Page 29 of Finding the One (River Rain #7)

Oh, aye .

She was everything.

Standing beside the bed, he rode her rough.

She reared back into him, her excited pants and the sound of flesh meeting flesh egging him on, until he got close.

He reached along her back, tangling his fingers in her hair and giving it a gentle tug.

She mewed and was forced into an arch for him.

Christ, she was gorgeous.

He bent to her, snaking a hand around, and homed in on her clit.

The second he touched her, she went wild for him.

Or wilder.

Riding him hard as he rode her harder, it got to be touch and go who would fly first, and he was relieved when he heard her cry out, felt her cunt clench around his cock, and he knew she’d found it.

So Dair let go and had his own, thrusting brutally and pulling her hair back harder, only for her cunt to clench tighter, and what sounded like a second orgasm took her as his cock jetted inside her and her pussy milked it dry.

As they were coming down, Blake collapsed onto her forearms, her face in his covers, and Dair moved his fingers over her hips and that beautiful ass as he stroked himself inside as long as he could.

When he was losing it, he ordered, “Stay just like that, hen.”

She turned her head on the bed in order to watch him walk to the bathroom, but like the good girl she was, she remained in position as he came back out with a wet cloth. He used it to tenderly clean her.

After he bent to kiss the skin at the small of her back, he said there, “Ye can move now, darling.”

She shifted, but only to get to her knees, turn his way and grab him by the neck to pull him in for a deep, wet, long kiss.

And…aye.

Her libido matched his.

Absolutely.

When he returned from the bathroom the second time, she was coming out of the closet wearing a silk nightie in a violet the color of her eyes.

He knew there’d be no knickers. He slept nude. He discovered she didn’t like to, so he suspected the no knickers thing was about wanting as much of his cock as she could get, including when she woke in the night hungry for him, or he did the same for her, and simply because she’d noted he liked it.

She did that, his Blake.

If he liked something, she noted it.

They both headed to the bed, but Blake did it saying, “Your phone is going again, at this hour, and I hope it isn’t something else about Signe.”

On their walk, he’d told her about the Signe and the podcast. Dec had texted the link, but Dair hadn’t bothered to look at it. He’d do it tomorrow and send it to his solicitor in case Signe needed to be reminded as to the terms of the NDA.

But he went to his phone now, surprised anyone was trying to contact him, seeing it was well past midnight.

His screen told him he had two missed calls from Ned.

This, he didn’t like.

They knew Alex and Rix arrived home safe and sound. He’d been lying in bed beside Blake as she had an hour-long conversation with her sister, listening to news about the honeymoon, and telling her not only what had happened with Helena, but that she was in Scotland with Dair.

But Alex was pregnant. She was in her first trimester, where, as he understood it, more things could go wrong.

However, why would Ned be calling him and not his eldest daughter?

And at this hour?

Ned would know the time difference. And unless it was urgent, he’d wait until the morning.

He caught Blake’s eyes as he called the man back.

“Well, hell…Dair,” Ned said as greeting.

Dair didn’t like this either.

Before Dair could reply, Ned asked, “Are you with Blake?”

“Aye, of course.”

“Did I wake you?”

“We closed down a pub.”

That was over an hour ago, but Ned didn’t need to know that.

“Right, okay. Is she right there right now?”

Dair continued to gaze at Blake, and now her head was tipped to the side in curiosity, when he replied, “Aye.”

“Can you get somewhere where she isn’t?”

Goddammit.

“Aye,” he grunted and took the phone from his ear. “I need to take this and I’m going to get us some waters. I’ll be back,” he said to Blake.

“I can get us waters,” she offered.

“Dinnae move,” he commanded.

She rolled her eyes, not knowing what Dair knew.

That whatever this call was about with Ned was not good.

He went into the closet to put on some lounge pants then he moved to the stairwell, his good dog Sorcha, who quietly snoozed by the bed while her daddy and his woman were anything but quiet in it, came with him.

He was on the second flight of stairs when he went back to Ned.

“Still there?” he asked.

“Yes, Dair. Are you away from Blake?”

“Aye.”

“In a safe spot for you too?”

God fucking dammit.

“Just get on with it, Ned. Is Alex okay?”

“Alex?”

“This isn’t about Alex?”

“No. It’s about Helena.”

Dair was on the ground floor, almost to the kitchen, when he stopped dead.

“Helena?”

There was silence before Ned bit off, “Fuck, damn, fuck .”

“Ned,” Dair rumbled.

“I don’t know how to do this,” Ned told him.

“Just do it, whatever the fuck it is,” Dair replied, wondering what that woman was up to now.

“Dair, Helena was killed in a car crash on the M4 this afternoon.”

Dair froze solid.

“And I need you to know first, so when I tell Blake, you can be over the initial shock of it and be there for her,” Ned went on.

Forcing himself to move, Dair resumed his trek to the kitchen as he grunted, “Right,” into the phone.

“As you well know, there’s no love lost, but the woman was still her mother,” Ned said.

“She was,” Dair replied unnecessarily.

“And I know you knew her all your life and especially with what happened recently, you must be having conflicting emotions too, but it’s going to be all about Blake and Alex for a while.”

“Agreed. Absolutely,” Dair told him as he grabbed two bottles of still water from his fridge and moved back to the stairs. “I’m heading back to her. We doing this now?”

“I think we should.”

“Agreed on that as well,” Dair muttered, and he took the steps two at a time.

“I hate this for her,” Ned stated bitterly. “She’s happy. I’ve never seen her this happy. Both of them. Both of my daughters are finally happy, and now this.”

Even in this situation, Ned’s words weren’t lost on him, and they felt good because he knew he played a part in making Blake happy.

But he was still dreading what was about to happen.

Blake was lying in bed, scrolling on her phone, which made Dair uneasy she might run into the news about her mother, but the minute Dair and Sorcha made the room, she set it aside and shot a tentative, still curious smile Dair’s way but she reached to Sorcha.

Sorcha went to her side and got a head rub.

Dair went to his side, dumped the waters and got in bed with her.

“I’m back with her,” he told Ned. “Ready?”

“As I can be,” Ned muttered.

“Speaker?” Dair asked, and he hoped like fuck Ned agreed because he wanted to hear this and monitor how Blake responded it so he knew all he was dealing with.

“Yes, that’s perfect, Dair,” Ned agreed.

“Here we go then,” he murmured and looked to Blake. “It’s your dad, love.”

Her brows pinched.

This was her expression for mere seconds before a post-midnight call from her father penetrated and panic hit her face.

Quickly, he hit the speaker button on his screen and announced, “You’re on speaker, Ned.”

“Blake?” Ned called.

“Daddy?” Blake asked tremulously.

Dair wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her close so her stiff body was fitted to his side.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Ned said. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your visit with this news.”

“What is it?” she asked, and then she jumped to the same conclusion he did. “Is Alex okay?”

“It’s not Alex, darling. It’s your mum.”

Dair was studying her face, and he watched what was left of the color drain out of it.

“Mum?”

“Blake, sweetheart, there was an accident on the M4 this afternoon. Your mum was on her way from her place in London to her place in Somerset…”

“Oh my God,” Blake breathed.

“…seven cars were involved. There were four fatalities. Including your mum and her driver.”

“Oh my God,” Blake moaned.

“I’m so sorry, darling,” Ned said, and even over speakerphone, it was easy to hear he meant it.

“I don’t…I can’t…” Blake stammered these but said nothing more, so Dair pulled her even closer, and now Sorcha was feeling the atmosphere, so she was snuffling the bedclothes on Blake’s side.

“I know it’s hard to take in,” Ned said.

“Does Alex know?” she asked.

“I told you first. She’s my next call.”

“My God, I just…” Again, she couldn’t finish.

When no one said anything for a while, Ned stated, “I don’t know what to say. There’s nothing to say. I hate that you’re so far away from me. But I’m glad Dair is there with you.”

Like she forgot he was there, Blake turned from staring at the phone like it was an object of evil to Dair.

He didn’t take offense. He was too busy not allowing his chest to cave in at the expression on her face.

“Love,” he whispered.

“Mum’s dead,” she told him, like this call hadn’t come in on his mobile and he wasn’t holding it right then.

“I know, baby,” he cooed.

“I’m flying out. Tomorrow,” Ned told them. “I suspect Alex and Rix will be making arrangements too, once they learn the news.”

“Somerset?” Dair asked.

“That’s where I’ll be heading, yes.”

“We’ll make plans. Meet you there,” Dair informed him.

“Good, Dair. Thank you. I’ll keep you apprised of my arrangements. My PA is booking them now.”

“Great,” Dair forced out.

“Blake?” Ned called.

“I’m here, Daddy,” she said in a small voice.

“I know you’re not okay,” Ned said. “I won’t ask if that’s the case. I’m just so sorry, sweetheart.”

“Me too, Daddy,” she replied as if she wasn’t certain of her words.

“And I’ll see you when we meet in England,” Ned said.

“Okay,” she replied.

“Now try to get some rest, darling,” Ned encouraged. “I know it will be hard, but please try.”

“I’ll try, Daddy,” she mumbled.

“Can I have Dair?” Ned requested.

Blake said nothing. Now, she was just staring at the duvet.

So Dair took the call off speaker and put the phone to his ear.

“Ye got just me.”

“Do you have her?” Ned asked, his voice ravaged.

“Of course.” Dair tried not to sound insulted due to the circumstances.

“She’s going to be conflicted.”

“Aye, I ken.”

“I’ll communicate with you both, and ask Alex to do the same, if you would as well?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’m sorry this has upset your visit. Blake was very much looking forward to it.”

“Can’t be helped, but now we got a job, Ned. Ye hear me, mate?”

“I do, Dair. Glad you’re on the team. See you soon.”

“You will, Ned. Keep your chin up.”

“No choice. Take care, Dair.”

“You as well.”

They hung up, and he instantly put his phone on the charge pad before he turned back to his woman.

“Up, baby, to the bathroom,” he ordered. “Teeth brushed. Your makeup isn’t off yet. Let’s go.”

She nodded, and he pulled her out of bed with him.

They stood at each of their basins, and he watched carefully in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Then she washed her face.

But while she was putting some gunk on it, she swathed a load of the cream on her cheek, stilled, and suddenly wandered out without rubbing it in.

He followed her.

She sat on her side of the bed.

Sorcha pushed at her hand.

Blake stared at the floor.

Dair made his approach, gently moved his dog out of the way, and crouched in front of her.

“Look at me, love,” he urged.

She raised her gaze to his.

He reached to meticulously rub the cream all over her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered when he was wiping his fingers on his lounge pants.

That was when the tears started to fall.

He surged up and in, gathering her in his arms and positioning them under the bedclothes. Sorcha whined. Blake burrowed into his body.

“Th-the last time I saw her, I s-s-slapped her,” she sobbed into his skin.

“I ken, darling. Dinnae think of that now.”

“Oh God,” she moaned, pushing closer to him.

“I hate this for you, baby,” he whispered.

“M-me too. I hate it too, Dair,” she pushed out through weeping.

He held her.

She cried for a long time.

So long, she fell asleep doing it.

He held her longer, and when she didn’t move for some time, with extreme caution, he turned out the bedside lamp, called loving words to his dog, listened to his girl settle on the floor beside Blake, and he pulled the covers up further over his woman.

As for himself, he did not want Helena Coddington-Sharp dead, but he wasn’t upset she was. She was a shite mother who did harm to both of her girls. She was a shite woman who willfully did harm to a marriage. She was simply a shite woman.

She would be missed by very few, if any.

Dair had no doubt that the best future scenario between Blake and her mother was a détente. They would never build the mother-daughter relationship she might wish they had.

But now, that option wasn’t open to her and the last time she saw her mother was not a good memory in the slightest.

And now, Dair was going to have to phone his father and let him know this happened.

As well as tell his mother and his sister.

More, now Blake was the Marchioness of Norton.

She was a peer of the English realm.

She’d just inherited a vast estate, multiple properties, a complicated portfolio, and massive bank accounts.

Her life had just changed irrevocably.

And his life did too.