Chapter 11 #3
‘She doesn’t know yet,’ laughed Eliza. ‘But I know she’ll be up for it – she’s getting itchy feet, and it’s not good for anyone to just sit still.’
Reaching across the table he stroked her fingers, sending shivers up her spine and making her want more than just the pasta in front of her.
‘I think that sounds like a great plan – I love the idea of using small suppliers and giving people a chance to do what they’re good at. I hope she goes for it.’
‘Oh, I’m sure she will. She’s been talking about working again for ages; she just needs a push.
But Marjorie, of course, will do the cake!
I popped over to her house today and got an impromptu tasting – she really is very good.
And then I just need a florist and a surprise – every good event needs the unexpected. ’
‘Do you have any ideas for flowers? I know Bella used to be a florist when she lived in London.’
What did Bella not do? Eliza shifted in her seat a bit, dialling down the jealousy that was stalking her throat.
‘I didn’t know that. I thought she was an interior designer or something. Isn’t that what you said, that she had helped you with your interiors?’
Luke pulled back his hand and began dishing out the salad. ‘I think she does a bit of both to be honest. These creative types always seem to have their fingers in so many pies. But she has done the flowers for us once or twice before for small events, and they’ve always been great.’
Perhaps this could be a good way to talk to Bella without the tension of Luke in the room, Eliza thought. Maybe she just needed to get to know her a bit better. One way or another it might help her get a little clearer on what Bella really wanted, so what was the harm?
‘Do you think Bella would be up for it? I was going to look around, but if Bella’s good then it could definitely be an option. Are her and Fenella friends?’
‘I’m not sure their paths have crossed that much recently, but I’m sure she would be happy for her to do them – why don’t you ask her?’
‘Okay, I will, thanks, Luke – I’m not sure I’m Bella’s favourite person, but I’ll try and grab her for a chat and see if she thinks she has time to do it.’
‘Why would Bella not like you?’ asked Luke inquisitively. ‘Do you guys even know each other?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing, probably just my imagination – obviously you know her a lot better than I do.’
He looked at her enquiringly, then changed the subject. ‘Fancy a look around the workings of Stanley’s and maybe a late-night swim?’
‘No dessert?’ she asked in mock horror.
‘It depends on what your definition of dessert is,’ he said with a smile, pulling her to her feet and wrapping his hand around hers. ‘Come on, I’ll give you my own special guided tour.’
He led her through the back of Stanley’s into an enormous barn. It was cavernous, full of nooks and crannies and amazing vintage tractors, which she imagined once ran riot across the fields.
‘Wow, what is this place?’ she asked.
‘This is where the magic happens,’ he said.
‘Sod the magic, this is where the wedding should happen – why hasn’t anyone ever told me about this barn before?’
‘Well, look how full it is for a start,’ said Luke, gesturing around. ‘I’m not sure we could empty this in time for a wedding. It’s where Dad and I store everything.’
‘So I see,’ responded Eliza, thoughtfully, her mind already working out a solution. ‘I mean, what is all this stuff? Is it all for farming? I see the yellow tractor has made it back in here.’
‘Oh yes, he doesn’t come out much, only for special occasions – I wouldn’t want him getting rusty!’
Eliza wandered over to another part of the barn, spotting a pile covered under a dropcloth.
‘What’s all this over here?’ she asked, peeking underneath it and spotting a camera and large floodlights.
‘Oh, that’s just something I do on the side,’ answered Luke sheepishly.
‘Don’t tell me you make porn on the side . . .’ giggled Eliza, turning back to him, eyes wide. ‘Oh my God, you do! That’s the secret, isn’t it – you are actually a porn star!’
Luke looked at her pointedly. ‘Really. You really think I am a porn star. Well, I mean, I’ll take it. I think it’s a compliment of sorts, if you think I’m that big and hot.’
‘Well, why else would you have all this camera equipment and all these screens.’ She whipped back the covering completely and had to contain a gasp. ‘It looks like you have enough stuff here to set up an entire cinema company!’
‘As much as I want you to think I’m a porn star, it’s actually just a small company I started on the side.’ His eyes seemed to be simmering with heat as she stepped back from the pile of equipment, drawn towards him.
‘And? What is it if it’s not porn?’ She asked in what she hoped was a seductive voice.
‘You really are a filthy little minx, aren’t you?’ Luke’s voice sounded gruff as he reached towards her, grabbing her hand, and pulling her close against his chest. ‘Maybe I should leave it all to your imagination. I feel like anything I tell you now would just be a disappointment.’
His hand moulded around her waist, and leaning in he captured her lips, sending electric currents coursing through her body.
‘You are so inquisitive, Eliza,’ he said, kissing her again, ‘maybe it’s time for a little less chat.’
Manoeuvring around, she found herself placed down onto an old velvet sofa next to the film equipment.
‘What a handy sofa,’ she said breathlessly, as he reached down to start unbuttoning her jeans. She was wet already; he was so sexy it drove her fucking crazy.
‘Mmm, so handy,’ he muttered back. ‘I have it here so I can bring all my women into my barn, undress them and have my wicked way with them.’
For a second, she froze. Shit, that was exactly what he did.
No doubt she was just another of his many conquests.
And then she felt his hand skim over the skin of her inner thigh, and she thought, but does it matter?
We are just two people, enjoying each other, with no desire for a relationship, so maybe the naughtier the better.
‘I’m joking,’ he whispered again into her ear with a laugh, and then he stood up and took off his top to expose his gorgeous torso. He unbuckled his belt, slipped off his jeans, and stood there naked, with the biggest, hardest cock she thought she had ever seen.
‘Swim?’ he asked, reaching his hand out for hers.
She was still in her clothes, her jeans halfway down her legs, and her ache for him pulsating through her.
‘Now? But it’s cold and getting so dark!’ and quite honestly, she just wanted him to fuck her.
‘Trust me,’ he said, as he pulled her up. As she stood, he gently slipped her top off and undid her bra, so deftly she barely noticed it had happened.
‘Take your jeans off,’ he said, with the hint of a smile. ‘I wouldn’t want you to sink . . .’
‘Are you always this bossy?’ she asked, slipping her jeans off, finding it deeply sexy that he was so commanding.
‘Are you always this wet?’ he said, as he leant to slide her knickers off, his fingers slipping over her clitoris as he did so.
She let out of a gasp of pleasure as he touched her. She was so desperate for him, she reached up to kiss him again on her tiptoes, her body leaning into his. They started to kiss with intense passion, his hands holding her head as he pushed harder against her. Then he pulled away.
‘Come on, follow me.’
‘It better be worth it,’ she muttered. As they wandered towards the double doors at the back of the barn totally naked, she felt a sensation of complete exhilaration and excitement.
She realised this was Luke’s comfort zone.
How she had first seen him. Naked, swimming in a river, being at one with everything he loved.
For her, it was the total opposite to how she had always lived.
Her life was a noisy city, designer clothes, a life full of needing reassurance and success in everything she did.
Maybe this was exactly what she had needed – the opportunity to experience life from a different place, to break out of everything she had always conformed to.
Luke pushed the big heavy barn doors back to reveal the most incredible lake.
‘Luke, what is this place? It’s the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.’
The water was shimmering in the reflection of the moon, with fairy lights all around it, and a swimming deck floating in the middle. And unless her eyes betrayed her, a little rowing boat tucked away in the corner. The whole area was shrouded by trees, and it felt like something from a fairy tale.
‘I would call it my sanctuary,’ said Luke. ‘The place I love the most in the world, that no one really knows about. I built it when I built the cabin. It’s a place I can escape to, to swim and no one bothers me. In a world where nothing seems to last forever, this is something that does.’
Eliza suddenly felt there was a sadness to what he was saying, and she wondered whether there was so much more to Luke than she could see on the surface.
‘So do you bring all the girls here, or just the ones you want to seduce?’ she joked, trying to lighten the mood again, and suddenly feeling so aware of her own nakedness, the chill in the air making her cold.
He looked at her with a trace of sadness in his eyes, before his face broke into a grin again. Leaning in, he said, ‘Race you to the deck.’
And with that he ran to the water and jumped in – she watched him from behind, the taut arse, his back rippling with every movement he made, just utter perfection in male form. Fuck it! she thought, as she ran in after him.
As they lay on the deck under the stars, her panting and shivering with exhaustion and him barely noticing the swim, Luke grabbed Eliza and rolled on top of her.
‘Let me warm you up,’ he said, and his mouth found hers with a hunger she hadn’t felt before. She felt his desire and responded, wanting it, too.