Designed by Love

"He says that about everyone, doesn't he?"

"No I don't. Mom, Iris met Molly."

"Oh. How is she doing?"

"She seemed good, Mom. She introduced Iris to a traditional Scottish breakfast."

"Oh, she is a dear. She was so lost, when Jack introduced us to Molly. I'm so glad to hear she is well."

"She was sweet. And she obviously thinks a lot of Jack."

"Jack, are you going to show Iris around Stirling? Maybe the castle or William Wallace's Monument?"

"I don't know, I guess it's up to Iris. I thought I would drive her around at the very least."

"The Kelpies at Falkirk are interesting to see at dusk. And there are the bridges over the Firth of Forth that are pretty at sunset and evening."

"Mom, your ruining my plans to take Iris back home to have my way with her."

"Oh pardon me. I don't want to get in the way of showing Iris a good time."

Jack laughed. "Mom, was that a dig on me? My own Mother. Geez, I get no respect."

"Take it however you like. Come in when you're ready."

After Nora left the studio, Jack backed me up against the wall and started kissing me and touching me all over. "Jack in your mother's studio?"

"What? We're not doing anything wrong. I just need to touch and kiss you often."

"I need it too. But, I want your parents to respect me."

"They already do."

"How can you know that?"

"I just do. They are pleased to see me with someone who can handle me. Can you handle me, Iris?"

"I think I already have, several times, in fact."

"Oh what a dirty mind you have. I just want to roll around in it and get it all over me."

"You're a nutter."

"But, I'm your nutter. Aren't I?"

"I hope so."

"I know so." He kissed me to remind me that we were already possessive of each other, that we already belonged to each other. I kissed him back and ran my hands over his chest.

"You feel so good. I don't really need to sight-see. I'm just as happy to go home with you and have my way with you."

"We'll have to share the aggressor role I guess." He pulled my shirt and bra up.

"Jack, what are you doing? This is your mom's studio. For God's sake!"

"Just a little taste, please." He lowered his head to my breast and started suckling on me. I couldn't see straight. He toyed with my nipple batting it back and forth. I let out a moan and grabbed his arms.

"Jack, if we wait until we get home, it will feel so much better."

"If it felt any better, I'd have a heart attack. Don't you want to save me from an early demise?"

"Stop it. Right now, your mother thinks I am the best thing to ever happen to you. I don't want your lust to ruin that. What is wrong with you?"

"God, you're right. Did I hurt you?"

"No. Not physically. I feel like some sort of cheap trick though."

"Baby, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Can we please just go. I don't know how to act like nothing is wrong in front of your parents."

"Yes, we'll say our goodbyes."

We went back into the house, thanked them and made an excuse to go.

Jack drove us to the coast and up to Dunnattor Castle ruins.

"Why are we here?" I asked. After minutes of silence, I asked, "Jack, why was it so important for us to have sex in your mother's studio?"

"My parents have never been impressed with my success. Today, I felt that they were proud of me because I had brought you home with me. I was elated that they liked you so much. And maybe a little mad that they could be excited about you and not me."

"Jack, I'm just talking out of my ass here, but your mother wasn't excited about me. She was excited that you were opening yourself up to something or someone that was not just work. I feel she just wants you to be happy and she's afraid if you don't have a woman or a family that you will wake up to regret it one day."

"I was just so happy to share you with them."

"I was happy that you wanted to share me with them. Like I meant something to you."

"You do mean something to me."

"Jack, I'm sure that they are proud of you. They probably just don't know how to relate to what you do."

I felt bad for him. I rubbed his arm. "Jack, it's going to be dark soon. How far away from your house are we?"

"You just said 'your home'. Yesterday, you called it home. You want this to be over, don't you?"

"Jack, we are just having a spat. Focus, please. How far away from home are we?"

"You're right. We aren't going to make it home before dark. We'll have to go to Aberdeen. Come on."

We stopped at the Aberdeen Thistle Hotel.

Jack put the hood on the car and locked it. Jack started to ask for two rooms and I corrected him.

"No, that's alright. We just need one room."

In the room, Jack asked why I did that.

"Because everybody has an issue around one thing or another. Because when I felt insecure last night, you comforted me."

I hugged him and hoped that he would hug me back. I pulled his face down to me for a kiss. Within a few seconds he had melted into the man that I was falling in love with.

"Do you think that we can find a pub that's still open?"

"Yes. I'm sure we can. Thank you Iris for understanding and for wanting to stay on this path with me."

I kissed him. "Come on, let's find a pub."

Back in the room, we got ready for bed. I took my clothes off and got into bed. Jack did the same. We shut the lights off. I waited for him to find me in the dark and he didn't. I snuggled up next to him and he said, "I never meant to make you feel cheap."

"I know that. Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to make love to me now?"

I kissed his sternum and kissed his nipple next. I suckled it and he moaned. I straddled him and fed my breasts to him.

"Please, Jack. I need for you to suckle my breasts."

"God, yes. I love to feel your hard nipples in my mouth."

He started suckling more aggressively and massaged my breasts. I was already wet, but that aroused me even more. I reached behind me to feel for his cock. It was hard and ready for me. I positioned myself above it and led it into my pussy.

"Mmmm. Baby, you feel so good inside of me. Give me that big, hard cock of yours.".

He pulled my breasts back down to his mouth. Each tug on my nipple was like a lick to my clit.

"That's right baby. Suck on my tits. God I love that."

When he was getting close, he said, "I want to fuck you from behind."

I got on my knees in front of him and felt him position himself at my entrance. He swiftly rammed his cock into my wet, hot pussy. I cried out. He continued to piston me. He reached around me and grabbed my tits. Then he started pulling on my nipples in an alternating fashion. I lost it. I came right away. A few more hard pumps, and he came too.

We lay on the bed like two ragdolls. Depleted by the day and the vigorous sex.

I whispered in his ear, "I love you. I know its too soon to say it, but that is what I feel for you."

"Finally, I get to say what I'm feeling. I love you too."

In the morning I watched Jack sleep. When he opened his eyes, I waited for him to notice me.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning. Not such a bad night's sleep for an impromptu visit."

"I slept like a log."

"Jack, why aren't your world headquarters here in Scotland? It's so beautiful here."

"I guess I felt I had to be in NYC to be easily accessed by my clints. Do you want to live here?"

"I've only seen a small part of the country, but it is beautiful and preferable to New York City."

"Are you considering a life with me?"

"I mean, it's hard not to."

"Let's get it out of the way. Do you want children?"

"I always thought so, yes."

"You would be a loving mother."

"I can see you as a loving father too."

"I'll have to think about how I could scale back so that I could actually be home more."

"You would do that?"

"Yes. Gladly. I never actually thought I would find someone like you. I'm sure as hell not going to risk losing you."

"Hmm. It's something to think about."

We checked out and drove to the house.

Both of us showered and dressed for work. I wore a peplum jacket and pencil skirt and Jack wore a blue suit. We parted for our different offices. I was on calls to my location directors. I had to rein in ideas on the eastern locations. Including the culture shouldn't mean turning the décor into a cliché. The NYC group was playing around a dark blue, slate blue and sage green scheme with lots of chrome. I told them to have three plans to present to me within 9 days. The Glasgow group was working with ideas of sage green, cream and a dark bluish green with lots of chrome. The Zurich group was working ideas around a light blue, umber brown and grey scheme with chrome. I told the eastern groups to present some new schemes tomorrow. I spoke with the graphic designer. We agreed that a very simplistic approach like three of his designs was best. I asked if he was ready to do a video chat with Jack. He said he could be ready by tomorrow. I was looking through a book of commercial fabrics when Jack walked in.

He sat across from me. "How are you doing?"

"Good, the graphic designer can be ready for a conference call tomorrow at your convenience. I will send you his designs before the meeting. Would you like me to sit in on the call?"

"Yes, I would."

"Three of the location teams will be ready to pitch preliminary designs to you in nine days."

"Have them pitch to you and you bring the ideas to me. It will go faster that way. What about the other two locations?"

"I had to redirect them. They will get back to me tomorrow and I can give them eight days to pitch to me then. How are you doing?"

"Fine. I've been trying to sort through my executives to think of how to restructure the offices to free up more of my time."

"Well, that didn't take long."

"I meant what I said. I too want children. Whereas, you might understand late hours, children would not."

"Well, there is no rush on that score."

"Are you getting cold feet?"

"Not at all. I just know what a change it will be for you and I don't want you to be under more pressure than you already are."

"He walked around to me and pulled me up to stand in front of him. I am serious about a lifestyle change. Since I met you, I want that time for the two of us as well."

"Don't you think that those feelings will dwindle given time?"

"No. I don't."

"I don't want to rush you, but I want to be with you." He looked down at the swatch book on my desk. "I would have thought that your teams would be doing that."

"They are. But there are some similar colors in a few of the ideas. If I can save you money, I will."

"Alright. By the way, I heard from Mom. She wanted to know if everything was alright between the two of us. I told her I had been too pushy with you and you had let me know. She will forever be in your corner."

"No, sweetheart. She is in your corner. She just likes what she sees in you when you're with me."

"So, do I. Have a told you how beautiful you look?"

"Um, no. But to be fair, we were both in business mode this morning since we were coming in late."

"Iris. I have a few more hours of work. Take my card and go shopping. You really didn't bring that much with you. And I want you to have a good time while you are here."

"I don't need to shop to have a good time. Which reminds me. We haven't put that basket together for Molly."

"I'll call Michael to do it. We can take it over tonight if you want, or if you think you'll be too tired, Michael can take it over."

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

"Will you go look at clothes if nothing else. I'm sure you can find somethings here in Glasgow."

"I do have my own money, you know."

"I know. But I'd like to buy them. I want to take care of you."

"Jack,..."

He stopped my argument with a kiss. "Please, just take the card."

"I want to take care of you too. But what do you get the man who has everything?"

"You. Just you."

I directed the driver to Bergdorf Goodman's department store. I tried on a pair of chino pants and bought them in black. I looked at cocktail dresses and bought a sheaf dress in silver with ostrich feathers on the bottom hem. I also bought a dressy work dress in camel and cream dots. I bought some hose to go with it. I bought a few tank tops with silk big shirts to go over them. I also bought a bra and panty set in a light aqua color.

I texted Jack to inquire about his sizes.

"You're supposed to be shopping for yourself."

"I did. Now, I'm looking for you."

I bought him a cream colored casual shirt, a pair of khaki jeans and a sage tie.

Walking past the lingerie department, I saw a silk robe with a matching red slip. They were semi-transparent with silk ribbon around the top and the bottom.

As I was passing by the jewelry counter, I noticed a man's tie tack in an enameled treatment. It was masculine and artistic at the same time. I had to buy it for Jack.

I called the car to pick me up and take me back to the office. I texted Jack that I was back. He responded that he wasn't quite ready to leave. I told him to take his time. I was trying to find a subtle tartan carpet for his private rooms. I was looking through paint samples when he came in.

"Hey Baby, You're going to kill me. I need to stay another hour. Why don't I send you home in the car?"

"Jack I have plenty of work to do. If you think you will be more than an hour, I'll go. If it's an hour, I'll stay."

"An hour at the most."

I stood up and kissed him. When I turned to sit back down, he stopped me. "I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal. Please. Can I have your mom's number?"

"Sure." He gave it to me and left.

"Hi Nora, it's Iris."

"Hello honey, how are you?"

"I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm well. We were so happy to meet you, Iris."

"The same, the same. I wanted to tell you about Jack's private rooms attached to his new offices. He needs a shower and bedroom on those nights when he needs to watch the markets all night. I'm thinking of going with a beige, sage, dark blue green with pops of thistle purple. I want his room to feel like a haven of Scotland for him to relax in."

"That sounds lovely, darling."

"This is where you come in. You know some of his favorite spots and subjects for your works. I would like you to set aside at least six works that would be Scottish in nature, for Jack's spaces. But the rooms will be done in cool greens and beige."

"You're making it awfully easy for me. I already have pieces that fit that description."

"Are they matted and framed?"

"No, not yet."

"Good, keep them as is. Do you mind keeping them in your studio until they're needed?"

"No, not at all. I'm just pleased to make a contribution."

"A paid contribution, Nora. I know that they could be sold in a flash. And you deserve to be paid"

"Iris, I'm going to be nosy. Did you and Jack work things out yesterday?"

"Yes. He drove us to Dunnotter Castle ruins where we talked as the sun went down."

"He didn't drive those country roads at night, did he?"

"No, we stayed at a hotel in Aberdeen. We came back this morning and are at work as we speak."

"It's getting late. Tell that son of mine to feed you and take you home."

"Will do. Nora, thank you and thank Edward for me, for having me over yesterday. It was such a lovely day."

"Anytime, dear. Don't be stranger."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

I was jotting down some notes when Jack came in. "Are you ready for some dinner?"

"I have a headache. Do you think there is food at home?"

"I know there is. "Haddie made us some sort of chicken dish."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. Finally."

In the car, I fell asleep leaning against Jack. When we arrived home, I begged to go take a shower. I was not feeling well.

"You look pale. Are you alright?"

"I don't feel well. I must be coming down with something."

"What can I do for you?"

"Go ahead and eat without me. You must be famished."

He was concerned about me. He thought he shouldn't have kept me at the office for so long. He had a lot to learn about being responsible for someone else.

I came out of my bathroom and put on my warmest night shirt and looked for some wool socks in Jacks dresser. "Jack, do you have any wool socks I can borrow?"

"Of course, I do. You're chilled?"

"A little. Yes."

"Dammit, Iris. If I had known you weren't feeling well, I would have brought you home right away."

"I'm fine. I just want to go to sleep. I don't want to give you something. I'll just sleep in my room."

"No, you won't. Come here. Jump into bed...put these on. I'll bring you some chicken and dumplins before you fall asleep."

When he returned with food on a tray, he found me already asleep. "Iris, wake up. I want you to take these aspirin and eat some food. Drink some juice and then you can go back to sleep."

"Stop fussing. I'm fine."

"Just do as I say, and we'll both be fine."

When he took the tray back to the kitchen and put away the food, I fell back to sleep. When he saw that, it worried him. He took a shower and climbed into bed with me. I immediately huddled next to him for warmth. He got up, put another blanket on me and got back into bed.

In the morning, I was feeling better, but Jack didn't feel well. I brought him some tea. Haddie made him some poached eggs. He immediately ran to the bathroom and vomited.

"That's it, you're staying in bed."

"I can't Iris, I have so much work to do."

"First of all, you are not going in to give whatever this is to the rest of the office. And secondly, I'm sure you will feel well soon and be back at it."

When I went to take my shower, he tried to leave for work.

"Jack, please. Just get back into that bed."

He stumbled and fell. I tried, but I couldn't get him up.

I called for Michael and asked him to help me get Jack into bed.

"Michael, take Haddie and go home. We don't want to give this to you two. I am able to take care of Jack now, so we should be fine."

I was able to take my hot shower, dry my hair and get back into bed with Jack. He held me for warmth. I got up and put the extra blanket over him. He slept for another six hours. When he woke, I heated up some chicken and dumplins for him. He stayed awake and watched television for a couple of hours and then went back to sleep.

Jack woke me in the middle of the night. He had slept most of the day and now he was awake and delirious.

"Hi beautiful."

"Hi. Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really. But, I can't sleep any longer. I'm literally bored of sleeping."

"And so, you woke me to tell me that?"

"Yes, I guess I did. Hey! Why did you need my mom's number the other day?"

"I called her to talk about your inner rooms that I would like to use her artwork in. I had decided on a color scheme and wanted her to choose or paint work of a Scottish nature for your walls."

"That was a GOOD idea. Hey, you're really smart. You didn't ask me about a color scheme."

"Jack, if you were not so sick, you would remember that we did discuss color schemes and that you had no preference. When I pressed you on it, you said you liked greens."

"You know, I do like greens. What is the color scheme?"

"I was hoping to get your approval on cream, sage and a dark blue green."

"Wow, that sounds good. You're really smart."

"So, I've been told."

"If you were well, you would also remember that we discussed asking your mother to provide some of the artwork for your offices."

"She would love that!"

"Yes, she is very excited about it."

"That was really nice of you to think of my mother. You're really nice. My mother is also really nice. I have two nice women in my life."

"Jack? Have you been drinking?"

"No. Well, just a little sip."

"Aha, that explains a lot."

"If you are going to keep me awake, do you mind if I go get my laptop?"

"I don't mind at ALL!"