10
Alison
I cried after he left me, tears streaming hotly down my cheeks. I buried my head in the pillow and stifled my sobs, my shoulders heaving helplessly as the man showered in the adjoining en suite. How could he sing when I’d just been anally raped?
The truth was that I’d loved it. I loved sex with this man, and nothing had changed despite two years of loneliness and silence apart. I’d ached for him during that time, sometimes waking up in a sweat, my mind reeling with memories of his sweet words and incredible body.
The shower shut off abruptly and I turned away so that Liam couldn’t see my tear-stained face, huddling in a small ball underneath the covers.
“Get up Alison, get dressed,” he ground out, roughly throwing a dress at me. I gasped when I saw that it was the red sequined evening gown he’d bought for me long ago. We’d talked endlessly about our future together, and part of my duties as his girlfriend was to accompany him to various industry events. I’d run away before we’d set foot in public together, determined not to ruin his career with the smear of incest.
But as he opened the closet, I saw that fully half of the closet was still filled with my clothes. He’d never thrown them out! He’d kept them there as a reminder of me, as if hoping one day I would return and take my place by his side. I could see the rows upon rows of clothes he’d bought me, fine silks and satins much too expensive for me to afford.
I slowly got out of bed and slipped the red gown over my naked form. During my pregnancy my boobs had gone up a cup size and never deflated, so I was now a permanent DD. They swelled against the low cut décolletage, pushing firmly against the sequined material. I zipped myself up, lifting my head to see Liam staring at me ravenously once again.
His eyes ravished me from head to toe, as if he hadn’t just fucked me fifteen minutes earlier. I flushed hotly, feeling my cunt tingle. Would I ever become accustomed to this man?
He growled deep in his throat and turned away roughly, fastening his cuff links. “You’re too skinny,” he rumbled.
I almost laughed with relief. Skinny I was not. I’d put on about ten pounds since the baby, and the dress clung lovingly to my new curves, emphasizing the swells of breast and hip.
I reached behind him shyly into the closet and got out a matching red purse and high-heeled shoes. I stepped into them, completing the outfit and stood silently as he finished pulling on his tux jacket. He was so handsome that I nearly swooned, but I chastised myself. “He doesn’t love you,” I reminded myself. “You’re only here because of Georgie.”
Liam hustled me outside into a waiting limo, and I obediently sank into the plush leather.
“Where are we going?” I asked timidly, folding my hands in my lap.
He ignored me, staring out the windows as the cityscape rolled by. The limo slowed, and I saw that we were in front of the University Club, a prestigious private club in the City. The chauffeur helped me out, and I stood uncertainly, unsure what to do next.
Liam took my hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, walking up the steps to the main gate.
“Sir,” said the concierge. “Welcome.”
“Good to see you, Fellowes,” replied Liam. “Where’s the event at?”
“Fourth floor, sir, please proceed this way.”
He shepherded me to the elevators and stood silently, the look on his face ominous as we waited for the elevator. When the doors pinged open, I was greeted by an opulent room, with fresh flowers and crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling.
The guests were in fancy dress, the men in tuxes and the women in gowns. Were we at a charity event? I wanted to ask but was determined to keep my silence given that Liam was ignoring me.
A gorgeous brunette rushed over, brushing me aside while kissing Liam on both cheeks, pressing her breasts against his arm. I flushed with a pang of jealousy before controlling myself. Down girl! I commanded. Just because you’ve been celibate for two years doesn’t mean that NYC’s most eligible bachelor has.
“Hi baby,” she drawled. “How’ve you been? Why haven’t I heard from you?” she asked him. Her eyes were the green of emeralds, glinting and hard in her perfectly chiseled face.
“Sabrina,” said Liam smoothly. “May I introduce Alison, my guest for the night?”
“Oh hi,” she pouted. Grudgingly, she acknowledged my presence with an air kiss, her perfume expensive but cloying. Turning back to Liam, she nudged his arm with her breast again. “So honey,” she practically panted. “Where have you been these past two days?”
He’s been with me and his son! I wanted to scream. But I stood silently at Liam’s side, trembling although I felt as stiff as a board. Not losing a beat, Liam said, “Oh here and there. Yeah, sorry I haven’t called, I didn’t mean to bail on that movie premiere.”
He’d had a DATE with this woman? I almost wanted to break down right then and there, but stood proudly, my face flushed and hot. As if sensing my need to get away, Liam said, “I’ll catch you later ok Sabrina? Lovely seeing you.”
He grasped me by the elbow and steered me to the punch bowl, where fortunately, not a lot of people stood. I gasped for air and bit out at him, “So that’s your girlfriend?”
He chuckled and looked at me with an eyebrow askance. “Jealous are we?”
“No!” I whispered furiously, turning my back on him to get some punch. The way this was turning out, the more alcohol the better.
“Listen Wildflower,” he hissed under his breath. “YOU were the one who walked out on me, not the other way around! If I’ve taken lovers in the past few years, it’s because I didn’t know you were coming back, much less with my son in tow! So get yourself together,” he bit out harshly.
I felt the tears rising again as I thought of Liam with other women. So Sabrina was actually just one of a bevy of women he’d bedded. My heart seemed to break, even as my brain acknowledged the truth of his words. I felt so lost and lonely. Liam was a virile man, and it was impossible to deny his craving for regular release.
“Get yourself together,” he whispered again harshly. “The guests of honor are on their way.” Indeed, a hush had descended over the crowd and people were turning towards the main doors in anticipation. My face still felt hot and my chest constricted, but I turned around and put a smile on my face just to appear normal.
The doors swung open and a distinguished looking couple stood at the entrance.
“Surprise!” roared the crowd. The man was tall and fair, and the woman dark but stunning, both in their sixties. Liam walked forward to greet them, affectionately kissing the woman on her cheek and shaking the man’s hand warmly.
“Mom, Dad,” he said. “Welcome to your twentieth anniversary celebration,” he continued smoothly.
I felt myself go faint. The sandy-haired man was my biological father, Robert Woodson, and Liam’s stepfather. Liam was deliberately outing us. The world around me blurred and the ground rushed up at me with alarming speed.
11
Liam
I rested my head on my folded hands. My face felt flushed and hot, and my body shaky as I leaned against the makeshift hospital bed I’d had wheeled into our bedroom. My wildflower lay cold and deathly pale against the white sheets, her pallor accentuated against the hospital whites.
She was so tiny! Her frame was so thin that she barely made a bump against the sheets. She lay corpse-like, her hands peacefully folded, skin waxen against the sterile setting.
I could barely breathe, putting my head between my knees before I hyperventilated. What had I been thinking? I’d dragged Wildflower to my parents’ twentieth wedding anniversary, not bothering to tell her where we were going. I knew she was upset about the fact that we were step-siblings, but I’d been so angry with her that I wanted to throw her in the lion’s den. The sudden sight of her biological father, Robert Woodson, had stunned her and she’d fainted in the ballroom, collapsing amidst the press of the crowd.
After that, everything grew blurr
y for me. I knew I’d acted like an animal. I’d immediately gone on my knees beside Alison, her head in my lap as I tried to revive her.
“Call 911,” I’d snapped. “Get the Club’s private doctor here. Call my doctor as well and tell him to meet us at the hospital.” I’d barked orders like a man possessed, cradling her lifeless form.
“Alison, shhh, hush baby, everything’s going to be alright,” I’d crooned, rocking her back and forth. Her limp body was still and quiet, even as the party guests thronged around us.
“Who is that?” I could hear people asking.
“She must be someone special, Liam’s on his knees,” said another.
“She looks like Robert …” said a third.
I’d had this crazy idea that maneuvering a confrontation between Alison and her biological father would force us to take on the issue of incest, and spark a conversation about Georgie, our beautiful baby boy already born of the relationship. But clearly, I’d been dead-wrong. Robert and my mom had no idea who she was, and Alison had been wildly unprepared. So much so that my miscalculation had caused this - the love of my life unresponsive and dead to the world, hooked up to all sorts of monitors in our bedroom.
I cursed myself. Love of my life? Yes, that’s what this horrific, terrifying situation had forced on me. The moment she’d collapsed, I’d had the sudden realization that nothing else mattered except for this woman. Not the fact that she’d left me two years ago without warning; not the fact that she’d kept my son from me during the two year absence; and not the fact that our relationship was technically forbidden by rule of law. What mattered to me was that my Wildflower was alive and well, happy and content with our son in her arms.
I realized that every last barrier I’d erected had come crashing down. I’d been determined to take Georgie from her, crushing her in a custody battle with my superior resources. But now I was willing to give her anything, even if it meant taking Georgie to the far ends of the earth. I was a rich man. I’d find some way to see Georgie regularly. My boy would know his father.
But all of that seemed insignificant now. Sobs wracked my body, coming out in choked gulps as my lungs heaved for air. I clutched her hands in mine, terrified at their coolness, and how small they seemed underneath my big fingers.
“Wildflower, I’m so sorry,” I choked out. “I’m so sorry for everything …”
I caught my breath, knowing she couldn’t hear me, but my heart was so full I needed to talk just to get things out of my system. “Wildflower,” I started again. “You’re everything to me. Everything that I’ve said to you in the past two weeks is bullshit. I was wrong, I was terrified too. I know you only had my best interests at heart when you left me two years ago.”
“I was angry that you kept my son from me. But I know you did it to protect me – you were afraid of what people would say if they found out that we’re stepsiblings. But don’t you see? It’s too late. Georgie’s already here, and I love you both with all of my heart.”
“Yes, love,” I gasped, almost barking out the words. “Do you hear that Alison Johnson? I love you. I always have. I loved you the minute I saw you across the room in that waitress outfit. You were like a shining star in the middle of a boring meeting, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you after that.”
“And it’s been like that for two years now. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. You haunt my days and nights. Every morning, I think of you as soon as I wake, and at night, I pray that I’ll dream of you. Your warmth and sweetness are what’s kept me going all this time.”
“And I’ve just found you again, you and our beloved baby boy. You can’t leave me so soon after coming back. I’ll do anything to make things right by you … whatever you need, you and Georgie will always be the ones for me, whether you stay here or go somewhere else. Please, just don’t die Wildflower, it’s too early. I can’t let you go so soon after finding you again,” I sobbed, my mea culpa barked and gritty, the outpouring of my feelings for this girl who had captured my heart two years ago and never let go.
I held her hands to my face, kissing her lifeless fingers, gripping her so hard that surely I must have cracked a few knuckles. But there was nothing on her waxen face to show that she’d felt any pain, or heard anything I’d said. She was truly in a comatose state, the panic of public shaming causing her to shut down, mentally even if her physical body was still there.
What had I done? I berated myself and buried my face in my hands. My life was over when it had just begun.
12
Alison
I could hear him sobbing through the haze that was my mind. My brain felt cloudy, as if there were cotton balls surrounding my senses, making it impossible to speak, move or give any indication of life. I could hear the beeps and hums of machines next to me, their incessant whirring a steady fade of white noise.
As I tried to clear my head, my eyelids flickered momentarily. I could see Liam with his dark head bowed against my hands. He sobbed, feverishly kissing my hands as his big shoulders heaved and hot tears coursed down his face. What was causing him to lose his self-control?
Suddenly, the events of last night came rushing back and I lapsed back into stillness, the anguish overwhelming. Liam had been so angry with me that he’d anally raped me before dragging me to a black-tie event. What I’d thought was a routine charity function was actually his parents’ twentieth anniversary. His parents being his mother and my biological father.
You see, Liam and I are step-siblings, and our love is one that’s technically forbidden. We didn’t know when we embarked on our relationship two years ago, but when I’d found out, I’d immediately left him, not wanting to smear this powerful, potent man with the shadow of incest.
It’d been too late for me though. I was already pregnant with Georgie, and my joy upon finding out had been so overwhelming I’d nearly cried in relief. I’d never be able to see Liam again, but I’d always have a reminder of him in my beautiful boy with his blue eyes and raven hair just like his father’s.
Until one day, Liam had stumbled upon us. Georgie’s resemblance to his father had been far too strong to deny, and Liam had immediately swept him up, beginning the whirlwind of activity that I’d always associated with my strong, powerful alpha male.
He’d moved us out of the public housing projects to live with him in his penthouse apartment in this exclusive gated community. But it hadn’t all been wine and roses – he’d been so angry with me for keeping Georgie from him for the past two years that he’d raped me, forcing his cock into my untested anal canal.
But I love him, have always loved him, and the rape was nothing more than an act of love between two people furious at one another, but also desperately in love. We had coupled in a wild, instinctual manner that was one hundred percent consensual even though it was out of control and brutal in some respects.
I’d still had his cum dripping out of me when he’d shepherded me off to that charity event. And when I realized that he was going to force a confrontation between myself and Robert Woodson, and reveal to his entire social circle that he’d had a baby with his stepsister, I’d completely collapsed, the world a whirl as the floor came rushing up to me.
And here we were. I must have hit my head on something because I could feel a dull throbbing pain on the back of my skull, and my thoughts were still woozy from shock and disbelief.
How could Liam do this to me? To himself? How could we have normal lives if we were outed to the public? We’d be shamed and humiliated. Even if people were too scared to say anything to the rich and powerful Liam Miller’s face, there would always be whispers and sneaky glances, always the hush of “Did you know …?”
I wasn’t prepared to live like that. It’s one thing for me to disappear back to the projects where I was born and raised, but I couldn’t stand that my baby boy would be forever branded the product of incest. Georgie deserved better, and I needed to make sure my son had a fair shot in the world.
13
>
Liam
I was in my study, trying to get my eyes to focus on some spreadsheets. After Alison’s accident, I’d worked from home, not bothering to go into Atlantis Records for the past week. Her vitals were good but there was still no sign of life and I wanted to be there when she woke. So I’d become her sentry, sitting by her bed through the night, hovering like a watchful guardian over the beautiful blonde.
The only good part about this was Georgie. I’d held my son as we watched over his mom, and the bond between us was deep and immutable. The little boy had charmed me thoroughly. Even if we hadn’t been biologically related, the chubby child with his waving fists and innocent eyes had completely won me over. I was more than in love … I was head over heels with my son, hands down.
I’d tucked Georgie in for the night though, and sat staring at the spreadsheets before me. I’d received calls and emails from various friends and associates, asking about the blonde, curious if everything was okay. And of course, there was the ominous voicemail from my stepdad, requesting a callback.
Fuck it. I was my own man. My stepdad was gearing up for a political run and wanted my help in fundraising. After all, I’m a powerful man in New York City, and any public office is as much a function of money as it is votes. But I couldn’t see how to square this away. Potential senator has a grandson by his daughter and stepson? Potential senator is a leading proponent of family values, except when it comes to his own family? The press would have a field day. I groaned because the issues were so tangled with no clear moral guideposts.
Suddenly, I heard a soft rapping on the door.
“Thanks Conchita, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I called out. Conchita was our housekeeper cum nanny.
His Woman Page 4
