The Landlord's Protégé Pt. 05

She pulled into his drive, and realised she did not want to be there. It was his drive, his house, not hers. She was a guest. She did not like the thought.

She got out of the car and let the children out. Then the door opened, Ian stepped out, and the delight in his eyes and the happiness of his smile obliterated all those negative emotions. Meanwhile the children ran to him, Gail squealing with delight, and he swept them up into his arms, and stood triumphant, one child on each arm. All three were blissfully smiling.

She took one look and her heart surged with love, and she ran to his arms. She wrapped her arms round the trio, and he kissed her gently and lovingly.

"Welcome home," he whispered.

She stiffened. This was not home, not yet at any rate. This was his home, not hers.

He felt it. "Something the matter?" he asked, concerned.

"Tired," she lied. "It's a long drive with two youngsters."

She stood back, he put the children down and they ran off round the garden.

Then it was all action. He told her the van had arrived earlier and that all the contents were in the double garage.

Ian and Susan carried the bags up to the bedrooms.

"The kids can have a room each you know," said Ian as they took the bags into what she remembered was his bedroom.

"We can try," she said doubtfully. "They are used to sleeping in the same room, so there may be problems. We need to show Gail where Carl is so she can visit him."

"I'll leave you to sort out the bags. Shall I get the cot and put it together? I thought the room next to ours for Carl, and the next after that for Gail?"

She nodded and set to to unpack, taking the children's bags to what were to be their rooms. She saw that Ian had decorated Gail's room in a feminine style, and Carl's wallpaper was full of cartoon characters. She smiled. He was so thoughtful and obviously loved having the children.

When he brought up the pieces of the cot, she waited until he had put them down and then hugged him.

"The rooms are lovely. Did it take you long?"

"A few days. No problem. I enjoyed it. It would have been nice for us both to have chosen the paper and the furniture together, but you weren't here and I wanted the rooms ready for them when they got here."

She nodded. Her misgivings about this change in her life were slipping away. She reproved herself for forgetting what Ian was like.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was very busy, but by the children's bedtime they had found places for everything she had brought and they had fed the children who had settled in as if they had always been there.

Ian wanted to help put the children to bed. He wanted to read Gail a story. He wanted to change Carl. Susan was trying to adjust to this 'hands on' male, the second one she had loved, as well as the first in another sense! It brought a fleeting fond memory of Victor. Both the men were so different from Seth who never lifted a finger.

Once the children were asleep, Ian put an arm round Susan.

"Shall we go to bed as well?" he asked, "We can bring a bottle of Champagne, and some Cashew Nuts."

He grinned at her.

"Ian! You remembered! Cashews!"

"You always said you'd do anything for a cashew nut."

"You're my cashew nut now," she said with an impish grin. "Anything for you!"

He grinned again, and hugged and kissed her.

"Bring them on! Let's go." She urged.

Ian disappeared off to the kitchen, while Susan made for the bedroom. As she stripped, she looked afresh at the room. It was very... masculine, she thought. She slipped off her bikini knickers and climbed naked into bed.

He came through the door carrying a tray on which was a bucket containing a bottle of champagne, two flute glasses and some bowls with nibbles. It was a large tray which he placed on the dressing table.

He opened the bottle, poured the wine and brought it to her bedside drawers. Then he brought two bowls, one of crisps and the other of cashews. Susan held the duvet to her chest coyly.

He smiled and took two bowls and his glass to his chest of drawers, then took off his clothes. It could not be called a strip, he simply took everything off and climbed into bed. He turned to Susan who dropped her cover to reveal her firm, neat breasts to him.

He half sat with his back against the headboard and extended his arm to her and she came within it and leaned against him. It was comfortable there, and they sipped their drinks in silence. Ian turned on the radio and quiet music filled the room.

They chatted about her winding up her job and interviewing her successor, and Ian was surprised she had such influence on the company, though he apologised for inadvertently saying so.

"I ran the whole management of eight flats," she reproved him. "Everything, wages, tax, insurance, repairs, decoration, staff morale, the lot. It was very demanding and totally satisfying."

Ian went on to tell her about the family's delight she was coming home, relaying what each had said about her. She felt a warm glow, and they resolved that they would visit everyone that week before he had to return to work.

As soon as the Champagne was finished, Ian drew her into a closer embrace and they kissed more sensuously than before. His hand went to her breast and she sighed at the sensation, and she ran her fingers through his hair. He turned more to her and stroked her hair in his turn while his other hand made its way south. As he reached her sex, she stiffened.

"Can we just cuddle tonight?" she asked. "I'm feeling really tired, especially after all that wonderful champagne."

He started with surprise, but then relaxed and she knew he had been looking forward to sex as a welcome to his new partner. His solid erection proved it.

His face showed his disappointment but he smiled.

"That's OK," he said. "You get your sleep."

She was filled with gratitude at his selflessness. Seth would have 'taken' her regardless. She told herself she had to stop comparing Ian with Seth. There was in fact no comparison and in any case, Ian always came out on top.

On top. The thought gave her an idea. She turned onto her back, spread her legs as wide as she could and pulled him over her.

"I've changed my mind," she said. "I need you -- now."

She groaned as he pushed inside her until he filled her body and now, it seemed to her, her life.

Thirty minutes later, they were both sweaty, he was on his back and she was nestling on his shoulder, her legs wrapped round his thigh dampening him with their combined juices.

Correction, she thought on reflection, I don't just need you now, I need you for ever.

----

Chapter Twenty Seven

Victor sat in the comfortable padded chair on his terrace under his patio umbrella, enjoying the October afternoon sunshine. The garden was still full of autumn colour -- not his work, but his gardener's: Victor was not a gardener, but enjoyed his garden immensely. It was unseasonably warm, and he was making the most of it before the cooler days arrived.

His thoughts meandered aimlessly and eventually touched on Susan, who had been his protégé. He had employed her on a whim because she was a pretty young mother in need. He had done it against advice and he had been right.

She had said as much in her long letter to him which he received soon after she had left for the south. She had itemised each way he had promoted her, healed her and gave her the confidence she now had, how much she appreciated his love for her, and his loving her. He treasured that letter.

He had written back offering a reference from him and from George if she needed one, and she had. Now it appeared she was in property management and very happy.

Had it been over three months since she left to start her new life with Ian? He sighed. He missed her and the children. Until she finally left, he did not fully appreciate how much he loved the two little ones.

He sighed again, wondering what she was doing on this late Tuesday afternoon. Probably taking the children to a park to play, or more likely bringing them back home at that hour. He used to enjoy doing that -- taking them to the park with Susan, and sometimes by himself when she was working. He sighed, and realised he was doing a lot of sighing.

It seemed much longer than a year since he was embroiled in that disagreeable entanglement with the police and the legal system. It had changed his attitude to the police ever since then.

Oh, the officers who attacked him at his home were disciplined -- the Sergeant losing his job and pension, and then sent to prison with Seth for being his accomplice when the latter invaded Victor's realm, the others being reprimanded and put on probation.

He smiled ruefully: his laptop and home desktop computer had never recovered from the police attention. He had had to buy new.

He grinned as he remembered their puzzlement at being unable to break through the encryption system he used for his MoD work. There was some satisfaction in that, not that there was anything particularly secret in those files.

Now everything was back to the state it had been in before that fateful day when two bailiffs had attempted to rape Susan. Nick was a fitting successor to Susan; the place still looked pristine. Victor still had the flat there, but rarely used it now. Somehow it felt alien, besmirched. He had made some moves to sell it, but lacked the energy to do so.

He had thought he was happy and content until he got entangled with Susan. In the short time they were lovers, he had realised he had been living a life that had been merely tolerable. Now he was back to that life, it was no longer so. Not intolerable, but uncomfortable, unsatisfactory.

He thought back to his conversation with that woman -- what was her name -- over Christmas at the hotel. She had advised a dating agency, but things had been too busy even to consider it. Now he might, he thought.

One of his ex-army mates had suggested upmarket call-girls to relieve his frustration, but he could relieve frustration quite effectively for himself. Empty fucking would not satisfy any longer, what he wanted was someone to have a relationship with, to love, someone with similar interests, someone who would stay. Yes, he would survey dating agencies.

The evening drew on and the light was failing earlier as autumn drew on. He got himself something to eat, then checked his investments. He did it as a chore; it held no real interest for him any more. Again there was that wistfulness and regret. He felt his life was going nowhere.

He decided to see if Gordon and his wife felt like eating out with him next day and had picked up the phone when the doorbell rang. He muttered an imprecation to himself, wishing he had locked the pedestrian gate when he got home from the supermarket.

Someone urging him to change gas suppliers? Some unemployed teenager selling worthless housecleaning stuff at inflated prices? He didn't bother with the CCTV but went straight to the door, ready to dismiss the cold caller. There was the most fleeting thought that it might be Susan -- telling him it had not worked out with Ian. He gave an internal laugh at the very thought. He opened the door.

"Hello, Victor."

His jaw dropped, then he closed his mouth and stuttered, "Angela? What...?"

She smiled. "You remember when I left, I was going to try to make a go of it with Duncan? Well, by the time I got home, I knew that wouldn't work.

"You see, I'd already found someone else. Someone so much better for me. Someone so special that no one else would do. So I thought I'd see if he'd have me. I checked with George to see if there was still a vacancy. It's taken a month or two to work out my notice and leave my job."

"You've chucked in your job, left everything to come here?"

She nodded with a half smile. "To come to you, Victor."

Victor could not contain all the delirious feelings surging through him. The one thing he knew for certain was that he did want this woman who had earlier come to support him in his troubles when no one else would, and now she was saying she had burnt her boats, she wanted him so much. For good and always!

Her smile was confident; his was wider and welcoming.

"Come in, my love, come in!"

END