Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (52 page)

Angela gave Rachel a reassuring smile as she headed off back to
her desk at Reception. She’d wanted to ask her a bit more about the Abercrombie
model who’d rocked up earlier but perhaps now wasn’t the most tactful time to
do it. She was looking forward to playing back the security video later though;
the boy was simply delicious. Dreaming of Luc’s dimples, Angela braced herself
for Hurricane Joe.

Rachel stepped into the lift half heartedly waving goodbye to
Angela. Every bit of her yearned to wait for Joe but they needed to give each
other some space. Her heart felt heavy in her chest, weighed down with the
complexities of betrayal and love.

Joe meanwhile was on a mission. Ryan had talked him down from
his rage and soothed away some of his fears. His best friend knew him better
than anyone and was the only person Joe allowed free reign of speech. Ry had
always had his back and they loved each other like brothers. The fact that Ryan
was gay had never bothered Joe unless someone bothered Ryan. They were fiercely
loyal to each other and Joe knew that whatever advice Ryan gave would have his
best interest at heart.

Feeling confident and eager to confront Rachel armed with Ryan’s
encouragement; Joe came barrelling out of the stairwell his big frame heaving
from the effort it had taken him to run up the stairs. He was going to confront
Rachel and find out once and for all if she was a lying cheating bitch or the
love of his life.

“Where is she?” he snapped, tearing through Reception.

“Joe Mason, stop right there!” barked Angela at her boss. He
stopped dead in his tracks and shot her a look of pure disdain.

“Who the fuck are you to give me orders?” he yelled at her.
Angela narrowed her eyes at him; stood up and placed her hands on her hips
daring him to say one more thing to her in that tone of voice.

Joe’s shoulders sagged as he realised how inappropriately he
was behaving, especially in his place of work. “Shit! Sorry Angela, I didn’t
mean it. Oh shit…” the man looked desperately unhappy and confused and Angela’s
heart went out to him. She stood up and walked over to him gently tugging his
arm and guided him to his office.

“Go and freshen up boss; I’ll get you a drink and then we’ll
discuss what you should do next. Tell me it’s none of my business if you like,
but I think you need some advice honey.” Joe’s energy levels zeroed out as the
adrenalin rush dissipated and it took a huge effort just to move one foot in
front of the other. He disappeared into his bathroom and Angela poured him a
Jack Daniels on the rocks just as she knew he liked.

Once he’d washed and changed into a clean shirt, Joe collapsed
onto one of his couches. Both elbows resting on his thighs, he held his head in
one hand while dangling his glass in the other. Swirling the amber liquid in
circles he brought the tumbler to his lips and took a long swallow. Angela knew
Joe was off limits but she couldn’t help admire the pure masculinity of his
movements. She appreciated the way his big muscles bunched under the cotton of
his tight fitting shirt and felt a fleeting moment of envy towards Rachel.

“You’re hovering” Joe mumbled.

“Actually, I’m waiting” replied Angela standing over him with
her arms crossed over her chest. He raised his head to look up at her
momentarily side lined by the dominating stance she’d adopted.

“For what?”

“For you to get your head out of your arse and take a minute to
consider your behaviour this morning.”

Joe slumped back into the leather scowling at her. He wondered
why he let her get away with talking to him so directly, but he guessed he
needed to hear it. He swallowed the last of his drink and rattled his glass for
another.

“Only if you promise not to drive.” Joe huffed but nodded his
agreement. Angela gave him a refill.

“Joe, seriously, do you want to talk about this? You know I’m
discreet.”

“I trust you Angela, but there’s nothing to talk about. Unlike
you, some people around here can’t be trusted; end of.”

“That’s bullshit. I’m guessing you two have been seeing each
other and that Luc Vincent is part of Rachel’s past. And I mean ‘past’ Joe.
Rachel would never cheat on you. She is the most honest person I’ve ever met
– it’s not in her nature to be anything but. You interrupted something
and didn’t permit her to explain and so you have jumped to conclusions. I’m
surprised that such an accomplished lawman as yourself would act on assumption
without knowing all the facts.”

Joe shook his head gesturing for another drink. Angela sighed
but did the honours none the less. “That’s your last one,” she warned.

“I know what I saw.”

“Do you indeed? What exactly was that huh? It couldn’t have
been so bad or unforgiving because Rachel stayed behind even when Mr Vincent
left. Why did she do that Joe?”

“I don’t know…” thinking about it the way Angela put it made
sense and now he sounded unsure. “For me?”

“That could be the reason, but you’ll never know unless you
listen to what she has to say? ‘Listen’ being the operative word Joe. Ranting
at her isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

Placing his empty glass on the coffee table, Joe ran his hand
through his hair then down to his beard stroking it as his mind reeled trying
to sort out the turmoil raging through him. One thing he was sure of; no woman
had ever elicited such strong emotional reactions from him. He was so angry
with her but the over riding fear of having driven her away permanently was
killing him. God he was a pathetic wreck.

“Fine – I get it. Thanks for the advice. You can go.” Joe
dropped his head to his hands; Angela had pretty much just reiterated what Ryan
had told him although she put it a lot more politely. Angela squeezed his
shoulder as she departed.

“I may sound a little cheesy boss – but follow your heart
for once. You both deserve to be happy.”

**********

CHAPTER 23

Rachel’s tube journey home was a nightmare. Her carriage had
the obligatory nutter praising the Lord and cursing the Prime minister with
equal fervour. Everyone else had turned up their IPods so all she could hear
was white noise coming from everywhere as a background. The woman next to her
was wearing perfume cloying enough to make her feel nauseous and was shouting
down her phone in Russian. Additionally, the weather had turned warm so that
she was all sticky and clammy by the time she got to her station. At least it
gave her the perfect excuse for a long soak in her tub accompanied by a bottle
of wine and some serious hard rock music she could scream along to. She was so
mad at Joe she could barely breathe. But that wasn’t the only reason; she was
so drawn to him on every level his masterful display of alpha male raw energy
channelled into controlled aggression was fucking awesome to behold and it
turned her on. Alot. Knowing he had restrained from seriously hurting Luc, Joe
must still feel something for her surely?

**********

Having polished off one bottle of wine in the bath, Rachel was
well into her second. She was sat out on her garden patio her mood slowly
shifting from angry to melancholy. She missed Jess and Lucy; she missed Nate;
she missed Luc but she was craving Joe. Just this past week she had finally
begun to relax and hope for a possible future with him in it – hell, if
she was being honest, she was probably falling in love with the arrogant
bastard.

“Big hands, big head, big cock – big fucking temper…” she
was muttering to herself when the sound of her doorbell startled her making her
jump and spill a little of her wine.

“Who is it?” she yelled.

She waited for a reply but the bell just continued to ring
followed by the heavy brass doorknocker banging loudly non-stop. “Alright, I’m
coming.” Blimey someone was impatient.

Swaying slightly from the effects of the alcohol on an empty
stomach, Rachel carefully made her way to the front door. The outline of
someone rather large and familiar leaning against the frosted glass halted her
in her tracks.

“Forget it mate. Go away!”

“Open up Rachel” Joe bellowed.

“No – not happening.” She finished the rest of her wine
in one long go and tipped her glass at him in a mocking salute.

“I’m not leaving.”

“Me neither” she screamed at him, followed by a burst of
hysterical giggles when she realised she was in her own bloody house and didn’t
need to go anywhere!

“What? Of course not – you’re already here…wait a minute
– are you drunk?” Joe’s face was pushed up against the door panel but
behind the frosted glass, he was all shadows.

“Piss off and go away.” She sounded quite adamant if a little
slurred.

Joe banged hard on the door rocking the very foundations of the
house. “Open this goddamned fucking door. Now!”

“Shut up – the neighbours will hear you.”

“Don’t. Give. A. Shit.”

Rachel snorted. “You made that clear enough.”

She waited for another clever response but none came. After a
short while she realised he had indeed gone and was acutely disappointed in
him. Was that it? She couldn’t believe he’d given up that easily. When did the
oh so mighty Joe Mason ever give up on anything? What a dipshit. And now the
wine had gone straight to her head and made her incredibly horny –
wouldn’t she ever learn?

A loud bang followed by a crash from the garden made her jump
and she gingerly made her way out the back fearful of what had happened.
Stepping out through the kitchen door onto her patio she was greeted by the
sight of a large section of her side fence completely destroyed scattered on
the ground. Rachel blinked repeatedly until her brain processed a fairly
dishevelled Joe standing on her lawn. He was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

“Oh my god – did you just destroy my fence?”

“Yes.”

Uh oh; Menacing Joe.

“You ripped your suit pants.” Rachel was mesmerised by a flap
of his trousers that had torn over his right thigh; or more correctly the taut
muscle and enticing glimpse of skin that was now visible. She licked her lips
then hiccupped.

“You
are
drunk” Joe
narrowed his eyes at her accusingly.

“It’s your fault.”

“I’m not having this conversation until you’ve sobered up.”

“What fucking conversation you presumptuous, arrogant, ignorant
bastard?

Rachel flipped him the bird; grabbed the bottle of wine
elegantly necking it as she stormed back into the house. As angry and confused
as Joe was with her right now; he couldn’t help the swell of desire that had
his dick hard at the sight of her all mussed up and tipsy. Her robe had fallen
open enough to expose the fact she was naked underneath which was extremely
distracting to say the least.

Joe followed her leisurely into the kitchen ignoring her death
glares; she was seriously cute all riled up and he knew she must be horny after
all that alcohol. Still – he didn’t dare approach her or try to sweet
talk her while she was in this state. He needed Rachel fully sober for what he
wanted to say. Making himself scarce until such time, he walked
 
right on past her; out through the hall
and settled himself in one of her massive couches in the den. Rachel followed
fast on his heels.

“Who the fuck invited you to stay?” she shrieked at him, her
words slurring slightly.

Joe kicked off his shoes and plonked his feet on her coffee
table crossing his legs at the ankles. Grabbing the remote he started flicking
through the channels settling on an action movie. He didn’t bother to look at
her when he spoke.

“Shush, I’m gonna watch a movie. Go sober up so we can talk
– have some coffee or something.”

“Oh really? Make yourself comfortable why don’t you. And I’m
fine with the wine thank you.” Rachel picked up a scatter cushion from the
armchair and chucked it at him then stormed out of the den back into the kitchen
where she fiddled with the integrated music system until she found ‘Bat Out of
Hell’ by Meatloaf, “Ha!” She hiked up the volume; pressed play and waited.

And waited. Why hadn’t Joe stormed in and shouted at her to
turn it down? Switching the awful noise off, she crept over to the den door to
check him out and to her fury saw he was fast asleep. Who the hell could sleep
with that racket in the background?

Rachel’s first instinct was to kick him awake but she wasn’t
drunk enough to be that brave and actually it gave her the opportunity to
indulge in a few moments of secret hero worship. She sat herself gently down
next to him for a closer look at his handsome face. She gently brushed her palm
against his beard loving the tickle of the soft hair. Joe moaned but didn’t
wake up. Rachel was still unbelievably annoyed with him, but Joe had become her
addiction and the thought of not getting her next fix made her teary and so
terribly sad. She studied him committing every nuance to memory in case this
was the last time she was this close.

“Oh Joe.” Rachel sighed regretfully as a wave of exhaustion
cloaked her. Before long the steady cadence of his breathing became hypnotic
until she could no longer fight the need to close her eyes. She laid her head
on his chest and succumbed to sleep.

**********

Joe awoke to a hot and heavy weight on his chest. He was
disoriented for a moment until he saw the TV on and remembered he was at
Rachel’s house. He didn’t however; recall her falling asleep on him although he
had a vague memory of dozing off to his favourite Meatloaf song. It reminded
him of his beloved Harley.

He glanced at the time; it was early evening already and his
stomach rumbled in protest of not having eaten all day. He also badly needed to
take a piss but he was reluctant to disturb the woman sprawled all over him;
she smelled incredible and he could feel her tits pressing into his side.
Dipping his head he was delighted to see that her robe had fallen open
completely and the view was totally spectacular. The swell of her chest and the
curve of her arse had him hard in an instant but he knew they had some serious
issues to discuss before he could even think of going there again.

“Rachel” he whispered nudging her gently. Rachel made delicious
throaty noises that did nothing to quell his hard on. “C’mon baby wake up.”

Rachel yawned and stretched but didn’t open her eyes. She
snuggled up closer to Joe and he waited for the moment when realisation hit
her.

Three, two, one and there it was…

“Oh shit. What the hell? Ugh!” She pushed herself off him and
stomped out the room without even throwing him a passing glance.

“Well at least she didn’t knee me in the balls.” He hauled
himself off the couch; stretched out his aching body, and went in search of the
downstairs loo.

**********

Rachel was filling the kettle as Joe joined her in the kitchen.
She’d sobered up but was left feeling dehydrated and in need of a cuppa. He sat
down at the big oak table and cleared his throat to catch her attention.
 
He looked and felt awkward and Rachel
wasn’t making it any easier on him.

“I want to apologise for handling things poorly earlier, when
Luc came around. I reacted badly I know that and I never meant to hurt you.”

“For someone who makes a living out of being cool and composed
you lost it big time.”

“Do you blame me?” Joe leaned forward challenging her.

“Not entirely – I knew you’d be cross; but with me not
Luc. And we should have been able to talk this through like adults.”

“That’s a touch ironic in the situation, don’t you think.” Joe
dropped his head into his hands. Everything was coming out wrong and he felt
like he was making the situation worse. Ryan and Angela appeared in his head,
their advice tugging on his conscience. He tried to focus on what they had told
him; honesty; integrity; humility. He was trying to show all of these things.

“Listen, Rachel, this is genuinely not a situation I’ve ever
found myself in before and I just keep reacting instead of moving forward. I
like what we have; it feels real. But the issue with this kid is killing me.
Just be honest with me - do you love him? Do you want to be with him?”

Joe’s hands had bunched into fists; the knuckles white with
strain and every muscle in his body was taut with anticipation of her answer.
He wasn’t sure what he would do if she rejected him now; for the first time in
his life he felt vulnerable and pathetic. Loving someone definitely had its
downside.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel told Joe honestly, “Yes I love
him. But I’m not
in
love with him.
And no, of course I don’t want to be with him. I’m the one who ended it and
sent him away.” She sighed, “It’s a long story.”

How much could she tell Joe without him getting so mad again,
she wondered. She toyed with the idea of glossing over the details; making out
he was just a good friend with benefits, but decided the time for truth was the
best course of action and if they were to have a future together, Rachel wanted
Joe to always be honest with her in return. But she didn’t know where or how to
start.

“You broke my fence for god’s sake…” Rachel’s voice was thick
with emotion.

The man at her table nodded. “I did. I’ll fix it – now
tell me about Luc.”

“I’m not worried about fixing it; I mean you broke the bloody
fence down clearly determined to get in. Why?”

Joe was fidgeting, a sure sign his patience was wearing thin.
“I think you’re deflecting. I want to know about that goddamn boy. I’m not
leaving here until you tell me.”

Rachel glared at him as she slammed the kettle on and rattled
the cupboards reaching for mugs. The poor tea caddy didn’t stand a chance and
the fridge door practically threw the milk out at her.

“Do you take sugar in your tea?”

“No.”

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind,” Rachel sighed, “milk?”

“Yes.”

“Please.” She tutted loudly and threw him a dirty look. In that
moment Joe knew he’d do whatever it took to keep this feisty, sexy and gorgeous
woman in his life.

“What?”

“Manners Joe – I’m sure they’re universal, not just a
British thing.”

The corners of his mouth twitched and his fingers played with
his beard. Rachel’s heart flipped at this small gesture that she had come to
associate with Joe when he was biding his time. Whatever was coming next was
going to be epic and she held her breath.

“I love you.”

Epic indeed. Rachel’s knees buckled and she held on to the
kitchen counter top for support. Bloody man; she wasn’t expecting that; well
maybe in time she was hoping but not yet.

“Joe; seriously, you have issues.”

“That
is
the issue
sweetheart. I’ve never said that to a woman before. I’ve never felt like this
about anyone and that’s why you not trusting me hurts so much. You need to make
this right sweetheart.”

Rachel poured their drinks and made her way over to the nook
where he was sitting. She plonked the tea mugs down on the kitchen table and
took Joe’s head in her hands. She placed sweet little kisses all over his face
before settling herself in his lap. Joe wrapped his arms around her and rested
his chin on her shoulder.

“What a bloody mess I’ve made of everything. I’m not condoning
your ridiculous behaviour with Luc but I suppose I need to acknowledge my part.
C’mon, bring your tea inside and let’s get comfy. I’ll tell you everything you
want to know but I won’t be judged by you Joe. I’ve nothing to be ashamed of.”

Rachel grabbed her mug and the biscuit box and went back to the
den with Joe following close behind. She chose to sit in the single armchair
but when Joe walked in he scooped her up and brought her with him to the couch.

“I was quite happy in the chair actually.” She poked him in the
shoulder.

“I’m sure you were, but I want you next to me.” Joe sipped his
tea and helped himself to a chocolate digestive, which he ate in one bite.
“Hmm, nice cookies.”

“Biscuits.”

Joe rolled his eyes at her correction and took another one,
suddenly starving. “Begin.”

Rachel tucked her legs up under her and snuggled into Joe’s
side; the warmth and solidity of his body was comforting regardless of his
lingering animosity. Although so much had happened to her since Nate had passed
away, whenever she allowed herself to dwell on his death, the pain and grief
threatened to overwhelm her. But she needed to focus on Joe and she didn’t want
to fall apart before she had a chance to explain about Luc. “Ok, so you know
Nate and I were together forever and then we went to Paris and he was in a
terrible accident and he died.” Rachel closed her eyes and shuddered but
refused to linger on the bad memories. She willed Joe to wrap his arms around
her and hold her safe but to her disappointment he didn’t move. He was however
playing with his beard; a sure sign he was fully invested in the conversation.