Read Without Saying a Word Online
Authors: Amanda Ward
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Without Saying a Word (12 page)
“Go upstairs and have a long soak in the bath,” Rhean suggested. Laura nodded; she was bone-weary, and she felt desperate for some alone time.
“I’ll bring you up a hot chocolate,” Rhean told her. She trod up the stairs compliantly and ran her bath, adding lavender oil to try and relax. As she lay down in the scalding water, bubbles surrounding her body, she began to feel the tension drain away. Laura closed her eyes conjuring Rhean’s image, his shirt unbuttoned, exposing his wide muscled chest. Laura imagined how it would feel to have the dark crisp curls against her soft breasts, to run her hand through them and tug gently. How it would feel for him to touch her in a more intimate way, his mouth kissing and suckling gently on her breasts. Would she be able to give him as much pleasure as he gave her? Her nipples peeked through the bubbles on her breasts, and a pooling of her own heat seared between her thighs. She sighed out loud as her imagination ran riot.
A knock at the bathroom door brought Laura out of her fantasy. She barely had time to spread the bubbles around her body before Rhean came in through the door carrying a steaming mug. He stopped dead. His heated gaze ran over the parts of her body that were exposed. Laura knew she looked steamy, sultry and sensual. She met his gaze head on, daring him to move closer yet aching for his touch.
“Hmm...aaaah...ahem...” Rhean seemed to have trouble speaking. “Here’s your hot chocolate,” he said quickly and left the bathroom.
In all her years with Max, she had never experienced such an intense sexual pull. Their intimate life had been routine, perfunctory, and mechanical. Her body’s intense reaction to Rhean amazed her—especially after the abuse she had suffered.
Laura smiled wickedly to herself, sliding under the water to rinse off her hair. She knew he was rattled; the flare of desire she had seen there as his gaze raked her body, thrilled her.
Chapter Eleven
Rhean leaned back against the wall, his chest pounding in his throat. A certain part of his anatomy throbbed with arousal. He watched as the cat came upstairs to sit down in front of him. Tubs looked up at Rhean in that disdainful manner cats have perfected. Then he began to lick himself.
“It’s okay for you Tubs, you’ve been done,” he muttered. Breathing heavily and trying to regain some control over his body seemed to take ages. “I swear that woman is going to turn me into a bloody eunuch,” he cursed and went downstairs. He heard the telephone ringing, and rushed downstairs to answer it.
“Hello,” he said when he’d picked up the receiver.
“Is that you Rhean?” asked a familiar voice. “It’s Maisie.” There was an anxious tone in her voice.
“What’s up Maisie?” Rhean asked, immediately concerned. His jaw clenched, and an icy shiver ran up and down his spine.
“Look, I don’t want Mum to know, but Aunt Nicki has been ʼround, and I overheard some stuff,’” she told him in a rush of words.
“Such as?” His voice hardened. “Maisie, I can’t do anything if I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I overheard Aunt Nicki say that she lost the baby and that Dad’s furious with her. Rhean, it’s Aunt Nicki making those awful phone calls to Mum. I recognized the hiss in her voice. Maisie sounded as though she had been crying. “She also talked about Dad wanting us back to live with him.....Rhean...are you there?”
“I’m here,” he answered in as calm a voice as he could muster. “Maisie, I will sort this out. Please don’t worry,” he attempted to reassure her, but inside his protective instinct kicked in.
“If I tell Theo or James they will go ape,” Maisie said. “You won’t let Dad take us will you?” She sounded like a little girl instead of the fifteen-year-old, confident young woman she was.
“Theo and I have known about the phone calls for a while now, Maisie. We weren’t sure who was behind them. Now I know, I can do something about it. You can trust me, Maisie. Everything will be okay,” Rhean told her in the calmest voice he could muster. Inside, though, he simmered with rage. “Trust me Maisie, nothing will happen to any of you,” he stated in a firm voice. He heard Maisie sniff. “Come on sweetie, please. Let me deal with all this.”
“Ok Rhean, I’d better go. Gran will be here in a moment.” She sniffed again. “Bye Rhean, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow Maisie. Stay calm, please?” Rhean found it difficult to talk as he attempted to bank down his rage.
“Bye Maisie. Be strong,” he said and hung up the phone.
Rhean paced around the living room in a restless manner, squeezing and releasing his fists, and rolling his head around his neck to release the pent up tension.
Bloody Nickie, What the hell was she playing at?
This was nothing compared to the thought of seeing Laura and her children threatened. He went to the cabinet in the corner and helped himself to a glass of Irish whiskey. The liquid slid down his throat with welcoming heat. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down before Laura saw him. Glancing at his watch to see the time, he realized that they hadn’t done anything about dinner. He picked up the telephone and ordered in a takeaway.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked gliding into the living room. He swallowed audibly at the sight of Laura wearing an excuse for a pair of pajamas. The sleeveless lilac top caressed the tops of her breasts. Floral shorts exposing the cream skin of her thighs. He cleared his throat, she looked delectable and he ached for her.
“Nothing,” Rhean replied hurriedly. “Do you want a glass of wine?” He picked up the bottle as Laura nodded, and poured the ruby red liquid into a wine glass. Laura sipped it and smiled up at him in a flirty way. Rhean didn’t respond. He drank down another glass of whiskey and sat down. He patted the seat next to him, and Laura curled up next to him.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“Oh......Chinese, its being delivered,” he replied, distracted.
“Are you okay?” Laura pressed him. “What’s wrong? You seem very tense and somehow not here.” Rhean turned to face her. Her open admiration of him was Rhean’s undoing. He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. “I’m fine,” he tried to reassure her.
“Really? You don’t seem to bet,” she countered.
“I’m, fine, I’m relaxed, I’m chilling,” he said, forcing a smile.
“I’ve seen corpses more relaxed than you,” she muttered. Rhean burst out laughing.
“When have you ever seen a corpse?” He was still chuckling at that comment. Laura pointed to the television.
“On the TV,” she said in a quiet voice.
Rhean gathered her into his arms and held her tight.
“Oh I do love you so much Laura.” He sighed and kissed the top of her head.
“When will the food be here?” she asked in a muffled voice against his chest.
“Oh, I think we have time,” he replied huskily. Giving into the demands of his raging hormones, Rhean kissed her thoroughly, exploring her mouth sensuously with his tongue. He pressed her back onto the sofa, his body flush against hers, his mouth demanding more of a response from her. His hands slid down over her satin-clad body, cupping her soft breasts through the silky fabric. Laura’s hands roamed over Rhean’s shirt, and as she pulled it apart, he heard it rip and thrilled to the sound. Her hands entwined in his chest hair, teasing his nipple to a throbbing point. He wanted to shout with sheer pleasure as he pressed his groin down onto the soft vee of her satin-clad thighs in lieu of full intimacy. His mouth trailed from hers down her throat, as he nibbled and sucked every part of her soft, fragrant skin until he came to her breast. He felt her nipple harden and plucked it with his fingers. Bringing it to a peak, his mouth opened around it through the satin, sucking gently and teasing the tip with his teeth. As Laura buckled underneath him, she writhed and squirmed. Her hand slid slowly, sensuously downward, cupping him through his jeans squeezing gently. He cried out Laura’s name, leaned his head back against the sofa in abject pleasure, and then, as he pulsated in her hand, he ejaculated a warm dampness. Rhean shuddered, moved away from her on the sofa and leaned his head on his hands. He was mortified at his lack of control...
“It’s okay,” Laura told him in a husky whisper, “I understand.”
Rhean’s eyes clashed with hers, his face flushed red from embarrassment as well as passion.
Just as he was about to offer an explanation, there came a loud knock at the door.
“Ah crap. What great timing. That will be the Chinese.” He groaned, reaching into his pocket for the money and flexed his hips.
“Could you get it Laura? I don’t think I’m in any condition to see anyone,” he said wryly.
She smiled, took the money from his hand, grabbed her large coat, and put it ʼround her before she opened the door. Rhean thundered up the stairs to wash and change.
****
She was dishing up their meal when she felt a pair of strong arms around her, and warm kisses on the back of her neck. Smiling she leaned back, allowing Rhean better access to the silken skin of her throat...
“Careful, don’t distract me; you may end up with less balls,” she joked. He turned her ʼround. Reflected in his eyes, Laura saw shame and embarrassment. She needed to comfort him, to reassure him.
“Are you disappointed in me?” Rhean asked her.
“No, don’t be silly,” she replied, caressing his strong jaw. He turned and pressed a kiss into her palm.
“It was wonderful, and I’m glad you found me attractive enough to relax and let yourself go around me,” she said gently. Using a chopstick, she picked up a sliver of chicken and placed it on his tongue.
With Ronan crooning away in the background, Laura tucked into her meal with relish. She loved Chinese food, especially chow-mien, with the crunchy bean sprouts, and slurpy noodles. Expertly using her chopsticks, Laura finished her plate in no time. Still feeling hungry, she helped herself to another portion. Catching sight of the fortune cookies in a tray, she tossed one to Rhean.
“Incoming,” Laura called with a grin.
“Thanks Laura,” Rhean replied, missing the cookie by a mile. Laura laughed as the foil-wrapped biscuit bounced off his head, landing on the sofa next to him.
“Oops. Sorry about that. Guess my aim was off,” she said sheepishly
Laura sat down next to Rhean as he picked up the packet and glared at her. His eyes sparkled.
“Oh I think your aim was better than you thought.” He grinned, breaking the biscuit open.
Laura opened hers. As she read the words, she erupted into a fit of giggles. The chow-mien she had been eating suddenly caught in the back of her throat. She tried to swallow several times, taking deep breaths through her nose. Her eyes swimming with tears, Laura read out the cookie.
“Marriage lets you annoy one special person for the rest of your life. Oh Rhean that’s priceless”
“Not as priceless as this one.” Rhean handed her his fortune.
“No way!” Laura said incredulously
Rhean nodded, and turned to check in all corners of the room.
“What on earth are you doing Rhean?”
“Seeing if you have video cameras installed here,” he joked
Laura snorted,”That has to be some kind of fluke.”
“Bit close to the mark, if you ask me” Rhean told her teasingly. “You will come sooner than you think,” Laura read the fortune out. She couldn’t stop giggling.
Laura was still giggling at their fortunes while Rhean cleaned up.
“You stay there Laura. I’ll wash up tonight,” he offered.
“I think that makes us even then, Rhean. I gave you pleasure earlier, and now you have returned the favor,” she said impishly, hearing a rumble of laughter from Rhean.
“Darling, if I had known you were that easy to please, I would have done this before.” Rhean’s heated smile spoke volumes to Laura. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the sofa, sipping her wine. Contentment flowed over Laura like a warm fleecy blanket.
“Laura, what happened between you and Max?”
Laura’s eyes snapped open. She sat bolt upright on the sofa. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What did you just say?” Laura wondered for a moment if she had been asleep and experiencing a nightmare. She glared at Rhean, standing in the doorway, wiping his hands on a tea-towel.
“I asked what happened between you and Max,” Rhean repeated softly.
Laura shook her head incredulously, tapping her ear with her finger.
“No, I wasn’t dreaming. What the Dickens brought this on?” she asked, her voice shrill.
“Laura, I have been nothing but honest with you since we met. I thought if you told me what went wrong with you and Max, it might help.”
Laura pursed her lips. She should have known this question would crop up, even after all the counseling she had been through. She could not think about that day without shuddering, and feeling ashamed. Laura knew she had the courage within her. Well, if he wanted to know, so be it. The delicious meal she had enjoyed earlier left a vile aftertaste in her mouth, and her stomach throbbed in response to her tumultuous emotions.
Laura stood up. She found it easier to pace and talk, desperately avoiding the stricken expression on Rhean’s face. She saw he was sitting in her favorite armchair, leaning forward.
“From the look on your face and the way you asked the question, I get a nasty feeling that you know already,” she said.
Rhean nodded. “I know some, not all,” he admitted softly.
Laura bobbed her head, and let out a whoosh of breath, desperately needing to compose herself.
“You would have thought that after a year of counseling this would get easier to talk about.”
“Some things are never easy,” Rhean replied, his voice as soft as a whisper.
Despite the fire raging away in the hearth, Laura felt chilled to the bone. She rubbed her arms and shoulders, and knew she could no longer put it off.
“Max and I were married for just over twelve years. We’d met at a friends’ party, started dating and six months later he asked me to marry to him. Max worked for the local council, as one of the finance team. So his job was secure, and we had a lovely home. I didn’t want for anything. When Maisie, Theo and James arrived, Max was a great father, attentive, even spoiling them at times. Because of his job, he spent time away from home on courses and business trips, and I never thought anything of it. If I had to get in touch with him, I’d leave a message with his secretary.”