Burning for You (Blackwater) (16 page)

“Well that’s exciting,” I say,
sitting down on the couch.  I look over at Ash, who is sitting up and looking
at me with a quizzical expression.  I hold up a finger, telling him to wait. 
“When does she get to bring the baby home?  Is it a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t know anything,” my mother
says.   “If Heidi were having the baby herself, I’d have a better sense of
what’s going on.  Isabel is here too and doesn’t know what’s happening either. 
We feel very lost.”

“You mean you feel like how the
rest of the world feels when something like this happens,” I laugh.  “Maybe
it’ll be nice to be surprised for once.”

“It’s not the way I like things to
happen at all,” she replies.  “But I wanted to keep you apprised.  Jack is home
and I’m going over to help him with the nursery setup, and go shopping for
things they’ll need, like diapers and formula.  They aren’t even remotely
ready.”

“No, I guess they wouldn’t be,” I
agree, thinking about how Heidi explained the adoption process worked, where
they could call you any time and you would need to be ready to go, or they
could never call at all.  “Do you need my help?”

“I thought you could find a store
in town that sells cribs and choose one,” my mother says.  “It might be nice to
have that be a gift from you.  You can bring Ash over to Heidi’s when you’re
done.  I’d like to formally meet him.”

“Maybe we will,” I say tentatively,
looking at Ash, who is still gazing at me and probably wanting to know what’s
going on.  “I’ll call Eleanor, too.  She’ll be so excited.”

“Good idea,” my mother agrees. 
“I’ll see you over at Heidi’s house later today?”

“Yes, you will,” I agree.  We say
goodbye and hang up.  “Well, I guess I’m going to be an aunt,” I tell Ash. 

“What, really?” he says, sitting up
and smiling.  “Your sister is expecting?”

“No, Heidi is too selfish to ruin
her body for a baby,” I tell him.  “She’s adopting and going to get the baby
right now.”

“No kidding,” Ash says, grinning. 
“That’s great.”

I nod.  “I think it’ll be good for
Heidi.  My mother wants me to come help her shop for baby stuff to get
everything ready.  They need a crib.”

Ash can’t hide his disappointment
very easily.  “I understand.  But I want to see you tonight.”

I shake my head.  “Did you have
something better to do?”

He lights up like a Christmas
tree.  “Really?  No.  Nothing would beat spending the day with you.”

“Okay,” I say.  “Let’s get dressed
and we can shop.”

Ash gets up off the bed and
approaches me.  “Just slow down for a second.  I think you could use a shower,
first.”

“Oh?” I say, standing up to meet
his embrace.  His hands slide under the black t-shirt I’ve borrowed and over my
breasts.  “I think I could spare a few minutes to clean myself up.”  He pulls
the shirt up and over my head and bends down to take my nipple in his mouth. 
He sucks gently, and it ironically makes me think of Heidi and her baby.  I
push him away with these thoughts and grin at him, then turn and head to the
bathroom.

Ash’s shower is a huge, black
marble affair.  He turns it on and adjusts the temperature and pulls me
inside.  I enjoy the nozzles that spray my entire body coming out of the walls,
and think of how I could spend a whole day in here.  His strong, agile fingers
stroke my wet flesh as his lips graze me everywhere.  They start at my earlobes
and travel down to my neck and over my collarbone.  He has to kneel to take my
hardened nipples in his mouth and make me moan as he gently pulls with his
teeth.  He pushes me back to let his lips graze down over my stomach, rivulets
of water pouring over my breasts and into his dark hair.  When he kisses me
between my thighs, my hands press against the sides and I gasp with the
electricity he sends through me.  His beautiful fingers press inside of me,
stroking and urging me to come.  His tongue dances circles around my clit, and
he pushes two fingers inside of me, making my knees buckle with pleasure.  When
he sucks gently, I can’t take it anymore.  I double over his body as my hands
push his head away from me due to the intensity of his mouth against me.  I
slide down to meet him on the shower floor, and he continues to kiss and stroke
me everywhere.  “Stand,” I tell him when I’ve recovered.  “It’s your turn.”

He does as he’s told and I finally
get a good look at his cock, which is standing at attention for me, ready to be
lavished with my mouth.  I lick the very end where the dab of pre-cum has
gathered and taste him, salty and thick.  He moans from the touch of my tongue
to his tip, and his hands drift down to my shoulders, lightly touching them but
careful not to put any pressure on me.  With one hand I grasp the shaft of his
cock and bring my mouth over the head as far down as I can go.  I gag lightly
on him, letting the saliva flow down the sides of him and mix with the water
from the shower.  He moans as I begin to stroke my lips back and forth along
the length of him, my hand moving along in a perfect rhythm.  I can feel him
pulsing inside the warmth of my mouth.  “I’m coming,” he whispers, which I can
just barely hear over the hiss of the shower stream.  I remove my hand from his
cock and push him as far into my mouth as he will go and feel his warm liquid
gush down my throat, filling my mouth with his taste.  I swallow it back and
smile seductively at Ash.  “You drank it,” he says, almost as an accusation.

“I know,” I say.  “I wanted to. 
Why are you so shocked?”

“No one’s ever done that with me,”
he says. 

“Oh?” I say, getting off my knees,
which are slightly sore from the shower floor.  “Not even Erika?” I can’t
resist saying.

“Come on, Leah,” he says.  “Don’t
ruin it.”

“You’re the one who brought up
other people,” I say.  “How many other people have there been?  Should we get
that out of the way?”  My cheeks feel hot under the shower spray, even though
the water is hot, I can tell I’m flushed from my temper rising.

Ash leans back against the wall,
arms crossed, looking at me through that half-lidded gaze he’s apparently
mastered for the art of intimidation.  “You’re the one that’s married.”

My eyes widen.  Why does he have to
keep reminding me?  I push the glass door to the shower open and storm out, wet
strands of hair attached to my cheeks and a sheet of my hair plastered to my
back.  I snatch a dark red towel off of the towel warmer – yes, an actual towel
warmer – and wrap it around me, covering my nudity.  “Leah, don’t run,” Ash
says, practically leaping out of the shower.  He doesn’t bother with the towel
and grabs me from behind and holds me tightly.

“Let go,” I say through my teeth. 

“No,” he says.  “You’re really warm
and I’m cold.”

“Don’t make me laugh!  I’m pissed!”

He laughs.  “Look,” he says in my
ear.   “We’ve both got a past.  It’s expected.  It’s not like we met when we
were young.  We’ve lived some of our lives before we found each other.  We’ve
had to wait for each other, and now that we’ve found each other, let’s not
waste any time fighting, okay?  If you want to know everything about me, all
you have to do is ask, but don’t use it as ammunition or a way to push me out
of your life, okay?  I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.  Understand?”  I nod,
feeling his words make perfect sense in my mind.  He’s right, I think, this is
it.  Why argue over stupid shit that neither one of us has any control over
changing?  “Let me dry you off and we can find you some regular clothes and go
take care of your errands together, publically, as a couple.”

“I’d like that,” I whisper, turning
to gaze up into his eyes.  He narrows them and presses his forehead to mine,
and I wonder if we’re ever going to leave his room today.   “Stop seducing me,
Mr. Lavanne, I’m already soaking wet and running late.”

He pulls back and grins, backing
away from me with his hands up in a “surrender” pose.  “I apologize Miss Holt,
but I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

Ash drives away from Normandy after
an awkward escape.  I didn’t feel like being confronted by his mother, sister
or any of his brothers that might be around during my walk of shame out of his
bedroom.  I had to promise Ash that I would attend a family dinner in exchange
for him sneaking me out of the house.   He had to find out from James where his
mother was, and when we learned she was having breakfast in the dining room
with Olivia, we took a back staircase to avoid running into them.

The temperature has dropped
significantly, but it’s a November morning and it will warm up during the day
when the sun has had more time out.  As we pass by the vineyard driving away
from Normandy, I promise myself I will go for a run around the grounds, but it
just wasn’t in the stars today.  “What are you thinking?” Ash asks me. 

“About the run we never had,” I
tell him.  Something else pops into my head.  “I should call Eleanor and let
her know about Heidi and the adoption,” I say.  “Though I’m sure my mother
called Renee already.  I told her I would call Eleanor and she gave me her cell
phone number the other day when we went to lunch.”

“Eleanor Laurent?” Ash asks me.  I
recall that Eleanor is no longer a Dubois and I’m startled to hear my
ex-boyfriend’s last name paired with hers.  I nod casually. 

“You know Eleanor?” I ask him. 

He nods.  “My brother Demetri is
good friends with her husband, Andrew.”  He looks at me.  “Do you know Drew?”

I’m sure I’m completely red with
embarrassment.  I nod slowly.   “Yes, I know Drew.” 

Ash glances at me.  “So give her a
call, unless you don’t want to talk in front of me.”

“Oh,” I say, suddenly nervous. 
“No, I’ll call her.”  I go into my contact list on my phone and find her number
and hit the call button.

It rings twice and then I hear a
male voice answer.  “Leah?”  I’m completely speechless for four awkward
seconds.  “Hello?”

“Hi Drew,” I say softly.  “I called
Eleanor.”

“Yes, you did,” he says.  “She
happens to be sleeping right now, though, so I thought I’d pick up.”

“Oh,” I say.  “Well, I can call
back later.  Or I can call again and let it go to voicemail.”  My heart seems
to be racing so fast I swear Ash should be able to hear it.  “It’s nice of you
to let her sleep late on a Saturday.”

“Well, considering she was up all
night in labor, I figure she earned it.”

“What?  Really?” I exclaim
excitedly.  “She had the baby last night?”

“Yes, it’s a boy,” I hear Drew say
proudly.  “Phillip Andrew Laurent.”

“After El’s dad, of course,” I
say.  “That’s so great, Drew.  Both are doing alright?  Eleanor and the baby?”

“They’re fine,” he replies, and I
can hear the smile in his voice.  “Just tired.  Come by this evening if you’re
free.  We’ll be here another day or two, and I’m sure she’d love for you to
stop in.”  He pauses again.  “It would be nice to see you, Leah.  I’m glad to
hear you’re back in town.”

I glance over at Ash and smile. 
“I’m glad to be back,” I say.  I really mean it.  “I’ll definitely stop by to
see the baby,” I say.  We exchange goodbyes and I hang up, grinning like an
idiot.  “Eleanor had the baby,” I say, stating the obvious.

Ash nods.  “That’s good, though I
guessed it the moment you said she had the baby on the phone to Drew.”

“I know, I’m just excited,” I say,
leaning back in the leather seat and turning toward Ash.  “Today is just full
of good news.”

“It seems to be,” Ash replies,
taking my hand and squeezing it.  “So I’m not going to spoil it by asking why
you’re so jittery when you’re speaking to Drew.”

I’m taken aback and once again,
speechless.  “I-I…we went to school together,” I say.  “Eleanor, Drew and I
were all friends.”

“And that’s all?”

I shake my head.  “We dated.”

Ash nods.  “Okay.”

“And I lost my virginity to him in
the front seat of my car,” I spit out, keeping my eyes focused on the road.

“Well that’s weird,” Ash replies. 
“Who does it in the front seat?”

I look at him, flabbergasted. 
“People with two door cars, obviously.”

*

Baby stores are perplexing places,
and I’ve never been in one until today.  We opted out of the baby superstore
because my mother insisted on the phone that Heidi requires a quality crib that
hasn’t been recalled.  She’s called me twice en route to the store, making sure
I know what I’m doing when it comes to baby shopping, which I really don’t. 
All of the cribs look the same to me, but I echo my mother’s warning to the
salesman at Cookie’s Cribs and Car Seats, who seems to know exactly what I’m
talking about.  He goes on to blab about drop sides and convertible cribs and
by the end, I vow to get sterilized so I never have to go to another baby store
again.

“When are you due?” the salesman
asks me, to which I blush furiously and look at Ash.

“February thirtieth,” Ash replies
heartily, rubbing my flat stomach.  The salesman nods and smiles.  I try
desperately not to explode into a fit of giggles, and wind up coughing and
covering my mouth with my hand instead.

We finally choose a mahogany
convertible crib and ask for it to be delivered to Heidi’s address this
afternoon.  Since I have no idea if Heidi is bringing home a boy or a girl, we choose
a beautiful sage green bedding set with giraffes and elephants on it that looks
pretty gender neutral to me.  Ash cracks me up trying to convince me that the
football bedding set is gender neutral, but I’m not buying it.

“Football is for boys, Ash.  Don’t
be a dork.”

“That’s the most sexist thing I’ve
ever heard.  How could you inflict these gender stereotypes on our child before
it’s even born?”  He’s upping the bravado for the benefit of the poor salesman
who has no idea what to make of us, or perhaps he’s used to it in his line of
work.