Chapter Fifty Four

Buckling up for landing at the small regional airport near Rachel’s home in California, Jon ran his fingers through his hair to tidy the messy locks back into something that didn't blatantly announce his carnal activities during the flight.

“You better hope this real estate thing works out baby, because the FAA would sure as hell fire you as a flight attendant for the shenanigans you pulled while in the air today.”

“Are you complaining about the service on this flight, sir?"

A bawdy laugh came from the depths of his chest and he was vaguely reminded he’d been laughing a lot lately. “Hardly.  I don’t recall a cross-country flight passing so quickly before.  I’d love to get you on a flight to Tokyo. Or Australia!" Flashes of pure evil ran through his mind and, with a lustful grin, Jon closed his eyes and crossed himself. "Oh yeah…The things you could do to me by the time we’d make Australia!”

Rachel pressed her lips together to blend the lipstick she’d applied, “Wait until you see what Mrs. Claus has in mind for the Christmas run next month.”

Winding his arm around Rachel’s neck, Jon pulled her into him for an affectionate kiss. “You gonna have a little ‘ho ho ho’ action for me there, Mrs. Claus?”

“Mmmm. You never know what might turn up in your Christmas stocking.”

Eyes narrowed, Jon drew the air in between his teeth and hissed, “You…in stockings. Jesus, Lord…I may have the pilot file the flight plan from Jersey to California via Russia. I could get into this whole dual-family, bi-coastal holiday thing.”

Rachel snorted a little and raised her eyebrows at him wryly. “Yeah if the fuel costs weren't
bankrupting you!”

“Right…you’re definitely the most expensive piece of tail I've ever had….but what a ride it is.” Jon cupped her chin and kissed her softly, “and worth every penny I might add.”

Rachel laughed softly at the realization that all men really were alike and rolled her eyes before she could stop herself.  “I'm sure my father will be delighted that you find my tail worth the tens of thousands of dollars it’s costing to transport it for the holidays.”

“Honey, if your father knew what your tight little tail was doing to warrant it being worth those many tens of thousands of dollars he’d have me arrested and you locked up for sure.”

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

The cab they’d taken from the airport meandered the love birds through the small, vineyard dotted community of Livermore, California. Jon knew he was in the right place when the property adjacent to the airport was planted in grapes and the up-scale nature of the neighborhood and surrounding wineries wasn't lost on him. Tearing his gaze away from the window, he smirked down at Rachel nestled comfortably against his shoulder.

“Well, you’re not exactly broke are you, little girl?”

Rachel’s face crumpled into a frown as she twisted to look up at him, “Whatever made you think I was broke?”

“I didn't….but I didn't expect Hearst Castle either.”

“Oh please….this place is probably smaller than one floor of your city apartment.” Grinning, Rachel relaxed back against his firm chest and resumed her gaze out the window at the passing scenery.

While Rachel unlocked the front door and disarmed the alarm, Jon paid the driver and carried the bags through the massive front door with side panels of leaded glass. The first thing to catch his eye was the black baby grand piano in the formal living room which sat at an angle next to a white marble fireplace.

“Who plays the piano?”

“Lauren and I did. I paid for lessons for Tyler – a complete waste of money - he was all about football.”

The house itself was beautiful, Jon immediately noted. The entryway was open to the second floor with the formal living room to the left and a formal dining room to the right. Dark hardwood floors accented the patterned carpet, making it stylish and elegant while still being comfortable and warm - just like Rachel.

“I never knew you played the piano.”

“Well, I can’t sell out Madison Square Garden, but I can tear up anything from “Saturday Night Fever.  C’mon…let’s get settled in and I’ll show you MY little world.”

Tossing the strap to his bag over his shoulder and carrying hers in the other hand, Jon followed Rachel up the carpeted staircase. Along the wall were two large frames holding a trio of pictures of each of the children.  First as babies, then toddlers and finally what he assumed had been current pictures at the time of their deaths.

Eyes drifting further up ahead, he found that at the top of the staircase was enshrined an enormous portrait of Rachel and Nick on their wedding day.  The parts of the house that he'd seen so far were understated, but this thing was far from understated.  It made a loud proclamation as to who the King of this castle was.

When Jon crested the stairs and  veered to the right,  in through the double-door entry to the master suite, he was surprised at the vastness of the room. The enormous kind-size bed commanded attention and couldn't be overlooked.  Nor could the picture on the night stand - of Rachel’s husband holding a newborn. Jon kept pictures of Dorothea and their children in his house, mostly for the sake of his children, but now he wondered if it made Rachel as uncomfortable as he felt in the same position. He didn't know if it was jealousy or a foreign sense of insecurity that had welcomed him into this room. Proof of Rachel’s life with another man was already engulfing him and he’d barely seen the place. She had loved and been loved here.

And Jon discovered he didn't like that realization one bit.

When Rachel had finished opening the shutters in the room and returned to his side, Jon pushed behind her ear the strand of fly-away hair that always seemed to be hanging from her blonde locks. “Would you be more comfortable if we…or I…stayed in a hotel?”

Eyebrows furrowed, Rachel shook her head firmly. “No! Not at all. This is no different than me being in your house.”

Rock star or not, at this moment, Jon Bon Jovi was just a man - in another man’s domain. He felt like an intruder.  Like he didn't belong here…or had no right to be here. It wasn't a familiar feeling.

He wasn't in  high school any more, the one place in the world  where he’d been an outsider. He could command the attention of thousands upon thousands of people with just a shake of his hips, for crying out loud!

“It’s a lot easier to understand what you meant about the ghosts of the past….now that the shoe is on the other foot.”

Rachel’s voice was quiet and tender when she slid her hands up his chest and gazed into his troubled eyes. “I'm happy you’re here.”  She kissed his mouth with a softness that contradicted the firmness in her fingertips at his neck. “I'm happy, period.  For the first time in a long time, it feels good to be in this house.   Now what I need is for you to be happy here with me. All of this…..” she swept her hands to motion toward the bed, “…..all this is brand new.  It's just for us - you and me - and tonight it deserves a proper Christening. Think you can handle that?”

The playful teasing in her eyes combined with the seductive tone in her voice was intended to comfort him. Jon knew that. He wouldn't disappoint her for anything in the world and that's why he tried his damnedest to follow her lead and match the light-hearted tone.  “Why don’t you finish showing me around the place before you start trying to get me naked, hmm?”

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

                                                                              

After a  brief tour of the upstairs that only gave a  passing glance to the children’s rooms, they made their way through the rest of the  house and finally to the kitchen and family room.  He would bet visitors to the Braden home were immediately captivated by the view from these rooms - who wouldn't be drawn in by a massive pool, spa and a fireplace that would have been to scale with most small resorts?

But Jon didn't give it any more than a swift glance.

His attention was captured by something far more ordinary -  the oversized leather chair and scuffed ottoman.  Nondescript and past its usefulness by some standards, it had obviously belonged to the man he’d formerly thought of as “Saint Nick”. 

Now?   Now, the ghost of “King Nick” seemed to be nipping at his heels with every step, and his throne took its own fair-sized bite.  

“That’s some pool you've got.” The blindly polite observation fairly leapt out of Jon’s mouth in an effort to stop himself from completing his thoughts about the deceased Mr Braden.

“It ain't exactly the Navesink River but it serves its purpose. I had the spa heated up…think I can tempt you for a soak later?”

Rachel was happy, or at least happier than Jon had seen her. Ever.  Happy on her turf, and he almost resented it.

She’d been warm and gracious while in his home and with his family, so why was he having such a hard time feeling the same?  She deserved that much and if he couldn't actually feel it, he was going to have to put those acting classes to good use or risk making Rachel  as uncomfortable as he was.

The flirty grin came easily to Jon; he used it a hundred times each night on stage. “It almost sounds as if you’re trying to seduce me, Ms. Braden.”

Based on the flash in his girl’s eyes, it was every bit as effective on her as it was the fans. But then the flash faded and he was immediately aware that she knew him better than he realized.  She immediately could see through his feigned enthusiasm, but Rachel continued to play along.

“If it only ‘almost’ sounds like I'm trying to seduce you Mr. Bongiovi then I'm being entirely too subtle.”

“Shocking….. considering your total lack of subtlety on the plane.”

The smirk that came as second nature to him indicated that Jon was warming up to his surroundings. Rachel knew the best way to totally thaw her man was with wine. Lots of it. “Well, I guess I can luxuriate in the hot tub with a glass of wine by myself if you’re getting all shy on me.”

Shoulders and face relaxed, Jon ran his fingers up under her sweater while his thumbs brushed across her middle.  His natural appeal came front and center, where he was most comfortable.

“Am I going to need a glass of wine and a soak in the spa after dinner with your family tonight?”

Mission accomplished, Rachel was sure he was over his jitters. “No…but you’ll probably want to plan for an extra-long workout tomorrow….my mother will feed you the minute you step foot in the door and won’t let up until we leave.  If you’re ready, I’d love to head on over there.”

“Sure, let’s go.” The horny teenager that she knew and loved  in Jon carried on, “The sooner I get you there, the sooner I can bring you back here for that wine-laced romp in the hot tub.”

The sliding glass door had been secured and Rachel was fluffing the pillows on the sofa as she rolled her eyes at Jon’s never-ending sex talk. “My parents’ house isn't far, only about 5 minutes. Car keys are on the hook next to the door. I'm just gonna run upstairs and get my purse.  Be right there.”

Jon watched with a relaxed,  indulgent smile as the whirlwind that Rachel had become virtually skipped across the room and up the stairs.  She was anxious to see her family and he was feeling more at ease. The promise of an early evening and sipping wine with a naked Rachel in the spa had done wonders for his irrational insecurity.

He absently grabbed the key ring off the hook, and opened the door leading to the garage.  Pushing the button to raise the garage door, he muttered good naturedly to himself, “I guess that means I'm driving, huh?”

No more than two minutes later, Rachel bounded into the garage only to find him rooted to the center of the floor, with a frozen expression.  It came close to  matching the coldness in his eyes and the icy, almost accusatory tone when he demanded,  “Was this your husband’s car? The key chain has an “N” on it.  Was this Nick’s car?”

“Yeah….I didn't replace my car after the accident.”

Jon held the keys out to her and shook his head resolutely.  “I'm not driving the guy’s car Rachel! I'm sleeping with his wife in his house, but I draw the line at driving his car.”

Rachel stared at him in amazement. “You’re being silly.”

Jon shrugged his shoulders and held his ground, stubborn as always. “Whatever.  I'm NOT driving his car. Trust me, he’d like that even less than me sleeping with his wife.”

Rachel thought he was just being a jerk.  The rolling of her eyes, followed by her own stubborn silence conveyed the message quite clearly, because the ice melted a bit and he sought the words that would smooth this situation over.

“Look Rachel, if your husband were absent because you divorced, this would be a totally different thing….but the guy’s dead! The only reason we’re together is HE’S dead. It’s a guy thing.  In this situation driving another guy’s car is taboo!  Just trust me.”

She stepped in, placing her leg between his and pulled him as close as was physically possible with a firmness that relayed she meant business.

“The only reason we’re together is because we want to be. Circumstances brought me to you, that’s true enough, but I've already told you...as much as I loved Nick and our life, I can’t imagine missing out on you and me.” Her fingernails scraped through the hair at his temple as she kissed him. “ I'm not anybody’s wife any more.  This is a house I shared with my family, yes, but I hope you and I will make our own memories here, just like we have in your home.”

Jon felt her love, felt her need to soothe his discomfort, and he loved her that much more for it. He kissed the top of her head with a soft sigh.

“I’m not an insecure guy Rach, and if he were alive he wouldn't even be on my radar. I think the circumstances of this whole thing just became more real when we got here.  I had the reality of you loving somebody else slap me in the face as soon as we walked in the door. The reality of somebody loving you…..And it made me a little possessive, that’s all. I'm sorry.  It’ll be fine.”

He felt her wind her arms around his waist.   He saw the sincerity in her eyes just before they started to tear up and then he heard her speak the most soul-baring words yet.  

“Jon...I told you the other night that I've never loved anyone like I love you. Not with the passion or the depth that I love you.  Don’t make me elaborate on that.  I don’t have the heart to lessen what I had with Nick and our family.”

And there it was.   Confirmation that he was her number one. 

Without her saying the words, Jon realized what she was telling him and he knew he would never ask her to go down that road again. She loved him more than she had anyone else. He knew that wasn't an easy thing for her to admit to herself, let alone to him. She loved him enough to want him to know he was King of her castle, wherever that might be.

The kiss started out as a silent, healing acknowledgement between them. Then the emotional road they’d just crossed quickly took it to a more passionate, almost desperate tangling of arms, hands and mouths.

Jon vocalized what his mind had been screaming in between hot, feverish kisses, “Too bad your parents are expecting us…”

Eyes fluttered open, frowning at the interruption of her hand’s desperate search for his skin.    The frown was followed quickly by the mischievousness of Rachel that became more evident with each passing day.   “My parents don’t even know we've landed yet…”

“You don’t say….”

Taking her hand, he guided her through the garage door and into the kitchen, punching the button to seal the outside garage door on his way.

It was interesting how the house looked and felt different to him.  While they’d been in the garage, Ghostbusters had come and cleaned the place out, leaving nothing but a home where the two of them would make happy, hot and horny memories.  

It left only one serious matter hanging over their heads:    Christening the bedroom.