James ignored his partner's widow momentarily to focus on her daughter. The shy Sub was back in her gaze smiling at him with coy invitation. He knew Penny didn't understand the vibes she was sending out, but damned if the Dom in him didn't demand he take her up on the offer. However, common sense forbade him from making a move on her while her father laid in his grave a mere four hours.
"Mr. Ryan, I'd like you to meet Penny."
He nodded politely, though privately seething at the note of hostility Mary held in her voice. He noticed she didn't even introduce Penny in a familial way; if he didn't know their connection, she could've been a servant for all the care Mary took.
"Hello, sir." The instinctive lowering of her lashes told James that Penny was a natural, if untrained. Her body, stiff against the cold side of her mother, softened in supplication to his arrival.
His nostrils flared as he sought to draw in every molecule of her scent. His body hardened impossibly, the zipper biting deeply into his straining cock. He silently thanked his foresight of wearing the longer suit jacket.
"We met for a moment outside, Mary."
James picked up the small carry on she'd left outside in her haste and dangled it from his fingers.
"I believe this suitcase is yours."
Mary harrumphed and grabbed the bag from his hand before Penny could reach out. Silently he cursed the older woman, as he wanted to feel Penny's skin against his own, even for a moment.
"Thanks, Mr. Ryan. I didn't even notice I had left it behind."
"I'm sure you had other things on your mind." He wondered if she noticed the slight emphasis he'd placed on his words. Judging by her flustered response, he gathered she had.
The widening of her eyes and the hint of rose that filled her pale cheeks fascinated him. So far he'd seen several sides: a lusty unabashed woman, a stiff cold mannequin, a shy untrained sub, and now an embarrassed virgin.
He wondered which woman he would meet if he managed to get past the many buttons that guarded her lower extremities. He had never thought much about a woman's clothing before, but the dark ankle-length skirt was too constricting and impeded his view. He wondered if she wore panties or if bare flesh waited beneath. He hoped she wore nothing beneath the gray woolen and how he would love to lick up the trailing juices that turned her thighs creamy.
The slight cough caught in Mary's throat diverted his attention for a moment, as it was meant to, he knew. The disapproving look in the back of her eyes told him it was time to depart.
"Mary, I'm so sorry for your loss. I want you to know, I cared deeply for John and felt he taught me a lot." James had to keep the memories of the many many things John had taught him from showing on his face. "When you are strong enough, we will arrange the reading of the will."
"Reading of the will? What are you talking about?"
Mary's sharp question brought his attention back to her face (he hoped she hadn't noticed he was staring at her daughter again like a fool -- no scratch that, he hoped the daughter didn't notice that).
"Yes, the will. Pretty standard division of property and whatnot between you and Penny." Concern flowed through him, momentarily blocking the lustful direction in which he had wandered. She looked pretty apoplectic for someone recently widowed.
"I didn't realize John left a will."
