Sweet Reflection (23 page)

“What?” I’ve gone and swooped right in with shock and awe. Good old Date Doctor.

“You love me.” I repeat clearly, no mistaking that now.

She growls at me in frustration, “You’re such a cocky bastard, did you know that? I can’t believe
you’re
telling
me
how I feel about
you
. It’s unbelievable.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest and pouts her lips, frowning, and I do my best to hold back laughter.

“What’s unbelievable is how hot you look when you’re annoyed.” I smile and her eyes roll back but I can tell she likes it when I do that. She’s her own worst enemy and if she got out her own way every once in a while, I think she’d be much happier.

I take her hand and lead her over so she’s sitting on the edge of the bed and crouch down in front of her. “There’s no need to be scared, whatever’s gone on in the past is just that, the past. It’s history, it’s finished with, it’s over. Here and now, I’m in front of you telling you I love you too. That’s all you need to remember.”

A smile sneaks up on her face and she looks in my eyes, “You know I didn’t actually say it, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t matter babe, I feel it anyway.”

She reaches over and puts her arms around me, burying her face in my neck. Did she just…

“Did you just sniff me?”

“Yep.”

“And?”

“Smells good.”

She jerks back and locks her lips hard against mine, gripping the back of my neck tightly. I pull her up with me so we’re standing and flex my fingers over her hips then move them back round underneath her butt so I can pick her up again. I move her across the room and place her down on my desk.

“So, I know you were planning on a striptease for me earlier but I think I’d like to do one of my own.” I watch for her response and a little giggle bubbles over her lips which is exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

“If you want to see it, of course?” I shrug my shoulders and turn the stereo system on, and she nods and brings her hand up to cover her mouth as Maroon 5 comes belting out. I’m making a complete and utter fool of myself; my Jagger moves are terrible, I stumble when I take my socks off, and my arm gets caught in my shirt – it’s probably the most unsexy thing I’ve ever done but she’s bowled over laughing, and four minutes of torture is definitely worth it when the song finishes and I’m standing in front of her naked while she runs her gaze over every part of me.

She hops off the desk and walks nervously over to me. She stands up on the balls of her feet and kisses me tenderly on the cheek. “Make love to me, James.” She whispers in my ear and as I lay her down on the bed, stripping her bare and worshipping her body I know I’m falling head over heels in love with Laurel Matthews.

Chapter Eighteen

James

A few days later, all work and no play has made Dawson a miserable git so I need some fun, and a pretty blonde, to remind me there are better things in life than nine to five, or in my case, five to nine and they’ve not just been four hour shifts! I text Laurel and she tells me her mum’s feeling unwell again, and as the sun’s out, she’s going to be helping out in the garden all day. I, being the selfless, caring boyfriend, offer to help for the most selfish reasons. I get her all to myself when she finishes.

I arrive at her house bright and early and leave a change of clothes in the car for later. I decided shorts and vest was the way to go because it’s turned out to be a scorcher. Even the breeze is warm. I knock and wait, but no-one answers. I try again, then realise she must have got started already, so I make my way round to the side of the house. I see Laurel through the railings on the wrought iron gate, and quietly push the latch and open it. It scrapes along the ground but there’s music blasting from her iPod and speakers laid out on the patio table so she doesn’t hear me. I take the opportunity to enjoy the view for a while, and lean back against the brick wall. Her long hair’s pulled back into a low ponytail, her strapless top and denim shorts cling to her body in all the right places, and when she bends over to dig up a load of weeds I have to turn away, count to ten and think of anything else but her long legs and curves to stop myself from doing something I’d regret if her mum walked outside.

“Is that your phone in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?” Says the sexy, sweet voice coming from close behind me. I try to think of something else. Blake. Meryl Streep. Ann Widdecombe. And then I shudder and immediately regret my subject choices.

“I think you should change. Put on a jumper and trousers.” My tone catches her off-guard. I’m serious. I can’t concentrate. She affects me in a way I haven’t experienced before, and I don’t want to think about the way I react around her.

“What? The sun’s out. I’m way too hot.”

“That’s for
damn
certain. You’re like a freaking inferno. Please, babe. You’re making it too hard to concentrate.”

She frowns at me, and I know I’ve gone way overboard but she’s the one that started it dressed like that.

“Ha! And you think I find it easy when you’ve got the guns on show and a top that’s so tight I can see your six pack from here?” I watch her for a few seconds and smile at what I see. Her eyes flick across my chest, and down towards my stomach. Her breaths are getting quicker and she licks her lips. Obviously she’s not going to back down. I like seeing the way I affect her, so I decide to have a little fun. I stretch and yawn, lifting my arms above my head and throw a little flex in there for good measure. She’s watching my arms closely and then her gaze drops down to the patch of skin showing in between my t-shirt and shorts.

“Alright, let’s do this then.” I say and wander over to the lawn mower. I plug it in and head down on to the lawn.

“Phew, it’s so hot already.” I make a show of peeling off my vest slowly. Her eyes are fixed on me. As much as I like it when she takes the lead, I love having some power too. What guy doesn’t like the thought of his girlfriend getting all hot and bothered checking him out? It’s good for the old ego. She’s so fun to mess with, and it’s the playful side to our relationship that gets to me. I’ve never been this relaxed with a woman before. I start up the motor, and head off down to the end of the garden with the mower. I can feel her eyes on me still so I add in a few bends and stretches when I didn’t really need any, but it’s good for the show. By the time I’m half way done with the lawn, I look back up and search over the patio and the rest of the garden but she’s not out here. I see the drinks on the patio table so walk over and sit down, pouring myself a glass of lemonade. It’s ice cold, refreshing, and I knock back a glass before pouring another.

I’m busy assessing my handiwork on the first half of the lawn and don’t hear the door open behind me, so when out of the corner of my eye I spy bare flesh I nearly choke on my drink. Laurel has just strutted out the door wearing her tight little denim shorts, but has replaced her top with barely a scrap of material. I guess it’s supposed to be a bikini top but there’s barely any point in it being on. I can see everything apart from her nipples. I can’t rip my eyes away, I’ve tried but they won’t budge. I see her smirk. I see the look in her eyes that says she’s won. I feel the bulge in my pants that says I lost. There’s no way I can compete with that. She’s too damn sexy. I quickly check out the houses surrounding her garden to make sure there’s no peeping toms at their windows but it’s pretty secluded out here, then wander over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind and pulling her back to me.

“I’ve told you before, naughty girls have to be punished,” I whisper in to her ear, and when I flatten my hands across her stomach and grab hold of her tighter, she parts her lips and tilts her head back on my shoulder. Before she sweeps me into a frenzy with her moans I pull her up and over my shoulder, and cross to the front of the garden as quick as I can.

“James, what are you doing?” She shouts, and there’s a shake to her voice. She should know by now, being a troublemaker will always lead to her getting wet.

“Cooling us both down.”

“But I’m not hot.”
I ignore that comment and turn on the tap with one hand, and she shouts again, “But you can’t. We’ve got work to do.”

She’s still trying to get out of it. She never learns. I set her down and she blinks then shakes her head furiously, “No, no. no.” She screams, “Nooo, please!” Her laughter gets louder as she takes a step back. But I step forward, hold up the hose, and spray.

“Nooooo,” she shrieks again, and runs away. I end up chasing her round the garden and soaking her completely. The water’s cold, freezing actually, so I turn it on myself and it does exactly what I intended, until I look over at Laurel re-enacting a bloody Herbal Essences advert. She combs her hands over the wet strands of her hair then turns to look at me, and boy I did not think this one through. I should have remembered what happened the last time.

She moves towards me with her eyes on my chest, and gently rakes her nails down from my shoulders to my abs and rests her fingers on the waistband on my shorts. “It’s really inconvenient I live with my mother, because I want you so much right now.” Damn woman, her confession’s like sweet torture.

“I’m out. You win. I can’t take it babe, let’s get back to work. The quicker we do, the quicker I can get my mind off you against that wall spreading your legs, or lying naked on the grass.” I get back to the mower and carry on. Laurel’s laughed it off and is continuing to weed. She needs to get a house of her own soon. Or better yet, move her sexy self into mine, and then I wouldn’t have this extremely ‘hard’ problem right now.

By midday, the garden’s looking pretty good. Grass is cut, weeds gone and patio hosed down. We go back inside the house and while Laurel takes a quick shower, I wander into the kitchen and find Judy making a coffee.

“Feeling better?” I ask, leaning against one of the kitchen cabinets.

“Oh yes, I think I just needed some rest. Thank you. What have you been up to since I saw you last?”

“Work, work, work. I’m so busy at the moment. I’ve been seriously thinking about finding another couple of designers for my team. I need to go out and do some scouting.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Judy smiles as she turns and sips from her mug.

“Ooh, that reminds me. I’ve left those samples you leant me in the study. Come with me, I’ll get them for you.”

A deep mahogany desk sits in front of a fireplace in the study. There’s a huge bookcase against one wall, much like the one in my own office. I guess Judy uses this for work, because the desk’s a mess and there’s papers scattered all over it. She walks over to a cabinet and starts to root through the drawers, “I know I put them in here somewhere.”

While she’s busy, my eyes drift over the room and back to the desk, and my heart starts beating a little quicker as I recognise a piece of paper poking out of another stack of papers. It’s a hospital leaflet. My head feels dizzy, déjà vu’s a bitch. I slam my fist forward on the desk, a little bit harder than I intended. It’s not really my business, but when it affects Laurel, I’ll make it my business.

“James?”

“Does she know what’s going on?” I confront Judy, grabbing the opportunity before Laurel comes back downstairs.

“What?” She asks, mouth wide open and brows knit together.

“Does she know what’s wrong with you?”

Judy ducks her head and wraps her arms around herself. She looks completely worn out and withdrawn. I shake off the memories it’s evoking and sit on the edge of the desk.

“Of course she doesn’t. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. How can you tell bad news like that to someone you love unconditionally?”

I shake my head in frustration. My mother thought the exact same thing and I wish things had happened differently. “Laurel’s a big girl now. And she’s a lot stronger than you think. You need to give her credit. She wouldn’t want you to go through this alone, Judy. Please, you’ve got to. I can’t keep this from her. I’ll be there for her, I promise. And for you, if you need it. But you can’t hide forever.” I’m looking in her eyes and I can see the pain and uncertainty and then I’m fifteen again, wide-eyed and crying in my mother’s arms as she tells me there’s nothing more the doctors can do for her.

“Whoo, I’m pooped.” Laurel enters the study, and slumps down onto a chair, pulling me back to the present. She looks over at us both and smiles. She’s completely oblivious to how her life is going to change and my heart aches for her. It aches so much I have the urge to clasp my hands over my chest and crumple to the floor. But she’ll need me. I can be strong. I can be the man my mother never gave me the chance to be, and I can protect her. The walls feel like their closing in on me, I have to get out of here and fast. I get up and stand in front of her chair, offering my hand out. She takes it, still grinning, and I step back pulling her with me. My hand brings hers up above her head and I twirl her round.

“Let’s go beautiful.”

Her eyes meet mine and she tilts her head then lets out a cute little laugh.

“Where?”

“Wherever you want. I’m just going to drive and you can give me directions.” I place a kiss on her lips and she giggles, then says goodbye to her mum. I hate that word. It always seems so final.

The engine rumbles to life and I’m grateful we have the whole day to ourselves, I’m going to get as far away as possible.