скачать книгу бесплатно
As he reached the open stable door, his mobile buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the display. Dan. Took a step back so that he could watch Kezia and have some level of privacy.
‘What the fuck are you two playing at?’
‘Hi to you too, mate. And we’re having a good break, thanks for asking.’
‘We don’t need anyone to help out.’ He leaned back against the wall and twirled the fork.
‘Aw, come on Mr Grumpy. Marie said you’d probably have a hissy fit.’
‘Then why did you send her?’ He wasn’t exactly angry; now his body was back under control it was more an annoyance. There had been a plan, which suited him fine. They went and had fun. He stayed behind to look after the place, not babysit.
‘She needs something, someone.’
‘I’m not a someone.’
Dan laughed. ‘You’re not wrong, but you do okay as a something. Here, talk to Marie.’ He was handed over to the pacifier. Not that any of them was exactly fiery; they all knew how to defuse a situation, how not to rise to the bait. But they knew this was his weak spot; they knew that being stuck here with a woman depending on him was supposed to be out of the equation.
‘You’re not playing fair.’ He got a word in before she did.
‘Sorry.’ She sighed. ‘She’s had a tough time, but she’s nice. The clients will like her, they loved her in Capri. She’s got a gentle touch, she’s natural, no artifice, open.’
‘You don’t need to spell it out, I can read—’
‘I know, you’re better than me at understanding people, but I’m just trying to explain. I couldn’t leave her, James.’ Her voice was soft. ‘Help me to help her, please? Look after her, once she was out of that job she needed something straight away, trust me.’ Oh, great, someone desperate, one of Marie’s fallen angels who needed rescuing, putting back together again. Except she didn’t look like she was falling apart. She had guts, was prepared to fight her battles and stand her ground. Even if she was tiny and had great big eyes that shone out with a naivety and purity you didn’t often see these days. Especially not here.
‘So, why didn’t you tell me? And why didn’t you come back to sort it yourself?’
She laughed. ‘She needs someone like you, and she needs time to understand the place before we get clients back in. And,’ she paused, laughed, ‘I forgot.’
‘You haven’t given her a job description, have you?’
‘She’ll be fine. We’ll find her something to do.’
‘Marie.’ It was his turn to sigh. So he was trapped here for the summer with a girl, except nobody had told her what the job was. Once she knew what went on she’d probably go, like Roisin nearly had. But go where? Either way he’d look the bastard. Whether he cornered her into staying or chased her away. ‘And how do you know she’ll be any use?’
‘We’ll find something for her to do. She’s sweet, she’ll put people at ease.’ Another pause. ‘She’s got nowhere to go James, no money, nothing.’
And no one from the sound of it.
The sigh travelled across the miles. ‘Do you want me to come back?’
Great, that would mean two of them here to bother him. ‘I know you don’t mean that Marie, so I’m not even going to say no. You’ve got a soft spot for her for her haven’t you?’
‘You might get one too if you give her a chance.’
‘You know I haven’t got any spot to appeal to, so why are you trying? I don’t do waifs and strays.’
‘She’s neither. She’s sad, broke and needs a job. Go on, be nice to her.’
She had an air of melancholy to her that was for sure, from the way she’d played her guitar last night, like it really meant something to her. But sad? ‘I’m not a babysitting service.’ And she’s not a baby, far, far from a baby.
‘Will you at least be nice and find her something to do? Pretty please?’ He heard the chink of glasses in the background. ‘See what she thinks? And even if she’s not interested in staying long term, she can help out with the horses until we get back, which will give her a bit of cash.’
‘I was quite happy sorting the horses on my own, thanks.’
‘Roisin might even take her on as a stable hand. I bet she’s good with animals.’
He laughed. ‘You should see her with a pitchfork. I’ll catch you later.’ He flicked the phone off before she got a chance to say anything else, and took the handful of strides to the other side of the yard. And the girl, no, woman, who he seemed to be lumbered with.
‘Were you hoping I’d finish it before you got back?’ Her voice was soft, a question that went beyond the stable duties.
‘At the rate you work? No chance.’ He smiled, hoping it looked at least halfway to good-natured, swung the fork off his shoulder and stripped his shirt over his head.
She wolf-whistled.
‘You watch what you’re getting into, girl.’ He waved an admonishing finger at her and she gave him the Vs. ‘You watch it yourself, Mister.’
Hmm, any minute now and he’d be tempted to put her over his knee if she carried on the teasing. ‘Let’s move on to the next box. You’re getting better.’
‘Couldn’t get much worse you mean?’
‘Something like that.’ He watched as she got into the swing of it, lifting her fork more easily and with a steady rhythm now she knew what she was doing and every now and then she’d catch him looking and stick her tongue out or just grin.
For a lost and lonely girl she had a self-confidence that surprised him, and she worked hard, not pausing to chat or flirt like the other girls did.
‘So, what do you do here?’ They’d emptied the wheelbarrow for the last time and were putting the beds back down. ‘It isn’t just horses, is it?’
‘What did Marie tell you?’
She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and pursed her lips. ‘Well.’ She put her head on one side as though waiting for inspiration.
‘I’ll take that as not a lot then. So you came all this way for a job you know jack all about?’
‘I trusted Marie.’ She looked straight at him. ‘Are you saying I shouldn’t have?’
‘No, not exactly. Do you trust everyone you meet, then?’
‘Unless they give me a reason not to, Mr Cynical. And, anyhow, I hadn’t got anything else lined up, I’ve got to do something, so why not this?’ Her small shoulders went up in a shrug.
‘But what’s “this?” Stable hand?’
‘Well, what do you do?’
‘I’m a sex therapist.’
She laughed, carried on tossing straw in the air. ‘You’re a sex therapist?’
‘Yup, that’s what I do here, what we all do.’
The straw lost her attention. ‘You are kidding, right?’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not. Wow.’ She leaned on the fork and eyed him up like she hadn’t seen him before. ‘But you’re a man.’
‘Well-spotted. Does that mean I don’t qualify to know about sex?’
‘Well, no, but… So, if you’re a sex therapist what does that make me?’
‘Good question. Chief shit shoveller?
‘I can do other things as well, you know.’ The glare she gave him was steelier than he expected. ‘So, you get wackos here who are sexaholics? Or can’t get it up and stuff?’
‘We get normal people like you and me who want better sex lives.’
She looked directly at him, her eyes slightly wider and gave a short, incredulous snort. ‘You don’t need to teach people about sex, you just do it, right? Sex is just sex.’
‘Not necessarily.’ He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the wall. ‘People don’t always know what good sex is, or how to ask someone to please them.’
She’d coloured up a bit, but wasn’t backing down. ‘Bollocks. I mean I wouldn’t go to a sex therapist. I mean if you like someone enough to sleep with them, then it’s just going to happen isn’t it.’
‘Is it? Is sex always the same for you, whoever you do it with?’
Her colour shifted another notch up the scale towards red hot. ‘Yes, well no. Well, it just works better sometimes than other times.’ She shrugged. ‘Depends how much you fancy someone I suppose.’
‘Have you never been left high and dry, wanting more?’
‘I’m fine with a cuddle, I don’t have to, you know…’
‘Come?’ God, how he would just love to take her here and now, to show her what passion was really about. He pushed off from the wall and took a step towards her, and she flinched, but didn’t move away.
‘I could make you come.’
‘I can make myself come thanks, no big deal there.’
‘I can make you come,’ He took another step closer. Stroked along her lip with one finger, ‘without touching you where you want me to most.’
‘Slightly bigger deal, but if I get in the zone, think the right things…..’ Her voice tailed off as eased his thumb between her teeth.
He shouldn’t, he should keep his distance. But she was turning him on something rotten. She was all feisty and sassy, but there was also a streak of the submissive about her. A streak he didn’t want to ignore. He’d forgotten what ‘pure’ meant after he’d walked out on his home, his job, his wife. And every woman since had been just there for the sex. And every woman in the future would be. And he wasn’t going to start anything with Kezia, he just wanted to show her. No, he just wanted her. To see her surrender, for him. To him.
‘All you have to do, is say please.’ James paused. There was hesitation in her eyes, but she’d stilled, gone quiet. Was waiting. And it was making his balls tingle in a way he’d almost forgotten existed.
He traced along the top edge of her teeth with his salty thumb and Kezia wanted to say please. Well, more like shout it out. Not to any arty-farty sex therapist crap, but to a good, hard shag. His hard-on was straining against his jeans and she could smell him; pure sex. Yes, he scared her, he was so friggin’ intense, but he turned her on as well. Like she’d been turned on when she was a teenager and thought her Mum was just about to walk in on her and a guy and find out they weren’t just listening to music. Like she was turned on when she imagined being pinned down, helpless, as the man she’d always loved forced her to submit to his every desire. Or something like that. Shit, books and films had a lot to answer for. She touched his finger with the tip of her tongue. He was staring straight into her eyes, his own so dark she couldn’t tell where his pupils ended and the colour began.
‘Do you want me?’ He eased his thumb from her mouth, squeezed her lower lip between thumb and finger, gently tugging and by the way it was affecting her swollen breasts he could well have been tugging her nipples. He let his hand drift down to rest lightly on her chin.
‘I don’t know you.’ Her throat had tightened with anticipation for what would come next, her shoulders tense.
‘But you want me, in the same way I want you.’
He slid his hand under her hair, ran one finger from the base of her neck up to where it met her skull, pressing gently into the soft indent and she couldn’t stop the shudder that travelled down her spine pooling at the base. That was good. His thumb circled, small persistent needy circles that sent a pulse between her legs. She gasped. Now could be the time to say please, or thank you. Oh that was very good, he seemed to have found the spot that channelled right down to orgasm central and if he stopped now she might have to scream.
‘Have you ever had sex with a stranger?’ And that husky voice was the icing on the cake, or should that be the cherry?
He’d said something. What was it? Oh, yeah. Sex, stranger. ‘I make love, not have sex.’ She could barely hear her own whisper, she swayed slightly into the pressure of his hand. ‘And nobody I’d call strange.’ Slightly wacky, yes, but not strange. She wanted to reach out and hold him, but she just knew it would break the spell. He’d stop. She didn’t want him to stop.
‘Just having sex can be good.’
She shivered under his touch as his thumb ran along the side of her neck, resting over her pulse point. His large, warm hand cradled her head, her jaw in the palm of his hand. If this was sex then fine, bring it on.
‘But it’s not—’
‘You’ve made love to people you’re not in love with.’
It didn’t seem to be a question, and right now her vocal chords didn’t want to play anyway.
‘That’s comfort, not a real connection, and what happens when you can’t be bothered to be a comfort blanket any longer?’ His fingers were still doing their thing and her brain seemed to be slowly melting, which gave him an unfair advantage.
‘But I—’
‘Close your eyes.’ It must have been surprise, no way would she have just shut them otherwise. His fingers slowly moved down to her throat, with the lightest of touch. ‘Clasp your hands behind your back.’ Hell, she did that too. But if she didn’t she couldn’t find out what came next, and all of a sudden she wanted to know.
His breath was warm against her skin, he must be close, so close. She had to touch him, she mustn’t touch him. The nip of his teeth on her neck made her jump, then whimper. His finger was tracing down her chest, down towards her breasts and her nipples started to prickle. She just had to reach out, hold him, or something.
‘Don’t move.’ Shit, all she’d done was think about it, unclasped her hands just a touch, but that liquid chocolate voice in her ear made her freeze and her stomach tighten.
His finger traced a path around her breast, slowly, tantalisingly moving in with each circle, then outwards, never touching the hard nub. She needed him to touch her nipples, or suck them, or anything… Any second now she really was going to scream. He moved on to the other breast and she could hear her breath coming in short gasps, feel her heart pounding so heavily her whole body seemed to be shaking with it. She bit her lip. She wasn’t going to beg.
His warm hands moved down, circling her waist, firm fingers pressing down over her stomach, lower, lower. He was holding her hips now, and those probing thumbs were circling her stomach just above her mound. Firm, tantalising. She moaned as she felt her juices pool in her knickers whimpering as she clenched her thighs together, feeling the slow pulsing in her pussy build. Oh, God she was going to come. She couldn’t stop now, she couldn’t. Her knees were trembling, she tightened her stomach muscles, felt the delicious throb intensify.
And he stopped. Let go. Cold air replaced where his hands had been.
‘Wha–?’ For a split second she was dazed, still numbed by the soft, sensual throbbing that had been bubbling its way through her body. She stared at him, confused, and he stared straight back, from a safe distance.
‘Demonstration over.’
‘Demonstration?’ The calm words hit her hard, her muscles contracting for a far different reason from a few minutes ago. The bastard. He’d shoved his hands back in his pockets, partly to hide his hard-on, and his face was devoid of expression. So, he hadn’t been pulled to her like she had to him, this wasn’t about the way her body reacted when he came within ten yards of her. This was business, pure and simple, showing her what a fucking clever sex quack he was. And she’d just started thinking he was nice. So much for her being a good judge of character.
‘Yup. That’s what we do here, Kezia.’
She shook her head slowly, fighting the burn of tears that was building up in her eyes. Sexual frustration and emotions warred in her body. ‘You sad bastard.’ She took a step backwards, back against the wall, her sweating palms against the cold plaster. He’d got under her skin, made her give up control, just to prove his point that love and lust were a million miles apart.
He didn’t move as she stared at him, didn’t flinch, but the empty look in his eyes made her want to grab him, shake him, scream at him until he snapped out of it. It had felt real, he’d felt real, warm, like he wanted to create something between them.
An illusion and a control freak.
One tear spilled and she could feel the damp heat trickle down her cheek, taste the salt in her mouth. Not bothering to wipe the tear or say a word she finally found the power to move her feet, push past him.
‘Kezia.’ But she didn’t pause, didn’t turn, she just kept on at the same steady pace across the yard, forcing herself not to run, until she couldn’t hear him or the horses any more.
Kezia kicked off her boots in the kitchen, hardly pausing, then marched straight up the stairs, banging the door shut and falling on to the bed.
