Watercolors

by Vera Roberts

  Most importantly, Ocean learned what it was like not to be dependent on his parents’ wealth and access. That summer was the first of many and even when he couldn’t dedicate an entire summer, he still flew out to see his grandparents.

  And of course, he helped at the shop.

  It was something all of the brothers had in common – to capitalize off the family’s name but also distance themselves from it. They were all proud to be Ellison’s but they were most proud of – even if they didn’t outright admit it – they weren’t their father.

  Ocean paired the sandwiches with pickles and potato chips, and fancy LaCroix soda water as he joined his not-quite girlfriend at the counter. “You were working so hard, I figured you needed a serious break.”

  “How long was I working?” She asked as he placed a napkin across her lap.

  “For about an hour.” He replied. He gathered her hands and blessed the food before they began eating. “I didn’t want to interrupt you and you were very much in the zone.”

  “Sometimes, it’ll be like that.” She admitted. “I’ll get started and I don’t know when I’ll be able to stop. It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time.”

  “But with beautiful results, always.” He smiled at her.

  Aaliyah felt her cheeks turn slightly pink and took a bite of her sandwich. Ocean was a master in the kitchen and could probably make Cup o’ Noodles taste like the best ramen ever. “This is so good, boo!” She took another bite and realized how hungry she was. “So good!”

  “Thank you,” he replied and took a bite. They ate quickly and in silence, enjoying their meal with little conversation. After they were done, Ocean took the plates and put them away in the kitchen.

  Aaliyah briefly contemplated going back to sketching but the momentum and adrenaline had passed. It was already close to 1 AM and she needed her sleep despite the holiday weekend. “I know it’s not good to eat before bedtime but I’m pooped.” She yawned. “I’m going to bed.” She paused for a beat. “Did you want to come with me?”

  Ocean’s lips curved into a sensual smile. “Sleep?”

  “Well,” Aaliyah leaned against the door jamb. “That, too.”

  Ocean picked up Aaliyah, carried her upstairs, and laid her down on the bed. He climbed on top of her and nestled himself between her thighs. She raked her hands up and down his back and they both were still fully clothed.

  “O,” she purred, “what are we doing here?”

  Normally, Ocean would crack a joke about what they were doing or trying to do. He knew what Aaliyah meant and how serious her eyes had become. They acted like a simple couple doing a routine familiar to them.

  They were anything simple and basic. Even when they made love, every thrust, push, and stroke took them to a new level unknown. They explored each other like long-lost lovers and connected on a spiritual level.

  The odds were stacked against them from the jump and even Ocean had to wonder if pursuing the relationship was really worth it. He couldn’t see himself other than Aaliyah but how would she fit into D.C. life?

  Would she be okay hosting dinner parties and meeting with various Heads of State? Would she actually give up her business to support Ocean and his dreams? Would she be fine sending their children to the best private schools and Ivy League colleges because of their status?

  Would Aaliyah still change for him like she wanted to do a few years ago?

  “I don’t know what we’re doing,” he honestly answered, “I can’t say it’ll be a piece of cake because I know it won’t be. I can’t say we’ll beat the odds because I don’t know. I can’t promise you the press will leave you alone once we do confirm our relationship. I can’t guarantee anything, baby. I can only guarantee what you’ll allow. The moment it’s not fun for neither one of us anymore, that’s when it’ll end.”

  He promised her everything and nothing at the same time. “Will you protect me?” She asked. “As much as you can?”

  “With everything.” He declared with such authority, Aaliyah shivered again. “Nothing is more important than you, than this, than us. Absolutely nothing.”

  Aaliyah wanted to believe him but the threat of skeletons long buried in her closet threatened to come out. “O, my past…”

  “Shh…” He swept his lips over hers and silenced her with his tongue. He pulled back and Aaliyah moaned at the loss. “…we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Right now, I’m only concerned with what’s going on between us right here and right now.”

  Aaliyah caressed Ocean’s face and ran her fingers through his hair. “Don’t hold back on me. I want to love it, I want you to hurt it.”

  “Your wish,” Ocean pulled off his shirt and Aaliyah followed with hers, “is my command.”

  Their lips found each other once again, tasting and exploring each other. Ocean consumed Aaliyah with his mouth, then his tongue. He kissed her hard as if he would never see her again. She returned the favor with gratitude.

  They peeled the remaining clothing off and laid side by side next to each other in bed. His fingertips crawled up her boyish frame while hers explored the quiet masculinity of his body. The nervousness, the unknowing, the confusion between them…it was gone.

  Ocean rolled on top of Aaliyah and stared down at her briefly. Her brown eyes trusted him and her lips slightly parted open to reveal a smile. Never had a woman brought out the fire and intensity within him. She was the air he breathed. She was the reason he got up in the morning.

  She was breathtakingly beautiful in her natural state. She was completely raw, vulnerable and Ocean had an overwhelming need to protect her. She’d weakened his resolve; something no woman had ever done. No other woman ever will.

  He slid down Aaliyah’s body, kissing every curve along the way until he found her entrance. He parted her thighs and slipped his tongue inside. She was already hot and slick with desire for him.

  “O…” She whimpered.

  Ocean gathered Aaliyah’s ass and pulled her cunt closer to his face. He licked her hard and swift, tasting every part of her. Her moans encouraged him, drove Ocean mad, as he held her down on the bed.

  She climaxed a short time later with a muffled cry and he kissed the inside of both thighs. He gently rubbed the stubble of his five o’clock shadow against her and Aaliyah giggled. Ocean could hear her voice all night.

  He climbed on top of her and slid himself inside of her. Hot, tight warmth surrounded him and comforted him like an old friend. She whimpered, he gasped.

  “Jesus…” He swallowed and placed his forehead on top of hers. Her slick and tight heat welcomed him. He moved against her in slow, and easy thrusts. “Liyah…”

  “O…” She met his moan and raked her fingertips down his back.

  The barrier between them dissipated with each stroke. Slowly, they found each other again. They interlocked fingers, rode in perfect harmony, and fed each other through love.

  “Deeper,” Aaliyah moaned as she wrapped her legs around Ocean’s waist. He’d completely filled her, stretching her out, and she still wanted more. She ached to feel him and craved his touch since the last time. “I want to feel your cock deeper inside of my pussy.”

  “Liyah…” Ocean growled. He loved it when she talked dirty and nothing was ever too taboo for her.

  Ocean’s thrusts became harder and uncontrollable as the lovemaking morphed into just plain fucking. The headboard banged against the wall, the stifled moans became louder, and incoherent. They gave each other everything and held nothing back.

  They kissed each other with a rabid passion; both so close to the edge but didn’t want to stop. She encouraged him with her words as he sunk deeper into her. She felt as if she was about to be split apart but she didn’t want him to stop. Not then, not ever.

  When Ocean hit her spot, Aaliyah relinquished control back to him. She no longer wanted to fight her feelings. She no longer wanted to worry about whatever future they had.

  “O…” She breathed in short spurts. The
quiver of her pussy rippled along his thick cock. She shrieked and then quieted. “I’m about to…I’m going to…”

  “Come on my dick, baby.” He encouraged. He felt her pussy quivering as the climax washed over Aaliyah. The orgasm put her body into a vise and Aaliyah screamed to the heavens while Ocean continued his relentless thrusts.

  Ocean came a short time later. His hot seed filled her as he collapsed on top of her. “Damn, baby.” He groaned. He kissed her again; this time it was soft and tender. Aaliyah’s pussy milked his cock and she softly rocked him. She caressed his face and kissed his cheeks and then his lips.

  Ocean rolled off Aaliyah and caressed her face as she fell into a deep sleep. He loved her more than anything and could honestly say he would die for that woman beneath him. She brought a passion within him he’d never known and showed him how to love.

  She needed Ocean more than ever. For the first time in Ocean’s life, he wondered if he was up to task for it.

  Eight

  Working for the CIA could be a lot of fun at times.

  Sure, there were the high-profile cases that everyone knew about. The president who would never stop tweeting. The activist that received threatening messages from an alt-right group. The war mission in another country that was led and sanctioned by a former boss who later became president.

  When Eduardo was young, everything he’d learned in the CIA was mind-blowing. Someone killed who and covered it up? Someone had a serious coke problem while they were running the country? Someone who had a whole another family he kept quiet?

  Nowadays, nothing fazed the man with a goatee and a bit of salt in his pepper hair. While he was no longer a spring chicken, he showed the new recruits he still had it and could find them within hours of a last appearance.

  He lived his life anonymously and enjoyed the pleasures of being unknown that came with it. No one could describe Eduardo accept he always seemed to be about. He was about this tall. He had hair that was about this length. The music he listened to sounded about like that.

  Of course, Eduardo kept his private life just that. His family, consisting of parents, and many brothers and sisters knew he worked for the CIA, but never asked too many questions. Eduardo was thankful for their privacy.

  He did not want to explain how he was living with his Domme girlfriend, her husband, who was one of his best friends, and occasionally participated in group sex with the other two submissives and another best friend, who was in the truck with him.

  Some things, Mama and Papa did not need to concern themselves with.

  As Eduardo Gonzales listened to the playback of Aaliyah’s and Ocean’s time together, he was stuck on one part in particular. Not their various orgasms. Not their dirty talk. Not even when they had dinner.

  O, my past…

  Eduardo rewound the recording.

  O, my past…

  He rewound it again.

  O, my past…

  “Her past?” Eduardo played back the recording. He skipped the sex – if he wasn’t personally having it, he didn’t want to listen to anyone else participating – and went back to the pertinent piece of conversation. “What past is she referring to?”

  “Oh, this one.” Dominic Carter pulled out Aaliyah’s dossier and gave it to his friend. He was a fit, blonde male with light eyes and a Guns N’ Roses addiction. “If it was something as simple as nude modeling or offensive tweets, it would be easy to clean up. This, however, is a bit harder.”

  Eduardo opened the file and read up on Aaliyah. Everything seemed simple and easy until the juicy part of what made her a problematic life partner for Ocean. “Holy shit. I think I remember her. Yeah, she always did prayer, incense, and white sage during her sessions.”

  “That’s the one. Everything is seemingly scrubbed off the web, but I’m sure there is someone with a good memory and playback to expose her.” Dominic added. “Worst yet, she knows what’s in here.” He motioned to the complex.

  “Does Ocean know about her past?”

  “We still don’t know if he knows and playing stupid about it or he doesn’t know at all.” Dominic questioned. “Even Jay is wondering how much Ocean knows. I get the feeling even if he doesn’t know, once he finds out, it won’t change anything how he feels about her.”

  “Daddy Ellison?” Eduardo asked.

  “Daddy Ellison knows about the dossier and it was given to him.” Dominic paused. “He got the clean version.”

  “Jay?” Eduardo asked and Dominic shook his head. “Who?”

  “We don’t know for sure but we have an idea who did. Jay’s on his way to Vegas to fix the problem before it becomes a bigger issue.” Dominic yawned. “For now, we just have to keep monitoring the situation until it reveals itself.”

  “A tattoo artist, a California senator, and a sordid past they’re trying to keep under wraps?” Eduardo shook his head. “Now, that’s a drama I’ll pay money to watch.”

  “If things go as planned,” Dominic shrugged, “we’ll have a front row seat for free.”

  ~~~~~~

  It was rare for Jackson Fischer to be involved in other people’s affairs.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t care. He cared as much as the next person. Enough to read a story online about it, maybe care just enough, but then he’ll move onto the next topic a few minutes later. Jackson was a man of simple pleasures and tried to live a simple life despite his lifestyle.

  As the owner of the world-famous Honey Ranch on the outskirts of Las Vegas and the eponymous same name of the highly-rated reality show, Jackson’s priorities were as simple as they could be – his wife, Liane, his children, and of course, his whores. Everything else fell to the wayside.

  So when he received an urgent phone call from a longtime business partner and associate, Jackson knew something was up. No one calls him from a private, secured line just to talk about the latest football standings.

  “Did he indicate what he wanted?” Liane Fischer asked her husband. She was half-black, half-Chinese and played up both features in her stunning beauty. Her slanted eyes brought an allure to her full, sensual lips, and thick figure. “It sounds out of the blue for him to call for a meeting.”

  “He doesn’t like to discuss business over the airways and I can’t blame him,” Jackson fed his infant son, while his toddler daughter played nearby. “Jay isn’t a person who likes anything he says to be recorded or held against him if he can’t control the narrative.”

  “Hidden agenda?” She asked while she prepared coffee.

  Jackson shrugged. “No clue, but Jay isn’t one for the false pretenses. He would never come here if it was his plan to shut me down.” He glanced down at his Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. It was almost time for their meeting. He had a chef prepare the lunch ahead of Jay’s visit. He also requested his girls to be ready in case Jay wanted to stay and entertain himself before he left. He usually did.

  Liane knew her husband well. It was often what he didn’t say that many understood. “I can’t imagine why he would and I don’t think it would be in his place to get involved since it’s not his jurisdiction.”

  “Baby, Jay’s CIA.” Jackson glanced over at her. “He’ll involve himself regardless.”

  “But still,” Liane dismissed her husband, “I don’t see why a personal visit to you is going to solve anything. He’s made it clear he wasn’t just out here to see any of the girls and he could do that anytime without meeting with you personally. If he’s not here to shut you down, then what’s his purpose of visiting?”

  Jackson finished feeding his son and burped him. “Baby, Jay would come here if it’s his plan to shut someone else down.”

  Nine

  He forgot the essence she had when she woke up in the morning.

  As Ocean woke up from his slumber, he didn’t have to search for Aaliyah. Her side of the bed was still warm and he could smell the lavender incense from a short distance away. Erykah Badu’s sultry voice filled the condo and he could faintly make out Aaliyah singing alo
ng.

  They made love several times throughout the night, exploring and teasing each other. A soft pull, a hard push. Scratches and bites on various body parts. The headboard caused dents in the wall from the relentless banging.

  Tasting each other’s love, promising everything, and guaranteeing nothing.

  Ocean was naturally sore but his heart was full. He’d never felt so free, so unbridled with anyone else. With Aaliyah, he could truly be himself with no false pretenses. He didn’t have to fake it for the cameras or put on his politician mask.

  Ocean could be everything to Aaliyah and she accepted him wholly. The last two years were a blur of being set up on political dates with women who were more interested in how they looked in photographs than why Ocean considered Stevie Wonder’s Music of My Mind album one of his best.

  He didn’t want to date someone and marry them because she would look good with him. If there wasn’t a connection, he didn’t want it. He wanted a 90’s R&B love. He didn’t want safe, adult contemporary. He wanted Johnny Gill, Jodeci, and Dru Hill. He didn’t want Adele.

  Aaliyah guaranteed Ocean Jimi Hendrix and Iron Maiden. She loved hard and fast and her music reflected that. That was fine by Ocean as long as it didn’t make him fall asleep.

  He would worry about music tastes and screening songs for their future children later. It was Labor Day weekend and Ocean was glad to take a break from politics for just a few days. He wanted to make the most of his weekend with Aaliyah before he had to go back to D.C. and pretended he liked some people from his own party when he really wanted to kick their asses.

  He freshened up in the bathroom before he made his way downstairs. Aaliyah had already made breakfast and was working on the lion piece. She had her glasses down to the bridge of her nose and her locs were pulled up to a messy bun on top of her head.

  She wore a simple tank top and lounge pants that showcased her boyish figure. Ocean felt his breath caught in his throat seeing just how naturally beautiful Aaliyah was. She didn’t need a lot of makeup; low-key he thought she didn’t like wearing too much of it. She also didn’t like fancying herself up with a lot of artificial stuff.