by Kitty Wilson
Taking decisive action, he grasped hold of Siobhan’s hand and secured it fast against the wall. A little moan escaped her lips. Oh, bloody hell.
Finally, Rosy moved away and headed back down the path. Whilst part of him was relieved, surely she should have tried harder? If it were the other way around and Rosy hadn’t answered he would have battered down the door to make sure she was safe. And maybe received a restraining order in the process. What was he wishing for? The one thing he didn’t want was Rosy seeing him now.
He waited a minute or so until he heard her door bang shut. During the waiting he needed to pin Siobhan’s other hand against the wall, but couldn’t without releasing his grip against her mouth. Dear God, she was possessed. No wonder she did well in business; she certainly wasn’t scared of putting herself forward. Although to be fair they had established that early on in the evening.
However, she was responding far too well to his newfound dominance, and was currently rubbing up and down the wall making moaning noises. This could put him off sex forever!
He leant forward and whispered in her ear. ‘I’m going to remove my hand, and then you’re going to follow me and do exactly as I say.’
She nodded enthusiastically so he continued to hold her hand, his fingers interlaced with hers, and firmly walked towards the door.
‘Where—’
‘Who’s in charge here?’ he barked at her. Angelina had done him a favour after all, banging on about that fellow, Black, Grey, whatever his name was. It worked; she simpered and let him lead her. He cracked open the door; it was only a little way down the path and to his Land Rover outside. If he could just get her that far without her making a noise. Could he be that lucky? He glanced, just quickly, not to give anything away, over his shoulder at Rosy’s house. She wasn’t standing at the window, pointing, staring or screaming, so all good so far.
He walked Siobhan forcefully down the path. It wasn’t just Rosy he had to keep his eyes open for – living in a village had taught him that curtain twitching was an art form, its accompanying jungle drums run with military precision. Could he hope to get away with this?
He got to the Land Rover, yanked the handle and barked at Siobhan to get in.
‘Oh, my darling, I rather like this side of you, yah!’
He smiled tersely, started the engine and drove as fast as he could to Chase’s house.
Chapter Forty
Marching to get her man hadn’t quite panned out as she had planned. Matt’s car had been parked outside the house when she had knocked and she had heard Scramble bark excitedly at the door, yet no one had answered. Which either meant she had misjudged that woman’s arrival and that Matt was upstairs, doing all the things she had planned for them to do together this evening or, as her instinct was telling her, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation and she should return home and wait for him to knock.
As she wandered back down the path she realized that this was a whole new feeling: trust. She trusted that he wasn’t currently sprawled naked with Egyptian Catwoman and would come for her, Rosy, as soon as he could. Trust. She quite liked it. It might be a gamble and she may feel like a real fool tomorrow but right now she was willing to take that risk. All her fears of being made a fool of since she had met him had come to nothing so far, and the only time she’d felt like an idiot were those situations she herself had created. This time she’d let him lead and see what happened. Trust – who’d have thought it?
As zen-calm and lullaby-like as this new Rosy was, there were limits and she didn’t think she could just sit and passively wait. Switching on the TV was no use; concentrating on the drama unfolding in fictional lives was not the medicine she needed tonight, not on the night when she had decided to take action, action that could change her life completely. The local news, which she did want to watch, wasn’t on for another half an hour and she doubted zen would last that long. Perhaps if she threw herself into some horrid domestic chore she could scrub out all her pent-up energy and if nothing else at least the house would smell great.
Hence Rosy found herself scrubbing the bathroom grouting – no, she had never known such a job existed until tonight – when she heard her phone ring. Please don’t be Matt cancelling, not when she had just made peace with all her demons.
Jumping out of the bath where she had been crouching, she flew to the phone to see that it was an unknown number. Taking a deep breath, she hit accept, her whole face furrowed with worry as she did so.
‘Miss Winter?’ a deep male voice, humming with authority, asked.
‘Yes.’ Her answer was tentative.
‘Miss Winter, I’m glad I caught you. It’s David French here from the Local Authority. I’m sorry to disturb you on a Friday evening but do you have a few minutes?’
Rosy gulped – had he watched the local news? Oh God, had she missed it? How could she? She thought she had set an alarm to remind her! Maybe she could watch it on catch-up with Matt in a bit, if he turned up. What was Dave French going to say? She did hope she wasn’t in for a bollocking, although maybe… maybe…
‘Um… yes, of course, Mr French. How can I help?’
‘I had a meeting with one of your governors this week’ – should she play dumb? Pretend she didn’t know? If she just stayed silent and waited for what else he had to say – ‘and he brought certain things to my attention to do with the new build at Roscarrock, and the schools that had been selected. I had to take some time to confirm things for myself, of course, but I was surprised to hear that you didn’t wish to be included in the amalgamation’ – oh damn, this didn’t sound like a positive outcome – ‘especially as Mr Grant had assured me everyone was on board. However, with careful consideration, and a bit of detective work, I have to agree that you may not be the most obvious choice, especially if you are so unwilling. You have been removed from the list and Penmenna School will stay exactly as it is for the foreseeable future.’
Rosy couldn’t help but let out a loud squeal and then clasped the phone even tighter to make sure she didn’t drop it with excitement.
‘Are you OK, Miss Winter?’
‘Yes, I’m sorry, I was just excited. Mr French, I cannot tell you how happy I am, how happy everyone involved with Penmenna School will be, to hear this.’
‘Yes, quite. I was going to have a press release drafted first thing Monday morning, Miss Winter, as the press do seem to have taken rather a lot of interest in this. However, seeing that you, or rather Penmenna School, have practically taken over the local news this evening I feel I should release one immediately before the Local Authority are lynched on social media, especially after the screening of that gardening programme tonight. Not quite the plans I had for this evening.’
‘I’m sorry but yes, yes, thank you. I don’t know how to thank you, this is so wonderful.’
‘Hmmm.’ Dave French didn’t sound like it was that wonderful, but then with his next sentence his voice softened considerably. ‘I have to say, Miss Winter, you’ve done a pretty good job. I’ll be keeping my eye on you in future. Enjoy your weekend. Goodbye.’
Rosy wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a reward but she didn’t care, and leant against the wall, dizzy with relief, breathing deeply and knowing she had to let everyone know. She couldn’t believe it – it had worked.
First, she rang Lynne, who screamed down the phone so loudly that Rosy thought she may have pierced an eardrum and then – and she was looking forward to this – she rang Marion.
‘Rosy, weren’t we wonderful? I assume you saw the news. Oh wait, what are you doing calling me? Aren’t you meant to be with Magnificent Matt? Get off the phone now!’
‘We’ve done it, Marion! We’ve done it! Dave French just rang me himself. He’s putting out a formal announcement now. He referred to both the list and the media attention but didn’t give specifics, just that we were safe.’
‘Oh my. Oh, Rosy, that’s wonderful…’ Marion sounded like she might be hyperventilating, not a sound Rosy had
heard her make before. ‘I’m so very pleased, we’ll celebrate properly next week, with the whole school, I can arrange something outstanding.’
‘Honestly, Marion, there is no need. Maybe we can just take the main people who’ve helped out to dinner.’
‘Well, we’ll see… really, Richard, stop it!’
‘OK, I’m going to go. But, Marion, thank you so much, it couldn’t have been done without you. Ooh, that’s the door, I really am going to go. Thank you, thank you, thank you!’
Tumbling down the stairs, she bowled towards her front door with all the energy of Scramble. What a day! Not only did she have the best news ever, but baring her soul was no longer chock full of fear, instead an opportunity to start afresh. It was all a bit surreal.
Wrenching the door open she stood there grinning a welcome, her chest expanding and deflating like a Tudor heroine.
‘Wow, hello, those gloves suit that dress beautifully!’
Typical, of course she would destroy the moment with rubber gloves and the smell of bleach!
‘Ha! I was doing some chores, but listen, I’ve just had a phone call.’ She was practically jumping up and down on the spot she was so excited. ‘The chief exec. of the Local Authority rang and we’ve done it, Matt, we’ve done it! We don’t have to move and I can’t th— aaahhhh!’
Matt had picked her up and was spinning her around with excitement, his grin as wide as could be. Her body pressed against his as he spun, or tried to – the tight hallway meant it wasn’t quite as successful as it was in the movies.
As he put her back down he smiled again and looked her straight in the eyes. ‘I knew you could do it, Rosy, I knew it. I don’t think there’s anything you couldn’t do if you put your mind to it.’
She smiled back, her head swimming as she stood there looking at him, just the two of them, no onlookers, definitely no children and surprisingly no Scramble, her tummy pooling with lust and her desire to talk about school suddenly taking second place. All she was thinking of now was pulling that T-shirt over his head, undoing that buckle on his belt and sinking against him as his arms encased her body and his lips bent to meet hers.
‘I’m so proud, I really am. Well done and hey, I’m so sorry that I’m later than planned. Trust me, it was the last thing I wanted. But I had to deliver Siobhan back to my sister and then stop on the way here. But it does mean I’m now free and yours and I have something to show you. Unless you want to go and celebrate this amazing news with your colleagues – we can do our thing another day, if you’d prefer?’
Rosy shook her head silently. She knew what she wanted. But she would need to clear the emotional baggage first, make sure Matt knew what he was getting into.
‘OK, in that case, keep your fingers crossed the rain holds off. Are you ready?’
Rosy nodded, still mute; she was more than ready and very keen on the something-to-show-her bit. She stared right into his eyes, sure that hers were flashing with lustful intent and watched his pupils dilate in response. Ooh, this was going to be good.
‘Come on then,’ he continued, ‘although you probably won’t need them.’ He nodded once more at the gloves, still somehow on her hands. ‘Unless it’s your thing, in which case I guess you should keep them on.’
Giggling, she peeled them off and then took the hand he held out for her and walked down the path. It would appear his plan differed slightly from hers; walking to the car was very different to being thrown over his shoulders in a fireman lift and carried up the stairs, but she was going to go with it. Trust. And a warm hand that was clasping hers with intent.
Chapter Forty-One
As Matt held open the car door for her, Rosy slid in and felt a warm bubble travel up through her, from her tummy all the way to the corners of her mouth.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Secret.’
‘Are we going to dinner?’
‘Not exactly, but there will be snacks. I figured I’d never top the supper at your house that night…’ He paused as he held her eyes – oh dear God, help her – before he turned forward again and started the ignition.
‘Will there be lots of people there?’
‘No, just us two. Is that OK?’
She nodded furiously and he turned once more, and lifting his hand to her face ran a finger down her cheek and across her jawbone. Electricity flushed through her, causing every little bit of her to tingle. This was really happening. She felt the air expel through her lips, far louder and with more force than she expected. She hoped he hadn’t heard that, but he just smiled in recognition (at least that’s what she thought it was) and turned back to focus on the road.
‘I thought tonight would just be about us, and we’ve got lots to discuss so I figured somewhere private was better. Buckle up, and we can get moving.’
A little deep breathing and she realized they had reached the end of the road. Not that Rosy was looking at the road at all, but was focusing on Matt’s profile, the outline of his ear, the marks on his skin caused by shaving, the crook of his nose, the crinkled laughter lines framing his eyes. His eyes which were on the road ahead. This was the perfect time. And once it was said, it was said, and they could get on with the fun stuff.
‘Matt, I’ve something to say.’
‘Good. I was worrying that I had the wrong Rosy in the car – you’ve been quiet for a whole minute and a half. I wasn’t sure who this quiet, acquiescent, pleasant soul in my car was. It did occur to me that your recent success may mean that you’ve gone into some kind of shock.’
‘I’m always pleasant. I’m known for it!’
‘Hmmm. And your modesty up until about three seconds ago!’
‘Will you hush, I’m trying to say something important.’
‘Would you not rather wait until we got to our surprise destination?’
‘No, I think now is good. You just look at the road and I’ll just look at the road and then I can… look, I want to say sorry. I know you must think I’m as mad as a box of frogs. I was mean to you, I ignored you when I had said I would get in touch and I shouted at you, which was very liberating, but… um… very wrong and I’d like to explain why.’
‘Rosy, you don’t need to explain anything to—’
‘Yes, yes I do. Because I don’t want you to think of me as anything other than me, and I don’t like that I behaved that way. I try really hard to always make people comfortable, and you, who have been nothing short of lovely to me, and the school, well, I made you feel uncomfortable and I’m cross with myself. But I do have a really good reason.’
‘Go on then, Rosy Winter, what is your really good reason?’
‘Eyes on the road! Thank you. OK, I’m just going to say this, I’m not going to think, I’m just going to blurt and it might not be very articulate but it’s probably the best way.’
‘You could probably have said it by now.’
‘Don’t be mean, I’m trying to! Right, when I met you that first time and I was a bit cross because I was late and you were lovely and gave me that plant but more than that you were just so gorgeous that… um… I had a strong physical reaction to you, a reaction that I haven’t felt in a very long time and you made me feel like a teenager. Feeling like a teenager should be good…’
‘Yup.’
‘But for me it wasn’t. You see, I haven’t felt attracted to someone like I was to you that day – and every day I saw you after – since I fell in love at eighteen.’
‘Are you saying you love me, Miss Winter?’
‘No, I’m bloody not, let me speak! When I fell in love at eighteen it was a huge mistake and it’s affected the way I have dealt with relationships ever since. So for me, when I realized how attracted I was to you, it scared me.’
Matt indicated and swung the car in to the side of the road. Parking up, he turned to her and grabbing both of her hands looked her in the eyes, his mouth set in a little listen-to-me smile.
‘No, no! Don’t stop the car, don’t look at me, this
is humiliating enough. Please let me speak whilst you drive or I’ll never get it finished, and I really want this to be finished.’
‘But, Rosy, we all make mistakes and judgement calls at eighteen that we regret, I mean really regret, later.’
Rosy shook his hands off. ‘Please, drive the car, I’ve got more to explain, and as far as judgement calls go, this one was fairly life shattering.’ As he drove off again she continued to speak. ‘Now, I know I’ve just made you drive and what I’m about to say next may shock you so heads up, but keep your eyes on the road and remember this is about teenage Rosy, not adult Rosy, and everything is good now. My judgement call, as you put it, meant I ended up in an abusive relationship with a master of manipulation. It ended with me losing my job, having to switch universities and losing everyone I had assumed was my friend there. I was so in love with him but he beguiled me, spread lies about me and ultimately made me a prisoner. When I finally escaped no one believed me and it has resulted in more than a few trust issues. I was always too scared to tell anybody anything. So you see when I felt those clutches of such fierce attraction again I was terrified. I couldn’t trust my judgement so I needed to put you at a distance, and then I’d actually see you and struggle to do so because you were so lovely, and then the fear would strike again and the conflict has been running through my head and driving me mad for weeks now and I just want it to stop. And that night of the party I screamed at you because I felt that you were all over my life, but that had nothing to do with you, it was all about Josh, that was his name, and Chase made me see it.’
Rosy stopped for a second to draw breath. ‘And I’m so very sorry I was so hot and cold with you, but I was scared and now I’m not. Well, I am a little bit, but like normal scared not Josh scared because I know you’re you and no one else and the you that you are seems pretty great, and I’m worried I’ve ruined it and I really want to make it up to you, and I want you to understand why I was the way I was and how I’m going to try really hard not to let any of it affect us any more and will you forgive me, and can we not mention it again, at least tonight anyway and ooh, are we at Penmenna Hall? Oh wow!’
