by Cher Etan
“I brought my grandfather on a romantic getaway with us, what do you think?”
“You might just have wanted to get him out of town for the weekend on the cheap.”
“Is that what you really think?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t but since you’re avoiding my question…”
“I like you okay?”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I like you too. A lot.”
“Good to know. Anything else you’d like to know.”
“I’d like to know anything you care to tell me Sophie. But I won’t make you tell me.”
Sophie stared at him feeling checkmated. He wouldn’t ask questions, but he wanted to know about her? That had to be cheating.
“Okay then, I’ll tell you anything. Just ask me a question.”
“Fine. Let’s get the difficult questions out of the way. Where are your parents?”
“Those are the difficult questions?”
“Well, seeing how close you are to your grandfather, I assume that something bad must have happened to your parents for them not to be here with you.”
“You’re not wrong there.”
“So what happened?”
“My mother was a witch,” Sophie began, looking down at her booted toes and then up at him.
“For real?” He asked her wide eyed.
“No. But she ran a store in New Orleans that sold all sorts of charms and amulets. Mostly aimed at the tourists you understand,” she told him looking at his face to see how he would take this.
“Uh huh?” he said, looking interested.
“Yeah, so one day this guy walks into her store and points a gun at her. He tells her that she needs to lift the curse she put on him or he’ll kill her.” Sophie paused to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Tony’s hand reached out and touched hers briefly before enveloping her hand and squeezing tight.
“My mother made a sound of fear – not a scream, just a whimper maybe. But it was enough. My father heard her from the back of the shop so he came rushing out and scared the gunman. He turned and pointed the gun at my father and pulled the trigger. My mother screamed and lunged at him trying to grab the gun out of his hand. They struggled together and the man shot her in the stomach. She took three long, painful days to die. My father had been shot in the head; he survived but was in a coma for several years. Eventually though he slipped away.”
“I am so sorry,” Tony said, pulling her closer and enveloping her in a hug.
“Thank you,” she mumbled into his jacket. He let go of her stepping back and looking into her eyes.
“I lost my mother and brother in a car accident. I was driving. My father never forgave me,” he confessed.
“Wow. You win,” she whispered a lone tear escaping down her cheek.
He shook his head in negation, “No, I definitely don’t win. Did they ever catch him? The man who shot your parents?”
“Yes, they caught him. He pleaded insanity and now he’s locked up in an institution for the criminally insane.”
“That’s something at least isn’t it?”
“Not really.”
“No. I guess not.”
“How long ago did you have the accident?”
They had stopped walking by now and were standing below the pier watching the boats on the water to avoid looking at each other.
“Fifteen years ago. Just before I came to America.”
Sophie turned to look at him, wondering if she should ask.
“Was that why you came to America?” she said at last.
“Partly yeah.”
“What was the other part?”
“Russia was falling apart and my father wanted me to have a chance for a good education. So he sent me here to my uncle.”
“I’m glad he did,” Sophie said, smiling up at him. He stared back at her for a long time, then he said her name like an incantation.
“Sophie Devereaux”
“Yes, Tony Romanov?”
“I want to kiss you so bad right now.”
“What are you waiting for?”
Chapter 4
Tony slowly leaned forward and placed his lips gently on hers, but she wasn’t having any of his tentativeness today. She grabbed his head in her hands and slid her tongue into his mouth. That was all the encouragement he needed to grab hold of her behind and haul her in tight against him. Their mouths opened in a desperate attempt to get closer; the heat rose through Sophie's body and a feeling of desperation infected her blood. She wanted him now. Letting her knees fold the way they were asking to she bent them both so they sank to the ground. Tony was ready; she could feel his hardness pressing her down into the sand, his face flushed with feeling. He inched her legs apart and began to slide her dress and coat upward over her knee. The feel of his hand on her thigh was doing strange things to her insides. She felt herself liquefying with desire and wanted nothing more than for him to possess her – here and now. She reached her hand downward, fumbling with his belt. She had just gotten it loose when the lighthouse bell tolled, jerking them out of their lustful fug.
“Damn,” Sophie murmured as Tony straightened up and got off her.
“Yeah. My sentiments exactly,” Tony agreed.
They both stood up, staggering a bit with the remnant of their dizzy interlude. Tony reached for her hand and she gave it to him giving no resistance when he pulled her to him.
“I don’t want you to think that I’m just interested in your body,” he said before locking his lips with hers again and ramming his tongue down her throat. He pulled away just as suddenly.
“Because I’m not. I want every single part of you,” he continued before kissing her again.
He released her staring intently into her brown eyes, “Do you believe me?”
“Yes,” she assured him and then lunged forward to grind her lips into his rubbing her body against him, wanting to touch him wherever she could. He pushed her away and they both staggered again and almost fell.
“Will you come with me?” he said breathlessly.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
They half-walked, half-ran back to the house, Sophie made for the front door, but Tony pulled her to the side of the building. There was a small side door there and he fished the keys out of his pockets and fumbled with the lock, his hands shaking. The door opened onto a lighted corridor.
“The dorm rooms?” Sophie questioned.
“Yes,” Tony answered, pulling her head close to his to kiss her thoroughly.
They duck walked down the hall to the door at the end of it and Tony opened it with another key from his bunch. Sophie expected to see a bed and a chest of drawers, maybe a desk with a bible on it. Instead the room was big and luxurious. A huge four poster stood at the corner and an Ottoman on the other. There was an intricately patterned closet against one wall and a huge window facing the sea. Much to her surprise, Tony picked her up and walked with her in his arms to the bed.
“Wow, you’re even stronger than you look,” she murmured as he pulled her boots off.
“I like to show off for you,” he replied, throwing them on the ground and reaching for his belt. Sophie smiled at him as she eased her panties off. Her fingers had just started on the buttons of her dress when got his trousers off and climbed on top of her kissing her as if his life depended on it. Sophie’s hands were trapped between them and she could hardly move, but she barely minded. Tony’s hands travelled downward moving her dress out of the way and he pressed his entire body down on hers.
“Sophie,” he whispered, putting teeth on her ear and biting down gently. His breath wafted into her ear, making her shiver.
“Tony, don’t make me wait,” she pleaded.
“Don’t worry. I won’t,” he promised and drove himself into her. She screamed and moaned wrapping her legs around his torso and arching her back to give him greater access. He lifted his chest off her to give himself better leverage and free her
hands to travel up and down his gleaming torso. As his hands burrowed under her to catch hold of her luscious behind she returned the favor reaching up to grab hold of his butt and urged him on by digging her long nails into him.
“Oh God Sophie,” he moaned.
She reached up and kissed him and he bit into her lip. Her teeth closed on his lower lip and she sucked gently as he rode her to completion. With a tiny moan she felt her release take her before she was blown away into darkness and joy.
“Sophie?” she heard him call her name from afar but was feeling way too weak to reply.
“Are you alright?” he whispered in her ear. She smiled, but did not answer or open her eyes.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She could hear the smile in his voice as he said it and sighed deeply before falling into sleep.
Sophie came to, to find that Tony was still out cold. She took the chance to study his features. His ice blue eyes were hidden from view so she had time to study the rest of his face. She noticed that his blonde hair had a slight natural curl to it, it was damp with the sweat of their exertions and so the curl was more emphasized. She reached out and gently touched them, folding her fingers into them as she studied his face. His bottom lip was fatter than the top one and kind of stuck out giving him a pouting look. His skin was pale and his bones stood out under his skin, giving his face hard definition. His deep set eyes were overlaid by thick black brows arched as if in permanent query. He looked like a fourteen year old boy in repose, especially without the deep penetrating glances his eyes were wont to give. She moved her feet and felt the slipperiness between her legs.
Her hand travelled downward and she touched the wetness there remembering his powerful release; the way he had moaned in her arms. Then she sat up in shock realizing what the wetness between her legs meant.
“Oh shit.” She murmured, and Tony stirred next to her.
“Sophie?” he whispered in enquiry reaching out a hand to her.
“We had unprotected sex.” Sophie said.
Tony smiled, his eyes still closed and his hand squeezing her thigh, “Yes we did.”
“That’s not a good thing Tony!”
He shrugged, not opening his eyes, “Don’t worry. If you get pregnant, we’ll be married long before the baby comes.” He murmured.
“Are you dreaming or drunk?” she asked him amused in spite of her worry.
“Neither. I’m serious.”
“Well, either way, being married won’t help either of us if we infected the other with HIV.”
“I don’t have HIV.”
“How do you know?”
“I get tested regularly,” he said finally opening his eyes and sitting up to stare languidly at her.
“You get tested...” she echoed and then cut herself off, “Well anyway, you don’t know if I have it. And if you go about having unprotected sex with strange women-“
“A. You’re not strange and B. No, I don’t,” he replied.
“Oh, so I’m just lucky am I?”
“No, I’m the lucky one.”
“You’re seriously not bothered about this? Aren’t you fairly well off? I could be a gold digger using you for child support for the next 18 years. Haven’t you heard the song?”
“You’re not a gold digger.”
“You’re so sure?”
“Yes.”
“Humph. No wonder you’re getting robbed.”
Tony smiled and ran his hand up her thigh, caressing her. He widened her legs, leaning forward to kiss her neck as he did it. His fingers made circles on the insides of her thighs and a trail of fire followed everywhere they touched. She moaned softly and his body arched in response straining toward her. He leaned down, placing himself between her thighs and whispering in her ear, “Here I go again,” before sliding smoothly into her.
“You seriously don’t care if I infect you with STDs?” she asked him as they lay gleaming with exertion afterwards.
“Okay I’ll bite. Do you have an STD Sophie?”
“As far as I know, no.”
“Great. So can we move on now?”
“I’m also not using any form of birth control.”
“I see,” Tony said staring at the ceiling with his hand behind his head. He didn’t look too bothered at this news.
“Would you like to get some maybe? There is a pharmacy down the road,” he asked belatedly.
“Sure.”
“Great. I’ll get some tomorrow.”
“What about today?”
“Hasn’t that ship already sailed?”
Sophie turned her head in the bed to stare at him, “Apparently.”
They got up in time to have dinner with Sophie’s grandfather in the establishment dining room. He smiled in amusement when he saw them, but refrained from making any comment. Sophie glared at him just on principle, but it just made him smile even more. Her insides were sorer than she could ever remember them being and she was afraid that she was walking strangely. Luckily the resort was deserted, it being low season so there weren’t many people around to care; just a solitary man in the corner buried in his laptop and an old lady sipping tea by the window. Elijah leaned in to Sophie as she took her seat and whispered in her ear.
“Check out the broad by the window. You think I have a chance?”
“G-Money you better keep it in your pants,” Sophie whispered back.
“Look who’s talking,” Elijah replied making Sophie hit him in the arm.
He turned to Tony who was smiling into his glass of wine.
“So Tony, is it time to have the ‘what are your intentions’ conversation?”
“Yes,” Tony said with an enthusiasm that took Sophie aback a bit. She chalked it up to good sex though and figured he’d be back to himself by the time the weekend was up. All this talk about marriage was just…ridiculous.
“Okay then I’ll bite,” Elijah was saying, “What are your intentions?”
“Well, that depends on her doesn’t it? It’s not just on me.”
“We get that. And I’m sure we’ll get to Sophie and her intentions in a minute, but for right now, you first.”
“Okay then.” He looked at Sophie as if he was assessing her ability to bear what he was going to say, “I want to marry you.”
Sophie started out of her seat surprised that he should say such a thing so boldly, “What?”
“Sophie I’m not one to beat around the bush and I know what I want. I believe I told you that the first time we met.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Don’t I? Let’s see, nothing is more important to you than family, you’re a hard worker, you’re funny, witty, beautiful and you know it. You don’t suffer fools gladly, but you’re friendly and kind. Does that cover it?”
“You forgot my vices,” Sophie drawled wryly.
“You have a tendency toward self-deprecation. Happy?”
“You forgot my potential gold-digging ways.”
“From my perspective that’s not a vice if it’ll inspire you to marry me.”
“Idiot.”
“Alright enough you two with the flirting. This is a family show,” Elijah teased making Tony laugh. Elijah turned to him, a serious look on his face, “So Tony, seriously what are your intentions toward my grand-daughter?”
“Seriously. Marriage, a couple of kids, house in the suburbs, all of that.”
“Did Sophie tell you about her parents and her brother?”
“Her parents yes.”
“She did?” Elijah exclaimed in surprise, “I thought you just met.”
“Well yes, but things escalated quite quickly,” Tony replied wryly. He turned to look at Sophie, “What happened to your brother?”
They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around on the patio drinking hot cups of coffee and talking about family. Sophie told Tony about her brother being an artist whose favorite art form was graffiti. He had been just fifteen years old when Katrina hit, and they had not been able to find
him. None of his friends were able to give them a clue where he might have got to. They had tried the police stations – since he’d been arrested for spraying graffiti more than once – the hospitals, even the mortuaries. They had posted photos on Facebook and on the message boards that showed up in the refugee camps as well as the websites. But they had no news of Solomon from any of these sources.
Tony listened intently as they told him, thinking about his own brother and how painful it had been to lose him. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it must be not to know what had happened to his brother. His respect for Sophie’s resilience grew.
“Do you think he’s still alive?” he asked her then could have bitten his tongue. What a thing to ask!
Sophie grimaced, but answered readily enough, “I do think he’s alive and I believe that one day we’ll find him.”
Elijah leaned back and sighed deeply, making Sophie glance at him and then look back at
Tony, “My grandfather disagrees. He feels that we should let him go. It makes for awkward family disagreements.”
“Do you know where he was last seen?”
“Yes. He was spray painting a building over in the 4th quarter when a cop came up to him. They were having a conversation that was turning acrimonious when the first levee broke. That’s the last thing we heard,” she explained.
“I am really sorry that you had to go through this. I can’t imagine a worse pain,” Tony apologized, dividing his look between her and her grandfather. The old man was contemplating his cup like it held the secrets to the universe, but he nodded his head in acknowledgement. Sophie tried to smile at him, but couldn’t quite manage it.
She took a deep breath and blinked the moisture from her eyes, “Well, this is getting maudlin,” she said brightly, “how about we talk about something happy? Like how beautiful it is around here.”
“It is picturesque isn’t it?” Tony agreed smugly, looking off into the horizon like it was a picture he himself had painted.
“Yes, it is. Now I’ll leave you two crazy kids to enjoy it. It’s time for my nap.”
“Since when do you do naps G-Money?” Sophie laughed.
“Since I have the softest mattress I’ve ever slept on in my room. I’ll see you kids later,” he grinned as he stood up and left. As soon as Elijah was out of sight Sophie leaned forward to whisper confidentially to Tony.
