Old ends new beginnings

Chapter 6

They talked little in the few days they spent at the new house.

Holly didn't dare to push Sean too much, because she felt that he was still angry with her.

And so she spent a lot of time alone, making photos on the set and in the city, avoiding even Eileen and Josh.

Life wasn't easy for her, and the last thing she needed was another fight with Sean about Vin.

That evening she came home late in the evening, because she had to do a photo session with other actors and was really tired.

Sighing, she closed the door, walking to her little studio to put there her backpack away.

"Hey." Sean greeted her, leaning against the doorframe and taking a puff from his cigarette. "You work too much." he added after a few moments, his lips slowly curving into a little smile. "I've missed you."

“I'm busy…There are too many things to do and I'm the only photographer admitted on the set.” she explained, turning on her computer, to have a better view of the photos she had taken today.

"I know."

Sean stared at her for a while, and sighed. No, it didn't work. He reached for the ashtray and stubbed out the cigarette, then neared her from behind to glance at the photos on the screen. "These are quite good." he stated kindly, putting his hands on her shoulders and squeezing them lightly.

“T-thank you…” she mumbled, slowly reaching his hands with hers, caressing them with her thumbs.

Smiling, Sean drooped to embrace her, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I love you." he whispered in her ear, tightening the embrace and placing another kiss on her neck.

“I love you, too.” she whispered back, pressing her back onto his chest, and sighing deeply.

“I was beginning to think that it was over before it even started…”

"Don't even think about it." Sean murmured, closing his eyes. "You can't even imagine how much I love you...I would spend the rest of my life with you, Holly. I really would..."

Trying to change subject, she turned to embrace him, and, for a while, they were silent.

“Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll have to go to the airport.”

Sean nodded, but said nothing. He waited for Holly to shut down the computer and exit the room before turning off the light and closing the door.

The next morning, he got up early, and after his usual shower, he managed to arrange a perfect English breakfast before returning to the bedroom to wake Holly. He placed the tray on the nightstand and sat on the bed, smiling, leaning towards her to brush his lips on hers while caressing her face.

The said girl woke up with a smile, looking directly into his eyes.

“Hey.” she managed to say in a raspy voice. “Is this a dream?”

"I hope it's a good dream, then..." he whispered, smiling, and claimed her lips to sweetly kiss her good morning.

"Breakfast's ready. Are you hungry, love?"

“I'm starving.” she chuckled, claiming again his lips and whispering all of her love to him.

“It's late? We should go to the airport. I want to be there…”

"You'll be there." Sean replied, placing the tray on the bed carefully. "Eat while I get dressed...and give me another kiss. Right now." he chuckled, raising an eyebrow purposefully and leaning towards her.

“I love you.” she smiled, caressing his tongue with hers, eyes closed in passion.

She looked as he got dressed, eating and chucking at his words now and then.

One hour later, they were waiting for the flight, and Holly was looking at some books at the duty-free shop.

"Wanna buy something, love?" he asked, embracing her from behind and glancing at the books. When the speaker suddenly croaked to announce the landing of the Boeing from London, Sean smiled, letting go of Holly to take her hand. "Terminal four. We'll check the books later, all right?"

“Oh, it's not necessary, there's nothing that I would like to buy.” she told him, walking to the terminal.

Some minutes later, she saw them.

Two blonde girls were walking towards them. Holly's smile faded when noticed that the look in their eyes was angry and almost disgusted.

“This is…the girl ?” was the first thing Lorna asked her father, without even looking at the woman.

It was nothing to worry about. Just one of the many girlfriends her father had, nothing more.

She would last only few months. They had planned everything.

"Well, hello to you too." Sean said, a hint of reproach in his voice, ruffling his daughter's hair. When he saw that Abigail and Evie were approaching, he smiled and bent down, promptly seizing the little girl when she hurled herself into his arms.

"Hey, Mr. Bean." Abigail smiled, kissing him on the cheek, before she offered her hand to Holly. "Glad to meet you. Sean talked me a lot about you." she said gently, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you, too.” she smiled back, still a little upset from the girl's words.

“Okay, let's go. I need a shower.” Lorna told her father, smiling at him.

“Where will we sleep?” Molly asked then, taking her father's hand.

"At home with us." Sean replied, lightly squeezing her hand and kissing Evie's cheek. The little girl gave him a kiss in return, and glanced curiously at her dad's new girlfriend while playing with the buttons of his t-shirt.

“What?” Lorna barked at that point. “You live together? Oh, dad! I didn't come here to watch you two playing the happy couple!”

When she heard those words, Holly couldn't help but feel hurt, so she excused herself, pretending a problem with her work, and took a taxi to go on the set, to have a little time to think.

Once they arrived, Sean showed the house to Abigail and his daughters, and while his ex-wife was taking care of the girls' baggage, he led Lorna to the studio, closing the door. He stared at her for a while; arms crossed across the chest, and sighed.

"What's the matter with you?"

“She'll break our heart again. I don't like her. You should think about us, but you always search for new girls!” she answered stubbornly.

"I'm just trying to live my life, Lorna." Sean replied calmly, nearing her. "...I'm not always searching for new girls . I'm not going to get back together with your mother. I'm in love with Holly and I don't want to lose her because of you. I'm sure that you'll do your best to make me happy and be kind towards her. Right?"

“Yeah, sure…” she answered without the barest hint of enthusiasm, and walked past him, rushing outside of the room, banging the door behind her.

"Shit." he muttered, closing his eyes while massaging his temples. Indeed, this wasn't going to be any good. His relationship with Holly was already threatened by Vin's shadow, and the last thing they needed was his daughter behaving like a fickle teenager. Why couldn't she simply accept the fact that he was happy with a woman that wasn't her mother?

Sitting at a little table, Holly didn't notice Vin's presence behind her.

“Can I have a seat?” he asked then, his voice low.

Sensing his presence, the girl trembled slightly but nodded, looking at him.

“Do you think we could still be friends?”

She didn't answer and seemed to think about his words.

“Yes, we can.”

Smiling, Vin felt incredibly happy, and offered her an iced tea.

They talked like old friends for almost the entire day, and he followed her during her photo session.

In the afternoon, Holly came back at her home, looking around if Lorna was there.

Sean was in the lounge, sprawled on the sofa with Evie while watching some cartoons on TV. When he saw Holly, he smiled, gesturing for her to join them.

Feeling awkward, she sat on the edge of the sofa, looking at her shoes.

“I talked to…Vin.”

"Oh." was Sean's only reply. He shifted to sit next to her with Evie on his lap and remained silent for a while, his muscles clenching uneasily as he tried to get the sense of her statement. Then it was panic.

Not so soon...please. Please.

After some long, awkward moments, he eventually forced himself to look at her.

"And?" he managed to mutter, though he didn't really want to know, his voice low and husky.

“And nothing. I'm staying here with you. We talked just as friends, nothing more…” she smiled at him, and then tried to caress Evie's hair, hoping that the little girl would not reject her as her older sister had.

Evie instantly raised her head to look at Holly with a mixture of curiosity and wonder glimmering into her grey eyes, and, after a while, she shifted her gaze to her dad.

"Can I, daddy?" she asked, pointing at Holly. On his part, Sean couldn't help but chuckle at the request.

"Just go ahead, sweetheart."

A moment later, the little girl was stretching her arms towards Holly, smiling.

Looking at this little creature, so perfect in her features, squeezed her heart.

Her pale skin seemed so soft to touch, and…God, she smelled so good.

Slightly trembling, Holly took the girl in her lap with the outmost care, as if she was a precious gift, and closing her eyes for a moment, she gave her a kiss on that blonde hair that she had loved from the first moment.

Sean was looking at them, smiling, his eyes betraying the turmoil of emotions that the sight of Holly embracing his daughter had aroused in him, warming his very heart. In the meantime, Evie had placed her little hands on Holly's cheeks, and was leaning up with some effort to place a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. Then she retreated to study her attentively, holding a lock of her hair into a hand.

"You're pretty." she stated with a smile, nodding in approval, and looked at her daddy who was almost melting on the sofa due to the tenderness of the moment.

“Thank you.” she smiled at her, caressing her cheek.

“And you're the most beautiful little girl I've ever met.”

"Really?" Evie asked, stunned, looking at Holly first and then at Sean. "And my dad is the most beautiful dad in the world."

“Yes, it's true.” she smiled reaching Sean's hand with hers and squeezing it lightly, looking deeply into his eyes, too overwhelmed by tenderness to speak.

"I love you...both." Sean whispered, smiling in return and then chuckling while he playfully crushed his women within the warmest of hugs.

That evening, Holly was washing the dishes; glad that Sean's daughters had retired into their room.

She had noticed that Lorna and Molly weren't nice to Abigail either, but the woman didn't pay them too much attention.

Sighing deeply, she wiped her hands, passing them through her hair, pulling them away from her face, and carefully checking if everything was in order.

"Hey." Sean smiled, entering the room. "Evie's sleeping already. Need some help there, love?"

Turning back when she heard his voice, Holly smiled tenderly at him.

“No, thank you. I've just finished, I think that I'll go to our room.” she stated, and then she suddenly stopped, her voice a little husky.

“Lorna and Molly are angry at me and I don't know what to do.”

"They're not angry at you..." Sean sighed, reaching to hug her. "They just...can't accept the fact that I'm happy with someone who's not their mother. They've always been quite aloof towards Abigail, too...and thus it kind of surprised me to see that they treated Evie like an actual sister. I don't know what to do with them..."

“I would really like to talk to them, but it's the first time I've found myself in a situation like this and I'm afraid that I could make things worse. They're teenagers and it's normal that they act like this.” she stated, closing her eyes and sighing, relaxing against his chest, lightly caressing his back.

“Do you want to go to sleep?”

"Mmmm, no, not really...I'm not tired enough." he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead. "We could spend a little time on the balcony, relax, and...I could read something to you. Or we could simply stay there to hug and cuddle each other. Sounds good?"

“Sounds perfect.” she whispered, smiling, opening her eyes and lightly kissing his lips.

She led him to the balcony, and sat down near to him, looking at the stars.

“The sky tonight is… magical. ”

"I love you." was Sean's reply as he drew her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. Then suddenly he chuckled, flashing a quick glance at the door. "What would they say to see us engaged in an intensive hug and cuddle session? Or, even better...what would they say if I were to kiss you and take your breath away?"

“Don't be offended, but…I don't mind what they say…I just want you to kiss and cuddle me…” she whispered, caressing his arms.

“I love you too, Sean…”

He smiled in response and gently framed her face with his hands, caressing her cheeks, and stared at her closely for quite a while before claiming her lips in the sweetest of kisses.

When he released her, Holly stared at him for a while, caressing his cheeks with her thumbs.

“You're the most special man I've ever met. I can't understand how you can be so sweet, kind and tender, and act as the worse bastard on Earth on the screen…” she smiled, tilting her head on a side.

Sean couldn't help but chuckle at the remark, and looked at her with plain amusement. "Well, this is Sean. This is what I am, and what you can see on screen is...Sean's strenuously, constantly improving acting skills. Acting is the only thing I'm really able to do and I think I'm very, very lucky to do something that I love so much as a job."

“Yeah, I love my job, too. It's funny for me to take all of those photos, it's an art. ” she told him, thinking about the right words.

“And I like the way you act. I believe that, sometimes, to see you angry or…with that mysterious frown can be… exciting. ”

"Oh, is it?" Sean wanted to know, trying to stifle a laugh. "Then I could act for you... privately, you just have to ask. And, anyway, I'm far from perfect, and sometimes I get angry, too."

“I don't like it when you're angry at me,” she chuckled. “But I like bad boys sometimes…Anyway, I like you just the way you are…”

"Mmmm, is that so?" he grinned, leaning closer. "I'll tell you a little secret then...I'm planning to be a bad, bad boy tonight. You mind?"

“No, I don't mind…” she whispered huskily, caressing his lips with hers, and closing her eyes for a moment, aroused both from the low tone of his voice, and the lust that was evident on his face.

A moment later, Sean was dragging her towards the bedroom, all the while tugging at her shirt to take it off and eagerly kissing her neck. Once inside, he closed the door to the balcony, and began to hurriedly undress himself while still kissing her neck and shoulders.

Holly helped him to remove his jeans and boxers, and they fell on the bed, entwined and panting with lust.

From her side, the girl began to rub her hands on his hard bulge, delighting in his moans, nibbling at his shoulder.

Suddenly, Sean grasped both of her wrists, pinning her onto the bed. He looked into her eyes for a moment, panting, and his grip didn't loosen a bit even when he slid down on her to lick and bite her belly and then further down, willing to prepare her. He didn't want to wait. He simply couldn't.

Some moment later, she arched her back, trying to deepen the contact.

“Oh, God, Sean…I-I can't bear it…please…”

He stopped to look at her, and then traced a moist path up to her neck with his tongue, still holding her wrists. Not tight enough to bruise, anyway, and she could have freed herself at any moment. Seeing that she hadn't pleased him beyond any reason, though, and he kind of liked to think that Holly, his beautiful Holly, was at his mercy.

"Please? Are you begging me to take you?" he whispered on her lips, eyes half closed, shivering against her body.

“Yes…please.” she almost moaned, trying to catch his lips.

At her response, Sean actually moaned, and brought both of Holly's hands up above her head. "Beg for me again, then..." he murmured, grinding their hips together. "I think I like it when you beg..."

“Take me, Sean…” she whispered, hissing in pleasure, rubbing herself onto him.

“Take me now…make me yours…I beg of you…”

"God, Holly. I love you."

And then Sean was inside her, all the way inside. He immediately started to make love to her in a relentless rhythm, wanting it hard, fast, real . Wanting to feel her shudder and moan helplessly beneath him, but at the same time being ready to silence her with a kiss and to hold her tight within his arms.

Throwing back her head, she moaned, arching her back, trembling into his arms, whispering words of passion into his ear.

Every coherent thought was driven from her mind as her climax approached, the tension in her lower belly was becoming unbearable.

Sean, too, was very close, and he wasn't certainly trying to hold out. Mere moments later, the pace of their lovemaking had become almost frenzied, their breathing frantic, moans helpless. Then he was shuddering violently, as pleasure took over his body and his orgasm hit him hard. However, he had the presence of mind to realize that Holly, his Holly, was coming too, and he hurriedly closed his lips over hers in a bruising kiss to silence them both in case the kids were still awake, swallowing their mingled moans and sobs.

They remained entangled for a while, unmoving, waiting for their heartbeat and their breathing to return to normal.

“I love you.” she just whispered, covering both of them with the blanket, worried that he could have a cold, cause his hair and his skin were damp with sweat.

"I love you too," he whispered hoarsely, his eyes closed. "... terribly ."

A few minutes later, he climbed off Holly, slumping on the bed, and smiled as he turned to look into her eyes. "You're absolutely beautiful in this exact moment. You always are, after sex."

“Yeah?” she asked with an amused tone.

“That's how you make me. You make me feel beautiful, satisfied, happy and…in this exact moment… spent. ”

"I'll do my best to keep you feeling that way, then." Sean chuckled, and kissed her lightly on the lips before getting up and searching for their garments, disorderly spread all over the floor. Then he put on his boxers, unlocked the door and gave Holly her panties and bra with a smile.

"We can't keep the door locked." he explained. "Evie often wakes up at night."

Nodding, she got dressed, and pulled the blanket onto her.

It was all so strange for her, to have little children in her house, and she was feeling a little awkward, not knowing what to do.

Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes, turning on one side, yawning lightly.

Once he was in bed again, Sean hugged her from behind, nuzzling against her hair and inhaling the luscious, familiar scent he loved so much. Only minutes later, he was asleep, a content smile curving his lips.

As expected, a few hours before dawn the door opened slightly, and a sleepy child peered furtively into the room. Clad in her white pyjamas, the blond hair ruffled and the wide eyes glimmering in the semi-darkness of the room, she looked like a dishevelled baby angel, sweet beyond measure. Little Evie made her way through the room and climbed onto the bed, then remained still for a while, staring at Sean's back as if considering her possibilities. Should she wake daddy up?

"Daddy." she babbled, tapping his shoulder. "Can't sleep..."

Sean merely stirred, mumbling something unintelligible, and the little Evie unskilfully rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Daddy..."

When Holly opened her eyes and saw the girl, she couldn't help but gasp in surprise, but she recovered quickly.

“Evie…” she whispered, extending her hand towards the sleepy little girl.

“Come here, little one. What happened?”

"I can't sleep anymore.” she mumbled, climbing over her dad to reach Holly and snuggle into her arms. "Molly turned off the light."

All that movement eventually shook Sean from his sleep, and he half-opened his eyes to see what all the commotion was about. He smiled sleepily when he saw his little girl, and extended his hand to caress Evie's cheek and ruffle her silky, soft blond hair.

Embracing her tightly, Holly closed her eyes, yawning.

“Do you think you'll sleep if I promise to be here to protect you from the dark?” she whispered at her ear, reaching for Sean with one hand and caressing his cheek.

Evie nodded and rested her head on the pillow, still snuggled against Holly. She reached for Sean's hand to hold his thumb and closed her eyes, smiling and utterly satisfied with the outcome of her mission.

"Good night." she said politely, causing Sean to chuckle helplessly as he looked at his Holly, leaning to kiss her lightly on the lips. "You'd make a wonderful mother." he whispered softly, and then kissed Evie's cheek before settling down again.

"Good night, sweethearts."

“Good night…” she whispered, thinking about his words.

A wonderful mother?

She had never thought about her future, and even if children seemed to love her, she always felt somewhat awkward with them.

Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes, and, some moments later, she was asleep.