The ringing of the bedside phone brought Ian out of his comfortable sleep.
He picked it up, wondering what it was that needed his attention. The
thought of moving from his comfortable place beside Sara was not something
he was considering at this moment.
"Yes?" he said as he picked it up, trying not to wake her as she stirred
next to him.
"Sir, I took up the coffee as you requested but Miss Pezzini is not in her room and her bed has not been slept in." Mrs. Hancock told him, her voice a little concerned. He remembered that he had asked that coffee be brought to Sara this morning.
"She is fine, send the coffee down here, please." He reached for the table and checked the watch there. They were both going to have to start moving soon anyway.
"Yes Sir," Mrs. Hancock answered, there was a note in her voice he could not identify. "Shall I bring some breakfast as well?"
"Yes, do that." He hung up the phone to find Sara staring at him. "Coffee will be here soon," he told her. She looked a little confused until the reality struck her.
"Someone is bringing coffee here?" she asked with a certain measure of embarrassment showing on her face.
"Yes, I had arranged for it to be brought to you in your room, but as you are not there." She interrupted him.
"So you sent someone to bring me coffee and they called because I wasn't there. I got that, but you told them to bring it here?" He gave her a confused look.
"Yes, what is wrong?"
"You mean besides the fact that I am about to be discover in your bedroom by someone who doesn't know me from Eve's house cat, or the fact that I am sure the whole house knows by now just where I spent my evening?" she told him, trying to get through to him as she sat up trying to figure out where her clothes had gotten to. "You don't even drink coffee that I know of. What are they going to think?"
"Sara, I have never known you to care what most people think. No one will treat you any differently for this."
"Just help me find my clothes please?" she told him. He rose gracefully, suddenly aware that he too was underdressed and slipped on a robe from the foot of the bed, tossing her the tee shirt that was laying on the floor. While he was less concerned than before, less embarrassed by her seeing him undressed, still now would not be a good time for her to get a good look at him. There was enough happening that he did not need her any more upset than she already was. He knew that some of his scars would disturb her. "You may be used to having these people around, knowing what you are doing all the time but I am not." She threw back over her shoulder as she continued to search among the covers for the rest of her clothes.
"They rarely know what I am doing, that is not a part of their job," he pointed out to her. He knew she was upset but it really was not making much sense to him. Sara was getting more upset by the moment as she sat in the middle of his bed. The sight was incredibly distracting, and he wrenched his eyes away, trying to get his thoughts back on what he was doing. Convinced that it would be better for both of them if she calmed herself, Ian walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out another black robe, handing it to her in the hopes that she would calm down. It would also serve to keep his mind on track, he was not sure why, but he was having more trouble focusing than before. She pulled the robe on and dashed into the bathroom as someone knocked on the door.
Mrs. Hancock took a brief moment outside Ian's door to try and get her expression under control. She had gone from Miss Pezzini's room straight to the kitchen, almost dancing down the stairs. She entered the kitchen with a smile on her flushed face to find her sister, the cook, busy preparing something at the stove.
"You brought the tray back? Did she not want the coffee?" Cook asked as she turned around to see the broad smile on her sister's face. "What? Has something happened?"
"Miss Pezzini was not in her room, and you will never guess where I found her." she told her, trying to wipe the smile off her own face.
"Where, she wandering through the house already, she did not strike me as the sort."
"She is in Mr. Ian's room, from all appearances has been all night." She let the statement sink in as she stood there in the hot kitchen.
"She.what?" Cook said as she started to get the idea.
"He would like me to bring down the coffee and breakfast," she told her.
"He.they... That's wonderful, what do you think of her?"
"Have not decided, but he seems happy, happier than he has been certainly, and she did bring him home."
"Let me get that tray fixed up, have to make sure they are eating properly," Cook said as she turned to her work, an identical smile on her face. As Mrs. Hancock took the now loaded tray from the kitchen, she heard her sister pick up the house phone.
"Henry, you will never guess what our Rose just told me."
Now she stood outside the door, trying to get her face back into its accustomed blank look, not wanting to embarrass them. She spared a brief thought to what Mr. Irons would think if he were here, but decided that it hardly mattered, considering. She had always thought he was too harsh with Ian anyway, kept him too close. Not natural, not good for either of them, but who could ever tell that man anything. She knocked and Ian answered the door, wearing nothing but a long dressing gown. She almost blushed this was another new development. She had not seen him this informal before, not since he was a small boy, and where were his gloves?
He held the door open for her and motioned for her to put the tray on the table. He would have offered to take it from her but he had tried that once and been scolded for his troubles. "Thank you, Mrs. Hancock, that will be all," he dismissed her quickly, anxious to get Sara out of the bathroom and back in here with him. "Sara, the coffee is here, and we are alone again, please come back," he said, pouring her a cup of coffee and taking it as far as the door. It always had made her happy in the past.
Sara emerged from the bathroom, his robe over her tee shirt, grabbed the cup and proceeded to drink half of it straight down, without a word. "Well the coffee is good, I will give you that," she said, trying to lighten the mood. She realized as she was hiding in there that he just didn't get it. He had been raised this way and so it was nothing unusual. For her it was a completely different world and she had not had time to adjust. They had been nice enough to her last night but who knew how they would treat her after this. She did not want them to think of her as a gold digging whore and no matter what Ian said she was afraid that was exactly what she would end up looking like. But these were things that she would have to work out for herself. She walked over to the table and sat down next to it. On the tray were pastries, strawberries, and a rose in a small vase, along with the coffee pot and a pitcher of juice and glasses. "I suppose we should eat, it is going to be a long day."
"Yes, and if we don't finish the cook will be deeply insulted. She used to complain regularly that I was not home enough to get a good meal," he said lightly, taking the other chair. They sat and ate in silence, trying to figure out what to say to each other. He felt foolish, he should have realized that she might be embarrassed by the situation but it had honestly never occurred to him. She was not the first female guest in this house by any stretch of the imagination but he did not think that reminding her of that would be a comfort when she realized what he meant; besides there was no comparison between Sara and his father's.companions. "Sara, I'm sorry, this is very new to me and I did not think you would be so upset. I just wanted to make you comfortable."
"I know, it's just a big adjustment, and with today." she stopped, trying to put words to the thoughts that were running through her head. "We are in pretty strange territory. Let's just not talk about it ok? It's my problem and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Everything has just been happening too fast, we have mostly been reacting."
"Do you regret." he started to ask, but then stopped, the words too painful to get out.
"Us? No, not at all, just the situation that brought us together." She reached out and took his hand. "Ian, I am fine with it, are you?"
"I love you, Sara, you know that," he told her, looking at her with an intensity that almost made her pull back. She caught herself wondering briefly if she had done the right thing last night, but she knew she was just rationalizing, trying to retreat as she had in the past when the emotions got too intense. She was not really any better at it than he was. At least he had no problem telling her how he felt.
"Then the rest I guess we just play by ear," she said, rising from the chair. "Now, I need a shower. Care to join me?" She had a challenging look on her face as she waited for his response.
Ian looked at her and swallowed hard. The thought of sharing a shower with her had never entered into even his wildest dreams but he was not one to turn down a challenge. "If you wish, Sara," he said, putting a bold smile on his face. The thought of his scars bothered him briefly as he followed her across the floor but he dismissed it, hoping that he could find some way of distracting her.
Ian followed Sara into the bathroom slowly, giving her a little time to get into the shower. He wanted to be careful, easy intimacy was not a natural thing for him, and especially since their relationship had changed, deepened he was moving in completely unfamiliar territory. He walked into the bathroom after she had stepped into the shower, removing his robe slowly. He would have to do this very carefully. Today they did not need any more stress.
Sara stepped into the shower, adjusting the temperature upward to heat up things more quickly. She wondered if he would follow her, if it was too much too soon. Although after this morning she figured he was adjusting just fine, she wanted to be careful and still manage to keep things as 'normal' as possible. He was certainly adjusting a lot better than she was to the situation in the house. She supposed that it was the same thing in a way. Both of them had to adjust to new things. Sara did not know if she could ever get used to it, but for him she guessed she would have to do something, at least try. It was going to take some doing though. She heard the door open and smiled. A moment later, the shower door opened and Ian stepped in behind her.
He reached out and put his arms around her pressing his chest against her back, standing under the hot water, just enjoying the feel of her resting against her. Sara picked up the soap; something woodsy that smelled familiar but she couldn't place it. She began to soap up his arms, slowly letting him adjust, get comfortable. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her hands against his skin. She turned in his arms slowly running soapy hands over his chest and stomach, watching his muscles quiver beneath her hands. He ran his hands over her back, trying to relax.
"Ian, look at me," she said, wanting to see his warm brown eyes. She reached up and brushed his face with the back of her hand. He looked down at her, wanting to enjoy the sight of her, but not wanting to stare where she could see him. But Sara encouraged him to look, to touch. "Turn around, I'll do your back," she offered.
"No," he said a little more forcefully than he meant to. "No, Sara please, I just want to look at you." If his sudden change of mind bothered her, then she gave no sign. Sara smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pressing close against his chest to run soapy hands down over his back. She enjoyed the feel of his skin against her, but in combination with the warmth of the water she was beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea. They had things that had to be done and she had a feeling that this was leading somewhere else entirely.
Sara leaned back to give him more room under the spray of the water and offered him the soap. He looked at her, eyes turned darker with pleasure as he began to return the favor. He was entranced by the texture of her warm, soapy skin beneath his palms. The smell of his sandalwood soap on her, somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of it almost as a scent mark, a sign of possession. She gasped a little as his hands found a sensitive spot on the inside curve of her hip. His breathing was getting a little faster and he could feel her response coming up fast. Ian pulled her back under the shower, as they quickly washed away the last of the soap and he gave her a lingering kiss. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up and pushed the door open, taking her back to the bedroom.
"Ian, hurry, we don't have much time," she whispered. The fire in his dark eyes was all the response either of them needed.
Sara smiled at Ian as they began to move, still drowsy with pleasure and contentment. He makes me so happy, she thought, who would ever believe.Ian reached out and ran a hand over her shoulder. "Sara, I don't understand why, but I just cannot seem to think about anything but you." She laughed and he gave her a puzzled look.
"It's ok, a new relationship is always like that. When you're together all you can think about is each other, when you're apart all you can think about is being together. I feel the same way," she told him reassuringly. "But now we have to concentrate."
Her admission brought a look of surprise and pleasure to his face. She not only understood what was going on inside him, but returned the feelings. It was exhilarating. "I am, my love, on you." His warm voice sent shivers up her spine, and she took a moment to re-center herself. Suddenly a thought like a bucket of cold water crashed down on her.
"Damn, my clothes are still on the other side of the house."
"Sir, I took up the coffee as you requested but Miss Pezzini is not in her room and her bed has not been slept in." Mrs. Hancock told him, her voice a little concerned. He remembered that he had asked that coffee be brought to Sara this morning.
"She is fine, send the coffee down here, please." He reached for the table and checked the watch there. They were both going to have to start moving soon anyway.
"Yes Sir," Mrs. Hancock answered, there was a note in her voice he could not identify. "Shall I bring some breakfast as well?"
"Yes, do that." He hung up the phone to find Sara staring at him. "Coffee will be here soon," he told her. She looked a little confused until the reality struck her.
"Someone is bringing coffee here?" she asked with a certain measure of embarrassment showing on her face.
"Yes, I had arranged for it to be brought to you in your room, but as you are not there." She interrupted him.
"So you sent someone to bring me coffee and they called because I wasn't there. I got that, but you told them to bring it here?" He gave her a confused look.
"Yes, what is wrong?"
"You mean besides the fact that I am about to be discover in your bedroom by someone who doesn't know me from Eve's house cat, or the fact that I am sure the whole house knows by now just where I spent my evening?" she told him, trying to get through to him as she sat up trying to figure out where her clothes had gotten to. "You don't even drink coffee that I know of. What are they going to think?"
"Sara, I have never known you to care what most people think. No one will treat you any differently for this."
"Just help me find my clothes please?" she told him. He rose gracefully, suddenly aware that he too was underdressed and slipped on a robe from the foot of the bed, tossing her the tee shirt that was laying on the floor. While he was less concerned than before, less embarrassed by her seeing him undressed, still now would not be a good time for her to get a good look at him. There was enough happening that he did not need her any more upset than she already was. He knew that some of his scars would disturb her. "You may be used to having these people around, knowing what you are doing all the time but I am not." She threw back over her shoulder as she continued to search among the covers for the rest of her clothes.
"They rarely know what I am doing, that is not a part of their job," he pointed out to her. He knew she was upset but it really was not making much sense to him. Sara was getting more upset by the moment as she sat in the middle of his bed. The sight was incredibly distracting, and he wrenched his eyes away, trying to get his thoughts back on what he was doing. Convinced that it would be better for both of them if she calmed herself, Ian walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out another black robe, handing it to her in the hopes that she would calm down. It would also serve to keep his mind on track, he was not sure why, but he was having more trouble focusing than before. She pulled the robe on and dashed into the bathroom as someone knocked on the door.
Mrs. Hancock took a brief moment outside Ian's door to try and get her expression under control. She had gone from Miss Pezzini's room straight to the kitchen, almost dancing down the stairs. She entered the kitchen with a smile on her flushed face to find her sister, the cook, busy preparing something at the stove.
"You brought the tray back? Did she not want the coffee?" Cook asked as she turned around to see the broad smile on her sister's face. "What? Has something happened?"
"Miss Pezzini was not in her room, and you will never guess where I found her." she told her, trying to wipe the smile off her own face.
"Where, she wandering through the house already, she did not strike me as the sort."
"She is in Mr. Ian's room, from all appearances has been all night." She let the statement sink in as she stood there in the hot kitchen.
"She.what?" Cook said as she started to get the idea.
"He would like me to bring down the coffee and breakfast," she told her.
"He.they... That's wonderful, what do you think of her?"
"Have not decided, but he seems happy, happier than he has been certainly, and she did bring him home."
"Let me get that tray fixed up, have to make sure they are eating properly," Cook said as she turned to her work, an identical smile on her face. As Mrs. Hancock took the now loaded tray from the kitchen, she heard her sister pick up the house phone.
"Henry, you will never guess what our Rose just told me."
Now she stood outside the door, trying to get her face back into its accustomed blank look, not wanting to embarrass them. She spared a brief thought to what Mr. Irons would think if he were here, but decided that it hardly mattered, considering. She had always thought he was too harsh with Ian anyway, kept him too close. Not natural, not good for either of them, but who could ever tell that man anything. She knocked and Ian answered the door, wearing nothing but a long dressing gown. She almost blushed this was another new development. She had not seen him this informal before, not since he was a small boy, and where were his gloves?
He held the door open for her and motioned for her to put the tray on the table. He would have offered to take it from her but he had tried that once and been scolded for his troubles. "Thank you, Mrs. Hancock, that will be all," he dismissed her quickly, anxious to get Sara out of the bathroom and back in here with him. "Sara, the coffee is here, and we are alone again, please come back," he said, pouring her a cup of coffee and taking it as far as the door. It always had made her happy in the past.
Sara emerged from the bathroom, his robe over her tee shirt, grabbed the cup and proceeded to drink half of it straight down, without a word. "Well the coffee is good, I will give you that," she said, trying to lighten the mood. She realized as she was hiding in there that he just didn't get it. He had been raised this way and so it was nothing unusual. For her it was a completely different world and she had not had time to adjust. They had been nice enough to her last night but who knew how they would treat her after this. She did not want them to think of her as a gold digging whore and no matter what Ian said she was afraid that was exactly what she would end up looking like. But these were things that she would have to work out for herself. She walked over to the table and sat down next to it. On the tray were pastries, strawberries, and a rose in a small vase, along with the coffee pot and a pitcher of juice and glasses. "I suppose we should eat, it is going to be a long day."
"Yes, and if we don't finish the cook will be deeply insulted. She used to complain regularly that I was not home enough to get a good meal," he said lightly, taking the other chair. They sat and ate in silence, trying to figure out what to say to each other. He felt foolish, he should have realized that she might be embarrassed by the situation but it had honestly never occurred to him. She was not the first female guest in this house by any stretch of the imagination but he did not think that reminding her of that would be a comfort when she realized what he meant; besides there was no comparison between Sara and his father's.companions. "Sara, I'm sorry, this is very new to me and I did not think you would be so upset. I just wanted to make you comfortable."
"I know, it's just a big adjustment, and with today." she stopped, trying to put words to the thoughts that were running through her head. "We are in pretty strange territory. Let's just not talk about it ok? It's my problem and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Everything has just been happening too fast, we have mostly been reacting."
"Do you regret." he started to ask, but then stopped, the words too painful to get out.
"Us? No, not at all, just the situation that brought us together." She reached out and took his hand. "Ian, I am fine with it, are you?"
"I love you, Sara, you know that," he told her, looking at her with an intensity that almost made her pull back. She caught herself wondering briefly if she had done the right thing last night, but she knew she was just rationalizing, trying to retreat as she had in the past when the emotions got too intense. She was not really any better at it than he was. At least he had no problem telling her how he felt.
"Then the rest I guess we just play by ear," she said, rising from the chair. "Now, I need a shower. Care to join me?" She had a challenging look on her face as she waited for his response.
Ian looked at her and swallowed hard. The thought of sharing a shower with her had never entered into even his wildest dreams but he was not one to turn down a challenge. "If you wish, Sara," he said, putting a bold smile on his face. The thought of his scars bothered him briefly as he followed her across the floor but he dismissed it, hoping that he could find some way of distracting her.
Ian followed Sara into the bathroom slowly, giving her a little time to get into the shower. He wanted to be careful, easy intimacy was not a natural thing for him, and especially since their relationship had changed, deepened he was moving in completely unfamiliar territory. He walked into the bathroom after she had stepped into the shower, removing his robe slowly. He would have to do this very carefully. Today they did not need any more stress.
Sara stepped into the shower, adjusting the temperature upward to heat up things more quickly. She wondered if he would follow her, if it was too much too soon. Although after this morning she figured he was adjusting just fine, she wanted to be careful and still manage to keep things as 'normal' as possible. He was certainly adjusting a lot better than she was to the situation in the house. She supposed that it was the same thing in a way. Both of them had to adjust to new things. Sara did not know if she could ever get used to it, but for him she guessed she would have to do something, at least try. It was going to take some doing though. She heard the door open and smiled. A moment later, the shower door opened and Ian stepped in behind her.
He reached out and put his arms around her pressing his chest against her back, standing under the hot water, just enjoying the feel of her resting against her. Sara picked up the soap; something woodsy that smelled familiar but she couldn't place it. She began to soap up his arms, slowly letting him adjust, get comfortable. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her hands against his skin. She turned in his arms slowly running soapy hands over his chest and stomach, watching his muscles quiver beneath her hands. He ran his hands over her back, trying to relax.
"Ian, look at me," she said, wanting to see his warm brown eyes. She reached up and brushed his face with the back of her hand. He looked down at her, wanting to enjoy the sight of her, but not wanting to stare where she could see him. But Sara encouraged him to look, to touch. "Turn around, I'll do your back," she offered.
"No," he said a little more forcefully than he meant to. "No, Sara please, I just want to look at you." If his sudden change of mind bothered her, then she gave no sign. Sara smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pressing close against his chest to run soapy hands down over his back. She enjoyed the feel of his skin against her, but in combination with the warmth of the water she was beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea. They had things that had to be done and she had a feeling that this was leading somewhere else entirely.
Sara leaned back to give him more room under the spray of the water and offered him the soap. He looked at her, eyes turned darker with pleasure as he began to return the favor. He was entranced by the texture of her warm, soapy skin beneath his palms. The smell of his sandalwood soap on her, somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of it almost as a scent mark, a sign of possession. She gasped a little as his hands found a sensitive spot on the inside curve of her hip. His breathing was getting a little faster and he could feel her response coming up fast. Ian pulled her back under the shower, as they quickly washed away the last of the soap and he gave her a lingering kiss. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up and pushed the door open, taking her back to the bedroom.
"Ian, hurry, we don't have much time," she whispered. The fire in his dark eyes was all the response either of them needed.
Sara smiled at Ian as they began to move, still drowsy with pleasure and contentment. He makes me so happy, she thought, who would ever believe.Ian reached out and ran a hand over her shoulder. "Sara, I don't understand why, but I just cannot seem to think about anything but you." She laughed and he gave her a puzzled look.
"It's ok, a new relationship is always like that. When you're together all you can think about is each other, when you're apart all you can think about is being together. I feel the same way," she told him reassuringly. "But now we have to concentrate."
Her admission brought a look of surprise and pleasure to his face. She not only understood what was going on inside him, but returned the feelings. It was exhilarating. "I am, my love, on you." His warm voice sent shivers up her spine, and she took a moment to re-center herself. Suddenly a thought like a bucket of cold water crashed down on her.
"Damn, my clothes are still on the other side of the house."