareness that I’d been right all along nearly had me unzipping my pants and freeing my dick to take her right there and fucking then. Nine fucking green bottles… All the time my mouth kept up its assault on hers and she answered me back as an equal.
‘Ooops sorry!’ we heard from the side of us, as another of the women working today walked in to collect more platters of the prepared food. ‘Don’t mind me,’ we heard her call out as she exited with the required goods, and the swing door shut behind her.
Amy broke our kiss and I reluctantly let her. I leant my forehead to hers as we both drew in calming breaths. Then she began to giggle like a schoolgirl at getting caught. I smiled down at her again and drew her back into my arms. She stayed there for a few seconds, then she removed her hands from my neck and ran them down to my biceps, pushing me slightly away from her.
Brody (Default Distraction Book 1) Page 6
