Gift of the Black Virgin (9 page)

Sammy and Otis still tried to kill each other
every chance they could. Any disadvantage Sammy had in size and
weight he made up for in ferocity. When he wasn’t busy murdering
the rats that lived in the underbrush around the house, he was
watching the front door, growling, in case Otis suddenly
appeared.

It was tiresome for Joanna and Luc to have to
plan their get-togethers with Daniel around which dog was where,
and when.

But if that’s the least of my worries, I
shouldn’t complain.

There was one other little concern that
plagued him, however. When he’d happened to glance at the real
estate listings Joanna had put together, he was surprised at the
high price tags on most of the properties. Of course they’d
discussed the kind of house and land they wanted, and he thought
she was wasting her time looking at houses they couldn’t possibly
afford.

One evening, the two of them sat at the
dining table, enjoying a cozy fire. Jo had served a slice of veal
terrine studded with pieces of
fois gras
and a glass of
Monbazillac
before dinner. The succulent aroma of roast
capon filled the house, causing Luc’s mouth to water. Joanna’s
cooking was really coming along, he thought.

It seemed the right time to broach the
subject of expensive real estate. He picked up the stack of
listings and pretended to flip through them casually.

They were arranged in order of price, the
least expensive on top, but he noticed that only a few fell into
their price range. Anna was going to buy his share of their
property, and Joanna had listed her condo, but even then there
wasn’t going to be a huge amount to put towards the new house. He
didn’t want to take on a big mortgage, considering they had only
his salary, at the moment. Then there was Daniel, and the costs of
raising another child or two, when the time came.

“Some of these places are much bigger than
what we’ve discussed,” he said, getting right to the point. “And
more expensive.” He took a drink and looked at Joanna carefully,
not wanting to offend or disappoint her. They’d agreed that a small
acreage, with a medium-sized house in good repair, would suit them
perfectly.

To his surprise, she smiled, took the papers
out of his hand and fanned them flat on the table in front of her.
Then she said softly, “Yes. But there’s something I haven’t told
you.”

He felt a sinking feeling in his gut. Where
money was concerned, he didn’t like surprises. Already he’d seen
Joanna spending a lot on non-essentials. A few days ago she’d come
home from the supermarket with over a kilo of the priciest terrines
and
pâtés
. He knew better than to ask what they cost.

Then there was her wedding dress. It was
perfect for her, he had to admit. But when he saw the price tag he
had to bite his lip.

True—she paid for these things with her own
money, but still…

“What don’t I know,
Cherie
?” he asked
tentatively, smearing another bit of meat onto his bread.

“I, um, I mentioned that when the condo sells
I’m expecting about six hundred thousand US, right?”

“Right,” he answered, nodding. That would be
more than he would get from Anna, but he was okay with that. He had
a little extra put away for moving expenses and incidentals.

“And?” he asked.

“Well, I haven’t mentioned the other
money.”

“What other money?” He swallowed his food
with some difficulty, feeling his body tense.

“My inheritance.”

“Oh.”

From her father. Of course.

“I never said anything because it seemed kind
of too soon, you know?”

He nodded again.

“I mean, he’s been dead only a few months.
And it’ll take at least another few for the money to come
through.”

He saw the tears in her eyes and decided to
keep quiet.

“But as soon as I get it, I’ll start the
process of getting it transferred to my account here. And then I
want to put it all into the new place.”

Luc blinked in surprise. She wasn’t crying,
but her face had grown serious. For a moment, he couldn’t think of
anything to say. Then he shook his head, staring at the pile of
listings on the table. “Are you going to tell me how much you’re
expecting?”

“He left my sister and me exactly one million
dollars. Each.” Joanna said softly, raising a hand to tuck a stray
lock of hair behind her ear. His own hand reached to rub his jaw
line and he realized he’d been clenching it. Any minute now and he
knew the grinding would start.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This is
important.”

He hadn’t realized he was marrying an
heiress.

“But that’s
your
money,” he continued
before she could answer. You can’t just spend it all on a house.
What about your expenses while you’re not working? And savings for
the future?”

“There’s more where that came from,” she said
with a slight smile, taking a demure sip from her wineglass.

“More?” Now he was really shocked. True, he
hadn’t met her family yet, but were they really that well off?

“My mother and sister and I share some joint
investments. I get a small dividend every month, and one day down
the road, when we decide to sell, I’ll get my third of the whole
package.”

“I won’t ask you how much you’re talking
about here,” he said, a little morosely. This was bordering on
scary.

“I couldn’t tell you anyway,” she said,
giving a little giggle. “I have no idea. And it doesn’t matter,”
she said. “You just need to know that my inheritance and the money
I get from the condo, are, as far as I’m concerned, available to
help buy us buy the property we really want. Without a
mortgage—even. Isn’t that great?”

She got up from her seat and walked around
the table until she could put her arms around his shoulders. Then
she leaned in and kissed his ear.

“And you don’t have to worry about my running
out of cash before I go back to work. I have enough squirreled away
to last for quite awhile.” She nuzzled his neck as he processed
this new information.

He felt completely numb. It was one thing to
expect that his new wife would sell
her
home and contribute
to buying
their
home. But to want to throw in that much
money!

That’s almost a million and a half Euros!
That’s enormous!

He shifted in his seat, not meeting her eyes,
and rubbed his tight jaw. It was obvious that she was waiting for
him to share her happiness, but he couldn’t. Instead of excitement,
he felt an overwhelming discomfort.

He had to get up. Taking her wrists in his
hands he pulled her arms away. “I have to think about this. I’m
going to take a walk.”

He stood up, noticing the hurt look on her
face, and turned his back to her. Then he pulled on a jacket and
went out into the damp November air.

* * * *

Jo felt dizzy with anxiety as she watched Luc
walk out the door, Sammy trotting behind him. This wasn’t the
response she’d expected.

She thought he’d be pleased. Happy to be able
to buy a bigger place, with more land for his beloved grapevines.
Or someplace that already had an established vineyard.

But instead of being happy, he was obviously
upset by the news.

Why? How can the fact that his new wife comes
with a wad of cash be a problem?

She got up and checked on the roast. Deciding
it looked ready to eat—her only means of judging—she took it out
and turned off the oven.

Then slowly, slowly it began to sink in.

How could I have been so thick?

His pride is hurt. Damn! I should have told
him earlier. And dropped a few hints so it wouldn’t be such a
shock.

Jo cursed at herself for being such a
self-centered fool.

What a controlling idiot I am—every bit as
controlling as James.

She felt a rush of heat flush her cheeks.
Shame.

How am I going to fix this? I can’t undo it.
The money’s real and it’s mine, and I want to put it to good use.
But if he won’t have it, what can I do?

Thinking, she paced back and forth across the
room for half an hour until she calmed down a little. Then she
decided to take a bath. Luc was a stubborn man. She’d already seen
that on more than one occasion. There was probably nothing she
could do until he’d worked through his feelings and was ready to
talk to her.

Just as she’d pinned up her hair and settled
into a hot tub full of fragrant bubbles, she heard the front door
close, then the sound of Sammy’s claws clicking on the stone floor
in the hallway. A moment later she looked up and saw Luc standing
in the bathroom doorway, his dark hair coated with tiny droplets of
water. He looked every bit as desirable as he had the first time
she fell…

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It was just kind of a
shock, I guess.” He wasn’t smiling as he pulled his sweater over
his head.

As always, Jo felt a little constriction in
her chest when she looked at his naked body. She remembered when
she’d first seen it, when they were swimming in the Dordogne River
on their walking tour. He’d been wearing shorts at the time, but,
she still saw enough of him to practically have a heart seizure.
Tall, tanned, broad across the shoulders and perfectly
proportioned. His well-muscled chest and arms made her want to
pant. The hair on his chest crept down his belly in a thin line to
disappear under his belt, and she had to tear her eyes away from
his wet crotch as he climbed out of the river, slowly—for her
benefit. That was the first time she’d seen the Yin and Yang
tattoo. And the first time she’d realized she would have to fuck
this man or die.

And so here she was. Submerged in water,
again. Lusting after him, again. But this time he was removing all
of his clothes. This time he was climbing into the water to be with
her. This time he was going to be her husband, and she could fuck
him whenever and as often as she’d like.

Unless I piss him off again. I have to be
more thoughtful. Less selfish.

The tub was barely big enough to hold the two
of them, but they were getting good at fitting themselves together
as tightly as possible. He spooned in behind her, wrapping his big
arms around her shoulders, sighing as she settled back against him
in the tight space.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and
blinked back her tears. “You came back.”

“Of course I came back. Did you think I
wouldn’t?” He kissed her hair.

“I can never be too sure. I mean, I’m never
sure whether what I do is a deal-breaker or not,” she said,
smiling, although she knew he couldn’t see her face. “I thought my
escapades in Spain would have been a deal-breaker. But you said it
kind of turned you on when you thought about it.”

“Yeah. It does. Although I’m not keen on
Brenda, I’d still like to see that video,” he said with a
chuckle.

“I’m sorry about this money thing, Luc. After
you left I realized how terribly insensitive it was for me to say
what I wanted to do with it. I went about it all wrong.”

“It’s alright.”

“No. It isn’t alright for me to go ahead and
make a decision about our future without discussing it with you
first. I guess I’m going to have to get used to this thing called
marriage
.”

She felt his smile as his hand reached for
the soap and he began to lather her breasts.

“We’ll get used to it together,
Mon
amour
. We’ll learn each other as we go. Do you like this,” he
asked as he rubbed the bar of soap along her belly.

“Mmm, I do.”

“And this?” He slipped a soapy finger between
her tightly-closed legs. There was no space for her to open them
any wider.

“Yes.”

He liberally soaped every part of her he
could reach, sloshing water onto the floor.

“So do I. We’re going to have to get a really
big tub installed in our new place,” he whispered into her ear.
“And I guess I won’t have to care how much it costs.”

Jo laughed.

Was this a green flag?

“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” he said,
pushing at her shoulders to help her up.

She held onto him as she stepped out of the
tub. He was right behind her, enveloping her in a bath sheet before
doing the same for himself.

“Let’s go out to the fireplace,” he said.
“It’s warmer there.”

They spread a cotton blanket on the floor in
front of the banked wood fire and lay down, arms and legs entwined.
She was always surprised by his strength, the strength of his big
arms and legs next to her slender limbs. The broadness of his
chest. The sheer size of his hands.

And he was always paradoxically hard and soft
at the same time. His muscles were as hard as polished wood, but
his skin was as smooth and soft as her own. She ran her hands down
the thick corded veins on his forearms, remembering how
lasciviously she’d stared at them the night they first met. How
she’d longed to touch them. Now she could kiss them whenever she
wanted.

She bent her head to run her lips along the
inside of his arm. “I am so in love with you,” she whispered. “I
can’t believe how lucky I am.”

“You said that yesterday,” he said, rolling
onto his back.

“Did I? Pardon me for repeating myself. I
don’t want you to get bored.”

She raised her face to his and kissed him
hungrily, eager that they put their differences behind them. It was
impossible to imagine life without the exquisite pleasure of loving
Luc. His mouth was hot and eager on hers, tasting faintly of the
sweet wine they’d shared.

“I’m not about to get bored,” he said,
between kisses. “Let down your hair.”

She complied, knowing he liked to wrap it
around his hands when he fucked her. When she was done, her hand
dropped to his belly, and she found his cock more than ready. She
lifted a leg to straddle his body and leaned over him, hands on his
shoulders so that her hair fell over his face like a waterfall. She
placed her moist sex over his cock and rotated her hips, satisfied
when she heard his groan of pleasure.