Intimate Strangers (9 page)

“Right, I’m just going to come out and say this, so please don’t interrupt. I won’t be hurt if you decline but I don’t want you to go through life wondering ‘what if?’ I want you to be happy, I want you to have no regrets. The first thing on the list is going to see your parents. I’ve purchased the tickets, just on the off chance that you’d want to go and see them.”

He waited, expecting to see annoyance, outrage perhaps, taking over the sweetly innocent look she wore. Golden eyes wide, Chelsea stared at him, jaw slack, mouth hanging open.

“Bad idea. Shit.” He shoved the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” She shook her head, regaining her composure. “No, I just, I didn’t expect… Of all the things you could have said to me just now, I didn’t think you’d come out with that.”

Tiaan swallowed, unsure of how to proceed. Was she upset with him for asking? Did she feel inclined to go or did she not want to even think about it?

“So um, when uh…” her breath hitched at the contact of his hand on her bare knee. “You’d come too?”

He answered quickly. “Of course I would.”

Chelsea nodded. “Okay. When do you want to go?”

Eyes bugging and brows raised in shock, Tiaan squared his shoulders, asking, “You
want
to go? I didn’t think…I mean, I thought you’d object to the trip.”

She sighed, shoulders drooping, and eyes falling to the deck. “I’ve been really upset with them – no, that’s a lie. I’ve hated my parents for not even wanting to meet Ruan. But I always thought, if I had the time and money, I’d love to show up at their house and introduce them to their grandson.” Chelsea lifted her gaze to his. “Then, if they still want to be cruel and ignore us, at least I can say I tried. Ruan doesn’t need people like that in his life.” Her breath quivered, as if she was about to cry. “They wanted me to…to…” Her arm swiped across her eyes to collect the tears as they fell. “They wanted me to have an abortion.”

Anger mushroomed in his gut, but was swiftly replaced by heartache. A world without his son wasn’t a world he wanted to be a part of. Same went for Chelsea.

“I want to show my parents how wrong were when they told me having this baby would ruin my life. Yeah, I’ve got some debt – which Mac and Hannah are helping me with – but I can’t imagine life without Ruan. He’s my…my reason for everything.”

She came willingly into his arms then, releasing a few shuddering breaths against his shoulder, and for a few moments he relished in the embrace and the fantasy his mind created from it. That he was her rock, the foundation on which she relied for her strength and courage. Such a thing wasn’t true, of course, but pretending felt heavenly.

“When do we leave?” Chelsea whispered, the heat of her breath on his neck sent shivers down his spine and reminded him what she was capable of with her breath and her mouth.

Tiaan smoothed his hand over her hair. Then he buried his fingers near the roots and held on for dear life. “Tomorrow, if you’d like.”

Chelsea sighed happily, curving against his frame. “Sounds perfect.”

He didn’t know how long they sat there for, wrapped up in their own little world. Quite frankly, Tiaan didn’t care if he missed supper whilst holding her in his arms. He didn’t want to let go, not even when Ruan’s shrill cries snapped his eyes open and jolted his mind back to reality. However, there was something he wished to learn and now seemed as good a time as any.

“How about you show me how to change him, hmm?”

Giggling, she kissed his throat then stood up, holding his hand as they walked inside.

~~~

Results in one hand and cell phone in the other, he dialled the number of his contact and waited while it rang through. It had been so much easier than he thought, breaking into the lab and stealing a copy. Anticipation shot through his veins at the knowledge of what was to transpire in the coming days. Continuing to keep an eye on that delectable piece of ass wouldn’t be hard, but keeping himself from disobeying orders and not taking her exactly the way he wanted her…that might prove a little trying.

“This had better be good,” the voice snapped on the other end.

“Very good. They’re a perfect match. I’m looking at the paternity results right now.”

“It’s his son?”

“Mm-hmm.” His eyes fell to the name again of the woman he’d soon have beneath him. Chelsea Reid. Damn fine woman.

“Excellent. Begin executing the plan, I’ll be there tomorrow. And…try not to screw it up. I want Carstens alive; I need to know who else he’s told about the evidence against me.”

Politicians, he sighed inwardly. “No problem-o.”

Ending the call, he tossed the copy of the paternity results into his glove compartment, simultaneously grabbing his binoculars from a pocket of his vest. Just as he knew they would be, Carstens and Miss Reid were busy packing luggage into a rental vehicle. His plans were meticulous, as always, and the two others who would be assisting him were also watching the scene unfolding from the rear seat of his SUV.

“Tomorrow morning. Oh-four-hundred.”

He heard the slight snort of air from both men and almost felt their smiles. There was only one thing they were good at, and this was it.

It’s on now
, he thought with a smirk, raising his brow.

Carstens would never know what hit him.

Ten

Sleep was eluding him. Tiaan felt comfortable, lying next to Chelsea in the small bed in her room, Ruan fast asleep in his crib at the foot of the bed. The milk and honey scent of her filled his nostrils and drugged his senses, though he was absolutely content just to hold her in his arms at the moment.

Something felt off though he couldn’t quite determine what. A little too much unease lingered in the air, electric with warning. Was it because he’d soon be face to face with people who didn’t want Chelsea and his son in their lives anymore? Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he didn’t know how to act around parents, other than to hide and pretend he didn’t hear or see them.

Once again, he exhaled while attempting to force all thoughts from his mind. This proved to be a futile exercise. It would probably be best if he got up and did something productive – even if he couldn’t think of what that might be.

Chelsea shifted next to him, pushing up onto her elbows to see his face in the dark. She looked more than simply exhausted and he had to once again wonder if this trip was the right move. He didn’t want to push her to reconcile with her parents but if his were still alive, he might attempt the same –
might
. For Ruan’s sake.

“Is he keeping you awake?” she whispered, eyes glued to his mouth.

A slithering chill coursed through him, chased by frissons of heat. Only a few layers stood between his flesh and hers, and the memory of how she felt against him in the shower last week was haunting him. He could hardly believe his actions on the mountain earlier today and he recalled how she gave herself to him in a way that showed her trust in him.

Tiaan swallowed. “No, no he’s fine.”

He watched her suck her lower lip between her teeth. “Oh. I-if you want, I can go sleep downstairs on the cou–”

“No.” He slipped his arm around her waist, anchoring her body to his. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Her mouth formed a shocked
O
, almost perfectly round. “I-I don’t want to keep you awake…”

“Chelsea, believe it or not, you are
not
keeping me awake.”
Not intentionally,
he thought to himself, allowing his eyes to sweep over the thin cotton nightdress she wore. Tiaan watched as her nipples beaded beneath his gaze. Flicking his eyes back up to meet hers, he noticed them darken a few shades, then he heard her breath catch.

She wanted him, it seemed. Perhaps even as much as he wanted her.

Tentatively, he reached out to trace the sharp bow-shape of her upper lip with his thumb, one of his fingers brushing against the spot where a dimple showed in her cheek when she smiled. Lips parted, she sucked in a breath and held it. He recalled a spot on her lower lip that was most sensitive and slipped his thumb down to graze against the edge of her mouth, just to the left of the plumpest part of her pouted bottom lip. She sighed, heavy-lidded eyes drooping shut.

Only then did he dare to take up the offering of her slightly parted mouth, granting himself a little taste to gauge her reaction. Thankfully, Chelsea slipped her hands up to his jaw while returning, if not surpassing, his slow and sensual pace. She all but drank from his mouth, a woman taking what she wanted, as she required it. Instantly – and much more than he had ever wanted anyone before – Tiaan was ready and willing to give her everything she needed.

However, this time he refused to initiate, to possibly add to his humiliation. If Chelsea wanted him, she would have to be the one to say so, or show him.

And then, he did possibly the most idiotic thing he had ever done.

“Chelsea, I want so much more than your body,” he sighed at her lips. “I…I know you don’t love me, and…well, maybe you never will, but, would you give me the chance to try and win you over? I don’t want to miss another moment of Ruan’s life, and I certainly don’t want to be apart from you.” Tiaan didn’t open his eyes, too afraid to see disgust in hers. Instead, he forged on. “Will you marry me, Chelsea?”

Silence.

It ticked on for what seemed like forever, punctuated by the ticking of his watch, resting on the night table. With each passing minute, Tiaan realised he’d been wrong about everything he thought he saw in her expression. Finally he could take no more of the silence, which spoke volumes to him, mumbled a half-arsed apology, and began extricating himself from her bed.

“No, don’t.” She held the sleeve of his t-shirt in a near death grip, a note of desperation in her voice. “Don’t go. You…you caught me…you surprised me, Tiaan, that’s all.”

Still he didn’t open his eyes, terrified he might see a mocking smirk on her face.

Deep down, he knew Chelsea wasn’t like that – or was it a sad hope he held like a flame burning for a long lost love?

Either way, he kept his eyes clamped tightly shut. If he didn’t see the horrified look on her face, then it wouldn’t be real.

“Christiaan, please look at me.”

When he didn’t, she held her hands on either side of his jaw, straddled his hips, and sat there, waiting. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes slowly. She looked every bit the angel he imagined during his unlawful incarceration, the kind of woman who possessed the ability to hold a man’s heart captive for life. His own heart ached at the prospect she might still laugh in his face for asking that she marry him.

“I was…um, I mean, I was thinking the same thing. Because, you know, you mentioned earlier today that you can’t stay in the country unless you have a visa, and I thought if we were married, maybe you’d
want
to stay. F-for Ruan. At least. I know, I mean, I heard you say that I um, that I annoy you, so I don’t expect…” She paused for a breath and he used this opportunity to intervene.

“Despite what I may have said when I first arrived, you don’t annoy me. It’s all just me, I’m messed up and–”

“Ask me again,” she blurted out.

Filled with a renewed sense of hope, of possibilities for the future, he did as the beautiful woman demanded of him. “Chelsea, will you marry me?”

Immediately, her mouth drew back into the most delectable of smiles. “Yes.”

She had spoken the word and yet he still couldn’t fully accept it. Tiaan stared at her, open mouthed, while attempting to regain control of his body. Chelsea, the mother of the child he didn’t know he had, the woman whose memory kept him going through to most heinous of tortures, the woman he needed more than anything or anyone…

She just agreed to
marry
him.

With some effort on his part, Tiaan sat up, ignoring the stinging ache from his wounds, and cupped the angel’s face before feathering her lips with light kisses. Only when she moaned did he increase the pressure and give in to her wordless demands. She tasted of the cinnamon toothpaste she liked to use, warm and spicy. That combined with her milk and honey fragrance, and he was a damned goner.

Keeping his movements and sounds as quiet as possible, he pulled Chelsea’s nightdress over her head, removed his shirt, and slipped out of his boxers. She was trembling above him, hands moving to cover her lower abdomen. He let his eyes take a slow wander down to the area, passing first by her breasts, larger and more rounded than he remembered. Further down, he followed the smooth line to her navel, and recalled tracing that same path at least ten times, to that sweet spot where her thighs met.

Then his gaze settled on her hands, clasped tightly together over the area Ruan would have filled while she was pregnant. He wished then that he had been able to see her swollen with his child, blooming and brilliant. That had to be the sexiest thing he’d ever imagined.

“Why are you hiding from me, Chelsea?”

“It’s gross,” she whispered, too quickly.

Gently, he eased her hands away and examined the flesh. “It’s beautiful.” Tiaan pressed a string of reverent kisses over her lower abdomen. Turning his gaze upwards, he locked on to her eyes. “
You’re
beautiful.”

Slivers of moonlight waltzed over the smooth planes of her face, illuminating the rosy glow on her cheeks. That blush crept down her neck, colouring her chest as well. “I’m plain,” she argued, and badly
, at that.

“No.” He shook his head. “You’re perfect, Chelsea. I wish you could see what I see when I look at you. I wish I could show you, somehow.”

~~~

Is this actually happening, right here, right now?
Chelsea wondered, her eyes riveted to the face of the man who just asked her to spend her life with him.

He had honestly surprised her with that one. The very last thing she expected him to come out with was marriage – especially since she had been thinking the same thing, if only to keep him in the country so he could stay with Ruan.

All thoughts fled from her mind when Tiaan brought a lightly trembling hand to her navel and slowly slid it up, between her breasts, to hold against the pulse point on her throat. Her name passed over his lips reverently. “I don’t deserve you, my darling, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting you, needing you. I-I…I can’t stop myself, you’re in my system. If you marry me, I’m going to want all of you.” He swallowed. “Can you give me that?”

Somewhere between the moment she opened the Fournier’s front door to find him standing there with a fully chastised look on his face and here and now, Chelsea had begun to lose her heart to this man. Oh, at first she wanted to hate him, to despise everything about him. Tiaan obviously had other plans which involved seduction of the hot and sweaty kind. Around this
man, she became a boneless, needy woman, and only he possessed the necessary skills to please her.

The words were on the tip of her tongue but she wouldn’t grant them access to pass. In place of an admission that she was falling for him, Chelsea said, “Yes, I can.”

Her answer obviously thrilled him. Tiaan growled low in his throat and then fastened his mouth over her right breast. Pain and pleasure mingled at the use of his teeth, rolling her nipple between them. The hand he held at her throat glided down to knead her other breast, pinching and tugging. He strummed her body with the hands and lips of a skilled lover, and knowing that he would soon belong to her forever was enough to have her rocking over the stiff length of him beneath her.

A powerful need built up low in her belly and common sense was overridden completely when she felt his thickness pushing at her entrance. Chelsea raised herself up a little until he slipped through her folds and, without hesitation, she took him deep inside in one thrust. Tiaan sat up and she shoved her face to his neck to help muffle the sound of her moans.

“
Fok
, Chelsea,” he hissed, driving into her harder, faster. He took her mouth with his, breathing the air from her lungs.

Just like before, she gave into the intense passion they shared. Chelsea rocked her hips, taking what she needed from him. Tiaan pounded beneath her with the dedication of a man who promised his lover nothing but the most fantastic sex and a guaranteed orgasm. Much like the one she felt quickly blooming and about to burst.

Head thrown back and tongue held between her teeth, Chelsea fought to keep from screaming out. He did that thing he had done many times before in the hotel room, something with the rough edge of his thumb and a swirling pattern over and around the extra-sensitive nub at the top of her folds. Her entire body grew rigid and a soundless cry garbled in her throat. Everything went black for a few seconds.

Tiaan held her close to his chest but didn’t let up his assault on her until he had finished emptying himself inside her. His hands moved gently over her hair, drenched with sweat, like the rest of her. It was exactly as she remembered. At least that was one thing they’d have in their future. Incredible, earth shattering sex.

It’s much more than that
, she thought, too embarrassed to meet Tiaan’s eyes as he leaned back onto his pillow and pulled her with him. She had gone and lost her heart to the most mystifying man on the planet.

“Chelsea,” he sighed, sounding rather pleased with himself. “When I first arrived here, I was horrible to you, my darling. Never again. I swear it.”

Their bodies were still connected while she drifted off, those words echoing inside her mind.