Pendelton Manor (13 page)

After finally getting the manor caught up from its previous neglect, she had settled into a routine that made sure everything was cleaned once a week which left her weekends free. A few times, when she had finished early during the week, she had gone into town and had dinner with Rachel or Nora, or both of them. They had gladly showed her their favorite cafes and places to shop other than their small boutique. She had gotten a library card so she had something new to read in the evenings and had gotten so settled into her new surroundings that the only thing she missed about her home was being able to visit Emily’s grave, something that was weighing heavily upon her today.

Sophie looked out her bedroom window at the gloomy, grey day that seemed to match her melancholy mood perfectly. She had known this day was coming, the two year anniversary of Emily’s death, and the pain of her loss was no more acute today than any other day, but it was one of those days that she usually visited the cemetery with a bundle of pink, baby roses and spent time sitting on the bench near her plot praying her daughter knew how much she had loved her, how much she missed her, and how sorry she was she couldn’t save her.

Feeling the grief welling up inside her, Sophie left her room and spent the rest of the afternoon walking the cliffs, lost in her memories as the pain of Emily’s loss filled her with a despair she wondered if she’d ever get over. The past few weeks had been so busy with getting acclimated to her new job, trying to fit in with everyone and learning her way around, not to mention the reawakening of her dormant sex life, that she had been able to stave off allowing the depression over Emily’s loss to consume her until today. Today, she couldn’t seem to fight off her low mood.

The fresh air and brisk walk did little to soothe her today, but she never failed to be awed by the breathtaking beauty of the Maine coast. All along the coast, jagged rocks and cliffs with a view of bays and inlets were a visual contrast of the forested slopes sweeping down to the sea. The landscape reminded her of the poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay that Adrian had hanging in his office, ‘All I could see from where I stood, was the long mountains and a wood. I turned and looked the other way and saw three islands in a bay’. The first time she had seen and read it she had been surprised that her taciturn boss had a whimsical streak in him, which reminded her how little she really knew him.

Stopping near the edge of the cliff, Sophie glanced down to where the cold waters of the Atlantic battered against the rocky shore, much like her emotions were battering her senses today. Along this stretch of Pendelton land, there was no sandy beach, just steep jagged cliff sides that ended at the ocean’s gate. Glancing out across the wide expanse of never ending water, instead of the ocean blue meeting sky blue, ocean blue met dark, roiling clouds. Resigning herself to a long night ahead in not only dealing with her melancholy, but also with what was forecasted to be a hell of a storm, she turned back home.

As the wind picked up and the temperature seemed to drop, Sophie hugged her arms around her, the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore below her following her. Unexplainably, the urge to seek out Adrian grew in her the closer she got to home. Normally she preferred to be alone when these moods were upon her, preferring to mourn and grieve by herself than to listening to platitudes from well-meaning people, but people who were clueless to what she felt. When she entered the courtyard and saw James packing up his gardening equipment, she went over to him in the hopes he could tell her where Adrian was.

“It looks like the forecasters were right for a change and a big one’s rolling in,” James said as she waved.

Sophie shuddered at just the thought of what was coming. Trying to hide her unease and mask her grief, she asked, “Have you seen Adrian? He was gone when I came downstairs this morning.” She had no idea why she was asking about him or why she had the urge to seek out a man who had been so intent on keeping his distance from her, or why, when James shook his head, she felt so let down.

“Sorry, haven’t seen him today. I know he sent Ash up north again to deal with another problem at the same mill he was just at, and Adam and Nora won’t be back from visiting her parents in Portland for a few hours yet. Rachel and I had planned on spending the evening at her place, but we can come over tonight, if you want. Is something wrong, Sophie, or is it just the weather that’s bothering you?”

His green eyes were sympathetic as well as curious, making Sophie wish she had just waved and gone inside. She didn’t want to come across as pathetic, so she simply smiled, saying, “No, just a few questions about the house that can wait. You and Rachel stay in. Like you said, it looks like it’s going to be a bad night to be out. I hope Adam and Nora get back before the storm breaks.”

Glancing at the sky, James said, “It’s still several hours out yet. Don’t worry though, the house is solid as a rock and there’s a back-up generator if the power goes out. This place has weathered a lot of storms and come out unscathed.”

Sophie could tell by his voice he had a fondness for the manor. “It must have been fun hanging out here while growing up.” She could picture the four of them running around causing havoc and acting like boys.

A smile filled with fond memories split his weathered face. “We did have some good times running up and down those halls and climbing these cliffs. Until we discovered girls, that is.” He winked at her then gathered up his pruning shears. “I’ve got to run. Don’t let the storm bother you tonight, Sophie.”

That was easier said than done, Sophie thought a few hours later as the storm blew in with gusto. Adam and Nora had come in earlier, greeted her as she sat in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea and her new library book, denying to herself she was waiting to see if Adrian came in. Between the howling wind, the beating rain and hail, the jagged streaks of lightning followed swiftly by loud thunder claps and her never ending plaguing grief over Emily’s loss, she once again found herself tossing and turning in bed, unable to get to sleep. Poor Sammy had given up on her and had jumped off the bed to lay curled up on a plush chair, the storm obviously not bothering her in the least.

By midnight, the frenzied storm inside her matched that of the one raging outside in intensity so that when the lights went out she jolted upright in bed before stumbling blindly towards her door. The dark hallway was barely lit by a battery operated light in the wall that came on automatically with the loss of electricity, its meager light casting shadows eerily along the corridor. The door to Adam’s room at the other end was closed and, except for the constant barrage from the elements pounding the manor with loud, vigorous force, there wasn’t another sound. Taking deep breaths, Sophie willed her heartbeat to slow as she rubbed her clammy hands down her nightshirt. James had said a back-up generator would kick in if the power went out, but she had no idea how long that would take. When minutes passed with her still rooted in her open doorway, her hand clutching the wall for support, she decided she didn’t want to be alone in the dark, waiting for God knew how long.

Bothering Adam and Nora was out of the question, so, picking up Sammy and cuddling her close, she turned to the staircase that led up to Adrian’s floor and, praying he was there and awake, she fled to where she felt safest.

Chapter Seven

Somehow, Adrian wasn’t surprised to see Sophie on the other side of his door when he opened it to her timid knock. He had tried without success to delegate her back to employee status only, but the memory of her small, slender body riding that dildo, her tormented eyes locked on his, refused to leave him, which did nothing to improve his already irritable disposition. Adam and Ash had called him on it several times which had led to more unproveable accusations and widened the growing rift between them. Even easy going James had cautioned him to lighten up, which of course, he had ignored.

Sophie had his house looking better than it had in years. The rich woodwork gleamed from her efforts, there wasn’t a cobweb in sight, the floors were kept swept and even the light fixtures shined brighter from being cleaned. Those light fixtures that had remained dark for too long now, telling him there was a glitch with the generator. Despite the glow from small battery powered lights that he had installed in every room in the house, he knew most of the house remained in the dark. He had managed to find his flashlight and was headed out to check the generator while trying to ignore the urge to go check on Sophie when she knocked on his door.

As soon as the storm had rolled in and opened up, he had thought of her, wondered how she was faring, how she was dealing with her irrational fear and how she had coped today on the second anniversary of her daughter’s death, a date that had been included in his background check of her. He didn’t care, he had told himself repeatedly throughout the day, but looking down into her face, a face dominated by achingly sad big blue eyes filled with fear and unimaginable grief, he knew he had been kidding himself. He cared more than he wanted to, more than he should considering his personal agenda and more than was wise considering her fragile state of mind.

Hardening his resolve, he glared at her as he demanded roughly, “What are you doing up here? Why aren’t you in bed?”

Sophie looked up into that coldly implacable face and wondered the same thing. What was it about him that constantly drew her to him even when she knew it was a very unwise course of action? The meager light from the flashlight in his hand cast his face in shadows, giving him a sinister look. Was she a fool for trusting this man, a man once accused of causing his wife’s death? As the storm continued to rage with brutal intensity, lightning splitting the dark wall of clouds followed swiftly by rolling thunder loud enough to shake the rafters, her senses vacillated between fear and arousal.

She swallowed convulsively past the lump lodged in her throat as she took in his bare chest and feet and the obvious erection straining against the zipper of his jeans. He was a big, dominating man, a hard man both physically and emotionally and she knew she was way out of her element with him. Another silver, jagged streak of lightning struck at that moment, so bright it lit up his room from the two sets of French doors for a brief second before cloaking it in darkness again, the thunder that came on its heels making her visibly jump.

“I-I’m sorry. I know it’s stupid, but I didn’t want to be alone. I hate storms and it’s so dark, and today… today was s-such a bad day…”

Adrian stifled the urge to pull her into his arms and offer her comfort. Instead, he interrupted her excuses and gave her one more chance to avoid the inevitable. “If you come in, I’m going to fuck you. Is that what you want?”

She didn’t know if she was ready to take that step, she thought, but she did know she didn’t want to return to her cold, dark room to deal with her cold, dark memories and fears alone. The urge to stay and yield to the searing need which had been building for days was stronger than the urge to flee, and clutching Sammy tightly, she nodded, not trusting her voice. Something dark and wild glittered in his pitiless black eyes as he hauled her into his room, his move making Sammy leap from her arms and run to make herself comfortable on the bed as Adrian pushed her against the wall and took her mouth in a hard, ruthless kiss.

A better man wouldn’t take advantage of her vulnerable state, the fear and sadness eating at her. A better man would offer her comfort, a safe haven from the storm and a shoulder to lean on if she so chose. A better man would keep his lust in check and his own fragile emotions guarded. Too bad he wasn’t a better man, Adrian thought as he took his first taste of her mouth, felt those soft, plump lips open against his, welcomed the taste of her on his tongue as he explored every inch of her mouth. When she moaned and leaned into him, her soft breasts flattening against his bare chest, her nipples tight, stiff points stabbing him through her shirt, he knew she was on board with him in this, and probably about as happy with the inevitability of this moment as he was.

Grinding his denim covered cock against her crotch, he released her mouth just enough to ask harshly again, “Do you still want to stay?”

“Yes,” Sophie answered quickly before she gave herself time to think. She didn’t want to think any more tonight, she just wanted to feel, to block out the storm and the face on her night shirt that she knew she’d never see again, to hold off the fear and pain with pleasure for as long as possible. If sex with him was anything remotely close to the pleasure she felt from his mouth ravaging hers, she would gladly suffer any recriminations for their actions later.

“Then strip and bend over the bed.” Without waiting to see if she would obey, Adrian turned and set the flashlight on a side table, its beam on high to help illuminate her way as he made his way unerringly to an armoire that held a few pieces of equipment he hadn’t used since he stopped sleeping with Nicole. After retrieving a round, leather paddle, he turned to find Sophie had done exactly as he ordered, her face buried in her folded arms on the bed, her ass high, her feet planted about a foot apart.

“Very good, Sophie,” he said as he ran his hand softly over one soft cheek before squeezing that plump flesh until she wriggled against his hand.

For the first time tonight, Sophie was glad for the darkness as she bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud when she felt instant pleasure from just his hand caressing her ass. Since this entire floor was one open room, the flashlight at the other end lent only a soft yellow aura too far away to give much illumination at this end of the room and the wall battery operated light lent just enough light to make out the furniture without giving away details.

“Tell me how this compares to a hand smacking your buttocks.”

Sophie thought she had been prepared for something other than his hand against her sensitive skin, but the blossoming pain spreading across her right buttock from what felt like a leather paddle had her yelping in surprise then moaning as the sting pulsed and heat spread across her ass. The next swat landed on her other buttock with the same results, heated pain that dwindled as the blood flow ebbed, leaving behind a dull throb and an ache for more.