A Second Chance Ch. 01

"Thank you," I said, "Diana would have gone spare if she'd known, but trust me, there is a full investigation going on into what happened, and all the while Callie and Emmie will just have to slum it here." I waved a hand around the elegant sitting room that my lovely sister had designed, decorated and filled with just the right furniture.

"We'll manage Craig," said Callie, hugging a now bouncing Emmie to her.

"Right," I said, "Emmie, why don't you take Nanny Judy up to your room and then show her where the bathroom is, and you can get washed and dressed, while I find that bacon we bought yesterday and make sandwiches for breakfast for all of us!"

"Yay!" shouted Emmie leaping away from her Mum and grabbing Judy's hand.

"OK, Emmie, OK!" said Callie watching as her Mum was pulled to her feet.

"I want to show Nanny my room!" she said, "This way Nanny!"

"I'm coming Emmie," said Nanny, leaving her bag and her coat on the sofa and were soon heading upstairs.

I stepped over to Callie,

"Is she OK with me, doesn't think I've enslaved you from my den of iniquity across town, or anything?"

"No," said Callie moving over and into my personal space, "she's very impressed with this place, and with you!" She kissed me, "But then again, so am I!" She hissed and we French-kissed for a very pleasant moment. "Thank you for all of that, bringing down Emmie, inviting her to have a tour of the place, it was perfect."

"Don't worry, I've even turned your duvet back to make it look like you just climbed out from under it."

She kissed me again,

"You think of everything!" She moved her hands down from my neck to around my waist, "So, sandwiches then?"

"Yes, why don't you go upstairs and give you Mum the tour; Emmie will have done a great job I'm sure, but I reckon if you were to amble about the second floor, the first floor come to that, it should be just enough to convince your Mum that I'm not an evil slum landlord."

"Might just," she said, pecking a kiss on my lips.

"Bacon sandwiches, white or wholemeal bread, toasted or normal?"

"White toasted for me and Emmie, wholemeal toasted for Mum."

"Perfect, I'll start plating up in ten minutes. Does your Mum drink coffee?"

"Hell yeah, do you have any more of the 'morning' blend? A couple of cups of that and she'll want to jump into bed with you too."

"Probably a bit cosy Cal," I said, "just you if I'm honest."

"OK," she said with a huge smile, "I'll hold you to that." She skipped out of the kitchen and up the stairs and I could hear them chatting in the bathroom.

Emmie appeared pulling Nanny Judy into the kitchen and started her usual climb up to the table, that normally ended with me or Callie lifting her up. I did, and Nanny looked impressed.

"Pull up a chair Judy," I said, she took the one next to Emmie, and I placed an empty mug before her and poured the breakfast blend coffee, pushing the milk jug over.

As suggested by Callie, Judy poured a splash of milk into the mug, sniffed at the lip, then sipped.

"Oh yeah," she said, "Now THAT is a good coffee! Anything I can do to help Craig?"

"No, we're nearly done here," and I placed a plate before both of my guests.

Emmie was no stranger to breakfast in the kitchen and munched at her sandwich like a good'un, joined moments later by her Nanny, who did the same but with some more refinement.

Nanny was just as impressed and took a second bite as her gorgeous daughter came into the kitchen, wearing those amazing jeans, and a tight, cropped, cleavage revealing T-shirt, and looking so sexy that I had to force myself not to stare, instead pushing a sandwich and a mug of coffee in front of the next stool.

"Thank you, Craig!" she said simply but very nicely.

I leant against my kitchen counter and ate my sandwich, getting a sideways look from Callie, as it was just where I'd stood when Anna had blown me.

I was almost sure that Judy could pick up that tiny bit of sexual tension, although the background was hard to explain. Callie went back to her sandwich and drank some of her coffee.

"So, are you staying for lunch today, Judy?"

"That would be rather nice," she replied, then looked a bit sheepish, "I don't suppose I could go and lie down on Emma's bed by any chance, I was awake and out of my hotel room by six-thirty this morning."

"Even easier than that," I said, "I'll set you up a room, how long are you in the country for?"

"I'm due to fly back in a couple of weeks, I was only checking that everything was OK with Caroline, seeing as her last few emails about her house were so terrible. I have to be in London the next week to visit my publisher."

"Mum writes ladies' fiction," said Callie with raised eyebrows.

"Where are you staying?" I asked.

"I'm at the Premier Inn, got a taxi over here this morning, after finally reading Caroline's email at silly o'clock."

"Well, we'll collect your things from the Premier Inn, and you can stay here until you go to London, plenty of room," I looked at Emmie, moving close up to her conspiratorially, "you won't mind Nanny Judy sleeping in your TV room will you." It had been turned into a sitting room but had only been used by Callie 'for her special moments' and would take no time to actually make the bed in there.

"Yay!" she said, "That's next to my room!"

It was also the furthest from Callie's room, and any suggestion of her sly tiptoe downstairs, something she did quite often after putting Callie to bed, and then any possible detour to mine.

Having seen my greenhouses from the lounge windows, we had to show Judy around the garden, where she told me what many of the well-established trees were, some of the bushes and lots of the just-growing flowers were. After ten minutes I was forced to admit that it was all as a result of the 'twice a week in the summer, once a week in the winter' gardener I still employed that had worked for Diana over the years, in three of her four houses.

The six greenhouses were almost all empty, but she raved about them, explaining that the two largest were Victorian, and original cast iron, hinting at their outrageous value, but suggesting what could be grown in each and at time they'd need to be planted. I thought she would get just as carried away as her daughter had the previous night, once she found the original coal-fired heaters that I'd never even looked at.

"I'll write you a list Craig," she said patting my arm. Emmie took her up to her room where she asked to be woken up a couple of hours later.

We woke Nanny Judy and she was driven back to her hotel in my larger car, and her luggage collected. She insisted that we stop in the restaurant attached to the hotel, and that she paid for our late lunch.

It was very nice, and tiny Emmie was just a star all over again, getting quite used to the whole 'eating out' concept, which with her Mum's restricted cash flow had never been a regular thing.

Back to my place, and a very tired Emmie was bathed by Nanny Judy, while Callie sorted everything for the next morning. I crept up behind her.

"So, Callie, that was OK to invite your Mum to stay, wasn't it?"

She turned from the tiny pile of clothes I was getting used to seeing around the place.

"Oh Craig, it was lovely!" she said, "Mum is EVEN MORE impressed with you than she was before!" She stepped closer to me, "I was kind of hoping that we could still... that I could creep down to your room for some more... massage and relaxation, I've still got to look at that trick shoulder of yours don't forget."

I slipped my arms around her waist pulling her on to me, and she reciprocated by slipping hers around my neck.

"There is a reason she's in the end room on the second floor and not in the posh guest room across from mine!"

"You little devil!" She beamed her pleasure at me, "I did wonder." We kissed, like we had been doing for the last couple of nights. I reached down and squeezed her arse through the tight blue jeans and that obviously wasn't a problem for her.

She broke for breath, panting slightly.

"So how am I supposed to get fucked from behind until my Mum goes home Craig?" she whispered.

"So sorry," I said, "come down to my room and we can discuss it..."

"How about we go up there now and sort out Mum's room," she grinned, "who knows!" She bit her bottom lip, "I might be able to convince her to have an early night!"

"Don't tell me, you're going to give her hot chocolate and read her a story?"

"Nah; Mum's a writer of romantic fiction, I get the feeling that she'll be wanting to sit on the end of my bed tonight and talk into the night about what's really going on between us."

"What is going on between us?"

"Right now? I'm getting to know the most amazing, kind and generous guy, and having him 'enjoy me'!" her face creased into the biggest smile, "In context of course!"

"Of course!" I replied, unable to hold back my pleasure in her smiling face.

"And enjoying THE most amazing sex I've EVER had!" she closed her eyes and dropped her head, "Shit, I've screwed a couple of blokes before, but... Craig, Jeeeeeezus! I thought sex was just about some masturbation, some oral (me on them of course), some in and out and him coming in me just as I was starting to enjoy myself, but..." she opened her eyes and looked back up at me, her head to one side, "then I climbed into bed with you! I mean... WOW!"

"It's mutual Cal, trust me, you have the most amazing body, and you are SO CUTE!"

"Cute?"

"Oh yeah," I hugged her again, "gorgeous and cute, everything about you turns me on!"

"MUMMEEEEEEEEE!" there was happy shouting and thumping of feet as Emmie ran down the stairs from the bathroom.

"Emmie!" shouted Callie, as she pulled away from me with a grin, "later Craig!"

Hot chocolate was duly made and shared around, Judy didn't look like she was at all tired, and while Callie and I both had work to get ready for the next morning. We sat in the living room chatting about what was going on with Cairngorm Avenue, the other houses and what that horrible Mr Gregg was really up to, and with whom.

Callie and I were in our usual positions at each end of the long sofa, while Judith sat in the armchair she'd spent most of the evening on, with Emmie on her lap for part of it, but at a little after ten, I had to admit defeat and said a fond goodnight to both of my guests.

I had a hug and cheek-to-cheek with Judy, and smile from Callie, before taking the empty mugs across to the dishwasher and switching it on to run through the night.

I went up to bed and with an extra person in the house, thought long and hard about having that extra bathroom, I could afford an ensuite and the room next door wouldn't suffer overly from losing what was effectively a double wardrobe space so I could have my very own shower and WC fitted.

I had just put down my Kindle due to my itching eyes, figuring that Callie probably had sat up with her Mum having the girly chat she'd predicted. I could certainly believe it, after all, when I went to the bar to order drinks at the restaurant that lunchtime, I could see that Judy was leaning in close to Callie, and looking across at me, so figured she'd be intrigued at our living situation and the interrogation might still be going on.

At something after midnight, I heard the faint click of my door being opened and saw the shape of Callie in a T-shirt, my T-shirt in fact, the one she'd pinched to wear when I'd gone down to open the door that morning.

She lifted the duvet and climbed in next to me.

"Just been getting the third degree from Mum," she said, raising my arm and sliding under it, "Was there anything going on between us, and if not, why not."

"Figured as much," I said, "did you break under interrogation?"

"No, I said that you were a lovely man, and that I was in a delicate situation. I said that as a virtually penniless single Mum, I couldn't just leap on my landlord and screw him, even though he was so gorgeous."

"No," I said, "it took a bottle of wine each, and that amazing arse of yours barely covered in those PJ shorts."

"You were being rather charming, Mr Douglas!"

"And you were being rather gorgeous Miss Sinclair."

"Make love to me Craig, give me another one of those amazing orgasms you seem to be able to just tease out of me."

I turned on my side to face her,

"Only one?"

"Or two," she said, "whatever you can manage really, I'm eas..."

I stopped her talking by the simple expedient of gluing my mouth to hers and rolling over her, pulling MY T-shirt up and over her shoulders to find her delightfully naked.

I reached down and opened the bottom drawer, feeling around for the condom box, picking out one and splitting it open. Callie took it from me and reached down under the duvet to put it on me.

"Craig, would you mind if I went on the pill? Just to save us doing this I mean; I don't know about you, but I much prefer the whole thing... totally naked-you know?"

"Yes, so do I, and I wouldn't object at all!"

"Nice," she said, content that all was well with the contraception for that night at least, "I'm due on in a couple of days, I'll start after that."

"That would be great Callie, in the meantime, I'll make love to you."

"Yeah," she purred.

With a single thrust I was inside her and she cried out, adding a guttural 'oh fuck yeah' as I started to move in and out of her. I pushed up onto my elbows remembering how tender her breasts were and how sensitive her nipples. I bent my head and sucked, giving the slightest covered-teeth grind, and she purred again.

I had never known a lover to be that sensitive, what am I saying, Callie was only my second lover; OK, Anna had never been that sensitive, but then she had been an amazingly sexual lover, so responsive and knowing exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it done.

I did hope that I'd have some time I could give Callie that confidence, to give her the knowledge of who can do what, to whom, and how.

That image in my head just gave me extra energy and I pushed hard and deep, and she cried out again, writhing under me, then pushing back up at me, and obviously found the spot, because moments later she was coming under me, crying in her relief,

"Make love to me Craig," she gasped, "Make me come one more time!" she bit her lip, pushing her groin hard into mine, raising her thighs and grasping me with them, the effect of which was obviously to tense things up inside her and soon she was exercising her pussy muscles and squeezing me tight inside her.

That was that, inspired by her extra effort, we came together, mouths locked together in a kiss, then opening again in relaxing sigh, that ended in a laugh.

"Fuck's sake Craig?" She kissed me again, "You really are a sex machine," she pulled me down to whisper in my ear, "As soon as my Mum goes to London, I'm going to blow you by the coffee machine. Then when it warms up a bit, I'm going to fuck you in the garden SO FUCKING HARD!"

"Well, get you Miss Sinclair!" I hissed back at her, I thought about what I'd told her about Anna.

"Just need to get Mum to go to London, then back to France!"

I rolled to one side of her but still held her, after three nights I knew that for her, the cuddling afterwards was almost as important as the orgasms.

Laying there together and coming down, with her in my arms we chatted again. She told me about her Mum, who was a retired English Teacher and now lived in Normandy and wrote sexy novels for 'the older lady market', specifically what she herself referred to as 'period pieces for the post-menopausal'.

Wild stories about young raven-haired beauties with thrusting bosoms hidden under linen, lace or boned corsetry; stolen glances and stolen kisses, rich but stupid cads and bounders being fought off by broad shouldered, but still slightly flawed heroes that won out in the end, sometimes even slipping the well-rounded and well-bred heroines onto their stallions, or onto their black-sailed ships to live their lives with adventure and romance, rather than privilege and wealthy boredom. 'Jamaica Inn' meets 'Fifty Shades of the Pirates of the Caribbean'

I asked if she had any I could look at.

She giggled,

"These days, they're mostly on Kindle!"

I reached across for my kindle, flicking out of my Pratchett for the 'home' function to 'Kindle Store', handing it to my pretty bedmate, still glowing slightly from our exertions.

She tapped a few buttons and handed it back to me, and there was picture of a Georgian/Restoration beauty being held by her would-be lover, and it pretty much said everything Callie had described.

"Is this a good one?"

"I'm not sure," she said, "It's certainly one of the ruder ones."

"How do you know?"

"It's got four little red hearts on it, which means it's at the sexier end of her publisher's collection -- five and it's romantic porn." I flicked through the description, then hit 'buy now'. "You bought it?" She giggled.

"Well, got to have a read and see what her work is like!"

She snatched it from my hands and put her arms around my neck, laughing as she did so.

"I'm sure it's just your kind of thing," she reached over me to place the kindle back on my bedside table, pushing me flat to lay on my chest, "do you have your phone here?"

"Yes."

"Could you set your alarm for five thirty so I can get back to bed before Emmie and Mum wake up? I could go back up now, but I'd much rather have you cuddle me to sleep again."

"Of course."

I did so, and it buzzed gently five hours later, and I gave her a gentle shake, and she gave a faint grumble and rolled out of bed, stopping to kiss me, and pick up my T-shirt for her nightlight walk back to her room.

The real alarm went off at six forty-five and I was in and out of the shower in no time, hearing Callie's loud radio alarm and the 'Today Programme'. I dressed quickly and was down for breakfast, and the toaster and coffee machine were soon doing their thing.

With Judy in the house, Callie handed over her keys, her car and the responsibility for getting Emmie to school on time while I dropped her off at her hospital.

She leaned across the car and kissed me goodbye, it was so nice, and I think I smiled about it all the way to work.

Over lunch I got out my phone and opened my Kindle app and read the first few pages of 'The Gentleman Pirate', and it was much as described. The writing was pretty good, and it did hold my interest, just as the 50 Shades Trilogy had I suppose, and didn't extend or bother my brain any.

I put my phone on my desk, and went to make another mug of tea, when Margaret B stopped and looked at the screen.

"Why Craig! Are you reading a 'JD Sinclair'?"

"What?" I snapped out of my lunchtime torpor, "yes, I suppose I am. Do you like her stories?"

"Oh, they're lovely!" she said, closing eyes, and I wondered if she was being transported to Regency London, or a windswept West Country coastline full of pirates and/or wreckers, she came back to herself though, "Craig," she said, "are you that short of... well... romance in your life you have to... well... read about it?"

"No!" I burst out, "JD Sinclair? She's currently borrowing one of my loft rooms, before she heads to London with her next two manuscripts."

"JD Sinclair? In YOUR spare bedroom?" she looked halfway between impressed and disgusted.

"It's a long story," I said, "basically, her daughter is one of my tenants and she needed somewhere to stay for a week."

"Her DAUGHTER?!" she said, seemingly much more impressed, if now a little disappointed.

"Long story Margaret," I said, "very long story."

I told Judy about one of her biggest fans being a team clerk at my firm and she was well pleased, offering to sign a couple of books before she moved on.

I told both Margaret's the next day and two books each were brought in, duly signed that evening, and returned the next day.