Sweet Revenge: A Nanny to Mommy Romantic Suspense
Author: Ford, Mia
Date: 2019-03-02

Sweet Revenge

A Nanny to Mommy Romantic Suspense

Mia Ford

Copyright © 2019 by Mia Ford

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Created with Vellum

Contents

Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Epilogue

35. Sneak Peak: Rock My World

About the Author

Also by Mia Ford

Blurb

If I get to meet my twin boys, I’ll be the luckiest woman alive once again!

Okay, here’s the thing – I NEVER give up.

So, when Ted decides to dump me,

I decide to pick up the pieces of my life together.

Yeah baby…I am gonna take revenge,

For the sake of my little boys.

They say you always get what you are destined to get.

Well, I’ve found my perfect man,

And he is determined to help me find my little boys.

Revenge does taste better when it’s cold.

Boys, momma’s coming. I love you.

Chapter One

Leia

I love days like this.

It started off as a typical Sunday drive (which I take quite frequently) in my little Volvo station wagon out on the open roads outside of the city. It’s very peaceful and during the autumn months the temperature is just perfect. Even during the blistering hot Southern California summers, it is not a bad time to get out and about and enjoy the freedom of being alive.

My name is Leia Daniels. I was twenty-five years old, still a child in many ways, when I met the man who would have the most profound impact on my life, far more than I had ever dreamt of. It is something that I still think about, still dream about, and continue to this day to reflect upon at certain times of the year. I don’t think it will ever leave me and I would not be the person I am today if it ever did. I’m grateful for all of it.

The day started off as any other Sunday. I arose early in my mansion about ten miles outside of San Diego. I have always been an early riser even if I stayed up late the night before, and this morning was no different. I woke up and enjoyed my early morning jog, a quick shower, and a small oatmeal breakfast. The maid and butler both had the day off and I had the house basically to myself. Sometimes I enjoyed the solitude, but most of the time it could get rather depressing and lonely as I remembered how lively the house used to be when my parents were still alive.

I will never forget the day that the dreadful knock came at the door, and the policeman stood there with fear and regret in his eyes as he tried to look me in the eyes, and uttered the words that will ring on in my deepest fears, in the most dreaded part of my memory. “There’s been an accident. Your parents…didn’t make it.”

I was just fifteen years old. I thought I was grown up (or damn near) and that I was mature beyond my years, but at that crushing moment I might as well have been a five-year-old who was now totally alone, totally lost in the world. Nothing in life is as devastating, especially to a child, as the loss of a parent. You are a part of them and they are a part of you; your very essence feels shifted, misplaced. It had happened over ten years ago and I still felt that I was trying to center myself and move forward.

And I was very fortunate in many ways that I have never forgotten or taken for granted. Our long term butler, Walden took care of me. He’d been given guardianship over me in the event that something ever happened to my parents. My father had seen to it that all of his affairs were in perfect order, just in case…

He couldn’t have known that a tragic car accident would take the lives of both him and my mother that chilly, dark night, but my father was a brilliant businessman and he used all of the skills that he utilized to build and run a successful cosmetics empire and he applied that same zeal and dedication to every single thing that he did in his life. I would inherit the business and I would one day oversee things, as I’d been doing since I graduated from college (as per the agreement my father and his lawyer had drafted up). At twenty-two I did just that, graduating summa cum laude from USC with a degree in Business.

I loved the company my father built and I loved overseeing the day to day operations, but I have never been silly enough to think at my youth and inexperience that I was competent to run my father’s company. Many of the same people that helped him run things when he was alive continued to do so now. They were brilliant and they did a wonderful job. All of them were great people and I’d become very close with them.

That Sunday morning after breakfast I went into the huge garage that was brimming with every type of sports car imaginable and I selected the Volvo. I had a lot of fun with the lavish, luxurious sports cars—they were a hoot—but I didn’t want to be noticed today. On quiet Sundays I liked to drive into town, get a manicure and a pedicure, and head to the Salon to get a touch up on my hair. After that I usually went to the spa to get a massage, and then meet a few of my girlfriends for a round of golf at the country club. Doing many of these things, I didn’t like to attract too much attention. I’ve never been one to seek out validation from other people and I’m actually uncomfortable doing so. I deeply love my privacy.

Plus, being the heir to one of the richest cosmetic empires in the world, I was always a big target for the paparazzi that dogged me relentlessly. Usually if I drove the Volvo and dressed casually, they didn’t seem to notice me as much.

I changed the radio station until I was on my favorite eighties pop station and let the sounds of early Madonna take me away for a bit. I’d always loved the music of that era, even though I was a bit too young to have been brought up in it. There was just something about the clothing, the fashion, and the sound of that music that grabbed hold of me and got into my head. I’d grown up in the late nineties, but the sounds of that era were too sad and depressing for my taste. I was a happy person for the most part and I loved music that touched that happiness and made it spark just a little bit more.

The song she was currently singing was about a bad breakup and how she just didn’t care and was happy to move on. I could relate to it, having gone through a similar breakup about six months before. I was a bit torn up at first, though. It was my most serious relationship to date and I’d thought that we were in it for the long haul, but then we just started drifting apart and the spark was gone. It wasn’t anyone’s fault really, but that happened after almost a year of being together.

Since then I’d been happy to be single and just going out with my single girlfriends to have a good time. I’d dated a few guys here and there but nothing had really clicked heavily. I wasn’t in any hurry. A woman in my position couldn’t be. There were far too many vultures out there who could smell the money and come running. Of course I knew that most men considered me fairly attractive and I got plenty of head turns and looks when I was driving the Volvo, but as soon as they found out where I lived and I told them who I was, everything had always changed.

“You should try the experiment,” Chastity, my best friend since high school told me.

“What experiment?” I asked. I was very intrigued.

“I’ve read about it. You pretend to be poor and then when that person falls in love with you then you tell them who you really are. It’s a total lock.”

We were in my kitchen eating ice cream out of the carton. I set it down on the counter and looked at her like she was crazy (I thought she might be having a conniption or something) and said, “That is bizarre and totally dishonest.”

Chastity laughed. “That’s the brilliance of it.”

I shook my head. “No. There is no way I’m ever doing that.”

But I’d actually been thinking about it a lot. It had some merit, although it was very deceitful and went against every honest part of my upbringing and moral character. Still, it was worth a shot. My biggest fear was that when I revealed the lie to whoever I was with they would hate me and break up with me on the spot.

Or they would love me so much that they just didn’t care.

There was a reason celebrities usually married other celebrities—they didn’t have to even worry about this sort of stuff.

I made the turn onto Lexington Rd. heading towards the outskirts of town. I was going to be late for my appointment if I didn’t hurry and Lonnie Sands did not wait for anyone. He was perhaps the highest paid and most highly sought after stylist in the city. Most people had to reserve him weeks in advance and he was not cheap. I was his regular, though, and I paid him handsomely for it. It was about the only ridiculously expensive thing I really spent much time splurging on. Most of the expensive sports cars were actually donated by the dealerships to us, otherwise I would have sold off a good bit of them, except for the ones that my father cherished so much. I kept those for him.

I still can’t remember exactly how it happened. Everything occurred so quickly I barely had time to react. One moment I was driving down the open highway and suddenly there was a motorcycle in front of me. It was a dirt bike and I believe it came in from the side, but I wasn’t quite sure. But there it was and it was close. Too close. I realized that instant I was about to collide with it. I did my best to swerve but the motorcycle did the same and I ran into the back of it as I slammed on my brakes, skidding and screeching all over the road.

I’d done my best to avoid the impact, but it was too late. I hit the motorcycle hard.

The bike instantly bounced and skidded to the right heading over the embankment almost ricocheting off the edge of the pavement and then doing several flips as it flopped around landing hard on the ground before rebounding high into the air and back down again and again.

“NO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I witnessed the horrific events unfolding right in front of me. I was paralyzed with fear. It was barely all I could do to hold my car on the road and avoid damage to myself.

My car eventually came to a grinding halt in the middle of the road.

And then silence. Just the radio playing on in my speakers songs about happier times, totally oblivious to the tragedy that had just happened. The tragedy I’d caused…

Oh…my…God…I hit them… I hit someone….

“No…it can’t…” I cried. Tears were falling from my eyes. I could barely breathe as my chest tightened up and I felt my heart flying in my chest sending shockwaves of panic signaling into the back of my head like some kind of pounding rhythm that had no real source.

I quickly shut off the radio and then I just sat there in silence, frozen, too scared to move, too afraid of what I’d done or what I might see. Every single image of doom and total destruction of everything I had ever known passed by the internal lens behind my eyes.

Somehow I eventually found the will to move. I turned off the car, opened the door, and staggered out into the open road. There were no other cars around. It was quiet. Empty. Too quiet. A soft, gentle breeze caressed across my face as if trying to comfort me, but it made the whole thing seem so much worse somehow.

I stepped slowly across the road until I was now staring down the embankment. The bike was lying at the bottom on its side. Several pieces of it were scattered on the side of the road and all over the ground near where it finally rested at the bottom of the steep hill. It was mostly destroyed. The front wheel appeared to be just dangling, on the verge of falling off completely.

And the driver…?

Wait… where was the driver…?

There was no one around, only the bike.

I knew that someone had been riding when I crashed into them. Where in the hell were they?

“Hello?” I yelled as I started to run around the embankment and then back and forth across the road trying to find them. “Hello?”

I doubted they could hear me. They were most likely dead. I’d hit them pretty hard and I wasn’t sure how anyone could have survived it. They might have even…slid…under the car?

“No…no, no, no, NO!” I yelled as I ran towards the road behind my car checking frantically for whoever this person might be. What had I done? At twenty-five my life was ruined and this poor person was probably dead…or at least hurt seriously. How could I have been so careless? So reckless?

“Hello?” I shouted again looking towards the embankment.

I was bawling now, the tears falling hard out of my eyes, my voice getting choked up and my chest so tight and heavy that I could barely even make a sound anymore. I was about to collapse in a full on panic attack.

“Here!”

The voice came out of nowhere. At first I wasn’t even sure I’d heard anyone over my own crying and the loud voices screaming in my head in anguish about what had just happened. But I thought… it was possible…did I really hear someone or was my head playing tricks with me? Hopeful thinking…that’s all it was. No one could have survived this. I plowed into the motorcycle going at least fifty.

“I’m here!”

The voice was there again. This time I knew I heard it.

It was coming from my right. Towards the embankment behind where my car was parked.

Quickly I broke into a jog and ran towards it.

“Hello?” I shouted as I got closer.

“Yes! I’m here!”

It was a man’s voice. It sounded strong and clear. Maybe… could it be…?

He was OK.

When I came to the edge of the road I saw him. There was a small hill there right before the embankment started to drop off. He was lying just on the edge of that in a fairly grassy spot. He was sitting up and looking towards me, his helmet lying beside him close to his hand.

A look of relief came over his face when he saw me.

“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“Um… I think so… but I’m not sure I can stand right now. I took a pretty good tumble.”

I almost laughed with his response. He didn’t seem to even be in that much pain. He definitely didn’t sound like the type of man who’d been seriously injured in a collision on a motorcycle. The nearest I could tell his right leg seemed a bit banged up and twisted as he kept rubbing it lightly and grimacing with the pain. I didn’t see any damage to his head or face though, which I took as a great sign.

“I’m so sorry!” I said. “I don’t know what happened. Suddenly, you were there and I… I couldn’t stop.”

“Nah, it was my fault. I soared over this stupid hill and into the road. I took a chance there would be no car there and I was wrong.”

He laughed.

It was at this moment I noticed how handsome the stranger was. He was fit and athletic with a sweet smile, great dimples, and emerald colored, green eyes.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” I said.

He shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s necessary.”

As he started to move his body slumped back down and he cried out in pain. “Ugh… maybe I was wrong…”

“Just lie still. Do not move. We have no idea how hurt you might be.”

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and quickly dialed nine-one-one and reported the accident.

“Thanks,” he said. “By the way, I’m Ted Ridgeway. We might as well exchange names, right?”

I smiled. I was so relieved that I had not killed this man and from the looks of things it was not technically my fault, but a freak accident caused by a miscalculation of an adrenaline junkie.

“I’m Leia,” I said. “Leia Daniels.”

Chapter Two

Ted

“So am I going to live?”

I teased the doctor as he shone the bright light from that little flashlight that all doctors are in a never ending supply of into my eyes. My head was hurting just a little bit (the light was not helping) and I felt a little slow to move, mostly because my body felt like it had just been dropped in a meat grinder. But for the most part I was fine.

What had I been thinking? I could have been killed making that stupid jump. I was lucky I hit that car just right, or it could have been much more serious. Hell, I think I was almost as shaken up as Leia was.

Leia… Leia Daniels. Wow… now she was beautiful as could be. She could have easily have been a cover model. Amazing face, smooth features, pouty lips, bright eyes, soft, smooth skin, and a curvaceous, healthy looking figure. And of course I couldn’t stop dreaming about her luscious looking chest. Even in a T-shirt and Jeans she was stunning. In a way I was glad I had to go through this to meet her. She was well worth the pain.

The doctor smiled and put his flashlight back in his pocket. “Oh, I think you will be just fine.”

He placed his hands under my jaw and felt my lymph nodes, and then checked my pulse before grabbing a tongue depressor and making me say “AAAHH!”

“Any loss of vision during the accident? Feeling faint? Dizziness?” He asked.

I shook my head. “No, I feel fine, just a bit sore.”

“Well, I’ll say you are a very lucky guy. This could have been so much worse.”

“I believe you,” I said.

He took out a stethoscope and listened to my heart and then to my breathing.

After that he pulled out a pad and began to write up a prescription.

“What’s that for?”

“Well, you might be in some pain the next few days. According to your x-rays, you didn’t break anything and you didn’t tear anything, but there is some fluid and inflammation around the joint. You might not be feeling it yet, but give it a day or two and that right knee is going to be doing some singing.”

“Wow, that sounds like a great thing to look forward to,” I remarked sarcastically.

He smiled and finished out the prescription. I took it from him and shook his hand before he headed for the door.

“They can take care of checking you out up front. You have a good one, Ted.”

“Thanks, doc.”

I put on my jacket and made my way towards the front office. After I finished paying my fee with the limited insurance I still had left (thank you credit card) I went out by the waiting area and headed for the front door, but I noticed something in my peripheral that really caught my eye.

The beautiful girl from the accident, Leia—she was sitting there nervously reading a magazine.

“Hey, there,” I said.

Leia quickly jumped to her feet.

“Wow, are you ok?” She asked.

She was so cute, still hyper concerned about me.

“I’m fine,” I said. “My knee is a bit banged up, but I’ll be alright.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be; it happens. You didn’t have to come here. I’m fine,” I said.

Leia shook her head. “No, I had to. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep without knowing you are ok.”

I opened the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine in front of the hospital. The day looked flawless. It was true; we lived in paradise. I never wanted to be anywhere else.

Leia followed right behind me.

“I appreciate the concern, but I think I’m ok. The doctor thinks my knee got a bit screwed up during the accident so he gave me some pain pills, but other than that I think I’m fine. But to be honest, I feel a lot more pain in my lower back than my knee, but the doctor didn’t seem too concerned with it.”

“Again, I’m so sorry.”

“Let it go,” I said calmly with a smile. “It was my fault. I already told you that. I did something stupid and I risked my life and career. It’s on me.”

“What do you do?”

I laughed. “In case you haven’t guessed, I’m a professional motocross racer. I race motorcycles over hilly terrain.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen that on television. So, you do those big jumps and all that? It looks pretty exciting.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it is awesome, but if you’ve only seen it on television than you haven’t seen it at all, not really. Nothing compares to watching it live and in front of your face. It’s unreal.”

Leia seemed impressed. “You sound like you’ve been into that for a while.”

“Right. I got into it when my dad took me to my first motocross race when I was just seven. After that I started hounding my parents’ day and night to get me a dirt bike. They finally got me a small one for kids, but it was real. I can’t tell you how many times I fell on the thing, but it was amazing fun and I was hooked right from the first.”

“I love that,” Leia said. “It’s great to have such a passion for something.”

Leia was walking with her arms crossed and I couldn’t help but notice how it made her beautiful cleavage pop up from her low necked T-shirt just perfectly. She was incredibly sexy.

“Well, it’s important to have something to throw yourself into, something that gets inside of you and gives your life meaning. Too many people waste their opportunities and gifts by letting other things get in the way. I mean, those things are important but if you really want something you have to be willing to go after it with everything you got.”

Leia smiled and looked into my eyes. There was something about the way she looked at me that just set my heart on fire. Rarely had I ever met a woman who could just look at me and turn me on that way. I could see how easy it would be to fall in love with such a woman.

And it was fascinating the way she had taken so much out of herself to care for a stranger she didn’t even know. I wished I was able to do that, but I don’t think I’ve ever been quite that open and that in touch with others. It was intriguing to say the least.

“So, what about your bike?” Leia asked.

I’d almost forgotten about it. How was I getting home?

“Um… well, I guess they hauled it away to a garage, but I doubt it’s fixable. I imagine it’s probably totaled. Hopefully my insurance company gives me a decent deal, but I doubt it. I’ve spent a bunch of money on that bike. I’ll probably have to rent one for the race in two weeks if I can’t get this one fixed for cheap.”

“That’s rough,” she said. “I’d be willing to lend you the money for the repairs. After all, I do feel responsible.”

I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“No way,” I said. It had come out harsher than I meant it. I softened my tone. “Look, I know you mean well, and that’s very generous, but this isn’t your fault and it isn’t your problem. Sorry, I just don’t do well with accepting charity. But I do appreciate the offer, don’t get me wrong.”

She looked at me in a concerned almost defeated manner. I hadn’t meant to be so harsh with her, but it was important for her to understand that I did not want any charity from her, that I was an old fashioned guy who believed in working to get every single thing that I have.

I just needed to go out of my way to make sure she realized that and it appeared to be sinking in.

“Ok,” she said. “Well, can I at least offer you a lift home? My car was barely damaged at all surprisingly, just some dents in the bumper and some chipped bits in the grille.”

I paused a moment and then smiled at her kindly. “Sure. Thanks. But then again, the way you drive…”

She hit me playfully in the arm. “Wow, are you sure you didn’t get any brain damage? The helmet can only cover so much of such a swollen head.”

I pretended to be hurt from the punch for a moment and leaned back. She was fun and playful; I liked that.

A few minutes later we were in her Volvo heading to the south side of town where I had a meager apartment. It wasn’t much, but then again I’d only been a professional motocross racer for about six months. It took a while before you started making that endorsement money, if you were good enough. The competition money was not nearly as much as everyone thought.

Plus, I was not yet one of the top guys. It was a bit of a long road to go, but I had my foot in the door, if I didn’t blow it by doing stupid stunts of course. And what were the odds of that happening? Sometimes I was too foolhardy for my own good. I was aware of this.

“So, tell me about yourself,” I asked as we drove along after a few minutes of silence.

“What’s to tell?” She said coyly.

“I don’t know; that’s why I asked,” I kidded.

She smirked at me. “I was born and raised around here. My family died when I was young, but I was raised by a good friend of the family. And I help run my family’s business.”

“That sounds interesting. You one of those high powered business women I see on television sometimes?”

Leia laughed. “I hate television. And I’m only high powered in the minds of some people.”

“So, what were you going to do today? I’m sure I messed up your plans a bit. My bad.”

“You are fine. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that I didn’t accidentally kill you. I still can’t figure out how you got off the bike and onto that hill without being crushed by my car.”

“Well, the best that I can remember. I saw your car as I was in the air coming over the hill. I didn’t have time to react. Suddenly, I was on the road and instantly your bumper was banging into me. I knew that I was in trouble so, as the car started to go down I leapt to the side and luckily I chose the side you did not swerve to. I remember landing and bouncing a few times before I finally stopped. I didn’t realize where I was and barely remembered what happened when I heard you yelling for me.”

Leia shivered as if something wicked had just crawled up her skin.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was just answering truthfully. I don’t mean to make you relive it. I’m going to try not to and just be thankful that I am able to just continue on this crazy life excursion.”

Leia snorted in a chuckle.

I smiled back. I was curious now. “What?”

“I’ve just never heard anyone describe life as an excursion.”

“Well, I believe that this life is just a brief interlude on our way to another much more interesting plane of existence. Sorry, sometimes I let my metaphysical stuff get a bit out of whack. I have some strange beliefs. Some might say I’m quirky.”

“Oh, you are definitely quirky, but unique is more the word that I would use.”

I paused and thought a moment. “Yeah. I guess that works.”

She pulled up in front of my place right then and I started to get out of her car.

“Hey, thanks so much for the lift,” I said.

“It’s the least I can do,” she replied. “I really hope you are able to work everything out with your bike and the race. I wish you all the best of luck.”

I suddenly decided to go for it. This was as good a time as any.

“Hey, why don’t you come and watch me race,” I suggested.

She seemed amused by the idea. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve never seen it in person before. I think it will be a huge treat for you. I’ll have them leave a ticket for you by the gate. It’s no problem. I get some freebies to pass out.”

I almost added the words “to friends.” I was glad I stopped that; I sure didn’t want Leia to consider me just a friend. She was a hell of a great woman and I was very much interested in getting to know her on a more romantic level. I wasn’t sure if the sparks were flowing for her about me, but I believed I was charming enough to bring her around if she got to know me better.

“Sure, I think I will,” Leia said.

“Great. I’ll see you then.”

Leia waved bye and drove away. I stood there watching her for a few minutes as she disappeared over the hill at the end of the street.

It felt good to be home. Once inside I took a quick shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles. It felt great. The tension of the day as well as the desert dirt I’d landed in dissipated off my body easily. Afterwards I felt like a new man.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge I sat down on the couch and pulled up my laptop. I quickly opened up the search engine and it pulled up my most recent search result, populating the last page I’d visited first. I began to read, glad to have a chance to finally relax after a hectic day.

The article I was reading was about Leia Daniels. I’d started reading about her a few weeks ago and the more I found out, the more intrigued I became. This was going to be a dicey deal indeed, and I was sure it would work. It had to. My funds were dwindling by the day and the motocross thing just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me. I had not been blessed with an overabundance of that particular talent it would seem, but I could fake it for a while anyway. At least long enough to get to the next stage of my project.

I went to the next page of the article and a big picture of the beautiful, exquisite Leia pulled up. She was ravishing. And she was filthy rich, let’s not forget that.

She was also the sweetest person I’d ever met; that I hadn’t counted on, but it was endearing actually. She had a natural mothering, caring, instinct.

It was almost a shame…

She had no idea what I was about to put her through. But sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do.

Yes, it was almost a shame really…

Almost…

Chapter Three

Leia

Two Weeks Later

Ted told me that the motocross race would be exciting, and he was not feeding me any lines. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I first walked into the arena and headed towards my seat. The place was packed mostly with rows of seats rising up towards the rafters. A large race track was in the center of the building. It was covered in dirt and had several hills with a start line and a finish line. I could already see several of the bikes getting set up in position for the first races of the evening. It was my understanding that Ted’s race would be the final match of the night.

I usually went to events like this with friends, or the occasional date, but tonight I really wanted to go do this alone. I wasn’t sure it was the sort of thing that any of my friends would be into, and plus I just wanted to experience it solo. I wasn’t even sure that my ticket would be at the gate the way that Ted promised it would be. I figured he would have already forgotten about me, and the venue appeared to be sold out, so I was a little hesitant when I first arrived, but when I gave them my name there my ticket was.

I got some snacks and found my seat. I was going to make a fun evening of this and just let myself enjoy the full experience. So, for that to happen two chili dogs, a box of popcorn, and a diet soda were required. That’s right—diet soda. I was keeping it healthy.

I watched the first few races and I was blown away. I could not believe how high some of these guys were jumping. Several of them landed weird on a few of the jumps and either slowed down, crashed into other riders, or just fell to the ground only to get back up and continue on the race. It quickly became apparent that seeing the fails was even more fun than seeing them succeed. I found, almost sadistically in a creepy way that watching the bike riders make their jumps perfectly got to be a little bit boring after a bit. No, it was more entertaining to see them crash. I felt guilty and a bit amused at this observation about myself, but looking around I was not the only one.

I’d found myself unable to stop thinking about Ted. He was so charming, so handsome… and he had this easygoing nature that I found intriguing as well. We had the same sense of humor and neither one of us took ourselves too seriously. A few days after the accident, I found myself really wishing that I had his number so I could call or text him. I was even considering Facebook stalking him for a bit and sending him a friend request, but that would have been way too obvious. I really liked this guy and it had been a while since I had stumbled across any guy that really piqued my interest the way he did, and I definitely did not want to blow it.

I was thinking about him at work as well. During a few board meetings I’d drifted off in my mind and missed some important information that I had to have them go over again quickly. I played it off as having a touch of the flu, but really my mind was just thinking about Ted.

There wasn’t much about him online, other than a few things about Motocross. He hadn’t been riding at the pro level very long, but then again he was only twenty-eight. I didn’t know much about this sport, but any professional sport had to be insanely competitive to get into. And he was one of the few people out there riding who could call themselves a professional. I thought that was pretty admirable.

Soon the time came for the final race of the night. I was almost feeling the two chili dogs starting to wrestle each other in my stomach trying to vie for dominance. I took a few sips of my diet soda and followed with some popcorn, hoping that would settle things down.

I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous for him. I just wanted to see him do well, and as I thought about it I had never really known anyone who was a professional athlete. I’d come to all of my boyfriends’ football games in high school and college (although a good bit of the time I was focused on my own athletic endeavors) but never have I actually interacted with a professional athlete. And I’m not someone who is typically star struck by anyone, but maybe it’s because I grew up very athletic that I have always had a thing for athletic guys. Maybe it’s the hunger of the competition that gets me going. I enjoy it when a man has a healthy lust for competing and proving that he is better at something.

Or maybe I’m just crazy and that is a weird quirk to have. Yeah, that is entirely possible.

My eyes scanned all of the riders out there searching for Ted. It took me a few scans but I finally found him. He was riding a different color bike then the one he was riding when I crashed into him (or he crashed into me according to his side of things) and he looked really good in his clean uniform, and his flashy helmet. It was like he was ready to go into battle, which in a sense he was, but his body language as he rode his bike into position was sexy and smooth. He had full control over that machine between his legs…

Yeah, I liked that…

Feeling myself getting a bit hot under the collar I took another drink of my soda and tried to focus.

The riders rode up to the start line and after a few tense seconds they were off and riding away. It all began as a garbled mess of bodies so closely jammed together it almost looked like they were all chained together and riding on top of something beneath them. But quickly after the first hill, they all flew through the air and seemed to part their ways as they landed.

I watched intently until I could see Ted pulling out to the middle of the group. He accelerated quickly trying to speed past all of the riders, but every time he came to a curve I could see him slow down as the other racers started to pass him. For whatever reason he was having some trouble navigating the curve. I didn’t know enough about the sport to see if he was using a bad technique, or if there was something else going on. But it kept happening.

At least his jumps were high and breathtaking. The moment he hit the top of the hill and flew through the air it was like he was gliding on the air, flying higher and higher, and then falling smoothly to the ground as he accelerated once again and pulled ahead of his competitors.

I wondered how long he’d been really working on this sort of thing. He said he’d been seven when he started riding, but at what age do you start letting your kid practice this sort of thing? You had to be partially nuts as a parent to even approve of it and you definitely had to be nuts to attempt it. No one was going to be able to do it right the first several tries, so you were looking at multiple times where you were destined to fall to the ground and hurt yourself. Yet, you had to keep marching on and moving forward.

I admired that dedication.

Ted was getting a bit farther ahead now as some of the other riders missed their jumps and got farther behind. So far he had hit all of his jumps; his straight ahead game and those damn curves kept throwing him off base. I wondered if I should ask him at some point, but I thought better of it. It didn’t look like he was going to win this and I didn’t really want to bring up a sore subject. I wasn’t sure yet what type of a loser he might have been.

The race came to a close with Ted finishing eighth, if I counted correctly. He did not win, but it was a valiant effort and I was impressed with his ability. To do the things I’d just seen him do—that took a lot of skill and time to develop.

I decided to hang around outside the venue for a bit hoping to see him walk by so that I could talk to him. There was no way he had seen me in the audience or knew that I was there.

After waiting about a half hour I finally saw him exiting the building where I had determined the locker room was. At first he didn’t acknowledge my presence as he headed towards a beat up old Chevy Blazer. I didn’t know that he owned an actual car. It was old and rusted and I doubted it would run you more than a few miles before it needed maintenance, but it was his. I hated the thought, but it did remind me of a teenager’s first car.

“Hey!” I called to him.

He paused a moment and then his eyes focused in the dimly lit parking lot and his face relaxed as he saw it was me.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” He asked.

“What do you mean? You invited me and left the ticket.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would actually come. I thought you would have forgotten all about it.”

His modesty was cute.

“Well, I would have, but I just happened to have nothing else in the world going on tonight,” I replied laying it on a bit thick.

He chuckled and walked closer.

“I’m glad you made it. What did you think? It’s way more exciting live, right?”

My eyes went wide. “Oh, wow… it is a whole other animal live. My heart is still pounding. I’m so glad you asked me to come.”

“I’m glad you came,” Ted said. “How soon are we going to get you up on that motorcycle?”

I shook my head. “Oh, no. I don’t think I would ever have the kind of courage it takes to do what I just saw. My hat is off to you and I am forever in awe of you.”

“Thanks. So, what are you doing now?”

“Um, I don’t know,” I said. “I was just going to go home and maybe call it an early night. I know it’s only eleven, but some people would call that late, even if it is Saturday.”

He laughed at my teasing in an almost adorable “awe shucks” kind of way. Wow, he was cute as hell. And standing there in the dark parking lot with him and hardly anyone else around close to us I couldn’t help but feel the intimacy between the two of us building. There was warmth there, almost like some kind of a soft blanket that I could almost reach out and touch between us.

I was a little bit scared of this. To feel this close to someone I did not know well at all… it was overwhelming. Yeah, that is the best way to put it. So many emotions were coming at me from all sides, but I let them roll off me and just allowed myself to be in the moment enjoying myself with him.

“Well, I agree it is past my bedtime,” Ted replied. “How would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow night?”

“I’d love to,” I said.

“Great. How about I pick you up at seven?”

“Sounds great,” I said.

We swapped phones for a moment and input each other’s numbers.

“Alright, I’ll text you the details tomorrow then?” I asked.

Ted smiled and started to walk towards his car. “Sounds great. You have a great night, Leia.”

“You too.”

I went home feeling so good about myself. But I had some things I needed to think long and hard about before I opened myself up to even the possibility of a relationship.

* * *

“Pasta is your favorite food?”

Ted shrugged and looked at me with a blank expression. “So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, there are a zillion types of pasta and sauce and toppings; what is your favorite?”

He thought for a moment, leaned back, and rubbed his chin. This was of the utmost importance and he obviously did not want to give me any wrong answers here.

“I would have to say, that I favor Chicken Alfredo. I like to keep things simple. But I do love Spaghetti and meatballs, plus linguini in clam sauce is a close third. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever met a pasta dish I didn’t like. But I have met several that didn’t like me.”

I almost choked on the bite of pasta I was eating. Ted had the ability to say something so completely random in just the right way that it would crack me up senseless. I’d never met anyone who could do that, except my father. He and Ted would have gotten along famously.

Ted had picked me up at an apartment belonging to my girlfriend Penny who let me borrow it for the evening (I was just not ready to tell him who I really was or that I was wealthy) and he’d taken me to an Italian place called Gambitti’s. It was a quaint little place a bit off the beaten path but not far from the heart of the city. I was impressed that he knew such a well-kept secret. The food was amazing.

We started the dinner off with unlimited garlic bread that melted in my mouth. I could have eaten nothing but that and it would have been the best meal I’d had in a long time. After that we ordered our entrees and I decided I would try a dish with rigatoni and a lime sauce, mostly since I’d eaten so much bread already. It was good to balance it out, and this was also perfect.

This combined with a bottle of red wine had made it the best dinner date I’d ever been on.

And the conversation was so much fun. You know it’s going well when you almost forget to eat because you are talking so much back and forth.

“So, how is the knee?” I asked as we waited for our desserts. Ted had talked me into ordering some Tiramisu. I was going to feel like a slug the next day, but I figured I might as well. He could be very persuasive.

“Oh,” Ted said. “It’s actually doing better. It was a bit sore and it kept slowing me down during the race as I tried to turn the corners, but I think it will be fine in a few weeks. I tell you, the doctor was not kidding when he told me the pain would kick in. I almost wish I hadn’t thrown away that prescription for the pain meds.”

“You threw it away? Why?”

“I hate pills,” Ted replied. “I just think that they are harmful to the body and unless it is a medical emergency that you have to take medication to keep functioning properly, I would just rather not put those sorts of things in my body.”

“Wow, you are a bit of a health nut?”

Ted grinned. “No, just when it comes to pills. I don’t even take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Any of that man-made stuff is dangerous. I’ve read several books and other research that points to that.”

“Interesting,” I said. “You know I’ve heard a lot about that stuff, but I’ve always kind of let it pass me by. I may have to start reading up on it now. Thanks.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Ted raised his glass to do a quick toast with me. “Cheers.”

“So, alcohol is ok, though?” I asked teasing.

Ted smiled. “Alcohol is a byproduct of a natural thing. It is fermentation. It happens. People have used it for thousands of years for a variety of ailments. During ninety-nine percent of human history we did not have pills. And we got along just fine.”

Ted had some interesting philosophies, that was for sure. But I liked the way he thought about things and looked at the world. It was refreshing.

After dinner we went to a movie and saw a courtroom drama that was based on a John Grisham novel. I loved those movies and I’d been a fan of Grisham since his first book, so I was anxious to see it and Ted was happy enough to go with me. I think he enjoyed it, although during the movie we barely said a word to each other.

It was nice, though. Just sitting in silence with each other, munching on some popcorn (I was pretty full from dinner, but who can go to the movies without popcorn?) and just getting caught up in the drama of the story unfolding before you. I don’t usually go to the movies. Typically, I can pay to have studios ship the same first run prints of all the new films directly to my house and I just set it up in my own home theater. Sometimes I’ll have friends over and occasionally it will just be me when I feel that I need some alone time. I hoped that one-day Ted and I could enjoy a quiet romantic movie in my theater. I desperately wanted to tell him about who I was and what I really did for a living. I’d been so vague, but as of yet he had been a perfect gentleman and had not pressed me for more details. He was so patient and understanding. What we had was working and I was terrified to mess that up.

So for now, I was going to continue the ruse.

After the movie he drove me home to the apartment and walked me to the door inside the building. I was tempted to invite him inside, (after all Penny was staying the night in my place) but it just felt a bit early for that, so I decided to wait it out and just see how things progressed.

“Well, I had a fantastic time,” I said. “Thank you so much for dinner, and the movie.”

I felt kind of bad that he had paid for everything. I’d offered, but he insisted. I could see that he was an old fashioned gentleman and I enjoyed that. I’d always loved being courted and taken care of a little bit by a charming man. It just felt nice.

“I had a wonderful time as well,” Ted said. “We should definitely do this again sometime soon.”

“I would love that,” I said.

Ted leaned in right then and kissed me. I hadn’t expected it but when he came in towards me, he did it slowly, yet confidently, so I let him. And when our lips touched the spark I’d been feeling for him came to a head right there between us and it was the very essence of the connection that existed between us. It was sweet, romantic, and it felt delicious. The lustful urge rose up in me and I couldn’t help kissing him back a little harder then I’d meant to. He accepted it but did not push back any harder on his part to take it to the next level.

If he had I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have done the same.

“Goodnight,” Ted said as our lips parted.

“Goodnight.”

I waited until the elevator doors closed before I let myself into the apartment and sat down on the couch. I quickly called Penny and told her everything that had happened on the date.

“That is awesome! Wow, he sounds like an amazing guy,” she said when I was finished giving her every little detail.

“Yeah,” I said. “I think he really is.”

And I really meant it.

Chapter Four

Ted

I knew I was going to land hard on my back the second that my foot missed its mark on the bike as I slipped away from it. And I knew it was going to hurt.

The jump started out well enough. I had decent height and it was going smoothly, but somehow as I started to come back down I felt myself pulling away from the bike just a little bit, like the bike was moving farther away from me, and as I tried to correct it and stop its momentum with my hands, the bike seemed to rebel.

I missed my footing and then it was only a fraction of a second later that I knew I was falling behind the bike even though my hands were still gripping the handlebars tightly. I had to let go. There was no other way to minimize the injury.

I let go of the handles immediately with both hands and I narrowly missed colliding face first with the rear tire that was still spinning quickly. I narrowly missed having my nose torn off by it.

The ground came at me quickly and I fully expected to land face first. Throwing my hands up in front of my face I became only slightly aware that my body was now twisting around. It wasn’t until I landed hard on my back that I realized I had somehow turned around entirely.

I was down for a few seconds, but I quickly regained my feet and got back on the bike. I had a race to finish. And this was hardly the first time I’d fallen; it came with the territory. That was the rush of the adrenaline for you. It would have taken something insane to slow me down for even a second in the middle of an actual race.

I had to keep going; I wanted to win so badly I could wrap my lips around it. It was the only thing that had kept me moving at the age of twenty-eight to continue trying to thrive in this business that was being dominated by eighteen and twenty-year-old’s. I was old and most thought way past my prime, but I loved doing it and nothing was going to stop me.

Still, I knew that it would soon be time for me to hang up my helmet. Very soon, but not yet. And I had a great plan for how to do it.

She was watching me in the audience.

Leia had leapt at the chance to see me in action again. It was fun and flattering to have such a beautiful, wonderful woman in the audience rooting me on.

But it would have been even better if she’d ever get the chance to see me win.

Not this time, though. Not by a long shot. A few more disappointing races and it might be back to the amateur ranks for me. I could see it coming.

It was somewhat depressing, but I was dealing with it. The fact that I was soon going to be filthy rich had a way of lightening up the dark clouds that I found myself walking through.

“You did amazing!” Leia said when I came out of the showers heading towards my car.

“Were you watching the same race I was in?” I teased.

She smiled at me. “You took a nasty fall, could have happened to anyone. Speaking of which, are you ok? That looked painful.”

I shrugged. “Well, it didn’t feel good. But I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

We’d been going out fairly steady for the past three weeks and so far things could not have been going more smoothly between us. We were really getting into each other’s grooves and learning what made us tick and what made us work together so well. Our personalities were pretty well in sync. We laughed at the same stuff; we looked at things the same way. It was great and I was worried constantly that I was going to do something that would ruin things (I have a tendency to do that) and everything was going to get blown to hell. Then I’d be on damage control. This relationship had to work out, for a variety of reasons.

The race was on a Sunday afternoon. Afterwards we went to see a Dodgers baseball game, as we had planned. They were playing the Reds, one of my favorite teams, and I was stoked to go. Soon we were seated in the third row on the first base side, both of us stuffing our faces with delectable (and slowly toxic) junk food. It was great.

“What’s wrong?” Leia asked.

It was the fifth inning and she had noticed I was squirming in my seat and I kept putting my hand on my lower back.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

“Don’t give me that,” she replied. “I know it’s not. What’s wrong?”

“I guess I messed up my back a bit with that fall. I mean it’s been hurting a bit since the accident, and I felt ok right after the fall today, but now it’s throbbing. I might need to go get a chiropractic adjustment. It’s ok. I got a guy.”

Actually, I had a woman—a very sexy chiropractor that I’d been going to for a while. She really did have amazing hands, and for the right price you could find out just how amazing they really were.

But I did not want to tempt fate by going to her. The temptation to do something stupid would have been too great. If I did decide to get adjusted, I’d find someone else. Of course that stuff cost money, which I was running painfully low on.

“Are you sure?” Leia asked. “You don’t want to let that go untreated. It might be something serious.”

I appreciated the concern, but her constant asking if I was ok, was actually starting to wear a bit thin.

“I’m fine,” I said flatly. “Let’s watch the game.”

I scolded myself for losing my temper a little bit. I wasn’t sure she could tell, but I’d reacted a little bit like an ass. What did she expect? When I tell someone for the one hundredth time that I’m fine, that should sink in.

After the game I drove her back to her apartment. She invited me in, but I declined.

“Honey, my back is really starting to get sore. I’m going to go home and ice it and call a chiropractor, maybe they have an answering service who can schedule me tomorrow.”

I kissed her softly on the lips and gave her a brief hug.

“You be good,” I teased. “Don’t be too sexy for your own good.”

Leia laughed. “You are too silly.”

“I know. That’s why you like me.”

I left her laughing. That was the best way.

When I got home from dropping her off at the apartment, I began checking out chiropractors on the internet. I didn’t really need one, but I wanted everything to look good and authentic just in case she ever did decide to check up on me or what I was doing. I wanted to be able to tell her that I actually went where I said I did.

After a few calls I set an appointment, hopped up from the couch, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Then I called up my best friend Nick Donovan.

“Hey, Nick. You want to play poker tonight?”

“Sure,” he said. “You’d better have money to play.”

I laughed. “Yeah, you’d better have money to lose.”

“Ok, sounds good. Your place at seven?”

“Right on.”

I turned on the television and started drinking my way through a six pack.

By the time my friends came over, I was ready to play some cards.

Chapter Five

Leia

One Week Later

I was in my new apartment finally relaxing after a long day of meetings and things which rather bored me to tears, but nevertheless had to be taken care of. Luckily, there were no major malfunctions or emergencies that required my immediate attention for anything. We had a fantastic team in place and I was so proud of all of their hard work to keep the company so successful and thriving.

The new apartment was nice. It was basic, comfortably furnished, but nothing extravagant. I had decided (maybe drastically) that I needed to have my own apartment if I was to continue the ruse of being middle classed and continue to hide my real identity from Ted. I felt terribly guilty about all of this but things were going so well that I didn’t want anything to change. If we ever made it far enough along (and I really thought we had a shot) then I wanted Ted to tell me he loved me because he actually loved me, not my wealth or status.

But still much of the time I felt rather sick to my stomach over it and wondered if it was all a bit much. What would I have thought in his shoes? If the person I loved turned out to be lying to me about a huge part of who they were?

I had decided I would tell him soon, but right now we’d only known each other a few weeks.

A few wonderful, passionate weeks. Things were getting strong between us, intensifying even faster than I ever thought they would. Curiously, instead of being frightened by this I found myself rather enjoying it, accepting it. I was falling hard in love for Ted. And it was alright. It was more than that. It was wonderful.

I was just getting into a good mystery novel when the knock at the door came. Ted had seen my place for the first time a few days ago when I told him the good news. I couldn’t keep risking that he would show up at the other apartment with Penny there but not me. So, I told him I’d decided to get a new place with a better view. I wasn’t actually sure the view was that much better, but the apartment was pretty cozy.

When I answered the door Ted was standing there. I could tell immediately that something was not right. He had a paralyzed look on his face, a deer in the headlights type of gaze, and he moved as if he had just started coming down with influenza.

“Ted… what’s wrong?” I asked.

Ted bit his lip and swallowed. Was he trying to hide tears? My first thought was that someone close to him had died. I prepared to offer comfort.

“Um… I have some… bad news,” Ted said, almost murmuring.

I stepped back and let him stumble by me as he made his way to the couch. I’d never seen him look so upset. I was getting very worried.

“Ted,” I said as I sat down beside him on the couch. “Talk to me. What happened?”

“Can I get a drink?” Ted asked.

I fixed him a quick Scotch on the rocks. He sipped it slowly and waited, as if letting the calming effects of the alcohol work their magic. Finally, he spoke again.

“I went to the doctor today,” he said. “You know that my back has been hurting a lot since the last race.”

“Yes,” I said. He’d mentioned it once or twice and I could tell it pained him, but Ted was not the sort to complain about anything.

Ted took another sip. “The doctor said the damage is much worse than I thought. I have a bulging disc. If I fall on it again or even put much strain on it then it might rupture.”

I shook my head and reached out to touch his hand. “It’s ok. They can fix that, right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “They can do surgery on it. But I’d be out of competition for at least six months. And then it might never be the same again. If I took another nasty fall it could shatter and that would give me all sorts of pain and mobility issues. I’m in a pretty bad spot.”

I rubbed his hand and he looked at me sweetly. The pain in his eyes was evident and sharp. I hated to see him in such misery. I wanted to help him, to fix this. But even if I’d given him the money (which he probably wouldn’t have taken) for the best surgeon out there, there was only so much doctors could do for an injury. Still it might be worth a try.

“Will insurance cover the surgery?” I asked.

“My insurance is so basic… it might cover some.”

“What if I knew of a way to get the rest of the money?” I said.

He sat his drink down and rubbed my hand with his other hand. It was a nice intimate gesture. Ted even smiled at me warmly.

“Honey, I appreciate that,” Ted said. “But even if I did the surgery tomorrow and then I went against doctor’s orders and continued to race, with me being out that long and my performance thus far—the racing commission said they would revoke my pro card. This is basically a career ending situation. I’m done. That’s it… I’m done.”

It was so sad. And so unfair. Ted was a good man and a good driver. Why was this happening to him? There had to be something I could do.

“Don’t say that. We can find a way. We will just put our heads together and find a way.”

“No,” Ted said. “This is probably the best thing. In fact, I think I’ve been fooling myself. I missed my shot. I’m too old and I am not good enough. I don’t belong out there. I think I’m just going to let it go and find something else.”

It was inspiring to see the way he was handling this. I wondered how much of that was put on for my benefit.

“Too old? You aren’t even thirty yet.”

He smiled and nodded. “In this sport, or any professional sport it is starting to push things at that age. I know guys who do it longer, but those guys are blessed on another level. I have to face the facts that if I was going to get that brass ring and climb to the top, I would have done it by now.”

Hearing those words come out of Ted’s mouth really got to me, how down he actually was. Usually he kept his feelings tucked away, but here he was baring his soul to me. It was touching that he trusted me that much. I wanted him to trust me and I knew in my gut that I could trust him.

“So, what are you going to do now?” I asked.

He sighed and grabbed his drink off the coffee table. He took a sip, let the scotch swill around in his mouth and then swallowed slowly. “I don’t know. This is really all I’ve known my whole life. It’s all I’ve prepared for. But now I guess I’ll have to find a new passion, a new adventure and set my sights on that. I’ll be ok. I’ve got a little bit of money saved. That gives me some time.”

I scooted closer to him and laid my head on his chest. He felt warm and reassuring. I wish I could have the same effect on him, especially right now when he was hurting so badly.

He groaned slightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lay all this on you and get you bummed out. I’m just venting a bit. I appreciate you listening to my bullshit.”

I sat up and looked him straight in the eye. “Babe, you don’t have to feel that way. You never have to apologize for talking to me about anything. I’m right here.”

I felt almost strange telling him that, but I wanted him to know how close he was to me and I hoped I was as close to him, to his heart.

He reached up and touched my face gently, brushing my hair back. His touch was graceful, smooth. His hands were rugged, yet somehow sweet against my skin. I grabbed his hand, holding it against my cheek.

His hand moved down my face slowly, until it touched my lips. I could smell him, taste his sweet scent right then. It felt so right. I realized sitting there that I had been longing for this for a long time. I’d told myself that I didn’t need anyone that badly and it was not a priority in my life, but I was wrong.

Or maybe I just hadn’t met the right man yet. It was all so fast, moving so rapidly that I barely had time to think about the future, or about what was going on with me, with us, but I knew that this was right. It was in my guts, in my bones, and deeply embedded in my heart, this feeling that I had to follow and see where it led. I had to stay the course on this one, no matter what. Somehow I knew there would be some salvation at the end of the tunnel, the peace and serenity that I needed.

But I had no idea the road I would have to take to get there.

Ted pressed his thumb gently against the front of my lips, slowly working his way until I opened my mouth and let it in between my lips. He tasted even better than he smelled. The connection between us made everything else in life seem somehow silly and insignificant. It was just us, the two of us, right then and there. Nothing else really mattered in our own little bubble.

Ted pulled his thumb back and leaned into me closely. His lips were now pressing against mine. The kiss was full of lust and passion right from the start. It was hard and fast, moving from one kiss to the next, almost prying my lips open with his as I struggled to match his want with my own.

His tongue was like a thing possessed wrestling with mine and bringing with it a whole new level of lust into my body, injecting me with its fury. And I lapped it up like crazy. It was the most addictive thing I’d ever had in my mouth and I could not get enough of it. My lips suddenly clamped around his tongue and sucked hard as if trying to swallow it, all the while keeping my lips pressed firmly against his.

Ted pulled back suddenly and at first I thought he was going to react in a shocked manner to my intensity. I was almost horrified by it. I’d never come on that strongly so quickly with someone, but it had never felt so damn right before. And apparently Ted felt the same way.

His mouth was instantly on my neck, kissing sweetly, slipping his tongue between his lips to lap at the skin and occasionally allowing a few teeth to join in on the fun. His nibbles were soft and sweet, gliding against my skin.

His hands were under my shirt now, grabbing at my breast with more strength than he had probably even meant to. He was moaning and groaning now like a beast savoring its food. His hands were on my breasts, massaging me over my bra. I could still feel him tending to me, taking each one in his large, muscular hands and squeezing them slowly, firmly, showing me how much he wanted me.

I think it was that which turned me on the most--the fact that he desired me so much. It was more than just a physical need also. There was a spiritual component to it that I couldn’t explain. I could hardly catch my breath I was gasping so hard from each exquisite moment of pleasure from his touch and from his soft kisses, and from just being with him.

Swiftly Ted ripped my T-shirt over my head and threw it on the floor. Next his hands made short work of my bra clasp and that was gone as well now. My large breasts were exposed for him and I wanted to feel his gaze on me. I wanted him to be so turned on that he couldn’t stand it another moment and had to ravage every inch of me. I needed that validation. It had been so long since I’d had a man really look at me that way. It had been so long since I’d wanted someone to be that close to me.

And Ted did. He paused a moment leaning back to take it all in. He smiled slightly watching my breasts before taking each tit in his hands and softly caressing them, his fingers flipping just over the nipple and then quickly drawing it into his mouth. The warm, wetness felt great. My breasts have always been so sensitive when I get turned on. And he knew exactly how I wanted them to be touched. He could sense my needs… my desires… it was like he knew me better than I even knew myself.

“That’s it…” I said. “Keep… doing… that…baby, that’s so...good...”

Each word came out in a gasp as I felt the pleasure from my breasts spreading all over my whole body, especially my crotch. I was getting so wet. I was so ready for him. I wanted him so badly.

“Lie down,” Ted whispered.

I did so and his fingers quickly found the button of my jeans and started to undo them. Soon, I was out of them and then my panties were flying off my body with lightning speed. There I was now; I was lying on the couch completely nude. I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about my body, but at that moment there was no fear. There was no room for any of that kind of negativity. It was all passion and all bliss.

“You are so beautiful,” Ted said.

He leaned over me and softly breathed his warmth on my pussy. I could feel him invading me with his aura, tickling the inside of my wet, lustful temple. And then his fingers were inside of me. Two of his thick fingers slipped into the wet, slit between my legs and moved all the way inside my body.

“Shit!” I moaned as my body writhed with the force of this welcomed intrusion, my abdominals rigid with tension.

“How does that feel?” Ted asked.

“Good… oh… sooo good…”

His fingers knew all the right buttons to push and he kept alternating to keep me guessing. My body did not know what was happening to it right now, but I was about seven seconds away from pure and total bliss. That, I did know.

My hips were moving up and down now, essentially fucking his fingers. He reacted by timing his thrusts with it and then very randomly, he would go against the rhythm.

I swallowed hard almost swallowing my tongue down farther into the back of my throat, mostly to try to keep my moans of ecstasy from disturbing my neighbors. My mind was running like crazy bouncing from thought to thought. I kept thinking this was too soon, but that was a lot of what made it so hot. It was different and so new that I probably shouldn’t have been doing this so soon, but then again life was short and who knew when I was going to see my last day? No one could predict that.

I was being moved. It took me by surprise and at first I had no idea what was happening, but then Ted maneuvered me into a new position and I was able to fit the pieces together.

He was bending me from the waist all the way over the arm of the couch. This was different…and so exciting.

I could hear him fumbling with his own clothes behind me. He was breathing heavily and ripping his clothes from his body. As they landed on the floor beside the couch I couldn’t resist glancing back to see his beautiful, nude, muscular form behind me. It was the first time I’d seen him nude and he was beautiful. Every single muscle looked carefully sculpted but so natural on him. His body didn’t look like gym muscles. I could tell he kept in shape but it was more functional than aesthetics, which I found so much sexier. His lean, hard abs were popping beneath his tanned skin. I had to wonder how much work outside he did without a shirt…

I couldn’t see it yet, but I suddenly felt his dick pressing against my ass cheeks. And then a moment later he slipped inside of me.

“AAAGGHH!” I moaned as the inner walls of my wet box parted and tried to hold the contents of his enormous package.

The penetration was slow, but strong. Doubts were quickly cast into my mind as to whether I would be able to actually take him all inside of me. He was patient, though. Yeah… he knew how he was built. This was not his first rodeo. I wondered briefly how many women he’d been with. I wasn’t jealous at all. I’ve never been that type of woman. No, it was just a natural curiosity I reminded myself to ask him later.

“God… you feel so… good…” Ted grunted in my ear as he pressed his cock harder and harder into my wet chamber. His ball sack was smacking against my ass with every jolt in an almost hypnotic yet humorous rhythm.

Ted was leaning over me now, his lips right by my right ear where he kept kissing me and whispering sexy things to me. It was working. I was getting so worked up. A heavy orgasm was eminent.

“Are you going to come good for me?” He grunted. “I want to feel it… oh, baby… that pussy is so tight. You want to make it tighter? I’m going to wear it out…”

I wanted to respond to his sweet, dirty talk, but I was too out of breath. The pleasure coursing through my body had basically tightened my throat to the point that I could barely groan or even gasp. Every time I thought a word might come out, it was quickly replaced with a loud groan escaping from my chest and through my voice with no consideration on my part.

He was pounding harder into me then. Ted was no longer pulling all the way in and out. He was performing the motions rapid fire, keeping most of his dick buried inside of me while he moved it back and forth. It was working. I was almost there. I knew it was going to happen and it was going to happen fast.

“There it is!” Ted moaned.

I felt his orgasm blasting into me. It was a viciously huge load that filled me up and began to drip out of me within seconds. Something about the way his cock was quivering as he let go his wad into my pussy set off my own explosion of an orgasm.

After it was over we both lay there just relaxing and being with each other.

It was the most satisfying sexual experience of my life and I couldn’t wait to do it again, after we’d both recuperated that was.

I knew that this had changed things between us, whether we wanted them to or not, and I was fine with that. Yes, it was too soon to have these feelings I was having, but I wasn’t afraid of them. I wasn’t embarrassed of them. It sounded crazy but I knew how I felt and I knew what I wanted.

And I believed that Ted felt the same way.

“I love you,” I said.

The words just slipped out of my mouth and I made no attempt to try to hold them back. I didn’t mean to say it right then, but there it was. And it was alright. I was fine with it. I didn’t need for Ted to say it back. In fact, if he’d laughed at me and told me I was crazy, I wouldn’t have felt bad about it. I meant what I said and I had put it out into the universe. I considered myself brave and open. That was the way I’d always strived to be in my life and I wasn’t about to change my ways now.

Ted looked over at me. I was lying on top of him on the couch, a blanket draped over our naked bodies. He had a soft, natural expression on his face as if he wasn’t at all surprised that I’d said that to him.

“Really?” Ted asked. “Do you mean that?”

I smiled and kissed him. “With all my heart. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve been waiting for you all of my life.”

Ted smiled and kissed my forehead. “I love you, too.”

Hearing those words come from his lips was the sweetest music to my ears. I’d always dreamt of finding my prince this way, of having that whirlwind romance that you saw in Hollywood movies. Why did that stuff only happen in the movies? I didn’t think it was out of reach to want that in your own life.

I’d finally found it and I was embracing it. No matter what, I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me that I was wrong for falling in love so quickly.

It was real; I could feel it.

Chapter Six

Ted

The water covered my head drowning out the sound of the roaring world around me. I loved it there. The peace, the total serenity, and the limited range of senses that the human body was able to feel—all of it reset my mind and my body to get them working together again in perfect harmony.

Swimming had been a part of my daily routine for several years. It was a perfect way to exercise the body in a stress free, impact free environment, and it involved all of the muscles of the body in one continuous, fluid motion. While I was moving from side to side in the large, Olympic sized swimming pool my gym offered, I was able to let my mind go free. It was almost a Zen-like meditation on my part, like Tai Chi underwater. That’s how I liked to think of it. Swimming kept me grounded, focused, and charged up for the day ahead. It brought everything in my life together and I owed a lot to the consistency of the practice.

Afterwards I always felt refreshed and ready to take on the world.

As I swam that morning my head was filled with a few things of note. I was reminded constantly of how much pain my back was not in, and I kept thinking about how fantastic the sex had been with Leia the other night. She was incredible. I’d rarely been with a woman that enthusiastic. And she felt so tight, so wet… I’d been craving her ever since then. I hoped to sleep with her again that night if possible.

But most interesting, even better than the sex (if there was such a thing) was the fact that she had said those three magic words—I love you. She’d actually said it. I couldn’t believe that she went there so soon. This was all working better than I thought it was going to. The gift of charm has always been with me. It was true--I did have charm out the ying-yang-- but even for me this was a bit of a record. Other women had said they loved me before, but I could not remember any in recent memory that claimed it so soon. I was even a little skeptical, thinking it might have just been due to the world altering sex we’d just had. But the next morning it was still the same vibe. She really meant it.

I wrestled with it in my mind, debating about whether or not I should say it right back. Ultimately, I was aware of how uncomfortable it can be for the other person to not hear those words said back to them after pouring their heart out to you. So I said it. And I tried hard to keep the same emotion that she had.

I really did like Leia, but I didn’t know if I was close to love with her. Of course, I imagined if we were together long enough that might come into play. It was just nature taking its course.

But from what I could tell she was ready to move on things much more quickly. And I was just fine with that.

I got out of the pool, took a quick shower, and then got dressed. It was a gorgeous Monday in southern California and I was ready for some fun in the sun. I was going to have so much more free time now that I wasn’t practicing motocross as much. I still loved riding, but for now I needed to let it chill a bit. Being ready for pro competition had turned riding into a job and when something you love becomes your job, it is all too easy to begin to lose passion for it. I was there with riding. I had too much else occupying my plate lately.

I pulled up to the Farrum Batting Cages about ten minutes later. I was right on time to meet my good friend Bruce. We were both thinking about joining a baseball league that was starting up in a few weeks and we decided that honing our batting skills in the cages would be a great way to get caught back up to speed. It had been a while since I’d swung a bat. Going into the season rusty would just result in spending too much time on the bench. And I wasn’t wasting time with that.

“Hey, man!” I said as Bruce drove up a few minutes later. We high fived each other and grabbed our bats and helmets from the trunks of our cars. Then we walked to a cage on the far side. The cages were empty and quiet today, as they usually were early Monday morning.

Although I did see some cute girls getting ready to enter the cages a few down from ours. I couldn’t help my gaze from checking them out, and the blonde (the hottest one) looked over at me. She noticed me looking and then smiled back.

Well, that was interesting. Always fun. I wasn’t about to jeopardize what I had going on with Leia, but it was still nice to know I had the goods and flirting never went out of style.

Bruce noticed and shook his head. “Way to go Casanova. I think she wants you.”

I grabbed a bat, put my helmet on, and stepped into the cage. “Ah, but it is not to be. My heart belongs to another.”

“What? Say it ain’t so,” Bruce teased. “When did this happen?”

“Recently actually,” I said. “I have met the most amazing girl. I think this might actually be the real thing.”

Bruce laughed. “Wow, man. I never thought I’d see the day.”

I put a few coins in the machine and got into place. “Well, people change.”

The mechanical arms got set, and turned over throwing the ball down the cage at me. I swung hard connecting solidly and driving it back. It felt good to hit again. When I was a kid, baseball had been my obsession until I decided I might be better at motocross. At the time I was not big into team sports. I was much better seeking all of the glory alone. Out there on the track it was me against them. That’s the way I liked it.

“So, what’s this girl’s name?” Bruce asked.

“Are you implying she might be fake?” I asked.

Bruce laughed. “No; I am just curious. How long ago did you meet her?”

I shrugged. “Three weeks… a month. Around there.”

After another solid hit, I quickly paused and told him exactly how I met Leia.

By the time I finished he was practically rolling on the ground laughing his head off. “Wow, that is some insane stuff. That’s crazy enough that it might be love. I feel like we are in some TV movie or something.”

I laughed as I swung on another pitch and connected, this time getting too much of the top and driving the ball hard to the ground. That might have been a run-it-out single if I turned on the speed in a real game.

“Yeah, but she is amazing. She is beautiful, smart, funny, and we have a lot of the same interests.”

“Wow, I am happy for you. Maybe one day I’ll find the right girl for me.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Mr. Perfectionist? I don’t think so.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that I am too picky?”

I looked at him backing away from the plate. “You broke up with your last girlfriend because she didn’t like peanut butter.”

“Because that’s weird. I eat peanut butter on everything. I can’t have that. And I’ll have you know that she isn’t allergic to peanut butter. No, she just doesn’t like the taste. What kind of nonsense is that? Who doesn’t like peanut butter? That’s idiotic. It kind of got me thinking, what other weird things there might be about her.”

I missed the last ball because I was now laughing too hard. Bruce was hilarious. He reminded me so much of the George character from the sitcom Seinfeld. He was paranoid as could be about everything.

“Dude, that is crazy. So what if she doesn’t like peanut butter? You hear how nuts that sounds, right?”

Bruce shook his head as he tried to comprehend what I was telling him. Finally, he said, “No. That isn’t nuts at all.”

“Well, if you stop being so picky you might find a great woman in your life one day and I do wish you the best of luck there.”

“Thanks, man,” Bruce said.

I stepped out of the cage. Bruce was wearing his helmet and holding a bat. He now stepped inside and popped some coins into the slot.

“So, when do the rest of us get to meet this girl?” Bruce asked.

“Soon, I would think,” I said. “The relationship is very new. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on it just yet.”

“Are you saying that we are pressure? Like you don’t think we will be nice to her or something?”

“No. I’m not saying that. I just think that during a new relationship you should really be heavy into it before you start joining each other’s larger social group.”

Bruce swung and missed his first pitch. “Shit!” Then he turned to me. “You are overthinking this.”

“It’s a science,” I said. “I’m sure of it. I’ve done massive amounts of reading and I’ve forced myself to watch daytime talk shows about it. I think I’ve got it figured out.”

I couldn’t keep from laughing. Sometimes I got on a roll and came up with some funny lines.

We continued about five rounds of batting practice each before calling it a day. As we started leaving I noticed the blonde girl checking me out again. Before I could even stop the words, I was flirting with her. “So, what did you think of my form?”

The girl giggled. I was now standing just behind the cage she and her sexy looking friend were using. Bruce was trying to occupy the other girl, doing his best to flirt with her (which he’d always been as clever as a caveman with) while I talked to the blonde girl. I knew it was stupid and it wasn’t something I even wanted to waste much time with. When there was no possibility of follow through I didn’t really see a lot of point to it. I was just going to make a comment and keep walking, but then the girl engaged me, leaning seductively against the cage.

“I thought you looked just fine,” she said. Her eyes dropped as she looked down towards my legs and then back up. Was she checking out my crotch? I wasn’t sure, but then again I was wearing my tight, athletic shorts. The beauty about Southern California—it was always shorts weather.

“I’m Ted,” I said.

“Sophie.”

“It’s very nice to meet you Sophie,” I said.

Then I began walking away somehow dragging myself towards my car. It was time to end this before it got too out of hand and I did something I really shouldn’t have. I had become a bit paranoid about doing anything to upset Leia or give her the wrong idea. Right now the relationship was new; it was fragile. It was far too unstable to upset this early. I had to keep playing the right cards in the right order and stay in the game.

“What?” Bruce asked as I opened the trunk of my car and loaded my clubs into it. He shook his head and followed me over. “What are you doing? Those girls seemed interested.”

“Yeah, I know. But remember, I have a girlfriend.”

“Wow, things are about to change,” Bruce said. “I can’t say I envy you.”

“Yes, you can,” I replied with a smile.

He nodded. Yeah, he knew I was right.

When I got home I sat down in my favorite chair and picked up a book I’d been reading off the side table. I’d really gotten into western novels recently. I loved the way those old cowboy heroes acted, the way they always got the girl, and I envied their ability to get in gunfight after gunfight without ever paying any consequences. Those were such simpler times.

My phone rang as I was just getting back into it. It was Leia.

“Hey, sweetie,” I said.

“Hey, hon,” Leia replied. “How’s the back?”

I almost laughed thinking about all the activities I’d done that day. “It’s ok. You know, it has good days and bad days.”

“Listen, I have something I want to show you. Can we get together tomorrow evening?”

“Tomorrow? Um… yeah. That’s fine. What’s going on?”

Leia sighed into the phone. “There is just something really important I have to show you. I’ve got to run back to work now, but I’ll pick you up tomorrow at five. Does that sound good?”

I almost made a joke about clearing my wide open schedule, but I answered seriously. “Sure, honey. That’s fine.”

When the call ended I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat back down with my book, flopping my heavy feet up on the coffee table.

“Hmmm, I wonder if she is going to tell me that she’s a billionaire.”

Saying that out loud made me laugh so hard that I almost choked.

Chapter Seven

Leia

I was so nervous. I’d been thinking about this twenty-four/seven for days but I knew it was the right time. I had to tell Ted the truth.

I could have kept the ruse going longer of course, but keeping this from him was killing me, especially after I’d realized that our love was real. I loved him and he loved me. When you love someone you don’t keep these kinds of secrets from them. I wanted Ted to know why I did it and I hoped he would be as kind and understanding as I knew him to be. But the terror of it all felt so heavy in my chest, like I was having multiple little heart attacks every twenty seconds. I wasn’t sure that Ted could tell how scared I was. He was acting like his typical, sweet self.

“So, what is it you want to show me?” Ted asked. “The suspense is really killing me.”

I smiled and continued to drive. “That’s part of the fun.”

Mostly I was just trying to delay the inevitable. I was driving the speed limit, stopping properly for all of the traffic lights (usually I would barrel through an intersection to beat the red light) and I was coming to a complete stop on all of my stop signs. Not to mention I was going ten miles under the speed limit. Ted must have thought I was driving like his grandmother, but he said nothing.

“Ok, if you say so,” Ted replied. “So, how was your day? Busy?”

“Oh, not too bad,” I replied. “Most of the busy work I had to do was yesterday. I like to get the heavy lifting, so to speak, out of the way early in the week just in case something goes wrong or something comes up and I can’t devote as much time to things as I need to; then I’ve already got a strong hold on it. If that makes sense.”

He nodded. “Sure, I can see that.”

About ten minutes later we finally pulled up to the gates out front.

“What’s this place?” Ted asked. “Wow, this is intense!”

I rolled the window down and punched in my code saying hello to Norman, the security guard. He waved with his usual scowl that told the world what a miserable grouch he was.

Ted looked back at him as we drove along the long, winding driveway, most likely perplexed that I was on such friendly terms with Norman.

Ted’s eyes were wide in his head as we pulled up to the mansion my father had helped design and had built nearly forty years before. I loved this house so much. It was a part of my family and therefore it was a part of me.

I hoped that Ted loved it nearly as much.

“Wow. This is incredible,” he said stepping out of the car.

“You really think so?”

I joined him standing in front of the house, looking up at its gigantic pillars and beautiful front steps.

“Who lives here?” Ted asked.

I took a deep breath. It was time to come clean.

“Ted, I live here.”

His eyes dropped from looking up at the house to over at me. A few beats went by and then he started laughing. “Nice trick.”

I laughed. Wow, he didn’t believe me. This was going to be harder than I thought.

“Ted, this is my house. My last name is Daniels, as in Daniels Cosmetics.”

He stopped and turned towards me. I believed he was coming around now. “You mean…the multi-billion dollar global cosmetics empire? That Daniels? No… no way…”

I took his arm. “Come. It will make more sense once we are inside.”

“Unbelievable…”

* * *

“Look, I get it. I understand.”

I took Ted’s hand and stared into his eyes hoping that he would see just how sorry I was about everything. “Do you? Really?”

He kissed my knuckles softly and leaned in. “Yes. I do. I can understand how a woman in your position has to be heavily guarded against weasels trying to take advantage of you. Trying to put myself in your shoes, I can see how that would make someone pretty paranoid.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

We’d just finished the tour of the whole house and I had also shown Ted pictures of myself and family in the house and a few valuable family heirlooms.  Then we visited the tennis courts, swimming pool, billiard room, and Movie Theater.

He was in awe of all of it, as most people were the first time they laid eyes on it. I’d lived in the house my whole life and nearly every day I discovered things about it that wowed me.

“So, the apartment and all that…did you just do that to fool me? Or is that just a place you hang out that’s closer to work stuff?” Ted asked.

“It was mainly to fool you, but now that you mention it, that place is very convenient.”

“So, why are you showing this to me now?” Ted asked. “What was preventing you from keeping this thing going? I never would have known the difference.”

“Well, me I guess. I hated doing it and I know it isn’t right. I felt bad. I care about you. I really have fallen in love with you and I want to be open and honest about everything as our relationship moves forward.”

“I love you, too,” Ted said. “It makes me feel pretty honored that you would let me into this part of your world. It just reaffirms how special you are to me and it makes me feel like I’m special to you.”

“You are special,” I said. “I hope you know how special you are to me.”

Ted gazed into my eyes; he leaned forward, and kissed me. Then we held our heads softly against each other just allowing the warmth and the touch to exist between us. It was sweet.

“I wish my parents could be here to meet you,” I said. “I know that you and my father would have so much fun together.”

“I would have loved that,” Ted said. “But I bet he is here in spirit. It looks like his whole being was involved with this house one way or another. I’m pretty spiritual, and I believe that when you are that firmly rooted in a place that small remnants of you—your life force—stays there. Every day you leave a little bitty piece of yourself there. And when you are gone from this physical earth, those pieces of your energy, your soul—whatever you want to call it, whatever you believe—they stay there and they live on. That’s why people say that they can genuinely feel a presence around, especially when it’s someone they love. That’s what I believe, anyway.”

“That’s beautiful,” I said. “And yes. I believe that, too.”

Ted kissed me again just then, and then again. Then once more, this time stronger and more forceful. The urge was rising in him just as it was rising in me. Since the first time I’d thought of little else but getting him back inside of me. Our lives had been chaotic and busy since that time, but here we were alone again and ready to pursue the physical aspects of our love even more thoroughly.

As Ted kissed me I reached under the kitchen table and massaged him through his jeans. I could feel his huge cock being trapped underneath layers of clothes, but it was getting hard and thick, and it was ready to be unleashed from its dark, cage.

“Go for it,” Ted whispered before wrapping his lips sensuously over my top lip and sucking smoothly.

I was already getting so wet that my panties were clinging to me. I hoped Ted was ready. I was going to ride him senseless. It would be even more exquisite since our last lovemaking. I knew more about him, what he wanted and loved, and he knew more about me. And as we got into things I didn’t think that a single shred of spontaneity had been lost with us either. It was almost like the first time.

I pulled his now unbuttoned, unzipped jeans down, and then I went for his boxer shorts. He always wore black, silk boxers that were tight against his skin. His bulging member was now protruding slightly from the break in the fly hole.

I leaned in closer to kiss it through the cloth. It responded by moving upwards, getting harder and more erect. It liked me. I almost giggled at the observation.

My lips wrapped slowly around the still covered head of his cock and allowed my hot breath to massage the tip. The way his body quivered when I teased him was so fun to watch. It got me even hotter. Just knowing that he was so ready for me. I hadn’t even touched him yet and he was already about to bust his nut in his boxers. But I couldn’t let that happen. I decided to set him free.

I pulled his boxers down and let them drape under his scrotum. His balls were large and round, the skin over them tight and smooth, slightly darker than his cock which now stood up right in front of my face.

He was so big, so thick. This was the first time I’d really had this type of look at his package and I was delighted by what he was bringing to the party. My long, slender fingers wrapped around his prick at the base and moved slowly towards the top, pausing halfway up the shaft.

Ted was begging me now. “Keep going… oh, baby… keep doing that…”

“What do you want?”

“Put it in your mouth… I need it…”

I smiled and let my tongue stick out of my mouth just far enough to touch his luscious member. It lingered there for a moment and then I slid it higher on his shaft, getting closer and closer to the top. He tasted fresh and clean. His manly scent full of testosterone and sexuality wafted into my mouth and I could practically inhale him.

“Oh, shit…” he moaned.

I decided to quit playing then. I desperately needed to taste all of him. My entire body was quivering with anticipation. I opened my mouth and engulfed him, moving all the way to the bottom of his cock quickly, in one fell swoop.

My jaws and throat were being given the workout of my life, but I was ready. His dick scraped against the back of my throat, but I opened wider and pressed my head down farther to swallow just a little bit more.

“Wow…” Ted moaned.

I was taking him in all the way now. Closing my eyes, I tried to keep my position on him. I knew my throat wanted to give out, but I held still, steady as long as I could before I pulled back about halfway with a huge gasp of air. My head was dizzy and spinning, but still I wanted to taste more of him.

Ted stood up and guided the back of my head with his hands as he rocked his hips back and forth gently into my mouth. My tongue was gliding up and down his shaft as I allowed the rest of his long, thick member to come into me. After a few minutes of this I could taste some of his sweet, pre-cum, whetting my appetite for what was to follow soon. My head was almost spinning with the anticipation of it, but I kept myself still and continued moving at the same pace. I wanted to make this last as long as I could.

“I’ve got to have you,” Ted said suddenly.

He moved out of my mouth and motioned for me to stand up. I quickly followed his orders as he bent me over the kitchen table and yanked up my skirt. He pulled my panties down. In a second he was inside me pounding away at me. No warning, no warm up; it was go time.

“Yes!” I groaned as he entered me. The thickness inside of my aching, pleading walls fulfilled my every need. I leaned against the table and let him continue to move in and out of me with his long, deep, pumps of his cock. He grabbed my hair and began pulling with one hand and slapping my ass with the other. I loved the way he was dominating me. I wanted him to know that I was his. I’d lied to him and I felt like I deserved to be punished. I wanted him to show me what a bad girl I really was.

I braced myself and planted my heels firmly on the floor, leaning back to facilitate the sex. I was so wet that he slipped right in and out with the greatest of ease, occasionally losing the traction and falling out completely. At one point he rubbed his cock on my ass to dry off some of the moisture and then pushed his throbbing rod back inside of me.

Soon, I could feel him getting harder, a bit more enthusiastic, his moans growing louder. He was going to come.

“Are you going to come for me?” I asked. “Blast that seed inside of me…. please… baby, give it to me…”

There was nothing else in my mind except that. I wanted him to fill me up with every ounce of his delicious nectar.

And that he did.

When he stopped coming, it was dripping out of me. My own orgasm came just a few moments before his did, but the instant his salty juice poured into me it quickly took my orgasm to another level. I tried to hold myself upright and allow him to keep fucking me hard from behind, but my arms would not work. My legs felt like jelly and my head continued to spin as rockets of beautiful pleasure soared through my entire being.

And then it was over. We were both spent.

Afterwards we cuddled on the couch together, feeding each other ice cream and telling goofy stories from our childhood. As we sat there being together I came to realize that all of my dreams were coming true. Ted was the man I’d dreamt about for so long, a man I thought would never actually exist.

And our love story seemed like a dream, a fairy-tale. I told myself long ago that I didn’t believe in fairy-tales. But I found myself living in one.

Chapter Eight

Ted

Two Months Later

“Are you sure?” I asked. “It looks pretty stellar to me.”

Bonnie laughed and hit my arm playfully. “Wow, I’m glad you brought me along.”

Bonnie Blankenship, my neighbor from down the hall who I’d been fairly friendly with the past year or so that I’d lived in the building, and I were shopping for an engagement ring. Well, I was shopping for an engagement ring to give to Leia, and Bonnie had been kind enough to lend me her female expertise since I really knew nothing about rings, or any jewelry for that matter.

We were standing in the third jewelry store of the day trying to find the perfect ring. So far I thought we’d found at least three winners, but Bonnie said no each time. I imagined the one that she thought was the best would end up being the most expensive, of course. I had one credit card left I’d have to use that I hadn’t quite maxed out yet. I thought I had enough on it.

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.

“It’s too small and it’s kind of clunky looking. Actually, it barely even looks like a diamond. This is a ring she is going to wear forever.”

“Don’t women trade those out for wedding rings on the wedding day?” I asked.

She smiled. “A lot of women actually wear both together. Seriously, do you never look at women’s rings?”

I laughed. “No. I’m a man; we do not do that at all.”

Bonnie smirked and we continued on down the line. The beautiful sales girl who was helping us was getting a little bit bored it seemed. I couldn’t blame her. Bonnie was taking forever. I would have bought the first ring I saw that looked decent. It didn’t really matter. No matter what ring I got it was going to be a joke compared to the ring that Leia could buy for herself. Hell, she’d probably suggest trading them both out after a bit. I was fine with that, but I wanted the impression that I had tried and succeeded in finding a great ring that I could afford.

“Ah! This is nice!” Bonnie said excitedly pointing to a ring on the end.

I walked over and looked where she was pointing. I saw a nice ring that looked…well…nice.  I honestly did not see what was so special about it. But Bonnie’s eyes were lighting up like a pinball machine.

“Let’s take a look,” I said.

The saleswoman smiled and took it out of the case. It was shiny and sparkly with a big rock on it. Yeah, it was an engagement ring. And it cost five grand. That was just under the limit I had on the card.

“This is one of our most popular sellers,” the saleswoman said. She gave me a look with a wide smile and leaned in slightly. Was she flirting with me? I thought she might be but I was too distracted to really notice, although she was rather stunning looking.

“This is beautiful!” Bonnie squealed.

“Ok, that looks fine,” I said.

Bonnie was annoyed by my lack of enthusiasm, but I bought that ring and we walked back out into the mall. I was glad as could be at having this ordeal, this nightmare over. I’d always hated shopping for jewelry and women’s clothing. Nothing in the world bored me more.

“So, when is the big day, do you think? Do you have a date in mind? I realize you haven’t actually asked her yet, but it never hurts to plan ahead.”

I looked over at Bonnie and laughed at her excitement. “Wow, do girls start planning this stuff in preschool or something?”

“Yes, some do,” Bonnie said.

“Ok, and what is your wedding plan?”

“Well, since you asked, I plan to get married in front of the high school that they used for the set of Sixteen Candles, my all-time favorite movie.”

“Wow, that’s weird,” I chuckled.

“You jerk, it’s not,” she said hitting me playfully. “Besides, it’s my fantasy. I can do whatever I want.”

“Well, good luck with that. Are you sure that school is even still around? I heard somewhere that a lot of those places were abandoned schools that they fixed up just for the movies. That was back in the mid-eighties. It wouldn’t surprise me if those buildings had been torn down to make room for parking lots or something silly.”

Bonnie’s mouth dropped open like I’d just kicked her puppy. “You goof! That is not cool. I’m gonna have to look that up now and make sure you are lying.”

“I’m not lying,” I said. “I saw it in an interview or something once.”

“I’m starting to regret helping you,” Bonnie said.

“I do appreciate the help though,” I reassured her. Putting my arm around her shoulder endearingly, I said “Really. Thanks.”

Bonnie smiled sweetly. “Anytime.”

I found myself wondering if Leia would have been at all jealous of my and Bonnie’s friendship--if you could call it that. We’d had a few flings with each other over the time that we’d been neighbors, but nothing ever went beyond that. I think we both just mutually agreed that it would be weird to be romantically linked with someone who lived in such close proximity. If something ever went bad, one of us would have to move to avoid constant resentment and awkwardness.

“So, how are you going to do it?” Bonnie asked.

Stirred from my thoughts I shot her a puzzled look. “Do what?”

“You know… propose? Surely, you have something worked out? Are you going to do the get down on one knee thing just at dinner or something? Are you going to keep the proposal private with just the two of you around? Or are you going to do something ultra-romantic and think of some perfect setup?”

“Wow, there is so much more to this than I ever thought. Thank God I have a great friend like you to point all of this out.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes, picking up my sarcasm. “Ok, smarty pants. But seriously, what are you going to do?”

“I’ve got a few things mulling around. I was thinking I’d start with a romantic dinner and then take her on a moonlit stroll along Pacific Beach. She loves it out there. She even has her own little quiet spot picked out where she goes to think sometimes.”

Bonnie nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. What else?”

“I was thinking about proposing to her in the middle of a busy restaurant. I’ve seen that a few times in movies and such. It always seems like a classy move.”

“No,” Bonnie said. “That is a very uncomfortable move and it would make me feel pressured to say yes if that happened to me. No woman wants that. I think the walk along the beach sounds pretty perfect.”

“Ok, I will most likely do that then,” I said.

“You paid a good price for that ring by the way, in case you are wondering.”

I looked at the box in the bag and back at her. “I just can’t understand how anyone can pay that much money for something so small. And all it does is sit on your finger and look pretty.”

“Well, that is the point I believe. You know the rule that you are supposed to spend three month’s salary on the engagement ring.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I wonder who came up with that rule—women or the jewelry companies?”

“Probably jewelry companies run by women.”

My stomach was gnawing at me so we decided to grab a quick burger in the food court.

“How can you eat that? I thought professional athletes were supposed to be all into eating clean and staying at the top of their game?” Bonnie asked as I shoved a huge, double patty burger, dripping with cheese and grease into my mouth. It was delicious.

“Well, there are different types of athletes. I basically sit for most of my competition. Besides, I guess you haven’t heard, I am actually retiring from the sports world.”

Bonnie gasped. “No way! You are so good. Why?”

I told her about my back injury and that it was time for me to start doing something else.

“Wow, that is too bad. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, but it’s ok. I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll find something else lucrative.”

“Well, maybe your new wife can get you a job. Doesn’t she own some kind of company?”

I smiled. Yes, she did. Bonnie had no idea how big of a company though.

“She does, but I don’t really see myself working in that field,” I said. “I was thinking about opening up my own training school for up and coming motocross racers, maybe get into bike sales, do something online with it and capitalize off my name.”

Bonnie’s eyes lit up. “Well, there you go.”

I was actually thinking of doing some of these things if I got bored, which I might after a while, but not before I took a much needed vacation.

“Yeah, like I said, I’ll be fine. Everyone needs to stop worrying about me.”

“Is Leia worried?” Bonnie asked.

I paused before answering to consider the question.

“No, not really. She is concerned, mostly that I’m going to be ok with the adjustment to not racing. I assure you both that I’m already coming to terms with it. Racing was a part of my life, but it’s not all I’m about.”

We chatted a bit longer as we finished lunch and afterwards I went back home. Bonnie had to go meet her parents for something that afternoon and I was glad to be rid of her, though I did appreciate the help in picking out the ring. But every time I looked at it, I felt sick about how much money I spent on it. I just had to keep reminding myself that it was a great investment and soon that money would seem like a penny that rolled under the couch cushion to me.

As I drove my jalopy of a car back to my crummy, little apartment, I felt great. It was like there were just good feelings in the air. When you have the world by the tail and you know that everything you’ve ever wanted is about to be given to you, it is easy to stay in a positive mood. It had been a long period of darkness and struggle; now it was time for me to get what I deserved.

When I got home I had a stack of bills waiting for me. It was business as usual. I grabbed them from my mailbox and headed upstairs to my apartment. I picked up a cold beer from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table to look at the mail.

It was mostly junk mail with a few bills that were all threatening “Final Notice” and “Disconnect Pending”. I laughed as I swigged on my beer. These people would be lucky to get a dime out of me any time soon. And when they did I would pay them off to go away.

“Nope. I won’t have to worry about you bastards for very long…”

I chuckled to myself as I moved to the couch and turned on a ballgame. Checking my watch, I realized what time it was and decided I would put the ball in motion for Leia and me to get engaged. My goal was that the engagement would be short-lived and that we would be married within a few months, but it was important that I not push the matter or act like I was antsy for it. Things had a certain order that they needed to go in and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t raise any suspicions by being overzealous.

I picked up my phone and called Leia. She was happy to hear from me as always.

We chatted a bit and I listened patiently as she told me about her day. “Hey, honey,” I said. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

We made the dinner plans and I went about making some other reservations. It was going to be quite the special night.

Chapter Nine

Leia

“Well, how do I look?”

My friend Penny put the magazine down she was leafing through and stood beside me at the mirror, first checking me and then checking my reflection. “You look great,” she said.

I smiled. “You are a good friend, but honestly—do I look alright?”

Penny rolled her eyes and groaned at me. “You know you do. Why do you always need my confirmation on stuff like this?”

“Because I trust your keen fashion sense and eye for detail,” I said.

Penny put her arm around me. “I may be a fashion blogger, but that doesn’t make me an expert. I know—it’s shocking! But any idiot can start a blog and call themselves whatever they want. No one has ever checked my credentials or anything like that.”

“Ha, ha,” I said mocking her before breaking into a giggle. “Thanks. And yes, I am aware of the hard fought victories you had to go through to start your own free blog, but it is popular and you do make a pretty good income off the ad revenue, so that kind of paints you as remarkably knowledgeable on the subject.”

“Yeah, I know. I just love talking about my blog.”

“You are crazy, but thanks. I needed the giggles. I’m so nervous tonight.”

“What for?” Penny asked.

“Well, Ted told me that he is taking me somewhere nice and to dress appropriate. He told me it was going to be a very special evening.”

“Hmmm…. Well, I’m intrigued. Now, special evening…what do you think that means?”

I checked a few strands of hair that were standing crazy and sighed. “I’m not sure. We haven’t been together that long, so there are no anniversaries or anything that I’m aware of.”

Penny sat down on the edge of my bed excitedly. “Ooh! What if he is one of those guys that over celebrates every little milestone in a relationship. You know, like first kiss, first hand holding, three-month anniversary—that sort of thing.”

“I don’t think he is and that would be very annoying,” I said.

Penny shook her head and clicked her lips. “You have no soul. There is an abundant lack of romance in your life, my dear.”

“Wow, now you are being overdramatic. I have romance. I’m full of romance, but I’m not weird about it.”

“There is nothing weird about romance. I think everything should be celebrated.”

“You have so many issues,” I said. “But I love you anyway”

“What are Chastity and Angel doing tonight?” Penny asked. “If this is such an important thing, I figured they’d be here flocking around you.”

“They don’t flock…do they?”

“They totally flock. I love them dearly, but they both need to get lives in the most serious way.”

“I agree,” I said. “I’m not sure what they are up to, but I didn’t tell them much about tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because they don’t have lives and you know how they get. They would have me so nervous by the time I left here that I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I’d be a total wreck. So I called you for guidance and advice. You are my calm friend.”

“It’s very sad that you consider me your calm friend, but I’m glad to be here. And yes, you look stunning.”

I glanced back at myself in the mirror. I was wearing one of my best looking dresses that was very expensive, but I hardly ever wore it. It was tailor made and it just accentuated every single one of my curves and my bust so beautifully. Whenever I found myself not feeling sexy, I would put this dress on and it would instantly do the trick. It was an ultimate-power dress. This dress should have been a registered weapon. It was that hot.

“So, he is taking you to a nice restaurant?” Penny asked. “Isn’t he kind of poor? I mean, he hasn’t done any racing in a while and you said his car and apartment aren’t that great.”

“They are fine, but I don’t think he has a lot of money coming in, if any at all right now. He is just trying to get on his feet. That’s a big blow to take. He had worked his whole life for this and now when he is just about to achieve it, the whole thing blows up in his face. I know he is hurting, but he is trying so hard to be strong.”

“I get that,” Penny said. “That’s cool. I just wonder what he means by ‘nice’ and how he is paying for it.”

Looking at her I had to wonder. She did have a good question, but I promised myself that I wasn’t going to ask too much about it. I could have even offered to pay but Ted was too stuck in his ways to ever accept my charity; I knew that. In fact, I kind of loved that about him. He was a salt of the earth type of guy. And from what I could tell he had a heart of gold.

I found out soon what Ted meant by ‘nice’. I was blown away.

When Ted pulled up in front of my house he was riding in a big stretch limousine. And it was certainly not one of mine, nor my driver.

“Honey, I know this had to cost a lot of money. How did you pull this off?” I asked Ted when he bounded up the steps to my door.

Ted smiled. “I have my sources,” he replied. (I later learned that his friend Bruce’s uncle owned a small limousine company and let him borrow the limo free of charge, and Ted borrowed five hundred dollars from his friend Bennie, promising to pay him back with interest…eventually). Yep, Ted’s charm was endless and effortless.

“So, what all do you have planned for this evening?” I asked when we were in the limo.

Ted smiled and put his arm around me. “Oh, there will be a few surprises. I just hope you are ready for them.”

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. I was very excited to see what surprises were ahead.

The limo dropped us off at Island Prime. It was actually one of my favorite dinner spots. The food and the service were exquisite and the view was perfect with a large view of the San Diego skyline. It was picturesque.

“Ted, you didn’t have to go to all of this trouble,” I said. I wanted to bring up the money thing but I didn’t dare insult Ted’s pride. But I really didn’t see how he was able to afford this. While we’d become very close, I did not know the full extent of Ted’s finances and I didn’t want to ask, just as he never asked about my money at all.

“It’s no trouble,” Ted said. “I wanted to show you a wonderful evening. You work so hard; I know that you deserve it. And I want to do what I can to make you happy all the time.”

“Nobody is happy all the time,” I said.

Ted leaned close to me. “Well, you should be.”

His voice was low, almost a whisper. It was rugged and sensual when he spoke that way.

I blushed and sipped my wine.

“What do you think you’d like to have?” Ted asked. “Anything you want.”

I was still looking over the menu and enjoying the music playing in the background. It was slow and sweet, yet it reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but it put me in a melancholy, almost a nostalgic mood.

“What are you thinking?” Ted asked with a soft smile on his sweet looking lips. They shined perfectly under the dimly lit overhead lights.

The atmosphere was so romantic.

“How do you know I’m thinking anything in particular?” I teased.

“Because I can tell. I’m very good at reading people. Something is dancing behind those beautiful eyes of yours. I was just curious if you’d like to share with the rest of the class.”

I laughed at his joke. “Ok, I was thinking about the trips my family used to take to Hawaii when I was a kid. We went there a few times a year, so much so that it was like a second home to me. It is so beautiful and peaceful there. And there is always music from somewhere, that sweet, Hawaiian music that draws you in and gets the hips swaying back and forth. Before you realize it you are locked into a groove that won’t let go.”

“Wow, that is some imagery,” Ted said. “I think you and I should go there sometime.”

“Oh, it’s a date.”

* * *

“Wow, so how did you know I love this beach?” I asked.

He’d even picked up on my favorite spot. Wow, he was good. A man who noticed all the little things—that had always been the key to my heart for sure. And Ted seemed to just move right through and check off every single box on my internal list. It was funny, but I used to talk to Penny about the dream guy and how I had a list in mind that he would have to have. Penny told me I was thinking of Mr. Perfect, who did not exist. I disagreed with her wholeheartedly. Mr. Perfect did exist—and I’d found him.

“I’m fairly certain you told me about it at one point,” Ted said. “And it just kind of stayed with me.”

We walked along the beach for a bit just enjoying each other’s company and not really saying anything. It was nice to just be together without having to say anything. The sun had just set when we arrived there and the last remaining strands of pinkish orange hue painted the horizon. It was beautiful, but it faded quickly.

“It’s sad isn’t it?” Ted asked.

I stared at the sky a moment longer as we walked slowly along the beach, feeling the sand squishing beneath my feet, not really caring that I might have been ruining an expensive pair of shoes (but glad I’d worn flats).

“What’s sad?” I asked.

“The way the sun always leaves us in the evening. You know it’s coming back within twelve hours or less, but still it kind of takes it all away, the life.”

“What do you mean? I’ve always loved the night.”

“I do love the night, but I’ve always preferred the day. I usually wake up before dawn just so I can be there when the first few rays of sweet sunlight returns. I like to greet it and welcome it home. My grandfather used to call it his old, warm friend. I guess I got a lot of that from him.”

“Sounds like you were close with him.”

He smiled and shook his head slowly. “Yeah, I was really close with him. He was a kind man and I loved him dearly. He passed away when I was ten and it still hurts when I think of him. But I have the good memories at least to hold onto.”

“That’s what’s important,” I said. “I remember it vividly, the day my parents died. It will never leave me, but I always strive to remember the good memories first. I hang on to those because I know that is what they would want me to hold onto, to remember about them. They wouldn’t want me to focus on the fact they are not here with me any longer. I’m just grateful for the time I did get to share with them. And as long as I have that, then I know they will never really be gone.”

A single tear dropped from my eye. Ted reached over and held his hand under my eye, letting the teardrop touch him and blend into his skin. Then he leaned forward and kissed me very softly, our lips barely touching, but all of the hope, love, and warmth that two people can give to each other were present in that brief, sweet kiss.

“That’s right,” Ted said. “That’s all there is sometimes… just memories. And you have to live for them.”

I started to look away but suddenly Ted was on one knee in front of me. It took a few seconds to fully register what it was that he was doing and what was about to happen. Was he…? What? No… it…?

The thoughts would hardly form in my mind. My eyes kept trying to close as if they were beating back some terrible dream to prevent the overload of excitement from crushing my system. My heart was pounding in my chest like a loud, crashing drum echoing inside my ears.

“What…” I started to speak, but Ted beat me to it.

“Leia Daniels, I love you. You say you love me and I believe you. We may have had a brief time on this earth together so far, but I can’t possibly imagine one single day more without you as my wife. I need you beside me for always. Will you please, do me the honor of being my wife?”

“YES!”

The sound burst from my mouth almost too fast for my lips to move out of the way to form the word. My response started as an epic pain in the top part of my chest and suddenly as if sucked out of me by a vicious whirlwind it had exploded from my being.

Ted stumbled slightly on his one knee as if to brace himself as I threw my arms around him and hugged him to the ground. We were both now being covered in sand and I don’t think either one of us cared one bit.

“So, you are saying yes?” Ted asked.

“Of course! Of course!” I squealed loudly in his ear.

We laid there rolling around a bit together for a few minutes.

“Wow, the limo company is going to be pissed when they get it back covered in sand,” Ted said with a laugh.

“Eh, if they complain I’ll pay for it.”

“I can pay for the cleaning,” Ted said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I meant, I’ll pay for the damn limo,” I laughed.

We barely made it back to the limousine before we started making out hot and heavily. It was all such a whirlwind. I’d never dreamt that Ted would propose to me so quickly or so suddenly. It was always in the back of my mind and as I sat there in the back of the limo kissing him passionately, feeling his warming skin against mine I found my mind moving back in time about a month before when I first realized that I could never imagine my life going forward without Ted by my side. I saw a future with us and when I saw that future I saw us together always, growing into old age, and I could see beautiful children growing up beside us. I couldn’t wait to be a mother and I wanted to be Ted’s wife more than I’d ever wanted anything before.

And then he’d proposed. It was almost surreal. There was real magic there and if I’d never believed in miracles before, I did now. And I still do.

Ted’s hands moved up my long, slender legs under my skirt until he found my underwear. I thought he would just rip them and cast them aside as was his usual style, but instead he surprised me by pressing his thick, meaty fingers into me through the fabric. He went slowly at first, slowing down the foreplay and somehow taming his passion as his kisses became more drawn out, longer, and deeper.

My head was rushing with sensation as my mind and body came together in a perfect union to create the ultimate symphony of pleasure in my body. My skin grew moist with sweat as I tried to control my breathing from spinning out of control, but every single touch, each soft movement from Ted’s skin against mine made my own body just cry out in ecstasy. I had to have him inside of me. I couldn’t stand another moment where he wasn’t making sweet love inside of me, not as my boyfriend, not as my lover, but officially as my fiancé. He was now the man I was destined to spend my life with. I was going to marry him and we were going to be happy together forever. This thought drove my lust for him wild as it mingled with my love and my devotion to this amazing man.

Ted’s fingers skimmed the edge of my panties and slowly nestled their way underneath the fabric until now he was touching my flesh. His fingers were just barely scraping against my dripping wet, outer lips. I was lubed up, wet, and ready for him to charge ahead into me. But he was taking his time, teasing me, and milking everything he could out of it.

I moved my body a bit to force his fingers into me a little bit. He resisted playfully for a moment and then he relented and suddenly plunged two of his thick, succulent fingers into my wet pussy.

“AAAHH!” I gasped loudly as my body flung itself backwards against the seat. I was so sensitive to the touch that my body threatened to go into some kind of orgasmic convulsions.

Ted took delight in it. He was smiling widely as he watched me.

“Do it,” he said.

I locked eyes with his and I suddenly knew what he wanted me to do. I grabbed hold of his thick wrist to steady myself and I began humping into his fingers. They slipped in and out of me, probing and sliding along my inner walls. I wished they were longer so they could go deeper… but I would soon have a tool for that…

“Is this…what… you want?” I gasped as I fucked his fingers harder and harder. My wetness was sliding perfectly along his hand. It was triggering my orgasm. I could feel it coming soon and I knew that it was going to be epic.

“Yes…” Ted whispered. He leaned forward and smothered my mouth with his. The kiss was so deep, as if he was trying to suck my soul out through my mouth into his own. And honestly the imagery made it all so much hotter. I wanted us to be one person. We would soon be one being living for the other.

“Shit!” I gasped as my body rocked back and the spasm of my orgasm echoed from my loins and ripped its way up into my lower abdomen and then quickly blasted the pleasure to every single part of my body. I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t move. There was nothing I could do until it was over. I was completely at the mercy of the orgasm. My own hips had stopped moving and bucking against Ted’s fingers, but he was only beginning to play.

Ted continued to move in and out of me fast, hard, and deep as my orgasm trembled over his flesh. I wanted to rip free from his grip as the ecstasy had become almost a wave of agony because it was just too intense, but I couldn’t. He held the exquisite pleasure in place and continued to serve it to me hard.

“Fuck…” I whispered as the orgasm began to subside. My body felt spent. I wondered if the driver could hear anything up front and the thought made me laugh.

Ted pulled back and kissed my neck, my face, and then my forehead before covering my mouth with his sweet lips again. His tongue entered my mouth and danced with mine.

I felt something in my hand. Instantly I knew what it was. I giggled as I tried to wrap my fingers around the massive girth of his huge cock. He was hard as a rock and the smooth skin surrounding his shaft was being stretched to its maximum capacity. I rubbed his cock slowly up and down, toying with the tip, and then bringing it back to the base. Every few strokes I would rub his balls and give them a squeeze.

“Will you suck it for me, baby? I want to feel your sweet lips…” Ted whispered between kisses.

I laughed softly and kissed him again.

And then I leaned over him, opened wide, and let his massive member into my hot, wet mouth. The taste was mind blowing to me. The soft, smooth, skin…the sweetness of his own scent, and the way he throbbed between my lips as if his cock was about to shed his skin and grow even larger inside of me. I loved the power that I had over his pleasure with my mouth. The mouth was so versatile, and I knew how much he loved it. I could have him spewing his load for days or I could tease him and allow it all to back up until I decided. That was the sweet power that I craved with him.

And I knew that he loved it as well.

It took me a few minutes to warm up enough to swallow all of him. His girth pressed against my jaws and probed towards the back of my throat. I had never given oral to someone so large before and I was still amazed at my own abilities. Or maybe it was just him. Maybe my love for Ted was so strong that I was willing to push myself to my utmost limits to give him pleasure. And I knew he would do the same for me.

After I was warmed up I naturally found my head rhythm and I drew his entire length and girth into my mouth and back out to the tip before diving back down again. I loved to keep him guessing by varying the rhythm and the speed. Sometimes I would inch down his shaft slowly and others I would move fast and gulp him down. And occasionally I would narrow my bite just so that my teeth created a much tighter seal for him. He seemed to moan a little louder with the mix of pleasure I created as I scraped my teeth ever so slightly against his skin. I could almost hear a slight fear in his moans which delighted me. My pussy was getting even wetter now, fully recovered from the orgasm from a few minutes earlier. I wanted this sweet cock to stretch my body in half as far as it could go.

I pulled up off his cock and let my mouth rest surrounding the bulbous head. I licked around his shaft and then flicked over the tip as if trying to draw some of his succulent nectar out. I could taste the earliest droplets of his precum. It was sweet with a hint of salt. It was him. I loved to taste him…my love… my world. He was my soul. Ted was the other half of my heart and my very being.

I sensed that he’d had enough and if I kept going much longer he would blast his load into my mouth, and while I always relished the opportunity to taste him, my body wanted something else right then. Ted was the type of man who could recover quite quickly, but he was still mortal. And I didn’t want anything to interrupt the screaming desires of my wet, tight, pussy. I had to do it.

“I want you to fuck me!” I growled.

I removed my clothes, pulling my dress over my head and then without so much as waiting for Ted to finish pulling his pants all the way down, I climbed on top of him and I let myself slide down the length of his shaft.

“Wow…” I moaned. I could hardly breathe as he entered me. I was warmed up and wet as could be. Even then I had to go slow to let his massive girth spread me open slowly so that I didn’t hurt myself. I loved a little pain, but too much was too much.

I stopped for a moment allowing my body to savor and get used to Ted being deeply inside of me. He started to pulsate slowly, just moving in and out of me perhaps an inch. His instincts were right on as I started to instantly get more adjusted and ready for him. I could feel my body gushing with desire and the wetness in my loins were now flowing steadily, almost like some kind of waterfall between my legs. But Ted’s throbbing dick was soaking up most of the wetness with the greatest of ease.

Looking into his eyes and seeing the pleasure and the total desire he had for me was enough to send me over the edge. I kissed him hard and held him closely, letting my body just melt into his as I continued to bob up and down on his rock, hard member. I was going to come again. I had no idea when though; it could have been any time or it could have been awhile. With Ted it was always difficult to tell. Suddenly my body would just erupt with the pleasure after teasing the build.

It was part of the magic that made us work together.

Ted groaned suddenly and put his strong hand on my hips. He pushed me off just enough to position himself behind me and bent me over the seat. Then he began to pile drive hard into me with long, thrusting blasts of his cock. His hand found my long hair and tied it around his fist, holding me in place and pulling just a little bit.

I loved it when he got dominant this way. The give and take of it was fun. We liked to take turns, but if I were being honest I always loved to finish with Ted taking control.

Very soon I felt him getting tighter and harder inside of me. I heard his breaths turning into some kind of airless groan and the grip on my hair clenched much tighter.

He was going to come. I braced myself for it.

“AAGGGH!” Ted cried out as he released his huge, pent up load inside of my waiting body.

I could feel his wetness mingling with mine almost immediately. Ted was not slowing down or stopping either. He seemed hell-bent on emptying his entire self into me. And I was just happy as could be about it.

It was only a few seconds later when I came again. It was just as epic, just as powerful as the first time.

As my body shuttered with the final remnants and the fallout of my huge orgasm I rested my sweaty head against Ted’s and said the words, “I love you.”

He kissed me softly and then said it back. “I love you, too. God, I love you.”

Afterwards we laid in the limo and snuggled for a bit. We didn’t dare even talk to the driver yet. We were just enjoying our time together.

We were engaged and in love. Nothing in the world mattered to me but that.

Nothing at all.

Chapter Ten

Ted

Two Months Later

Now this is a party.

I popped open another beer (I believe it was my fifth) and sauntered my way to the dance floor where several of my best friends were dancing with some friends of Leia’s. The turnout at the party was fantastic, far better than I ever would have thought it was. I had not as of yet really had time to get to know that many of Leia’s friends, but she’d promised that they were all a lot of fun and many of them loved to party. She had not been lying.

The wedding was everything that she wanted. Leia had paid for exactly what had been in the back of her mind since she was a little girl. The wedding of her dreams… I had to admit that it was a rather splendid affair. Personally I’ve never cared much for weddings (except for sleeping with hot bridesmaids, and I wasn’t going to attempt that at my own wedding) but this one had turned out way more fun than I ever imagined it would be. And I was glad about that, mostly because my best friends --who were also my groomsmen--were having a sweet time.

We got through the wedding and the ceremony. It was fairly traditional in a large, opulent looking, lavish church with a lot of people in attendance. Leia didn’t have any family left, but she had a wealth of friends, associates, business partners, investors, and her top level executives. It was my first time meeting most of them so I was sure to be on my best behavior. After all, I had to make a good impression and show everyone that Leia had married a great guy and not some hayseed. I could be polished and urbane when I needed to be.

Leia looked amazing. I’d seen a few brides in my time and she put them all to shame. Even her dress was beautiful and to me (and most men) wedding dresses all kind of look the same and we can never understand why women put so much effort into finding the perfect one, but Leia’s was stunning. It was most likely tailor made for her and it accentuated every single perfect curve and nuance of her amazing figure.

I could not hold back a gasp as I saw her at the end of the aisle, being escorted by Martin Prince, one of her father’s best friends and top executives in the company. He was a very nice guy and fun to talk to. We had agreed to get together and play golf at some time. I imagined I was going to be playing a lot more golf with my newfound wealth and freedom.

After the ceremony we got changed for the reception. The party was insane. Luckily, Leia had let me help plan a good bit of it. She’d wanted me to help more with the wedding itself, but I explained to her straight up that I knew dick about weddings and that I had no real interest or ideas in how it should go. Whatever she wanted to do I was totally fine with it. Things would go more smoothly if I just stayed out of the way.

And they did.

But the party on the other hand… I was very invested in that. There was lots of booze, a live band (Leia had argued with me about just getting a DJ, but I had stuck to my guns about it and it was perfect), and great food. Leia initially wanted a bunch of rich people food like caviar and lobster and boring stuff served buffet style. I decided it would be more fun to have pizza and pasta dishes. We decided on a compromise and had both. That was the best thing about money being no object; you could always have it all. There was very little that we had to compromise about.

“So, how’s it going Ricky?” I asked my good friend Ricky Butler. He was over by the food table polishing off another slice of pizza.

“It’s great, man,” Ricky said. “I think that Wanda girl wants me.”

I glanced over at the bridesmaid he was talking about. Her name was Wanda Carrington. She was an old college friend of Leia’s that she didn’t talk about much, but apparently she was important enough in Leia’s life that she had to invite her to the wedding. She was a hot girl, but a bit ditzy. Then again Ricky was also ditzy so the two of them would have gotten along.

“Go for it, man,” I said. I took a big gulp of the beer and then grabbed a slice of pizza. I didn’t know what it was about pizza, but anytime you ordered a lot of it for an event of some sort, it always tasted so much better than if you just ordered one for yourself. It was like all the sauce and everything was just so much better. It boggled the mind.

Yep, I was getting fairly drunk.

I decided this would be my last beer for a bit. I did have a brand new wife to pleasure later. Since we’d been engaged I’d moved into Leia’s place, paid off all my debt, and got rid of my apartment. And we’d been making love almost every single day, often more than once. It was unreal. Her sex drive was just as high as mine; it seemed that we were perfect for each other. I couldn’t wait for the first sex as husband and wife; it was going to be epic.

“So, congrats on being married, man. Leia is an awesome girl,” Ricky said. He and Leia had not really met much before this, except an occasional word at my weekly poker game with the fellas.

I smiled. I had to agree. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

Speaking of which, I decided that it was a good time to grab my new wife and bring her out on the dance floor. The band was playing some great eighties rock hits. We’d had our first official dance earlier, and it went beautifully. Our song was “Up Where We Belong”. It was a cheesy eighties song that I’d never been a huge fan of, but we made sure the band knew it when we booked them and Leia really wanted it. Just one of the many sacrifices I would now have to make as Leia’s husband. Par for the course really.

“Hey, baby,” I said as I took Leia’s hand in mine. She’d been over at a table talking to some people from work and a few of her bridesmaids. “Do you all mind if I borrow her for a moment?” I asked with a smile.

Everyone smiled and looked at each other, very happy for the newlywed couple who were so deeply in love.

I escorted Leia to the dance floor where I kissed her.

“Wow, aren’t you in a friendly mood?” Leia teased.

“Well, it’s a special day. Besides, do you have any idea how great you look in that dress? It’s all I can do to keep from peeling you out of it right here and now.”

Leia wrapped her arms around my neck as the band started in on a slow song called “Wonderful Tonight”.

Leia grinned. “I do, actually. And may I say I have the same sentiments about you in that tux. Wow, baby…”

I laughed. “You don’t get too used to it. I don’t like suits, especially tuxedos. This is kind of a rare occasion.”

Leia shook her head. “I have some news for you. In the world of business, it is kind of the norm to wear stuff like this. So, if you accompany me to business functions, social engagements, also known as parties—then you are going to be wearing similar attire.”

I frowned and scoffed playfully. “That’s disheartening, but if it’s what I got to do then it is what I got to do.”

“God, I love you,” Leia said hugging me closely. It felt nice to be near her. She was warm and inviting. And I was pretty happy. I’d gotten fairly lucky that she’d turned out to be such a great woman. But I had a feeling that ‘married life’ wasn’t going to agree with me and that was going to cause some conflicts and fights down the road. When Leia fought back against me or tried to keep me locked in her little cage to remind me of who I was supposed to be and how to act, she was going to see the side of me that I was pretty good at keeping hidden. The first time it happened would probably be even funny because it would completely blind side her.

She might start to realize that she’d made a terrible mistake. But by then it would be too late. I was going to have my hooks into her already.

A few days prior Leia had given me Power of Attorney over her. It was one of the final things that I wanted to clear up before we got married. Surprisingly, she was fine with it. If something ever happened to Leia, Heaven Forbid, then I would be in control of her estate and her money.

Of course Leia’s lawyer would have suggested that she not do this and that she even sign a prenuptial agreement, but I’d seen to his little red wagon. It was amazing the skeletons rich men typically had in their closet. I’d borrowed some money from Leia for some “medical bills” and used it to finance a stripper I’d met at my bachelor party. She was happy to accept ten grand to seduce Leia’s lawyer while a private investigator I hired got it on video. I then just had to use it to blackmail the lawyer into giving Leia some very bad legal counsel. The Lawyer who had married young before he had become a lawyer for very rich clients and was now worth a bit of money, was very interested in his wife not finding out, divorcing him, and taking him for a lot of money. It all worked out for the best.

And it worked beautifully.

After the dance was over, I held Leia in my arms and kissed her sweetly. “I love you so much,” I whispered. “How did I get so lucky?”

She laughed. “You are an idiot who almost got himself killed with a motorcycle stunt.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “That was actually the smartest thing I ever did.”

I kissed her again.

It actually was the smartest thing I’d ever done. Throwing my bike in front of her car that day had taken careful calculation and planning. Even then it didn’t go quite right and I was scared for a brief moment that I was actually going to get hurt seriously, possibly even killed.

But luckily it had all gone down without a hitch. And now here we were all these months later. We were two crazy kids in love with a beautiful, bright future ahead of us.

As I held my new wife and thought about how amazing my life was turning out I couldn’t have imagined one single thing going wrong, not one.

But life had a way of never working out quite as well as you thought it was going to.

That’s a lesson that I seemed to never learn, despite repeated attempts by the universe to teach it to me.

Chapter Eleven

Leia

The resort was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. I hadn’t stopped being amazed by what my eyes beheld for the past few hours since we’d landed. And now that we were in our room I was still blown away. Everything was working out perfectly and our honeymoon had not officially even started yet.

But I had a feeling it was about to heat up in some super intense ways.

“Wow, this place is intense!” I said as I walked from the main room of our suite into the bedrooms, then checked out the huge bathroom and shower, and then finally took a seat at the kitchen table.

Ted tipped the bellboy and when he left closed the door behind him. “I have to say I agree.”

He grabbed us a few beers and sat down in front of me. I nodded a thank you and took a big drink from mine.

“So, what was up with the turbulence flying in?” Ted asked. “I thought for sure we were going to die halfway through the flight.”

“I know,” I replied. “I’m not sure there is much the pilots can do when that happens, but I almost feel that we should complain and get some sort of a discount.”

Ted laughed. “Look at you worried about a discount.”

“What? Just because I have money, doesn’t mean I enjoy wasting it or not getting what I paid for.”

“I admire that,” Ted said. “That down home work ethic. It’s nice. A lot of people in your position would never have stayed as grounded.”

I smiled. “I guess. Do you think I’m too grounded? I know that sort of thing can get really annoying.”

Ted laughed. “No, I don’t think so. You are the perfect amount.”

I giggled. “In fact, you are the perfect amount for a lot of things.”

Ted stood up and began undressing. “I think it’s time for a nice shower. I smell like airplane and travelling. Would you like to join me, my dear?’

I was right behind him, but in the shower he was right behind me within minutes. It was always so good to take it from behind.

“So, would you like to try something different?” Ted proposed in the middle.

I was getting close to orgasm, but I was very interested in what he might have in mind.

“Sure,” I said.

A moment later I heard Ted lathering his stiff cock up with some liquid soap. And then I felt the head of his dick pressing into my ass. I braced myself. I’d never actually experienced this but I’d always been kind of curious. Before this I’d never met anyone that I trusted enough to try the back door, but I trusted Ted with all my heart and soul.

Soon, he was deep inside of me. It felt different at first, but as I got into it I loved it. There was an intimacy to it that was different than straight intercourse. It didn’t hurt at all. I imagined because Ted went slowly and he made sure to include adequate lubrication.

As he fucked me anally, his other hand reached around and fingered my pussy.

Soon I came, and I came hard.

Afterwards I was pleasantly surprised with what had occurred. It was another first for us and I was glad I’d saved something so intimate for him. It was just another beautiful expression of our lovemaking and I’d enjoyed it so much. I was looking forward to it again sometime in the near future.

Though we’d been travelling for a long while and we’d just landed, we decided not to waste the first day recovering just from travelling. We were fairly young after all, and both in very good physical condition.

We checked on our itinerary of places we wanted to go and visit and set out on our first journey. I was excited beyond belief. I truly felt the same sense of wonder and giddiness that a young child feels when they are on vacation for the first time with their family. Everything is new and exciting because you haven’t experienced anything yet and all you see and do just takes on a much more pronounced experience in your mind.

The first thing we did was water skiing. It had been a while since I’d attempted water skiing, but I’ve always been a good swimmer so I said we would try it out. It was Ted’s idea that I go first.

I got set up on my skis and grabbed the rope line securely, while Ted hopped behind the wheel of the motorboat we’d rented. He was a surprisingly great driver and didn’t try to make me go too fast for my own good, but he made sure that I was able to keep a good, challenging pace for myself. He always knew me and what I could handle. That was a gift, a talent he had. There was just some way that he had of reading me always. I liked to think I had the same with him, but he truly had been blessed with a skill I don’t think I have been.

“Do some tricks!” Ted yelled playfully as I sped along.

Being out on the skis again made me realize how much time I’d devoted to work and being alone in my life. Ted had this zest for fun adventure that I used to have. He’d awakened it in me and I was forever grateful to him for that. A part of me had died when my parents did and I’d been forced to grow up too quickly. When that happens to a kid, sometimes the lines between childhood and adulthood can get very blurred. That had happened to me. Some days it felt that I was just going through the motions with no end result in mind, no reset button to start over on a new path.

When that happens to someone it is so easy to get disillusioned and bored with everything.

Being with Ted had become so instrumental in clearing away that kind of clutter in my life. I felt almost reborn being with him. And water skiing that first day of our honeymoon, the first day of the rest of our lives together as husband and wife, was more special than I could ever truly explain.

I pretended to not notice that he had fallen and I drove the boat out a little way before circling around to pick him up.

“That’s hilarious,” Ted said climbing back in the boat.

“I thought so.”

Ted wrapped his arms around me and for a moment I thought he was just going to give me the old heave-ho over into the water, but instead he just held me closely and kissed me as I pretended to resist and squirm.

“I love you,” Ted said. His sweet voice whispering those words in my ear was something I would never get over. And so far he’d whispered those sweet words into my ear at least once a day, usually two or three times. And every single time he did it felt like the first time. The world stood still around us and I just felt at home with him.

“So, have you read up on Acapulco recently?” Ted asked after he’d had his turn. I was impressed with the way he slid across the water. He kept urging me to go faster until I was moving along full throttle. The show off even did a few flips and one handed maneuvers. Eventually, he tried the one-foot approach and fell topsy-turvy into the water.

“What do you mean?”

Ted was smiling and chuckling to himself as he looked over his phone.

“I was researching some fun things to do around here the other day and I bookmarked a few things I wanted to check out. There is an underwater cave network not far from here that might be really fun to look at. I’ve always loved natural wonders like that.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said. “My family went on vacation in Virginia once and we found a lot of cool stuff like that there.”

“So, let’s do it,” Ted said.

* * *

“I can’t get over how tasty this rice dish is here,” Ted said.

I loved watching the man eat. I’d never seen someone really devour their food so quickly while enjoying it so heavily all at the same time. It was almost like he was making love to it and I found myself jealous of that dish.

The day had been busy but exciting. After leaving our suite we went on the guided tour to the Valla Caverns. They were so impressive. It almost looked like something man made at first glance, like a true work of art, but after a few minutes of being down there you were overtaken by the amazing sights, the smells, the feeling that you were standing in something that was possibly older than humanity. If you had any religious beliefs, you were inclined to believe that a divine hand was definitely at work here. The designs on the top of the canyons combined with the smooth rock that formed them clashed together to create something that was both visually stunning and otherworldly beautiful. I felt blessed to be able to walk down there and to breathe the air that was older than I would probably ever know.

Ted had a blast following the tour guide and asking a zillion questions, some of them really humorous and silly which began to take their toll on the guide about halfway along the tour. But the guide stayed professional and answered any of the inquiries that Ted and the others had as best he could.

After the tour, we decided to call it a day on the adventures and sample some of the local cuisine. I was starving. It had escaped me that I had not eaten anything since the airplane about seven hours earlier.

“Let me try some,” I said grabbing my spoon and helping myself to a big spoonful.

“Hey, did I say you could have some of my stuff?” Ted asked mockingly.

“Yes,” I replied. “You said it with your eyes.”

“You little Manx,” Ted said, his eyes narrowing into sexy slits. “You are going to get what’s coming to you. Yep, that is right.”

I rolled my eyes, really laying it on. “Fine. Here, you go.”

Grabbing my spoon, I dumped a big heaping pile of my burrito mixture onto his plate. He nodded and spooned it into his mouth.

“Damn, that is good,” Ted said. “I think it might be better than mine. Want to trade?”

“No, I don’t want to trade,” I laughed.

“So, what is on the agenda for tomorrow?” Ted asked.

“Why are you looking forward to getting back home that quickly?”

Ted shrugged. “No, but I’m not sure we can top today. It’s been pretty awesome.”

I grabbed the itinerary and gave it a look.

Ted laughed. “You are so organized. It’s kind of weird.”

“I am used to it because of my work.”

“Yeah, but it seems obsessive compulsive to me.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m just very careful with detail. Now, let’s see here. Oh, tomorrow we are planning to go do some golfing and then we are going to sample some of the dancing in the clubs. At least that was my plan. If you have something you’d like to change or some other idea, I am all for it.”

Ted leaned back and looked at me. “No, I’m just fine with what you have planned.” He paused a moment.

Finally, I said, “Spill it.”

A naughty look entered Ted’s eye. I was used to this look and God help me I found it devilishly charming and irresistible.

Ted took a sip of his merlot. “Well, in doing some research about the area I discovered there is some cock fighting nearby.”

“What?” I asked.

“Cock fighting. It’s where they set up a couple of roosters to fight each other. It’s great fun. Plus, you can make some action on it.”

“I don’t need action,” I reminded him. “Plus, it’s barbaric and sick. You would want to see that?”

“Well, I just think it might be fun and different. But I understand if you don’t want to go. But you did mention once you’d like to see some bullfighting. I don’t think it’s any different.”

I sat there looking at him. I had said that. It was one of those things that sounded interesting at the time and you heard a lot about, especially if you were on your way to Mexico, but upon further deliberation I realized that it was not a sport I’d want to be a spectator at either.

“I’d rather not,” I said.

We finished eating and went back to our room. Later that night while lying in bed I found myself thinking about the suggestion. Did Ted really want to see such a sick, disgusting, sport? I’d never really understood sports involving animals. They always seemed cruel and sick to me.

I closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep. I slept soundly and awoke to a bright new day. It was still just after sunrise when I finally stirred from my slumber. I’d been dreaming, but I wasn’t sure what about. It was incredibly sad though, I can remember that vividly. And when I woke up I was almost in tears. I didn’t have the slightest idea why or what had brought me down so low.

I looked to my right and Ted was gone. His side of the bed was empty. I listened carefully thinking that he might just be in the bathroom, but I heard nothing.

My curiosity got the best of me and I rolled out of bed. I was still naked as can be. The air was chilly against my skin, but it felt liberating. Plus, I figured when I found Ted then I would surprise him with my still naked body. That might get him in the mood at least, not that he’d ever needed much prodding.

He was in the living room sitting on the couch wearing his robe, reading a Stephen King novel, and enjoying a hot cup of coffee.

“Hey,” I said.

Ted looked up at me and when he saw my naked form he smiled. “Wow, that is a beautiful sight.”

With that Ted opened his robe to reveal how ready he was. His cock was standing at full attention, as if he’d been waiting for me.

“I guess great minds think alike,” I said.

I sank down on top of him.

* * *

One Month Later

“Take care! Thanks for coming!”

Ted escorted the last of his guests out the door and closed it behind them. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was so glad to have the house back nice and quiet. Even if there was a heap of a mess everywhere around me. I’d need to contact the cleaning crew that I now had basically on speed dial to clean the place up after the lavish, crazy party that Ted had decided to throw on a random Tuesday.

It was becoming almost a daily thing. I’d come home from working and running the family business to find Ted and several of his friends (or sometimes dozens like tonight) having a party or at the very least a loud, crazy poker game that had spun out of control and was now more like several frat boys messing up the house.

“Wow, that was a good one,” Ted said bouncing back into the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“Another party?” I asked. “We just had a huge party Saturday. And last Wednesday.”

“So?” Ted asked.

“So? I’m getting a bit tired of coming home to chaos. I would like to have some peaceful nights at home every now and then.”

“What? There is no fun in that. We aren’t a couple of old fogies.”

“No, but I do have a business to run. Did it ever occur to you that I’m a bit tired at the end of the day and would just like some peace?”

Ted glared at me. “Really? Well, excuse the hell out of me. I didn’t realize what an inconvenience I had become. It must be nice having a place to go to everyday when everything in the world you touch turns to gold while everything in my life turns to shit!”

Ted was yelling now. I’d never heard him raise his voice like that. I thought he might just be drunk, but he didn’t seem that out of control of his faculties. He actually seemed like he was perfectly lucid.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m sorry that things aren’t working out well for you with your business, but that is no reason to party every night when I’m paying for it.”

I started walking towards the living room and Ted stood in my way.

“Don’t you ever try to imply that I’m some kind of damn freeloader. I’ll knock you across the damn room. Got me? I work damn hard. I’m trying like hell pounding the pavement and trying to get my business off the ground. Do you know what it’s like to have the door slammed shut in your face every single day? DO YOU!”

Ted’s finger was in my face. The fingers of his other hand were digging into my flesh now.

“You’re hurting me…” I groaned in pain.

Ted laughed. “You’re hurting me. And you are too fucking stupid to realize it! Never disrespect me or my friends again. You’ll be sorry as shit if you do.”

He threw my arm down, grabbed his beer, and walked through the living room and down the stairs towards the billiard room where he spent most of his nights recently.

I stood there stunned in silence. What had just happened? Ted had hurt my arm and threatened me. His voice sounded so cold, so evil. Like it wasn’t even him.

It was then that I began to think I might have made a big mistake.

But I had no way of knowing how right I was.

Chapter Twelve

Ted

After our little fight I cooled off a bit in the billiard room where I drank some whiskey and shot some pool. It was a great way to relieve some steam and just reflect on things. So far, our marriage had been going nice and smooth. I did what I wanted and I treated her well. So far, she’d been fine with it. We did fun things together and we had regular, mind blowing sex.

But now suddenly, she had a problem with me and my partying ways. I was not going to live like some stiff. I had to have some fun. She had her goofy company to pretend to run. Hell, anyone with a grain of salt for brains knew that she had no idea what she was doing and if it wasn’t for all the people who actually ran that company it would have gone into the ground quickly.

Recently I’d befriended a few of these fellas and started hanging out on the golf course with them. They were cool, old cats and they had actually taken me under their wing. I was learning a lot about the company, the business, and what it took to run it successfully. You had to be ruthless, and you had to be absolutely brutal sometimes.

I had that. I had that in spades. I’d never had a problem moving someone out of my way to get what I wanted. It was all good as far as I was concerned.

Now Leia on the other hand… she was too kind. She was just too nice for the cutthroat world of business and she had no way of knowing if she was actually earning her fair share or not. As far as I could tell everything was on the up and up, but it could have gone south at any time. That made me nervous. I’d decided I was going to learn as much as I could and then I was going to start running things properly.

It was basically my company now, too.

I poured another whiskey and then took a few shots, sinking several balls including a nice combo shot. Pool was the most relaxing game ever created, I thought. It was perfect in its smoothness, its flow, and its geometry. I’d been getting very good at it lately as I played daily.

After clearing the table, I racked them again, got into position, and let fly a wonderfully hard shot that scattered the balls well across the table and even sinking a few.

As I began to play my game, my mind drifted back to the argument from before. I chuckled to myself as the memory came back.

“That bitch…” I muttered. “How dare she try to tell me what to do?”

I was going to hang with my friends whenever I wanted to and that was all there was to it. There was no way in hell I was going to let this woman tell me what I was going to do with my life and my time. Besides I never complained when she had her idiotic friends over to gab about nonsense or how their relationships were going.

“Well, now she has something to tell them,” I giggled.

But my joy quickly turned sour as I continued to play. She’d better not say anything to her friends about what I said to her. She made me angry coming home and ignoring my friends, trying to pick me apart, and asking me if I’d done this or that like I was her Goddamn errand boy. How dare she?

“Bitch,” I muttered again as I sank another ball into the corner pocket.

She had some nerve. But I’d put her in her place and for the first time she could see what a real dick I could be and how miserable her life could be if she pushed me and didn’t let me do my thing. The honeymoon was over. It was time for her to wake up and smell the coffee.

I had arrived and I was there to stay.

Chapter Thirteen

Leia

One Month Later

I slumped against the refrigerator and took several deep breaths. After a moment I found the will to open it and grab a yogurt. I shut the door, picked up a spoon from the silverware drawer, grabbed a banana, and sat down at the table only to realize I wasn’t hungry at all. I just felt nauseous.

I wasn’t sure what to think or what to feel. The past month of my life had been one crazy extreme to another. The angelic married life I had dreamt of my entire life was slowly becoming more like a nightmare with no end in sight.

Ted had changed. He was almost a completely different person than he’d been when we first got married. He had no motivation, he had no ambition, he was always short and ill tempered, and he had given me the impression he might get physically abusive if I didn’t just respect his space and not meddle with him.

It was like being married to a stranger.

“Maybe he is depressed,” Penny said one day over lunch.

“I’ve thought about that, but he won’t talk to me.”

“Well, his whole life has changed, too. That injury and not being able to do what he loves—I imagine that has hurt him more than he ever let on to you.”

I nodded. “I know it has, but his injury doesn’t seem that bad at times. I mean, I’m sure it hurts but he won’t talk about it so it is impossible to know what he is feeling. If he won’t communicate then I can’t reach out to understand him or try to help him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want help,” Penny said. “Maybe he just wants to be miserable and wallow in it.”

“I’m sure he feels that way, but that’s when you need to snap out of it the most. No matter what you have to keep moving forward. I went through that when I lost my parents. I didn’t want to be around anyone or do anything, but I had to get back out there and keep going. I just wish I could help him do the same.”

Penny took a bite of the pie she was eating. “That’s the thing. You can’t do it for him and you can’t push him out into anything.”

That had been a few weeks ago and I tried to let Penny’s advice sink in but I wasn’t sure it fit Ted anymore. He was just so mean and almost sadistic at times. It felt like it had little to do with him being depressed. He was always laughing and goofing off with his friends. It seemed like he wanted to be around everyone but me half the time.

But our sex was still amazing. That had never let up. And the weirdest thing that I couldn’t wrap my head around was that since Ted had become different the sex had actually become even better. Maybe it was that I craved the intimacy with him even more because I felt that our emotional intimacy had gone astray. I wasn’t sure but it was drilling a hole in my brain to find out.

And now on top of everything, I’d just come back from the doctor to find out that I was pregnant with twins. Twins…the doctor heard two separate heartbeats. They were both healthy and strong. I was going to be a mother… a mother…

I felt so blessed. I’d always wanted to be a mother. And now I was going to have twins. I couldn’t believe it. The feeling was overwhelming, but that was because there was actually a plethora of feelings going through my head and my heart. I’d wanted to be a mother since as long as I could remember. My own mother was so phenomenal, so loving, and so perfect that I wanted to be just like her. I dreamt of one day having a daughter or a son that I could love and cherish the way I’d been cherished.

And now it was going to happen.

But what was Ted going to think about it? What would he really think?

We’d never discussed at length the possibility of having kids before, though we’d both agreed that we wanted kids. With Ted the conversation was always short and sweet. He would say that kids were great and he was looking forward to it, but that it was more of a few years down the road. I knew that he didn’t want kids right now. But sometimes things happened where surprises came along that you weren’t expecting by a long shot. And this had happened to us. And now we were there to get everything together to make this happen. It would require sacrifice and commitment on both our parts, but I was ready for it. I was excited for it.

I did not think that Ted would be so pleased and I was right.

“What?” Ted asked when I told him the news. You would have thought I’d slapped him upside the head; the look of surprise was so quick and so full of repulsion.

“I’m pregnant,” I said again. “With twins.”

I began clearing away some of the dishes. I’d sent the crew home early because I wanted to have this conversation after dinner and I wanted the two of us to be alone.

“I don’t believe it…” Ted said.

He stood up and began to pace back and forth.

“Well, this is good news, right? Are you as happy as I am?”

I knew the answer but I wanted to put the best face on this that I could.

Ted paused in mid step and looked at me. I could see the confusion rolling across his face as if he didn’t know what to say. I knew the answer already. He was deeply saddened, possibly enraged by the news, but he knew that I was very happy and he was playing for my benefit. I wasn’t sure if he just didn’t want to hurt me, or if there was another reason for his confusion. But I desperately wanted to find out. What was in his mind?

“Yeah,” Ted said. “That’s great news.”

“Tell me how you really feel,” I said. “Please talk to me.”

Ted glared at me. “How do I feel? Well, fine. I’ll tell you. I think this is something we were planning on years down the road. I like to think that everything has its own place and timing and this screws the hell out of a lot of the things we had planned.”

“How?”

“How?” Ted exclaimed. “How do you think?” He demanded. “How am I going to work on building a business if I have kids to take care of? You going to stop working suddenly to take care of them? Or are you going to do like other rich people and just pawn them off on the staff? Yeah, that will be a great way for kids to grow up, being raised by people that their parents employ.”

“We will work it out,” I said. “There are a variety of ways we can work our schedules so that one or both of us is always here.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! To make that happen it means that our lives are going to be forever changed. This isn’t a phase or something short lived. Dammit! I thought you were taking birth control?”

I nodded. “I am. Sometimes it isn’t always a hundred percent effective. And it’s possible that I missed one, or we made love when I ran out and hadn’t had a chance to refill it. That’s happened a few times. Things happen. I think this is a beautiful thing.”

“Oh, you think it’s beautiful. That’s rich. That is rich…I’ll tell you one thing Mrs. Proud Mommy; you’d better not let those babies make you fat or my eyes might just start to wander. You keep that in mind the next time you think it is no big deal that you didn’t take your birth control and now we have rug rats on the way.”

Ted stormed out of the kitchen and out the front door. A moment later I heard his motorcycle start and he was gone.

I stood there watching him for several minutes with tears rolling down my face. The words he spoke still stung my ears. I felt sick to my stomach and I had to hold the table in front of me to steady myself. I was terrified and I felt like I was about to start breaking down. The stress of it all was too much to take.

I called Penny and she came over as quickly as she could. I didn’t even know if Ted would be coming back home tonight.

“I feel stupid crying like this,” I said. “But I just can’t stop. How could he say those horrible things to me?”

Penny rubbed my hand. “It’s ok,” she said. “He is just upset. You know there are things he’s going through. I think it’s just the shock of it all and after he’s had time to calm down and adjust to the news he will be fine. I bet he comes back home bearing gifts and apologizing.”

“I’m not sure I’d care if he did,” I said.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do. I’ve been so patient waiting for him to shape up and be the man I married, to get his stuff sorted out. And I’m over it. I…I don’t think he loves me anymore. I’m starting to wonder if he ever did.”

“You don’t mean that,” Penny said. “Every couple fights and has disagreements, usually when big news happens. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love you.”

“I wish I could believe that,” I said. “I just don’t know what to think. I’m so confused. I don’t want our kids to grow up without a father, but I just don’t know how much longer I can stand this.”

“Are you sure the pregnancy hormones aren’t playing into things here a bit? You need to relax. Being upset is very bad for the babies. Whatever you go through, so do they.”

Penny was right. I tried to calm down. Having her there was helping a lot.

“Any idea where Ted might have gone?” Penny asked grabbing me another ginger ale from the fridge.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “He just leaves every now and then. He goes off somewhere; I have no idea where. When he comes back he doesn’t say anything about it.”

“And when you question him?”

I shook my head. “I stopped questioning him about anything. Every time I do he yells at me and he’s threatened me a few times.”

“What?” Penny asked.

I almost wished I hadn’t told her that, but I was feeling so vulnerable and scared. I had to tell someone. There were times when I feared for my safety around Ted. I couldn’t believe that I felt that way, that things had actually gotten that bad with us.

“It’s ok,” I said trying to dismiss it.

“What do you mean? What type of threats?”

“I shouldn’t have told you.”

“Has he ever hit you?”

“No,” I answered quickly. “No, he never has. I’d kick his ass out the moment he did.”

I meant it.

“Well, threatening isn’t far off. I’ve read about this. These sorts of things have a pattern.”

“Why are you reading about that stuff?” I asked.

Penny sighed. “When I was in high school, I had an abusive boyfriend for a few months. I know what it's like.”

“I’m so sorry. But Ted is not abusive. At least not physically, and I don’t want to blame him for the way he’s been acting. I don’t know that it is really his fault. Like you said, with all of the stress he has gone through recently it would be strange if he wasn’t having some issues.”

“That’s all well and good,” Penny said. “But when is it enough? When does it cross a line?”

I nodded. She was right. I wasn’t sure when that line would be crossed or if it would be, but I was scared.

Penny stayed with me for most of the evening and then she left. I waited up for Ted but he never showed that night. He often took off for a few days without any warning. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing (or with who) but it worried me sick.

He had to know it wasn’t right to just leave me that way and never even mention where he was going or where he’d been when he did arrive. To him it was like riding to town to grab some cough drops.

I’d thought about hiring someone to follow him and just see where he went, but so far I hadn’t been able to bring myself to really follow through with that. I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t want to know the truth or if I just didn’t want to hate myself for violating that trust.

I retired to the living room and relaxed with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Eventually I went to bed and I thought about the twins and my relationship with their father. Ted… he was going to be a father… I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. He was barely able to be a husband. What type of a father would he make? Was it possible that he could change back to the man I’d married? Did that man still exist?

Or had he never existed? I was facing the truth more each day, and as scary as it was to admit, I eventually found myself believing it.

Ted was not the man who’d made me fall in love with him. Ted was someone else entirely.

I just didn’t know who. But I was going to find out.

Chapter Fourteen

Ted

Nine Months Later

I swung the golf club hard but smooth trying to make sure that I kept my back even and straight and that my wrists stayed nice and locked in without being too rigid as I continued my follow through. I connected solidly with the ball and watched as it lifted off the tee and sailed far through the air towards the hole. It landed on the green and came to a stop not far from putting distance.

“Nice shot!”

Andrew Brower, one of my newest golfing buddies, congratulated me with a hearty pat on the back. He was one of those guys that had to try to be alpha in everything he did, which included very hard pats on the back that he pretended were soft. They used to piss me off, but I’d gotten past that. Andrew was just that way. Besides the guy had more money than he knew what to do with and he sounded very interested in investing in my motorcycle company I was on the verge of starting up.

After months of trying to find the right investors, I decided to go to the source and start investing in actual riders. A few of my racers had done well and this began the word of mouth about me as a legitimate businessman. Now I was ready to move on to bigger and better things. I was no longer considered a washed up racer who was only ever mediocre to begin with. I knew I could have become great if I’d wanted to invest that much time and work into it, but I’ve always been the kind of guy who likes to go with the path of least resistance. It was far easier this way and it made life that much more enjoyable when you weren’t constantly thinking about competing against anyone else.

“Thanks,” I said putting my driver back into my bag. I slung the bag over my shoulder and started walking towards the ball.

“Why didn’t we get a cart?” Andrew asked.

I laughed. “Because we aren’t that lame that we can’t stretch our legs and walk a bit. It’s good exercise. If you spend too much time sitting, it just destroys your body. We humans are not meant to be sedentary creatures.”

“Ah, I forgot. You are a bit of a science buff, aren’t you?”

I nodded. “That I am. But also history, art, languages—you name it and I’d love to be a recognized expert in it. Think about how many people have no idea about the world they really live in. I don’t want to be uninformed.”

Andrew took off his sunglasses and cleaned the lenses on his shirt. “I hear that, but who has the time to sit around and read so much? I barely had that kind of time when I was in school.”

“Time is something we are all in limited supply of, but don’t forget that I have the same twenty-four hours a day that you do. It’s all about sacrifice and choices.”

“Well, some of us fill our time with business,” Andrew teased.

I very nearly turned and belted him one across the jaw, but I held my anger in check. I’d had to do that a lot lately, and frankly I thought I was starting to get pretty good at it.

“So do I,” I said. “Speaking of which, have you given any more thought to what we discussed before?”

Andrew sighed and coughed, clearing his throat. “I have actually.”

After a moment of silence, I goaded him to continue. “And…?”

“I think it’s a great deal, but I want to alter it a little.”

“If it’s such a great deal already then why would you want to alter it?”

“Because a great deal can always become greater,” Andrew said in his usual glib fashion. The guy had words for days, especially for someone who claimed not to read much.

“Ok then,” I said. “What alterations do you propose?”

“I’ll go in the fifty million, but I want thirty-five percent.”

I couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Andrew stopped and stared at me. “Did I say something funny?”

He had a dead serious look on his face.

I stopped and turned back towards him. “Well, twenty-two percent to thirty-five percent is a huge hike. Why would I want to do that?”

“Well, because you need my investment to really get this company off the ground. It’s kind of funny, but you are a billionaire. Why would you even need money to invest?”

“Well, most of that money is tied into the cosmetics empire my wife’s family built. It’s the goose that lays the golden eggs. We don’t mess with that.”

“So none of the money is fluid?”

I groaned quietly. Was I going to have to stand here and dispute my financial status with this fool? Only a moron used his own money to invest into a large business. If it went belly up, then you were out on your ass. That was the risk that investors took, but that was also the perks of doing none of the work and reaping huge benefits. Putting your own money in and running the machine—that was a terrifying gamble for anyone.

I looked him right in the eye. “I’ll give you thirty. That is my final offer. Take it or leave it.”

With that, I started walking away towards my ball.

“That is a deal,” Andrew said.

“Great,” I said. “There’s your ball.”

Andrew’s last shot had landed about forty yards shorter than mine. It gave me a bit of pride that I was consistently out driving him. Every guy loved to hit the long ball. It was part of the male pride ego.

Andrew got into position and started making his shot.

I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket, but I had it on silent so it wouldn’t ring. It was probably the office; I’d get it later. I told them never to call me during this time. Most of the best business deals out there were made on the golf course. Didn’t those imbeciles know that?

Andrew used his wedge and hit a nicely played shot that got him up on the green close to the hole. It almost went in. I was going to have to get a bit more serious or I was going to lose this game. And I hated to lose…at anything.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Andrew cheered and then went into his little victory dance that resembled a drunken cha-cha.

“It’s not over yet,” I said. “I can still take you out.”

We started walking towards my ball so I could show this jerk how it was done and my phone started buzzing again. Frustrated I pulled the phone from my pocket while I had a minute between shots.

It was Leia. I pushed ignore and started to put the phone back in my pocket when I saw I had a voicemail.

She hardly ever left voicemails. I pulled it up and listened to it briefly.

“Ted! I’m in labor. It’s really happening! I’m on my way to the hospital. Sharp Memorial. Please head there as soon as you can!”

Leia’s voice was full of pain and she appeared to be trying to breathe smoothly and not succeeding. In the background I could hear women’s voices, most likely Penny and one of the other idiot friends she hung out with. The three of them were going baby clothes shopping or something stupid that day.

“Everything OK?” Andrew asked.

I smiled and put the phone back in my pocket.

“Yeah, it’s all good.”

I found my ball and grabbed my putter. Carefully lining up the shot I got into position. Leia kept sticking in my mind though. I knew I should go be with her and play the role of supportive husband, but as far as she knew I was on the golf course and I hit a dead spot where I had no reception. I didn’t get her message for a few hours and of course I rushed right over to be with my wife.

At least that was the story I’d give her---if I gave her one at all.

I was starting to get very fed up with her. She’d been moody as hell since getting knocked up and she’d gotten very big and felt like crap. It was all making her whiney as hell. So the past several months I’d spent as little time at home as possible, all under the guise of working on the business. The business as of late was more of a hobby than anything, but I hoped something cool came of it. It would be awesome to have my own company and get a bit of pride back. I saw the way people looked at me, like I was some kind of kept man. It was infuriating. And now they would know what I was all about.

I held my breath, tapped the ball gently, and watched it roll down the green and up a slight hill before dropping into the hole.

“Sweet,” I said. “That’s how it’s done.”

“Ah, you got lucky,” Andrew joked.

I agreed I appeared lucky, but I’d worked so hard to get everything in my life just the way I wanted it. And now those brat kids were going to destroy everything. That was more people I was going to have to split the money with. There would be non-stop whining and noise in the house. We’d have to pay a staff of people to care for them while we were working. And something about having two people out there that had sprung forth from me and Leia was unsettling. It was weird to think about, but it almost made me feel as if I’d lost something of myself.

Having kids was something I’d never really wanted or planned on. I was sure that I would find a way to get out of it, and now it looked as though that ship had sailed. I was going to be a father whether I wanted to be or not.

The thought of divorcing Leia and just running away from it all was so tempting, but I couldn’t do that. I’d lose a lot of the money and the prestige that I had worked so hard to obtain. Plus, there were times when being a father did appeal to me. It was possible that the kids would turn out more like Leia than like me. I wouldn’t have wanted kids like myself. I couldn’t really be trusted by anybody. Who the hell would want a kid like that?

I chuckled at the idea as I drove away from the golf course about two hours after the first phone call. Leia had called twice more since then and I’d ignored both of those calls, each one sounding more frantic than the one before. It was turning into a weird, almost sick little game for me. Let’s see how many times we can make her call! And maybe there will be some sort of a lucky emergency that would take Leia and both kids straight to hell.

“Now, then I’d consider myself lucky,” I said through my laughter.

In all seriousness I did often contemplate getting rid of Leia for good. But it would be a very risky venture. People tried to knock off their spouses all the time and hardly ever got away with it, and when they did it was usually because of inept police work which one could not always count on.

Leia was a beautiful, sweet, wonderful woman who had been a lot of fun in the beginning, but as I figured, she’d grown tired of my independent nature and she’d tried to reel me in, to domesticate me—basically, to house break me like some animal. But I have always been a wild stallion who can’t be broken. I have to roam free and do what nature calls me to do.

But for right now, I still had to play it cool. I was sitting pretty comfortably and I didn’t want to rock the boat on that.

I arrived at the hospital and located the room that Leia was in. She was already in the back room of the emergency room with a doctor and several nurses around her. One of the nurses quickly got me suited up in a pair of scrubs, a mask, and a head wrap. I felt like a mummy and I was sure I looked really silly as they led me back. As I rounded the corner into the room I prepared my frantic and worried look so that when I bounded into the room I could have the appropriate affect.

“Baby!” I hollered as I walked quickly into the back area. Leia was there with her doctor who was crouching down in front of her.

To the side I could see a nurse cleaning off a baby, wrapping the child up, and handing him to Leia. Then they did the same with the other, this time handing him to me.

“Congratulations,” the nurse said.

I took the child in my arms as I’d been forced to practice by Leia at home (I’d refused to attend most of the childbirth classes) and looked down into the eyes of my new son. He looked like a baby. His eyes were closed, he was still a bit covered in nasty fluids, and he was quiet. I always thought babies came into the world kicking and screaming, but I guess some of them just relax and calm down right away. The kid was probably hoping it was all a nightmare. Sorry to burst your bubble kid, but the nightmare is just beginning.

I tried to be excited and act like the proud papa, but honestly I was just not that interested. It was a baby. It looked like more of a job than anything. But still I held the child gingerly and pretended to dote on it and make googly faces acting every bit the part of the proud father.

I walked over to Leia and kissed her softly on the lips. “You did it! Way to go, honey!”

She smiled and pressed her head against mine. I could tell she was exhausted. Apparently, she’d been in labor for about four hours, which I was told is not terribly long to be in labor, but sounded like a long time to be in agony when you thought about it.

“I’m so glad you are here,” Leia said. Her voice sounded strained and quiet. “Where were you?”

“I was out on the course still and there was a dead spot out there. I called you and told you I was on my way the minute I heard. You are a week early. I thought these things typically were overdue rather than under.”

Leia smirked and shook her head slightly. She was too exhausted and too happy about being a brand new mother to care about me. And I was perfectly ok with that.

The past few months had been better between Leia and I, mostly because she’d been preoccupied with becoming a mother and with running her business. I had been preoccupied with not being around, so there was much less chance for us to fight. I’d worked on controlling my temper though, mostly because I didn’t want to waste time with fighting and because things just went smoother if Leia thought I was the perfect guy.

And it turned out that she looked rather hot when she was pregnant. It also made her even hornier than normal, so we’d done a lot of making love the past few months. I was always happy for that, but lately she’d been getting too big and it was a bit of a turnoff. I was glad to see that most of the weight she’d gained had fallen out with the baby.

The rest of the day was spent just being supportive for Leia and helping her start the road of recovery. It blew my mind when they said she would probably be going home either that night or first thing in the morning.

After all the health tests were run on our twin boys I was glad to hear that everything about them seemed normal and healthy. Having a kid with some weird health issues was the last thing I wanted. That was just another problem we’d have to deal with and with all we had going on I sure didn’t want that kind of stress.

After a while Penny and Cheryl, who’d both been with Leia shopping when she went into labor, came into the room to see Leia and then the babies. Neither one of them could stop crying. I had to stop myself from laughing at their emotions. I’ve never for the life of me ever understood how or why people cry when they are happy. Crying was a sad thing. There was so much about people I have just never understood.

That night I drove home at Leia’s insistence. She was going to be released first thing in the morning and I volunteered to pick her up. I could have just sent a car but I felt it looked better for me to suggest this. As always appearances were everything.

That night as I played some pool and had a few drinks of whiskey I found myself wondering what was going to come next. I was hanging out, relaxing in my quiet mansion, knowing that tomorrow my life was going to change dramatically when the twins were brought home. Did this mean the end to my quiet, relaxing lifestyle?

I laughed at the thought. “Not hardly,” I said as I broke a new rack and scattered the balls across the table.

It was true. I didn’t plan on letting this get in the way of me or my plans. If anything, the kids would just give me another thing I could leverage over Leia, because now if she double crossed me in some way it would not just be her who would pay, but the kids as well.

Something told me that she would do anything to keep the kids safe, always.

Chapter Fifteen

Leia

Six Months Later

I heard the cries over the baby monitor and my eyes instantly flew awake. It had become an automatic response and I was out of bed before I even realized that I wasn’t asleep anymore. This sort of immediate response to the cries of my children had been there since the day they were born. It was innate, ingrained in me. My first thought was always them, about anything. And I wouldn’t have wished for it to be any other way.

I glanced back briefly as I reached the door and looked at Ted still fast asleep in bed. At least he’d made it to the bed today. On most nights the past few months I’d find him passed out drunk in front of the television or the couch in the billiard room. Although, on rare occasions he’d be gone before I got up, off on another one of his ‘business meetings’ on the golf course. I was tempted to ask him if any of these meetings actually involved any business.

I liked to nitpick him about it, but he’d made a few contacts and from what I understood he was in talks with the manufacturer about another wave of bikes. His other investors, like Andrew and David—who used to be good friends of his until their investments dried up—had all backed out and Ted had been garnering a bad reputation in the business world. I was glad that he had nothing to do with my family’s business; he seemed mostly content to just let that go for now. Although, I suspected he wanted to get more control in it. God forbid if he ever actually succeeded in this venture.

When I entered the twins’ nursery I saw that Alex was the one crying. I figured as much. I’d taken him to the doctor yesterday with an ear infection and a slight fever. The doctor had prescribed some medication but it could take a few days to kick in. Until then we just had to try to make him comfortable. His brother Nicki was still sleeping soundly in the other crib.

I picked Alex up and held him closely to me. “It’s ok, honey. Mommy’s here.”

Sitting down in the comfortable rocking chair I let him cry against my chest and felt his forehead. He actually felt normal as if his fever had gone down. He wasn’t sweating and didn’t appear to be sick even, but I was sure his ear was hurting.

As we sat there rocking together I continued to try to soothe him and kiss him softly on the forehead. He just needed to know his mother was there for him. We all needed that sometimes. I’d been wishing my mother could hold me for ten years at that point. I thought about it at least once a day. And every time I did it made me so sad.

“Are you ok, baby?” I whispered. “It’s alright. Don’t worry. You will feel better soon.”

Alex seemed to quiet for a moment and then started screaming at the top of his lungs again. He couldn’t get settled, the poor little guy.

I suddenly heard Ted coming down the hallway. Was he actually going to help this time? I’d long ago resigned to the fact that Ted was going to do the absolute bare minimum when it involved the kids, as he did with everything. He was so hot and cold that I never knew what to expect. There would be a few weeks or even a month where he was the perfect husband and father and then he’d revert to his old ways and be the worst person to be around for a few months. I was getting so sick of it. I wanted to leave him so badly, but I knew how much I’d loved him once and I kept hoping that same man would return. Plus, now we had the boys and I didn’t want to complicate their lives.

And Ted had me over a barrel financially. I’d been stupid, reckless. Why hadn’t I signed a pre-nup? Why did I give Ted my Power of Attorney? These were things I’d done hastily. My idiot lawyer had fed me that load of crap and I’d swallowed it. And now I was living with the consequences.

I just had to keep hoping that things would get better. That’s what my mother would have told me. She would have said to have faith and things will work out on their own.

But sometimes she failed to mention that things often went through horrific changes before they finally found their way.

Ted opened the door hastily and stepped into the nursery. I could tell he was angry and I braced myself for impact.

“What the hell is wrong with that kid?” Ted asked.

“He’s sick, remember?”

“Yeah, well he’s making me sick. Can’t you shut him up?”

“I’m trying to calm him down. His ear hurts. There isn’t a lot we can do.”

“I’m trying to get some sleep and that kid is screaming bloody murder night after night. When is that going to stop? Five? Ten years?”

“Welcome to the world of kids,” I said with a smile.

“You love this, don’t you?” Ted asked.

“I love what?”

“This. You love that these little babies need you so much. I think it’s an obsession and I don’t think it’s healthy.”

I had to laugh. “Wow, you are calling motherhood an obsession. That’s rich.”

“We are rich. Why don’t we hire a full time nanny to take care of these brats? We’re both busy and have a lot to do.”

I grimaced. “Why do you always call them that? They aren’t brats; they are our sons.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ted mocked. “I didn’t realize you were that sensitive about it. Our sons… they are a nuisance is what they are.”

“Everything that disturbs your permanent vacation is a nuisance,” I said. ‘Welcome to the real world, Ted. Life isn’t all a bunch of chocolates and roses. If you find a paradise like that, let me know. Oh, wait—you already have it because I give it to you.”

Ted glared at me and stepped towards me. “What have I told you about calling me a freeloader? I’m not a stable boy!”

“I never said that.”

“You implied it. You know you did.”

I had. And it felt good to get it out in the open, to clear the air. I was sick and tired of living this way.

I wanted something better.

I sat the baby back in his crib. “I’m so done. I’m just so over your bullshit.”

“My bullshit? You are tired of having a guy like me who loves you and bothers to give you the time when you’ve let yourself go completely?”

He pointed at the pudge on my stomach. It hurt when he did that. I’d had trouble losing the last ten pounds of the baby weight, but I thought I still looked pretty good for a woman who’d just had twins. I ate right and I exercised regularly. I was doing well, as far as I was concerned.

“That’s right,” I said. “Go ahead and run me down. Remember that I’m your meal ticket.”

“My meal ticket? In case you’ve forgotten, we are married and I basically own half of it all and you gave me legal precedence to seize the other half if you aren’t fit to take care of it.”

I laughed. “Wow, if I didn’t know better I’d swear you married me just for my money.”

Ted laughed. “Yeah… and?”

I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. My breath wouldn’t move in or out of my body. Did he really say that?

“What?”

He’d said a lot of hurtful things to me in the past, but this was too far, even for him. He didn’t really mean that…did he?

Ted laughed. “Ooops, did I spoil the surprise?”

“You are despicable. Don’t say something you can’t take back, something that you will regret.”

Ted was in my face now. “I regret nothing. I married you for your money. I knew who you were the day I met you. In fact, I planned all of it out perfectly. And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

Tears were forming in my eyes. I tried to blink them away but I was in too much pain. What… what was he saying? It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. I wouldn’t let it.

“That’s right,” Ted said. “I played you like a fiddle and you were too stupid and too gullible to realize it. And now you are stuck with me. So you’d better make the best of it and quit being such a stupid bitch, before you really piss me off.”

“Get out. Get out of my house!” I screamed at him.

Ted was shocked for a brief moment and stepped back. Then he got in my face again.

“Make me, bitch!”

I walked to the other corner of the nursery to get out of his face. “We need a break. Listen to the horrible things you are saying. I know you can’t possibly mean that. Look at how you are hurting me and destroying our family.”

“Our family? This is your family. I just live here. You wanted to be a mother and now you are one. Hell, you probably planned that. I know the type of stuff women do to trap men in things they don’t want. Well, these are your kids. I’m not dealing with them.”

“We need a break from each other. I want you gone. If you don’t go then I will call the police.”

Ted laughed maniacally. And then a look of pure evil washed over his face. I stepped back but I was against the wall. He had me cornered. Ted got up in my face again and he finally looked like the evil that he hid so well. How had I ever fallen in love with this fake man? That’s all he was; he was a charlatan. I’d been duped. And now I might never get out of it. I felt sick.

“You bitch,” Ted growled. “You ever threaten to call the cops on me again and you’d better call a coroner too, because you will be taken out of here in a body bag. I’m not going anywhere. This is my place now. This is my world and I’m in charge. Don’t think for a moment that I won’t kill you. And then all the money becomes mine. Remember that… you have a good motive to keep me happy. Now shut that kid up. Do the best you can.”

Ted started to walk away. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at me with disgust as I slumped to the floor in tears.

Ted said right then in his most agitated voice, “How can an orphan ever parent anybody? Poor kids.”

I don’t remember how long I sat there and cried.

Chapter Sixteen

Ted

I curled the barbell up one last time and held the move at the end, letting the isometric part of the exercise do its job before finally setting the weight back down on the ground. I let out several deep breaths and stood up. My body was tired. I’d killed it in the gym today. Staring at myself in the mirror, I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink. I was just finishing up a stellar workout and I was feeling and looking pumped. I never got tired of looking at myself in the mirror. There was just something about seeing myself and being so genuinely pleased with what I saw that made me happy. Too bad other people couldn’t feel the same, but they weren’t me.

I toweled off and walked out of the gym. It was going to be a good day; I could feel it. As I started up the steps headed towards a hot shower and good lunch, I heard female voices talking. Oh, yeah. I remembered that Leia was interviewing nannies today. It was about time. She hadn’t seemed too eager to replace the last one we had since that one decided to quit for family reasons (whatever the hell that meant) and it was obvious that Leia was getting too happy with doing everything for the kids herself while letting other things slide a bit. That wouldn’t do. It was bad for business and it was annoying for me. I hated having her around all the time. I had to constantly endure her dirty looks.

It had been four days since the fight that night in the nursery. I’d let the beans slip about my plan right from the start and I’d said some pretty harsh things to Leia. But what did she expect? She was always coming down on me, always whining about the screaming kids (it was practically all she talked about) and she once again basically called me a worthless bum, even if she hadn’t used so many words. The intent was there. I was not stupid. I could practically read her mind. She was that transparent. There was nothing she could hide from me.

The sight of her in total anguish and tears as I walked out of the room was priceless. I’d won that fight so easily. Hell, I’d broken her down to the ground with just some mean words. It felt good knowing that I was really in control of my own destiny. I’d known I was, but to have it actually be out in the open without any pretenses felt great. I was happier and more stress free than I’d been in a while. I doubt that Leia had noticed, but she’d been avoiding me a lot lately. She preferred to sleep in a guest room and had hardly even uttered a word to me. I couldn’t really blame her, but I was starting to get a bit lustful.

I figured I might have to make nice one of these days to get some action. Or I could just start exploring my other options. Yet, I had to be careful about that. All Leia had to do was hire someone to tail me and get some incriminating photos in front of a judge and my goose was cooked. No, I wasn’t going out like that. Hell, I’d been on the other side of that a few times. I knew that game all too well.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun.

“Hey, there,” I said as I walked into the living room where Leia and an attractive young woman were sitting across from each other on the couches.

I was not wearing a shirt and I was still fairly sweaty from my workout. Instantly I locked eyes with the woman sitting across from Leia. She was a natural redhead with sweet eyes, a nice smile, and beautiful legs which were crossed over one another giving only a hint of what was lying between them.

Leia was shocked for a moment at me being there and probably even more shocked that I was shirtless. But she recovered well and played the dutiful host.

“Laney, this is Ted, my husband,” Leia said.

I reached out and shook Laney’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Laney said. She tried to hide her eyes from my gaze, but I could see the spark of attraction there.

I knew that Leia could feel the tension in the air and it smelled delicious to me.

“Laney and I were just finishing up,” Leia said.

“Great,” I said. “Have you worked with kids before?” I asked Laney.

“Yes, as I was telling your wife, I just finished working for a family of six for the past three months. They are moving out of state, so that’s why I’m looking now.”

“Outstanding,” I said.

“Laney has excellent references and a wealth of experience,” Leia said. “Although we still have some more interviews, unless Mary Poppins herself stops by, I’d say Laney is our frontrunner.”

Laney smiled and blushed slightly. It was sexy and I couldn’t resist feeding the feeling.

“Well, I certainly would hope so,” I said blatantly staring down Laney’s blouse at her cleavage (small, but perky looking) and then letting my gaze drift further south to take in her slender, smooth legs.

Laney shifted uncomfortably as she watched Leia watching me. It was perfect.

Leia cleared her throat. “Um, well I’ll give you a call later to let you know.”

Laney nodded a bit angrily and walked towards the door ahead of Leia, obviously disturbed by what had just happened.

Leia shut the door behind her and turned at me. She was furious. It always made her look so sexy.

“What in the hell were you thinking?” Leia demanded.

“I was thinking Laney, you, and me—that would be a sweet afternoon.”

“You are despicable,” Leia said. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You wouldn’t believe a lot of the things I’m capable of,” I said with a laugh.

“You say you want me to hire a nanny to help with the kids and then you sexually harass the best candidate during the interview. Are you high or something?”

“I’m high on life,” I said. “Besides, would you really want someone who looked like that being so close to me all day? You trust me way too much. Or was that your plan? You catch me and a hot nanny on some nanny cam and then it’s all over the internet and you sue me for divorce where I’m left without a pot to piss in. Please. I’m on to your bullshit traps.”

Leia ran her hands through her hair and squeezed her neck as she squealed in rage and frustration. “You are so paranoid. Seriously, you should be in the funny farm. You are not normal.”

“That’s open to interpretation,” I said. “Besides, if a chick like that can’t take a joke, what do you think she’d be like as an employee? What type of questions did you ask her anyway?”

“I didn’t ask her how she dealt with sexual harassment from her employer,” Leia said. “And what difference does it make to you? I hired the last nanny we had. Did you have something to do with her leaving?”

I shrugged. “I doubt it. She left of her own accord. She was working out ok, I thought. Why would I want to get rid of her?”

“Why do you do anything?” Leia asked. “I swear, I’m so sick of your games. How much do you want? What will it take?”

“What?”

“I’m serious. How much will it take for you to go away? Fifty million? A hundred million? I’m at the end of my rope and I’m willing to pay you to go away.”

I laughed. “Wow, I never thought you’d try to buy me off. The offers are tempting, but I don’t think so. You see I have big plans and those plans depend on a solid stream of cash flow; not a limited amount.”

Her eyes went wide. “A hundred million dollars is a limited amount?”

“It has a definite number attached to it, so… yeah.”

I wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily. But later as I thought about it I almost decided to accept the offer, but this was not what I initially wanted. I had big dreams and when I had the means available to me, why would I stop at that small amount compared to the fortune I had access to?

Besides, it would mean admitting defeat and I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I just don’t know how to deal with you,” Leia said. “Why are you this way? I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“No, you don’t deserve it, but you didn’t deserve to be born into a billion-dollar family either. I was born into a poor one. So, let’s not start talking about what each other deserves. Let’s talk about what is. I’m going for a ride. I’ll be back later.”

Once I was on the open road with my motorcycle, I felt at peace. It would tie your head in knots listening to Leia talk and whine about how bad she had it. The woman I’d met last year had a sense of humor and she was excited about the future. She wanted things. But she had changed and decided to become some boring family woman and now she was really a drag to be around. Everything she thought of or wanted to do had the kids at the center of it. I couldn’t have competed if I’d wanted to.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit rejected, and even though I told myself that I didn’t give a care at all, it still hurt. And it pissed me off. Leia was going to start giving me better treatment. I was not going to play second fiddle to those little bastards.

Chapter Seventeen

Leia

I put Alex back in his crib and covered him with a blanket. He was so peaceful when he was sleeping. Glancing over at Nicki I found myself wondering how two amazing miracles had come into my life so quickly. No matter how awful Ted had become and the things he said and did to me, I could never allow myself to fully hate him because without him I would not be the happiest mother in the world. I’d dreamt of being a mother since I was a little girl, but nothing could have prepared me for just how strong my love for my children would be. I loved them so much more than I loved myself. No matter what Ted did to me, as long as he never hurt my children then I could be happy.

I watched the boys a few minutes longer, watched as they slept and cooed softly in their adorable, precious little baby voices. They were so innocent, so clean. It was confusing when you thought about how we all started out as such perfect, pure, blank slates and then the chaos of the world began to chip at you. It sculpted you and tweaked you, day after day until that innocence was barely there anymore. I prayed that I would be able to shelter my boys from all of the evils and the darkness in the world for as long as I could, but I wasn’t delusional. Eventually, they would start leading their own lives gradually growing independent and that darkness would be there waiting for them. All I could do was to train them to be strong enough to resist it.

Stepping out of their room I closed the door softly behind me. I decided to go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea. I’d had a busy morning and I wanted to relax just a little bit. Luckily I was able to have our butler Joseph watch over the twins while I was working. Ted had left early that morning and hadn’t bothered telling me where he was going. This was hardly unusual.

I finished boiling the water and poured myself a cup of hot, green tea. I was just about to sit down with it and relax with a good book I was reading when I heard Ted’s car pull into the driveway. I braced myself, unsure of what type of mood he would be in.

I got my answer the moment he walked in.

He saw me there at the counter stirring some sugar into my tea. I startled him briefly. Apparently, I was the last person he wanted to see at that moment. It actually gave me a kind of perverse satisfaction to irritate him. Any little thing I could do to create tension inside of him was fine with me. The way he treated me he deserved so much worse. How was I still married to this wretched man?

“Do we have any food?” Ted asked opening the fridge.

“I believe Joseph fixed some grilled chicken for lunch with some baked potatoes.”

“Grilled chicken?” He slammed the fridge shut. “God, I’m so sick of this health food shit. I’m a man, dammit. I need some real food. What the hell?”

“Well, ask Joseph to fix you whatever you’d like tomorrow. I gave him the rest of today off. I’m sure we have supplies.”

I found that keeping my voice calm and unaffected could really send him off the rails. It was a little game I played, one of the only ways I had of getting revenge on him. And I hate to say that I relished it.

“I don’t want to wait for something to be made,” he replied. “I would like to come into the house just once and have a good, hot meal ready for me. I don’t want a sandwich I have to fix or some stupid health junk that I can hardly get down because it’s so flavorless.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked casually sitting down to the table with my tea.

“Yes, something is wrong. Leon Baxter backed out on our deal.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that he isn’t sure I’m the right guy to get into business with right now. I’m telling you, it’s that son of a bitch Mercer. That prick has black balled my name all over the place and I can’t get anyone to even take a meeting with me now. I’m worried…I’m worried that it’s just not going to happen for me. Maybe they are all right and I am a joke.”

Ted grabbed a bottle of whiskey out of the liquor cabinet and began drinking straight from the bottle.

“I’m sure there will be other meetings,” I said. “Don’t let it get you upset.”

“Oh, you love that, don’t you?” Ted said. “Every time I come home feeling like a failure you sit there acting all arrogant and smug. You know that you bought everything here and that you keep me like some punk. You are laughing at me, aren’t you? You think I’m a failure. Hell, you think that I can’t do anything by myself, don’t you?”

I cleared my throat. “Ted, I don’t think that at all. Stop being paranoid. Just sit down and relax. Enjoy yourself for once instead of living in a big ball of stress.”

“Stress? What the hell would you know about stress? You don’t actually do anything. You think I don’t know who is really running your daddy’s company? It sure as hell isn’t you and you are a fool if you believe otherwise. It’s all bullshit. I’ve talked to the men and women who run that company and you wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what it really takes.”

I wasn’t going to listen to this. I got up and started walking out of the kitchen.

Ted grabbed my hand back violently. My tea collapsed to the floor shattering the cup and spilling in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

“I’m getting me some respect,” Ted replied. “I will have respect in my own house, you got me? I want you to fix me something to eat.”

“I’m busy,” I said. “I worked all morning. Fix yourself something or eat what Joseph made.”

I started to walk away and Ted grabbed my arm again. He was jerking me around hard, his nails digging into my flesh.

“What are you doing? You are hurting me!”

“You bitch. I haven’t begun to hurt you. I bet you did it, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You turned them all against me. I know you have power and influence. What’s to stop you from using it to buy off all the investors so they won’t buy into my company? I wouldn’t put it past you. You did it, didn’t you?”

“Are you crazy? Listen to what you’re saying.”

“Answer my question!”

“Of course not! That’s insane!”

“You are nothing but a piece of trash,” Ted growled. “You think you are so much better than me. Well, I’ll have you know that you aren’t worth the dump I took this morning!”

“I hate you,” I said.

I started to go back upstairs. The kids were probably awake by now with Ted’s yelling, the bastard.

“Where are you going?” Ted roared at me. “We are having a conversation!”

I laughed. “Really? That’s what you call it? You are beyond hope.”

I was almost to the top when I felt Ted’s hands on the back of my head. He grabbed a handful of my hair and lifted me up until my feet almost left the ground and I just dangled by my tiptoes.

The pain was excruciating pulsating through my skull and pounding in the top of my spine.

“I’m going to teach you the meaning of the word respect!” Ted grunted in my ear.

He dragged me by the hair of my head down the hall, jerking and pulling me along violently. My feet slipped, skidded, bumped, and clanged along the floor as I tried to keep my footing. I tried to resist but it was only making the pain hurt worse. What was he going to do to me? I’d never seen him this enraged. He’d lost it and he was going to hurt me seriously. I’d seen it coming for months, but somehow I never really let myself believe that it would happen. But here it was. I can’t remember a time when I have ever been so scared.

I was going to die that day. There was no doubt in my mind.

The door to the nursery slammed open with a huge shove from Ted. He pulled hard on my hair and put his whole weight behind it as he flung me across the room where I slammed into the wall. I saw stars for a moment. The pain in my head scattered all over my skull echoing from the roots and branching outward. A pit of nausea rose within my gut and I wanted to vomit all over the floor, but somehow I held it back. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

“You think you are better than me!” Ted yelled. “I’m sick and tired of being disrespected by you. With everything I do for you and our family, this is how I’m repaid. My own wife decides she is going to sabotage me. You have to get up pretty early in the day to pull the wool over my eyes.”

I stumbled and staggered up to my feet. Hearing his insane tirade stirred up an anger and a rage in me that had been boiling for a long time. I was over it. I didn’t care how much money I had to give him to make him go away or what I had to do to get away from him, I was going to do it.

“You are crazy,” I said. “I want you out of my house. If you don’t leave or you lay one more finger on me then I will call the police and have you punished to the fullest letter of the law. Just try to see if I’m joking.”

Ted just looked at me. His face was calm and peaceful. It was almost serene. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was happy and content. But I could feel the tension in the air. I began to feel encapsulated in fear. I broke out in a cold sweat. It dripped from my forehead into my eyes and I wiped it away.

I was proud of myself for standing up to him. It was like awakening from some sort of coma and remembering who I really was. I’d let this man take away my identity and it would never happen again.

“What did I tell you?” Ted asked calmly. “I guess you will only learn one way.”

With that Ted walked towards the twins.

I didn’t know what he planned to do but there was no way I was going to let this bastard touch my children. I’d hide them where he could never find them if I had to.

I rushed at him. I thought I was fast but he was faster.

Ted whirled around, lowered his elbow, and pushed into me. I flew across the room like a ragdoll. My body was out of control. I flailed my hands trying to grab something to stop my fall, but my bruised feet were not working properly. My heels hurt so badly that I could barely walk.

I suddenly had the sensation that I was falling. The floor below me was rising towards my face. I commanded my arms to move in front of me to at least soften some of the blow, but nothing happened. I was free falling with no safety net.

My head collided with the nightstand hard just above the temple.

For a moment I felt no pain as the hurt already throbbing inside of me began to subside. But a second later it was replaced with a sharp, stabbing pain in the center of my brain. I heard a constant, loud beeping in my ears, like a phone that would not stop ringing, and I saw darkness.

Beneath the beeping sound I could hear movement and a voice, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Ted was talking to the kids. Now he was moving. NO! NO!

I tried to move. I tried to say something, but the pain in my head would not let me. I could barely even think or make sense of what was happening around me.

I heard footsteps as Ted returned. Opening my eyes, I could fuzzily make out that he was taking one of the twins out of the crib and then carrying him out of the room.

“I….no…” I moaned. I wasn’t sure that sound had even come out of me, but the pain was suddenly worse. Every single thing I tried to do made this nightmare far more severe. I had to get up. I had to help my babies. What was going on? Where was he taking them?

A few moments later I heard Ted’s footsteps again. The fuzzy haze surrounding my head and fogging up my eyes was getting slightly better. I could now make out that Ted was doing something around the room. Tossing something… kicking some things over...?

He was moving around rapidly. What was he doing?

“Wait…” I managed. “What…”

Ted stopped and smiled at me. It was ghastly. I would never forget that evil smile for as long as I lived.

“Sweet dreams,” Ted said.

Then he left the room.

And all was quiet for a moment. This silence was followed by a couple metallic clicks.

I tried to stand. My legs were so shaky, and every time I tried to balance, the pain in my skull grew more immense. I tried to hold my head with my hands to keep it still and steady, but it was to no avail. The nausea and the pain were inextricably linked together. I felt like I was drowning.

And there was something else now… a weird smell… something charred…? Charcoal…? Matches…? Yeah… that was it… someone had lit matches…?

Smoke.

The room was being engulfed in smoke. It was thick and smelled horrid, but somehow it had the unintended side effect of pushing enough adrenaline through my body that I was now much more awake and aware.

But I was still hurt. I might have had a concussion. I felt like I was stuck between being asleep and awake and I couldn’t get out of it no matter what I did.

The room was on fire.

I could clearly make out the bright flames that were rapidly engulfing the nursery.

Ted had set the place on fire. My God…he really was out of his mind. He was trying to kill me.

Somehow I found enough strength in the panic that I felt and pushed myself off the ground enough to stumble blindly towards the door. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted hard but it refused to move in my hand.

I tried it again even harder, but it was still not budging. The door was locked.

Balling my fist tightly I pounded on the door as hard as I could. “Help me!  Please! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

I knew my screams were futile. The only one who might still be there was Ted. I’d sent the staff home and there was no one who lived nearly close enough to the huge acreage of my family’s estate who had a chance in hell of hearing me. My only hope was that someone might see fire, but by the time they did I would surely be dead.

I tried to think, but panic and injury had robbed me of my ability to reason. It was all over. My life… everything I cared about… all of it was about to be gone.

But it might not have been all bad. I would finally be with my parents. I’d get to see them again.

The twins…

My boys… they’d grow up without a mother. They would never even remember me. I would be like a ghost who had never existed in their minds. They probably wouldn’t even have pictures of me to look back on. My poor boys… would they be ok? Would Ted at least take care of his own children?

No. I didn’t believe he would.

And I wasn’t about to let him take them away from me.

I tried to move, but couldn’t. It was over. My mind had already resigned itself to the fact that death was unavoidable. It was imminent.

The pain. I suddenly felt searing pain on my skin. It was too much to take and my body almost involuntarily leapt upwards trying to get away from it. I tried to scream. I thought I was, but I could hear nothing except the crackling of the blaze. I saw nothing but a fiery hell on earth. And I could feel nothing but burning agony as my skin began to melt off my bones. And then the bones started to char beneath them.

And now I couldn’t breathe. Was the fire melting my insides too? It was only a matter of time. I was bouncing around as best I could, my body out of control, my mind trying to wish it all to be over, and the pain growing less somehow as my brain took me somewhere else where I could embrace peace.

I fell to the ground now. The fire continued to rage. My face was melting right off my skull and I no longer cared. The smoke invaded my lungs to the point that I was almost unconscious now. It would be all over soon.

“Come on baby girl! Don’t give in! You must escape!”

Mother? Mother… are you here?

I knew it was impossible. My sweet mother was gone. But… could it be…?

“You must fight! You can do it!”

I could hear my own mother’s voice in my head right then urging me to fight on. I was vaguely aware that she was not really there. She was gone. I was not hallucinating--at least I didn’t think so-- but to this day I can still hear her voice as clearly in my head as if she were standing right beside me.

I had to move. I had to live.

She wanted me to move on. My boys needed me! My boys! I had to get to my boys…!

Covering up my mouth with my shirt to shield it from the smoke I made my way over to the other side of the room. There was a window there with no balcony. It was just a solid thirty foot drop to the ground. The fall might seriously injure me and it could kill me in my weakened state if I landed wrong. But it was better than burning to death and it was the only chance I had.

I picked up the nightstand that I’d hit my head on. It was heavier than I thought and at first I stumbled, almost dropping it. But I tried again, this time grunting and putting every single muscle I had control of into it.

I slammed the piece of furniture into the window and the glass shattered all around me. The tiny fragments of glass pelted my body much harder than I thought they would and I instantly felt myself being covered in tiny cuts, like being attacked by a swarm of bees all stinging me at once. I ignored the pain and looked out the busted window.

The sweetness of fresh air was more precious than any amount of money I’d ever laid my eyes on. I took several deep breaths and then without thinking--which would have given me time to talk myself out of it and let the fear take back control—I flung myself out the window.

The ground flew at me swiftly. I barely had time to react or think about how I was going to land before I was pelting off the hard dirt below.

The air was gone. I couldn’t breathe. A tight pain wrenched itself around my midsection and squeezed like a boa constrictor wrapping tighter and tighter around me. I’d landed on my side. My arm felt like it might have been broken, or possibly just dislocated.

The impact shook my head sadistically. My stomach lurched harder and I emptied the contents of it on the ground.

I lay there a few minutes waiting for my breath to return and trying not to vomit anymore. I was out of the fire. I was out of the smoke. I was going to be OK. But I was hurt. I was hurt badly. I needed help. Ted had taken my children and most likely left with them. My family’s house was burning to the ground behind me.

My legs wobbled and shook with resistance against my will as I forced my body to its feet. With the first step I took I instantly realized that my ankle was probably broken. I hadn’t even noticed the pain until then, but the moment I put weight on it the ankle buckled and a knife-like pain began to cut into my skin.

I cried out, almost thankful for the pain awakening me a little bit. I could breathe now, but it was still very forced. My eyes were wide open and I could see the road at the end of my long driveway. I had to make it. I had to go now.

Pushing myself with the toughest amount of iron will I could summon, I moved slowly across the yard. I decided to walk along the driveway keeping in the grass rather than on the actual pavement of the drive in case I fell. The ground was much softer.

By the time I arrived at the road I felt like I’d been blown up and the pieces stuck into some kind of a huge blender. I was moving on pure fumes at this point. I had no energy left. My body was broken. I was beaten. I was scared.

The cool air against my burnt skin somehow made it burn hotter, as if I was still stuck in the fire. What would become of me? Did I really want to live this badly? I was burnt over most of my body. I was a freak now and I’d never be able to go anywhere. People would laugh and point. My business would go under. Who would buy cosmetics from someone who looked like me?

I could never let my precious sons see what a monster their mother now looked like.

My life was over. I might as well have been dead.

I reached the road and stumbled to my knees, mostly from exhaustion, but a good bit just from defeat. I should have stayed in the fire and let myself burn. My life was over. I was over.

Ted had won. He’d always win. No matter what I did.

As I sat there on my knees crying, the tears stinging my charred flesh, I suddenly became aware of the lights ahead of me. Lights? Headlights…

Someone was coming. A car.

They were slowing down. I thought they were going to stop.

My last memory is of the road coming back up to hit me in the face before everything went dark.

I thought the nightmare was over, but in reality it was all just beginning.

Chapter Eighteen

Ted

The lake house had been like a home away from home for me ever since Leia and I had started dating. It was a quiet refuge about two hours north. It was peaceful, full of serenity, and there was some of the best fishing this side of paradise. The lake was picturesque and huge. It was a great place to canoe, or even pop out the motorboat for a little joyride.

I came up here way more than Leia realized when I just wanted to get away from her and the kids. Sometimes I had parties up there and sometimes I entertained women. It was a good enough location far enough from home and out of the public eye that I didn’t have to worry too much about being caught.

Of course now, I would never have to worry about that.

I still couldn’t believe I’d finally done it. It had all gone down exactly the way I dreamt it could. Since the first month of our marriage I had toyed with the idea of killing Leia and having it look like some kind of an accident.

And the fire had been a nice touch. I hadn’t originally thought of something that violent, but she’d pissed me off at exactly the wrong moment and she had to learn the lesson. It seemed the easiest thing. Fire destroyed everything and it would have covered up any evidence. The story was simple. I’d come up here for a fishing trip with the boys and Leia had decided to stay behind to get caught up on some work. Things weren’t going as well as she’d liked at work (which was always the case; it was a big company after all) and then she’d plugged in the old lamp she’d had since childhood--which I told her had a short in it—and it had sparked and caused the fire.

It wasn’t a perfect plan but from everything I’d read and all the forensic shows I’d seen about fire deaths; it would have been good enough.

Of course I knew I might come under some scrutiny in the beginning. After all, I was the husband, and I did have a motive that anyone could see. That motive was money, which was the number one reason spouses killed each other. But nothing could be proven and soon it would blow over as a careless and tragic accident.

And then all the money would be mine and I would be free as could be to do whatever I wanted with my life. It was that simple.

So, when the phone call I was expecting came in to me, I was rehearsed and ready.

“Hello?” I answered on the third ring.

“Yes, um… Mr. Ridgeway?”

“Speaking.”

“Yes, sir. My name is Detective Theiss. I’m with San Diego PD.”

“Um… yes…” I answered, trying to emphasize concern in my voice.

“Sir, I’m afraid I have some bad news. There has been a tragic accident.”

The detective went on to tell me about the house fire and how there had been a lot of damage.

“Oh, my God…” I said forcing myself to cry. “How much damage?”

“Well, according to the Fire Marshall, most of the second story was destroyed.”

“My wife! Leia! Is she ok?” I asked, my voice rising desperately. The tears were really flowing now as I got myself worked up.

“Your wife? She was here?”

I was a bit startled by the question. They hadn’t found her?

“Um… yes… I mean… she hasn’t been feeling well and had some work to catch up on. I’m up at the lake house with our boys. She decided to stay behind.”

“Well, sir. We didn’t find any residents here or signs of anyone.”

I didn’t know what to make of it. Was it possible that she was so burnt up they might take days to identify her body amongst the wreckage? Several questions were going through my head, but I kept my cool and tried to act natural.

“Oh, that’s a relief. Maybe she stepped out for a bit or went to a friend’s house. If something happened to her---“

I allowed my voice to break as I cried into my fist.

“We will keep searching. And if you could give me a list of her friends and their phone numbers, I can start contacting them. Don’t worry. We will find her. Can you come back here quickly?”

“Yes. I’ll leave right away.”

I ended the call with the detective, wiped my eyes, grabbed the twins, and packed the car back up. I was on the road within thirty minutes.

My head was filled with swirling thoughts that made me very uneasy. Was it possible that Leia had somehow escaped the fire? There was no way. She was knocked out almost cold. The tip of that nightstand had struck her on the temple. She couldn’t even talk, let alone stand up. With as much lighter fluid as I’d used she would have been totally engulfed in fire within minutes.

She had to be dead.

But what if? What if she’d escaped?

Even if she had escaped she would have been near death and probably found somewhere on the property, her body burned beyond recognition. I should have poured the lighter fluid directly on her. Then I would have been certain. But I was in a hurry and I just didn’t think of it. I was almost laughing at the way she fell to the ground in a stupor. Just thinking about how she tried to talk and stand up was hilarious to me.

By the time I got back into town I was feeling a bit better about everything. I was convinced that she was dead and gone. If they didn’t find her in the house than she would turn up on the property somewhere most likely scavenged apart by animals. We were close to the mountains. Sometimes at night packs of coyotes could be heard running around howling at the moon.

“She’s toast,” I laughed as I pulled into my driveway.

Chapter Nineteen

Leia

I woke up to a brightly lit room. I expected to feel pain and nothing but. The moment I opened my eyes the events of what I’d just been through roared through my mind. The fire was all around me. The smoke was too thick… I couldn’t breathe… I was burning.

And then I was falling.

And then… then… what?

I’d gone somewhere. I couldn’t think where, though.

My eyes hurt but I kept them open, ignoring the pain as I blinked back and forth trying to let my sight and my head adjust to where I was.

I was in a hospital room. I was alone.

The room was quiet and peaceful. It felt nice compared to the chaos that I’d just been through.

Looking downwards I could see I was covered almost head to toe in thick bandages. Even between the bandages, the skin looking back at me was burned and disfigured.

I shuddered to think what the rest of me looked like beneath the bandages. I’d been burned almost to death. Most of my body was destroyed and it would never be the same again. I’d work on rehab for months probably and even at the end I would still need bandages to not terrify people. My life was over. I should have just stayed in the fire.

“Well, I see we are awake.”

I turned my head slightly to the voice at the doorway. Standing there was a tall, slender man with an athletic build. He reminded me of a swimmer or maybe a soccer player. His clothes were form fitting and indicated a man who worked to stay fit, but wasn’t crazily obsessed with it. He had a handsome, kind face, and he smiled with a relaxed warmth that instantly put you at ease.

He walked into the room and sat down in a chair beside me.

“I’m Taylor. Doctor Taylor Golding. I’m the one who found you,” he said.

“Found me?”

My voice was crackly as if it hadn’t been used in weeks. I remembered all the heat and smoke I inhaled. It had probably damaged my voice, maybe permanently. But miraculously my vocal cords and lungs had not melted. It paid to be thankful for small favors, right?

“I know it hurts to talk. You should rest your voice. But yes, I found you on the road. You collapsed in front of my car. I almost hit you.”

I tried to speak softly. “I was in a fire.”

“I know. We learned that the fire was in a mansion about a half mile down the road. It’s so far back I couldn’t see it. But I called the fire station and they confirmed it.”

“Don’t tell them I’m here!” I hissed. The pain shot through my throat and I couldn’t breathe. I squinted my eyes hard and waited for the moment to pass. My body shook violently as the waves of agony rocked through me.

“Don’t stress yourself,” Taylor said. “I didn’t tell them anything.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. “But why?”

“Well, you were mostly out of it when I found you, but you were mumbling a few things on the way here. I was able to put together that someone was trying to kill you and something about the twins…I figured it was best to wait until you were conscious and talk to you.”

“My husband, Ted—he tried to kill me. He took my twins.”

“Ok, then we need to call the authorities.”

“No.”

“What? Why?”

“Because. He has my boys. He might do something to them if he thinks I’m alive. Besides… prison is too good for him. I want him to suffer.”

Taylor looked deeply into my eyes. I could tell he thought I was crazy and that he was very concerned about everything I was saying.

“Look, relax,” Taylor said. His voice was very soothing. “You need to take your time and think about what you want to do. But this guy can’t get away with this. I’m sure the police can protect your kids and get them back.”

“No,” I pleaded. I told him who I was and that I was the owner of one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world. “Even if Ted does go to jail, I’ll be ruined by the publicity. My business—my family’s business—will be ruined. Besides, my husband has Power of Attorney over me. He has most of my fortune. The second he hears I’m alive he will pay someone to kill me so that I can’t testify and he can make it look like an accident. His reach knows no bounds. He is crazy. You have no idea how crazy he is. But he is also very smart. Please… just don’t do anything.”

Taylor sighed. “Ok.”

“Besides, I can never face my boys again,” I cried, even though the tears were painful.

“You are going to be fine,” Taylor said. “Your boys will love you no matter what.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know me. I’m never going to look normal, am I?”

Taylor paused. He looked towards the hall as if making sure we were alone and no one could hear what we were saying.

“Well, I may be able to help you.”

“What do you mean?”

Taylor leaned closer. He was barely speaking above a whisper now. “There is a doctor. He is a friend of mine. He is the best plastic surgeon in the country. In fact, he is one of only a few people who can do this. He has just pioneered field research in lasers and he is able to combine it with new technology that actually reproduces cells. Basically, he can grow you all new skin.”

I stopped a moment. I was waiting for everything he said to sink in. There were too many thoughts spinning in my head. And I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep.

“What?” I asked.

“He can make you whole again,” Taylor said. “If you want. I’m afraid it won’t be cheap, though.”

“Money is no object,” I said. “I have money stowed away in a private offshore account that not even my husband knows about.”

“Ok,” Taylor said. “Now, what I’m saying is that he can remake you, but you won’t look quite the same. However, I assure you that you will be attractive as can be.”

“Why are you offering this to me?” I asked. “What makes me so special?”

Taylor smiled. “Anyone can see you are special. You deserve this and I’m going to help you get it.”

It was then that an idea began to form in my mind. I would wait just a little while until Ted assumed that his plan worked and I was dead. And then I could have had the police arrest him for attempted murder and get my kids back. After the procedure was done I would be able to return to public life and move this whole chapter behind me.

However, nothing is ever as simple as first planned.

Chapter Twenty

Ted

Three Years Later

I revved up the engine on the bike and it exploded like a thing of beauty with speed as it roared down the highway. The sun was shining brightly on my shoulders, the warmth of southern California was snuggling my body softly, and I felt like I was on top of the world. It was a great feeling, and one I had become accustomed to. It was enough to make you nostalgic, and it often did. I often thought back to times when I was struggling and looking at an uncertain future, but now I was the head of a few large corporations and there was absolutely nothing out of my reach.

Everything had worked out perfectly.

I pulled the bike into the large office building in front of me. I was there to have a business meeting with Jay Polling, the owner of the San Diego Padres. I had become very interested recently in buying the team and I was prepared to pay a hefty price. It had always been a dream of mine to one day own a baseball team. And now it looked like that dream was about to become a reality.

Parking the bike, I got out and walked across the parking lot. Along the way I smiled at a couple beautiful ladies who were walking by. They both kind of looked like the hot blonde I’d picked up at the club the night before. That woman was almost as insatiable in bed as I was. She’d almost worn me out.

I laughed about it then, knowing that I never had to call her again. And she’d probably be fine with it. When you had the kind of money I did now, love was not something you even thought about. Or maybe it was just me? I didn’t think so though. Most of the rich friends I’d made since becoming the sole owner of Daniels Cosmetics, as well as the owner and founder of Ridgeway MotoSports felt the same way I did. When you had that much money, you really didn’t have any room in your life for love.

After I was inside the building, I walked through the lobby to the elevator and selected the top floor. I was ten minutes late, but with what I was preparing to pay they knew better than to try to weasel me around. They would wait for me until I was ready.

If only Leia could see me now…

Yes, Leia… my departed wife. It was weird that occasionally I did miss the bitch, but then I reminded myself of how sweet everything was with her gone and it always put a smile on my face. I’d been a bit nervous for a few months after the fire though. The cops never could find her body and she never turned up anywhere. It was basically assumed that she’d set the fire and faked her own death. It was not exactly unheard of for people in her position to become overwhelmed by their wealth and responsibility and to just disappear. The cops figured she’d turn up somewhere, but when someone with her kind of money wanted to disappear, it was easy for them to do so.

That explanation worked fine for me because it got me off the hook as a suspect, and it meant the cops were not really looking for Leia anymore.

Now, as for what really happened to my dearly departed wife… I had no clue. But it had been three years. The nearest I could figure was that she somehow made her way out of the house and survived long enough to get off the property. She either went deep into the woods and was eaten by critters or predators, most likely a mountain lion or a coyote, or she made it far enough for some random passerby to find her and died shortly later. She’d never had her DNA sampled before, as far as I knew. Hell, she probably had never even been fingerprinted. Even if they could get something from her mangled and charred body it probably wouldn’t have turned up anything.

If she was alive my ass would have been in a bit of a sling.

But with three years gone by it was definitely safe to say that my wife was out of my life for good.

And I couldn’t have been happier.

I flirted with the secretary when I arrived and she flirted back. It was almost second nature. I’m not sure if it was just the happiness I radiated or my newfound wealth, but it seemed that lately every woman I hit on was very receptive to me. Of course, the secretary probably knew why I was there. And the fact that she was turned on by money told me pretty much everything I needed to know about her.

It was kind of annoying, but I’d jump her bones anyway if she was interested.

“So, let’s talk some numbers,” I said sitting down in Jay’s office.

“What were you thinking?” Jay asked.

I laughed. “Come on. We’ve been through this. I’ve told you what I was prepared to offer and now you need to come up with a better offer than what you countered with earlier. My price isn’t changing. It’s a fair deal and you know it.”

Jay sighed. “OK. I can go five billion more and not a penny above that.”

I leaned back in the chair and thought for a moment. Then I got up and walked over to the mini bar in his office. I poured myself a bourbon without asking and stood there sipping it. He liked the good stuff. I could relate to this.

“I think we can do business with that,” I said.

Jay strode over to me and shook my hand then. “Pleasure doing business with you. I think you just bought yourself a baseball team.”

As I drove home on my motorcycle I could hardly believe what had just happened. I’d done it. Holy shit. I was the proud owner of a baseball team.

As I rode along ignoring the speed limit and the traffic laws I couldn’t believe the luck. No… that was wrong. It wasn’t luck. I’d worked hard for everything and I deserved every little bit of it. I didn’t care what anyone would say about it.

Including Leia, if she were alive.  Of course, if she were alive she would have freaked out about buying something such as this. I hadn’t even bought a winning team, but it was the principle of the thing. Besides if I stayed in control long enough the team would start to win eventually. I would see to that. I already had it in my mind what kind of a staff I was going to put together to build that perfect team.

When I arrived home I poured myself a drink and went into the billiard room to shoot some pool. The twins were in pre-school for a few more hours and then I’d have the butler go and pick them up.

But then I’d have to hear them whining and screaming about one thing or another. They were really more trouble than they were worth, but sometimes they were mildly amusing. Besides the older they got the more they looked like me and that was always a joy. They were my kids.

I just hoped I could get the Leia out of them. Luckily they were so young when she died that they would never actually remember her.

I played a few games of pool and then closed the door, locking it when I heard the twins arrive. The first thing they always wanted was to spend time with me for some reason.

Well, I had things to celebrate today and I sure as hell didn’t want to celebrate it with them.

Chapter Twenty-One

Leia

“There you are.”

I kept my eyes closed a few moments longer. Taylor had spoken the words I’d been longing to hear for the past three years. And now it was finally here. The day had arrived when I would be free of surgeries and of my bandages. I was finally going to see my new self.

This had been my tenth surgery I’d had in the past three years. Each one required a few months of rehab and recovery before I could really move on to the next one. Each surgery was painful for days afterwards and I still looked the same wrapped up in bandages.

Luckily, I had plenty of money and I was able to live anonymously in a house I’d purchased about an hour outside of Orlando, Florida. This was where Patrick Stalwart, the surgeon friend of Taylor’s who was helping me rebuild myself, lived and worked. I could never possibly thank him enough. He would never understand that he’d actually given me my life back and I was forever in his debt. It had been such a long and painful road, but I knew that one day it would be all worth it. And now I was about to achieve the glory that I craved.

“Well, are you going to open your eyes or not?” Taylor teased.

“I think she is scared,” Patrick said in his nasally voice. Taylor and Patrick could not have been more different. Whereas Taylor was tall and athletic, Patrick was short and every bit the epitome of a bookworm. He was awkward and didn’t have a lot of social skills. But he was brilliant at what he did.

I opened my eyes slowly. Patrick was right; I was scared. The anticipation of seeing what I looked like after almost three years of continuous work and hiding behind bandages was too much. I hadn’t even been able to comfortably go out in public because of the bandages. I’d lived almost like a hermit. Luckily Taylor had been there with me as much as he could. He flew in most weekends to be with me. At first it had started out just as a friendship, but it had lately started to escalate into something much more. And even though he told me several times that he didn’t care about the bandages or the burns, that he found me beautiful inside and out no matter what, I still would not let myself be seen naked by him or anyone else. It was just too painful. I was filled with shame at my appearance. I felt disgusting.

But I cared for Taylor immensely. We’d become so close. The romantic spark between was almost immediate. The way he spoke to me as if I didn’t even look differently from other women, and the lengthy, in depth conversations that we had with each other that often stretched until the wee hours of the dawn---all of it was sweet, romantic, and filled with the connection that we shared.

I wanted him. I’d known that we shared something beautiful from shortly after I’d woke up in the hospital, where I stayed for almost a week before I was stable enough to be moved. I’d come close to death and if it weren’t for finding Taylor right then I would have died within hours. He saved my life. And for that I owed him everything.

Suddenly, there I was.

My eyes were wide open and I was there staring back at myself in the large mirror before me. I saw a woman about my age, possibly younger, with the same eyes I was used to, but a very different face. I was beautiful. I could say that as an observer looking at another woman I realized was very beautiful and admiring her from afar. Except, I was that woman. I was staring at myself.

Goosebumps rolled over my body and I started to shake slightly as a small panic attack overtook me. I felt almost sick, but giddy at the same time. It was the giddy feeling I’d felt as a five-year-old on Christmas morning bouncing down the stairs as fast as I could without breaking my neck to get to the Christmas tree and see all of the wonderful, shiny presents that Santa had brought me.

“Is… that….” I tried, but I couldn’t speak. Tears rolled from the corners of my eyes and emotion tied my throat closed so that I couldn’t utter a single word. I was just too overwhelmed to breathe.

I was beautiful. I was even more beautiful than I’d been before. I almost felt that I didn’t deserve it. I was happy beyond belief, but at the same time I felt such insane guilt. If I hadn’t been born rich, then I wouldn’t have been able to pay for this. I decided right then that I would use my wealth to help others in a similar fate. Patrick deserved to be known the world over and when I was done with my ultimate plan I was going to make sure everyone knew that he and Taylor saved me.

“Yes,” Taylor said. He hugged me lightly from behind and rested his head on my shoulder, looking straight ahead into the mirror at my reflection. “That is you, my love.”

My love.

Taylor had never actually called me that before. He’d told me he loved me a few months prior and I hadn’t been able to say it back. I was too scared. I was still too full of shame and I still felt like a helpless victim. But I did love him. He’d been so amazing through it all and I knew that I wouldn’t have been standing there if it hadn’t been for him.

I was crying full on now. I couldn’t stop the tears. I was so happy, so overcome with joy and emotion. I didn’t feel I deserved it, though. I was aware of just how lucky I was. I’d been given a new lease on life.

But after the shock was over and I stood there embracing the new person that I now was—I felt a strong sense of calmness and a powerful sense of urgency.

It was time to start the plan.

* * *

“That sounds pretty perfect to me,” Taylor said. He lifted his glass of wine to his lips and finished the last few sips. Then he grabbed the bottle and poured himself another.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink more than one glass of wine before.”

Taylor shrugged. “It’s a special occasion. We are celebrating tonight.”

I took a bite of bread with butter. It was so good it was practically addictive.

“You don’t think there will be any problems with it? Everything should go off without a hitch, right?” I asked.

I was so nervous. I’d spent three years planning and re-planning the perfect revenge plot to take Ted down. Three years and now it was time to get it done. There was no more practice, no more rehearsal. And I was ready. I knew it. I had to be ready.

“I think it will be fine,” Taylor said. “I still think you should just go to the authorities. You are a brand new woman. You are healthy and fit. The man is raising your kids and he tried to kill you. I hate to point out the elephant in the room, but how do you know he hasn’t gotten rid of your kids? Or something…worse?”

I could see that it pained Taylor greatly to say that, and it was something I’d thought about before.

“Because he would never really harm his own kids. He is a neglectful parent, for sure, but he is too narcissistic to ever hurt his own offspring. To him… that would be like cutting off a limb. The kids belong to him. If he wanted to kill them, he would have left them with me in the fire.”

Taylor nodded thoughtfully. He took another bite of his pasta. I could tell he was behind me and that he wanted to be supportive, but he didn’t fully understand my reasons behind this plan.

I knew what Ted was capable of. I knew how devious he was and how his mind worked. If he even thought that I might be alive he’d pay someone to kill me and it would be done. If I sent him to prison, the money he had stolen from me through his legal maneuverings would have accomplished the same thing. Taylor was such a sweetheart that he had trouble thinking like a criminal, despite being such a brilliant man. He didn’t have it in him to hurt a fly. He only knew how to help and to heal. That was what he had been put on this earth for.

And I couldn’t have loved a man more than I loved him.

“I see,” Taylor said. “Ok, so let’s go over it once more to make sure we aren’t missing anything.”

“Alright.”

“First, you get close to him. How do you suppose to do that?”

“Well, I was thinking I’d meet him randomly on the street. You know just follow him and then when I meet him I can flirt a bit and get him interested. And then once that happens I’ll just start getting ingrained in his life. Then I just have to find a way to get proof that he tried to murder me and to find a way to get my money back from him so that he has no legal right to any of it. After that, he will be ruined and he will spend the rest of his sorry ass in prison. It won’t be easy. But I’m going to make it happen.”

“I just hope you understand; it may not work out the way you plan.”

I leaned back in my chair and sipped my own glass of wine. It felt so great to be out in public again. I felt like I’d just been released from prison, which in a very real sense—I had been. I’d also noticed that other people were watching me, mostly men. I almost forgot that I was as attractive as I was now. I’d been considered attractive before and I’d never had any issues getting men interested, but now it was so much worse. Even sitting there across from Taylor, as I glanced around just surveying the scene I caught several men with dates staring in my direction. They looked away when I made eye contact with them. It was kind of a bizarre game.

“Yeah, I know. But I’m prepared. Are you worried about me?”

Taylor look surprised. “Well, no. I know that you will be fine. I don’t have a care in the world about that.”

“Really?”

Taylor broke down and smiled at me a little bit embarrassed. “Yeah. I’m worried. I’d be stupid not to be. You are walking into the tiger cage with a hungry tiger. This psycho has already tried to kill you once. What happens if he somehow figures out who you are?”

“He won’t. But it’s so sweet that you are worried.”

Taylor smiled and reached across the table to grab my hand.

The moment we were back at my place, Taylor scooped me up in his strong arms and carried me up the stairs. My head was spinning slightly from the three glasses of wine I’d had, but I was still very much in control of myself. I wanted to stay alert enough to enjoy this. I’d dreamt of it for so long, ever since Taylor had almost kissed me a few weeks after my lip surgeries.

My lips were new and perfect looking. They weren’t sore, but when Taylor tried to kiss me I just couldn’t bear to let it happen. It might have led to another thing and I just wasn’t ready for that yet. It was too soon. I was too scared to have anyone see my horribly disfigured flesh.

But now. I no longer had that care. I wanted this. I needed this. And I was more than ready.

Taylor kissed me hard as we entered the bedroom, letting the door shut behind him. His hot breath was coming in gasps breathing into me, mixing with my own fire. I was so wet. I’d pleasured myself many times thinking of Taylor and now I was going to experience the real thing.

My hand reached up and grabbed Taylor by the crotch. Through his trousers I could feel his stiff, hard cock. He was thick and long. I’d fantasized so many times about seeing it. What his dick must look like and I hoped that if I ever actually got to try it out that it would be well worth the wait.

And now it was.

Within seconds I had unzipped his pants. His cock was now protruding through the fly hole. Looking down I was amazed at how massive it was in front of me. I stepped forward letting it touch against my belly and flatten itself out a little bit.

Then I could resist no more. My fingers began to slide along the side of his cock. I watched with amusement as it grew harder and thicker still.

“Get down on the bed,” Taylor whispered.

I was pretty sure I knew what he had in mind and I agreed it was an excellent idea.

I sat down on the bed and was now staring at his cock wobbling back and forth in front of my face, swaying softly in the breeze of the air conditioning. I leaned forward just a bit to smell him. His scent was sweet and reassuring somehow.

I kissed the tip of his cock. And then I followed up with a lick of the head, wiggling around the tip and then allowing the full head to slip into my mouth just behind my lips. And then back out again. I knew I was teasing him like crazy, but it was turning me on so hard that I could barely see straight.

I was so wet. I reached between my legs under my skirt and moved my panties to the side. Then I began to finger myself. I was almost too wet and I wondered if there would be too much moisture for him to enjoy himself when he finally entered me.

Meanwhile my mouth was still sucking the tip of his thick, meaty dick. I decided it was enough teasing and I opened wider this time allowing his cock to slide all the way into my gaping mouth. He tasted phenomenal. I paused at the base of his cock and let him move in and out of my mouth just a little bit as I gently squeezed and released with my lips.

His eyes rolled back up in his head. His hand reached out to the back of my head to steady himself more than anything, still it was comforting somehow to have his hand just resting there. It felt sweeter and much more romantic. It was loving and endearing almost.

It was almost surreal to think about. All the times I’d fantasized about going down on him and feeling his bulbous mass in my mouth and now it was actually happening. My head was dizzy from the mixture of pleasure and the fact that I was giving him pleasure. The intimacy of the act was too much to take and I found myself wanting to gasp for breath, but I held on anyway.

Taylor pulled his cock out of my mouth just then and slapped my lips gently with it. He was teasing me, enjoying being a bit of a bad ass and having me submit on my knees for him. It was the most arrogant thing I’d ever seen him do and it was cute. I loved it, so I played along.

As his cock came at my mouth I quickly wrapped my lips around it and let it slip out of my mouth with a loud popping sound. It was funny, I thought. And it turned me on somehow. Sitting there I couldn’t help but feel lucky as hell that I got to be with this man.

Taylor stood me up and had me lay down on the bed. He reached under my skirt and pulled my panties down my legs slowly, letting them slip off my feet. Then he held the underwear for a moment and gave them a small sniff.

I giggled. “What do you think?”

“Delicious,” he said.

Suddenly, he was down on his knees. His hands pushed my skirt up until my pussy was exposed. He took one of his long, thick fingers and traced the line of the slit ever so softly. I could see a bead of wetness now on the tip of his finger as he brought it up in front of his face. Then he put his finger in his mouth and slowly pulled his finger out, savoring the flavor of that drop of my juices.

“Hmmm,” Taylor moaned.

Watching him taste me so slowly was one of the most erotic things I’d ever experienced. I felt myself getting wetter by the moment and my body was now tingling all over. I wanted him inside of me now. I couldn’t wait much longer.

Taylor stuck his finger actually inside of me this time—just barely inside me—and then pulled out another long bead of wetness. He savored it in his mouth once again.

“Eat me, baby,” I moaned.

Taylor smiled and knelt down farther to put his face in my crotch. The moment his lips touched me my body felt electrified with lust. I wanted to consume Taylor in every way that someone could be consumed right then. I wanted every part of him in my pussy, in my mouth, and in my soul.

His tongue licked me in long, slow strokes. He knew how to build the sexual tension. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it more than even I did. He started by licking just the outer lips and then he was pressing inside until his tongue was mixing with the juices inside of my sweet box.

I moved my hips from side to side and then up and down, trying to mix in a bit of variety and play with Taylor. He almost laughed at one point, but he stayed the course and very soon I could feel an epic climax about to happen.

I pulled away from his mouth and looked him dead in the eyes.

“I want you to fuck the shit out of me,” I said.

Taylor stood up and removed every stitch of his clothing. There he was fully nude, standing right in front of me. His body was tight and slender. He was well muscled, but not the least bit bulky. He was perfect.

I quickly removed my skirt and my blouse. I was now lying there with only my bra, my legs raised up and ready for him to enter me.

Taylor looked at me. “Everything.”

I laughed and removed the bra, throwing it across the room.

“Now, fuck me!” I commanded.

“Yes, ma’am,” Taylor joked.

He straddled me on the bed and suddenly with a little twitch of his hips he was inside of me. I let out a long breath of tension as my whole body relaxed around his huge cock. As I did so he moved even deeper until he was stretching me to capacity. It was such a tight fit.

Taylor was slow with the lovemaking. His hard cock moved in and out at a slow, but steady pace. My legs were up high wrapping around his slender torso as I held onto him. I tried to buck my hips in unison with him to facilitate the fucking. It worked. He was pounding me deeply now as I concentrated on my breathing.

“You feel so good…” Taylor moaned. He kissed me hard on the mouth, his lips wiggling sensuously back and forth across mine. Each time our lips touched a jolt of pleasure would course through my body and make my pussy quiver around Taylor’s dick. He continued to thrust into my wetness. The friction was perfect.

Taylor pulled out of me and moved to my side. He tilted me to the right and wrapped his arm around me. Then he was inside of me again. I leaned back into it. It made me feel so loved, almost worshipped to be held this way as I was being made love to. From this angle the fitting of our perspective parts seemed even tighter. I was clamping now around his engorged member while he pushed into my pulsating pool of desire.

“I love you, Leia,” Taylor whispered in my ear. He kissed my ear, nibbled on it, and let his tongue slip into it just ever so slightly. His hands were rubbing my breasts lovingly. He held me close as we continued our lovemaking. It felt so right. As if this was where I was supposed to be. It almost made me glad that I’d had to go through everything I did. Maybe it had happened for a purpose. I wasn’t sure if I really had to go through that much hell though. But who was I to question?

“I love you, too,” I said.

I heard Taylor breathe a huge sigh of relief and happiness. He’d been waiting for me to say those words for a long time. And I’d finally done it. I’d told him I loved him. And I meant it. It felt good to say those words to someone and truly mean it with every fiber of your heart and soul.

“I love you, Taylor. I love you, so much. I have for a long time.”

My words came in moaning gasps as he continued to penetrate me. He was fucking me even harder now, his thrusts coming long and deep with just the most perfectly timed pause between the two.

“I’m coming!” I yelled a moment before the climax overtook me. My whole body clenched as the sweet moment of total release came over me.

Taylor held me tightly against him, still comforting me and reassuring me that I was in a safe place. Somehow he knew that it was the most important thing for me to feel right then. With everything I’d gone through with Ted, I just wanted to feel happy and safe. I hadn’t been in that space for so long…

“AAGGGH!” Taylor moaned as he came inside of me.

I felt his body flexing against mine, his cock almost permanently wedged into me as he pumped every single drop of his magnificent seed inside.

I tried to buck against him, but his body posture was still too rigid against mine. He shuddered for several seconds until finally he released his hold and lay there gasping for breath. His thick member was still inside of me.

I reached behind me and held his ass. I pressed him firmly against me while I bucked my hips back and forth.

“Shit!” Taylor gasped as my pussy moved up and down on his spent cock.

I continued this for several seconds until neither of us could take anymore.

And then we laid there in each other’s arms until sleep eventually came. I think Taylor fell asleep first. I loved listening to his breathing as he slept. It was soft, and soothing.

I couldn’t believe how happy I was.

This was a day I thought I would never have again. I had a brand new body, a brand new life. And I had a brand new love. I truly felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

The only thing I didn’t have were my kids. And soon I would have them by my side.

And I would have my revenge on the man who had taken everything from me.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ted

“What the hell, Elise? You were supposed to pick up the kids from school twenty minutes ago.”

Elise stood there staring at me for several seconds as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“Why was I supposed to do that? You were in town. In fact, you were about two miles from there just a bit ago.”

“Yeah, but I was busy with work. You are their nanny. I pay you to pick them up from pre-school and bring them home. Then it’s your job to supervise them until I get home and to keep them out of my hair while I finish up business here in my office. I’ve got calls to make still.”

“Wait a minute,” Elise said. “I’m your girlfriend. I said I’d help out from time to time, but I thought it was implied that once we started dating you would hire an actual full time nanny. What the hell is this?”

“Then why am I still paying you a salary?” I asked.

Elise shrugged. “I don’t know. You can afford it. You know I’m between jobs right now and I’m trying to save money to go back to school. I just thought you wanted to help me out.”

I balled my hand into a fist and pounded the counter top. I wanted to throw it through her fucking skull. This was getting to be too much trouble; way more than it was worth. I’d hired Elise about a month before to be a nanny to the boys. And I have to admit I hired her because she was hot. Well, it turned out she was also an amazing lover who had very little that was off limits in the bedroom. So I started dating her, but I never told her that she was no longer a nanny for the boys.

And now I was sick of her altogether. If I’d known, she was that stupid I probably wouldn’t have banged her to begin with. Stupidity in a woman-no matter how hot she looks—is a huge turnoff for me. I can’t stand stupidity in anyone. It’s even worse if I want to have sex with that person.

“You know what? We are done. You are done here. You are fired as a nanny and as whatever this was between us,” I said. “Get the hell out.”

Elise stared at me with her mouth open, the shock and horror of it all finally starting to sink into her empty brain.

“You bastard!” She bellowed. “You are going to be so sorry. No one treats me this way and gets away with it. Do you have any idea who my father is?”

“No, and your mother probably doesn’t either. Get the hell out of my house. Good riddance to your lazy ass.”

I walked behind her as she stormed out of the house. I couldn’t help but stare at her perfect ass as it wiggled angrily back and forth down the front steps to her car.

I would miss that, but there were principles at stake here.

I closed the door behind her and locked it. After telling the butler to go pick the kids up at school, I went to my office, poured a bourbon, and sat down behind my computer. It was time to create a new profile. I had to find a new nanny and I had to do it fast. With my work schedule I had no time for the kids during the week and no interest for them any other time. But I was damned proud of how they were turning out. They were strong and independent. They were working on the noise factor, but then again they were not quite four years old. That would come in time. I needed to groom them to take over the empire one day.

Or not. I had every intention of spending each and every single dime and penny that I had before I died. The kids might just have to forage for themselves in this world as I had done. Nothing came easy. If it did, then you would end up not appreciating it. Or squandering it, like I planned to do.

I chuckled to myself as I sipped the bourbon and started to craft a profile for the new nanny position.

When I was finished I read it over and posted it to Craigslist and a few other well-trafficked sites.

I hoped that someone decent would actually apply.

Just then I heard the noise. The kids were back. Dammit.

They instantly bounded up the stairs and into my office because I’d left the door open forgetting that I no longer had privacy in my own house.

“Daddy,” Nicki asked. “Will you play with us?”

It came out sounding like “Wilv you pway wif uss?”

I wanted to be upset about this but his speech was actually getting better.

“No,” I said. “I have work to do. Go play quietly in your room. If you boys make a damn peep in there, then I’m going to whip you both good.”

Nicki began to whine. “Please!”

That was it. I was not going to put up with that disrespect. I stormed over to him, grabbed him, and smacked him across the face. It wasn’t a hard hit, but enough to jolt him out of his childish tantrum and remind him who the boss was.

He started crying and walked out.

“Knock it off or you’ll get more.”

His brother looked at me and then at Nicki before quietly following behind him.

“Damn kids,” I said.

Why did I keep them around? I was so sick of them?

Sometimes I really wondered. My life would have been so much freer without them. But they did attract sexy nanny’s…

Chapter Twenty-Three

Leia

Here we go. Just be calm.

I knocked on the door and waited. I was so nervous. I’d been watching Ted for several days trying to determine the best way to make an entrance back into his life when I saw his nanny storm out and flip him the bird before getting into her car and driving off like a mad woman. It did not take much to put the pieces of that puzzle together.

Then it hit me. That was perfect. I figured he would be posting an ad online, as he had finally gotten me to do a few years ago. When I found his ad I responded to it and tried to make it sound as good as possible, but mostly I tried to make myself look as sexy as possible. I knew Ted better than he probably knew himself. And he would only hire attractive nannies that he thought he could sleep with. That was a given.

So, I was now going to be that nanny. And it would be a great way for me to ingratiate myself back into the boys’ lives and get to know them. Wow, they would be almost four years old now. I couldn’t believe how long it had taken me to get there. But I was there.

Boys, momma’s coming. I love you.

The door opened and a man I didn’t recognize, but did recognize as a butler answered the door. He was middle aged and held a look of utter smugness and contempt on his face. I could only imagine what a tyrant Ted was to work for when I wasn’t there to run interference. Ted always left the staff and the dealings with them all up to me. I felt this man’s pain from the moment he opened the door.

“Yes, my name is Le--” I stopped short, correcting myself. It was going to take some getting used to, but I couldn’t very well tell Ted my actual name. “I’m sorry,” I said clearing my throat. “My name is Jane Naysmith. I’m here about the nanny position.”

“Right this way,” the butler said with a heavy British accent.

I followed him inside. It felt strange to be here. It was a brand new house; the old house to my understanding was so badly damaged that it had to be torn down. Ted had rebuilt a new house according to his plans on the same land. He was such a bastard. I felt like a piece of my family’s history had gone up in smoke.

The butler led me into the living room where he gestured for me to have a seat on the sofa. I did so while he went to retrieve Ted. The house was nice, and a bit bold for my taste. But it was not unpleasant. Ted did have taste and style. I remembered that.

“Hello, I’m Ted.”

I stood up to greet Ted and I saw his eyes light up as he laid eyes on me. I kind of figured that, especially from him. He was being totally obvious about it and he did not care one iota. I expected no less from the pig.

“I’m Jane Naysmith,” I said reaching my hand out.

Ted took it softly and kissed the back of it. “Very charmed.”

I pretended to blush slightly. I could not remember the last time someone had used a move like that on me. Hand kissing? Was that even done anymore anywhere? I made a point to look it up.

“You have a lovely home,” I said making conversation.

Ted grabbed a folder and opened it up. He had a piece of paper in his hand and looked it over.

“I took the liberty of printing out your profile for our interview,” Ted said. “Well, actually—let’s call it a meeting. Interview just sounds too formal and nerve racking, doesn’t it?”

“I agree,” I said.

“Great. As far as I’m concerned it is one professional discussing a business deal with another professional. Can I offer you something to drink before we get started?”

“I’m fine, thanks”

Ted scanned the pages in his hand. “Alright, then. It says here you have been a full time nanny for the past six years. That’s impressive. And for a few different families, with kids of different ages. Fantastic. Any kids as young as mine?”

“Yes. The Davidsons, the family I was with before had a clan that was ages three through eight. They were quite the handful, but they were great.”

Ted sighed. “Wow, that is amazing. I’m not sure I could handle it. Just my two little boys run me ragged sometimes.”

Ted laughed, his same fake game show host laugh. God, I wanted to strangle him.

“So, why did you stop working with that family?” He asked.

“They moved,” I said.

“OK, well that makes sense then,” Ted said. “I guess most of the employers don’t pay what I do. At least, not enough for you to go with them.”

“No,” I said. “The salary you are offering is very generous.”

“Well, I feel that if people are well-paid for their efforts then their efforts will always be at the top of their ability. The pride of reward goes hand in hand with the pride of the work. Am I right?”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

I knew he didn’t believe any of it. He only paid that much because he could and because it would attract many more applicants, so he’d have a much larger pool of attractive women to choose from. That was typical Ted. He was a lying snake in the grass. I couldn’t wait until he was looking at me from behind bars.

“So, what made you want to become a nanny?” Ted asked.

So far I was impressed with how much this sounded like an actual interview.

“I’ve always loved kids. I don’t have any of my own yet, so taking care of others will do for now. Maybe after I have kids of my own I might quit, but you know even then I don’t think I ever would. I just love taking care of little ones.”

Ted smiled. “Good answer. Good answer.”

I had to admit I was even being charmed a bit by him. Wow, he was good. And I hated his guts. That was the allure of the psychopath, I guessed.

“Thanks,” I said with a flirtatious little giggle.

“So, are there certain schedules that don’t work for you?” Ted asked.

“Well, I’m pretty flexible. When do you need me?”

Ted sighed. “Well, mostly it would be late afternoons. I need someone to pick the kids up from school and then be with them pretty much until bedtime. I work a lot and I often have to go to the office at odd hours. So, I’m not able to be home as much as I would like to. My wife passed away a few years ago… and it is just hard being a single father, you know?”

Ted was actually tearing up. I couldn’t believe it. They were real tears. Real tears with nothing real behind them. How did he do it? I was almost too shocked to pretend to be sympathetic as he talked about his dead wife that he murdered.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. I decided to make him squirm. “How did it happen?”

“Oh, it was so tragic. I was out of town with the kids and somehow a fire got started. I told her never to use that old lamp; I knew it had a short in it. But she had it since she was a kid—she was an orphan and it meant a lot to her—and she must have plugged it in and fell asleep.”

“That’s so terrible,” I said feigning sadness. Really? That was the story he was going with? Wow, he was a real piece of work.

“I’m sorry,” Ted said wiping his eyes. “I didn’t mean to get worked up.”

“It’s ok.”

Ted reached out and touched my leg with a sweet smile. “You have a great heart. Thank you.”

He removed his hand and looked back at the paper. “When can you start?”

“I can start as soon as you need me,” I said.

“Well, if you could start tomorrow that would be great,” Ted said. “Would you like to meet the kids? They are upstairs playing in their room.”

“Oh, I’d love to.”

I was going to see my children. After three long years… I could barely stand straight as I followed Ted up the stairs and down the hallway towards their room. I was almost shaking. I wanted to hold my babies in my arms again. I hoped one day they would understand why I did what I did. It was for the best, and it was for the best for them too. I just wanted them to know how sorry I was and how much I loved them.

By the time we got to their room, it was all I could do to hide the tears. But I couldn’t let Ted see me cry. I had to stay in character. It was of the utmost importance. I’d worked so hard and come so far; I couldn’t blow this mission now.

When I saw the kids for the first time, my heart just melted inside of my chest. They were beautiful. Both of the twins had grown so much. They were toddlers. I watched them for a few seconds as they played with their little action figures and made loud noises. They were typical boys.

But the second Ted was in the room I sensed a change.

“Boys, we have a visitor,” Ted said. “I want you to stop playing and meet your new nanny.”

“Hi, guys,” I said.

“This is Nicki and Alex,” Ted added pointing to each one.

The kids looked at me. I could see the fear in their eyes and as I knelt down I could smell that at least one of them had soiled themselves.

“Um, I think somebody had an accident,” I said.

Ted groaned. “That would be Nicki. He is still in pull ups, even though I’ve gone through potty training with him and he knows how to do it. Lately it just seems like he has regressed a bit.”

“It’s ok,” I said. “I can change him. Where do you keep the pullups?”

Ted seemed impressed at my initiative. He got the clean pullups for me and I changed Nicki and put some clean clothes on him.

“Wow, he has already taken to you,” Ted said. “Normally, it takes him awhile to warm up to somebody. I guess you are going to be a big hit around here.”

I forced a smile at him and then smiled at Nicki who smiled back at me. He was so sweet, so loving. But I could tell that he was scared to death of Ted. If I hadn’t been there and Ted had discovered this accident, there is no telling what sort of punishment, he would have thrusted upon my child.

Don’t worry baby. Momma is going to rescue you soon.

When I left the house I agreed to pick up the kids at their preschool the next day at two. I was so excited I could hardly stand to drive away from there. I wanted my babies. I needed my boys to be safe and sound with me. They were terrified of their father. I only hoped it wasn’t too late to undo the damage and bad influence he’d had on them.

As I pulled out of the driveway onto the highway tears were flowing down my face. My heart was broken. I couldn’t even imagine how many diaper changes I’d missed, or bottle feedings, or first words, first steps, first time using the toilet—I’d missed so much.

“I have to get my babies,” I said resting my head on Taylor’s shoulder. When I arrived back at his place I was full on bawling my head off. I couldn’t stand the thought of my kids being subjected to the horrors of that monster. That murderer.

“You will,” Taylor said. “Everything is going perfectly.”

He kissed me sweetly and held me close. As I stood there in his loving arms I knew that he was right.

Everything was going to turn out just fine.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ted

I pulled up to the house feeling a bit drained. It had been a decent day on the golf course with Marvin and Tony, a few new business associates. They were new to the scene. Apparently, their rich daddy had died of a sudden cardiac arrest a few months back and the two of them had inherited millions. They were newly rich, young, and bored. They were the perfect suckers to get involved in the bike company.

And they loved racing. Both of them remembered me from my racing days and they were both very sympathetic to my plight with the back injury and the dead wife and all. I hammered it up a bit and milked the sympathy out of them like the pro I was. On top of that we had quite the entertaining golf game. Those guys were a riot. It was kind of like playing golf with the guys from the movie Stepbrothers.

After the game we hung out in the bar at the country club and got loaded. I must have drunk six shots of liquor with six beers to chase it down with. The boilermaker was a hell of a drink. I had to wait about two hours before I trusted myself to drive home without putting a scratch on my Ferrari.

As I drove home I thought about my current situation and how beautifully everything was working out. The new nanny I hired—Jane—she was pretty amazing. Not only was she sweet to look at, but she was super-efficient. The kids had taken to her right away and loved her to death. They minded her way better than they ever minded me or anyone else. She had some weird, sixth sense bond with them or something. Whatever it was, I couldn’t explain it. But I was happy as shit that she was there.

And lately she’d even stepped up her notch to include cleaning and some cooking, even though I had both a butler and a maid to do those things. She was not satisfied with the job they did—and apparently neither was I—because the house had become so spotless I could eat off the floors and everything sparkled.

Plus, her cooking skills were not to be outdone. She had a way of preparing food that just made every bite melt in your mouth. And it was real, succulent food. Most of the stuff my butler fixed tasted like the school lunches I remembered as a kid. Hell, I threw half of his food out and lately I’d been ordering out more than eating at home. It kind of made me wonder what the hell I was paying him for, but so far he’d been better than nothing. Now, I was starting to think about giving the nanny a slight bump in pay and firing both of their sorry asses.

I walked into the house amazed once again at how clean and “homey” it felt. It hadn’t felt like that in a long time and I was just now remembering how much I actually missed it. I was damn happy being a bachelor, but sometimes I did miss the comfort of having a great woman in the house regularly.

When I entered the kitchen I was surprised to see Jane putting the finishing touches on some Salisbury steak. It was one of my favorite dishes. And she had fixed mashed potatoes and gravy, plus some fresh, made-from-scratch rolls with it. A huge saucer plate of butter was in the middle of the table. It all smelled heavenly.

“Wow, this is a feast fit for a king,” I said.

Jane noticed me and was startled for a moment, but quickly smiled.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, you’re fine. I should have heard you come in,” she replied. “I gave the butler and the maid the night off. The kids were feeling a bit rambunctious and I thought they might do with some less noise in the house. It seemed to do the trick.”

“Good thinking,” I said. “I have to admit; I love your cooking. I’m sure that I’m not the first to mention that. Did you take any culinary classes or anything somewhere?”

“Yes, actually,” Jane said. “I attended culinary school for a few semesters, but ultimately I had to drop out due to financial issues.”

“Well, there loss is my gain. With your exceptional talent they should have let you stay for free. Hell, they could have given you a job and let you teach them.”

Jane smiled and glanced down at my pants. It was then that I remembered I was wearing the classical, checkered golf pants.

I laughed. “Yeah, sometimes when I play golf I like to ham it up and really dress the part. How do I look?”

I struck a playful pose making a mockery of how cheesy it was. I was not above being silly to amuse a beautiful woman. It had served me well in my life.

Jane giggled. “I think you look very dashing.”

“Dashing? Yeah, that’s it. Now that’s not a word I hear much anymore, except in old movies about old Britain.”

“Now, you’ve got me,” Jane said. She placed the mashed potatoes and the Salisbury steak on the table. “My father practically raised me on old movies, and he was a bit of a British history buff.”

“Sounds like a great man,” I said. “I’d love to meet him sometime.”

Jane frowned. “I’m afraid that is not possible. He passed away when I was fifteen.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. Daddy issues. I loved it.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down at my chair at the head of the table.

“I’ll get the boys for dinner,” Jane said.

I grimaced. I’d hoped to have a meal in peace.

“Why don’t you let the boys eat in their rooms and you and I can sit down to dinner together. You’ve made enough for an army and I think you deserve a great meal. After all, you slaved over it and prepared it.”

“Ok,” Jane said. “I’ll do that.”

She fixed a couple small plates and then said, “I’ll be right back,” as she headed off towards the boys’ rooms.

When she came back she took off the apron she was wearing and let her hair down, pulling the tie away from it. I watched in awe as her luscious locks fell to her shoulders. It was like seeing a sexy woman in some shampoo commercial. She was that good and far more beautiful. And Jane had the type of beauty that was all natural, like she never needed makeup. In fact, that would have covered up the perfection of what was already there.

Jane fixed us both a plate and sat down.

I took a bite of the steak and moaned with delight as my taste buds tingled and my mouth came to the brink of an orgasm. It was beautiful.

“Wow, this is the best steak I’ve ever had,” I said. “Salisbury is my favorite. How did you know? You aren’t like Facebook stalking me or something, are you?”

Jane blushed. “No, it’s just one of my favorites, too. It’s actually an old recipe that my grandmother passed down to me.”

“Ah, those old recipes are always the best aren’t they? If we could find a way to bottle grandmother magic and put it into food, then we’d all be eating like kings.”

“Right,” Jane said. “I’m glad you like it.”

“So, how were the boys today? They seem to have really taken to you. I’ve never heard them this quiet. I hate to say it, but sometimes when I want to get things done in the office, I have to lock them out and make sure they are kept in their rooms. Otherwise, even in this huge house, I can hear them all the way in the office. Don’t let them fool you; those kids can make some noise.”

“Well, they are babies,” Jane said. “I think all boys are hyper rambunctious at that age. I bet you were too, if you can remember that far back.”

She had a point and tried to remember.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m a handful now; I can only imagine myself as a toddler.”

We ate in silence for a moment. Finally, I asked her a few more things about herself, trying to probe a bit deeper. This was the first time I’d really had a chance to get to know her outside of her role as a nanny. I tried to listen, but she was so beautiful that every time she spoke my mind just went to some kind of a happy place where nothing else mattered.

“So, I don’t see a wedding ring,” I said. “What’s the deal? Are you divorced? Single? You are bound to have someone special in your life, right.”

“Well, not really. I’m just kind of by myself for a bit. I just got out of a bad relationship, so I’m enjoying a break from the drama, you know?”

“I do. Those types of toxic people are so hard to take. You just have to get them out of your life.”

“I agree,” Jane said. She held my gaze for a moment and I was captivated by the beauty in her eyes. There was something familiar about them. I couldn’t put my finger on what though, but I felt it was close to my heart somehow. She was definitely the type of woman that I could feel myself actually falling in love with. Well, for a while anyway. Being me, I was bound to get bored eventually. But I was willing to take whatever I could get from her.

“What do you do for fun?” I asked finishing the steak. I buttered a roll and took a bite. They were so fluffy, so light, and so buttery. It was perfect. I was feeling very full, but this was too good. I could not stop eating.

Jane sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Well, I go golfing every now and then. And bowling. I’m kind of addicted to bowling.”

“Bowling? Well, that is a wild sport,” I teased.

Jane laughed. “Stop it. I know it’s lame, but there is something about the lane, the ball, the atmosphere—it’s just you against the pins, you know?”

I nodded. “Sure, I can get that. It’s been a while for me since I went bowling, and last time I did I’m pretty sure me and my friends spent most of the time drinking beer and occasionally doing some bowling. I think our focus might have been backwards.”

“Well, we might have to go sometime,” Jane said with a smile. “If my boss ever gives me the night off.”

“Oh, I think we can arrange that sometime,” I said.

Was this girl flirting with me? Sometimes it was hard to actually tell because I naturally assumed that all women flirted with me.

“So, how about you? What do you do for fun?” Jane asked.

“Well, business is my pleasure,” I said. “I know it sounds corny and cliché, but I love to work. I enjoy building the companies and I love making deals, especially out on the golf course.”

“Why is it that the golf course is the central hub of business dealings in our country?” Jane asked with a smirk.

I thought about the question a moment.

“I have no clue,” I said. “But it sure is a fun way to do it. Maybe that’s why. You know, I bet you’d look great out on the golf course.”

Jane shook her head. “No, I am not a golfer.”

“I’m sure you’d do fine. Besides, if you put on the right type of golf outfit, I’m sure you’d look fantastic. And that’s half the fun right there.”

Jane didn’t say anything for a moment, and I wondered if I’d overstepped too quickly and frightened her off the thread of conversation. But then she smiled and reached over to touch my hand.

She winked at me and said, “You’re bad, you know that?”

“I do know that. You aren’t the first to have noticed.”

“Are you saving room for dessert?” Jane asked coyly.

I felt my stomach about to explode.

“I’m not sure… I’m pretty full.”

Jane rose from the table and grabbed something from the freezer. It was vanilla ice cream. She grabbed a couple bowls, two spoons, and an ice cream scooper.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “I make great chocolate sundaes.”

Within thirty seconds she’d filled the bowls with ice cream, whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate syrup. It looked delicious.

“Oh… fine,” I said. “You drive a hard bargain.”

I took a few bites of the sundae and felt like I was eight years old again and I’d just come home from school. Every day my mother would have a different, fantastic treat waiting for me. Some days it was peanut butter and jelly, others it was ice cream, and others it was candy bars or milkshakes.

“I think I just gained five pounds,” I teased.

“Well, you have to live a little, right? Besides it’s another thing you can’t take with you.”

“What is?”

“Well, you can’t take money with you to the grave and you can’t take health.”

I laughed. “You’re right, I guess. I’m not sure I’ve heard that before.”

We chatted a while longer and I found myself having a great time. Jane was fun to talk to. Most of the women I spent any time with that I was attracted to were dull and boring, or at least we never had anything in common, but Jane seemed to know me so well and we had a lot in common. I was very glad that I’d wisely decided to hire her.

I just hoped that she wasn’t a tease of some sort and we could take this to a higher level pretty soon. She was so gorgeous that just being near her put me in a state of total lust. It took all of my self-control to keep from ripping her clothes off and just making sweet love to her right there in the kitchen. Why couldn’t real life be like the movies? Or at least like adult films.

When she left, I watched her walk to the car. Her cute, little, firm ass was swaying back and forth naturally. Wow, that woman had curves for days. I went to the office and decided to catch up on some work. The numbers for the motorcycle company had not been looking very good. I was possibly going to have to fire some people. That was always fun, but sometimes it was a nuisance. I had to be in the right mood for it, otherwise it just felt like work.

But as I tried to concentrate on work, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sexy, new, nanny that had come into my life. Jane was something else…

Chapter Twenty-Five

Leia

I loved being near my kids. It had been so hard not to break down and just tell them that I was their mother. I had to stop myself several times a day. I had to refrain from acting too close to them for fear that Ted might get suspicious. I was just being the best nanny I could be and I had become their friend. They liked me; they trusted me. That was a great step in the right direction.

As I drove home, the dinner that Ted and I had just enjoyed kept going through my head. The impulse to stab him in the eye with a fork was almost too great, and it had overwhelmed me at one point. But I’d managed to keep my cool.

I’d learned to cook during my isolation while I was waiting to heal up. I didn’t have a lot else to really occupy my time with, so I indulged in a few hobbies. Cooking was my favorite. I loved to fill the house with the smell of delicious food and I enjoyed the process of mixing the ingredients together and how it all ended up being wonderful food in the end.

And apparently, Ted agreed with me on this. He loved my cooking so much I could see in his eyes that he was starting to fall in love with me a bit. I wondered if it was just the food, or if there was something else that he was remembering. As much as I hated him, when we were having that dinner I had to remind myself more than once of who Ted was and what he’d done to my kids and me. But it also seemed like the old times, when we would have dinner together. It was rare, but it did happen. And it was actually nice sometimes.

We’d fallen in love with each other for a reason, after all.

But I hated the very air he breathed now. And I was going to destroy him. I’d never been a vengeful person before, and I have to admit that it was worrying me. I was aware that I was starting to go over the edge and losing a little bit of myself in the process. No matter what happened, it was imperative that I keep who I was hidden. My babies needed me.

At one point in the dinner I’d grilled Ted a bit deeper about what life had been like since his wife’s death.

It was so bizarre hearing him talk about me that way, but it was fascinating watching him squirm a bit. He had his canned responses down cold, but when I urged him to go beyond that and I probed a bit deeper his answers seemed kind of flat and almost inhuman. He had no real substance to him.

“Well, it was so tragic,” Ted said. “It was such a bizarre accident. I drove back in a fit of hysterics, practically. I even had to stop a few times to get myself together before continuing. I probably should have ordered an Uber or something, but for whatever reason the thought didn’t really cross my mind. I had to find my wife; I had to make sure she was ok. That was the only thing I could think or feel. It was repeating in my head like some kind of a crazed mantra. When I think back to the fact that my boys were in the back seat…wow. What was I thinking? I never should have been driving in that state with them there. But it happened.”

“That sounds terrifying,” I said. We’d just finished the dessert and I was feeling very full. I could see that Ted was feeling the effects of the food as well and he was having trouble staying awake.

“It was,” Ted replied. He was crying a little now. I would never get over how easy it was for him to cry on command. He was a master.

“I remember hearing about the fire,” I said. “It was a bit of a news story due to her wealth and status. Is it true that they never found the body?”

This question would have sent anyone else into some kind of rage. I was sure that Ted was going to yell at me and ask me how I dared to ask him that question. I think it would have been a warranted response under those circumstances.

But Ted was easy and sweet. He smiled. “No, they never did. It’s difficult to say what happened to her, but I’m fairly certain that she did not survive the fire.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t be trudging up stuff like that. That was rude of me.”

Ted waved his hand and shook his head. “No, you’re fine. It was a long time ago. I’ve had plenty of time to grieve. I’m just thankful that the boys don’t remember anything about it. I’m sure they will ask questions and all that when they get older, and I’ll tell them the truth when I feel that they are old enough to handle it. But I’m ok. I know that Leia is watching me from somewhere and keeping an eye over all of us.”

Well, he was kind of right…

“That bastard,” Taylor said. “He really said all that? I don’t think he even gets how creepy he comes off, does he?”

I shook my head. “No, he really doesn’t. There is just nothing inside of him.”

Sitting in the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine and some soft music in the background, I was finally getting a chance to relax and unwind after my day. Taylor was sitting on the edge of the Jacuzzi, still wearing his clothes, having just arrived home from the hospital a while ago. It was one of his long days. I’ve never been able to figure out why doctors often have to work such long shifts. But then again, Taylor was the head of the clinic.

Sitting in his mansion, I felt a bit like a princess. Taylor had told me that he was rich and I knew he had money, but I never realized that he was worth over a hundred million dollars until we started getting really close. And even then I thought he might be joking, but he was quite the entrepreneur. Not only was he the head of one of the best hospitals in the country, but he had done some groundbreaking research on cell reproduction, in association with Patrick. He’d also written and published six New York Times best sellers. Taylor had even done a few book tours in his time.

“Won’t you join me?” I teased flicking some water at him.

“Oh, that is so tempting,” Taylor said. “But I was hoping to get some work done on the new book tonight.”

“I thought you were just in the beginning stages. Have they even accepted the proposal?”

“Oh, yeah. Did I not mention that to you? I thought I did? Anyway, the publisher is excited and would love to have the book by mid-summer, which gives me precisely three months to research it, write it, edit it, and get it in a publisher’s hands. So, the next few months are going to be a bit busy. They always are when I’m writing.”

I shook my head. “Wow, I feel like a lazy bum compared to you.”

He smiled. “I do feel lazy.”

With that he headed off to his office while I stayed behind. The Jacuzzi felt great after a long day. It was the only way I felt that I could get the “Ted” off of me.

How long would it take? How long would my kids have to live with that person? When would I be able to look at Ted behind bars?

The suspense, the not knowing—it was killing me. It felt like some itch inside my chest that I just couldn’t scratch.

I took several deep breaths and closed my eyes. But when I did, I kept seeing Ted’s evil, twisted face right in front of me. He actually thought that he was having some kind of romantic effect on me. It was almost laughable. If he had any clue to how close he was about to come to his whole world being ripped apart…

“Good riddance,” I said laughing as I took a sip of wine.

Yeah, I could definitely get into this revenge game.

* * *

I was just finishing putting the kids to bed the next night when I heard Ted downstairs doing something. Papers were shuffling and it sounded like he was pacing back and forth. Even all these years later I could recognize the signs of him on the verge of some kind of narcissistic breakdown. Something hadn’t gone his way and the world was out to get him, so he was going to have a little tantrum. That was about the gist of it, I was sure. God, he was such a baby. How had I ever let the jerk fool me into falling for him?

And how much longer was I going to keep blaming myself? Most likely, I would never stop. I’d pretty much made peace with that. As much horror as Ted had wrought on my life, he couldn’t have done any of it without me letting my guard down. I’d let him in and he’d taken everything from me.

The boys were both fast asleep. I turned out the lights and closed the door lightly behind me. Then I made my way down the steps and headed towards the kitchen so as not to disturb him. From upstairs it had almost sounded like he was on the phone with somebody, but now he was just talking to himself from his office. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t resist taking a quick peak at him.

He was standing hunched over his desk breathing heavily, sweat pouring from his forehead, his shirt and tie disheveled, and a half empty bottle of whiskey clutched tightly in his hand. Yep, the sight looked very familiar to me.

I decided to ignore him and head out.

“Hey, are you leaving?”

Ted’s voice bellowed from down the hall. To his credit, he sounded only slightly inebriated.

I turned around slowly and walked towards his office. By the time I got there, he had straightened himself up slightly, and plastered that cocky, alpha male smile on his face once again. He was cool as a cucumber. Only I knew him way better than that.

“Yeah. You sounded busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you. The boys are asleep and should be quiet for the night. Anything else I can do for you before I take off?”

Ted laughed. “Well, I’d love a massage, to get this kink out of my neck, but uh… no that’s fine. Thanks for taking great care of the boys. You have a good one.”

I wasn’t about to pass up an invitation like this to get closer to him. Sooner or later, he was going to lower his guard, and then I’d have him.

“Massage? I could do that,” I said.

Ted looked up at me shocked. “Really? That’s not in your job description at all.”

I smiled. “I know that, but I used to work as a part time masseuse in a health spa. I could totally help you out. Do you have a table?”

“Actually, yes.”

Ten minutes later we were in the massage room. Ted was lying face down and shirtless on the table and I had the towels and oils all set up. I placed the oil in my hands and began to rub them together to warm them up. I’d been getting massages regularly since I was a teenager and I figured I could fake it good enough. At least that was the plan. I couldn’t believe that Ted actually had a massage room for himself in his house. But it was pretty fancy and very serene.

“Wow, this is the life,” I said. “You know how many people would love to have a room like this in their house?”

“Yeah, it is pretty sweet,” Ted said. “I usually have my masseuse come once a week, but this week has been so stressful…”

“Oh, problems at work?” I asked. “I don’t mean to pry, but it is sometimes helpful to tell someone, especially someone you don’t know very well.”

“I’ve noticed that. It’s always so much easier to talk to strangers about weird shit, right?”

“Yep.”

“Well, the business has been taking a bit of a nosedive lately, and honestly it doesn’t seem to be bouncing back.”

“The cosmetics company isn’t doing well?”

“Oh, no. The cosmetics company is fine. It will never have an issue unless people just stop wearing cosmetics. I’m talking about my motorcycle business. The manufacturing has dried up, and several of my best sponsored racers have decided to quit me this past week, too.”

“That’s rough,” I said. “Any particular reason they quit?”

“Because their wimps,” Ted said. “This game isn’t for everybody. I did it and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s the reason I have back problems to this day and have to get massages and chiropractic adjustments at least once and sometimes twice a week. By the time I’m forty-five I’ll probably have major issues. And I can thank that sport I dedicated so much of my time to.”

Ted almost sounded sincere. But I knew most of his back issues were bullshit. He’d done most of that to make me feel sorry for him. It was all part of a con job.

I began the massage with Ted’s shoulders. The oil began to warm up even further between my hands and his skin. He tensed up slightly when I first touched him, but very quickly he started to relax. I kept my hands smooth and steady, kneading into the muscles, slowly working my way in to relieve the tension and the knots that I felt.

Ted really was tense. He didn’t even need the bike business. He could sit on his ass and do absolutely nothing if he wanted to and be fine.

But his ego wouldn’t let him. He had to succeed at whatever he decided to do. And he often attempted to do things in a very absent-minded and narrowly focused way.

“Oh, that feels great,” he said, his voice almost purring with the expelling of breath.

“Good,” I replied. I was really working into the major muscles in his upper back and shoulders, pushing through them and flattening them out and then slowly letting them come back to shape, before starting over again.

“Where did you learn to do this?” Ted asked.

“My aunt used to own a spa. I would work with her and she taught me how to do massage work. I used to be pretty good at it, but then I graduated high school and I decided that I wanted to do something else with my life. I’m just now starting to figure that out.”

“You mean, you just decided what you want to be when you grow up?”  Ted cracked.

“Yeah, basically.”

“And what is that?”

“Oh, I believe I want to teach elementary school. So, I’m going to start back to college in the fall to get my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I figure I can complete it all in about two and a half years.”

“Wow, that is quite the commitment,” Ted said. “But I’m sure you will do great. That’s very noble, working with kids. You definitely have a knack with them.”

“Thanks.”

“So, I am curious why a beautiful woman like you isn’t already snatched up and married.”

Ted reached behind himself and moved my hands down lower. I was now just above his ass. The rest of him was covered with only a towel and he was wearing a pair of boxers underneath it. He had insisted on it as the most comfort for his massage. I almost objected, but I didn’t want to tip him off too much that I was not in any way falling for it.”

“Your lower back giving you problems?” I asked.

“Yeah, just in the center, and then it radiates out to the sides sometimes. Any idea what that could be? Should I go to a chiropractor?”

“Well, it might be an old injury. You say you hurt yourself during your racing career? Plus, I’d imagine being in that position on those bikes constantly had to wreak its toll on your back.”

“Yeah, I’ve tweaked it a time or two that is for sure.”

I applied pressure to his lower back with both hands and then I began to move my hands in a circular motion outward. I felt his tension slowly starting to ease.

“That’s the spot…” Ted groaned. “Yeah… there…”

I applied hard pressure then. His groans got louder, but still I held on. It was good for the muscles to undergo that stress so they would get the improved blood flow to them and start to heal.

Finally, I released the pressure. “Wow, that was sore,” Ted said.

“It will start to feel better in the next day or two,” I said. “You should have your regular masseuse give you a once over.”

“Well, if I’m being honest, I think you are doing a better job.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I am not a masseuse.”

“You could have fooled me,” Ted said.

I grabbed some more oil and went back to massaging his lower back.

And then Ted grabbed my hands and started to move them towards his ass. I held on strongly and then backed away.

“Not gonna happen,” I said with a smile. I was disgusted but I tried to portray that I was mildly annoyed and nothing more.

Ted laughed, his giddy, half-drunk laugh.

“What’s wrong? I thought we had a thing going?” Ted asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said. “I was just trying to help. I’m sorry if you misread me.”

I stopped the massage and began to round up my things.

Ted sat up on his elbows and looked at me very confused.

“Where are you going?” Ted asked.

“It’s past my shift,” I said. “I need to leave.”

“Wait…” Ted said. He almost sounded like he was pleading with me.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I think the alcohol has me doing some funny things tonight. Please stay.”

He sounded almost sincere, but then again Ted was the best at being “almost” whatever he wanted.

I was halfway to the door, but I stopped. I was drawing him in and it was working. Soon, he was going to think that I felt sorry for him and that I was starting to let my guard down for him to get into my head. And then I’d have him. I’d turn the tables and he would never know what hit him.

“Ok,” I said. “But I want to keep it clear. We have a business relationship; nothing else.”

Ted nodded. “Sure, absolutely. I’m sorry again.”

I sat my stuff back down and began to massage him again, this time higher on his back.

“So, how long was it after your wife died, before you started to date again?”

“What?” Ted asked. He seemed confused by the question, or more like startled. I loved to keep him off balance.

“I just imagine it would take a long time before I was ready to move on after such a serious relationship with someone I loved, and then to have them taken from this world in such a grisly way…”

I shuttered so that he would see how it creeped me out.

“Oh,” Ted said. “I… um… well, to be honest, I didn’t actually do any dating for a good six months.”

“How did you get back into it?” I asked. I grabbed the lotion and rubbed it between my hands, letting the lotion soak through my fingers, and then I applied it to his back.

Ted paused a moment. He was clearly trying to come up with some plausible lies, all the while dealing with the relaxing sensation of the massage. It was hard to lie when you were that relaxed.

“A friend of mine. He decided I needed to get back out there and that Leia—that was my wife—she would have wanted me to. It took some time, but I eventually realized that he was right and I couldn’t mourn forever. Eventually, I owed it to myself to move on. But I still think of her all the time. I will never have a love like that again. I know it’s cynical to say that, but I feel it in my gut. It’s true.”

As I rubbed him and those words came out of his mouth I almost believed them. If I’d been anyone else his words would have won me over. He sounded every bit the grieving husband who was just trying to move on with his life and get over the tragedy of his wife’s death. He really had no soul at all. I was sure of it.

I finished up his massage and then I drove home. When I arrived back at Taylor’s mansion he was working on his book in his office.

“Hey, honey,” Taylor said as I entered. I kissed him quickly and tried not to disturb his work.

But he stopped and turned to face me. “How was the day?” He asked with a wide smile.

I told him everything about what had happened. I almost expected him to be mad at me for letting things go that far with the massage. In the moment I was so caught up in continuing the ruse and progressing with the plan that I didn’t think what Taylor might feel about how inappropriate things were getting. But on the way home, the guilt started creeping into me.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Taylor said. He stood up and hugged me softly against his hard body. “It’s ok. You are doing what you need to do. I trust you implicitly. I don’t trust that cretin any farther than I can Frisbee him.”

I laughed. “Thanks, honey. You are amazing, you know that? Sometimes I think I don’t tell you that enough.”

Taylor rolled his eyes playfully. “Well, it never gets old to hear that.”

He turned back around to his book where he finished a few sentences, saved the work, and then shut down the computer.

We spent the next few hours relaxing in front of the television, which neither of us had done for a long time.

As we sat there I realized just how much I loved Taylor. I saw us spending the rest of our lives together. There were no red flags like there had been with Ted. Of course, I hadn’t picked upon those warning signs the first time, but I was no longer that naïve young woman I’d been when a dashing stranger swept me off my feet. No, I was a strong, independent woman who had been through hell and back. I knew real love when I saw it. And what Taylor and I shared was real.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ted

I ended the call and threw my phone across the room where it landed on the couch (thankfully) and bounced to the carpeted floor in the living room. The rage was welling up within me and I felt like I was about to go completely bonkers. Everything I’d worked for had once again blown up in my face and it was all the fault of some damn imbeciles who would not do what they were told. I preached until I was blue in the face to those marketing assholes that the current campaign was the wrong way to go. They came back at me with a bunch of stupid charts and statistics and eventually proved to me that they were right.

Well, I’d just proved to them that they didn’t know their asses from a can of shoe polish. I’d lost a bundle. The stock in my company had taken a huge nosedive and I was heading towards being completely out of business. The bikes weren’t selling, and the racers I’d been sponsoring were all losing and dropping out of the sport. My name was buried so deeply in the mud that I couldn’t have gotten it out with a forklift. I was finished in the world of motocross.

My dreams were starting to implode. And I was definitely going to have to sell the baseball team. It had proven to be a big loser. Attendance was way down and even merchandising was in the gutter.

I was just so ready to give it all up and live the boring life of a widowed billionaire. It sounded like a no brainer when I thought of it like that, but I wanted more out of life. I wanted to make something of myself on my own merits and not just piggy back off someone else’s achievements. That was fine for getting yourself into the game, but now it was time for me to spread my wings and fly.

I sat down on the couch and sighed heavily. Grabbing the whiskey bottle I took a few swigs and tried to calm down. I’d been nothing but a bundle of nerves lately.

The only thing that had helped at all was that amazing, impromptu massage that Jane had given me the night before. Wow… that was something else. I was still thinking about that. She was truly a woman of many gifts.

I’d been thinking of her a lot lately. I desperately wanted her. She was the most interesting woman I’d met since…well… since Leia. The two of them were a lot alike, but Jane wasn’t so high and mighty and condescending. That was what got Leia killed. She was so bitchy all the time that eventually she pushed me too far.

“What to do… what to do…” I muttered to myself before taking another drink.

The cosmetics company was my main source of revenue. The guys in charge knew what they were doing and it kept me sitting pretty. But there were a lot of silly maintenance duties I had to do as the owner of the company that just bored me to tears. With the money racked up over the years, I was sitting on billions of dollars’ worth of a goldmine. What I found myself wondering lately was why didn’t I just sell the company to the highest bidder? Then I could just disappear and live my life happily and quietly somewhere.

But even then I would be giving up so much money… I didn’t know if it was actually worth it.

Then again, it was worth looking into. I grabbed my phone off the floor (thankful that it had not cracked anywhere) and made a few phone calls to let it be known that I was looking for interested buyers. It did not take long for the calls to come rolling in.

* * *

I left the last of the meetings of the day feeling pretty good about things. I had four different people interested in buying Daniels Cosmetics for a nice, hefty sum. Of course I would lose money in the long run, but it was really enough to strongly consider getting rid of the headache of it all. Why did I really need to bother with it? I was so tired of working all the time and having nothing to show for it other than a company that I didn’t give a piss for. It was just the money stream; that was all it had ever meant to me. It was serving its purpose, but my needs and desires had changed.

When I got home I was surprised to see that the house was empty and the kids were not there. The nanny must have taken them somewhere to entertain them or to wear the energy out of them so they would sleep that night. I could swear those kids needed to be tested for attention disorders. They were very small, but they never stopped with the energy. Luckily, Jane had enough pep to keep up with them quite well. I was really starting to like her.

The other night had been a big faux pas on my part. I’d actually tried to get her to touch my ass. What the hell had I been thinking? I giggled as I remembered it, but she’d almost stormed out and I couldn’t afford to let her go. She was too perfect. The kids loved her.

I’d seen a lot of positive changes in the twins since Jane had come around. They were less disruptive, less violent with each other, and they stayed out of my hair way more. I hadn’t even felt the urge to knock them silly lately.

But she had stayed. That told me that there was hope for her and me yet. Most women would have walked and kept walking if they weren’t interested, but not Jane. No… she was almost amused by it. I could tell by that twinkle in her eye. I’d been great at reading people my whole life. It just came natural to me. It seemed like everyone revealed their hand the instant they met you. You could just read it on them.

I went into the billiard room, poured a whiskey, and started playing some pool. I was just getting into it when I heard the door open and a moment later the kids voices. Well, so much for a relaxing evening to myself. I just hoped that the nanny would keep them out of my hair for a while. And I really hoped we’d have another dinner like we had the night before.

After a few racks of pool, the door opened and Jane stood there. She looked as beautiful as ever. The dress she wore was very form fitting, but casual. It billowed away from her legs just enough to tantalize and tease the eye about what lay under the dress and her cleavage was very enticing as well. I could clearly see that she had phenomenal breasts.

I scanned her from her toes to the top of her head and let my gaze linger on her most beautiful parts. She noticed and looked mildly annoyed; I didn’t give a damn. If she expected me to apologize for this or my behavior last night, then she had another thing coming. I was who I was and there was no changing me.

“Where are the kids?” I asked.

“In Nicki’s room playing. They look like they might fall asleep at any moment. I took them to the zoo today and I think it might have tired them out.”

“They didn’t have school?”

“Just a half day. The teachers had an in service day.”

“Would you like to play a game or two?” I asked.

“No, I’m not really much for pool,” she said.

“That’s too bad. It’s my favorite. I play almost every single day in fact.”

“You must be pretty good at it then.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I’m ok. So, are you staying for dinner?”

Jane shook her head. “No. I prepared a meal for you earlier; it’s in the fridge. My world famous chili. Would you like me to heat it up before I go?”

“No, I’ll manage, but thanks.”

“I’m not sure your butler likes me very much,” Jane said with a smile.

“Yeah, well you are doing his job better than him. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

Jane walked over to the pool table and leaned over a little bit. This gave me just enough of a glimpse at her cleavage to send me into minor heart palpitations. God…what was this woman doing to me.

“So, how did things go today?” Jane asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear yesterday. It sounded like things weren’t going well.”

I smiled and took a shot at the seven ball, sending it into the side pocket.

“Things are ok,” I said. I didn’t feel like getting into this discussion with the help.

“Are you sure?”

I looked at her, staring directly into her eyes. “It’s just fine.” My voice was stern and forceful. I hoped I had gotten my message across.

She leaned back from the table and adjusted her position to standing with her hands on her hips. She looked amazing in that dim light from the billiard room. I always kept it somewhat dark, just like a real pool hall. The ambience was better that way.

Jane suddenly grabbed a pool stick and walked to the other side of the table where the cue ball was resting comfortably. She bent over and took my next shot, missing the corner pocket, but just barely.

“Well, pooh…” Jane said with a smile.

“You were close,” I said. “I have to say that I admire your form.”

I did too. Watching her bend over was always enjoyable for me.

“Thanks,” Jane said. “Well, I guess I’ll be heading home.”

She lingered for a moment as if she was waiting for me to say something. There was a way about her this evening, as if she was trying a little extra hard to be sexy. And it was working. Her voice was soft and a little breathy, her eye contact made her look a bit dreamy eyed and her lips were pursed at just the right angle to be irresistible.

I wanted her so badly. My dick was hard and ready. She just had to give me the signal.

Stepping around the table, I stood in front of her as she started to pace towards the door. She stopped in front of me closely…oh, so closely…

Her perfume wafted up to my nose. It smelled delightful. Soft, a little fruity, and delicate on the senses. At the same time, it wrapped me up in its warmth and I felt so close to Jane that I just wanted to hold her tightly in my arms and take her right then and there.

I leaned in to kiss her. My lips were almost on hers when she stepped back.

“This can’t happen,” she muttered softly.

I expected her to say something else, to explain why this couldn’t happen, but she said nothing. She simply walked slowly out the door.

A part of me wanted to run after her and demand to know why she insisted on teasing me so badly, but I didn’t. I just stood there and inhaled the remnants of her sweet perfume. This sexy vixen was driving me crazy, and I loved it. I’d waited a good long while to get a woman who was that tantalizing.

I grabbed my glass of whiskey and finished it. A chuckle escaped from me then. I was going to get this woman. There was no doubt in my mind. How could she not want me? I was handsome, charming, sexy, and rich. There was no way she would do better than me, no matter how perfect she was.

“Oh, yeah. She is mine. She is mine.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Leia

“So, you got them?”

I handed Taylor the baggy of Ted’s hair samples that I had swiped from a hairbrush in his bathroom earlier that day. The man was far too trusting. You’d think that with as much as he screwed other people over he would be able to smell when someone was about to do the same thing to him.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I hope I got enough.”

“Great job, Leia.” Taylor kissed me and patted me on the lower back before drawing me into a half hug.

“So, who is this friend of yours?” I asked taking off my jacket and draping it over a kitchen chair. Taylor who had been sitting on the sofa with a book got up and sauntered into the kitchen where I was grabbing something to drink from the fridge.

“Her name is Lilly Kerns. She is an old college friend of mine. She works in forensics up in Los Angeles.  I spoke with her the other day and she said it was no problem to examine these samples. If Ted’s DNA hits any previous cold cases, then we might have some solid evidence of past crimes.”

“Great,” I said. I opened the beer I’d grabbed from the fridge and sat down at the table, thankful to relax. It had been a fun day with the boys at the zoo, but it had also been tiring. I was ready for a good nap.

“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked. He sat down across from me and leaned in. I loved how he was always so interested in exactly what was on my mind and what I was going through at any given time. It showed he really cared, and he could do so without being nosey or the least bit pushy.

I sighed. “I’m just worried, as usual. I’m afraid that this is futile and nothing will come back from the forensic match. So far, Ted isn’t talking to me, or at least giving me something that might inadvertently implicate him in my attempted murder. So, if this doesn’t work then I don’t know what’s next.”

“Someone like Ted didn’t wake up one day and just decide to be a criminal. That’s not how it works. Odds are that he did some things in his past when he was young that he doesn’t want to come back to haunt him. But things like that always do. There is no getting away from it. I’m very positive that we will turn up something.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“For what?”

“You always know just what to say to make me smile and put me at ease.”

“I’m a doctor; it’s part of my bedside manner.”

“Well, speaking of bedside,” I said. “How about a little poolside?”

I stood up with my beer and walked out of the double glass doors in the back of the living room that led out onto the pool area. I loved to swim in Taylor’s pool at night. It was warm and refreshing and even better when I had company.

Outside on the patio I quickly stripped out of my clothes, even removing my bra and panties so that I was standing there looking at Taylor wearing absolutely nothing. Taylor was now standing in front of the double doors. He was slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

I stepped back slowly towards the pool, stopping right at the edge. I wanted him to see me basking in the pool lights. The illumination was so erotic. It always turned me on instantly to see him standing there, his shadow stretched long behind him, and the light hitting all of the right parts of his body.

He kicked his boxer shorts to the side and strode towards me naked. His lean, toned body was beautiful. And his dick jutted out from his body, rising slowly and steadily. He was so thick, so meaty. The very sight of it made me wet with anticipation.

Taylor stroked his cock in his right hand, letting it smack rhythmically against the palm of his hand. The sight and the sound were hypnotic. My body was growing warmer. I’d felt dirty since I was being so flirty with Ted, but now I was starting to feel clean again. I wanted Taylor to make sweet love to me. I needed to be loved again, worshipped again by a real man.

Taylor wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. His dick pressed firmly against my stomach. I could feel it pulsating with the sweet boner he had going on and as he kissed me, his member got even harder.

His lips were soft; his mouth warm. It was a beautiful place that I never really wanted to ever leave. In his arms was the only place for me. I never wanted to be anywhere else, because even though I was a strong and independent woman, sometimes I did get down and a bit insecure. Taylor’s loving arms were the cure. Anytime I needed to I just fell into him and his warm embrace was always there.

Taylor’s hands moved down to my ass and cupped my cheeks. His hands were strong and firm, with long, slender fingers. Within seconds they were parting my cheeks. The cool air felt nice as it brushed against my parts. Taylor’s fingers were in between the cheeks now, moving around, and teasing me a bit. But very soon they found my wet pussy and began to tease me. His middle finger was inside me from behind. I found myself bending over slightly to facilitate this.

“You’re so wet,” Taylor said in between kisses. His lips were still going to work against mine, each kiss full of love and devotion to me. With Taylor I always felt like the most precious woman on earth.

Taylor grabbed his dick and moved it between my legs so that I was almost balancing on top of it as it slid back and forth against the outside of my pussy. It was a different sensation and it was very enjoyable indeed. I had to stand on my toes for it to fully work, but once he was sliding back and forth I began to get hotter and hotter. His cock occasionally brushed against my clit just right and a solid beam of pleasure would rush through me.

I suddenly jumped away and hopped into the swimming pool behind me laughing my head off. Taylor stood there a few moments a little surprised. He continued to beat his hard cock against his hand. I could see he was ready for me. And I was ready for him, too.

Taylor stepped into the pool, letting himself in gently to the shallow area. Once inside he walked towards me to the middle part of the pool where I was floating gracefully, my fingers toying with my bits.

Once he reached me, he kissed me hard again, this time even more passionately, holding the kiss long without letting go of it. His sweet breath, the life force dwelling within him—all of it mingled with my own and I felt my whole body become a hub of pleasure.

And then he was inside of me.

I’d had my legs wrapped around his and I was straddling him in the pool as he kissed me, but all of a sudden he pushed down on me slightly and slipped into me.

“Shit…” I groaned.

I tried to breathe, but my body was undulating with pleasure as it tried to get used to the massive cock inside of it. Taylor was wasting no time. He pushed in and out of me parting the water aside as he entered me. The sensation of the water surrounding him and his large cock was awesome. It created a tighter squeeze filled with some sort of a suction that was pleasurable.

Taylor held me tightly against his body, his head on my shoulder now as he hugged me with a love that I’d never known before him. All the times I thought I might be in love or that I was with the right person---I realized it almost immediately with Taylor that nothing had ever been close to what I felt for him. And I could tell he felt the same about me.

Suddenly, we were moving. Taylor was carrying me through the water as he continued to fuck me until we were at the side of the pool.

“Turn around. I want to feel your ass against me,” Taylor whispered.

I did as he asked. A second later his cock entered me again. I loved it when he came at me from behind. He went much deeper and it felt somehow thicker and tighter inside of me.

Doing my best to bend over and hold still in the water that was still pretty deep, I braced myself as Taylor thrusted into me over and over again. I held on tightly to the edge of the pool and just resigned myself to letting him have his way with me.

His finger suddenly pressed against my asshole.

“Do you want it?” Taylor asked, whispering in my ear breathlessly.

“Yes,” I replied.

His finger slipped into me and slid deeply into my asshole. I gasped and leaned back into it. His hard cock was still pounding my pussy and I was inching closer to orgasm with each passing second.

But his finger in my backdoor was a game changer. I don’t know what it was about it, but suddenly I felt that I was about to come immediately. I could feel his cock touching against his finger inside my asshole through the wall separating my pussy from my ass. It was kind of bizarre, but wonderful.

And then he pushed two fingers into my ass. I was being stretched wider, but the simulation of being double penetrated was amazing. I loved the naughtiness of it. The fact that it was still considered a bit taboo just made it all the hotter.

“Fuck me!” I growled. I wanted it harder and faster.

Taylor obliged and within minutes I came hard in the pool.

I could feel the orgasm in both my pussy and my ass. The shockwaves of it hit me in huge sweeping blasts roaring throughout my body, and leaving me feeling so weak that my legs didn’t feel like my own.

Taylor came hard inside of me a few minutes later. His hand squeezed my hair into a ball of his fist and shook violently as the pleasure ripped out of his body.

Afterwards we laid on one of the poolside lounge chairs, wrapped in towels just snuggling. We didn’t say much; we were just so happy to be together.

I knew that Taylor and I would spend the rest of our lives together.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ted

It felt good to get out and party. With all the stress I’d been dealing with lately, letting loose some steam with some good friends and beautiful women was the best thing for me.

I’d actually planned on spending the quiet evening at home, but when my friends Bart and Troy asked me to go to the club with them that night, I had to say yes. It had been probably a month or so since I’d felt social enough to want to go out and get into some mayhem. That was usually what happened. I’d been kicked out of so many clubs in the city that it was almost hard to find new ones to go to.

It wasn’t my fault that people saw me and there was instant jealousy by guys whose girlfriends started paying attention to me. I was a bit of a celebrity in the area, but for no other reason than I was richer than shit. That’s the way things were sometimes. If you were rich enough, fame was often a nicely added side effect. People just gravitated towards success. And I was happy to be there when it happened.

I was in The Cairo Club with my friends who had also brought along a few hot lady friends, and those lady friends had invited some of their friends. So when all was said and done it was us three guys with a bevy of beautiful women hanging out with us. And it was a blast.

I figured the likelihood that I was going to get lucky tonight was almost certain, especially after we got enough drinks in these ladies. And it was apparent right after we arrived at the club that these women had already done some pre-gaming at home and were decently buzzed.

The girl I was most interested in was named Sasha. She was a hot blonde with an amazing rack and she was just the right amount of ditzy. Plus, she loved to party. That was enough for me. I set my sights for her and made it clear to the other fellas that she was mine. They agreed. What other choice did they have? None of them could afford to party the way we were; the tab was all on me tonight. I didn’t mind, though. Hell, I volunteered it. When my friends initially called they were suggesting we go to another place that didn’t have near as much hype or popularity. It was a sad scene and they would have bought the cheapest beer they could and that would have been the evening.

I was used to the good life.

“So, do you want to dance?” Sasha asked me after her third vodka soda.

I couldn’t hide the laughter. The poor girl was already about half sloshed. In fact, she might have been too drunk to take home. I’d learned my lesson over the years with very drunk women. While they were fun for a bit, you often had to deal with the aftermath of a drunk woman. Which meant a very “messy” bathroom from their hangover they would invariably wake up with. Even though I had people to clean for me, I didn’t want to be awakened by it. It was no bother; I would probably just get her number and call her tomorrow. She seemed like a sweet girl.

“No,” I said. “I have this thing about dancing.”

“What thing?”

“I don’t do it,” I laughed. “Nah, seriously. I’m not much of a dancer. It’s never been my thing. I much more enjoy good conversation.”

“Oh, ok. Why don’t you dance?”

“Well, I’m not good at it, besides I feel like everyone is watching me and I only like to do things I know I do well in front of other people. It might sound a bit immature, but that’s only scratching the surface of what makes me tick.”

Sasha seemed confused by my answer, but I didn’t care. I’d always hated dancing. On the rare occasion that I had to do it (like my wedding) it made me want to cringe. I was not blessed with the gift of rhythm; I could admit that. But I was not going to pretend that I had it or that it didn’t matter. It was even worse now that I was a bit of a local celebrity; people were always looking for a reason to make fun of you and throw shit on your fame. That’s how tabloids work.

“So, what do you do, Sasha?” I asked trying to make conversation. I hoped this girl could stay sober enough to do that for a while at least.

Sasha thought about the best way to respond to this apparently very tough question and I ordered a bourbon from the waitress as she came by.

“Well, I really want to do modeling, but mostly right now I just work in a clothing store that my daddy owns.”

I nodded and tried not to zone out. I’d always been annoyed at grown women who referred to their fathers as “daddy”. If you aren’t eight years old, then it’s just weird.

As I sat there listening to her my mind drifted to thoughts of Jane. Now that was a woman… I just wished she’d quit giving me the cold shoulder. The past few days, ever since the night in the billiards room when I’d made another move towards her, the personality that I was used to just wasn’t there. She acted professional and courteous of course, but the personal touch that I’d been enjoying and the long conversations were kept to a minimum.

It was ok, though. I figured she just needed more time. After all, I was sure that she couldn’t resist me forever. Maybe she was just playing hard to get to see if I would back down or continue. Was she trying to see how confident in myself I really was? Oh, the lovely games women played. They were maddening but oh so fun. That was fine; I had plenty of other women who could keep me company in the meantime. Besides I had too much work to focus on.

I just hoped that I didn’t go too far and have her end up quitting. She was too great with the kids and she was amazing at everything else.

I continued to party until almost midnight. I would have stayed later, but I was actually getting bored. Maybe I was getting too old to go out and party all night at clubs. Or I was just tired from working so hard. At any rate, I decided about eleven-thirty to call it a night. Sasha was so blitzed I don’t think she even realized when I left.

On the way home I drove the Lamborghini with the top down. It was a beautiful night and I was feeling rather warm from all the alcohol I’d consumed. I probably shouldn’t have been behind the wheel, and normally I didn’t drive inebriated if I could help it, but I just didn’t feel like going through the hassle of ordering a different ride and then having someone else bring my car home.

I was cruising along just fine with my music cranked when I saw the flashing lights behind me. My first instinct was to floor it and show these cops what my sports car could really do. But that wouldn’t have worked out well for me. It was most likely that he’d already gotten my license plate before he announced his presence. I would have gotten a lengthy stay in jail. I decided to take my chances.

“What’s the problem officer?” I asked when he approached the vehicle a few moments later.

“License, registration, and proof of insurance.”

The cop was not in a good mood. Fine. I would play along. I procured the proper documentation from my glove compartment and wallet.

“Wait here,” the cop said. He took my information back to his car and most likely did a check on who I was and to make sure I was the owner of the car I was driving. So far business as usual.

When he came back a few minutes later he handed me back my information and stood there looking in the window. He had a small flashlight and he shone it in the backseat and then in my face for a moment.

“Where are you headed?” The officer asked.

“Just home.”

“You been doing some drinking?”

“I had a few, but I didn’t overdo it if that’s what you are asking.”

“Go ahead and step out of the car.”

Shit. I knew what was coming next.

The cop ran me through a field sobriety checklist. He had me walk a straight line, touch my finger to my nose, touch my finger to his finger that he kept moving around, and then he gave me the breathalyzer test. I’d passed the field tests, but the breathalyzer came back over the legal limit.

“Put your hands on the car and spread your legs,” The cop said.

“Officer is that necessary? It’s just a few points over. I live two miles from here. You know who I am right?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

I sighed and did as I was told. There was no way of getting out of this. I was on the dashboard camera and he’d already called in my information. I was taking a trip downtown.

The cop took me in and booked me at the local jail. I was going to spend the night there until I sobered up and my bond was posted. With my one phone call I phoned Jane and told her what happened. She said it was no problem for her to spend the night with the kids and that she could come and post bail for me in the morning at seven. I gave her my bank info so that she could withdrawal the money from my account. I knew she didn’t have that kind of money on hand.

“So, what will happen now? Are you going to the big house?” She teased.

“No,” I said. “I have the best lawyer money can buy. I’ll be given a warning and they’ll order me to take some classes I won’t attend and that will be the end of it.”

“Oh, you’ve done this before?” Jane mused.

“Yeah, I guess I’m stubborn and I will never learn.”

“That’s a shame,” Jane said.

I thanked her again. I prepared to spend the night in a stupid holding cell with a bunch of other people I didn’t really want to associate with. I wished I’d wise up one day and stop doing stupid things like this. But then again, it did make for an entertaining life.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Leia

After I hung up the phone I went into the kitchen and made myself a bowl of ice cream. Ted bought the best ice cream I’d ever had and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was probably going to gain five pounds working for him, but I was sure Taylor would just love it the same. It was times like these, when Ted did the stupidest things, that I remembered what an amazing man Taylor really was. I doubted he’d ever had a DUI, let alone several of them. When I was married to Ted it seemed like he had one almost once a week for a spell.

The kids were asleep and had been for a few hours. We were alone for the entire night. Of course with Ted going out partying I hadn’t really expected that he would come home that night, or at least not until the wee hours of the morning. And knowing him he wouldn’t have the decency to call and tell his nanny that he was going to be way later than she thought he might be. He never would have dreamt of telling her that a few drinks with friends had turned into a full night excursion that was bordering on becoming a wild rave.

But I knew him too well.

I walked around the house for a while, mostly just exploring things and seeing what was different. I’d done this a little bit during the day, but my day usually began when I picked up the kids from school and I had to be careful that I wasn’t seen snooping around unnecessarily under the watchful eye of the butler and the maid that came in occasionally.

But they were both gone at night. I was alone in the home with only my sleeping kids. I started in Ted’s bedroom. Once there I looked through his closet, his drawers, and his nightstand. I saw a box of condoms (good to know he was keeping it safe) and a few strange sex toys.

After that I visited his master bathroom that was even nicer than the one I’d had before. The shower was bigger, the toilet was higher, and there were two sinks side by side. All of it was a dark, rustic, granite color. Tracing my fingers alongside the wall I could almost feel a sense of history emanating from it.

I wasn’t sure what type of effect the place was supposed to have, but it had a very interesting effect on me. As I stood there in the opulent bathroom I began to feel tingly all over, like I was being given a massage by an imaginary person. I hugged myself and stood there shivering for a moment. I wanted to move, but something held me in place.

Finally, I stepped out of the bathroom and the master bedroom into the hallway where I took several gasping breaths. I made my way down the hallway heading towards the kids’ rooms to check on them again, but suddenly I stopped. I realized that I was standing in front of the place where the nursery had once been. It was a spot that lay somewhere between the boys’ rooms. I guess Ted in his infinite wisdom had decided that it made him look like a grieving widower to not want to rebuild the room where his wife died. That was nice of him to be so thoughtful.

I gritted my teeth and moved on. I peeked quickly into the kids’ rooms. They were both sleeping soundly. They always looked so peaceful and at ease when they were asleep. I just hoped they would grow to love me as their mother again. They cared for me now and probably thought they loved me, but only as their nanny, as their friend. They didn’t yet know me as their mother. I wondered several times a day if it was possible that a part of their mind still remembered me. When I was with them, did it trigger a memory or at least a feeling inside of them? Was that why they’d warmed up to me so quickly? I didn’t know enough about the mind or the memory to say with any degree of certainty, but I did like to think so. It was the most comforting thought I had.

After checking the kids, I went downstairs to the kitchen where I called Taylor and told him what happened.

“Why am I not surprised?” Taylor asked amused.

“I hope he makes some nice, new friends in prison and that they like to snuggle,” I joked.

“He’d have it coming if they did. So, you are staying there all night? I figured that as well. Want me to come over and keep you company?”

“I would love that, but you know we can’t risk it.”

“I know. It was just some wishful thinking.”

“I was thinking about telling the kids.”

There was a silence on the line. I wasn’t sure Taylor agreed with my plan.

“Ok… what are you going to tell them?”

I sighed. “I know they won’t understand if I just explain it to them. But I was just going to tell them that I am their mother and that I’ll be taking them home very soon.”

Tears formed in my eyes. Every time I thought about the time I’d lost with my boys as their mother, my heart just broke into twenty pieces. I felt shattered. Even after everything I’d been through, my life felt like it was just broken beyond repair. I was trying to stay strong and keep it together, but sometimes it was overwhelming. God, I hated Ted. I was going to make him pay one way or another.

“Right,” Taylor said. “But don’t you think it might be jumping the gun a little bit? What if the kids talk? I still haven’t heard back about the forensics. It might take a while. I think you should wait.”

I valued Taylor’s opinion. He was the smartest man I knew, but this was something I just had to do. It was in my heart.

“I know,” I said.

We chatted a few more minutes. I sat down and read a book until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up early. I got the kids up for school and got them dressed and ready to go. It was during breakfast that I decided to tell them.

“Boys,” I said.

I knelt down between them and put a hand on each one of their shoulders. “Listen. I need to tell you something very important. I love you so much. I don’t know how to say this… but you have to believe me when I tell you that I am your momma. I know you don’t remember me and you have no reason to believe me, but it is true.”

I kissed them both on the forehead. The tears were flowing down my face and both boys could tell that something serious was going on.

Nicki tried and failed to say the word “momma”.  His brother imitated him. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.

I smiled and kissed them again. “That’s right, boys. It’s momma. And soon, I will take you to your new home where you will be loved and treasured. You won’t ever have to see that mean man ever again. I won’t let him ever hurt you or make you feel like you don’t matter ever again.”

I held them both close to me for several seconds. I thought they understood. It was important that they knew how much I loved them.

After breakfast I took them to school, and then I withdrew the money from Ted’s account for his bail. I then went to the jail and paid it.

“Wow, it feels great to breathe the air of freedom again,” Ted said in his usual jovial voice.

“The kids are at school. I’ll pick them up later,” I said.

“Great. Thanks so much, once again. You are awesome.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I drove home with revenge on my mind. I wanted to strangle the bastard myself. I hated him so much that I was even entertaining thoughts of murdering him and wondering if there was a way for me to get away with it.

The instant the thought hit my mind it terrified me. I wasn’t him. What was I thinking? No. I was no murderer. The revenge that I unleashed on Ted was going to be swift, real, justice. I had no way of proving that Ted had tried to kill me, especially after all these years. I could barely prove that I was Leia Daniels (dental records would be the only way).

No. I just had to bide my time a little while longer. But I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would be his downfall.

I was going to take him down.

Chapter Thirty

Ted

When I got home I was astounded to see a beautiful breakfast spread prepared for me waiting on the table. There was a stack of pancakes (my favorite) with butter and syrup, and a big bowl of mixed fruit coated with sugar for extra sweetness. Plus, a piping hot pot of strong, black, coffee. Jane knew exactly what I liked. My butler didn’t usually come in until about eleven, so I knew that it was she who had prepared this fabulous feast for me.

When I bit into the pancakes I could hardly breathe for a moment they were so good. It was an almost sexual experience eating those moist, delicious flapjacks coated with fresh, creamy butter, and freshly squeezed (none of that processed store bought junk) maple syrup.

And the coffee was exactly the way I liked it. There was just a hint of cinnamon added to it, but it was very strong. I had never understood why anyone would be happy with weak coffee like they served in restaurants. It was absurd.

I finished breakfast and made a few phone calls about business. It seemed the offers were still rolling in, though they had actually started to slow down a little bit. I was probably going to be forced to make a decision sometime soon about who I wanted to sell to. There were so many things to way out about it…This was turning out to be the hardest decision of my life.

I went down to the gym and hit the weights really hard. My body felt sluggish from all the alcohol the night before but by the end of the workout I was feeling so much better. It cleared my head a bit and by the end I actually started thinking that I might not want to sell at all. Maybe I would miss it. I mean, it was frustrating at times to the point that I just felt I couldn’t stand another moment of it, but then there were times when I was bored and I had work to do that really gave me a sense of purpose for the day. I’d be lost without it. I was thinking that I’d thrown out those offers too hastily.

But then again… maybe my energies would be best focused elsewhere.

I showered up and went to town to take care of a few things with the motorcycle business. It really was a sinking ship that was going down faster than I had expected. It saddened me to no end because I’d wanted to see the business succeed so much. I’d put all that time and effort into it and now it was no good. One could not help but be a bit disheartened by that.

When I got home Jane and the boys were there. When she saw me she smartly guided the boys up to their rooms to play. After a few minutes she came back downstairs. I was sitting on the couch watching some news shows. With the night I had there was not much I really felt like doing at the moment. There was just too much weighing on my mind. I needed a break; I needed a rest, whether I actually wanted to do it or not. I made the decision that I was going to start putting my physical needs first. I was too many things to too many people. That had to stop.

Jane sat down on the smaller couch across from me. Wow, she looked amazing. She was wearing a long, sexy skirt that clung to her form in the most enticing way. For a top, she was wearing a tight blouse that left enough cleavage to stimulate the mind just enough to put me on edge. And her hair was shiny, long, smooth, and straight. It rested gently on her shoulders; I loved it.

Hell, I loved her. I could feel myself starting to really have strong feelings for this woman. I knew it was going to blow up in my face one way or another, but that was a risk I was willing to take. Still, I wanted to proceed cautiously.

“So, how are you today?” Jane asked.

“I’m good,” I replied. “I appreciated that breakfast you made for me. I swear, you spoil me a bit.”

“I aim to please,” Jane said. The way she said it sounded very seductive.

“When was the last time someone took you out for a nice meal?” I asked.

Jane thought a moment. “It’s been a little while, actually.”

“Now that is a shame. What do you say, I take you out tomorrow night and show you how good it feels to be served and waited on?”

“What about the kids?”

“I can have the butler watch them. I’ll pay him extra and have him stay late. It’s fine.”

“I don’t date my employers,” Jane said.

“Who said it was a date? Can’t a friend buy another friend a meal without it becoming a thing?”

“They can of course, but we aren’t friends; you are my boss.”

“Semantics,” I said with a grin. “And I think we are great friends.”

Jane smiled. “It sounds like an interesting idea, but I can’t afford the time off work. I need the money.”

“Oh, that is easy enough. You will be paid as if you stayed right here. Now you are out of excuses.”

“I disagree; one can always find excuses for why one doesn’t want to do something.”

I shot her a questioning glance. “Oh, so now you don’t want to go? Why not?”

“I just would prefer that we don’t mix business with pleasure.”

I leaned back on the couch and laid my arms across the back. My body was as open as could be now. There was nothing for her to feel intimidated by.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“What?”

“What happened between you and a former employer that made you so hesitant to even accept a symbol of friendship?”

“How do you know something happened?”

“It’s just a gift I have. I can read people very well. And I see it in you. Somewhere along the line, you had an employer who did you wrong and you made this promise with yourself. I would just love to know what happened.”

“Nothing happened.”

I laughed. “Alright, so you don’t want to tell me. Ok, that is fine.”

“There is nothing to tell,” Jane said.

“Alright. I give up. But you should still go to dinner with me. If there is nothing to tell about your past, then you have no reason not to go. It’s that simple.”

Jane laughed softly. “I’ll think about it, but don’t hold your breath. I don’t think things between us should get complicated.”

“Ok, then. But I’m going to keep trying. I think things between us should become just as complicated as they can be. That makes life way more fun and interesting. You have to take risks in this world, and sometimes those risks are super scary. But you can’t let it deter you; do you think I got this rich by playing it safe?”

“How did you get this rich?”

The question came at me from the back as if I’d been sucker punched in the dark. It was an off the wall question that I almost didn’t have an answer for right away.

“What?”

“How did you get this rich?”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking or just being a smart ass. I leaned forward and looked her dead in the eye.

“I got this rich by doing whatever it took to get where I wanted to get.”

Jane leaned back and smiled. She had ruffled my feathers and it seemed to give her a great amount of satisfaction.

“You know,” Jane said. “When I took this job a lot of people warned me. There are a lot of rumors out there.”

“What kind of rumors?”

Jane shrugged. “You know… rumors.”

“Enlighten me. I don’t read much of the current topics online.”

“There are people who think that you married your wife just for the money. And people who even think you had something to do with her death.”

I felt myself getting hot. I took several deep breaths and kept things together though. I was proud of myself.

“Well, people will talk and people will talk. In this world we live in—people have nothing better to do than to spread vicious gossip.”

Jane smiled, as if satisfied with my answer.

When she left later that night I was glad to be rid of her. As much as I was starting to fall for her, there was something about that woman that scared me to death. It was like she knew me way too well, as if she could just look right through me and read me. Normally, I was used to being on that end of things, but having those questions and that condescension aimed at me—that was no fun at all.

I could clearly see that I was going to have to keep an eye on how close Jane got to me.

Chapter Thirty-One

Leia

I was sitting on the couch with Taylor when his phone rang.

“It’s her,” he said. He answered the phone quickly. “Hey, thanks so much for checking on that for me. Oh? You do?”

I waited as he spoke with his friend. We’d been waiting on pins and needles for days for the forensics report to come back. I could only hope that there was something there. Please… there has to be something…

Taylor hung up the phone and looked at me. I saw something in his eyes that looked like excitement. It was a contagious feeling.

“What? What?” I asked.

“It turns out that Ted’s real name is Greg Lydell.”

“What?”

“Yeah. It gets better. When he was fourteen, his parents’ house burned down killing them both. Apparently he was at a friend’s house.”

“A fire…”

“Yep. The cops always thought he was involved, but they couldn’t prove anything. An aunt raised him until he was eighteen and he received his inheritance from his family. Something to the tune of three million dollars.”

“Three million?”

“Yes. And of course Greg, or Ted as he is known now, blew through all of that within a few years. Then he started trying to make a name for himself as a motocross racer.”

“He did it before. He killed his parents for the money,” I said. It all made sense now. There was a pattern emerging.

“But does this prove anything about what happened to you? I don’t see it. So far, it is all circumstantial. Ted knew it worked before, so he did it again. And he did it very well. The whole world thinks you are dead.”

Taylor was right. All of my excitement was starting to turn to grief. I didn’t know what made me think that somehow this would blow everything wide open and I’d have everything set for me to spring my trap on Ted.

“Why is this so hard?” I grunted. I was so frustrated. I just wanted to hit something, and I wanted that something to be Ted.

“Wait a minute…” Taylor said. “What about the friend? The one who’s house he was at when the fire with his parents happened.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Maybe we can’t pin your murder on him, but there might be a way to pin the murder of his parents.”

“You’re right.”

Taylor grabbed his laptop and started looking up details of the fire using Ted’s real name of Greg Lydell. Surprisingly, there were several in depth articles from that area about it. After doing a bit more research we were able to come up with the name Karen Fox. After a bit more snooping on social media we found her, and then looked up her number.

“I’m not sure I want to talk about this…” Karen said when I told her I wanted to talk to her about the night of that fire. “I told the reporters back then everything that I could remember or wanted to say.”

“I’m not a reporter,” I explained. “Listen, if there is anything you remember about that night—anything that points a finger at the guilt of Greg Lydell—you’ve got to tell me. I think he’s done it again. We have strong evidence that he actually tried to kill someone else the same way.”

“Oh, no!” Karen gasped.

“Please. Won’t you help me?”

There was silence on the line. I could almost hear Karen getting her nerve up.

“Ok,” she finally said. “Greg was at my house. We were there having a party while my parents were out of town. I went downstairs to get some more soda from the basement. That’s when I saw Greg. He was grabbing a can of lighter fluid off the shelf. When I asked him what he was doing, he tried to play it off and said he wanted to borrow some for his family barbecue the next morning. I told him I knew he was lying and he just laughed at me. Then he left the party but returned a while later, without the can. I was going to question him, but then we learned of the fire. I knew he did it, but I didn’t want to believe him. I couldn’t bear to think that a friend of mine, a guy I kind of had a crush on—that he would do that to his own parents. I wouldn’t let myself believe it, but as I got older I knew he was guilty.”

“Karen, you have to go to the cops. He has to face justice.”

“It’s been too long,” Karen said.

“No. There is no statute of limitations on murder. We have to do something,” I said. I was pleading with her. Finally, I came clean. “Karen, he tried to kill me the same way. He is alone with my two little boys. They are in danger. The man needs to be behind bars. But I need your help to do it.”

There was silence on the other line for a moment. I wanted to say more, to plead the case a little better, but I was terrified of saying too much. It was obvious that Karen had been scared or intimidated into not saying anything. I could tell that she’d learned who Ted really was and what he was capable of.

But the guilt had to be brutal. She’d done a great job of stuffing it down so far back into the dark recesses of her mind that it never bothered her. It never surfaced. But I’d poked it and prodded it until it was now free out in the open once again. She knew that she had to help me; it was the right thing to do.

“Ok,” Karen said. “Just tell me what to do.”

We set Karen up on a Skype call and we videoed everything she said. After it was over I thanked her sincerely. “I know how hard this was for you. But you are helping to make sure that justice is served. With this we can finally go to the police and make a formal report. I don’t know if it will lead to anything, but it’s a start. Thank you, so much.”

“You’re welcome,” Karen said. She was crying by the end of it. It could be the fear and the emotional toll that this confession had taken on her. I now owed it to her to keep her safe and make sure that Ted never knew she talked to us.

After the phone call with Karen I called the police. It took me speaking with a few people before I finally found my way to a detective, Henry Fisk, who seemed very interested in what I had to say.

“You are saying what now? You are claiming to be Leia Daniels? The Leia Daniels?” Detective Fisk asked me.

“Yes. That is me. My husband set me on fire. He tried to kill me.”

“How can we prove this is really you? Where have you been all this time?”

I went over the story in explicit detail.

“Ok. Look, for what it’s worth, I believe you. But right now you are just a voice on the phone. And you say your appearance is radically different? What can you do to prove you are who you say? I see nothing in your records about prints or DNA, and even if there was you would have been so burnt that your fingerprints would have been gone. What about dental? Dental records?”

I agreed with him that was probably the only way to prove I was Leia Daniels.

“Alright, well when you come in to the station we will have our forensic people take care of those comparisons. But even then, how can we prove that your husband set that fire or that he tried to kill you?”

“I have an idea,” I said. “I’m going to get him to admit the whole thing.”

The detective chuckled. “Well, lady, you’ve got some guts. I like what I’m hearing.”

I smiled at Taylor who rubbed my shoulder reassuringly.

Finally, after all this time. I was going to have real peace and real justice.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Ted

I swerved my dirt bike hard to the left and then quickly applied the brake as the bike’s tires skidded along the rocky trail and eventually came to a stop right along the edge of a steep drop off. Glancing over the side I felt just a little bit queasy. That was quite a long way down. I’d almost come face to face with my death. It was a bit of a thrill.

By the time my friends Marty and Clyde pulled up next to me I was laughing my head off. My own clumsiness had almost gotten me killed for what was probably the fifth time this year. One day I knew I would run out of luck, but today was not that day. Therefore, it was all fun and games.

“Dude, that was messed up!” Marty said. “I thought for sure you were a goner.”

“That makes two of us,” I said. “But not this time.”

“I don’t get why you have to take so many risks,” Clyde said.

“Because that is what makes this sport so awesome. What is the point of having an amazing dirt bike if I don’t use it to ride in the dirt?”

“Yeah, but riding in the dirt is one thing. Flirting with falling off the side of a mountain is another thing entirely. You have to be the craziest guy I know.”

“You’d better believe it, baby,” I said slapping him on the arm.

We rode our bikes back to a flat spot where we’d decided to camp for the night. It was pretty serene out in the desert. I’d been coming out there riding for years and every single time I came out I thought about how much fun it would be to just live out there and become one with nature. There were no people, not many animals, and really nothing close to resembling civilization to disturb you. But then again, I was use to the amenities of home and by about three days in I would probably go nuts.

“So, how come we didn’t invite any ladies with us out here?” Marty asked when we got back to our camp.

I shrugged. “It’s good to have a guys’ night out every now and then. Besides not that many of the women we know are into racing. Unless you got some new friends I don’t know about.”

“We should change that,” Clyde said. “Hell, that new girl I’m seeing gets really turned on by riding.”

“Guys, this is our little sanctuary. Actually, it’s mine. You should feel lucky that I even invite you out here. I’m not going to muck it up by turning it into some kind of a romantic getaway.”

“Are you sure you aren’t upset because that foxy nanny of yours won’t give you the time of day?” Marty asked.

I shot him a look that could have taken his head off. The fear in his eyes showed that he’d had a momentary slip of the tongue. Clyde was yucking it up though, laughing his head off.

I played it off.

“She will come around,” I said. “But if she doesn’t then that’s fine. Some women are just not worth the effort.”

“Oh, that one is. Damn, she is fine as hell.”

I nodded. “I agree. And she has a great mind. That is an amazing combo.”

Clyde’s eyes flew wide just then. “Oh, shit! You love this girl!”

Marty joined in on it.

“I don’t love anybody,” I said and as I uttered those words I realized it was true. I’d never really loved anybody and I was perfectly ok with it. I did however want Jane in every possible way I could have her. If I found out she was shacking up with some other guy, I was going to be furious. No one could satisfy her the way I could. I knew it. And soon so would she. I was working on a few things to get her sexy ass to come around. They would work come hell or high water.

“There is no shame in it, man,” Clyde said. “It’s cool if you have feelings for a great girl like that. We are happy for you.”

Marty nodded in agreement.

“Well, thanks,” I said. “I’ll be sure to include all of that in a newsletter.”

We joked around for a bit and then decided to fix some food. I grabbed a few of the steaks I’d packed into the cooler and threw those in a pan over the fire we built. The sun was just starting to set and the temperatures in the desert were now really starting to drop. That was fine; I loved the cool evenings out here with perfectly clear skies. You could see all of the stars.

I used to lie around as a kid and think about all of the stars up in the sky and the galaxies. Each one of those stars had a different solar system with it. I figured there had to be intelligent life on some of them. I used to dream about being an astronaut and going to space. I would one day land on another planet and greet some creature out there, but then I found out that you had to have great grades and be a “school” person to have a shot at it. I was not a “school” person. As a matter of fact, I hated school. I hated the structure, the rules, the way the other kids would tattle on me anytime I had the guts to do something fun to break up the boredom. They would be entertained and then they’d tattle on me like a bunch of little, whiny assed bitches.

Sometimes I fantasized about tracking some of them down and enacting a special kind of revenge on them. That would be so sweet. They wouldn’t even see me coming. Hell, with my money I could pull that off so easily.

“Do you ever think you are getting married again, man?” Clyde asked when we were eating the steaks later.

I looked at him trying to determine if he was actually being serious, or if he was still joking off something from earlier. He was serious. Why was this moron asking me this?

“Are we talking about our feelings or something now?” I asked. “Did this become like some kind of a feelings retreat or whatever?”

Marty was laughing now. He hit Clyde in the arm. “You are an idiot. I hope you know that.”

“What? I was just curious,” Clyde said.

“No,” I replied. “I got married once and that was more than enough.”

“Why? Was it that bad?” Clyde asked.

“Wow, man. What is your deal?”

“It’s that girl, Mary. The new girl he’s dating,” Marty said. “He told me the other day he was thinking of popping the question.”

I was shocked. “Damn. Another one bites the dust. I never took you for the married life, Clyde. I guess you fooled me. I could have sworn you’d dedicated your life to full on bachelorhood.”

Clyde blushed and played it off. “I said I was thinking about asking her. I never said I was going to.”

“You probably know that Mary would say no,” Marty chuckled.

“Shut up,” Clyde protested. “She would not say no. That woman digs me.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“What do you mean? I just do.”

“No, you never ‘just know’. You never ‘just know’ about anybody. Clyde, listen to me. That woman is looking for a guy to marry to help her squeeze out some babies before she gets too old. It happens to all single women once they hit thirty. That biological clock is no joke. All women suddenly become crazy with being parents at around that age.”

“Really?” Clyde asked.

I tried not to laugh. I was essentially talking out of my ass, and I was three beers in at this point. I was right in that crucial point between being totally full of it and actually speaking some truth, as I understood it. Plus, Clyde was one of the dumbest friends I had. He was very gullible and believed just about everything I said. But he was a big bastard and great in a fight if you ever needed him on your side. On top of that he looked like a young version of Dolph Lundgren and all the girls were always gathering around him. He was easy chick bait. For these reasons, and the fact that he was dumb as a rock and easy to mess with, we kept him around. For entertainment purposes mostly.

“You moron,” Marty said ruining my fun. “He’s messing with you.”

Clyde gave me a dumb questionable look. I could no longer hold it together. I burst out laughing.

Clyde hit me in the shoulder. “You dick!”

“I know,” I said. “I am a jerk. And I’ve made peace with it.”

He lightened up and started laughing with me and Marty. Honestly, I felt that of the three of us Clyde would probably enjoy being married the most. He was just a good type of guy who would be happiest with it. He hated dating and he was not good by himself. Clyde had always been one of those guys who really needed people.

The next morning, we got up early, loaded up our stuff in our backpacks, and hopped back on the bikes for some more biking. They were mostly trails I’d been on dozens of times over the years. I made a resolution that sometime in the next few months I was going to take a trip up north and find some new challenges, some different terrain, and just see how good I did against the northern territory. I’d always loved pitting myself against nature. There was just something animalistic and primal about it.

We headed out of the desert and started the ride home a few hours later. It had been a pretty good trip. I always valued getting away from everything with some good friends. Jane had been almost happy about staying with the boys for a few days while I went away. She was still flirting with me and pretending not to. It was a game she was playing and I was well-versed in it. I’d seen women doing the same thing to friends of mine. Very few ever had the guts to try it with a man like me. That was the wealth factor. Most women were too intimidated by it to ever try to play me that way. It was too easy for me to say “No thanks” and move on. When it came to women I had nothing to lose and little to gain. They all knew it and I loved the power that my money gave me over people. Life wasn’t supposed to be that way, but it was and no one could ever really deny it no matter how hard they tried.

It all made me laugh to think about.

When I got back to the house I was expecting a warm greeting from Jane and the kids, but to my surprise the house was empty. I checked around but I was alone. After not finding any notes I double checked my phone to see if Jane had sent me any messages. She hadn’t.

Had she taken the boys somewhere and forgotten to mention it to me?

I sent a message and then grabbed a beer from the fridge. A second later I heard a buzz, like a phone receiving a message. I checked my phone but nothing. I hadn’t received anything, but I’d distinctly heard it. Did Jane leave her phone here when she left?

I walked into the living room to see if there was another phone around.

Instead I found Jane sitting on the couch by herself. She looked amazing. She was wearing a killer looking dress, red lipstick, her hair was done up nicely, and she had an almost angry look in her eyes. It was turning me on something fierce.

“Well, hello,” I said.

She didn’t move a muscle, not so much as an eye twitch. If she was playing poker, she had the best poker face I’d seen. And the sexiest.

“What’s going on? Where are the kids?” I asked.

“Sit down,” Jane said. “I have something to… discuss with you.”

She chose her words carefully, giving each one a lot of thought. I was instantly alarmed and very curious as to what was happening. As I sat down to play along I began to get the sinking feeling that I was not going to like what Jane had to tell me.

“Ok,” I said. “I’m seated. Now, what the hell is going on?”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Leia

“So, you want to know what is going on, Ted?” I asked.

I laughed a little bit as I reviewed the plan in my mind. It was like some stored movie image in my head. I saw him here, I saw myself telling him everything, and then I saw him crumbling before me. It was all planned out step by step and it was going to be glorious. I’d waited so long for it…so long. As I thought about how much time had passed since this bastard tried to end my life and take my world away, I couldn’t help gritting my teeth. I wanted to rip his flesh off his bones.

“Yeah…” Ted said. He was getting annoyed now. Good.

“You don’t’ recognize me at all? I guess, they did a better job than I thought.”

Ted looked me over for a second. “What are you talking about? What kind of game is this?”

“It’s only a game if you have a chance of winning. I assure you that you have no such chance.”

Ted took a sip of his beer. “Look, if this is about me hitting on you, I understand—"

“This has to do with you destroying my life!” I yelled.

“What are you talking about, Jane?”

“Jane? Oh, yeah. I’m still not quite used to that. You see people who really know me, who are really close to me—they call me… Leia.”

At the mention of my name Ted’s eyes froze wide in his skull. He did not move a muscle. The look was perfect, priceless. I would never forget it if I lived a thousand lives. It would be permanently locked in my head.

Ted took a deep breath and sat back a bit on the couch.

He was now smiling. “Ok, you’ve had your fun. But this isn’t funny anymore. I think I’d like you to leave. I’m not sure you should work here anymore.”

“I don’t work here anymore,” I said. “In case you hadn’t figured it out—I quit.”

“Fine. Get lost then. What the hell are you still doing here? Are you some kind of a psycho? If you think I’m giving you any kind of a good reference now, then you are sorely mistaken lady.”

“You still don’t get it. My name is Leia Daniels, A.K.A Leia Ridgeway. I’m still technically your wife.”

“I told you already to get the hell out of my house, or I’ll call the cops.”

Ted pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“You dragged me up the stairs by the hair of my head. You yanked me down the hallway. My heels were bruised on the floor. You threw me in the nursery, took my boys out of the room, and then you returned with your trusty can of lighter fluid. You lit the whole room on fire.”

Ted’s eyes were wide. His jaw dropped open.

“Before you stepped out of the room,” I continued. “You turned to me and said ‘sweet dreams’. Then you walked out locking the door behind you and leaving me to burn to death.”

“Holy shit…” Ted said. He knew it now. He believed.

“Yeah. It almost worked. I burned over most of my body. Somehow I broke the window and leapt to the ground below me. And then I stumbled out to the road where I was found.”

Ted stood up and started pacing. He looked at me.

“What the hell do you want? Why did you stay hidden for three years? Why are you here?”

I laughed. “Why am I here? Really? You have to ask me that? Are you that stupid?”

“Do you think that anyone is going to believe you?” Ted asked.

“Believe me about what? When I tell the whole world what you did to me? Yeah… I kind of think they will.”

“You’re crazy. You are certifiable,” Ted said.

“No that would be you. For the past three years, one question has plagued me, Ted.  Why did you do it? Why did you set me on fire and try to kill me? Why? I was a good woman, a good wife. I loved you. I did everything I could to help you succeed. But still it wasn’t enough. Why did you try to kill me?”

Ted paused a moment. “Because you were in the way. You were in the way of me and what I wanted to do with my life. You lorded the money over me like I was some kind of stinking gigolo. You made me feel like a loser and the world saw it. And that day you pushed me too far. So, I figured what the hell.”

I laughed and shook my head. “I told you then and I’m telling you now Ted; you are pathetic.”

“No, you are pathetic. You waited three years for what? The best plastic surgery on the planet that only your kind of money could buy?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe I waited this long to get revenge on you.”

Ted laughed. “Revenge on me? What revenge? Like I said, no one is going to believe this.”

“I guess we'll just have to see,” I said. “I just felt I would come here and face you in person because I wanted so badly to see the look on your face. You have no idea how excruciating it has been to be so close to you and want so badly to expose it all. And I have to tell you—it is amazing.”

Ted smiled. “Well, I’m happy for you. That’s just great. But you forgot one big flaw in your plan.”

“What’s that?”

“All I have to do is kill you again,” Ted said.

Suddenly, Ted grabbed the beer bottle and broke it on the edge of the coffee table. He held up the large jagged edge and leapt towards me with it.

I ducked out of the way just in the nick of time and pulled the gun from behind my back. When Ted righted himself and started to stand back up from falling half over the couch, he was now face to face with a .38 snub nose.

Another priceless look of fear, real fear in Ted’s eyes.

“Ted, I think you’ve once again underestimated me. Drop the bottle and go over there. Sit down like a good boy before I blow a hole through you.”

“You don’t have the guts,” Ted said. “You are no killer.”

“True, Leia Daniels is no killer,” I said. “But Leia Daniels is presumed dead, right?”

I saw the look of fear in Ted’s eyes grow. I was enjoying it. I’ve never considered myself a bad person and I’ve never really wanted to do any harm to anyone, but standing there pointing that gun at Ted I felt that I was doing something good. This man had taken everything from me and who knew what type of damage he would do to other people in the future?

“Leia…” Ted said. “You need to put the gun down. We can talk about this.”

“Sure, you were ready to talk two seconds ago when you threatened to kill me and came at me, right?”

Ted scowled angrily. It made him so mad that his negotiation skills were lacking.

“Leia, what do you want from me?”

“I want you to at least admit to me that you planned my murder right from the start. That you lied to me from the very beginning and you married me only for my money. And then you decided to get rid of me so you could have it all to yourself. You at least owe me that. You owe me an explanation.”

Ted smiled. “Is that what this is about? Some sort of closure? You want me to admit what I did? Why would I want to give you that satisfaction?”

I paused a moment. I needed to get to him without tipping him off. Ted was crafty and naturally paranoid. No wonder he was suspicious. He knew there were people out there in the world like him who were just waiting on the right opportunity to prey on someone they thought was weak. Well, I was not weak, especially now. I’d been through too much and I was still standing.

“Because it gives you freedom to gloat,” I said. “I’m sure that’s been the most infuriating thing about all this over the past few years. You did this heinous thing and you never got to tell anyone about it. Isn’t that frustrating?”

Ted smiled. “I know you aren’t going to kill me Leia. You don’t have it in you.”

“Then why aren’t you trying to take the gun away?”

Ted glared at me. “Fine. You want me to admit it? Ok. I was down on my luck and you were an easy target. I set up the meeting between us. I wanted your money from day one.”

“You were willing to risk your own life to meet me that way?”

Ted laughed. “Well, it didn’t go quite as I had planned, but it got the job done. And then you turned out to be even more sympathetic than I ever could have imagined. I never dreamed you would be so easy to manipulate and that you would fall head over heels for me in a matter of weeks.”

I grimaced. Hearing him remind me about how I’d fallen under his spell—all of which was actually true—left me feeling very ashamed. And he knew it would. He still had some power and control over me and he was not at all shy about reminding me. He reveled in it.

“Congratulations on your victory,” I said mockingly. “Did you decide to kill me right away or was it after I got pregnant? That must have really thrown a wrench in your plans.”

Ted shrugged. “It did. I did not anticipate that happening, but I hadn’t actually thought seriously about killing you until a while after that. That sort of thing is very messy and it’s inconvenient.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to be an inconvenience,” I teased.

“It was fine. I got so angry at you in that moment. I just decided it was time. You pushed me a bit far. If you’d left me alone then it might have never happened.”

“So, you set the fire,” I said. “That was a brutal way to go.”

“And it should have worked,” Ted said. “I guess I underestimated you.”

“Well, you tried the fire because it was familiar. After all, it worked on your parents.”

Ted looked stunned. I’d definitely surprised him with that one. He looked to the side and then back at me.

“What did you say?” Ted asked. His voice sounded small, almost afraid. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him like that before.

“I know you killed your parents,” I said. “Yeah, I’ve been doing some research. The lighter fluid—that was your calling card.”

Ted laughed. “I have no idea what you are talking about. My parents died in a tragic accident. I wasn’t even there.”

“If that helps you sleep at night,” I said. “But I was able to uncover a few eye witnesses who can place you there.”

“You can’t prove anything,” Ted said. “Hell, you can’t prove anything about any of this. It’s your word against mine.”

I laughed. “Did it ever occur to you that I could be wearing a wire? Do you know nothing of criminal investigation techniques?”

Ted laughed. “Well, I guess you never knew me as well as you thought you did. I’m always wary of someone trying to get the drop on me. There is an RF signal detector in every room of the house. Nice try.”

I smiled. “Oh, yeah… about those… I’m afraid I threw them all out when I was dusting.”

Ted’s eyes were wide and filled with rage. I knew he was going to lunge at me again.

I was ready for whatever he had coming.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ted

I was somewhat sure she was bluffing. But what if she wasn’t? Leia didn’t even blink when I mentioned the signal detectors. I’d had them installed when the house was remodeled. I’ve never really been the type of person to trust anybody, especially after I became a bit paranoid that people might have suspected me in the fire and in my wife’s disappearance.

But she knew me so well. Was it possible that I underestimated her? If so, then I might have made the biggest error of my life. I’d basically admitted the whole thing to her. The only thing I could say was that I was under duress and that a gun was being pointed at me. I had to say what I could to save my life from this crazy woman, right?

“Leia,” I said. “You need to calm down. We can talk about this. You are right to want me dead, but don’t do it. Please… think of our boys. They need a father.”

Leia scoffed. “They need a real father; not you. You’re nothing but a monster.”

I had to keep her talking. I knew she was enjoying this and for the time being I had to put my ego aside. If she was wearing a wire all she had to do was say that I charged at her and she was forced to shoot me in self-defense. I imagined she’d disabled all of my security cameras.

But I had to sell the idea that she was going off script and was really going to kill me. Or maybe I could make her want to kill me and then I could get the gun away from her that way. Somehow I had to get the upper hand here.

Leia… wow… I still couldn’t believe it was her. Even in the back of my mind I had thoroughly convinced myself that she had to be dead. There was no way she could have survived that fire. But it looked like she had gotten incredibly lucky. And with her money she was able to get herself fixed.

She looked amazing. Hell, she had me falling in love with her all over again. Still, I felt stupid for believing her lies. I should have known it was her. Somehow, in my gut, I should have known.

“You’re right to be angry,” I said. “But you aren’t a killer. Please don’t do this.”

“You really think I’m going to kill you?” Leia asked. “A moment ago you had yourself convinced that I wasn’t a killer. God, you lie more often than you breathe.”

I stepped forward and gave her a mean look. She reacted perfectly.

Leia stepped back and cocked the gun.

“Take one more step and I’m blowing you to smithereens!” She bellowed.

I backed away holding my arms up. “Whoa… calm down… easy does it…”

It was working. I was starting to sell the idea that she was out of her mind and that there was only one kind of vengeance she was seeking.

“Don’t tell me that!” Leia yelled. “Now, sit down!”

I did as she told me to and sat down on the couch. So far she was falling into my plans.

Leia started laughing. “Wow, this is fun. I had no idea what a little bitch you would be when faced with real danger.”

God, I wanted to rip her head off. I should have lit her actual body on fire. Actually, I should have killed her first and then set her on fire. What was I thinking? I’d been careless and overconfident. Now I was paying the price for it. This was my fault.

“Leia, there has to be a way for me to make this right. I was wrong. I’m a horrible person. I know this. But, you don’t want to kill me.”

“Oh, why don’t I?”

“Because then you would be just like me. You don’t want that to happen do you?”

Leia just laughed.

I was really beginning to wonder if she was actually wearing a wire. I’d already confessed to her murder and setting the house on fire. And I’d painted a pretty convincing case that she was going to kill me for real. Where were the cops? What were they waiting for? Maybe she really was bluffing.

“You aren’t wearing a wire, are you?” I asked.

A look of fear spread across her face, but it was quick, just a flash.

“What makes you think that?” Leia asked.

“I don’t see anybody coming to your rescue or coming to take me away. If you were wearing a wire they would have busted through the door already.”

I stood up just then, still keeping my hands held up.

“I don’t think you are wired and I don’t think you are going to kill me either.”

“Sit back down and don’t come any closer!” Leia yelled pointing the gun.

“I think you came here to kill me and you choked. You realized it takes a special breed to kill and most people just don’t have that thing.”

I took a few steps towards Leia, slowly, but methodically. I kept my eyes focused on her the whole time. I knew that she wouldn’t pull the trigger, as long as I kept my demeanor non-threatening. She was really just scared. She’d gotten in so far over hear head on this thing. I was actually feeling a bit silly that I’d let her frighten me at all. The whole thing pissed me off.

“Sit down! Or I’ll shoot!” Leia yelled. “Don’t make me shoot!”

“Leia, relax,” I said. “We can talk this over. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I’ve often marveled at my ability to lie with such ease. I was going to kill Leia and I was going to make it hurt like hell.

“I swear! I’ll shoot you!” Leia yelled.

She was glancing over her shoulder now as if desperately pleading for someone else to be there to come to her rescue. But it was over for her. She had messed up royally and now was going to pay the ultimate price. No one screwed me over and lived to tell about it.

“Leia…” I said, my voice almost a whisper. “Give me the gun…”

Leia was almost on the verge of tears. I loved seeing her scared. Wow, she was even more beautiful than she’d been before. I wanted to meet the surgeon and shake his hand for creating such a pristine work of art.

The gun was only inches from my hand. Leia was clutching it tightly, her hand trembling with fear, tears falling from her beautiful eyes. She wanted this over so badly. I was about to grant her that wish.

“It’s ok…” I said soothingly.

With a twitch of my hands, suddenly I was holding the gun.

Leia leapt back several feet scared out of her mind. I thought she might even run for it for a second, but I was pointing a cocked and loaded weapon at her. She was as good as dead.

I began to laugh. “Wow… this is hilarious.”

“Don’t…” Leia pleaded as she stood there trembling.

“Oh, you are telling me not to hurt you now? That’s hysterical. After what you just put me through? Do you have any idea how stupid it was for you to come here? You were free and clear. Hell, the entire world thought you dead, and you didn’t even have to deal with the baggage of those two little brats. Plus, you had a nice little sum of money you somehow managed to steal away.”

“I’m sorry… I just…”

“You just, what?” I asked. “You just thought you could break me down, scare me, and make me look inferior to you? Really? That was your big, bad master plan you’ve been working on all this time? What do you think this is? Some reality show?”

I was laughing hard now. I’d drastically overestimated her intelligence. Perhaps she lost some brain cells in the fire; I wasn’t sure. And I no longer cared. I was tired of the games and much more than tired of her. It was time for her to leave this earth for good. And good riddance, as far as I was concerned.

I pointed the loaded gun at her.

“Any last words? I’ll at least give you that little bit of dignity this time. But I’m going to blow your head off. There is no way you aren’t dying this time. And best part is---there is no one who is looking for you. No one will know if you disappear.”

I chuckled at the irony of it. As I stood there pointing the gun at her, I started to admire the guts it took for her to come there and confront me. It was pretty courageous, but also very, very stupid.

The gun… something familiar about it.

As I clutched the handle tightly and prepared to end Leia’s life –again-- I noticed something very strange about it.

“Wait…is this my gun?” I asked.

Looking closer at it, I could clearly see my initials carved just above the handle. It had been given to me by my father when I was a teenager for my fourteenth birthday.

Leia looked down ashamed.

“It is,” I laughed. “Wow… so, you were going to use my own gun to kill me? Wait… let me guess… you were going to make it look like some suicide?”

I couldn’t stop laughing as Leia continued to break down right in front of me. This was the most pathetic revenge attempt I’d ever heard about.

“Wow, you are so incompetent that it’s hysterical,” I said. “What were you thinking? I mean, really? What the hell were you thinking? Did you actually believe this was going to work in any way?”

Leia sobbed. “Please… I’m sorry… I’ll forget about it all. Just let me live and give me my kids. I just want my kids. You can have the money and everything else. I don’t want anything except my kids.”

“No,” I said. “You aren’t getting out of this. But it is touching… it is. You know you are about to die, but you are still worried about the kids. Well, I’ll tell them their nanny had to go home and won’t be back, but she loves them dearly. I’ll make sure they know that you didn’t just abandon them.”

“Just let me go,” Leia said. She was crying uncontrollably now. It was almost sad.

“Just shut up and take your punishment with some dignity,” I said.

Without waiting another second for her to say a word I pointed the gun and fired two shots right at her chest.

Leia fell to the floor hunched over. She barely even groaned.

I was still laughing, the smell of gun powder thick in the air. My ears were ringing loudly from the explosive blast bouncing off the walls. It had been a long time since I’d fired a gun inside. I’d actually forgotten what a bad idea it is without ear protection.

“Well, that was unfortunate,” I said walking over to Leia’s body. “I hope you stay dead this time.”

Laughing I bent down to look at her. She was face down and crumbled into a tight ball. It was a very strange way to fall…

Suddenly, Leia flipped over and she was smiling at me.

“I hope you enjoy prison,” Leia said.

“What—?” I started.

“FREEZE! Drop the weapon and keep your hands in the air!”

A loud, commanding voice entered the room.

I looked up to see three large uniformed police officers standing there with their guns drawn on me. There was nothing I could do. If I twitched a little bit wrong or even felt a sneeze coming on I was going to be filled full of holes.

I sat the gun down and held my hands in the air.

“Get down on your knees!” The cop yelled.

I followed the orders until they had me handcuffed with both hands behind my back. The other officer read me my Miranda Rights. I was almost in too much of a daze to verbally accept that I understood them.

I was done. I was finished. Leia had outsmarted me.

She was standing now with her arms wrapped around some other man. He was in his mid-thirties, handsome, and clean cut looking. I could tell immediately that he and Leia were intimate. I wondered if he might have been the one who did the surgery. I couldn’t think who else she would have told about this.

Leia looked at me just then with the happiest look on her face I’d ever seen. She’d been wearing a wire after all. It was a setup. They’d heard every word I’d said.

I chose to exercise my right not to say a word. It was better than possibly incriminating myself farther. They had me on audio saying everything. My lawyer looked so despondent when he saw all of the evidence against me. He was the best money could buy, but even he couldn’t work actual miracles.

It was the fact that I’d actually tried to murder Leia right then and there. I’d taken my gun after admitting it was my gun and I’d known it was loaded and I’d proceeded to shoot her twice in the chest with it.

What I didn’t know at that time was that Leia had set that up as all part of her plan. Her whole plan was to get me to try to murder her while the cops were listening. So, she replaced the bullets in the gun with blanks.

This not only gave the cops a new crime to charge me with—one with indisputable evidence—but it lent credibility to the crimes of my past that I had also admitted to. I was beyond screwed. My life was over.

As I sat there in the interrogation room talking to my lawyer who was telling me exactly how over my life was, I began to think about the time I’d spent with Leia and how much I missed the beginning part of our relationship. We were actually pretty good together and our marriage could have been something special for both of us, but I was not wired that way. My greed had eventually won out. And in the end my greed had cost me everything.

I should have hated Leia, but I didn’t. She was just playing the cards she was dealt. I was angrier with myself for reacting hastily and setting the fire. I thought it would take care of everything nice and neatly, but in the end it had left too many loose ends. Now, I was going to have to face the penalties.

My lawyer told me I was looking at life in prison as a max sentence, but a minimum of twenty-five years before I was even eligible for parole. People who were convicted of attempted murder, especially of doing it more than once—they could never expect to be let out of prison ever again.

And it didn’t matter how much money I had.

Besides, all of that was now reverted back to Leia. It was just another of the many prices I would have to pay going forward.

The game was over.

Checkmate.

I lost.

Epilogue

Leia

Six Months Later

“Well, kids—we are here,” I said as I opened the door to our beautiful hotel room.

The twins bounded into the room excitedly trying to release all the pent up energy from a long plane ride and a decent drive to the Kona Hotel and resort. But all in all, I thought they handled it all pretty well.

“Wow, this is even better than I expected,” Taylor said walking into the room behind me.

He started helping the bell boy with unloading the heavier bags. After they were done with the last of them, Taylor gave the young man a hefty tip. The boy smiled and thanked Taylor profusely as he headed out of the room.

“Great job,” I said. “You probably made that kid’s week.”

“Yeah, I used to do work like that when I was in high school, but not for nearly as nice of a place. I know what it’s like to do grunt work and to not have much appreciation thrown your way.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. “You know, we’ve been married two months and I’m still finding out all sorts of interesting things about you.”

“You never knew I did that?” Taylor asked.

“No, I just don’t think it ever came up.”

“Well, that is the fun part about being newlyweds,” Taylor said as he picked up a few of the lighter bags to carry them towards our bedroom. I followed him, listening to the twins jumping up and down on their beds. I knew I should have told them to stop, but I just didn’t feel like telling them to quit being four years old at that moment.

Our bedroom was large with a nice, comfortable looking king sized bed in the center of it.

“Is it safe to say the word newlyweds?” Taylor asked me. “I feel like once you hit thirty, then that word should never be applied to you.”

“Well, then it only applies to one of us,” I joked.

Taylor put the suitcases in the corner and as he walked towards the door to grab the others he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a big, sweet kiss. Then he continued to the front room to get the heavy stuff.

I followed him to lend assistance even though he didn’t ask for it.

As I watched Taylor work I found myself feeling a bit strange about how everything had happened. Just a few short years before it felt like my entire world had collapsed. I’d almost been killed and my body was horribly disfigured. But Taylor found me. He saved me. And he was able to look past all of the issues I had and find the real me. He had fallen in love with me when I was a shell of who I was now.

And thanks to him I had my life back. I had my boys back. I had my family back.

For the first time since I was a kid, I felt whole again. I’d never really noticed how empty I was since my parents’ death until this. There was a hole deep inside of me that I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to fill. But since I’d let Taylor inside, that hole had started to close. I still missed my parents, but it no longer ruled my life. It no longer made me wish that my life was different. Everything had happened for a reason and I was living that reason right now.

I knew my parents would be very proud of me if they were here.

After we got settled in we decided that we would go grab a bite to eat at a restaurant down the street. It was getting too late to do much else since we’d been travelling all day. Taylor had first suggested the idea as a great way to get away from everything, especially after all the madness with Ted that had happened. Plus, Taylor had just finished his book, and he was looking to do a bit of relaxing, which he never suggested.

Ted… I’d hardly thought of him recently.

The plan had worked out beautifully, but I felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants the entire time. There was so much room for error and so many times things could have gone wrong, but I knew the man. I found it strange how I seemed to know him so much better after we were no longer together then I had when I’d been married to him.

I had to smile now, when I thought about it. Ted was in prison. He most likely would never see the outside of prison walls. And that was where he belonged. And I owed so much of it to Taylor. We’d put our heads together and crafted the plan, tweaking and adjusting things about it until it all seemed to flow together like a perfectly constructed puzzle.

And it had worked.

But it was frightening. By the end I was crying real tears. I was in real terror. I kept imagining that at any moment Ted was going to realize that the gun had been tampered with. But he hadn’t.

Even with all the evidence we had against Ted, from my own testimony that he’d tried to kill me, to the testimony from his teenage friend—it was all circumstantial. Even if he admitted what he’d done, the court could always rule that he’d been coerced because I was pointing a gun at him.

But I had to have the gun there for a few reasons. He had to be held at bay so he wouldn’t just attack me and strangle me with his bare hands. Ted was a strong, athletic guy who kept himself in shape. He was perfectly capable of overpowering me. And the gun served as a scare tactic to get him to actually admit what he’d done. He had no reason to admit it otherwise, since I imagined his paranoia would kick in and he would assume I was wearing a wire. So, Taylor and I agreed it would be best to acknowledge this and play around with that.

And it had worked.

I asked myself a hundred times a day how it worked. I didn’t know. I just didn’t know. But it did.

Granted we had Ted for two counts of attempted murder, but it was still not murder. He had not been convicted of murder. Which meant that there was a chance—a very slim chance, but still a chance—that he would get out one day.

I just prayed that day never came.

But if it ever did, I promised myself that I would be ready.

Knowing Ted, as I did, he most likely would not survive well in prison. He was too much of an independent, free spirit. If he ever did get out he would probably be a shell of his former self. But he might surprise me.

I often wondered what it would be like to visit him in a few years just to see how he was doing. Mostly out of curiosity, but a little bit out of a desire to rub his face in it. I would most likely never do it. I was done with him. And my vengeance was finished. I had nothing else to prove to anyone.

My main job now was to be the best mother and wife I could be. And I hoped sincerely, that my boys never wanted to go meet the man their biological father was. I would tell them when they grew up a bit what he did to me. I would never hide who he was or the type of man he was for their benefit.

One day they would make up their own minds whether or not they wanted to see him.

“You ok, honey?” Taylor asked.

We were sitting at dinner. I hadn’t even realized that I’d barely touched my food or said anything for several minutes. I tried to snap out of my thoughts and engage with my family. The boys were both trying their hardest not to fall asleep after picking at their plates for a little bit and Taylor seemed to be mostly enjoying the violinist in the corner. The ambience of the restaurant was so soothing. It was relaxing. And what I’d been planning on doing for most of the vacation was just relaxing.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m fine.”

I started to pick at my grilled chicken, but I just wasn’t hungry any longer. Thinking about Ted often did that to me.

“Come on, out with it,” Taylor said. He leaned forward putting on his best bedside manner. “What’s on your mind?”

I sighed. “What else?”

He nodded is understanding. “You have to let it go. It’s over. It’s done. You need to move on.”

“It’s so strange. I feel like since we did that, I almost have something…I dunno… like, missing from my life, if that makes any sense.”

“You had a mission. You completed that mission. Now, it’s time to find another one.”

I laughed. “Well, I don’t have anyone else in my life I need to get revenge on.”

“That’s a good thing,” Taylor said with a smile. “You need to find another passion. What do you want to do with your life? You have your family’s company, and that is being handled as always. It’s back in excellent hands now that Ted isn’t around to mess with it. But is that what you are really passionate about doing with your time? You are in a unique position where you can basically do whatever you want that makes you happy. You don’t have to worry about income.”

I nodded. “I know. I just feel guilty…somehow. Like… I don’t deserve to be here. I didn’t deserve to get the surgery because I had money that my family left me. I almost feel like some sort of hypocrite, but does that make sense?”

Taylor squinted for a moment. “I think so. I don’t think you should feel guilty about taking advantage of an opportunity. Not everyone gets the same opportunities, but you take them when they come along and you hope for the best.”

“That’s it,” I said.

“What?”

“I remember after my last surgery I promised that I was going to help other women like myself who need surgery or medical procedures, but can’t afford it. I’m going to set up a foundation to help them.”

“I think that is a wonderful idea,” Taylor said.

“Yeah, I remember that I was so determined to do it before and then… somehow it just got lost in my mind.”

“Well, you were focused on Ted and bringing him to justice. You made the world a safer place by getting a cretin like that off the streets and behind bars where he belongs. Now, you can do this. Everything has its own natural course to follow, honey.”

“You’re right,” I said.

“Yeah, Patrick is very close to getting that grant to set up that training program in universities across the country. Since you’ve gone public with everything, he says that things are really changing rapidly. In a few years everyone will have access to this type of surgery. And thanks to people like you, they will be able to afford it as well.”

I sat back in my chair and smiled. Taylor always had such a way of putting things in perspective. “Do you believe certain things are meant to be?”

“Like Karma?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah… maybe… I don’t know what you want to call it, but do you believe that some things—even bad things—happen for a definite reason.”

“Like there is a plan for everything?” Taylor thought a moment. I loved to watch him when he was deep in thought. His forehead wrinkled up, his sexy lips would purse, and he would often make a tiny humming noise. It was adorable. “I wouldn’t rule it out.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “I know you are ‘Mr. Science’”, I said. “But I do believe that some things are not coincidental. I mean, look at the horrible thing that happened to me, but for all of the great things I have in my life now, that had to happen first. I wouldn’t have the boys, I wouldn’t have met you, and I wouldn’t have been inspired and committed to helping these people who so desperately need it.”

Taylor nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like it was meant to be to me.”

And I could tell he was serious when he said it. I reached out and touched his hand warmly. “I love you.”

“I love you, so much more,” Taylor said.

“Now, that is just not even a thing,” I teased.

“Sure it is. You might love me, but there is a whole other realm of love possibility. It’s beyond infinity even because it’s part of a different universe.”

I couldn’t hide my laughter. “Wow, you are such a nerd.”

“That’s one of the things you love most about me, right?” Taylor asked. “My big brain?”

“Sure… we can call it your big… brain,” I giggled.

Taylor was laughing now as well. Both of the twins were now fast asleep. Luckily they stayed asleep all the way back to our room. Taylor carried Nicki, and I carried Alex.

“Wow, the trip tired them right out,” Taylor said after I closed the door to their room.

I followed him into the kitchen where he poured us each a glass of wine.

“Yeah. I just hope they sleep through the night without any issues,” I said. The twins could often get fussy and have trouble sleeping. Usually one would wake up and be bored, so he’d wake up his brother. And then they were a total terror to put back to bed.

“I think they’ve adjusted to everything beautifully,” Taylor said.

He was right. It had been a bit tough on them when they realized their dad would be going away. And then they’d had to get used to Taylor and to the realization that I was not only going to be around them from now on (because they knew me as their nanny), but that I was actually their mother. After about six weeks they started calling me mommy all the time. It was music to my ears. I could only imagine the depths of neglect and damage that had been done to them by their psychopathic father. I just hoped that it wasn’t too bad, or at least not far enough that I would never be able to undo it with constant love and nurturing.

But both boys had taken to Taylor right away. They loved his easygoing manner and the way that he always made them feel safe and secure. And Taylor loved them as well, just as if they were his own kids. It was the most beautiful thing to watch.

Sitting there sipping wine and talking with my husband I began to feel so warm, so safe, and so thankful. I meant what I told him earlier. As strange as it was to admit I was thankful for everything that had happened. I was thankful that I’d met Ted, that he’d lied to me, and even that he’d tried to murder me. All of it brought Taylor into my life. I wouldn’t be the happiest woman in the world right now if it hadn’t happened exactly the way that it did. I’ve never been religious, but when it came right down to it I would not let myself believe that all of the things that I’d been through in my life had not prepared me to live happily right here and now.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Taylor asked.

I took a sip of the wine. “I don’t know. I was thinking about maybe just taking a walk on the beach, possibly a little golf, and maybe some music in the evening. What do you think?”

Taylor pretended to be shocked. “Wow, that is a big day. I don’t know if I have the stamina to handle all of that.”

I laughed. “Oh, there isn’t a thing wrong with your stamina, honey.”

“Is that right? Well, how about we test my stamina right now?”

“I think you just read my mind,” I said.

Taylor sat his wine down on the counter.

“Right this way,” Taylor said.

He grabbed me gently by the hand and escorted me to the bedroom.

* * *

Hey, thanks so much for reading this story and I hope you enjoyed every part of it.

And your reading doesn’t stop here. If you want to know about my recent TOP 100 book on Amazon, then I have also included an exclusive Sneak Peak to “Rock My World” here. So, go ahead and enjoy!

* * *

35

Sneak Peak: Rock My World

Blurb

Addison’s the one who got away.

Scared off by my rockstar life… and her friend’s lies.

Now it’s time to make her my world.

You can split my life in two.

Before:

College days and Addison in my arms.

Baby blue eyes, sweet tempting lips.

Knowing we’ll be together no matter what.

And after:

Sell-out gigs with screaming fans.

Women throwing themselves at me at the stage door.

I pose for the selfies and sign the merch, but that’s all they get.

There’s only one woman on my mind – and she’s not my biggest fan!

Six years is a long time to be single.

And six years of touring gets old.

Time to find Addison, even if I don’t play by the rules.

Tell her the truth – music is my past.

Her love, our family, is my future.

* * *

Chapter 1: Addison

Jace Fairs.

I smile to myself with my arms wrapping me and I bask in the warm glow that is my boyfriend and the love of my life. The dark-haired, dark-eyed rock god who I get to call my own. I must be the luckiest woman alive.

“Right, I’m off to play a gig,” he says in his chocolaty smooth voice while placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I hope you’re the one screaming the loudest for me because I’ll be looking for you.”

“Oh, I will be.” I shudder with excitement in his arms. “Don’t you worry about that.”

God, it feels so exciting. So, thrilling to be dating him. Okay, so this might be more of a college gig than a sell-out stadium, but the sensation is exactly the same. He will be up there playing and loads of girls will be screaming his name. Me the most, and the loudest because he is mine and it’ll always stay that way.

I barely want to let him go but I don’t have any choice. He’ll come back to me soon enough anyway, I will have him back in my arms and where I need him to be. I just have to wait, to be patient, that’s all.

“I love you,” I murmur as I watch him leave, my heart fluttering with excitement. “I love you so much.”

I just know that not only does he love me too, but that our love will last forever. I didn’t come to college planning to meet the man that I would marry, but when you know, you know it well, and I definitely know. I just have to look at him to know that I will walk down the aisle towards him, that we’ll have a family, a happy ever after…

The next moment, the gig is over. It happens in the blink of an eye. That probably should be weird, but it isn’t. Mostly because his arms are around me and he’s kissing me like there’s no tomorrow, pushing me back onto the bed as he does. He’s sweaty, his clothes from the gig are sticking to his body, he smells so manly. Every fiber within me is on fire, I’m tingling, there’s a pulsing between my thighs that needs sating. I need him so badly that I might actually die. It’s as if we have been separated forever and I’ve finally managed to grab him once more. I need every inch of him, I want him deep inside me, pressed up against me, everywhere.

“Oh, fuck, Addie, you feel so good,” he growls while yanking my dress off. “You’re so hot.”

A moan flies passed my lips as he meets my throat, sucking and licking me all over. I feel passion bruised and twinkly everywhere, I cling to him like he’s the only thing connecting me to the planet.

“Fuck, Addie.” His mouth moves down. He’s moving quickly, kissing me desperately. “I need to taste you.”

His mouth is on my panties, I squeal and squirm as he teases me by brushing his mouth over where I need him the most. I grab his head and try to push him but he won’t be guided, he won’t be controlled, and that’s just the way I like him. He has all the power over me and it’s fucking incredible.

“I need you,” I whimper like a pussy cat. “Please, Jace, I need you so bad.”

“Ooh, you’re bad,” he murmurs, his words vibrating against my core. “And that’s why I like you.”

The next moment, my panties have melted away and his tongue is buried deep in-to me. The scream that bursts out of my chest this time is so loud it shakes me from something. My consciousness becomes something different, I’m not quite sure what yet. My body doesn’t feel quite so satisfied as it once did…

“What the…?” I mutter, my throat gravelly and painful. “Where am I?”

I grip onto my forehead, trying to block out the violent bright white light that infects my vision. How am I in so much pain all of a sudden when a moment ago, I was in Heaven, with Jace…

Jace. Jace Fairs.

I fall backwards with a thump. Everything sinking like crazy. Of course, I’m not with bloody Jace Fairs, I haven’t been with him for six long years. I’m not in college either, I haven’t been for ages. That was just a dream. Or a dream combined with a very unhelpful memory, something that I don’t need right now.

“For fuck sake.”

I turn over in my bed and face my very familiar white bedroom wall, not the awful cream color from college. My life is completely different now. It’s better, in a lot of ways, so I don’t know why I’m dreaming about the past. I’m better off without Jace. He wasn’t the amazing guy I thought he was. He was a cheating bastard and that’s why he isn’t in my life anymore. The dream of a future together became nothing because of him.

A tear starts to roll, which is absolutely the last thing I need. To try and stop it, I push myself in to a sitting position with the determination of facing the day and whatever it may hold, but a wave of sickness and revulsion overcomes me, almost flooring me once again.

Why do I feel so bad? I slump forward, trying to remember. But of course, it’s a hangover. I know that really. It was Luci’s birthday last night, and we went a little wild. Or a lot wild, I haven’t got a freaking clue. All I’m certain of is that everything hurts, nothing feels good anymore, and if I’m not careful I might puke.

“Move,” I remind myself, before the tears come again. “Get up, make coffee or something.”

I shuffle my aching body across the bedroom with the sheet still wrapped around me and I stagger towards the kitchen. I nearly jump in the air when I hear snores coming from the couch.

“Oh, fuck, Luci! I didn’t realize that you were here.”

“Huh?” She stirs and smirks at me. “Oh yeah, I couldn’t be bothered to go home. You don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t mind. You want a coffee?”

Luci bounds off the couch looking surprisingly less zombie like than me, and she follows me into the kitchen, all dull of beans as if she barely drank a damn thing last night. I just don’t know how she does it. I’m so weak when it comes to booze. It didn’t used to be this way; in college I could really handle it.

“So, last night was fun, wasn’t it?” Luci squeals with excitement. “I cannot believe how wild it got. And Tim was so hot. I can’t believe how long I spent kissing him. Thank God I got his number.”

I have vague flashes of memories of that, but not really enough to join in the conversation.

“I don’t know why you rejected Ben though. He was gorgeous and so much into you.”

“Ben?” I screw my nose up in confusion. I don’t have any recollection of any Ben.

“Oh, you know.” Luci nudges me playfully in the side. “Tim’s mate. The blond guy. Really tall. Nice green eyes. He was gorgeous actually, if I hadn’t been kissing Tim then I would have thought about it.”

“Oh yeah.” I nod slowly. “Yeah I remember. He just… isn’t my type, that’s all.”

“Oh right, sure. Because he doesn’t have dark hair and dark eyes.”

I clap my hand in front of my mouth to stop the sickness from flowing. How can Luci see into my mind? It’s like she can see my thoughts and I haven’t even vocalized them yet. Or ever. I won’t ever tell Luci that I’ve been dreaming about Jace, she will absolutely kick my ass.

“You have got that funny look on your face again,” she tells me wryly. “You’re thinking about him. You need to stop. He’s gone now, you shouldn’t think about him again. You need to move on.”

I turn away from her so she can’t see the heat in my cheeks. “I don’t have time to move on.”

“Oh right, because you’re so busy with work.” I don’t need to see the eye roll; I know it’s there. “I have heard it all before. But that isn’t the real reason, is it? It’s because that bastard broke your heart and you’re scared to move on.” I hand Luci the mug and move over to the table, barely meeting her eyes. “But it’s time, it’s been six years.” Luci takes the seat opposite me and glares. “I know it isn’t easy. I do get it, trust me. The idiot had to get famous after college so now it’s hard to escape him, but you shouldn’t put your life on hold.”

I hate how accurate she is, it stings to listen to this, but I know what my best friend is like. She won’t let me ignore things just because it’s difficult for me. She’s much more of a ‘take the bull by the horns’ sort of person. And since she was there for me during the time I was with Jace and when he destroyed me as well. If anyone understands this situation, it’s her, so I really do need to listen to her advice.

“I haven’t been putting my life on hold, I have just been busy, that’s all.”

“Plenty of women have high powered careers like yours and love as well.”

“I will have love, when the time is right.” I offer a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m just waiting…”

Luci shakes her head at me, the disappointment evident in her expression. “Addison, I have been patient with you and sympathetic as well, but now it’s time for some tough love.”

“You mean everything that’s come before this moment wasn’t tough love?”

Luci completely ignores me. “So, I’m going to help you along with your journey and I’m signing you up to a dating agency.”

My head throbs harder. “What the fuck are you talking about, Luci? I’m too hungover for that.”

“A dating agency! It’ll be fun.” She beams at me like she’s come up with the answer to world peace or something. “I know you don’t want to do all the apps, I get that. Online dating isn’t for you, that’s fine. But this… well it’s different. It’s more personal. You will meet the woman doing the matching and she’ll find the right match for you. Or a selection of matches, they might even let you choose.”

“No, no, no.” I shake my head hard. “I don’t want any of that, I just want to…”

“Focus on your career until you get to the top. I know, Addison, I hear it all the time. Thing is, you’re managing editor now. How much higher can you go? The time is now.”

I part my lips, wanting a million reasons to come out of my mouth to stop her from doing this, but Luci is relentless, and I know that eventually, somehow, she’ll get me to agree. Best to just say yes now and to get out of it later. I’ll find an excuse somehow. There is always an excuse somewhere.

“Okay, fine, whatever, but I don’t see how some woman I don’t know can pick out the love of my life.”

Luci snorts. “It doesn’t always have to be about the love of your life, you know. You can just have fun. Treat it like an experiment. Just try and move on from fucking Jace Fairs already.”

I nod determinedly. I guess that is that then. I’m going to a dating agency to meet men. I doubt it’ll do much use but if it can get Jace out of my mind even a little bit then it’ll be a good thing because that future is well and truly over.

* * *

Chapter 2: Jace

“Fuck.” The first word that comes out of my cotton dry, raw as hell, mouth seems to be the same every single morning. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

I stare up at the crack in the ceiling through bleary eyes, wondering where it came from. This is supposed to be a posh hotel, a five star one, they all are, but there is always an imperfection somewhere, I just need to find it. This one is easier because it’s right above my head, so I guess I don’t need to bother searching.

“Fucking ceiling.”

I inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the strong scent of booze that seems to be stuck inside my nostrils, and I turn on to my side. But the image there doesn’t fill me with anymore glee than the crack. It makes me feel sick and reminds me that I’m in for a very awkward morning. After all, that curtain of red hair must be attached to someone, mustn’t it? Even if I can’t remember who the hell she is.

At least she isn’t a blonde, I remind myself. It’s always worse when they are blonde.

Hooking up with random women used to be amazing, a real perk to the rock star profession. Women threw themselves at me wherever I was and I freaking loved it. I relished it, being in The Puppeteers, burying myself in a different person every single night, all the while forgetting about the blonde I left behind, the woman who shattered my heart and left me with nothing but a numb empty chest. That’s why blondes are an issue, they remind me of the sweet, delicious Addie Laing, and that’s someone I cannot think about ever again.

Not unless I want to lose it.

Yet, random women don’t make the cut anymore. I don’t feel like I’m forgetting or moving on. The so-called rock star lifestyle doesn’t make me as happy as it once did. It doesn’t feel as fun and satisfying. Yes, it’s nice to have sold-out stadiums and fans screaming my name, it’s awesome to know that the world is singing the lyrics to my songs, yet I’m not fulfilled. The rest of the band are, they fucking love all of this. It’s the dream for them, but for me it isn’t. It should be, this is what I always thought that I wanted, but it doesn’t feel like it should.

But what the hell else am I supposed to do with my musical talents? This is the pinnacle of a music career; I don’t have anything else. I have to keep going with this until it ends and I need to find a way to be grateful as well. Many people would kill to be in my shoes, including teenage me, so I need to make myself happy. That shouldn’t be hard. I mean, I have enough money to last forever, enough people around me to always have company, enough thrills in my life to keep me going… I should be over joyed.

I will be, I tell myself determinedly. I was once before and I will be again.

“Morning you.” The redhead flicks her hair out of the way and she smirks at me. Even with her make up smeared and a look of a hangover that matches mine, she has a sultry look. I’m sure she was a sex goddess last night which is how she ended up in my hotel bed, but today I’m not in the mood. There isn’t any stirring in any part of my body. I just need her gone. “Why don’t you come over here?”

“I erm… I just need to… you know…”

I scuttle out of the bed quickly and move over to the window. She reaches for her phone and my instincts snap into place. She wants a picture of me, a memento of our night together, and a naked one will earn her notoriety online. She might even make money from it if she’s lucky. I’ve had that done to me before. So, I grab my sweat pants and I slip backwards into the bathroom before she can get what she wants.

She’s insatiable, but they usually are. Our fans have to be the craziest women in the world.

“Fucking hell.” I shake my head sadly. “What am I doing?”

As I dress in the sloppiest outfit, I can find which will stop any pictures from looking good, I wonder why I’m so trapped. It doesn’t matter which way I look there isn’t a way out. I’m stuck here. Stuck in this emotionally draining shit show.

I grab my cell phone off the side of the bathroom sink, where thankfully I must have left it, and I fire off a text to Billy, my manager, who is great at getting me out of this sort of situation. He should be by now, he’s been doing it for me and the rest of us for six long years.

Jace: Billy, I need the call. Thanks!

Only a split second later, the call comes through. I step out of the bathroom so the maximum effect can be heard. The redhead is on top of the sheets now, her naked body fully on display. She is gorgeous, there’s no denying that, but still I don’t feel a damn thing.

“Hello, Billy, what’s going on?”

“Jace, where the fuck are you?” he barks angrily. “We need you, you’re supposed to be here…”

“Oh shit, of course.” I clap my palm to my forehead hard. “I forgot. I’m coming.”

“We need you here now. This isn’t a game; you know?”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Billy.”

I hang up the phone and give the redhead an apologetic look. She is already grabbing her clothes, knowing that I’m needed somewhere else. I start on with my excuse, but she nods understandingly. She gets it, she knows who I am, that I’m needed, that she has to share me with the rest of the world.

She kisses me lightly and slips me a piece of paper with her phone number on, as if I’m ever going to call her, and exits the room quickly and quietly, thankfully leaving me all by myself.

I breathe out a sigh of relief and lean my back against the door so no one else can come inside. I am needed for band stuff, but not until later on so I have all the morning to do whatever the hell I want. I could go out, go for coffee, eat some cake, shop, do whatever the fuck normal people do on a daily basis when they have some free time, or I could hide out here and head back to sleep in a bed in a locked anonymous room where I can’t be mobbed.

The answer is obvious; I don’t know why I’m acting like I have a choice. I’m stuck here until the tour bus is here to pick us all up and to take us to the next city. So, I flop onto the bed with my cell phone still clutched between my fingers. I alternate between staring at the screen and that damn crack in the ceiling until I know what I have to do. I don’t have any choice anymore; I have to go back to her.

This isn’t healthy, I scold myself as I type in her name. This isn’t right.

The problem is it’s been six years and I cannot let her go. I blame the Internet for that. I can’t escape her. If this had happened a few years ago, I would have been able to move on and forget about her easily, but she’s always there at a touch of a button. I just have to type in her name and I can find out what she’s up to these days, who she’s spending time with, what became of her. It’s a nightmare, but I’m addicted.

“Oh, Addie.” I stroke my finger down her face on my screen, my heart shattering all over again. She’s changed a little in the last six years, she’s grown more into herself, she somehow manages to look even more beautiful than ever before. There’s a confidence to her that wasn’t there in college, she’s more of an adult. I wish I knew more about the person she’s become. I bet she’s amazing. “I miss you too much.”

I click onto her page and run my eyes quickly over everything. It seems that she’s still a managing editor for a newspaper, which isn’t much of a surprise, she’s smart and ambitious, I always knew that she’d go far, and there still isn’t any mention of a boyfriend, which is more of a relief than it should be.

“There might be a man in her life,” I mutter to myself. “She just might not plaster it over the Internet.”

But I can’t imagine her with a man, or more I don’t want to. It’s selfish, I know, since I have been with lots of women, but I want her to remain pure for me. Even though it’s been six years and I can’t see us ever finding a way back to one another. It just isn’t possible. Especially since I don’t even know why it ended. One day, things were amazing, the best they could have been, I was happy and I thought that she was too. I assumed that we would last forever, making it through thick and thin and everything in between.

But then she was gone, and I had nothing left. I was an empty void who would do anything to fill it… I guess a part of that is more true than I care to ever admit.

Luci Emery tagged Addison Laing in a status.

I nearly drop my phone in shock. It’s almost as if Luci can see me looking at her page and this is her way of reminding me to keep the hell away. Addie’s best friend never took much of a shine to me and I don’t suppose that has changed now. I’m sure she still despises me.

Curiosity gets the better of me. I need to see the status. It doesn’t matter how much Luci hates me or even that she’s onto me. I just need to know what the hell is going on with Addie.

‘What a crazy day! Things are looking up @ Hayley Spraggon’s Dating Agency - with Addison Laing’

“A dating agency?” I exclaim in shock. “For who? For Luci or Addie? Who is dating?”

My heart races at the speed of light, it pounds heavily in my throat, I can barely breathe under the pressure of it. The idea of Addie with anyone is killing me, and actively looking for someone is worse. I can’t stand it. I want to scream. The moment that I know she’s moved on is the second that everything is lost.

I tug my fingers through my hair and pace the room, the urge to get out from these four walls is now crushing me. Killing me. I need to do something, to take action, to cling on to this feeling that’s nothing like the numbness I’ve been feeling for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what yet, but there has to be something that I can do, isn’t there?

Panic almost consumes me; I haven’t ever felt so deeply before. This is sheer, it’s intense, it’s boundless. I clutch my stomach, then my head, trying to locate the source of the anxiety to shut it off.

I stare at the status again, then at Addie’s face, and all I want to do is to be by her side. That would feel so much better than this, I know it. I just know that any sort of life with her would be more fulfilling than being a famous rock star where everyone knows my fucking name.

But there isn’t any way to get back to her. Is there?

Is there?

* * *

Chapter 3: Addison

“Hayley Spraggon’s Dating Agency,” I say with a shaky voice. “Really, Luci? Do I have to do this?”

I stare up at the bright white building with lights shining off it, inviting people inside, a strong sense of intimidation overcoming me. I don’t belong here, this isn’t right. This is a place for people actively looking for love, those who are ready for it, not messy people like me who don’t know what they want. Or perhaps I do know, but it’s something I shouldn’t want and that I definitely cannot have.

“Come on.” Luci grabs onto my arm and laughs at my fear. “Let’s go in. You’ll love this.”

I try to resist but even my body is against me. It’s so conditioned to fall in line with whatever Luci tells me to do because it knows that she’s bold where I’m not. She makes me be the person who I want to be… usually. Not now though, this is the opposite to what I want. I don’t want to date anyone.

She pulls me inside the office and makes me take my seat in the reception area. I think Luci can tell that I’m a flight risk because she heads over to the reception desk and signs me in. Internally, I curse her, I want to wring her neck and make her see sense, but outwardly I’m as cool and collected as can be.

Luckily, my job needs me to be calm under pressure. I’m used to this. Well, not this but pressure.

I twist my fingers around and around as Luci takes her seat. She sits so close to me I know that she’ll grab me if I chose to run. Not that I will. I’m a grown ass woman, I’m not actually about to race out of here… mostly because I have high heels on and I don’t think I’d get that far, but still.

“It’s going to be fine,” Luci hisses to me. “Stop worrying, Addison. It’ll be alright, I’m here for you.”

I smile thinly at her, trying to display some sort of confidence, but it doesn’t really play out. Luci can see right through me. She’s such an awesome, caring friend, I don’t know where I’d be without her…

“What the hell is that?” I demand, grabbing her cell phone from her. “Is that… oh my god: ‘What a crazy day! Things are looking up @ Hayley Spraggon’s Dating Agency - with Addison Laing’. What is that?”

“What?” Luci shrugs as if she doesn’t get what she’s done wrong.

“Delete it! Delete it now. I don’t want people to know what I’m doing.”

“Why not? What does it matter? Everyone dates one way or another.”

“But they don’t make it obvious to the world,” I exclaim.

“They do. Everyone is doing it, no one cares, honestly.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Please, Luci, delete it, this is hard enough.”

She finally seems to understand but she is a little shitty when she finally agrees. “Right, fine.”

“Sorry, Luci, I just…” I sigh loudly. “This is weird for me. I don’t mean to be a bitch, I just…”

“No, I know. I’m sorry.” She pouts. “I’m just excited for you, that’s all.”

I know there’s a right thing to say here, words to make this all okay again, but right now I have a blank mind that can’t seem to find any of the answers. I’m a black numb void who just needs to get out of here…

“Addison Laing,” the receptionist calls, breaking the tension. “If you’d like to follow me…”

Luci grabs my arm one last time and squeezes. “Good luck, Addison. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

I nod slowly, trying to take comfort from her, but I can’t seem to make it happen. I’m just messy and scared, terrified what this is going to bring up. I might have to talk about Jace.

My heart thumps with every step as I walk towards the sleek office in which Mrs. Hayley Spraggon herself works. Every step feels heavy, but I keep on lugging my feet along anyway. For Luci. A little bit for myself as well. Just for the experimence. The test to see if I can ever move passed the rut I’m in.

I finally find myself shown into a room which is clearly designed to be warm, to inspire feelings of love, to make you feel like you’re in a welcome environment where you can spill your guts. But I just feel like shit. Like I know that I’m not quite good enough, like I shouldn’t be here.

“Hello there.” Hayley beams gleefully at me. She has a curvy, womanly figure that I’m sure wouldn’t have any trouble attracting any man. It’s alright for her, she doesn’t need help, clearly since she’s married. “You are Addison Laing, am I right?” I nod numbly. “Great, well it’s lovely to meet you. Please, take a seat.”

I do as she commands, going along with something that I really don’t want to just because she told me to. That’s a really bad habit and I need to stop it. “Thank you for seeing me…”

“I can tell that you’re hesitant to be here and I know why. Most people are when they first arrive. Usually, this is something that they’ve been coerced in to by their friend.” I laugh knowingly. It seems I’m not the only one who has a Luci in their lives. “So, today I just want to talk about you.”

“Me?” I don’t know why this is a surprise but it is. “Erm, what do you want to know about me?”

“Everything.” She opens her arms wide. “Tell me all about who you are.”

“I… I… I’m a managing editor of a newspaper. That’s why I don’t date, you know. It’s because I’m so busy. Work keeps me going, I have to do a lot of hours. It’s… a lot of responsibility.”

Yeah, Luci is right. It all sounds like excuses. There isn’t really any reason for me not to date. No reason but Jace. It’s always been him, clinging onto me like a bad smell, I can’t shake him off. And I need to. This isn’t healthy, it isn’t going to help me, I can’t live my life in the shadow of the past anymore.

“I think…” I gulp. The thick ball of emotion that lodges itself in my throat won’t slide down, no matter what I do. “I think I can’t let go of the past. Of someone who hurt me. I think that’s why…”

Shit. A tear leaks down my cheek. I’m crying. Of all the things that I expected to happen in this room, sobbing wasn’t it. I was just going to be cold and calm, to just get through it, but now…

“It’s okay, dear,” Hayley reassures me. “You don’t need to worry. Everyone gets emotional in here. Usually, by the time someone comes to see me they have been through some hard times.” I nod, feeling better to hear that, but I can’t stop the tears from rolling. “So, for a moment why don’t I tell you what I can do?” I nod again. “I will take notes on everything that I know about you, everything that we discuss today, and the criteria that you give me for finding your perfect partner.”

“Criteria?” I half laugh. “That sounds a bit… sciency doesn’t it?”

“It is science,” she replies dead serious. “And after I have reviewed your notes, I will find a selection of the men that I have on my books to present you with the ones I think are most suited. You can then pick any of them to go on dates with, or none of them if you prefer, you are in complete control.”

I blow out a breath that I didn’t even know I was holding. That’s good. I like the sound of that. I’m the one with all the power, so if I decide against this then I can just back off. Luci doesn’t even have to know about it, I can tell her that I tried and it didn’t work… if I panic. But I will try and go through with it.

“Okay, great, so erm… what do you need from me to make it work?”

“I have some questions that I will ask and you will tell me some things. Then I will go from there. We can talk for as long as it feels comfortable, and I won’t push you to discuss anything you don’t want to.”

I smile weakly at Hayley and she grins back at me, we share an understanding. I do think that actually she might have my best interests at heart, through it all. I might be able to hack this more than online dating, it feels much less seedy and scary to me. I imagine Hayley vets everyone, so it will be fine.

At least, I hope it will be.

* * *

“Miss Laing? Miss Laing?”

I shake from my thoughts to see Sandra, the new intern, staring up at me with hopeful eyes. She’s got the ambition to back up the hope as well. I can already see that she’s going to go far,

“Addison, please, you don’t have to call me Miss Laing.”

“Er, right, Addison.” She coughs uncomfortably. “I just wanted to tell you that I’ve done the reports.”

She hands me a stack of papers and I take it with a smile. I need to get my head back in the game, to think only of work. I’m not usually like this, all distracted, but then I don’t usually have morning meetings at a dating agency. Everything that I talked about with Hayley keeps playing on my mind.

“Thank you, Sandra, that’s brilliant. I appreciate it.” She hops from foot to foot, clearly not in any hurry to leave. “Is there anything else, Sandra? Only, I do need to get on…”

“I was wondering… and I totally understand if you say no, because I know that interns don’t usually do this sort of thing, we just do the odd jobs, but I was wondering if I could shadow another reporter while I’m here. Maybe even write something for the paper. Or the website, I don’t mind, and it doesn’t have to be anything big…”

I smile. I like her, she reminds me of me. I might be more reserved in most areas of my life, but work has always been the place where I’ve stepped out of my shell and gone for what I want. That’s how I managed to get so far so quickly. I wouldn’t ever squash the ambition of another person. Someone took a chance on me and I will always do the same thing. Nurturing talent is what I consider to be a part of my job.

“Sure, sounds good. I will see what Liam is writing this week. He could be a good one for you.”

“Oh, thank you so much.” She claps her hands together gleefully. “I appreciate it so much.”

“You’re welcome, Sandra. I want you to get as much as you can from this experience.”

As she skips off happily, I shake my head and demand that I get my head back in the game. I can’t be distracted any longer or I’ll end up working all weekend and I don’t want that. Jace has distracted me from many areas of my life, most of them really, I won’t let him take my career away from me too. That came after him, it’s the only thing that I have which isn’t tainted by him, and I need to keep it.

“Focus, Addie… I mean Addison.” Fuck, it was always him that called me Addie. “Focus and forget about the dating thing. I doubt even Hayley will be able to find someone that I like anyway. Even for fun. If I can’t do it, then how the hell will she…?”

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the Sneak Peak of “Rock My World”. To continue reading the full story, simply click the link below!

Get your copy of “Rock My World” here!

KU Members can also read it for FREE here!

* * *

About the Author

Mia is a contemporary romance writer who loves to write about strong, gorgeous, Greek God like alpha men who love protecting their sassy and sexy women.

I hope you enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to your support on forthcoming releases!

As a thank you for downloading this book, you get an opportunity to join Mia’s exclusive FAN Club, where you get all the latest updates on her new releases, book recommendations and Giveaways!!!

Enrol yourself to her FAN Club by clicking on the link below…

Subscribe to Mia's Exclusive Fan Club

You can also follow her on FB and Amazon using the links below…

Follow Mia Ford on FB

Join Mia’s FB Group Here!

Follow Mia Ford on Amazon

Facebook

Twitter

Also by Mia Ford

Rock My World

Accidental Love

Falling in Love Again

Her Boyfriend’s Friend

Keep Me Going

Filthy Dirty Brother

Wet for Christmas

The Promise

Baby Maker

That Christmas Eve

Ignite My Passion (Book 3 of “The Vegas Men Series”)

City of Sin (Book 2 of “The Vegas Men Series”)

Burning with Lust (Book 1 of “The Vegas Men Series”)

One More Time

Forever Yours

You’re Everything I Need

The Risk

Come for Me

Oh! Katherine

Love at first sight

In Too Deep

Take My Breath Away

Just For You

Protecting Her

When Wrong Feels So Right

Desire

The One Who Got Away - A Second Chance Romance

Playing For Keeps

Fake It: A Fake Marriage Baby Romance

Saving HER: A Brother's Best Friend Fireman Romance

The Perfect Gift: A Bad Boy Christmas Romance

Fatal Attraction

A Chance Encounter: A Billionaire Office Romance

Trapped in the Cabin

The One I Love

Fair Play

Friends to Lovers: A Fake Fiance Romance

DR. Delight: A Standalone Forbidden Romance

Broken: A Mountain Man's Romance

Lust to Love: A Second Chance Romance

Tempt ME: A Single Dad Romance

Beach Daddy: A Single Dad Romance

Auctioned to the Biker

Dad's Best Friend

Going Deep

Inseparable: A Second Chance Romance

The Perfect Holiday: A Bad Boy New Year Romance

Claimed

Body Heat

Mine Forever

Coming Together: A Billionaire's Baby Romance

First Time with the Major

Falling For Her

Auctioned

His Brother's Wife

The Most Eligible Bachelor: A Texas Love Story

Train Me

Falling for the Seal

Twin Brothers

Billionaire's Date (69th St. Bad Boys Book 1)

Second Chance on St. Patrick's Day: A Billionaire Romance

Dirty Boss

Betrayed: A Dark Romance

Dirty Professor

Entangled: A May December Romance

TORN: A Dark Romance

Obsessed: A Billionaire Love Triangle

Thirst

Taken

Seduced By Two

Billionaire Daddy & Nanny

Breaking Rules: A Billionaire & Virgin Romance

Playboy Billionaire

Rescue Me: A Bad Boy Romance