roses garden Page 5

  Gradually, I began to find out about Ryan’s life. He was a private man and it took a while for him to tell me stuff. I didn’t like to pry too deeply, but I was curious to know all the small things about him. He had been married many years before. He and his wife had parted amicably when she fell in love with his best friend. I was surprised how pragmatic he was about it. There was no sense of bitterness as the story unfolded one night in bed.

  “I had to let her go,” he said simply. “We outgrew each other; it was as simple as that. I don’t hate her and I don’t hate James. I was hurt and angry at the time, but I soon realised that they were more suited than she and I had ever been.

  “They are still together; married now with two kids last time I heard.” He looked wistful at the mention of kids and I felt suddenly sad - this was something I could never give him; I was too old.

  “That was one of the reasons she left me. I couldn’t give her children - I’m infertile.”

  “I’m sorry…” I murmured softly.

  “Don’t be. I accepted it years ago. I love kids, but I’m happy to be Uncle rather than Dad. That way I have all the fun without all the hassle!”

  I had to admit he had a point there. Kids were hard work and even when they grew up, it didn’t end there…

  Lucy had been on my case all week. She was determined to make me see sense, as she put it, and she was desperate her father and I to get back together. It didn’t seem to matter how many times I told her it wasn’t going to happen - she just didn’t listen. As far as she was concerned, Phil’s affair was a mid life crisis and I should forgive and forget. It had gotten to the point that we were barely talking any more. I felt bad for her, but I was damned if I was going to roll over just to make her happy.

  She didn’t know about Ryan yet, but no doubt the shit would hit the fan soon enough…

  Chapter 6

  A week later, I was pegging out some washing while Ryan took a shower. He had slaved all afternoon laying the first part of a new patio. Slowly, the garden was beginning to take shape and I knew I couldn’t have done it without all his hard work. I felt terribly guilty, as I hadn’t paid him a penny.

  I told him this one night but he laughed and said he didn’t want my money. He was more than happy to take payment in kind. Well, he was certainly getting that all right - and then some! I had never been as insatiable as I was now. It felt like I had suddenly discovered my sexual side. I was horny all the time and I couldn’t get enough of him.

  Just the thought of him lathering up his body in the shower made me hot and wet. I paused for a moment to consider whether we had time for a quickie before dinner was ready. Hmm maybe we did!

  The side gate banged against the wall and I jumped, startled out of my lustful reverie. A familiar face appeared round the corner of the cottage and Henry hissed in response. I froze, rigid, a shirt suspended in my hand ready to peg on the line.

  Henry glared at my unwelcome visitor and shot back into the house in disgust. I couldn’t really blame him - I would have done the same if it were at all possible.

  “What do you want?” I asked nervously.

  “I want to talk to you.” Phil stared at me hard before casting a brief look round the garden. “Why are you doing this to us?” he asked reproachfully. “I thought you loved me. I love you still - I just want you to come home, Rose.” He looked so pitiful I almost felt sorry for him.

  But my heart hardened as I remembered the single event that had led me to this place in my life. It was his own fault he had lost me - he just hadn’t known it at the time.

  * * * *

  Things had been bad between us for months, years even, and I had no idea why. I had tried everything I could think of. I had cooked him his favourite meals, worn my best lingerie and still nothing; it was like I didn’t exist other than as a maid/cook.

  The only time he acknowledged me was if he needed something from me. The rest of the time, I was invisible. I was on the point of resigning myself to accepting this for the rest of my life; when I decided to give it one last try. I still loved him enough to believe that there was hope for us.

  He had told me that morning as he left, he would be working late at the office. Apparently he had a major report to finish off before the annual management get together. I had given it some careful thought and decided that tonight was going to be the night for some drastic action.

  Evening came around and I put my rescue plan into action. After I had picked half-heartedly at some food, I dressed up in my shortest skirt and stockings, added a tight blouse and dug out my high-heeled shoes. Feeling and looking like a whore, I drove through town to the large industrial estate where Phil’s company had its regional office.

  Fortunately, all the staff had gone home and I met nobody as I walked in through the reception, my bag containing my mobile and keys slung over my shoulder. The security guard must have gone to the bathroom because the desk was empty, much to my relief, although the ubiquitous CCTV cameras winked at me. My nerves were jangling with a mixture of excitement and fright as I ascended in the lift to the fourth floor where Phil’s office was situated.

  I heard rather than saw anything initially. The door to his suite of offices was ajar and I could hear faint moans and muffled voices from within. A chilling sense of foreboding crept over me. The bile rose in my throat and I carefully pushed the door open further only to find myself staring at the scene before me with horror.

  Up until this point, I had no idea he was cheating on me. I just didn’t believe he would do that to me, to us. I really thought he loved me still. God, how naïve I was…

  Margaret, my husbands buxom secretary, was spread-eagled on top of his mahogany desk, her massive breasts jiggling wildly as Phil ploughed into her dripping cunt with a very hard dick.

  I could see the juices dripping from her pink pussy lips every time his cock slid in and out, loud squelching noises echoing around the plush office. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as she got the fucking of her life.

  “Oh God baby, give it to me hard!” she moaned, her podgy hands pulling on her long pink nipples with gusto.

  “Take this, slut!” Phil grunted as he grabbed her tits, squeezing them hard. His face was red with exertion and he panted like a train. I worried for an irreverent moment that he might be about to have a coronary. Would I ring for an ambulance? No, I didn’t think so.

  Despite my revulsion, I couldn’t help feeling turned on by the sheer sordidness of the gruesome tableau. I had come here tonight in a final attempt to entice my husband to make love to me. Instead I had discovered him fucking his slut of a secretary. I was an unwilling voyeur and I found myself excited as well as repulsed beyond measure. They had no idea I was watching and I helplessly slid a finger inside my knickers as Phil pulled his cock from Margaret’s wide-open cunt.

  “Baby, lick my pussy,” the bitch begged. “I want to feel your hot tongue in my hole.” To my utmost surprise, Phil dropped down and buried his face in her wet pussy. The bastard! He had always refused to do this for me!

  I fingered myself frantically as I watched my husband tongue the writhing woman. She moaned and gasped as he licked her slit. I could see every detail and I bit my lip in an effort not to give the game away.

  Her mammoth breasts wobbled like jelly when she came with a loud scream, juice spurting out of her cunt and all over Phil’s face. He licked it up joyfully and stood up, slowly wanking his cock with one meaty hand.

  “Maggie honey, sit up and let me fuck your tits - I want to cum all over them!”

  Margaret squealed in delight, and perched on the edge of the desk, pushing her tits together to create a luscious tunnel of love for his rampant cock.

  “Ohhh baby,” she giggled, “I love your monster cock fucking my titties. Hurry up and let me have your lovely spunk, I wanna taste you!” Phil gave a heartfelt groan as his cock thrust up and down the wet channel between her breasts.

  I could tell from the strained expression on his face he was
about ready to orgasm. I rubbed my clit harder while I watched him fuck his mistress’s tits. In seconds, I came with a rush of bittersweet pleasure. Shame washed over me in hideous black waves, and I struggled to quell the rising feeling of nausea as my faithless husband shot his load in streams of creamy cum, all over Maggie’s face and breasts. She opened her mouth to catch some and I almost threw up then and there.

  Holding a hand over my mouth, I practically ran back down the corridor towards the lift, my footsteps silent on the thick plush carpet. I had seen more than enough to last a lifetime and I couldn’t stand any more. As the lift silently descended, I tried to hold it all in, the awful scenes playing relentlessly in an endless macabre loop within my aching head.

  The security guard was back on his station and flicking though a magazine when I exited the lift. He looked up in surprise as I practically ran across the reception area.

  “Miss, are you okay?” he called out in concern. I supposed I must have looked a little wild-eyed and crazy in my short skirt and heels.

  I ignored him and dashed through the smoky glass doors and into the anonymous darkness of the car park. Fortunately, I managed to reach my car before retching and the contents of my stomach made a swift exit all over the asphalt. My belly heaved and heaved, until there was nothing left to bring up apart from bile. Then I began to sob, bitter wretched tears falling down like acid rain.

  * * * *

  “It’s too fucking late, Phil.” My voice was as cold as ice - I almost didn’t recognise myself. He stared at me as if the words were gibberish.

  “But why? What have I done that is so terrible?” He looked hurt and confused, his suit crumpled and his hair badly in need of a cut.

  I laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, I think you know exactly what you’ve done,” I spat at him and the venom in my words made him take a step back in surprise. “But, just so you get the message, here’s the evidence…”

  My mobile phone was in my back pocket and I pulled it out. It took a few seconds to find what I was looking for, but when I did I pressed ‘play’ and held out the damning film clip.

  “I love your monster cock fucking my titties. Hurry up and let me have your lovely spunk, I wanna taste you!”

  Margaret’s voice sounded like an excerpt from a porno movie. The grainy film was not very good quality, but it was good enough to make out Phil’s face grimacing in orgasmic pleasure as his dick thrust between two huge breasts.

  Unlike now… Now his face had blanched whiter than an Alaskan snowfield.

  “I can explain!” he managed to splutter as the overwhelming shock faded. I snapped the phone shut and pulled it backwards before he could grab it.

  “Really? I would love to hear it,” I said in sarcastically. “Let me guess - it was a staff training exercise and you were working on improving employee morale?”

  “Look, it was just a one off - you weren’t exactly showing interest in the bedroom department and I needed attention. Margaret was there and…well…these things happen. I’m just a man after all-“

  “Oh, right - so it’s my fault? Fuck off Phil and leave me alone. Go back to your slut and stop harassing me. I don’t need you anymore!”

  I stared at him defiantly and he looked taken aback. I had never answered him back before and he wasn’t used to it. I could tell from the expression on his face he didn’t like it at all.

  Phil frowned in annoyance. It was obviously not how he expected the conversation to go. He took a step towards me and said, “Look Rose, I want you to stop this nonsense now and come home, I need you-“

  “You heard the lady, fuck off and leave her alone!”

  Phil and I both turned in surprise. Ryan stood in my kitchen doorway, a small towel wrapped around his waist and a grim expression on his face.

  “Who the hell are you?” spluttered Phil in outrage.

  “I’m Rose’s new boyfriend. Now leave before I lose my temper. I don’t like you and when I don’t like people, I get really mad…” Ryan flexed his muscles and took a menacing step towards Phil.

  My cowardly husband had always been a bully - but if someone stood up to him, he ran a mile. He was also no fool, he could see that Ryan was no pushover, unlike me, and he decided that I wasn’t worth risking his scrawny neck for.

  “I’ll be in touch, Rose,” he warned in a threatening voice before stomping off round the side of the house and out of my sight.

  Ryan and I looked at each other for a few moments. I was shaking like a leaf, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I couldn’t quite believe I had actually stood up to Phil after all these years. It felt wonderful. I only wished I had done it sooner; maybe then I wouldn’t have been trapped in a stale marriage for so long.

  “What a wanker,” commented Ryan dryly. “Has he always been like that?”

  I crossed the patio and hugged him tightly. “Oh, yes. He can charm the birds off the trees when he wants to.”

  Ryan chuckled and I found myself laughing with him. I had been dreading this moment ever since I had walked out. Now it was over, I could relax again. I figured Phil wouldn’t be rushing back round here in a hurry. Not now he knew I had a man with me.

  “Can I smell something burning?” Ryan sniffed the air and I cried out in horror.

  “Oh, no! The dinner’s burnt!” The stench from the pan of potatoes was horrific. The water had boiled dry in all the commotion and now the pan was black and ruined. I threw it outside and pulled a face. “What are we gong to eat now?” I said mournfully.

  “Tell you what, let’s go out for dinner. Go and put something nice on and I’ll treat you, okay?”

  I kissed him lingeringly on the mouth and he grabbed my bottom.

  “Or we could stay in…” he whispered suggestively.

  “Forget it,” I grinned. “I’m starving!” I pulled away and shot upstairs before he could catch me. I had never been so happy. Not even the confrontation with Phil could dent my good mood now. I had won and he knew it; the worst was over now. The only possible fly in the ointment was Lucy. I doubted I would have her blessing when she found out about Ryan…

  Chapter 7

  Sure enough, I had a phone call the next morning.

  “Mother, Dad tells me you have a toy boy lover. What on earth do you think you’re playing at?”

  No ‘hello, how are you…’ Oh no, straight to the point as ever.

  “Hello, Lucy Yes, I am fine, thanks for asking.” My sarcasm was lost on her; she just bulldozed on relentlessly.

  “God, it’s so embarrassing at your age. Can’t you just be normal like other mothers?”

  I counted to twenty before I replied. Any less than that and there was a very real danger that I would kill her.

  “Lucy, for your information, Ryan is thirty nine - hardly a huge age gap is it? And apart from that, it’s none of your damned business!”

  I could hear her suck in a sharp breath down the phone. She paused to consider this and then carried on, “Aren’t you worried that he’s only after your money?”

  God, she was a bitch. At that moment, I really didn’t like her very much. She may well be my daughter, but it dismayed me that she could be so bloody self-serving at times. I knew she wasn’t so much worried about my welfare; it was more her own future inheritance that bothered her.

  “I am a grown woman and more than capable of making my own decisions in life. When I want your advice, I will ask for it, okay?” My voice was cold enough to freeze penguins and Lucy finally got the message.

  “I’m just concerned about you,” she said huffily.

  I relented a bit and said, “You are more than welcome to come round the cottage and meet Ryan. He doesn’t bite.”

  Ryan was listening to this conversation and pulled a comical face at me. I had to chew my lip in an effort not to burst out laughing.

  Finally, the conversation moved on to safer ground and she grudgingly agreed to come round one evening with Louise. I guessed it was the best I could hope for. She would soften her at
titude eventually, and until then, I could live with the occasional snide comments. At least I could be hopeful that Tom wouldn’t give me a hard time. He was due back in a week and I was looking forward to seeing my boy again.

  * * * *

  My solicitor informed me that Phil had agreed to my request for a cash lump sum. Apparently, my threat of divorcing him on the grounds of adultery as opposed to unreasonable behaviour did the trick. I had no doubt he didn’t want his slut mistress being named as co-respondent - I had a sneaking suspicion she was married.

  This suited me just fine. With the money I would get, I could afford to spend some on my cottage. I was already making mental plans for a new kitchen and bathroom. The ancient plumbing and appliances were in serious need of an overhaul. The garden was at least looking great.

  Ryan had finished the patio and we had dug over most of the beds between us. I had begun to buy new plants here and there, but there were a lot of healthy shrubs and perennials already established. They had just been overrun with weeds for a long time. Now that they had access to sun and were not being smothered, they had begun to thrive again.

  We sat outside one evening, me reading the paper and him drinking a bottle of beer. Ryan had virtually moved in now. Neither of us had really talked about it, but I was happy for him to be there and he was happy to stay.

  “I need to spend some time in my home office soon, bringing my accounts up to date,” he grumbled in passing.

  “Why?” I lifted my gaze from the jobs section of the paper. I wondered why I looked sometimes - there was never anything that suited.

  “I got a letter this morning. I’m late with my annual returns - bloody Inland Revenue!” He frowned and sipped his beer.

  “Don’t you use an accountant?” I asked in surprise.

  “Nope - they cost a fortune. I had a bookkeeper, but she moved away a few months ago and I haven’t found anyone else yet. I really need to find somebody soon; things are a mess now.”