Sudden Pleasures

Chapter 7

"Where is your master?" the lady Cordelia asked W Quinn. "You are not supposed to show yourself if he is in the house."

"He was called to the palace, mistress," Quinn replied. "I have missed you."

"Bold creature!" she scolded him, looking down at the big hands holding the leather tawse. "How do you know where he has gone? The tribune cannot bear the sight of you, so why would he inform you of his whereabouts?" She did not take the tawse up.

"One of the other slaves tells me where the master is at all times so I will not offend him even by accident," Quinn answered her. "If I have displeased you, mistress, then you must punish me." He looked up at her hopefully.

"No," she said. "I am not in the mood to punish you now. How long has my husband been gone?"

"Less than half an hour, and it takes that long to get through the midday streets to the palace, mistress," he said slyly. "He will undoubtedly be kept waiting by Caesar for some time. Perhaps the rest of the day. And then he must make his way home again. You may not see the master until midnight, mistress, or even tomorrow." Reaching out, he slipped his hand beneath the hem of her tunic and up her leg.

Ashley looked down at him thoughtfully. If what he said was true, then it would be some time until she saw the tribune. Fingers caressed the soft flesh of her inner thigh. They slid through her nether lips, seeking her clit. "You are a bad slave, Quinn," she told him as he began to tease at the sensitive little nub. "Ummm, yes, that is nice."

"I but live to serve you, mistress," Quinn answered her.

She pulled her tunic up over her head and off, tossing it aside. "Lick me, you bad creature," she ordered him.

He parted the lips of her labia with his two thumbs, holding them wide. Then his tongue began to draw over her flesh, first up one side, and then down, repeating the action on the other side of her nether lips. The tip of his tongue delved about her clit, probing, teasing at it, until it began to swell with her arousal. The sounds coming from her told him he was succeeding in pleasuring her. Leaning as close as he might get to her, her scent filling his nostrils and exciting him, he took her clit into his mouth and sucked hard upon it. She screamed softly, squirming. He sucked harder, two of his long fingers now pushing into her vagina. Two strokes, and she climaxed.

Without asking her permission he pulled her down to the floor with his big hands. Spreading her wide, he mounted the woman beneath him and thrust his engorged penis into the hot swamp of her fevered sex. Her nails raked his long back, and she scolded him for his boldness, all the while exhorting him to fuck her hard and deep. "I live to serve you, mistress," he repeated, his long, thick rod flashing back and forth with increasing rapidity while she thrashed beneath him in a frenzy of lust. And then she came. Her juices flowed copiously as he spasmed within her.

"Get off of me, you great beast!" she finally said. "Now I will whip you for your presumption, Quinn!" She pushed at him.

"If I were still the warrior I was born," he told her daringly, "I would fuck you again and again, mistress, until you begged for my mercy."

"Would you?" she purred at him as he rolled away from her. Then, getting to her feet, she picked up the leather that had earlier rested in his hands. "Get on your hands and knees now, Quinn!" she ordered him. And when he had obeyed her she laid five strokes upon his broad back, now well marked by her sharp nails. "Now leave me," she told him when she had finished. "You are beginning to bore me, I fear."

He scrambled to his feet, a puzzled look upon his handsome face, and left her. The lady Cordelia called to her slave women and went to her bath, where she was scraped free of the dirt and sweat upon her body, bathed, rinsed, and then left for a short while in a perfumed bathing pool. When she finally emerged she was thoroughly dried, and then massaged with fragrant creams until she was completely relaxed again.

The sex slave had taken the edge off of her lust, but she wanted her husband, the tribune, between her legs, not Quinn. If Caesar did indeed return him to Gaul she would go with him. And she was going to sell Quinn. General Flavonius's wife had admired him from the first time she had.seen him at a party several of the women held for their amusement while their husbands were away. Indeed, many of the women had coveted Quinn. She would hold an auction and let him go to the highest bidder. She spent the rest of the day napping, eagerly awaiting her husband's arrival home. And when he finally arrived she melted into his arms.

"I have missed you the day long, Max," she told him.

"I am to be sent back to Gaul," he said, his lips brushing hers.

"I will go with you," the lady Cordelia said.

"It is not Rome," he replied.

"We will make it our own little Rome," she responded.

"My villa is not large, and it has not the amenities of this one," he warned her.

"We will enlarge it and add what we need, Max. I don't want to be without you any longer. And I am going to sell Quinn. Many of my friends have admired him. I should realize a nice profit from the sale, and I will use it to make our new home perfect."

"I think you will regret your decision, Cordelia, but I am not unhappy to have you come. It is lonely in northern Gaul, and cold," he warned her.

"And your whores smell," she teased him. "Now you will not have to avail yourself of those savage females, Max, for you will have me to fuck whenever you want to, my darling!"

"I am of a mind to fuck you now, wife, for your speech excites me," he told her, pulling her into his arms, one hand kneading her breast. "Yes, I very much want to fuck you right now!" he said, yanking his garment off.

She felt his cock-thick, hard, long-against her belly, and she was so eager for him. And then Ashley heard the ping of the Channel's warning bell. "Damn!" she swore as she felt her fantasy sliding away, and she awoke in her bed alone. Wednesday. It was Wednesday, and she had two long days and another long night ahead of her before Ryan got home. She rolled over, and slipped back into sleep for a few more hours.

He hadn't gotten back to her yesterday after she had called him about his sisters, but she expected he would eventually. The five harpies were his problem. Yesterday's little incident had made it certain in her mind that she wasn't going to like them at all. She and her brother had never been like that with each other. They had gladly shared everything they had between them. If one had a success, the other cheered that success. Oh, yes, she and Ben had had their disagreements, but neither of them would have ever deliberately tried to hurt the other. She didn't understand how his sisters could be that way. It wasn't as if their father hadn't remembered them when he died. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each was a damned nice inheritance. And it had been Ryan who had seen that they got that money. Money he had made for their father.

Lacy Nothings was being inundated with new merchandise when Ashley got down to the shop. Jerry, their UPS man, was lugging it all in from his truck and piling it on the counters and floor.

He grinned as he handed her the clipboard to sign. "Looks like Christmas is coming," he said. "Do you think that teddy I ordered for my girlfriend is in one of those boxes? It sure looked sexy in the catalog, Ms. Kimbrough. And thanks for getting it in her size. Not many shops carry sexy stuff above a twelve."

"I'll go through the shipment today and see," Ashley promised him, signing, and then handing him back his clipboard. "It should be in this shipment or the next. We'll have it in time for her birthday next month, I promise. And it's Mrs. Mulcahy now. I got married August twenty-fifth."

"I thought I heard some gossip around the village about that," Jerry admitted. He had been the UPS man in Egret Pointe for almost fifteen years now. He knew everyone and just about everything that happened in the town.

"What's the gossip on Emily Devlin?" Nina asked boldly.

"I just delivered some baby things over there on Friday," Jerry said. "Essie says she won't get a nanny cause she likes being a mom. She's hurrying to finish her latest book," Jerry informed them. "You can tell she's real Egret Pointe, like you are, Mrs. Mulcahy. She's got that good work ethic. Well, gotta go. Truck is pretty full today."

"That man knows everything that's to know," Nina said with a chuckle.

Before Ashley might answer, her cell rang, and, pulling it from the pocket of her slacks, she flipped it open. "This is Ashley," she said.

"Hey, wife," she heard Ryan's voice. "I got your message yesterday. Sorry I couldn't get back to you. I had to take care of the problem personally, Ash. You aren't upset, are you? I really apologize for the harpies."

Ashley moved from the shop floor into her office as he was talking. Now she sat down at her desk. "Yes, I was upset," she said. "But I got over it. What the hell is the matter with those women, Ryan? A private investigator? What do they think you married, anyway? I don't know whether to laugh or get mad."

"Well, first off, they're sure the marriage isn't legal. And they're sure you're nothing more than a gold digger out for my money, and I'm too dumb to realize it," he said. "Flattering, huh? But what do I know? I only took a nice little restoration shop and morphed it into a multimillion-dollar business."

"How did they find me?" Ashley wanted to know.

"Kathleen is married to a cop. Well, actually he isn't a beat cop anymore. He's up there in the police hierarchy. He used some contacts of his to track you down, at my sister's urging. Kevin is actually a decent guy. Not too bright, but decent."

"That is a serious violation of my privacy and my rights," Ashley said angrily.

"Look, I spent all day yesterday visiting each of my sisters personally. And I went downtown to One Police Plaza and spoke with Kevin. I had him call Judge Palmer, and we got him to fax a copy of our marriage license to Kevin. I told my brother-in-law that I would be visiting all my sisters with the copy, and he was to talk with the other brothers-in-law, and tell them that if their wives tried any more nonsense, our next step would be legal."

"And?" Ashley said.

"Kevin took care of the guys, and I took care of my sisters. They aren't happy about the fact that I'm married, but they're stuck with it," Ryan said. "Ash, I apologize. I never thought they would go crazy-crazy. I didn't realize how out of touch with reality the thought of getting their hands on all that money would make them." He sounded very embarrassed, and for a moment she felt sorry for him.

"Right now I'm not certain I want to meet them," she told him candidly.

"I don't blame you," he responded.

"But I'll do the October thing for your mom's sake. Not a whole weekend, like I was planning, though, Ryan. If your sisters were counting on grabbing your money that much, then they aren't going to have calmed down in a month. They might never calm down over this, and while that's their problem, I don't want to have to put up with it. I'm good to a point," Ashley told him.

"I understand," he said.

"We'll invite them for the day, and make it easy for them by hiring a stretch limo to bring them out and take them home," Ashley said.

"Let's do it Saturday, so we have the rest of that long weekend just for us," he suggested. "Now, don't let this go to your head, but I missed you last night." His voice was warmer than it had been previously.

She smiled. "Yeah, me too," Ashley admitted. "Do you have to stay away until Thursday night?"

"Yeah, I have to, baby. I lost a whole day yesterday running uptown, downtown, and into suburbia dealing with the harpies. And then I had to stop and tell Frankie what went down, and go see Ma, and tell her everything was all right. I didn't get to my office until late afternoon. That's why I didn't call you. I worked until almost one this morning, and then I just crashed where I was. I haven't even gone back to my apartment yet to change my clothing. I'll do that later, as I have clients coming in from Europe. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine, Ryan. I'm tough, and I don't collapse too easily," Ashley told him. "Anything special you'd like for dinner tomorrow night? And incidentally, what time do you think you'll be home?"»

"Steak," he said with male predictability. "I'll try to get there by eight."

"I'll see you then," she said.

"Say hello to the girls for me," he teased her, and then he asked mischievously, "Are you blushing, Ash?"

"Bite me!" she shot back, and she heard his laughter as she flipped her cell shut. She was blushing. She didn't need a mirror to feel the warmth flooding her cheeks. And her nipples were tingling with the thought of his mouth on them. Damn! What was the matter with her? She had always enjoyed good sex, but now her mind was consumed with it, despite her evening on the Channel. The fantasy wasn't enough. She wanted reality. She wanted her sexy husband, a man she hadn't even known three months ago. Tonight she would try the B fantasy. Maybe being dominated by Rurik would ease her.

"Oh, no!" she heard Nina's voice exclaim.

Ashley got up and went back out into the shop. "What's the matter?"

"Elegance sent the wrong size for Jerry's girlfriend's gift. They sent a six instead of a sixteen," Nina said irritably. "And you know how long it always takes to get an order from them, Ashley. Her birthday is early in October."

"You know what to do," Ashley said. "Call. Get tough, but remind them we have two new shops opening this autumn, and I can't do business with a firm that's unreliable," she said. "Listen, can you handle the shop alone for awhile?"

"Are you all right?" Nina asked, her voice concerned.

"I just need to take a ride," Ashley told her.

"You miss him, huh?" Nina cocked an eyebrow.

Ashley sighed. "Yeah. Who would have thunk it?"

"Are you falling in love with him? Wouldn't that be nice," Nina remarked.

"I don't know. Maybe. If he loved me back, but he's as wrapped up in his business as I am in mine," Ashley said.

"You're not so wrapped up now," Nina noted.

"But he is," Ashley said.

Nina watched the younger woman as she left the shop and climbed into her Solstice. The car's top was down today. It pulled out of the back parking lot with a small roar. Nina knew exactly where Ashley would go. She'd drive up to the Egret Pointe Overlook, park, and sit looking at the bay until she had sorted out whatever it was she needed to sort out in her head. Nina picked up the phone and dialed Elegance.

The sky above her was crystal blue as Ashley drove out of the village and up the coast road. The sun was bright, the; air clean. She could feel autumn coming, and it was her favorite season of the year. She pulled into the overlook and parked, her bumper just an inch from the stone wall. There was one nice-sized sailboat crossing the bay below, but with Labor Day over and done there wouldn't be too many boats out on the weekday water until next summer. The weekends would be busy for a while, but then it would be empty but for migrating whales and the seals.

Nina's question had really touched a nerve. Was she falling in love with Ryan? And if she was, how was she going to keep it from him? Because of course she would have to keep it from him. They had married for practical reasons. Yet their marriage might last. He said he wanted it to last. And the sex was beyond great. It was true that they had a great deal in common with each other. And the sex was incredible, she thought again. But there was no cause for her to go falling in love with her husband and messing things up. She wasn't going to push him to the wall, like his older sisters did. She was going to be a good friend, wife, and lover. And if it ended maybe they could remain friends.

So why was she thinking about babies? She had always assumed she would have kids when she got married. But this wasn't that kind of marriage. Yet she had been thinking about babies ever since that first night. A plump, roly-poly infant with dark curls and big brown eyes. A boy. He wanted a boy. She could almost hear a baby giggle. "What the hell is the matter with me?" Ashley asked herself out loud. Above her a gull squawked noisily. It had to be her biological clock, she decided. She was going to be thirty-four in December, and that clock was ticking louder with each passing day. She needed chocolate. Chocolate always calmed her when she found herself filled with irrational thoughts like this. With a deep sigh she turned the car's engine on and, backing out of the overlook, headed to the village. It was a workday, not a holiday.

"Have a nice think?" Nina asked as she reentered the shop.

"Did you reach Elegance?" Ashley inquired in return, ignoring Nina's question.

"They were not pleasant about it," Nina said. "At first they accused me of poor handwriting on the order, until I reminded them that this order was phoned in, so if the handwriting was bad it was their own, not mine. Then they said they were already in the throes of making and shipping stuff for Christmas, and they didn't have time to make a single item. So I reminded them that Lacy Nothings has been a client for five years, and that we will have two new shops open by Thanksgiving. If they expect to see their merchandise in those shops they will get that teddy in a size sixteen to us ASAP."

"And they agreed," Ashley said.

"They said they will try," Nina replied, and then stepped back to wait for the explosion that was certain to follow.

"Call them back. Tell them if that teddy isn't here by Friday that Lacy Nothings will be canceling our current orders and returning the merchandise currently in our possession. And before they make any decision to irritate me further, they might want to check to see how much business we do with them annually. Now I need to redo the front windows," Ashley said. "I think we should do a back-to-school theme."

"With underwear?" Nina giggled.

"Why not?" Ashley said with a grin. "I'll go the mall, and get some school supplies at Wal-Mart." And she was out the door again.

By late afternoon the two front windows of the shop were done, and both women had to admit it was a successful venture. Some of their most modest yet outrageously sexy garments were displayed among black-and-white composition books, bright yellow Number Two pencils, rulers, colorful folders, crayons, protractors, and big pink erasers. Each window had an antique circa-1940s school bag and tin lunch box, next to which was a bright red polished apple. In one window was an old-fashioned blackboard pointer. In the other was an antique paddle once used by teachers to punish recalcitrant students.

"Too suggestive?" Ashley asked her assistant.

"No, it's daring," Nina said. "And I'll bet we get asked if they're for sale more times than not. Where did you get the paddle?"

"I borrowed it from the Egret Pointe Museum's Little Red Schoolhouse," Ashley said with a laugh. "It pays to be the last descendant of a town founder."

Nina laughed. "Hey, I'm all for nepotism," she said. "Well, if you don't need me to lock up, I'm off. I want to eat early tonight. I've programmed a new fantasy for myself having to do with a guy who looks like Cesar Romero."

"Dirty girl!" Ashley chuckled. "Have fun!" She waved Nina off. She remained in her office for another two hours, catching up with the paperwork. Then, locking up, she headed for her car. She didn't bother going to the bank. She kept the shop's proceeds with her when she went home. When she had first opened someone had broken in during the night, but as her register was empty they had gotten nothing. She had put in a security system, reinforced the doors, and never been robbed again. Even Egret Pointe, perfect as it was, had its modicum of crime.

Wednesday was one of the Byrneses' days off, but Mrs. B. had left Ashley a small chicken pot pie that only needed heating up. She poured herself a glass of iced tea and carried her meal out into the kitchen garden to eat at a small round table that was set up there in the warm weather. She ate slowly, shooing away the wasps that always seemed to appear at an outdoor meal in late summer. She had had a call today from the contractor working on the two new stores. They would be ready for viewing next week. She would have to spend a few days in the city interviewing prospective employees for that shop, and then she would have to go into suburbia to interview for the mall store. It was going to be a busy few months. She wanted both stores open by mid-October. She would have to make a reservation at a hotel-and then it dawned on her that her husband had an apartment. Why couldn't she stay there?

Finished with her supper, Ashley returned to the kitchen and put her plate and glass into the dishwasher. Spying a covered plate of Mrs. B.'s rich, gooey brownies, she took it with her upstairs. The house was quiet. Stripping off her clothing, Ashley stepped into her shower for a leisurely wash. She had just gotten out and wrapped a towel around herself when her bedside phone rang. Picking it up, she heard Ryan's voice.

"What are you wearing?" he asked provocatively.

"A towel. I just got out of the shower. Why?" she asked.

"Unwrap it and get naked," he replied.

"Hold on," Ashley said, laughing. "I'm putting you on speaker. Okay. The towel is gone, Ryan. Now what?"

"I want you to begin to fondle the girls, baby. Close your eyes and cup them in your palms. Now begin to tease those sexy nipples of yours. Do you know how badly I want to suck on those pretties? I want you to think about me doing that, Ashley. Think about my hot mouth closing over your nipples one at a time, drawing on them, my tongue lapping at them, nibbling them, until you want to scream. Pull the nipples out, baby, and pinch them. Doesn't that feel good?"

Jesus Jenny, he was starting to excite her with his words! "Ummm," she murmured. "I'd rather it were you, Ryan," she told him.

"I want you to lie down on the bed now," he said. "You know what I'm doing? I'm unzipping my pants and pulling my cock out. I'm already getting hard just thinking about those delicious tits of yours. Press them together, Ashley, and think about my cock sliding back and forth between them."

Ashley lay back on her bed and contemplated his words. She was surprised to find herself getting hot. "Your big boy likes playing with the girls, doesn't he?" she purred at her husband. "Ohh, he's getting so hard, and he's being very naughty. He's kissing my nipples." She had never had phone sex before, and she decided it was fun.

"I want you to slowly let your hands move down your body, Ash," he said softly. "I want you to close your eyes and think they're my hands. I love touching you, baby. You have such incredibly soft skin, and it always smells so damned good. I'm touching you, and my mouth is following my hands. I'm kissing your belly, and now I'm sliding between your thighs and kissing them."

"Ohh, yes!" Ashley said. This was exciting, and it was fun.

"I want you to play with yourself, baby. I want you to find your clit and play with it the way I do. Pretend my tongue is doing you. Are you getting wet?"

"Yes!" she told him. She was indeed getting wet.

"I've got my cock in my hand now. I'm thinking about your lips closing over it and sucking me. Yeah! Yeah! That's good, baby. Do you want to come? I'm close, but I'd much rather be at home pushing myself deep inside of you. Think about it, Ashley. I'm hard, and I'm moving faster, and faster, and faster. You want it so badly you're aching to come. When I get home tomorrow night I'm going to fuck you that way." He could hear her breathing, excited and quick. "Tell me you want me to fuck you, Ash!"

"Oh, God, yes!" Her fingers worked her clit hard, and then she sobbed, "Oh, I'm coming, Ryan! I'm coming!"

"Me too." He groaned. "But it's just not enough. I need the real thing!"

"I know." She gasped. And then as her heart slowed a bit, she said, "Maybe we could figure a way for you to work from home? At least until we're a little less hot for sex with each other."

He laughed weakly. "It's definitely a thought, baby."

"I thought you had clients in from Europe? Didn't you take them to dinner?"

"Drinks. They had theater tickets," he said. "So here I am all alone in the apartment, thinking about my hot wife."

"You think I'm hot?" She was surprised.

"I think you're very hot," he replied. "Don't tell me no one ever said you were hot, Ashley?" He was surprised.

"Nope. I've been called beautiful, pretty, smart, clever, sexy. But never hot," she told him. "I'm glad you think I'm hot. I like being hot for you."

"Ashley?"

"Yes, Ryan." '

"I do think this might work for real," he said low. "And it isn't just the sex."

"We haven't known each other that long, Ryan," she told him. But she was smiling. "I don't want you to be disappointed. I don't want to be disappointed."

"But we're married, baby," he said.

"A marriage of convenience," she reminded him.

"But it doesn't have to be," he said again.

"No, it doesn't," Ashley responded. "But let's give it a little more time, okay?" Oh, this felt so right, she thought. And he felt it too. Or was it just relief at having preserved their assets, and the easy sex? Guys didn't always think straight when their dicks were involved. "I liked the phone sex," she said softly.

"I liked it too, but I think the real thing is better," he answered her.

"Much, much better," she agreed. "You have the most talented cock. All eleven inches of it." Then she giggled. "I can't believe you measured it. Or are you just joking?"

"Got a soft tape measure?" he asked.

"In my sewing box," she said.

"Get it out and we'll measure it tomorrow night, baby," he said.

"Ryan!" she squealed.

"No, no! You've impugned my dick. I need my honor restored, and the only way we can do that is for you to measure it. And after you have then I'm going to stick it as deep inside you as I can and fuck the ears off of you, Ashley Mulcahy. So just think about that before you go to sleep tonight. That is, if you can sleep. Thinking about you all naked and sweet-smelling right now, I don't think I can sleep."

"I'm going to sleep like a baby," she teased him. "Good night, darling."

"Good night, baby," he responded, and the line went quiet. She had called him darling. He smiled.

Ashley stuck the phone back in its charger. Getting up, she went into her dressing room and took a sleep shirt from a hanger, putting it on. Suddenly she didn't feel like the Channel. She didn't need it. Instead of going down the hall to her old bedroom she climbed into their big bed, and actually did fall asleep clutching the pillow Ryan used, smelling the faint scent of his aftershave. She didn't need the fantasy of rough sex tonight. She had a sexy husband to keep her happy.

The following day seemed to drag. To her amusement Jerry's teddy arrived FedEx overnight express. It was a size sixteen, and the right color. But she had caught up with all her paperwork, and the shop was busy all morning and then slow all afternoon. But people kept stopping and looking in the windows, the men thoughtful, the women giggling and poking one another.

"We ought to start thinking about the Halloween windows," Nina said.

"We'll do a variation on the usual," Ashley told her. "I found some really fabulous carnival masks, the kind you might see in New Orleans or Rio or in Cannes. I want you to look through all the new stock and pick out the sexiest black outfits we've got. The naughtier the better. I'll be watching the farm stands for the perfect pumpkins. I'm going into town next week for a few days. The contractor says the new shops are ready. Do you mind holding down the fort while I'm gone?"

"What about staffing for the new places?" Nina wondered.

"I'll be doing that. Any suggestions?"

"I've got a friend in the city who was just retired from the garment biz. She'd been with this company for thirty years, but the boss, an old fart himself, got talked into hiring a younger woman by his son. It's a mistake, but Suzette is really too young to retire. She's only mid-fifties. She would make a great manager for the city store," Nina said. "If you're interested I'll call her, and you can meet next week."

"Yes, please call her," Ashley said. "She sounds ideal, if she would be interested. Tell her I'll pay health insurance and contribute to a retirement savings for her, as well as her salary. She and I can negotiate that."

Nina nodded.

"Ryan's coming home tonight, so I'll leave you to close the shop," Ashley said.

"Sounds like you'll be glad to see him." Nina chuckled.

"Yeah, I will. Say, how did Cesar Romero go?" she asked the older woman.

"Didn't live up to his promise, I'm afraid," Nina said dryly as she waved her boss off with a grin. "It was like I knew him, but I didn't know him. It got uncomfortable."

"Be more daring," Ashley suggested, waving back. She was surprised to find Ryan home when she got there. Entering the house, she smelled roast beef cooking. Running upstairs to their bedroom suite she found him just coming out of his shower. "You came early!" she said happily.

"Mrs. B. says dinner won't be served until seven. Get out of your clothes, baby, and go fetch that measuring tape," he said. "You're home early too, and we have time for a nice leisurely fuck. I almost had an accident getting off the parkway thinking about you," Ryan told her.

Ashley giggled. "And just what were you thinking?" she asked him teasingly.

"Putting you on your back," he said predictably as he began to unbutton her shirt. He pushed it off her shoulders and, reaching out, unhooked her bra. Her breasts spilled out. "Hello, girls," he purred, tweaking each nipple. Then his hands clasped about her waist, and he lifted her up onto a small footstool. Unzipping her slacks, he pulled them down. Leaning forward, he began to lap at her nipples with his tongue as she kicked off her leather loafers and the pants at her feet. His hand reached out to cup her through her briefs, while his other hand held a breast so he might suckle on it.

She pressed herself against his palm, rubbing her pussy against him. "You're making me hot," she said softly.

In response he lifted her out of the pants around her ankles. "Go get the tape," he told her.

Ashley complied, taking the tape from her little wicker sewing basket and returning to stand before him. "It doesn't look like eleven inches right now," she said.

"That's because you haven't done your wifely duty," he told her. "I want you to suck me to a stand, baby. Then we'll measure."

Ashley slipped to her knees, and, taking his cock in her hand, she brought him to her open mouth. Her tongue slowly licked around the tip of him while her other hand slid beneath him to cup his balls in her hand, rolling them about her palm. She smiled at his intake of breath. Then she took him into her mouth and sucked hard. "Ummmm," Ashley murmured. She felt his big hand kneading her head as she sucked him sweetly. He was easily aroused, and shortly his cock was stretching her cheeks. She released him. "Time to face the truth. Are you in truth eleven inches long or have you begun to shrink with age?" she teased him wickedly as she picked up her tape, unrolling it from root to tip.

"Well?" he said, holding back his laughter.

"Wow! Eleven and a quarter inches, Ryan."

"Now measure around," he said.

"Ryan!" Damn! She felt her cheeks growing red, but she drew the tape about his cock, eyes widening as she saw the measurement.

"Well?" he growled.

"Two inches even," she squeaked, dropping the tape as his hands began to fondle her buttocks.

"And you are going to take every single inch of it, woman," he told her, and, pulling her close, he met her mouth with his in a scorching kiss. Their tongues intertwined in a leisurely dance. "Tell me you want it now," he murmured in her ear.

"Oh, yes," Ashley breathed. This was the perfect end to the last several days.

"You want me to put it in you, baby, don't you?" he teased her.

"Yes! Put that big cock of yours into my hot, wet pussy and fuck me senseless," she said, sliding her arms about his neck. "I want it, Ryan! I want it now!" She rubbed herself against him. Their naked bodies were heated. "Do it to me! Please!"

He didn't bother going to their bed. He sat down in the wing chair by the fireplace, pulling her with him. Ashley straddled him, and then slowly, slowly she impaled herself on his long, thick rod, sighing as she took it all inside her eager cunt. His hands reached up to grab her breasts, pinching the nipples, his eyes closed, his face blissful as the walls of her vagina enclosed him.

Oh, God, he felt good inside of her. Ashley sighed with pleasure as his length and width plumbed her heated depths. He actually throbbed within her. She rode him gently, at first moving from a walk to a jogging trot to a graceful canter, and finally into a frenzied gallop. His cock touched her G-spot, rubbing it, and she screamed softly with delight. "Oh, Ryan," she half sobbed, "this is so damned good! I'm going to come! I can't help it!" She felt the soft quivers as her climax began to rise up and roll over her.

He groaned, and his cock stiffened, then shuddered as his juices exploded, filling her, running down her thighs and into his pubic hair. "God, Ash! You are incredible!" He pulled her down and kissed her passionately, his fingers threading through her short dark hair.

She lay atop him for several minutes, breathing raggedly, feeling as limp as a rag doll. She had never had sex like this with anyone. Even the always-horny Chandler Wayne. But sex wasn't love. Wasn't a lifetime commitment. But it was becoming more for her than just that, Ashley realized. She was falling in love with him. It wasn't too soon. People fell in love at first sight, didn't they? But how did he feel? She was pretty good at reading people, but while she knew he liked her, she couldn't tell if it was more.

He held her close, feeling her heart beating in time with his. This was so right. Ashley. Kimbrough Hall. Coming home to her. If it got any more perfect he was going to think that he had died and gone to heaven. Just one thing was missing: He wanted kids. Did she want children too? Could he stay married to her if she didn't? Hell, wasn't that why the old man had put that damned clause in his will? He wanted Mulcahy grandchildren to carry on the name. And suddenly Ryan realized that so did he. So the apple didn't fall far from the tree after all, he thought wryly. He kissed the top of her head. "Maybe we ought to think about getting up?" he said.

"I know," she said, and straightened up. "But we have time. We'll have to shower before we get dressed and go down."

"Yeah," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her. "Let's shower."

Ashley laughed. "Oh, no," she said. "You'll go to your bathroom and I'll go to mine, darling. That way we'll get down to dinner on time, and Mrs. B.'s roast won't get overdone. Grandfather always said you don't want to shock the help or be late to the table, even if they are your friends. We'll probably eat out on the porch. It's still warm enough." She slipped off of his lap and headed for her bathroom.

He watched her go, appreciating her prettily rounded buttocks. She had a really nice butt, he thought to himself. Most of the women he had slept with looked great in their clothing, but not as good out of it. They had small breasts and virtually no butts. Ashley looked great both in and out of her clothing. He hauled himself out of the chair and headed for his own bathroom. Wild sex in an antique wing chair, he thought with a grin. Now there was something new for him.

Ashley wore a colorful cotton kaftan down to dinner. Taking his lead from her, Ryan had put on a pair of jeans and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. They were both barefooted.

"You don't mind if we're casual at dinner, do you?" she asked him. "Grandfather always wanted us to be formal, but after a long day at the shop I'm happy to be clean and comfortable." She dug into her salad.

"We can be formal when we entertain," he replied. "I like this."

"I have to be in town next week. The contractor is finished, or says he's finished, with both the shop there and at the mall. Could I stay at your apartment?"

"The bed is big enough for both of us," he said, smiling. "The place is small, though. I've never needed a big place, and I don't entertain there. Can I come with you when you see your contractor? I may not be the artisan my dad was, but I know good work."

Her first reaction was to be offended. Did he think she was some ditsy little idiot who didn't know if the contractor was stiffing her? But then, she thought, the truth was that she had never dealt with anyone outside of Egret Pointe until now. Oh, the contractor had come highly recommended, but still, it couldn't hurt to have an expert eye checking everything out. "I would appreciate it," she told him. "I know my own merchandise, but a new shop is a whole other thing. And it's got to be right. I want those stores open by the first week in November. Getting established in a new location for the Christmas trade is very important to my bottom line. But can you spare the time?"

"I can always spare the time for you," he said quietly. He had seen her hesitation, and it hadn't been difficult to imagine what she had been thinking when he made his offer. He was impressed that she had been able to swallow her pride and accept his help. It said a lot about Ashley's character, and the more he saw and learned, the more he realized that he honestly did like her. His mother had always said you should like the person you married as well as love them, because when the passion cooled you would have a best friend as well as a lover. He smiled, thinking his mother was a wise lady.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked him.

"I was thinking about something Ma always said. And I've just discovered that she's right." Then he told her.

"And that made you smile because…?"

Byrnes cleared the salad plates from the table.

"Because I realize that what began for us a few months ago as one thing is, at least for me, morphing into something entirely different," Ryan said softly. And his brown eyes engaged her green ones.

Ashley felt a warm wave of pleasure sweep over her. "For me too," she admitted, ignoring the blush spreading over her cheeks. It had become a fact of life: Ryan Finbar Mulcahy could make her blush.

"I don't want to pressure you into something you don't feel," he continued.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to push you either," Ashley replied.

"Then if I said I loved you it wouldn't send you screaming into the night?" His handsome, sexy face was suddenly boyish and hopeful.

"No." Her voice was practically a whisper. "And if I said I loved you, would you feel as if I had trapped you into a corner?" Her beautiful face held an anxious look.

"No, I wouldn't. I'd like to be in a corner with you," he told her. "Putting you right up against the wall, and-" He stopped as Byrnes set a plate before him.

The butler's face was totally impassive, and Ryan might have believed he was both deaf and dumb except that his ears were turning quite a bright red. But without a word the dignified Mr. Byrnes turned and made his way from the porch with his usual grace and decorum.

A fit of giggles overcame Ashley, and Ryan couldn't help chuckling himself.

"Oh, I'll never forgive us for embarrassing him like that," Ashley said.

"Sorry. I forgot myself for a moment," Ryan apologized to her.

"Oh, don't chastise yourself too much," Ashley said. "Once he was out of our sight I'll bet he ran all the way to the kitchen to tell Mrs. B. that we've fallen in love." She stopped, and then continued, "We have fallen in love, haven't we, Ryan? Or did I misunderstand you and make a dope of myself?"

Reaching across the table he took her hand and, raising it to his lips, kissed it. "You didn't misunderstand at all; nor did I. Yeah, I've fallen in love with you, baby. And I've never loved another woman before. Lusted after them, yeah. But never loved."

"And I love you too," Ashley said, tears in her eyes. "But I can't claim to have not said that before, because I have. But now I realize I didn't really know what the devil I was talking about. I didn't feel anything for Carson or Chandler or Derek that I feel for you, Ryan. I never thought about babies with them."

"You're thinking about babies with me?" His mouth turned up in a smile.

"Yeah, I am. A little boy with dark curls and big brown eyes like his daddy," she replied. "Crazy, huh?"

"How many babies?" he asked her.

"How many do you want?" she responded, smiling back at him.

"Three too many?" he said.

"Three's a good number," she agreed.

"Ashley?"

"Yes, Ryan?"

"I really do love you!"

"And I really love you," Ashley answered him. "Now eat your dinner, Ryan. Mrs. B. won't be very happy with us if we let this perfect roast of hers go to waste. And we won't be getting good corn like this much longer now that autumn's coming."

After dinner they made love again, and this time with such tenderness that Ashley cried when she came to climax. She was loved. She loved. Their crazy marriage of convenience had by some miracle turned into a love match. They were even talking about a family. She began to think that they would have to start thinking about a religious ceremony to formalize the love they admitted to having for each other. Lina would be so pleased, but first things first. She had two new shops to staff and open.

Ashley drove into town on Tuesday with her husband. They stopped at his apartment first. He introduced her to his doorman, explaining that his wife would be using the apartment now and again. The doorman, he knew, would spread the word to the superintendent and the other help in the building. Ashley already had a key, as they had had one made the previous day in Egret Pointe.

Her appointment for the city store was at eleven in the morning. Their car parked in his building's garage, they hailed a cab and headed back downtown. The contractor was a big, jovial fellow. Ashley had met him only once before. They had conducted most of their business on the telephone once she had hired him. He let them into the store, and Ashley's first reaction was delight. The fresh gray paint with its elegant white trim looked perfect. The pale silver-gray carpeting was plush. The display cases were ebony and glass. The lighting fixtures were discreet but for the elegant gold sconces on the walls. She checked the stockroom, the manager's office, the bathroom, the small lunchroom she had insisted upon for her employees. "What do you think?" she asked Ryan.

"It's good, but has the electric been upgraded to handle the computers, the register, and the security system?" he asked the contractor.

"I got the papers from the city inspector right here, Mr. Mulcahy," came the response. "The security system ain't hooked up yet, but the guy is coming next week."

"We're opening the first week in November," Ashley said.

"It'll be ready before then, I promise," the contractor replied.

"And the window painter for the shop's name and logo?" she wanted to know.

"Tomorrow. I wanted the best guy, and he's hard to get," the contractor explained. "You know about those things, Mr. Mulcahy."

"You know me?" Ryan said.

"My father knew your father," the contractor answered. "It's a small world when you're a woodworker."

Ryan nodded. "When can we see the mall store?"

"Tomorrow be all right, Miss Kim… Mrs. Mulcahy?" The contractor wisely addressed the question to Ashley. After all, she was paying him, not the husband.

"How about Thursday afternoon instead?" Ashley suggested. "Then we can just head out of town from there. Three o'clock?"

"That's fine with me, Miss Kim… Mrs. Mulcahy." He laughed. "I'll get it right eventually," the contractor promised.

"You had better," she said with a smile. "If these two shops do well I'll probably be opening a few more in the area."

"Yes, ma'am!" he responded with a broad grin.

Ryan left her afterward, and Ashley hurried to a luncheon meeting she had scheduled with Nina's friend Suzette. The two women met at Felicity's Tea Shoppe on Madison. Nina had reminded Ashley that the two women had met briefly when Suzette had visited Nina the previous year, and sure enough they recognized each other. They were seated, and as they ate lunch Ashley explained to Suzette what she wanted. Suzette assured her that she could handle the shop, asked some salient questions that impressed Ashley, and then the two women negotiated a salary. Ashley was rather relieved at what Suzette wanted. It was less than she had been prepared to pay, but as Nina told her later, Suzette's boss had had an investment retirement fund for his employees, and under the law Suzette had taken hers with her. She was comfortably fixed, and with Ashley picking up her medical insurance and adding to that fund, she could accept less of a salary.

"Do you want me to do the hiring for the shop?" Suzette asked. She was an elegant, well-spoken woman in her late fifties with stylishly cut short salt-and-pepper hair. Her makeup, Ashley noted, was flawless and natural-looking, her jewelry good. Suzette was just what Ashley was looking for. Nina was going to get a bonus for it.

"It would be a help if you did," Ashley replied.

"How many girls do you want?"

"Start with two. If you need more let me know. You might have to hire someone to temp for the holiday rush. I'm putting you in charge of the employees to start. Once you've learned the stock and what sells on the Upper East Side, then I'll probably ask you to do some ordering."

Suzette nodded. "I come from dresses and suits, but I learn fast," she said.

"Would you mind coming out to Egret Pointe soon? I'd like you to work with Nina and get an idea of the merchandise," Ashley said. "We're opening the first week in November. Hire your girls to begin the last week in October for paid training."

"No problem," Nina said.

Ashley spent the following day visiting the showrooms of some of her largest suppliers. She also found a new small showroom with some rather interesting and one-of-a-kind garments. She placed an order. On Thursday she and Ryan headed up to the suburban mall to meet the contractor and inspect the mall store. It was identical to the shop in town and in Egret Pointe. There were two women from a local employment agency waiting for her when they arrived. She interviewed them before the contractor got there, and hired one, a Mrs. Babcock, who had solid retail experience. She explained, as she had to Suzette, what her duties would be, and that she would be responsible for the hiring.

"You will have to come up to Egret Pointe shortly, along with the manager of the city store. I'll see you're both put up, and pay your expenses, of course."

"Certainly," said Mrs. Babcock, a slightly younger version of Suzette. "My husband is home every night, and the kids are in high school and presumably civilized. They can all manage without me for a few days."

Ashley was feeling very good as they returned home. Everything seemed to be going along perfectly. She was in love, and loved in return. Now all she had to do was face down her horrific in-laws. But with Ryan by her side she decided she could triumph over just about anything. And one day very soon her birth control pills were going to be dumped down the commode. Now that she had birthed three shops, she was ready to have that baby. And they were going to make such beautiful babies too.