What Remains (24 page)

“You’re hands are trembling,” she said with concern.

“I know.”

“Why?”

“You scare me,” he freely admitted.

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“Then don’t look at me that way.”

“In what way?”

“You
are
an insufferable witch,” he vexed.

Pulling Seth to her, Tessa kissed him; timidly at first, before applying more pressure, though neither of them seemed certain as to how to progress from there.  If things went any further, the relationship between them would be changed forever, and Seth suddenly found himself unwilling to face the consequences that might arise.  Family remained family, regardless.  But a relationship between lovers was rarely permanent.  He couldn’t run that risk.

Even as he told himself this, he did nothing to stop what was happening.  And the moment she opened her mouth to allow him to enter, he became devoid of all thought except the overwhelming desire to possess her.

Bringing his hands to her hips, they pulled her forward, forcing her legs apart so that they rested on each side of him so that he could feel her body against his, soft and warm.  Letting them travel up her back, he pressed her to him even harder.

If Tessa was harboring any second thoughts, it didn’t show.  Her arms were now around his neck, encouraging him deeper and deeper into her mouth.  The sweet taste of her, the sound of her soft moans as he ravished her with his tongue, drove him mad.  Nothing that he imagined over the months came even remotely close to being as erotic as the scene unfolding between them right now.  It felt as if he had never been kissed by a woman before.

With his hands now lingering at her ribs, Seth struggled with himself to keep them from searching out the treasure they longed for, wanting to move at a pace that Tessa was comfortable with.  This was her show after all; he was simply an extra, taking his cues from her.  If all she was wanted from him tonight was a prelude to what might happen between them in the future, then so be it, he would find the will power to deny himself.

Abruptly, she leaned back and stared at him, appearing aroused, yet slightly self conscience, with lips now swollen from the urgency of their kiss.

“
It’s okay, Tess, we can stop,” he managed to say with conviction.

“I don’t want to,” she told him, though her own voice lacked certainty.

“Then what do you want?”

Taking both his hands in hers, Tess slid them slowly to her breasts.  “I want you.”

Desire shot through him like a jolt of electricity when he was finally able to experience for the first time, what it was like to explore the firm softness of her body.  He held his breath as he touched her intimately, feeling her beneath his palms react to his caress.

With their eyes locked in a passionate embrace, he bent his head forward to kiss her once more.  Their lips merely brushed against each other this time, both of them realizing they had reached the point of no return.

It was with trembling fingers of her own now, that Tess began to unbutton his shirt.  Once the task was finished, her hands slid across the course black hairs of his bare chest.  As they hovered over his pecs, she grinned, “Very nice.”

Seth chuckled over the absurdity of her statement.  “Not as nice as yours.”  

“I’m coming on to you, encase you didn’t realize it.”

“I sure as hell hope so.  If not, this would be extremely embarrassing.”

“I wish I was better at this,” she laughed quietly.

“Actually, you’re very good.”

“Really?”

“Well, I’d show you how good, but…”

Quieting him with a brazen kiss, Tessa put an end to their brief intermission.  Hungrily, she drew him inside her mouth and consumed him with years of pent up sexual frustration urging her on. 

What a fortunate man he considered himself to be, as the one she chose to finally submit to.  If it was in his power to set the tempo for the night, he would make sure it was worth her wait.  But the confidence he felt in his own prowess diminished greatly when he felt the sharpness of her teeth press down lightly on his bottom lip.  Seth Richards was in trouble, and he knew it.  The conscious effort to proceed slowly on her behalf was obliterated when the pressure of her bite increased just enough to let him know she was in no way a lover who needed to be handled with kid gloves.

She giggled sweetly when she felt him tug anxiously at her top and pull it off over her head.  When she tried to cover herself at first with her arms, Seth laughed and shook his head, no.  It was too late to act shy, he was on to her games now, and was thoroughly enjoying them.  It didn’t take her long to relax enough to let them fall to her sides, giving his eyes their first glance at her in all her glory.  Her breasts were exquisite; large, firm and round. There was no keeping himself from them.

“Seth,” she resisted at first, running her fingers through his hair, attempting to pull him away.  He glanced up from his bountiful feast and found her watching him closely, which pleased him very much. 

“You’re beautiful,” he told her.

Then phone rang loudly, startling them both. 

“Don’t answer it,” he groaned, irritated by the untimely disturbance, silently admonishing the decision to put an extension in the servants’ quarters.

Tessa didn’t move, except to try and cover herself once again with her arms.  The phone continued to ring, loudly and insistently.  With each ring, she withdrew from him a little further.

“Damn it…Hello,” he growled, finally giving in and answering it.

“Seth,
its Kristen…”

The sound of her voice was sharp and piercing, diluting the heat of moment like a bucket of ice water.  Taking a step back, he dropped his head and sighed, when he raised it again and looked at Tessa, she avoided his gaze.  He took his free hand and brushed the hair away from her eyes, and traced her mouth with his fingertip.  She surprised him again when she wrapped her lips around it and sucked it provocatively.  It took him a several seconds to regroup.

“Seth!”

“I’m in the middle of something, right now,” he griped, then promptly ended the call.  “Now, where were we?” he grinned.

“I think you were about to have your way with me,” she replied breathlessly, sounding very sexy.

“Oh, yeah, how could I forget?”

Seth dropped his hands to her thighs and moved them slowly upward, caressing her gently until he reached the lace of her panties.  His fingers hesitated only slightly before they maneuvered beneath the material and found her warm and wet.  With just a fingertip, he touched her arousal, both of them temporarily startled by the intensity of their passion for one another. 

Taking a moment to slow down just enough to kiss her quivering mouth, Seth tried to ease her nerves as he continued his leisurely exploration.  He was ready, more than ready, but managed to control himself, wanting to make their first time special for Tessa, feeling the need to protect her from his own raw, carnal instinct to take what he wanted without consideration for his mate.

When he felt her body finally relax against his touch, Seth slipped further down until he rested at the edge of what he knew would be paradise.  There on her kitchen counter, at the age of forty eight, he was experiencing the best, most erotic sex of his life, with a woman he had fallen in love with the moment he heard her voice over the phone.  He had begun to think she would always remain just beyond his reach.  But here she was, having come to him on her own free will, offering herself to him completely, eagerly, asking for nothing in return but his devotion.

“What are you waiting for,” she asked him with a sly grin.

“I’m just enjoying the moment, baby.”

“So am I…”

Seth smiled, and pulled her buttocks forward with his other hand until the countertop was no longer a barrier to his progress. 

Again, the phone rang.

Both his and Tessa’s breathing was labored and raspy, leaving them unable to speak for a few seconds.  Just when he was about to throw the phone across the kitchen, she picked it up and looked at the name on the caller ID. 

“It’s your mother…” she giggled, sounding very much like a little girl at that moment, but looking like a woman needing to be satisfied.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”  Seth took the phone away from her and answered his mother’s call.

“What is it?” he snarled impatiently.

“Seth, I had Kristen try and call you.  She said you hung up on her.”

“Mom, I really don’t have time to talk right now.”

“No, Son, I have bad news, terrible news, you have to come home right away…” she cried.  “Mems died this evening.”

Seth turned away from the sight of Tessa sitting naked and vulnerable in front him.  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he thought seriously about ignoring the call and getting back to making love to Tessa.  Not because he wasn’t affected by
Mems passing, but if he let himself think about it, he would make the only responsible decision for him to make; he would go upstairs, pack his bag and head to Boston in order to make the arrangements necessary for her funeral and handle the distribution of her estate. 

As the only grandson, the only son, he was always the one who had to handle whatever crisis arose.  And from her slurred speech, it was obvious that
Mems’ only daughter was too drunk and too busy wallowing in self pity to do what needed to be done.

“Okay.  I’ll be there in a few hours.”

When Seth turned around, Tessa had slipped his tee shirt back on and removed herself from the countertop.  He couldn’t help but smile when he saw her diligently wiping it down with disinfectant wipes.  The quirky, senseless things she did and said sometimes were endearing.  Though he doubted seriously he would feel that way if it were anyone else.  Tessa was not spastic because she was ditzy.  She was spastic because she was genuinely weird, and Seth loved that about her.  With Tess, there was never a dull moment.  Only someone like himself, whose life was a series of predictable and well-calculated risks, could appreciate that about her.

Despite her sometimes irrational behavior, Tess was no stranger to responsibility, either.  Instinctively, he knew that she would understand the circumstances and offer him whatever assistance or condolences he might need, never once mentioning the fact how he had abandoned her in such a private moment, leaving her own needs unmet.

“I’m sorry, Tess.  I have to leave for Boston.”  Hearing himself say it felt like a punch in stomach.

“I gathered…are you okay?”

“My grandmother just passed away.”

With her hands flying to cover her mouth, Tessa gasped. 
“Oh my God, Seth.  I’m so sorry.  What can I do to help?”

“Nothing you can do,” he told her, reaching out to draw her into his arms.  “I’ll be back in a few days, maybe more, I don’t know yet.  It’s according to how long it takes to get everything taken care of.”

“Yes, of course.  But please call me if there’s anything you need.”

“All I need from you is the promise of a rain check,” he told her, trying to sound as upbeat as possible so she wouldn’t see that the news of his grandmother’s death was
beginning to hit him, but also to let her know that he was not going to forget what just happened between them.

“Don’t think about that right now.  Just drive safely and take care of yourself while you’re gone…and remember to eat something.  In fact, I’m going to pack you something to take with you.  I’ll make you a thermos of coffee, too.”

Before Seth could open his mouth to protest, Tess had swept past him on her way to the main kitchen; determined to do whatever she could to make his life easier, whether he wanted it or not.  Unlike the women in his family who fell apart during a crisis, whether serious or trivial, Tessa Maguire always rose to the occasion.   She would never know what it meant to him to have someone willing and capable of sharing his load, even if it meant simply listening to him when his responsibilities became too burdensome to keep silent.

She was waiting at the door for him when he entered the kitchen with his bags.  The way she looked, with her hair held back in ponytails at her ears, made Seth smile, though he was dreading the idea of leaving her behind.  But even if he was selfish enough to ask her to go with him and face the insanity of his family, she would never agree to it, so the only option he had was to walk out that door and pray that she would still be there when he returned.

As he approached her, Tess reached out and fastened the buttons of his coat.  With his free hand, he caressed her face that was looking up at him with compassion.

“I don’t want to leave you, do you understand that...”

“I’ll be here waiting…besides your family needs you right now.”

“Yeah…”

Pulling away, Tessa took his hand and led him to the door and opened it.

“I will be back as soon as I can,” he promised, finding it important to get that very clear.  It wasn’t that Seth didn’t believe Tessa when she said she didn’t want to leave him, but because he knew her track record when it came to dealing with emotions that were confusing or difficult.