“She signed the new will the week before we flew out of Heathrow,” London told Gerard once she’d ended the call.
He’d made them a cup of tea and they sat at a modern kitchen counter, each cupping their mugs.
“The solicitor told me she had put the divorce in motion and didn’t want Royce to receive any of the wealth and belongings she’d amassed. Evidently, he’d made bad property investments and had wanted Jenny to bail him out. She refused.”
“Is Royce entitled to any of her property?”
“The solicitor said yes. Jenny made allowance for this in the proposed divorce settlement. He’d receive their communal accounts and an apartment they’d purchased near Fleet Street. Everything else in her will is in just her name. The solicitor seemed to think that Royce can’t contest the will, given they had a formal separation agreement and a divorce underway.”
“Did Royce know?”
“The solicitor doesn’t think so. As far as Royce knows the wills they made together during their marriage still stand.”
Gerard nodded. “He knew she had money. So greed is a motive.”
“So are his debts.”
“Could be,” he mused. “Are you going to ring Jenny’s friends now?”
“I’ll ring a few.” She yawned. “I’m tired.”
“I’ll make up the spare bed for you.”
“No. I thought I might sleep with you. If that’s all right. I-I don’t think I can sleep in a strange room on my own.”
“We have top security. Geoffrey could stay with you.”
The dog lifted his head on hearing his name and growled. Gerard rolled his eyes.
“I could, but I liked the way you kissed me.”
There was a pause. “Just so we’re clear. Will we sleep or will we do other things?”
“I am tired, so I need to sleep, but my mind was going other places.” She ducked her head, cursing under her breath at the heat suffusing her cheeks. “I have no practice at this propositioning business.” She peeked to test his reaction.
Gerard’s lips twitched, and she got the idea he was laughing at her. She wrenched her gaze away again.
“Hey,” he said in a soft voice. “I want you in my bed. Want that, but I refuse to take advantage of you when you’re off-balance with all that has happened. I need you to make sensible decisions.”
“Sensible, huh? I wouldn’t have come with you if I’d had any doubts.”
“It’s been two days,” he said.
“I don’t work as fast as Jenny,” she shot back.
There was a moment’s pause before he chuckled.
“That is not a bad thing, London.”
“Okay then. I’d better make these calls. I’m not looking forward to them.”
The calls were worse than she’d imagined. Lucy cried. Charlotte cried. Susan cried. By the time she’d finished, her head ached, and she felt like bawling herself even though she’d wept enough. She swallowed and blinked hard to combat the nasty sting at the back of her eyes. “None of them have seen Royce, but they didn’t see him often anyway.”
“What about his employer? Do you know where he works?”
“Yes, at an accounting firm in Kensington High Street.” She pulled up the web browser of her phone and searched for the number. A few minutes later, she was speaking to the receptionist of Hindon, Sweet and Paxman.
“It’s not him. Royce has been off work sick, but he rang today to inform them he’d be back at work tomorrow.”
“Isabella said she has contacts in London. We’ll give her the details you have and get her to follow up.”
“What does Isabella do? How come she has contacts in London?”
“She used to live in Switzerland. I’m not sure what she did,” he said. “But she has lots of handy contacts. She helped Henry and me purchase the special equipment we needed for our business.”
“What does she do in Middlemarch?”
“She is in business with Caroline Rutherford. You haven’t met Caroline, but you’d like her. She and her husband work at Glenshee Station, not far from Lake Tekapo. Caroline designs and makes clothes and Isabella helps her. She is starting self-defense classes for women and martial arts classes for kids and there was mention of a boot camp. If Emily is busy at the café she helps out there too.”
“It’s a family atmosphere here in Middlemarch. The town has a nice vibe. I understand why Jenny was so enthusiastic about staying here with Henry.”
“Henry and I enjoy the community feel. To hear the elders talk, the town was dying. The young people were leaving because there was no work or entertainment for them here. The men stayed and the women moved on to other things.”
“Really? I didn’t notice more men than women.”
“It’s not as bad now. The balance between the sexes is better. Several couples have settled in Middlemarch and the town council works at the social side. Always something going on in Middlemarch.”
London yawned and tried to hide the evidence with her hand.
“You’re exhausted. It’s been an eventful day.” Gerard rinsed the mugs and placed them in the sink.
“Come on. Let’s go to bed. Geoffrey, basket.” He pointed to a padded dog basket and the terrier trotted over as ordered. He turned two slow circles and settled with a doggy sigh.
Bed. Nerves struck at the word, but they faded when he took her hand and wove their fingers together. His touch reassured her and shoved away her unease, or at least, tamped it down. She had begged him to let her share his bed. Heat washed through her face. Sugar, she’d blushed enough in the last two days to power the entire South Island. This man made her so aware of him, yet he didn’t push or demand.
Not like Royce. Nothing like Royce.
She closed her eyes as she thought of the man who had ripped apart her relationship with her sister. She’d known Gerard for two days and now she intended to climb into bed with him. With her track record, she needed to slow her pace and think.
In the bedroom, Gerard took her into his arms and kissed her, not even giving her time to catalog her surroundings.
Yeah, maybe thinking was overrated…
Chapter Seven
Gerard pulled away a fraction and slid his thumb over her swollen lips. It was an intimate gesture and one that set her heart beating even faster, skipping in its normal rhythm while she stared at him. The corners of his beautiful green eyes crinkled, yet she didn’t get the sense he was laughing at her.
“Why do so many of the people in Middlemarch have green eyes? It’s not a common thing.”
“Just coincidence.” Dimples dug into his cheeks before he lowered his head again. This time, instead of kissing her, he nuzzled her neck, his lips playing over the sensitive nerve endings before he nipped the pad of flesh at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She jumped at the sharp sensation. Not unpleasant or painful. More surprising. One of his hands slid down her back to settle on her butt.
Sensitive about that area of her anatomy, she froze and his chuckle made her blush.
“Just so we’re clear. I like you. All of you. Every part of you. I wouldn’t change a thing. I prefer a woman I don’t have to anchor to the ground during a gusty wind.”
London snorted at the vision. “Not much chance of me taking off. I enjoy my food too much.”
“Nothing wrong with that. You’re active too.”
“Not usually. I told you I lack the sporty gene.”
“Doesn’t mean you’re not active. And we’re getting off the subject. You’re not one of those woman who insist on getting dressed and undressed in the bathroom and never let me see a thing because you think you’re not perfect.”
London opened her mouth and closed it again, aware of the trap that lay ahead. She was one of those women, yet if she admitted it, she suspected Gerard would distance himself.
She wasn’t perfect.
Royce had taken great delight in pointing out her flaws, yet Gerard had made his interest clear. It wasn’t as if sh
e’d stay in Middlemarch forever. Why not enjoy herself?
She wanted Gerard. There. She’d confessed to herself. She was more like her sister than she’d admitted.
While she’d taken the moral high ground when Jenny had enjoyed herself with a man she hadn’t known for long, London wasn’t much better. Her instincts told her this was a good man, although it had taken her two days to reach this conclusion. The locals liked him and he, in return, enjoyed their company and participated in the community. He was standing by his friend and taking care of a small dog who kept growling at him. Gerard hadn’t pushed her to this stage in their relationship, and that more than anything, made her decision.
Her hands went to her fleece top and she tugged it over her head. “Which side of the bed should I take?”
“I didn’t think you’d accept my dare.”
She stopped with her fleece pants halfway down her thighs. “It’s a big step for me. I trust you.” She let gravity take care of her pants and they pooled at her feet. She kicked them off along with her woolen socks and smiled at him wearing her panties and the oversize T-shirt she’d been sleeping in when the intruder had woken her. “I figure Geoffrey will come if I need him.”
“Huh! The mutt would bite the hand that feeds him. He’s taken a liking to you. He’d bite my butt if you needed protection, but you’re safe with me. I sleep naked. Anyone who sleeps in my bed sleeps the same way.”
Another dare. The man didn’t know when to stop.
He was handling her, she realized a scant second later. And doing a good job of it. If it wasn’t for his silent challenges, she wouldn’t have reached this point. Sugar, hadn’t she decided to trust him? She whisked off her panties and straightened to tug her T-shirt over her head. As she pulled the fabric down her arms, she glanced up and met his gaze. His green eyes shimmered with sensual heat and lust.
For her.
He studied her face. His gaze stopped to trace her lips then traveled downward to her breasts. They prickled under his lazy scrutiny, not too big as Royce had complained, but perfect for her.
She’d worked at self-esteem and managed, but sometimes a brick toppled from her defenses and she stumbled. It had happened earlier but Gerard was equal to the challenge.
His attention roved on, skimming her rib cage, her waist, her wider hips to land at the juncture of her thighs. He grinned in surprise.
“You’re full of surprises, Ms. Allbright.”
One of those silly blushes struck her cheeks again. “Jenny dared me.”
“I see you rose to the challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman with blue pubic hair.”
“It was that or waxing everything off. I didn’t want to look like a child, so I went with the blue plus strategic waxing.”
“Interesting.” The way he said this told her he meant much more. She’d intrigued him with this unexpected revelation.
He stripped off his clothes and drew back the covers, giving her a quick glimpse of his physique. Hard muscles and sinewy strength. A tattoo of a snarling leopard decorated his right pectoral muscle. Instantly, she wanted to wander her fingers over the masculine territory.
“Don’t get a chill.”
No chance of that. Not with the way his lazy gaze stroked her from head to toe and back, caressing each part of her. Heat stabbed her body. Her nipples had pebbled, due to the cold, she told herself. Sugar, who was she kidding? One look from him had her pulse beating like a wild thing, desire flaring to flash point. Aroused. Yep, she couldn’t deny it.
London climbed into the bed, not with the same easy grace as him since she got her toes tangled in the covers. Her cheeks burned anew. “Stop laughing.”
“I’m not laughing at you, London. You amuse me, true, but it’s so much more. You intrigue me. Fascinate me. You turn me on with each of your shy, uncertain glances. I’m laughing at myself, English. You’re turning me inside out. I want to pounce but I don’t want to scare you.”
His words rang with truth, and she liked the way he expressed himself. Yet no one could call him a chatty girl. This man was all alpha male.
“You’re a deft hand at settling my nerves. I don’t jump into relationships. I’ve told you that. With you it’s different.”
“Come here,” he whispered, his green eyes full of challenge.
She slid across the mattress toward him, feeling sexy and desirable. He made her feel that way, like she could fly. Her breasts settled against the wall of his chest and her breath hissed out in a satisfied sigh. His muscles were hard and as she inched her lower half closer, she discovered he was hard all over. His erection pressed against her belly. Desire kicked up its heels, not taking her unawares but surprising her with the intensity. Royce hadn’t affected her this way, and the two guys she’d slept with since had disappointed her, not doing a thing except leave her empty and unfulfilled.
Residual concerns floated away as she let herself drift in the moment. They hadn’t been doing things the right way. This knowledge made her even more certain, and she tossed aside her prudish qualms for the last time.
She made herself a promise. Each time she let doubts flare, she’d do one thing on the list Jenny had made during the airplane journey to Australia. Each of the items scared her, but if she let doubts guide her, Royce would win. She loathed the man for the way he’d treated her and her sister and for the way he’d torn her family apart.
Facing Jenny’s challenges, if she faltered, might keep her on the right path. Sugar, maybe she’d do some of the things anyway. She’d managed the bungee jump, hadn’t she? The bike ride. Most of the zombie run.
She lifted her head to glance at Gerard and let her smile sink into sultry. This was London Allbright, take two, the confident woman who faced every challenge head-on. “Are you going to kiss me?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt that heavy-duty thinking.”
“That obvious, huh?” She added observant to his list of traits. His army training, no doubt.
“You finished? I want you to concentrate on me. On us.”
“I can do that.”
“Promise? I don’t want to make love to a woman who isn’t focused on me. You’ve had lots to deal with today. If you’re not ready, we can wait.” His lips curled. “Don’t get me wrong. I want you, but I can wait.”
She nodded, understanding from his tone and expression he meant every word. Integrity. She added it to her mental chart—the good traits making the pile lopsided. “I am here one hundred percent in the moment. Lying in bed with a hunky man. I’m naked. He’s naked. But something is wrong with this picture because—” She let out an eep of surprise as Gerard pounced. He caged her between him and the mattress, his lips covering hers in a torrid kiss that left her in no doubt of his intentions.
As surprise slipped away, she curled her arms around his neck and sank into the masterful kiss. Lips, teeth, tongue and teasing. He lifted his head to stare at her and she sucked in an excited breath. What he saw must have satisfied him because he reached over to switch off the light, using the second of the dual controls, plunging the room into intimate darkness. Every sense gave her more to compensate for the loss of vision. His bigger body weighed hers down, his touch burned, setting her pulse racing. The faint rasp of her breathing seemed overloud as his wild taste filled her mouth.
His hands explored, caressed and hunted out pleasure points she hadn’t known existed. Her throat, her neck, her bellybutton. The unhurried slide of his tongue over the curve of her breast. The aching of her nipple, appeased when his hot mouth sucked hard. Need rose with urgency, and when he slid a muscular thigh between hers, she moaned in anticipation.
The cooler air bathed her heated center, and he kissed then nipped the fleshy part of her neck he seemed to like so much.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“You’ve already kissed me.”
His soft chuckle gave her pause. “Not the part shielded by blue.”
“Oh.”
He shifted position
while her heart did that jumping-jack thing.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” he whispered.
The smoky quality to his voice had her wanting to please him. It was languid and lazy and seductive, leading to carnal fantasies and a tightening sensation deep in her pussy.
He raked his tongue the length of her cleft, giving a hum of pleasure. Not half as much as she was feeling, she’d bet. This…this…words failed her, so she lifted her hips to encourage more of the abrasive stimulation.
Much better than…no. Stick to the present.
He explored her slick folds with his lips and tongue and varied the sensations with puffs of warm air. Her hips jerked as he teased her clitoris and danced the sensation away. Again and again, he repeated the move until she was one raw nerve, craving satisfaction.
“Please, Gerard,” she pleaded. “Please.”
He lifted his head, and she almost cried at the loss of contact. “Please what?”
“Make me come. W-with your mouth or…or grab a condom. You have condoms?”
“I have two boxes. I stocked up yesterday.”
“Oh.” Two boxes?
“Is that all you want to say?”
“I’m glad you had the foresight to stock up,” she said in a prim tone.
He barked out a laugh. “Me too.”
He rubbed his cheek against her inner thigh, the faint stubble abrasive against the tender skin. His tongue licked her clit, this time with steady pressure. She rocked into the touch, her pussy feeling empty while her clit swelled with the sweet attention. He circled her clit then passed his tongue over the swollen bundle of nerves. A rough growl vibrated in his chest, the pulsation fueling her need. She quivered in a violent spasm of pleasure, the first slow and darting all the way to her toes, a second sharp and strong enough to jolt her. A groan of pleasure squeezed past her lips as hot excitement spilled through her. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, holding him close as she trembled in mindless abandon. Slowly, she came back to herself and pushed at his biceps.
My Feline Protector (Middlemarch Shifters Book 6) Page 8
