Chapter Ten

Jon casually gave himself a final once over in the long mirror of his closet, tweaking at an errant tuft of hair on his head here and there. Flashing his well-practiced smile at himself, he nodded with approval. A light blue button down shirt with the sleeves loosely rolled back to just below his elbows matched with his favourite worn dark denim jeans set off his tanned skin perfectly. Hell he knew he looked good, all those hours spent pounding the pavement and pushing weights weren’t for nothing.

Stopping off at the kitchen on his way out to pick up the bottle of wine he’d had chilling, he perched a pair of sun glasses in front of his eyes and set off with determination across the lawn. A warm evening breeze drifted off the river, the smell of freshly cut grass wafting sweetly in the air to compliment the slow set of the amber sun to the west. He had ended up spending a couple of hours in the studio tweaking a new song that had been floating in his head the past few weeks, any further good intentions of cleaning having been banished along with the overflowing box of papers he’d shoved into a hidden cupboard in the garage. Just as he had been finishing up, the sound of faint voices had carried through the open window to where he was idly slouched on a chair fingering out a melody on his worn guitar. When he craned his neck to follow the sound, he’d nearly dropped the guitar in his enthusiasm to witness the scene unfolding across the road.

Rachel had hopped out from the car smiling and with a small wave bade her companion a cheerful farewell. Jon noted with a smug smile that no invitation into the house for coffee seemed to be in order for ‘Mr Mercedes’ who with a quick wave out the window gunned the powerful car back down the drive. A glance at Jon’s watch showed it was only just after three in the afternoon so wherever they’d gone it couldn’t have been too far away. He watched Rachel standing in the porch hugging her arms to herself until the car had disappeared from sight and he could have sworn he saw her heave a visible sigh of relief before she headed inside the house. All good signs he reckoned. A little plan had formed in his head there and then for the evening ahead and any further musical ambitions he may have been nursing for the day had been cast aside.

After a furtive glance up and down the road, Jon strode confidently up the short sidewalk to Rachel’s gates, chuckling as he thought back to their first introduction of sorts a couple of weeks back. He just hadn’t been able to resist the urge to help the slightly dishevelled and frustrated looking woman trying in vain to tug her baggage through the broken gates. He was a sucker for the whole damsel in distress scene.

He swallowed back just a hint of nerves beginning to rise to the surface after he’d hit the call button on the front door’s intercom system. A faint chime rang out from somewhere within the confines of the house which presumably would have alerted Rachel to his presence but the shadows within the vast hallway remained unbroken by movement. Not to be deterred, Jon tried twice more each time holding the button down longer than was strictly necessary.

Dammit where was she?

He took a few steps back off the porch to gaze up at the house in annoyance. He knew she was home, her Tahoe still neatly parked beside him was evidence of that. Pondering what to do next, his ears picked up on the faintest strains of music drifting from around the side wall of the house to his left. Resolutely tucking the bottle of rapidly de-chilling wine in the crook of his arm, Jon let his ears guide him past the solid granite cornered gable wall and up onto a rustic decking that seemed to wrap itself around the far wings of the house. His soft leather boots made no sound on the faded wooden boards that were in desperate need of a treatment, noiselessly absorbing his weight as he stepped closer to the furthest corner. The view stretched down across the yellowing neglected lawn, a weed littered tennis court with a sadly drooping torn net sagging across the middle and a decent sized pool empty of water and securely barricaded by a high chain link fence. He was beginning to understand what Rachel was doing here; there was no way in hell the property could be viewed by anybody in its current state.

The music strains grew louder as he crept around the next corner following the contours of the rear facing wall, the familiar pounding chorus of Jennifer Rush’s eighties hit ballad along with an accompanying high pitched quaver of Rachel’s voice making him chuckle.

“Cause I am YOUR LAAAAAAAAAAAADYYYYYYY

And you are my maaaaaaan

Whenever you reeeeach for me

I’ll do all that I caaaaaaan”

Collapsing against the rough surface of the wall, Jon bit his lip in mirth to stop himself doubling over at the sight before him. Rachel was relaxing with her eyes closed on a cushion laid out on the decked veranda still wearing the pretty little summer dress from earlier happily warbling loudly and unashamedly along with the iPod speakers she had nestled beside her. The dipping sun’s rays were captured perfectly in the suntrap that she had unwittingly made her private stage, bathing the area in a warm light. The hem of her dress had risen to just above her knees, exposing her long slender legs to where her ankles crossed over one another leading to her bare feet lazily tapping along to the pulsating beat of the music.

He watched amusedly as she valiantly sang her heart out at the end of the song and waited patiently for the music to fade before starting a low applause grinning all the while. Rachel’s eyes flew open at the sound and she yanked herself upright to stare at him in fright.

“Oh my God Jon! You nearly scared me half to death!” She clasped a hand to her heart and sank back against the wall in relief, an embarrassed flush rising in her cheeks.

“Hey there Jennifer! Great to see you again after all these years! You look……….different to what I remember though!” Jon quipped as he chuckled at her, deftly presenting the bottle of wine from under his arm.

“If I’d known my new neighbour was such an icon I’d have brought something more suited to the occasion, afraid this will have to do!”

Rachel glowered at him for a second before resignedly shrugging her shoulders, a small smile breaking through her mortification.

“Have no fear Mr Bon Jovi, after hearing that you can rest assured you’re still the only icon in residence around these parts!”

Jon chortled, stepping forward to lend her a hand up as she got to her feet.

“It wasn’t all that bad, there were parts………”

Rachel reached behind her to brush any dust off the back of her dress and fixed him with an amused look. 

“Yeah I know – there were parts that were slightly less horrific than others!” Laughing she threw off her embarrassment with a shrug, “Hey at least you’ve heard the worst of me now – it doesn’t get much worse than that!” She accepted the bottle of wine he was proffering with a smile.

“Thank you, I wasn’t expecting to see you again……..so soon.” 

Jon stuck in his hands in his pockets and rocked gently back and forth on his scuffed heels. “I thought I’d come over and apologise for my performance this morning, I ruined our running date!”

Rachel raised her eyes to him in brief surprise at the word 'date'. So it was a date? Wow. She dropped her eyes and waved him away casually with a grin, moving through the open veranda doors into the airy kitchen.

“Don’t be silly, I still enjoyed myself. The tour of your house more than made up for the lack of any actual exercise!”

Setting the bottle down on a countertop, she turned back to watch Jon take in the large kitchen still largely devoid of any furniture.

“I’d return the favour but as you can see I’m not really set up yet.” Waving her hands about to indicate the bare cupboards she laughed lightly. “I don’t even have a corkscrew yet so I can’t even offer you a glass of your own wine!”

Jon shook his head in amazement as he walked further into the room. “How are you even living here?”

“Don’t worry; the stagers are arriving tomorrow with some furniture so hopefully in a few days it’ll look somewhat like a normal home!” She laughed back at him, “Then I can give you the grand tour of my temporary abode!”

Jon winked back at her. “Well in that case why don’t you come over the road to my place? I’m pretty sure I’ve got a corkscrew or two lying around.”

Rachel nervously twisted her fingers around one another, her face going crimson as she glanced down at the floor to her bare feet. Her heart was still pounding from the earlier fright of seeing him only now it was fluttering with nerves of desire and excitement. This was crazy.

“That is if you’ve no other plans for the evening?” Jon added gently, his hands still buried deep in his pockets. He could see her mulling the proposal over and he desperately wanted her to accept, lust was ruling his head again from the moment he’d ran his eyes over her delicious legs glimmering in the sunshine.

“Sure, that’d be nice. Let me just find some shoes and lock up?”

Jon breathed out a quick sigh of relief before he beamed back at her. Luck was on his side tonight or was that lust talking again?

~~~~~~~~~~~

“You know it’d be really hard to put a price on this view.”

Rachel sighed contentedly as she sat on the edge of the wooden pier dipping her feet in and out of the cool river water. Dusk was beginning to settle and the sky was streaked with pink and purple pastels as the sun continued its night time descent.

“You’d be the expert on that!” Jon spoke from beside her, slouching comfortably on his side idly twisting the stem of his wine glass between his thumb and forefinger. The half empty bottle sat in a cooler beside them, beads of condensation running freely down its side.

Rachel smiled softly and shook her head wistfully. “There are just some things in this world that can’t have a price put on them.”

Jon nodded thoughtfully in agreement. “You’re right. I guess it’s a long time since I came down here and appreciated it all.”

Rachel dropped her gaze from the darkening sky to look down at him. Wisps of honeyed hair drooped low across his forehead, his eyes soft as they travelled across the gentle ripples of water stretching across the river. Propped up by his elbow, the neck of his shirt gaped low to reveal feathery light chest hair just peeking out from below the open buttons.

“You must miss your kids…..” She spoke softly, unsure of whether she was probing into forbidden territory. When he looked up at her in surprise she blushed guiltily. “I Googled you…….”

To her shock, Jon laughed loudly before taking another sip of wine. “You did huh?” Grinning at her he sat up to grab the bottle for a refill. “Well then you know all there is to know for the most part.” 

Leaning across to top up her glass, he caught a whiff of her understated but sweet perfume.

“Which, might I add is very unfair considering I know nothing really about you.” He playfully threw down the challenge as he caught her eye before sitting up to place the empty bottle back in the cooler.

Rachel held his gaze for a moment before looking away, “Oh I’m pretty boring in comparison, nothing really to tell.” She took an extra-large gulp of wine and concentrated on watching her toes distort under the shimmering surface of the water.

Jon noticed the stiffness in her back and wondered quietly what her secret was. Goosebumps were forming on the back of her neck and she shivered involuntarily even in the warm still air of the evening. Reaching across he gently laid a hand on her shoulder, her skin smooth under his fingers.

“Hey, you getting cold?”

She jumped slightly under his touch but made no move to escape his hand. Taking another sip she smiled back at him shaking her head.

“No, I’m good……..”

Their eyes connected across her shoulder, Jon fingers gently tracing a slow circle across her spine sending spasms of yearning for more down to her core. Slowly he leaned closer, his voice a low husky gravel.

“So there’s nothing I need to know about you?”

Her lips quivered when he slid his fingers just inside the back of her light dress,

“Nothing…….”

Seamlessly she twisted into his arms, her shoulder tucked neatly against his hard chest. The only sound to break the silence was that of the water dripping noisily from her feet as she raised them out of the water to allow for her new position in his arms. Her fingers curled tightly around the wine glass in her hands as she wordlessly tipped her face up to Jon’s chin, so close his breath was warm on her cheeks. Her heart hammered so hard in her chest it was like a dull ache only soothed by the constant circling of his fingers on the side of her ribcage.

Jon felt her lean her light frame back in his arm and with his other hand he lifted it to tenderly tip her chin up to his. He could see the clouds of emotion swirl in her willowy green eyes until her eyelids fluttered closed. Gently he dropped a light kiss to her lips, barely touching until he felt her reciprocate and relax against his chest. Assured, he deepened the kiss moving his hand from her chin to under her hair, his fingers splayed through her soft roots.

Tantalisingly slow he took his time, gently exploring her lips with his own relishing the plump swell of their curves as he tasted the wine from her mouth on his tongue. A low moan escaped her and he broke apart just long enough to see her hooded eyes gaze back up at him.

“You okay baby?” Softly he whispered to her, gently caressing the back of her head with his fingers.

When she nodded he dropped his head to her once more, this time deepening the kiss when he felt her slip a hand under his arm to softly knead his chest. Lust swarmed to his groin and with a groan he pulled her upright in his arms to nestle her on his lap. With the movement the thin strap of her dress fell sideways exposing one bare shoulder that he couldn’t resist nipping with his teeth.

“Ohhhhhh….” Rachel’s low murmur of appreciation wasn’t lost on him as he moved his hands down her back and around to her chest, his thumbs spreading wide to trace the curve of  her firm bust through the loose fabric of her dress.  Both of her hands kneaded the muscles at the nape of his neck, her fingers stretching down under the collar of his shirt as he alternately sucked and nibbled at her collarbone. She writhed mercilessly against his thighs where she lay half straddling him, the hard shaft of his cock straining against the denim of his jeans becoming undeniably noticeable.

“Rachel……..” Jon grunted as he squirmed beneath her trying to release the pressure that was building in his groin, if she wasn’t careful he was gonna blow his load there and then.

“Mmmn?” Half opening her eyes to look down at him Rachel suddenly realised that they were still very visible in the fading light from anyone still out boating on the river. Breathlessly she peeled herself off him, righting the strap of her dress self-consciously.

“Umm, I’m sorry, I don’t know what…….” The moment was broken as both of them became aware of where they were. “Jon…..I…….this is lovely, I mean this……” She stammered her words as she reluctantly released the cradle she had been holding on his neck. With a nervous laugh she carefully sidled off his lap and stiffly got to her feet to toe on her pretty flowery pumps.

Jon blew out a breath, gently placing a discreet hand over the spot on his lap that she had just vacated, grimacing as the friction of the rough denim burned his throbbing shaft. Leaning back slightly on his other hand to alleviate the pressure somewhat he looked concernedly at her.

“I’m sorry too Rachel, Hell I didn’t plan on this.”

Like Hell you didn’t jackass.

Ignoring the loud protests of his conscience, he watched as she flustered at her attempt to get her shoes on. She bent over in front of him to pull a finger around the rim of the crinkled fabric of a shoe, allowing Jon a full frontal view of the delicious breasts he had been so nearly joyously fondling only moments earlier, neatly supported by a simple white cotton strapless bra. The view was doing nothing to ease the pressure in his jeans and he forced his eyes away from her delicious curves to focus on the light golden chain that was swinging like a pendulum from her neck. Just before she righted herself, he caught sight of the pair of rings nestled together at the bottom of the chain.

Before he could react to enquire about her jewellery, Rachel hurriedly slipped them back under the front of her dress, the rings disappearing from view as they dropped on their chain to between her breasts.

“I should go, busy day tomorrow…….”

Not waiting to process his thoughts, Jon blurted an invitation across her agitated mumblings.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow?”

Rachel paused in the hurried straightening of her dress to stare at him, her blonde hair still tossed and tousled from his fingers. Before she could answer him Jon gazed unblinkingly into her worried eyes to softly calm her fears.

“Please?”

A small smile eased across her ruby lips, still reddened by their passionate exchange with his.

“I’d like that…..very much. Around seven? I should be done with the stagers by then…..”

His erection starting to dissipate slightly, Jon stiffly got to his feet to gently take her still trembling hand in his own. Gently he reached up to tuck a curled tress of hair behind her right ear, pausing to softly rub his thumb across her flamed cheek. As much as his curiosity had been peaked by the brief glimpse he had gotten of what looked to him to be a pair of wedding rings now secreted away from his view, he needed to keep this situation under control before she ran out on him. He broadened his warm smile into a reassuring grin, his blue eyes still sparkling with voracity.

“It’s a date….”