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It’d always be like this with them, a random thought surfaced in her cloudy mind. The growing flames would always melt them in each other, leaving passion and agony in its wake. His arms tightened around her waist and her spine curved even more. His mouth found her fully awoken breast, nipping, suckling it to perdition. Her head fell back and her parted lips let out groans.
Concentric hot waves spread on her abdomen as he moved deeper. Her legs circled him tighter. As she neared the abyss, blood rushed to the surface of her skin, burning all of her body. She was finally thrown over the precipice and exploded in countless contractions, gasping and holding Mark firmer.
He lost control completely. He thrust deeper, faster in mind-numbing rhythm, burying his face in the curve of her neck, heaving. He released himself in her with a primitive groan that emptied him of all he had. He fell on her exhausted, resting his head on her breast.
Lying there on her soft, welcoming body, Mark thought that Amy could well have a difficulty with commitments. She had lost her mother at a tender age; it was a while until her father had re-married. The process of creating new bonds with Linda, his cousin, her step-mother, must have been painful. Mark had the chance of witnessing that she had been fondly loved by both of them. But then she had been sorrowfully alone all over again. She seldom talked about her life before she came to live in the Georgian mansion. Her father had died a month before she showed up at his door step. He had done what he could to help her mourning period, but he had never seen a tear roll down her cheeks. It occurred to him that he should have paid more attention to this in the past. The fast growth of his company kept him so busy and the thought never crossed his mind. Even though she may not be aware of it, it could be playing a role in the way she regarded the pair of them. And he was almost sure it did.
They stayed there snuggling lazily for a long time before they reluctantly left her home-office. They chatted pieces of nothing and enjoyed the warmth of each other.
Much later they came down to warm up the dinner Mrs Smith had left for them, as usual.
“Don’t you ever think of Cardiff?” Mark asked about her hometown as if he was making small talk.
Her eyes darted to him and hesitated. “Not so much recently.” Her tone was reserved.
“But you used to.” He plied.
“I used to miss it, when I first came to London.” She wouldn’t deny it, even though she felt awkward to talk about this bittersweet period of her early life. “It’s the place where I spent my childhood.”
“Have you never wished to see it again?” He asked before taking a sip of his red-wine.
She let herself think about the question for a while. “There was nothing left there for me. Going back would have felt...strange, to say the least.”
“I see.”
“I uprooted myself when I decided to come here.” She added pensively. “I dare say London feels more like home to me now.” She ate a piece of boiled potato.
“No wonder, after all these years.” He eyed her searchingly.
“I believe it’d be curious to see it now.” She shrugged. “Places tend to change along the years, you know.” She never went back because she was afraid of the way she’d feel upon seeing it again. How would it be to re-visit a place where she’d known so much happiness only to lose it all in a clap of fingers? She didn’t want to find out the answer.
Amy fell suddenly silent and Mark thought it wise to let it drop. They changed subjects and dinner elapsed as normal.
When Amy lay her head on the pillow that night, with Mark holding her possessively, old memories from her hometown and the life she led there crowded her mind. A melancholy kind of mood hung over her as bits of recollections passed before her mind’s eye. She never wanted to go back to Cardiff. She never wanted to relive the pain of loss she was sure she’d find there. Talking about it made her nostalgic though and she wondered if she shouldn’t think about visiting it.
Chapter XXI
“Why should I change my management style?” Mark asked, arched brows. “It’s been working so far.”
“The company has grown a lot as well.” Susan replied. “Changing may be the way of fost
ering further progress, you know.”
Mark, Susan and Amy were sitting in the meeting room, following up the results of the staff survey that Amy had collected.
“As MBS gets bigger, you won’t be able to make all the decisions yourself, you’ll have to delegate more.” Amy stated. The management style was one of the most complained about issues in the survey.
As time elapsed, the staff seemed to become used to Amy as Mark’s partner in a broad sense. Quizzical looks were lessening and people seemed less awkward in that respect. Amy was very particular in showing that her private life wouldn’t mix with her professional posture, which put everybody more at ease.
“No problem with the delegating part.” Mark said. “Sharing decision-making is a new concept for me though.” He sat back on the chair. He was so very attractive in his dark-green suit and green-striped tie, Amy thought, observing him discretely.
Of course sharing decision-making didn’t agree with his strong personality. He was a fierce leader, so charismatic that his team respected and followed him. But it didn’t seem enough, according to the results of the survey.
“If we don’t address the issue up front now, it can get in the way soon enough.” Amy warned.
“I agree.” Susan said. “More ideas will add to the company’s assets and pulverized decision-making strengthens commitment.”
Commitment was a word that had dwelled in Mark’s mind a lot of late. He had been thinking about how Amy could go through the defences she had erected due to her life experiences. He looked at Amy’s up-nosed graceful profile, admiring the perfection of her beauty. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help her there.
