An Opportunity Seized (8 page)

“Well, it is getting late and we have had a long day. Maybe that’s just what we need, to go to bed early.”

Jason was right about it being a long day. Each morning they had set off early, stopping frequently to roam hand in hand through historical points of interest, across meadows and moors, experiencing all they could in the short time frame they had. Toni had fallen asleep each night exhausted, not only from the day’s adventures but also from the enthusiastic and insatiable sexual appetite Jason displayed as he explored and discovered her needs and desires. There was not an inch of her body that Jason had not stroked, laved and kissed.

As they were walking back, Jason’s phone rang.

“Fuck, it’s Nathan. I need to get this. He probably wants a report on what you’ve been doing. Let’s just say I’ve not been all that forthcoming on the exact details of this trip.”

As Jason answered the call to the head of Haven Security, Toni walked to a nearby bench. She sat down and tried to let the view of the picturesque river that ran through the town distract her. At times she forgot Jason had been hired to watch over her. The reminder made her heart heavy. With their time coming to an end, Toni was feeling the strain.
What if being with me is just a convenience for Jason? Now, not only is he getting paid for babysitting me, he’s getting a willing sexual partner as well. It’s a win-win situation for him.

The sight of Jason walking toward her and the smile on his handsome face was enough to launch a thousand butterflies in her tummy and replace her dark thoughts.

“Sorry about that, luv. I know it must be hard for you—reminded all the time about how we met and why.” Jason crouched down before her and placed his hands on either side of her face. “I’m happy I took this assignment. If I hadn’t, I’d never have had the chance to get to know you, Toni Grimaldi.” He touched his lips to hers briefly. “Let’s go in and I’ll make it up to you.”

They hurried through the foyer, hand in hand, the sexual tension building as they waited for the lift to take them to their floor.

The moment they closed the hotel room door, Jason had his hands all over her. He tore the clothes from her body and Toni forgot all about the phone call. The only thing on her mind was Jason.

“I need you inside me, Jason—to feel your cock filling my pussy.”

He groaned. ”I need that too but I want to taste you first, hear my name on your lips as I make you come.”

Toni lay on the bed. Spread her legs wide for him. Jason buried his face in her mound. He licked the length of her slit and Toni moaned in response to the pleasure. His tongue was pressed flat on her clit. Just the perfect amount of pressure. She thrashed her head from side to side. “Just there. That’s perfect. Don’t stop. Make me come, Jason.”

Jason could smell the aroma of Toni’s desire. He breathed the scent of her deep into his lungs, his longing for her overwhelming him. His cock was so hard with the promise of being buried deep in her wet cunt. He thrust two fingers into her pussy and finger-fucked her hard as he continued to tease her clit with his tongue. As her body arched, he changed the feathery-soft touch he’d been using to a prolonged pressure directly on her clit.

“Yes! I’m so close. More,” Toni pleaded.

Jason had discovered what would push Toni over the edge so she would moan his name in ecstasy. He loved the little noises and sighs that spilled from her lips as she orgasmed—the way Toni’s body shook as she was coming back down from her blissful high.

This time when he felt those telling little quakes, Jason climbed over her and buried his throbbing cock in her warm pussy, still pulsating from the strength of her orgasm.

“So tight. Your pussy is so tight… Feels so good wrapped around my cock.”

Jason gave in to his need. He thrust into Toni. “Fuck, this isn’t going to take long,” he moaned into her ear. “Come with me, luv.”

Her fingernails dug into his back. Her legs wrapped around his hips as Toni moved in sync with his frantic rhythm.

“I don’t think I can,” she whimpered.

He moved his hand between their joined bodies, found her clit and pressed down on the nub. Jason gave her what she needed to bring her to the brink with him.

He couldn’t hold on any longer, the pressure from his clenched balls urging him on. Thrust after thrust, Jason spilled into Toni. Pleasure so powerful ripped through him he had to grit his teeth to stop from roaring. Jason feared the top of his head would be blown clear off. His brain overloaded by the surge of sensation seemed unable to deal with the intensity as every nerve ending came alive, sizzling with pure bliss.

Toni coming with him made it so much more potent. He had to fight the primal urge to beat his chest with his fists and claim her as his own.

But Toni wasn’t his and never could be. He didn’t belong in her world. Nathan had warned him not to get emotionally attached to her. Jason had originally laughed at the thought, foolishly believing he would be able to walk away from her at the end of their trip and put Toni Grimaldi out of his mind—that he could go back to his normal way of life, not caring what the future might bring, just living each day as it came. Toni had changed that for him. Jason had already started to mourn the future he had no right to imagine.

* * * *

They were back in London. This was their last full night together and Toni was determined to get Jason to open up. Tomorrow, late in the evening, they would board the plane for home and she might not see him again. As Toni dressed for what could be their final dinner, she tried to decide on the best way to approach the subject of where this thing they shared—whatever it might be—was headed.

It’s time for us to talk, decide where this is all going—if it’s going anywhere
.
I need to tell him how I feel, how much he means to me. Point out all the things we have in common. Convince him we could work… Yeah right, we love history and sex. What else in common do we have? I teach primary school, a nice safe and boring job, while he leads an exciting and dangerous life protecting people.

Toni had been going back and forth like this for hours, one minute feeling confident that maybe there was a future for them, then just as quickly talking herself out of it. It was doing her head in. If only Jason had given her the slightest hint of his true feelings. Yes, he had made love to her each night, passionately making her feel like she was the most important person in his world, but Toni was still not one hundred percent sure that it wasn’t just her own wants and dreams projecting that sort of commitment.

That’s why I need to make it clear to him. Spell it out. Take a chance for once. Otherwise I’ll be living with regret, always wondering. So he makes it clear he’s not interested in moving this forward when we return home…and his contract is over. At least I’ll know where I stand. I will have tonight, I can make the most of this last time together.
Content with the decisions she’d made, Toni applied a coat of ruby-red lipstick to her lips.

She was going all out tonight for Jason, trying to dress seductively—which was not an easy thing to achieve given that her one black dress now fitted quite snugly over her hips and stomach. A result she attributed to all the fish ‘n’ chips, Yorkshire pudding and pints of lager she had indulged in over the past few weeks.

I thought sex was a good way to lose weight. How come it’s not working for me?
Toni’s cellphone began to ring as she was lamenting over the fact that life was not always fair, especially for the more cuddly-framed woman. She picked it up from the table and checked the screen to see who was calling.

Toni couldn’t even remember having programmed Charles Baker’s name into her phone. She wasn’t a fan of the pompous, butt-kissing, permanent attachment to her father’s side.
What the hell would he want?

“Hello, this is Toni,” she said as she connected to the call.

“Antoinette, I’m so glad I’ve caught you,” Charles began immediately, ignoring the fact that Toni preferred not to use her given name. “I’m calling on behalf of your father, Antoinette. There has been an unfortunate incident at one of the family owned mines. It is causing the company a bit of bad publicity and your father believes that the Grimaldis need to show a united front to help deal with the issue. He wants you to return immediately. I’ve taken the liberty to book you on a flight leaving London Heathrow tonight and just this second emailed you the details. You need to get a car to take you to the airport in the next hour or so. Would you like me to organize that for you as well, Antoinette?”

What the…?
Toni was still trying to understand what Charles was saying. “What sort of incident?” she finally asked.

“One of the mines had a cave-in or an explosion or something. We’re not sure on all of the details. It’s all quite a mess,” Charles replied.

“Oh no, this is horrible. Is it very bad, Charles? Was anyone hurt? Is anyone trapped? Why haven’t I heard about it over here?”

“It’s been a dreadful incident. The papers are trying to put the blame on your father, saying that the mines were not following the workplace safety standards set in place by the unionist bureaucrats. Like Mr. Grimaldi would be aware of everything that goes on… He’s a busy man.”

“How many people are injured?” Toni shouted into the phone.

“The numbers aren’t all in yet…”

“Charles, answer my damn question if you want any chance of me stepping foot on that plane…”

“Three dead, eleven injured and five still unaccounted for. Looks like the mine will be closed for months. There’s already talk of a long drawn out investigation into all Cardona’s operations and the possibility of the unions shutting down work on all Grimaldi interests.”

Toni felt sick. “What exactly is being done to find the trapped miners, Charles?”

“How would I know those sorts of details? I can report an endless number of engineers, police, firemen and rescuers asking for all sorts of blueprints and paperwork. It’s been quite time consuming, complying with their demands. You can see why I don’t have time to argue with you about this, Antoinette. Be on that plane. Your father needs you.”

Charles disconnected, much to Toni’s frustration.

As Toni was checking the email with her new travel plans, the door to her hotel room burst open. The look on Jason’s face as he stormed into her room foretold that he knew of the dramas going on back home.

“You need to get packed. We need to leave. I have to get you back home…” Jason began, his tone matching the ‘take no prisoners’ look in his stance and on his face. Toni wasn’t sure what to be more surprised at, the fact that Jason had managed to unlock her door and enter her room or that he had already been notified her father demanded her return.
Then again,
why wouldn’t he know? He is, after all, in my father’s employ.
The thought made her already sickened stomach roll again.

“So you’ve heard then?”

“Just got off the phone from Nate. He says the threats to your family are to be taken seriously and I am to get you back home. We need extra manpower to keep you both safe, Toni. Emotions are running high over the accident. It’s times like this people take drastic measures…”

“Threats!” Toni gasped “Charles didn’t say anything about threats…”

It was too much for her to take in all at once. People were hurt, dead and missing, and now her father’s life was being threatened. Judging by the look on Jason’s face, a threat he was taking very seriously. Toni began to shake. Her knees gave way and she had to grip the edge of the table just to support her own weight.

Jason was beside her in an instant, wrapping his arms around her body, helping Toni stay upright. The heat from his body dispelled the cold that had seeped through her as she tried to come to terms with all the horrible developments.

“Oh, honey,” he whispered. “You didn’t know about the threats? I’m so sorry for scaring you… You look so beautiful, by the way. That dress… If we didn’t need to…”

She hadn’t even thought about their last night together, the fact that it was now defunct.
I’m thinking about losing one night when so many families are dealing with so much pain and loss.
Her emotions now in check, Toni broke away from Jason’s hold. She needed more details. “Tell me about the threat to my father, Jason. I need to know everything.”

The way Jason was staring at her gave her the chills. Toni could sense that he was trying to decide what to say to her. His face was blank. Toni couldn’t read any emotion from it or his eyes. It made Toni think back to one of their first conversations when Jason had joked about being trained to withstand interrogation.

“Please, Jason. I need the truth from you. I need to be able to trust that one person will tell me what’s going on. This is all so horrible, so many people hurt. There are still men trapped in the mine and I don’t even know what’s being done to rescue them. If my father is acting like a human being, for once, and putting the safety of the men and women who work for him before his own gain…”

Jason’s tough, all action exterior thawed, his eyes softened as he gazed down on her. “Toni, honey, I won’t lie to you, luv. This situation is bad. Nate’s already heard rumors that the mine had safety issues and there’s been some talk of bribes. Your family is going to be under the spotlight for months to come. If not worse… I’m with you all the way. I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my promise. The death threat was not aimed at your father, luv. The danger is specifically toward you and your mother. But I’ve got you, Toni.”

Jason had taken her hands in his own, as he’d spoken, moving his thumb over her skin in soothing motions as he’d explained the situation.

Her mind was running a million miles an hour.
Why would I be threatened? I’ve never had anything to do with the family business. Never have, never wanted to. How is Mum dealing with this?
“My mother…is she being protected? Where is the threat coming from? Who? Why us? We don’t have anything to do with the running of the mine—or any of Dad’s business dealings.”

Toni knew she was rambling. It was just so unbelievable, unexpected. Her father was always going on about her safety, her security or lack thereof. Even the ridiculousness of Jason following her on this holiday, Toni had put down to her father being such a control freak. And what did Jason mean by rumors? Why was the mine not safe? Her family was rich. Her father made so much money every day it was ridiculous. Why hadn’t he spent it on making sure people were safe?
He must not have known about the issues
? She quickly squashed and pushed that thought away, since she knew first-hand that her father made it his business to know everything about everything.