Alexis 2013
It hadn’t happened. Greyson and I had been trying for a baby for a year. We’d been to the doctors, had the tests to make sure all was well. We were healthy and able, but little boy or girl Ratcliffe was not ready.
I’d finished what I was hoping to get done for the weekly shows, so pulled out the novel I’d been writing for years. It was more an elaborate journal of my life with Greyson. I spent more time re-reading passages than I did writing new ones. Greyson had been putting in particularly long hours lately. I assumed it was a commission piece. I couldn’t wait to see it. The man continued to surprise me with his endless talent.
Buggers curled around my leg. It was time for dinner. He purred and waited for me to pick him up. That was our routine; he was the one to remind Greyson and me to eat. In the kitchen, I fed him first and freshened his water before I looked in the fridge for what to make. I still wasn’t much of a cook, but I was adding to my pitiful repertoire slowly but surely.
Heat tingled my spine. “Good timing. You can cook dinner.” I turned to see Greyson leaning against the counter. He had been looking at my ass and wasn’t shy about it. His hair was back in a bandana, as it always was when he worked.
“I want to show you something.”
I closed the fridge at his tone. Intense, like he had a secret. “Is everything okay?”
He didn’t answer, just held out his hand. He walked me to his studio and waited for me to precede him but my focus was on the painting in the middle of it, a painting of me. It was the one he’d started on our honeymoon. I was dressed in my wedding gown but it was the size of the portrait. My eyes watered and my breath caught. It wasn’t just his sculpture he’d been keeping from me.
“Is that for the portrait gallery?”
His focus was on the painting. “Yes.”
I loved how he saw me, how beautiful I was to him. Just like when we were kids, he made me look radiant and ethereal.
“It’s exquisite.”
His hand moved up my back and curled around my neck, applying gentle pressure to bring my mouth to his. Turning into him, I kissed him deeper. He fisted my tee and pulled it over my head. My bra followed. I yanked at his tee; he grabbed the back of it and pulled it forward over his head. He dragged my sweats and panties down my legs. I returned the favor. He backed me up against the wall, his fingers digging into my ass as he lifted me into his arms. My feet linked at his back, one of his hands slammed against the wall as he jerked his hips and surged into me. Grabbing his face, I kissed him, sweeping his mouth, tasting every part of him I could. It was fast, hard and so freaking beautiful. I came on a scream, he was right there with me. He touched his forehead to my shoulder, his breathing labored.
“That was incredible,” I whispered then added, “But that doesn’t get you out of making dinner.”
He didn’t move, but I felt his body shaking from his laughter.
“Greyson!”
“What!”
He was in his studio, but the door was open so he wasn’t working on anything I couldn’t see. I should just walk to him, but I was comfortable on the sofa.
“What are the chances of getting the blueprints to your home in Ireland?”
His head popped out of his studio. “Why?”
“First, I have to say whoever kept these records was amazing. Everything is detailed, down to the price of napkins for balls.”
He walked from his studio, wiping his hands on a rag.
“With the internet, have I mentioned I really LOVE the internet, it’s amazing how much easier it is to track this stuff.”
He settled next to me. “What stuff?”
“Inventory of assets. Apparently taxes back in the day were based on assets, so it wasn’t unheard of for prominent families to hide some of their assets to reduce their tax burden. After the fire, the inventory of assets for your household changed. Among the things missing was the diamond. I’ve been researching some of the pieces that no longer show up on your household inventory; items similar by manufacturer and date are priceless. If these were sold, they’d be documented somewhere if nothing more than by the auction house that handled the sale. But hard-core collectors would kill to get some of the pieces your family has, which means there would be bragging. I’m finding nothing.”
He took one of the pages listing out the assets. “Like the diamond.”
“Exactly.
“So you think these pieces and the diamond are still in Taisce Manor.”
“I do. What if when they rebuilt the castle they added a room?”
“A concealed room. That’s not likely to show up on the blueprints if they want to keep it a secret.”
“True, but we could see if the footprint for the rebuild matches the blueprints.”
He brushed the hair from my shoulder, his thumb rubbing along my jaw. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I really am. It’s fascinating and it will make one hell of a book.”
He reached for his phone and called Callum.
“Hey, Grandfather. I’m good and you? She’s fine. She’s right here researching the diamond…yeah. She wants to get her hands on the blueprints for the rebuild…yeah after the fire. Thanks, have Nigel mail them to the house. Thanks. Yep, talk soon.”
He dropped his phone on the coffee table then swiped everything I had on the sofa to the floor. I was about to protest until I saw the heat in his gaze that was fixed on my mouth. I went boneless. He grabbed my legs and pulled me to my back; he wasted no time covering my body with his.
“We should eat.” He looked wicked when he said that. He moved slowly down my body. I closed my eyes. I loved this plan.
Greyson
Alexis and I were cleaning the apartment, she was singing to her favorite tunes. I loved her, but fucking hell she really did sound like Buggers would if he got his paw caught in a door. She looked cute though, shaking her ass to the beat.
With the amount of times we had sex, I was surprised and a little disappointed that we hadn’t conceived. It would come, I was hopeful, but I really wanted to see Alexis in our children. I was looking at plans for a cradle. I’d never worked with wood, but I wanted to make something for our baby. Baby, we needed to make her. That was one way to stop Alexis from singing; my cock twitched in agreement.
The house phone rang, before I could call to her to let it ring, she was answering it. A second or two later, she called to me, “Colin’s on the phone.”
She held out the phone. I kissed her before I took it.
“Hi, Colin.”
“Are you sitting down?”
It wasn’t like Colin to be dramatic. The man was reserved, much like William but not as stiff. “Should I be?”
“I think so for this news. Guess who I just got off the phone with, who wants an exhibit of your work?”
It was like a sledgehammer, how hard my heart was pounding. “You’re kidding.”
“No. Early 2016 The Met will be featuring Greyson Ratcliffe. I know it’s close to three years away, but that is how far in advance they book their exhibits.”
“Holy shit.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Alexis was eyeing me, eager to hear the news. I pulled her close.
“Tell them yes.”
“I already did.”
“This is incredible. Thank you, Colin.”
“You’ve earned it. I’ve got to go. I’ve got paintings to assemble. Let’s meet next week so you can approve what I’ve selected.”
“Text me when and where. I’ll get a flight. Thank you.”
I hung up, Alexis was smiling even though she didn’t even know what the news was. She was just happy for me because I was happy. I kissed her. I didn’t throw her off the scent though; she looked expectant. “So what happened?”
“The Met is doing an exhibit of my work.”
She looked like a guppy. Her mouth opened, but words evaded her so she closed it again. It took about a minute before she replied, “The Met?”
I grinned.
“That was your dream, like your all time dream was to get into The Met.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me she remembered and still my chest got all tight knowing that she had. “Yes.”
She threw her arms around me. “This is incredible, monumental. We have to do something to commemorate this moment.”
I had an idea that required no clothing.
“We should go out and celebrate.”
I dropped her ass on the counter and kissed her, tasting that mouth, every fucking inch. “We should stay in and celebrate.”
Her legs curled around my waist. “You make a persuasive argument.”