Authors: Sabel Simmons
The bed was empty and
he heard the shower running in the bathroom. He wondered if Clarissa heard the
conversation between them, but with an unconcerned shrug, he turned to leave
the room and took a shower in the spare room.
That was what he
wanted, right? For her to realize that she meant nothing to him anymore. That
he could spend night after night in her arms, and walk away the next day.
Yet, he could not shake
the feeling of loss and loneliness that crept over him as he stood under the
warm cascading water.
Clarissa stood under
the shower until she calmed down. If nothing else, the conversation Raymond
had with Robby was the final nail in the coffin, in her hope that their
relationship would develop in something more.
The fact that he was
not aware that she was awake made it so much more real. There was no future
for them. She had to accept that he did not love her anymore and that he would
not come to love her again.
She had totally and
irrevocably, ruined her own happiness. Just as Raymond predicted all those
years ago, what did she have to show for it? She chose a career and now, she
had nothing. No love, no happiness; only loneliness stretched out in her
future.
She knew she would
never love again. Her one and only love has always been and would always be
Raymond St Claire.
With the towel wrapped
around her, she went in search of her clothes and found a neat pile of clean
clothes spread out on the bed. The selection consisted of blue jean shorts and
a white tank top, with a skimpy white G-string and lacy bra lying on top, even
matching white strappy sandals.
Raymond must have gone
to her cottage to fetch her some fresh clothes. Underneath his ruthless
exterior, he was naturally a caring man and she felt a knot form in her
stomach. How was she going to face a future without him? Now that he was in
her life again, she could not picture going on without him in her future.
She stood brushing her
hair with a brush she found on the dressing table when Raymond walked in. He
looked fresh and very attractive, in his black shorts and loose white shirt that
hugged his muscled body like a lovers’ glove.
She turned to him, but
avoided his eyes. He lifted her chin with his thumb and forced her eyes up to
his. It was the first night he spend the whole night with her since his
arrival. The look in his eyes was inscrutable as he searched hers. With a
sigh, he lowered his head and kissed her softly on her lips.
“Breakfast is ready.”
“Oh no, I can’t stay…”
“Yes you can. It is
Sunday, so you have no reason to go to the hotel. Your day off, remember?
Besides, you have to eat and Aunt Retha prepared a special breakfast in your
honor.”
Ignoring any further
protests, he drew her along with him down the stairs onto the patio where Retha
has set the table and they were all waiting for her.
“Clarissa, dear, how are
you feeling this morning? Come sit down, everything is ready.”
“Thanks, but you should
not have gone to so much trouble. I’m fine thank you. Those tablets of yours
really performed a miracle. I thought it was going to take days for the
migraine to clear.”
“Do you get them often,
my dear?” Miguel asked with concern.
“At least five or six
times a year, for the past si … six years.” She faltered as she realized her
migraines only started the same time she started working for Princeton Hotels.
“It must be all the
stress. We are clearly working you too hard. Well, let’s forget about work and
hotels and enjoy breakfast. ”
Robby nodded and
eagerly reached for the plate his aunt just loaded for him. Clarissa watched
in amazement as he started guzzling down his food. In between, he smiled up at
her when he noticed her looking at him.
“Goodness Robby, you
seem to be very hungry. Did you not have supper last night?”
“Of course I had supper
last night, Rissa, but that was ages ago! My stomach is empty as a bucket
again!”
Everyone laughed and
with a sly look at Raymond, Retha said in an undertone. “I know of a few other
stomachs that are empty because they had other things on their mind last
night…”
“Aunt Retha!” Raymond
reprimanded her and Clarissa’s cheeks flushed red.
“Don’t mind me, dear.
I was just saying, the tray I took up to you came back untouched, so …”
Raymond glared at her
so ferociously that she swallowed the rest of her sentence, but smiled broadly
at her husband who winked back at her.
Before Raymond could
say anything else Robby sing-songed across the table. “Daaaddy kissed Riiiissa
… Daaaaddy kissed Riiiissa…”
“Robert!” Raymond
thundered at the smiling boy across from him and Clarissa’s cheeks burned even
more.
“But Daddy, you did!”
He gazed at his father
with the pretend innocence of the young. He grinned widely and looked at his
aunt.
“AND they slept UNDER
the sheets in the SAME bed! So they are married!”
Retha and Miguel
laughed whilst Clarissa and Raymond groaned in unison.
“Robert, I thought I
explained to you earlier that …”
Robby waved his
father’s protests away. “Yes, I know, but I don’t think you understand how
married works, Daddy.”
He looked at his Dad
with a serious expression on his face. “You should ask Aunty Retha to explain
it to you more. Besides, I am not getting any younger and I need a mommy!”
Retha burst out
laughing at his appropriate use of her favorite phase, when she wants something
from Miguel.
“I think he has been in
your presence too long, Retha.” The merriment in both of their eyes, were too
much for Cecile, who arrived just as Robby expressed his wishes.
“Well, Robby, you will
have to look elsewhere for a mommy. Clarissa is famous for running out on
people and you would be left high and …”
“Mother!” Raymond
thundered at her and he felt anger mounting to the surface. Especially as
Robby’s face fell immediately.
“Cecile, your normal
polite self I see. What brought you to our doorstep this morning?” Miguel’s
tone of voice clearly indicated that she was not welcome.
Cecile huffed, ignoring
Raymond’s fuming gaze on her, she settled on a chair at the end of the table
next to him.
“Well, I am family, so
I did not think I needed to wait for an invitation.”
“You are more than
welcome here, Cecile. Provided you behave yourself and not insult others we
hold dear.”
“Hold dear! Please,
since when do you hold her dear! You know exactly what she is! What have you
got up your sleeve, Miguel?”
“Mother … enough. I do
not want to hear another word against Clarissa. Is that clear?”
“But, Raymond…”
“No buts. Either that,
or you are welcome to leave.” Raymond glowered at his mother and his hand
closed around Clarissa’s knee, softly stroking the tender skin on the inside of
her leg. He could feel the tension in her and expected her to leap up at any
time.
“Breakfast, Cecile?”
Retha handed her a plate with her lips compressed.
“Don’t mind if I do.”
Wednesday was again a bustling day with
everyone rushing to give the St Claire’s the best anniversary and birthday
party ever. Clarissa moved around from the kitchen to the banquet hall to make
sure everything was ready.
She stood in the
doorway leading into the banquet hall, a soft smile on her lips as she noticed
Bette in the middle of the decorating flurry. She always liked to be part of
the decorating and party arrangements and Clarissa gave her free reign to
organize everything for the party. Bette naturally did a superb job.
“Bette … everything
looks absolutely lovely! Where did you find all the time to get everything
ready so soon after the Pirates Week?”
Bette snorted: “Not
mentioning names, but following my eyes, unlike others who have been sleeping
till all hours in the mornings lately, I have been grafting since sunrise the
past three days to get everything ready.” She rolled her eyes suggestively
towards Clarissa saying this.
Clarissa felt her
cheeks burn, but could not eradicate the soft smile from her lips. Raymond has
been extremely attentive and tender towards her since Sunday, even sleeping
with her and making love to her every morning before allowing her to dress and
go to work. Hence her being late every day.
Bette glanced at
Clarissa, noticing the tender smile on her lips, the bright, shiny eyes and
worried the inside of her cheek. She prayed that Clarissa would not be hurt
again. She told Bette their history the week before and it was as clear as
daylight that Clarissa still loved him with all her heart.
“Well, we won’t get
things done standing around looking pretty all day! There is still a lot to be
done. C’mon, Boss, I need your assistance with the centerpiece for the buffet
table. You are more of an expert with flowers than I.”
She pulled Clarissa
towards the buffet area, chatting all the way.
Once they finished with
all the preparation, Clarissa was so hot; she decided to go for a quick swim in
the sea. This time of the afternoon the water was very tranquil, perfect for a
lazy swim.
Dressed in a black
bikini, with a black and white chiffon wrap tied around her waist, she strolled
down to the beach, enjoying the sunshine on her exposed skin. There was not
much time to enjoy the sun and surf this time of year.
She spread her towel
near the edge of the water, untied the wrap around her waist and sank down on
the towel, breathing in the fresh salty air.
Two small hands circled
her from behind, covering her eyes. The young voice deepened to growl in her
ear. “Guess who!”
“Hmmm, now let me see …
who do I know that sounds so big and strong? Uhm, is it Tarzan?”
Robby peeled in
laughter, let go of her eyes and wrapped his small arms around her neck from
behind.
“It’s me, silly!”
“Oh, I’m sorry … it’s
Tarzan’s boy!”
He laughed again.
“Daddy, Rissa says you’re Tarzan!”
“First I’m Blackbeard,
now Tarzan. What next Miss Langston?”
She looked up as he
lowered himself next to her on the tiny space left on her towel. His side and
thigh touching hers scorched a trail of fire all the way down to her toes.
He leaned forward and
kissed her deeply. She leaned into him and returned the kiss. His tongue
stroked the seam of her lips begging for entrance, which she willingly offered
and their tongues met in a passionate dance.
“Argh! Not again!
You’re kissing again! How can you breathe when you do that?”
Smilingly Raymond
pulled away from Clarissa, looked up at his son standing next to him.
“You just wait and see,
my boy. Not so far in the future, you will also be kissing some girl and not
worry about breathing.”
“Oh, jig, no! Not
me!” He pulled his face, grabbed Raymond by the hand and pulled.
“C’mon Dad, let’s go
swim. Rissa, come swim with us.”
The three of them ran
hand in hand towards the sea, played and frolicked for close to an hour.
Clarissa laughingly withdrew from them and fell down on her towel, tired but
completely relaxed.
Robby and Raymond
played around for a while longer, then Raymond came over and joined her on the
towel; Robby happily building a sand castle a short distance from them. He
entertained them non-stop with his funny sayings.
Raymond leaned into
Clarissa, his gaze on her softly smiling lips. She noticed the hungry look in
his eyes.
“Ray … no … Robby … “
“Robby is fine, I’m
not. If I don’t get a kiss right this minute, I will dissolve into a cloud of
steam.”
His mouth closed over
hers and his upper body pressed her down in the sand. Her hands crept over his
shoulders to caress his muscled back. The kiss deepened and she sighed in
bliss. His mouth left hers to explore lazily over her cheek to settle on her
earlobe.
She felt her stomach
muscles tighten, she rubbed her leg up and down Ray’s hairy one and he groaned
in her ear.
“Woman … if you want us
to create a scandal … continue doing that …”
His tongue slipped in
and out her ear and she moaned as she felt the heat rush down her stomach to
settle low between her legs.
“Ray … stop … please …
I …”
“Ugh! Daaaad! Not
again!”
Reluctantly Raymond
pulled away from her; looked deep into her eyes, hazed over with desire, then
placed a soft tender kiss on her lips.
He jumped up and Robby, realizing his
intend, squeaked and started racing towards the sea. Raymond caught up with
him and swung him high in the air. His excited shrieks were sure to be heard
miles down the beach.
“Robert, you are giving
me a headache. Please stop this nonsense and nagging me all the time.”
Raymond glared at
Robby, but could not gather the usual fiery emotion behind his words,
especially with his own replica gazing up at him so innocently.
“But Daaad … you even
stay with Rissa every night! So that DOES mean …”
Raymond groaned so loud
Robby stopped and grabbed his hand worriedly.
“Dad, are you okay?
You’re not getting sick are you?”
“No Robby, I am not
sick, apart from that headache I just mentioned.”
“Yes, but Daaad … as I
was saying … “
“As you were saying …
nothing! Who says I am staying with Clarissa every night?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Robert, do not answer
a question with a question!”
When did this little
boy become so clever? He did not even talk or think like a little boy, more
like a child twice his age! He acted so grown up. He cleared his throat and
smiled, realizing that his son was exactly the way he was as a little boy. Way
too clever for his age!
“Well, no one, Dad. I
just wanted to sleep with you the other night, but you were not there and this
morning I wanted us to go swimming with sunrise and you were not there, AND
your bed was still made up. So, heeellloooo…”
“So therefore you just
automatically assumed I was with Clarissa? Look Robby, this is grown-up stuff.
There are things you would not understand.” He held his hand up as another
“But Daaad ...,” filled his ears.
“No, no more! Let’s
go for that swim. We’ll even do some board surfing.”
“Really … really,
really? Cool! WAY Cool!”
Raymond always said no to board surfing,
as he felt Robby was still too small, but at least that got him off his
one-track mind from Clarissa becoming his new mommy!
Satisfied that the party was a huge
success, Clarissa fell in bed just past midnight. She was exhausted after the
past two and a half weeks and left with the party still in full swing. Bette
however, managed fine and she would make sure it continued that way until all
the guests partied enough.
The smile on her
lips when she snuggled into her pillows, were indicative of her happiness. She
spent most of the night in Raymond’s arms on the dance floor. They always
loved dancing and he was an excellent dancer, it was pure bliss.
Now lying in bed, her
feet throbbing and her body tired beyond imagination, she had hope for their
future. He clearly broke any association, if there even was one, between him
and the petite blond woman that hanged on his arm since their arrival.
The way he treated her,
the attention he gave her, in public and in front of his mother were more than
enough affirmation that he must still have feelings for her. With a smile on
her face and bliss in her heart, she fell in a deep, exhausted sleep.
Raymond stood looking
down at the sleeping woman as the moonlight softly caressed her beautiful
face. He knew she was exhausted; still he was upset when he realized she had
slipped away without telling him or asking him to join her.
However, it was his
uncle’s party, so he would not have been able to leave before they did
anyway. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. His fingertips
softly grazed the slope of her breast, and he smiled as the nipple immediately
puckered into a hard little nub. He contemplated getting into bed with her,
but knew very well, he would not only be able to sleep and not make love with
her. She needed some sleep.
Straightening, he
turned and left to wander listlessly down the pathway to his uncle’s cottage.
He undressed and pulled on a pair of sleeping shorts. Opening the balcony
door he always left open during the night, he walked out onto the balcony. A
soft, yet warm breeze brushed over him.
He sighed and stood
gazing out to the sea. His mind and his heart were in turmoil. Robby’s
constant nagging about Clarissa augmented it to fester inside him constantly.
He pulled his hands through his hair and grunted.
What was he to do? He,
who have always been so in charge of his feelings and emotions. When he
arrived here and came across Clarissa, the hurt and hatred that festered inside
him over the years came to the surface and all he wanted to do was hurt her, as
much as he hurt all those years ago.
Now, all he wanted to
do was treasure her … love her. Yet all those years of hurt and hate still
lingered inside him. Mistrust and insecurity were now the biggest emotions
that raged through him. Was what she was showing towards him now, really what
she felt in her heart, or was it once again her way of guaranteeing her future
with the Princeton Group?
His fist came down on the balustrade
with a thud. Damn his mother for telling him about Henry Scott all those years
ago, damn Henry Scott for confirming the story!
Clarissa waved the final group of
Miguel’s friends’ goodbye; the shuttle taking them to the airport pulled away.
Smilingly, she turned to Miguel.
“Well, Miguel, have you
at least enjoyed your party and having all your friends here?”
Miguel beamed at her.
“Oh yes. You did a superb job!”
“You’ll have to thank
Bette. I handed all responsibilities over to her for your party. I’m sure
she’ll be thrilled.”
“It will most definitely
be done. I’ve checked with her earlier and you are relatively free today.
Please join us for brunch at the cottage, just to say thank you for all you
have done for us.”
“It was only a pleasure
and of course I’ll join you.”
Retha linked her arm
through Clarissa’s. “No time like the present. Come, everything is ready.
And you’re even dressed appropriately.”
Clarissa smiled. It
was actually her day off and she planned to spend the day exploring a bit. She
knew Raymond would be spending his mother’s last day in her company, so she
needed to get away to think.
“Ok, but I will be
leaving directly after brunch. I planned on exploring for the day, but half
the day is more than enough time to relax.”
Upon arrival, Clarissa
stiffened as she noticed Cecile lounging in a chair at the patio table. Robby
sulked next to Raymond, standing next to the balustrade leading onto the steps
to the beach.
When Robby noticed
Clarissa, his face lit up and he sped in her direction. Bracing herself she
caught his sturdy body and lifted him high, groaning playfully.
“I’m going to have to
eat a lot more staple food if I were to keep on catching you like this. You’re
so strong!”
Robby laughed in glee
and pumped his muscles at her. She lowered him to the ground; he grabbed her
hand and pulled her towards the patio and his dad.
Raymond smiled down at
her, draped his arm around his shoulder, but Cecile ignored her greeting.
She sneered at
Clarissa, “You should not encourage the little boy, you know. Everyone knows once
they leave here, you’ll never see him again, so you’re just …”
Robby gave a strangled
cry, looked up with tears and confusion in his eyes at Clarissa and Raymond.
“Dad …”
Cecile snorted. “See …
it is already too late! Stop it Robert, there is absolutely no reason to cry
over this little tar…”