Tagan's Child (46 page)

“It sounds
perfect.” I couldn’t help but be affected by his enthusiasm. A
scene of domestic bliss popped into my head. A couple of blond
haired children sat at the breakfast table being entertained by
Toby whilst I busied myself making breakfast and Ahran fed the baby
in the high chair. I could easily see the house’s potential. It
would make a lovely family home.

Our footsteps
echoed as we walked across the wooden floor to the glazed double
doors leading out to the back garden. Ahran opened one of them onto
a large patio and a huge garden which was mostly laid to lawn.
There were trees dotted around creating dappled shade and off to
the left was the walled garden he had mentioned.

We stepped
outside. “Wow! It’s got an orangery.” I could see the wooden and
glass apex of an old glasshouse peeking above the brick walls of
the enclosed garden.

“Yes, that’s
coming down.”

“No, you can’t
pull it down,” I protested and ran towards the close boarded wooden
gate.

I opened the
door. “Oh, it’s fantastic,” I enthused. “You could grow anything in
here, lemons, oranges, peaches.” I stood there and let my
imagination run wild again. There I was picking our own fruit and
veg, Toby and the little ones digging holes to sow their sunflower
seeds in and the dogs chasing a dragonfly.

Ahran came and
stood behind me and put his arms around my shoulders. He put his
nose in my hair and breathed in before kissing the side of my head.
I leant back into his arms. That was all I needed, his arms around
me. I realised in that moment I wanted it, I wanted a piece of this
paradise, I wanted to be here with him building a home and trying
my hardest to take each day at a time.

I turned around
and put my arms around his neck, I looked up into his eyes and
willed myself to say it, I so desperately wanted to tell him I
loved him. The feelings I felt for Ahran were so much more than
anything I had ever felt before and I was at a loss as to how to
express them. I took in a shaky breath and closed my eyes. I
reached up and kissed him, pressing myself into him in the hope,
that somehow by the process of osmosis, he would feel the emotion
threatening to overwhelm me.

He broke away.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,
absolutely nothing.” I smiled warmly.

“Come on, let
me show you the farm.” He took my hand and led me down a track.

“This place
isn’t what I expected at all. I had imagined it to be like Galius’
ranch, much more open and sprawling,” I said, taking it all in.

“The land is
much more fertile here,” he explained. “It’s perfect for
cattle.”

Down in the
farmyard, the buildings were in complete contrast to the house.
They were huge and modern with vast expanses of concrete floors.
Most of them were brand new.

“Beyond that
fence is the farmland, pretty much as far as the eye can see,
there’s about twenty thousand acres in total.”

“Golly! That’s
a lot.”

“It’s not that
big by Ramian standards but it should be enough for what I want it
for. So what do you think so far?” he asked, his eyes searching my
face.

“Well, it looks
like you are set up as far as the farm is concerned,” I said,
scanning the farmyard. I was no expert. “And I really like what
I’ve seen of the house, I think with some work it could be
incredible.”

My answer
clearly pleased him. “Do you want to go back and see the rest of
it?”

“Yes please!”
His enthusiasm was infectious.

We walked back
up the track to the house. There were two other reception rooms
downstairs, the lounge and another day room. Four bedrooms, three
of which were a good size with a functional bathroom. The master
bedroom was huge and double aspect. Like everywhere else, the walls
and ceiling were white except where exposed oak beams ran up to the
apex in the roof.

“This is some
bedroom,” I said walking across the room to look out of the window.
I sat on the window seat and took in the view of the back garden.
There was an orchard beyond the garden and a spectacular view of
gently rolling hills beyond that.

“At the moment
this room shares the main bathroom but when I build the extension
it will have an ensuite.” His plans would create a lovely bedroom
which would be private from the rest of the house.

Ahran came over
and sat next to me at the window.

“So you like
it?” he asked me for the umpteenth time.

“I do,” I said,
smiling to myself. “It’s a beautiful place.”

He pulled me
onto his lap.

“Would you be
happy to come and stay here with me from time to time?” He really
was trying hard not to push me.

“Very happy,” I
smiled and cupped the side of his face as I pressed my lips to
his.

He hugged me
tightly.

“I’d really
like your input with the house.”

“I’d like that
too.” I was touched he wanted my involvement.

“Talina
couldn’t have been less interested,” he said with a bitter tinge to
his voice.

“I’m not
Talina.”

“No, you most
definitely are not,” he said before kissing me on the nose. “You
are smart, brave, beautiful and funny. You aren’t like any woman
I’ve ever met before.”

“I’m glad to
hear it. I’d hate to think there might be another me out there
competing for your attention.”

He chuckled.
“Two Sophie McAllister’s, now that could be interesting,” he said
with a glint in his eyes.

Ahran’s phone
buzzed in his pocket. He shifted me onto one knee and answered
it.

After a brief
conversation he hung up.

“The tractor
has arrived.”

“Well let’s go
and see it then,” I said, climbing off his lap.

Ahran jumped up
like an excited kid. I rolled my eyes. “Boys and their toys,” I
mumbled, secretly enjoying every minute.

We made our way
back down to the farmyard to the massive hunk of machinery being
unloaded from an even bigger transporter. It was red with a
streamlined design and four enormous triangular caterpillar tracks
for wheels.

“Bloody hell,
it’s enormous!”

“It has to be,
it’s got a lot of land to cover. It uses GPS to follow programmed
routes of the area it is working on,” he said proudly.

“So that thing
operates without a driver?” Somehow it looked more menacing than
any of the other vehicles I’d seen in Ramia, it was like something
out of Mad Max.

“It can do, it
has dual operation. It will remove the need for a driver to sit for
endless hours. For other jobs it can be operated manually.”

“It really is
impressive.”

Ahran spoke to
the delivery driver before he climbed up into the cab of his
transporter, reversed out and drove off.

“Do you want a
ride?”

“Yeah, why
not?”

Ahran helped me
up into the cab and I sat on his lap as we looked at a number of
computer screens on the display panel in front of us. He touched
one of the screens and the engines roared to life.

“Let’s see what
this thing can do,” he threatened excitedly.

I grabbed his
arm in alarm as the mechanical beast lurched forward.

“Do you know
what you’re doing?” I queried doubtfully.

Ahran touched a
couple of the screens again and we moved forward more smoothly.

“Trust me, I’m
a farmer,” he said into my ear.

I laughed. “All
the farmers I know are dirty old men.”

“I can do dirty
if that’s what you want?” he said with a devilish grin. I laughed
again.

He was never
sexier than when he was being playful.

Ahran put the
tractor through its paces, handling the machinery like a pro. When
he was satisfied he’d spent his money wisely we drove back into the
farmyard.

“Are you
hungry?” he asked.

“Starving,” I
admitted.

“Good, because
there is a picnic in the car big enough for the Dinaran army.”

He parked the
tractor inside one of the huge farm buildings and we made our way
back to the garden. The sun was high and almost hotter than I could
bear. I kicked off my shoes and sat down under one of the larger
trees whilst Ahran went to the car to get our lunch.

When he
returned he laid a rug out on the grass and began to unpack the
food. “We could go for a swim after we’ve eaten if you want
to.”

“Is there a
swimming pool?” I hadn’t seen one.

“No, but
there’s a river,” he said, handing me a plate.

“Ooh I haven’t
swum in a river since I was a kid.” The thought of immersing myself
in the cool water of a lazy river was extremely appealing. “But I
didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“You won’t need
one,” he said with a fiendish arch of his eyebrow.

Skinny dipping
with Ahran? Yep, I’ll sign up for that. I was feeling happy,
relaxed and willing to do pretty much anything he asked me to.

“Ok, I’m
game.”

“Actually scrap
the picnic, I might just have you for lunch.” He stopped what he
was doing and turned to me on all fours and started to prowl
towards me like a dominant, male lion in the Serengeti. Part of me
wanted to lie down and be devoured like he was promising but part
of me was excited by the prospect of a chase. I got up and ran as
fast as I could across the lawn, struggling for breath through my
laughter. Who was I kidding? I was no match for a fit Ramian male
especially this gloriously fit Ramian male and he grabbed me before
I’d even made it halfway to the house. We fell to the ground
laughing. He flipped me over and pinned me down holding my hands
above my head. My chest hurt from lack of oxygen and I panted for
breath.

“P…Please…don’t…t..tickle me, I…hate…being… tickled,” I said
between gasps.

“I have no
intention of tickling you,” he said seductively. His head dipped
and he kissed the side of my neck.

I moaned. It
was that spot, it got me every time.

“Ah, there it
is again. I could never tire of that sound.” His voice was thick
and husky.

I turned my
head so my lips could meet his and just as our kiss was beginning
to deepen, my stomach rumbled.

“Oh my God!
Sorry, that was my stomach.”

“No, that’s my
fault for not feeding you. You need to eat. I don’t want you
passing out on me.”

He stood up and
with one easy movement I was in his arms.

“I can walk,” I
said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Humour me,” he
replied and carried me back to the blanket. We ate the lavish
picnic the palace kitchens had prepared and drank delicious
sparkling wine in the shade of the tree.

“Shall we head
down to the river?” he suggested as we packed up the remainder of
the food.

“I don’t think
I could swim after that.” I took in a deep breath trying to make
room for what I’d eaten.

“I wasn’t
thinking of doing much swimming,” he said as he pulled me to my
feet. The wicked look in his eyes set my pulse racing.

“Fishing isn’t
really my thing,” I said, screwing up my nose and shaking my head.
My attempt at humour would have been more convincing if I hadn’t
sounded a touch breathless.

“That’s not
what I had in mind either,” he clarified, his voice becoming deep
and velvety.

“Feeding the
ducks?” I queried innocently. I had a picture in my mind of Ahran
standing naked in the river, his hair slicked back and water
droplets clinging to his skin, his body glistening magnificently in
the sun. The image made my stomach muscles tighten.

He shook his
head slowly and started to unbuckle his belt. My breath caught in
my throat.

“Take your
clothes off Sophie.”

“What, here?” I
said, looking around nervously.

He nodded.
“No-one will see you,” he said, the wicked glint in his eye causing
heat to spread through my body.

“Okay,” I said
with a degree of uncertainty but bolstered by the wine I’d just
consumed. My hand went to the top button of my blouse. Ahran didn’t
take his eyes off me and started to step backwards slowly. I
unbuttoned my blouse and walked towards him. I shrugged it off and
let it fall to the ground but refrained from taking anything else
off. I raised an eyebrow at him encouragingly. A striptease could
be interesting. I’d turned into a brazen hussy but by God, it was
fun!

I noticed a
slight smile catch at the side of his mouth when he realised what I
was hinting at.

He pulled his
polo shirt over his head in one sweep, that way only men seemed to
do, and treated me to the sight of his muscles rippling across his
shoulders and chest. Clothes seemed to be an unnecessary convention
for him, he was more than comfortable in his own skin.

I swallowed
hard. He was so easy on the eye.

The
appreciative look on his face made me feel bolder. I undid the
button and zip at my hip. It was daring and delicious and I
wondered if we would actually make it to the river. I let my
trousers fall to the ground and stepped out of them continuing to
walk forwards in just my underwear.

“God help me,”
Ahran said quietly, shaking his head.

He unbuttoned
his fly, took his wallet out of his back pocket and pushed his
jeans down over his hips. My eyes roamed over every divine inch of
him. I could quite happily stare at him all day long and barely
feel the need to blink.

He stepped out
of his jeans and his eyes moved to my chest anticipating my next
move.

I obliged and
reached my hands behind me to unhook my bra and let it slip down my
arms. My breasts felt heavy with arousal and the exposure to the
sun and air made my nipples harden immediately. Ahran stopped in
his tracks and let out a slow exhalation of air.

He gave up
walking backwards and walked towards me instead. I expected him to
kiss me but instead he took my hand and led me across the track and
down to a shaded, grassy spot by the river.