“How long is your lease for?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Six months and then ongoing.”
“How much notice do you need to give?”
“I don’t know – a month or so.”
“How would you like living at the beach?”
“I don’t know,” she kissed his fingers, pretending to suck one as other passengers looked on. “My hair gets curly with the moisture in the air.”
“Something to think about,” before more silence.
They both knew how short life could be, “I want to make this work,” she said as he hugged her in reply.
“QF437 to Sydney is now boarding at Gate 13.” Bec’s heart sunk. The one time a delayed flight would have been welcomed, was leaving five minutes early.
“Geoffrey,” she started, now with him leaving with so much to say and so little time.
“Bec,” she welcomed his kiss, why use unnecessary words.
Over his shoulder, she saw the boarding line lesson as each of the passengers eager to return to Sydney disappeared through the door. Still, she clung to him, not wanting this moment to end.
“Bec,” he said again, breaking away. “I don’t know how to say this, or even if I should.” Bec kissed him, she wanted to tell him how she felt since Friday night.
“Bec,” he cupped her face in his hands, those wonderful hands - soft and powerful – could drive her wild and then completely satisfy her. Her nipples hardened at the thought of him even though they were in an airport and saying “good bye.”
“Bec, I never thought I would ever say these words again, and I should have said them yesterday and give you time to hear them and know they are real.”
His body shook against her as the final boarding call was announced.
“Rebecca, I love you. I love you in my life, I love you.”
Secure in love
“Mate, I have never seen you happier, whatever you are doing is working for you,” since they were students together, Geoffrey and Rigby met up for lunch once a month. At first it was because they were friends, then during Geoffrey’s darker periods, Rigby insisted on lunch as a way to keep some control over his prize lecturer. Now, they had found a balance between friendship and work.
“If you want to know about Rebecca and I, you only have to ask,” he raised a glass in a toast.
“How long has it been?”
“About five months.”
“It’s going well? I thought she was smarter than to put up with a mug like you.” Rigby took a swill of his beer. “After a dozen formal events over the last month, it’s good to relax with a beer and a mate. Glad you found the time.”
“Rebecca is interstate again. She’ll be back on the weekend.”
“Where is she this time?”
“Back in Brisbane. Her client is keeping her busy.”
“How are you two finding any time together? I’ve been meaning to thank you for taking on Edwards classes – he’ll be back shortly.”
“No problem, you knew I couldn’t say ‘no’ considering the circumstances. The treatment worked?” Geoffrey hadn’t wanted to ask. What if the answer was ‘no’ – too much to lose his wife and then a close colleague …
“Good news – they got it early and he responded well. He did want me to thank you.”
“Fine, well I will be looking forward to all the spare time I didn’t realize I had.” he chuckled. “By the way, there is some research I’ve been meaning to write up a business case for. I’ll need a couple of undergrads.”
“Male or female?” Rigby tested him – usually the request was for gorgeous females.
“Give me access to the best and I don’t care how old, male or female or anything else. I want the best to have their names on my next paper. I am inspired to genius and need some grunt work to make the magic happen.”
“So, back to your inspiration – how is the Miss Rebecca?”
“Rigby, I didn’t expect to feel this way again. I’m even thinking of asking her to move in with me – it’s time I turned my house into our home.”
The cab driver asked Bec for the address and she hesitated for a moment before giving him Geoffrey’s house near the beach. She kept a small drawer of clothes there, for the overnight visits which were becoming more frequent. She handed over the final deliverable to the client at lunchtime, and without any requests for last minute changes, she arranged an early flight home.
It was early evening and she was eager to be in Geoffrey’s arms and hear him tell her one more time that he loved her.
He loved her. She loved a man who loved her back!
Bec relaxed into the car seat wondering how her life had turned from pathetic to perfect in the space of a couple of short months. Before coming to Australia, she had been broke, homeless and hoping the offer of a job would lead to something. Now, successful with work booked out for months, living in a unit central to everywhere, and in love with a man who made her smile, laugh, and believe in the future. Their future.
The lights were dark when she arrived at his home. “Damn, he’s not at home.”
“Will you be okay, miss?” the cab driver asked her.
“I’ll be fine, thank you.” As the car lights drove off, she wandered around the garden, pulling out the occasional weed. Geoffrey loved his garden but didn’t have a clue on how to care for it. She went around the back for the hose and gave the plants a good watering.
Still watering, she felt familiar arms around her waist. “Best looking home invader I have ever met!”
“Geoff, oh, Geoff,” she spun around, smothering him in kisses.
“Careful with my hose,” he cautioned with a smile, tempting fate.
“Or what, I’ve always fancied you in a wet t-shirt competition,” Bec drenched him before he turned the hose on her. She had never been happier, standing in the backyard of the man she loved, wet hair dripping over her clothes, her blouse see through with the water and her face covered in his kisses.
“I think the water looks better on you than it does on me,” he held the hose over both of them as they laughed and embraced. “You realize every minute you are away from me, feels like forever,” he murmured in her ear, nibbling her lobe while her hands explored his chest.
“I’m here now, and I don’t have to be anywhere until Tuesday.”
“We have three days to ourselves!”
“Three days, hope you have a fridge full of food, because I don’t intend for either of us to leave the house.”
“Do you need to pick up anything?” he asked.
“Everything I need is here,” she dragged him inside, eager to make up for lost time.
As much as Geoffrey wanted Bec, his bachelor ways were hard to let go of and Bec proved time and time again she couldn’t be pushed around like one of his students.
“You are so used to having everything your own way – haven’t you heard of compromise.”
“Bec, we are talking about how to make an omelette. You need to add one tablespoon of cold water.”
“I’m not talking about cooking – it is everything. Television shows, sports, the way you need to have the bed made just so.”
“I like coming home to a properly made bed. Don’t you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Calm down, Bec and talk to me.”
“Dear Professor Swains,” she stood glowering. “In the history of the world, has telling a woman to calm down ever resulted in her calming down.”
“Then go and have a shower to cool down, let me cook you the perfect omelette and we can go into the bedroom and disturb the perfectly made sheets.”
“I don’t want a stupid shower or your cooked eggs.”
Geoffrey threw the pan and smashed omelette across the kitchen bench, “Why can’t you just agree with what I said just because I said it.”
“Really! Is that what you want? For me to bow down and worship The Great Professor Stains?”
“Well, Yeah! Being worship
ed is what I’m best at.” He smirked and winked as Bec raised her hands, palm up to him.
“Well then I guess The Great Professor should teach me.” She stepped back as he aggressively stepped forward and grabbed her wrists tightly.
He pulled her back towards him and moved her wrists behind her back as he growled in her ear, “Be careful what you wish for, sweetheart.” He smiled to himself as he felt her body shiver at his words. With deft and well-honed skills, he turned her around and escorted her out of the living room.
The electricity between them was so palatable he was surprised that he couldn’t see the sparks going between them. He leaned closer in whispering what should have been sweet nothings into her ear while she leaned into him as they walked towards the bedroom.
“I will be adored. I will be worshiped. You will do as I say. You will not argue. You will say ‘Yes, Professor.’….”
“And if I don’t,” she challenged, trying to wriggle free.
She bounced as he pushed her onto the bed, climbing on top of her.
“What do you think I should do to naughty girls who disobey?”
Her tongue slid across her lips, her heart racing and her beautiful blue-grey eyes twinkled, “Do your best.”
He thought for a moment, then left the bed, leaving her bewildered. Good – anticipation will increase her pleasure. Before he came back, he called out, “Close your eyes.”
Only when she said, “Okay?” did he reenter, carrying a small box.
With practiced precision, he blindfolded her and tied her hands to the wrought iron bed head. “Now, sweetheart,” he growled, “Are you ready for your punishment.”
“Maybe,” still defiant.
He took a long, purple feather from the box and gently traced her face.
“Ohhhhh,” she cried as he pinned her writhing body on the bed. As one hand continued to move the feather across her bare arms, he removed her shoes. Setting aside the feather, he took lotion from the box and began massaging each toe. He continued the massage, moving up her legs over her shorts until his fingers itched to slide underneath the fabric to the place of her no return.
“Now, what do you think you deserve?” Softly in her ear as he held her hair back in a tight ponytail.
“Whatever you want to give me.”
Pulling her head back, he attacked her neck with his tongue and lip, knowing that denying her sight only magnified the sensation.
“Let me …” she cried.
“Let you do what? What exactly do you want to do?” this woman would be the death of him. “Why should I let you do anything at all? This is your punishment.”
“Then for the love of … give me something to do.”
He slowly unzipped her shorts, taking her by surprise as he kissed her belly button and traced his tongue to where her panties began. “You have a job – lie back and take your punishment.”
Bec only stopped wriggling her hips after he removed her shorts and pulled out a second feather. Spreading her legs, he ran both feathers up and down her inner legs. Her scent filled the room as her cries became more urgent.
“I want you.”
“You can’t have me.”
“Geoff, please, I want you.”
“Tell me what I want to hear.” He kissed her pussy through her wet panties. “You know what to say, and all this punishment will end.”
Suddenly, she wrestled out of the ties. Without removing her blindfold, her hands found him through his jeans. A single touch and he moaned, “You don’t play fair.”
“My turn,” as she unzipped his jeans and removed him, three long strokes before she captured him in her mouth.
He pulled at her hair, fingers pressed her head closer around him. So close. So very close.
“My turn,” he croaked, pulling off her blindfold and turning her over onto her stomach. Kissing her beautiful rump through her panties, he pushed them aside as he entered her from behind.
“Geoff, I adore you,” she cried as he slammed against her and then rewarded her with his fingers finding her bud from the front.
“Oh, Geoff, ohhhhhhhhhh,” he held on until after her spasms subsided. Only then did he release and collapse on top of her.
“Now we have gotten your punishment out of the way, what were you upset about?” he asked as he fed her pieces of broken omelette in bed.
“Your country. Your sports, television, house. Everything in our lives is about you. I can’t even tell you how to cook eggs!”
“Easy fixed,” he leant in to whisper “We should talk about making things a little more permanent,” he interrupted her questioning look with more kisses.
All her doubt evaporated. She deserved happiness. Geoffrey deserved this happiness. They waited so long and fought so hard to find each other, finally learning to trust and love again.
What could go wrong.
Everything
Geoffrey hadn’t slept in days – the discomfort he tried to dismiss gradually increased until his general practitioner insisted on sending him to a urologist. At first, he wasn’t even going to make the appointment until Bec insisted. She resorted to using her very persuasive way of encouraging him to do what she wanted him to do. This time, it may have saved his life.
The next days blurred into a series of appointments and tests. Prodded and poked, ultra sounds and blood tests. Despite her own hectic schedule, Bec refused to let him go to any appointment alone. She never left his side, gently forcing him to ask the questions he didn’t want to know the answers to in case …
He knew the worse case scenario and whenever he tried to close his eyes at night, sleep was replaced with his darkest thoughts. He couldn’t fight, he had to fight, did he have the energy to fight? What did he have to live for? What if he fought hard, and lost the fight anyway.
Three days ago, a lifetime ago, he and Bec sat in Doctor Brook Davis’ rooms and joked about billable hours and all the ways they would celebrate surviving the unnecessary tests.
“Geoff, Rebecca, thanks for coming in at such short notice.”
“Doc, it sounded as though you couldn’t live another day without my company,” a feeble joke to hide his nerves. The doctor coughed and moved on without acknowledging the humor, “C’mon – it might not have been the best joke but it was worth at least a smile.”
“Geoff, as you know we have run a lot of tests. You know we found abnormal PSA levels and followed up with a biopsy. This has given us an idea of what we are up against.” Geoffrey barely noticed Bec take his hand as he experienced an out of body sensation. The doctor was talking to someone else. It wasn’t possible - worse, completely unfair – as soon as he decided to live and fall in love with an incredible woman, reengage with his friends, that his life would be taken away.
Unfair, he wanted to scream. He wanted to run from the room, until the doctor came to his senses and realized the tests were wrong. They had to be wrong.
“Geoff, are you okay, do you want a moment?” The genuine concern in his doctor’s voice reminded him of past fights with the dragon. His head in his hands, Geoffrey couldn’t raise up to meet the doctor’s gaze. What would he find – pity? He’d seen enough pity with his wife. His wife who fought the most gallant of fights with the dragon and still lost.
“I’m fine.” He wasn’t but he refused to break down in front of Bec. Oh, my, Bec, he thought, she didn’t sign up for this.
“Geoff, I am sorry to tell you that you have cancer.”
He walked from the doctor’s office days ago and now he had been absorbed into the well-established process of cancer treatment. Sure, he was assured the treatments were tailored for him as an individual, but he recognized the lines, the facial expressions of the clinical staff. Even the names of the drugs sounded familiar and yet he hoped they were improved over the ten years.
He was alone. The night they were given the news, Bec came back to his home and they talked until dawn. She promised to be by his side, at every step of the battle, offering to bring forwa
rd moving in with him. He watched her face and trusted she meant it. Despite her own fears and emotional triggers, she genuinely wanted to be there for him.
He loved her too much to allow her to throw away her second chance at life.
Geoffrey Swains, long advocate of fleeting relationships, had fallen in love. She infused him with a love of life and a willingness to be happy he suppressed for ten years.
Now it was all over. For the love of her, he needed to let her go and fight the dragon on his own.
He left her sleeping in his bed and checked into a hotel near the hospital. He would wait there until the final treatment schedule came through and then deal with each day as it came.
Layla became his single contact with the world. She arranged a car and driver to take him between the university and hospital appointments. Right now, he was determined not to let down his students or allow his colleagues to either find out or feel sorry for him.
Layla showed off her motherly best, as the only person who saw Geoffrey the man, struggling with his anger and self loathing. She was the only person he allowed to see the overwhelming feeling of despair before he cancelled each appointment hours before being due to attend.
Bec left an average of twelve voice messages each day. She sent three emails offering her support and friendship. He didn’t need her friendship. He needed her to live her life – without him.
“I’m sorry, Rebecca, there is nothing I can tell you. Geoffrey Swains is still a Professor here at the university and any other personal information you will have to get from the good man himself.”
Bec threw the phone at the wall, needing to vent her frustration and fear at the one thing that could connect her with Geoffrey but refused to.
She overcame her own embarrassment to reach out to Vice Chancellor Rigby, Geoffrey’s friend, to find out what was happening. Geoffrey’s voice mail didn’t give her any peace of mind – refusing to tell her why he left her in the middle of the night. No word, no explanation.
Trusting his Heart Page 7
