Topic: Absence Makes The Heart ...

Caroline Granger

Date: 2011-04-29 22:50 EST
Caroline couldn't sleep. It wasn't that she wasn't tired - all the work involved in shaking up the company and firing new energy into some of the wearier departments was exhausting in its own way. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable, exactly; her new suite of rooms in the big house was opulent, the lap of luxury. But she was alone, and she missed the sound of a familiar heartbeat beneath her ear as she slept.

With the arrival of warmer weather, Richmond had been out of the harbour for over a week now, and though she thought he might be back tonight, she'd heard nothing. Which was why she had ended up sitting on her windowsill in her nightie, wrapped up in a shawl, staring out at the cultivated wilderness of the Maple Grove Gardens.

The hammock swayed slowly back and forth as Richmond stared up at the timbers of the floorboard over head. He had a hand behind his head and the other lay upon his bare stomach. He, too, couldn't sleep. It'd been more than a week since the sweet smell of her hair tickled his nose as she dozed with her head upon his chest. His mind wandered as he wondered where she was, what she was doing. There was a pang of loneliness that he quickly recognized from missing her. The rest of the ship was dark and empty. Because the party had run so late, Richmond didn't dare risk going to Maple Grove and waking her. No, he'd wait until the morning, as much as it pained him to do so.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Caroline muttered to herself after realising she'd been staring at nothing for half an hour or more. Sliding off the windowsill, she picked up the phone by her bed, dialling Richmond's number. If he was at sea, he wouldn't be sleeping yet; and if he was in harbor, he probably wouldn't mind her calling to check in with him. Listening to the ring tone, she bit her lip, her foot twitching agitatedly.

As if on cue, his phone began to softly play The Lady in Red by Chris Deburgh. Richmond couldn't help but smile. The song alone brought back a tender memory. And the thought that she was thinking about him when he was thinking about her just some how seemed right in his mind. Reaching above his head, he pulled the phone from it's resting spot and opened it up. "Hello, beautiful."

Just the sound of his voice made her smile, a wide curve of relief and pleasure as those familiar deep tones reverberated in her ear. "Did I wake you?" she asked softly, sinking back down onto the windowsill, grinning stupidly at nothing but her sheer exhilaration at hearing his voice again.

His smile, just as bright as hers, curled his lips and tightened his cheeks. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her until just that moment. "No, you didn't wake me. Are you alright?" He shifted a little in the hammock and sighed as he got comfortable once again.

"I am now I'm talking to you." What a corny line, but she didn't even groan. It was completely true. "Are you home yet' Safe?" Tucking her heels up onto the sill, she rested her chin on her knees, curled into the telephone.

He laughed softly at he corny line, but he couldn't deny feeling the same way. "I'm in the harbor, safe and sound. The party went on a lot later than I should have let it. I'm sorry I didn't call. I didn't want to wake you." He closed his eyes and put his arm across them. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

Caroline felt herself relax further when he assured her he was home and safe, that nothing had gone wrong to keep him away from her. "You can call me anytime, captain," she promised him. "I won't even swear at you." His expression of impatience matched her own, but unlike her, he didn't have a faint inability to stop himself from being impulsive when it came to them. "Why wait?" she asked with a cheeky smile that was audible. "I can be there in less than fifteen minutes."

"But I like calling you Caroline." His sense of humor accented by the mischievious sparkle in his eyes and soft laughter that followed the punch line. He tried to think of a good reason why she shouldn't come to see him, but couldn't come up with a single one. "Then I'll see you in less than fifteen minutes, hmm?"

"Damn straight." She didn't even say goodbye, too eager to be on her way to him. Slipping her feet into boots and grabbing a coat, she snuck out of the big house - no mean feat with all the security - and clambered into her beloved Mini, letting the engine roar as she drove out and across the city to the Docks. Parking at this time of night was easy, and pretty soon the patter of her running footsteps could be heard coming up along the wooden piers.

He chuckled the moment she hung up the phone. He folded his own phone and stowed it away before gracefully slipping from the hammock. He wore a pair of gauzy cotton sleep pants and nothing more. And while she was making her mad dash in her little Cooper, Richmond was preparing the room for her arrival. A candle was lit in the corner on the night table that he'd installed just for her. The bed was carefully turned down as it awaited it's owners to occupy it. And as he heard the patter of her little feet upon the boards above his head, he checked his look in the mirror and tried valiantly to use spit on his fingers to tame the cowlick that had taken over his forehead.

There was a faint crash as she ran straight into the ladder rather than using it to climb up, and a scramble when she reached the deck. By the time Caroline got to Richmond's inner sanctum, she was breathless, red in the face, and still grinning like a loon. She launched herself across the room and into his arms.

He cringed when he heard her crashing about, but couldn't help but chuckle softly. The image was pretty clear in his mind. When she reached the room, he only took a single step forwards before she was in his arms once again. He bowed his head and kissed her, the loneliness and ache slipping away into nothingness.

Leaning into him, she stroked her hands up his back, one slipping around to cradle his jaw as her lips parted to play with his, loosing a soft sound of aching pleasure at finally having him back where he belonged. "Gods, I've missed you," she breathed against his lips.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He truly meant it. While the party had been a lucrative deal, in the end it hadn't been worth the trouble. He'd missed Caroline something fierce. "I won't do that to you ever again."

"You love being at sea," she countered, though there was barely a moment between her words and yet more kisses. "Don't keep yourself here just for my sake." They were token words; at heart, she didn't mean them, wanting him nearby all the time. Part of that scared her, to be so dependent on one person when she was the dependable one in her circle.

He craned his neck so he could look into her eyes. "Not as much as I love being by your side. I couldn't stop thinking about you, Caroline." He smiled then and kissed her again. His arms were around her frame and he clung to her.

Caroline Granger

Date: 2011-04-29 22:53 EST
She smiled, finally releasing her lips from his as he drew back to look down at her. "You kept inserting yourself into my head during meetings," she confessed with a small chuckle. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to concentrate on finance and public relations when you're having wild sex on the board room table in your head?"

He continued to hold her, unwilling to let her stray even a fraction of an inch away. "Well, you could pay me, that'd be finances. And then I could tell the world about what a beautiful, wonderful, charming and sexy woman you are. That'd be very good PR, hmm?"

She giggled softly, stroking her palms over his back. "Somehow, I think that wouldn't work too well," she smiled. "Fenner would certainly say you're biased." Smoothing her hands from him for a moment, she untied the belt of her coat and let it drop to the deck, cuddling back into the warmth of his embrace more comfortably.

"I won't deny being biased, and he would be, too, if he were in my....whoa, you're only in your nightie!" He held her and glanced around, almost scandalized. He would have been more if he hadn't been so aroused by her lack of clothing. "Come on, let's get into the bed where it's warm."

Laughing at his reaction to her lack of decent clothing, Caroline slipped her feet out of her boots before he managed to usher her toward the bed. Then it struck her ....bed. "What happened to the hammock?" she asked curiously, even as she lowered down onto the sheets.

He climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over them both before dragging her down to his chest. "It's still there. But this is more comfortable and easier to hold you in. Besides, if we roll in our sleep we won't fall out."

Leaning over him, Caroline smiled faintly, touched that he'd put that much thought into a place where not all that much sleeping went on, really. Her fingers combed in and out of his hair as she nuzzled to his nose for a moment, revelling in the feel of him so close, knowing he was hers without needing to ask. And then it happened. "I love you."

His hands were gentle on her back, caressing the velvety soft skin along her spine. As they held a conversation with no words as they gazed into each other's eyes, one hand moved to caress and hold her finely boned cheek. Her words took him by surprise, but pleasantly so. And when he responded, it wasn't because it was the nice thing to do. He responded because he meant it. "I love you, too."

She was silent for a long moment, faintly disbelieving that she'd said it, much less gained an equal reply. Then a very soft laugh escaped her as she leaned down to kiss him tenderly. "I never thought I'd say that again and mean it."

His arm moved so that he hooked them around her back as he returned the tender kiss with just a touch of the fire that was building within him. "I never thought I'd say it." He used his upper body strength to twist and roll her onto her back.

Laid back beneath him, brown hair spilling across the pillow under her head, she arched up to him unconsciously, coiling her arms to his back as he surrounded her with the scent and sensation of everything that was Richmond.

He used his elbows as posts to keep his upper body from crushing her beneath him as he gazed down into her eyes. "Caroline, there's something I have to tell you."

Caroline Granger

Date: 2011-04-29 22:56 EST
Ice coursed down her spine at those words. The last time they'd been spoken to her, she'd had her heart ripped out and displayed like a trophy for all her former friends to see. Wariness crept into her expression as she looked up at him. "If you tell me you're married, I may have to kill you here and now," she warned him in a low voice.

"Not married," he promised quickly and lowered to kiss the tip of her nose. "The sea is an evil and cruel mistress, though. She may not like what I'm about to say, either."

More relieved than she was willing to admit, Caroline smiled faintly up at him. "I'm sure she'll forgive you, in time," she assured him teasingly, relaxing once again. "What is it?"

He didn't hesitate when asked for fear of not being able to say it if he waited. "I want you to move on board with me. It's not as grandiose as your rooms at the estate, but you won't be surrounded by work here. Work will be work and home will be home."

She blinked, staring up at him for a long moment with a look of utter softness on her face. Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn't been that. "What about your overnight trips?" she asked softly. "They're big money for you, and you love being out on the sea at night."

"You can come with me." His eyes pleaded with her, though he tried to remain more logical than emotional about it. "You'll love sleeping at sea. And it's very relaxing, especially after a hard day filled with numbers and statistics and dealing with family."

Her smile was sweet, and a little sad, as she answered. "You have no idea how tempting it is, Richmond," she murmured softly. "But I'd need to talk to my grandfather. He'll be able to tell me if I can disappear for a couple of days at a time without being missed too much." Her hand rose, curling lovingly against his cheek. "I hope I can. I couldn't think of anything better than living here, with you."

He couldn't hide the disappointment, but after a moment, he nodded his head. "Yes, of course. It's selfish of me to want you all to myself. Especially after Mr. Granger announced that you'll be stepping into his shoes." He smiled then, if a bit wanly, and kissed her softly.

Her lips softened beneath his for a moment, but she gently drew back to smile hopefully up at him. "You know ....even if I can't come with you on overnight trips, that's no reason for me not to live here," she said thoughtfully. "I can always keep a couple of changes of clothes at the house, for when you're away."

"The reason for you to live here is so that we're not apart more than absolutely necessary." He shook his head and rolled to his side, pulling her to his chest. "I don't like leaving you alone when the ship is chartered. You're my first mate and I'm lost without you."

"Nothing's set in stone yet," she told him quietly, curling to his side with her arm draped possessively over his chest. "Don't expect the worst. Grandpa is pretty understanding ....and hell, I'm in charge now."

"Alright." He leaned his head against hers and simply relished the feeling of her warmth beside him. He was quiet for a few moments and with the way his chest rose and fell, it'd be hard to determine if he was asleep or not.

She, too, was just content to lie there, listening to his heartbeat against her ear, and enjoying the gentle cadence of his breath. Her fingers teased softly at his side as she lay with him, a half-smile on her face for the sheer panic that was going to run through the Grove when they realised she wasn't there in the morning.

"I love you," he whispered into the night air. He wasn't sure if Caroline could hear his profession this time around, but he meant it no less.

Out of the darkness came a low whisper in answer. "I know."

((Many thanks to Richmond! Wonderful, as always!))