Until the End of Time (7 page)
Read Until the End of Time Online
Authors: Melanie Schuster
And maybe her sudden interest in the concept of love had something to do with the fact that her current beau was boring her to tears and her mind was wandering. Marshall Thomas was tall, well-built, handsome and intelligent. He was retired from the Army, a four-star general, at that. In addition he was courteous and gentlemanly. He owned several bed-and-breakfast inns including two in the northern part of Michigan. He played a good game of tennis, was an avid horseman and enjoyed traveling; all of which scored very high on Renee’s lists of things to look for in a companion. He simply had no sense of humor that Renee could discern. That hadn’t been a problem in the past, but lately it was more and more annoying to Renee. The man never seemed to laugh at anything. It was like dating a wax replica from Madame Tussaud’s; he was nice to look at but any resemblance to a real human was purely coincidental.
Today, as they entered the huge, beautifully landscaped backyard of the Palmer Park home of Bennie’s father, his lack of humor was all the more apparent. Bennie’s nieces and nephews caught sight of Renee and immediately made a beeline for her, calling her by her customary name within their ranks. “Uncle Renee! Uncle Renee!” Bennie’s youngest nephew had started calling Renee that when he was first able to talk and no one could shake him of the habit. Even now, at age four, little Drew insisted that Renee was his “Uncle Renee”, even though he understood what an aunt was, and how aunts differed from uncles.
Renee found it charming, especially since he was her godchild. She might have found it less charming if she knew that Drew’s Uncle Andrew was the one who kept telling him that Renee was Uncle Renee. In one of his random attempts to rile Renee he had inadvertently created a family joke, one that Marshall did not get and could not abide. When Drew persisted in calling Renee ‘Uncle’ his brothers and cousins all joined in.
Every time Marshall was witness to it irritated him to no end. He brought it up again as he and Renee sat at a long table under the big white tent in the backyard. “Renee, I fail to understand why those children persist in calling you ‘Uncle’. It’s disrespectful and silly,” he said.
Renee gave him a long look from behind her sunglasses. As they were extra dark, she could give him a good assessment without his realizing it. On the surface, Marshall was the perfect escort. But right now, he was wearing an expression that could best be described as peevish, which was too bad. Renee was simply not in the mood to tolerate much in the way of drama today. It was bad enough that Bennie had that hunka-hunka burnin’ love Clay at her side like he was welded there, the ever-merry Andrew had struck again. After greeting Marshall with a warm handshake he had waited until he was alone with Renee. In a whisper that no one else could hear he said “I thought that was your dad for a minute, but Mr. Kemp doesn’t have that much gray hair.”
It was his version of hilarity since he had in fact met her father on many occasions over the years. Renee had endured that with the clenched jaw of the martyr, refusing to allow Andrew to get the best of her. The other irritant was that Andrew for once had a date, albeit a most unsuitable one, in Renee’s opinion. She was short and busty and had the weave of life, something that didn’t escape Renee’s expert eyes. Plus, whoever had put on her sculptured nails should have been shot because they were horrible-looking. They were much too thick and long. Altogether, Renee thought she was a bit on the cheap side, even for Andrew. But why she was even concerned about Andrew’s love life was unexplainable. What did she care what he did with his spare time?
Even when LaKeisha, for that was her name, asked where Renee got her contact lenses she remained calm. She gave her usual answer, “From God, dear,” although she wasn’t sure that LaKeisha was bright enough to understand what she meant. For the most part, Renee was calm and unruffled, but an undercurrent of irritation remained. And Marshall was unknowingly stirring it up with his grumpiness. Renee decided to avoid possible cross words by busying Marshall. He always seemed happier when he was fussing over her. “Marshall dear, could you get me something to drink? I’m terribly thirsty,” she said sweetly. Unfortunately, Drew heard her remark and like the devoted little godson that he was, he dashed off to get Uncle Renee some punch.
“
I’ll get it for you,” he called as he sped off. He was back quickly, both grubby hands clutching a large plastic tumbler glass of punch that was a little too full for him to carry. And before anyone could come to his aid, he stumbled in his eagerness and the contents of the glass spilled out all over Marshall’s spiffy white pants. A look of complete horror transformed Marshall’s face, but Renee missed it completely. In seconds she was on her knees scooping up Drew as the tears of mortification gushed out of his big eyes. “Are you all right, honey lamb?” she crooned. She set him on his feet to make sure that he had no scratches or cuts from his tumble.
I’ll get it for you,” he called as he sped off. He was back quickly, both grubby hands clutching a large plastic tumbler glass of punch that was a little too full for him to carry. And before anyone could come to his aid, he stumbled in his eagerness and the contents of the glass spilled out all over Marshall’s spiffy white pants. A look of complete horror transformed Marshall’s face, but Renee missed it completely. In seconds she was on her knees scooping up Drew as the tears of mortification gushed out of his big eyes. “Are you all right, honey lamb?” she crooned. She set him on his feet to make sure that he had no scratches or cuts from his tumble.
“
I-I-I’m s-s-s-sor-r-ry, Uncle Renee!” he wailed. “I didn’ mean to spill it on that man!” Renee took Drew on her lap and kissed his tears away.
I-I-I’m s-s-s-sor-r-ry, Uncle Renee!” he wailed. “I didn’ mean to spill it on that man!” Renee took Drew on her lap and kissed his tears away.
“
Oh, honey lamb, Uncle Renee knows that and so does Mr. Marshall,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Marshall and daring him to say otherwise. “Mr. Marshall is just going to go change his pants and come back to pick me up so we can go up North. Unless he would rather go by himself,” she ended with a very fake smile directed right at Marshall.
Oh, honey lamb, Uncle Renee knows that and so does Mr. Marshall,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Marshall and daring him to say otherwise. “Mr. Marshall is just going to go change his pants and come back to pick me up so we can go up North. Unless he would rather go by himself,” she ended with a very fake smile directed right at Marshall.
Marshall was caught between a rock and a hard place, his usual situation with Renee. It was obvious that if he didn’t do as she instructed she would certainly leave him to fend for himself over the holiday. And it was equally obvious that he had to get out of the doomed pants soaked with punch the color of blood. He had no idea that Renee was so fond of children, but that too was plain to see. All of her concern was for that sniveling brat and not a bit for him. So he had no choice but to play the gracious gentleman and agree to pick her up in an hour. Renee didn’t even seem to hear him as he bade her farewell because she was too absorbed with the weepy Drew.
By this time his mother, Faye, became aware of what was going on and came to collect her offspring. She apologized to Renee, who brushed it off as unnecessary. “You all forget that I have nieces and nephews, too. This kind of thing is in the job description of a small child. It’s what they do,” she said with a smile.
Faye had to agree. “But you know, Renee, Drew absolutely adores you. If he thought you were angry with him, he would have been heartbroken.”
Renee leaned over to give the sticky sweetie one more kiss so he knew that she was still his best girl. That’s when Faye noticed that there was quite a bit of punch on the leg of Renee’s silk Capri pants. “Renee, I don’t know if that will come out, but you’d better try to spot it a little,” she fretted.
Renee cast a casual glance at the spot and agreed, although she was pretty sure they would be a lost cause. She went into the house with Faye and Drew, who promptly usurped the powder room on the first floor. The caterers in the kitchen looked at her like, “I wish you would try and use this sink”, so she went upstairs to the guest bathroom. She entered the walk through linen closet-cum-dressing area that separated the two guest bedrooms and was about to get a hand towel to begin her ministrations when she was distracted by a noise from one of the bedrooms. The door was ajar so she peeked in and was turned into stone by what she saw.
Standing in the middle of the bedroom was Dr. Andrew Cochran dripping wet from the shower and wearing nothing but drops of moisture. He was as naked as the day he was born.
Chapter Four
For a long moment Renee couldn’t have breathed if her life depended on it. Nor could she tear her eyes away. Renee had certainly seen naked men before, but nothing like the one in the next room. Andrew was…he was…well,
beautiful.
No other word could do him justice. Renee had always known that he was tall and well made; that much was obvious to anyone observing him with his clothes on. But she’d never paid attention to how muscular and well shaped his legs were, or how firm and muscular his thighs were, and she had certainly seen him in shorts many times. She’d never noticed how broad his shoulders were and how nicely muscled his back was, and surely she had seen him shirtless before, in a basketball game or swimming. And his backside just defied description other than ‘perfect’. Andrew had the best ass she’d ever seen in her life. She couldn’t have dreamed up a butt like that; her imagination didn’t go that far.
beautiful.
No other word could do him justice. Renee had always known that he was tall and well made; that much was obvious to anyone observing him with his clothes on. But she’d never paid attention to how muscular and well shaped his legs were, or how firm and muscular his thighs were, and she had certainly seen him in shorts many times. She’d never noticed how broad his shoulders were and how nicely muscled his back was, and surely she had seen him shirtless before, in a basketball game or swimming. And his backside just defied description other than ‘perfect’. Andrew had the best ass she’d ever seen in her life. She couldn’t have dreamed up a butt like that; her imagination didn’t go that far.
Andrew picked his cell phone up off the dresser and began punching in numbers with his back still facing Renee who couldn’t have,
wouldn’t
have moved if her life depended on it. She was too awash in a sea of sensation for conscious thought. Even when he began speaking into the phone and moving in a way that indicated that he might turn around, Renee didn’t move. And he
did
turn around and she
did
look.
Great googly-moo!
He was magnificent in every way from head to toe. His chest was broad and muscular and tapered into a hard waist. His hips were narrow and moved fluidly with a grace that reeked of sensuality. He had just enough hair on his chest to look really sexy and it trailed away in a fine line that led down to his most masculine region. And Renee saw it all, every single inch of his powerful manhood as natural as you please. She could feel her chest expanding and her breasts getting tight. Her knees were weakening but she couldn’t look away, not for all the Coach bags in the Somerset Collection.
wouldn’t
have moved if her life depended on it. She was too awash in a sea of sensation for conscious thought. Even when he began speaking into the phone and moving in a way that indicated that he might turn around, Renee didn’t move. And he
did
turn around and she
did
look.
Great googly-moo!
He was magnificent in every way from head to toe. His chest was broad and muscular and tapered into a hard waist. His hips were narrow and moved fluidly with a grace that reeked of sensuality. He had just enough hair on his chest to look really sexy and it trailed away in a fine line that led down to his most masculine region. And Renee saw it all, every single inch of his powerful manhood as natural as you please. She could feel her chest expanding and her breasts getting tight. Her knees were weakening but she couldn’t look away, not for all the Coach bags in the Somerset Collection.
Suddenly it was dreadfully hot in the dressing area, although the heat seemed to be coming from inside of her and not the other way around. Renee was finding it more and more difficult to breathe; she started clutching at the towel rack frantically, thinking that she might faint. Just then, Andrew stretched, causing his muscles to ripple in a truly spectacular way, which made Renee lose her grip on the towel rack and bump into the wall rather noisily. Andrew turned his head towards the door with his eyebrows raised. “Is someone in there?” he asked. Crossing the room he jerked the door fully opened and found no one. “That’s strange,” he muttered. “I’m hearing things.” He shrugged and was about to start getting dressed when he sniffed the air once, then twice.
That’s Renee’s
perfume
. He would know that scent in his sleep. Getting dressed in record time, Andrew flew downstairs in search of her.
That’s Renee’s
perfume
. He would know that scent in his sleep. Getting dressed in record time, Andrew flew downstairs in search of her.
By the time Andrew emerged from the house, Renee was seated as far away from the house as possible. She was once again wearing her sunglasses, this time to cover up any evidence of raging hormones and she was sipping iced water in an effort to cool the unfamiliar fire that was still smoldering. She was finally able to breathe properly which was a huge relief. The tension that had threatened to explode just moments earlier was again at bay, but she couldn’t say how long it would stay tamped down. Anyone looking at her wouldn’t have any way of knowing that she’d just had her world turned upside down, at least she hoped they wouldn’t.
My, my, my.
Who would have thought that Andrew Cochran, her perennial tormenter and nemesis, was a bronzed African god under his clothes? She hastily downed more iced water. The last thing she wanted to do was get heated up again, but somehow, the mere thought of him was enough to get her going.
My, my, my.
Who would have thought that Andrew Cochran, her perennial tormenter and nemesis, was a bronzed African god under his clothes? She hastily downed more iced water. The last thing she wanted to do was get heated up again, but somehow, the mere thought of him was enough to get her going.
Just then Andrew spotted her, sitting by herself at a small table with a large goblet in front of her. She looked luscious and composed in some kind of melon colored pants outfit; in fact, she looked wonderful. But Andrew wasn’t about to let that stop him from getting a few answers out of her. He strode purposefully over to her table. “Where were you a few minutes ago?” he demanded.
“
Here,” she said softly.
Here,” she said softly.
“
Here where?”
Here where?”
“
At your father’s house.”
At your father’s house.”
Andrew narrowed his eyes. This was going to get him nowhere. He sat down across from Renee and looked at her menacingly. “Were you inside or outside?”
“
Yes,” she answered in a suspiciously breathless voice.
Yes,” she answered in a suspiciously breathless voice.
“
Did you go upstairs?”
Did you go upstairs?”
“
Mighta.”
Mighta.”
“
Did you go in the bathroom?”
Did you go in the bathroom?”
“
Coulda.”
Coulda.”
Andrew counted to ten, rapidly. Renee wasn’t going to be forthcoming about this, not in the least. He started interrogating her again, barely holding on to his temper. “I was upstairs getting dressed after a shower and I distinctly heard someone in the dressing room. And I think that someone was you. And you are not explaining your whereabouts to my satisfaction. So,” he said, reaching for her sunglasses, “where were you a few minutes ago?” He plucked the sunglasses from the bridge of her nose, hoping to reveal some inner truth in her expression. Instead, he got even more apprehensive.
Renee’s beautiful golden eyes could look any number of ways. When she was angry, they were a dark, muddy bronze. When she was happy, they sparkled with bright green flecks. Now they looked totally different, they were warm and spangled with golden glints that he’d never seen before. They looked soft and sweet, too, but her words belied their appearance.
“
Andrew, if I’m to understand you, you’re suggesting that I hid in a dressing room and stared at your naked, dripping wet body and that I’m now evading that charge by lying. Now, what kind of person would see another person naked and not have the decency to avert their gaze? And what kind of person would not own up to the fact and apologize, rather than leave their unwitting victim in the limbo of not knowing whether they were being spied on?” Renee sat back to watch the results of her pronouncement and was thoroughly satisfied with the results.
Andrew, if I’m to understand you, you’re suggesting that I hid in a dressing room and stared at your naked, dripping wet body and that I’m now evading that charge by lying. Now, what kind of person would see another person naked and not have the decency to avert their gaze? And what kind of person would not own up to the fact and apologize, rather than leave their unwitting victim in the limbo of not knowing whether they were being spied on?” Renee sat back to watch the results of her pronouncement and was thoroughly satisfied with the results.
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