Episode 376
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What are you doing here?” Angela questioned with a weary expression
her dark eyes focused on Ria. She stood taller listening to the sound of Kevin
in the bathroom before she cleared her throat again, “Is something wrong
Ria?”
“I heard a noise from back at the house and I was worried that something
was wrong,” Ria offered up apologetically looking in over Angela’s
shoulder in the hopes of discovering where Brant and Kevin had drifted off
to. “Is something going on?”
“No, not really,” Angela shook her head offering up an apologetic
smile, “Kevin just isn’t feeling too well and he’s been in
the bathroom for a while. Not that you needed to know that, but still…”
“How is he doing?” Ria questioned looking over Angela’s shoulder
once again only to discover Kevin trying to lead Brant out of the bathroom
with him.
“He’s actually,” Angela began motioning towards the bathroom
and turning to look over in Kevin’s direction, but before she could complete
the movement, Ria tugged on her arm pulling her out onto the porch with her.
“It’s such a nice night tonight, isn’t it?” Ria looked
to the sky above and pointed. “Do you see that?”
“See what?” Angela blinked back at her wondering what Ria was saying.
“That,” Ria blurted out again watching Brant and Kevin moving down
the hallway away from the two of them, “Can’t you see that?”
“Ria I don’t see anything,” Angela frowned tipping her head
up to try to see what it was that Ria was pointing at.
“It’s over there,” Ria placed both of her hands on Angela’s
shoulders and pointed her in a new direction away from the house. “Can’t
you see it?”
“I don’t see anything,” Angela frowned over at Ria, “What
are you even pointing at?”
“You know I don’t think we can see it from here. Come with me this
way,” Ria suggested nudging Angela off of the porch and towards the garden.
“You have to see it. It’s incredible.”
“Ria,” Angela frowned attempting to turn around and face her.
“It’s really cool. Just trust me,” Ria urged her on again before
guiding Angela further away from the guest house in the hopes that it would
give Brant and Kevin time to cover their tracks after everything was said
and done!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sarah, would you just stop?” Cameron frowned noting the time as
his thoughts lingered to Angel. While he’d wanted to go over and check
in on her, he’d received a call from the office about a situation that
was brewing with Stone Corp. He’d hated to have to deal with that on
top of everything else especially when it was clear that his sister needed
him, but now as he noted the time, he realized that seeing Angel would have
to wait until the morning. Of course that didn’t make the headache that
his bride-to-be was giving him fade any faster in knowing he was going to
spend the evening with her.
“I can’t help it if I’m worried. You’d be the same way
if you thought that Diego could one up you,” she explained with a wild
huff. “All I’m saying is that he doesn’t really have a backbone
without that sister of his and…”
“And I’m not putting a hit out on his sister. Contrary to your belief
about my abilities, the fact to the matter is that I’m not about to start
making new enemies over a situation that we’ve already got taken care
of,” he explained with a casual shrug before stepping towards the bar
and finding himself in need of a drink to drown out her complaining.
“You wouldn’t be so calm about this if it was your child’s
life on the line,” she explained with a groan. “You would be right
on top of this one and…”
“Man, you’re sounding more like Heather each day,” Cameron
glanced over his shoulder at her and groaned. “This is why Heather and
I had problems in our relationship with one another. I told her that I would
take care of things, yet she chose to get herself worked up over something
that wasn’t going to happen.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes at him, “I know that you’ve
still got it in that silly little head of yours that playing nice to Heather
will get you in her good graces and perhaps in her bed again.”
“Your sister was very skilled in that department,” Cameron couldn’t
help but offer up a small smirk as he thought of his former wife, “Although
when she was like this, she was unbearable. Fortunately she was able to evolve
past the whimpering and the whining and rise to her place.”
“Her place?” Sarah let out a dry laugh, “Um Cameron, correct
me if I’m wrong here, but my sister is with the man I was supposed to
share my life with. She’s moved in on my territory while bilking you
for all your worth with that stupid little company of hers.”
“Truth be told it’s turning a decent profit already,” Cameron
shrugged his shoulders before his grin expanded. “In her own way Heather’s
been reborn and while I must confess for my own personal reasons that I wouldn’t
mind seeing her and Kyle’s relationship fail, the fact to the matter
is that she’s done quite well for herself and for me.”
“Great,” Sarah rolled her eyes in response, “So now I have
to hear her praises from you as well. Cameron, I swear if this is what our
being married will be like…”
“I certainly hope it won’t be this way,” Cameron mouthed with
a small scowl. “Right now I just want you to stop whining and concentrate
on what’s important.”
“I am, which is why I want you to do something about Diego’s yapping
sister,” Sarah informed him bluntly. She opened her mouth to say something
more when there was a tapping at the door.
“Cameron?” JT half questioned not bothering to wait for an invitation
before entering the room. “I figured I might find you in here.”
“All you had to do was follow the sound considering that she doesn’t
ever shut up,” Cameron rubbed his temple before lifting his glass to
his lips and taking a long drink. “So what can I do for you JT?”
“I just wanted to tell you that Evie and I already had dinner with one
another. We were kind of hungry and after you and Sarah weren’t obviously
showing up, we just decided to take it upon ourselves to enjoy the meal that
you had made for us,” JT explained glancing over at Sarah with an air
of distain. “I hope that’s not a problem.”
“Believe me JT, you are the last of my problems right now,” Cameron
stepped in closer to his brother in the hopes of keeping Sarah‘s whining
from continuing, “Although it does disappoint me that I wasn’t able
to catch up with you and Evie any further then I had earlier. I was hoping
to learn more about the woman that’s captured your heart and…”
“I promise you that we can get back to that later,” JT offered up
watching as Sarah tapped her foot impatiently on the marble flooring. “Actually
it’s kind of late, so we were going to just head on to bed for now. We’ve
got a busy day ahead of us and…”
“At least let me touch base with you before you decide to skip town,”
Cameron implored of him, his worried eyes filled with concern for his younger
brother’s situation. “I feel like we should at least talk it out
so we know we’re on the same level with one another.”
“I’m sure we can do that in the morning,” JT looked over his
brother’s shoulder at Sarah again. “I’m sure you have other
things to deal with right now.”
“I’d rather not,” Cameron rolled his eyes ready to say something
more to JT, but his brother took a step back.
“We’ll talk in the morning Cameron,” JT promised walking out
of the room as Cameron let out a long sigh.
“Well good now that we have one situation over, then maybe we can start
getting back to focusing on what it is that you and I are going to do to ensure
that Diego Hernandez and his meddling sister won’t be a problem for me,”
she blurted out with a relieved breath ready to resume her focus on her problems.
“I’ll tell you what Sarah,” he opened his mouth to lash out
at her, but as he spun on his heel and noticed the eager expression on her
features another thought occurred to him. “On second though, why don’t
we sleep on it?”
“What?” her jaw dropped at his suggestion. “But Cameron…”
“Good night Sarah,” Cameron waved at her dismissively before scooping
his drink up in his hand once again. He gave her one last look before leaving
the room in the hopes of being able to finally get some peace and quiet for
the first time all day. Even if Sarah would follow, he would find a way to
tune her out long enough to put his mind at ease. Today might have been a
flop, but he’d make sure that the days that followed wouldn’t have
that same kind of feel to them. Tomorrow he’d find a way to see Angel,
help JT and successfully ignore Sarah all in one breath. Yes, tomorrow would
be a better day indeed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You sure you really want to have him with us?” Kyle questioned
sliding in underneath the covers just as Heather stepped out of the bathroom
wearing a tiny, pink, satin nightgown. Her long, blonde hair was down over
her shoulders and he couldn’t help but grin when he saw how sexy she
looked. “I could always throw him out back if need be…”
“Kyle, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Heather stepped across
the room, her green eyes fixed on him. She moved forward seeing him sink back
in against the pillows, bringing his hands back over his head as his eyes
followed her every movement. “He’s had a long day so I’m sure
that he’ll probably fall asleep on the couch in no time.”
“And since Charles is asleep…” Kyle wiggled an eyebrow suggestively.
“Then I’m sure that you and I can make the most of our grown up
time,” Heather mouthed in a low, sultry tone easing her way onto the
comforter. She crawled on the bed on her hands and knees moving in on Kyle
like a hunter ready to spring forward for the kill.
“Grown up time you say,” Kyle arched a curious brow, his gaze lazily
traveling down to the dipping neckline of her nightgown as the material pushed
away from her soft curves. A smile tipped over the corners of his lips as
she moved in over him, straddling his body from above the blanket.
“That’s right,” she nodded seating herself on his lap before
her finger tips teased over the warm, muscled lines of his chest, “pending
we can keep the noise level down that is.”
“I’ll be as loud or as quiet as you want me to be as long as you
stay right where you are,” he slurred lazily reaching out to trace the
line of her hip. His grin expanded before he arched up closer to her seeking
out a kiss from her.
“Are you sure you want me to stay right here or would you prefer I take
a journey right down…here…” she spoke in slow annunciated words,
her finger tips trailing in beneath the blanket to discover he’d been
waiting for her in the buff. Her eyes widened in surprise to find him naked
beneath her. “Oh my…”
“You didn’t think I would have any idea where your thoughts might
be tonight,” he teased with a small wink, his hazel eyes sparkling with
mischief, “Heather, sweetheart I’m your husband and we both know
that my mind is constantly in the gutter when I’m alone with you.”
“It’s a good thing that mine is too,” she purred pushing back
the blankets and moving in over him. She reached for his hands, guiding them
up over her thighs until his fingers were brushing in over her soft, sensitive
flesh, “You see you weren’t the only one who decided to come prepared
tonight without any potential problems to arise between us.”
“Just good old fashioned wedded fun,” Kyle mused guiding her hips
in over his before a thin, smile tore over him. He inhaled slowly feeling
her positioning herself over him marking their union with one another after
they’d spent a day dealing with everyone else.
“That’s nice,” Heather rocked her hips over him, running her
nails over his chest while making movement with him.
“Better than nice,” Kyle added with a thoughtful expression loving
the feel of her body with his. He collected the bottom of her nightgown in
his hand, scrunching it up in his palm before his eyes met hers once more,
“but I have to admit I would much rather look at my wife instead of this
little number here. Sure, it’s cute, but nothing’s sexier than watching
all of you when we make love.”
“Whatever you say Kyle,” Heather continued to grind her body into
his again and again closing her eyes as he slid the material of her nightgown
up over her body. With a lightening quick movement, he tossed it to the floor
before leaning forward to capture her breast between his now parted lips.
“Oh Kyle,” she bit down on her lip, threading her fingers through
his hair while trying to suppress the soft moans that settled in the base
of her throat. She felt his thick fingers press over the small of her spine
urging her in closer to him while his lips lavished her devoting his full
attention to the soft mound of flesh before him. Once he found himself satisfied
with her response, he turned his attention to the other breast feeling her
writhe over him causing him to let out a groan as well.
“Heather slow down,” he pleaded breaking away from his worshipping
of her body. He pressed a kiss over her breastbone before seeking out her
lips again. He felt her tug on his hair gently as their mouths parted, “This
doesn’t have to be a marathon race tonight.”
“Given that we’ve got a baby and a guest in the house, a marathon
race might be all that we’ve got time for,” she divulged nibbling
on his lower lip only to feel his arm curl around her waist.
“Maybe you didn’t understand me, but I’ll make myself clear,”
Kyle spun her around onto her back on the bed before he moved in over her.
He settled himself in between her thighs as his hand touched the side of her
face tenderly, “when I make love to my wife I don’t want any time
limits upon it. After all I’m not going to settle for anything less than
good between us.”
“Oh you are good,” Heather confessed in a low, husky breath wrapping
her thighs around his bottom to urge him towards completion between them.
“Very good.”
“Yeah, I know I’m that damn good,” he teased leaning forward
and keeping his weight on his arms as he moved above her, “but when I’m
with you I’m even better.”
“I can’t argue that one,” she nodded in agreement pulling him
in for a ravenous kiss as their bodies were joined as one. She felt the heat
of him over her, the power and force his body carried with it beckoning her
to sweet surrender. His muscled form setting the leisurely speed between them
was achingly painful as Heather squeezed her legs around him tighter.
“Kyle,” she groaned his name, scratching her nails down his back,
feeling the way his body warmed to her touch, “baby I need you.”
“I need you too,” he dipped his tongue between her now parted lips,
feeling her urgent whimpers building beneath him as he too found himself on
the verge of heaven with her. He pulled back ever so slightly, memorizing
the way her lips parted with desire, the way her eyes were laced with passion,
her skin flushed with excitement and he found himself lost in all of it. She
was his living, breathing dream. His wife and now he knew he was truly in
heaven with her. She was everything he’d waited forever to find and…
Before Kyle could find himself lost in the moment he heard a crashing sound
in the hallway that put the brakes on their lovemaking. He stilled himself
inside of Heather seeing her own green eyes perk up with acknowledgement of
something happening outside of their bedroom. He waited for a moment before
another sound erupted from the hallway.
“That can’t be good,” Heather blurted out with a worried expression
as Kyle could see that somehow whatever was going on outside of their bedroom
was going to take it’s toll on the night.
“I’ll be right back,” Kyle promised leaning in to kiss her
again before reluctantly tearing himself away from her. He rolled onto his
side of the bed. He offered up a long sigh before tossing the covers back
and getting out to investigate.
“I hope nothing’s wrong out there,” Heather reached for the
sheet drawing it across her form before realizing her husband was about to
leave the room naked. “Um Kyle, you might want to grab a robe.”
“What robe,” Kyle spun around to look at her. He caught her less
than impressed expression knowing full well that the last thing she wanted
was for him to run around naked when they had no idea what was out there.
Sensing her discomfort with him walking out in his excited state, he walked
back over to the bed, pulled up one of the pillows and placed it in front
of him.
“Do you honestly think that’s going to hide anything,” Heather
shook her head at him watching as Kyle opened the door and started to walk
out. “Kyle.”
“Right,” he nodded moving back to grab another pillow to place behind
him before he stepped into the dark hallway. Tipping his head out he looked
around seeing that the hallway was empty. Frowning he looked back into the
room where Heather was. “I don’t see anything.”
“It sounded like something was broken,” Heather mouthed in response
ready to say something more when Kyle stepped out into the hallway and felt
something crushing under his foot.
“What the…?” he cursed under his breath feeling the light snap
on when he groaned. He looked down to see pieces of a vase all over the floor.
He picked his foot up almost immediately dropping the pillows in the process
now that he found himself worried that he’d stepped on glass. Fortunately
he didn’t find anything, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to
shout out as Paul walked down the hallway with a broom and a dustpan in hand.
“Hey, I’m sorry about the mess. I got lost on the way to the bathroom
and,” Paul’s eyes widened before he let out an uproarious laugh,
“Whoa, man if I would’ve known you’d been occupied in carnal
activities, then I would’ve tried to be quieter. I just ran into the
damn thing when I was going down the hall and…”
Kyle frowned realizing that he was suddenly naked. He stepped back reaching
for one of the discarded pillows and placing it in front of him before he
shook his head at his friend.
“I could’ve got something in my foot,” Kyle snapped thinking
about the mess in front of him.
“I know man and I’m sorry, but I didn’t think you two were
still up and,” Paul peered behind Kyle into the room where Heather was
still on the bed clad only in a sheet. He flashed her a grin and waved, “Don’t
mind me sweetness. I’m just going to clean this up and you’ll never
know I’m here. You two can go right back to what you were doing and you
won’t even know I’m here.”
“Kyle,” Heather frowned bringing the sheet up tighter around her
as Paul kept eyeing her with obvious interest.
Kyle noticed and scowled, pulling the door closer so that Paul couldn’t
get a clear view of Heather as he spoke up, “Look Paul just try to be
more careful okay.”
“Will do. I‘ll be so quiet, you won‘t even remember you have
me around. Trust me,” Paul brought his hand up to his forehead to salute
Kyle before Kyle closed the door in his face.
Kyle spun around to see Heather sitting on the bed with a frown that matched
his own. Bending down he picked up the pillow he’d discarded before making
his way over to bed. Sliding into the blankets beside her, he touched her
arm gently.
“He just knocked over a vase,” Kyle explained with a shake of his
head. “He’s going to clean it up and it’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure? It looked like you were hurt there. You made that noise
and,” Heather touched his muscled arm gently.
“I’m fine,” Kyle promised raising her hand to his lips and
kissing it gently, “It’s nothing that a little TLC from my wife
won’t cure.”
“TLC you say,” she smiled over at him leaning in to kiss him once
more when another crashing sound exploded outside of the room.
“Oops. My bad,” Paul mouthed through the door as Heather let out
a groan. She fell back onto the bed bringing the covers up to her neck.
“This isn’t going to work,” Heather sighed heavily shaking
her head at the thought of Paul outside their room. “Kyle we can’t
do this if he’s out there.”
“Sure we can,” Kyle turned onto his side, bringing his arm around
her. He leaned in over her and kissed the side of her neck leisurely, “We
can just wait a few minutes until he cleans it up and…”
“I don’t know,” she reopened her eyes and met his again, “It
just seems strange with him right outside our bedroom door and…”
“He’ll be gone soon,” Kyle promised with a teasing grin, his
fingers dropping down beneath the blanket. His hand settled in between her
thighs feeling her warmth beside him. He stroked her gently before leaning
in to nibble on her ear again, “and then we’ll continue to pick
up where we left off.”
“Kyle,” she shifted beside him opening herself up to him and his
attentions when another sound vibrated through the hallway.
“Damn it. Okay that hurt a little bit, but I swear I’m okay,”
Paul’s voice promised from the other side of the door as Heather let
out a groan.
“That’s it. We can’t do this,” Heather sat upright leaning
over the side of the bed to reach for her nightgown. “This isn’t
going to work tonight.”
“Sure it is,” Kyle reached out to her dragging her back onto the
bed with him.
“Kyle it sounds like he’s only hurting himself out there. Clearly
we have to clean up his mess and…” Heather started with a frown
feeling him holding onto her.
“Trust me. Paul is a bit dramatic, but he can handle it,” Kyle pleaded
with her wanting to say something more to convince her that they didn’t
have to stop what they’d started, but with another crashing sound outside
of their room there was another sound that followed--the sound of Charles
waking up.
“Okay, that’s it. It’s settled,” Heather wiggled off of
the bed making her way over to the closet to grab her robe and slippers, “Tonight
is officially over in the romance department. I have to get Charles now that
he‘s awake...”
“I know, but Heather,” Kyle groaned bringing his hand up through
his hair. He watched her slip into her robe before she crossed the room leaning
in to give him a small kiss.
“We’ll just have to take a rain check on all of this,” she
promised hearing Charles crying again. “I’ll be back in a few.”
“Okay, just be careful out there with the glass,” Kyle urged squeezing
her hand for a brief moment before watching her leave the room to get Charles.
Reluctantly he got up and out of bed reaching for some sweatpants and putting
them on. He marched over to the door throwing it open only to see Paul standing
there with an apologetic smirk on his face.
“I hope this isn’t because of me,” Paul motioned to the room
where Heather had set off to be with her son, “because if it is I can
get a bottle or something and give it to the kid while you two get funky with
one another.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be happening now,” Kyle
muttered under his breath before looking to the mess Paul made. “Paul
is that mustard on my carpet?”
“Well I sort of made a snack to take with me into the bathroom since
you know sometimes it takes a while in there and you have to gear yourself
up. I dropped the plate of those cocktail weenies that I made to take with
me when I ran into that vase and, hell I’m really sorry man,” Paul
offered up in a half-hearted apology.
“Just save it,” Kyle put his hand up in the air to silence him,
“It doesn’t matter what you did because right now all that is important
is cleaning it up. I think we’ll need something to wipe up the spot when
you get the glass up. Maybe I’ll get the vacuum now that Charles is up
to.”
“Look I’m sorry man,” Paul began again with wide eyes.
“Save it. I‘ll just get some slippers on,” Kyle mouthed closing
the door again as he realized that having Paul here at home with him and Heather
especially now was going to without a doubt put a major crimp in the newlywed
life that they had going with one another.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“That was incredible,” Michael words whispered over the back of
Olivia’s neck. He held onto her feeling her pressed in against his body
as she kept her eyes on the wall beyond the bed they were in. He bent down
to kiss her shoulder again and felt her shiver beside him, “You’re
amazing.”
“No I’m not,” she shook her head and sighed. Finally finding
it in her, she turned around to face him again, “I shouldn’t have
let things get this far tonight.”
“It was inevitable,” Michael admitted reaching out to touch her
face gently, “You and I have something special between us.”
“I’m a married woman Michael. Beyond that I have two children who
aren’t all that much older than you,” she sighed taking in a breath
and closing her eyes.
“I’m not as young as I look and besides age is irrelevant when it
gets down to passion,” he coaxed her to meet his gaze again, a smile
touching over his lips, “That’s what we have too Liv. We have so
much passion between us.”
“Passion that never should’ve been,” she explained with a poignant
breath, “I never should’ve let this happen.”
“We both let this happen and I don’t regret it,” he stated
boldly watching the way that her eyes widened by his response, “There
I said it. I don’t regret making love to the most incredible woman I’ve
ever known.”
“Stop. You can’t mean that Michael,” she waved her hand dismissively
at him.
“But I do,” he reached for her hand raising it to his lips and kissing
it gently, “You’re by far the most beautiful woman I’ve ever
known. From the first moment I saw you at the hospital I knew that I wouldn’t
be able to move on in my life without you.”
“Michael please,” she attempted to wiggle out of his embrace only
to feel his lips descend over hers.
“You’re incredible Olivia inside and out,” he whispered pressing
feathery light kisses over the side of her neck, “Everything about you
goes above and beyond any woman I’ve been with. You’re sexy, sensual,
passionate and even though I just had you I feel as if it’s not enough--as
if it can never be enough. Even now I want you all over again.”
“Michael I…” she started pressing her palms into his shoulders
enough to bring a distance between them. She met his eyes again before leaning
up to claim his mouth with a hunger unlike anything she’d ever known.
She wrapped her arms around him using her strength to shove him back into
the bed. She quickly moved in over him sitting upright on his abdomen.
“God you’re beautiful,” he leaned forward moving in to place
kisses over her sensual curves. She sank her fingers into his shoulder, kneading
the skin before crying out in a moment of bliss.
“Michael,” she spoke his name giving in to passion all over again
now that she had exactly what she wanted wrapped up in the arms of a man that
couldn’t get enough to her. Making love to Michael was wild and exciting,
everything that she’d thought she’d once had with Julian, but now
as Michael dedicated everything he had to pleasing her, she knew that there
would be no turning away from this. After one taste she knew she’d always
be craving more--needing it like the air she breathed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Are you absolutely sure this is going to work? I mean really, fake
identification?” Lindsay muttered from the backseat of Jackie’s
car as she looked around the area before them. “I know you said you wanted
to go out and do something, but honestly this just doesn’t seem right.
I’m sure there are other things out there that we can do for fun without
breaking the law.”
“Lindsay,” Stacy glanced back at her friend with a wide smile before
pushing back her long blonde hair and letting out a small laugh. “I know
you don’t like the idea, but you need to just loosen up for once. The
good girl act doesn’t have to last forever.”
“Well let me tell you something Stacy, this isn’t an act, this is
something that you are supposed to do. Something that is the right thing and
what we are planning on doing is the totally wrong thing. I don’t think
we should even try, at all.”
“Lindsay, I’ve done this before,” Jackie began to explain looking
in the rearview mirror to see a worried looking Lindsay staring back at her.
“When I did it, all they do is check the eye color, the height and they
don’t care about the hair or what not because people always change. As
long as you can just play it cool and not freak out, you’ll be okay.”
“Oh yeah, that’s so easy considering who I am and what I do,”
Lindsay began with a small roll of her eyes seeing the way that Stacy glared
back at her from the passenger seat as they pulled into the parking lot. “If
I get caught I’m blaming this all on you.”
“If we get caught,” Jackie began getting out of the car as the others
followed her and she placed her hand on Lindsay’s shoulder. “It’s
your fault because you are going to be freaking out and the rest of us have
it under control.”
Getting in line Lindsay paused seeing them checking the identification to
get into the club that her two friends had somehow talked her into going to
and she let out a long breath before going to step out of line and go back
to the car.
“Stay here, no one is here to take you back home and you don’t drive
yet, so stay right here,” Stacy ordered seeing the way that Lindsay’s
eyes looked down toward the ground and they could see the nervousness behind
every muscle in her body. “Relax.”
“My father would kill me if he knew I was doing this,” Lindsay’s
blue eyes shot a glare out at Jackie seeing the way that Jackie shrugged her
shoulders and looked around the people in front of her and behind her. “This
isn’t going to work and…,”
Lindsay shut up once they got to the front of the line seeing the way that
guy before her looked at the license she handed him before handing it back
and nodding slowly. Moving into the club she heard the loud music erupting
through her ears as she let out a deep breath.
“This is crazy,” Lindsay replied seeing her friends step in next
to her, they got in and they didn’t even get caught. That was crazy,
she never thought she could do something like that before. “Oh this is
so wrong, I can’t do this. I’m going home.”
“Lindsay,” she heard a deep voice fill her ears as she turned to
see the dark eyes of Daniel Ashford and she let out a small gasp looking back
toward the entrance of the club. “You guys showed up, I’m glad you
did.”
“You snuck in here too?” Lindsay questioned seeing the way that
Jackie smiled out at Daniel moving in next to him as Daniel wrapped his arm
around her motioning Lindsay to come in next to him. Stepping in next to Daniel
she felt his other arm wrap around her before giving her a tight squeeze.
“Yes, I’m assuming?”
“This is the best place around, where else would I want to go?”
Daniel questioned with a small laugh before moving over toward the dance floor
with the crowded vision of people before them. “I love to dance and I
love the crowd, this is the place for me.”
“You still want to leave?” Stacy offered up moving in next to Lindsay
and whispered in her ear as she saw her friend glance over at her with her
blue eyes. “I mean honestly, this place isn’t as great as I thought
it was. I’m sure we could get going and…,”
“No, I don’t mind staying for a little while,” Lindsay explained
seeing the way that Stacy stared at her with a small smile at Lindsay as she
glanced back at Daniel. “If anyone asks though, I spent the night at
Jackie’s.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Try this,” Russ suggested offering up a sloppy spoonful of ice-cream
to Avery as they sat with one another in the middle of their kitchen floor
in a mountain of tablecloth that had gone down with them after they’d
lost themselves in their love making. Now that Avery leaned forward to take
the bite that Russ was offering her, he couldn’t help but notice how
sexy she looked with her flushed skin and swelled lips that wrapped around
the spoon. “How is it?”
“Divine,” Avery closed her eyes letting out a small moan of appreciation
as she reached for the spoon hoping to steal it from him. She dipped it down
into the oversized bowl where they’d put together a banana split after
things had settled down between them. She scooped up an oversized spoonful
of chocolate ice-cream with hot fudge on the top and raised it to his lips.
“Try some.”
“I don’t mind if I do,” he took the bite she offered him, savoring
the sweetness of it before leaning in to kiss her heatedly. “It’s
good, but I like you better.”
“Of course you do,” she wrinkled her nose at him before letting
out a small laugh, “because I’m a whole lot sweeter.”
“That you are,” Russ mouthed in response reaching into the bowl
with his fingers and scooping out some ice-cream. He offered it to her watching
her take his fingers into her mouth and suckle them. She licked off the traces
of chocolate from his finger tips before sliding her fingers into the cool,
melted ice-cream as well. She extracted a cherry from it before grinning over
at him.
“I found the cherry,” she explained excitedly lifting it in the
air. She brought it over to her lips only to feel him lean forward to steal
it from her. He bit down on it and swallowed before winking at her.
“It was good,” he mouthed feeling her poke him in the ribs.
“Hey, that was mine,” she frowned with a huff seeing him slide his
fingers into the bowl as well and pull out another cherry.
“You didn’t really think that I wouldn’t give you one, did
you?” Russ held it up in the air, watching her tip her head back, opening
her mouth up to accept the fruit. She closed her lips around it, making a
small sound of pleasure. “Happy now?”
“Very,” Avery nodded a contented smile sweeping in over her. She
reached out behind her to pull up the jar of marshmallow cream she’d
pulled out of the cabinet. “Though I wanted to have this on our banana
split as well.”
“I don’t think we have room for it,” Russ laughed squeezing
her in closer to him as she pulled off the top of the jar.
“Then we’ll have to find a place for it somewhere else,” she
informed him tossing the lid to the jar aside and reaching into the jar. She
pulled out the thick, white, foamy cream and smiled over at him, “Any
ideas on where I could use that?”
“Somehow something tells me that you’ve already got a few,”
he confessed feeling her reach out to smear it over his chest.
“Guilty as charged,” she hinted at mischief in her tone. She nudged
him to lean back while she straddled his hips. She smiled inwardly, taking
the time to paint his chest with marshmallow cream. Once she was satisfied
with her work, she leaned forward and licked a hot, wet line over his body.
“Avery,” Russ spoke her name feeling tiny shivers race over him
when she traced her tongue over his nipple nibbling on it gently.
“Very good,” she continued to clean up the mess she’d made
enjoying every single, savory second of it while Russ ran his fingers over
her spine enjoying her enthusiasm. “Although I think that I might have
made a mess somewhere else…”
“You know,” Russ felt her hand press in over his thigh and he caught
her wrist before she could finish with her intentions. He brought her hand
up to his lips and he leaned forward to take some of the marshmallow cream
from her fingers, “maybe that might be pushing it if you go down there.”
“I thought you liked it when I went down there,” she wiggled her
brow at him suggestively.
“I do, but this is really sticky and…” Russ paused a slow grin
spreading over his face, “I don’t think I’ve had my turn with
this one.”
“Russ what are you…” she felt him collect her in his arms.
He carefully hoisted her up enough as he moved off of the floor. He set her
on the counter before he bent down and reached for the marshmallow cream.
“I think you’ve had your fun with me long enough,” he explained
running his fingers through the cream and watching her eyes light up. “It’s
my turn to have some fun of my own.”
“Russ what are you…” she felt him drop the cream over her thigh
before his lips followed the movement. Closing her eyes she could feel his
tongue dancing over her skin offering up slow, tempting flicks over her body.
She arched over the edge of the counter feeling him trace a thin, line of
cream over her body.
“Oh yes this is much better,” he whispered heatedly pressing a kiss
over her inner thigh before urging her back onto the countertop to lay out
before him.
“Russ, maybe we should rethink the whole marshmallow cream idea. You’re
right about it being sticky and…” she started to reason feeling
him deposit a handful of it over her abdomen. She felt his fingers spread
it out over her body, easing it up over her breastbone and out over her breasts.
She closed her eyes feeling his finger tips massaging her to a whole new level
of ecstasy. She arched up into him, feeling her body grow rigid with desire
at his touch, finding that she could no longer take it any longer, but just
when she’d found herself at her wit’s end, she felt his mouth move
in over her, his damp, hot breath creating a whole new fire inside of her.
She writhed beneath him fighting to keep from losing control as his tongue
teased over her, taking the time to lavish her inside and out with his seductive
caress. His tongue lapped over her skin, ravishing each and every inch of
her until she could no longer hold back on passion. She cried out threading
her fingers through his hair when his intimate caresses moved southern causing
her to lose any and all concept of the world around her.
“Russ,” she cried out his name feeling herself spiral out of control
as the world seemed to shift around her taking her deeper and deeper into
a world of pleasure that seemed to exist alone for the two of them.
“That’s right baby, don’t hold back,” Russ urged his lips
meeting hers again as he pulled her to the edge of the counter sweeping her
up in one quick movement before joining them as one. He carried her over to
the table top and braced himself over her moving fluidly with her riding the
wild rush of thunder that exploded between them until neither one of them
could hold back on their passion any longer. Avery’s finger nails bit
into Russell’s shoulders as he kissed her heatedly riding the final waves
of desire with her until they both fell to the floor where they’d started
both breathless and lost in the after glow of the storm they’d awakened
in one another.
“I love you,” she mouthed after a few moments once her breathing
settled down. She placed her head on his chest feeling the sticky traces of
their earlier playing with one another still remaining. His palm was resting
gently over her hip while his arm cradled her in over him creating a feeling
of security and warmth between them.
“I love you,” he reached out with his free arm to push her long
hair away from her face. A small smile touched over the corners of his lips
as he watched her closely from behind passion-glazed eyes. “I love you
so much that I would marry you again in a heartbeat.”
“I would marry you too,” she confessed in a small whisper before
he leaned forward taking the time to taste her swollen lips.
“I want to marry you again,” he mouthed sliding his fingers into
her damp hair, “I want us to have what we should’ve had the first
time around.”
“I want that too, but…” she started seeing something behind
his green eyes.
“Nothing’s stopping us now. You’ve got the divorce worked out
and…” he nibbled on her lower lip gingerly, “I’m ready
to make things official again.”
“I am too, but…” she paused feeling him pull away from her
to see something behind her dark eyes.
“But what?” he questioned blankly sensing her hesitation.
“If we do this again, you have to promise me that we won’t be finding
out in a few months that it isn’t legal--that it isn’t real,”
she placed her hand over the center of his chest feeling his heart beating
rapidly beneath her touch.
“It was something that was forever for me the first time and even now
that won’t ever change,” he curled his finger underneath her chin
lifting her eyes to his, “I love you Avery and I’ll always love
you. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamt about and wanted in my life.
You and Erin are it for me and I want us to have our dream again.”
“I want that too,” she admitted rising up to meet his lips in another
kiss, “I want to marry you all over again Russ.”
“Then let’s do it. Let’s get married,” Russ blurted out
excitedly thinking about how perfect it would be to finally have things back
on track with them again now that nothing was standing in their way. With
Avery’s divorce to Brant finalized they could truly be able to move forward
with their lives like they’d always longed for with one another. Nothing
could stop them now from sharing that dream of happily ever after--absolutely
nothing!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Richard took a seat on Judy’s sofa thinking about his earlier conversation
with Russell. While he’d tried to dismiss what Russ was telling him,
he couldn’t help but feel himself overtaken with thoughts about his tortured
relationship with Brooke over the years. While neither one of them had fought
to keep things going once they’d reached their breaking points, he’d
always felt like there was a reason they’d have Avery. There was certainly
some purpose for so much good to stem from all the misery that Brooke put
him through, but now as he thought about what Russell had told him, it caused
him to feel as if things were changing for him.
“Rick, did you hear me?” Judy questioned drawing him back from his
contemplations. He looked up to see her standing in the archway between the
kitchen and her living room. “Well?”
“I’m sorry,” he began with an apologetic expression, “What
did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted marshmallows in your hot chocolate or not, but
clearly there’s a lot more going on inside of your head,” she paused
taking in a breath before stepping into the room to join him. “Is something
bothering you?”
“No, why would you say that?” he lied feeling her move in onto the
couch beside him.
“Because you have been unusually quiet ever since you saw Russ and Avery.
Is something wrong with them or Erin?” she questioned reaching out to
gently squeeze his fingers in hers.
“No, they are fine. Erin’s amazingly beautiful as always,”
he confessed with a hint of a smile thinking about his incredible granddaughter.
“Then what’s the problem?” Judy asked in a patient tone, sensing
that there was something brewing beneath the surface that went far beyond
his words.
“Nothing really. It’s just,” he hesitated not quite sure where
to begin. He turned to face her again seeing the way her eyes reached out
to him with genuine interest. He felt her touch her cheek gently before he
sighed, “well, I had a talk with Russ and Avery both tonight. Both had
very valid concerns about different things and…”
“And what?” Judy prompted him further hoping to get him to open
up to her.
“Avery was speaking about this woman in town,” he paused for a long
moment knowing only too well that it was a concern that was eating his daughter
alive. “There’s this woman that Cameron Stone claims is Avery’s
sister. He is saying that his sister Angela is Avery’s twin. Apparently
she looks like my daughter and Avery believes that there is some kind of connection.”
“Because Cameron said there was?” Judy arched a skeptical brow.
“That was my response to her,” Richard explained drawing in a breath.
“Nothing that comes out of that man’s mouth could or would hold
any validity in my eyes. I don’t see him as someone that can be trusted,
yet…”
“What?” she asked again.
“Russ seems to believe that there is some validity in what Cameron is
saying. He informed me that there are striking similarities between Avery
and this Angela woman that go beyond their physical appearances,” he
paused trying to shuffle through his thoughts. He tipped his head up and met
her eyes again with an uncertainty. “For Russell to say something like
that…”
“Rick, do you think it’s possible that she could be…?”
Judy hated to ask, but when she noticed the expression on his face, she couldn’t
help but wonder if perhaps there was something more beyond the surface.
“Brooke hasn’t exactly been on the up and up with me through the
years. When I think about all the times she’s deceived me,” he paused
as a frown carried over him, “Don’t get me wrong I know that Avery
is my daughter, but…”
“But you can’t help but question whether or not this person Cameron
is talking about could offer up some kind of clue into something more Brooke
has been hiding,” Judy began knowing only too well of the sins Brooke
had committed against them through the years. “Rick…”
“Russ told me that Brooke had drugged me when you and I were together.
He explained that she had manipulated the situation as she had with Russ and
Avery when Avery found Russell in bed with Heather,” Richard blurted
out shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “He told me that all those years
ago, Brooke had done her best to split us apart and she…”
“I know,” Judy whispered tightly feeling her own emotions getting
the best of her.
“You do?” he blinked back at her confusion carrying over his eyes.
She nodded, “I know it sounds crazy, but in the back of my mind I’ve
always known that she had to pull something to keep us from one another. I
just could never figure out what it was exactly. It wasn’t until I saw
Russ and Heather together that I started to believe that maybe just maybe
she had done the same thing to us. Rick, when I think about that night that
I found you in bed with her, there’s no way that you would have compromised
what we had with one another to be with her. I know that you never loved her.
I knew that your heart was always with me.”
“Yet you never openly questioned it? Even now after I tell you what Russ
discovered when he was held captive?” Richard replied with a pained expression.
“When Russ returned I knew what had happened. I could see it in his face
when he and Avery were having problems. When he mentioned what Brooke had
done to him, I figured it out,” she explained drawing in a breath as
she fought to keep her tone even. “I realized that even though it was
painful to think about how much she’d stolen from us, I couldn’t
let you see that everything was based on a lie. I knew in time you’d
find out the truth yourself and…”
“And you never thought to tell me?” his eyes widened as he stiffened
beside her.
“What good would it have done? Would it have changed the years we spent
apart? Or worse, would it have changed what it was that you had with your
daughter all of these years?” she pointed out knowing only too well that
he would be upset about the news he’d been delivered. “What good
would drudging up our past like that do for you other than confuse you?”
He opened his mouth to say something, but paused for a long moment. Finally
he spoke up again in a slow breath, “It’s not you that I’m
upset with…”
“I realized that,” she nodded sympathetically, “This all goes
back to the woman who has worked like mad to ensure that everyone around her
is miserable. This all goes back to the person who was wanted nothing more
than to have everything she desired no matter what the cost it held for the
world around her.”
“Brooke did so many horrible things to Avery and now,” he trailed
off unable to let the feeling that built up inside of him settle. He rose
to his feet and began to pace the room. “When Russ and Avery spoke of
this other young woman--when they talked about her being Cameron Stone’s
sister…”
“Do you think that Brooke and Cameron’s father…?” she
couldn’t help but ask her thoughts lingering to the woman who had worked
to make her life miserable for so very long.
“I honestly don’t know,” Richard admitted turning to face her
again. “I know that Brooke and I weren’t together for a while and…”
“Do you think that she’s lied all of these years? That Avery isn’t
your daughter and…” Judy’s jaw dropped at the realization.
“Is that what it is? Rick, are you saying that you never slept with her
and…”
“I slept with her Judy,” Richard replied hating to blurt that out
to her when it was clear that she’d always held out hope about the way
things had turned out for them. “Judy, while I know that night you found
us was hazy, the fact to the matter is that…”
“I don’t want to hear this,” she decided moving to her feet
again. “I know that this is something that you’re going to have
to deal with, but maybe I’m not the person you should be going over this
with.”
“You knew that Brooke and I had been together before you and I reunited,”
Richard called out to her watching her retreat to the kitchen. “I’d
never pretended to lie to you about that. You’d had a life of your own
when we parted and…”
“I know that, but just to think about your having gone to her willingly,”
she stopped moving. Bringing her hands to her sides, she forced herself to
face him again, “I know that you two had something, but around the time
she said she was pregnant.”
“Judy, when she told me she was having Avery, I had no choice but to
commit myself to her in every sense of the word. She was my wife regardless
of what I truly wanted,” he informed her noticing the pain that flashed
over her features. “I’d always thought that I could be what she
deserved--what my family would need…”
“And now you see that family might not have been yours in the first place.
Face it Rick. Brooke was desperate. She was willing to do whatever was necessary
to end up as your wife. She wanted her hands on your fortune and she wasn’t
about to quit until she had you wrapped around her finger,” she continued
to remind him. “What better way to do that, then sleep with someone and
then pass off the child as yours? It wouldn’t be beneath her to do something
like that.”
“But I was there when Avery came into this world. I saw with my own two
eyes my little girl,” Richard explained drawing in a breath. “When
I held her that first time I knew that she was the one thing in this world
that I did right. She was the only true thing I did in this world even if
it came at a price.”
“Rick, I know you love Avery, but with this other woman out there and
your doubts,” Judy softened her tone a bit. She stepped towards him reaching
out to touch his face tenderly, “There’s the possibility that maybe
Avery really isn’t…”
“I know without a shadow of a doubt that Avery’s my daughter. She
always has been and she always will be regardless of what kind of games Brooke
played,” Richard cut her off abruptly. “Despite whatever it is that
Cameron is pulling, I’m certain of that.”
“And what about this Angela person?” Judy couldn’t help but
ask. “How can that be explained knowing that…”
“I’ll find out what’s happening with that woman. I’ll
see who she is and what the purpose behind Cameron’s story is. If it
checks out,” Richard hesitated knowing only too well that if Angela was
Avery’s sister it could only mean one thing.
“Rick?” Judy attempted to beckon him to her once again.
“I’ll deal with this. I’ll find a way to make things right
for everyone,” he promised wondering if he would truly be able to create
a place for his family where they weren’t living in the shadow of Brooke’s
sins over them. Closing his eyes he reached out to embrace Judy as he found
himself wondering about just what it was Cameron Stone’s purpose was
in bringing Angela to town. Even if it was something he wasn’t sure about
himself, he decided that perhaps it would be time to do a bit of investigating
of his own if for no other reason then to put his daughter’s mind at
ease about an old issue once and for all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I love days like this,” Diane sighed leaning back into Ben's arms
as they were laid out on the couch with one another. Snuggling closer into
his chest she felt his arm tighten around her and it felt like heaven. The
whole world had been hectic over the last few months and was nice to have
a few quiet moments with the man that she loved. “Where I get to spend
time with you and only you.”
“I think I could really get used to this,” Ben smiled proudly glancing
into the dark eyes of his girlfriend seeing her eyelashes flutter up at him
making him let out a small laugh. “I think of some great things to do
spending my time with you every day of my life, just the two of us.”
“Some great things to do with me?” she teased her fingers in over
his abdomen through his t-shirt seeing his blue eyes glance down at her with
a mischievous look as she let out a small laugh. “Honestly, what do you
think you could do with me every day of your life?”
“Well, I know one thing,” Ben teased further seeing her bite down
on her bottom lip as she moved in for a kiss and he moved back slowly before
shrugging his shoulders. “I mean eating with you is the most orgasmic
thing, to see a woman that eats as much as you do…,”
“You jerk,” Diane chuckled roughly bringing her palm in over his
chest hearing the small chuckle that followed and she let out a small laugh
herself before resting back more comfortably in his arms. “I could honestly
lay with you like this forever.”
“Forever is never long enough,” Ben groaned hearing the way that
his phone rang and he looked down at her giving a small pleading look. Watching
her nod, he slowly stood up from the couch going over to his phone and picking
it up. Pointing to the kitchen Ben walked out of the room and away from Diane
for a moment and cleared his throat uneasily. “Hello?”
Pausing uneasily he heard the directions that person over the line gave him
and he looked back over his shoulder seeing that Diane had now followed him
into the kitchen and he let out a long breath nodding to himself.
“Yes, I understand,” he muttered watching the way that her dark
eyes eyed him over carefully as he moved over toward the cupboards pulling
out a glass and setting it down on the countertop. “Sure, I’ll be
there in the morning for a follow up. I promise I won’t miss it, that
is one thing I know for sure. Thank you sir.”
“What was that?” Diane questioned with one eyebrow perked up in
interest seeing his light eyes glancing over her for a moment before taking
in a deep breath and moving over toward the fridge. “Ben, what was that
all about? You never usually walk away from the room when there is a phone
call, who was that?”
“Well, it was something,” he began trying to think of a way to explain
it to her before setting the jug of milk on the counter shifting uncomfortably
watching her eyes carefully. “Well you know since I’m not working
with Avery anymore because Brant fired her, I have to find a new thing to
do with my career. So, I know you may not like this, but I’m going back
to working for the DA’s office Diane. I figured if I needed a new job
I would be working on this case, they have something for me to work on and
I just thought it might be a good idea.”
“Yeah, and what is this case about?” Diane questioned sitting down
at the table seeing Ben come over with two glasses setting one down for her
as he shrugged his shoulders. “Ben, what is it about?”
“It’s just some case they said they have for me,” Ben answered
glancing out at her for a moment before taking a long swig of the drink before
him, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke up again. “It’s really
no big deal, the only information I got on it is that I will be getting the
details in the morning when I go and meet up with them again. That’s
all I really know and that I promise to you sweetheart.”
“Alright,” Diane sighed softly watching the way that Ben hardly
stared her in the eyes and she couldn’t quite figure out if something
was up or not. All she knew is that she was going to have some faith in Ben
and hopefully he wasn’t going to get in more trouble than she suspected.
“I believe you.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So tell me, why are we at Ria’s house again?” Chase questioned
with a small laugh moving into apartment after Trisha had let herself into
her sister’s place. Shutting the door after entering, he slid his hands
into his pockets to take a small glance around the area. “I thought we
could just stay at your parent’s place, I didn’t see the point in
leaving when…,”
“Trust me, with my mom mentioning a few times about her coming home to
see Ria and I,” Trisha took in a long breath seeing the way that Chase
pushed back his short blonde hair. “I don’t want to see what goes
on if she saw you and I together. I don’t think my mother‘s heart
could take seeing something like that with me, especially since she thinks
I‘m so innocent.”
“What makes you think that you and I would be together at the point in
time she walked in?” Chase questioned sitting down to the couch seeing
the way that Trisha gave him a sideways glance and he shook his head slowly
throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m just saying honey, sometimes
we have some normal moments. I do like to play the word romantic off sometimes,
even if that isn’t necessarily your thing.”
“You are my thing Chase, I thought you would know that by now. Though,
you do know just as much as me that there is a huge possibility that she would
walk in on us when it was the worst possible moment,” Trisha rolled her
eyes walking over toward a picture that Ria had out of her and Kevin together
as she let out a small noise. “I can’t wait until their wedding,
it’s going to be so cute to see something like that. They are just the
cutest couple ever.”
“And what are we? The second cutest couple ever or something lower than
that?” Chase looked back ready to tease her further before seeing the
way that she started walking over toward Ria’s bedroom and Chase quickly
got off the couch following her back. “Honey, what are you doing? Honey?”
“I’m snooping around,” Trisha replied with a wide smile seeing
the way that Chase frowned and she pushed Ria’s bedroom door open moving
over toward Ria’s closet. “She said it was okay to be here, so hey
why not? If she has no problem with me being here, then why can‘t I do
some snooping around. She never ordered me not to you know, so what‘s
your worry?”
“Because your sister needs some privacy and I think I know what you are
doing. I know you like certain things, but honey come on,” Chase pointed
out seeing the way that Trisha shrugged her shoulders and Chase rolled his
eyes looking at the bed in the center of the room moving over to take a seat
on it. “Seriously, you would want your own privacy, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Trisha answered making Chase roll his eyes
and fall back to the bed with a groan seeing Trisha looking through her sister’s
clothes. Watching her look at herself with one of Ria’s shirt in front
of her and throw it to the side making him let out a long laugh. “What
else do we have here?”
“How about we go make something to eat?” Chase suggested placing
his hands behind his head seeing Trisha shake her head and move over toward
the nightstand next to the bed. Opening the top drawer he rolled his eyes
hearing her gasp and he let out a small laugh. “Okay, what are you gasping
at now?”
“Look at how many they have and look at how many wrappers are in here,”
Trisha placed them on the bed seeing Chase turn on his elbow to look at her
pulling out the condom packages as Chase wrinkled his nose. Seeing Trisha
eyeing over the package he reached forward to snatch it from her fingers and
look it over slowly. “What?”
“I don’t see what’s so fascinating about a stupid condom, I
bet this isn’t even his real size,” Chase threw it to the side before
shaking his head with a frown, sitting up and pressing his back against the
bed frame. “I don’t know why you are so hyped about that.”
“Well, it’s something that obviously bugs you,” Trisha began
getting up and looking around the room as she pulled open a few random drawers
before seeing a couple of video tapes as her eyes perked up. “I think
I found the jackpot here.”
“Trisha, what are you doing? Honey, you don’t want to look at something
that isn’t yours because you have no idea what it is,” Chase went
to stop her from the putting the tape in the player as she looked back at
him with her dark eyes. “If that’s what I think it is, that’s
your sister girl. That’s really gross to be watching something like that
if it‘s really what I think it is Trisha.”
“I walk in on them every day anyways, so what’s the difference?”
she shrugged her shoulders moving back over toward Chase, taking a seat next
to him on the bed and pushing play. Seeing the scene before them Trisha cleared
her throat seeing Chase’s blue eyes widening in response. “Okay,
I thought I was a freak that did some weird things most of the time.”
“Oh my…,” Chase turned his head seeing the way that Trisha
did the same and he reached for the remote letting out a small laugh. Hearing
the noises that were coming from the video, he cleared his throat seeing Kevin
and Ria in a way he really never hoped he would. “How in the world are
they doing that?”
“I have no idea,” Trisha turned her head to the other side hearing
the noise that Chase let out as she bit down on her bottom lip watching Chase
try and make out the same thing she was. “I’m just going to guess
that Kevin is very bendable.”
“And kinky, him and your sister have some serious sex issues,” Chase
pointed out with a wrinkle of his nose seeing Ria biting Kevin in the video
and he rubbed at his chest feeling pain for Kevin from just seeing it. “Honestly,
that has to hurt at least a little bit.”
“Okay, I’ve had enough of the whole biting thing for right now.
Maybe we’ll watch some more later, but this is enough for me right now.
I’m not too big on the whole biting thing. Some food sounds good right
now,” Trisha reached for the remote from Chase seeing the way his eyes
glanced over at her as he let out a small laugh. “I don’t even want
to know anymore how he was doing that one thing.”
“Yeah, me either. Though, maybe I should ask Kevin because Ria really
seemed to be enjoying it,” Chase stood up from the bed before letting
out a small laugh after feeling her hit him in the center of the chest and
walk out into the living room. He watched as Trisha started to throw some
things around before moving to a different area to do the same thing. “You
do know we will have to clean this up before Ria gets back? She’ll be
super pissed seeing the mess you’ve made of the house.”
“No she won’t,” Trisha replied with a firm shake of her head
before letting out a small laugh and finally finding something she was interested
in. “She’ll get mad, beat Kevin up and then do what you just saw
with Kevin. It’s not going to bother her all that much. When her and
Kevin get into little episodes with one another, they have rough sex and tear
the house up worse than I ever could. Ria also tears up Kevin‘s chest
pretty hard too when she‘s mad, you should have seen all the scratch
marks on his chest and back when I walked in on them the last time. She is
really into that kind of thing and I think Kevin likes the pain.”
“Ouch,” Chase chuckled rubbing at his chest softly before seeing the way that Trisha walked into the kitchen and he follower in behind her. “I’m so glad you are not into that biting thing honey because if you were, I don’t think we would have been together this long. I would have had to get you a muzzle.”
“Ha ha,” Trisha hit him in the chest again softly before throwing him something to put on the counter before shrugging her shoulders and letting out a long sigh. “Now get to work so I’m not hungry anymore.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Ria there is nothing out here,” Angela frowned feeling herself
caught up in a garden maze now that she and Ria stood outside of the guest
house with one another. “What are you even looking for?”
“You’ll see,” Ria began trying to lead Angela further away
from the guest house.
“No we won’t,” Angela groaned planting her feet firmly on the
ground to keep from going where Ria was leading. She stood taller and puffed
out her chest, “It’s late and I’m not in the mood for games.
What’s going on Ria? What do you want me to see?”
“I just wanted to show you that,” Ria stopped herself as she spotted
Kevin out of the corner of her eye signaling for Ria to come back to the house.
“Never mind. Why don’t we just get back inside and I’ll show
you tomorrow?”
“Now that sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a while,”
Angela huffed marching back to the front door to find Kevin waiting for them
on the porch. Immediately she perked up upon seeing him. “Kevin, hey
honey are you feeling better?”
“At the moment yes I am,” he nodded his dark eyes casting out over
at Ria, “What were you two up to?”
“I’m not really sure,” Angela wrinkled her nose over at Ria
before turning to Kevin, “but it’s late and I’m tired.”
“You should go inside and rest,” Kevin suggested his eyes never
tapering off away from Ria, “I’ll just talk to Ria for a while and…”
“Why?” Angela frowned curling her lip in a pout before looking over
at Ria, “It’s late and I’m sure Ria doesn’t want to sit
around talking.”
“Actually I don’t mind. When I heard the noise I thought I would
just come over and see what’s going on,” Ria added her dark eyes
fixed on Kevin as well.
“It’s late Ria,” Angela huffed impatiently turning around to
face Ria again, “and Kevin isn’t feeling well.”
“I don’t mind Ria being here. She’s a doctor and I’m sure
she can help me with whatever it is my stomach is doing,” Kevin suggested
with a hint of a smile. He quickly pushed it away from his lips when Angela
faced him again, “You can rest though and…”
“Kevin, you and I both know it’s a case of indigestion that you’re
having and I’m sure with a few hours of rest you’ll be fine,”
Angela wrapped her arms around his waist and offered up a small squeeze.
“Not too tight Angie,” Kevin wiggled out of her hold on him, “I
don’t want to get sick again.”
“Baby, you need to get to bed. You don’t look good,” Angela
tipped up on her toes to touch the side of his face.
“I’m fine,” Kevin shook his head in refusal to her offer, “I’ll
just talk to Ria for a while and…”
“Kevin it’s late and we’ve had a long day,” she huffed
before glancing over at Ria, “I’m sure that Ria will tell you that
we all need to rest. I’m sure that she’s probably wanting to get
back to Brant since they’ve had a long day as well.”
“I really don’t mind spending time out here,” Ria offered up
catching the glare that Angela gave her.
“You might not mind, but I’m sure Brant does. Kevin, I want to go
to bed and I think you should as well,” Angela reached for his hand tugging
on it firmly, “You know what the doctors said about us getting upset.”
“Look Angie,” Kevin turned to face her opening his mouth to say
something more before he let out a sigh, “Fine, you should rest.”
“And so should you,” Angela placed her hand over the center of his
chest offering a small nudge to get him back into the house before she glanced
over at Ria. “You understand. It’s late, but please come on over
tomorrow. We’ll probably be much better then.”
“But…” Kevin started watching Angela shut the door in Ria’s
face before anyone could offer any further protest. Frowning as he saw her
lock the door, he stepped forward reaching out to open it again, “hey…”
“Kevin, it’s late,” she explained turning around to face him,
pulling his hand away from the lock. She raised it to her lips and leaned
in closer to him, “We need to rest. Please…”
“Angie, I…” his dark eyes focused on the door before he finally
nodded, “fine, but you didn’t have to be rude to Ria.”
“I wasn’t being rude to her. She is just nuts,” Angela huffed
in response shaking her head at the thought of the wild goose chase Ria took
her on, “I don’t see what Brant sees in her because she’s clearly
got a few screws loose somewhere.”
“Ria’s an amazing person Angela,” Kevin’s jaw flexed with
tension as his dark eyes met hers. He opened his mouth to say something more,
but sighed, “You shouldn’t be rude to her. She’s only trying
to help.”
“Right now a good night’s sleep will be the best thing for us,”
she urged him again.
“Fine, then you get into bed and I’ll be there when I get there,”
Kevin decided feeling her reach for his hand again. “Ang, I want to get
something to drink before I go to bed…something to settle my stomach.”
“I’ll go with you,” she offered up moving forward to embrace
him.
“No you go to bed,” he shook his head firmly leaning down to kiss
the top of her head, “I’ll be there shortly.”
“Fine,” she finally sighed not happy with his answer, but knowing
by the tone of his voice that he meant business, “but don’t be too
long.”
“I won’t be,” he promised watching her slip away into the bedroom.
Once he was sure that she was inside, he walked over to the door and opened
it in the hopes of finding Ria on the porch. Much to his dismay she was no
longer there and he felt his heart sink. Closing the door and locking it up
once again, Kevin found himself wishing like hell that he wasn’t stuck
in a situation where he was pretending to have something he didn’t with
the one woman that years ago he would’ve loved to have beside him. Back
in the day he would’ve given anything to be with Angela, but now as his
thoughts lingered to Ria he wished more than anything he could find a way
to make Angela remember the truth so that he could reach out to the future
with Ria that he’d waited his whole life to have.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I hate this!” Ria stomped her foot down spinning around to face
Brant with an angry glare as they stood beside the swimming pool out behind
the mansion. She glared up at Brant and waved her finger in his face, “This
is your fault you know.”
“My fault,” Brant blinked back at her with wide eyes. He felt another
shiver pass over him as he was still drenched from the shower Kevin had tossed
him into. “Ria, I didn’t ask for any of this to happen.”
“If you would’ve kept her happy, then she wouldn’t have been
in that situation in the first place and…” Ria snapped at him in
an accusatory tone.
“Now wait just a damn minute,” Brant frowned back at her standing
up taller and shaking his head, “Cameron lied to her. He told her that
I killed her father--which I didn’t and that’s why we were apart.
I am innocent in all of this and as bad as you think you have it right now
I have it a whole hell of a lot worse. Sure it sucks that Kevin is inside
the guest house pretending to be in love with her, but Ria the point to the
matter is that he is doing just that. He’s pretending. Angela doesn’t
even remember me. She doesn’t have any memory of me or the love that
we have or even to the fact that she is having my children and not his. Sure,
you might feel like things suck for you right now and yeah they do, but guess
what they suck a whole hell of a lot more for me. So before you stand there
and start condemning me for what’s happened realize that you’re
not missing as much as I am here. I love her more than anything and I’m
nothing to her. You know damn well that you’re not nothing to Kevin.”
“Brant I…” Ria blinked back at him surprised by his bitter
tone.
“You just can’t stop thinking about how this is hurting you because
when it gets down to it you would rather not be bothered because it isn’t
your children and the love of your life on the line. When everything is said
and done you and Kevin can ride off into the sunset together and be happy,
but nothing can guarantee that for Angela and I. Hell, even if he left her
now and told her the truth I know she wouldn’t be with me. She doesn’t
think anything about me because when it gets down to it I’m as irrelevant
as it gets to her Ria, so when you talk about how this situation hurts, try
walking around in my shoes,” Brant threw his hands up in the air before
pacing around the walkway next to the pool. He shook his head before glancing
over at her again and opening his mouth up to say something, but stopping
himself. “Look Ria, I’m not upset with you. It’s just that…”
“I know and I’m sorry about that,” Ria finally sighed realizing
she was venting her frustrations on the wrong person, “It starts with
her and ends with her ultimately. I just hate that she’s being so needy
and clingy with him.”
“I don’t like it either,” Brant revealed thinking about Angela’s
newfound addiction to Kevin. “It doesn’t seem like her at all. I
mean sure she’s very physical, but with the way she keeps following him
around--it’s almost like she’s afraid of what will happen if he’s
not with her. You don’t think it’s part of her memory coming back
to her, do you? I mean maybe she’s just finding something inside of herself
that wasn’t there before.”
“Like what?” Ria questioned focusing on the pool beside her and
noting the way that the moon carried down over it before turning to Brant.
“Like maybe in her subconscious she’s thinking about when Kevin
was shot and when she had her miscarriage,” Brant offered up thinking
about what he’d learned of Kevin and Angela’s past. “Is it
possible that maybe just maybe this is her way of keeping that from happening
because a part of her remembers what her mind won’t let her see?”
“Honestly,” Ria paused thinking about what Brant had said, “I
really don’t know. The truth to the matter is that I have no clue what
it is that Angela is thinking. All I see is her latching onto Kevin and not
wanting to let go.”
“Believe me I hate it as much as you do, but Don told me that this situation
was tentative. He warned me about the risks involved and…” Brant
began again with another sigh.
“I know the risks, but still,” Ria mouthed shaking her head before
looking away from Brant, “You don’t know what it’s like to
feel how I’m feeling.”
“Think about it for a moment and tell me that I don’t know what
it’s like Ria,” Brant stepped in closer to her, his dark gaze pressing
down upon her. He reached out to touch her arm gently before urging her to
meet his eyes, “It’s killing me that the one woman I’ve truly
opened myself up to and wanted to love is being taken from me again. It was
bad enough when I blew it the first time and then I did some really nasty
things to try to keep Avery, but with Angela it’s different. She’s
the one person in this world that’s never judged me--never held me up
against the ghost of my father. She saw me for me and I would give anything
to have that again--to be able to hold her and forget about what I am long
enough to share a life with her and our children. It’s the one thing
I want more than anything.”
“I understand that Brant because I want those things with Kevin, but…”
she shook her head before facing him again. “I just hate all of this.”
“So do I Ria, but right now we don’t have any other choice in the
matter other than to let the cards fall as they will--at least for the time
being,” Brant mouthed realizing that while he hated to just sit idle
and wait for fate to take it’s toll on them, he really had no other choice,
but to hope that one day Angela would regain what it was that they had lost
with one another when her memory faded away stealing with it the memory of
the love that they shared with one another!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Problem solved,” Kyle explained switching off the bedroom light
before sliding into bed beside Heather. He glanced over at his wife and smiled,
“How was Charles?”
“Ready for a changing and a kiss before going back to sleep,” Heather
laughed lightly thinking about the few moments she’d shared with her
son, “There’s nothing like a diaper change to kill the feeling of
being sexy is there?”
“Oh come on. I still think you’re very sexy,” Kyle leaned over
to kiss the side of her neck leisurely. His arm curled around the blanket
she’d wrapped herself in earlier and a smile tipped over his lips, “You
are so very sexy in fact.”
Heather smiled leaning in closer to him before closing her eyes. She let out
a long sigh before tipping her head to the side to look over at him, “You’re
just saying that because you’re obligated to now that you’re stuck
with me.”
“I would never say anything I didn’t mean especially with you,”
Kyle pushed the blankets back wanting to wrap his arm around her. He accomplished
his mission and pulled her in closer to him. Rubbing his nose teasingly against
hers, he couldn’t help but offer up a hint of a mischievous grin.
“So now you’re completely at my mercy eh?” Heather trailed
her fingers over the center of his bare chest before grinning back at him.
“I think I like that.”
“I know you like it,” Kyle leaned forward to kiss her again feeling
her respond to him for a brief moment before arching back to meet his gaze.
“Kyle, I don’t think this is such a good idea to be doing this,”
she rubbed the warm, muscled flesh beneath her touch, feeling his chest hard
and inviting against her.
“Why not?” he questioned lazily trailing a feathery light circle
across her outer thigh with his thumb and index finger.
“Well, for starters I just finished diaper duty and I feel like the diaper
queen,” she groaned inwardly feeling his lips descend to her neck again,
while his hand teased up over her hip.
“You don’t look or smell like diaper duty,” he assured her
in a low, seductive rumble kissing her again.
“And second we have Paul here,” she stiffened thinking about their
earlier situation that had awakened Charles. She pulled back enough to meet
his eyes before letting out a long sigh, “Kyle I know he said that he
was on his way to the bathroom, but no one carries finger foods to the bathroom
with them.”
“Paul’s not your typical kind of guy. He does strange things. He
always has,” Kyle offered up with a small shrug thinking of his college
pal. “He’s very unconventional and…”
“Kyle, I think he was outside of our door,” Heather admitted with
a small frown, “I mean I don’t want to think the worst about your
friend, but something about the whole situation seemed off.”
“He was just making his way to the bathroom,” Kyle urged her again
not really quite sure of what the situation was himself. He glanced over at
the door before his eyes fixed on Heather again, “I can assure you that
he’s back on the couch now and no doubt in dreamland where he’s
in the midst of a bunch of bikini clad beer girls who live and breathe to
serve only him.”
“How nice,” Heather couldn’t help but roll her eyes ever so
slightly, “Didn’t you say he was married?”
“Yeah to someone who also doesn’t understand that being married
means that you actually have to stop sleeping with everyone else around you
and be faithful to the person you married,” Kyle revealed with a shake
of his head. “That’s always been a concept that’s been hard
for both of them to grasp.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Heather’s lips curled in another
frown, “because from the moment you walked back into my life I haven’t
thought about being with another man.”
“Really?” Kyle arched a curious brow, “Is that so?”
“Indeed,” she nodded in response, a small smile revealing itself
to him, “In fact I can honestly tell you that you’re the first and
only man I’ve been with since I had Charles.”
“You don’t say,” Kyle’s eyes perked up at the confession.
He leaned in closer to her, a grin pressing over his now parted lips. “So
not even Diego or that Chris guy managed to catch your attention, eh?”
“Diego had my attention once, but no where near as much as you do,”
Heather admitted reaching out to play with his chest once again, “nor
would he ever come close to giving me what I’ve always wanted. I mean
here you are so perfect and absolutely everything I’ve ever dreamt about…”
“Go on,” Kyle leaned back on the bed feeling her move in over him.
He helped her onto his abdomen as her hands warmed up every inch of his muscled
chest. “Tell me how perfect for you I am.”
“You’re eating this up way too much,” Heather shook her head
and let out a small laugh, “In fact, I think maybe you should tell me
how much better I am than everyone else in the world for you.”
“Heather, I can honestly tell you that I’ve never been as enthused
or excited about a relationship than the one that we’ve had with one
another over the years,” Kyle explained thinking about all the women
that had crossed his path over the years. None of them could even come close
to what he’d always had when he was with Heather. He reached out to touch
the side of her face gently, “The fact to the matter is that I would’ve
done this a long time ago if things hadn’t kept us from being with one
another.”
“You mean like my running away and Sarah keeping us from being with one
another,” Heather noted thinking about the lies that had kept them from
one another.
Kyle nodded, “Yeah, but that’s the past sweetheart. Now we’re
together and nothing can keep us from having what we've always wanted with
one another.”
“I know that,” Heather let out a small laugh feeling a nervousness
settle in the center of her stomach, “though I have to tell you that
there was a time when I really, truly believed that you and I would never
make it to this point together. So many things happened that…”
“Hey,” Kyle leaned forward reaching out to touch the side of her
face, “you’re Mrs. Kyle Houston now, which means that nothing can
rain on your parades. Don’t you know what kind of perks that carries
with it?”
Heather couldn’t help but smile leaning into his touch, “I might
have an idea about a few of them.”
“Heather, you and I are going to have absolutely everything we’ve
ever wanted for one another. I mean sure we got a little lost on the road
to happiness, but now that we’re here, I don’t expect anything or
anyone to keep us from sharing our dreams with one another,” Kyle began
urging her to him for a kiss when their bedroom door bust open and Paul fell
flat onto the floor spilling the glass of water he’d had in his hand
and causing it to splash up over at Heather and Kyle.
“What the…” Heather squealed bouncing off of Kyle only to discover
that she’d been soaked by their guest.
“I um, well I was on my way to the bathroom to get a glass of water and…”
Paul stammered apologetically watching the way that Heather and Kyle both
glared up at him for his intrusion. Before Paul could say another word Kyle
frowned at him and looked over at Heather thinking about what he’d said
to her a few moments earlier.
“This doesn’t count,” Kyle offered up knowing full well that
he was going to have to deal with his friend sooner rather than later if he
was going to hope to hold onto any sense of a normal life with the woman he
loved. However as he saw the way that Paul was grinning up at the both of
them, clearly obvious in the fact that he’d been keeping an ear in on
them, Kyle knew it was going to be a lot harder than he’d imagined.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I bet you are glad that you didn’t leave, aren’t you?”
Stacy whispered in Lindsay’s ear seeing the way she smiled out at Daniel
as he glanced over at the two of them. “I know he is what made you stay
and I’m glad he did.”
“He’s not what made me stay,” Lindsay replied quickly seeing
the way that Stacy stared out at her and Lindsay let out a hesitant laugh
watching the way that Jackie looked back at her too. “Okay, so he might
have had some effect, but honestly he’s not the main thing. I just didn’t
want to ruin your night.”
“Sure, I’ll pretend that I actually believe that for now if you’d
really like me too, but I know that’s not the truth at all,” Stacy
pointed out watching Lindsay’s blue eyes narrow out at her as she shrugged
her shoulders and let out a long sigh. “I know you were talking about
this crush of yours saying how it wasn’t Daniel, but we all know it was
honey.”
“Actually, I can like two guys you know. One is my age just about and
the other is older than me, it’s just the older guy would never notice
me,” Lindsay sighed thinking about the guy she had the biggest crush
on and she knew that he was her ultimate dream guy even if he had some problems.
Seeing Stacy turn to look over in another general direction Lindsay let out
a long sigh turning around to rest her elbows on the table in front of her.
“But you really don’t care about hearing my life story because someone
else has your total interest.”
“Would you look at him,” Stacy nudged Jackie in the shoulder as
she stared out at a young man in the corner who was staring out at her. Lindsay
turned in the process to see her two friends checking out older men and she
let out a long sigh knowing that they would be bound to get into trouble.
“I think we should go talk to him.”
“Alright,” Jackie grabbed a hold of Stacy’s hand moving forward
only to feel Lindsay pull them right back as she let out a long sigh. “What
is it now Lindsay?”
“I just don’t think it’s the right thing to just go over there,”
Lindsay tried to explain to her friends before seeing them pull away from
her grasp as she watched them walk over to the guy that was standing at the
bar. Throwing her hands up in the air, Lindsay took a long look around the
club before reaching for her cell phone. “I don’t belong here.”
Dialing Don’s number with her shaky fingers, she knew this was the last
place she should have been and she should have never come in the first place.
It was so wrong and her friends should have never pulled her into something
like this if they were her true friends. Just when she was about to hit send
to call her big brother a hand moved in over hers as she lifted her glance
to meet the dark eyes of Daniel.
“Danny?” Lindsay frowned seeing Daniel grab a firm hold of her phone
looking down at the number as he glanced up at her again with a small smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was coming over here to ask you the same thing,” Daniel replied
looking down to see that it was just a number over the screen of the phone
as he glanced back over at her. “I thought you got sent a threatening
text message or something. You worried me.”
“No, I just don’t think I belong in a place like this Danny,”
she informed him going to take back her phone seeing him hold it back for
a moment. “I was going to call my brother to come and pick me up, but…”
“Hey, here’s a deal for you. You spend a couple more minutes with
me and I promise you will be okay. We can dance and just hang out, but if
you start to feel worried about it I’ll take you home personally,”
Daniel offered up seeing the way her blue eyes looked around the room nervously
before shrugging his shoulders. “Either way it’s your call, you
can dial your brother’s phone number right now if you want.”
“Okay, I’ll just stay for a little longer,” she cleared her
screen putting her cell phone back in her pocket watching the grin that spread
out over his features. “How did you get in here anyways?”
“The same exact way you did sweetheart,” Daniel smirked pulling
out his wallet and showing her his fake ID before shrugging his shoulders.
“I do have to say that I am very surprised that I saw you here today.
I’m happy that I did though because now I can show you my mad dancing
skills if you just follow me toward the dance floor.”
“Sure, whatever you say,” Lindsay chuckled lightly seeing the way
that Daniel smiled as he led her toward the dance floor and moved in closer
to her. Maybe this visit wouldn’t end up being that bad after all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey,” Stacy smiled widely stepping in front of the guy she had
been looking at earlier after feeling Jackie push her in closer to him. Seeing
the grin spread in over her features Stacy let out a hesitant laugh seeing
Jackie nod slowly motioning her to continue on. “I just thought I would
come over here and introduce myself. My name is Stacy.”
“It’s nice to meet you Stacy,” the man in front of her grinned
reaching his hand out to hers, tipping down to press a soft kiss against the
back of her hand before his green eyes met hers. “I’m Caleb.”
“Caleb?” she muttered seeing him nod slowly as she glanced at the
tan, green eyed young man before her smiling at the sight of his charm and
good looks. “I’m glad I spotted you in the crowd Caleb and…,”
“I’ll be back, I see someone from school,” Jackie mused as
she pressed her hand against Stacy’s shoulder and she went to reach for
Jackie’s hand to make her stay before feeling Caleb’s thick fingers
wrap around her wrist softly.
“Hey, don’t worry about your friend, I’m not going to hurt
you or anything,” Caleb offered up a small wink before seeing her laugh
hesitantly and he motioned her to sit next to him at the bar when he turned
to her. “So tell me a bit about yourself Stacy, how old are you?”
“How old am I?” Stacy placed her hand over her chest seeing him
nod before pushing back his very short dark hair taking in a long breath.
“I think the question is really how old are you? You look way too young
to be in a place like this.”
“I look young? Well, I guess looks could be deceiving,” he whispered
in her ear as she let out a small laugh seeing his eyes glancing over her
body before pressing his hand in against her thigh. “Wouldn’t you
think so Stacy?”
“Well I…,” Stacy whispered feeling the way that Caleb’s
fingers pressed in over her bare arm, moving in over her skin slowly as she
let out a long breath seeing his bright, white smile before her. “How
old are you really?”
“I’m twenty-four,” Caleb reached out to press back her light
blonde hair before offering up a wide smile seeing the way she smiled out
at him, placing her hand in over his thigh as well. “What are you doing
tonight Stacy?”
“Tonight?” she muttered seeing the smile of the man before her as
she felt butterflies in her stomach seeing the dimples that pressed in over
the corners of his lips. “Well, I have plans with my friends tonight
but…,”
“That’s a let down,” he frowned turning toward his drink as
he took a small sip of his beer before feeling her grab a hold of his hand
and he turned more towards her. “What are you doing?”
“I’m giving you my number,” she explained after pulling a black
pen from her purse, writing her number over the back of his tanned over skin
as he smiled out at her. “I may not be able to do anything tonight, but
tomorrow I know I’m free. Well, I’m free if you’re free.”
“Well, I think I just might be able to make it,” he tipped forward
in his seat moving in closer to her, pressing a small kiss against her jaw
line as she let out a hesitant laugh. “Would you like to dance Stacy?”
“With the time I have left,” Stacy stood up slowly reaching out
for his hand seeing his eyebrows perk up in interest before standing up and
following her toward the dance floor. Feeling him pull her in closer to him
she smiled and pressed her fingers in over his smooth chest that was exposed
by having two buttons undone. “I would love to spend the time dancing
with you.”
“Well, it gives me some time to look forward to some things,” Caleb
informed her smirking at the way she looked at him as he moved with her on
the dance floor, tipping down to whisper something in her ear. “It especially
makes me look forward to tomorrow.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun was starting to rise as Olivia clumsily pushed her key into the lock
of her apartment door. She felt a satisfied ache carry over her, one that
she’d felt absent from her life for so very long. Now as she pushed open
the front door she couldn’t help but find herself exhausted--body spent
after hours of passion and in that moment when she should be thinking about
what was ahead of her all she could focus on was Michael. There was just something
about him, something about the expression on his face when she’d left
him. He’d been hurt, but she knew that she didn’t belong at that
hotel. She’d told Julian that she’d gone to work and now she had
to find a way to put some validity into that story. She had to let him believe
that for his own peace of mind.
Creeping into the hallway, she kicked off her shoes and made her way towards
the bedroom. She hesitated knowing full well that if she went inside he could
be there waiting for her. Undoubtedly he had probably come home after she’d
left feeling guilt over the way he’d treated her. Little did he know
that she’d been far worse than he could’ve ever been to her. Guilt
plagued at her for a long moment before she turned towards the main bathroom
ready to take a shower and wash away the reminder of the night she’d
had with Michael.
Carefully she tiptoed down the hallway and moved inside the bathroom stripping
out of her things. She turned the water on and soon found her way inside--moving
under the hot stream enough to feel it burn at her skin. She closed her eyes
finding herself haunted by memories of Michael, by thoughts of the way it
felt to be with him--to have him over her, beneath her loving her in all the
ways that she’d longed for. She pushed her hands through her hair, hoping
to find it in herself to forget about the night and it’s sinful premise,
but it haunted her leaving her with a longing for more. It felt so real and
so very powerful that she could almost swear he was still with her touching
her and bringing her to desire all over again.
“Rough night?” she heard a voice whisper in the back of her ear
causing her to reopen her eyes again. She was suddenly aware of the pair of
arms that were wrapped around her, of the lips that traced her shoulder moving
in to nibble on her ear. She felt a palm press in over her breast and a sigh
erupted from her lips.
“Julian,” she gasped feeling his strength surrounding her, his arms
keeping her close to him now that he’d surprised her by joining her in
her shower. Her eyes widened and she fought to contain her mixed emotions.
She contemplated facing him, but instead stayed with her back to him reaching
for the soap instead. “What are you doing in here?”
“I’ve been up all night thinking about us,” he admitted in
a low, sensual tone, “and I know I haven’t been giving our relationship
a fair shake lately.”
“Julian I really don’t think that now…” she began again
feeling his fingers caressing her in such a way that she couldn’t help
but wonder what carried over him.
“Allow me,” he reached for the soap gliding it over her body before
placing another kiss on her shoulder, “I know that you’ve probably
had a long night, but maybe we can find a way to salvage what we started before
I ran out like a jerk.”
“Julian, I’m not going to push you to,” she began again feeling
his palm press in over her thigh. It was then that she’d felt him against
her, his body pressed into the curve of her back. His very enthusiastic, hardened
form causing a jolt of surprise to rush over her. Instinctively she turned
around to see him completely naked and smiling down at her. Her jaw dropped
as she gave him a long once over surprised to find him in such a state.
“What do you say we get back to enjoying our weekend together since we
do have the place to ourselves?” he suggested with a soft rumble making
his thick, masculine tone all the more tempting as he reached for her. “That
is what you had in mind for the weekend after all, wasn’t it?”
“Julian I don’t know what to say…” she stammered finding
herself at a loss as he held her. “I mean I thought that…”
“That I was a jackass who wasn’t listening to you. I wasn’t
hearing what you were trying to say to me Liv and I’m sorry about that,”
he touched her cheek gently pushing her auburn hair away from her face, “but
now I’m willing to do what I have to in order to get us back to where
we should be.”
“Are you saying that you…” she bit back on her words, her eyes
perusing every inch of his body again. “Did you take one of the pills
while I was gone?”
“As much as I’m sure you’d like to say that’s the miracle
cure, the fact to the matter is that it’s been all about timing Liv.
There isn’t anything wrong with me,” he leaned in closer to her
once again stroking her face gently, “There’s never been anything
wrong with me. It’s just that with the stress and…”
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out feeling a guilt carry over her,
“I didn’t make it easier on you when I lashed out at you like that.
I should’ve just kept my mouth shut and…”
“It’s okay. We both said things that we didn’t mean, but when
it gets down to it, I love you and you love me. We have a beautiful family
with one another and that’s what really matters,” he leaned forward
to steal a kiss from her lips, “Finding you was the greatest miracle
I’ve ever known in my life and I’d be lost without you. You’ve
given me so many things to be thankful for.”
“Julian stop,” she felt herself tense up at his words of praise.
“But it’s true,” he continued with a thoughtful expression,
“You gave me two incredible children and a lifetime full of love and
happiness and…”
She cut him off with a kiss hoping to silence him before her guilt compiled
even further than it already had. She felt his arms wrap around her, his body
so ready to offer her everything she’d longed for--everything that she’d
craved from him for so very long, but in that instant she found herself needing
some space. She tore herself away from their kiss and met his confused eyes.
“Julian it’s been a long night. I’m sorry, but I can’t
do this right now. I know I’ve been complaining about it, but right now
really isn’t the time,” she explained feeling frustration carrying
over her now that she had everything she’d wanted from him, but she couldn’t
bring herself to take it.
“It’s okay,” he replied reaching out to collect her in his
arms again, “We don’t have to worry about it then. As long as we’re
together that’s what’s important, right?”
“Right,” she nodded letting out an ironic laugh, “Here I’ve
been hassling you about us not being able to and now it’s my turn to…”
“Hey,” he pressed his finger against her lips to silence her, “None
of that is important. We’ll have plenty of time this weekend for the
rest. Right now I just want to be with you--to hold you like this.”
“I’d like that,” she admitted wrapping her arms around him
and wondering how it was she could go from having it all to reaching out for
more and finding herself lost in an obsession that she knew full well she
never could have. Closing her eyes she held onto Julian wishing that she could
feel the way she’d felt when she was with Michael earlier. When it got
down to it things had changed and what she’d thought she’d needed
in her life paled in comparison to what she’d longed for. She had a family,
a loving husband and everything that most women could want, but with the memory
of Michael on her mind she knew it would never be enough. From here on out
she realized she’d never be satisfied without the very man she’d
left behind in the hotel room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
...to be continued...