* * * *
They lay on the bed, nose to nose and Red ran his finger over the contours of her face.
“I like it when you take the charge. That was fantastic sex.” Rhian kissed him, a feather light touch to his lips. She gazed at him, amazed at the shift in power when he took control. He became a different man. She wondered if he knew how much it changed him. The small lost boy disappeared under the show of male dominance and it thrilled her. If he could find himself with her, she knew they could make this work.
It seemed he had been the weaker one in his other relationship, the one that had failed to blossom and grow. Rhian promised herself she would let him take the lead more often, in fact she would encourage it.
“How about a shower together?”
“No, how about we slide under the blankets and snuggle for a bit. I’m enjoying relaxing with you in my arms. We can shower later if that’s okay?”
“Of course it is. Here lift up and I can pull back the blankets.” She helped rearrange the bed and when they were snuggled together she let out a tired sigh. Rhian lay curled into his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
Red woke slowly. Rhian's hand was tucked snugly into his crotch and her legs were tangled through his. Her other hand was cupped under her head and she was breathing through her mouth, a soft snuffling escaped her lips with every other breath. He reached down, freed his cock from her clasp and wondered if he should wake her for another round of hot sex before he crawled into his own bed for a more restful sleep. He had to go home and get some sleep or he would be too tired to concentrate in the laboratory. That thought soon stopped his internal debate. He eased away from her and held his breath when she rolled onto her back and with a funny little snort, settled with her hands clutched tight to the bedspread over her naked breasts.
He rummaged around on the nightstand for his glasses, found them and put them on. His clothing was mixed up on the floor with the pillows he had thrown from the bed last night. He chuckled to himself as he compared the sleeping woman to the lusty female who had an orgasm on his knee at the dinner table.
Granted he had loved it when she had brought him to a mind blowing orgasm. Rhian was like no other woman he had ever known. Her need for sex blew his mind. Dare he start to believe this could be a decent relationship or was it too early to risk feeling this way? Maybe he should give her another couple of weeks before he let his heart accept what it so eagerly yearned for.
He kept his gaze on her as he dressed. His brain had already raced ahead and he imagined her reclining in their bed, her stomach swelling with their child. He sucked in a breath.
Where the hell had that come from?
He'd thought of having kids eventually if he could find a willing partner. Rhian had bewitched him and he was obviously not immune to her.
Nero sat on the end of the bed and watched him with calm green eyes. Red had kicked the door shut behind them last night clearly upsetting the white cat. It had clawed at the door and meowed until Rhian had let him in before she fell asleep.
He zipped up his trousers and pulled the T-shirt over his head. As he ran his hand through his long locks, he tried to think of anything but the sexy female who lay naked in the bed beside him. He wanted to stay and make love to her again.
I could rebuild the front fence. Maybe paint the house a different color. Hang chandeliers out on street lamps, anything to stop thinking of staying here and crawling back into bed and sliding my leg between hers. I could get a haircut even!
But he thought better of the last idea because Rhian had made murmuring noises last night about liking his hair. Before they had gone to sleep she had sat behind him on the bed, his body leaning into hers and she combed his hair, something that had surprised him. He wasn't used to anyone other than his mother paying that sort of attention to him and he liked it. So that idea went out the window. He sat on the floor and pulled on his socks. Nero casually jumped down from the bed and rubbed against his back, winding himself around the front and crawled into Red's lap. The cat lifted its front paws and started to knead his groin.
“I don't think so buddy. That got enough of a workout last night without you adding your claws to it.” He elbowed the cat out of the way and got to his feet. Rhian moaned in her sleep and he almost changed his mind.
He walked out of her bedroom and headed toward her surgery at the front of the house. Red looked over her reception desk, plucked a card from the holder and put it in his pocket. A phone call for a date away from the house was starting to sound like a good idea. Although having his bones jumped every time he walked in the door wasn't such a bad thing. Red wanted to know if they were compatible away from the bedroom. Would she make him laugh and let him forget about work? Did they like the same things? Did he even know what he liked? He had seriously lived for his work so in his mind he had some searching to do and he wanted to do it with Rhian.
This biggest risk he took was in trusting her when he had been burned so many times for giving his heart too soon. She was the first woman to cook him dinner but that didn't mean anything. He slipped out the door with his boots in his hands. He pulled them on, pushed the bike from its stand, and coasted down the hill before he dropped the clutch on the old bike and the motor kicked into life. His mood was light for a change and he thought of the woman he had just left, not his latest experiment and where the tests were headed. That thought alone made him smile. She was getting under his skin and he liked it.
He parked in his driveway and let himself into the darkened house. Methodically he put everything away before going to his bedroom. After he stripped down and dressed for bed he set the alarm and figured he had about two hours before it would wake him. It was time enough to recharge his mind for the day ahead.
* * * *
Rhian groaned when small feet started to knead her belly. “Nero, stop it.” She tried to push him away but he walked up her chest and settled with his nose on her chin. She turned her head away to avoid his whiskers but he moved his head to keep the contact between them.
“Pfft, get out of it. I know what you're thinking but I have to try, alright?” Rhian tried to reason with her familiar. He sat there with baleful eyes gazing at her. “I want him Nero and I will do anything I can to get him. You don't have to worry about the spell. I want to help with his sight, not cast a love spell.” She pushed him off her chest and threw back the blankets. Her body was pleasantly weary from their lovemaking and she needed to stand under a hot soaking shower before she started her day.
“You know how much he hates his glasses. I don't mind them, I think he looks cute but he treats them as if they are the reason he is a nerdy guy. Chicks don't look at him the same way as they would if he had good eyesight.” Rhian slid her feet to the floor and picked up the comb from her nightstand. She smiled at the single strand of dark red hair caught between the teeth. She chuckled to herself as she placed it in a crystal bowl on her dresser.
She covered it with a cloth and turned back to the cat. “This will be my gift to him. And not because I want other girls to look at him. Oh no siree. I want him to feel good about himself, you understand. I want him to grow as a person, and I want that person to be the one who falls in love with me. Is that too hard to comprehend?”
Nero lifted his leg and proceeded to clean his butt. Rhian walked away from him knowing he still didn't approve of what she was doing. She ran the shower and while she waited for the water to heat, she stood in front of the mirror. There were pink blotches on her throat where he had playfully nipped her skin. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers over the marks. The touch and the images running through her mind sent hot searing jolts to her core. She turned and stepped into the shower, intent on getting through the day so she could plan to work her magic at the next full moon.
* * * *
Red woke to a text from Jake that he could pick his bike up on the way to work. He drove the old Honda in and parked the loaner bike inside the workshop. Taking of
f his helmet, he pulled out his glasses and put them on before looking around for his friend. “Jake, where are you?”
A muffled voice came from near the back of the workshop. Red wandered over and looked under the body of a bright red Corvette Stingray. He kicked the work boots sticking out from the side of the car and heard a grunt in reply. The body attached to the boots slid out on a garage creeper. “Funny man.”
Red leaned down and grabbed Jake’s hand and helped him to his feet. He also passed the crutch leaning against the wall and watched as Jake slid his hand in it and hobbled over to the corner of the workshop where his office was located. Red followed him and dropped into the torn vinyl chair opposite the desk.
Jake grabbed a set of keys from the board on the wall beside his filing cabinet and threw them across the desk. Red grabbed them in mid-air and laughed. He had missed his machine and now he could feel himself smiling like a kid in a candy shop.
“So, who is she?” Jake leaned back in his chair, a wicked grin on his face. His cap was turned backward on his head, his long blond hair tucked under it, out of his eyes. His eyebrows rose as he waited for Red to spill the beans.
“What makes you think there is anyone? It was just a date, okay? Why should I suddenly get the urge for more, for God's sake?” Red twisted his hands together and resisted the urge to chew on his fingernail. He met Jake's gaze. If the smirk on his face was anything to go by, the guy obviously loved the discomfort Red felt.
“Spill, I know there is someone special. You haven't been hassling the shit out of me to fix your baby so that can only mean one of two things. You’ve hooked up with a chick who is more than a roll in the hay, which is my guess here or--” he wiggled his eyebrows again “--you fucking died.”
“Don't go making something out of it,” Red warned. He coughed and settled in to spill the beans before Jake dragged the words out of his throat with a pair of pliers. He knew what he was capable of after being on the sidelines when bullies had tried to get to his mate in high school.
“She's a vet. It was because of one of her bloody orphans that I crashed the bike. It ran in front of me when I was up the coast road. It was either flatten the tiny thing or drop the bike.”
“I know what happened but tell me more about the chick who has you by the balls.”
“What are you, a voyeur or something? Don't answer. It was a stupid question.” Red looked down at his fingers and thought before he spoke. “She's not like anyone I've ever met before.”
“You've had it off with three what I will call sluts, unworthy women all of them. Of course she wouldn't be anything like them. She works for a start.” Jake leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk, rocking slowly. “That can only be classed as a bloody good start. At least you know she isn’t after you for your money.”
Red could feel the heat racing over his cheeks and shook his head. There was no bullshit or pulling punches between him and Jake. Both were lost boys who stood out against everyone else for all the wrong reasons in high school, they had gravitated to each other and remained best mates ever since. Both had matured and finally made a few adult friends although nothing like the close bond they shared with each other.
“She seems genuine.” He rubbed his hand over his warm cheeks. “Seems to have no problems dragging me into her bed every time I see her either.”
Jake roared with laughter and slapped his twisted leg.
“It's not that funny, dude. She's got me worried, you know? She even thinks I'm pretty cute if you can believe it.” He watched the tears of laughter running down Jake’s face and grinned. What was happening to him was pretty surreal.
Almost falling in love with someone.
He shrugged his shoulders and waited for Jake to say something.
“That is just fucking hilarious, Red. I gotta meet this girl, oh boy.” He wiped the tears from his face and then held his stomach. He looked at Red and burst into laughter again.
Red got up and poured them both a coffee, putting the mugs on the table in front of them and sat down again. “You know me better than anyone. Am I being paranoid here worrying about being shot down? I just don't know. I don’t know if I can handle being dumped again. It makes more sense to stay single than get burned all the bloody time.”
Jake calmed down and took a sip of the hot coffee after he wiped his eyes again. “Look, this is new for both of us considering neither of us have been any good on the dating front. But just let me say up front, if this chick is for real can you find out if she has a sister or even a distant cousin? I’m not fussy you know.”
“I think you might be a bit old for her little sister. I haven't met her yet but I think she's only eighteen.”
“I'm young at heart.” Jake laughed again and sat up, leaning his elbows on the desk. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I was hoping for a bit of advice here man.”
“I don't know if you've noticed but at present I am an unattached male living in the back of my shop. Why would you come to me for advice?”
“You are now but you did have a long term girlfriend until she got sick of your obsession with motors. There must be something you remember she liked to do.” Red grimaced. “I asked Rhian on a Valentine’s Day date but it would be helpful if I could get to know her a bit first, out of the bedroom if you know what I mean. That’s a pretty big day and I don’t want her to get too many wrong ideas if we can’t manage to get on out of bed.”
“Man, I would stay in the bedroom if it was me. Actually, I wouldn't, anywhere would do. If Sally had agreed to sex in the workshop we would still be together, never did understand why she refused. Take her for a ride on your bike.” Jake grinned as if something had just raced through his brain and he couldn't wait to share. “Get her to make a picnic and take her to the beach. Chicks dig picnics.”
“Hmm, maybe, I might ring her later and see. Hey, thanks for fixing my bike, I appreciate it.”
“I'll send you the bill. The advice for your love life is on the house.”
Red drained his coffee and put the mug in the sink. Walking out to the workshop he stopped at his bike and ran his hands over the tank. It was smooth and scratch-free, just how he liked it. He put his glasses in his pocket and pulled the helmet over his head. Raising his leg, he swung it over the seat, and settled down on the familiar bike feeling the curves of the seat under his butt.
“Good as new.” Jake stood beside him. His twisted leg hung loosely as he leaned on the crutch. It was the result of a motorbike accident when he was in this teens.
“Thanks man, I owe you again.” Red grinned under the helmet and hit the power switch. Pushing with his feet, he turned the bike toward the street and headed to the research facility. The ride to the industrial area was mainly along the highway and the boring drive gave him time to think. A picnic sounded good. He would give her a call this afternoon during his coffee break and see if she liked the idea.
He pulled into the facility and parked his bike. As he strolled through the doors, he glanced quickly at the receptionist throwing her the usual good morning wave.
“Dr Douglas, there is a phone message for you.” She handed him a slip of paper and he thanked her before continuing on toward his laboratory. He read the phone number on the note and shook his head, it was one he recognized. Red sat his helmet on the shelf beside the door and donned his white jacket.
He placed the slip of paper on his desk and stared at the phone number written on it as though it was going to burst into flames.
Why would Eleanor be calling him now?
They'd parted after an angry war of words and she had left him wounded and disillusioned. He didn’t want to go there again, ever. They had dated off and on for a few months and Red had fallen head over heels in love with her. It wasn't until he told her how he felt that he found out she was playing him against another guy who had more to offer than he did.
“Is that all I am to you, someone to play with while you tease your 'real' boyf
riend into giving you what you want?” Red's body shook, more with heartache than rage.
“You seriously don't think I'm going to set my sights on you do you? I mean, really you had your chance. You might have this old house and that ridiculous business your parents left you but Robert has so much more to offer me. I want to be someone in society.” She flicked him a scathing glance. “All you do is hide behind your work and I never get to go anywhere and be seen. I want to mix with people who count, not just the nerds and 'staff' who work for you. I need more and you can't give it to me.” She brought a carefully manicured fingernail up to her mouth, tapping her lip with it before continuing. “I didn't go to finishing school to be the wife of a scientist who can't even be bothered to blow his own horn. You could have been someone, Carrick, if only you'd listen to me and my parents. They were more than happy to introduce you to the right people, but no. That wasn't what you had planned. 'I want to help the poor people, the average man in the street,' you said. He’ll never make you rich.” She shot him a furious look. “Or famous.” She shook her dark, perfectly groomed hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “It was fun while it lasted although I could have used my time a lot better than I have.”
“Are you telling me I was nothing more than a potential meal ticket to you? One that you are prepared to throw away because I don’t do ‘society’ well?”
She looked down her nose at him and sighed dramatically at the question. “Well, you might have been reasonable in bed but honey, you aren't marriage material, at least not in my book.” She looked over at him with her lips curled and shook her head. “Just look at you now, you look ready to cry. Not the sort of man I want to grow old with.”
“You told me you loved me. Why would you do that if you were only trying to make him jealous? That's cruel.” Red's voice cracked.
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