31 Days of Summer (31 Days #2)

by C. J. Fallowfield

  ‘If we work this out you need to work on your romance skills,’ I laughed, as he focussed back on the road. ‘Why do you drive to see her every day? If you have a helicopter, why not fly? You’d be here so much quicker.’

  ‘I’m rich because I don’t waste money, Ellie. I’m not flash, I don’t have a fleet of expensive sports cars or go to the latest in nightclubs buying bottles of Cristal for everyone. I don’t do drugs or call girls and using my helicopter to come here would draw unnecessary attention to me.’

  ‘So how do you usually travel?’

  ‘I have a helicopter and pilot for trips to and from London, there’s a helipad in that clearing at the top of the island, where we had the snow fight. I have a driver in London, my Land Rover up here and a private jet for short journeys and a private 767 for travelling long distance, mainly to my home in San Francisco. Most of my programmers and designers are based in Silicon Valley.’

  ‘So you just sit at home working on your computer, or working out to keep your delicious body in shape?’

  ‘Delicious?’ he smiled.

  ‘You know it is. You’re muscular perfection and you’d better be feeling horny, because if I’m convinced that you’ve not tried to bluff me again, I’m going to want sex with you for the rest of the day.’

  ‘Damn it woman, I’m hard at the thought of it,’ he growled as he shifted in his seat. I felt hot myself, I needed to divert from the topic of sex.

  ‘So what do you do for fun? You have no TV and I’ve not seen you reading, yet you have a full library.’

  ‘I love my work, without you as a distraction it takes up most of my free time and the library, well, I got that for you.’

  ‘You what?’ I exclaimed.

  ‘Ian, who did the report on you, gave me your reading preferences. I contacted a book shop and gave them the list of your highest rated books and asked them to supply those and others that they’d recommended based on those. They were delivered on the Monday afternoon especially for you.’

  ‘O my God, Dan. Invasion of personal privacy aside, you seriously did that from receiving my request on the Friday night, to me arriving on Monday night?’

  ‘Sometimes having lots of money has its advantages,’ he shrugged.

  ‘You’re insane,’ I uttered as I shook my head in disbelief. ‘That must have cost you a fortune.’

  ‘Hardly. I just felt so drawn to you and knowing what you’d been through well … I just wanted you to feel at home, to be able to relax and recharge.’

  ‘I can’t believe you went to all that trouble for me,’ I whispered with a tear in my eye. ‘When you didn’t even know me. You did that, you moved out of your own house, did manual labour.’

  ‘Ellie, when I lived in London women loved me for my money. Not for me. Except … except for Rebecca. I started the company when I met her. I was so attracted to you I wanted to see if you’d like me back when I was just the hired help. You’ve no idea what it meant to me that you wanted me.’

  ‘Dan, you’re an amazing man. It’s not just your wealth. You’re dominant with a protective, giving, caring side as well. You’re a great listener, hot with about twenty capital H’s and super mysterious. All things women love in a man.’

  ‘All things you love in a man?’ he asked seriously as he caught my eye.

  ‘Yes,’ I whispered and reached over and put my hand over his on the gear stick. ‘And that’s without the super mind blowing sex.’

  ‘Off limits,’ he chuckled.

  ‘I know you value your privacy, so with the exception of Brooke and Molly I promise not to discuss where you live or what you do.’

  ‘I trust you. It’s not so much for me, I was worried about the negative publicity for Moira’s parents if it got out that she’d set me up. The fact I was driving when the accident happened and I’d been drinking the night before, that would just be an added complication,’ he frowned, ‘but not insurmountable. Money also buys silence.’ I squeezed his hand and just watched him as he drove. Could we really make this work? Him up here and me down in London? If he could control the way his personality had changed so often when I was here in the winter, we got on so well. The chemistry between us was obvious, there was definitely no lack of attraction on either of our parts, no issues with sexual compatibility. I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to handle a relationship where I only got to see my man now and again. Not when I had such strong feelings for him. We both took a deep breath as he pulled into the drive of a large modern detached house on a private road. ‘Ok, well we’re here.’

  ‘It’s not too late to change your mind,’ I advised him.

  ‘No. Full disclosure, that’s what I agreed to,’ he replied with a half-smile. He came to open my door and help me down, then went to take my hand.

  ‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think we should hold hands in front of her parents, not when I’m meeting them for the first time.’

  ‘I think it would be a good idea if you talk to Theo and Florie first, while I sit with Moira for a while. Then we can swap.’

  ‘You want me to sit with your comatose wife?’ I asked aghast.

  ‘She has a team of nurses on shift, I think it’s Sheila on duty now, so you can ask her any questions until you’re satisfied that I’m not trying to deceive you.’

  ‘Dan, I feel so stupid now. Do we have to do this?’ What the hell was I thinking insisting on seeing the proof? Making sure he’s not a lying bastard like Zac was, Ellie, I reminded myself. I’d trusted Zac who I’d been with for five years, it would be irresponsible to give Dan the benefit of the doubt after knowing him for such a short period, no matter how I felt about him. The thought crossed my mind that with his millions, or billions, he could have paid actors to fool me. Then I shook my head, why would he go to those lengths? And where would he get someone who was actually comatosed to play the part? Maybe I should have brought a needle with me to do a test of my own, by jabbing her with it to see if she really was out of it.

  ‘It’s not exactly my idea of a fantasy first date with you Ellie, but I don’t want any doubt in your mind,’ he replied, as he placed his hand in the small of my back and directed me to the front door. I rapped my hand against my side as he pressed the doorbell and I heard footsteps on a wooden floor, then the door being unlocked.

  ‘Daniel,’ smiled a serious looking gentleman. I took a large gulp as Dan introduced me.

  After being introduced to Theo and Florie and settled down in the lounge with a cup of black coffee, Dan gave me a half-smile and disappeared leaving me uncomfortably perched on the edge of the sofa with her parents staring at me.

  ‘I’m really sorry to intrude, this can’t be easy for you,’ I offered with a sympathetic smile, wondering if they had any idea how difficult this was for me.

  ‘What’s not easy for us is Daniel refusing to let her go,’ Theo replied as he took his wife’s hand. She nodded her agreement. ‘Believe me, meeting you is easy. I know I can speak for both of us when I say that we are happy that Daniel’s met you and that he’s considering moving on.’

  ‘I don’t understand how … how you can …’ I stalled, unsure how to discuss such a sensitive subject.

  ‘Ellie, Daniel has been here day in, day out for nearly four years. Only thin ice on the loch stops him. For a man who only married our daughter out of a sense of obligation, he’s done far more for her than we could ever have hoped for. He bought us this house, set Moira up with her own annexe, hired nurses to take care of her. He’s a part of our family now and we’ve grown to love and respect him. He deserves some happiness in his life and the only time we’ve seen him smiling is when you came to stay in December. He’s not been the same since you left. We want him to move on.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’re both so understanding, not after what you’ve been through.’

  ‘It was a long time ago, we’ve let her go, he needs to as well.’

  ‘Is there no chance she could recover?’ I en
quired and Florie shook her head.

  ‘She’s brain dead Ellie. Daniel won’t accept it, he keeps paying for her to be checked by different specialists. Her muscles have wasted away, she’s a shell of girl now. We want to let her go, but he won’t have it. I know he carries a lot of guilt over the loss of Rebecca, I think he feels that by refusing to give up on Moira, it’s his way of alleviating that guilt. Like some miraculous cure would free him, but it’s never going to happen.’

  ‘That must be so difficult for you to accept,’ I sighed.

  ‘We’ve accepted she’s gone, what we can’t accept is Daniel not moving on,’ Theo replied. ‘We can only hope that his growing feelings for you make him see reason, that he’ll want to move on and start a new life with you.’

  ‘I think you could change his mind,’ nodded Florie and I looked at her startled.

  ‘I don’t know what Dan’s told you, but we haven’t even agreed to start a relationship yet. We have a lot to discuss, on both sides, before we even think of going down that path. I’m not in a position to be asking him to consider letting her go for you. That has to be a decision the three of you come to.’

  ‘I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to make you feel pressured, it’s just that he’s distanced himself from anyone and everyone, and to see him with a smile since he met you has got our hopes up,’ smiled Theo. ‘He’s an amazing young man, who’s really gone above and beyond for us. He deserves some happiness of his own.’

  ‘I agree, I’m just not sure if it will be me that can provide it,’ I smiled sadly in return. ‘He wants to stay up here, I have a life in London and I feel selfish saying this, but I’m not sure how I’d feel knowing your daughter was always going to be his priority.’

  ‘I think having you in his life would shift his focus, give him something to look forward to and you’d soon become his priority Ellie,’ advised Florie. ‘Please don’t worry about us, we want him to move on. We’d be happy for him. Our hope is that he wants a new life with … someone and that he’ll realise holding onto the past is holding him back.’

  ‘You’d really be ok with him seeing someone?’

  ‘We would,’ she nodded with a smile up at Theo who nodded his consent too. I sat back with another coffee and listened as they sang Dan’s praises, reaffirming my gut instinct that he was trustworthy and decent. What he’d done for them was amazing, it wasn’t all the money either. He could have set them up here, paid a lump sum and walked away. Him visiting her so often, a woman he didn’t even love, spoke volumes. I looked up as the door opened and he ducked his head to enter and raised his eyebrows at me.

  ‘She’s fine,’ laughed Theo. ‘We haven’t scared her off if that’s what you’re worried out.’

  ‘They’ve been bigging you up as a matter of fact. You have quite the fan club,’ I smiled.

  ‘Are you ready?’ he asked with a serious look on his face. I bit my lip as I looked at him.

  ‘I don’t think I need to, I’ve heard enough, I feel foolish for doubting you as it is.’

  ‘I don’t ever want any doubt in your mind, Ellie. Theo and Florie don’t mind.’

  ‘We don’t,’ advised Theo as he stood up. ‘Please, as Daniel says you came here for reassurance. Would it help if he went in there with you?’ he asked. I looked up at Dan and he gave me a brief nod of consent.

  ‘Ok, thank you.’ I stood up and Dan took my elbow and guided me back to the hall as I took a few deep breaths. He gripped the handle of a door on the ground floor and looked around at me.

  ‘It may seem a little odd, but I talk to her as if she can hear me. She’s hooked up to machines and Sheila’s watching over her today. She’ll answer any questions you might have.’ He leaned over and kissed my temple then opened the door.

  We waved goodbye as Dan backed the Land Rover out of the drive and I looked out of the window with a frown. That had been tough. I thought I’d feel some sense of relief at knowing that he hadn’t lied to me, but all I felt was a mixture of emotions, none of which were relief. I felt guilt at doubting him, guilt for imposing on this family, anger that he’d put his life on hold for so long, confusion as to where that left us and if I wanted to take this further knowing I’d seemingly always be second place in his life. Then that just enhanced the dominant feelings of selfishness. I’d been shocked at how frail she’d looked lying there in that bed, hooked up to beeping monitors, with that machine pumping oxygen into her lungs and that IV line in her hand. Sheila repeated what Theo and Florie had told me, that she’d been in a coma for too long now, the chances of her ever recovering were minimal and that Dan needed to let her go. She’d folded her arms and pursed her lips when Dan scolded her and reminded her he was paying her salary and could just as quickly rectify that. I’d shaken my head when she’d asked if I had any questions. I didn’t. Not of her. I had a whole load of questions I wanted to ask Dan, but that would seem totally insensitive of me after seeing what he was faced with every day. The guilt he must carry to make that daily journey and sit with her was unimaginable.

  ‘It was a mistake to take you there,’ Dan sighed, breaking the silence and my focus out of the window. I hadn’t even noticed that we’d made it up the mountain and were cutting through the dense forest on the way back to the hotel.

  ‘No,’ I replied quickly, not wanting to make him feel any worse than he probably already did. ‘I just … it’s a lot to take in.’

  ‘Does it change how you feel about me?’

  ‘No!’ I retorted quickly and firmly as I twisted in my seat to look at him. ‘It makes me think you’re even more amazing. Do you know how many men would do what you’re doing? Virtually none. I think I’ve fallen in love with you that little bit more, if that were even possible.’ I gasped as he suddenly veered off the main road down a track. ‘Shit, you just scared me, what are you doing?’

  ‘I’ve waited long enough, Ellie. I need to be inside you again. Right now.’

  ‘But we’re a few minutes from the hotel.’

  ‘A few minutes too long,’ he advised as he sharply braked, pulled the handbrake on and deftly unhooked my seat belt, seconds after his own. ‘Are you wearing knickers?’

  ‘Yes,’ I nodded, as I caught my breath at the blazing heat in his deep green eyes and felt the need radiating off him.

  ‘Then I suggest you take them off if you’re partial to them, if they’re not off by the time I make it to your side of the car, I’ll be ripping the damn things off you.’

  ‘But we need to talk,’ I protested as he manoeuvred his legs over the gearstick.

  ‘We can talk after. You wanted proof I didn’t lie to you, I’ve given it you. Talk isn’t going to change the fact that I want to fuck you, just as much as you want me to.’

  ‘Shit,’ I whimpered. I quickly hoisted my dress up as he edged closer, lifting his right leg over the piece of metal separating us. By the time I raised my hips to start tugging my tiny knickers down he was next to me. The sound of his breathing was as fast as mine. As I kicked them off I heard him undoing his zip. There was going to be no romantic seduction, this was going to be a quick hot fuck, and knowing how Dan fucked, I was all in. I gasped, not only to see he was commando under his jeans, but to lay eyes on his large cock again. In my imagination, or memories of it, he wasn’t that large. He took my breath away.

  ‘Straddle me, quickly,’ he ordered. I did as I was told, barely escaping knocking myself out on the low roof and he repositioned us on the passenger seat as he yanked my dress over my head, leaving me naked. ‘Fuck, your tits are sensational. I’m going to lavish them with attention later, along with that juicy clit of yours, but now this is going to be hard and fast. Understood?’

  ‘Understood,’ I nodded as he grasped my hips.

  ‘No one else is ever going to fuck you from this moment forth, Ellie. You belong to me,’ he growled.

  ‘That goes … both ways,’ I breathed, as I reached down and grasped him, positioning him at my entrance, desperate to feel him filling me agai
n.

  ‘Are you wet?’

  ‘Yes,’ I sighed, as we locked eyes and I felt my insides do multiple somersaults. He literally took my breath away he was so handsome. He didn’t even have to work on me to make me wet, being around him had me in a constant state of damp knickered arousal.

  ‘You’d better be, because I’m telling you now, once today isn’t going to be enough for me. Kiss me, kiss me like it’s our last time. I need to feel how much you want me,’ he demanded, as he forced me down onto his thick shaft, groaning as I screamed. I dug my nails into his shoulders, acutely aware I was completely naked in his car in broad daylight, while he was fully clothed and currently bruising my cervix he was wedged in me so far. He reached up with one hand and grasped the back of my head as I panted, wriggling my hips trying to accommodate him without pain, and pulled my face down to his and kissed me with an intensity I’d not felt before. His tongue prodded and probed, entwined around mine as I moved my hands into his hair and started to move on him. ‘Christ Ellie, I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you,’ he uttered between our frantic kisses.

  ‘I’ve … missed you … too,’ I whimpered, as he angled his hips and lifted up into me as I bore down on him. ‘Uhhh,’ I cried.

  ‘Scream. I want to hear what I do to you, how I make you feel. This, us, it’s never going to get any better with anyone else, you know it too. I’ve not even started with you Ellie Baxter, I’m going to take you to new sexual heights, show you what your body is capable of, the pleasure it can bring us both. I’m going to fucking ruin sex for you if you ever leave me, because no one will ever compare to me. Just like you’ll ruin it for me.’

  ‘Yes,’ I called out, as I worked as hard as I could on top of him. His fingers digging into my hips, the others weaving tightly into my hair as he forced my lips back onto his, crushing them with the furiousness of his passion. How could he possibly make sex even better than this? I just couldn’t comprehend it. There must be sexually bereft women all around the world, having been tossed aside by him when he was done. Why was I so special? My nerves were working overtime sending pleasurable sensations to all my outer extremities. ‘Uh … uh … uh,’ I mewled.