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As I washed up the plate and saucepan, the beans rumbling in my belly giving me indigestion, my mobile beeped.
Brilliant plan, Mausi. Dad wasn’t happy that she insisted he sit in wheelchair and pushed him around the market. Food won. They cooked evening meal together like buddies. Planning to come home tomorrow.
Can’t wait xxxxx
I squeezed out the dishcloth, wringing it hard with my fingers until my knuckles went white. The moment I would see him, I’d have my answer. I could guess at it already. My sexual being had decided in advance of my rational mind. I needed him. How could I not want to be with him every night?
Chapter Twenty-Three
The text announcing his return arrived a little after midday on Wednesday.
Pick you up as usual.
Short and to the point. It didn’t need to say anything else. I went straight into galvanized sex mode. To kill the time until evening, I busied myself with a fiddly arrangement and a shipment of greeting cards. Bridget was branching out at Al’s insistence to bolster takings. Competition from the Internet companies was fierce.
Eager to see Stefan, I waited on the roadside with Nettie and my music stand. In the dim light, I rocked up and down on my toes, peering down the street. Soon the clocks would go forward and the evenings would be light again. He pulled up, and I loaded my things into the boot without his assistance.
He greeted me with a wonderful smile. I gave the seat belt a yank and it stuck. Reaching over, Stefan pulled hard on the buckle, releasing it.
“Sticks sometimes.” As he moved back, his lips encountered mine and his goatee brushed against my cheek. He inhaled and sniffed. “Divine. Missed you.”
I didn’t wear perfume—the lingering aroma of flowers stayed on my skin long into the evening.
I opened my mouth, and he slipped his tongue in, a quick dart, like a hint of what was to come later.
“I am staying the night?” he asked.
I didn’t treat it like a question. It was a statement of intent. Of course he was. My untamed pussy clenched as my own senses picked up on his masculine scent.
He chatted all the way to the rehearsal, updating me on his father and the progress with Bianca. He sounded optimistic and content to leave his father. “Hans is visiting this weekend. Finally, pulling his finger out.”
As he parked the car, I mentioned the orchestra.
“Let’s keep it a secret until after the concert,” he said. “The news on Felix is not good. The trustees are likely to extend my contract.”
“Good. I mean for you. Poor Felix.” I frowned. I had nothing against the man, but secretly I didn’t want him to return to the orchestra.
We were the picture of professionalism that evening. Not a suggestive look between us. I played brilliantly, surpassing all previous occasions. Stefan’s lesson in nude performing had done the trick. It really was not an issue, playing in the midst of a body of people, tucked out of sight behind stands and sawing bows.
I was note perfect and beamed at my achievement. Even the dopey Cordelia remarked on my tonal qualities. If I’d ever doubted whether I belonged in the sinfonia, among the teachers and professionals, I dismissed those negative thoughts.
Stefan and I avoided any contact after the practice. We left the hall separately and I clambered into his car with my head ducked down.
He sped away in his usual fashion. “You played fantastically. I wanted to say something about your solo, but it seemed inappropriate.”
“Thank you. You have given me that confidence.” I patted his leg.
“It was always in you.”
We fell silent. Stefan stifled a yawn with a hand. By the time we’d drawn up outside my house, he’d yawned several times.
“What time did you get up this morning?” I asked.
“Five-ish.”
Early, probably to give him time to catch the flight home, then he’d worked hard this evening, his usual energetic self and concentrating hard. He looked wiped out, with shadows under his eyes. I pursed my lips, tempering my own lust to have him close and in bed with me. He needed to sleep.
“Look. You’re beat and I have the early delivery tomorrow. As much as I’d like us to be together, you should go and get a good night’s sleep in your own bed.”
