Interference (5 page)

A
s the bike
dipped and rolled over the back roads I concentrated on enjoying the feeling of freedom, it was like flying. I loved being on the back of the bike in the cool evening air with my arms wrapped around Daire. I had always loved this, being with him. The problem came once we were apart, I never knew if I'd see him again. Every good-bye held the potential to be good-bye forever, until I couldn't take it anymore.

I hadn't seen his house in years, and then I had only driven past, we were nearby now, and then I saw his driveway in the distance. He had wooden posts topped with lights at the end of his driveway, followed by wide iron gates blocking the paved cement driveway, a concession to his potentially crazy fan base I supposed.

He pressed in the code on the metal box tucked inside a wooden housing, and the gates swung inward. We rolled up the driveway and were met with a long low California modern home. It had windows placed lengthwise up near the roof line and a warm welcoming glow beamed from within.

The bike rolled to a stop and I took it all in with a deep breath. I just needed to keep my wits, and my panties, about me and everything would be fine.

He dismounted and held his hand out to help me off the bike. Then he wrapped his arm around me as we approached the front door. The house was stone and wood and it was just gorgeous.

"This is beautiful," I said as we walked across the flagstone pavers. He opened the door for me and I took a deep breath as I looked around. He had done well. The wood floors were waxed to a beautiful shine and the floor led my eye directly opposite to a wall of windows at the back of the house. Through them I could see a hot tub and pool bathed in low light. To the right was a kitchen outfitted with stainless steel appliances and a grill beneath a giant range hood. The effect was country chic without a hint of fussiness and it matched his personality perfectly.

"Thanks," he said, "I thought you'd like it. I'm grilling, want some wine?" he asked as he pulled a platter of steaks out of the fridge. "These need to warm up a bit, come sit outside with me," he said as he pulled a bottle of wine from a rack and grabbed two glasses. On his way to the slider he touched a panel and music started in the speakers outside.

He slid the glass door to the side and we walked out to the seating by the pool. He handed me my glass and pulled two chairs close together. With the click of a remote there was a fire in the stone fireplace, and suddenly we had ambiance.

"I wondered what you were doing with your money, now I know. This is beautiful."

"I built it for you," he said as he looked into my eyes.

"We've been talking this over for years now, Daire, I don't want to go over it again," I said. "Not right now."

"I just wanted you to know, you're a part of this. That's all. I just wanted you to see it and to know I meant for it to be ours."

"So it's not your chick magnet crib?"

"Well, I never said that," he grinned, "I built it with you in mind but since you weren't around …" he glanced at me still grinning, "I'm kidding, I've wanted nothing more than to share this with you."

We shared a moment of silence with no sound but the pool bubbling, and distant chimes tinkling in the breeze. Beyond the pool I could see the fireflies flickering on and off, lighting up the night. He reached for my hand and I didn't resist. Entwining his fingers with mine he said "I'm glad you're here, I've been waiting to show you. Here, put down your wine, we'll take a tour."

I put my wine down and he tugged me gently to my feet. We crossed past the fireplace and around the edge of the pool and hot tub and walked along a stone path. There were decorative plantings everywhere, and he pointed out trees and shrubs to me as we walked saying the names, fig, peach, pear, pecan, grapes, blueberries. "I take care of the house myself but I have a gardener for this."

"I never would have guessed this was here."

"It's actually a certified organic farm, we sell at local markets, during the week. It makes me feel like I'm doing something good for the planet. Not that hockey isn't good, I love it, but someday I'm going to have to leave it behind and I wanted a plan. Something else to do that I enjoy."

"This is … I don't even know what to say, it's amazing. I honestly had no idea."

"We have hives too, out back."

"You mean this isn't out back?" I asked as I glanced up at the house in the distance, we'd walked quite a way.

"No, I'll show it to you in the daylight, it's a big spread. More like a ranch than anything else."

I looked up at him and wondered who this man was, this husband of mine. It was turning out I didn't know him at all.

T
he steaks were
at room temperature when we got back to the house, and Daire fired up the grill while I made salads. He was just as comfortable in the kitchen as on the ice, and it was just as sexy. I glanced up as I chopped celery.

"What?"

"What, what? Just looking at you," I said.

"And?"

"And you're not um … not how I remember."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," he waved the tongs at me.

"I know, it's just, well, it's different. That's all," and I couldn't help but smile.

"More wine?" he asked.

"You think this is the wine talking?"

"Well it's not hurting," he said, topping off my glass.

Our late night meal was delicious, and the ambiance of the backyard fireplace and pool couldn't be matched.

Daire went into the house and fiddled with the music and the next thing I knew we were dancing in the dark, bathed in the reflected light from the pool.

"Thanks for coming home with me tonight," he whispered into my ear as we swayed together in the dark."

"It's been fun," I said, looking up into his eyes.

He looked at my eyes, then down at my mouth, then up to my eyes again. Slowly he lowered his head and touched his lips to mine. He tasted like good red wine, and steak and bad ideas. But it didn't matter, I was kissing him back without a thought to the consequences, or my life or my future. In this one moment, we were the only two people in the world.

As we swayed together, and kissed, he moved his hands from my waist to my hips then slid them under my shirt. The feeling was both familiar and strange, I hadn't been with him in a long time—with anyone in a long time. I shivered as his hands caressed my skin and slid upward toward my breasts.

I put my hands on his chest, so warm and firm and muscular. God, he was perfection. His hands roamed further, gentle but insistent and my nipples stiffened in response. He thumbed along the bottom side of my bra and slid his finger along the fabric brushing the sensitive nub, smiling just a bit as he felt that it was pebbled and hard under his touch.

His hand slid around my back and he began rubbing it in circles while he was kissing me. I remembered this trick, he wanted to undo my bra, and God help me I wasn't going to stop him. I'd like to blame it on the wine, again, but I don't think that's fair to the cabernet we had shared. It was me. After all this time and the disappointment that I had worn like a shield, I still wanted him.

I ran my hands through his hair then stepped back.

"Wait …" he started.

"No, shhh, it's ok," I said as I reached behind me and undid my bra under my silk t-shirt. I pulled the undergarment through the sleeves Flashdance style, and tossed it aside. I could feel the silk against my nipples now, and they ached for his touch.

He drew in a breath sharply as he looked me up and down, like he wanted to eat me alive, his eyes flashed and his breathing quickened. I could see the pulse jumping in his neck as his excitement grew. He reached out and took my hand in his and I stepped toward him, then lowered to my knees. Grasping at his belt I pressed my mouth to the hardness in the front of his jeans and blew warm air all up and down his hardened cock.

His head dropped back with a sigh and he tangled his hands in my hair, pressing my face to him. I fumbled with his buckle, then got it undone, and lowered the zipper. As I did his cock sprung forward, covered only by his briefs, and I could see the fabric darkening where pre-cum had teased out at the tip.

"You don't have …" he said

"I know, I want to," I replied as I slid his briefs over his erection and kissed the tip. I engulfed him with my mouth, the sweet salty tang familiar and warm on my tongue, and he let his head fall back and breathed deeply as I ran my hand down his abdomen then came up from underneath so that I was caressing him from underneath as well.

"Jesus, Savannah, hang on," he breathed as he lifted me to my feet. "It's been too long, and I want to be inside you when I come." As he talked he pulled me upright then shuffled me backwards to a nearby poolside chaise lounge. He pressed me backwards and I collapsed onto the lounge. He slipped his jeans off and I ended up beneath him, with my skirt up around my waist and him straddling me with his hardness pressing into my mound.

I still had my shirt on and he massaged my breasts under the clingy silk fabric as he told me how sexy I was, how hard it had been to concentrate on the game with me there, how much he wanted me still, how beautiful I was.

I arched my back and pressed harder into him and he leaned forward and kissed me.

"This has to go," he whispered and inched my top above my breasts until he could kiss them. First one nipple then the other, with his lips, tongue and teeth, teasing me, making my pussy ache for him. He played with my nipples until I thought I would go mad, or come. Or both.

"I always loved how sensitive these were," he said as he leaned down to suck on my nipple once again.

I raised my hips up once more and reached down to lower my white silk panties. I dropped them off the end of one foot. He looked at me and as he moved upward for a kiss, and I could feel him pressing between my lips. Those lips. The tip of him slid against me and I was wet, so wet for him.

"Condom," I whispered. He leaned back, reached for his jeans and I heard the crinkling of a wrapper. He handed me the condom and I sat halfway up and reached for him. His organ was long and thick and hard and warm as steel. He missed me I smiled to myself as I pressed the reservoir against the tip of him and rolled it down. I always loved the feel of his dick in my hands and I took a moment to just enjoy its heft. Heavy and hard, I stroked it a couple of times up and down as the velvety skin was covered by the protective latex shield.

"Now," he says. It's not a question. He slid his cock against me and slowly, so slowly the tip edged into me. He pressed against me, then pressed up on his powerful arms and looked down at me.

"I've been waiting for this, you feel so good, baby, you feel like home," he said, then lowered himself pressing his chest against my breasts and bringing his mouth to mine.

He began slowly filling me up. His length and girth were new to me all over again and he felt so warm and big, fitting inside me, stretching me, making me ache ever so slightly. He increased the pace.

"It's been so long, my God, I want you," he growled into my mouth as he kissed me ferociously. I reached down and grabbed his ass. Hardened by years of skating it's meaty and solid in my hands. As he thrusted into me I pulled him forward, deeper and deeper while he kissed my face, my neck, my breasts in a frenzy of excitement.

I felt the buzz building in my pussy as he pressed deeply inside me, he was so thick and solid and his cock pulsed as he took me, owning me, making me his all over again.

The orgasm swelled, and so did he. Mine started deep in my center and as I felt the charge building I heard someone moaning and I realized it was me. I was saying his name over and over. We were chest to chest and I could hear him too, moaning, saying my name like a chant, Sa-van-nah. I loved the sound of my name when he said it. Loved being his.

As my climax built I closed my eyes and I felt the explosion. Behind my eyelids I saw colors, and felt the shock as it exploded from my center. He came too, pulsing inside me as he pressed himself against me. Daire was calling my name, thrusting into me with his hands gripping my arms, his face against my shoulder, as he climaxed inside me, and collapsed on top of me.

We lay there, motionless, until the parts of me not covered by him began to chill. He stirred against my chest and raised himself up on two arms again.

"Swim?" he asked.

"It's chilly out."

He walked to a wooden cabinet by the pool and opened it, inside were a series of horizontal bars, with towels draped over them. On the other side of the cabinet were white Turkish towel bathrobes "All heated, the robes and the towel," he said, by way of explanation. "Come in the water with me, and then we'll warm up by the fire."

Helpless to his charms once again, I thought wryly. Also when did he get so organized?

He held my hand while I stood and together we descended the steps into the water.

I wondered idly if this was a drowning, or a rebirth, as we swarm together under the clear, starlit southern sky.

W
ell
, that went well, I thought to myself when I woke up. I leaned over and stroked the curve of his muscular back as he slept. Surely he'll sign divorce papers now.

Not!

I was confused. Muddled. Did I love him, or love my job and my life? Could he be the man I needed instead of the man I thought he was? The man he had proven to be when he took off after the wedding? The man who ignored me while I went to college, law school, graduating with honors and working my ass off. Gah!

Before my brain went into complete and total overdrive I really needed coffee. We had moved to the bedroom sometime during the night, and were resting in a tangle of sheets. I unwrapped myself and slipped out of the bed. His closet was open on the far side of the room and I padded toward it, hoping not to wake him. My own thoughts were overwhelming enough this morning; I didn't need his too.

I grabbed a light denim long sleeved shirt and slipped it on, buttoning it half way down, it came to my knees. My panties were long gone, but this covered me up enough to at least be decent in the kitchen.

I hadn't really had time to appreciate the home on the way out to the back yard and pool, and since his bedroom opened to the patio I hadn't been inside on the way to bed either.

The home was bright, lots of floor to ceiling glass windows, wooden beams, open spaces. The pool was visible from inside, sunlight glinting on the surface.

There was a coffee machine in the kitchen and I found a spinning rack full of pods right next to it. The fridge held cream and the counter had sugar in a bowl with a silver spoon. His adulting game was certainly coming along.

I took the mug of coffee and went to stand by the windows facing the pool. In the distance, past his orchard and gardens were mountains and the view was breathtakingly overwhelming. Which was handy since I was trying not to think too hard about anything else. Like sleeping with my future ex-husband, or hanging around his house, or drinking his coffee while he slept. Any woman worth her salt would have gotten dressed and left first thing in the morning, and not answered the phone when he called later in the day.

It was hard to see the warm glow I was feeling as the product of a mistake though.

I heard him before I felt him, his arms sliding around my waist, he rested his head on top of mine.

"Good morning."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, it is, at least I think so. How're you?"

"I'm good," I sighed, "I mean, confused, but good."

"Why are you confused? We're good together Sav, we always were."

"Yeah, except when we weren't."

"I think you need more coffee," he changed the subject and withdrew to the kitchen. I missed him already and he was only ten steps away.

"Want to do something today?" he arched an eyebrow at me.

"No, no, I can't. I have to meet the realtor, sign whatever it is she wants signed. She says she knows a young couple that would be interested in the house."

"They always say that. It's the first rule of real estate."

"I know, but it could be true. Anyway, it doesn't make sense to keep a house I'm not living in when someone else could use it."

"Right. So you wanna talk about it?"

"About what?"

"About us. This. The elephant in the room."

"No, not really," I said, shaking my head.

"Okay."

"That's it? Okay?"

"Yeah, that's it, you don't want to discuss it, I'm not going to force you. That’s never worked for us anyway. I have to go to practice in a few hours, watch the tape from last night, get notes from the coach," he paused, "I just want to say I really liked last night. You don't have to say anything, make any promises, but yeah …" he paused as his cell phone rang. "Hang on," he jogged to the bedroom to get it.

I could hear bits and pieces of his side of the conversation from the other room. "Yeah, all night. No I wasn't alone. I don't want to say. I hear you. Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Yep, bye."

"What was that?"

He sighed, "There was more trouble after the game again last night. Someone ID'd one of the motorcycles involved as mine. But obviously it wasn't. Which makes you my alibi."

"Was that the cops? Don't talk to them without an attorney. Me or someone else, but don't do it."

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"I know that. You know that, but they don't know that, and they could try to 'prove' you did," I said, making air quotes.

He ran his hands through his hair, "Yeah, I know, I won't talk to them anymore. What the hell is happening? This is not good. Not good for my team. Not good for the game. And definitely not good for me," he sighed. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we can figure it out. I just, well I guess I need to get out of here. Make some calls. I'm serious about the cops, get a different lawyer than me. I'm not supposed to be practicing anyway, and there's conflict of interest there, but for God's sake don't talk to them."

"I didn't tell them who I was with, but it does make you my alibi."

"Right, yeah. That's fine, I mean, you didn't do anything wrong, and neither did we," I finished my coffee and put my mug in the sink. "Sorry, but I guess I should go now. Let me know if you hear any more from them okay?"

"Yeah, you too," he said as I went to retrieve my clothes.

He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, his palms coming up to massage my nipples. I leaned back into him and just for one minute let myself relax into him. Just one minute. Ok, maybe it was two.

I spun around and his arms stayed wrapped around me, reaching up on my toes I kissed him, and rather than the peck I was intending it to be it was long and lingering.

"See you later?" he asked.

My head was spinning with lust and maybe a little lack of oxygen from the kissing, but I said "Yes," even though I meant to say no and stay away. My resolve had crumbled to a million little pieces and had blown away in the warm breeze by the edge of his pool.

"Your car is still at the rink, babe. Let me grab my keys," and just like that I was back on the motorcycle and headed into town, where unbeknownst to us, all hell was breaking loose.