Chapter 11
Eleven
S teph was checking her emails when the lunch trolley left the ward and as she replied to a text message from Jon assuring him that she was fine and that she was managing on her own, Mr Wright appeared before her.
“Miss Pryor,” he started making her jump and panic slightly at the prospect of something being wrong but relaxed slightly as he smiled at her. “It would appear that your father would like to see you.”
“See me? You mean he’s . . .” she said and suddenly felt unable to continue for fear that she would just cry with relief if nothing else.
“He’s conscious and is asking to see you, oh, and he is complaining that he has missed lunch,” laughed the consultant.
“Oh thank goodness!” she cried as she got to her feet and hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” she shrieked as she released him suddenly.
“Shall we?” asked Angus Wright smiling kindly at her obvious relief and could see in an instant as the grin she wore illuminated her face and caused her eyes to twinkle like rare gems why his registrar was still taken with this girl and why Jonathan Brooker was completely hooked.
Steph hurried towards the entrance to the ward but stopped when Angus called her back,
“Your laptop and belongings Miss Pryor.”
She turned and saw him disappearing under her belongings from the makeshift office she had set up in the waiting area.
“Sorry,” she muttered as she returned and relieved him of them.
Nervously, Steph headed down the ward and found her dad sitting up and smiling as he saw her approaching.
“Hey, pumpkin,” he said and immediately she burst into tears with a multitude of confused feelings. “Oh, Stephie. I’m fine. It will take more than a bump to the head for you to get rid of me.” He smiled as she reached his bedside and he enveloped her in his arms and held her tightly.
The consultant pulled the curtain around the bed and left them alone. Steph realised that she had dropped her computer, bag and phone to the floor and once she had regained her composure began to tidy them away before pulling her phone out and saying, “I need to call Eddie so that he can let the others know.”
“And Janice,” Roger added.
“Mmm,” she replied as Roger frowned slightly.
“Steph, please contact Janice,” he said firmly and waited for her response. “Stephanie,” he added as some kind of prompt that told her he was telling her and not asking. Her reply was a simple nod.
“I will go and call now,” she said and kissed him again before going into the day room to call Eddie, then Jon.
Eddie had sounded as relieved as she felt and promised to wrap up what he was doing and head straight to her after contacting their other siblings.
She then dialled Jon’s mobile number and was surprised by a female voice that she immediately recognised as Lucy’s.
“Hello, Jon’s phone,” she said, rendering Steph speechless for a few seconds.
“Sorry I must have the wrong number,” she stammered, then immediately hung up.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” she said aloud to herself earning a few raised eyebrows from the few patients who were in the room with her forcing a single, “Sorry,” before she hit the button to call his office.
“Good afternoon, Mr Brooker’s office,” said Andrea’s familiar and surprisingly reassuring voice.
“Andrea, it’s Steph, Steph Pryor,” she expanded unnecessarily.
“Oh hello, I was sorry to hear about your father, but I assume you would like to speak to Mr Brooker,” she said and almost immediately Steph was being transferred through to his office.
She was unsure whether Lucy was still there, but as soon as she heard his voice she was immediately reassured and comforted.
“Steph, is everything okay?” he asked nervously.
“Yes, my dad’s regained consciousness and I have called Eddie and I just wanted you to know,” she explained.
“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful news. Is he okay?” he asked seriously.
“Yes, he seems to be. Okay enough to order me to call Janice,” she told him.
“She must be relieved,” he said gently, wishing he was with her, but already rearranging his afternoon to enable him to head straight over to her.
“Well, I haven’t called her yet,” she admitted.
“Why not? Roger has made his wishes clear.”
Steph made no reply, but knew he was right.
“I understand a little better why you may be reluctant to call her, tit for tat for her not calling you sooner, but if it’s what your dad wants . . .” his voice trailed off momentarily. “Do you want me to call her?”
“Would you?” she asked already knowing the answer.
“Darling, I never make offers I don’t mean, so I will call her now and then I will come over to you.”
“If you have other things you need to do I’ll be fine,” she said seriously.
“Nothing that can’t wait.”
“I called you on your mobile first,” she suddenly blurted out.
“I know,” was his only response.
“Lucy answered, I hope I haven’t got you into trouble with her,” she almost whispered aware of the patients present still listening.
“Darling, please don’t worry about me. Now you get back to your dad and I will see you later.”
Jon was leading Steph across the car park, her hand wrapped in his, having virtually forced her to leave the hospital for a while to get some rest.
Steph was quiet. She hadn’t wanted to leave the hospital but her boyfriend, siblings, and even Janice had made very good points about her needing to take a break, take care of herself and with so many of them visiting in pairs it would be a case of her sitting in the waiting room for hours.
“I might have chosen to stay,” she finally said, although she knew a break and a sleep might be more beneficial.
“Yes, but it would have been a foolish choice for you to make, so I made the sensible choice for you,” he told her frankly as he hit the remote on his key fob.
Steph looked around, confused as there was no sign of his car but he continued walking until he put her belongings on the back seat of a shiny, new Range Rover.
“Yours?” she asked confused.
“Apparently so.” He held the key up ironically.
“What was wrong with the Audi?”
“Nothing that I am aware of.” He stood holding the door for her to get in.
“I liked the Audi,” she mused as he got in beside her and started the engine.
“I still do, which is why it’s parked up at home, but you know my fondness for variety,” he said resting his hand on her knee as they waited for the exit barrier to lift.
Variety. Is that what she was? Not better or worse than Lucy, just different. Now really was not the time to discuss her thoughts on Lucy, Jon or herself. She was tired and emotional, not a good mix at the best of times.
“Where are we going?” Steph asked seriously.
“Home, back to yours I thought, where you can have a shower and get some sleep,” he said smiling across at her. “And I will bring you back later when it’s your turn to visit,” he said with smiling eyes.
“What?” she asked curious at his amusement.
“I like Eddie, he sorts you lot out and you all just comply, I like that.”
“We’re not always that compliant, but he does tend to take control of situations and sort us all out,” she agreed thinking how easily Eddie had organised a visiting rota.
The traffic home was fairly light compared to the hustle of rush hour traffic they normally travelled in and whilst the journey passed quickly, Steph felt the first real wave of tiredness wash over her as they travelled up to her flat in the lift where she nestled against his chest and inhaled his wondrous scent deeply.
“You smell nice,” she told him as she closed her eyes and inhaled again. “You always smell nice. I like it. A lot.”
“Are you flirting with me?” He smiled as he gently spanked her behind.
“Maybe after a shower, although I may go with a nice, long, relaxing bath full of bubbles,” she said almost thinking aloud as the lift stopped at her floor.
Submerged to her neck in bubbles, Steph stretched out in her huge bath and despite numerous efforts to fully occupy the vast space around her was unable to. She had first considered trying to entice Jon into the tub with her after he had run it for her and lit several scented candles before finally playing some soft, soothing classical music. After he told her in no uncertain terms that she needed to relax as he avoided all of her furtive glances and had not bitten any of the cherries she attempted to dangle before him, she had resolved to enjoy her bath alone.
Now as she lay there, still tired, but perfectly relaxed and free to consider the events of the last twenty-four hours she was glad to be alone for a while. She thought about her father and Janice, about her revelations to Jon and how he had seemingly taken them all in his stride and how he’d made contact with Mr Wright. She smiled to herself as she realised that his contacts knew no bounds.
Then she thought about Christian Patterson, the way he’d looked at her today and how he had stroked her leg earlier and how furious Jon had seemed by it, but presumably not with her.
Finally, her thoughts darkened as she thought of the lovely Lucy, no, the beautiful lady is how Angus Wright had referred to her. Lucy who had been with Jon this morning, in his office, but he had been otherwise occupied because Lucy had answered his phone. She, Steph had never answered his phone, but felt sure that if she had she wouldn’t have answered it with Lucy’s, ‘Jon’s phone’ which really meant, ‘My husband’s phone, keep your hands off’ and that was what Steph had heard when she’d answered her call, that is what had felt like a punch to the guts. Steph would have answered more demurely and professionally with a ‘Mr Brooker’s phone’ because she was his employee at worst and his mistress at best or should it be the other way round? She cringed as she recalled saying that she’d got the wrong number. How stupid was that? She was stored in his phone and so her number would have been recognised and Lucy would have seen that. What must Lucy have thought? Maybe she did know, she’d suspected that several times, so maybe she just didn’t care or would put up with anything so long as she held onto her husband. Who knew? What Steph did know was that this whole situation was unorthodox and had the potential to become a major train wreck. Shit! What had she got herself into here? She was in love with and was loved by a man who wasn’t hers and yet she continued to hold onto some strange notion that he was, or could be, that he would be, but how? She had so many questions, but no answers.
She sank further into the bath and submerged her head into the water and closed her eyes tightly. Suddenly, she felt a strange chill, almost a breeze pass over her face. She was unsure how long she had been lying like this when a hand on her shoulder startled her sufficiently that she lost control of where she was and somehow became fully submerged under the water. She began to fight against the previously soothing water that now felt as though it was determined to take the very breath from her body. She flailed beneath the water for what felt like an eternity until Jon’s arms pulled her free and held her against him. As she continued to cough and splutter, the alarm in his voice was obvious.
“Shit! Steph, are you okay? I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out,” he cried as he stroked her hair flat as if he was dealing with a traumatised animal. “Darling, speak to me, were you asleep? I called you and I even blew on you in case I startled you,” he told her realising that his aim had failed in spectacular style as she was most definitely startled now.
“No, I was just thinking and I didn’t hear you, although I think I may have felt you blow on my face, but it didn’t register as that.” She continued to cough as he grabbed a thick, soft, jade coloured towel and wrapped it around her before proceeding to dry her gently.
She looked up at him and realised that he was as wet as she had been and as he continued drying her she began to undress him. The wet shirt and trousers that he was wearing fell to the floor while she too grabbed a matching towel and reciprocated by drying his body. Her glance dropped from his eyes that watched her intently before she lowered them across his mouth that she gained so much pleasure from, then his shoulders, so broad and strong, his chest with a light covering of dark hair and torso, his firmly toned abdomen leading to the dark trail of hair that led towards another source of her pleasure and then she realised that he was as turned on by this situation as she was. He tilted her head back up to look at his face again as he towel dried her hair gently.
“You should get some sleep,” he told her seriously, but there was something flickering behind his gaze.
“I don’t want to sleep, not alone. Come to bed with me,” she pleaded.
“But you won’t sleep then. I don’t know that I know how to just sleep with you.” He allowed more of the glint in his gaze to seep through.
“I don’t care about sleep, I care about you taking me to bed,” she replied honestly.
“You look exhausted.” He continued the pretence of his protest but Steph suspected that he knew as well as she did that sleep was not on the agenda right then.
“I am not opposed to begging, Jon.” She tilted her head slightly so that she was looking at him from beneath her long dark lashes.
“And I am not immune to your begging.” The bright blue shade of his eyes darkened until they were fully illuminated with passion for her.
“Please,” she said breathlessly and watched his own breath catch in his throat and as if she was waiting for a signal to continue, she considered this to be her cue. “Please, Jon, I want you. I need you, take me to bed,” she said with enough pleading in her voice to be seductive to him, but without sounding whiny and began to litter, light, gentle kisses against his chest.
She dropped a hand and gently cupped his balls and squeezed them lightly before gripping his erection firmly in the palm of her hand. As she moved her hand up and down his length at a slow, almost torturous pace she met his gaze again and pleaded once more knowing that he needed more from her. “Please,” she repeated as she stretched up and pulled his lower lip between her own, “I need you,” she said and let out the slightest of whimpers to signal her own desire for what she was asking, although she felt sure that her heaving breasts, large nipples that were erect and the heat and moisture emanating from between her thighs were signals enough that she wanted this badly.
He dropped the towel and pulled her to him roughly, one hand was in the small of her back holding her against him while the other travelled up and fisted in her hair, holding her face exactly as he wanted before lowering his mouth to hers, invading it, his tongue duelling with hers, overpowering it until she was literally breathless.
“Please,” she repeated in a moan now as her desires threatened to leave her crazed if he didn’t do something more soon.
“Patience, Stephanie,” he admonished. “I know what you want, but not so soon. I told you I had missed you, and I have. Since last week and then you refused to see me when I came back so we have lots of making up to do,” he said more darkly now.
“But yesterday, in my office,” she replied inferring somehow that their literal naked roll around on her office floor, the quickie that they had both denied wanting, but had indeed settled for was them being together enough, and although enjoyable it was apparently no substitute for the days they had been apart last week. It appeared that the reason for that in his mind was her and her alone, so now he was going to make her wait, but she knew that he would make the wait more than worthwhile.
“Yesterday was for the occasion of your new office, but really no more than foreplay,” he told her as his hand began to stroke the small, dark triangle of hair nestled at the top of her thighs.
She immediately widened her stance to allow him total access to her. He arched an eyebrow whilst accepting the invitation presented, allowing one long, slender finger to travel along the length of her now drenched, hot sex.
“This is how I remember you when we’re apart, Steph; wet, hot and desperately in need of fucking.” He sounded almost angry as he spoke the words into her ear, but she just found the crudeness of it more arousing, like when they had first met, in the lift, the office of the hotel at Charlie and Lindsay’s wedding reception, the lift at Brookers, everywhere.
The more she thought about it the hotter and wetter she became which spurred him on to tease her with his fingers and taunt her with his words.
He pushed her back against the wall and as his groin pressed against hers she instinctively spread her legs further still and then proceeded to wrap them around his hips so that her sex was now firmly pressed against his groin. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and carried her into the bedroom and lay her down on the bed.