Truly I do (9 page)

'Oh, my
goodness!' Julie-Anne had awoken with a start, it had taken her so
long to get to sleep the night before that she had now overslept
and when she opened her eyes and saw true daylight through the
gothic-arched window of her room she realised it was much later
than she'd intended.

In fact it was
just after nine o'clock. Hurriedly she rolled out of bed and
stumbled to the bathroom. Cleaning her teeth and brush her hair
almost simultaneously she decided she'd have to forego any make-up
until later. She pulled on a soft peach coloured silk teddy and
over it she slipped a new pair of bronze coloured, tight fitting,
pedal pushers and a roll necked, caramel, lambs wool sweater. With
a final glance in the dressing-table mirror she grabbed her room
key and rushed down stairs to try to find Russell.

She knew from
the expression on the face of the receptionist when she approached
to ask where Russell might be, that her worst fears were about to
be realised. "I'm afraid he checked out at seven this morning." the
girl said disinterestedly.

"Did he say
where he was going or leave me any message?" Julie-Anne asked with
a tone of desperation.

"No -
sorry."

Standing
there, feeling more alone and foolish that she ever had before in
her life, Julie-Anne became utterly deflated. She dragged herself
back up the stairs and numbly began to pack her clothes back into
their carrier bags. It was as if all hope had been knocked from
her. She found it hard to breath and even harder to string together
coherent thoughts. She managed to call a cab and find out the times
of trains to carry her home to Surrey.

The journey
was a blur.

It was nearing
Christmas and the trains were full of children, teenagers and
families going about the business of Christmas shopping, or
visiting their nearest and dearest. Julie-Anne could not focus on
them, she couldn't bear the noises and happy air of excitement that
seemed to envelop all the other passengers. She felt as if she were
in a bubble, alone and without purpose.

By the time
she got to the final taxi ride back to her home the evening had
become as dark, wet and gloomy as Julie-Anne's mood. Fumbling in
her purse to pay the taxi driver, she dropped one of her paper
carrier bags into a puddle. While the cab drove away she crumpled
to the wet ground in tears, siting there clutching the sodden bag
while hopeless gasps and sobs wracked from her belly and escaped,
unheard, into the thick blanket of black winter mizzle.

"Julie-Anne?"

The voice that
softly spoke her name must have been a dream, she thought. But it
came again. "Julie-Anne? Is that you?"

Miserably she
wailed "Of course its me! What are you doing here?"

Russell
stepped out from the shadows near her old oak tree at the bottom of
the path. She heard his bike slip and fall to the ground as he
stepped away from it. She looked up incredulous while he strode to
her side and squatted down beside her. She was too stunned to even
carry on crying. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"Um, well the
first thing I'm doing here is getting you inside before you catch
pneumonia!" he announced standing up and pulling her up with him.
He had wrapped his strong arms around her chest, under her armpits
and was lifting her towards the front door of her cottage.

"Where's the
key?" Russell demanded gruffly.

Julie-Anne
struggled to pull her door key from the depths of her hand bag.
Already she could feel how cold and wet her legs and feet had
become from sitting on the ground. "My shopping!" She moaned
hopelessly.

"I'll get that
in a minute . . . come on, get the door open and get inside
quickly." he ordered.

Blindly she
obeyed his instruction and pushed into the cottage kitchen. Russell
pushed past her and ran upstairs to return in a few moments with
the thick blanket from the spare bed. He threw this at her and said
"Get undressed, wrap this around you while I figure out the hot
water and get the kettle on."

Now shivering
horribly, Julie-Anne obediently pulled her wet clothes off, down to
the pretty peach teddy, and wrapped herself in the blanket before
sitting down in the kitchen rocking chair beside the cold
range.

Meanwhile
Russell stepped outside to pick up the wetted bag of clothes and as
soon as he'd come back in he dumped it unceremoniously on the floor
while he filled the kettle and prepared two cups with coffee.

Time stood
still for Julie-Anne until eventually, with the gas central heating
burbling hot water through radiators, and her near naked body
huddled inside the blanket, she extended her bare arms to take a
hot drink from Russell's strong hand.

He knelt
before her and looked into her face. Her swollen, bloodshot eyes
connected with his concerned crystal blue ones and they sat for a
moment locked in each other's gaze. "Why are you here?" she
enquired again, this time her voice was so soft and timid that it
was hardly audible.

"Oh
Julie-Anne!" he spoke her name on a sigh of relief. "You said you
were going to come straight home so I got up early, went to see the
solicitors as soon as their office opened and then drove back to
here, to meet you when you got home. I - I wanted to ask you to
think again. I wanted to find out just what all that silly nonsense
was about last night in the restaurant?" He reached out his fingers
and gently brushed the side of her cheek. "I don't know what you've
been thinking Julie-Anne but don't you know I truly love you? Don't
you realise that my plan counted you in, right at the very heart of
things? From the moment I first saw you I . . . " his voice trailed
off as his searching gaze swept down over her face and the naked
shoulder where her blanket had begun to slip away. "What's happened
Julie-Anne? Why are you in this state?" His gently stroking fingers
moved more solidly around to the back of her head and he held her
face toward his, his finger tips softly soothing the throbbing ache
that was beginning to gather at the base of her skull.

"I thought you
were just stringing me along." she spluttered, "I thought this was
just going to be another of those relationships where I was tagging
along in case I could be useful, there for your convenience." A big
warm tear escaped from her eyes and trickled down her cheek. "I
think I've been a fool Russell! I just - I just don't know how to
recognise true affection. I think I've been so fooled before that
I, well I guess I just didn't trust you."

"Oh you little
goose!" a smile twisted the corner of Russell's handsome mouth and
Julie-Anne became aware of how close his lips were. His warm,
masculine fingers still held her head close to his as he breathed
"I just love you, truly. I have loved you from day-one. There are
no tricks, no traps and no great expectations here Julie-Anne.
Let's make a go of it eh? Let's accept that we're starting with
genuine friendship and unconditional affection and build from
there?"

His eyes
hooded and closed as he pulled her into him and drew their lips
together. This kiss was not like either of the passionate kisses
they had shared before. This time his lips were light and tingling
against hers. It was as if he was holding back any pressure of firm
contact for fear of breaking her - like he was kissing something as
fragile as a bubble.

For a melting
eternity they stayed together, she wrapped in the rocking chair and
he kneeling before her, their faces and hearts melded into one by
the lightest of touches, their breath mingling as they calmed and
sighed and warmed to one another. All the world slipped away from
Julie-Anne's memory as her blood began to heat and the secret
places deep in the very core of her being began to come to life
with soft, sensuous demands.

Still Russell
held his position, commanding but not demanding; close but not
pressurising. Flooded with the mixture of a true love that was
opening up in her like a summer rose and the passionate bodily
desire that was coursing through her veins, Julie-Anne broke the
spell with a helpless whimper.

Smiling,
Russell pulled his hand back from her neck so that his fingers
combed through her hair. "Hey, your hair is damp too. You really
should get into a hot bath or shower. We don't want you getting ill
now do we?"

Julie-Anne did
not want to be released from the enchantment that encompassed her
as she sat there holding his attention.

"Don't let
go!" she urged breathily, "come with me - stay with me."

Their
fingertips remained lightly in contact as Russell used his strong
thigh muscles to push him up in one smooth move. Julie-Anne rose
from the chair dropping her blanket behind her so that she stood
there in just the peach, silk teddy. Russell's eyebrows raised in
appreciation of the sight of her petite, vulnerable form. Without
any words he walked backward, leading her up the stairs to her
bathroom - all the time keeping eye contact, keeping her locked to
him through is crystal blue eyes and tender smile. She followed him
as if in a dream.

Still
maintaining fingertip contact he reached around to turn on the
shower. Then he turned back to Julie-Anne and, with feather light
touches, he peeled the teddy down over her body until he was
kneeling at her feet.

The silk
garment lay discarded on the bathroom floor while Russell commenced
to kiss first her toes, then her ankles; tantalising the backs of
her trembling knees with carefully, expertly placed pressure before
moving on to run his tongue over her thighs so lightly that she
could barely tell whether she could really feel him or whether it
was the anticipation of it all that was surging up through her
belly and spine.

As he kneeled
up to place kiss after loving kiss all over the firm flat muscles
that formed the curves of her womanly belly she could hardly bear
it.

Then, somehow,
Russell was on his feet. His own clothes had peeled away to join
hers on the bathroom floor. His busy mouth was urgently arousing
first one of her eager breasts, then the other.

When they
climbed under the shower Russell somehow managed to co-ordinate his
hands to lather her back whilst still placing kisses up and down
her sensitive neck. Then he placed his strong hands on her rounded
hips and manfully turned her back to him so that he could caress
her hair with shampoo whilst peppering her shoulders and the curve
of the back of her neck with more and more urgent presses of his
lips.

She could feel
his firm body at her back sending far more heat up her spine than
the hot water of the shower. She could feel his masculine arousal
against the clenched muscles of her buttocks. Pressing her hands to
the shining tiles of the wall she arched her back in surrender and
groaned while he rinsed her hair with clear, sparkling, hot
water.

Suddenly, in a
masterful manoeuvre he slid his strong arms down her body and swept
her off her feet to carry her out of the shower. Grabbing a big
towel as he went he carried her to her bed and somehow wrapped her
in the thick cotton towelling before placing her delicately on top
of her duvet.

She could hold
back her passion no longer. She stretched out of the clutches of
the towel and reached out with slender arms and legs to wrap
herself around him and pull his body down into hers.

The light from
the hallway cast golden highlights in Russell's hair as they lay
locked together in the safety and warmth of her unlighted
bedroom.

She marvelled
at his knowledge of just where to touch, where to kiss and how to
tantalise her body until she burned for satisfaction. Time had no
meaning as he uttered over and over again that he truly loved her,
whilst at the same time he brought their bodies to an ecstatic,
bone melting climax.

Julie-Anne had
never known that love could be like this.

She had never
before been so aroused or so engulfed by these physical feelings
that seemed to shout and echo, with every urgent groan or playful
moan, the very depths of the love that now wrapped her heart and
soul and bound her to him.

Lying in the
semidarkness, sated and snuggled comfortably against the fine
masculine hairs on Russell's chest, she sought his lips with her
finger tips. "I love you so much," she whispered, "and I do believe
you, you do truly love me too don't you?"

He twisted his
head to look down at her. Smiling he whispered back throatily "Oh
yes Julie-Anne. I love you truly!" He moved to lean over her,
propped on one elbow with one strong, muscular thigh resting over
her. He teased the base of her throat with kisses whilst repeating
"I do love you truly - truly I do."

*

They must have
fallen asleep in each other's arms. When the phone began to ring
Julie-Anne jumped. She opened her eyes and spent a few moments
luxuriating in the feel of Russell stirring so close to her. He
groaned and shifted while she stretched over him to pick up the
receiver from the cabinet on his side of the bed.

"Hello darling
- I hope it's not too late to call you - what time is it there?"
Her mother's cheerful voice filled her ear.

"Oh, high
Mum." She half whispered, suppressing a giggle of delight. "Are you
okay? Is Dad Okay?"

"Of course
sweetie. I just rang to see how you are after our talk last
night?"

There was a
pause while Julie-Anne thought about what to say. She didn't quite
want to explain to her mother in detail about the man she had so
badly misjudged and berated to her parents just the night before.
she was a little shy of telling her own parents that, in fact, it
turned out not only that Russell truly loved her but also that he
was the most exquisite physical lover she could ever imagine . . .
especially not with him lying there beneath her, groggily smiling
up at her like a cat that had just won the cream. So she said "Oh,
thanks Mum. Er, we've started to work things out. I think every
thing's going to be okay!"