Now & Forever 3 - Blind love (23 page)

* * * *

Rex needed to get Alan’s keys and check his cameras, but Alan
was not cooperating. He was up late, reading. The next night, Rex slipped
sleeping powder into his wine. At three o’clock, Alan was out cold. Rex took
the keys and went to the office.

Bingo! There it was, Alan having sex with a young woman Rex
assumed was a student. Rex took the two cameras with the incriminating footage
and went home to bed. He slept soundly, knowing he had Alan where he wanted him
.

Chapter Fourteen

At the Caldwell’s’ lake house

Peter was taking Lara to the lake house for the weekend in
honor of her birthday. She was turning twenty-eight on Saturday.
Ah, two days of privacy!

It was chilly when they arrived. Peter could see his breath
hang in the air. He carried Lara up the stone steps to the front door. After
retrieving their suitcases, he made a fire in the living room fireplace. Lara
got up and explored gingerly, using a newly-acquired walking stick to keep from
falling.

Peter got out a special CD he created with his favorite
romantic music. He put it on and fanned the fledgling fire, which began to
flame. He poured a glass of wine for each of them, then settled down on the
floor in front of the fireplace. Lara joined him, warming her hands. Peter
couldn’t take his eyes off her. Gold and red highlights in her brown curls
danced in the light of the flames. With all the bruising healed, her skin was
radiant, her eyes were shining, she was beautiful. Her smile was warm as she
reached out for Peter’s hand.

He pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his
shoulder and slung her arm around his waist. As they listened to the music,
conversation seemed unnecessary. He wanted to savor every second he was alone
with her. He drank in the delicate scent of her perfume, sweet but subtle
lilies and stroked her hair, letting its softness tickle his palm.

“I love it here. Don’t remember when I’ve felt so…so…” Peter
began.

“Calm? This house has a calm, peaceful aura.”

He felt Lara relax against him. He wanted to make love to
her, but did not want to rush. They always had to rush, to be quiet and aware
there might be others in the house. He leaned over and kissed her, slowly and
sensuously; she parted her lips to allow his tongue in. Their tongues teased
and danced. Then he swirled his tongue over her lips and back into her mouth.
Her breath quickened. He did it again. Lara moaned. Peter moved his lips to her
neck, then slowly down to the hollow of her throat, while his hand slipped
under her jacket and circled her breast.

Lara took off her jacket and Peter took off his flannel
shirt. He pulled her into his arms again, kissing her with more intensity,
crushing her breasts against his chest. Her breath was coming quickly. She
pulled up his T-shirt and put her hands on his chest.

“Bear…” she murmured as her fingertips touched the soft hair
on his chest. He moaned as her hands skimmed over his skin, her nails leaving a
trail of fire.

Peter unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it off her shoulders.
His eyes widened when he saw the lacy black bra she wore.

“Wow,” he said staring at her chest.

“Are you staring at me again?” she asked, a smile playing at
her lips.

“Is this new?” His fingers skimmed over the shiny satin cups.

“Do you like it?”

“I like it so much I want to take it off so it doesn’t get
wrecked,” he teased.

His lips traveled down her neck as he easily snapped opened
the bra. He slid it off before his mouth reached her breasts, his tongue
teasing and caressing. Lara sighed softly. Peter’s fingers toyed with the
waistband on her jeans. Lara unbuttoned them and slipped them down her hips and
thighs. Once they were on the floor, she stepped out of them to reveal lacy
black bikini panties.

“Do you like them?”

“I’d like them more if they were on the floor.” He slipped
the panties down and off, then removed his jeans in record time. He stopped to
gaze lovingly at her.

“You are beautiful, your body is perfect,” he whispered.

He moved his hand to her tight bottom giving it a squeeze.
Then he slid his fingers around her thighs and up into her moist warmth. She
squirmed as his fingers continued their exploration and stroking, gentle but
insistent. The more he touched her, the more aroused he became too, feeling a
tightening in his groin.

She ran her hands down his back and under the waistband of
his boxers. Peter took the hint and slipped them off. Lara’s hands searched for
his hips, then moved down. She found him fully aroused and stroked him slowly.
He groaned, growing even harder, feeling excitement take over.

“Let’s slow this down,” he whispered, moving her hand, barely
able to breathe.

“Bear…” she moaned, her breath coming in short gasps.

He brought his attention back to her breasts, caressing them,
massaging them, feeling every inch of her, his fingers hot with passion. Then
he lowered himself slowly, kissing her stomach, then her thighs. Lara groaned,
losing her hands in his hair. When his tongue touched her, desire swept through
his body like wildfire.

“Bear…bear…take me, please,” she breathed, her chest heaving.

Peter covered himself quickly. He rose up on his knees, and
stopped for a moment to look at Lara whose back was arched, her mouth swollen
from his kisses, her body taut, waiting for him to raise her to the peak and
send her over the top to sweet release. Seeing her like that intensified his
passion, he could feel the heat growing in his loins until he thought he’d lose
control.

He entered her as slowly as he could, to prolong her
pleasure.

She gasped. “Oh, God!” she exclaimed.

He could feel her tight grip, it sent his senses reeling. He
kissed her hard, taking her in every way he could.

“Please…please…bear.” They could not wait any longer. He
began to move as she gripped his hips, pulling him deeper into her. He
increased his pace, then stopped, trying to make the feeling last.

“No, no…don’t stop…bear…”

He lost control and began to thrust hard and fast. She cried
out as her whole body shuddered. Her climax launched his, his muscles tightened
and he exploded inside her, groaning loudly and wrapping his arms around her.

Afterward, Peter moved over beside her and cuddled her in
close to him.

“Amazing,” he muttered, stroking her hair, burying his face
in her neck.

Peter jumped up to search for a pillow and a quilt. Finding
them, he returned to the floor with Lara, covering them both and sharing the
pillow.

“Making love with you is incredible. You…you take me places
I’ve never been before. I love you so much.” She stroked his chest.

“I love you too, honey.” He kissed her tenderly.

Entwined together, the lovers fell asleep in front of the
fire. When it died down, the chill in the air woke them up. The living room was
pitch black. Peter turned on a light and guided Lara up to the big bed in the
master bedroom. They huddled together to warm up the freezing cold sheets and
soon the lovers drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, sunshine flooded the living room and deck
early, but the bedroom faced the west and didn’t get sun until the afternoon.
So it wasn’t the sun that wake Peter, it was the absolute quiet.

* * * *

Lara felt the bed tilt as he slid silently out of bed. The
old floor creaked a bit under his bare feet, as he walked to the bathroom.

The sound of the shower forced her to fully wake up. She
rolled over, opened her eyes and saw light. Looking out the sliding glass doors
to the valley below the house. She could see everything. Her sight had returned
completely.

In shock, putting her hand to her mouth, Lara gasped. Peter
finished his shower and stepped out dripping wet onto the bathmat. Lara turned
to look at him, and couldn’t believe her eyes…he was the most handsome man she
had ever seen. He picked up a towel and began to dry himself. Lara lay back
down on the bed, turning only her head to study him as he lathered his face.
Her gaze traveled over every inch of his body. At one point he seemed to feel
her stare and glanced at the bed, but she pretended to be asleep.

He was finely formed, in perfect proportion. His shoulders
were broad and his chest, deep and powerful, was covered with blond hair. His
face, what she could see of it under the shaving lather, had even, perfect
features and his blond hair, slightly long, soaking wet, hung straight into his
eyes. His hands were large with long, lean, fingers—perfect for playing the
piano. His legs were long with muscular thighs and calves and he was tall, very
tall. She watched the large muscles in his upper arms and forearms work as he
dragged the razor over his face. In the reflection of the bathroom mirror she
saw his eyes were a bright, intense blue. Peter was beautiful. Lara never
expected him to look like this.

He finished shaving, caught a glimpse of her moving out of
the corner of his eye and turned around to face her. She was smiling as her
eyes raked over his body slowly, up and down and up again. Her smile grew
wider. Peter, suddenly self-conscious, tucked a towel around his waist and
stared at her.

“Too late, mister. I saw everything already.” She giggled at
his modesty.

“Saw? You can see?” He moved swiftly to the bed.

“I can see. I can see everything…in perfect light and color.
Isn’t it wonderful! I can see everything, including you, bear, and, I must say,
you are something wonderful to behold.”

Peter grabbed her and hugged her. Then he put her back at
arm’s length and stared into her eyes.

“You can see…you were spying on me?”

“Guilty as charged.” She held onto his wrists.

“So do you like what you see?”

“You are beautiful.”

“I’m not beautiful. You’re beautiful. I’m a man. A man can’t
be beautiful.”

“You’re handsome, then. You’re the most handsome man I’ve
ever seen.”

He took her in his arms and held her close.

“I can’t believe you can see…”

“I’m so happy! Oh, bear, now I have it all, or almost all.”

“What’s left?”

“The return of my memory. Let’s call Dr. Weiss.” She tugged
on his hand.

“Pants, first.” He retrieved his clothes from the chair.

After breakfast, Lara made three calls, one to Dr. Weiss, one
to her uncle Jim and one to Sam.

“I don’t want to stop looking at you. I don’t want to close
my eyes ever again.” She put her hand on his chest.

“First I want to show you the lake, then the changing leaves.
We can go hiking…watch a movie! Now you can come to my class and look at the
art…so much to catch up on, honey.” Peter rested his palm on her cheek.

Her eyes danced with anticipation. Peter grabbed their coats,
tossing Lara’s to her, which she caught easily.

“Let’s get out of here.”

They hiked around the lake, stopping to watch eagles soar
above looking for fish and spied a variety of wildlife from squirrels gathering
food, to wild turkeys, to a few colorful birds still waiting to fly south.

Next they went for a drive down deserted country roads with
field after field of trees whose leaves were turning from green to brilliant
red, warm orange and iridescent gold. They passed scene after scene providing a
riot of color with their last stunning sweep of beauty before the trees slept
for the winter. Lara, a city girl, missed the beauty of fall. Unless she walked
in Central Park, the glory of the changing of the leaves was something that
eluded her.

They had lunch at Eagle’s Nest, a local bistro. The lovers
sat in a corner booth overlooking the lake, holding hands and staring into each
other’s eyes. The owners couldn’t believe another set of lovebirds from the
little shingled house on the lake perched over a tiny table in their
restaurant. “Do you have to go back to South Africa in May?”

“I could look for a permanent teaching job in the States. But
it will probably be a year before I can settle here. Are you going to go back
to dancing?” Peter took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’d like to teach ballet. I could teach for a long time but
I can only dance for a few more years…if that.” She sipped on her coffee.

After an exhilarating and exhausting day, the lovers rented a
movie and fell asleep by eleven.

* * * *

Sunday morning, Peter again arose early and tiptoed out of
the house without waking Lara. He returned and put coffee on. The smell of the
brewing coffee woke Lara up. Peter entered the big bedroom with two steaming
mugs on a tray. Under his arm were several newspapers.

“Now you can enjoy the best part of Sunday morning, next to
making love, coffee in bed with the newspaper,” he said, putting the tray down
on the dresser and dumping the newspapers on the bed. He toed off his shoes.
Lara smiled up at him as he handed her a mug.

“I want to make breakfast and serve it in bed to you,” Lara
said.

“You could serve yourself to me in bed instead, honeybee.”
Peter kissed her as he climbed back into bed.

“First, food.” She popped up and disappeared downstairs.

In fifteen minutes, Lara arrived with the same tray covered
with plates of bacon and eggs and toast with jam.

“This is the best Sunday morning ever.” Peter tucked into the
eggs.

He divided up the newspapers. They read to themselves and then
they read aloud, sharing stories. They discussed news articles, columns for the
lovelorn, did the crossword puzzle together and laughed at the comics. Too soon
it was time to return to Willow Falls.