Episode 384
“I highly doubt that, Paul is a horribly scary man,” Kellen pointed
out hearing Heather let out a small laugh before resting her hands against
his shoulders softly. “I’m not kidding Kyle, I was seriously feeling
violated and…”
“Hey,” Paul walked in through the front door hearing Kellen squeal
out before hiding in behind Heather and trying to avoid any eye contact with
him at all. “Nice welcoming home, but I need your help Kyle. I got this
call…”
“Yeah, sure. Don’t mind him, he is just an idiot,” Kyle frowned
rolling his eyes at Kellen’s actions toward Paul before moving over toward
his friend that started to push things around. “Paul, hey. What’s
wrong man?"
“Kyle, which way do I go to the hospital?" Paul questioned looking
into the worried hazel eyes before him seeing the way that Kyle watched him
pace back and forth. “I got a call that Stacy was in the hospital and
I have no idea where she is. I don’t know which way to go and…”
“You just take this road and take a right on the next street up,”
Heather answered seeing Paul’s blue eyes staring out at her as he nodded
telling her he got that down mentally. “If you keep going down, you can’t
miss it. It’s on the right and it’s the big building.”
“Hey, do you need me to go with you?" Kyle offered up reaching for
his keys on the table seeing Paul walk toward the door and shake his head
slowly before letting out a long sigh. “I know where I’m going I
can take you and…”
“No, I got this Kyle, thank you so much though,” Paul patted his
friend on the shoulder before letting out a long sigh and shaking his head
slowly. “You will hear from me as soon as I find out what’s wrong
though, promise.”
“I’ll have my cell phone on me,” Kyle nodded seeing the way
Paul headed out the door quickly leaving the three alone in the house with
each other. “I really hope she’s okay. I’ve never seen him
that worried before.”
“I’m sure she will be fine, that’s probably just why he was
acting the way he was,” Heather shot Kellen a warning glare telling him
to back off the subject for a while now that Kyle was worried about his friend
and the daughter. “You have nothing to worry about Kyle, she’ll
be okay. I know it.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Heather, I’m so sorry,” Kipp mouthed feeling her beside him,
her mouth tapering off over his neck. He kept his eyes closed feeling a low
rumble build in the back of his throat, “I never meant to say what I
did tonight. I was just upset and…”
“Shh, it’s okay,” Becca mouthed with an inward smirk, sliding
her lips over the center of his chest. Her long hair fell forward, tickling
over his shoulder before her hand traveled down his abdomen.
“No, it’s not okay,” he shook his head letting out a groan.
“I shouldn’t have blown up at you. I was…wrong…so wrong…”
“It’s okay,” Becca whispered pressing a small kiss over the
center of his chest, “I forgive you Kipp.”
“Good,” Kipp smiled snuggling back into the pillows, “because
I don’t want you mad at me. I never want you mad at me.”
“Because you love me?” she couldn’t help but ask watching him
fall into a moment of contentment now that she hovered over him.
“Of course I love you,” he dropped his head to the side of the pillow,
moving his shoulder ever so slightly when a sigh passed over his lips, “I’ve
always loved you.”
“I’ve always loved you too Kipp,” her words buzzed from her
lips sliding in over the warmth of his chest. She glided her naked form in
over his, feeling his body respond to the contact her skin made against his.
Teasing feathery light kisses over his body, she continued to speak up to
him in a smooth and even tone, “You’ve wanted this since we split
up, haven’t you Kipp?”
“I don’t want you mad at me,” he repeated acknowledging her
words with a slight nod. “I hate…you’re mad…”
“I hate being mad too, but right now you’re making me happy,”
she pushed the blankets off of his body, her hand pressing in over his thigh,
tapering off over the soft warmth of his muscled form. She placed a kiss just
over his hip, her hair falling onto his skin as she spoke up in a hot whisper,
“I want you Kipp. I want you to make love to me.”
“Make love…” Kipp repeated in an unsure tone, feeling her reach
out to touch him, her palm sheathing his manhood with a determined caress.
He arched up into her touch before shifting on the bed beneath her, “no…I
just don’t want to fight…”
“We’re not fighting anymore,” she promised placing kisses over
his abdomen before positioning herself just over him to take him between her
now parted lips. He let out a small groan before his body arched upward, thrusting
towards her in such a fashion to give her exactly everything she’d been
hoping for since she’d leapt into bed with him. She placed one hand on
his thigh, the other easing over him with a steady movement that mirrored
what she was doing now that she was tasting him.
“Kellen,” Kipp murmured lazily a hint of a smile teasing over his
lips. His fingers fanned out over the discarded blankets. Reaching out he
sought out his lover with a soft sigh of surrender, “I knew you wouldn’t
stay mad at me for long. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean
it. I…”
Kipp’s fingers reached out trailing down over the sheet to feel his lover’s
shoulder, to beckon him for a kiss, when his fingers made first contact with
the thick, long hair that splashed over his hip. His eyes snapped open as
a moment of panic carried over him.
“Kellen,” he gulped suddenly very aware of the naked form in his
bed. He started to pull himself up to take a look only to discover the long,
blonde hair over him. He blinked a few times wondering if he’d imagined
it when he thought to the strange dream he’d been having about Heather.
Suddenly warning lights flashed in the back of his mind, “wait no…”
“You don’t mean that,” Becca felt him grab her shoulders pulling
her up beside him on the bed. She scratched her nails over his chest before
pushing him back onto the mattress again. She climbed in over him, wrapping
her thighs around him before grinning down at him, “I was hoping you’d
be awake to continue enjoying this with me.
“Get off of me,” Kipp gasped horrified as he shoved her to the other
side of the bed. He sprung off of the mattress realizing that he’d been
naked and as he saw that she was naked as well, he felt a full blown panic
overtaking him. Placing his arm out as if the movement alone would keep her
from reaching for him, Kipp spoke up in a labored breath, “What the hell
are you doing here?”
“Kipp you invited me here. You asked me to come home with you because
you wanted to make love,” she explained in a cool and even tone, bringing
her arms up over the back of her head to show she had no shame in giving him
a full glimpse of every inch of her. She saw his dark eyes widen and she squealed
with delight uncurling her leg and using her toes to reach for him at the
side of the bed, “Come back to bed Kipp so we can pick up where we left
off with one another. You know that you want to.”
“No Becca, I’m pretty damn sure I don’t,” Kipp blurted
out reaching for one of the pillows off of the bed in an attempt to cover
himself now that he had to figure just how in the hell he’d wound up
in such a tentative position with a woman he was pretty sure he never would’ve
asked over to his home with him even if he was upset with Kellen.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So are you going to tell me what that was all about?” Russ questioned
carefully closing the door and locking it after Ken and Wendy had left the
Denton home. He turned around to see Avery looking more relieved than she’d
been all day now that their company was gone. Erin was down for a nap and
Russ couldn’t help but sense there was more to the story than Avery was
letting on after he’d found her speaking with Ken. He had seen that she’d
cut herself, but after she’d cleaned herself up she’s been distanced
from each and every conversation the group had with one another. “Honey
what’s wrong?”
“I’m just tired,” she lied hating the way that keeping her
feelings bottled up from Russ felt, but as she thought of everything she’d
gone through with Ken--of all the things that were still eating away at her,
she realized that she didn’t want to get into it with Russ. “It’s
been a long day.”
“It has,” he nodded in agreement eyeing her closely as she circled
around the living room adjusting the pillows, “but something tells me
that you’ve got something else on your mind.”
“Why would you say that?” she questioned blankly looking over at
him with a curious expression.
“Because I know you,” he reminded her reaching out around the corner
of the couch to pull her into his arms, “Avery, I can see when something’s
bothering you, so why don’t we just talk about it rather than keeping
it bottled up?”
“Russ I really don’t want to…” she started feeling his
strong arms around her. She turned around in his arms seeing his green eyes
seeking out the truth from hers. Sighing she offered up a bit of the truth,
“Ken and I just aren’t really close anymore after everything that’s
happened over the last few months. We’re not friends like we once were.”
“I realize that and that’s part of why I invited him over here today,”
Russ admitted pushing her long, dark hair away from her face, “I mean
we’ve let so many facets of our lives be altered because Brant was a
jerk, but that doesn’t mean we have to cut ourselves off completely from
the world around us. We still have our friends and our life together and we
can’t let Brant steal that as well. Brant might’ve done a lot of
things, but Ken was always our friend. We can’t blame him for what Brant’s
done. He shouldn‘t be held accountable for all of that.”
“He doesn’t have to be held accountable for Brant, but he should
at least own up to what he’s done,” Avery shot back icily thinking
about the raw emotion she’d harbored inside of her over the turning point
in her relationship with Ken. “He’s not some innocent victim in
all of this. He’s every bit as much an Ashford jerk as Brant is.”
“That’s kind of harsh, isn’t it?” Russ felt her pull away
from him. She turned towards the kitchen attempting to put a distance between
them as she fought for her words. “Ken lost the love of his life and
I know it hurt him. I know how much Caitlin meant to him.”
“She meant so much that he started sleeping with Carly because he somehow
blamed Dave for losing Caitlin,” Avery rolled her eyes before facing
Russ again, “He was so misguided in his rage that he didn’t give
a damn who he hurt as long as the world around him suffered. Time and time
again he lashed out at anyone and everyone who tried to help him.”
“Wait are you telling me that he slept with Dave’s Carly?”
Russ blinked back in surprise, “I thought she left town.”
“She came back to prosecute Grady of all things,” Avery shook her
head remembering the trial that followed, “She was working for the D.A.’s
office and trying to get back together with Dave from the sound of things.
Only Ken took that opportunity to hurt Dave because it made him feel better
about himself.”
“I can’t believe that,” Russ shook his head taking a seat on
the edge of the sofa, “That doesn’t sound like Ken at all. Dave
is his best friend.”
“Not anymore. Dave barely talks to him now that Ken did what he did,”
Avery explained with a small frown.
“What about Carly? What happened to her?” Russ couldn’t help
but ask seeing the way that Avery held her fury towards Ken. “I mean
she’s every bit as responsible for what happened with Ken as Ken is for
what happened with her.”
“Oh please,” Avery rolled her eyes at him, “Ken seduced her
and lead her to believe that he was someone he’s not. He preyed upon
her emotions and manipulated her to do his bidding.”
“Somehow I seriously doubt that Avery. Ken’s not like that,”
he added with another frown.
“You’d be surprised what Ken is like,” she quipped in response
feeling her body grow tight with tension, “However, Carly was smart enough
to see his true colors and she split. Last thing I heard she and Dave were
together--married even and they have a little girl.”
“Wow, a lot has happened since I’ve been gone,” Russ shook
his head firmly, “I feel like I’ve stepped into this alternate universe
where everything I knew and loved has changed right before my eyes.”
“That’s life Russ. Things change. People change,” she explained
taking a small step over to where he was. “People betray their friends
and all that remains is misery.”
“That’s a very bleak outlook,” he tipped his head to the side
seeing something building behind her dark eyes.
“It’s just life Russ. Plain and simple,” she shrugged her shoulders
before bringing her hand up through her hair. “You know I’m really
tired. I think I’m going to hop in the shower and then meet you in bed.”
“Meet me in bed?” Russ arched a curious brow. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she nodded quickly, “I just need some time to clear
my head and right now if I don’t get it, I’m going to be miserable.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind…” he stretched his arm out
towards her.
“I just need some air and some space. It’s been a long day,”
she informed him again brushing her finger tips against his for a brief, chaste
moment before turning down the hallway hoping to drown her concerns and frustrations
in a long, hot shower now that her nightmare night with Ken and Wendy was
finally over. If Ken was smart, he would listen to her warnings and then she
would never have to face him again. That in itself seemed to be a small victory
for the night--one that she could get very used to enjoying for the rest of
her life should he wizen up to her caution.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Erin’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Wendy questioned sliding
out of her jacket as she and Ken entered the Ashford Estate. “She and
Russ just have this bond between them that is do adorable. I mean just seeing
them together is exactly what I thought I would see with Russ when he became
a father.”
“Yeah, Russ is a great guy,” Ken replied thinking about what had
transpired between him and Avery. He eased himself out of his jacket before
turning to face her. “Dinner was nice.”
“We should do it again,” Wendy noted with a warm smile, “because
I think it’s good for us to be around friends.”
“I suppose,” Ken shrugged turning away from her and returning to
the silence that had carried over him from the moment they’d left Russ
and Avery’s place.
“Ken, what’s wrong?” Wendy questioned stepping in behind him
and sliding her arms around his waist. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing,” he lied trying to keep his voice neutral after he remembered
Avery’s final warning before Russ entered the room.
“Ken, I know something’s upsetting you,” she paused a tension
clear in the air between them. “Is this about seeing Russ and Avery with
Erin?”
“What do you mean?” he replied turning around to face her.
“Were you thinking about what it would be like to be a father?”
Wendy couldn’t help but ask. “About what it would be like to have
a child like Erin?”
“I wouldn’t be able to deal with fatherhood at this point in my
life,” Ken forced a small smile, “It’s not in the cards right
now.”
“But what about later?” she tipped her head up to search his eyes.
“What about after I…?”
“Don’t say it,” he pressed his index finger over her lips to
silence her.
“Ken, I know you don’t want to think about it, but…” she
began in protest.
“I have absolutely everything I ever could have wanted when I have you
here in my arms Wendy. This is everything I ever could have asked for,”
he leaned in to kiss her tenderly. “You’re my dream come true Wendy
and everything else is irrelevant.”
“Now I know you’re lying to me,” she pulled away from the kiss.
“Ken, I know how much you’ve wanted to be a father. I remember when
we used to talk about it years ago.”
“I was a different person back then,” he revealed with a sudden
honesty in his tone. “I’ve changed Wendy and with those changes
I’ve found that there are different things in my life that are more important
to me.”
“You can’t let me hold you back Ken. One day you’re going to
have to find love again. You’ll want a family and…” she started
to remind him with a frown.
“What I want is to hold you in my arms,” Ken curled his arm out
towards her. His hand clasped around her waist and drew her in nearer to him.
“I just want to keep you close to me and think about just how lucky we
are that we have this time together now.”
“I feel very blessed that we were able to find our way to one another
again,” she confessed burying her head in his chest. “I never thought
we’d have this again Ken, but now that we do, you have no idea how much
this means to me.”
“Not nearly as much as it means to me,” Ken whispered thinking about
Avery’s words of warning. While he’d wanted to dismiss them in the
hopes that Avery would be able to let go of the past, he knew better. His
time with Wendy was limited and as he held her in his arms, he knew that he
would have to find a way to make the most of it in such a way that they could
truly savor each and every second together without any outside interference.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So how are we holding up in here?” Brant questioned not really
knowing what to expect when he reentered the game room to find Seth and Angela
laughing wildly with one another.
“We’re doing great,” Seth stood up straighter grinning over
at Blake with a small wave, “Angela was just telling me how she buried
you on the video game earlier.”
“Really?” Brant arched a curious brow glancing over to Angela with
a bright smile, “You were telling him all of that, huh?”
“Well he asked if you were any good at the game and I couldn’t lie,”
Angela shrugged her shoulders before smiling over at Brant and Blake, “What
kind of person would I be if I did that?”
“One that was trying to preserve my place as top dog around here,”
Brant winked back at her before finally releasing a laugh.
“You lost that position a long time ago,” Blake swatted at her brother’s
arm before looking to Angela, “I’ve beat him a few times too, but
he always said it didn’t count since I’m his younger sister.”
“I did not,” Brant gasped eyeing her with a heavy look of shock,
“I would never, ever pretend that you didn’t beat me if it were
truth Blake. The fact to the matter is that you’ve never beat my record.”
“You’re such a liar, but I’m so not even going to touch that
one,” Blake rolled her eyes before looking to Seth, “Brant’s
such a big dork.”
“Gee thanks sis,” Brant curled his arm around her neck feigning
as if he was going to put her in a choke hold before releasing her. “So
much for family loyalty.”
“Sorry Brant, but even I’m not stupid enough to build you up just
so you can impress a girlfriend,” Blake blurted out catching her mistake
after what Brant had told her. She cleared her throat uneasily, “I mean
a girl that’s a friend.”
“Right,” Brant nodded eyeing Angela again.
“It’s okay,” Angela waved her hand and smiled, “I could
see why you might think I could be a potential date for Brant, but given that
he and Ria are so happy together…”
“Ria,” Seth repeated with wide eyes still trying to comprehend everything
that was happening around him.
“Yeah, um didn’t Ria tell you,” Brant rubbed his palms together
nervously, “We’ve been seeing one another for a while.”
“No she didn’t mention it,” Seth replied realizing that there
was a whole lot more than Angela’s thinking she was engaged to Kevin
that was going on. “You would’ve thought that she or Kevin would’ve
said something.”
“It kind of happened out of the blue. One minute Ria and I were practically
strangers then the next she’s living with me. Who knew?” Brant shrugged
his shoulders again.
“Certainly not me,” Seth exchanged looks with Blake before she stepped
forward.
“You know I was hoping we could run into Augustus for a little while.
I wanted to tell him all about the new house and hopefully he’ll be able
to pay us a visit,” Blake reached out to Seth’s arm tugging on it
while gently leading him towards the doorway. “You know you’ll have
to come over and see it too Brant. Both of you actually. We’d love to
have you over.”
“Great. I’ll tell Kevin and I’m sure he’ll be eager to
check it out since Seth’s his cousin,” Angela decided brightly smiling
over at the couple, “Oh and by the way congratulations on the whole being
engaged thing. Seth was telling me how happy you are and I cannot even begin
to tell you how rare it is in this world to find the right person. It’s
something special that you should hold onto and never let go of. After all
if Seth is anything like my Kevin, then he’s certainly a keeper.”
“Right,” Seth replied wearily feeling Blake practically yanking
him out of the room with her.
“See ya,” Blake called back to him rushing down the hallway in the
hopes of distancing her and Seth from the potential disaster that was waiting
to happen the longer they stuck around Brant and Angela.
“She seems like she’s in a hurry,” Angela noted catching Blake’s
quick exit.
“Well, she’s just caught up in the excitement of being in a new
house and with a new love,” Brant tried to play down his sister’s
reactions to Angela. “She’s young and head over heels in love. It’s
got her really giddy and wanting to share everything with all of us around
her.”
“Good for her,” Angela smiled back at him before looking around
the game room. “I remember what it was like the first time I saw Kevin.
I knew that he was the one from that very first moment.”
“You did?” Brant’s eyes widened before he tried to cover, “Hmm…I
see.”
“Yeah, he was really amazing. You see my friends and I were at this boxing
match that Kevin was fighting in. My father had this business meeting set
up with one of his investors and when I saw Kevin walk out into the ring,
oh my,” she sank into one of the chairs feeling her face grow hot at
the memory, “he looked so sexy in his costume and he fought like nothing
I’d ever seen before. He just had this smooth fluidity in the ring and
the way he worked his hands, well I’ll be honest I couldn’t even
begin to imagine just how good he would be when we were alone together.”
“I see,” Brant repeated behind clenched teeth, his level-headedness
going slowly out the window at the way this conversation was starting to turn.
“I followed him around like a lost puppy dog after the match was over
that night. I went backstage and saw him with his girlfriend at the time and
I was crushed,” she sighed sinking further into the chair and closing
her eyes at the memory. “I felt like I’d met the man of my dreams
only to see him in the arms of someone else. It was devastating and I figured
I wouldn’t ever have a chance with him, but then about a week later he
was on my father’s payroll and the rest was history.”
“So Kevin was a boxer before he started working for your father,”
Brant questioned thinking about the relationship between Kevin and Angela.
She nodded reopening her eyes, “My father thought he would be good muscle
so to speak. He assigned him to me--to keep me out of trouble and I have to
tell you it only worked for so long. Once I had my sights set on Kevin nothing
was going to stop me from being with him. Granted I was younger than he was,
but it was part of the thrill. Eventually he caved in and we started seeing
one another. We would sneak around hoping that my father wouldn’t find
us--that he wouldn’t know about what we were doing with one another.
There were times when Franklin walked in on us and I swore that he was going
to tell my father, but he didn’t.”
“Franklin?” Brant repeated arching a curious brow.
“He’s kind of our butler. He favors Cameron so to speak, but he’s
been pretty decent with me. He wouldn’t dare tell my father about Kevin
and I considering that he’s probably afraid that my father would kill
him just for spreading the news,” her smile faded as she placed her hand
over her abdomen, “Though I guess we can’t keep this a secret from
my father forever, now can we?”
“Angela I…” he started remembering just how far back in the
past she was stuck.
“My father isn’t going to be happy when he finds out about my being
pregnant, but this was meant to happen. Kevin and I have something special
and nothing can change that,” she continued in an impassioned tone, lost
in her own contemplations, “I love him more than I’ve ever loved
anyone else in my life and I know that this is a new start for us. Once we
have our baby--or should I say babies I’m convinced my father will lay
up on him and we can be together. We can finally have that dream we’ve
been hoping for with one another and nothing will stand in our way.”
“Dreams change Angela,” Brant blurted out unable to mask his own
concerns. “Sure, you might think you have it all figured out in your
mind, but something happens and fate takes you charting down a new course.”
“Not with me and Kevin,” she shook her head firmly, “What we
have is real and solid and I know that regardless of what happens he’s
the only man I’ll ever want to share my life with. If I wasn’t with
Kevin, then I would only be fooling myself into believing that there was something
that could make me happy.”
“Something else might make you happy. You never know what is out there.
You might meet someone one day who will show you a whole new meaning of the
word love and…” Brant offered up trying to reach out to her as his
heart ached at the mention of Kevin.
“No, never. I can honestly say that I would never, ever feel for anyone
else what I feel for Kevin now. Besides, why would I want to? He’s given
me absolutely everything in this world that I ever could’ve asked for,”
she explained with a soft sigh, motioning to her swelled abdomen once again.
“He’s the only man I could ever love and I wouldn’t trade what
he does for me for anything else in the world. He’s truly my white knight
so to speak.”
“Yeah, well I guess you’ve got it all figured out then, don’t
you,” Brant muttered under his breath feeling completely out of place
with her. “You really are happy with the way things are right now, aren’t
you?”
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life,” she nodded
in confession before her smile faded, “but I’m not trying to rub
it in Brant. I know that you mentioned that woman before that you were in
love with and…”
“And the more I think about it, the less of an impact I’m starting
to think I made in her life,” Brant let out an ironic laugh, “Here
I’ve been trying to play by the book and do things the right way with
her, but the more I think about it the more it seems as if I’ve lost
her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she stood up walking over to him.
Reaching out she placed her hand on his shoulder gently, “Though maybe
this is a sign that it’s time for you to put that part of your life behind
you. Maybe it’s fate’s way of offering you a second chance with
Ria--one that you maybe wouldn’t have given her before that other woman
left your life. She seems to really care about you Brant.”
“Yeah sure,” he nodded stepping away from her. He cleared his throat
again before looking to the doorway. “I think I’m going to go put
some tea on or something. I’m kind of feeling the after effects of all
of this game playing and I think I need a bit of a breather.”
“That does sound nice,” she replied seeing something flash behind
his eyes. He took a step towards the door and she reached out to him snaking
her hand around his arm to keep him from leaving, “and Brant?”
“Yes?” he glanced over his shoulder turning around to face her.
“I just…I just wanted to thank you. You know for what you’ve
been doing to help Kevin and I. It really means a lot to me--to the both of
us,” Angela smiled up at him thoughtfully, “Not many people would
be so sympathetic to a love story like ours.”
“You’d be surprised to learn that I’m not like other people.
Hell, I’m not even what you think I am because it’s clear that you
and I aren’t even close to your seeing the real me,” Brant sighed
opening his mouth to say something more, but thinking twice of it. Instead
he turned towards the door and kept focused on the task at hand, “I’ll
be in the kitchen if you need anything.”
“Alright,” Angela watched his retreat before turning to look out
of the window. She couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong with
Brant, but rather than pushing the issue, she kept her concerns to herself.
Placing her hand over her abdomen, she thought to Kevin and his retreat with
Don. Speaking up in a low voice, she glanced down at her abdomen again before
casting a glance out over the estate grounds, “Where is your daddy?”
“He’s right here wishing like hell that you weren’t so far
away,” Brant mouthed under his breath having returned to speak with her.
Just seeing her in the window waiting for Kevin tore his heart into pieces
and without hesitation he turned around to push the image of Angela’s
unwavering dedication to Kevin out of his mind now that it was clear that
with each passing day he was one step closer to losing her all over again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“The point is I don’t care what you were doing Jewel. That isn’t
important to me, but what is relevant to this conversation is what you weren’t
doing and that’s being there for your daughter when she needed you,”
Don’s voice echoed through the hospital hallway now that he’d found
himself ready to lose his cool with the woman in front of him. “I don’t
care what you think was important before because it doesn’t matter now.
Your daughter does and you need to start growing up and acting like her mother
instead of trying to relive some misguided return of your youth. You’re
not a kid anymore, but you have one who needs you in her life now more than
ever.”
“Don, I had no idea. The last time I’d seen Stacy she told me to
go to hell. She ran out on me and…” Jewel offered up feeling completely
flabbergasted by what Don was saying to her.
“I don’t care what she did. It was your responsibility as her mother
to make sure that she was safe. Damn it Jewel do you have any idea what kind
of situation I pulled her out of tonight?” Don continued to snap at her,
shaking his head furiously. “If I wouldn’t have gone after her,
then chances are you would’ve been getting a call after the police pulled
her out of a ditch somewhere.”
“Don I…I just didn’t think that…” Jewel began stammering
at what he was saying to her about Stacy.
“No you just don’t think, which is the main part of your problem,”
Paul’s voice interrupted as he approached Don and Jewel. “You never
put your priorities in check when you should be keeping an eye on our little
girl. She’s supposed to be safe with you and…”
“You were supposed to be the one watching her,” Jewel snapped at
Paul spinning on her heel to glare over at him, “I left her in your care
and…”
“Whoa, no you don’t,” Paul shook his head firmly, “You
are not going to pin this one on me considering that I’m sure you were
off chasing some adolescent male that isn’t bright enough to see you
for the cheap thrill you really are.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes at Paul, “You know damn well
that I’m more than a cheap thrill, but since you’re beyond the point
of being able to get it up anymore, anything that is better than you doesn’t
even register on the radar.”
“Oh so now we’re going to that huh,” Paul laughed in her face,
“well I’ll have you know the only time I’ve had trouble getting
it up is around you considering that the idea of what you truly are makes
my skin crawl. To think about all of the men you’ve been with…”
“If you really want to start a count here, let’s talk about you
and the stunt you pulled in Vermont when you were supposed to be watching
Stacy,” Jewel stepped up in his face. “You left her all by herself
while you were off on a ski weekend with those bikini beer girls.”
“And you were in Malibu shacking up with some rock star wannabe, so I
don’t even want to hear it,” Paul hissed in response waving his
hands around in the air, “This is your fault Jewel.”
“No, it’s not her fault,” Don interrupted stepping between
the two estranged lovers.
“See, it’s yours,” Jewel stuck her tongue out stubbornly at
Paul, feeling justified now that Don was taking her side. “It’s
your fault Paul.”
“Like hell it is,” Paul snarled under his breath finally paying
attention to Don for the first time since he’d arrived. He shoved his
hand into the center of Don’s chest and glared up at him, “What
are you supposed to be? Flavor of the week?”
“Hardly,” Don rolled his eyes before looking between the both of
them, “In all honesty I can see why Stacy was at that party tonight.
Neither one of you are acting like you’re any more mature than she is.
You’re both so caught up in what you’re doing in trying to hurt
one another, that you’re ignoring the major issue happening here. Whether
or not you two are happy with one another, the fact to the matter is that
you have a fifteen year old daughter who could’ve gotten really hurt
tonight. She was at an unsupervised party with a man who was trying to hurt
her. That in itself has me furious as a father and she’s not my daughter.”
“I appreciate your being there to help her Don,” Jewel reached out
to touch his arm gently, sliding her fingers over his bicep and watching Paul
glare.
“Yeah you’re the real hero,” Paul rolled his eyes back at Don,
“and I’m sure that Jewel will give you your just reward later tonight
as soon as she gets the chance.”
“You know what,” Don shook his head at the both of them, “Just
grow up both of you. I don’t give a damn what you two are doing with
each other, but I do care about your daughter. Someone hurt her tonight and
if that doesn’t bother you enough to care, then you both don’t deserve
her. You don’t deserve to be parents if you have that much blatant disregard
for a child that you brought into this world. It’s clear that you’re
both two self-absorbed childish people who only care about one thing and that’s
themselves. Neither one of you have stopped to think about what’s wrong
with your daughter or about what you should do to help her. You’re too
busy taking potshots at one another and I’m tired of it.”
“Don, I was just…” Jewel blinked back at him feigning innocence.
“I know what you were doing,” Don frowned over at her before turning
to Paul, “and the same thing goes for you. How long have you been in
town?”
“What difference does that make?” Paul mouthed in response glaring
over at Don.
“I’m guessing you’ve been here long enough to check in on your
daughter, but then again to do that you might have to own up to the fact that
you’re actually a father with real responsibilities and duties,”
Don sucked in a sharp breath before trying regain a hold on his rage. “The
fact to the matter is that you both need to grow up and stop acting like children.
You both need to take care of your daughter before something worse happens
to her than it did tonight because I’ll tell you right now if you think
that this is bad, then you’re going to realize it would be a hell of
a lot worse if you don’t step in and do your jobs in raising her. If
she was my daughter I would give a damn before she ends up dead or worse…”
“Don, I’m sorry. I…” Jewel started taking a step towards
him only to watch him put his hand up to keep a distance between them.
“Don’t apologize to me. Just find a way to make it up to your daughter
before it‘s too late. Both of you,” Don finished giving them both
one more look before leaving them to sort things out now that he found himself
wanting to check in on Stacy again. Fearing that Stacy wouldn’t have
anyone between her two parents, Don vowed that he would find a way to help
her the best way that he could even if it meant enlisting the help of someone
like Dave to do it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Avery closed her eyes feeling the liquid warmth pour over her body now that
she’d immersed herself in the long, hot shower. She raised her fingers
up to rub the sponge over her shoulder. She sighed giving her body the chance
to expel the tension that had conquered her most of the evening. Now in the
solace of her home with no outsiders to distract her, she gave into the moment
feeling the serenity of the shower beckoning her to sweet surrender. She turned
towards the water, feeling it splash over her, licking over every inch of
her body in a warm, comforting spray. It was like heaven--beyond any kind
of relief she’d anticipated after the dinner from hell, but now she was
loving every single second of it.
“Have room for one more,” she heard a voice whisper in the back
of her ear. She felt the shower door close behind her and as she reached for
the bar of soap dragging it over her shoulder she couldn’t help but smile.
“That would all depend,” she mouthed with a teasing grin, “What
would I do with one more person in here?”
“I was hoping we could figure it out along the way,” he murmured
sliding his arm around her abdomen. She felt a small squeeze over her hip
before his thick hand pressed in over hers. “I know you said that you
wanted some time to yourself, but I thought maybe together we could find a
new way to enjoy this time together.”
“I’d hardly consider it a new way considering that we’ve done
it just about every which way we can think of in here together,” Avery
teased biting down on her lower lip before turning around to see the pair
of familiar brown eyes behind her. She let out a horrified gasp before inching
backwards.
“I’m sure we can find a new way that will tide you over until next
time,” Ken smiled lecherously moving in to reach out to her again when
Avery let out a pinched gasp.
“Stay away from me!” she ordered stumbling back out of the shower,
nearly taking the door with her in the process. She reached for the towel
ready to lash out at her uninvited guest when she realized that she’d
been alone in the shower. Ken was no where near her bathroom let alone in
the tiny shower stall with her. Quickly she wrapped the towel around her body
feeling a shivering overtake her now that she was wet and soapy standing in
the middle of the bathroom floor.
“Avery, what’s wrong?” Russ questioned rushing into the bathroom
to find her in such a frazzled state. Instinctively he reached out to her,
his warm chest pressing in against her wet body as he looked around the bathroom.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” she lied trying to contain the fact that her overactive
imagination was playing with her head again. She was starting to see things
that weren’t there--to believe things that couldn’t be and now as
she stood in the middle of the bathroom feeling like a fool, she couldn’t
help but chastise herself internally.
“I heard you scream,” Russ explained taking another look around
the bathroom before returning to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder,
searching her dark eyes, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I thought I saw a spider in the shower,” she lied again realizing
that this was starting to become a habitual process with her. First she’d
gotten on Russ about the fact he’d been dishonest with her about Angela,
but now she was doing the same thing about Ken. Only it wasn’t the same
thing. Russ had no idea who he was when he’d made love to another woman.
Avery had made love to Ken thinking he was Brant, but given that she really
hadn’t wanted to at the time…it put a whole new spin on the situation,
hadn’t it? She tried to rationalize inside of her head, but as she felt
Russ reaching out to her, her thoughts were jumbled again.
“A spider,” he repeated searching her dark eyes.
She nodded, “It was a big one.”
“Let me check,” Russ walked over to the shower inspecting the walls
before looking down at the drain. He leaned forward nearly getting drenched
by the shower in the process. Taking a step back he shook his head, “I
don’t see anything. There’s no spider in there.”
“Maybe it was just a shadow,” she tried to cover hating that she
couldn’t just tell Russ about what had happened. How would he react to
the news? What would he say if she told him that she’d jumped into bed
with a man she hadn’t wanted to be with in the first place? How would
he respond to the news that she’d been keeping from him? She thought
back to Grady’s advice and took in a small breath preparing to tell Russ
about what was really troubling her.
“Are you sure you’re okay,” Russ questioned searching her eyes
again.
“No, I’m not okay Russ,” she admitted with a heavy sigh, “I
haven’t been okay in a long time and I think it’s something that’s
really been bothering me for a while.”
“Okay,” Russ nodded reaching for her hand and squeezing it in his,
“Avery if there’s something that you want to tell me, then you should
know by now that I’m always here. Nothing is off limits between us. I
promised you that and I meant that.”
“I know. It’s just…” she started to explain feeling the
stickiness of the soap over her body. She took a glance at the mirror and
realized that she still had thick, bubbly shampoo in her hair. “Oh my…”
“What’s wrong?” Russ searched the bathroom again, “Do
you see the spider?”
“No,” she shook her head before letting out a small laugh, “but
I see me. Look at how ridiculous I look.”
“Oh I don’t know if I would go that far,” Russ replied with
a lazy smile, reaching out to her and bringing her hand up over his bare chest.
“There is something to be said about seeing you standing there like that
all covered in bubbles and next to nothing with only a towel on.”
“Is that right,” she couldn’t help but smile seeing a spark
of mischief behind his green eyes.
“It kind of makes me feel overdressed if you get what I mean,” he
shrugged his shoulders before leaning back against the wall and eyeing her
from head to toe. “It gets me thinking about how dirty I’m feeling
right about now.”
“How dirty?” Avery arched a curious brow unable to refrain from
noticing the perfect lines of his chest. Her gaze swept over his strong arms
greedily remembering only too well how good it felt to have them wrapped around
her.
“Very dirty,” he mouthed in response his green gaze spilling over
her hungrily. He eyed her intently seeing her step in closer to him while
a smile teased over the corners of his mouth. “Avery, you have no idea
how much I realize that I probably missed the boat a few minutes ago in not
hopping into the shower with you.”
“Given that it’s been running for a while now, it’s probably
cold,” she wrinkled her nose looking to the water that was still spraying
in the shower stall behind them. She watched him reach out to test the water,
his hand dipping in beneath the spray while her eyes cast out over the lines
of his body. Her gaze settled in over his low riding navy colored sweatpants
that accentuated the sexy indentations over his hip, leading her gaze lower
to a place that she’d grown to know very well. Her pulse quickened, her
breath catching in her throat as she remembered just how sexy he looked out
of his clothing. She licked her lips involuntarily preparing to say something
completely and utterly seductive when Russ let out a small wince.
“Damn,” he jumped back and away from the shower. He spun around
to face her again with a sexy, boyish half smile, “Yeah it’s pretty
cold in there right about now.”
“Hmm, well then I guess we’ll have to come up with another way to
warm things up,” she replied breezing past him just long enough to stick
her head into the shower. She ran the chilled water over her head attempting
to get the shampoo out in a hurry before she stood upright and turned the
water off. Spinning around to face him, she spotted him still where she’d
left him, his green eyes taking in the view of her greedily. “How about
handing me a towel?”
“You already have a towel,” he mouthed in response seeing her squeeze
the excess water out of her hair before she stood up straighter.
“Alright, then how about handing me your pants,” she wiggled her
brow suggestively seeing his green eyes widen at her suggestion.
“I don’t think you really need these,” he dipped his finger
in beneath the waistband toying with her as she moved forward.
“Neither do you,” she declared boldly pushing his pants down just
below his hips before licking her lips suggestively. “I’m giving
you three seconds to get completely naked before I rock your world and give
you a whole new meaning of passion.”
“With an offer like that,” Russ teased back kicking his pants off
of his body before wrapping her up in his arms, “How could I refuse?”
“Given the nature of the proposal, you can’t,” she informed
him reaching up on her toes to devour his mouth in a reckless, wild kiss now
that it would seem her earlier moment of panic had transformed into something
well worth holding onto between them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Brant leaned forward in over the counter placing his hands down in front of him. Closing his eyes he thought back to what Angela had said to him--to how her words had cut him to the core now that it was clear she was looking right through him oblivious to the love that they’d shared with one another. It was like they were strangers living together, yet there was no emotion or feeling between them now that she was wrapped up in the idea of being with Kevin. Reopening his eyes he glanced over at the countertop thinking about when they’d had better days with one another.
“Promise me something Brant,” her voice had poured out into the
kitchen after they’d made mammoth sized sundaes with one another.
“Anything,” he smiled raising the cherry from the top of the whipped
cream and raising it to her lips.
“Promise me that even if things don’t turn out perfect for us that
you’ll never leave me,” she spoke up, her dark eyes filled with
worry and concern for their future. She leaned forward taking a bite of the
cherry before placing her hand over his, “Promise me that this isn’t
just some passing phase. That somehow we’ll be able to make this last
forever with us.”
“I wouldn’t dream of anything less than forever for us,” he
whispered tipping in to kiss her, wrapping her up in his arms as his promises
found a way into her heart.
Now as Brant stood in the middle of his kitchen, he couldn’t help but
walk over to the counter feeling the ghosts of the past haunting him after
Cameron’s lies had taken her from him. They’d had the whole world
ahead of them, but now, well, now all she wanted was a piece of the past that
had been long gone--a piece that hadn’t been hers in a long time.
“I’m losing her all over again,” he whispered under his breath
sliding his fingers over the top of the counter, his heart sinking at the
realization that Angela wanted anything, but to share her life with him. At
this point she was blinded by love for Kevin and it was that love that she
believed she felt for him that would tear apart their future with one another.
Even if Brant pushed the issue and told her the truth, after hearing how passionate
her words were about Kevin, he feared that what they had would no longer make
a difference. She would still be left longing for Kevin and wanting what it
was she felt was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
“Brant,” Angela’s voice beckoned him from his thoughts. He
turned around to see her standing in the doorway, shadows around her now that
she watched him with curious eyes. She made a small step forward into the
kitchen searching the room around her, “Why are you in the dark?”
“I guess I wasn’t in the mood to see things as they really are,”
he replied with a heavy sigh, his words empty and hollow now that he’d
felt as if his heart had been ripped out of him. “I’ve had enough
reality for today.”
She said nothing, but rather took another step in closer to him, her dark
eyes honing in on him. Finally she spoke up again, “Are you sure you’re
alright?”
“I’d be lying if I said I was, but I’m not all about pity,”
he forced himself to sound assured and confident even though he was anything,
but those two things. “I’m fine.”
“No you’re not,” she shook her head firmly reaching out to
touch the side of his face, “You’re thinking about that woman you
were talking about earlier, aren’t you?”
“It wouldn’t matter if I was. She isn’t in love with me. I
can see that now,” he replied with a heavy sigh, his heart hanging heavy
in his chest. He closed his eyes for a brief moment feeling the faintest of
touches from her carrying him to the brink of passion--to the first hints
of desire that had overwhelmed him when they were with one another each and
every time. He forced himself to look at her seeing the pity she’d felt
for him behind her eyes.
“I wish things were different for you,” she whispered warmly, tipping
her head up to see the sadness in his eyes. She eased her palm in over his
shoulder squeezing it gently before speaking up again, “You’re a
really good person and I wish that you weren’t hurting like this.”
“Love hurts,” he answered stiffly trying to cut off what it was
that he was feeling for her. Just the intimacy behind her touch was making
him remember all the times they’d spent with one another--the moments
that they’d shared together lost in one another’s arms. “I
knew a long time ago not to get wrapped up in the game. My father told me
first hand if you open yourself to being vulnerable, then you stand to lose
everything that’s important to you. I believed it for a long time, but
then all the rules changed for me. I thought that I would rise above the curse,
but we’ve all succumbed to it. We’re all meant to be damned for
his sins.”
“I don’t believe that and deep down you don’t either,”
she shook her head firmly dropping her palm flat in against his chest, “Brant
you know full well that you have every right to find love in your life and
hold onto it just like the rest of us.”
“Do I?” he arched a curious brow feeling her fingers tease out over
the center of his chest, “I’m starting to think that I don’t
because if I did, then the woman I loved more than anything wouldn’t
be in front of me looking at me like I’m someone she never loved--like
someone she never cared about. She wouldn’t be dreaming about a future
with another man--about a family with someone who couldn’t possibly give
her what I could.”
“What?” she blinked back up at him confusion carrying over her.
“Brant, what are you…”
“Saying?” he finished for her feeling a moment of hopelessness carry
over him, “I guess I spent far too many years hoping to find the perfect
dream only to lose her in the end when what we had wasn’t strong enough
to keep her holding on. She obviously had other dreams that didn’t revolve
around us and our future--dreams that she would rather hold onto than the
ones we were making together…”
“Brant, I…” she felt him step back seeing something flash over
him before he stepped aside.
“I’m really tired. I’m going to go to bed Angela, but you can
stay here until Kevin returns. I’m sure he’ll be home for you soon
enough. You can watch a movie or play a game or…” he began feeling
her reach out to touch his wrist, capturing it between her fingers.
“Don’t go. Please. Not like this,” she begged of him, feeling
him stiffen beneath her touch. Tentatively, she eased her fingertips up over
the smooth expanse of his arm, watching the way he seemed to tremble beneath
her. She curled her fingers over his shoulder before stepping in behind him.
“Brant…just…”
“Just what?” he questioned spinning around to feel her pressed in
beside him.
“Don’t leave like this. Don’t go to bed feeling that way when
I’m sure that…” she stopped herself, her dark, sultry gaze
meeting his again. “This is crazy.”
“What’s crazy?” he couldn’t help but ask searching her
dark eyes.
“I can’t help but feel that when you’re talking about the woman
you love, that you’re talking about me,” she blurted out thinking
about what had been troubling her since he’d walked out of the game room.
“I feel as if when you’re speaking of her, you’re speaking
to me--to my heart and it does something to me.”
“How so?” he questioned, his jaw flexed with tension, gripping frustrations
carrying over him.
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it,” she shook her head
clearly caught in a moment of turmoil. “I just…it’s just…”
“Just what?” he searched her eyes hoping for something more now
that they stood with one another in the middle of the kitchen.
“Just that I don’t want you to leave me now. I don’t want you
to walk away like this when…” she stopped herself unable to come
up with the right words to say to him. Her dark eyes were strained with something
she couldn’t quite vocalize and before she could spit it out, she leaned
forward moving in closer to him. “Please just don’t go…”
“Angela the longer I stay with you, the more I’m afraid I’ll
do or say something that could hurt you--that could hurt any chance of a future
that I’ve been…” he started to explain only to feel her place
her finger in against the center of his lips to silence him.
“If you walk away, then I’m going to lose my nerve. If you don’t
let me just…” she started again finding herself at a loss. Frustrated
she released him, taking a small step away and turning her back to him. She
closed her eyes thinking back to what she’d felt earlier in seeing him
in the bedroom--to what she’d found herself thinking about since this
morning when they’d had the food fight. All of her daydreams had felt
so real and inviting and…
“Angela, it’s getting really late,” he started again realizing
it was futile to hope for some kind of breakthrough between them.
“No, it’s not too late. Not for this,” she blurted out spinning
around with a newfound determination. She stepped forward reaching out to
tease her fingers into his dark hair, her arm curling around his neck while
she urged him in closer to her. She tipped her head up, her lips curled in
anticipation and she closed her eyes. “Please don’t leave.”
“Angela are you saying that…” he blinked back trying to process
what was happening between them.
“If you don’t kiss me then I know I’m going to feel like a
fool,” she explained thinking about the hot fire that licked over every
inch of her at the nearness of him. “I know it’s wrong but…”
Her words were interrupted by the feel of his arm curling around her waist.
His lips caressed hers with a slow, sensual brush, sending tiny impulses over
her. Her knees seemed to grow weak at the feel of his arm squeezing her in
closer to him. His tongue darted out between his lips, meeting hers in sweet
invasion, causing the temperature in the room to rise between them. She curled
her fingers over his shoulder, feeling his body heat up to her touch now that
their mouths met one another in an undeniably sweet invasion. It was the last
thing she knew she should be doing, but as Brant kept her in his arms, it
felt right--absolutely perfect like no other kiss she’d ever experienced
before now or ever would again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So what do you think?” Seth questioned feeling Blake snuggle in
against him after they’d found their way upstairs into their bedroom
to explore their passion play with one another. As her fingers teased over
this chest, a smirk spread over his handsome features as he kissed the top
of her damp hair. “Do you see my point?”
“Oh I saw your point,” she couldn’t help but laugh feeling
satisfaction carry over her body down to the tips of her toes, “This
was so much better.”
“I told you that it would be,” he circled his fingertips over her
spine lazily, “No pressure about timing or having to follow a rigid schedule.
Just the sheer thrills of being together.”
“It’s so much more relaxing,” she paused pulling her head up
to meet his eyes before offering up a sheepish expression, “well you
know what I mean.”
“I sure do,” he tugged her in closer to him before speaking up in
a low, sensual whisper, “I like the idea of putting you at ease before
I set your world on fire.”
“And that you did,” she smirked leaning in to kiss him once again
before falling back onto his chest, “You were right about one thing though.”
“Only one thing?” he arched a curious brow.
“Ok a lot of things,” she corrected herself, “life is so much
better now that we have all of this on our own. It’s just so much more
comfortable not having to have anyone lurking around. There isn’t anyone
watching or following around waiting for their next big story. It’s just
us together as it should have always been.”
“I hope that doesn’t disappoint you,” he replied feeling her
swat him in the chest and he let out a small laugh.
“I’m trying to be serious here Seth,” she curled her lip in
a pout. “I’m trying to tell you that this is everything I ever could
have wanted and I owe that all to you.”
“We did this together,” he informed her with a small grin, “I
wasn’t sure if this would be enough given that you were used to being
with your brothers at the estate and…”
“This is perfect,” she explained pressing her index finger into
the center of his lips before smiling, “This is the kind of life I’ve
always dreamt of and now that I have it I don’t ever want to let go of
it.”
“In that case, you can thank me with a kiss,” he arched up towards
her ready to steal another kiss from her soft, swelled lips when she pulled
away.
“Maybe after we get something to eat,” Blake announced springing
off of the bed to wiggle her finger at him to follow her. “I think we
still have some strawberry shortcake downstairs and right now I would really,
really like to have some of that.”
“In that case bring it up here,” Seth curled his arms behind his
head and grinned over at her, “I’m sure we can put it to good use
up here.”
“How about I go and get it and then you use your keen sense of perception
to find out where I took it to?” she wiggled her brow suggestively while
bracing her hand on the doorway. “What do you say?”
“I say,” he drew out his words before finally nodding, “you’re
on.”
“Don’t wait too long or else you might miss me,” she teased
racing out of their bedroom as Seth couldn’t help but laugh. He shook
his head before pushing back the sheet that covered him. Slowly, he trotted
out of the bedroom ready to delve into the game that Blake had initiated between
them. While she’d always been so focused and determined when they were
together today was different. She was finally focusing on the fun side of
romance and he vowed that he would find ways to make her see that things were
going to be great between them from here on out.
“Ready or not here I come,” Seth announced leaping into the kitchen
area only to discover Blake standing behind the island in the center of the
kitchen with his apron pushed up in front of her chest. Curiously he gave
her a once over before asking, “Blake, I didn’t think that you would
be in here acting all shy when…”
“I don’t think she was expecting company and judging by your lack
of attire neither were you,” a voice rumbled as Seth spotted Augustus
seated at their kitchen table looking less than thrilled by what he’d
walked in on between them. “Apparently you both forgot the invitation
you’d tossed out for me to stop by for dinner.”
“I’m sorry. We were just,” Blake gulped looking like a deer
in the headlights as she attempted to cover herself more with the apron.
“Lost track of time,” Seth finished moving in beside her keeping
his lower half covered by the island in front of him. He exchanged worried
looks with Blake before he gently nudged her behind him so that she had the
chance to cover up more completely.
“We can get something going in a few minutes,” Blake promised from
behind Seth, “Just let me run upstairs and get dressed and bring something
for Seth to change into and then we can…”
“Of course we can,” Seth replied reaching behind him to offer a
light squeeze of her arm before tipping his head back just enough to whisper
to her, “Grab me a robe or some pants or something.”
“Will do,” Blake nodded her face red with embarrassment as she carefully
rushed out of the kitchen to leave Seth to deal with Augustus.
“Look Augustus, I’m really sorry that we didn’t call you earlier
and let you know that we were running behind. It totally slipped our minds
that you were coming over and,” Seth paused trying to be casual about
his conversation with Blake’s grandfather before clearing his throat
again. “Come to think of it, how did you get in here?”
“The back door was unlocked, which probably wouldn’t be a good trend
to continue given the nature of the media. The last thing you need is someone
sneaking in here and spying on Blake in a private moment,” Augustus warned
with a scowl as his eyes penetrated Seth with heavy disapproval. “Then
again you might not want them around as well considering that it would speak
volumes about how little you care about my granddaughter’s well being
since it’s painfully clear she’s engaged in a very sexual relationship
with a married man.”
“Look Augustus, it’s only by paper that Valerie and I are…”
Seth tried to defend himself before feeling a moment of uneasiness pass between
them.
“If it was truly just a matter of paperwork I would imagine it would
have been dissolved by now,” Augustus sneered in response. “Seth,
it displeases me to see my granddaughter’s virtue being put on the line.”
“I understand that sir,” Seth nodded accordingly.
“Good, then I would imagine that you won’t waste any time in doing
what is necessary to ensure that Blake’s reputation isn’t tarnished
by your laziness. You’ll deal with this problem quickly and as discreet
as possible,” Augustus added standing up from the chair he was seated
in. “I would hate to have any information about Blake’s relationship
with you to be leaked to the press in a negative light.”
“I won’t let that happen sir,” Seth offered up in response.
“Pardon me if I don’t believe your assurances at this point in time,”
Augustus replied with another disapproving glare before turning towards the
back door. “Tell my granddaughter that we can reschedule. I have another
meeting to get to anyways.”
“But she will be right down and…” Seth cleared his throat trying
to find the right words to appeal to Blake’s grandfather.
“Right now I don’t think either one of you are in a position to
be around anyone else let alone in a public setting. Tell Blake I’ll
call her later,” Augustus waved dismissively not bothering to turn around
and face Seth before he walked out the door.
Once he was gone Seth slumped over the island counter realizing that perhaps
he’d just landed himself a place on Blake’s grandfather’s hit
list. Closing his eyes he took in a breath and tried to come to terms with
what had happened by simply writing it off as the shock of Augustus having
to see him and Blake naked with one another. That wouldn’t make any father
or grandfather pleased and Seth was well aware of that.
“I’m almost ready. If you just give us a few minutes, then…”
Blake announced returning into the kitchen to discover that Augustus was no
longer there. “Where did he go?”
“He had a meeting to get to,” Seth explained recounting the words
Augustus left him with. “He said he would call you later.”
“Oh,” Blake replied biting down on her lower lip nervously, “so
I guess that wasn’t at all what we were expecting, huh?”
“Not in the least,” Seth replied bringing his fingers through his
thick, dark hair.
“I guess I should have remembered that he was coming over,” Blake
shook her head and groaned, “I’ll never live this one down.”
“Trust me I don’t think your grandfather was upset with you,”
he offered up reaching for the robe she’d brought for him. “I should
have made sure that the back door was locked.”
“I should have called him,” she replied with a frown of her own
before looking at him, “so much for us enjoying the night huh?”
“We can still enjoy the night,” Seth reached out to pull her into
an embrace, “but maybe right now we should just get dressed and work
on dinner for a bit.”
“Sure,” she agreed as Seth found himself wondering if he’d
wound up agitating Blake’s grandfather in more ways than he’d wanted
to. Somehow he had the feeling that today’s incident would not be forgotten
and Augustus’s words were more than a warning that Seth had better take
heed in listening to!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Moving down the winding stairs of the mansion, Ken knew that Wendy might
be afraid if she woke up alone in his bed, but right now the thing he needed
the most right now was some air. His mind was swirling, his thoughts going
in a whirlwind as he thought about all the things that took place between
him and Avery earlier.
“What have I done?" Ken grumbled to himself walking out the sliding
door in the back toward the kitchen before moving out onto the deck. Sitting
down on the last step leading out into the backyard, he stared out at the
scenery around him before letting out a hesitant laugh. “If I wouldn’t
have…”
His thoughts had lingered back to Avery and what he did to her in the moment
of time when everything seemed to be going wrong. There were always thoughts
of what he did, what he had done to her and how he had taken advantage of
her. If he would have never done that, things wouldn’t have had to be
so complicated.
“I’m sure that’s why she was how she was today,” Ken muttered
to himself running his fingers through his messy hair before letting out a
long, thought out sigh. “If I hadn’t screwed up, she would have
never been hurt. She would have never had to go through of all this.”
Ken had pondered the past and how he had tortured her mentally about everything
that happened, leaving her paranoid and it only led to more of his further
downfall. When the thought occurred to him, he realized what happened to him
when her best guy friend Kyle had found out.
“I almost died that night,” he hesitantly laughed to himself thinking
back to the feeling of Kyle beating on him over and over again. Kyle was a
good guy, a good friend and that’s why he did it. He knew that Kyle was
like Avery’s protective older brother and if that’s what Kyle was
willing to go through, he could only imagine what Russ would do once he found
out what happened between him and Avery. “God, I don’t even want
to imagine that.”
What if he had to though? What if after tonight Avery told Russ what happened?
What would Russ do? How would he react and if he did react would he act like
Kyle? Take it easy on him or act even worse?
“Oh shit,” Ken brought his hands up over his face in a moment of
panic knowing that he was screwed if Russ ever found out what happened. If
Russ knew what happened, Ken knew he was a dead man walking and nothing was
going to change that. Feeling a hand press in against his shoulder, it sent
him flying off the step and to the grass before noticing it was Wendy before
him. “Honey, you scared me.”
“I’m sorry,” she frowned watching the way that Ken glanced
around the backyard and she reached out for his hands seeing him move in closer
to her. His warm hands enveloped hers as she felt him move up the stairs in
closer to her. “I woke up and you were gone, I thought something was
wrong.”
“I just needed some time to think,” he informed her with a small
nod watching her smirk, reaching up to outline the tired features of his face.
“I was thinking about things Wendy and if you aren’t up for this
just let me know.”
“Okay?" Wendy eyed him over cautiously almost worried of what he
was about to come up with next as she watched him shrug his shoulders and
look back toward the house. “What is it Kenny?"
“I was thinking about things and I think the best thing that could happen
for us is a trip,” Ken finally told himself after realizing that once
Russ found out it could be the end of himself. That was the last thing he
wanted right now and he would rather spend the remaining time he could with
Wendy. Whatever time that held, he needed it and he didn’t want Russ
to know where he was at that point in time. “I know a lot of things have
been going on in life. So because of that, I think we should take a long trip.
I was thinking maybe Paris. A place where no one can reach us, no one can
find us. A place where it’s only the two of us. What do you say? How
does that sound?"
Sure it was out of nowhere and it could be quite shocking, but what better
place to escape to when trouble could be on the rise within his life. Hopefully
she would just along with it with no problems holding them apart.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You feeling better?" Ria questioned pushing back Stacy’s
long blonde hair seeing Stacy’s blue eyes staring into hers before she
nodded and let out a long sigh. Ria glanced to the corner of the room seeing
Kevin hunched over in the chair, resting his elbows against his knees in a
moment of pondering. “I’m glad.”
“Do you think my parents ever showed up?" Stacy questioned seeing
the way that Ria glanced over at the door and she looked to Kevin seeing his
brown eyes staring out at her. “I know it sounds a little ridiculous,
but I was kind of hoping that they would be here.”
“It’s not ridiculous sweetheart,” Kevin hushed seeing the way
that she stared out at him after he finally broke his silence. Letting out
a long sigh he stood up from the seat reaching out to press his hand in against
her shoulder softly. “I’ll go see, I’ll be right back kiddo.”
“No, I’ve got it,” Ria moved over toward the door seeing the
way that Kevin stared out at her and nodded slowly before letting out a long
sigh. “I’ll be right back honey, I know my way around the hospital
more. I’ll find your parents.”
“Okay, thank you,” Stacy offered up a half smile seeing Kevin dip
down to press a small kiss against Ria’s cheek before seeing Ria leave
the room off to find her parents. “It will be a fat chance you know.
My parents actually showing up.”
“I doubt that,” Kevin moved over toward the hospital bed and pull
the chair in closer to the side of bed before taking a seat. He saw her blue
eyes look out at him and he sighed knowing that from what he already knew
her parents sounded like total jerks. “I’m sure they are coming
for you, it’s just taking them a while.”
“I used to try and convince myself that, but I stopped believing that
a long time ago,” she whispered seeing the way he frowned before reaching
out to grip her hand in his softly and she let out a small noise. “If
I had a father like you or Don, I think my life would be better without a
doubt.”
“You’re a strong kid,” Kevin pointed out seeing her blue eyes
look away from him as he held her hand in his tighter than before letting
out a small sigh. “So, are you feeling better? You look like you are
feeling a little better.”
“I’m feeling better, but I just can’t believe how stupid I
was. I can’t believe I let this get out of hand,” she shook her
head feeling her eyes tear over at the thought feeling Kevin move in next
to her on the bed and wrap his arm around her. “I liked Caleb so much
that I was willing to do anything to be with him. I just thought he was the
most charming guy I have ever ran into. I liked him so much and to know that
this happened…”
“Let me tell you something sweetheart,” Kevin began seeing the way
her blue eyes look at him when he shook his head slowly at the thought letting
out a long sigh. “All men aren’t worth it. None of them are good
people and you should never let any man get to you like that. None of them
are good people.”
“Well, you are,” she pointed out seeing the way Kevin smirked before
shaking his head slowly and let out a long sigh. “So there has to be
some chance that there are some good guys out there because you seem like
a great one.”
“But I’m not,” Kevin added seeing the confusion behind her
eyes when he squeezed his arm around her tightly thinking of what he could
tell her from the heart. “Just know this, if a man is really worth it
he would respect your choices and whatever it is you want to do. People at
that party, you are never going to find a good person at a party like that.”
“I knew that deep down, I just thought Caleb was different,” she
pointed out playing out what happened in her head over and over again. “He
just seemed like everything that I wanted in a guy. He was handsome, charming,
smart and…now I know I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot, everyone makes mistakes. Though, I do have
one thought in mind that I think you should consider,” Kevin stated with
a half smile seeing her smile once she saw him do the same. “I think
you should honestly stay away from boys until you are at least thirty. You
might have a chance at maturity around that age.”
“Oh gosh, my uncle Dave always says the same thing,” she rolled
her eyes at the thought letting out a small chuckle before shrugging her shoulders.
“At least I can say at least I’m half way there.”
“That’s a good way to go about it, thinking like that. Your uncle
Dave is a good guy and he knows what he is talking about,” Kevin felt
Stacy rest her shoulders further against his shoulder. “He’s a good
guy and knows what he is talking about. Guys aren’t worth it this young,
you don’t want to get involved in something so not worth it. You have
your whole life ahead of you, make the best of it.”
“That’s a good idea,” she agreed seeing him nod before looking
to his wrist seeing the way he looked out at her when she traced over one
of the bracelets he had on. “What’s this design right here?"
“This one? This is the design of our family’s crest,” Kevin
saw her moving her fingers in over it before letting out a long sigh. “It’s
very important to our family, the other two I got from Hawaii when I went
to visit some of my friends.”
“This one is really cool,” she informed him pressing her fingers
in over it before seeing him adjust to take it off his wrist. Feeling Kevin
grab her wrist in his hand gently he rolled the bracelet down her arm making
sure it was tight enough. “It’s supposed to be a protection and
I want you to wear it. I also want to give you something else.”
“Are you sure about the bracelet?" she questioned seeing him stand
up to his feet reaching in his back pocket. Fingering over the bracelet she
smiled before nodding slowly and letting out a small sigh. “I’ll
never take it off.”
“Good, I hope you take care of it,” Kevin finished writing something
down before putting something back in his pocket. Reaching for her hand he
placed a small piece of paper in her hand watching her confused eyes stare
up at him. “This is my number. I want you to know that whenever you need
someone to be there for you and it seems like no one is there you can call
me. Ria and I will be there whenever you need us when it seems like no one
else is there.”
“I really appreciate this Kevin,” Stacy sighed wishing that her father could be as good as Kevin was with her as she felt his hand squeeze her fingers in his gently. “You will make a great father one day, I know it.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Excuse me,” Paul moved in toward the front desk after coming out
of the elevators where the person had told him when he first came into the
hospital. Pressing his hands nervously against the top counter, he let out
a small sigh. “I’m looking for my daughter Stacy Flare. She came
here earlier and…”
“Paul,” a voice called out from across the hallway as he turned
to see his wife before him, her angry blue eyes staring out at him as she
marched across the hall toward him. “Now you finally choose to show up.”
“I just got the call,” Paul felt an anger boiling up in his chest
at the thought of her questioning him on when he showed up. Knowing that he
was only worried about his daughter right now, he wasn’t ready to start
a fight with his wife. “Listen, I just got the call and came here as
soon as I can.”
“Right. And I’m supposed to believe that how?" Jewel snapped
back seeing the way that Paul’s blue eyes looked to the corner and he
let out a long sigh. “Our daughter has been hurt and now is the time
you decide to show up? Now of all times.”
“Listen Jewel, I really didn’t know,” Paul began to explain
remembering that he had been at Kyle’s for a long time and there was
nothing he was really doing bad at all. Holding his hands up in the air he
knew that having Jewel here probably meant that Stacy was alright. “I
was at a friend’s house and no one called me. If I would have known I
would have been here a long time ago.”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be with you anyways?" Jewel questioned
seeing Paul’s nose wrinkle after the question and she folded her arms
out in front of her chest. “I do believe you were the one in charge of
her Paul, this is all your fault.”
“This is not my fault,” Paul snapped with a hiss feeling his blood
boiling at the thoughts of her accusing him and he shook his head slowly.
“I just got in town Jewel and you have been here so much longer than
me.”
“Oh, so now this is my fault,” she began to raise her voice seeing
the way that Paul rolled his eyes at her comment before shrugging his shoulders.
“This should have never happened to our daughter. This is all your fault,
if you would have kept a better hold of her then we wouldn’t be in this
situation.”
“Honey, the two of us are both her parents, not just me,” Paul pointed
out stepping in closer to his wife before throwing his hands up in the air.
There was always a problem he was doing when it came to her and he was tired
of it. Tired of her complaining, tired of her telling him what to do and tired
of her blaming him over and over again. “Now that you are yelling at
me about what I’m doing wrong. When all of a sudden did they only become
my problems? She is your child too you know.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Get some sleep,” Kyle suggested pushing the pillow and blanket
he’d collected from the closet over to Kellen. “You can stay on
the couch tonight if you want to stick around since I’m pretty sure Paul
will be busy for a while.”
“Thanks,” Kellen replied with a relieved sigh, “I know he’s
obviously your friend, but the man scares me. He seems a bit demented and…”
“And it’s something we’ve all learned to ignore,” Kyle
sighed thinking about how much had already gone down in one day already. “Paul
is harmless.”
“Easy for you to say. He wasn’t talking to you about…”
Kellen stopped seeing Heather emerging from the bedroom clearly in the aftermath
of tears. His heart sank and he walked over to her, “Heather if you’re
still upset about Kipp, then I’m sorry. This was something that was between
us and if I would’ve just kept him away tonight, then…”
“No, it’s not that,” Heather shook her head wiping at her face
in the hopes of somehow banishing the swelled redness that she was convinced
had overtaken her cheeks. “I’ve just had a really bad day.”
“I know Heather babes and I’m sorry about that. Kipp was just fired
up because we’d been fighting about Becca and,” Kellen sighed heavily
hating to see his best friend so upset. “He’s not going to do anything
you know. He might be big on talk, but he’s really just ticked at me.
Tonight was just the thing that took him over the edge, but he’ll get
over it. If anything he’s just upset with me.”
“It’s not Kipp really,” Heather glanced over at Kyle seeing
the way his hazel eyes were fixed on her. Finally she took in a breath before
explaining, “Kellen, it’s not about what just happened here, but
more so about what happened at work--you know with the fax.”
“Oh,” Kellen’s blue eyes widened and he took a small step in
closer to her touching her arm gently. He lowered his voice to a whisper,
“We’ll deal with that one too. No one will have to be upset by that.
I promise you that…”
“Kyle knows,” Heather cut him off before he could continue speaking.
She tipped her head to the side to look at her husband before speaking to
Kellen again, “He knows everything Kellen.”
“Everything,” Kellen practically gulped thinking about what the
fax had contained. “Are you…are you sure?”
She nodded, “He saw one of the movies. He knows what we…”
“Oh God,” Kellen yelped with a horrified expression. He turned to
look at Kyle and raised his hands in the air defensively, “Kyle, you
have to understand it was a lifetime ago. Heather and I were stuck in this
really bad situation and…”
“I really don’t want to get into it right now,” Kyle raised
his own hand to silence Kellen’s words. “I just want to push this
day behind us and wake up tomorrow to start over again. I know that someone’s
been harassing Heather and that will be dealt with, but tonight I think we’ve
all had our share of high drama here.”
“Yes we have,” Heather nodded listening for a moment to hear Charles
in his crib clearly awakened by all of the commotion. She looked over her
shoulder towards her son before turning to the men before her, “I’ll
be right back.”
“Take your time,” Kyle nodded seeing her disappear into the room
before his hazel eyes honed in on Kellen all over again.
“Look Kyle, before you say anything, I think I should just take the time
to clear the air,” Kellen offered up knowing full well what kind of anger
Kyle had to be feeling at a time like this, “What you saw--what we did
it wasn’t anything more than a job. Granted, it wasn’t the kind
of job you would expect but…”
“Kellen I meant what I said before, I don’t want to get into it
tonight,” Kyle warned him sharply feeling a hint of tension coiling out
over his body.
“I know that, but I still feel like I should offer up some kind of explanation.
You see we were both in a bad place and…” Kellen started with a
gulp, “We were staying with this creep and…”
“Heather filled in some of the details already,” Kyle interrupted
seeing fear shine behind Kellen’s blue eyes.
“She did?” Kellen arched a worried brow before continuing, “Well,
I’m sure she did, but well…it’s just that she was in this bad
place and I was and I didn’t want someone to hurt her, so I kind of stepped
in and…”
“Kellen I really don’t want to hear it,” Kyle warned him sharply,
his jaw flexing with a sudden jolt of recall at the film he’d watched
with Kellen and Heather in it.
Kellen seemed to notice the shift in Kyle because he took a nervous step backwards.
“You know I think now would be a good time for me to get going,”
Kellen gulped his blue eyes shifting around the room in the hopes of finding
the nearest exit.
“No, you can stay,” Kyle finally snapped out of his daze, his hazel
eyes honing in on Kellen again, “because as far as I’m concerned
I have nothing to worry about with you, do I?”
“Oh hell no,” Kellen blurted out quickly--perhaps too quickly before
his nerves got the best of him, “I mean sure what you saw was probably
pretty intense, but I have to be honest with you when I say that I’m
gay--very, very gay. Beautiful women like Heather never, ever get a rise out
of me. Well, I mean in that film it sure looked like I got a rise out of Heather,
but it really was all illusions and it’s own smokescreen because to even
get me hard I had to have this guy on the side that…”
“Enough!” Kyle snapped having heard more than enough. Kellen backed
up a bit further.
“I’m just saying that if you were to put me in a room with Heather
now, then I swear to you that nothing would happen. I’d have no reaction
what so ever considering that I’m as gay as it gets. I can’t even
imagine having sex with a woman let alone with Heather and…” Kellen
brought his hands up in the air.
“Kellen stop!” Kyle snapped back at him watching Kellen lose his
footing and stumble backwards tripping over the back of the couch. Kyle’s
eyes widened when Kellen fell onto the cushions before hitting the ground
in a heavy thud.
“I’m so sorry Kyle. I swear that I know it was wrong, but please…”
Kellen whimpered bringing his hands up over his head worriedly, “Don’t
kill me. I swear it wasn’t completely my fault and…”
“Kellen please,” Kyle rolled his eyes seeing the over the top dramatics
that Kellen was pouring into his act now that he was hunched down over on
the floor, his body trembling like he’d just found himself on the receiving
end of a severe ass kicking.
“Kyle, I’m so, so sorry, but I swear to you that I’ll make
it up to you. Whatever you want to do to me, just please get it over and make
it as painless as possible,” Kellen pulled his head out from behind his
hands long enough to reveal his now quivering lip, “and try not to mess
up my face too badly because I promised to do some PR work for Heather this
upcoming week.”
“I’m not going to kick your ass Kellen,” Kyle fought to repress
the amusement he might’ve gotten from seeing Kellen in such a frazzled
state, but the more he stood in front of Kellen seeing Kellen fearing for
his life, the less he found himself enjoying the position he was in. “Look
right now all I want is a little peace and quiet with Heather. I’m not
going to beat you up or destroy your life because of that stupid movie. Today
has been a really hard day and the last thing I want to do is spend anymore
time thinking about what I saw. It wasn’t exactly at the top of my list
of things to focus on today, so can we just drop it?”
“Really?” Kellen questioned wearily popping his head out to see
that the anger had faded from Kyle’s face.
“Yeah, really. I would really just like to spend some time alone with
Heather. She and I have a lot we need to talk about considering that she’s
still upset,” Kyle informed him with a heavy sigh, “Do you think
that you can give us a little privacy for a little while?”
“Yeah, sure if you want me to leave I can do that. I can just let myself
out and…” Kellen motioned to the door once again.
“You don’t have to do that, but at least try not to come busting
in through our bedroom door, okay?” Kyle suggested seeing Kellen more
than willing to comply to his request.
“Absolutely. I won’t bother you at all. You won’t even know
that I’m here,” Kellen promised pretending to zip his lips. “I’ll
be so quiet you’ll think you’re alone.”
“Now I wouldn’t go that far considering I know how you are, but
it sounds like a good start,” Kyle nodded turning to reenter the bedroom.
He paused and glanced over his shoulder, “Oh and Kellen?”
“Yes?” Kellen pulled his head up from where he’d still been
crouched down on the floor.
“We will have a talk in the morning, so you’re not completely off
the hook yet,” Kyle warned one last time before going into the bedroom
and leaving Kellen to wonder just what the future had in store for him now
that Kyle knew the truth about his and Heather’s less than savory connection
in the past.
Kellen whimpered hearing the door close and he brought his hands up over his
own neck thinking about what Kyle could do if he was motivated enough. With
another yelp Kellen tried to reason that Heather wouldn’t let Kyle kill
Kellen--at least he hoped not.
“No, if he wanted me dead, he would’ve done it tonight. Wouldn’t
he?” Kellen wondered aloud realizing that maybe just maybe he should
do as Kyle asked and give Kyle and Heather all the space that they needed
tonight so that it didn’t give Kyle anymore reasons to want to murder
Kellen. “Yes space is good. Very good indeed.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Kipp, there’s no need to be shy about the situation,” Becca
wiggled her brow suggestively while curling her finger towards the pillow
that he had pressed in front of himself to shield his body from her. She pushed
up on her knees and arched towards him with a catlike movement. Her grin expanded
as her sculpted nails reached out to tug at the corner of the pillow he’d
had in front of him, “Trust me you have nothing to be ashamed of. You
shouldn’t hide your attributes especially when we were just getting rather
accustomed to savoring them.”
“Becca stop!” he swatted at her wrist before drawing back and clenching
the pillow for dear life. “I don’t know what you think is happening
here, but it’s not. I realize I had a bit to drink, but there’s
no way that…”
“That what?” she wiggled her brow at him before stretching out across
his bed, “That you wouldn’t bring me home to ravish me? Oh Kipp,
some woman must have done you wrong in the past because there is absolutely
no reason why you would ever have to doubt those abilities of yours.”
“Becca, I know I’ve been drinking, but no,” he refused to accept
her explanation of things. Bringing his fingers through his dark hair he tried
to process how he’d gone from Heather and Kyle’s place to being
in his home with Becca in his bed waiting for some kind of seduction that
he knew full well was never going to happen.
“No?” she snorted with delight, “Kipp, I think it’s a
little late for that now. You and I were just starting to really enjoy ourselves.”
“No, we weren’t,” he stated firmly searching the room for his
clothing, but as he attempted to move, he realized that she was still watching
him and he stood frozen. “Becca, you need to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” she pushed herself off
of the blankets and curled her leg out towards him. Her toes teased over the
center of his abdomen before she let out a small, sultry laugh, “and
neither are you. Get that sexy bottom of yours back into bed.”
“No!” he stated firmly knowing only too well that the sound wasn’t
doing anything to help the sudden swirling ache in his temple. He brought
one hand up to touch his forehead before realizing that his pillow had slipped
a bit. He dropped his hand again to keep himself covered. “You need to
go home. Now.”
“No way,” she shook her head, “Kipp, you know as well as I
do that this is something we’ve been building towards for weeks.”
“No Becca, it’s not,” he shook his head firmly. “I know
that tonight I was upset and I might have done some stupid things, but there
is no way that…”
“Oh yes there is,” she stood up directly in front of him, her eyes
now filled with a sudden determination, “and there is no way that you
and I are going to end this now. Not when we’ve got such electric chemistry
between us!”
“Becca please,” Kipp started only to feel her move in behind him.
She pinched his bottom and he let out a yelp. He spun around to face her while
keeping himself covered and away from her groping hands, but before he could
take control of the situation she leapt forward pushing him back onto the
bed in the hopes of showing him that her way was the only way that things
were going to go for them tonight. As he tried to comprehend how his mild
and otherwise sane assistant had made her way into his bedroom, Kipp felt
her lips plummeting upon his and he knew that one thing was sure to follow!
Trouble!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
...to be continued...