Beyond 10 Nights (28 page)

With sleep made impossible by the noise from the
storm, not to mention the ever present worry that the small jet might be
tipped, Rhett had been left with a lot of time to think about things. He was
still angry, with both Alex and Leah, they had betrayed him and he wasn’t sure
he could ever fully forgive them for that.

He could forgive Leah to a degree, she was still so
young, and, he had reminded himself through his long hours of waiting and
thinking, inexperienced. She did not have his years of experience and knowledge
with which to help her make difficult decisions.

Alex was a different matter. Alex was supposed to be a
friend; in his mind, friends didn’t do what Alex had done. He would never
forgive him for that.

In the end it was the next morning before a helicopter
arrived to collect the two of them and take them back to civilization. The
moment they got back Rhett got them on the first flight scheduled to leave the
island for the mainland; they couldn’t leave until that evening, because the
weather was still too iffy for flying, but he felt better knowing the
arrangements had been made.

With their flight organized, Rhett spent time
arranging for the retrieval of his jet, which would have to be shipped to the
mainland so it could be repaired, assuming that was actually possible. He had
his doubts as to whether the jet would be flight-worthy again, but it didn’t
really matter to him; it was expensive, but he could afford to replace the jet
if he needed to.

After everything else was done, Rhett was left with
several hours still to waste before his flight could leave the island. Though
he would have preferred otherwise, he found his thoughts turning, as always, to
Leah as he tried to work out how he was going to deal with the situation
between the two of them and Alex when he got home.

The thought uppermost on his mind when he thought of
Leah and Alex, strangely enough, was not that they were sleeping together,
though that was bad enough. He was far more concerned by his knowledge of his
friend’s kink. The possibility of his sweet Leah being trussed up like a pony
and used until exhausted was not something that sat well with him.

Pony play was not something he agreed with, but he
could accept that other people might enjoy it, except where it involved his
Leah. He knew that mentally she was nowhere near ready for the intensity of a
relationship involving pony play. He had treated her badly, and failed to train
her properly, he knew that now, but compared to the training that was necessary
for the pony lifestyle what he had done was insignificant in his opinion.

Waiting for the last couple of hours to tick by before
the okay was given and the flight left, Rhett found himself in the bar at the
hotel with Jackson. It was an unusual experience for him to drink, even more so
for him to drink with an employee, but after what they had been through
together, he could hardly think of the man as simply that anymore.

“You never did tell me why you were so desperate to
get back to Chicago, Sir,” Jackson Harrow said when he returned to his employer
after finishing a phone call with his wife. “Do you mind if I ask why? After
all, trying to fly through a storm is pretty damned desperate. I can only think
of one thing that would make a man take a risk like that, and that’s a woman.”

Rhett could only nod. Though his mind had been on Leah
he hadn’t been able to help overhearing a few snippets of the conversation his
pilot had held with his wife. The ease with which Jackson expressed his love
amazed him, and he couldn’t help wondering if he would ever be able to do the
same. “She’s pretty damn incredible,” he said, thinking it was an
understatement, she was more than incredible, at least to his mind. She was
everything that mattered to him.

Taking out his wallet, Jackson showed his employer the
pictures of his family. “My wife, Rachel, and my children, Xavier and Lillian;
they are what get me through everything that happens in life. No matter what
happens all I have to do is remind myself that they love me and are there for
me and I know it will be alright.

“When Rachel agreed to become my wife she taught me to
respect the gifts we are given, if you don’t do that you will lose them.”

Seeing the expression on the faces of Jackson’s wife
and children in the photos, and the look on Jackson’s face as he thought of his
family, Rhett was surprised to find himself wondering what it would be like to
have a family of his own. “She’s lovely,” he said, “and so are your kids. The
boy looks just like you.”

“She’s saved my life, in more ways than one,” he
commented. “I thought I knew what was important when I was younger, I had a
promising career in the air-force, was well on the way to becoming a squadron
leader. I thought that was all that mattered, and when I lost it I thought I’d
lost everything.

“You’re right,” Rhett agreed. Even knowing that she’d
slept with his friend, Rhett knew Leah was the most important thing in the
world to him; before she had come along he had thought that building up his
businesses, making a success of them, and doing better than his rivals was all
important. He’d also thought that women were nothing more than things to be
enjoyed when he wished, and ignored when he didn’t. Now though, he knew
different.

None of what he had done or achieved before he met
Leah mattered, she was the only thing of importance in his life; that was what
he had come to realize.

“I think we must be two of the luckiest men on earth.”
Jackson smiled as he thought about his family.

“You definitely are,” Rhett remarked, feeling as
though he had made a complete hash of his life in recent weeks. “I’m pretty certain
I’ve screwed things up royally with Leah, and I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive
me for being the monumental ass I’ve been, and to be truthful, I’m not sure I
deserve to be forgiven.” He hadn’t meant to say what he was thinking, but the
moment the words were he knew they were the truth, and couldn’t be denied any
longer. He had pushed her too often, and not thought about her needs, despite
his assertion that it was the duty of a master to look after the needs of his
submissive. That was going to change, he told himself, if he was lucky enough
to be given another chance he would do things right.

“If she loves you, she’ll forgive you. Something I
learned years ago is that a woman’s heart is much more forgiving than ours.”
He’d given Rachel countless reasons to leave him, especially during their early
years together, but she had stuck by his side, even when, in his opinion, he
deserved to be kicked to the curb.

Rhett could only hope that Jackson’s words were true,
he couldn’t imagine why she would forgive him, after the way he had treated
her, but he prayed fervently that she would.

The two of them talked until it was time for them to
drive to the airport, and by the time they got there Rhett found himself
wondering if a normal relationship would be such a horrible thing, especially
if it meant being with Leah. It gave him a lot to think about on the flight
back to Chicago, and he spent the entirety of the journey running the idea
through his mind.

16

Rejoining

Though both Janie and Alex argued against it, Leah
insisted on being allowed to meet Rhett alone when his flight landed. In the
end she was forced to remind Janie that she was a grown woman and could handle
her own with Rhett, even if she hadn’t managed to do so up till then. With Alex
she simply explained that she and Rhett had things they needed to discuss
privately, and he would have to accept her decision.

It was a bit of a surprise for her, a pleasant one,
but a surprise nonetheless, when Alex turned out to be the more reasonable of
the two, putting up only enough resistance to be sure that she was certain
about meeting Rhett by herself.

Janie, on the other hand, had told her that she wasn’t
worried that Rhett would be angry with her over her sleeping with Alex. What
did worry her was that he would manipulate her and take advantage of how she
felt for him to get what he wanted from her.

The near death scare had softened Janie’s stance
toward Rhett, a little anyway, and that, Leah knew, was the reason her friend
eventually stopped arguing and backed off, giving her room to make her own
choice in the matter.

She loved Janie, and would never tell her so, but she
was a little like Rhett; every so often she could become a little overbearing,
she thought with a grin as she waited for Rhett to appear following the
announcement that his flight had landed.

When she saw him walk through the arrivals gate,
almost completely unharmed, Leah felt a surge of relief shoot through her. It
was one thing to be told he was alright, and another entirely to see it for
herself.

She tried to be strong, as she had told herself she
must be, but the moment she saw him she felt her resolve vanish. She couldn’t
stop herself, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him
down so she could kiss him passionately, inhaling the scent of masculine
strength she’d come to associate with him.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” she told
him, her voice harsh with the worry she had felt at hearing he was missing as
she held him as tight as her small arms would allow.

Rhett hugged her back, doing his best not to squeeze
her as tightly as he wanted to, afraid that he would hurt her. “Were you
worried, sweetheart?” he asked, keeping his voice light, despite the powerful
emotions the presence of the beautiful young woman in his arms unleashed within
him.

Jackson coughed discreetly, not wanting to interrupt
the reunion. He saw the blush that covered the beautiful woman’s face, and the
look of discomfort that crossed Rhett’s face at the public display of
affection, but he ignored them both. After what they had been through he wasn’t
surprised to see his normally reserved employer do something so out of
character. “Sir, if it would be at all possible, I would like to spend a few days
with my family, if you’re not going to need me.”

“Take the rest of the month, Jackson, you’ve earned
it. You’ve earned that bonus I promised you as well.” He held Leah against him,
not wanting to let go of her for even a moment.

“Thank you, Sir, that’s very generous of you.” The
bonus he had agreed to when he had been persuaded to try and fly them through
the storm was significant, and would enable his family to enjoy a few extra
luxuries, so he was very pleased by the news. “Very nice to have met you,
ma’am.” He smiled at Leah, aware that his Texas drawl, which had mostly
disappeared over the years, was strong just then.

“Nice to meet you too; thank you for bring him home to
me safely,” she said, her eyes flicking to the pilot for the briefest of moments
before returning to Rhett, whose presence had driven Alex from her thoughts
entirely.

“JACKSON!” The shout came from a leggy redhead, who
approached them as fast as her limp and the cane she used would allow. The
moment she was close enough she dropped the cane to throw her arms around her
husband, acting as pleased to see him as Leah had been to see Rhett.

After returning the hug, which lasted for almost a
minute, and kissing her deeply, Jackson extracted himself from her embrace and
turned to his employer. “This is my beautiful wife, Rachel,” he said with
pride, a loving look in his eyes.”

“Rhett Hammond,” he said with a smile, “and this is my
Leah.” He was still unwilling to let her go and so had to indicate her with his
head, though that was largely pointless, since there was no one else to whom he
could have been referring.

The woman lowered her eyes, not sure that being so
affectionate in front of her husband’s boss was entirely appropriate. “Very
nice to meet you, Sir, and you, ma’am.” She held out her hand awkwardly. She
was uncomfortable around other people, especially someone as important as Rhett
Hammond, but knew her husband needed his job and was determined to make the
best impression she could, for his sake.

Rhett shook the proffered hand briefly, a little
amused by the action. “I’m sure you and your husband have some catching up to
do,” he said, thinking more of his desire to be alone with Leah. “I wouldn’t
want to delay you. Jackson, I’ll see you at the end of the month.”

Jackson and his wife gave their thanks, and Leah could
see that they were both keen to leave so they could be alone, which she found
adorable. She forgot all about them though as Rhett led her out of the terminal
and over to where his driver was waiting with his limousine.

It wasn’t until they pulled away from the airport that
she remembered her car, which was in the parking lot behind them, but she
pushed it from her mind just then, too happy at being with Rhett once again.
The drive to his mansion passed quickly, in a companionable silence as they
held one another, and the moment they arrived he drew her out from the rear of
the limousine, pushing her up against it so he could kiss her passionately.

The feel of his body against hers, and the way his
tongue entwined with hers, had her desiring him with more urgency than she
could remember. She was on the verge of begging him to take her, there and
then, not caring about the presence of his driver, when she remembered Alex. He
crossed her mind fleetingly, but it was enough to cool her ardor a little.