Saving Baby Amy

by Annie Claydon

  ‘All right. Whatever you say.’ The morning was imbued with a kind of excitement that was more akin to a new adventure, not the urgency of an emergency where every second counted. For the next two days he had Chloe all to himself, and as long as they covered the miles, they could do whatever else they liked.

  With one, significant exception. Now that he had nothing else to do but keep his eye on the road, Jon had to remind himself that the boundaries they’d set were all for the best, and that whatever they liked didn’t include stopping the car and claiming Chloe’s lips again.

  He hadn’t been able to keep up with her rapid French when she’d booked their accommodation, but Jon assumed she’d booked a couple of motorway hotels, and doubted they’d provide the ambience for anything other than a meal and some sleep. Which was just as well because, however much he wanted to kiss her—however tantalising the thought of exploring a little further than just a kiss—that was one avenue that should remain closed to them.

  * * *

  By the time they emerged from the Channel Tunnel the sky was looking a lot more promising, a dark clear blue that seemed to beckon them towards the horizon. Sixty miles of motorway driving and then Chloe suddenly indicated a left turn.

  The next twenty miles got them no closer to their destination as she turned the map one way and then another, trying to puzzle out where they were going. Somehow they managed to get back on track and Chloe directed him through a set of large, wrought-iron gates and along a long avenue, edged with trees and dappled by sunlight.

  ‘Wow. Look at that.’ The avenue had opened up into a wide, sweeping curve, which grazed the entrance of a magnificent chateau. White painted and gleaming in the afternoon sun, it looked like a fairy-tale castle, complete with turrets at each side.

  ‘This is it.’ Chloe pointed to a cluster of cars to one side of the entrance. ‘I think we can stop there.’

  ‘We’re staying here?’ Jon had imagined that they might be just passing, to find some more modest accommodation somewhere in the grounds.

  ‘Yes.’ She turned to him, her face shining. ‘Do you like it?’

  ‘I love it, but...’ It hadn’t been quite what Jon had had in mind when he’d said they’d find somewhere to stay.

  ‘It’s my treat.’ Chloe shot him a warning glance as he opened his mouth to protest that she hadn’t needed to do this. ‘Don’t argue. You’ve done so much for me, and this is just to show you how much I appreciate it. I hope the inside is as nice as the outside.’

  That would be difficult. The chateau stood in rolling countryside, dominating the landscape. It looked as if the one and only cloud in the sky had landed here, depositing this elegant, fairy-tale castle just to give ordinary mortals a blueprint for the proportions that they should build in.

  But somehow the inside was even better. A soaring hallway that managed to be both grand and welcoming, its relaxed elegance extending to the other rooms they passed as their hostess led them up a sweeping staircase and along a wide corridor.

  Right at the end, the woman opened a door, speaking in French to Chloe. ‘She says she hopes we don’t mind a climb.’ Chloe responded in French, shaking her head and smiling.

  The stone steps wound around a stairwell. Above him, Jon could see layer after layer, like the swirling, ever smaller spirals of an ancient sea creature. Here, the elegance of the rest of the building had been left behind in favour of white-painted stonework, which seemed older and much more utilitarian.

  They were both out of breath by the time their hostess unlocked a door that led off the stairs a couple of turns before they got to the top. She beckoned them inside and Jon caught his breath.

  The room was enormous, the square back giving way to a huge curve, which must follow the shape of one of the turrets he’d seen from the outside. High windows gave a spectacular view of the countryside, and on this side of the room a stone fireplace, big enough to roast an ox in, was stacked with logs. The bed was big enough to overpower almost any room, but here it looked almost insignificant, standing to the side of the curved space.

  ‘This is amazing. I feel as if I’m in a castle...’ Jon dropped their bags, wondering whether Chloe had booked just the one room. That thought sounded even better than their surroundings.

  But their hostess beckoned to them again, leading them up to the top of the spiral staircase outside. ‘This is your room.’ Chloe grinned at him.

  It was much the same as the room below, with an even more spectacular edge. In the centre of the curved space a domed glass ceiling let sunlight flood downwards, right onto the bed that was placed beneath it. Jon imagined that its occupant would be able to see the stars at night.

  ‘This is...’ He shrugged, smiling. ‘Words fail me.’

  Their hostess laughed, dropping the keys into Chloe’s hand. An exchange in French and she left them alone.

  ‘It’s better than the pictures.’ Chloe was smiling broadly. ‘Our very own castle for the night. You said it would be good to get away for a couple of days.’

  ‘I’m not sure I was imagining we’d do it in this style.’ He walked to one of the windows, looking out. ‘If any of our troubles try to get at us we’ll be able to pour boiling oil on their heads as they scale the walls.’

  ‘Or you can plunge a sword through them as they make a rush for the stairs.’ Her laugh sounded as if she really had left the world behind, and that nothing could assail her here. ‘Madame says that we can get up to the roof from here.’

  An alcove by the door gave way on one side to a shining bathroom, the large bath standing right in the middle of the room. On the other side, another set of winding stone steps led up to a door that opened onto a flat roof, the glass dome sitting at the centre of it but leaving more than enough space around the edge for a table and chairs, sheltered by the high stone ramparts.

  ‘We can have dinner up here if we like. Although the dining room looked lovely in the pictures.’

  ‘Here. Definitely here.’ They only had one night to enjoy this and they should make the most of it. Chloe had made him a make-believe king of a fairy-tale castle, and she was his queen. Her hair was loose at her back, her dress moulding her legs in the breeze. Her honey-brown eyes were bright with excitement. All he really wanted to do at this point was kiss her.

  Maybe that would happen. It seemed as if almost anything could happen here, but for now he was content to stand with her, looking out across the gardens at the back and the sweep of the drive at the front. The road seemed a very long way away at the moment, toy cars buzzing back and forth along it. Tomorrow his would be one of them, but that seemed such a long way away that it wasn’t even worth considering.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THE CHATEAU HAD exceeded her expectations. But best of all was Jon’s reaction. She could see that he loved it, and more than that he seemed to have left behind the urgency of the road, and that was exactly what she’d wanted. He needed a break as much as she did, if only he’d admit it.

  They still had the rest of the afternoon, and they’d decided to walk down to the village together. Three kilometres of sunshine and birdsong. The scent of flowers in the hedgerows and the quiet buzz of insects. He took her hand, winding his fingers loosely around hers, and everything in the world seemed right.

  Sitting on a bench in the village square, watching the world go by, was the only thing on their to-do list. Until Jon suggested hot chocolate, which posed a whole new set of important questions. They took their time answering them, inspecting each of the three cafés set around the square and finally decided which was best.

  ‘It’s a long walk back to the chateau.’ His smile was delicious, warm and relaxed. ‘Do you think we should force ourselves to have a pastry as well?’

  More decisions. Chloe had already been eyeing up the choice on offer, and didn’t know which to pick. She pushe
d the menu card across the table towards him.

  ‘You choose. Something that’s rich and sweet and really, really bad for us.’

  He grinned, beckoning towards the waitress. ‘I see you’re coming around to my way of thinking...’

  * * *

  It was a succession of one delight after another. They’d indulged in hot chocolate and wickedly delicious pastries, then walked back to the chateau together. They explored the downstairs rooms and then sat on the terrace at the back for a while. Chloe had asked for dinner on the roof, and they’d chosen what they wanted from the menu, then gone back to their rooms to change.

  She chose a summer dress with a matching lace woollen shawl, glad to find that they hadn’t creased too much in her bag. A little make-up seemed only right, and she brushed her hair carefully, catching it back in a loose arrangement at the back of her neck. As a compromise between wanting to look her best and wanting it to seem that she hadn’t spent too much time on her appearance, it would do.

  When she ventured up the spiral staircase she saw that the door to Jon’s room was open. He turned from the window, his face breaking into a smile.

  ‘You look beautiful.’

  A lump lodged in the back of her throat. He was wearing a simple dark blue shirt, open at the neck, with dark blue trousers. Jon looked even more effortlessly gorgeous than usual, slim-hipped and broad-shouldered, the strong set of his jaw giving a delicious sense of purpose to the softness of his eyes.

  ‘Thank you.’ Telling him that he looked beautiful might be misconstrued. But he did.

  ‘What do we do to let them know we’re ready for dinner? Or do we just wait and see what happens next?’

  ‘Oh. No, we phone. I have the number.’ Chloe pulled her phone from the pocket of her dress and dialled.

  He helped her up the steps to the roof. Perhaps he knew that her knees were shaking. The evening was warm enough to leave her shawl on the back of the chair, and when the waitress arrived with their meals and lit the candles on the table, the shelter of the stone ramparts stopped them from blowing out immediately. She wished them a smiling ‘Bon appétit!’ and left them alone, flipping a switch at the top of the stairs, which lit a string of fairy lights that ran all the way around the edge of the tower’s roof.

  It was a shame, really. Jon had ordered a very good wine, and the meal was well worthy of more attention than Chloe could give it. But the spectacular view and the fairy lights, which seemed brighter and more magical as the sun went down, were also entrancing. And Jon...every move he made, every gesture and every smile made her forget about everything apart from him.

  ‘Would you like a dessert?’ They’d taken their time over the meal, talking as darkness fell.

  ‘Just coffee for me.’ It was a little cooler now, and Chloe wrapped her shawl around her shoulders.

  ‘I think even I can manage that.’ He grinned, reaching for her phone and asking for two coffees in halting French.

  The waitress appeared again, bringing coffee and clearing the table, leaving their glasses and the bottle of wine behind. Chloe sipped her coffee and then reached for the bottle. Jon hadn’t refilled her glass while they ate, and it was still more than half-full.

  ‘Not yet.’ He laid his fingers on the back of her hand. ‘I want you stone cold sober.’

  ‘What for?’

  He smiled. ‘A turn around the roof? Don’t want you falling over the edge.’

  That was hardly likely. She’d have to ask him for a leg up if she was going to climb across the wide stones that protected them. All the same, Chloe left the wine where it was and stood up, taking his arm.

  Two steps, three... They got almost halfway round before he kissed her, and when he did she was almost trembling with anticipation. The breeze tugged at her senses, making her shiver as he drew her into the warmth of his body.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, staring up into his eyes. ‘I didn’t mean...for this to happen...’

  ‘You don’t want it to?’ His hands were spread possessively across her back, and he made a show of moving them so she could step away if she wanted to. He didn’t need to, the kiss had told them both exactly what they wanted.

  ‘No, I...’ Chloe thought hard. Now wasn’t the time to be at all unclear about what she wanted. ‘I love that it’s happened. I just didn’t plan for it...’

  ‘Ah. So you didn’t lure me here to have your way with me? I’m afraid that I didn’t lure you either.’

  ‘You didn’t? I think the least you can do is pretend you planned it all.’ She stretched up, brushing her lips against his mouth.

  ‘You’d be very disappointed in me.’ He leaned towards her, whispering in her ear, ‘I don’t have any condoms but that doesn’t mean we can’t just...improvise a little.’

  His fingers moved on her back and Chloe shivered at the thought. She’d take a bet that Jon improvised very, very well. But he didn’t need to.

  ‘Actually, you know that I packed a travel kit to give to Hannah? Things she might need, that she probably didn’t think to take with her when she left.’

  He chuckled quietly. ‘You thought she’d need condoms?’

  ‘Well, you never know. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to cover all the possibilities, particularly after last time...’ She didn’t want to talk about that now. She wanted to kiss him again.

  ‘You are the most resourceful woman.’ Clearly he liked that because his kiss almost lifted her off her feet. ‘What next, now that we can do whatever we want? I have no expectations...’

  She was stone cold sober and she knew exactly what she wanted. ‘I don’t have any expectations of you either. Can we take the rest of that bottle of wine downstairs with us now, and find out what happens next?’

  ‘That sounds wonderful.’

  He kissed her again and she felt his body hard against hers. One hand on her back pulled her in tight against him, the other caressed her jaw, sending shivers of sensation through her. His fingers brushed the sensitive spot right behind her ear, as if he’d remembered how it turned her on, but he wasn’t getting to that quite yet.

  Instead, she felt his hand move, trailing across the neckline of her dress and lower to cup her breast. At last. It felt like fire, out of control and spreading through the whole of her body.

  He responded to her whimper of pleasure by backing her against the high stone ramparts. Her gaze locked with his, as he rubbed his thumb gently over the material that covered her nipple, and when she caught her breath he smiled.

  ‘You feel so good. I want you so much.’ He whispered the words into her ear.

  That was just fine with her, as long as he took it slowly. The sudden urge to be taken right now, right here had receded into a hotter, more unrelenting fire and she wanted this to last.

  ‘Not yet. Not for a while...’

  ‘You want to drive me crazy?’ Jon’s gaze burned its way into her senses.

  ‘Yeah, that’s the plan. You want to come downstairs?’

  Before he let her go, there were more caresses, leaving her in no doubt that Jon intended to show her exactly who was boss, and for her to tell him so. Which was fine, because when she moved her hips against his, his gasp held all the surrender that her whispered words had.

  He held the moment for as long as it lasted, his eyes dark in the moonlight. Then he turned, taking her hand and leading her downstairs, picking up her phone and the bottle of wine on the way.

  ‘Not here...’ Chloe took her phone from his hand, calling downstairs to say that the waitress could come and clear the coffee things now and that they wouldn’t be wanting anything else. Then she led him downstairs to her room, locking the door behind them.

  Jon reached for the box of matches on the high mantelpiece and bent to light the candles that stood in the grate. Soft light danced through the
room.

  Standing between the fireplace and the four-poster bed, he kissed her again, while she struggled with the buttons on his shirt. When she’d pulled it off, he slowly undid the first of the row of buttons that ran down the front of her dress.

  One more, and then another. Jon was obviously enjoying the suspense as much as she was, and she watched as he deftly undid each one.

  ‘You’re better with buttons than I am.’ She smiled up at him as he slipped her dress from her shoulders and it fell to the floor.

  ‘I’ve got a good reason to be. You’re very beautiful.’ The way he was looking at her made her feel beautiful. Made her feel strong.

  He ran his finger along the chain that encircled her neck, and when he got to the citrine, nestled between her breasts, he was suddenly still. ‘I’ll take care of you tonight, Chloe.’

  She believed him. The citrine had been all she’d had once, but Jon was here now. ‘Will you take it off for me?’

  He turned her round, sweeping her hair to one side. She felt him open the catch and then he put the citrine and its chain into her hand.

  ‘Look at me...’ Turning her round again to face him, he tipped her chin up. His face held all the promise of pleasure. ‘How does it feel when I touch you?’

  ‘It feels wonderful.’ She knew what he wanted her to do. He wanted her to put the citrine aside and rely on him completely. That was what she wanted too, but suddenly in the back of her mind the memory formed, clear and insistent, taking her back to a time when every touch had been potentially painful, every loss of control had had to be fought. She felt her hand instinctively close around the citrine.

  The moment of uncertainty must have shown in her face and she felt his fingers curl around hers. ‘Chloe, you can hold onto this if you want. It doesn’t matter.’

  She could see that it did matter to him. And it mattered to her, too.