Doris O'Connor (22 page)

However the most impressive change had to have
been the alterations Stella made to accommodate Alex. The library
was converted into his bedroom, and the study was now a bathroom,
complete with a crane to lift Alex in and out of the bath. The
burly male nurse Stella had employed to care for Alex smiled at
Kitty now, as she stuck her head round the corner.

“
Oh hello, Ian. I was looking for
Alex?”

“
He’s in the garden, Kitty. Said he
needed some air.”

“
Thanks, Ian. I’ll go find
him.”

Kitty found him by the pond, shredding the
leaves off one of the many evergreens dotted around, his big
shoulders slumped, his face grim. She was shocked to see that he’d
been crying. Alex looked up when he heard her approach and threw
the destroyed branch into the pond with some force.

Kitty’s heart clenched painfully at the
despair she saw in his beautiful eyes, and she took his hand in
hers. He pulled her towards him until she ended up sitting on his
lap. She took his head in her hands and kissed the tears off his
face gently.

Alex groaned, and his hands went in her hair.
His lips sought hers, and he kissed her with a desperation that had
her heart aching for him as his hands roamed underneath her
top.

“
I’ve missed you,
Kitty.”

He kissed himself down her neck line. His
hands found and caressed her breasts under her top, and need
slammed into Kitty as he found one hard nipple and gently rolled it
between his fingers. He caught her lustful whimper in his mouth as
his tongue sought hers. Deepening the kiss, he shifted her hips to
align her with his straining arousal. His cock nudged at Kitty’s
ass, and her breath caught.

Oh my, he’s definitely working in
that department.

But should they really be doing this here in
broad daylight in his mother’s garden?

Kitty found the strength from somewhere to
push against his chest and disentangle herself. His groan, followed
by a very Noah-like pout, made her laugh. She was relieved to see
that the earlier despair in his eyes had been replaced by sexual
awareness, mixed with wry amusement.

“
Spoil-sport!”

“
Alex, it’s broad
daylight.”

“
And? All the better to see you
with when you splinter round my cock. I want you.”

Kitty smiled and rolled her eyes, trying to
ignore the heat starting low in her belly at the way Alex looked at
her, as though he was going to devour her.

“
Come here.”

“
Uh-uh, I think it would be safer
all round if I stayed here, Alex.”

His smile was sin itself, and she had to fight
back the sudden tears. How she loved this man, and how unfair life
was to have this larger than life man reduced to this.

“
Hey, don’t you start crying on me.
I may be a cripple, but I have life left me in yet.”

“
Don’t call yourself that, Alex.
You’ll walk again. I am sure.”

Alex’s face grew serious. “There is a chance
that I won’t. And the thought of being in this thing for the rest
of my life… Did you see that monstrosity in the bathroom for fuck’s
sake? What’s that all about?”

“
I’d say that’s a typical example
of your mother’s over-efficiency. She’s only trying to help, Alex,
and you may find it useful.”

Alex snorted, and Kitty stuck her tongue out
at him.

“
If nothing else it will save poor
Ian’s back, lugging you about. You’re no lightweight
Mister.”

“
Are you saying I’m
fat?”

“
If the shoe fits and all that.
Alex, don’t you dare.”

Kitty shrieked as Alex moved his wheel chair
forward at lightning speed, and his strong arm round her waist
dangled her over the edge of the pond.

“
Daddy, what you doing to Lummy?”
Noah’s voice rang out from behind them, and Alex chuckled to
himself. He pulled Kitty on his lap, buried his face in her hair,
and sighed.

“
You won’t get away from me next
time.” Kitty was relieved to see the laughter back in his eyes as
he turned them around. “Race you, son!”

She just about managed to jump off his lap
before Noah ran away screeching with Alex in hot pursuit. Stella
looked at Kitty, tears falling down her cheeks, and nodded before
going after them.

****

It was much later that evening when Kitty had
finally gotten Noah off to sleep, that she tiptoed down the stairs
to Alex’s room, like a school girl sneaking out of her dorm.
Oh
don’t be so ridiculous, Kitty. It’s not as though you’ve never done
this before
. Yet the butterflies in her tummy were doing a very
merry dance, thank you very much.

Alex had done his best to seduce her with
those bedroom eyes of his over dinner, and as a result Kitty hadn’t
eaten much at all. He, on the other hand, had tucked in heartily,
exclaiming loudly that he would need to keep his strength up,
whilst winking at Kitty. She didn’t know where to put herself. Ian
burst out laughing, and Stella said something to Alex in Italian.
He’d looked at Kitty with such heat in his gaze that she was sure
she was going to either self-combust or turn into a drooling bag of
need. Thankfully, neither happened. She busied herself by cutting
up Noah’s steak instead and refused to look at Alex for the rest of
the meal. But she really had to learn Italian!

Stella stopped her when she was carrying a
sleepy Noah up the stairs.

“
I’m just across the hall from
Noah, so don’t worry over him at all. I can see to him if he wakes
up, if you’re…urm… busy.”

Kitty was sure her cheeks were flaming as much
as Stella’s when she went on. “He needs to feel like a man,
Kitty.”

“
I know, Stella. He
will.”

Stella nodded before returning to the dining
room, and Kitty buried her face in Noah’s neck, not quite believing
she had just had that conversation!

****

Alex flicked aimlessly through the TV
channels, his fingers drumming on the sheets covering his naked
lower half. What was taking her so long? Ian had installed him in
his king-size bed what seemed like hours ago. A rueful glance at
the clock told him it was indeed only half an hour ago, but still.
Where the hell was she?

He wanted her with a need so fierce it
consumed him. He had to prove to himself that he still functioned
on that level at least. The earlier interlude in the garden gave
him hope, yet he was nervous as hell now. What if it didn’t work?
What if he wasn’t enough of a man for her passionate nature
anymore? He closed his eyes and groaned, remembering some of their
previous encounters.

A soft knock on the door made him look up, and
before he could say come in, Kitty stepped through. The light from
the hallway behind her made her sensible nightdress transparent. He
could clearly see her firm full breasts and the line of her hips
with the darker patch of hair at the apex of her thighs. His gaze
traveled downwards along the slim line of her long legs, down to
her bare feet and then slowly back up again. His smile turned
wicked when her nipples hardened under his gaze. He knew her cheeks
would be flaming, her green eyes huge and more cat-like then ever
under all that glorious hair of hers. He couldn’t wait to bury his
hands in that hair, knowing it would smell of the subtle summery
shampoo she used. He could smell her arousal from here, her breath
coming in short pants as she stood self-consciously in front of
him, pressing her thighs together.

His own desire slammed into him, and his voice
was rough with emotion.

“
Come here. What took you so
long?”

****

Kitty drank in the sight of Alex, naked
barring the sheet barely covering the essentials. A sheet that
turned more tent-like by the second, and she licked her lips in
anticipation.

“
Happy to see me, Alex?”

“
You have no idea how
much.”

Alex’s answering groan had her wet and aching
for him in seconds. The heat in his gaze scorched her and drew her
to him like a moth to the flame. Alex held one hand out, and Kitty
covered the few remaining steps between them. Taking his hand in
hers, she joined him on the bed. His hand went in her hair, and he
pulled her closer, his eyes worshipping her, as his mouth claimed
hers with the softest of touches. Kitty moaned as his tongue found
hers, and his answering groan stoked the slow burning fire in her
core to fever pitch. Suddenly impatient to get closer to him she
whipped the night dress over her head, and Alex’s hot mouth found
her breasts. He sucked one erect nipple into its moist
warmth.

“
You’re so beautiful.”

His hot breath on her moist skin pitched her
arousal higher, and she moaned low in her throat. He smiled through
his kisses, murmuring endearments into her breasts, as he
alternated between them. Every sharp bite, followed by soothing
kisses, zinged along her fevered skin toward her clit, and she
shifted restlessly.

“
Easy, I’ve got you.”

He stroked her wet folds and teased her clit
until she thought she was going to explode with the sheer need to
have him inside her.

“
Please, Alex, I need you.” Her
voice a barely there husky whisper, she clung onto his shoulders,
desperate for her release.

“
What do you need, baby? This?” His
growled whisper against her damp neck was the most erotic sound
ever. His fingers stepped up their relentless assault. One long
finger slipped inside her pussy. His thumb increased the pressure
on her tight bundle of nerves, and Kitty exploded around him,
calling his name. Her breaths mingled with his as his mouth sought
hers, mixed with the salt of his tears.

Kitty looked up at him, her heart full of love
and wonder, and she kissed the tears off his face, murmuring how
much she loved him between his kisses, whilst maneuvering herself
on his lap.

Alex groaned right along with her own moans as
her sensitive nipples scraped along his chest hair, and her hand
found his straining cock. She positioned herself above him, and
Alex’s hands dug into her hips. He held her still, his powerful
erection resting just at her entrance. His eyes closed, his full
mouth drawn together, his muscles shook with the effort of holding
her just there. “Protection,” he said.

Kitty laughed. She kissed him lightly on the
lips.“Taken care of, my lover.”

Alex’s eyes flew open, and she lost herself in
their azure depths as she slowly lowered herself onto him. Her body
stretched to accommodate all of him. Her internal muscles gripped
him hard, and Alex groaned. His eyes darkened as Kitty lifted
herself up before slowly lowering herself again on all his length.
She shifted slightly, steadying herself with her hands behind her
back, resting on his knees. It gave Alex’s eager mouth access to
her breasts, as she began to move in the age-old rhythm, caught up
in the sensations that were building again deep inside her. When
his hand circled her clit she was lost, the pressure building to
unbearable levels until she was caught up in an all-consuming
climax. She was dimly aware of Alex following her right over the
edge, their breaths mingling, mouths colliding, hearts beating as
one, until she collapsed in a boneless heap on top of his hard
frame.

Alex held her tight, and when she finally
propped herself up on his chest, with him still lodged deep inside
her, she was shocked to see the tears on his face. His fingers
trembled in her hair as he held her.

She reached up to dry his face, lost in the
tenderness of his eyes as he whispered.

“
Thank you, my love.”

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Kitty sighed, hearing the raised voices when
she stepped out of Noah’s room where she had just managed to
convince him to have a nap.

Alex’s physio was going as well as usual.
She’d taken to making sure Noah was out of the way, as Alex’s
language left a lot to be desired during his “daily torture
sessions”, as he called them. They put him in the most dreadful
mood for the rest of the day. Not that he had been in the best of
moods lately anyway.

In fact, he’d been in a foul mood ever since
Mac had popped round with a letter from the brigade, reminding Alex
of his options: side promotion to a desk job or honorable
discharge. Stella had urged him to take the honorable discharge, of
course, and some harsh words had been said between mother and son.
They left Stella in tears, Alex with a permanent scowl on his face,
and Kitty knowing what a UN peace-keeper must feel like.

Nothing had been resolved, as Alex refused to
talk about it. Every time Kitty broached the subject, he’d very
successfully distracted her. She blushed in the broad light of day,
remembering last night’s distraction only too well. It was
surprising
she
could walk today. Alex may not have the use
of his legs, but he certainly knew how to use every other part of
his body.

The less progress he made in his physio, the
more effort he put into their sex life and the more he withdrew
emotionally. If there wasn’t a breakthrough soon – no, she wasn’t
allowing herself to think like that. There just had to be! Or there
would be one hell of an argument. She was fed up being used as his
glorified exercise bike.