Sapphire Beautiful

by Ren Monterrey

  He gives me another ravenous kiss that leaves me breathless.

  “Plan to stay up late,” he tells me. Then he grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen.

  Virginia and Matt have an eat-in kitchen with a dinette table that barely fits their family of five. With two additional place settings it’s an extremely tight squeeze.

  “Another cold one?” Matt asks Dante.

  “Sure,” he replies.

  I’ve never seen Matt so comfortable with another guy before. Of course my experience has been limited, mostly to his interactions with Doug, and those two men didn’t get along at all.

  Matt hands Dante another bottle and pops one open for himself.

  “Daddy,” Opal says as she bounces up and down on the chair next to him. “After dinner Aunt Mary and Uncle Dante are going to hide in our fort with us.”

  I choke. How did he become Uncle Dante so quickly?

  Matt eyes Dante. “Have fun.”

  “I’m sure we will.” Dante squeezes my hand.

  “Kids are great until you have to live with them,” Matt teases. Then he tickles Opal’s belly.

  She roars with laughter.

  “No dessert unless you eat all your veggies,” Virginia announces as she places a spoonful of green beans on each of the girls’ plates right next to chopped up hot dogs and ketchup.

  “Boo!” Ruby replies. Both Opal and Pearl join in with a chorus of “Boos.”

  “Green beans have antioxidants, B vitamins and beta-carotene,” Dante tells them. “They make you smart and strong. You want to be smart and strong, don’t you?”

  “Yes!” Ruby cheers.

  “We want to be smart and strong,” Opal and Pearl shout.

  “Better eat your green beans then,” Dante tells them.

  All three girls dig into their vegetables.

  “You’re a miracle worker,” Virginia tells Dante.

  He gives a shrug in return.

  Virginia gives each of the adults a plate with chicken, rice and green beans. It’s a modest meal and I’m a little worried that it’s not up to Dante’s standards. I’m not sure what he’s used to eating.

  When I glance over at him he’s digging right in. Devouring the chicken like a starving man finally given a meal. I guess I didn’t have to worry about whether the food was up to snuff. He’s practically inhaling it.

  “Good?” I whisper to him.

  He nods.

  Once the kids eat most of what’s on their plates Virginia excuses them so they can go upstairs and play.

  Virginia and Matt are quiet as they dig into their food. I’m not that hungry so I pick at my chicken and eat a couple of green beans.

  “You’re going to waste away if you don’t eat.” Virginia gives me a disapproving look.

  “I’m hardly wasting away,” I assure her. I haven’t really had much of an appetite since I found out about Doug screwing around with his students. His subsequent suicide didn’t improve my desire for food.

  “Eat,” Dante whispers to me. When he finally looks up from his plate he stares at me.

  “I’m not that hungry,” I insist.

  Concern washes over his face. “You ate two green beans and you haven’t even touched your chicken.”

  I move the rice around with my fork for a few seconds then stab another green bean and pop it in my mouth. “Happy?”

  “Not really,” he replies.

  I rise from the table and grab my plate. I make a point of scraping all of the food into the trash can then putting my plate and flatware into the dish washer.

  Virginia and Matt give each other a sideways glance, but are smart enough not to say anything more about me not eating. They’ve been down that road with me enough times to realize it’s a battle they’re not going to win.

  Virginia, Matt and Dante eat in silence until there’s not a speck of food left on any of their plates.

  “Did you enjoy it, Dante?” Virginia asks as she takes his plate.

  He nods. “Yes, thank you.”

  “We hate to eat and run,” she says. “But we have a game to catch.”

  “I’ll deal with the dishes,” I tell her. “You two go and enjoy yourselves.”

  She eyes me. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course.”

  Matt gives Dante a pat on the shoulder as he rises. “You need to come by and watch a game with me. We’ll have a few beers. Barbeque some brats.”

  I gulp. Never in my wildest imagination did I consider the notion that my brother-in-law would want to befriend the guy who is paying to fuck me.

  Things are getting very complicated very quickly.

  Before I have a chance to kick him under the table, or give him some kind of signal not to accept Matt’s invitation, Dante says, “Sounds great.”

  I feel like I’ve just been punched in the gut.

  “Let’s get going.” Virginia eyes Matt. “If we leave now we might even have time to buy beer before the game starts.”

  After the two exit the kitchen Dante glares at me. My chest tightens in response. He doesn’t look happy. His face is a stone mask.

  “You shouldn’t waste food like that,” he says.

  “You’re paying to fuck me not tell me what to eat.” As soon as the words leave my mouth I immediately regret them.

  Dante looks like I slapped him.

  “I’m sorry.”

  As I clear the remaining plates from the table Dante lends a hand.

  “You don’t have to clean up,” I assure him. “I can do the dishes.”

  “I’m paying to fuck you not for you to clean up after me,” he throws back in my face.

  “I didn’t mean what I said,” I tell him. “I am really sorry.”

  He removes the dish from my hand and places it in the dishwasher. Then he takes my hands in his and looks into my eyes. “Why don’t you want to eat? Tell me the truth.”

  I close my eyes for a long moment hoping that when I open them I won’t have to open up to Dante. But when I open my eyes he’s still there, still waiting patiently for me to talk to him.

  So much for the idea that I was only going to share my body with him and nothing else. “My husband killed himself. Before he did that he cheated on me. With several—um—with six other girls.”

  Dante’s eyes grow wide. “Why?”

  “Why did he cheat on me?”

  He nods.

  “Because he could. It’s not something I really like to talk about. It was devastating. When I found out he cheated on me. A lot. I just lost my appetite. I’ve had a hard time eating ever since then.”

  As Dante stacks the remaining dishes into the dishwasher he asks, “What do you like to eat?”

  I shrug.

  “Dish soap?” he asks.

  I pull a box of dishwasher detergent from under the sink and hand it to him. He fills the little container with the powder then turns the dishwasher on.

  “What were some of your favorite things to eat when you were a kid?”

  I give it some thought. “Mac and cheese, of course. My mom always made it extra cheesy. And I loved peppermint ice cream. Canned peaches. The ones in heavy syrup. Black olives. I used to love to put one on each of my fingers and eat them off. Ridiculous, right?”

  When I glance up at him Dante is actually smiling. “You sounded happy. Talking about when you were a kid.”

  “I had a great childhood. My sister and I were very close to our parents. Now we’ve just got each other. And Matt and her kids. And speaking of kids, we’d better check on them. Things have been a little too quiet.”

  I’m surprised when he grabs a rag from the sink and wipes down the counter without even being prompted. As much as I hate to admit it, Dante has done more in the kitchen in one night than I saw Doug do in the ten years we were married.

  Once he’s finished cleaning he offers me his hand. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  The fort the girls have constructed is huge. It spans nearly the entire large bedroom the three g
irls share. They must have used a half dozen blankets making it.

  “That’s quite a fort,” I announce as Dante and I enter the bedroom.

  “Aunt Mary!” Opal peaks her head out from the far end of the fort. “Hurry up and get inside. And bring Uncle Dante with you.”

  “So how do you like being an uncle?” I whisper to Dante.

  “I’m glad they feel comfortable around me,” he whispers back.

  I lift one of the blankets enough so that Dante and I can crawl inside.

  The girls have the interior of the fort lined with their sleeping bags and pillows. And it’s illuminated with four large flashlights.

  “This looks cozy,” Dante comments. “I would have loved to have a fort like this when I was a kid.”

  “You never built a fort?” Pearl sounds surprised.

  Dante shakes his head. “I didn’t have anyone to build a fort with. And I don’t think my mom would have liked for us to stretch blankets like this all over the house.”

  “You don’t have any brothers or sisters?” Ruby asks.

  “I have an older brother and an older sister,” he replies. “They never played with me though.”

  Ruby frowns. “Why not?”

  Shrugging Dante says, “I guess they never liked me very much.”

  Ruby scrunches her face like she’s very puzzled by this. “My mom told us that she and Aunt Mary made blanket forts all the time.”

  “My brother and sister were busy doing other things I guess,” Dante explains.

  “You and Aunt Mary should sleep in here with us,” Pearl suggests.

  “Don’t be silly,” Ruby says. “Grownups don’t like to sleep in forts.”

  “Is it time for dessert?” Pearl asks.

  “We want ice cream!” Opal exclaims.

  “Maybe Dante and I will get the dessert ready,” I reply. “If you’re good.”

  “We’re good,” Opal assures me.

  When I glance over at Dante he gives me a quick nod.

  After Dante and I crawl out of the fort we make our way downstairs. Once we’re back in the kitchen I grab three small bowls from the cupboard and then grab a container of chocolate ice cream from the freezer.

  “It’ll be easier to spoon out if we leave the ice cream on the counter for a few minutes.”

  “I think we need to taste test that,” he says. “I don’t want to give it to the girls if it’s bad.”

  He gives me sly grin and I raise an eyebrow in return. “Testing it for the girls, huh? A likely story.”

  He opens a few drawers before he happens upon the flatware. He grabs four spoons. After placing one in each of the bowls he removes the lid off of the ice cream container and removes a heaping spoonful.

  “That’s quite a large taste test,” I observe.

  “It’s a taste test for two.” He lets out a low moan as he takes a bite of the ice cream on his spoon. “This is really good.”

  Then he holds the spoon up to my mouth. “Try it.”

  I take a lick. It’s rich and creamy. “You’re right. It is good.”

  He takes another huge bite before he holds the spoon up to my mouth again. I take another lick. “Mmmm.”

  After he finishes off what’s left on the spoon he places it in the sink. Then he kisses me. A chocolatey good kiss.

  “We’d better get the ice cream ready for the kids. I don’t want a mutiny.”

  I dish out two scoops of ice cream into each of the bowls.

  “I want to few of those someday.”

  “Kids?”

  He nods.

  I’m not sure what to say. I can’t get pregnant so it’s not something I’ve given much thought to. And I’m sure Dante doesn’t mean he wants to have kids with me. He’s probably speaking in general terms. That he wants kids sometime in the future, when he eventually finds the girl he’s going to marry.

  “Have you thought about it?” he asks.

  I shake my head. This isn’t really a conversation I enjoy having. And there’s really no reason to have it with him.

  “Do you want kids?” he pushes.

  “Why are you asking me about kids?” I snap back a little too sharply.

  We’re both quiet for a very long moment. Too long. I can feel a wall of thick tension building between us.

  “I’m sorry I snapped,” I tell him. “I didn’t mean it.”

  “I was just curious.” He still sounds hurt.

  I let out a huge sigh. “I have some medical issues. I can’t get pregnant.”

  He swallows. His eyes search mine before he speaks. “I’m sorry.”

  “Wasn’t it in the medical report you got from Claudia?”

  He shakes his head. “The report she sent over was two lines. One line was for STDs and the NO box was checked. The other line was for BIRTH CONTROL and the YES box was checked. That was the extent of it.”

  “It’s not really something I like to talk about.”

  Placing his hand on my cheek he looks into my eyes. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

  When he places a soft kiss on my lips they still have the faint taste of chocolate. “We’d better get the ice cream up to the fort before it melts.”

  ***

  “I’ve been waiting to do this all night,” Dante says as he unbuttons my sweater.

  After Matt and Virginia got home I was glad they were too tired to do much chatting. Dante drove back to my place really fast. I could see the look of desire his eyes.

  Once my sweater is off and tossed onto the chair in the corner of the room he works on getting my bra off. Tonight he’s not undressing me like he’s unwrapping a precious package. Tonight he’s undressing me like a kid on Christmas morning anxious to play with his new toy.

  I’m surprised at how quickly he’s able to pull off my jeans and panties.

  His clothes come off even more quickly. He’s definitely a man on a mission.

  And one who’s rock hard and ready for action.

  When he pulls me close his swollen cock presses against me. His mouth meets mine with so much hunger it takes my breath away.

  Then he grabs my ass and pulls me even tighter. “I want you,” he whispers. “So badly.”

  He pulls me with him as he tumbles into the bed. As we roll around in bed for a few minutes his hands roam the length of my body.

  A shudder moves through me as he rakes his fingers lightly up and down my inner thighs. Then he moves between my legs and enters me slowly and deliberately, not taking his eyes from mine.

  “Low, slow strokes,” he whispers as if he’s reminding himself what I previously instructed him to do.

  “How does that feel?” he asks still watching me, trying to measure my reaction.

  “Great,” I whisper, and it’s not a lie. He’s a quick study well on his way to expert status.

  “Ready for more?”

  As his eyes search mine I nod.

  “Good,” he replies then starts thrusting harder and deeper.

  Dante’s intoxicating musk consumes me as the world seems to become filled with him. Soon our bodies are moving in an exquisite dance with one another.

  When my limbs begin to quiver I know I’m ready to shatter. Dante is watching me so intently, assessing every subtle change in my face, that he can tell exactly when I’m getting ready to climax.

  He pushes faster and deeper fucking me like his life depends on it. “Scream for me,” he urges.

  Doug didn’t like us to make noise when we made love. He always played his favorite jazz when we were intimate and he thought it took away from the music if we were too loud.

  I’m not sure if I can completely let go. I try to free my mind and just feel Dante inside of me. Thrusting with more force than I ever thought possible.

  “Oh, God,” I cry out as I grab a hold of him and he gives one final forceful push.

  Then we both collapse into a quaking heap of sweaty flesh.

  He places a soft kiss on my forehead the whispers, “How was that
?”

  I smile. “Great.”

  “Satisfied?”

  “Very.”

  He pulls me into his arms. “Good.”

  “It’s getting a little sticky and messy,” I hint.

  “I don’t care. I don’t want to let you go right now.”

  I resign myself to the after-sex-cuddling that he seems determined to engage in.

  “Tomorrow I’m taking you someplace very special for dinner,” he tells me.

  “Okay. I’ll need time tomorrow to do some—um—work.” I can’t tell him I have to grade papers or he’ll figure out pretty quickly what I do.

  “Your top secret job?”

  “It’s not top secret. And it’s not like you’ve told me what you do either.”

  “Whatever my dad tells me to do.” There’s a harsh tone to his voice that tells me not to push him any further.

  “Maybe I should get cleaned up,” I tell him, but he doesn’t immediately release me.

  “I just want you in my arms a few seconds longer.”

  Six

  I dash down the street toward my house. It’s only 5:45 and Dante isn’t supposed to arrive until six. I want time to get ready and put on some of the lingerie that I just spent the last two hours shopping for. I don’t have a lot of experience in the lingerie department. It’s not something Doug ever expressed much interest in. He was more of a “Why don’t you meet me in bed naked?” kind of guy.

  Luckily the extremely helpful salesperson at Victoria’s Secret was able to spend a large amount of time helping me pick out just the right pieces.

  My mouth falls open as I get closer to my house and I see someone sitting on the front steps.

  “Dante.” My voice cracks. “You’re early.”

  He nods then rises from the stairs.

  I hold up the bags in my hand. “I was doing a little shopping. For you, actually.”

  “For me?” He scrunches his nose.

  “Victoria’s Secret...” I let the words hang in the air for a few moments until realization finally crosses his face.

  “Oh...”

  “I was going to surprise you.”

  “I got something for you too.” He bites his bottom lip nervously.

  “Come in,” I tell him as I unlock my front door.

  He follows me inside and we both look at each other awkwardly for a few moments.