New Beginnings

CHAPTER EIGHT

Blake wandered out onto his patio and breathed in the fresh morning. It had rained most of the night and this morning everything in the garden looked so fresh and happy. Hell, he was turning into a veritable poet, waxing lyrical about gardens. Alex’s enthusiasm for all things gardens and plants was rubbing off on him. He spent two nights with Alex and Jack before sailing back to Devonport and he certainly missed being in their company. His plans for a date were in hand, having asked Jack if he were okay with the whole idea of his parents dating. At first Jack thought he was joking but once he was over the shock, he said he was cool with it although Blake suspected Jack thought the idea of his parents dating was too much information.  He ambled back indoors and opened his laptop to check his emails. Since throwing his old phone in the sea, he had stopped dreading every time it pinged with an incoming message or voice mail.  

His heart rate quickened when he saw an email from a Gabriella Forrester. He debated the merits of deleting it, worried it might be a virus then reminded himself that he was a tech guy, his security was first class. Gabriella Forrester. Could that be his sister? It wasn’t the name of the solicitor he’d contacted. Blake reached for his phone but put it back on his desk when he became aware of movement on the patio. Alex. Most of his blood rushed south and the plan to date her was in danger of being put on the back burner because he questioned how much longer he could go without having her under him. There were only so many cold showers a guy could take, and he’d had plenty during the last week.

“Hey,” he greeted, “Nice surprise.”

“I had to inspect a job that’s taking my team too long. The client keeps changing their mind.”

“You’ve been to your parents too?”

“Yeah. Mum said she hadn’t seen you in a few days so, I’m here to put her mind at rest.”

“I was about to call you. Come on in, I have an email from someone I don’t know.”

“Their name?”

“Gabriella Forrester.”

“Mm, it kind of rings a bell but I’m not sure where I would have heard it before.”

They reached the dining room and he pulled out a chair for her, then sat next to her,

“What does it say? The email.”

“I don’t know. That’s why I was calling you.”

“God, Blake! Just open the thing!”

He laughed, pleased to see the grown-up Alex still had plenty of teen Alex. He clicked on the email and in silence they read it. Gabriella Forrester was his sister and holy heck, she lived in Auckland, in fact she lived on Waiheke Island!

“Oh. My. God. Now I know the name!” Alex cried, “She teaches music at the high school and teaches privately. I think she has a daughter, perhaps a bit younger than Jack.”

“A music teacher? Wow, clearly the music gene was hiding behind a door when I was being conceived. Does Jack show any musical talent?”

Alex shook her head, “No. You’re good with computers, she’s good with music. Oh, Blake, how exciting and look, she wants to meet.”

Alex was so excited, excited enough for them both and yes, he admitted to a sense of excitement or anticipation or whatever that was buzzing around in his head. But meeting?

“She’s probably not a grifter then?” Alex teased.

“Ha! Artists, Writers, musicians, they’re always poor!”

“No, they’re not! Well, okay so it might not be the easiest way to make money but look at it this way, Mr smarty pants, they have artistic temperaments, they’re kind, sensitive people. Not the sort who are quickly working out how to take all your money!”

“Do you know how sexy you are when you get going with something?” he chuckled, “All that passion, fire in the belly and…”

With that he leaned across and cradled her face in his hands but before he could help himself to her delectable mouth, Alex wound her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him. She touched his lips with a playful finger.

“We should take this somewhere like a bedroom,” her voice was sultry, sexy as hell.

“I wanted to slow things down but with you, like this, I don’t think I can.”

Alex flashed him a knowing smile and got to her feet, holding out her hand as did so,

“Upstairs?”

Blake couldn’t speak, he simply took her hand and led her upstairs to the Master bedroom. He didn’t miss her sizing up the bed and knew exactly what she was thinking so he pulled her up against him and said, “Just me. In fact, nobody but me has been up here since I moved in.”

“Good to know,” she whispered and, up on her toes, she kissed him, her lips settling on his mouth, taking him by surprise. He responded with a deeper kiss before lifting his head to take in the cloudy s****l haze in those beautiful green eyes. He liked what he saw. Blake ran his hands down her back, cupping her buttocks and moulding her against him, making his c**k ache for freedom. The sharp need of her kiss had aroused him so completely he desperately fought to control his body.  He lifted her up and those sexy, long legs went around his waist,

“We need to slow it down, otherwise I’m going to leave you unsatisfied and myself totally embarrassed.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, “Just been a while, that’s all. But to be honest, from what I’m feeling, you’re doing fine.”

She let out a throaty laugh and Blake dropped her on the bed, wasting no time in crawling up her body and settling over her.

“Blake?”

“Mm?”

“You do have condoms, don’t you?”

“I am nothing, if not prepared. I have a brand-new box. Just for you.”

“I think you should take your clothes off,” she whispered, trailing her fingers over his back.

“I think I should take your clothes off first.”

Alex was on fire, in fact, if she got any hotter, she was going to melt into a puddle on Blake’s pristine new bed. He was taking his own sweet time, tormenting her, removing her clothes one item at a time while he was still fully clothed and she was down to her plain white underwear, not the sexiest pair she owned but when she woke up this morning, she wasn’t exactly anticipating jumping Blake and she certainly hadn’t planned on practically insisting he take her to his bedroom. He left a trail of gentle kisses between her breasts then took his time enjoying them with his mouth, his tongue flicking over the hard peaks of her n*****s, all the time never shifting his gaze from her.

“Blake! Please!”

He lifted his head, a wicked smile on his face,

“Everything okay?”

“No! Jesus, Blake, I’m melting here!”

He responded with a soft laugh then continued his exploration of her body, down over her torso, her stomach, and her stretch marks,

“See,” she panted, “Not quite as I was,”

He said nothing but instead, tenderly kissed the lines before she felt his fingers running along the edge of her knickers.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, “Simply perfect, Alex.” His breath tickled the inside of her thighs and her hands clenched hard on his hair, with a one fluid movement, he peeled her knickers away and spread her thighs a little wider, his tongue sliding into her wet heat. She gave a soft gasp of surprise, moaning his name. Alex raised her head slightly then slumped back against the pillows as he found the spot that sent her over the edge with an orgasm that scorched her body. The look on Blake’s face was pure adoration, the identical look he had given her all those years ago. She refused to consider her memory as selective, no, in this moment, Blake adored her and that was something she would need a lot of time to think about.

“My turn,” she rasped, “And you better watch out because Karma is a b***h!”

Another soft laugh, “I’ll take my chances.”

She lifted his polo shirt up and over his torso, revealing a perfectly sculpted body.

“Someone works out. A lot.”

“Now and then. I’ve been running up North Head a couple of times a week.”

“You’re nuts.”

Alex leaned over him, flicking her tongue over the hard points of his n*****s before playfully nipping him and moving her mouth lower, following the faint dusting of hair which disappeared under the top of his jeans.

“Let me touch you!” he insisted, his voice thick with emotion.

“Not yet, I’m not done here.”

He groaned and with trembling hands she tugged his zipper down, making his abs clench. When she had him completely naked, she leaned over him and dipped her head to taste him, lingering on the tip as Blake knotted his fingers in her hair. She licked at a pearl of liquid, savouring it, letting her tongue flick and tease.

“Alex!” he growled, but her response was merely to take all of him in her mouth and, with her tongue, stroke the underside of his aching flesh, cupping his balls with her hands and gently squeezing. His hands released her hair and now gripped the covers, a low moan escaping from him, releasing a surge of pleasure through her own body. In that moment, Blake caught her by surprise, flipping her onto her back and plundering her mouth with his, both moaning into each other’s mouths.  He pinned her with his weight, edging a thigh between hers, his fingers slipping inside driving her to writhe against his hand, her orgasm coming hard and fast. This time Blake didn’t wait, he smoothed the condom over his c**k and pushed into her, the tendons on his neck standing out in sharp relief. Alex locked her legs around his hips, her last thought as he carried her over the edge for a third time was, if this was wrong why did it feel so right?

The vehicular ferry ride back to Waiheke gave Alex more than enough time to deconstruct the events of the day and the niggling sense that she was being followed. She wasn’t even sure when she had picked up on being followed. Coincidence? A silver car parked at the end of the street where her parents and Blake lived and near the ferry as she drove onboard, although she was no expert on different makes and models, as far as she was concerned cars were defined by colour and nothing else, although she knew what an SUV was because she was driving one and she did know the make. Obviously. Chewing her bottom lip, she checked her rear vision mirror but only two other cars were making the crossing: two silver cars. Pushing open her door, she casually walked over to where they were parked and a brief glance into the first one had a back seat full of toys, two child booster seats and books. The other car had a “Live, Love Waiheke” sticker on the rear window, they were popular with locals who wanted the rest of Auckland to envy them. Neither car screamed danger or private investigator, but the toys, booster seats and sticker could be convenient props. Stop with the paranoia, she told herself, she was doing a good job of making her two and two equal five. As the wharf at Kennedy Point came into view, Alex returned to her car where she picked apart the hour, she and Blake had spent making love and she smiled. She didn’t care if it was right or wrong, neither of them was looking for romance, were they? Although Blake did want to date her so what did that mean? Was he looking for romance? The ferry’s engines went into reverse, making the vessel vibrate. Alex started her motor, time would tell where any of this was going, and as long Jack didn’t get caught in any crossfire, things would be okay.

Later, sitting up in bed, she messaged Blake.

“Is something wrong?” he asked only seconds later.

“No. Maybe.”

He groaned, “You want a postmortem on what happened today, don’t you?”

“What? No! I’ve already done that and it’s all good.”

She heard him breathe out a long breath, “Good. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if you wanted to have a postmortem, I’d be on board with it. If you wanted.”

“How do you know if someone is following you? Tailing you?”

“You saw something?”

“No, well possibly. For most of the day I had this sense of being watched, followed.”

“At your meeting?”

“No. Not there, but when I left to go the ferry, top of your street and again near the ferry, I thought I saw the same car.”

“Following you?”

“Not exactly following, just there.”

He didn’t respond immediately, and she wondered if the call had dropped out.

“Blake?”

“Still here. Just analysing what you’ve told me. Did you feel threatened?”

“Unnerved but definitely not threatened. And please don’t ask me what type of car it was because I am woefully ignorant when it comes to cars. All I can tell you is it was smallish and silver.”

He laughed, “Smallish and silver? Well, that narrows it down.”

“Ha, ha. I told you, I only know cars by their colour.”

“Is that the sort of description you would give the police?”

“Probably.”

“A small, silver car. Hatchback or sedan?”

“Sedan.”

“You’re quite sure?”

“Yeah. On the ferry, the only other vehicles were, ironically, silver. I checked them out. One had a back seat full of rubbish and two kids’ booster seats and the other had a sticker They were sedans.”

“Sticker?”

“Live, Love, Waiheke. A lot of locals have them.”

“Doesn’t sound like they followed you onto the ferry.”

“That’s what I thought. Maybe my imagination has been reignited by a wild romp at your house.”

“Wild romp?”

“You know what I mean. Anyway, I’ll let you go to sleep now. I’ve shared my concerns and feel much better.”

“But I don’t.”

“Blake, I think I overreacted, in hindsight I can’t be sure of what I saw, it was more a feeling than anything else.”

He paused, “That’s the problem, Alex. A feeling, or the sense of something not quite right is often genuine. I’m packing a bag and heading to the marina now.”

“Blake, stop. Got to bed and we can discuss it in the morning when we’ve both slept.”

“Not a chance. I’ll motor over rather than trying to set sails in the dark.  I’ll sleep on the boat once I drop anchor. Get some sleep and I’ll see you for breakfast.”

“I’ll wait. You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know. But I am. See you soon. Lock your doors, I’ll text when I’m in the bay.”

Alex leaned back against her pillows; a small thrill ran through her driven no doubt by the anticipation of seeing Blake. Again. So soon. Shaking her head, she reminded herself to slow it down, take small steps. Blake Winchester was still easy to be with, just as he’d been as a boy and as a young man. His calm demeanour and sensitivity made liking him, loving him even, effortless. She slid off the bed and padded, barefoot down the hallway, noticing a sliver of light under Jack’s door. She tapped on it and he called for her to come in.

“It’s getting late, Jack.”

“Just finishing this,” he held up a bundle of papers, “How come you’re up so late?”

“I was speaking to Blake about something that might or might not have happened today.”

Jack gave her a mischievous grin and wiggled his eyebrows,

“To much information, mum!”

“I’m ignoring your comments, buddy.”

“Okay, I’m intrigued, what are you talking about?”

“I thought I was being followed. I think it’s probably nothing, but Blake is packing a bag and preparing to sail here tonight.”

Lack laughed, “Wow. He couldn’t wait until morning?”

“My thoughts exactly. But, you know, he spent a lot of time with your grandmother when he was younger and all I can say is, Diana Porter has a lot to answer for!” They both laughed, “I’m going down to make some coffee so I don’t fall asleep.”

“I won’t have coffee, but I’ll keep you company.”

Jack followed her downstairs and watched as she fixed a flask of coffee and few snacks, placing them in a box.

“How about I light the fire pit.” He suggested as he lifted the box off the counter.

“Good idea. I’ll just get something a bit warmer to wear  and be down in a couple of minutes.”

Upstairs, Alex pulled her hair into a ponytail, found a pair of yoga pants and a cashmere sweater. Her trainers were downstairs. She caught her reflection in the mirror and noticed a small frown. Was she worried that someone really had followed her? It was unsettling, but who would want to do that. Her life had settled into a smooth normality over recent years and being on Waiheke always gave her a sense of security, both emotionally and physically. Who would have anything to gain from following her? Ice slithered down her spine when Royce and Arlene Winchester came to mind. Arlene was so deranged, she would do almost anything if it meant keeping Blake from Jack and, by extension, herself. Shaking her head, both to dispel the unpleasant realisation and to quash how ridiculous the notion was. Finding her trainers, she leaned down and shoved her feet into them, tied the laces and stepped outside.

As she crossed the lawn, Jack had already set the fire pit alight and pulled up a couple of chairs. In the firelight he turned to look at her,

“You okay, Mum?” You look – you look sort of worried.”

“It’s nothing. Really.” Changing the subject, she asked Jack how long she thought it would take Blake to sail from Devonport to Cactus Bay.

“An hour if he’s using the motor.

“He is.”

“You know, he asked me if it was okay with me if he could date you.” He held the fire poker in his hand and stabbed at pieces of driftwood in the grate.

She smiled, so that was the green light Blake had spoken of.

“And what did you tell him?”

“It was sort of weird but nice. I told him it was okay but not to hurt you.”

A lump stuck in her throat and she leaned across and squeezed Jack’s arm,

“Thank you, my protector.”

“You’re welcome.”

Alex sat back, watching the flames dancing the grate, tiny sparks twirling upwards, caught in the updraft of heat. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the flask of coffee and poured herself a cup. Sliding back into her chair, she gazed up at the stars filling the night sky night and wondered if the past could truly be put to rest.