Unforgettable Embrace (22 page)

Then she eased herself on to him, taking all of him deep inside her hot wetness. She had her back to him while she moved herself up and down his shaft, all the while playing with her clit, teasing herself and him. Suddenly, he grabbed her and flung her onto the bed, ramming himself inside her. He spanked her ass and bit her neck. She cried out in pain, but it was a pleasurable pain, like nothing she'd ever felt before. She wanted to wrap her whole body inside his.

He rode her harder and harder until she thought she was going to split open. He pushed her legs wide apart, pulling himself out of her then ramming himself deep into her again. It was an agonising ecstacy for her. She came and came and still he rode her. When she finally couldn't take him anymore, she begged him to stop and he came long and deep and hard inside her one last time. They quickly fell into a deep, exhausted sleep. They stayed in bed together for days, making love, exploring each other’s bodies, dozing in and out of sleep, their bodies wrapped tightly around each other, whispering secrets together. It was almost as if talking aloud would break the magical spell that encapsulated them.

Chapter 30

"I love you," Batt whispered in her ear.

Rachel flinched slightly, her mind raced. It amazed her how many thoughts sparked through her brain in less than a few seconds.

I love you, she thought, did he just say "I love you" to me? Do I love him? I don't know. I don't think so. God, how do I respond to that? I really do like him a lot already, but I don't feel right saying I love you yet.

"Me too," she said quickly, kissing him lightly on the lips.

Batt looked at her quizzically but didn't say anything. She felt a pang for having upset him.

"Is my campervan ok, Batt?" she asked.

"Good to go," he said shortly.

"Thank you for a wonderful few days," she said, hugging him goodbye.

"Will I see you again?" he asked abruptly.

"Of course we'll see each other again, darling. I need to finish my trip. I promised myself I would take this year out to travel, and I've only been on the road a few months. Whenever you have a few days free, jump on the motorbike and come and stay with me in the camper. I'd love to see you anytime."

"I'm so glad you said that," he said, relief written all over his face.

He hugged her even closer. Rachel started to feel smothered, and was filled with a huge desire to get away from him. She didn't know why, Batt had been nothing but kind to her, but she wanted to get in her campervan and drive away, fast.

She clambered into her campervan, waving goodbye to Batt. She drove down the hill, past the glorious lake and on through the town of Bangor. The place was busy with farmers and the locals going about their daily chores. Rachel was relieved to be back on the road. Her mind was racing. Why am I feeling like this? She asked herself. The further she drove, the better she felt. She was starting to realise that she felt trapped and claustrophobic that last day at Batt's house, but she couldn't figure out why. She decided to block it out of her mind for now and just concentrate on driving and the wild scenery around her.

She was heading towards Castlebar, which was supposedly the shopping capital of Mayo. Another windy, bumpy road to drive on, she thought, holding tight to the steering wheel. The roads in Ireland are notorious for being in poor condition but the roads in Mayo were horrendous. It's not so bad for the people driving in cars, she mused, swerving again to avoid hitting another oncoming vehicle, but they should try driving this thing. The speed limit was a hundred kilometres an hour, but realistically Rachel couldn't do more than sixty in her campervan, which was quite cumbersome to drive on the narrow, twisting roads.

An hour later she arrived in Castlebar. She spotted a shopping centre with a large parking area, and pulled in and parked the campervan. She made herself a cup of tea and was relieved at being alone again in her little mobile house. Right, she said to herself briskly, time to go shopping, mingle with people again, shake off the cobwebs of the last few days. She grabbed her handbag, locked the campervan and headed off into the crowds. The town looked wonderfully festive. The Christmas lights were already switched on, and the shops had trees and Christmas scenes displayed in their windows. Rachel was starting to perk up already. She spent a very pleasant few hours buying presents for her friends and family. She considered buying something for Batt, but decided to hold off on it for a while. She stocked up on food in the supermarket, and decided to sleep overnight in the car park.

She texted her friends. She felt bad for
neglecting them for a while. Jen called her straight back.

"Hey stranger, long time no see!" she said.

"Hi Jen
," Rachel said apologetically. “Sorry it's been a while."

"No worries girl, so what have you been up to and when are we going to see you again? We miss you a lot and I've got a wedding to plan in case you've forgotten."

"Well I've been travelling all over Ireland, I'm in Castlebar now. I've
met so many interesting people. I don't know where to begin."

"Meet any nice men?" Jen asked.

"Um, yes, I think so," Rachel said hesitantly.

"That sounds a bit doubtful." Rachel told Jen all about Batt.

"He sounds lovely," Jen said, "what's wrong with him, you sound unsure."

"There's nothing wrong with him, he was perfectly lovely to me. I don't why but I felt smothered by him."

"It seems to me like we are having a bit of a role reversal here," Jen laughed.

"A role reversal?" Rachel asked.

"It's usually us women who wear our heart on our sleeve, and it seems to me like Batt was very open and honest with you. You didn't have to work for his affections and he was happy to tell you how he felt about you straight away."

"Maybe that's it," Rachel said, "he told me he loved me."

"What?! After only three days!" Jen exclaimed, "that's a bit soon, even for a woman, but especially for a man."

"I know, that's what I thought," Rachel agreed. "I feel mean talking about him like this because he was so kind to me. What's wrong with us women, eh? When a man treats us nice and tells us what we want to hear we just want to run a mile. Why do our romantic affairs have to be complicated and dramatic? It's like the more we have to work for their affections, and the more they torment us, the happier we are when they give us a few crumbs. There's poor old Batt, kind and caring and loving and open, and all I want to do is run a mile. Honestly, that last day together I couldn't get away from him fast enough."

"Well, there are a lot of lonely people in the world," Jen said, "maybe he's lonely. Did you say "I love you" back?"

"No, I couldn't bring myself to say the words. I mean, I like him but it's too soon to say "I love you". If I felt it I'd have said it, but I just felt awkward when he said it to me, so I said "me too" instead. Am I total bitch?"

"Not a total bitch," Jen laughed.

"Hey!" Rachel laughed too. It was so good to hear her friend's voice again. She'd missed her friend more than she'd realised.

"Anyway, enough about me already, how are your wedding plans coming along?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, the wedding plans you were supposed to be helping with, missy," Jen scolded.

"I know, I'm sorry," Rachel said, "I'm all yours, whatever you need done, just tell me."

"You might regret that offer," Jen said, "but I'm willing to hold you to it."

"The wedding is going to be sooner than I originally expected," Jen said, "I wanted to get married in the cathedral, ever since I was a little girl, it's so regal and other wordly there. Well, they're fully booked for the next three years, but they've had a cancellation for April tenth, so I've accepted it."

"Oh that still leaves plenty of time to organise everything," Rachel said, "it's still almost a year and a half away."

"No, dear, next April," Jen explained.

"Next April, as in barely four months’ time!" Rachel exclaimed.

"That'
s the big day," Jen laughed.

"How are the preparations coming along
?"

"
They’re not coming along very well at all, apart from the church being booked. I still haven't booked a venue or anything really. Liz has been showing me her wedding album which has given me some ideas for dresses. I only confirmed the church last week, and I've been a bit shell-shocked since then."

"All I can say is thank God for the internet," Rachel said, "we have a lot of work to do. I tell you what, I'll get started tonight and I'll make a list of what needs to be done and my suggestions. I'll email my ideas to you over the next few days and by the time you've digested them, I should be back in Cork."

"Are you heading home?"

"Yes, it's Christmas next week, so I'll spend a few weeks at home and we can talk all things wedding."

"Oh, Rach, that'd be brill. You could be my wedding organiser."

"I dunno about that, but I'll give it a shot."

"Thanks Rach."

"Hey, it's the least I can do. I feel like I've been abandoning you lately, so
I want to make it up to you."

"I c
an't wait to see you."

"Me too."

The two friends hung up and Rachel opened her computer and started to log on to the internet. She was getting excited about the thought of planning a wedding, her best friend's wedding. Rachel went to the search engine and typed "how to plan a wedding in Ireland." She was met with more than five million mind-boggling results!

She scanned the first page and clicked on a link randomly. The website made a list of what needed to be done in a very matter of fact manner. Rachel opened a new spreadsheet and started making her own lists; there were invitations, service booklets, menus, evening invitations, thank you cards to be organised. Rachel put a note to contact an office supply store, that's the easy part, she thought, we have to come up with a design first. Let's hope Liz has a few ideas in her dream wedding album.

Next were the rings. Rachel thought Jen and Vic would have remembered the wedding rings but she decided to put it on the list anyway. There was the dress, of course, which would be a shopping day out for the girls. She was looking forward to trying on a few wedding dresses herself. Then there was the accommodation and wedding reception itself. Rachel made a note to go through her old Sherrington contacts as she was sure she could organise a significant discount and the Sherrington hotels were second to none. There was a lot of work to be done, but she was happy at the thought of having a project.

She sent a quick email to Jen and Liz to let them know her progress so far on the wedding plans, then she shut down her computer and got ready for bed. She was wrecked. Her phone b
eeped loudly, making her jump. It was a text from Batt. She found herself cringing slightly when she read his name. "Hi baby," the text read, "I miss you already. Where are you staying tonight? Wish we were together." She switched off her mobile, not wanting to respond. She'd spent months on the dating scene looking for love and experiencing rejection and disinterest.

Batt was offering her everything she wanted, love and affection. He was open and honest with her. Maybe, too open, she thought. He'd told her a lot of intimate details about his life, from what he earned on the farm and how much money he had in the bank to lots of stories on the girlfriends he'd had over the years. They were interesting stories, but Rachel had felt uncomfortable about how much he'd revealed about himself at such an early stage in their relationship. He'd gently chided her, saying she was letting him do all the talking. She'd laughed and said it took her a while to open up. She promised herself to text him the next morning, and buried her head under the duvet.

Chapter 31

"That is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen!" Jen shrieked, softly touching the delicate folds of material.

"Try it on," Liz said.

"We'll be in one of the other dressing rooms trying on our own wedding dresses," Rachel called, already making her way into a cubicle, barging past the not too impressed sales assistant. "We only allow actual brides -to- be to try on our wedding dresses," the sales lady said officiously.

"Well, we are best friends who happen to be getting married on the same day. We are so close we wanted to have a triple wedding. So we need three dresses for three brides please," Jen said in explanation, "must be something in the stars that we all fell in love around the same time." "Indeed," the sales lady said curtly, rolling her eyes.

The girls had spent the morning tormenting the woman, prancing about in wedding dresses and veils, laughing and getting tipsier on the champagne that was originally offered. The sales assistant had made the mistake of offering champagne to the bride-to-be and looked shocked when they'd said they were all going to be brides.

The girls had poured over Liz's wedding album for days, deciding to start their search for the dress as top priority. They couldn't believe how many drawings and designs Liz had amongst her collection of photos and ideas. Jen's entire wedding could be planned entirely from her album. She even had a unique design for the wedding invitations.