by Anna Collins
“I get this feeling that maybe the person that owns the artifact acquired it from you. I also feel that you probably know this person very well. I mean in the biblical sense of the word,” I said making it sound like the very idea that he could have another woman friend to be disgusting.
I didn’t mean to give him an icy reception, but Devlin seemed to gravitate towards those women that had a stronger outlook than he gave them credit for. I was exactly like them, but my strength was hidden, until he came around to unveil it for what it was.
“Harper Jones is stranger than most. We’ve had some dealings in the past, but we never really made it past anything remotely physical, except for that one time. There has always been a healthy respect for each other and what we brought to each negotiation that was lying in front of us on the table. I would find things that she would be interested in and she would do the same thing in return as a way to keep things even between us. Most people believe her to be a man, but she instills that belief to keep people on their toes. If others knew the truth, they would most likely come after everything that she holds close to her chest. Her desire to be left alone is predicated on a deep-seated fear of the unknown outside of her door. She hides from the world, but she also has everything that she needs at her fingertips,” Devlin said with this feeling of respect that came along from a friendship that had been built over the years.
“I don’t like this. I just want to go on the record to say that I don’t really particularly care for another woman in your life. I know that that sounds like I’m being jealous and maybe that’s exactly the way that it’s supposed to sound. You may not like this, but my desire for you is stronger than I’ve ever had with any other man. I sweat at the very notion of somebody else garnering your attention. It makes me physically ill to think about you with other women,” I said with Angelica’s name at the edge of my lips.
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response, Lucy. I thought that you got rid of all of those emotions that made no sense. I thought that you had grown as a person and as a woman. Don’t make me think that everything that I have believed was false. I don’t want you to be that same woman that I met before I gave you the proposal. I have done too much to believe that it was all for nothing,” He said as he glared at me and made me feel like I was saying something wrong.
Chapter 40
I stood at the threshold of this beautiful old style estate that looked like it had stood up to the test of time. I wondered how anybody could consider themselves this above everybody else. The whole place was built for luxury and comfort. I could already tell from the inside that everything had been built to a certain standard.
“Madame will be waiting for you in the study. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you not to stare,” The butler said making it very clear that she didn’t take kindly to people looking at her for long periods of time.
I considered us new romantics and this was not the kind of love affair that was easily attained. This took a lot of work, but there had to be something there to begin with to build on that foundation. There was no trust at the start, but things progressed nicely until I was practically eating out of the palm of his hand. We had learned a lot from each other. Some were romantic and some really made me want to slap the taste out of his mouth.
“Harper has always been into the new age kind of things. She doesn’t believe in doctors and she would rather self-medicate. There are many charlatans that she has crossed paths with and they regretted it. She wants everybody to be as honest as she is, but she knows that that’s not possible. She allows them to get close with their toxins and elixirs, but then she has methods to find out if what she is receiving is a placebo effect or if they are truly trying to help,” Devlin said as he told me the tale of Harper and the illness that was slowly killing her.
We walked down the long corridor with several photographs of Harper’s ancestors. Some showed age from where they adorned that wall for quite some time. There was a layer of dust around each of the frames. I had to assume that the butler and the staff were forbidden to touch any one of these paintings in the course of their daily routines.
“Harper sounds like a more desperate incarnation of you. I don’t mean that to offend you, but you have to admit that there are some similarities. You probably don’t even realize it yourself. That is most likely the reason why you have found yourself in a long lasting friendship with her,” I said at the precise moment that a dapper man in a pinstripe black suit came forward to greet us.
“She has been wondering for quite some time when you were going to grace her with your presence. You know that her hospitality extends to any of your friends. All she requests is that you accompany them and make sure to vouch for their integrity. I’ve been working for her for quite some time and I know exactly how she thinks,” He said as he and Devlin now looked at each other and squared off like matadors in a ring.
“Eric, I know all about her conditions and I’ve never been anything but fair. You can tell her that I’m here to talk about the artifact that I gave her a few years ago. She’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not out here for public consumption. She keeps it very close to her at all times. She somehow got it into her head that it has magical properties of the healing variety,” Devlin said playing while playing a dangerous game with a woman that had always been extra cautious.
I had no interest to leave the life that I had behind, but now I couldn’t even look at that girl without shaking my head in disbelief.
We walked into the study and the platinum blonde young woman in her late twenties was now attached to an oxygen machine. She was breathing that pure oxygen while needles from acupuncture were now piercing her skin. She was lying there with an assortment of needles in various parts of her body.
That was not the most shocking thing of all of this. She was blind and the whites of her eyes told me that she had a very rare form of cataracts. She was also naked and there was no shame to be had. I could assume that she had found this freedom with her body through Devlin. It could also be possible that she was the one that gave him his first taste of a purely nude way of living.
“You know that I’m not much for trusting anyone outside of my select circle of friends, Devlin. By bringing her here, you make me think that I can trust her. Do I take it from the way that you are breathing heavily that you have feelings for this one? I never thought that I would see the day that you would take another. I tried to get in contact with you, but you have been reluctant to take my calls. You were probably worried that I was going to tell you to snap out of it and start acting like a man instead of a sniveling coward,” Harper said as she lay there looking at the ceiling and letting those needles do their work.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Harper. I was worried about what you would say and that is precisely the reason why I’ve kept you at arm’s length. The last time that we did any business together, I gave you that sword and I need to ask for it back. I don’t want you to regret the day that we met, but this is a matter that needs to be put to bed quickly. Time is not one of those commodities that we hold with much conviction,” He said while looking at her and at Eric standing in the doorway listening to their exchange word for word.
“I do have something to say for being an Indian giver. I paid you an exorbitant amount of cash and you delivered what you promised. I was worried that your reputation would precede you, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt,” She said with her hand now touching the fabric of her white robe that was draped across the chair to the side of her.
“I never said that I wouldn’t give you something back for it. I doubt that you need the money, but maybe there’s something else that we can offer you in the place of payment. Desmond is not going to let this go. We both know that he’s a man of his word and I can only assume that you don’t really want anything bad to happen to me,” Devlin said as a form of giving her the bigger picture.
“I don’t need the money, but what I do need is an heir to
the throne of the Jones Empire. You have those rare genes and I would like to take advantage of that. I want your child and then I want you to wash your hands of the whole thing and forget it ever happened. When I lost my sight, I was lost and forgotten. You opened up my eyes metaphorically speaking and gave me a reason to stay the course,” Harper said while still sitting there demurely and not moving more than a few inches at a time.
“I thought I told you that that was off the table. When you mentioned it this last time, I rebuffed your advances because I had what I wanted. The day that she died killed a part of me, but this one awakened that part and gave it a reason to come to life,” He said while obviously directing his comment about me.
“I would never take away your happiness, but this is the price for doing business with me. The sword that you have mentioned stays right by me and I may look stupid for carrying it around, but I feel like I’m walking on air. I can’t lose that feeling unless something equally important is given to me. You can see that I’m not going to give up on this issue. It does make some sense for the reason why you stayed away. You were worried that I was going to finally convince you to give me your seed,” Harper said making it sound like it was a common occurrence to ask for someone’s first born.
“I don’t think that it would be fair to Lucy. She never really liked me interacting with the female species. She tolerated it, almost as much as I tolerated her misconceptions when she came to me in the first place. I’m afraid that we have come to an impasse. I can’t give you what you want and you won’t give me what I want without getting what you want. How do you suppose that we wrangle our way out of this mess,” Devlin said as he waited for what response was going to come his way.
“We can be reasonable. We are consenting adults. I’m only asking for a donation, but it has to come from a direct source. I really don’t want to consider anyone else. I had you tested without your knowledge. You will be pleased to know that you have the most amazing swimmers. I think that it’s fortuitous that you have come to me at precisely the right moment. My biological clock is ticking like crazy and I don’t want to wait any longer,” Harper said like this was some sort of business transaction.
“I’ve already told you that it’s not gonna happen. I appreciate the offer and I’m very flattered that you would even consider someone like me. I can’t do this without Lucy’s permission and I don’t think that I’m going to get it. I’ve done enough to hurt her and I really have no desire to do anything more,” Devlin said as he stood beside me.
“I’ve known you a long time, Devlin. Do you think that it was a coincidence that you landed on this island? I heard about your troubles with Desmond and I reached out to a mutual friend of ours. Jules was more than happy to help me, but then again I was his first lover. I gave him his first taste of what a woman can do to a man. I clearly have had an impact on his life. I was the one that helped him land the job with you. I wanted to have the strategic advantage of having somebody in close proximity. I think that I can smooth things over with Lucy. I doubt that you would have gotten involved with her unless she was willing to bend a little in and out of the bedroom,” Harper said as she sat up to address us properly.
I was thankful that she had put on the pair of glasses. It was obvious that she wasn’t comfortable with the way that she was. That disease that was ravaging her body had made her aware that time was slipping by too quickly. She had lost her sight and had to deal with a limited amount of mobility with the use of a cane.
“I won’t stop you from trying to get her permission. I don’t think that it’s going to be that easy, but you’re more than welcome to give it the old college try,” Devlin said while making me sound like I was unable to help a woman find the dream of being a mother.
“Everybody loves a good drama and this one is ripe with that and so much more. I’m asking you, woman to woman, to give me the one thing that I want the most in my life. This heir will grow up with all the finer things, but also Eric to teach him what it is to be a man. I have considered taking Eric into my bedroom, but his tests were not as favorable as Devlin’s. I believe that it will take only one shot of the good stuff between his legs to get the job done the first time. I will even consent to you being in the room to make sure that I don’t go overboard. Do you think that you can give me this one gift, Lucy? I’m scared to face the fear of dying without somebody to pass on a certain legacy,” Harper said as she took my hands almost like she had an idea of where I was in the room.
“I will have to be there,” I had relented, but deep down I was sick in the pit of my stomach for even considering such a proposal.
“I don’t want to give either one of you time to change your mind. Come with me and we will begin this new and wonderful journey together” Harper said as she led us from the room with her cane in one hand and my arm entwined in the other.
Chapter 41
I wanted to believe that Devlin would put a stop to this. She was still young enough to carry a child to term, but she had just informed me that the doctors had only given her a couple of more years to live. She wouldn’t have the chance to see her own child grow up. How could I take away the one thing that would put a smile on her face?
The bedroom was one that was built for comfort with a canopy bed that took up most of the room. Her robe was open and I couldn’t help but to admire the way that she had made her body into a sculpted mass of muscle. She couldn’t see the results, but there had to be away for her to actually feel what her body had endured.
“We’ve all been subject to our own mistakes, but there is nobody quite like Devlin. I do kick myself sometimes to even realize I got involved with someone like him. He has a way of making me feel like I’m not exactly measuring up to his standards,” Harper said as she took off that robe and let me see the vast intricate design of a dragon from her neck all the way down to the small of her back.
I touched her flesh and I traced the outline of that dragon down to the very tail that was now touching the cheek of her ass. She made this sigh of contentment and I had a feeling that the intricate work had caused her flesh to become extra sensitive to any kind of stimulation.
“I may be blind, but I still have my other senses working overtime. You’re not exactly undressed and I thought that we had come to a reasonable arrangement that benefits the both of us. Are you hesitant to leave this child to be raised by Eric? If so, I’m sure that we can arrange for visitation from time to time to let him get to know his father. I just assumed that you would rather continue to live your carefree days without the entanglement of family,” Harper said as she lay down on the mattress with her legs slightly spread.
“You always seem to have a way of knowing exactly what I’m thinking. I’ve been a little afraid myself to be this close to you again. I’ve never been able to say no to you and that’s precisely the reason why I gave that decision to Lucy to make,” Devlin said as he took my hands and looked into my eyes to make sure that I was personally fine with all of this
I helped him to take off his clothes and then I grabbed onto the part of his anatomy that had not exactly come to play. This was the kind of equipment that a slight breeze would bring him around, but now his cock and his mind were struggling to find that happy medium. I got down on my knees and looked up at him to give him my blessing.
“I do believe that a woman’s work is never done. You are going to need an extra helping of my oral expertise. Your nerves are getting the best of you and maybe you don’t believe what I’m saying. I want you to help her. I should care that you’re having sex with another woman, but this is a means to an end. I would never take away your need to be a father. I don’t know if I’m capable of giving you the family that you deserve. I’ve never been tested, but maybe there’s a reason to go through any kind of discomfort to my body,” I said while holding him precariously.
“I’m assuming from what you are saying that the soldier has not come to full salute. Do what you can to rectify that situation, Lucy. I do n
ot think that he’s immune to your certain charms. You might be the only woman that I know that has made him want to reconsider having relationships with another woman. I hope that you know how lucky you are to have him in your life. I only want a small part of him and then you can have the rest back,” Harper said as she lies there moving her hands down her body sensuously.
“It’s bad enough that you gave me your blessing to have sex with her to give her a child. You shouldn’t have to prime me for the event,” Devlin said as he stared down getting angrier at the object that had yet to rise to the occasion.
“The sooner that we get this over with, the sooner that we can make our departure. Desmond is still out there waiting for us and his patience is most likely wearing thin. I don’t have to make you love me. We’ve already crossed that bridge together. Harper deserves to pass her name down to another. I can’t take that away from her,” I said.
“You are a better woman than I am. I don’t think that I could do what you do and that makes you stronger and more confident in yourself. I’m trying to find the words that can fully convey to you what this means to me,” Harper said
