by Loraine Mer
"You told us you would be back to pick up Oscar and Clare at eight, remember?” Melanie smiled sweetly at the couple. “Well, we decided to bring them back instead. They're both sleeping in the guest bedroom. We pushed the bed against the wall so Oscar wouldn't fall. Hope you found the furniture you were looking for."
"Yes, we did. What will you be doing tomorrow?” Armand asked, observing his brother's uncomfortable stance. “If you're not doing anything, maybe you can wait here together with us for the furniture to arrive. In the meantime, Frank and I can discuss some business matters as there's a new project I want closed by Tuesday, if possible. What do you think, Frank? Can you?” Their eyes locked, and Armand could see that Frank knew whatever it was they were going to talk about would affect the company.
"Sure, we'll be here at six,” Frank affirmed before ushering his wife out the door.
Armand stood staring at Frank's retreating back, even when the door had closed behind him, his hands clenched into fists at his side. His mind was in turmoil, but not so that he wasn't aware of Josephine's tentative reaching for him, or her soft touch on his arm. She reached for his mouth and kissed him softly at first until he responded with equal passion. Their tongues met and thrust, moved in and out each other's mouth while their hands explored the rest of their bodies.
Deciding the living room was as good as another part of the house, Armand decided to take their lovemaking to another level. He cupped her buttocks in his hands and raised her up, molding her body tight against his rigid shaft. She groaned and grounded her crotch against his.
He placed her over the couch, still kissing her deeply, and caressed her long hair, which was now free of the confining ribbon she'd worn the whole day. The silky strands slipped through his fingers, tantalizing him with the scent of roses. His mouth moved toward her neck while her trembling hands worked in removing his shirt.
He nibbled her neck and heard a muffled moan of satisfaction. Pressing his erection harder against the top of her thighs, he moved to tempt her even more. He wanted her to melt under his touch, beg for him to enter her.
She pulled his shirt up over his head and caressed his back. Her hands roamed over the hard and tense muscles, making him sweat with desire. He tore her blouse and took an erect nipple in his hot, wet mouth, delighting in its salty flavor and velvety surface. Her breath fractured, her hands cupped his head and pressed him even closer against her chest. His right hand cupped her other breast and offered it the same attention, rolling a budded nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His fingertips rounded the dark aureole in circular motion, mimicking the movement of his tongue on its twin. He took his time savoring the moment when her breath became laborious with desire, and she hungered for more. He sucked one nipple and pinched the other, his cock jumping at the exquisite cries and moans she was uttering. His lips moved in a downward direction and stopped at the expanse of her flat belly, tonguing and playing with the hole of her navel.
His fingers played with the buttons of her jeans, teasing her. He bit softly on the soft skin surrounding her navel, leaving light marks of his passion. She moved her hips under him, restless. He removed her jeans, and her smooth, white skin caused his cock to throb with increasing desire, which burned continuously in him. He snapped his pants open in order to relieve the uncomfortably tight fit of his burgeoning erection. He wanted to chuck everything, including his underwear, but he'd decided not to for the moment, so as to retain a bit of control over his passion.
Trailing kisses up her leg, he saw her features relaxed with the pleasure invading her. His mouth found its way up her inner leg to the hard, tiny bud hidden between her pussy lips, waiting for his attention. He smelled her womanly fragrance and delighted in it. Moistening his lips, he savored the tasty threat before his eyes. He felt, rather than saw, how she held her breath in anticipation of his action. Smiling to himself, he first touched her clit with only the tip of his tongue.
Her body quivered.
He delved in, delighting in the sweet taste of her juices, capturing them in his tongue as they escaped her core. Once he tasted her, he wanted to lose himself in her, but he held on, wanting her to enjoy the experience and build the same feelings as those he was starting to feel for her. He wanted to hear his name from her lips. He wanted her to be his in every sense of the word.
His mouth sucked and nibbled, kissed and explored until her hips started bucking, speaking their own urgent plea. He inserted one finger into her and felt her hot, wet and velvety opening welcoming him inside. He thrust, keeping the movement slow and deep, adding an additional finger until three of them were completely inside her. She turned and thrashed on the couch, tiny screams erupting from her mouth. He removed his fingers and kissed her, plunging his tongue inside her mouth, even as he drove his cock into her warm, welcoming sheath and buried himself to the hilt within her.
Time stood still.
Then he moved, slowly at first, feeling every inch of him covered with her warm juices. He removed his shaft almost entirely, with only the throbbing head inside. Her heels dug into his butt and pushed him down inside her with a force born of passion.
"More!” she begged in a ragged voice. He increased the slow rhythm a little, allowing her to adjust the movement of her hips to match the rhythm he'd set. Her hands moved all over him, claiming, branding, while her mouth took him in a sealing kiss. He couldn't wait anymore and stepped up the rhythm of his hips. He felt her body tightened, spiraled, coiled, until it broke with the intensity of her orgasm. His eardrums almost shattered with her loud scream, as she shouted out his name. Feeling her inner muscles close around him in a tight, merciless grip, he spurted his load and collapsed over her.
He delighted in the sensations her hands had ignited in him and the fire of his passion continued to burn. Feeling his cock hardening once more, he stood and picked up their clothes. He saw Josephine's sated figure sprawled on the sofa and smiled as he recalled how she called out his name in the middle of her orgasm. Male satisfaction burst from within him, and his smile widened into a grin.
Taking her in his arms, Armand strode up the stairs to the bedroom and deposited her carefully on the bed. His body demanded another round of vigorous satisfaction, but he decided against it when he saw how sound asleep she was. After all, he planned on making her his wife. They would then have all the time in the world to hold numerous lovemaking sessions. He grinned. That idea had a lot of merit. He climbed into bed and fell asleep with Josephine in his arms, the scent of roses in his nose.
* * * *
Early in the morning, Frank and Melanie arrived at Armand's house and placed their still-sleeping children on the sofa. Frank then met with Armand in his study. There they discussed the different business dealings where Frank had failed and studied the copies of the contracts he had. They couldn't find anything wrong with them. However, they did find a few careless mistakes, like using the same public notary to sign the contracts. They decided to start investigating through that avenue.
Frank stared at his brother and inhaled deeply. The business part of their conversation was over, and they would have to move to the second part sooner or later. He knew this part of the conversation wouldn't be easy at all, but he wanted to be done with it. It was long due. “Armand, I owe you an apology. I've been lying to you for so long, but in hindsight, I can see that you've always supported me. You've always been there for me even when I abandoned you in so many ways."
Feeling uncomfortable, Frank shifted in his chair and felt his brother's piercing stare upon him. “I found Rebecca and Josh arguing the day of the accident at the parking lot. I don't really know what it was about, just that it had to do with you. On seeing me, she jumped up, surprised, but relaxed after awhile. They left immediately in their car, but two blocks ahead, they crashed. It was horrible, Armand.” Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I saw her torso dangling through the window of the car. Pieces of glass had punctured her whole body, blood pouring. She stared in the distance mumbli
ng something. When I got closer, I heard her repeating ‘my baby’ and nothing else. I couldn't believe it at first. I just couldn't. The ambulance came, and I went with her to the hospital.
"For his own purposes, Joseph Beneful had informed you that his daughter Rebecca was dead. But several days after being admitted to the hospital, Rebecca checked out of the hospital and was living in a small house all by herself. She called me once and thanked me for helping her. When I inquired about her words that night, she told me to come to her house. I learned she was pregnant, but I didn't know which of you—Josh or you—was the father. I kept helping her, even knowing I was wrong to keep it from you.
"By then, you were in mourning, as her father had told you she died in the accident, and so I didn't even try to talk to you. When she started dating a man who didn't ran away at seeing her scarred face, I stopped visiting her on a weekly basis, and started going monthly instead.” At seeing Armand's raised brows, he hurried to add, “That was about three years ago. We were friends. I helped her and respected her wish not to tell you about her. She felt ashamed for listening to her father and for marrying you when she didn't love you. She said that she tried to be a good wife because you were too good to her. She knew she'd done wrong by taking Josh as a lover.
"Her scars were not the only thing wrong with her. She lost her mobility and spent her days in a wheelchair. Her new boyfriend started hitting her. I didn't know because I visited only once a month, seeing as her boyfriend didn't like me at all. One day, Clare told me something funny and when I laughed aloud, she got all scared. She told me that ‘daddy will hit you for that. He does not like people laughing so loud.'
"I thought she was jesting, but the next day I arrived to find Rebecca being brutally hit by the monster. The person he really wanted was Clare, for something she spilled over the living room carpet. I lost my temper. I just ... Oh man! I hit him hard and threw him off. Someone called the police and they took him."
Seeing his brother's angry face, he decided to hurry through the rest of his story. “That night, I was there for them. I loved her like a sister, it wasn't the adolescent crush I had on her. I took care of her bruises after putting Clare to bed. I hugged her when she started crying, and I started kissing her forehead, hoping to comfort her. Somehow, one thing led to the other, and we ended up making love on the sofa.
"I felt bad afterwards, but God, I already did it. I apologized and promised never to do it again. She wouldn't see me again when I went to spend some time with Clare. She only talked to me two months later to let me know she was pregnant, and the child was mine. She was so mad at me. I think she lost her mind that day. I say it because she never talked to anyone else besides Clare. On that day, she also told me that since the child wasn't the product of love, it would never be mine. She wanted me to sign him as yours on the birth certificate."
"There may be more to it when she decided that way. I knew her enough to know she wouldn't let you break up your family for Oscar.” Armand's voice intruded on his foggy memories.
"You're right. I love my wife. I felt wrong after cheating on her. I even stopped sleeping with her for a week afterward. I admit I avoided Rebecca as well, and when she told me about Oscar, I replied that it was impossible. But her boyfriend was still in jail. So there was no way it was his except if they'd made love before that fateful day when I saw him hitting her. But when the baby came ... he looked exactly like us. There was no denying that he's mine. I was so ashamed that I just shut up about the incident and did as she decided. Here.” He took Armand's identification cards from his wallet and handed them over to him. “I'll not need them again. I'll never again betray you, I promise. I love you, brother, and you're all the family I need, after my wife and kids, of course. Can you forgive me?"
Getting up from his chair, Armand went around the desk and hugged Frank. Feeling a burden lift from his shoulders, Frank hugged back.
"I want to keep Oscar as mine. That's the truth we're sticking. Your only privileges will be as that of an uncle. From now on, I want you to tell me absolutely everything that's going on. Don't keep anything from me. I want us to trust each other. I want to keep what our father started and be able to pass it along to our children. All right?"
"Yes, I will. I swear I will."
They hugged, and their pact was sealed.
Armand and Frank walked out of the study to find the children sitting at the dining table, waiting for them while the women prepared breakfast. Josephine looked up and was pleased to see that their faces reflected satisfaction, presumably for concluding the business. And, for the first time that she'd seen them together, she also observed that they're in harmony with one another, probably having solved their personal differences and found a solution to the business problem angle as well. She noticed the physical similarities between them and was stunned once again. Still, her heart beat faster for only one of them.
"Hon, I just remembered something.” The three adults looked at her. “All the rumors running around weren't only about you, but both of you, you and Frank. Maybe if you can find out who is circulating all these false information, you can get to the bottom of things."
"What information?” Both Frank and Armand asked almost simultaneously, twin angry looks on both their faces.
Josephine's face flamed beneath everyone's scrutiny. Even the children became silent, disturbed with the silence that fell over the room. Her ears buzzed with the intensity of it and her chest constricted. “Remember how someone from inside the company helped me stop the elevator that time?” Frank looked at her, then at Armand questioningly, who nodded at her. “The elevator has hidden cameras, right?” At their nod, she continued, “Well, I was just thinking that not everyone knows about the security system. We may be able to find out things by viewing the security tapes, like who were consistently found together, who joined secret meetings and those sort of things."
A pleased smile wreathed Armand lips, while a confused expression appeared on Frank's face. She couldn't help but feel proud that she was able to help him, even a little bit.
"That's great. Let's eat first, I'm famished!” Armand commanded.
After breakfast with the kids settled in the playroom with their toys, the four adults congregated in the living room. Josephine felt like she was on the witness stand as she explained all she learned while she was investigating Armand for her own purpose. “Generally, several of your businesses failed because they were created that way. They were just a front for something else and they weren't supposed to be receiving any earnings. A few projects were supposedly negotiated and the deals closed by you, but you'd donate the proceeds to a charity. I investigated, and the charity is a fraud as well. You seemed not to know about it, so I was led to conclude that there's someone earning a lot of money from you, and you're not even aware of it. That's why I wanted you to save the building where the Children's Heaven is located, which is a legitimate business."
"I didn't know we had such charities!” Armand stared at Frank, his brow lifted in a question.
"Nor me,” Frank replied in a defensive tone. “I just signed a few closing businesses which failed, that's all."
"Did you ever read what you signed?” Armand inquired with a suspicious look on his face.
A tide of red swept over Frank's face. Josephine flinched as Armand's anger ignited with full force. “Who advised you to sign those contracts?"
"McPherson,” Frank said with great reluctance.
"He must have another person behind that scheme. I don't think he's able to carry out such a scheme alone. There's someone else, which we need to find out. Soon.” A steely look of determination was stamped upon Armand's face. “I need your help, all of you. I plan to unmask them all during the company's Christmas party."
* * * *
The weeks passed in a blur while they checked documents and security tapes. They found five guilty parties and a few staff members indirectly involved in the scheme. Armand learned that economic circumstances forced
some of his employees to have a part in the misdeed, while some were affected by the rumors being scattered about him and his brother.
Josephine didn't have much time to think, as their mornings were busy investigating the case and their afternoons were spent with the children. She always looked forward to their nights together, at the same time, dreading the coming of Christmas Day. Somehow, the thought of leaving Armand and the children filled her with heartache, though she knew the agreement was just for one month. One blissful month spent in his arms ... she didn't know how she'd survive the rest of her days, knowing that she'd never see his smile again, never talk with him again, never be with him again.
Finally, the day of the party arrived. Josephine left Oscar and Clare with Margaret at Children's Heaven and went back home to prepare, promising to come for them no matter the time, so they could see her dressed like a princess.
Having finished dressing, Armand left the bedroom and went to his new study on the ground floor to finalize the details of their scheme. He knew he should concentrate on the matter at hand, but his mind kept drifting back to their lovemaking and how generously she gave of herself to him, such that he was unconsciously staring into space. That was how Frank found him a few minutes later.
Armand started when he heard a loud, artificial coughing. He looked up to see his brother's smirking face.
"Are you sure?” Frank asked.
Armand knew what he was asking about. “Yes, I've never been surer than tonight, not even with Becka.” He was able to say his wife's nickname for the first time without the usual resentment and anger.
"Josephine's a good woman. For what I've seen, she cares for the people around her.” Frank saw the maps and plans they'd used scattered over a table in the middle of the room. “Why is all this stuff still here? I thought we'd cleared everything."
"I want to go over it again before Josephine comes down. I don't want to fail, and I mean to catch them tonight. How many times have they already tried to steal from us? Countless! At least, they stopped the threats to the home. Maybe they have a conscience after all. I wonder if it had something to do with the dismissal of the young woman with the bruises.” He strolled toward the cupboard, intending to get some drinks. “Pity I asked Margaret to fire her, or we would've been able to bring her in for questioning."
