by Lee, Kimball
“I’m just going to have a bath, there’s a great tub… that wasn’t an invitation… or anything else,” she said and her face turned as red as could be.
“I’ll stay out here and behave myself,” he said, and smiled as he laid out cheese and French bread on a plate, and poured wine for her. “Wine, so you can relax in your bath,” he said, handing her the glass.
She soaked in the heavenly bath, fragrant with the oil of Ojai oranges, then walked naked into the bedroom to dress. Bly was standing in the doorway waiting for her. She stopped and covered her breasts with her hands, then wondered what she would do about the rest of her nakedness, so she turned her back on him.
“No,” he said firmly, and he stood behind her and rested his hands on her waist. He felt her trembling, so after a moment he forced his hands away from her body, “Let me look at you, Charlotte. I won’t touch you, but I want to see you.”
She hesitated, then turned toward him slowly, she moved her hands away and looked into his eyes. The look on his face was nearly more than she could stand. A look of wonder, and so much longing and love, then lust, and finally surprise. She looked down to see what surprised him, and she realized he’d never know her with her little bare pussy. She turned away quickly, and heard him let out a long breath. He picked up her robe and wrapped her in it, then pulled her hard against him, and his scalding hot mouth covered hers.
It was like coming home, in a sense, the feel of Bly’s mouth on hers. It felt so right and so wrong and so good. Part of her wanted to melt into him, to let his arms hold her as if he would never let her go. She didn’t let herself kiss him back, just stood still until he knew she wasn’t going to lose control. He finally moved his mouth away and looked into her eyes, he held her face in his hands and his thumbs brushed across her lips. Then his arms wrapped her tightly against the hard width of his chest and she placed her hand so that she felt the erratic beating of his heart.
“It only beats for you,” he said, “and I swear, Charlotte, if I could change it, I would. I often wonder which would be worse, to endure this pain of wanting you for the rest of my life, or the hollowness of never having felt such love. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, I’ve heard, but surely that person never loved a woman as much as I love you.” He stroked her hair, his cheek pressed to hers, his breath was hot against her ear, and he had no idea how he was testing her resolve.
She wanted to tell him that she understood what he meant, that she was just as much in love with him. She’d always heard you could love two men, but only be in love with one. That was a lie, as far as she was concerned. If she could have combined Bly and Finn, they would have made the perfect man. There was Bly’s gorgeous face, and master-of-the-universe attitude, his awesome power and ability to command his world. Then there was Finn’s arresting good looks and absolute fearlessness, combined with the kindest spirit she’d ever know and his light-hearted capacity for fun and adventure. She was both blessed and cursed, of that she was sure, love didn’t have a cure, it had trapped her, and there was no perfect resolution for their tortured triangle.
“I want to hear you say that you love me, and I want to see the truth of it in your eyes. Then I can let you go until you come to me willingly, and I know someday you will be mine,” he said.
“I love you, Alexander Bly,” she said, quietly. Looking into his eyes so that he would know how deeply she meant it, and how difficult it was for her to live with. “I’ll never betray my husband, and I want your promise that you would never do anything to… harm him. The die has been cast, and we aren’t in control any longer. You’re going to be a father soon and I’m going home to try and have another child with Finn. Let’s be as happy as we can be for our children, our lives can be completed in them,” she brushed her lips lightly over his, then swept out of the room.
She did have an air about her, Bly thought, she had a cool, unreachable beauty. A beauty and a love that she held slightly beyond his reach, just like Evangeline.
Charlotte left the new IPod with Bly, so he listened to her music as he flew south the next morning. He was glad, in a small way, that he had her favorite songs at his fingertips. They made him happy, and they made him indescribably sad, but the ache they caused strengthened his resolve. He played a Rob Thomas song that was one of Charlotte’s favorites, and he smiled because the words weren’t true at all.
“Well it’s almost like a disease, and I know soon you will be, over the lies, you’ll be strong, you’ll be rich in love, you will carry on, but no, oh no, no you won’t be mine.”
A beautiful tune indeed, and it might have seemed sad, but Charlotte most certainly would be his, someday.
*
“We missed our anniversary,” Finn said, when Charlotte slipped into bed the next night.
She climbed the stairs quietly so she wouldn’t wake Atticus, she’d driven all day to get home. Bly had offered to bring her back in the jet and have someone drive her car, but she said no.
“We did, didn’t we? Oh, happy anniversary, my love,” she said, and she kissed his luscious mouth and moved his hand between her legs.
“My love my love, you came back to me so soon and you’re soaking wet, so I guess you still love me,” he said, pulling her roughly under him, his mouth moving to her hard pink nipples. “Can we do this, maybe it’s too soon since…?”
She tangled her hand in his hair and pulled his head back so that his neck was exposed to her mouth, and he smiled as she kissed his hot smooth skin. “Fuck me,” she whispered, and her free hand stroked his massive erection before he thrust into her.
They both moaned and they moved together and his mouth consumed hers. His hand moved to her breasts, pinching her nipples then it brushed past her belly and his thumb massaged her swollen clit. She seized around him and bit into his shoulder and tasted blood. He lifted her hips, holding her small ass in his hands and felt himself hitting the deepest part of her. She cried out as he pumped into her, punishing that sensitive spot as it began to spasm against the end of his cock. They both yelled with release and Atticus began to cry from the noise.
Finn kissed her and his mouth turned up into a crooked grin, then he went to get the baby. He lay Atticus down next to Charlotte as he talked to him, “what happened buddy? Did your mommy scare you with all her shouting and biting the devil out of your daddy? Well, you’ll get used to it, because it’s never going to end in this house. Not as long as mommy loves me, and you might as well know, she’s the hottest piece of ass on the planet!”
“Nice way to talk about his mother,” Charlotte said and pulled them close, and they all three lay together, snuggled up and content.
“I went to Jack Sheppard’s cabin at Big Sur, and I meant to stay a week,” she said, after she carried Atticus back to his room. She turned on the bedside lamp and sat facing Finn, “Bly showed up in the middle of the night. JP told him about the wreck, he hadn’t known before. So he had Billy find me somehow and he flew up to check on me.”
“I guess I should be surprised, but I’m not,” he said, letting his fingers play over the soft skin of her face and neck as she looked down at him. “I’m going to teach him a lesson one of these days about stalking other men’s wives. I feel sorry for him in a way, but I told him before, enough is enough.”
“He slept in a guest room, do I need to say that nothing happened?”
“No, my love, you don’t need to say it. I don’t trust him, but I do trust you,” and he lifted her on top of him, and she eased onto his stiff cock.
“I know it’s soon, but I want to try again, I want a little girl, okay?” she said, moving to her own rhythm as his hands moved from her waist, across her flat belly and down to her sex.
“Okay, my love, we’ll make a little girl,” he said, just before she began to quake against him.
*
“So, were you with her, did you run to your precious Charlotte? I get it, you know. Alexander Bly, hard as nails and cold as ice, but so w
eak where she’s concerned. I’ll bet she laughs at you behind your back, why can’t you see that you mean nothing to her? You can’t even fuck me with her in your head can you? Oh, I’m sorry Alex, forgive me, this pregnancy is making me crazy. Please, if you could only love me,” Maddie begged and wrapped her arms around Bly as they stood in the middle of the bedroom.
“I don’t want you to ever say her name again, do you understand? Don’t let me hear her name on your lips, I’m warning you,” Bly said, he was shouting and he stepped back, but then he held her arms and examined her face. “What have you done, something’s different, what is it?”
“Nothing, my face was getting pinched looking, and I looked tired,” she said as her hand flew to her forehead then touched the corners of her eyes.
“What the fuck did you do, Maddie? You have two babies growing inside of you, my babies!” he shouted and she covered her ears. “Did you put fucking poison in your face, could you possibly be that vain and stupid?”
“I want you to love me again, I want to be beautiful for you. I did it for you, Alex, I want you to look at me like you look at Char….” She stopped mid-sentence and the look on his face was frightening.
“I will never look at you that way, ever. I’m calling your mother to come and stay here and watch over you. You obviously have no regard for the lives you’re carrying, you may not care about those babies, but I do. They’re my legacy and I won’t let you jeopardize them any longer,” he said, and he called for two of the maids to move her things to another bedroom.
“Fine, I need my mother here now, at least I’ll have someone who cares whether I live or die. I’m not moving out of this room either, I’m your wife, and this is our room. The upstairs maids are gone, I had to fire them, they were rude and lazy and they didn’t have any respect for authority,” she said, and Bly wanted to shake her, but he simply picked up his bag and went to another bedroom and locked the door.
*
Charlotte sat in Starbuck’s drinking coffee and waiting for Finn, she had been driving a rental since the accident and they were going to buy a new car.
“Hello,” a smooth, deep, voice said, and she spilled her coffee as she looked up.
He picked up a napkin to blot the stain on her blouse and his fingertips grazed her nipple. She blushed and grabbed the napkin from his hand and he sat down without being invited.
“Excuse me, I’m waiting for my husband,” she said, “Do I know you?”
His eyes were so familiar, wide-set and sparkling and nearly as blue-green as Bly’s, then she remembered him.
“I’m sorry, I can’t recall your name, but I do remember meeting you. Again, I must tell you that I’m not taking new clients,” she said, and she hoped Finn would walk in and scare the shit out of this man with the overly confident smile.
“Bennet Sommerfeld, and I’m not giving up on you Charlotte,” he said, raising her hand to his lips before she could snatch it away.
She could see Finn parking his car outside and when she turned back around, Bennet was gone.
Charlotte went back to the office with Finn after they finished car shopping, and as soon as she walked in she heard a baby crying.
“What on earth, who has a baby?” she asked Finn.
“The teenager who was answering the phones for us,” Finn said, and pointed toward the ceiling.
“She’s living in one of the lofts, what’s that all about?”
“JP thinks he’s in love,” he said, and Charlotte stalked into JP’s office.
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind, John Paul? Are you fucking around with that twelve year old space-cadet while your pregnant wife decorates the new house?” she asked.
“Uh, hello Char, nice to see ya, mind your own damn business,” he said, swiveling his desk chair so that his back was to her.
She walked around the desk and jerked the chair around to face her, “this is my business, Amanda’s my friend, but mostly you’re my friend, what’s going on?”
“I love her, Char, I can’t help that, and she’s nineteen, not twelve. Amanda has no interest in our marriage, she wants everything her brother’s money can buy and she got exactly what she wanted out of me, a baby,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples. “Amanda’s a princess, I was just the sperm donor. Pretty good, huh? I was a ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ kind of guy all my life and as soon as I settled down, my wife took what she wanted from me and decided to play house by herself.”
“I don’t believe that, JP. Amanda loves you, she’s just having a tough time being pregnant. As soon as the baby’s born she’ll be her old self again, and that’s only two months from now.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, I love Lizzie and I want to take care of her and her baby. Besides, she fucking rocks my world, that’s all that matters,” he said, and he stared up at the ceiling and said he’d better go check on the baby.
“You’re going to check on the baby? What does the baby’s mother do besides fuck like a nimble nineteen year old? I swear JP, the brain in your head is stupider than the one in your dick,” Charlotte said, thoroughly disgusted.
“I could have told you that a long time ago, my love. John Paul fell in love the palm of his hand when he was ten years old, now he loves anything that makes him feel that good,” Finn said, as JP pushed past him and told them both to go fuck themselves.
*
Billy Kipling unloaded Dorian Newland’s luggage while she stood on the front steps of the mansion and hugged her daughter. Maddie looked bad, he had to admit. She was frail and gaunt and even though she was expecting twins in a couple of months, her stomach was tiny. Billy knew she had given up on Alex Bly, and several times he heard her talking on the phone to the photographer, Spencer Beck. She wasn’t happy about being pregnant, she said. She had wanted babies once, but it sickened her to think she was nothing more than an incubator for the Bly heirs. She intended to make the most of her position, to turn the babies over to a nannie and spend Bly’s money like it was going out of style.
Maddie had begun to change and not just in appearance. She was caught up in the idea of herself as Mrs. Bly, and she wielded that power with a cold lack of concern for others. Bly bought three Bentleys for her before she was happy, then she handed the keys of Range Rover to the gardener. Every other day she waited by one of the cars until Billy opened the door for her, then he drove her to L.A. to shop for hours on Rodeo Drive.
“Maddie, sweetheart, what have you done to yourself? I’m furious with you, and thank the Lord that sweet husband of yours sent for me. He’s worried sick about you, honey, and I can see why. Well, I’m here now and you can just shape up starting this minute. Show me where the kitchen is, I’m fixing you a steak and baked sweet potato. You’ve got to start thinking of those precious babies,” Dorian said, leading her daughter into the house.
Billy’s phone rang and he answered it and assured Alex Bly that Dorian Newland was taking control of Maddie.
Chapter Five
Bly looked down at the girl on her knees in front of him, he sat in his desk chair and she unzipped his pants. She closed the office door every day when she delivered his mail, then she stayed to relieve his tension. He was indulging in his old ways all the time, blowjobs and sex with condoms, he decided he should never have stopped that practice in the first place. Charlotte had been the first woman he ever fucked, actually made love to, without a condom. It had been like nothing he’d ever felt before, maybe because it was new to him, but probably because it was with Charlotte. Maddie was right, he couldn’t get past his love for Charlotte, and the truth was, he didn’t want to.
When he left Charlotte in Big Sur, she said she wanted another baby, but she might not be able to have one. He had laid in bed that night and it took every ounce of his will-power to stay away from her bed. He wanted the babies Maddie was carrying, but he still had that same primal urge he’d had when he first saw Charlotte, years before at the photo-shoot. She would be the mother of
his son one way or another, he simply felt it was inevitable. He would love and nurture his children with Maddie, he would be an excellent father and give them everything his wealth and power could buy. But that one special child, his son with Charlotte, would be his legal heir.
“All better?” the girl from the mailroom asked, looking up at him and wiping her hand across her mouth.
“Yes,” he said, without a hint of emotion, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When the girl left his office, his assistant came in and said his cousin was waiting to see him. It pissed Bly off; his cousin was a low-life gigolo who always had some sort of agenda. Bly had avoided him for weeks, but Evangeline had insisted that he fly to Paris with Alex and Amanda for her wedding. They were leaving the next day, and although he wasn’t looking forward to having his cousin along or seeing his nut-case aunt, he was happy to be getting away from his life for a few days.
“Alright,” Bly said, sighing heavily, “send him in.”
“Hey, Alex, I’m looking forward to Paris tomorrow, how about you? I know you have a pregnant wife so, I’m thinking you might be looking for a little action. I’m going to the Mayor’s Gala tonight, thought you might like to tag along. There’s always world-class pussy at that shindig.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to pass, Bennet, be at the hangar by six in the morning or you’ll miss your ride.”
“Oh, for sure, I’ll be there. Listen Alex, you will not believe the hot little number I’ve got my eye on. She’ll be at the party tonight and I think you might remember her,” Bennet said, leaning forward and snagging a Cuban cigar from the box on Bly’s desk.
“Mr. Bly, I have your conference call waiting, his assistant said, and he told Bennet he would see him in the morning.
*
“I don’t want to go without you, but this is a big event for Sheppard and Sheridan,” Charlotte told Finn as he lay on the sofa with the flu.
“Oh, he’ll be fine,” Georgina said. She was watching Atticus so Charlotte could attend the Mayor’s Gala.
