by T L Osborn
I gulp as I fight my own tears.
He had to go through this all while trying to look after a baby.
“I identified her body, and we went from there. It took me a few weeks to realise I wasn’t as on edge as I used to be. I could be the daddy Charlotte needed without being treated like dirt. I was grieving Clarissa outwardly in front of people. Inwardly I wasn’t, I was happy, I was free of her and her treatment. That probably sounds really awful.”
“It doesn’t sound awful at all. Trust me.”
“So that’s my story of how I became a solo dad.”
Simon
I rest back on the couch as I wait for her to start talking, and she gulps back the rest of her wine.
“Okay, so this house. Did you share it with her?” Aria asks.
I shake my head. “I couldn’t live in the house after she died. Didn’t want to live with the memories of her abuse and treatment. I needed a fresh start for myself and Charlotte. That’s my tale, so now it’s your turn.”
She hesitates as she looks at me. “Simon, I don’t think this is the right time. You’ve just told me a massive story about yourself, and I think we should sleep on it and do mine another time.”
I take a deep breath. “I don’t want secrets between us. If we’re going to be in this relationship, I want to get it out in the open.”
“Okay. So, I met my ex almost five years ago through my twin brother, Jacob. I thought he was the Prince Charming I was looking for, but boy was I wrong. He turned out to be an asshole. I’m damn sure most of our relationship he was sleeping with other women. Often, he’d come home from the nightclubs reeking of alcohol and perfume.”
“Sounds like he was,” I say. Why a man would cheat on her is beyond me.
“Anyway, he asked me to marry him, or rather told me to marry him. He started making plans for our future together, or so he said. Every time I nagged him to pick up his dirty clothing that he’d just dumped in the lounge, or to take out his dishes, I was told ‘You’re going to be my wife one day. Get used to cleaning up after me.’
“Honestly, I started to resent him. Whenever I was home, I was expected to clean the house. A bit like Clarissa, he’d get home and bitch if it wasn’t clean, because I was reading a book. The only time he’d really take notice of what I was reading, was…” She takes a deep breath, and I watch helplessly as her lips begin to tremble.
“It’s okay, honey. Take all the time you need.” I squeeze her hand as a show of affection and comfort.
“… was if I told him I wanted to try something new in the bedroom.” She closes her eyes to try and hold back the tears. “Sorry, this is hard. One day, I made the stupid mistake of telling him I wanted to be tied up to the bed and blindfolded, something a little kinky to spice us up, because I thought we were losing us. You know, the spark was going. He said yeah; he was keen to try.” She clears her throat. “What I’m about to tell you, I haven’t told anyone, not even my best friend. She only knows the last half of this. Well, anyway, he picked the night and said he wanted to make it special. He set out candles, got satin sheets; you name it—he did it. I thought it was so romantic. We enjoyed some wine together before things got sexy.
“He started by blindfolding me first, and then tied me to the bed. I thought he’d use something soft around my wrists, but… he used metal handcuffs to bind me. I couldn’t get free. It’s not how I wanted the night to go, but he was doing all the things I told him I liked to turn me on. Then he used it to his advantage because when he tied my feet to the bed, I knew something didn’t feel right. He promised me it was kinky, and sexy. He began to lick me… licking until I was about to come. And then…”
The tears spring free, running down her cheeks. My heart beats with sadness for her ordeal at the hands of her so-called fiancé, and from wanting to go find him and beat the living fucking shit out of him. I grab a cushion, pretending it’s his fucking face as I squeeze it hard.
“He bit me, Simon. It hurt like fuck. I was terrified and screamed, and in that moment, I wished my brothers were home, or at least Toby. I screamed, begging to be released, but it took me a moment to realise he was getting off on my pain. He lifted up and put a gag in my mouth before anyone could hear me and call the police.”
I grip the cushion to the point I swear I’m going to rip it in half. He fucking ruined this woman’s life, and if I ever fucking see him, I’m going to make the bastard pay for it.
“I hadn’t wanted that. I was terrified he’d rape me, but to my surprise, he took off the restraints. I staggered to the bathroom, blood pouring everywhere, my body shaking. I grabbed a towel, holding it to my body, trying to stem the blood flow.”
I grab the wine glass from her hand and place it on the coffee table with mine before I pull her to me, allowing her to sob against my chest. “Shh, shh, baby. I’m here.” I gently rub her back. “No wonder you won’t let anyone down there. I’m surprised you even had the courage to have sex again.”
She looks up, her emerald green eyes staring into mine, trying to find the reassurance she needs that everything is going to be okay. “Truthfully, you were the first guy who I even wanted to touch me since it happened. I can’t explain it, but that first kiss was amazing, and I hadn’t felt that turned on in a really long time.”
I smile. “So ours isn’t a case of love at first sight, but kiss at first sight.”
“Exactly.”
“I need to know one more thing. Did he ever force you to give him a blowjob?”
“Yes, more than once too. Sometimes, he’d hold my head down while I was doing it. I hated him for it,” I say.
That son of a bitch.
No man ever has the right to force a woman to suck his cock. I tear the cushion in two, shredding all the stuffing out of it as I image it’s his fucking head before I turn to look at Aria.
“Honey, I’ll never, ever do that to you. You giving me a blowjob is your choice, never mine. Yeah, I like them, but what guy doesn’t? But I promise you that it will be your choice.”
“And all the other stuff?” she asks.
“Your choice too. I’m not into anything more than perhaps tying your hands together with one of my ties, or holding them together with my hand, because I want you to feel safe. I’ll never blindfold you. I love looking into your eyes as I make you come. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world for me to watch. However, I do have one fantasy I want to try with you, and it involves a mirror, but that is a topic for another night. For now, we need to go to bed and sleep. Then we’ll wake up in the morning to have pancakes and coffee for breakfast.”
“You want me to stay the night?” She’s hesitant, and I completely understand why.
“I do, sweetheart. I just want to hold you tonight to comfort you, and I’d like to be held by you in return. Aria, you’ve changed something in me over the last few months, and it makes me believe in love again and that I’m worthy of receiving it. So please let me take you to bed and just cuddle you.”
Please say yes.
She nods slowly. “I’d like that, but one problem. I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Ah, I can solve that. My sister keeps all sorts of stuff here, and I’m pretty sure all of it is brand new.”
“Your sister keeps stuff here?” she asks, a little confused.
“I’ve asked her to clear it out several times, but she adds to it instead. She’s even filled a closet in James’s apartment. She’s addicted to shopping.” I chuckle as I drag Aria from the lounge and down the hall, up to a spare bedroom, where I open a huge walk-in closet absolutely full of clothes.
“My brothers frown every time I come home with something new. Are you sure this isn’t some kinky little secret of yours?” she asks me with a laugh.
I arch an eyebrow at her as I see a cheeky grin wash across her face. “Oh, you’re going to get spanked for that comment, my love, but not tonight.” I pull her over to where I know Mel has organised the pyjama section. My sister suffers f
rom OCD; nothing can be out of place or unorganised. “Choose whatever you want.”
“Simon, I don’t know. Will she be okay with this?”
“Honey, she’s not even going to notice its missing.”
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even know half of it is still here.
Aria chooses a red silk nightdress, and I have to keep my libido in check. I promised no sex tonight, and that’s what’s going to happen, even if she’s picked the sexiest item in here.
We make our way into my room, brush our teeth, and climb into bed. We lay talking and holding each other until I hear soft snoring coming from Aria. I look down; she’s snuggled tightly in my arms as I breathe deeply. She’s making me feel things I never dreamed possible. She sat and listened to my graphic tale tonight and didn’t run for the hills. Instead, she comforted me when I needed it most. I’m beginning to fall for her, and it’s a scary yet euphoric thought.
I’m falling in love for the first time since before I met Clarissa.
Chapter Fifteen
Simon
I’m sitting in my lounge, reading yet another report while I sip a whiskey. Charlotte has been in bed for the last hour, and I needed a distraction. Aria ended up staying the entire weekend. Charlotte believed Aria was sleeping in the spare bedroom she didn’t need to know Aria had spent most of the evening in my bed. Now, I’m feeling a little lonely without her here.
The front door opens, and slams closed, and as I look up, I see my mother standing in the doorframe.
“Mother, Charlotte is asleep. Can you not slam the door?” I ask in a rather condescending tone.
“Have you seen the latest gossip magazines? Simon Billington has a new girlfriend. See the engagement ring and other details inside. Meet Simon Billington’s new fiancée. Sources say she’s pregnant. Oh, and this one. Sorry, ladies. Wellington’s most eligible bachelor is no longer single. Meet the new leading lady inside.” She drops the magazines onto the coffee table in front of me, and sure enough, there are photos of Aria and I sprawled across them.
“So? They’re just photos, Mother. You’ve met her, and you know she’s not my fiancée,” I reply.
“Simon, do you know how embarrassing it was to see the ladies at high tea this afternoon and get completely blindsided by the fact that you’re all over the gossip pages with her? I looked like a fool not knowing about these.”
You don’t just look like a fool; you acted like one on Saturday night.
The front door opens again, and my sister walks inside. “Congrats, little brother, on making the front page again.”
“I just hope they got my good side.” I chuckle.
“I’m glad you two think this is funny,” our mum says.
“No, you’re right. It’s not funny. It’s hilarious,” I retort.
“This is an outrage to this family.”
“Mum, you’re so dramatic. This is the happiest I’ve seen Simon in years, and I, for one, am happy he’s met Aria. She’s lovely and I really liked her. Can’t wait to have dinner with her again.”
“Melissa, why are you encouraging this? Your brother has lost Clarissa, the mother of his daughter and the love of his life. He shouldn’t be moving on so soon. He needs time to grieve and heal.”
She was not the love of my life.
“He’s grieved, he’s healed, and he’ll never forget her, as he has Charlotte to remind him every day. But it’s time he found another to love and who loves him in return. It’s time, while he’s still young and he might have the chance to have more children and a loving partner. I’m not saying he should remarry but find someone to love.”
“More children? Melissa, he shouldn’t be thinking about finding another partner. I never moved on from your father, and I’m not going to. I vowed to remain married for the rest of my life. You’d know that if you just found yourself a decent man to marry and settle down to have children with. This lesbian thing is a phase, and now you need to get over it and move on.”
Mel groans. “Ugh! Mum, it’s not a phase. I fall in love with women. You need to get into the present and stop living in the past. Simon, I say move on, and do it with Aria. She’s wonderful and absolutely perfect for you.”
“Simon, think about Charlotte. What will happen if this new fling doesn’t work out? She’ll be hurt. Is it really worth the risk?”
Here she goes playing the Charlotte card.
“Mum, Charlotte has met Aria twice, okay? Twice. And I promise when I ask Aria to come here or go out with us, I’ll ask Charlotte first. She’s always my priority, and if she’s not okay with Aria, then I’ll let it go. But so far, no issues. It’s you who seems to have the issues with my love life.”
“End it, Simon.” My mother exits through the front door, and I turn back to Mel.
“That didn’t quite go as planned. I don’t understand her obsession with Clarissa all of a sudden,” Mel says.
“Oh, I do. It’s because she doesn’t think Aria is good enough and because she isn’t one of her friends’ rich and snobby daughters,” I explain.
“Ha! Like they’d satisfy you in the long run.”
“You think Aria is worth this?” I prompt.
“If she can withstand our mother and she didn’t run out on you the other night, she’s worth this fight,” Mel answers. “I want to spend more time with her.”
“Oh, she borrowed a nightdress of yours too,” I inform.
“From my closet here?” I nod. “Oh, all that stuff she can have. If she’s going to stay here regularly, it’s all hers.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that, Mel. Aria may feel differently,” I reply.
“Why?”
“She’s worried you’d be offended by her borrowing your things.”
“I don’t even know what is in that damn closet. In fact, why don’t I come over and tell her it’s okay to have the stuff myself? It may make her feel a little better about it.”
I smile. “That’s a great idea.”
“Excellent. You tell me when, and we’ll get it organised. I’ll see you and hopefully Aria over the weekend.” She exits through the front door, leaving me alone again.
I’m not ending my relationship with Aria, no matter what my mother says or wants.
Aria
“Miss Thompson, my office. Now!” Simon announces as he arrives at work. I get out of my seat and walk over to his office, and he closes the door behind me. “We’re late for a very important meeting. Did you not get my text to meet me downstairs?”
“No because, you never sent one,” I reply.
He steps closer as a smile crosses his face, and I realise he’s up to something. “We are going to this meeting. It’ll be all day, and I expect you to pay attention.”
“If I don’t, are you going to spank me?” I ask.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Go get your things. We need to leave now,” he orders. As I go to walk away, he grabs my arm. “I hope you’re wearing something sexy beneath that.”
I look at him. “I’m wearing your favourite granny panties.”
“You just earned your second spanking, my love,” he hisses, and I exit his office, going to my desk to shut down my computer.
“Where are you off to?” Lara asks.
“All day meeting, apparently, but he’s mad because I didn’t get his text to meet him downstairs and made him come all the way up here to get me.”
Lara laughs. “Serves him right for not ringing you to meet him.”
“See you tomorrow, Lara. If I survive today,” I say, as I race to grab my stuff. When I return, Simon is waiting for me, searching through his phone.
He looks up. “Ready to go?”
“I sure am.”
We enter the elevator as the doors close, and Simon slides his arms around me. “I have a present for you at home,” he informs.
“The meeting’s at your house?”
“We aren’t going to a meeting. We’re going back to my house to have some fun for the day.”
“What sort of fun?” I question, and he spins me around and pins me hard against the wall. He grazes his lips up and down my neck.
“The kind where you’re naked.” He grins as the elevator slows, and he tugs me into the car-parking basement and to his SUV. He opens the rear passenger door for me to get in. I’m buckling up my seatbelt when he comes around to the other side, with Roger at the wheel.
“What’s my present?” I ask.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Is it a mirror?”
He chuckles. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you mentioned that you wanted to have some fun with me and a mirror.”
He smiles. “I just want to be with you, honey. I don’t care how. I don’t care if we do the same positions for most of our lives. I just want you.”
I blush and hesitate before I spill my thoughts. “Simon, what if I told you I kind of like the idea of doing it in front of a mirror?”
He raises his brows. “You do?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, and I like the idea of it.”
He grins wickedly. “Is there anything else you have been thinking about?”
I take a breath. “Yes, and I’m willing to try, because I trust you’ll never hurt me.”
“Today is about us, making love, no kinky stuff. I’m just sick of being on a timeframe with you, unable to give you the pleasure build-up, and I want to,” he says. He adjusts himself in his seat as if uncomfortable, and as I slide my hand across his groin, I realise why. He’s hard, rock-hard, and he groans as I do it. “Don’t, baby. I’ll explode if you do that.”
Before we know it, we’ve arrived at his place. Roger parks out front and Simon takes me inside. We go up the stairs like two teenagers in love, hiding behind their parents’ back. He puts my bag down on his bedroom floor before devouring me with his hungry hands. He removes my jacket, tossing it aside. I remove his, letting it drop to the floor as I reach for his tie to undo it. I drop it on the bed as he unzips the back of my dress. I take off my shoes as I unbutton his shirt, tugging it from his pants, and I run my hands down over his abs as I drop to my knees.
