The Wine Merchant

She moaned happily as I caressed her, reacquainting myself with as much of her as I could reach while trapped under her. She'd always had firm breasts with long ultra-sensitive nipples. Her moans turned into loud groans as I caught her nipples between my fingertips, which grew louder and more urgent after I bent my head to suck and nibble those magnificent nipples.

I wanted to bury myself into her. I rolled her onto her back, and she smiled back up at me. Her legs opened to receive me between them. Her hips pushed up eager to feel my hard flesh. Our mouths joined as she feverishly kissed me.

"I never thought I'd make love to you ever again," she whispered between the kisses. "It's a miracle."

"I need to be in you."

I eagerly slid between her thighs and my throbbing cock sheathed itself inside her hungry passage. I groaned as the tight wet, silky soft vagina caressed the skin of my cock. She wrapped her legs around my thighs holding me close. And then we were moving in harmony. We moved as one, surging against each other. Her softness caressing my hard body. My hard flesh stimulating her soft passage. Our hands and mouths moving as a compliment to the main show.

My need for fulfilment was growing, was building up, I could feel the tension deep in my groin. Starting in my balls and I was desperate for release. Loren was shuddering under my assault. Her head fell back, and she cried out as her orgasm hit; her body shaking, her juice flooding my groin. With a long drawn out a groan, I came, my essence surging deep into her and mixing with hers to create the ultimate holiday cocktail.

We both shuddered as our bodies teased the last of our orgasms from our sweaty bodies. She wouldn't let me pull out, or roll off her. Her heels and arms holding me tight against her.

"You're never leaving me again," she sobbed softly against my neck.

"I won't," I promised.

Twice more that afternoon we proved our love for each other, before collapsing into an exhausted sleep.

~~~~<>~~~~

The room was dark when I woke. For a long moment, I couldn't work out where I was, or what had woken me? But then the sound of the waves on the beach outside answered the first question and the lack of a warm body beside me, the second.

I lay there, a tad disoriented while I gathered my wits. I called out to Loren, but there was no answer, and the villa had that empty feeling. A quick look around confirmed that she'd left, the trace of water in the shower, evidence it hadn't been that long ago.

I needed a shower as well, so I took a quick one. A shave, and clean clothes made me feel like a new man. Loren hadn't returned in the fifteen minutes I took to get ready.

The bedside clock said it was a few minutes past seven. My stomach was reminding me, that apart from a couple of mouthfuls at lunch I hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours. I picked up my phone and sent Jane a quick text that I'd found Loren. Then I headed towards the main building, hoping to find Loren.

I couldn't see her at first as I walked in. She wasn't in either of the bars or any of the restaurants. It was only when I stepped out onto the veranda and looked around the swimming pool that I spotted her. She was alone at a table, wearing a short pale blue spaghetti strapped sundress that showed off her long legs and beautiful shoulders. Seeing her looking so beautiful gave me a surge of emotions as I walked towards her. As I drew close, I noticed a bottle and two glasses of wine and a couple of plates on the table.

She gave a start as she saw me approaching and glanced over to the walkway to the accommodation block.

"Tom you're here. You were so fast asleep I couldn't wake you. I thought you might not wake up until the morning," she said. "I'm sorry, I was sure I'd be back, long before you woke up."

"Hunger woke me up, and then I missed you," I told her as I started to sit down. Then I paused, taking in the significance of the second glass and two half empty plates. If she thought I was asleep, then it wasn't for me.

"Am I interrupting something, it looks like you are with someone," I asked softly, looking at the contents of the table.

She glanced around looking nervous. "I ... I was hungry. I came to get something to eat, and I err, bumped into Martin, he's the one you saw me with earlier. I needed to talk ..."

My hackles rose immediately at hearing her words. "No, I don't think so," I snapped. "You said he was history and he bloody well better be. I was willing to accept what went on before but not now. Where is he?" I asked angrily.

"He just went back to ou ... his room to pick up something he got for me."

This was starting to sound like it was a bit more than a simple holiday romance. I needed answers.

I pulled up another chair; I wasn't going to sit in his. "I though you told me, he didn't mean anything to you. If that's the case, why are you seeing him again?"

She took my hand, "He doesn't, I promise you, Tom. But I was also feeling a bit guilty; I wanted to explain to him what had happened. One moment we were walking along the beach. The next I'm in the arms of another man, and I was completely ignoring him. When I saw him at the restaurant earlier, I thought it would be a good time to explain."

"When did you meet him?"

"I've known him for years ..."

"What!" I was shocked. This didn't sound good, was this something more than a holiday romance?

Loren cried out, "Don't jump to any conclusions, you've got nothing to worry about. His name is Martin Richards, and we were both at the Royal College. We met when I was in my second year, and he on his final. We went out on a couple of dates during that year, but that was all."

She looked at me, her blue eyes pleading with me to believe her. She continued,

"He's an art restorer. I used to see him in the office every few months, when he was collecting or dropping off paintings. But I hadn't seen him recently. It was a complete surprise when we bumped into each other last week. I was at the resort in the Maldives. He been on a diving holiday with a couple of mates. He transferred from their resort after his friends left. That was a couple of days before I was due to transfer here. It was a big surprise when we recognised each other."

"So how come he's here with you now?"

"Why don't we all sit-down and we can tell you, he's over there." She pointed across the pool, and I could see him hovering in the shadows.

"No, neither of us are going to see him again," I said harshly. I could tolerate her having a holiday romance, given the circumstances. But I'd drawn the line, there was no way I was going to allow them any further contact, and I had no wish to meet him.

She looked a bit surprised at the tone of my words and put her hand up to stop him as he started to move towards us. "But why Tom, he hasn't done anything wrong. It's my fault, I let him believe I was single. I told him you had been in an accident and I was on my own now," she said.

I shook my head, my words sounded irrational even to me.

"That doesn't matter. Whatever there was between you, should have ended the moment you saw me on the beach. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't exist anymore, and if he's very wise, he'll be checking out tonight. I promised I wouldn't get upset, but you need to tell me the truth. You said you'd explain what has gone on between you. And that's what you are going to do."

Then a dark thought struck me, something she'd started to say earlier. "Where's he staying?" I demanded.

"That's what I was trying to explain to you. I asked Martin to come here with me. Jane had suggested I should have a holiday romance. I didn't have any intention to have one, but when I bumped into him, an old friend I'd once had romantic feelings about. It just seemed like fate was trying to tell me something. It was as though it destined to be. He was able to change his flight, but when he tried to book a room they didn't have any free, so I suggested he share mine."

"So, are we paying for him to sleep with you!" I hissed.

Loren pulled away from me. "That's a crude way of putting it. And it's not entirely accurate. We were sharing a room but not a bed, he was using the couch."

"But did you sleep with him?" I persisted.

It took her a long time to answer, she played with her glass and glanced over to where Martin was still standing. There were tears tracking down her cheeks as she quietly sobbed.

"Last night," she whispered, "I'm so sorry Tom, but I did. But it was just the once. Last night was the only time. I needed to know if I could feel anything with another man."

I'd already guessed she had slept with him. Now my battered ego needed to know if she'd got the answer to her question.

"And did you feel anything?"

The tears welled up again, and I gave her a clean napkin to dry them. "Tom, it was sex and you know I like it. There wasn't the intense feeling I get with you. It was fun, but that was all, and I insisted he uses a condom."

Shit, I hadn't even thought about that. "Would you have done it again?"

"Christ, I don't know, maybe. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it made me feel warm and comfortable. It was nice to feel wanted, so probably yes, I would have if I'm honest."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I took solace in the fact he hadn't rocked her world. Looking over to where he'd been, I saw that he was still waiting in the shadows. I made a decision, which I hoped I wasn't going to regret.

I stood up and looked down at her. "I'm going to walk over to the restaurant. I need to get something to eat. You've got as long as it takes them to find me a table to say goodbye."

I had a second thought. "On the way, I'm going to swing by the reception and cancel your room. I'm being petty I know, but there's no fucking way we are paying for him to stay here any longer. He can pay for it himself, but if he's wise, he'll move to another hotel on the other side of the island. I don't ever want either of us to see him again."

I turned and walked away. Behind me, I heard her chair scrape on the ground as she stood. I was surprised to feel her hand on my arm, and she pulled me around to face her.

"I think you are being a bit harsh, I'm the one that's at fault. I should have believed in Rachael and waited for you. But I didn't, and I'm going to have to live with my actions for the rest of my life. I just need one minute to deal with him, wait for me in the reception."

She gave me a hug and a kiss, and murmured, "I love you." Then turned and walked in his direction. I watched her go for a moment before resuming walking in the other direction.

There were several people waiting for the receptionists, so I joined the queue and waited for my turn. What was the number of the room she been in? I tried to remember, 30 rang a bell, or was it 130. Hell, it didn't matter, the receptionist would know.

I was stepping up to the counter when Loren joined me, steering me away.

"No need," she said, "Apparently, I'm already checked out. He took over the room."

I stopped and started back towards the desk. "If he's staying here, then we're checking out."

She pulled me around to face her. "We don't need to," she explained. "He's agreed to leave in the morning and find somewhere else. Let's go and get you something to eat."

As we moved towards the restaurants, she paused by a trash can and dropped a small plastic bag she'd pulled from her handbag into it. She saw me watching her and said, "I don't want to keep anything he got for me. I'll get rid of the other things when we get back to our room."

Loren knew I loved seafood, so she recommended the Lagoon restaurant, which was a few hundred yards along the beach. We walked along a palm-lined pathway that bordered the beach. The rhythmic hiss of the waves on the sand was overlaid by the continuous chirping of the night insects.

We were shown to a secluded table on the terrace. For the first time in for such a long period we were together in a social situation, and I was revelling in it. We sat at a slight angle to each other, so our legs touched.

She took my hand, and brought it up to her face, gently rubbing my fingertips across her skin. "I'd given up hope that we'd be able to do this again. I thought that I would be going home to arrange your funeral."

"I'm here for you now, and I don't ever intend to leave you again." I squeezed her hand, and she gave a little sob. Then she wanted a kiss.

I checked out the wine list and spotted a hidden gem. A Savion Blanc from a little known New Zealand vineyard that was one of the best the region produced. I happily ordered a bottle, and then turned my attention to the menu.

This was the first time since I'd woken up I'd had the opportunity to enjoy a good meal at a restaurant. My eye was drawn to a scallop dish as a starter, then a lobster risotto to follow. Loren looked embarrassed when she admitted she only had room for the main course. We both knew she'd eaten with Martin earlier, but we didn't want to discuss it.

The waiter arrived with the bottle. I've no idea why servers still go through with the whole 'would sir like to taste the wine act' when the bottle has a screw top. New Zealand banned the use of corks in their wine industry years ago, and cork taint is the main reason you should taste it. He poured and we both sipped the wine.

"This is one of the things I missed," she murmured as she toyed with her glass. "You always knew just what type of wine I wanted."

The waiter offered to take our order. She pointed at me to go first, and I ordered the scallops and the risotto. Loren ordered a simple salad to start and seared tuna to follow.

There was something I needed to make her understand, and I hoped I was eloquent enough to explain my feelings. I had walked back into her life after a two-year absence, and in the beginning, I'd expected that we'd just pick up our lives from where we'd left off. That had been a foolish ambition, of course, she'd changed.

I started to speak, hoping that I wasn't going to sound like the rambling idiot I felt.

"I know it's been so hard for you. For me, the accident was only a few weeks ago, and I can't even remember that. I keep forgetting it's been so much longer for you."

She gave a sob, "I was so lonely, I missed you so much. I could touch you, but it wasn't you."

"That what I mean, I was the lucky one, my last recollection was seeing you across the road, then darkness. Then back to the light. I didn't dream, I wasn't aware of what was going on or any of those other things you hear about people in comas. Two long years for you, a blink of an eye for me."

"Are you worried about what happened to me, have I changed?" She asked.

"I suppose that's part of it. I know that our lives have changed and I probably overreacted about Martin. But I understand I was as good as dead as far as you were concerned and had been for those two years. You'd been mourning me all that time, and I think that you'd accepted it was time to let me go."

Two tears trickled down her cheeks as she nodded. "I let Rachael convince me to go away, and oh god yes I hoped she was right. But I'd already made my mind up, I was going to let them switch off your life support when I got back, I didn't want you to suffer any longer."

I felt my throat tighten in the knowledge that she'd been ready to give up on me, and if I hadn't woken up, I would have been dead at the end of the month. It was a scary thought, and Loren sensed it. She took my head in her hands and drew me into a long passionate kiss.

She whispered after our lips parted, "Getting you back is the best present you could ever give me. I never stopped loving you. These last few weeks were supposed to be so that I could see what it would be like without you."

"And how was it?"

"Not much fun until I met Martin. If I'd just wanted to get fucked, I'd have gone to a place like Hedonism in Jamaica. If I met someone, I wanted it to be the person, not the place and the atmosphere that made me like them. I'd met a couple of men on the trip but none of them even vaguely interested me until Martin turned up. I knew him, and I trusted him. I'd enjoyed our few dates at university, so I thought 'what the hell, I'll give him a try'."

There's a primeval feeling that all of us have, and it doesn't matter what the circumstances are, I guarantee we've all felt it at some time. It's that dull sensation of fear and dread in the pit of the stomach when the person we love admits to having feelings for another person. That was what I was feeling at that moment.

"Was he the boyfriend you'd just broken up with when we first met?"

"Who, Martin? No, I hadn't gone out with him for over a year by then. That was Philip."

"Philip, I don't remember you mentioning him before. Did I ever meet him?"

"I don't think so. He was a photographer I met at a party I went to with Martin. I'd liked his work and found him so much more interesting than Marin. For a while I thought he's was the one for me. The trouble was, it turned out I was just one of many for him. I turned up at his place to find him fucking his model. That was a month or so before I made that fateful decision and walked into your shop."

"Ahh."

"Then I met you and my world changed." She took my hand and pressed it against her breast. "It doesn't matter what happened to me while you were away. I never stopped loving you, and if anything I think I love you even more now."

"So Martin is history?"

"Ancient history."

And that was the end of that. We finished our meal in a growing atmosphere of pent up sexual need. Dessert was a mock orgy of a shared rum soaked chocolate mousse. We feed each other, getting more on our faces than in our mouths.

Arms around each other we headed back towards our villa. Loren dragged me down to the waterfront, and after taking off our shoes, we splashed in the surf. The moon was full, and the sand was bleached white. Tiny fish scattered from our feet in flashes of silver.

The sand masked the sound of the rushing feet. The first that we were aware of the presence of our attacker was a violent shove in our backs. Loren stumbled and fell to her knees in the water. I turned to see a dark figure silhouetted against the lights from the back of the beach, a couple of paces away. I missed the object in the attacker's hand until he took a step forward and there was a vicious agonising pain down my forearm. He shouted something, a couple of incoherent words.

I stumbled back and ended up on my arse in the water. There was a blinding white flash and a stabbing pain my head and then nothing.

~~~~<*****>~~~~

I slowly woke to the sounds of a hospital room filtering through the mother of all headaches. Shit, I've been here before I thought, Christ I hope that it wasn't another two years that I'd lost. I swallowed, well that was a plus, no tube down my throat. Then the sickening thought was Loren safe.

I tried to move, holy shit that hurt. A bad pain shot down my right arm. Pain equals recent injury, which was hopeful. My gasp of pain attracted attention.

"Mr Nolan, can you hear me?" A face swam into my view, a middle-aged Indian face.

"Uh ha, who are you, how long this time, is she ok?"

"I'm Dr Santosh. You've been here for five days since your assault. We decided to put you into a medically induced coma as a precaution, because of your prior history of head injuries. And we had to operate on your arm. We put a plate in your arm to fix the fractured bones."

"Crap he did a job on me, but is Loren alright?"

"Don't worry she's fine, she was a bit knocked about that's all. She's asleep on the sofa in the staff room. I'll go and get her in a moment."