“She allows her mother to decide for her. That shows what a weakling she really is.” The woman inhaled deeply, her wide chest expanding with the big breath. “I believe it is time to move on.”
“NO!” Claire was surprised to find Andra echoing the same negation.
Cold ice blue eyes glared at them both. “Why not?”
“You need to get to know her first before you give up on her, Maxima.”
***
Andra rinsed the used coffee mugs and placed them in the dishwasher, before turning to face her wife. Claire looked deep in thought. She rested her hips against the marble covered island, studying the blonde.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
Claire shook her head slowly. “I don’t know, love. I was so convinced that Sara was the One.” She turned troubled green eyes on Andra and the brunette stepped closer to wrap her petite wife in her arms. “I believe that Maxima is giving up prematurely and that she’s making a big mistake.”
“In the end, it’s her decision.”
“Yes, and it sucks big time. She’s angry, bitter, and impatient.”
Andrea pulled back slightly and looked into her wife’s eyes. “Wouldn’t you be too, baby? It’s been over 2700 years now and her soul mate still eludes her.” The pale eyes twinkled. “Can you imagine not having sex for more than 2,000 years?”
Claire grinned. “Yeah, if she’s anything like you then I can understand why she’s so cranky.”
Wiggling her eyebrows at Claire, Andra smiled when Claire began to giggle. “She might be even worse. I am simply a reincarnated copy of the true Maxima. I believe whatever I have; she must have so much more and in a higher, much more intense degree. So yes, the possibility exists that Maxima might be a full-blown nymphomaniac.”
“Yes, she looks like she knows her way around a bedroom or should I say a ‘bedchamber’.”
A soft sigh sounded and they both spun around, to find Maxima standing in the entry way of the kitchen. They both turned beet red, knowing from the faintly amused look in Maxima’s eyes that she must’ve heard everything.
“I came back to tell you that I have decided to give that woman another chance,” she said calmly as she studied them with unblinking eyes.
“Her name is Sara.”
“I know.” She turned to leave, but stopped and turned back to face them again. This time a small smile played on the warrior’s beautiful face. “And you are right, Andra. You are an extremely good looking replica of me, but there is still a lot I can teach you.” With one last scorching look at Claire, she turned and left the stunned couple staring after her.
After a while Claire chuckled softly as she watched the play of emotions on her wife’s face. “That’s what we get for gossiping.”
“Let’s go to bed before she comes back and tries to kidnap you. I’ve lived in fear for the past ten years that she was going to try and steal you from me.” Andra said in teasing voice, but inside she couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. If Maxima should, by some strange reason, decide to seduce Claire, she doubted she would stand a chance. She wondered if there was a woman alive who could resist the woman. With her dark good looks, intense eyes and brooding personality she exuded a mixture of danger and raw sexual energy. What woman would not want to jump Maxima’s bones? Andra felt a soft hand on her cheek and her eyes met Claire’s. She could never fool her wife. Claire knew her inside out.
“I love you and only you. No one will ever make me want to leave you, least of all Maxima.”
Andra gave her a weak smile. “You sure?” She headed a multi-billion dollar corporation and hated sounding insecure, as she did right now. But with Claire she couldn’t help but be herself. Those green eyes could see right through her and turn her to mush all at the same time.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life before. You’re stuck with me, my love.”
“Good, because I refuse to let you go.”
They shared a tender kiss. The kiss suddenly changed, as it became deeper and hungrier. Andra pressed closer to Claire as she plundered her mouth with her tongue. Her hand crept under the oversized t-shirt Claire wore and upwards to cradle a soft breast. They both moaned simultaneously and Andra opened her eyes, glancing at the dining room table which was a few steps away from where they stood. The bedroom was too far now and she doubted she would make it so far, even if she tried. She purposefully steered Claire in the direction of the dining room table without breaking the kiss. A slight movement to her right, in the direction of the stairs, made her turn her head to investigate and she quickly jerked her hand out from under Claire’s t-shirt. She abruptly ended the kiss ignoring Claire’s protestations.
“Uh…may I have something to drink, please?”
At the sound of their seven-year-old son’s voice, Claire’s eyes jerked open and she quickly walked over to her son. Looking down into his blushing face, she grinned and lovingly combed her fingers through his dark hair. Big green eyes looked up at her and she gave him a tender kiss on the forehead. Andra simply loved to watch her wife interact with their children.
“Of course, honey.” Taking her son’s hand in hers, she guided him to the table to take a seat while she got him a glass of water. “By the way, why are you still awake at this hour, young man?”
“Aunt Max was in my room and sensing her, I woke up.”
That explains where Maxima disappeared to earlier. One thing she was thankful for was the fact that Maxima adored their children. Bruce and Nadia adored their Aunt Max and the mothers were more than happy to leave her in charge of babysitting the kids on their date nights.
“Well, tomorrow’s not school, but you know that you are off to see your grandmother tomorrow and for that you have be well rested,” Claire said softly as she cupped the boy’s cheek.
The boy smiled at the mention of his grandmother and looked at Andra, who was still struggling to get her breathing under control.
“Will Aunt Max also be there?”
Andra raised a dark brow. “Why didn’t you ask her when she was in your room with you?”
The boy walked over to her and pressed his face into her flat belly. “She said that she had to help you with a very special project, but that she’ll try and see if she could stop by, when you are done with the project.”
Andra cast a surprised look at her wife. Special project, indeed. That means that Maxima is really committed to try and give Sara a chance. A big smile formed on her face. What if they really matched and things worked out for them. Maxima would be free to join the living and most importantly, love again.
“In that case, I promise not to keep her too long. As soon as we’re done I will remind her that you will be expecting her.” She tilted his head upwards. “But you should know that with business dealings sometimes we have no control over time. It might happen that she could get busy and only be able to see you the day after tomorrow, son.”
Bruce smiled. “I understand, mom.”
Andra smiled warmly and cradled the boy’s face in her large palms. “That’s my boy. Now get your drink and then it’s off to bed with you.”
The boy gave his mother a final squeeze before Claire helped him onto the high kitchen chair.
CHAPTER 3
The unexpected buzzing of her cellphone, made Sara’s head jerk up from where she was working on her laptop. She reached for the phone, but before answering it, she took a deep breath. She knew who it would be and was in no mood to talk to this person right now. But she didn’t really have a choice.
“Mother.”
There was a moment of indignant silence on the other side of the line. “It’s extremely rude to answer your phone that way, Sara. I thought I raised you better than that.”
Sara bit down on her lip, but wisely decided to let the reprimand go. “How can I help you, Mother?” she said with forced politeness. She loved her mother, but the woman made it very difficult for her to remember that at times.
“Caroline’s been c
alling you for the past few hours and only got your answering machine.”
Rolling her eyes, Sara sighed softly. “That’s because I’m at the office.”
“In that case, I suggest you call her back. She got worried after the fourth attempt to reach you.”
“Four times?!” Sara exclaimed. Who the hell calls someone four times after only having met a few hours before? The word ‘psycho’ echoed through her mind. “Why would she call me four times? That makes me feel really uncomfortable.” And she wasn’t kidding.
Her mother exhaled loudly and her tone was clipped when she spoke again. “Someone who is serious about you and who wanted to confirm your date for tonight.”
“But four times?”
“I can see now why you’re alone. If you approach every potential date with the same blasé attitude you will end up alone.”
Sara had to physically force her thumb away from the ‘end call’ button. Her mother really knew which buttons to push. Instead she ignored the remark and stubbornly refused to allow her mother to bait her any further.
“I still have a few invoices to process, mother. Was that all you wanted?”
“Are you going to call her back?”
“We’re meeting at seven at Kilimanjaro. I haven’t called her to cancel. I believe she should know that the date is still on,” Sara said firmly.
“Well, suit yourself. I only wanted to help, but it seems you like being headed for spinsterhood. Caroline is a catch. I really doubt you could do better than that,” Sandra said coolly. “Goodbye.”
Relieved, Sara returned the goodbye and quickly hung up. She threw her phone on the desk. She still had a bunch of invoices to post into the computer, but after the call from her mother, she doubted if she would be able to concentrate. She raked the paper on her desk together and put them in a neat pile next to the computer.
Grabbing her purse and phone she left her office. As she crossed the wide expanse of the second exhibit hall, her eyes darted over to Maxima’s statue. She stopped and looked at it, once again amazed by how real it looked. For the umpteenth time she wondered what it was about the statue that drew her to it? Every time she walked past it, it was almost as if her feet had a will of their own. She glanced at her watch and grimaced. She had about four hours to get ready for her date and if she didn’t leave now, she could anticipate another call from her mother. With a final glance at Maxima, she left the exhibition hall.
***
The sea bass tasted like sawdust and the wine like horse sweat. Any other day the same dish and the same wine would’ve been a delight to the palate, but not tonight. She reached for her glass and took a sip.
“Your mother told me that you’ve been single for quite some time now. If you ask me it baffles me that such a gorgeous woman like you could be unattached.”
Sara smiled weakly as she looked at Caroline. From the moment she’d arrived at the restaurant, Caroline had been staring at her like she was today’s special on the menu. The supermodel’s eyes roved over her like a laser, making her wonder why she even bothered to get dressed for the date. Another thing that bothered her was that Caroline had decided to go on a liquid diet. The woman nibbled on a small cube of feta cheese and washed it down with three glasses of wine. She wondered if Caroline was hoping to preserve the piece of cheese in alcohol so it would take longer to digest thus keeping her full for the next two days. She almost giggled at the absurd thought and hid her mirth by taking another sip from her wine.
“Getting the gallery off the ground has taken up most of my time. I don’t think it would’ve been fair to a partner to have to compete with that,” she said. Sara shuddered when Caroline’s eyes lowered to her chest area.
“It must’ve been a lonely time for you.” This time Caroline’s voice sounded husky. When Sara met her eyes again, they were ablaze with lust.
“Come to think of it, not at all.” She quickly took another bite from her fish. She watched as Caroline’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve…uhm…read a lot about you over the years.” Caroline brought her glass to her lips. “You seemed to have had a lot of fun before the gallery thing. Don’t you miss going out, meeting friends…having a good time?” Caroline drank from her wine glass, but her grey eyes studied Sara carefully over the rim.
She smiled, a real one this time. She admitted she was a hell raiser in her earlier days. All through her college days up until five years ago, she was very active. Her face was plastered on almost every gossip magazine in circulation. She wasn’t known as ‘Goldilocks’ for nothing. Rich, blonde, and gorgeous, she was always surrounded by equally gorgeous women. ‘The pack’ they were called back then. Not one of those rags figured out that ‘the pack’ was actually her harem. Life was less complicated then, morals were nonexistent and money was not an issue.
As much as she enjoyed her life back then, she liked the person she was now so much more. It didn’t work out with Merle in the end, but the fashion designer played a big role in tempering her wild lifestyle. Even after their break up two years ago, she decided to not revert to her old lifestyle. At her age she doubted she would have anything in common with the young bratty socialites. Her ‘harem’ was the first thing Merle wanted dissolved. Her friends, the real ones at least, were all her age and settled. They still went out together now and then, but at least they all acted their age now.
Caroline was looking at her quizzically and she shrugged. “That was a long time ago. My priorities have changed since.”
Caroline chuckled softly. “You lived life passionately. I doubt if you’ve lost that passion completely.” Caroline leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “If you like I would love to help you find that girl again.” The way she leered at her, made it clear to Sara what Caroline was offering.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline. It was fun while it lasted, but I have a gallery to run now. I doubt my investors would like to see their Chairperson exhibiting behavior they might interpret as juvenile.”
Caroline’s eyes were determined as she looked at her and Sara knew that the supermodel was tired of dancing around the real reasons she had asked her out.
“What do you say we go somewhere else for dessert?”
Glancing at her plate Sara bit back a curse. She hadn’t even caused a dent in her dinner. There goes the excuse that she had no space for dessert.
“I have to be up early tomorrow to finish up at the gallery. Maybe we can do a coffee instead.” She saw a flash of annoyance in Caroline’s eyes before the supermodel smiled.
“Good. Let me take care of the check and then we’re out of here.” She signaled for the check and Sara knew she was in trouble. She reached out and touched the sleeve of Caroline’s shirt.
“How about having the coffee here instead? I have to be at the office really early and was hoping for an early night,” she injected as much sincerity as she could muster into her voice.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed. This time she didn’t hide her annoyance. The waiter arrived at the table and Caroline accepted the check, her face unreadable. They waited for the waiter to leave, before Caroline turned flashing eyes on her.
“Why are you really here, Sara?”
Sara felt her own anger igniting. She had been nothing but courteous throughout the whole evening, but Caroline was really pushing her now. “Why do you ask?” At the last moment she decided to still try and keep this civil. They were both public figures and starting a row in a popular restaurant could be detrimental to both their careers.
Caroline reached for the wine bottle and topped up her glass. She drank it halfway, before she spoke again. “I don’t like being strung along. You’re an adult and you know what this is about.”
“Funny that you should mention that, Caroline,” Sara said quietly. “Yes, I’m an adult and I have the right to decide what I want to do and with whom. If you want me to jump into bed with you tonight, then I can tell you right now it’s not going to happen.”
> Caroline finished off the remainder of her wine. “You knew why I asked you out and you were well aware of what my expectations were.”
“Did you really expect me to jump into bed with you?” Sara asked incredulously. She knew that was what Caroline had planned for the night, but hearing the other woman actually say so was too much. “What do you think of me?”
Caroline came to her feet. “You know what? I don’t need this.” She looked at the check and back at Sara. “Thanks for dinner.”
Sara watched in mute shock as the Caroline walked away, leaving her to pay for dinner. She took a long sip from her wine, draining the glass and signaled for the waiter. If she knew she wouldn’t get caught, she would’ve abducted her mother and marooned her on a small island along with Caroline—Survivor style. If she was lucky they would kill each other or eat a poisonous fish and no one would know she was even involved.
She handed her credit card over to the waiter and while waiting for him to settle her bill, she poured out the last bit of wine in the bottle and sipped on it. This was by far the worse date she’d ever been on.
***
Mara Bells smiled warmly at the dark woman towering over her. She utterly adored this woman. Maxima’s eyes were a brilliant blue as they looked at her. “Thank you for stopping by. I can’t wait for you to come home so we can visit again. How long will you stay at that gallery?”
Maxima shrugged her massive shoulders and pulled Mara close. Mara smiled at the gentle touch. She loved it when Maxima pampered her. It reminded her of when she was a child and Maxima would crawl into bed with her, reading her a bedtime story. Even now, at the age of sixty–five, she still purred like a kitten when her ancestor held her.
“You have to ask your stubborn daughter. It was her plan after all,” Maxima murmured.
Mara leaned back in Maxima’s arms so she could see the woman’s face. “Andra is convinced that this girl is the One.” She searched Maxima’s face to gauge her reaction. “What do you think?”
To Be Unbroken Page 3
