by J. P. Comeau
“She’s engaged to some guy named Michael. I don’t know anything about him, but he’s rolling around in money. He even wants to send Addison to a boarding school.”
Gavin shrugged his shoulders. “Then it sounds like you’re out of the clear, man. You have Danielle, one of the best attorneys in town. If you can prove that Heather has plenty of money, then Danielle can probably get her to drop the request for a large payment. You’ll probably have to pay child support, though.”
I leaned across my desk and lowered my tone. “I’m struggling with that decision, Gavin. As soon as I saw her picture, my heart melted. You know me. I’m not exactly the sentimental type. Between this and new responsibilities at work, I’m in over my head.”
Gavin put his hands on my shoulders.
“I understand why you’re struggling,” he said, “but don’t let Heather ruin your life like before. You can still be a father to Addison while she’s at boarding school. You have so much going for you right now, man. Don’t let her screw it up yet again.”
Back when Heather and I were together, before she left me, I convinced my father to take on less responsibility at work. It caused me to miss out on a huge promotion. Heather was proud of me for standing up to him and taking a step in the ‘right direction’ toward my own business, but I never wanted my own business. I’d always enjoyed working with and for my father.
“She hurt me in the career department, too. But I can’t just pay her off, Gavin. It’s not that easy.”
I walked over to my wet bar and poured two scotch on the rocks with a twist, handing one to Gavin as I sat back down at my desk.
“Have you told your father yet?”
I shook my head, no.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Richard. Wouldn’t he be excited to have a grandchild by you? So would your mother, I’m sure.”
“My father will be upset about having a love child. He still believes I'm waiting until marriage for sex.”
Gavin spat some of his scotch out laughing. “If he only knew about your life.”
I laughed a little bit with him, realizing my father was out of touch with reality.
Gavin softened his tone, calming a bit. “Regardless about you having sex before marriage, it’s not like you knew and kept it from him.”
“I don’t think he’d believe me,” I replied. “He’d think that I kept it from him because Heather and I weren’t married. It’d spill over into my work life, too. Which couldn’t come at a worse time, now that I’m working on a farmland purchase.”
“Plus, you’re dating Annie.”
I put my drink down and let out a huge sigh. “That’s another problem right now.”
“I thought you two were getting along, though.”
I stood up and looked out my office window, down at the skyline of River Valley. “Exactly. Annie is the perfect woman, Gavin. I love everything about her. The way she dresses, the smell of her soft hair, that velvet voice of hers, and even the way she eats. She’s opposite from me, and that’s what draws me to her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, especially Heather.”
“You’re smitten with her, man. That’s wonderful. So what’s the problem?”
I turned around to face him. “I can’t do this right now, Gavin. I’m working well over twelve hours a day, and my spare time is spent trying to see Addison and working with my lawyer. It’s not fair to Annie. She deserves to be with someone who can wine and dine her, not a man who has to rush her out the door before heading to a court hearing about his love child.”
I sat down and downed the rest of my drink.
“You’ve waited a long time to get Annie to go out with you,” Gavin said. “Are you sure you want to break it off?”
“Do I want to? No. But I also don’t think that Annie is ready to be a stepmother, Gavin. She’s much younger than me, is starting a lifestyle brand, owns a yoga studio, and also has very little personal time. How can I ask her to be a mother figure, too? Because that’s what will end up happening. But there’s no way in hell that I’m not going to have Addison in my life.”
Gavin nodded, realizing how passionate I was about my daughter. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t realize everything was so hard right now.”
“That’s alright. It’ll all work out. Let’s talk about you for a while. I need to get my mind off of everything.”
Gavin took some time to tell me about his family back home and what they had been doing lately. He had grown up in Massachusetts with his mom and dad. We went to college together and were very competitive, but I was no match for him when it came to grades. He graduated high school at only fifteen-years-old and earned a college degree in record time so he was actually several years younger than me.
After college, Gavin thought about moving back to Massachusetts, but his parents had a hard time understanding him. He told me they just struggled because he was so smart. They were very simple, loving people. He had visited River Valley a time or two during our college holiday breaks and decided to move here, just like me, and joined my father’s company a year or so after I did. He worked hard and loved our hometown, but he also traveled a lot. Last year alone, he visited the Galapagos Islands, England, went back home to Massachusetts three times, and even found time for a two-week cruise.
I often envied his free lifestyle.
“My parents are selling their house and can’t decide where to move to, but they want to be where it’s warm all year long. Naturally, I suggested coming to River Valley, but my dad seems more interested in Florida. He's just struggling because he doesn't want to sell his shop.”
“Tell him that Florida is too muggy,” I said with a grin. “It’s hot here in California, but where we live, it’s more of a dry heat.”
Gavin nodded while nursing his scotch some more. “My sister, Caroline, just broke up with her boyfriend. She walked in on him, cheating on her.”
I winced, thinking about his sister having to witness such betrayal. She and I had chatted a few times, back when she was in River Valley.
“Where is she living nowadays?”
“Beverly Hills,” Gavin said. “She has a modeling job.
One of my clients was there to see me, so Gavin excused himself and went back to work. As I waited for the client to come into my office, a part of my heart begin to sink as I kept wondering what I would do about Annie.
15
_____
ANNIE
The hot, steamy shower felt good against my skin. I’d just gotten back from the hair salon, where my stylist did a last-minute touch-up of my roots. As soon as Richard mentioned having dinner at his place that night, my first concern was getting my hair fixed. I didn’t think he knew that I dyed it black, and I wanted to keep that a secret.
After my last boyfriend realized that I was a natural blonde, he convinced me to grow out all of my black hair and be a ‘California blonde girl.’ I refused to change who I was for yet another man, although something told me Richard would never treat me that way.
I applied some lavender vanilla body oil to my skin, which I had created specifically for my lifestyle brand. It was potent enough that I wouldn’t need any perfume, and I’d hoped Richard would get to feel my soft legs later on that night.
A tight violet dress with black heels was calling my name from the closet, so I slid that on and opted out of wearing panties. It had a slight cleavage, too, which I planned on using to seduce Richard as we ate dinner. Not just because I wanted desperately to have sex again, but because he’d sounded so distant in his text message. If there’s one thing that I knew about men, it’s that you can get them to open up just by having sex.
I got into my pink convertible, put the roof down, and headed over to Richard’s mansion. His place was in the upper-class countryside but it was only a couple minute drive from my downtown loft. I didn’t mind it, though. Especially since I had every intention of spending the night.
My stomach grumbled as I waited for him to answ
er the door. Whatever he was cooking inside smelled good, too.
I had to ring the doorbell a second time, having waited a full five minutes with no answer. Thoughts started racing through my mind. What if Richard had another woman in the house? What if he invited me over just to break-up? Is that why he was so distant earlier?
I let out a huge exhale to try and calm myself down, but it didn’t work, and I started tapping my foot impatiently. Richard finally answered, immediately kissing my lips as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was getting some flowers from the garden.”
Convinced that my insecurities were all in my head, I went inside and decided to put my best face forward. Richard wouldn’t have invited me over if he wasn’t into me.
“How was your day?”
Richard shrugged his shoulders.
“Work is work,” he said, putting his arm around my waist. “More importantly, how was your day?”
“It was good. Crystal is teaching classes now, which gives me more time to work on my lifestyle line.”
We went into his dining room, which was almost as big as my loft apartment. The overall style of his mansion was modern. Yet, his dining room table reminded me of something out of Victorian England. It was long and elegant, with high-backed chairs along both sides.
Richard had an intimate dinner waiting for us at one end of the table.
“It smells delicious,” I said as he pulled my chair out.
He kissed the top of my head, and I couldn’t help but let out a little moan.
“As much as I would have loved to have cooked,” he said, “I had it delivered from Spiamonte’s. I’ve been working such long days that I’m surprised I even have time to shower.”
He lifted a stainless steel lid, revealing a roasted chicken with vegetables and potatoes underneath. It smelled like lemon and rosemary, with a hint of garlic.
“That is not a protein bar,” I said.
He laughed a little bit, revealing his dazzling white smile underneath his sexy beard.
“And that’s not a yoga outfit.” I leaned forward a little bit, giving him a glimpse down my dress. “Tease.”
He poured each of us a glass of wine, and then we ate in silence for several minutes. My insecurities started to creep back into my mind. Richard was behaving differently. We usually discussed more than just our days, followed by some light flirtation. That was one of the reasons we fell for each other in the first place. Our chemistry just clicked.
“So,” I said, trying to break the silence. “What else is new with you?”
Richard kept his gaze on his food for a minute or two, before finally looking up at me. “A lot of stuff going on at work. But what about you? What’s the update on your lifestyle brand?”
“I heard from an investor today,” I said, eager to discuss something that would break the silence. “He’s in New York, though. We’ll be doing a conference call tomorrow morning.”
“That’s amazing, Annie. Tell me about all of the products in this lifestyle line.”
Richard seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, which suppressed some of my insecurities. But he still seemed a little off.
“I played around with some ingredients and developed several protein bars. They don’t taste chalky, though, which is a big problem with protein bars. Crystal enjoys the chocolate covered strawberry one, and I’m partial to the pizza flavor.”
Richard put his fork and knife down, then looked straight at me.
“Wait a minute,” Richard said. “You made a pizza-flavored protein bar?”
I nodded with a smile, proud of myself for creating the flavor.
“Wellness is my calling in life, but I’m still a human. Even vegetarians love the taste of a cheeseburger.” Richard laughed and waited for me to continue. “In addition to protein bars, I’ve also developed lotions, candles, yoga pants, and body oils.”
“Body oils sound nice,” he said.
I looked into his eyes and wanted to melt.
“I used some after I got out of the shower tonight,” I said, but Richard went back to staring at his food. “It’s lavender and vanilla scented. If you get close enough to me, I’m sure you could smell it. You don’t need perfume when you wear this oil, either.”
Richard nodded, then took a sip of his wine. We sat in silence for the next several minutes, and I was starting to freak out.
“How’s your food?”
“The food is great,” I whispered, “but you seem out of it. Are you sure that you’re okay?”
He nodded but didn’t speak for the rest of the meal.
After we finished eating, he cleared the plates and invited me into his second living room. It overlooked his backyard and had long, floor to ceiling windows. In the right corner was a fireplace, which he turned on via an app on his phone.
“Would you care for some more wine?”
I nodded and took a glass, eager to drink the insecurities away. As he sat down next to me on the couch, I instinctively curled into his body and rested my head on his chest. His muscles moved up and down with every breath, and he eventually put his hand on my lower back.
“I care about you, Annie,” he said.
“I care about you too,” I said.
Richard’s hand moved up and down along my spine, and I desperately wanted it to move south. At that point, sex seemed necessary. All of that awkward silence was driving me crazy, and if I hadn’t drunk so much, I’d have left by that point.
“I think about you all the time,” he whispered.
I put my arm around his waist and smiled, feeling his erection pressing against his pants. Not wanting to ruin the moment with any more talk, I looked up and kissed him on the lips. All I wanted was to feel at least some pressure back, even if it didn’t lead to sex. I needed to know that what he had said wasn’t all talk and that he genuinely wanted to be with me.
Not only did he kiss me back, but he pushed me onto the couch and ran his hands up my legs.
“Someone’s not wearing any panties tonight,” he said, finding my moist pussy.
I breathed heavily into his mouth as he put his finger inside, then used his thumb to massage my hard clitoris. He used his other hand to push the couch back, turning it into a massive bed for us.
I rolled over so that he was on his back, climbing on top of him and taking off my dress. His hands reached up and ripped off my bra, actually causing it to tear. As I kissed him passionately, I felt his hands unzipping his pants and sliding them down.
They never made it off the couch.
As soon as they were low enough, I climbed on top and slid him inside of me.
“Oh God,” I moaned, instinctively rocking my hips back and forth.
My hands lifted his shirt off, pulling it over his head and flinging it onto the floor. With every thrust from my hips, he met it with equal force. I bounced up and down on his cock, his hands cupping my breasts the entire time.
Once exhaustion started to creep over me, I turned over onto all fours, and he positioned himself behind me. I leaned back and found him hard as a rock, and once again, I was thrusting against his body.
“Wicked woman,” he moaned.
I loved feeling his balls slap against me, and with every thrust, they were growing in size.
“Harder,” I moaned, holding onto the arm of the couch. “Harder!”
The springs on the couch began to squeak loudly, as though it couldn’t take much more pressure. That was the kind of sex that I needed. Even though I was in love with him, that night was an intense sexual release between two people with loads of built-up stress. Richard even spanked my ass a few times, which I surprisingly enjoyed.
I flipped onto my back, spread my legs apart, and encouraged him to enter. He had a surprise for me, though.
Sinking down, he buried his face into my pussy licking and sucking as I wrapped my legs around him. I didn’t want to climax yet, though. I tried to make the session la
st as long as possible, but it was virtually impossible. He had the best tongue I’d ever encountered.
I sat up and pushed him onto his back, then ground my swollen folds against his mouth.
“Give it to me,” he grunted in between licks.
My hips moved back and forth until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Richard!” I yelled his name as I released my orgasm into his mouth, my hips moving back and forth long after it was over. He just felt so good inside of me.
“My turn,” he said, putting me onto my back.
Richard got on top of me, placed his hard cock back inside of my throbbing walls and smirked at me with mischievous eyes. He put one hand behind my neck and the other on my left breast. I reached up to kiss him, but he shook his head.
“Why?”
He smiled as he continued thrusting into me.
“I want to see you when it happens.”
His pounding got harder and more forceful, as though he were marking his territory. As he got closer, I found myself getting close too.
“Richard, oh God,” I whimpered.
His hand on the back of my neck gripped harder, pushing me closer to his face.
“Annie!”
As I felt him release his juices inside of me, another orgasm washed over my body, and I trembled wildly. At no point did we stop looking into each other's eyes.
When it was all over, he rolled onto his back, and we laid there, breathing hard. Then Richard pulled me closer, my breasts pressing into his chest, and my arm draped across his stomach.
At some point, we both fell asleep, and I was no longer worried about our future. I was in love.
16
_____
RICHARD
TWO WEEKS LATER6
Those prior two weeks had been pretty hectic. While Annie and I were doing quite well, seeing each other regularly and having fantastic sex, it was still like pulling teeth when it came to seeing Addison. Heather insisted on always being there, even though it was evident that Addison didn’t care for her own mother.
I also had a growing suspicion that Heather was keeping tabs on me.
