Chapter Fourteen

Jon yawned and scratched lazily at his bare chest while he lay amongst the tossed sheets of his bed listening to the steady gush of water from the shower of his ensuite that had roused him from sleep. Shadowy beams of sunlight were just beginning to filter through the gaps of the heavy brocade curtains that lined the large balcony windows of the bedroom. Groaning he rolled over only to grimace at the early hour blinking back at him from the alarm clock.

Six am – Fuck!

This was a ridiculous time of day to be awake, much less actually moving about taking into consideration the late night activities he had undertaken with his new neighbour last night. Smirking he let his head fall back on the pillow for a moment, recalling the pleasures of getting to know Rachel better - much better. She had made love to him last night with all the enthusiasm of a college chick, if he could remember back that far – and thankfully his body had responded to her urgings, several times in fact.

The muscles in his lower back protested angrily as he eased himself upright and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was no spring chicken anymore – that was a fact he was going to have to remember the next time he decided to have impromptu sex up against a wall. Glancing at the closed door of the ensuite where Rachel had slipped into the shower while he was still sound asleep he considered going in to join her. If he had to be up at this hour it may as well have some benefits!

Tapping lightly on the door he paused for a moment waiting for a response above the crashing din of the shower water before gently pushing down the handle to swing the door inwards. A faint cloud of steam hovered in the warm air, the soft overhead lighting casting a golden glow that draped over the large ceramic washbasins and smooth marble counters.

“Rachel?”

Not wanting to frighten her, Jon cautiously called out before he advanced anymore into the heavy steam cloud that was billowing out from the top of the shower cubicle. His bare toes slipped silently along the slick floor tiles splaying slightly for grip, his hand deftly shutting the door behind him stopping the cool draught of the air conditioning from intruding further.

“Good morning!” Rachel’s shower sodden head peeked out from around the shower door smiling guiltily as drips of water ran down her flushed cheeks and off the end of her nose. “Sorry if I woke you?”

“There are ways you can make it up for having a man awake at this hour you know?” Jon lifted his eyebrows mischievously, his hands resting unashamedly on either side of his naked hips.

Rachel’s cheeks glowered not from the heat of the shower this time but from embarrassment. It had been a long time since she’d had a conversation in a bathroom with a naked man, let alone one who’s sheer magnificent physique made her knees tremble and her insides quiver.

“Oh really?”

“Yes…….really.” Smirking Jon sauntered over to her, his fingers rising to her face to push back the sodden strands of hair that clung to her ears as he brushed his lips against her cheek. “Good morning sunshine!”

Laughing Rachel stepped back under the flood of water cascading from the shower head to grant him admittance only to gasp in surprise as Jon hit another button once he had the pulled the door shut that unleashed a torrent of massaging jets from the walls around them. The powerful jets pummelled their bodies, Rachel’s eyes closing in a low groan of appreciation at the invisible watery hands working their magic until she felt Jon’s arms encircle her, his moist body moulding to her own under the fountain of warm water falling from above their heads.

“Some dinner date huh?”

Smiling Jon let his hands glide down the smooth contours of her back until they came to rest at the base of her spine. Shower soaked hair flopped forward onto his forehead as he leaned in to kiss her gently, her face slippery from the torrent of water that flowed between them. Her small hands threaded their way through the feathery hair that sprung from his chest, his nipples puckering as she grazed them with the tips of her fingers.

“You never did tell me what was in that sauce?”

Her eyes, soft and watering from the steam of the shower blinked innocently at him, her fingers curling around his neck conveying she was interested in far more than a pasta recipe.

“How’s about we swap recipes later? Right now I’m kinda interested in cooking something up in here….” Jon growled softly as he nibbled at the soft flesh of her earlobe. 

Rachel giggled as his hand crept between her legs, cupping her sex intimately while his middle finger burrowed further to flick across her clitoris. A flash of pain from their passionate exchanges last night mingled with tingles of pleasure making her wince and gasp all in the one breath. Jon’s face clouded with concern, his hand withdrawing from her instantly.

“Hey, you okay baby?”

Blushing she smiled back at him, her voice reassuring him. 

“I’m fine! It’s just that………well it had been a while for me before last night…….” 

Taking his hand she guided him back to where he had been administering his affections seconds earlier. “I’m just a bit rusty…….that’s all.”

Grinning Jon winked down at her, he had vague recollections of pinning her to the bed several times just hours ago. He allowed her to lead him back between her soft legs, his fingers gently caressing her slick folds this time, his eagerness reluctantly harnessed as he felt the familiar surge of blood to his groin.

“You fooled me baby, I’d have said you were anything but rusty……”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later and Rachel had reluctantly left to rush back to her own house, a full day of coordinating painters and repair guys ahead of her. Jon dressed only in the pair of shorts and tee shirt that he had pulled on after their steamy shower session leaned against the French doors of the kitchen smiling as he watched her scurry across the lawn. Her dress crumpled from its night spent lying in a corner of his room was reminiscent of their night of fun. His mind felt clearer than it had in an age, not just because of the mind blowing sex he’d enjoyed for most of the night but from the ease of which he felt with her. It wasn’t everyday he let people into his life so fast, sure he’d had plenty of ten minute quick fucks to keep him entertained over the past few months but he’d never looked beyond them. He hadn’t wanted to – until now.

“My, my so you didn’t burn the place down then?”

A familiar voice startled Jon from his musings and he slowly turned away from the door to chuckle at his faithful housekeeper.

“Alice even I am capable of heating up a damn lasagne!”

The middle aged woman shook her kind face in amusement, the grey tint of her hair reflecting in the morning sunshine.

“Uhuh…….so why am I seeing a floor covered in burnt crumbs then? Goodness me Jon!” She lifted her hands to exclaim at him as she surveyed the black smudges on the kitchen tiles. “I said warm the bread not incinerate it!”

Tutting her disapproval Alice swept her eyes over the dishes piled haphazardly on the counter and the half eaten lasagne still sitting in its dish by the open oven door.

“Okay so I got distracted and the bread didn’t make it!” Rolling his eyes Jon crossed the floor to fondly embrace the woman who had taken care of his house for more years than he could remember. 

“But your lasagne was a hit! So thank you.”

Alice bit back a smile and swatted him away. Approaching her seventieth birthday in any other job she would have been long since retired but taking care of Jon and his family had been her life ever since they had moved to Middletown. Now that the kids were grown up for the most part and living with Dorothea in the city keeping the house in order was considerably easier but nonetheless she still considered taking care of Jon a full time job. She had seen him go through tough times in the past and thought of him more as a son than her employer. She certainly worried about him enough, that was for sure.

“Your company is gone?”

Bustling about the kitchen methodically tidying the aftermath of Jon’s entertainment, she casually made her enquiries regardless of the fact that she had already witnessed the departure of the pretty blonde across the lawn as she had driven in.

“Yep, I’m all yours!” Fumbling with the coffee machine Jon winked over at her, his broad smile warming her heart. 

Normally she didn't involve herself in his private affairs; then again she had never before seen a strange woman escape across his lawn so early in the morning. She had worried ceaselessly about him ever since the divorce, her own heart had broken for him when she’d had to stand by and watch his marriage break up.

“Well aren’t I the lucky one?” Chuckling Alice stopped her clean-up operation to look across at him.

“I suppose you’ll want breakfast to go with that coffee you’re attempting to make over there?”

Jon beamed back at her over his shoulder, his fingers deftly twisting the steam nozzle on the barista machine to adjust the milky froth, “Well seeing as you’re offering………”

Alice shook her head wryly, “I have you spoilt!”

Throwing back his head, Jon laughed loudly in agreement. Little did Alice know exactly how spoilt he’d been in the last twelve hours or so.

“Don’t I know it! Coffee?”

~~~~~~~~~~

A little while later, Alice was in the midst of her laundry rounds. Stopping in the master bedroom she was in the process of whipping the sheets off the bed and bundling them into her basket when a glimmer of something bright against the white linen caught her eye. Spreading out the corner of the sheet, she blinked in surprise at the necklace which lay semi concealed in a fold of the sheet. Closer inspection revealed two rings dangling on the end of a delicate gold chain which appeared to have snapped just before the tiny catch. Cradling the rings in the palm of her knarled hand, try as she might her tired old eyes couldn’t make out the intricate details of the rings but she could see enough to know they were wedding bands. Curiosity piqued at her mind as she turned them over in her hands, presumably they belonged to the woman Jon had been entertaining last night.

Puzzled she sat down wearily on the edge of the soft mattress, the rings chinking against one another as she turned them over in her hands.

Dear oh dear Jon. Who have you gotten yourself involved with now?

Silently musing to herself as she stared at her find for a moment longer, she thought back to the woman she’d caught a glimpse of earlier. Alice’s eyes may not have been sharp enough to closely examine the rings nestled in her hand but her sight had no problem picking out the woman’s – yes woman, not a girl’s, pretty features and slim figure as she had bounded across the lawn presumably heading for home, wherever that may be.

She sure looked normal enough, well as normal as a woman escaping a man’s house across his lawn in the early hours of the morning could.

Quit it Alice you old fool, this is none of your damn business!

She chided herself for her speculations, slipping the rings along with the broken chain into a pocket of her apron. Whatever they signified or whoever they belonged to, it wasn’t her place to question their existence or how they had come to find their way cast off amongst the sheets of Jon’s bed. He was a grown man and as always there were aspects of his life that as much as she loved him dearly, she was just better off not knowing. Bundling the rest of the sheets into her basket, she set off resolutely to find her employer who was no doubt working up a sweat in the gym. She would simply pass her finding along to him – his bed equals HIS problem.