Legal Action - Box Set

by Kimball Lee

  *

  Henrietta had them all to her house for lunch the next day, it was Sunday and she’d been to church services in the village. She said she didn’t attend very often but she felt the need to pray forgiveness for her drunken flirting with Jude and JP who were practically adolescents compared to her sixty four years. She chattered endlessly and her mind was a whirling dervish, she’d get into one subject only to switch to another and another, returning to pick up where she’d left off in the first place. Charlotte really liked her, she was open and down to earth, but as they said in Charlotte’s home state of Mississippi, she wouldn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise!

  “So Finn, you and Jude are obviously brothers, but different last names? May I ask why?” she asked as they ate.

  “Different dads,” Finn said, smiling, “same mum, though I don’t think Jude’s seen her in a while.”

  “Well, I don’t think she’s keen to see me again,” Jude said, and neither one said anything more.

  JP changed the subject, proposing a toast to the soon to be parents and a healthy baby.

  “Here, here!” they all said, clinking their glasses together.

  Jude said he’d heard good things about an obstetrician with a practice nearby, Charlotte should have blood work and start pre-natal vitamins right away. Jude and JP left as the day turned to evening, and Finn and Charlotte sat quietly in front of the fire, snuggled together on the sofa.

  “This is nice,” Charlotte said, “I like not having a TV, just the fire and the two of us, it’s peaceful.”

  “Right,” Finn added, “who needs TV with all those violent news channels and deadly dull reality shows? It’s better this way, out here in the middle of nowhere with winter and tons of snow on the way.”

  “Hmm, and we’ve always got Henrietta to entertain us, maybe she’ll get snowed in with us and we’ll all be together in this little cottage for a week.”

  “Electronics store tomorrow?” Finn asked.

  “Bright and early,” she said and they laughed, and then he let his hand rest on her belly.

  *

  In the weeks that followed, Charlotte and Finn filled in the details of their newly minted lives. They were Phineas and Charlotte Hunter, and they were licensed to practice law in the courts of the United Kingdom. The British legal system was a little different than what Charlotte was used to, it was divided in two separate specializations unlike the ‘one lawyer does it all’ system in America. There were ‘solicitors’ and ‘barristers.’ Finn signed on with the Surrey office of a London law firm, he would act as a solicitor and handle cases with clients in the office. Charlotte set up an office in the first floor bedroom of the cottage and became an independent barrister called in to argue cases before a judge or jury in court. They bought a Range Rover so Finn could make the drive to his office in Guildford and a Mini Cooper for Charlotte to get to and from the many scattered courts in the county. They didn’t have to work really, Finn explained, he’d been paid extremely well in his former line of work, mainly by foreign governments, and he’d saved a great deal of money. Also they had the income from renting out their former lofts and building in San Diego, JP offered to buy them out, but it was a sound investment so they left it as it was. Sheppard and Sheridan wanted to give Charlotte a severance package after she faxed her resignation but she declined, guilty over jilting their biggest client and running off with her lover.

  Life for them revolved around each other and the small world of the village. They often ate meals at the Mad Hatter pub, purchased whatever they needed in the local shops, made friends with village residents and were made to feel at home. Henrietta became a staple at Dovecote Cottage, she’d been widowed three times and claimed the greatest sorrow of her life was that she was childless. Of course she made up for that by mothering both Charlotte and Finn and she looked forward to the birth of the baby with grandmotherly excitement.

  Jude came to visit every other weekend, and Charlotte could see that he was winning Finn over. They talked late into the nights most of the time, and as Jude stayed with them more and more often, he began sleeping in Henrietta’s guestroom since Charlotte was furnishing the second bedroom as a nursery.

  Charlotte decorated the cottage in a ‘cozy but cool’ style, slip-covered sofas and chairs, quirky antiques picked up at country markets and oversized paintings bought from sales at huge, crumbling manor houses. She searched the internet and ordered throw pillows, or cushions as they were called in her new country, and curtain panels from Joss and Main, and the cottage began to resemble a home.

  She ordered a turkey from an organic butcher and found most everything she needed to prepare Thanksgiving dinner on a shopping trip to London. Finn went with her to shop and as they sat having High Tea at The Winter Garden, she said they should invite his mother and sisters for a visit and have Thanksgiving with them.

  “You’re sweet, my love, but where would we put them all?” He asked, but his face gave away his excitement at the idea.

  “Well that’s the least of our worries, you just get them here and tell me how many people to expect, and I’ll handle it!” she said.

  “I’m very much in love with you; you do realize that, don’t you?”

  Charlotte smiled and reached for his hand across the table, her desire for sex had grown even hotter as their baby grew inside her.

  Finn knew the glassy eyed look that came over her when she was burning with need for him and he moved his chair next to hers at the table and put his mouth to her ear. “This is the most reputable spot for afternoon tea in London, so don’t embarrass yourself, my love,” he said as his hand parted her thighs beneath the starched tablecloth. He heard her breath draw in sharply as his fingers pushed the crotch of her panties aside and stroked the silky lips and massaged her swollen clit. “Don’t move or cry out, drink your tea calmly or I’ll take my hand away.”

  She lifted her tea cup with a trembling hand and he noted her flushed face as she closed her eyes and sipped, then set the cup down unsteadily.

  “Open your eyes, Charlotte and look at me as you cum,” he whispered, and at that moment, with his big fingers hot between her legs, she came, grasping the edge of the table and looking straight into his eyes.

  *

  The winter holidays were a great success, Finn’s mother, Georgina, and two of his sisters came for Thanksgiving and stayed a week. They were overjoyed that Finn and Charlotte had married. Georgina said she always knew the pair belonged together and she couldn’t wait to be a grandmother. Jude and his mother were both teary eyed and thrilled to be reunited, and they spent hours in Henrietta’s paneled study, talking and making amends. JP arrived and everyone enjoyed Charlotte’s turkey dinner and her dedication to making the visit a ‘special family time.’ She hadn’t grown up with any family of her own, except her sweet mother who died when she was young, and who, for as long as Charlotte could remember, was sick with emphysema. Charlotte was a product of the foster care system and although it broke many young people, it made her strong and determined to create a better life.

  Christmas was quiet but beautiful. It snowed and Charlotte, a girl used to balmy, southern winters, was jubilant. They opened presents first with Jude, then Henrietta joined them with Christmas crackers which Charlotte had never seen before. Finn showed her how to pull the ends and with a cracking sound it popped open and little prizes and a folded paper hat were inside. Candles glowed in the windows of the cottage and the fresh tree Finn and Charlotte had decorated filled the house with the sharp smell of pine. Only JP was missing, he was somewhere dangerous doing his job, but Finn was going to meet him for some extreme skiing in the French Alps in two days. After that, Finn would meet Charlotte in Paris and they would celebrate New Year’s Eve.

  Later, after midnight, when their guests were gone and the sound of bells could be heard from the little church in the village, they sat in front of the fire and exchanged gifts. Charlotte insisted on giving her gift first, Finn opened the box and
it was an antique sterling silver pocket watch. The front was carved with an ornate stags head and inside there was a little cover that opened and closed over the clock face.

  “The little thing inside can hold two pictures, I thought maybe one picture of the baby and one of me,” she smiled shyly, and he leaned to kissed her again and again, tangling his hands in her hair.

  “I love it, it’s perfect, I’ll keep it with me always. Now you’re turn,” he said and handed her a small, velvet box.

  She opened it and inside was an oval sapphire ring, she gasped at the beauty of it as he slid it on her finger next to her wedding band. It looked perfect on her pale hand and he said, “I won’t even tell you it’s the exact color of your eyes, I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times before, but of course it is, my love.” She loved the simple perfection of it, it was impressive but not gaudy and it looked right at home next to her wedding band.

  They made love slowly in front of the fire and near the fragrant Christmas tree. Charlotte with her hormones raging, wanted him in her right away, but he teased her with his lips and fingers until she decided to teach him a lesson. She pushed him onto his back and before he could say a word, took the head of his beautiful cock in her mouth. He protested at first but his hands were lost in her hair and he lifted his head to watch her moan in pleasure. She curled her tongue around the big, full head and tasted the spicy drops that seeped out, she used her hands on the thick shaft and licked and sucked, struggling to take the entire length into her mouth. It was impossible, he was so long he hit the back of her throat and still she couldn’t take him all. She was lost in the taste and smell and feel of him in her mouth, she’d never imagined she would crave giving a blow job, but she was loving it! She felt her pussy tensing on the edge of orgasm and Finn must have seen it in her eyes. With one swift motion he pulled out of her mouth and lifted her onto the hard length and she cried out as he pumped into her and watched her face as they finished together.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  She’d never been to Paris, but it was a city she’d dreamed of, and although she was on her own for three days, she had a full schedule of sights to see and clothes to shop for. She was, in fact, desperate for clothes. Her little baby bump had begun to make all her clothes fit wrong. Her pre-pregnancy jeans wouldn’t zip and she wanted short sweater dresses and great high boots and a soft cashmere coat. She read guide books on the short flight from London to Paris and took a cab straight to Ollion, a shop said to have fine cashmere knits and butter soft leather boots and gloves. An hour later she left the shop in a short white cashmere dress, fitted perfectly to show her little bump and sleek black boots that came half way up her thighs. She wore an ice-blue swing coat with her black hair falling in soft waves down her back and even though she was four months pregnant, she felt chic and Parisian as she stood on the corner and hailed a cab.

  She checked in to the Plaza Athenee and sent her one suitcase and dozen shopping bags to the room, then slipped out of her coat and waited for a table in the lobby tea room. She was starving and elated to be in the city of light and anxious for the adventures the next days would hold. Then Finn would join her on New Year’s Eve and her joy would be complete. A handsome young waiter led her through the restaurant and whispered that all eyes were on her, she possessed such a rare kind of beauty. She blushed and thanked him as he seated her at a window table with a lovely view of the Avenue Montaigne and the Eiffel Tower rising in the distance. She was lost in the magical scenery and the feel-good hormones of her second trimester rushed through her and made her appear to be Eve feeling the first child growing within her.

  “Charlotte?”

  She was startled from her reverie, but the voice was familiar, even in an unknown city.

  “Charlotte, I didn’t expect to ever see you again,” he said, and stood shifting uncomfortably in his impeccably tailored suit.

  “Bly! Oh, how are you? Sit down, how are you?” she was flustered and it showed.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, but he was already pulling out the chair and making himself comfortable across from her.

  “Bly, I have no idea what to say, I’m… speechless.” She said, placing her hands flat on the table, she felt her good mood vanish.

  “You look great, Charlotte, stunning in fact. I can’t believe you’re here in Paris, are you with someone?”

  “No, no,” she said, still thrown off by his being there, sitting across from her in a hotel in Paris. “I mean I’m here alone… now, but yes I’m with Finn, if that’s what you mean. We’re married.”

  A dozen emotions played across his handsome face and his hand brushed at the lock of hair that fell across his brow, “can I get you a drink, Charlotte?” and before she could answer he asked, “Are you happy? Because you’re glowing, so I guess you are happy. Listen, do you want to have dinner? This place is good for a light meal but there’s an exceptional little restaurant near the Palais-Royal, we can talk and still be friends, I hope.”

  She looked into his eyes, the sea-glass color of them so familiar once, not that long ago. She could see and feel his magnetism, the amazing eyes and the piece of hair that never stayed in place, his wide, sensual mouth and that damned sexy cleft in his chin. What good would it do either of them to spend an evening together and then again, what harm could come from it?

  “Come on, you’re in Paris, you have to go out on the town, right?” he said with a smile, and she remembered how charming he was, how easily she’d lost herself in him before… but he wasn’t Finn.

  “This is my first time in Paris, Finn will be here for New Year’s Eve, I was thinking I’d just go for a walk tonight,” she said.

  “Look outside, Charlotte, it’s snowing, and a snowy night in Paris is unbelievably cold. It’s your first time here? Well, my mother lives in Paris so I’m an excellent tour guide. Come on let me take you to dinner, we ended badly and it shouldn’t be that way, you never know when you’ll need a friend.”

  There were no taxis for Alexander Bly; a big, dark grey Mercedes sedan carried them through the snowy streets to the restaurant Verjus. The driver held the door open for Charlotte and she stepped out into the freezing night air and pulled her coat close around her. Bly came around the car and held her elbow lightly and led her into an exquisite dining room filled with talk and laughter and wonderful aromas. The Maître’d seated them at a corner table, bowed slightly and wished them “bon appetit!”

  “A car and driver is a must in Paris, cabs are for tourists, but I do recall one exceptional cab ride in Los Angeles,” Bly said softly, as he helped her out of her coat.

  Her face burned remembering the taxi ride he meant, so she covered her face with her hands and shook her head for a moment before she sat down.

  “Charlotte,” he said, his voice no longer playful, “are you…” he couldn’t finish as he stared at her normally flat stomach, it was round and outlined by the soft knit of her dress.

  “Yes, yes I am, four months along,” she put her hands on her small, growing bump and felt instantly calmer. “I’m due the last week in May or first of June, not quite sure but I have my first sonogram next week. We’re really excited, it happened a little sooner than we planned, but I’m so happy and… I absolutely never meant to hurt you Bly; I hope you don’t hate me.”

  “I couldn’t hate you, ever, don’t you know that?” he looked at her with such emotion in his beautiful, intense eyes that she had to look away.

  She picked up her menu and studied it, still feeling his gaze on her; she blushed again and asked him which entrée sounded best.

  “They change the menu daily and everything is fresh and wonderful, the owners are American,” he said calmly, “what are you in the mood for, mussels, lamb chops?”

  “No lamb, no shellfish, no snails,” she said, “You can take it from there, order what you will, as long as there’s a chocolate soufflé at the end.”

  The waiter arrived and offered Bly the wine list; he waved it away and said he wo
uld drink water if that was what Charlotte was having. They shared only meaningless details of the lives they were living, Charlotte was reluctant to let him into the world she shared with Finn and he seemed to have nothing but business deals and mergers to talk about. They were quiet for a while as they ate the delicious food and when the dinner plates were cleared away, a perfect chocolate soufflé was set before her. The chef came to the table and spoke to Bly in French and swooned over Charlotte, kissing her hand before pouring warm crème anglaise over the soufflé and placing fresh raspberries on top.

  Charlotte dug her spoon into the light, rich chocolate and literally groaned as she tasted it.

  “Oh my God! You can’t even imagine how good this is,” she said, “here, have a taste, you’ll want the whole thing!”

  Bly took a spoonful, watching the divine expression on her face as she savored the chocolate confection. He tasted it and she could tell he loved it, too.

  “Is it mine?” he asked, plunging his spoon in again.

  “Absolutely not!” she laughed, “that’s all you get, order your own dessert.”

  “Is it my baby?” he asked, and the heavy silver spoon fell from her hand and broke the soufflé dish.

  She was speechless at first, which certainly wasn’t like her, when she argued her words tended to cut to the quick. But his question was so unexpected she couldn’t think of a single response.

  “I need to know, Charlotte, now,” his voice was deadly serious.