by Claire Adams
"Well, for starters, I hated that little rat bastard. When I feel a certain way about someone, I tell them straight out. I told him more than once. I'm afraid I told him in front of more than one person. I think I even used the words once that the little SOB should be wiped right off the face of the earth."
I winced. We would have to work on the way he phrased things if this ever went to court.
"I didn't mean that, literally. I just say things when I get angry, and I don't think about how they sound or even who may be listening. It's given me cause for the services of many a good lawyer over the years."
He said the last with a small chuckle as he drained the contents of his glass. I was not shocked to see him chugging bourbon so early in the day. His penchant for loose, busty women was no match for his penchant for alcohol, and the press had played them both up in more ways than either of them could count. I continued on with my interview,
"Do you mind telling me why you loathed Vick so much?"
As he poured another snifter of scotch, he said, “I met Vick when he was nothing but a snot-faced kid with a lot of big dreams. He was smart, I'll give him that, and I was impressed with the boy's tenacity. He had gotten a job working on the President's campaign right out of college. He worked every angle there was to get donors for the campaign, including me. Did you know that I am the reason he got the job as the campaign manager? He finagled a promise from the President's right hand man that if he could get me on board, the job was his."
Miles laughed again, but there was little humor in it. "He started out trying to work me the way he did everyone else. He gathered as much background on me and my company as he could, and tried to work the 'I'll get him to back every law and proposition that you want passed’ angle. I told him straight out that I had enough money and enough friends in high places that I tended to get what I wanted, either way.
“Then, the steel-balled little bastard...excuse my language, I'm not used to speaking with ladies that often. Anyways, he did something that surprised me. He just came straight out and told me about the promise he had received to be the President's campaign manager. I was impressed with that, I have to say. Hell, I was gonna give my money to somebody, right? Gotta keep those tax write-offs piling up. So, I agreed, Vick got the job, and the rest as we say, is history."
I waited a moment for him to go on, and when he didn't, I said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Brigham, but that doesn't really explain why you hated him."
Brigham cracked the window slightly and then turned to me and said, "We are just about to my place. I have a few meetings this afternoon I just can't get out of, but I've set up the library for you with all the documents you need to go over pertaining to my business dealings with Vick. I would appreciate it, if you don't mind so much, if we continue that conversation over dinner later?"
"Of course," I agreed. I was disappointed. I had thought I would be able to spend the day gaining what I needed from Miles in order to stave off the police and FBI. I doubted that I would be able to get that from reviewing financial documents. He was the client though, and I was on the clock. That made him the boss for now, and I'd have to do it his way.
When I stepped out of the car, I felt like I had stepped right into a fantasy. The mansion stood before us, framed by lush green lawns stretching out for what seemed like miles. Trees and flowers were everywhere, and the largest, most breathtaking fountain flowed and bubbled with clear, cool water. The front of the home was supported with huge, white pillars and an oak balcony framed the upper floor. My family was well-off and I grew up in a really nice estate, but our entire home would have fit in his enormous front yard.
"It's lovely," I told him as he helped me out of the car.
Brigham looked up at the house and said simply, "It's home."
The entryway was just as grand. The floors were white and soft gray marble. An elegant chandelier hung from a vaulted ceiling and cascaded prisms of light across the spiral staircase that laid to the right of it. A smartly-dressed lady with her hair held back tightly in a bun greeted us at the door. Brigham introduced her as "Hannah" he told me that she was in charge of the household and that I should let her know if I needed anything.
He took Hannah off to the side for a moment and gave her instructions that I couldn't quite hear. He then told me again that he "just couldn't get out of" these meetings he had to go to, and to please help myself to any of the documents he had lain out for me in the library.
With that, he said goodbye and left me alone in the mansion, with Hannah of course. She showed me to the library, and after showing me where everything was that I might need, she left to make me a pot of tea.
I sighed, took off my jacket, and got to work sorting through all of the documents. At some point, Hannah returned with the tea and some cookies. My cell phone rang a few times, but I chose to ignore it. I surprised myself by becoming engrossed in the task before me. I had been concerned about spending the day trying to stay awake over the boring documents I would have to read. Instead, I had been handed a yellow legal pad by Hannah when I first sat down. She had told me to read it carefully, and then go through the documents as the instructions stated. I was intrigued.
Vick Landon, thirty-six years old. 1865 W. 15th Ave. New York (555) 565-7874.
Priscilla Moore, twenty-four years old, Vick's lover.
Cindy McGuire, twenty-six years old, Vick's girlfriend.
David Tyler, twenty-two years old, Vick's lover?
The last statement had a question mark behind it. I raised an eyebrow, David? Was that a man or a woman with a man's name?
I read on. The list contained dates, times and places where he had been with each of these people. It looked like the girlfriend was the only one he was ever seen in public with. She came from a prominent, wealthy family in Manhattan. They spent a lot of time together at fundraising events and social gatherings for the elite.
The lover, Priscilla, was a stripper in a club that Vick and his friends frequented. She had eventually moved into a deluxe suite at the Plaza, and Vick visited her at least twice a week, sometimes more often. In between his visits, Priscilla visited spas and elegant boutiques where she spent excessive amounts of cash.
And then there was David, definitely a man. Vick visited him once a week. They met at David's apartment in SoHo, and according to the document laid out before me, Vick was leading a very active sex life of which David was a part of.
I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my eyes. Suddenly, a deep red rose on a long stem appeared before my eyes. I looked behind me, and there was Adam, dressed to kill and looking like a million bucks. I pulled my chair back from the table.
"Adam! What are you doing here?" He smiled that smile that could defrost my heart and all of the blood in my body, had I ever been in a deep freeze for too long.
"Being the attorney of record for Miles Brigham IV has many benefits."
I felt light-headed and confused as I stood up and continued to gaze at him. My heart and every other fiber in my body was screaming at me to run into his arms. My head was trying, as usual, to overpower all of my other senses and make me listen to reason.
"Again," I said, enunciating it for effect, "what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I need you, baby. I can't work; I can't sleep. Marjorie is killing me – literally, I think. I need you. You are truly the only good thing in my life right now. Please, don't send me away."
"We can't just have a tryst in the country and act like things are all wine and roses, Adam."
"I know that, I do. But, I told you I have the court date on Monday, right? I think this will finally be the last one, I can feel it. Please…Alicia…I need you..." He held his arms open, and I didn't waste any more time allowing my brain to argue. I followed my heart and drifted like steel to his magnet. I threw my arms around his neck, and after a long, seductive kiss I said,
"Just for today, since we're both here…"
Adam smiled again, and any doubt I may have had that
I wanted to do this was instantly erased. He picked me up in his arms as he continued to kiss me and pulled the door to the library open with his shoe. He carried me down the long hall, knowing just where he was going. When we reached the last door on the right, he opened it and we were suddenly in a spacious, plushly decorated bedroom.
As he sat me down on the pillow-soft king-sized bed, I had to ask, "Did you plan this with Miles? Is that why he dumped me here and went off to his meetings?"
Adam nodded. He lit a scented candle on the bedside as he stripped out of his tie and jacket. Picking up a remote that also lay there, he pushed a button and soft, contemporary music began to float throughout the room from invisible speakers.
"Hannah was in on it, too. I had to have some time alone with you. Miles really did have meetings to attend today. He'll be back for dinner and we will work, I promise. Right now though, I have to ravage you."
He leaned in for another kiss and began unbuttoning my blouse. As he sat next to me, he worked the buttons with one hand and slipped the other inside. He ran his fingers along the lace of my bra, gently touching the skin on the tops of my breasts and sending little electric shocks racing through me and goosebumps racing down my spine. When my shirt was fully unbuttoned, he slipped it off my shoulders, kissing each one as he did. The bra was suddenly unfastened, and my breasts spilled out and he let out a little moan before using his lips and tongue to set my nipples on fire. I ran my hands through his hair and pulled down gently on his head, urging him on.
As he sucked on my breasts, he pushed me back gently until I was lying flat on the bed. He continued to lick and suck and nibble, while he began to unfasten and slide my skirt down over my thighs. His fingers were skimming the edges of my panties, teasing in just the right places. I lifted my hips and allowed him to slip them off of me, as well. My pussy was soaked and aching for him. Each time I thought about leaving him, I had to wonder if I’d ever be okay with any other man’s touch. I doubted it. I’d miss everything about him if this didn’t work out. I might have to remain celibate for the rest of my life and that would suck.
PART TWO
CHAPTER ONE
ADAM
"You have on too many clothes," Alicia told me in a breathless voice.
All I could manage was a grunt, but I began to work on removing my own clothing. I kept my tongue busy on her sexy body and when I was finally naked, I rolled on my back and Alicia climbed up and straddled me. She started kissing my neck. Breathing in deeply, she said, “God, I love the way you smell. It’s so…I feel silly saying this, but it’s so masculine.”
I laughed. “Good to know,” I breathed out as she kissed her way down my stomach.
When she reached my throbbing erection, she took it in her hand and looked up at me as she began slowly stroking it up and down. She made sure I was watching as she let her tongue come out and lick across the tip of it. She swirled it around the head before she opened up her sexy lips and engulfed it. I let out a long moan as she sucked me all the way back into the back of her throat. Then, she pulled her head while continuing to hold my cock firmly in her hand. She took the time to lick the head again before repeating the whole thing, this time letting my cock linger in the back of her throat as she worked the muscles there a few times. Fuck, it felt good.
She took her time at first, but as we both got more excited, she began to bob her pretty head up and down faster and stroke and suck me harder. I felt my balls tightening up, and it took all of my willpower to keep from coming already. I didn’t want her to stop. It was too good. I made myself hold back for a while longer until my head felt like it was about to explode all over the wall, and then I reached for her.
She let her soaking wet pussy slide up my body and tried to stop over my cock. I used my strength to pull her up further until that sweet, wet pussy was over my lips. I stuck my tongue out and slid it up inside of her warm tunnel. I loved the way she tasted, the way she felt, and the way she smelled. I loved everything about her.
I moved my tongue in and out of her, stopping occasionally to lick across her clit just to hear her moan. She rubbed it against me, and I could feel how hot and swollen it was. I sucked it into my mouth and she tried to pull up off of my face. I held her down with a grip on her hips and for several long minutes, I did my best to drive her crazy. From the sounds she was making, I was doing a good job.
“I need you inside of me,” she said in a breathless voice. I let go of her and when she slid back down into my lap, I sat up and moved her over onto the bed.
“Get on your hands and knees, baby.” She licked her lips and turned over. I positioned myself behind her and held my rock hard cock in my hand, teasing her with it until she was practically begging for it before I let it slide inside of her. She enveloped me like a glove, and I reached down and took a handful of her hair on one side and a breast in the other hand. I held her like that, tugging gently on one and pinching and twisting the other as I pounded her from behind.
Alicia had two full-blown orgasms before I finally felt my body tightening up and I couldn’t hold back any longer. Every time with her was like the first time, and I came hard and ended up a sweaty, shaking pile of exhaustion when I collapsed down on top of her.
When I could talk again without shaking and gasping for breath I said, “Fuck that was amazing.”
She rolled over and wiggled out from underneath me. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was disheveled, and she had a gorgeous smile on her face. I pulled her into my arms and held her. For the next few hours, we didn’t talk about work, we didn't discuss Marjorie, or what we were going to do about our relationship, we just spent the time loving each other, and appreciating the fact that we had this time together. Unfortunately, about five o’clock, my cell dinged with a message. I looked at it and saw that it was from Miles,
“Headed up the driveway, dinner will be in the formal dining room at six.” I texted him back that we would be there and told Alicia,
“I’m afraid it’s time, love. Hannah will have dinner on the dining room table in an hour.”
She wrinkled her little nose. “If I pout, can we skip dinner and keep having our dessert, instead?”
I smiled. “If you only knew how badly I would love that.” I kissed her and continued, “But no, I’m afraid that Brigham, and for that matter Hannah, too, are both just headstrong enough to come and forcibly drag us to the table. We better get busy showering and dressing for dinner.”
“Showering…oh my goodness, I didn’t bring any other clothes. Is it a formal dinner? Will he be expecting me to be dressed up? I thought it was a working dinner.”
“Calm down, gorgeous. Your amazing man is always prepared,” I told her with a grin. Bouncing out of the bed and strutting naked over to the armoire, I flipped open the door and hanging there was the elegant black cocktail dress that I’d had sent over in her size from a boutique I knew she liked to shop at. They knew her well and they’d also sent over shoes and undergarments. “You’ll find the new underwear and bras in the drawers,” I told her. “Now, chop-chop; we don’t want to be late.”
“I haven’t been spoiled like this in…well, except by my parents, ever. Thank you! I feel like a princess.” She got up and gave me a big hug. I tried to follow her in the shower and she said, “Uh-uh. This gigantic castle has to have more than one. If you get in here with me, I’ll never get ready.” She had a point, but I was still disappointed.
“Okay, but we haven’t done the shower thing in a long time, you owe me one,” I told her.
I reluctantly left and went to the bathroom down the hall to get ready. An hour later, I met her in the hall. She looked gorgeous, as usual, and the things they’d sent over for her fit perfectly. “I’m glad I found you,” she said. “I have no idea where the dining room is.”
“I’m glad I ran into you, too. I needed another one of these.” I pushed her back into the wall and put my hands on that little silk dress she was wearing. I was so tempted to rip it off of her and
fuck her right there up against the wall. I was good, though. I gave her a long, deep kiss and let her up for air before saying, “Tonight, I’m going to have you every which way.”
She giggled. “I can’t wait,” she said. I loved her enthusiasm, too.
When we made it downstairs to the formal dining area, Miles was already seated at the head of the table. To his right sat his son. He looked like Miles IV minus about twenty-five years. To his left was a young woman. I assumed it was his daughter, but I’d never met her. She looked annoyed to be there. Next to her was Alex, my best friend and our political contact at the moment.
“Well, there y'all are,” Miles said as we walked in. “Have a seat, I’ll introduce you.”
We sat down and Miles said, “This young man is my son, Miles V. My daughter, Celia, and you folks already know Alex?”
Alicia told Miles V and Celia that she was pleased to meet them and said hello to Alex. Miles V was polite, but Celia sat sulking like a spoiled child waiting to be excused. Hannah came in then and began serving soup. The group was quiet as we ate. When Miles IV had finished his, he looked at Celia and said,
“Celia, now is probably a good time to get this over with.”
“Daddy, I really don’t need to be the one to tell them. Why don’t you do it, please?”
I could tell by the way that Celia looked at Miles – she was used to getting her way. Miles V rolled his eyes in a very subtle way, but I caught it, nonetheless.
“Baby girl,” Miles IV said in a soft tone, “I really think we need to hear it from you…please.”
Celia sighed. She picked up the flute in front of her and drained the wine from it before she began. “I met Vick Landon at a fundraising rally two years ago. I was there with Dad and my boyfriend, David. Vick was very personable and charming. He and David seemed to have a lot in common, and by the end of the day we were chatting like old friends. I feel so stupid now; I really didn’t see it…”
