Running Scared, page 8
“Well, I’m not taking any chances. I called the doc.” Gary could see she was mad, but it was just too damned bad! “Come on, Finn, let’s get Em upstairs before Doc Johnson gets here.”
“Damn you, Gary Bedford, I can walk by myself.” As the two men tried to carry her, Emma wriggled and squirmed trying to stop them.
“Right, that’s it,” Gary said, exasperated. “Put her down Finn. I’ve got a better idea.”
Finn did as he was told, and Gary picked the furious Emma up like a sack of potatoes. He playfully slapped her behind and told Emma to behave.
“You, you... renegade.” she shouted. “Put me down.” Emma continued to kick and scream under Gary’s firm grip, even though it hurt her head. “And you, Finn Bedford, can stop laughing. It’s not funny.”
Finn followed them up the stairs, and opened the door to the spare room.
“Wrong room,” Gary said. “Emma sleeps with me.”
“Mum is going to kill you! You know how she feels about that—if you get Emma pregnant, you’re dead meat!” Finn moved forward and opened the door to the master bedroom. “Mum has never approved of Clay and Pru not being married,” he added for Emma’s benefit.
Gary gently dropped Emma onto the bed and covered her up.
“Don’t worry Finn. We’re getting married real soon.” He glanced across at Emma—he’d never seen her so angry.
“We’re what!”
“I’ve even got the engagement ring.” He moved toward a bedside cupboard and took out a small ring box. “I was going to wait until you were feeling better, but blabbermouth over there has given me cause to bring things forward.” Gary dropped to his knees near the bed. “Emma Lar... er, James, will you be my wife?”
“Damn, that must be the doc. I’ll let him in,” Finn announced as the doorbell rang.
“Well, Em, what’s your answer?”
“We haven’t known each other that long...”
“Time means nothing,”
“You don’t know me...”
“I know enough,” he sighed. “You’re really making this difficult, Em. We’ll get to know each other better once we’re married.”
“That could be too late.”
“Hello, Gary,” the doctor greeted him. “And who have we got here?”
“Doc Johnson, this is Emma James, my fiancée.”
Emma was glaring again. She was so much like his mother it scared him.
*
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” the doctor told Gary, as they sat in the lounge room. “She just needs a few days rest. Peace and quiet and plenty of sleep.”
“I hope you told her that, Doc,” Gary replied. “She’s so pigheaded.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll both be very happy together.” Snapping his bag shut and grinning, he walked toward the front door. “That’s a nasty bump she’s got, and Emma did seem rather stressed.”
“Can stress make her faint, Doc?”
“Certainly, particularly combined with concussion. Remember, plenty of rest.”
They shook hands, and Gary stood watching the Mercedes disappear down the long drive.
“Where’s my Mummy? I want my Mummy!” Sally wailed as she looked around the room for Emma.
Gary leaned down and picked her up. “She’s in bed, Squirt. Mummy’s sick. You want to go visit?”
Sally nodded.
“You have to be very quiet ‘cause Mummy’s got a very bad headache. Okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Gary,” she whispered back as he carried her up the stairs, Finn not far behind them.
“Here we are, Squirt.” Gary paused at the doorway. “Don’t forget, very quiet.”
“This isn’t my Mummy’s room. Why is Mummy in that bed?”
“Um,” Gary looked across at his brother for support, but Finn just grinned at him.
“Cause, Mummy, uh, needs lots of hugs, and this is my room too, so if Mummy’s here with me,” he muddled on, “then I can, uh, give her hugs when she needs them.” Phew!
Sally looked up at him and started crying.
“What’s wrong, Squirt? Why are you crying?” Gary patted her back as he hugged her close.
“I want my Mummy to hug me, too, and now she can’t!” she wailed, louder than before.
“Damn, this is getting complicated.”
“You said that bad word. Mummy will be very cross!”
“Uh, here Squirt, give Mummy a hug, then Uncle Finn will take you back to his place,” Gary said, as he entered the room.
She brightened up. “I can still hug Mummy?”
“Sure you can. There you go.” Gary leaned forward and sat Sally next to Emma on the bed.
“Words of wisdom from your younger brother,” Finn began, “don’t tell kids stuff you can’t explain!”
Chapter 5
“I’m fine and like it or not, I’m getting up today. I’ve been in that bed for days. I’m sick of being treated like an invalid.”
Emma sat up in bed, perilously close to Gary, his long hair hanging loose and his bare chest showing. “I’ll prove it to you.” She threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side. “And what’s more, I’m going home to organise the move to the clinic.”
“But Em,” Gary protested, following her into the bathroom. “We’ve talked about this before. You need to keep a low profile.”
“And I told you to blow it out...”
“And I thought you were a lady!”
“You’re being a bully again!” She pushed against Gary’s chest as he tried to block the doorway. “I have to do this, Gary. It’s my livelihood.”
“Em, there’s something I have to tell you.” He turned off the shower taps she’d turned on moments before.
“Can’t I even have a shower without you bullying me?”
Tell her and tell her quickly. Be a man!
“Clay and I have already started searching your things.” There, that wasn’t so bad.
“You’ve what!” Emma turned the taps back on angrily. “Get out!” When he didn’t move, her anger increased. “I need to have a shower. Please go away!”
Emma looked up into his face, and Gary couldn’t take any more. How he’d survived these past few days sharing her bed, and on an enforced platonic basis, he had no idea. His head came down as his restraint finally diminished.
Their mouths met in a flame of passion, and as his hands moved over the sensual satin of Emma’s nightie, Gary thought he would explode with desire.
“Em?” he murmured. “Sleep with me?”
Their eyes met, but Emma quickly wrenched her gaze away. “I’ve been sleeping with you for days.”
“You know what I mean.” His lips came down over her neck and he suckled. His teeth gripped her skin, leaving a small red mark—his mark—for all to see.
Emma reached up and ran her soft fingers along the line of his face, over the bristling of his five o’clock shadow, now more than evident at this hour of the morning.
Her lips opened slightly, and Gary took that as acceptance. He turned off the water once more and scooped her up, then strode off toward his bedroom, their bedroom, dropping Emma down on the waterbed. He turned back momentarily and kicked the door closed behind them.
“I, I haven’t had a shower yet,” she whispered.
“We’ll have one together. After.” He nibbled at her ear, then her neck, finally pulling her nightie up over her head.
“Gary...”
“I want you,” he interrupted, his voice husky.
“I want you too,” she answered, nuzzling into his bare chest. “But...”
“You just said you want me.” His hands were roaming her body.
“I do,” she whispered, “I really do, but...”
“I’ve got protection, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Emma sat upright, pushing against him. “You, you... Damn you!” she ground out, “You planned this. You’ve been working up to getting me in your bed since we met.”
“Emma, for God’s sake, calm down!” He reached across and grabbed Emma by her very bare, very naked waist, stopping her departure. “You’re right, I can’t deny it,” he said, looking over her nakedness, “I’ve planned it since the second I laid eyes on you.”
“Damn you, Gary Bedford! Damn you to hell!”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” he said quietly, running his supple fingers over her back. She relaxed a little, and he rolled Emma onto her stomach, and eased away her tension.
As he massaged, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “This is right—we both know it is. “We’ll announce our engagement on Family Day.”
And as she nodded her agreement, Gary’s lovemaking began all over again, and together they were lifted high into the flames of desire.
*
Emma stirred as he lifted her head from his chest onto the pillow. “Hello, sleepyhead,” he sighed.
“Hello, yourself.” She reached down and pulled the sheets up to cover her bare body.
“Don’t. I want to look at you,” As he looked her over, he smiled.
“What?” she demanded.
“Nothing.”
“Tell me, I want to know.”
“Well, it’s just, well,” he fumbled, “You really are a red-head!”
Embarrassed, she climbed out of bed, and headed once more for the shower. “I really must get a move on.”
The water was warm and inviting, even invigorating and she stood washing her long silky hair, her eyes closed to protect them from the shampoo.
She jumped, startled, as she felt something move down her back, and as she opened her eyes, discovered she was not alone.
Gary picked up Emma’s hand-made soap and lathered it into his hands, then began to smooth it all over her back. The movement was relaxing, even sensual, and Emma gave herself a stern talking to, but as his hands moved to her well-formed breasts, her lecture fell on deaf ears.
“Gary, I don’t think...”
“Then don’t think.”
His lips covered her nipple as he moved down her body, and his hands continued the exploration he sought.
“You’re so beautiful,” he began, the water running over his face.
Her soap-lathered hands came up over his back and began to move in a circular motion, not unlike the technique she would use in a massage, but, she mused, no massage had ever been like this.
He reached out and held her right-hand. “You don’t need this anymore.” Gary pulled Emma’s wedding ring from her finger, then threw it to the base of the shower.
Satisfied, he began to leave a trail of light kisses along her slightly rounded belly, his fingers running a trail along the faint stretch marks. He whipped her into a sexual frenzy such as Emma had never endured before. She could feel his arousal pushing against her, and as his hands gently held her around the waist, they slowly slid down to her thighs, and she was lost, totally and utterly, to him once more.
He lifted her gently onto his swollen arousal and they made love under the warmth of the streaming water. And as they came together in an explosion of fireworks, their bodies quivering in that primal, wonton way, they knew a love that only each would ever fulfill for the other.
*
“Finn!” Gary was shocked to find his brother patiently sitting on the sofa.
“Gazz, mate, I’ve brought Sally back as planned, but obviously you two had other things on your mind!” His expression said it all, and from the expression on her face, Gary knew that Emma felt one foot tall.
“How’d you get...”
“I’ve got a key, remember?” He swung it in front of them to prove it. “I knew you were home, the cars are out the front.”
“How long...”
“Hmmm, let’s see...” The laughter in his eyes turned Emma’s cheeks a flushing pink. “Oh, long enough, I think.”
Gary stepped forward and leaned over menacingly toward him. “I’ll take that.” He swiped at the key as Finn swung it out of his reach.
“Maybe Finn should hang onto it, Gary.” Emma reached for his arm, and her touch made him shiver. “For emergencies. Of course, he won’t use it to spy on us again. Will you, Finn?”
The look on Finn’s face confirmed what Gary already knew; that Emma, like his mother, was a force to be reckoned with. As he looked down into her face, he saw the pursed lips, and that solid glare that always brought them unstuck with Queenie.
“Uh, he promises, don’t you Finn?” Gary said, on behalf of his brother.
“Yeah sure, Mu… er, Emma.”
“Mummy! Uncle Gary!” Sally ran across from where she’d been engrossed in her toys, and hugged them both. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“We were in the shower, Sal,” Emma replied.
Well she wasn’t lying, was she, Gary mused.
She added, “Let’s get some lunch, then I have to go back to the house. I’ve got a heap of sorting out to do.”
“Em, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her glare almost bought Gary down. “Not today anyway. If you leave it until Monday, Finn and I will both help, won’t we Finn?” His eyes told Finn he’d better agree.
“Uh, sorry Bro. No can do, I’ve got something on in the morning, remember? But I could come over in the afternoon. I can pick Sally up from kindergarten, and bring her with me.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” It suddenly dawned on him that Finn would be on surveillance, covering Sally. “Not to worry, maybe Clay can come over.”
“Thank you both, but I’m going today and that’s final!” Emma left them both standing there open mouthed, as she turned toward the kitchen.
“How could you do that, Gazz?” Finn pounced as soon as Emma was out of earshot.
“Yeah, sorry, forgot about the plan for a minute there.”
“Not that! Hitch yourself up with another Mum!”
*
“I don’t know where to start,” Emma looked around her at the devastation that for a short time was her home. “I mean, where would you hide something that no-one knows what to look for!”
“We might as well start with the things you particularly need out at the homestead.”
Emma took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to marry this stranger—this wonderful, caring, drop-dead gorgeous stranger.
“Hmm, what about the bathroom? It’s as good a place as any, I guess.”
“Uh, Clay and I have already checked the bathroom,” Gary informed her.
“You’ve done the bath...” With her cheeks turning bright red, Emma turned an angry face to him. “You two men have been through my personal things?” Gary took a step toward her, but she put her hands up defensively. “My personal ‘women only’ things?”
“But Em...”
“What did you do? Take the wrappings off each one and pull it to bits?” she angrily demanded.
“Well actually,”
“I don’t want to know!” Emma stormed out of the room with Gary close on her heels.
“But Em, we’re going to be married,” he reasoned. “What does it matter if I’ve seen something as personal as that?”
“And that’s another thing...”
Uh oh, someone’s in a bad mood!
“Maybe getting married isn’t such a good idea.”
Gary opened his mouth to respond, but Emma stopped him.
“Let me finish,” she ordered. “You only want to marry me to let yourself off the hook with your mother.”
He opened his mouth again.
“I haven’t finished yet! And maybe,” she continued, “You thought it would be easier to protect me if I was so close. Don’t interrupt, Gary!” she bellowed as he tried again to speak. “I could always hire myself a private eye, or a bodyguard, or something.”
Gary burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“What’s so damned funny?” she screamed.
Walking toward her, arms extended, he finally got his chance to speak.
“Oh, Em! I don’t want to marry you because of my Mum, and I don’t want to marry you to protect you either.” He pulled her lovingly into the comforting circle of his arms, “But I do want to marry you because I love you.”
He leaned forward, and claimed her lips as proof of his love. And as their mouths were locked into their own secret world, he felt moisture against his cheek.
“What’s this then?” he softly asked, lifting a tear from her face, “Tears of happiness, I hope.”
And as she nodded her agreement, he pulled her toward him again, and they held each other in a way that said they’d be joined forever.
*
“We’ll pack up your toys today, Squirt,” Gary instructed. “I’ll put this box in your room,” Sally’s eyes were wide with astonishment.
“All of them?”
“All of them.” He picked Sally up and hugged her, as he walked toward the bedroom. “Squirt, I need to talk to you.”
“Yes, Uncle Gary?”
“It’s about Mummy and me...”
“Do you like my Mummy, Uncle Gary? You give her lots of hugs.”
“Sure do, Squirt. Now, about Mummy and me...” As he sat down on the side of the bed, Gary balanced Sally on his knee. “See, Mummy and me are engaged and...”
“Engaged?”
“Yeah, engaged, and...”
“What’s engaged?”
“Well,”
Emma stood with her hand covering her quivering mouth. He really wasn’t doing very well at all. Gary looked up sharply when he heard her chuckle.
“You know Em, I’m not doing too good here.” He nodded at Sally.
“I hadn’t noticed.” She laughed, picking up a huge teddy bear. “Let me try.”
“Sal, sweetie,” she began.
“Yes, Mummy?”
“How would you like Uncle Gary to be your daddy?”
Sally’s eyes opened in amazement. “You’re gonna be my daddy? I’m gonna have a daddy like all the other kids?” She reached over and hugged Gary tight, and he nearly wept with joy.
*
“I really need to get the clinic organized, so let’s sort that next.”
