Three of Hearts Page 9

  “Don’t worry honey, this is all going to be for you.”

  She smiled a timid smile, but it was still enough for her dimple to form on her cheek.

  Seth walked to her and kneeled in front of her; he lifted one leg and rested her thigh on his shoulder. He then did the same to the other leg, so he supported all of her weight.

  Using his hands to hold her bottom, Seth began his oral raid on her sweet spot, eradicating all control from her. He was vicious in his attack and unrelenting in bringing her to climax.

  Mae did not disappoint, as soon as Seth focused all his attention on her clit, her orgasm ripped through her. Again blowing on her sensitive tissue, he waited until he was sure she could stand on her own. He put her feet on the floor, and stood to untie her hands.

  Mae collapsed against Seth’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and they stood like that for an unknown amount of time.

  SEVEN

  Forty-five minutes later they were downstairs eating at Mae’s dining table.

  They talked about everything from yesterday’s barbeque to Aidan’s addiction to video games. When the last helping of omelet was gone, Seth helped Mae bring the dishes to the sink.

  “Sit down, I got these,” Mae said as she swatted at Seth’s butt with the back of her hand.

  Seth went back and sat at the table and looked around the room. There wasn’t anything new except for the china, tea cups and saucers on the server. He leaned over to examine them closer. He picked up one of the delicate cups and looked it over before placing it back down on its saucer.

  “Those were mostly my grandmothers, with a few exceptions that I picked up here and there.” Mae explained as Seth turned from the tea cups to face her.

  “Is there a story behind them, or just a collection?” He asked curiously.

  “We used to have tea together and regardless of how old I was, Nana Jean always let me drink out of the china cups.” Mae couldn’t help but smile at the recollection.

  “She sounds like a very intuitive lady,” Seth said.

  Looking confused as his choice of words, Seth elaborated “to know that you were a special, trustworthy person that could hold onto something precious and fragile and not break it.”

  Mae was warmed by his words. She grabbed for his hand and gave it a squeeze. When she went to let go he turned her hand over and entwined their fingers.

  “I hate to say it, but I’m going to have to go to my office to get my stuff together for tonight,” he said with great displeasure.

  Mae squeezed his hand one more time and said “I know. Is there anything I can help you do?”

  “No, honey, but thank you for offering. I just have to wait for Lynne to get here so I can arrange for her to spend the night with the kids.”

  “But you told her to take a couple of day off, remember?” Mae said to him hoping he hadn’t forgotten this detail.

  “Oh, shit! I completely forgot. Damn, well, Dylan will just have to put out the fires without me.” Seth said as he rubbed his hands down his face. Thinking it would be silly for him to do that if she was going to be here; Mae thought she should just put the idea out there.

  “It’s completely up to you, but I don’t have to be to the hospital until tomorrow afternoon, so I’d be happy to stay with the kids.” Mae said, suddenly feeling shy, she decided to add “that’s if you feel comfortable leaving your kids with me.”

  Seth looked at her as his smile spread wide across his face. He was quite sure, Mae Turney, walked on water.

  “You’d do that for me?” he asked

  “Of course, I would Seth. I like the kids and if we are going to take this”—indicating with her finger between the two of them—“anywhere, I think spending some time with them is a good idea.”

  “First of all, I absolutely trust you with my kids. Second, this—” indicating them with his finger and kissing her indecently on the lips for good measure—“is definitely going somewhere. And thirdly, I think you spending some time with my kids, is just going to make them love you that much faster.”

  Taken aback by the word love, Mae rapidly became enthralled with the idea.

  Wanting to cover any sign of momentary apprehension, Mae simply said “Then that’s that.”

  Two hours later, Mae was sitting on the deck enjoying some of the wonderfully warm sunshine and her new paperback novel when she heard a car pull into the drive. This was followed by the opening and closing of the car doors, and thundering of children rushing up the stairs.

  “Hi Mae,” Aidan said not looking up from his gaming device

  “Hi Mae, I missed you” Megan said and came over and gave Mae a warm hug.

  Mae smiled and before letting go of Megan, kissed her on her head and said “I missed you too, Megan. Did you have fun at Auntie Robyn’s?”

  “Oh lots of fun, we got to stay up and watch a show about dancing poodles and Uncle Bryan, that’s what he wants me to call him now, made me an ice cream sundae with three different kinds of ice cream.” Megan said in a rush.

  “Wow all that? Sounds like you had a great time,” Mae said as she looked at Robyn who looked a little disheveled.

  Megan gave Mae another hug then ran into the house after Aidan.

  “Dancing poodles?” Mae asked trying to keep from laughing.

  Knowing it was all in good humor; Robyn gave a big huff and heaved the kid’s bag onto the chair.

  “I don’t know, it was some kind of a funny video thing, all three of them were rolling around in hysterics.”

  Robyn sat down in a chair and put her feet up on the table. After a minute with her eyes closed she looked at Mae with a smile on her face and added “And my lovely, handsome, can’t-use-the-brain-God-gave-him, fiancé, thought it was perfectly fine to make them sundaes that resembled mountains. Of course he fell asleep right there on the couch, as did Aidan. But not little Spitfire, she was bouncing off the walls until 2:00am,” Robyn explained with more annoyance than she felt.

  Not being able to help it now, Mae laughed out loud.

  Robyn tried, really tried not to laugh, but she was just too tired to hold a grudge. So she joined Mae and laughed until she couldn’t laugh anymore. When Robyn was sure the giggles had left her system she asked “Where’s Seth?”

  Mae cleared her throat to end the remaining giggles and said “Well he got some emergency call about a grown man having a temper tantrum about plumbing, I think, so he went overnight to talk the man off the ledge, I guess.”

  “Oh that sucks, so, wait, who’s going to watch the kids?” Robyn asked, all of sudden thinking of her schedule.

  “Seth and I talked and he agreed to let me stay with the kids,” Mae said, and hoped Robyn would be on board with the idea.

  “I think that is great. I mean I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I felt and witnessed the chemistry you two have got going on and trust me, I’m elated about it. In fact pretty much everyone who was here feels the same way,” Robyn said emphatically.

  “Are you sure, though? I’m sure if you give me some time, I can work something out” Robyn said feeling guilty.

  “No really Robyn, I’m actually looking forward to spending time with the kids. I know it hasn’t been long, but I’m already quite fond of them.” Mae said and took a deep breath and added “and thank you for your support and all. I’m not sure where this is going with Seth, but all I know is that I’m really happy and excited to find out.”

  Robyn reached for Mae’s hands and said with meaning, “What my brother and those babies have been through, I would never wish on anyone, but life goes on and Maggie wouldn’t want him to be alone.”

  Taking a breath and hoping Mae understood what she was saying “From the moment I met you, I knew there was potential there. If anyone could make him happy, I know it’s you after what we all witnessed yesterday.”

  Mae squeezed her hand and Robyn dried her eyes with the collar of her shirt.

  Once Robyn was sure she looked okay, her and Mae walked
into Seth’s house.

  “Hey, guess what kiddos? Dad’s away so Mae’s is going to stay with you tonight,” Robyn said to Aidan and Megan.

  Megan bound off the couch and ran to Mae, squeezing her waist and jumping up and down. “Oh Mae, really, you’re going to stay with us? Can we have a tea party? Can we watch my new Disney movie? Can we have cookies for dinner?”

  Aidan and Robyn watched as Megan’s head bobbed up and down from her jumping feet and her unruly red hair was fluttering all around. Aidan rolled his eyes and Robyn watched in blissful silence.

  Laughing Mae tried to disengage Megan from around her waist and answered all the little girls questions, “Yes, I’m going to stay with you Megan. Of course we can have a tea party. We can definitely watch a movie and absolutely no, you can not have cookies for dinner, but maybe for dessert.” Ending with a wink, Mae leaned down and kissed Megan on her head and Megan squeezed Mae’s waist one more time before skipping back to watch her cartoons.

  Mae smiled as she watched Megan skip away and turned to face Robyn.

  Robyn smiled and said “Ok, well if you need anything give me a call. I left my number and Bryan’s on the counter.”

  “Thanks Robyn” Mae said appreciatively.

  “Bye kiddos, I love you, be good for Mae.”

  Robyn kissed Megan and ruffled Aidan’s head, she walked out the door.

  “Okay, have you guys eaten lunch yet?” Mae asked Aidan and Megan.

  After voting for bologna and cheese sandwiches with pretzels, the kids ate and Mae cleaned up the kitchen.

  “Why don’t we head over to my place? Aidan you can bring your game or you can watch TV while Megan and I are having a royal tea party” Mae said smiling toward Megan.

  “Oh Mae, can I wear my princess dress? Please, please, please?” Megan asked with exuberance.

  Mae just couldn’t help but smile, this little girl was so precious. “Of course you can, sweetie. Hurry up go change and then we will go.”

  Megan ran up the stairs and quickly put her purple and pink tulle dress with its matching pink shoes on. She ran back down the stairs and straight over to Mae. “Mae, I’m ready to go. Can we use your pretty tea cups with the plates?”

  Megan’s happiness was contagious. Mae grabbed Megan’s hand and, making sure Aidan was following, walked through the connecting interior door. Deciding to keep it open, so the kids could go back and forth, Mae propped the door open with a large book from a nearby bookcase.

  “Aidan, make yourself comfortable, while I go up and change. You, Megan, go on ahead and sit at the table for our tea party.” Mae says smiling “Why do you need to change?” Megan asked, confused

  “Well I can’t go to a royal tea party with a beautiful princess, looking like this,” she said with exaggerated clarity.

  Hearing Megan’s giggle was Mae’s cue to climb the stairs.

  Mae’s eyes fell on the chaise lounge and memories of what she and Seth had done this morning came swarming back to her. She bit her bottom lip as image after image flooded back through her mind. Mae, remembering how Seth made her feel, and knew that would be one of the best encounters of her life.

  Realizing she was keeping Megan waiting downstairs, Mae walked to her closet and took the light green dress she wore as a bridesmaid in her cousin’s wedding, off the hanger. It was sequined at the top with a layered organza skirt.

  As she put the dress on, Mae felt a tad ridiculous but knew Megan would think it was wonderful. She finished dressing and made her way to the stairs when she heard the crash and the breaking of glass. Concerned for Megan, Mae ran down the stairs holding the stiff skirt up around her knees.

  Aidan stood in the space between the couch and kitchen, as Megan stood crying against the kitchen counter. Mae immediately went to Megan and kneeled down in front of her, roughly examining Megan all over to make sure she wasn’t cut anywhere. When she was sure Megan was unharmed she asked softly “Sweetie, what happened?”

  Sniffing, Megan wiped her hands under her eyes to stop her flowing tears.

  “I’m sorry Mae, I was trying to surprise you and have the party all set up for you. I didn’t mean to break your pretty cups.” Megan finished and then started to cry again While giving Megan a hug, Mae said “It was an accident, I’m sure. You stay here, while I clean up the glass,” Megan nodded her head but continued to have tears roll down her face.

  Mae walked over to where two of Nana Jean’s teacups laid on the floor. One had smashed into about twenty pieces while the other stayed pretty well intact except a detached handle and a tooth size chip off the rim.

  Mae went over and picked Megan up in her arms. The little girls’ face was blotchy and her nose was red as her hair. Mae kissed her nose and Megan looked up and into Mae’s eyes with such sadness.

  “Mae I’m really, really sorry.”

  As sad as she was that the tea cups broke, Megan being so upset was more troubling to Mae.

  Speaking softly Mae said “Accidents happen, Megan, but next time, please wait for me before you pick them up, okay?”

  Megan nodded her fiery head and put her arms around Mae’s neck, hugging with all her might. Returning the precious embrace, Mae kissed Megan on the cheek and put her down on her feet.

  The tea party went on without any other mishaps.

  Mae used apple juice as the tea and she placed small vanilla cookies on a plate. She even, used her placemats and linen napkins to make sure her royal tea party was lacking nothing.

  Mae showed Megan how to sit up straight and how to pick her tea cup up and extend her pinkie out. She also taught her to talk with a proper British accent.

  They talked about all the news going on throughout their make believe kingdom, and how frightful it was when, recently, the Evil Queen tried to cast a spell that caused all of the court to turn green with brown warts.

  Mae laughed at the limitlessness of Megan’s imagination. Megan, in turn, complimented Mae on her beautiful princess dress and Mae made up a story of how the dress was given to her by a fairy with instructions to wear it when she met a special little girl.

  Megan had never had such a tea party in her whole life. She loved Mae and hoped she would be around for a long, long time.

  Later, Mae, Aidan, Conner, and Megan enjoyed a pizza party together. All four of them laid on the couch and watched the ending of some skateboarding competition, eating pizza right out of the box.

  “Mae can we have a movie marathon?” Megan asked with hopefulness in her eyes.

  Before she answered Mae looked over to Conner and Aidan to make sure they were on board with it before answering. The boys both agreed that a movie marathon would be fun, especially if they made popcorn with extra butter.

  So making sure Megan was in her pajamas and adding the finishing touches to the popcorn, they all sat down to watch Harry Potter.

  By the middle of the second movie, both Megan and Aidan were sound asleep.

  Conner helped Aidan upstairs and told Mae he was going to watch TV in his room.

  Mae carried Megan upstairs and placed her in bed. She tucked the blankets all around her and made sure her favorite doll was next to her. After kissing her head, she walked out the door and closed the door.

  Before going downstairs she looked in on Aidan, his room was already dark and his arm was hanging over the side of the bed.

  Conner was sitting on his bed, propped up against his headboard with his laptop on his lap and his TV on.

  Saying good night one more time to Conner, Mae went down stairs and straightened up.

  Mae’s cell phone rang: Seth.

  He told her how he saved the day and he asked how the kids were. Mae told him everything was fine.

  “I miss you, honey,” he said, and it warmed Mae’s heart.

  “I miss you, too,” she answered, hoping she had the same effect on him.

  “So what are you wearing?” he asked with faux huskiness

  Mae laughed and gave a detailed description of the sexy l
ingerie she was wearing as she looked down at her cotton sleep shirt and ratty sweat pants.

  Seth groaned and said “I can be there in three hours.”

  Laughing again she said “Oh no, you stay and I’ll see you tomorrow, what time will you be getting back?”

  “I’ll leave here first thing and come straight home; I know you have to be at the hospital for your shift.”

  So they agreed they would see each other late morning and Mae said good night.

  When she ended the call she thought of how much she had come to care for Seth in the short time she had known him. She curled up on the couch with her book and at about 11:00pm, she made sure everything was locked up and climbed up to Seth’s room and fell fast asleep.

  Mae was dreaming of sweet kisses and not so sweet caresses when she was awoken by an odd sound. She picked her head up and listened, looked at the clock and noticed it was 2:45am. With immediate thoughts for the safety of the kids, she threw the blankets off her and raced to the door. After a moment or two she heard another thump, a low curse and then what sounded like the kitchen door. She ran over and looked out the large picture window that faced the lake. She watched as a dark figure walked across the deck, down the stairs and headed for the dock.

  Mae grabbed her phone and quickly made her way downstairs and turned the deck light on. As she walked across the lawn, she saw Conner looking at her guiltily. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited for Conner to explain what exactly he was doing.

  Not daring to look her in the eye, Conner stammered, “Hi Mae.”

  Arching her eyebrow she said quietly, “Hi Conner, whatcha doing?”

  “I was, uh, just going to sit on the dock.”

  Looking toward Conner, she said “And what were you expecting to find on the dock in the middle of the night?”

  Sticking his hands in his pockets and focusing on a knotty bit of wood on the dock, Conner said “I was, uh, going to…” He sighed in defeat. “Alright fine, I was going to take the boat out.”

  Mae suspected as much, but now that he admitted it, what was she going to do?