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The Tessarae Inn |
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Suspicions In Scarlet Repose CHAPTER 7
“Ever wonder why men are scared to fall in love?” “RJ, make sense.” “This is why. What that woman can make me do fries the hairs on my butt. Just a bloody fool for her.” “Bloody? Are you getting ready to kill somebody?” “That would be easier.” “Okay, fine. What the hell has any of this got to do with me and why the hell should I care?” “That's some air castle you built for Blair up on Llantano Mountain. Toni says it seems to float in the air at night. A real showplace.” “The only person I care about liking it is Blair and she does. My job’s done. Simplified my life. All I’m concerned about these days is keeping my wife and children safe and happy. That’s it. You and Toni are not on the list. Not even on the waiting list.” RJ chuckled. “Charming as ever.” Todd glanced at his watch. “Spit it out, RJ. Did you see how my wife is dressed tonight? Did it to turn me the hell on and make me weak as a lamb for her. The shit of the matter is it worked. But see I don’t mind because as soon as I’m finished with this crap, I’m taking her home and reintroducing her to the tiger.” “Buzz. Personal foul. 15-yard penalty. Unnecessary coldness, Manning. Unnecessary.” “I know I am going to regret asking this, but what the hell are you talking about?” “Blair didn’t tell you? Because I KNOW Toni told her.” Todd exhaled then ran his tongue over his front teeth and cocked his head to the right and fixed RJ with an exaggerated stare. “Toni and I can’t be together until after the wedding ceremony.” Todd laughed then sipped his drink. “Who’s stupid idea was that? Wait, don’t tell me. Are you sure you know what you're doing hooking up with that nutcase?” “Watch yourself. That’s my woman of which you speak.” “Clock's ticking, RJ.” “Keri is engaged to some jerk from one of those well to do rowed-across-in-a dingy- hooked-to-the-Mayflower types. Real stick up the ass folks. They’ve decided that this is a perfect time for a visit.” “And your problems continue to mount” “There's no room at Toni’s place, The Palace is booked solid, Toni doesn’t want them anywhere near my place, so… Look, Blair offered to let them stay with you.” Todd rested his glass on RJ's desk. “What did you say?” “Blair offered you up.” “You know the answer to this.” “Had to ask.” “No offense, RJ….Oh, hell, take offense, but I going to have to find a way to keep Toni away from Blair.” “All I’m asking is that you confirm that I did ask. Just another example of the crazy things we do for love.” “Take a pill, RJ.” Todd drained his glass, slammed it on the desk, stood up and walked out of the office. As he burst through the office door he almost knocked over that new waitress, Carmen or something—the one that was always looking at him funny. He had a fleeting sense that she might have been trying to eavesdrop on his conversation with RJ. Lots of luck. He knew for a fact that RJ’s office was virtually sound proof. Still he didn’t like the implication but he didn’t have time to dwell on it right now. Blair was waiting for him. And she had some explaining to do.
A man slipped onto the barstool next to her. What in the hell was going on tonight? First, the jock charity worker, then Heather and then Carmen, and now this guy. She studied him for a second. He was tall, well built with dark blonde hair, cut close like a cap, and he was wearing a leather bomber jacket, well worn jeans and dark sunshades. Cliché? Yes, but he pulled it off and looked good doing it. He looked familiar but she couldn't place any connection. He cleared his throat. “She’s something isn’t she?” Blair rotated her head toward him. “Who?” “That waitress. She’s got a certain way about her. Do you know her well? Her name maybe?” The waitress? What the hell? She took a sip of her drink. “She’ll be back in a minute, I assume. You can ask her yourself.” He slowly scanned her body then said, “Didn’t mean to be rude. You’re a looker, too. And that dress is a work of art and on you it’s a masterpiece. Just not my type. Like a little larceny with my loving. Like a woman who looks like she’s wearing red even when she’s not. And if she’s wearing red, I like that even more.” She rolled her eyes. Buzz off you freakin' jerk. She chilled her voice and said, “I see.” The man smiled and nodded at her but she couldn't see his eyes and there was no telling what they were doing. She turned away from him. Whatever it was he was after or whoever he turned out to be had nothing to do with her. Thank goodness. She glanced over at the booth where she had been sitting. Kelly was still all up in Albert’s face and she was practically glowing. Maybe she'd been too cavalier about all of this. Even from here she could see the ring on his finger. Could Kelly? “That should be some meeting tomorrow.” What? She turned toward the man again. "With the lady in red," he continued. “You were listening to our conversation?” “Didn’t mean to be insulting, but people who want privacy shouldn’t talk about their secrets in public.” She stood up and stepped back. He cocked his head to the right and smiled. “I, on the other hand, have got nothing to hide.” "That's why you wear sunshades inside?" “It's the big lights in the big city. My eyes are sensitive. Hail from the Louisiana bayou.” Why did him seem so familiar? Where had she seen him before? Didn’t matter. She didn’t like the vibe he was radiating and she had no intention of prolonging their exchange to try to find out. He popped a mint into his mouth. “Like a stranger in a foreign land in this place. Different set of rules. Leave stuff out in the heat too long down there it spoils for real.” What in the hell was he talking about? He smiled. "Heat. She gives off a lot of heat. Consider yourself warned. Looks like she’s not coming back anytime soon. If she asks, tell her my name is Henri Maxwell. See if it rings a bell.” Blair watched Henri Maxwell stroll out of Capricorn. Something about him sent a chill down her spine and the thought of he and Carmen together nearly turned her spine to ice.
He rolled off of her and took a deep breath. His whole body still felt like a live wire. “That was kind of something,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “Kind of special. I’m checking myself to see if there are any burn marks.” He grinned. “That’ll teach you to wear that damn dress.” “I've been properly schooled. I’ll try to be good from now on. Promise. Only dresses down to my ankles and up to my throat from now on.” “Like hell.” She smiled at him then got out bed and disappeared into the bathroom. He closed his eyes and let himself drift. She understood that sometimes he just needed a minute to collect himself after an intense session like that. As much as he loved her, opening himself up to her like that was still a bit scary. He was so turned on by the time they stripped naked and tumbled into bed that he couldn’t let her touch him at first. He held her hands over her head as he positioned himself until he found his rhythm. When he finally released her hands and she began to caress him, he’d felt himself explode within her. Just a single touch. How had he survived all those years without her? He heard the shower running and when he opened his eyes again she was back in the room dressed in pajamas decorated with dancing farm animals. Damn. Weren’t those the stupid pajamas he bought for her when she went off with Travis? She patted her chest then pointed at one of the silly animals. So she wanted to play games. Fine. He’d play. He got up slowly and strolled to the bathroom "I'll be back in a sec." She ran her hand lightly across his pillow. "Okay. I can wait a second but that's just about my limit." He took a quick shower then dressed in those yucky blue PJs they got when Starr was trying to get them back together months and months ago. Blair was sitting in the middle of a freshly made bed doing yoga stretches. She pretended not to notice the way he was dressed. Fat chance. He flopped down next to her and watched her casually. “I guess you know what I told RJ.” She nodded then sat up. “I had to try. Toni's about to lose her mind.” “About to? I want you to stay away from her until the wedding, Blair. What she has is probably contagious.” “She’s in love with her man.” She smiled at him. “I guess that is contagious.” He grinned but then reminded himself to stay focused. “Yeah, well the idea that I’d let a bunch of snobby strangers stay in my house was flat out insane.” “Our house and we have the whole guest suite. We wouldn’t even have to see them really. I mean it has it’s own entrance, full size kitchen and parking space. What’s that for if not for guests?” “That’s for you, Blair.” She frowned, stopped stretching and then stared at him. “Me?” He looked down at his hand and said, “Yeah, if you decide to leave again you can go there.” Her faces softened. “I’m not going anywhere.” “Well, just in case. I don’t want you running to a bunch of strangers ever again. With my luck they’ll end up sitting up in the middle of my life just like that Creedyville bunch. Can’t seem to shake those people for the life of me. Sheri left a message on the answering machine for you by the way. Something about food. Probably that silly pie festival thing again.” “I’ll call her tomorrow.” She leaned over and brushed her lips across his. “And, Todd, I’m not going anywhere. Okay?” “Need that signed and notarized.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard. “That’s my signature. But you need to get out of some of those clothes if you want me to notarize it.” “Can’t do that right now, babe. We need to set the rules for the game first.” “Game?” “Don’t try the innocent act with me. You started this with those ugly Travis pajamas. Tonight we play The Pajama Game. First one out of their PJs wins.” Blair reached for her buttons on her pajama top. “First one?” “Wait. The rule is that you can undress me but I can’t take off any of my stuff myself. I can undress you but you can’t take off any of your stuff yourself. We’ll take turns and each of us can have unlimited passes when we decide not to remove anything. Agreed?” “Oh, I see. We are doing that control thing you love so much again.” “It’s not my fault that you lose it around me on a regular basis. I just like to take these opportunities to point that out to you. And you do understand that we can’t touch each other in that special way until we are butt naked.” “I see but we can touch in other ways?” He grinned at her. “Yeah.” “Do you have anything under those pajamas?” “See. I tried to be fair about this.” Actually he had initially planned to play last one dressed wins but those ugly farm animals made him forget. Still he could turn it to his advantage. “I’ve got a tee-shirt and boxers on under here. You can almost win by default.” “I guess you do have a point.” He didn’t like the twinkle in her eye. “Do you have on anything under that dancing farm?” “Just a camisole and panties.” Camisole? Panties? So he’d strip her out of those ugly pajamas only to end up looking at her in some skimpy top and panties…. She wet he lips slightly then said, “What are we playing for?” “Bragging rights.” “Nope. Need a little more. You just implied I have no self-control. When I win I want you to have to eat crow for real.” “What do you want to play for, Blair?” “Their names are Ford-Peterson. Margaret and Howard.” “Those people Toni wants to stay here? Hell no. Those people are not going to get to act like squatters in my house.” “What are you worried about? I have no self-control, remember?” That was true. “Okay, agreed. I’ll even let you go first.” She reached for him and began to unbutton his pajama top. He grinned at her. She was already losing it. His babe had no self-control when it came to him. None. She slipped the top off his shoulders then pulled it down his arms slowly, while letting her hands trace the muscles in his arms. A bead of sweat suddenly popped out on his forehead. She smiled then said, “Your turn.” “I pass. You may need to get used to those PJs because you’ll be in them for a while.” She smiled at him then ran her fingers along his exposed arms again. “I’m so weak for you.” “Stop that. It’s your turn again, babe. Do you want to take anything else off?” She screwed her face up as if she was thinking really hard then said, “I think I’ll take the t-shirt off next.” She ran her tongue across her lips and then looked at him. “You know how much I like playing with the hairs on your chest.” “Hey, no more touching.” “You said I could touch you any way except the special way and I plan to do just that.” A sudden wave of heat flushed over his body. This was not going well. And those damn dancing farm animals were making faces at him. She ran her fingers lightly across his bare arms then leaned over and kissed him. “Hey! I said we could touch, not torture each other!” “Oh, so now I’m torturing you?” “Close enough, babe. Close enough.” “Okay, I’ll stop the touching but that t-shirt has to go.” She grabbed the tail end of the t-shirt and began to pull it up and over his head. Of course, her hands just happened to brush along his chest. “Don’t make me assess a foul, Blair.” She sighed then looked at his chest and finally locked her gaze on his eyes. “Your turn.” “Well, I…” Those damn farm animals were now doing nasty things! They HAD to go. “I’m taking that pajama top off and retracting my previous pass and taking those bottoms off too.” “Can you do that?” “Yes, I can do that. It’s in the rules.” “And the rules are…?” “In my head.” He quickly unbuttoned her top and whipped it off and then yanked down the bottoms and pulled them free of her. Finally, those stupid dancing animals were gone. He looked back at her and grinned. His smile faded fast, though, because the sight of her in that skimpy lacy top thing and panties took his breath away. Damn. This was just not going well. Not at all.
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Suspicions In Scarlet Repose FAN FICTION SLIDESHOWS
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