Untraceable

by Lindsay Delagair

  “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  When I couldn’t answer, he understood what was happening to me. Suddenly, his hands were cupped around my mouth and nose as he literally breathed his sweet breath into my lungs. He was feeding me his carbon dioxide, returning control to me. My heart slowed and the tingling that had begun in my face and hands ebbed, and relaxation ensued.

  He moved his hands and cradled my face, “Are you okay, now?”

  “You nearly put me in the hospital!” I snapped.

  “That would have been a fun one to explain in the ER,” he quipped.

  “Micah the sex was fantastic, but, baby, the next time you do this to me should be when I’m not pregnant. I thought I was going into labor.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said with a soft smile. “I got a little carried away, but you’re so wonderful and you feel so good to me, I didn’t want to stop telling you about the experience.”

  I finally found my smile, “I thought that was what you were saying, but I wasn’t sure. You’ll have to explain it to me in English sometime.”

  “No,” he chuckled. “It sounds much better in French. In English you might find it a little on the dirty side. It’s going to be morning here in a little while, close your eyes, baby, you need some sleep.”

  I was going to rebut, but a massive yawn stopped my argument. I wanted to ask him more about what he had been saying to me, but he was right and I was sure he was just as exhausted.

  “We should take another shower,” I stated, but rolled my back to him and placed his arm over me. He released me for a moment and pulled the soft sheet up to my shoulder, and then kissed my neck.

  “Go to sleep my angel,” he whispered. “I love you.”

  “Aller dormir, mon ange. Je t'aime aussi,” I repeated to him in French.

  He laughed and kissed my neck a little slower this time, “See, your French is already improving.”

  I closed my eyes and fell into peaceful sleep.

  I woke to the feeling of Micah nuzzling against my hair as his left hand gently roamed the front of my body. I could feel, as he was pressed against me, his arousal and need, but it still surprised me since it had only been about six hours since we had fallen into exhausted sleep from making love.

  “Good morning,” I stated, low and soft, as I reached behind me and allowed myself to do a little exploration of my own, confirming just how aroused he was at the moment. He was sighing with pleasure over the touch of my hand. “You must have been having a good dream,” I mused.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about last night,” he breathed hot against the back of my neck, allowing his lips to caress my skin as he spoke. “The way you felt, the smell of your skin, the way you taste—I just couldn’t turn off my brain.”

  “How long have you been awake?”

  “About two hours.” His hand went lower, gliding over the baby and moving to places that told me how serious his thoughts were.

  “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” I asked as I rolled to face him.

  “You needed your sleep, and I could wait.”

  I was considering all the pleasure he had given me last night and I wanted to do something that would, hopefully, be just as surprising as my French lesson. I pulled his arm as I adjusted onto my back, cradling him between my legs.

  He smiled down at me, “I don’t suppose you’d let me do to you what I did last night, would you?”

  I returned the smile, “I’m going to ruin your control in a few moments.”

  “That was only a sample of my control last night, baby—this may end with more mouth to mouth.”

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself, Mister Gavarreen—I might just surprise you.”

  “You’ve got that glint in your eye, Annalisa.”

  “What glint?” I asked, reaching down to stroke him as he closed his eyes and inhaled.

  “The one I’ve only seen when you’re challenging someone to a race. We can’t get too wild or you’ll be complaining about labor pains.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you’ll have a chance to get wild on me.” All the while I was hoping what I was going to do would be as pleasurable as I was billing it. If it wasn’t, he would win this and I’d be the one begging for him to stop. I gave him a sultry smile, “Wanna race?”

  “You’re challenging the wrong man,” he uttered with a deep rumble to his voice as he made his grand entrance and began to settle into his unnerving and pleasing rhythm.

  I was immediately swept into his power, nearly forgetting my challenge. “Slower, baby,” I whispered. He obeyed, but he was just as maddening at the slower pace. “Do I feel good to you?” I breathed into his ear and then began to suckle his lobe.

  “Oh, yes—you have no idea how—” His hips stopped moving. “Annalisa,” he gasped, “What are you… Oh, baby—don’t—”

  I could see the immediate struggle he was in as he tried to retain his control. I turned his face to mine and began to kiss him hard and deep, all the while my muscles tightening and then relaxing against his presence in my body.

  “Baby,” he begged, “I can’t—” Suddenly, the spasms hit him as he gripped me firmly and cried out, pushing deep within me. It was almost painful, but I know he didn’t intend to put quite so much power behind the stroke. I was still working against him as he clung to me. “Baby, stop,” he conceded. “I can’t take it anymore.” And then, for the first time ever, he withdrew without warning, rolling onto his back. He actually looked a bit panicked.

  I rose up and asked if he needed me to loan him some carbon dioxide, noticing that he wanted to laugh, but he was still so surprised over what happened between us that he was momentarily speechless.

  “I guess this means I won, huh?”

  “Baby, I’m sorry,” he said in a deep apologetic tone. “I didn’t get you off.”

  “Are you kidding?” I snickered. “You have no idea what a turn on that was for me to make you lose your grip.”

  “What was that?”

  “Exercise,” I simply stated.

  “I hate to ask it this way, but who the hell taught you that?”

  My snickering had turned into laughter as I lay back down on the pillows, fully satisfied that I had blown his mind. “The internet.”

  “I’m gonna have to take your computer away if you’re starting to go to those kind of sites.”

  “Really? You’d take away my childbirth sites?”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “Yes, I am. After I discovered I was pregnant, I started doing research. One of the sites explained how you can keep your muscles toned so that birthing a baby doesn’t—well, stretch things out. They’re called Kegel exercises and I’ve been doing them twice a day every day. I hadn’t thought about doing them during sex, but after last night, I figured it was the only weapon I possessed to challenge your control.”

  “You have an arsenal of weapons whether you know it or not,” he was finally smiling. “You’re already the best I’ve ever had, and I was wondering how you kept improving. But,” he threatened, “I will learn how to control my response to your—your sexercise.”

  “And who says I’m going to do this again for you?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

  He rose above me and gathered me underneath him. His mouth teasing me as it came in contact with mine. I parted my lips to accept his kiss, only to have him withdraw and then offer his kiss again. Once more, he pulled away as my tongue yearned to touch his. His mouth descended for a third time, but this time his tongue darted past mine and, as pointedly as a fingertip, stroked against the roof of my mouth. It tickled so badly, I almost bit him.

  “Do it again, baby,” he whispered. “I’ll beg if you want.”

  The idea of him begging sent a wave of heat through me so hot that my skin immediately flushed with color. Suddenly, I wanted what my previous display of prowess denied me from our last encounter.

  “I don’t know if I can—I need you, Micah,” I panted. �
��I need you now,” I restated, hoping he wasn’t going to tease me any further.

  “Êtes-vous prêt?”

  His lyrical French accent was pushing me into my internal melt down. “Oui, oui,” I breathed back. “But can you? It doesn’t give you much time to—”

  “Touch me, Leese,” he softly asked, as he brought my hand against his body. His body was relaxed and only slightly aroused, but as I continued the gentle contact, his body became fully awakened and ready. “I told you that you have more weapons than you know. But, I’m going to warn you, since we’ve already made love once, this is going to take longer. Can you handle it?”

  “I—I don’t know, but I know I need you. Please.”

  The distance between us erased and I was given my heart’s desire.

  He was gentle and slow, sheltering my body against his as the pleasure rocked through me. By the time he was bringing me to the second pinnacle, I realized he was serious when he told me this might take a while. I didn’t know if it would work on him a second time, especially since I didn’t have the element of surprise, but unless I wanted to be borrowing his breath again, I needed to shake his insane ability to control himself. Just before I began to slip over the invisible edge of pleasure, I tightened my muscles for all I was worth.

  He groaned hard, “Baby.”

  “Ensemble, mon amour,” I pled as I relaxed and retightened.

  “Oui—ensemble,” he agreed, breathing hard as his control slipped into my hands, and we tumbled over the edge together.

  He was smiling as he kept me in his embrace, “I want to feel it once more. Contract your muscles, Leese.”

  Just as I pulled what felt like the internal drawstring in my body, our son gave one of the firmest kicks I had felt yet.

  Surprise was written all over Micah’s face as he began to laugh. “We’ve been ignoring someone and I think he’s trying to tell us he’s had enough.”

  “You’re right. How about a fast shower and then breakfast?”

  “Sounds good to me, beautiful. I want to go over to Mom and Dad’s before we leave to ask if they want to witness the baptism and renewal of our vows.”

  I was smiling as I grabbed my robe and headed for the bathroom. “Why wouldn’t they?”

  Micah frowned, but it wasn’t a frown of disappointment for me asking that question, but more over their reasoning. “If it was just the vows, I think they would be there no matter what they had planned,” he stated as he followed me and then reached inside the shower and started the water. “But I think the religious aspect makes them both a little bit nervous. When I told them that I went forward right after proposing to you, they changed the subject immediately. Neither one wanted to get near that topic.”

  I hung my robe and grabbed us each a towel and placed them on the bar outside the shower. I was studying his face and I could tell how much it bothered him, but it only served to make me more proud to know that, even though the last time was disappointing for him, he was still going to approach them and ask them to be witnesses to this very holy event. We were standing there in the nude when I threw my arms around his thick neck, kissed his cheek, and reminded him how much I loved him.

  He opened the shower door and waltzed me under the water’s flow. “Sit on the ledge, Leese, and let me—”

  “No. Ensemble, remember? Just like the grapes, we’re doing this together.”

  He didn’t say anything as he grabbed the body wash and poured some in my hands and then some in his own, but his smile was enormous as we began to lather each other. Although it didn’t take us long to finish, we stood under the pouring water for a while after rinsing, my back against his chest as he wrapped me in his arms and swayed to some inaudible music playing in his head, and just enjoyed the feeling of being close. I was so comfortable that I could have dozed, but eventually he turned off the water and we dried off and slipped on our robes.

  CHAPTER Four

  The late morning sky was over-cast and threatening rain at any moment, but we made it into New Orleans before the first sprinkle fell. We turned down a tree lined section on St. Charles Avenue and parked in front of a large, two story, Greek revival home with wrought iron fences and a beautifully manicured yard.

  “This is your parents’ house?”

  “Yeah, it’s just hard for me to remember that you haven’t been here yet.”

  I laughed without thought.

  “What?”

  I rolled my eyes at him, “Hard for you to remember? I bet if I asked you my bra size right now, you’d get it right.”

  He leaned over and gently stroked my cheek and put an easy kiss on my lips, “It was 34C, but I’m guessing, since I got you pregnant, it’s more like 34D.”

  “Shoe size?”

  “Seven and a half. But, don’t ask me about jeans and shirts because you don’t exactly fit into your old sizes anymore—we need to get you some maternity clothes.”

  “And you can’t remember that I haven’t been here yet?”

  “Annalisa,” he whispered, “any memories that don’t contain you are becoming foggy and distant to me. I’ve always been clear and sharp on every aspect of my past, but I’m finally realizing that I don’t care about it because you weren’t in it. You’re like a beautiful eraser.”

  I smiled and returned the soft kiss, “I love you, Micah, but I’m not the one easing those memories for you.”

  He started to rebut me, but I placed my fingers to his lips to keep him quiet, “You’ll figure it out. Let’s go see your parents.”

  The house was magnificent. Evidently Celeste and Giorgio were connoisseurs of antiques and every piece was exquisite. Then it dawned on me that buying such pieces of history was probably another way to shelter their money from the government.

  “Good morning,” Celeste sang out as she greeted us. She gave me a firm hug, telling me how happy she was that I would finally get to see their home.

  “It’s absolutely beautiful,” I remarked, still trying to take in all the extraordinary pieces. “It must have taken you years to get such a splendid collection.”

  “Where’s Dad?” Micah asked.

  “Where do you think, son? You go visit with him; Leese and I will join you after I take her on a tour of the house.”

  Micah smiled and then disappeared as she began to lead me, room by room, showing off what she was so very proud of. When we moved to the upper floor, I was stopped in my footsteps as I stared at the huge gallery of family photos. The first pictures were pictures of Celeste and Giorgio when they were very young. I didn’t realize how strongly Micah resembled his father until I saw the picture of Giorgio at twenty years of age. But, it was the pictures of the Gavarreen children that held me spell bound.

  “Is this Micah?” I asked as I stared at the face of a cherub who looked to be about five years old.

  “Yes, he was such a stunning little boy,” Celeste sighed.

  I reached over and squeezed her hand. “I think he’s still pretty stunning,” I said with an easy laugh.

  She smiled, “Yes, I have a feeling you do.”

  “Is there any way I could get a copy of some of these pictures?”

  “Of course. Which ones do you like the best?”

  “There all wonderful, but I’d love to have this one,” I said pointing to the picture we had just been discussing. “And this one,” I said as I pointed to a youthful family portrait. “A baby picture of Micah would be fabulous. They’re all so beautiful. The photography is superb.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a light blush.

  “You did these?”

  “Yes. I use photography in what I do, but it’s one aspect of my work that I really enjoy. Come on, Leese, we’ll go into my office and I’ll print out some photos for you.”

  What a shock it was to go from a home that was completely filled with antiques and then to have her usher me into her office. It was as if I had stepped into the future. She had computer equipment, laser scanners, printers, and some machines
that I had no idea what they did, but it was all ultra modern. The counters, cabinets, and desks were simple and sleek, like something you might find in a medical office. “No antiques in here,” I mused.

  “No, I’m afraid they would distract my eye from my work. Have a seat here,” she motioned to a roller chair in front of a large flat, touch screen monitor. There were numerous folder items on the screen. She touched on one and suddenly all the pictures from the gallery were in front of me. I simply had to touch the pictures I wanted, answer a few questions on size and quality, and then touch the printer feature. The pictures printed moments later from a complicated looking printer not far from me. Celeste already had a large manila envelope ready to place the photos inside.

  “Your office is impressive,” I stated as she handed me the package.

  “Thank you. Are you sure these are all you want? It’s no problem to print more.”

  “As soon as Micah and I get our house built, I’ll be begging for more, lots more,” I laughed.

  “You’ve decided to build?”

  “Yes, but it’s actually a secret, so don’t tell him. He found a beautiful piece of property a couple hours away from my mother’s house. He doesn’t know it, but I’ve already called my attorney and he’s working on putting an offer on it. It has a huge lake surrounded by ancient oaks and cypress trees; he said it reminds him of Louisiana.”

  “Well, let me know when it’s no longer a secret. We’d love to come down and see it.”

  “Actually, that’s why we’re here today; we wanted to invite you both to come down for something special on Sunday.” I wasn’t sure if Micah wanted me to broach this subject or to let him do it, but it felt like I had an opening to make the invitation so I took it.

  “What’s happening Sunday?”

  “Two things actually. Micah is getting baptized and…” I observed the slight rise in her eyebrows, but I continued, “We’re renewing our vows.”

  “I’m afraid I’d all but forgotten that I talked him into an annulment.”

  “You mean it wasn’t Micah’s idea?” I couldn’t help but to be surprised.