Storm used his hand to shape her body against his.  Lisa could not stand it, his touch, even her anticipation of his caress, sent tiny fires up her spine.  She thought she would explode.  She did not know how he did it, but she loved it.  His control, his power was addictive.  Storm engendered everything masculine, once more he knew it.

 

            This man could ruin everything in her life and destroy all the she had built and sacrificed.  He could take everything from her with one word from his mouth.  How ironic, the person who possessed her right now could be the person who could ruin her future.  Yet, she didn’t care about that, or anything else, only the present mattered.  His hands on her body, the heat of his breath tickling the back of her neck, and the promise of his penis buried in some orifice of her body was all that mattered to her now.  All she wanted was to be physically apart of the power that she knew all too well he consumed.

 

            Damn! Lisa could not think anymore.  Storm was leaving no valley untouched, or forest unseen.  Her senses were being pushed well beyond the brink.  Storm’s love-making was slowly bringing her to the point of combustion.  The sheets were wet, sticking close to both of their bodies.  Storm guided his hand from between her breasts to her navel, where he stopped to apply pressure so that her bottom pressed more firmly against him, so that her clit would teasingly brush up against his hard length.  But Lisa knew better that to try to get him to enter before he was ready, so she just rode the wave of frustration and anticipation that he had honed like a maestro.

 

            They were already in their second hour of love making, both had found their release, several times, but for Lisa, her hunger for him had barely been diminished. No matter how exhausted she may have previously felt, just his simple touch would give her a Pavlov reaction.  She would feel herself become instantly wet and her weariness would disappear.  His touch seemed to be the remedy for all that ailed her.

 

            “God, you feel so good.” He whispered in her ear.  Touching the tip of his tongue to her ear lobe, Storm ran his hand down her perspiration dewed back, hitting every erogenous zone during his journey toward her sexual core.

 

            Finally, he used the tip of his penis to tease her feminine lips.  Lisa prayed that he was going to put an end to the incredible need that was building in her body.  Storm vowed to wrench every possible response from her before he would put and end to both of their suffering.  “What do you want?” he asked while kissing the curve in her back.

 

            Instantly, her body arched in response to his kiss, imitating a cat’s stretch.  Lisa wasn’t so naïve as to fall for this seemingly innocent question, she knew he would continue to make her burn before he put the fire out that he created. “I want all of you, baby” she answered.

 

            “Chicken” he laughed as his mouth traced its own course down her buttocks. His hands cupped her thighs as she tried to subtly move so that he could gain greater access to the place she wanted him to pay the most attention.  “No, No, No” he crooned.  “All things come to those who wait.  It won’t be as good if you rush it.”

 

            Suddenly, she had the feeling that she may be able to push him, a little.  “Storm, stop messing around, do it, now” she called to him with a mix of pleading and command in her voice.  Instantly, she felt the atmosphere change in the room. What used to be hot and sexy turned cold and still, as he froze.

 

            She felt him slide up her body, and while he held his body’s weight using one hand grasping the mattress slightly above her own and a knee resting outside of hers. She felt his other hand move up her stomach through the middle of her chest and loosely grasp her neck while cupping her chin.  With steady force he pulled her head up so that she could meet his obsidian eyes.  “Don’t ever forget, I tell you where and when.” As he finished the last syllable he blindly thrust into her body. 

 

            Almost in a panic, she did not know what to do.  She prayed that his aim was true.  All ten thick inches of him could cause certain damage if he missed and caught her at the wrong angle. But of course his aim was impeccable and the naughty mix of his anger and her apprehension from his sudden change of attitude, only served to push her over the edge to culminate in what felt like the biggest orgasm of her life.  As she rode the waves of her completion she felt him violently thrust into her body.  With each thrust it only served to push her higher till she felt a sense of nothingness.  It seemed as if her body could no longer process any more input and it sort of floated.  She could no longer see, hear or smell.  All of her senses were on overload and darkness descended.

 

            After Lisa came back to herself, she felt the haze of their lovemaking recede and Storm’s breathing evened to a slumbering momentum.  Finally, she knew it was safe to think about their relationship.  But to understand their unique acquaintance, one had to understand that it was Storm who was at its center.  He had the type of personality in which everything seemed to revolve around him.  His very presence brought life around him to order.

 

            Lisa looked at him sleeping; he was not what one would call a peaceful sleeper.  He looked like he was on the verge of waking the entire time.  He was a man who could be called beautiful.  Physically, Storm had a combination of masculinity and beauty which was uncanny.  From his jet black hair to his almost femininely full lips he mesmerized women.  His trim body always looked hard and strong and was a wet dream in the making. But it was the eyes that put caution in any smart woman’s heart.  His eyes were unforgiving. Nothing yielded in those orbes of ice.  If one was to loose herself in those, she would never find her way back again.  Lisa knew first hand because when she met those piercing blue eyes for the first time, she was lost forever.

 

            Lisa slipped out of bed, put on her robe and walked to her windowed terrace.  The night was peaceful, yet her straying thoughts continued to ponder the man in her bed.

 

            No man had ever made her feel so alive.  What scared her most was the possibility that no man would ever fill the void he would leave behind when he finally walked away.  She knew she was had no hold on him, she was just one of the many women that had the pleasure of him in her bed, since his marriage collapsed may years ago.  Lisa was tired and afraid of living each day as if that one might be the one in which he left.  For some time she held on to the knowledge that she was the only other woman that he slept with, but now that thought was losing its security.  Lisa wanted to be the only woman period, but she knew that was not possible.

 

            Lisa turned and looked into his sleeping face, wondering when these stolen moments together had stopped being enough.  As she pondered this question, she knew it was the permanency which she sought in his life that would be the very thing that would bespeak the end of their relationship.  Lisa had promised herself in the early period of their time together that she would ask no more of him.  From the first time they came together she knew where she stood.  Storm never made any empty promises and he never even hinted that he would ever leave his wife.  She didn’t want to contemplate what type of woman she was to even want him to sever his obligation to his wife.

  Clearly, she would always be some side action for him, and she couldn’t hate him-for not giving any more than what was agreed.  She always had a choice, she had made it and it was a simple as that.  Only now, and for some time, she experienced the feeling of increasing emptiness and it threatened to overwhelm her, and it was time for her to leave.

 

            A beeping sound pierced the room, instantly she knew that Storm was awake.

 

            Storm awoke to the sound of the alarm going off and in one swift movement he shut if off and perched at the side of the bed.  His instincts told him he was alone, so his eyes silently searched for Lisa’s figure.  When he found her some part of him relaxed.

 

            “Why are you standing in the dark?” He asked, looking straight into her eyes, searching for the answer before she spoke.

 

            “I could not sleep.” She said simply.  “It is a beautiful night so I decided to get up and enjoy it.”

 

            For weeks Storm had been receiving weird vibes from her.  Quietly, she seemed to be distancing herself from him and for some reason it bothered him.  He stood up, unconscious of his nudity and moved toward her.  Watching him stride toward her with his long length almost made Lisa melt, his nearness and the heat in his eyes almost made her loose all of her hard fought resolve.

 

            Oh lord, how am I going to bear to be away from him?  Even now all I want to is to have his arms around me.

 

            As he continued to move toward her and reached out to her, he watched as some unknown emotion flew from her countenance and saw passion and desire take its place.  Her body leaned into him, and for the thousandth time he found something lost inside him slam into place.

 

            “I’ve got to go.” He murmured in her ear and he held her closely in his arms.  He then buried he nose in her hair so that he could drink in the scent of her, that clean almost lemony scent that reminded him of a clear crisp day. Finally he pushed back gently so that he could look into her eyes and found them welling with her own special brand of tender understanding. Finally, he kissed the crown of her head and felt her eyes on him as he turned to get dressed.

 

            All the while he was dressing, he pondered how it all felt so different this time. The end of their lovemaking; it felt like the last scene of the last act of some significant play; a production where one finds himself still seated, staring at the stage, long after the last curtain call.

 

 

Chapter Two

            As he slid into his late model, black on black, Mercedes Benz SLR, through all of his ministrations in starting the car, checking and pulling into the stream of traffic and driving away, Storm never noticed the woman above him, pressed up against the window, watching him pull away-

 

Storm moved through traffic expertly maneuvering among those cars that where adamantly opposed to pushing beyond the speed limit, his thoughts strayed to the first moments of his meeting with woman whose bed he had just departed.  His mind drifted as he drove the suburban streets, the post coital buzz had subsided, replaced with a warm light lethargy and he remembered the day, several months ago, when his life took an unexpected turn. 

Seven Months Before

 

            Carrick, his best friend from college had called him early on a Friday afternoon.

After the usual back and forth, trying to catch up on what was going on in each other’s lives the question that he was dreading finally was asked.

 

            “So how is Julia?” asked Carrick.  Storm could almost see the pensive look that probably framed his friend’s face.

 

            With anybody else, Storm would have issued a carefully crafted answer of pretense, but with Carrick he knew he did not have to and he could be honest. “I can’t answer that Carrick and it is frustrating the hell out of me.”

 

            “So she is still drinking?” Carrick questioned.

 

            “Yeah, among other things.  Carr, I found prescriptions in her nightstand for stuff I don’t know anything about.” Strom answered while running his hands through his short, black curls in frustration.  “The baby thing just blew her mind.  I mean we changed the program regarding our marriage, decided to be more traditional – because she wanted to have children, and her having the last miscarriage, that just broke her.

 

            “Storm, you have to keep the faith.  Our girl is still in there. She has gone though a lot and I have no doubt that she will pull through this as well.”

 

            “Carr, I have kept the faith.  I am keeping the faith, but it has been more than a year and with every week it gets worse.  She has completely pulled away from me.  She doesn’t leave the house anymore.  She won’t see anybody.  My God, she has lost so much weight that it’s scary.” Storm took a breath and continued with his voice filled with anguish.

 

            “I feel like if we were the “real thing,” you know started out like a regular married couple, or decided to get hitched after having had fallen madly in love ,I could reach her.  But she knows the truth and she knows me too well for me to lie.  We were no better than any fifteenth century arranged marriage. .  Since we were babies our families had us betrothed.  Hell, for the first few years of our marriage we didn’t bother to stop seeing other people.  We were no better than housemates with benefits-when the mood hit us.  She knew that I would have continued our lives that way indefinitely, but then she caught the ‘baby blues’ and decided it was time for us to have a kid.”

 

            Storm stared absently out the window of his office.  “That is when all this bullshit began”.

 

            “You did not want to have a baby.”  Carr questioned with sympathy infused in his voice.

 

            “It’s not that I did not want to have a baby. Damn! Maybe it is that I did not want to have a baby. The biggest issue is more that I was indifferent to whether we had a baby or not.”  Part of me did not want to bring a child up in the way that we all were brought up.  Parents that coexisted, people who married as a tool for dynasty building.  God knows I love Julia, but she has always been my buddy, we never had that “in love” thing.  I am not sure I am even capable of that ‘in love’ thing”

 

            “So did you tell her that?”

 

            “Are you kidding me?” Storm chuckled. “You know how it is when Julia gets in Tsunami mode.  She laid the ground rules; no more sleeping around, we were going to do regular married people stuff, and let the baby making begin!”

 

            “I know mothers of young ladies all of the world were doing a dance that Julia was finally putting the brakes to your sluttish ways.”  Carrick offered with a laugh.

 

            “Hey man, it must take one to know one.  In our day, you, Julia and I could wreak havoc on any population over majority.  Stop acting like you were Mother Theresa, now that you are shacked up with someone you love.”  Storm retorted.

 

            “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Carrick responded with all innocence.

 

            “Yeah right, Coming from the biggest Man-Whore I know, I take you calling me a slut a compliment.  If there was a man who by all rights should have his dick spontaneously combust for all the frequent and varied action he has been involved in, since he found out what could be done with ‘little C’, it should be you.” Storm smirked.

 

Carrick leaned back as he answered the man who knew more of his secrets than almost anyone in the world, “First of all, I can provide notarized, verifiable evidence that ‘Little C’ is pretty huge. Secondly, when I think of some to the straight debauchery that we all got up to when we all were living in New York, if I had it in me, I would be ashamed.” He answered proudly.

“The vision of Julia regally presiding, participating, and initiating scenes that hard core porno mags would be ashamed to publish, makes me confident that she will pull herself out of this.  She was the only one who could keep us in line and not even blink.  All I pray is that we can get her back.” Carr almost whispered as he finished.

 

            “Well she put the brakes on all of our extra-curricular activities and at first it was kind of funny.  We didn’t know the first thing about “regular” married couple’s activities. So we did what we saw our parents do-we joined stuff.   All of the sudden, can you believe it, JULIA JOINED THE JUNIOR LEAGUE!” Storm flat out laughed.

 

She went up for election for the town council and she had roped me into a whole bunch of community organizations.  My schedule was a blur and when I wasn’t meeting with some 'concerned citizens for whatever', I was having sex with my wife, or at work. Storm continued to chuckle at the memory.

 

            “But the tide turned when she found out we were having trouble conceiving normally.  She took it like a test of her womanhood.  EVERYTHING was on a schedule.  I was beginning to believe that she was the southeastern authority on fertility, or maybe the baby making Gestapo.  Everything had to be cleared by her; when was the optimal time for us to eat, when was the best time for us to have sex, even my choice of underwear had to pass her inspection!” he stated in an affronted voice.

 

            “You know Julia can be intense, but this was insane skirting the border of obsessive. And I am not going to even discuss how the fertility drugs made her just plain frightening” Storm said with a shudder.

 

            “But then we got pregnant and she was ecstatic.  Then she had the first miscarriage.  She got pregnant again and she had the second miscarriage.  The depression she fell into, between each, was almost mind numbing.  Finally, when she wanted to try for the third, I argued the best I could for her to stop and just regroup.  The doctors told us that we would be hurting our chances to have a viable pregnancy if we continued on the rollercoaster…”

 

            “You know, beyond us three, the world thinks of me as some cold hearted bastard. Pretty much most in the business world would wholeheartedly agree that I am a complete asshole and I have worked hard to hone that reputation well.  But for Julia, for Julia I would do anything and damn it she knows it and she has never been above using that knowledge against me.”  Storm spoke with irony.

 

            “What happened?” Carrick quietly prompted though he knew the story all too well, but he sensed his friend had to talk it out.”

 

            “It’s like she felt that God was sending her a message that was basically ‘fuck you’, and you know how well Julia takes it when someone gives her ‘the bird’. It became her mission in life to get pregnant again and have the baby survive.  She dropped all the activities that she began in her effort for us to be for a regular family, she stayed away from work and she took up a baby making vocation.”

 

            “I screwed-up!  I should have put my foot down and told her no more. She plead with me, begged me, to try one more time. But like a pussy, I gave in.  And that last pregnancy almost killed her.  Good forgive me, but maybe it should have.  When she woke up from surgery after going into premature labor and I hand to tell her that the baby was gone and she had to have a hysterectomy.  She died.  All the things that made her ‘Julia’ just slid away right before my eyes. She just faded to black.”

 

            Storm took a harsh breath and continued, “The first six months of silence I think I could have dealt with.  It is the slow decline of these last six months, with the help of the alcohol and these fuckin’ drugs, that is making me loose all my patience.  This shit is not my wife.  Julia kicks ass and takes names, and now she is just letting everything she cares about slowly slip away.

            “But why am I telling you all of this? You suffered through it right along with us.” Storm said with a wry smile.  Carrick, I would have gone crazy a long time ago if you had not stood by us.  Thanks.”

 

            “At the risk of doing a poor Gladys Knight, Elton John and Dionne Warwick impression, ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ you know I love you guys.  There is not any way we could have made it out of boarding school without the other.  I love you both and I will do anything in my power to make this better for you both.”

 

            “Along that line,” Carrick continued “I have come across some information regarding a doctor who has had made some impressive inroads with people suffering with substance abuse.  Her name is Dr. Lisa Whittmore and I found out that she is giving a presentation regarding her state-of-the-art program tonight.  Moreover, she is based near you. What do you think?”

 

            “Would I be an asshole if I told you that that 10 years ago, I would have never believed that I would even be considering this type of shit?  Now, I’m desperate.  If I can find anything that will bring Julia back to a tenth of the person she used to be, I would fuckin’ dance on the ceiling.” Storm answered with relief.” Give me the time and address.”

 

            “Look, I had my personal assistant call ahead and make sure you are on the list for attendees.  I figured you would pretty much do anything to help Julia. Remember, I am pulling for you.  Let me know how the presentation goes – you can call me anytime tonight.”

 

            “Carrick…” Storm began, not knowing how to begin to thank his closest friend for offering his ear and support.

 

            “Storm, you don’t have to say it.  I know that if I was in a tough spot, you or Julia would move mountains to help me.  I've got a meeting in five so I talk to you later?”

            “I will let you know how it goes after I see the information.  I will talk to you soon.” Storm hung up his line, hoping that tonight would mark the end of his living and breathing nightmare.

                                                           **********************************************

            Later that evening, as Storm entered the hotel and conference center’s meeting room with his usual ”important person here” swagger, his attention was immediately drawn to the other individuals in attendance.  Everyone, it seemed, had expressions that relayed their various degrees of desperation.  Couples, singles, black, white, and every thing in between were represented.  And Storm new that either they or someone they knew were in some real trouble.  Class or color did not mean a thing, so Storm took his $1,500 designer shoes and found himself a seat, determined to check his ego at the door.

Please follow Story to Next Page

 

Chapter Three

 

            As soon as the man, who looked like “sex on a stick”, came into the room, Dr. Lisa Whittmore was aware of him.  As she made a show of arranging her notes as her colleague preformed the introductory remarks, she surreptitiously followed the man’s movements as he removed his dark glasses and moved with a masculine, casual grace to a vacant seat near the back of the room.  Everything about him screamed expensive, and a lifestyle that generally found him in control of his environment.

 

            As the man found his seat, Lisa took in his long lean body.  The suit he wore, without the, jacket was clearly made to highlight all of his assets-which were everything.  The dark, faintly shimmery material lightly covered his tanned, lean muscular frame.  Even the area that covered his buttocks was a license to enflame.  Lisa could mentally picture a coin being tossed to see if it would actually bounce on that particular male attribute. Damn does he actually have the nerve to have a dimple….there?   All this perfection was capped off with some of the most sinfully thick, closely cut, wavy black hair.

 

            He needs a warning label, “View at Your Own Risk!”

 

            For the first time, in a long time, Lisa found herself curious and her body flushed with sexual awareness. 

 

            Down girl!

 

            Suddenly she was aware that the introductions were finished and the audience was applauding as the speaker called her to the podium.

 

            Time to put your game face on.

 

            As Lisa found her way to the podium, she took the time to look over the audience through the gleam of her horn rimmed glasses.  In her effort to gain the attention of those present, she paused to hold eye contact with the various men and women looking at her with the fear of those waiting for the answer to the universe.  As her gaze moved through the crowd she was finally drawn to man who had last entered the room. 

 

            In his magnetic ice blue gaze, she saw his warring emotions of doubt and hope. In her mind’s eye she saw him throw out the gauntlet. Prove it to me honey. Show me that you have at least a modicum of knowledge to help the people in this room.  I betcha you don’t have the goods. She imagined the dare in his eyes.

 

            Game on

 

            “Thank you Dr. Marshall for your kind words, but this isn’t the time for kind words is it? I think it is reasonable to assume that everyone in this room has been touched by substance abuse and you are looking for answers.  Well, I can’t stand here and tell you that what I am going to discuss with you is going to be a magic bullet.  But I think I can reasonably state that we have an approach that is as close to an answer that has emerged of the scientific and medical community in a long time.  As I discuss our protocol, you will see that we marry new scientific breakthroughs with cutting edge drug therapies, and traditional tools that assist the community, family, and the patient to navigate through the maze toward recovery and sobriety maintenance.

 

            She took the pass and ran the ball home for a touch down.

 

            As the beautiful Dr. Whittmore proceeded with her presentation and slides, Storm was struck by her command of the information.  Her voice was strong, yet smooth like wine.  No matter how often anyone interrupted her with a question, or a point of clarification, she was able to present much of the technical information in a manner that was palatable for a novice, but not in a way that patronized the audience.  As she went through her remarks, one knew that she cared for he subject deeply and was personally invested in all individuals who were engaged in process.

 

            But Storm was even more struck by how she played down her sexiness. On most women thick horn rimmed glasses would only intensify their non-descript looks, but on Dr. Whittmore the glasses only served to enhanced her intrigue.  As he salivated over her toffee, bronzed skin, he tried to gain an unobstructed view of her.  Unfortunately, the podium blocked her body from the upper waist down. Despite that, he saw flashes of her figure as she moved around to engage the audience.  What he observed made his adjust his position in his seat as his body reacted to what his eyes beheld; her body hinted at generous curves in all the right places.

 

            Dr. Whittmore wore the requisite black suite, which seemed a requirement for all doctors and lawyers, but there was something different about hers.  At first Strom could not quite put his finger on it but….she must have one hell of a tailor.  At first look the suit was appropriately conservative and dull, but under the hands of her alteration genius, he saw how the suit skimmed her body in all the seductive places, putting emphasis on all of her generous curves.  The material was closely fitted to her chest down to her waist, while adding the suggestion of bountiful breasts. All of this she paired with minimal jewelry and a tightly wound chignon gathered at the nape of her neck.

 

            Is there a special place in hell for a man coveting the doctor who might be his one chance to bring his wife back to the land of the living?

 

 Like I give a fuck.

 

            For the past couple of months, Storm had been discretely renewing his acquaintance with some of the familiar women of his past.   For more than a year he had been living within the stifling box that Julia and he had created for themselves.  He imagined that she found her peace from the pain, through the alcohol and prescriptions.  He just craved the physical release that sex brought.  His requirements for his playmates were strict. He did not want further hurt or embarrass Julia, so he stuck with women who knew the score, could keep their mouths shut, and did not expect any more than he ever claimed to give.

 

            As he watched the sexy doctor expertly negotiate the attention of the audience, he could not help thinking to himself; I would not mind a taste of those prim and proper lips. At the same time those very same lips continued to provide details regarding the facility that patients/participants were expected to stay for the first phase of intensive detoxification, core care building, and counseling component of the program.

 

            The finality in her tone of voice brought him back to events within the room. She began her closing remarks, “I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to our appeal to help you and your loved one get a handle on this disease.” Her smile encompassed everyone in the room. “Dr. Reginald Marshall and I will be around for the next half-hour or so to answer any questions you may have.  Please know that we are committed to assisting in anyway possible.  Our approach is holistic, and encompasses many, if not all treatment ideologies.  Please let me be clear that this protocol requires the participation and commitment of who are important to our participants, It is important for you, those who propose this treatment to evaluate whether you can stick it out.  Again, thank you for your time.” She moved away from the podium and walked out the doors to the side of the conference room.

            For a while Storm, lost track of her, he watched as people milled around and talked to the treatment staff that were strategically placed around the room to answer questions. And finally he caught site of her again, on the other side of the room he spotted her speaking to a man and a woman, he abruptly stood up to silently strode toward her.

 

The doctor had her arm around an older lady, who seemed clearly in distress.  As he drew nearer he caught bits of their conversation.  The woman had a son who had been battling addiction for many years without success.  She told the doctor that they had come to the end of the road, her child was someone she did not even recognize anymore. He listened as the doctor consoled the couple and encouraged them to make an appointment with the facility so that they could talk about their case specifically. As he drew up to the group he saw the parents gratefully grasp her hand and agree to make an appointment as soon as possible.

 

            As soon as the sexy man that that Lisa had been watching all night drew close to her little group.  Lisa was instantly aware of him.  Something in her instantly knew that this was going to happen.  This moment between him and her had to be played out.  She was so confident that it was inevitable that she had left the room after her presentation and did something that would probably seem very foolish in the morning.

 

            As he drew abreast of her she quickly did the “married check.”

 

            No wedding band-all systems go.

 

            She turned her body so that anyone watching their interplay would only be able to see her back.  As he fully faced her and was about to speak, Lisa stopped him in his tracks by commencing a frank and slow perusal of his body.  She took in his expensively shod feet and moved up slowing acknowledging and approving of his lean runner’s legs.  As her eyes rose to the juncture between his legs, Lisa’s have a hum of approval as she saw the evidence of arousal.  Everything in her wanted to touch him right there, but she didn’t want to rush her analysis of his goods.  She continued her exploration, and almost licked her lips as she made her way to his broad chest.  From her seat at the podium, she could not fully appreciate the broadness of his sensational pectorals.  She then realized, at five seven and a half the top of her head only reached the bottom of his neck.  As her eyes rose to view the sun-kissed corded muscles of his neck as it emerged from his shirt, she watched as he reflexively swallowed before she made contact with his cool eyes.       

 

            “Are you finished?” He asked with barely concealed amusement. “Because if you are not, I would be happy to move around so that you can take in my profile as well. 

 

“Hummm, yes, I think I am fine……for now. So how do you want do this? We can stand here and make idle chit chat or we can get to the reason you have waited over forty-five minutes for the room to clear out before you approached me?” She could not keep up with the words that seemed to flow out of her mouth as they emerged of their own volition.

 

What the hell did I just say?

 

“You are a pretty bold one aren’t you?” He asked as he moved closer.

 

“You are definitely a grown man, so I am sure you can take grown-up talk. So let’s cut out the chase. 

 

Oh shit, my mouth did it again.

 

Here is a room key for room 4011.  If you are like minded, wait for me there and we’ll see if you are as good as you look.”  She finished by unobtrusively pressing the plastic card in his hands, boldly matching his stunned expression with a simmering one of her own.

 

Maybe I can argue temporary insanity.

 

“Look, no pressure if a woman who knows what she wants, or does not want, is not for you, just return the key to the front desk-and there is no harm done.”

 

Oh my, confident talk from an obviously insane woman.  

 

Before he could respond either way she turned around and walked toward the gentleman who had been introduced as Dr. Reginald Marshall at the beginning of the session. 

As Lisa walked away, her only thought was that she hoped he could not see her knees knocking.

 

As she slowly departed, Storm noted the seductive, hypnotic sway of her hips. There is no way in hell I am missing this.

 

If anyone had been watching the exchanged it would have looked like she had been answering one of the many questions that had already been asked several times before.  But their brief interchange left Storm floored and intrigued.

This was one offer he could in no way pass up.  She had played him at his own game and he could not wait to even the score.

Chapter Four

            Whatamidoing,Whatamidoing,Whatamidoing,Whatamidoing.  Lisa chanted to herself as she waited for the elevator to reach the lobby; then rose to the fortieth floor.  The brovada that she had shown when initially meeting the dark haired stranger was quickly waning.  By the time she reached her floor, took of her glasses, place them in her coat, and walked to the room, the mantra only increased in volume and frequency.  In the moment that she found herself in front of the appointed door and discovered the discrete plaque that denoted she had reached room 4011, the voice in her head was deafening    

 

When she placed the plastic card in the unlocking mechanism she gave herself a final, What the hell am I doing. I have now walked into the final, dangerous stages of hoochie mamadom.

 

            As she walked into the room a sight greeted her that made all of her self doubts instantly flee her mind.  As her body framed the doorway, her eyes beheld her heart’s desire.

 

            Just the sight of him indolently lounging upon the sofa, across from the door, made her body react like a four alarm fire.  She drunk in his long lean legs, and if she didn’t miss her guess, he had unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt and a smattering of dark hair peeked out form his pale blue shirt.  Every possible rational thought suddenly seemed impossible.

 

            No, she could not walk away from this moment.

            No, it did not matter that she did not even know his name.

            Yes, he would feel oh so good in between her legs.

 

            Before it had even registered that she had moved further into the room, she found her hands had moved to her chignon and released her curls.  All her life she took particular care with her hair and the smooth seductive feelings of sensuality only increased as she felt her released curls gently graze her shoulders and fall a few more inches down her back.  As she gently shook her head, then rubbed and caressed her hair in an effort to remove any lingering tangles; he did it.

 

He upped the ante. Suddenly the room was flooded with the plaintive soul stirring demands of the recording artist, Maxwell, demanding the world know that the object of his affection didn’t take any shit and she was not to be played with.  No force on earth could make Lisa break the teasing, testing connection they continued with their eyes.

 

            I wonder if an out-of body experience feels like this?  Lisa briefly thought as she found her body began to move in a hip rocking movement.  She was in wonder as she saw her hands slowly, enticingly, deliberately unbutton her blouse as she held the gaze of those startlingly blue eyes.  Some other part of her was absolutely appalled at her actions.  The part of her that was now in control knew her purpose as she glided closer to the man sitting across from her, watching her as he slowly sipped a glass of Champagne.  Her last thought of true clarity was the hope that he would be able to provide the pleasure that she had long withheld from herself.

 

            Continuously her body undulated, like an accomplished, sultry, Middle Eastern belly dancer. With each fluctuation of the beat she wound her hips in pattern that could make her observer bare witness that there was indeed a God. Her head rocked back side to side and her legs kicked out in a slow grind as the beat carried her though a dream filled with wanting and yearning.

 

As she removed each piece of cloth, as each piece of material was discarded, her eyes matched Storm’s opening bid for an explosive evening and raised the stakes. Suit jacket, blouse and finally her skirt hit the floor in a swish of material. The message in her eyes, as she took control of their interlude was put up or shut up.

 

            Storm was simply stunned. From the moment he entered the room, he was surprised that she had reserved a well appointed suite.  This was not the setting for a quick “Wham-Bam”. While he awaited her appearance, he examined the room’s contents, with its luxuriously appointed sitting room and a bedroom hidden beyond mirrored French doors.  While he made himself comfortable in the room, he took the liberty of ordering a bottle of the hotel’s best champagne.   In fact, room service had delivered his request only ten minuets before she arrived.

 

 When she opened the door, his eyes never waivered as she stood like a vision of an amber hued Venus de Milo, his excitement increased another few notches. .  Suddenly, he felt like an untried fifteen year old anticipating his first encounter with a girl.  As she moved closer to him and unbound her hair, he felt he groin tighten with each step. By the time she paused in the middle of the room, his dick felt like an iron encased alien appendage fighting to be released from its confines.

 

She hasn’t even taken a piece of clothing off. Damn, I may not survive this.

 

             To give his body a chance to calm down, Storm reflexively touched the audio remote in one hand while he took a huge gulp of his drink in his left.  All the while, he prayed that he seemed to keep his composure for the woman who eyes issued a dare that for the first time in a long while he was unsure sure that he could meet.

 

            Then she started the steamiest strip tease known to man.

 

            Somehow, Storm kept it together as she removed all of her outer clothing. What remained on her body made him polish the contents of his flute of Champagne in one gulp.

 

            Storm Weston was treated to another of Dr. Lisa Whittmore’s dirty little secrets; Itty bitty lingerie. Storm, at one time had considered himself an almost connoisseur of women’s unmentionables.  But he had never seen anything like the clever configurations of ribbon and lace that he supposed that the “good doctor” thought passed as underwear.

His eyes slowly roamed over the little confection of lavender that inexplicably held her full breasts. His discerning eye saw that the only support it provided seemed to be incorporated in the thin mesh material and required all the mysteries of design and architecture to do its job of providing support to the glorious globes of flesh that he now beheld.

 

 As he eyes moved past her waist, he almost embarrassed himself with a premature release.  Her panties were maid of the same delicate, lavender material, but across her hips were delicate chains that looped around each other to connect the piece of triangular material between her legs.

 

            Storm could no longer hold back.  As he pushed himself to his feet, he placed the empty glass on the table next to sofa and stalked to the feminine vision before him.  He could not trust this ability to make sound, so instead her grabbed her gently rocking head as he took her lips in a bruising kiss.  All of him was at war; part of him wanted the kiss to put her back in her place and the other wanted to push her to further acts of indecency. Her mouth met his for every parry of his tongue and rode his lips hard as she grabbed his shoulders to try to take control of the kiss.

 

            Little did she know, but Storm would never let her taked the reins to this ride.  Harshly he bent to grab her legs and guide them around his waist.  All the while he made sure that he did not release them from their punishing kiss. While  he held her, he maneuvered them toward the far wall.  As he braced her body against the wall, Storm used one hand to support her body while he used the other to release his belt and the fastener on his pants.  As his pants dropped to the ground he used his precarious play of balance to sheath himself in a condom.  In the next moment he ripped off the small patch of fabric that sought to separate him from his goal.  He did not give a damn about how obviously expensive the garment was.

 

Hell he would buy her another –he would buy her twenty. He grunted at the thought. Without another moment of hesitation he drove himself into her body.

Lisa threw her head back at the sudden invasion of his unbelievably huge penis into her core.  While her muscles protested his rough intrusion into her soft wetness, she reveled in the feel of his hard body savagely driving her to orgasm.

 

            The sensation was so powerfully exquisite that they both exhaled harsh guttural breaths as they still fought to continue their kiss.  Storm could only feel the tight, silken warmth of her body surround him.  It was like nothing he had ever felt before.  It seemed that every nerve ending, in that already extremely sensitive area, was enhanced one thousand percent.  The thought of withdrawing to thrust again seemed almost too unbearable, but he could not stop himself.  Somewhere in his consciousness, he was aware that with each movement of their body, Lisa had begun a keening sound which only increased his compulsion to bring them to their ultimate pleasure.

 

            Smoothly, Storm increased the pace and felt Lisa increase the tightness in which she held him inside herself.  This only served to heighten the sensitivity. He felt the pressure building, and was dimly aware that this maybe the first time, since he was a teenager that he found his orgasm before his partner,

 

Then Lisa exploded like an atomic bomb.  The after effects of her release triggered his response; suddenly he felt a draw in his balls that brought a moment of fear throughout his body.  It felt like his release was going to rip his dick apart. In a flicker of a moment he irrationally wanted to draw his release back, but there was no stopping his body’s explosive reaction. It was all he could do to remain standing and hold Lisa up.  As his body was racked with each new wave of his response, he just burrowed into her body and rode each ripple.  Finally, after several minuets he felt strong enough to guide her wobbly legs to the ground and as her feet touch the ground they both collapsed to the floor.

 

            After what seemed an eternity he felt some modicum of strength flow back into his body.  With his small serge of strength he opened he eyes to consider the sweet, soft body next to him. In his direct line of sight was a raisin colored nipple.  Sometime during their earlier encounter he must have removed her bra, he didn’t remember it. He could not help himself.  He had to touch. His touch turned to a slight pinch. The pinch turned in to a nibble.  He had no idea where the his reserves of strength came from, but he soon felt his body react to her sweet smelling skin and the sight rocking effect given off by her body reaction as he continued to play with her breasts. 

 

            Lisa could not open her eyes for anything.  She also could not help her body’s response as her blue eyed stranger continued to manipulate her breasts.  Suddenly she felt her body being hoisted from the ground, and with her eyes closed she felt him carry across the room, she heard a door open, and suddenly she was lowered down upon a sinfully soft mattress.  For several moments she heard and felt nothing and finally she opened her eyes.

 

            She watched him as he watched her.

 

            She took all of him in as he stood at the bottom of the bed. This man was built for sex and for the first time she got a clear look at his long aroused!!! penis.  She imagined if she had three hands, each one next to the other, she may be able to span the length his dick.

 

            He watched her with a smug smile as she catalogued every part of his body.  Naked he was magnificent.  At some point during her relocation to the bedroom he had removed the rest of his clothes and he was not self-conscious about his nudity.  If anything, he knew that that the show that he was providing was top rate. As he moved in to begin a new session of slow sultry sex, Lisa’s last thought was that she hoped that she would have the time to become more intimately introduced the all of the natural beauty of this man.

 

Please Go To Next Page

Chapter Five

            “Hello Charisse, I am so sorry that I am so late calling you back.” Lisa greeted her sister on the telephone as she walked through the airport, after departing the plane.  “The whole time I was in France I told myself I was going to give you a call, but I kept on getting pulled into meetings, and then there were luncheons, and finally dinner parties. I think I also slipped in few thousand presentations, in French.  By the time I intended to call you, either I was falling asleep or I was starting the whole grind all over again.”

 

            “Lisa, if I didn’t know you work too hard, I would be insulted.  You were supposed to call me two weeks ago, before you left for Paris.”  Her sister answered with a definite attitude in her voice.

 

            “Char, pretty please forgive me.” Lisa whined like a little girl, knowing full well her sister could not help but forgive her.

 

            “You were supposed to call me after your big presentation, so that we could get a little girl chat in-what happened?” Charisse answered back, not giving an inch.

 

            Lisa did not want to get into any discussion regarding why she never called her sister the evening before she left for France.  That discussion, she knew, would turn into a replay of her evening with the blue eyed stranger and she had worked hard during her business trip to put that interlude behind her. “Oh, I just ended up getting behind schedule, so I had to hastily throw some clothes in a bag and go to the airport.”

 

            “You are lying.”

 

            “What!  Char why would I lie?  Since we have rolled out our substance abuse protocol, I have had to travel non-stop.  Believe me, I have been so busy that I hardly know my own name anymore.”

            “Lisa, you thrive on busy; you have taken multitasking to strange and dangerous levels.  Also, when you were three, and I was six, I knew when you were telling a fat one and I still know when you are lying to me.  Now, I am just curious to know why?” Charisse added with a bit of hurt in her tone. “  Look you can tell me you don’t want to talk about it, or if I have done something to offend you, you can just say you don’t want to talk to me, but lying shows disrespect and I would hate to believe that my little sister does not respect me.”  Charisse stated with a note of finality in her voice.

 

            Lisa rolled her eyes while she listened to her sister overdramatize. Then she found the driver with her name written on his white placard. “Listen sis, give me a minute while I give the driver my bags and get into the car.”  Lisa handed her carryon to the driver and followed him to the black car that was parked along the curb.

 

            As she finally got comfortable in the back seat, she took her sister off of hold. “You are such a drama queen.  If you must know I met a guy after the presentation and I ended up spending most of the evening with him, by the time that I got home, all I could do was crash, then get up in the morning and try to catch my flight.”  Lisa hoped this was enough information for her sister to back off.

 

            “Wooo Hooo!!!”

 

            The sound was so loud that Lisa accidently dropped the phone.  After franticly trying to pick it up, while the drive turned a pretty vicious corner, Lisa was able to catch more of her sister whooping it up several hundred miles away.

 

            “Lisa, you finally had sex?  How long has it been?  I mean, is this the first time you've had some in the new millennium?  Did you still remember what to do? I think there is a rule that when a thirty-five year old hasn’t had sex in ten years, she becomes a de facto virgin.  What man have you been around to have sex with?  Oh, my God! You actually had sex with Reggie?”  Her sister’s words rushed out in ten seconds flat.

 

            “Char, you are not funny-you think you are funny, but you are not funny.  I may not have had sex a lot in the last few years, but I am far from a dried up prune.  And I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH REGGIE! Lisa began shouting, until she remembered she was a passenger in a hired car and the driver was looking at her like she sprung two heads.

 

            “So who is he?”

 

            Your guess is as good as mine.  But of course she could not tell her sister that. 

 

            “Now this is the part where you honor you word. I do not want to talk about it so let’s change the subject.”  Lisa primly answered her sister.

 

            “It was that bad, huh.”

 

            No, it was that friggin’ spectacular. “I am not talking about that, or him.” Lisa answered in the same voice that she saved for employees that have been caught doing something unprofessional.

 

            “Did he have a penis the size of a thimble or did you find the one Black man, in a 20 mile radius, that has the rhythm, in bed, of Richard Simmons ‘sweatin’ to the oldies’?  Honey, the important thing is that you got back on the horse.  When it has been your first time in a decade, its o.k. if the ride leaves you flat on your ass.  Remember, practice make perfect. Her sister barely got out before she burst into a fit of giggles.

 

            I would have loved to practice, and practice and practice some more with that dangerously gorgeous man. “Char I am not saying another syllable about this subject. Lisa reminded her sister.

 

            Her sister was almost in hysterics with laughter. “I accept your apology for not calling me back, seeing that you finally had something better to do.”

 

            “Ha! Ha! Ha!” Lisa answered dryly. “Look I have reached the office.  I don’t even have time to stop home and drop my stuff off.  Reggie has some big wig client he wants me to meet.  I will talk to you later, okay?  Tell Christian and the kids hello for me.  I love you, you pain in the ass.

 

            Same to you.  I’m glad you got laid.  Charisse added with a snicker.  While Lisa watched the car draw up to the curb through the window, the sisters both hung up.

 

            As Lisa entered the building, she noticed a black Mercedes parked at the curb.  She made a mental note to tell her assistant to find the owner so that it could be moved.  It was in a fire and emergency zone.

 

            When she walked through the foyer of the executive suite she greeted her assistant of the past three years. “Hey Donna, I am finally back, anything new going on?”

 

            “No, everything is handled.” The no nonsense brunette replied, glancing at Lisa as she turned away from her computer terminal.  “But you know that Dr. Marshal is waiting in your office, he wanted to talk to you first thing this morning.”

 

            “Thanks Donna.” Lisa replied as she made her way to her office. She stopped when she remembered the car.  “There is a black Mercedes at the curb, can you find the owner and advise him or her that they are in a no parking zone?”

 

            As she walked in her office, her eyes found her friend and colleague, Dr. Reginald Marshall.  Reggie was a chocolate skinned, seriously fine brother, but like in many platonic friendships between the opposite sex, there is a time where you make a choice, whether you are going to cross the line into something else, or not.  Lisa made the decision long ago that she preferred to enjoy a friendship with him that she knew would last a lifetime, than to get into a potentially messy romantic relationship that could turn sour too quickly and kill the friendship forever.  He was a good guy and they had nursed each other through more that a few romantic entanglements in their day.  They had gone through medical school together and had shared a passion for helping people through their addictions, with an emphasis on the integration of genetic history, drug therapy, and psychiatry.   In the last couple of years, Lisa had been well aware that Reggie has had more than a platonic interest in her, but luckily he had never pressed the point and she hoped it was just a phase.  

 

“Hey Reggie, what on earth is so important that I had to rush from the airport straight to the office?” She grinned as she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, European style.

           

            Reggie could not help the flush of pleasure that he had that she had greeted him so warmly.  As he watched her move behind her desk, he could not help himself but wonder what it could be like if she was his wife.  “Hello world traveler!  It looks Parisian life has been good to you.”  He remarked as he admired, if he didn’t miss he guess, her new cream colored, linen, custom tailored suit.  As always the suit fitted her to an inch of its life. Lisa wardrobe was never tasteless, but if you were one to notice such things, the fit of her clothing could make a man pant.

 

Reggie threw himself into one of the chairs placed in front of her desk and crossed his legs, then leaned back with his arms behind his head. “The right people are finally taking a serious look at us now. The buzz from your presentation two weeks ago has been tremendous; coupled with the word coming to from Europe, we have a great chance of making our protocol international.”  He then jumped up and started buzzing around the office.

           

            “Well, that’s my job; I supposed to be the rainmaker right? I’m glad that the response has been so positive.”  She smiled at his enthusiasm, even though she was dog tired.

 

 

            Reggie suddenly stopped bouncing around her office and turned to look at her in earnest.  “Okay look, I know you have got a ton of things to do today, but I wanted you to take a look at this file.” Reggie passed the relatively small file to Lisa.  He talked while she flipped through it. “This patient has been married to her husband for about 10 years.  For most of that time they were happily married.  The last five they had spent trying to have a child, but they had fertility problems leading to three miscarriages.  The final one lead her to hemorrhage and the surgeon had to perform a hysterectomy.   This threw her into a depression leading to her dependence on alcohol and prescriptions.

 

“Did they remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes?”

 

“No.”

 

“You know I ask because we have to consider her hormones and any attempts to self medicate.  If her physician removed all of her reproductive organs, then in addition to the trauma of finding out that she would not be able to carry a child, her hormones would be all over the place until she was evaluated for hormone therapy.  It still may be something to consider while she is being evaluated medically.”

 

“You are right; I will make sure the clinic orders the appropriate tests.” Reggie answered.

 

            “Well Reggie, you know it’s been awhile since I dealt with the actual cases, but it seems your recommendations seem spot-on.”  Lisa stated as she passed the file to him.

 

            Reggie looked relieved. “You know you are the triple threat. Your diagnostic skills are excellent.  Your presentation skills are fantastic, and as far as the business, we would still be a store front downtown if you had not molded this program into something. But now we have our first significant, high profile client and I want to make sure that we are ‘on point’.”

 

            “Ah, the man who is supposed to be waiting in your office is the husband?”

 

            Reggie planted he hands across from her on the desk and leaned in. “His wife was admitted last week. We spent the week before working out the admissions process and doing a full evaluation. They are from one of the oldest families in the city and I want to make sure that they get excellent care.”

 

            “Reggie, we give all of our patients excellent care, not matter what their class.” She reminded him. “Any way it seems that this is a pretty clear case.  She doesn’t seem to have a family history of alcohol and/or drug abuse – so there does not seem to be a genetic predisposition for substance abuse.  I think, once she is cleared from detoxification, we can lean on most of the traditional means of helping her maintain her sobriety.  Reggie your analysis in the file seems to be clear and correct.”  She looked at him with an encouraging smile.

 

            Reggie beamed from her praise.” I told him all about you and I want you to meet him.  I think it will make a great impression if he knew that the co-directors of the protocol were taking a personal interest in his wife’s case.”

 

            “You know that I would do just about anything for you and business, but I have had about enough glad handing that I can just about take.  That is all I have done for the past two weeks.”

 

            “I already told him that you were coming.  I had Donna keep him busy, showing him stuff around the office, he should be in my office right now.” He said sheepishly.

 

            “Reggie, you are something else.” She said with a smile, and then she stretched her arms as she stood.  “I am right behind you.”

 

            She followed Reggie into his office as he began introducing her.  Reggie was extraordinarily tall, so he was almost at the end of the basic intro by the time she could see past her colleague. “Dr.  Lisa Whittmore, please meet Mr. Storm Weston.” 

 

Lisa had already had her hand out to shake Mr. Weston hand as she looked up to make eye contact.  She gave the term “struck dumb” a whole new meaning; She suddenly felt like she was frozen solid, and then her stomach lurched like she was about to projectile vomit.

 

            That is Sexy Stranger.  Oh God! Please God! Let him have something like a stunt double. Please don’t let him be Sexy Stranger.

 

            “Actually, I think that Dr. Whitmore and I meet at her presentation two weeks ago, I am not sure if she remembers me.  Storm’s hand meet hers for a short shake that was guided more by him than by her, since she did not seem capable of general motor function.

 

            Ahhhh Damn!  God, couldn’t you have worked with me a little?

 

            “Uh, Mr. Weston it’s, uhmm, nice to make your acquaintance, again.”  Lisa briefly met his sparkling, cool eyes and ducked behind Reggie, while trying to suppress her urge to panic.

 

            Clearly startled by her behavior, Reggie glanced at her like she had lost her mind. Then he moved further into the room so that he stood behind his desk, all the while giving her a questioning glare.

 

            And thanks for your support! Lisa thought meanly as she was left standing in front of Mr., MARRIED, Storm Weston.

 

            “I, uh, reviewed, uhmm, your WIFE’S (You married piece of shit!) chart and I think Dr. Marshall’s analysis is correct.  I really don’t handle the cases anymore, but I think it is important that I meet our families.  I just got back from a business trip in France, so I need to get back to my office, now.”  Lisa fairly mumbled at a rate of speed that would make any commercial announcer for the side effects of any erectile dysfunction medication proud. “Well, it was, uhmm, nice meeting you, goodbye.” She waived in his general direction and basically sprinted out the door into her office.

 

            As she looked around her office she felt her thoughts and her heart race.  God he looked so good...I sounded so dumb… With that display I wouldn’t be able to convince anybody that I graduated preschool. 

 

Then her traitorous mind reminded her how delicious he looked.  This time he wore an obviously expensive blue, pinstriped suit, matched with a shirt and tie.  He looked polished; every inch the prominent, well-to-do business man.  That jerk looked way too cool, calm, and collected.  And she did not appreciate that he had her at a disadvantage.

 

She spent the rest of the day trying to get out of her mind how her whole body tingled when he briefly shook her hand.

Chapter Six

As Lisa packed up her briefcase at the end of a very shitty day, she felt that she had developed a game plan for handling Mr. Storm Weston.  Basically, the key to her strategy was that she wouldn’t handle him at all.  She did not get involved with individual cases anymore and there was no reason for her to have any contact with him.  She was taking a huge chance not disclosing her conflict of interest with Reggie, but she prayed that this one time, if she was a really good girl, that this dirt done in the dark would not come to bite her in the ass.

 

When she walked through her office to the door she caught her image in the mirror.  She almost kept on walking past, but something made her stop and edge closer to her reflection.  She looked at the woman in her sights with the dark caramel skin, wide set eyes and, and carefully applied make-up.  Suddenly she addressed her.

 

“This is what happens when you act impulsively.  You almost threw away fifteen-years of hard work acting like a bitch in heat.  Lisa, get your act together.  Hey, you’ve always been the good girl, the one who does everything right.  Everyone here requires you to be the best of the best.  Don’t loose sight of your goals.”  As Lisa talked to herself, she noticed that the woman in the framed mirror seemed so tired and a little sad.  She closed the door to her office, and the woman in the mirror, with a soft click.

 

Luckily, she had arranged to have a car pick her up at the office, since she had once again been the last one to leave the office.  She had so much correspondence to attend to that she wanted to put a dent in it so she could deal with other matters tomorrow.  It felt so good sitting in the back of the hired car anticipating arriving at home, drawing a bath and soaking out all of the bewilderment of the day. Lisa closed her eyes and lightly dozed till the car reached her address.

 

As she got out of the car, upon reaching her destination, she did not see anything amiss until she heard a car door slam in front of the car from which she was struggling to extract her baggage.

 

“Ma’am let me get that for you.” The driver requested and she nodded her appreciation and thanks for his offer.

 

“Then out of no where she heard in a very unmistakable voice, “That won’t be necessary, I will carry her bags in for her.”

 

Oh Shit!

 

She would rather carry an elephant over broken glass than to have this particular Good Samaritan come anywhere near her or her baggage. “No, that’s unnecessary, I have all the help that I need.” She cautioned her unwanted visitor, not casting a glance at the new comer.

 

“I will help her, you can leave.” Storm tersely instructed, as he gave the driver a bill that looked suspiciously like it had the portrait of Benjamin Franklin on it.  The driver took one look at the denomination of the currency extended toward him, did a quick up and down of the man who was standing in front of him, and applied some quick math.  Lisa supposed the driver decided that the man who offered the outrageously generous tip did not look like an ax murder, and the shrewd driver took his money, jumped into his car, and pulled out at lightning speed.

 

Little do you know, ax murders do wear Prada. Lisa thought to herself as she turned to deal with the man who, yet again, had insinuated himself in her life.

 

She noticed that his biceps flexed as he firmly gripped both of her bags. “What the hell are you doing at my home?  I hope you are not so hard up that a little sex has made you into stalker.” Lisa hissed at him through the warm evening air.

 

“Look we can do this right here, on your street, in front of your house, or you can invite me in and we can discuss the situation like reasonable adults.”  His cold eyes regarded her in a disgustingly reasonable manner. But his voice, the sound of his voice made the image of a perfectly balanced Irish whiskey come to mind. Lisa had to mentally shake herself to get back on track.

           

“I have a better idea, why don’t we not talk and pretend that we have never met. So then you can run along home to your wife!”

 

“You probably know better than any one that she is at your treatment facility currently undergoing her own private hell.” The pain of the thought was evident in his voice. “Look, have it your way.  We can talk out here and our discussion can be the gossip point of the week, or you can invite me in.  By the way the old lady across the street keeps on peeking out her window every five minuets.” He said with a glance over his shoulder to place a significant look toward the house behind him.

 

Damn that old biddie Mrs. Houston.  “Look, you can come in, drop my bags, say whatever you have to say and go.”  Lisa stated as she walked ahead and stalked to her front door. Suddenly, he was in front of her, blocking her ability to unlock her door.

 

“Give me your keys, I will unlock the door. You have been gone for two weeks; it’s safer if I go first.” He addressed her quietly.

 

Well, who said chivalry was dead! Lisa thought, as he unlocked the door and moved through the entryway and gave a quick perusal of the house, Lisa put in the code to her alarm to abate the insistent beeping. Then she totally lost whatever cool she had.

 

“Where exactly were all these wonderful manners when you were fucking me senselessly, and never bringing up the fact that you were a married man? Lisa stated in exasperation.

Storm was in no mood for this bullshit.  He had spent the last hour in front of her house waiting for her to come home.  Between the old lady constantly monitoring him through the window and the fact that a patrol car had started to make regular trips down the street, he knew that the only reason that he had not been questioned about his presence in front of her house was because everything about him screamed money and influence.

 

He was relieved when Lisa reached her house, but was struck by her obvious anger with him and his body’s response in seeing her again.  All of the sudden, all he really wanted to do was see what version of dental floss underwear she wearing tonight. Her body heaving with anger at some imagined insult, was only adding to his craving to be inside her.

 

“What are you ten?  As I remember, the subject of marriage status did not come up.  Either, at the time, you took it for granted or you did not care.  In fact, I don’t remember a syllable, of any word, being spoken between us.  We were too busy, as you say, fucking senselessly.  He added with a laser beam glare.

 

Lisa watched his perfectly firm, shapely lips move as he talked and lost her concentration.  She had to move back, and put some distance between him and her before she did something crazy, like rape him.

 

“You didn’t have a wedding ring on – I checked. She mumbled, knowing something was faulty with her logic, but she could not completely put her finger on the problem.

 

“Oh fuck me! You really are ten.  Next time I get propositioned by a beautiful woman, in a hotel conference room, I going to ask for some ID.” He said in exasperation, while running his very tanned, slender hand through his short, cropped, dark curls.  “No, I don’t wear a wedding ring. Julia started wearing one those during the last few years of our marriage, but I couldn’t get in the habit, it just felt uncomfortable. That really doesn’t matter.” Visibly attempting to shake himself from his insane need to explain.  “Look, you can try to make me the bastard in all of this, and you maybe right, but my wife and I have an understanding when it comes to our extracurricular activities.”

           

            While he talked, Lisa had backed away from him, turned around, walked across her spacious living room, then turned on a lamp behind her sofa, and stood next to marble counter that separated her open kitchen from the living area.  The distance allowed her the space to think, with out her libido giving its own suggestions.

 

            “Yes, nothing says acceptance like detoxification in a substance abuse facility.” She half muttered to herself.

 

            But Storm had heard her and reacted viciously as he followed as far as the living area, “Wow, you’re ten with the added bonus of being a bitch! I assume since you have attained a what…… ten year olds are in the fourth grade?” he mused to himself.  “Since you have attained a fourth grade education, you probably were able to grasp, with your adolescent mind, the basic points of Julia’s file and know that there is a whole lot more going on than us fucking other people.” He looked at her with a steely glare.

 

            Lisa was properly shamed.  She was acting like some spurned girlfriend, and worse she was acting like she did not know the meaning of the word professional.  She tried to gain some perspective. “I am sorry, what I said was uncalled for.” Quickly looking at him and offering an additional apology with her eyes. That seemed to calm him, marginally.

 

            She continued talking as she turned around and pretended to go through some of the mail that she had grabbed when she entered her door. “Look, I can probably guess why you are here. What happened between us, as far as I am concerned is forgotten and it will not negatively impact your wife’s treatment in any way.  First of all, I really do not handle patients anymore, so I am hardly at the clinic or The Retreat.  Reggie, I mean, Dr. Marshall, is a dedicated physician and he will handle all the issues surrounding your wife’s participation in our program.  I am going to have to ask for your cooperation and discretion, I have engaged in a huge breach of ethics, and I should really disclose my conflict of interest to Dr. Marshall, but I have decided that would probably cause more problems than it would solve.”  Lisa finally placed the mail on the counter and took a deep breath.

 

            “What if I don’t want to pretend that amazing night did not happen?” She heard him croon behind her in a voice that made her grab the counter top to steady herself.  “What if I am here to see if we can negotiate an arrangement that could be mutually beneficial?” Suddenly she felt him a fraction of an inch behind her.  His shoulder were touching the back of hers,  he then threaded his fingers in between hers on the counter and he leaned into her body to whisper in her ear, “for the past two weeks all I could think about, and I am so curious to know now, what little piece of nothing are you wearing under that suit.”

 

            His proximity, the feel of his breath next to her earlobe, the goddam scent of his cologne was almost too much for Lisa.  Lord, the scent of his cologne was a Weapon of Mass Delusion.  She was two seconds from forgetting all about her career, her research, her life, hell even her name. She just wanted to turn around, lead him up the stairs and tie the man to her bed, so that he could begin his penance with his head between her legs.

 

            Oh my sweet lord! He smells so good. I need to get the name of that stuff, and let the U.S. military know about it.  We could ship it to Afghanistan and make sure all male U.S. personnel wear it.  The Afghani women will fall all over themselves surrendering, or spilling state secrets all in an effort to get close to a guy wearing the stuff. It’s my civic duty.

 

            But contrary to all her swirling emotions, in opposition to every sinfully erotic sensation that was currently ping-ponging through her body Lisa heard herself say, “I am not going to sacrifice my whole life and career to be your little bit on the side.”

 

            Undeterred, it seemed that Storm moved even closer, his length seem to try to nestle itself between her buttocks, even while they were both completely clothed. “I propose some rules. Then everyone involved will be protected.” He soothed as he brushed his lips from her ear and followed the line to barely brush them down her neck and her shoulder.

 

            Oh God, this is so unfair! Lisa pleaded to her higher power as she pushed back against him with a small slip of her will power.  Then she collected herself by mentally reinforcing her tenuous grip on her self control.

 

            She turned around and looked him in the eye.  Her lips were a faction of an inch away from his.  “Mr. Weston, I thought your wife’s chart implied that you could trace you family linage directly to the Mayflower?” she whispered with a come hither smile.

 

            “Well, yes my ancestors came to America on the Mayflower.”  He answered, then pushed back to give her a little room, clearly confused about what direction the conversation was taking.”

           

            “Then why are you acting like English is your second language?” She replied with a show of confusion.  Then she nailed him with a glare of her own, reinforced with steel.  “Please, GET. THE. HELL. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE!”

 

            Storm was mesmerized.  He knew at the end there he was getting to her, and she still shut him down.  If anything, she had just become even more interesting to him.  No one told Storm Weston no. The image of her strip tease two weeks ago suddenly floated into his mind and added some heat behind his eyes. Her open rejection of her desire had his attention and triggered his competitive spirit.  Storm quietly stood back, gave her a heated look and coolly walked across the living room and out of her sight.  A second later she heard the front door open and close.

 

            Lisa felt shattered, as if someone had pumped her full of helium, then pricked her with a pin.  Everything inside of her was zigzagging at a ridiculous speed till she felt deflated and flat.

 

            Somehow, she shuffled  to her bar, hidden in an armoire, picked out a bottle of her best Merlot and dragged it, and herself, up the stairs to her master bathroom. That way she could have a good soak while drinking the vino straight from the bottle.

 

            As Storm reached home he had fleshed out the finer points of the diabolical plot that he had in mind to make Lisa come to terms that they were going to negotiate a sexual relationship.  He made a few calls from his car to set most of it up.  Finally, he reached and turned into his drive and pulled his car into one of the bays of his five car garage.  Then he entered his quiet, still house.  As he moved toward his study, he turned on a few lights to illuminate the way.  He always called Julia at eleven o’clock.  She was a night owl, but being at the center was agitating her and he found that if he called her right before she went to bed, it helped her settle down.

 

            Storm sat at his desk, reached for the phone, then dialed the number for her room, “Hi sweetheart, how was your day?...........”  As he listened to her weak voice reach out to him, Storm cleared his thoughts of everything else so that he could give her the comfort that he knew Julia desperately needed.

 

 

 

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Chapter Seven

 

          When Lisa reached her office the next morning the onslaught began.  Once she reached her desk, she found her working space filled with some of the most exotic flowers she had ever seen.  Every card attached to each bouquet, instead of being signed by the sender read, “Let’s Negotiate an Arrangement.”  Well this gives new meaning to saying it with flowers.  Lisa thought at she pondered the tropical paradise that was once her office.  Some women inspire “I love you madly," I get,” let’s fuck on the down low.”

 

            “No thank you buddy.” Lisa thought grimly as she settled herself at her desk.

In the next moment she pressed her intercom.  “Donna, can you get someone to help remove this profusion of floral vomit out of my office? Thanks.”

 

            When Donna entered her office with two interns at her heels, she had a box in her hand.  “Ok everybody let’s remove all of this from Dr. Whitmore’s office.” She directed, still clutching the box.  “Lisa, this was delivered a few moments ago.” Her assistant put the slim, dove gray box on her desk as she turned to the two women carrying the flowers out of the office.  “Look ladies, be careful with all that water, or you can look forward to mopping, after finding a place for all this nonsense!”  She shut the door as she followed after them muttering under her breath.

 

            Instinctively, Lisa knew who the box was from.  From her seated position she pushed herself from the offending package.  She tilted her head one way and then the other, seeming like she expected it to detonate, or perhaps hoping that it would.  She then stood up and moved to the front of her desk, all the while keeping an eye on the innocuous piece of cardboard. From this vantage point she leaned in close to the box and gave it a light sniff, followed by a deeper one.  It was as she suspected.  This was a box from her favorite French lingerie store in Paris, “Derrière Les Portes Closes” (Behind Closed Doors).

 

            This had just turned in to a very grave situation.  Lisa thought as she looked at the box like she believed little men would hop out doing the hula; or maybe just one very dangerous, conniving man.

 

Lisa slowly moved around her desk again and sat so that she was comfortably seated in her office chair and continued to gaze at the box.  She couldn’t help herself; she dug around in her desk drawer and found her letter opener.  She used the tip of the opener to ease the top edge of the box away from the bottom, as she had seen done on one of those scientific criminal investigation programs on television.  As the lid freed itself from its base, Lisa pushed back abruptly staring at the oblong container.  She again used the tip of the opener to tease the tissue paper aside, all the while stretching her body away from the desk, the wisps of paper fell apart and she released a breath that she did not know she was holding.

 

            “That RAT BASTARD!” Lisa exclaimed jumping out of her seat and moving away from her desk like it was suddenly set afire.  All of the sudden she was mumbling to herself and casting suspicious glances toward the box.

 

            “Lisa!  What the hell is going on in here?” Donna exclaimed barreling though the door. 

 

            “I, uh, received some surprising information.  I’m sorry, I did not mean to be so loud.  You can go back to your desk, it’s alright.”  Lisa looked at her assistant and then slid her gaze toward the box.

 

            Donna took a step and turned back, looking at her boss one last time.  “Are you sure you are okay, you have been acting really strange?”

 

            Lisa smiled at Donna and walked toward her and gave her a light hug, “Yes I am fine.  It has just been a startling day and I am only a half hour into it.”  She declared as she guided Donna out and closed the door.

 

            She walked around her desk, and on the tips of her toes, once again and peered into the light gray box.  There sat, enmeshed in an expensive cut of tissue paper, were pieces of black, lacy, silk.  She knew exactly what it was. In fact, she had drooled over it in the shop, in France, only a few days before; a bra and panties.

 

            “Oh, he plays dirty.” She said out loud to her empty office.

 

***********************************************

 

            And there it went.  Every day, three times a day, like clock work, she would receive a delivery. In each box there would be another shimmering, mellifluous, piece of flotsam.  It hit her deep. It hit her hard – a bulls-eye, straight into her sweet spot.

 

            On Friday, the whole game changed.  Reggie walked in her office beaming as if he had won the lottery.  As he paced and talked, she kept giving nervous glances toward her office closet.  She didn’t want to bring the gifts home, that would seem like she had accepted them, but she also could not bring herself to send them back.  Currently, she had them stacked in the far reaches of the closet like they were vials of Crack. She just knew that she would be permanently and deeply psychologically scarred if anyone found them.

 

            “Do you have time for a late meeting, right now?”  Reggie looked at her with a big grin on his face.

 

            “Sure, what do you have mind? Could we set up in here?”

 

            “No, actually our guests are in the conference room.  We actually have someone who wants to make us an offer.”

 

            “Well, that a nice change.  You mean I am not going to be put in a position of trying to convince someone to see that our program has merit?”  Lisa stated with a laugh and stood.

 

            “No, come with me and see what they want to propose to us.” Reggie grabbed her hand, placed a light kiss on it, and then drug her out of her office.

 

            As they moved toward his office Lisa questioned him, but was equally caught up in his excitement, “Do you know what this is all about?”  She questioned as she looked into his chocolate brown eyes filled with mirth.

 

            “Yes, and honestly I think it’s an inspired idea.  It could open a whole new outlet for us, but I am curious about your opinion.  You are the best judge of an idea than anybody I have ever known.”

 

            As Reggie opened the door for her, she walked in with a smile on her face and then stopped dead in her tracks.  She stopped so abruptly that Reggie almost walked right into her from behind.  They looked like a bad 1920’s comedy.

 

            I am sooooo tired of being ambushed. She thought to herself as she stared straight into the eyes of her conniving, duplicitous, blue eyed devil.

 

            Reggie quickly recovered himself, and probably remembered her behavior the last time the same parties where in a room together.  He gathered Lisa by the arm and led her to a chair directly across from Storm Weston, and he placed himself next to her. Then he attempted to clear his throat.

 

            Storm interrupted with a cool tone, “Dr. Marshall, I know we have talked at length about my little proposal, but if you don’t mind, I would love my associates to explain it at length to Dr. Whittmore.  He watched Lisa as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, visibly arming herself against his presence.

 

            “Sure, please feel free to do as you please.”  Reggie responded.

 

            Only someone with particularly sharp ears could have heard Lisa mutter, “He always does what he pleases anyway.”  Storm looked across the table to her with a smirk.

 

            Then off his lackeys went.  Lisa heard them roll out a proposal to augment her treatment protocol so that employees in Storm’s company could use the services to assist their friends and family.  Of course the fine points had to be worked out, but it seems that they were considering a model that would allow an employer to help support its employees as they navigate the difficult waters of substance abuse.  She could not help herself.  Her attention was caught and her mind was whirling with the possibilities.

 

            At the conclusion of the discourse, Reggie turned to her and asked, “What do you think?”

 

            Lisa was cautious, she smelled a rat. “This could potentially be ground breaking and I am honestly curious to know more.”  She stated, knowing she was setting herself up for a fall.

 

            “Look I agree, I saw the efficacy of this plan as soon as Mr. Weston mentioned it.”  Reggie burst out eagerly like a two year old hopped up on candy.   Reggie practically leaped up out of his chair and gestured to the door. “I have some questions and I want you to see some research I left in my office.”

 

            In his calm, officious voice, Storm interrupted the rush in the room.  His eyes never left Lisa’s, “Why don’t my colleagues obtain the information that you are offering. Barry and Mike, will be the primary point of contact, can you follow Dr. Marshall and get what you need?”

 

            As everyone cleared out of the room, Storm was left alone in the room with Lisa.

He had to admit it, it took some doing, but he finally had her where he wanted her.  Over the week, he had actually had fun concocting his plan and he didn’t know when was the last time he had experienced some good ole fashioned fun.   With every delivery of his silken presents he could picture the look on Lisa’s face.  The imagining of her response to his presents was almost as stimulating as imagining her wearing them.  

 

            She matched him stare for stare, he was once again caught in the web of her beauty.  Today she had her hair pulled back into her familiar chignon.  She wore a lavender wrap dress that was pulled comfortably across her body.  Lavender was fast becoming his new favorite color.  But what inflamed him was gazing at her creamy russet colored skin.  He remembered the feel of her under his touch.  His body instinctively reacted to her within its proximity, even if she was clear across the table. A slow lazy heat infused his groin.

 

            “Have you enjoyed the gifts?” He asked, he asked with a seductive smile, as he pulled away from the table and stood up.

           

            Lisa said nothing, not wishing to incriminate herself.  She just followed him with her eyes. 

 

            “Monday night you had all kinds of things to say.  Now, you have nothing for me?”  He stalked closer to her.

 

            Still, she said nothing.

 

            He drew up close to her and took her hand, guiding her to a standing position.  She stood in front of him, in his arms, with her arms safely to her side and stared into his eyes.  Then she took a deep breath and drew in the masculine scent of him, coupled with that cologne, which made her body instantly, intimately aware of him, she slowly closed her eyes. 

 

With any excellently executed offensive attack, the defense has to take stock and know when its perimeter has been breached.  Lisa was a good soldier and she did the only thing she could tactically, she waived the white flag and hoped she could negotiate a palatable truce.

 

            “What do I have to do, short of sleeping with you, to make you stop?”  She desperately questioned with serious eyes.

 

            “Ah, victory is mine!” And Storm murmured while his leaned in to kiss her with a skill that captured all of their wanting and yearning.

 

 

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Chapter Eight

         

            Lisa could not believe it; somehow her life had taken a wrong turn without her consent. There she stood outside her own house about to knock, like she was a visitor.  Ain’t that some shit!

 

            But that was the deal. After his soul stirring kiss, he set his price as dinner.  More to the point, he offered to make her dinner. While waiting for Reggie and Storm’s cohorts to return, they fleshed out the details.  She was scheduled to be a keynote speaker at a conference the next day, so she expected to be busy most of the day.  Storm proposed to provide her a meal, made at her home, ready for her when she returned. 

 

            Lisa suspected there would be more to the evening, considering the manipulative man who was engineering it, but she couldn’t help but be energized at the thought of matching wits with the sexy, sly fox.

 

            As her hand raised to press the door bell, the door opened and she found herself staring at a man she had never seen before in her life.

 

            “Mademoiselle, please come in.” 

 

            Lisa was so shocked, she could no longer form words, but she did do as instructed and crossed the threshold.   The black suited gentleman took her bags and guided her to the bottom of her stairs, directly off the foyer.

 

            “Everything is ready.  Please feel free to freshen up.  I believe that Monsieur Weston has taken the liberty of providing some wardrobe options in your room.  Take your time; the evening will only start when you are ready.”

 

            Lisa was stunned.  “Who are you?”

 

            “My name is Alexander. And I am Mr. Weston’s house manager.  He asked that I help him out a little, so here I am.  But don’t worry; I will not be around when you come down.  Alexander looked at the beautiful woman standing before him and guided her toward the stairs.  He had been with Julia and Storm for number of years and was well aware of their unconventional relationship.  It pleased him to see the lift in sprits of his employer, after so many years of heartbreak.  Therefore he decided to put any judgments aside, to help his employer find an evening of peace. 

 

            As Lisa climbed the stairs, she watched Alexander as he watched her ascend to the next level.  She suddenly had the feeling that she was Alice, and she was about to enter Wonderland.

 

            As instructed, she took her time, bathed, and dressed in the exquisite offerings that were laid out upon her bed.  As she slipped each piece on, her heart could not help but speed up at thought that Storm, had considered each item, touched each item and placed them on her bed.  As she inhaled deeply, she could almost pick out a trace of his cologne in the air.  The evening was warm and sultry – almost giving license to all sorts of naughty acts.

 

            Finally, she was finished.  She left her hair flowing over her shoulders.  Somehow it seemed almost criminal for it to be penned up in such humidity.  As she looked herself over before leaving the room, she was struck by this new woman in the mirror. Unlike the one she viewed only a few days before, this one was glowing with a look of anticipation and lust. 

 

            God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Somehow the Serenity Prayer seemed appropriate at the time.  She also added a little addendum of her own, Please God help me out here, so far I have not been doing too good.  Please help me keep my panties up, such as they are, and send him home without the goodies.  Lisa offered her unconventional prayer up to her higher power and left the room.

 

            Once she entered her living room, she was puzzled. Nothing seemed moved or changed.  “Where could he be?” She muttered to herself.  Then she heard the soft hum of music through her patio doors, and she moved toward it.

 

            As she stepped onto her slate laid backyard patio she caught her breath.  He stood at the far end of the terrace, partially leaning against a wrought iron lamp, sipping a glass of wine, absently staring across the back yard.  She could not imagine what he was looking at, because her yard was completely fenced in, for absolute privacy.  Still, he looked so beautiful that he made her heart bleed.

 

            She must have made a sound, because he suddenly started and turned to her direction. Immediately she saw his rouge’s shield go up.  Instantly, she recognized what he wanted her to see, the master manipulator.

 

            “My goodness, you look extraordinary.”  He exclaimed in a voice of awe.  Lisa blushed at the pronouncement.  Everything she wanted to be in this moment seemed reflected in his admiration of her in his eyes.

           

            Storm had been waiting for her for some time.  A few times he went to her stairs to check that she was still in the house.  A part of him was sure that she would renege and quietly slip out of their evening.  When he heard her shift at the door of the patio he turned and calm came over him.  This dark beauty was too lovely. 

 

            He had picked out a midnight blue dress that had a shimmery material.  It tightly wound itself around her body, with its hem ending just above her knees.  Her form left nothing to the imagination.  Her height was enhanced by a pair of designer pieces of art which added a length to her legs that kept distracting him in his perusal of her beauty. Immediately he felt the delicious tightening of his balls as he began to stride over to her.

 

            Lisa watched with hooded eyes as he neared her.  In a tuxedo, he was simply sin incarnate.  Storm snagged a glass of wine off the table, as he walked passed it, and offered it to her.

 

“Thank you.”

 

            “Quickly, drink up I can’t wait to pull you in my arms and dance.”  Suddenly, the quiet tones in her yard increased.  A slow seductive samba played in the back ground.

 

            Lisa took a quick a quick gulp of her wine, before he took it from her fingers, placed the glasses on the table and drew her into his arms.  Carefully, patiently, exquisitely he guided her though the patterns of the dance.

 

            Lisa worked hard not to look at her feet and matched his gaze, “How do you know how to dance so well?”  As she felt his hips dip into hers.

 

            “What, White men can’t jump?” He laughed at the surprise in her eyes.  “Actually, White men can’t jump,   someone told my best friend, Carrick, and I that we dance like White boys – and that was not meant as a compliment.  We took lessons we got better.  It was a time when we wanted to impress the girls.  Our friend told us that women like to see guys with rhythm-that was all Carrick and I needed to know.  Storm guided her into a complicated turn and she knew she was lost.

 

            In her mind her panties metaphorically hit the ground and it was time to own up to it.

“Storm?”  She looked directly into his shoulder as she called his name and danced.

 

            “Yes.”

 

            “About these mutually beneficial rules, exactly what would they entail?”

 

            Storm slowly stopped dancing and stood back to watch her expression.  “You don’t put up much of a fight do you?”  He stared at her with a slight smile.

 

            “It’s not polite to rub it in.  Its official, I am a card carrying Hoochie Mama and I am about to sleep with a married man.”  She said in an almost resolute voice. “Now, I just need to know how we are going to navigate damage control.

 

            Storm again gathered her into his arms and softly swayed her to the music.  “Nobody has to get hurt if we follow some simple rules.  First, I will never discuss my marriage or my wife with you, ever.”  Storm pulled back from Lisa so that she saw in his face filled with seriousness.  “We will never overtly meet in public places and whenever either of us is ready to back off, the other must bow to the others wishes, no questions asked.”  He continued to look at her for her acceptance of his terms.

 

            But Lisa had a term of her own, “We can never be together at work.  We keep it strictly professional there, no calls, no quickies in the closet.”

 

            “Now there is a vision, but you are right – work is work and we will keep it professional there.”

 

            “So no floral arrangements arriving at lunch time?”

 

            “No.”

 

            “No deliveries of barely there underwear?”

 

            “Absolutely not!”

 

            “Ok, so let’s get to the good stuff.” Lisa stated as she raised her hands to his lapel and smoothly divested him of his jacket.

 

            “What about the food.”  He questioned as he began to pull at his bow tie.

 

            “I hope you put it on warm, because if I don’t touch you right now I may just spontaneously combust.”  Lisa panted as she drove her tongue into his mouth while trying to tackle the buttons on his shirt.

 

            “I love it when you play hard to get.”  Storm laughed as he slid the zipper down on her dress and ran his hand over her shoulders and pushed the dress down to her waist. As the dress fell from her chest, Strom suddenly became quiet and gazed at her beautiful bounty. 

 

            The lingerie that he chose for her this evening was also midnight blue.  As he looked at her, he helped her step out of her clinging dress and took in the full view.  The most alluring part of her under things was that is was almost one piece.  A thin mesh held it all together but geometric strips of fabric were laid across to cover the most intimate parts of her body.  Each shape was outlined by fine sparkling crystals.  The effect in the dim light was that strategic parts of her body seemed outlined and highlighted.  The flimsy suggestion of fabric fit her perfectly.  Strom breath caught.

 

            Lisa, a little self-conscious at his gaze, tried to pull him close to her, to shield her body.  Storm would have none of that.  He fell to his knees and worshiped her with his eyes.  He let his hands skim the back of her heels and ran them up the back of her legs, all the while watching her reaction.

 

            By the time he got to her knees, Lisa was certain that they were going to give out and she would end up a puddle in his lap.  As her knees began to bend, she heard his gruff, whiskey inflected voice. “Stand, on your own or you will pay the price.”

 

            Surely he was playing, Lisa barely had the energy to keep a hold on his shoulders.

Lisa attempted to bend toward him again.

 

            “If you ever intend to come tonight, I would suggest that you stay still and stand.”  Strom’s gaze brokered no argument as he continued to run his hand up her legs.  Lisa felt a moist heat near her pussy and looked down to find him nuzzling her through thin fabric of the lingerie.  It felt so good that her head fell back. 

 

            Storm was lost.  He had to take control of this before he came in his pants.  With his teeth he unfastened the clip of fabric in between her legs.  Somewhere he heard her breath catch at the feel of his teeth at her most tender area.  As soon as the fabric fell away, Storm grabbed her ass to draw her closer to his mouth.  As soon as her essence dripped on his tongue he went wild.  He was like a kid who had given up candy for Lent and this was his first taste in weeks.  He licked, sucked, bit and ground his mouth into her body.  She tasted like the most precious elixir and he could not get enough.  Continuing his assault on her pussy, he finally became aware that she was just as viciously grinding her body in tandem with his force.  He knew she was close and she deserved a prize for standing and taking direction. 

 

            Storm took two of his fingers and guided them deep into her.  Before he had fully inserted his fingers into her hot heat, Lisa unraveled. Her low scream pierced the night as she reached her completion and she and no choice but to fall into Storm lap, letting her legs fall around each of his, rocking the front of her body against the tented area between his thighs. As they panted to catch their breath, Storm stabilized Lisa by cradling her upper body in his arms while burying his head between her breasts.  Slowly he realized that her breasts were still protected by her dangerous lingerie and that they were still outside.

 

            Without a word, Storm rose and wrapped Lisa’s legs around his body and he walked into the house, up the stairs, and went into Lisa’s’ bedroom.  There was much he wanted to accomplish before he had to make his eleven o’clock call.

 

Chapter 9

 

          Storm was driving too fast.  His whole concentration was focused on arriving at the airport on time; he did not notice the speedometer inching past eighty miles per hour.  The ring of his car phone suddenly brought him back to his senses.  As he engaged the speaker function he eased off the gas.

 

            “Storm here.” He greeted his caller.

 

            “Storm, you bastard – what the hell happened to you.” He heard his best friend, Carrick’s, voice flow throughout his car’s expensive sound system.

 

            “Hey, asshole- what’s up with you.”

 

            “Could it be? The man almost sounds cheerful.”  Carrick questioned himself with a laugh.

 

            “For once in a long time things are looking up.  I think my life is finally taking a turn for the better.” Storm answered while watching his car whiz by traffic.

 

            “You know Julia called me.  I almost fell out of my chair in surprise.  She sounded strong and clear, like she is getting back to her old self.”

 

            Storm did not know that Julia was reaching out to their friends, but he felt good at hearing it from Carrick and the knowledge infused him with the belief that she really was getting better.  “Brother, in the beginning she was really shaky,  I had to beg her to get in the car with me to go to the clinic.  Then, I had to promise her that I would come back to get her if she couldn’t handle it in a week.  Man, I prayed.  I mean I truly prayed that she wouldn’t call for me to come get her.  Right now we get by with my nightly calls.  That way she can tell someone she trusts what’s going on in her head.” Storm touched his glasses to secure them more closely to he eyes, as if to shield himself from his own emotions.  “She is so strong, and I am so proud of her.”  He said quietly into the phone.

 

            “Storm, Julia is probably the strongest woman we may ever know and you need to be proud of yourself for giving her the courage to come back.” Storm counseled urgently into the phone.

 

            “Carr, I wish it was all me.  When it was only me, my only accomplishment was to enable her to get sicker.  You giving me the information regarding the program and Lisa, I think, saved both our lives. They have great people there.  Julia was moved to The Retreat, late last week, and it’s this beautiful old mansion that they outfitted like a resort. Everything anyone could possibly want, the administration makes sure is available.    I am going to start to attend family therapy sessions with her next week.  From here on out the process is focused on creating routines and systems that will help Julia maintain her sobriety.” Storm explained with eagerness.

 

            “Lisa, huh.” Carrick said with a knowing tone. “Storm, I hope you are not shitting where you eat.  If you are fucking the Doctor, it seems like you are putting everyone is a pretty precarious position. 

 

            Storm suddenly felt a surge of irritation, “Damn it Carr! Don’t start that bullshit with me.  Lisa and I are just free and easy – we are just keeping it sexy, with no expectations on either of our parts.” 

 

            Carrick’s infused his tone with patience and calm, not wanting Storm to feel judged, “Look, you and Julia are my family.   The family I choose –for good and/or for bad.  I am just thinking about the stuff you told me about Julia before she had the miscarriages.  She had worked at creating a traditional marriage, I just don’t want her to be surprised, while she is recovering, that you have made some different moves, especially with her doctor.  I just want you to be careful and to handle Julia carefully.

 

            Storm, blew out a breath in frustration and to find some clarity.  “Carr, Lisa does not handle Julia’s case directly – I would not do that to either of them. But Lisa has brought some peace to my life.  Through her, I’ve gained a desperately needed break from having my heart chewed up and spit out every time I look at Julia and every time I go into that big, goddamned house of ours that is filled with all of Julia’s dreams of family and kids.  Do you know, to this day, she makes me promise not to take down anything in the nursery?  After three tries, the last one almost killing her, I want to rip it all apart and burn it for good measure, but she still has not completely given up.  This shit has literally driven her to drink and damn near close to crazy, but she won’t let me touch that shrine to what cannot be.” Storm slammed his hand against the steering wheel in frustration and anger.  To his shock, he felt an urge to purse his lips to keep in the sob that threatened to break from his throat.

 

            Carr heard the pain in his friend’s voice, it carried clear as a bell, from hundred of miles away and he cleared his throat.  “Then do what you have to do. Just try to minimize the damage if Julia, or Lisa, wants something different.”

 

            “Carr, you know I love you dude,”  Storm managed to find some of his usual bravado, “Julia is my main priority, she always has and she always will be – you don’t have to worry.”  Storm assured his friend, but as he said the words,  they sounded a little hollow, but he tried to shake it off.  “I don’t discuss Julia with Lisa, we all know our roles,  and we have an arrangement set up that keeps everything clear and simple.” Again, somehow he could not quite believe himself.

 

            “Look man, I am on my way to the airport and I have to jump on the jet to go Germany for business.  Can I call you later?” Storm felt a desperate need to end the conversation.  Carr had a bad habit of making him look too deeply into himself and he was beginning to feel unaccountably angry.

 

            Carr caught the hint, “No problem.  Storm, I want you to be okay.  I want Julia to be okay, but I am here for either of you, if you need me.”

 

            “I know.  I will talk to you soon and tell Mal hello for me. ”

 

            “I will and bye, asshole.” Carrick retorted, his laughter carrying through the phone and hung up.

 

            As Storm heard the phone disconnect, he pressed the button that allowed the phone system to disengage from the car’s speaker system.  In the next second, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” blasted through the car, no acoustic version for him-he strictly listened to the version on the classic album “Slippery When Wet”.  Storm liked to play his music at mind bending decibels when he was alone in his car, especially now when his conversation with Carrick was threatening to play hell with his conscious.

 

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            At the same time that Storm was having his conversation with Carrick, Lisa was several thousand feet up in the air.  The overhead light went on to signal the pilot’s intent for everyone to prepare to land.  Suddenly, the speaker when on and  the pilot  began to give his standard announcement.” Thanks you everyone for traveling with us.  I wanted to let you know that we expect to land within the next twenty minutes, so would you please place your seat in its upright position, and put your tray table away so that our in flight crew can begin the process for our landing.”

 

            Lisa was returning from another whirlwind trip to Europe.  She was more than ready to return home, but strangely disappointed as well because she knew at the same time that she would be landing, Strom would be heading up for his own business trip to Germany. 

 

            Insecurity and lack of control are not emotions that she was very familiar with, but for the two weeks, since she agreed to enter into this unique arrangement with him, those emotions seemed to be riding shotgun with her constantly.  The only time that her capitulation to their selfish interests made any sense was when she was in his arms.  The longing to have his sprinkling of chest hair lightly tickling her nipples became immediately logical.   The desire for his lips to worry the pulse at the nape of her neck suddenly seemed brilliant.  It was persuasively prudent to have his hard driving length powerfully, brand his ownership upon her body. For the week that they were in the same city she had only been able to see him once, when he had quickly stopped by her home to see whether they could arrange their schedules.  It was then that they found that they were hopelessly out of sink.

 

            When your life cannot accommodate a simple little affair, that does not bode so well for the arrangement, huh? She thought to herself.

 

            But the simple thought of him turned her mind back to that one, perfect, magical night where the world outside simply stood still, all other obligations personal and professional ceased to exist.  The visions of that evening and the impressions that were planted on her mind, body and spirit served to fuel the heat in her body that burned only for him.  Only for him!

 

            “I am falling for him.”  Lisa whispered to herself.  She sat in her seat frozen, barely recognizing that the plane was making its decent.            

 

            “No it can’t be, I barely know him.  I am confusing lust with love-we are merely amusing distractions for each other.”  Lisa cautioned herself, “this is a fun dalliance and when it’s over its over.”

 

            Suddenly the cabin was flooded with light and Lisa blinked to accommodate the change.  The burst of light, also served to snap her out of her stupor. Lisa now knew how she would spend her time during the next week while Storm was out of town.  She needed to gain some emotional distance, while she could count on his physical distance over the next week. She then prepared herself to leave the plane.  As she walked out she did not notice her surroundings, her focus was to find her driver and to get home as soon as possible.

 

            Through his tinted, mirrored, skull framing sunglasses, Storm watched her as she stepped upon the escalator and rode it down to reach the arrival level that he was on.  Just the sight of her in her denim skirt and her high heeled boots brought him instantaneously back to when he last saw those long, high-heeled legs splayed across her bed; two weeks ago after she consented to their affair. 

 

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After Storm had climbed the stairs, with her body wrapped around his, and gently laid her across the bed, he turned away to remove the remaining clothes from his body.  He took his time to enjoy the sensuous feel of the fabric of his tuxedo jacket, dress shirt and pants brushing against his body as they fell from him.  He took an extra minute to drape each object across an adjacent chair.  He knew she was watching and he wanted to prolong her wanting of him, he wished to draw out the anticipation that saturated the lust laden atmosphere with her watching behind him as he went thorough the small acts of arranging his clothes.

 

            His body felt so filled with desire, his penis was heavy with the need to feel her, touch her wetness, and the anticipation of her absorbing him into her body.  He could not help himself, he took a few pulls of his dick, arching his back into the delicious feel of his hand firmly stroking the velvet wrapped steel.  After a few moments he turned to Lisa and almost choked.

 

            There on the bed, looking like every hot blooded man’s erotic fantasy was his dark caramel colored goddess staring deeply in his eyes with her fingers deep in her pussy.   As he continued to hold himself he was transfixed and hypnotized with the motion of her digits working her core like a piston.  With each thrust her body writhed with pleasure and she moaned her confirmation of the ecstasy that she was providing to herself.  Storm almost lost his load. He was transfixed by the clear, viscous fluid that was leaking out of her pussy and dripping out of her nether lips and on to the bed. 

 

            Being with her is going to kill me!!

 

            As he stood at the bottom of the bed,  watching her, getting more turned on, if possible, hardening farther, it occurred to him that she was about to bring herself off without any assistance from him.   No, that would never do.  Storm knelt on the bed and slowly climbed across toward the undulating, luscious woman.  He wrapped his fingers around her hand, and for a split second she resisted as if she was not going to allow him to redirect her from the pleasure she was giving to herself.  But as she gazed at him, she whimpered as she allowed him take her fingers and bring them to his mouth.  Still staring at each other like there wasn’t anyone else in their stratosphere, he slid her finger, one by one into his mouth and sucked the essence of her core between his lips.  With each lick her body shuddered, with each nip of her skin her body writhed as if she were in pain.  Storm calmly licked her fingers, under her nails, between each tactile member, until he was assured that no trace of her effusion remained.

 

            Storm leveraged his body on to his arms and wedged himself between her legs. While there, Storm sheathed himself with a condom, as his fiery blue eyes were still caught in the storms brewing in her brown ones, the he drove his full length into her body.  He could not help himself, the vision of her fingers buried to the hilt still played a sweet melody behind his eyes and he was jealous.  Jealous of those fingers; jealous that she could possible consider that they could bring her the satisfaction that he was confident that only he could, and he set about proving it.

 

            Deeply he drove himself, with a rhythm that he was sure would make her bow to his superiority over her body, emphasizing the notion that only he could provider her with her ultimate pleasure and any substitutions were only sloppy seconds.   Lisa moaned and began the keening sound that he was beginning to love so much.  Both began to breathe harshly in time with the demanding pace he had set.  Finally, he felt the building and pulling of this physical desire through his body and he felt Lisa matched him stoke for stroke as they raced to their completion and suddenly the universe exploded into a multi-colored pattern of bright lights and sensation.  Storm clasped Lisa to him as she convulsed with every shock of her orgasm and he tried to meld his own electric shocked body to match hers.

 

            “One of these days, you are going to stop reducing me to acting like an adolescent school boy who has just got his first look at some pussy.” He sighed in to the evening as he laid down fully on the bed and cuddled her close to his body.

 

            “In your dreams.”  Lisa also sighed with a twinge of laughter in her voice.

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Chapter 10

Right now, his sexy lover was moving closer to him… closer, closer—damn it!—and past him. She was barely looking up and didn’t even notice him. He took long legged strides to draw abreast her. The fact that she could walk right past him and not be aware of his presence intensified his baseless irritation following his conversation with Carrick. For some unidentifiable reason, he felt an anger infuse his body, and he turned to catch the woman who had the audacity to pass him by without so much as a backwards glance. 

He leaned over above her head and said, “I guess all white guys look alike.”
 
It was almost comical to watch her come to a sudden stop in the middle of the airport and look around like she had just heard the voice of God. She finally turned and caught sight of him directly behind her, “Ohmigod, Storm! What are you doing here?”

 In the middle of the bustling airport, he took her hand and almost dragged her to his waiting car. All the way, she laughingly protested his rough treatment of her. “Storm, you’re supposed to be in the air taking off to Germany right this minute.”

 Without responding, he opened the Mercedes car door, sat her comfortably in it, walked around to the driver’s side, and slid in.
 
 “Storm!” He had silenced her only briefly with a kiss that brought a wave of heat through her body. “I thought one of the rules was that we are not supposed to be overtly seen in public, and along those lines, PDA should also be banned.” Lisa turned in her seat to look at him, trying not to read more into his actions than she should.

 As he pulled into traffic, he spoke tersely, “First of all, Lisa, shut up. You are spoiling my buzz from kissing you.” Storm glanced at her, but she could not read his eyes through his opaque glasses. “Second, I waited till we were in the car before I did anything. The only way someone can see though the windows of this car once we are in it is if he or she have equipment that is only issued through the U.S. Government’s Covert Ops Program. Third, if you so much as utter another word, you will be punished.”

 The word “punished” worked on her like quarters being slipped into a public laundry machine. Instantly, liquid rushed between Lisa’s legs. She had to fight herself from discretely slipping her hands under the waistband of her skirt. She looked up at Storm and saw that he was still watching her. “Oh shit!” he said as he watched her eyes begin to darken with desire, but he turned his head to face the windshield as he navigated traffic.

 After a few moments, Lisa could not help herself once she saw that he missed the exit that would lead them to the freeway. “Storm, where the hell are we going? You just missed the exit.”

 Storm looked at her as if he was willing himself to exercise unimaginable patience. “I warned you,” he stated like he was reprimanding a child. Suddenly, he ripped off his safety belt and with an economy of motion released his belt from its fastenings, unbuttoned his pants, and unzipped them. He then adjusted himself so that his length sprung angrily from its confines, “Now, suck my dick,” he commanded. 

 Lisa looked at him like he had lost his mind. Something was going on. She quietly took his glasses from over his eyes. From her profile view, she saw his tension across his forehead and the pinching of nerves at the corner of his eyes. Then she looked at his penis as its girth continued to grow and lengthen. Slowly, as if she was being bent against her will, Lisa leaned down and pressed the tip of him against her lips. It was awkward, because as she moved to take him in her mouth, she looked up at his impassive face. Once she gave him a wet, sloppy lick against his shaft and took his head into her mouth, she watched his eyes close for a moment, like he had found a home. 

 In the back of her mind, she found herself marginally detached as she continued to perform fellatio upon Storm. She knew he was pissed, but she also could distinguish that his anger was not really directed toward her.  As she began to lick and massage his sack, the car suddenly stopped, and she was almost thrown into the steering wheel, but Storm quickly protected her head and cradled it for a moment as she continued to stimulate the soft skin under his penis.
 “Get out,” he ordered.

 By the time she got out of the car and looked toward him, she found that he had made himself somewhat presentable and he was striding quickly toward what appeared to be a private jet. Wait? A private jet? The whole incident became suddenly surreal for Lisa, like something out of a movie or a romance novel.
 She wanted so badly to ask what was going on, but she thought it wise to keep her own counsel; his anger was now rolling off of him in waves. He allowed her to pass him, and once they reached the bottom of the steps to the aircraft, they climbed the stairs to the door.  Lisa felt a swell of calm come over her. Once they reached the opened door, the pilot met them.

 “Michael, go make sure our flight plan is correct or something. I will let you and the rest of the crew know when I am ready to leave,” Storm directed as he stood aside when the pilot nodded his understanding and lightly jogged down the steps.

 As they stepped into the cabin, Storm roughly pushed her into a kneeling position so she was facing the back of long sofa that ran along the sides of the airplane. She really didn’t get a chance to take in the luxury around her. In that moment, as he pushed her skirt to her waist, she knew what this was. He needed therapy. She knew the Freudian type of therapy would be ineffective, as would a discourse regarding Erickson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.  No his treatment plan did not require the examination of the theoretical. The prescription for what ailed him required a more literal application—the kind of physical therapy that can only be administered proper application of the Penis to the Pussy. 

 Lisa braced herself as she felt him begin to stimulate her through her panties while breathing raggedly in her ear. In the midst of their heavy breathing, she heard the familiar rip of foil, and she assumed he was retrieving a condom from its package. She couldn’t help but be aroused by the feel of him pressed against her back, and she felt herself release more wetness. She knew this moment had little to do with her pleasure and more to do with him working out whatever demon that was currently riding him, but even in this instant, even as she was being used as a surrogate, a receptacle to accommodate his pain, she drew a heady breath at the illicitness of the act and the rough brush of his body against her tender core. She quietly began to use her hold on the seat to assist her in pushing back to meet his angry thrusts.

Finally, they both began their climb to their highest peak until they both tumbled over. Storm drove his hips so forcefully that by the time they climaxed together, Lisa was pressed uncomfortably into the back of the sofa on her knees. To maintain his purchase insider her, Storm had to climb behind her. As they attempted to recover, she found that her skirt was tangled up around her lower chest, and her bottom was resting on his lap.

He held her tightly around her waist, like he expected her to take flight. “Oh, baby, I am so sorry,” he murmured into her neck as he kissed her and tried to soothe the places he had treated so roughly. He assisted her off her knees and firmly placed her across his lap. “Baby, baby, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I just treated you like shit.” He brushed his head against hers, still trying to kiss any part of her he could manage to reach.

Another totally successful treatment plan. Maybe I should do a paper on it. Lisa ducked her head as she smiled her own private smile. “Well, now that you feel bad for acting like a complete and total asshole, is there a bed in this place? I have a few ideas how you can make it up to me.” She smirked at him while she brushed her skirt down and took his hand and led him to the back of the plane. Any self-respecting luxury plane had to have a bed in the back.

He grinned as he allowed himself be led to the back of the aircraft. “I think Complete and Total Asshole may be a little too strong a description of my behavior.”
“You do, do you?” She smiled to herself as she attempted to open a door to the right of her.

“Babe, that’s the bathroom.”

“Storm, maybe you did not get the memo. Now it’s your turn to shut up,” she said as she led him to the door in front of them, which most assuredly held a bed.
 
Some time later, Storm gently rocked her out of a dream that she could no longer remember once she opened her eyes. He brushed his hands across her back and down to cup her ass. “I'm sorry. The pilot called and informed me that I can no longer wait to take off. If I am going to leave tonight, I have to be in the air in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, no problem. I will be out of here in two minutes.” Lisa pulled herself out of the rumpled bed and started to hunt around for her clothes.

Storm stopped her in the midst of her hunt under the chairs and bed by gathering her close to him and whispering into her hair, “Don’t think I don’t realize you didn’t give me the third degree after my behaving so badly. Thank you for that.” He pressed a tender kiss into her hair.

“Sometimes people just need a little therapy,” she said, looking into his mysterious eyes.

“What?” he asked with a quizzical look on his face.

“Maybe if you are good, I’ll explain one day. So, how am I getting home?” Lisa asked, changing the subject.
“Alexander is waiting in my car outside. He will take you home.”

Suddenly, Storm cupped her face in his hands and brushed her lips with his. Then he deepened the kiss, taking his time to explore her mouth, punctuating it with tiny nips around her face. For the first time, they exchanged a kiss that was not driven by lust and passion. It was sweet and affectionate, tinged by the knowledge of their impending separation.

“Stay safe, cowboy,” Lisa murmured as she moved to leave the room.

Storm moved to close the distance she had created. “Lisa, I…” He abruptly closed his mouth. He waited to a beat, looked deep into her eyes, as if he was trying to memorize the typography of her smooth, brown face. He lifted his slim, tanned hand to brush a stray strand from her face. “I will miss you.”

“Me too,” she responded, tucking her head into his chest. “I better go.”

He watched her has she moved through the door, down the aisle, and out the door of the plane.

Chapter 11

 

          Storm had just hung up with Julia.  Now that she was feeling so much stronger, their nightly calls moved to times when it was more convenient for them to talk.  Sometime they touched base first thing in the morning, sometimes they talked between her therapy sessions, or right before she was about to beat some poor slob at tennis.  Two months in treatment had brought remarkable change in her.

 

            Now, he was ready to make the call that he had been holding back for almost two weeks. Lisa.  Finally he was back in the States after spending a particularly frustrating time doing business in Germany.  Most of the time while he was away, he spent it between berating himself for his harsh treatment of her and admiration for the innate understanding she showed regarding his behavior when he couldn’t understand it himself.  He knew he enjoyed a certain amount of dominance in the bedroom, but he never exercised or condoned demeaning his partner in anyway.  He knew he was dangerously close to crossing that line that evening in the car and later in the plane. The thing that really redoubled his self-flagellation was that deep down he knew his anger was not directed toward her, but that night she was his closest target.  This knowledge really made him apprehensive to call her, knowing she had every right to call their arrangement off.

 

            It’s now or never.

 

            She picked up on the fourth ring, which was unusual for her. “What?” She answered with a coarse impatience in her voice.

 

            “Hello Lisa, its Storm.” He responded with uncharacteristic wariness in his voice.

 

            “Yeah, I know, I’ve got caller ID.  What do you want?”  Suddenly he heard a loud sneeze over the phone, and then it sounded as if she had dropped it.

 

He heard something that sounded suspiciously like, “This goddamned phone, shit!” He had never met this abrupt and dismissive Dr. Lisa Whitmore before, so he checked the LCD on his phone to make sure he dialed correctly. “Are you okay?”

 

 “Look, just so that we are clear, I have the flu, so if this is a Booty Call, you can keep that particular offer to yourself.  Unless you can morph yourself into the damned delivery guy, who was supposed to bring my prescription to me an hour ago, just leave me alone and let me die in peace.”  Then she hung up on him.

 

Storm stared at the light piece of plastic, that was a moment before framing his ear, like he expected someone to yell out that he had been punk’d. But, with that thought came a couple ideas of how he may be able to gain purchase on Lisa’s good side.  Quickly he made a few phone calls.  As the plane landed he confirmed that he had everything he needed in place, he jumped into his car, which was waiting for him on the tarmac.

 

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Lisa heard the doorbell ring.  From her position on her sofa, she knew it would be physically impossible for her to transverse the seemingly miles it would require to reach her front door.  But then she remembered that she was still waiting for the delivery of her prescription.

 

Somehow she heaved herself off the sofa and, while tilting wildly, managed to make it to her front door.  She didn’t bother to find out who was on the other side of the door.  In her opinion, considering how she felt like road kill, a serial killer on the other side of the door would be an improvement to her day.  If she was lucky, the serial killer would be carrying her prescriptions, or at least he would have the equipment to put her permanently out of her misery. 

 

When she finally managed to open her door, she was sorely disappointed.  In front of her stood, a sinfully sexy, dark haired, lightly tanned man, whose long slim body was encased in a light weight silk blend suit (no doubt costing more than six months of her mortgage payment), with a smile on his lips that telegraphed all the dirty things he could do with them.

 

“Oh damn, its you.” Lisa took a beat to look at him and swung her arm, holding the door, in a motion that was sure to slam the door in his face.

 

“Whoa!” Storm exclaimed as her caught the door before it slammed. Quickly he shoved his arm holding a paper sack through the door as a peace offering. 

 

“Ouch!” He exclaimed next, as Lisa leaned heavily on the door, with his arm stuck in it as she investigated the bag that was waving wildly in front of her face.

 

As she plucked the bag from the disembodied arm she reiterated the warning she issued before.  “Storm, I know that you have zero comprehension of the meaning of the world “No”, but unless your jet includes an in flight pharmacy, I don’t have it in me to deal with you today.”

 

“Well, this must be your lucky day.  Sometimes it pays to deal with a ridiculously wealthy man with startlingly good looks, because I come bearing gifts.” He complimented himself from his side of her front door.

 

“You sure don’t suffer from low self-esteem.”  Lisa commented wryly as she began to unravel the bag.  “Oh goodness, you DO have pharmacy on your plane- is that a before or after factory component on the modern jets of the super rich?”  Frankly, at this point she did not care.  He brought the goods so he got in.  Lisa hoisted herself off of the door and swayed further into her house, not carrying whether he was following her or not.

 

“No” he commented as he followed her through her living room and into her kitchen.  “I do not have a pharmacy in the plane, but I am absolutely capable of finding out who your pharmacist is, picking up your prescription and delivering it.

 

“Well, give the dog a bone.” Lisa praised as she fumbled uselessly to open the cap on the bottle of her medicine. “Goddamned, damned, freakin’ child safety – shit! She yelled as she threw the bottle across the table in ultimate defeat. 

 

Lisa wanted to cry.  Then she realized, she was crying.  She was sick and she hated being sick, and life sucked, and an unbelievably hot, healthy man was looking at her like he was measuring her for a custom made strait jacket.  With each thought Lisa’s chest heaved with a sob.

 

Storm took stock of the situation.  He sensed that he had to tread very carefully.  He was shocked.  He knew he was in trouble the first time he got a clear glimpse of her.  Lisa looked like hell.  By everything holy and decent, she was actually wearing bunny slippers.  Pants that had the picture of Strawberry Shortcake or Holly Hobby or some such Saturday morning cartoon character were tucked into the floppy eared footwear.  To add to the Advant Garde wardrobe selection she had added an assortment of long sleeved tee-shirts, sweaters, and sweat shirts to the ensemble.  The effect was that she looked like a chocolate hued Michelin Man. 

 

Storm knew he had to go in, but he also knew that the situation could potential get ugly.  “Baby, why don’t I help you upstairs, into bed and I will bring everything you need to you.” He said in a soothing, calm voice – usually known to be used on the insane.

 

Lisa turned to him with her eyes brimming with tears.  “You’d do that for me?” Suddenly looking like a three year old being presented with her first baby doll.

 

“Sure, come on.”  Storm put his arm around her shoulder and guided her up the stairs to her room.  Along the way, she was overcome with a sneezing fit, where she spontaneously threw her body against his chest.  He did not want to examine it too closely, but he had the sneaking suspicion that she left a little gift on his Dolce and Gabbana shirt, because after her fit she wiped the mouth and nose with her arm.  He was far from charmed.

 

Once entering her bedroom he noticed that he room looked like it was hit by a hurricane. “How long have you been like this?” He asked curiously.

 

“For the first two days I thought I could power through it, but on Wednesday, I could not get out of bed.  For awhile I just prayed for death to take me. Finally, I got the strength to call my doctor and get a prescription. Reggie would usually help me, but he had to go to a conference out of town.  What day is today?”

 

“Lisa, its Thursday.  You mean to tell me that you have been like this for two days?”  He questioned sternly as the helped her into the bed.  Lisa wisely stayed quiet.

 

“Let me get you all fixed up.” I am going downstairs for a moment and then I will bring everything you need okay?”

 

Lisa just looked so pitiful, with her red nose, swollen eyes, beached whale posture, not to mention the dribble of snot that threaten to break loose from her nose.  “Storm, I know I was less than gracious when you called and later when I opened the door, but I don’t know what I would have done if you did not come by.  Thank you.”

 

Later on that evening he had her all set.  He gave her the proper dosage of her medication, spooned some chicken noodle soup into her (made and delivered by his personal chef), and assisted her while she took her first shower in what smelled like three days.

 

Finally, they were ensconced in her clean bed, with new sheets, watching a movie that she explained comforted her when she was sick, “Now Voyager”. It was a 1940’s chick flick, with Bette Davis and Paul Henried.  The truth be told, he was actually enjoying it.  Storm, reviewed the situation and was totally bemused.  When he initially called her he would have never guessed their evening would end like this, but despite it all, he was pretty content with her dozing under his arm, while he was fully clothed, minus his suit jacket and tie, watching a classic film.

 

He couldn’t explain why he was still there when his initial intention was to just give her the medicine and soup and leave.  It felt good to be sitting next to her and watching the movie.

 

Somehow during the night he must have fallen asleep, because he woke up to the most delicious sensation.  He could feel his orgasm building.   Before he was really coherent, he felt himself being sucked to the hilt in a warm, familiar pussy.  He eyes flew open; his bare penis was being drawn into a familiar sweet soft pussy.  Oh Shit!  As he tried to pull the perpetrator off of him, her most intimate muscles clamped him in a vise.  The feeling was, so different from any that he had ever known that he could no longer hold back and he spasmed as wave after wave of completion swept over him.

 

Storm was played.  He had never come in any woman, except his wife, without a condom in his entire life.  His mind could not comprehend the enormity of what had just happened.  He turned to Lisa to see if she was as shaken as he, and he saw that she had just slid off of him, curled up on her side, facing him, and went back to sleep. He wasn’t even sure if she was fully awake during the momentous occasion. 

 

Well, any possibility of going back to sleep just went out of the window.

 

Storm allowed her to remain cuddled against his side, but his mind was awhirl.  He was terrified of the consequences of what had just happened and he knew that when Lisa really woke up they were going to have a long talk.

 

Lisa’s eyes fluttered open.  She still felt the traces of an erotic dream that she had during the night.   It had something to do with feeling Storm in the bed with her and she having her wicked way with him.  Those drugs that her doctor prescribed get a thumbs up from her!  But damn, if she didn't feel like someone was in the bed with her.

 

Lisa fairly flew up into a sitting position and locked eyes with the man of her dreams.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have a sexy come hither look on his face.  His whole body posture was more like, “I have finally caught the person who embezzled ten million from my company’s pension fund.  She did not know why he was pissed, but it did not bode well for her.

 

“Finally, you are awake.”  He said with storms brewing in his eyes.

 

“Uh, yes, thanks for taking care of me last night?”  She acknowledge with wariness.

 

“You are not the only one who was taken care of last night.  Imagine my surprise when I wake up from a dead sleep, with you doing a very intimate pole dance, using me as the pole.”  He fairly glared at her.

 

She knew she was on less than solid ground, but she wasn’t sure why.  The Storm she knew had a very healthy sexual appetite.  She would think it would have been right up his alley to find her on top of him initiating sex.  Damn, if only she could remember it.

“Ok, well, if you think I took unfair advantage of you, then I am sorry – I remember having a dream with you in it, but I thought it was a dream. Now, I’m guessing it wasn’t?” She explained as if she was dealing with a three year old.

 

            “Don’t take that tone with me young lady.” Storm unaccountably sounded like a principal she once had.  While you were using me to screw yourself silly, you forgot to put on a condom!”  Storm looked like he was going to shake her.

 

            Lisa could not help but exhale a breath of relief.  If this was the only thing that had his panties in a snit then it could be easily remedied. “Storm, calm down. I have been on the pill since I was sixteen and I am as regular as Big Ben. I am confident that we have nothing to worry about, if you are concerned about me being pregnant.  As for STD’s I am embarrassed to let you know that Miley Cyrus was probably being introduced to her first grade class the last time I was intimate with anyone. I probably have more to be concerned about regarding you, than you have to be about me.” Lisa said patiently.

 

            Her comments seemed to take a bit of wind out of his sails.  “Oh, Okay. You are sure that there is zero chance of you being pregnant?”  He questioned closely.

 

            She smiled and looked him in the eyes, “It would be a scientific miracle.”

 

            Storm tried to collect himself. “Alright.” He said, looking very uncomfortable. “I have got to go. Are you going to be ok by yourself?”  He arose from the bed and slipped his shoes on his feet and put on his suit jacket. 

 

            “Yeah, I am feeling so much better.” She watched as he broke all types of land speed records trying to get himself together and reach for the door.

 

            “I will call you later.” Without further adieu he fairly ran out of the room, down the stairs and out the front door.

 

            Well, you sure know how to show a man a good time.  Lisa thought to herself with a smirk.

 

 

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Chapter 12

 

 

Over the next month, Storm and Lisa created a routine.  The got together no more that twice a week, always using a condom, and generally enjoying each other’s companionship.  Lisa, found herself being drawn to him more and more.  Many times, before their evening progressed to the bedroom, they would have conversations regarding what was going on with their lives professionally.  They would also use each other to figure out problems in their office. By the end of the third month of their arrangement, Lisa knew she was in love and she knew that she had to put an end to it all.

 

The night before, Storm had pulled away in his car and she had watched him through her window and tracked him as he droved down her street.  That night was the end.  She had promised herself that she would put an end to their affair the next time they met.

 

So the next morning, Lisa was strangely somber as she walked into her office building and met her assistant at her desk.  “Lisa, there is a woman waiting in your office, she wouldn’t give her name, but she said she would wait until you arrived.”

 

“Do you have any idea who she is?”  Lisa questioned Donna.

 

“You know she looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place her.”

 

“Ok, no problems, I’ll go and greet my mystery guest right now.

 

As Lisa walked into her office she saw a blonde haired woman standing at the window looking down at the scene below.  She had on an expensively cut suit and she was immaculate, yet something about her seemed ice cold.

 

“Hello, I am Dr. Lisa Whitmore. How can I help you?”

 

The woman turned around and she was instantly recognizable to Lisa, “Well, for starters, you can stop fucking my husband.”

 

Lisa will never know what force allowed her to remain standing, but somehow she did not fall into a faint at the sight of Storm’s wife.  In that instant, she gained a clarity that she had shied away from for more than three months.  What possessed her to believe that she could carry on an affair with a client’s husband and think that it would be okay?  What type of doctor would put someone’s treatment and recovery in such peril that they would undermined a patient that way?

 

Lisa could only move toward one of her guest chairs and sit heavily upon it.

 

“Well it’s refreshing to see that you are not going to waste my time denying it. I don’t know what Storm told you about us, and I know that I have been a pretty shitty wife for the past two years, but I know he loves me and I love him and we are committed to each other.  So if you have any fantasies of him leaving me to start whatever with you, then you have another think coming.”

 

Julia had been pacing the floor, but now she came to a stop in front of Lisa, looked her directly in the eyes as she leaned against the office desk.  “I know that Storm has certain needs.  That's what has made us such a terrific couple, we totally get each other and we are best friends. But this, this I am not going to let continue.  So this is what you are going to do.  You are going to stay away from my husband.  You are not going to call him, text him, look at him, or even breathe on him.  Now, here is the part that I want to make sure you understand, so I will speak really slowly.  If you do any of the above, after I walk out of this office, I will ruin you.  I am sure the professional medical board would love to know how you get down and dirty with a client’s husband. I will put banners all across the country, all across this world about your unprofessionalism and selfishness.  Hell, I’ll even do Oprah!  You will do good to get a job at the local supermarket after I am done with you.   Doctor Whitmore, please do not doubt my commitment to doing all these things and more, and doing them happily.  I have lots of money and therefore I can do lots of damage.”

 

Lisa looked at Julia and for the life of her she could not think of a single thing to say.  The spoken word was beyond her.  She looked at the woman standing before her and saw she was perfect in everyway.  She looked blooming with life and more alive with the barely contained anger rolling within her eyes.  The truth was total and complete: she could never compete and Storm and warned her over and over again never to try.

 

“Well, this has been pleasant as I am sure we have reached an understanding.  Again, I feel I must warn you Lisa don’t test me, because that will be the beginning of the end of your little set up here.” With that Julia stood up and swept out of her office.

 

For awhile Lisa just sat there in shock at what had just happened.  Her mind was churning with everything and nothing.  Gradually she became aware that someone was in the room with her.

 

She turned and saw Reggie standing quietly, just inside the door. “Oh Reggie, I am sorry, I did not see you there.  Did you want something?  If you give me a minute I can meet you in your office.” She said while pretending to be busy arranging the files she had in her hands when she walked into the office, before everything went to hell.

 

“I can’t believe that you are such a Bitch!”  Lisa was startled by the venom coming out of her friend and turned in her seat to watch him more clearly.  “Imagine my surprise when I walk by and see Mrs. Weston in your office talking to you.  I thought maybe she was looking for me, so I am about to enter and help you out, when I get an earful. So, you have been fucking Mr. Weston, I hope it was fuckin’ fantastic and worth it.  You have manage to put everything that we have sweated over for the last fifteen years on the line because what? You’re hard up? All the people who count on us for their livelihood are put at risk because you can’t keep your legs closed?  Wow!  Isn’t this some shit?  Why would you let me bleed over this place if you were going to mess everything up so royally?

 

Lisa had begun to sob.  She could not let her friend go on like this, she felt sick. “Reggie, I don’t know what I was thinking- I wasn’t thinking – I am so sorry.” Her eyes pleaded for his forgiveness.

 

“Well sorry won’t cut it now will it? Why him?  You must have known that I have been in love with you for years.  I would have given you anything.  We could have had everything in the world that we wanted – we could have made each other better, but you chose a man who is going to ruin you.  What a selfish bitch!”  The only thing that could be heard in the room were her sobs, every vicious word that Reggie spit out was punctuated with his heavy breathing.

 

“I am not going to let this boat sink because of you.  You will get your things together today and you will get out.”

 

“Reggie, you can’t do that.” She breathed out.

 

“Yes I can and yes I will. For once think with something other than what is between your legs.  If you go down, we all go down.  This way I can minimize the risk to everyone concerned.  I expect your resignation on my desk in an hour and you should clear all of your shit out of here as well.” With that Reggie left her office and slammed the door.

 

Lisa could not wrap her mind around what had just happened.  She had nothing and no one.  She had lost it all within thirty minutes. That had to be some kind of record.

 

Somehow she fumbled with her purse and found her cell phone.  When the person on the other end answered, she spoke quietly, “I am in trouble, can you help me?”  After speaking in monosyllables to the person on the other line, Lisa quickly wrote out her letter of resignation, put it into an envelope, left it with Reggie’s secretary and left the building.

 

***********************************************

 

Storm was driving home from work.  When he turned into his drive he was struck by surprise.  The house was glowing with welcome.  He parked the car and walked up the front walk to the door.  Suddenly the door swung wide open and he was greeted by a statuesque blonde, “Honey, I’m home,” his beautiful wife seductively greeted him.

 

“I think that is my line.” He responded and drew her into his arms.

 

“Julia, what are you doing here?”

 

“What, you have not missed me?  No matter, I am here to stay.  They gave me the option of continuing my treatment from home or I could stay at the facility.  I talked to my doctors, I am feeling strong and healthy, and I missed seeing you everyday.”

 

“Julia, are you sure, I don’t want you to mess up your sobriety because of me. Not again.”

“Storm, you were never the cause of me and my problems.  You the one reason that I manage to stay strong.” She responded as she looked into the eyes of her handsome husband.

 

“Storm, you know I love you?”

 

“I know and you know I love you, you pain in the ass.”  The laughed with each other at his endearment, which had begun when they were children and she would follow him everywhere.

 

“So, what’s on the agenda this evening?”  He asked.

“I thought we would have dinner, talk, and see what happens next.”  She smiled coyly.

            “That sounds good.  When will dinner be ready?”

 

            “It’s on now.”

 

            “Well, give me a minute to get the office off of me and I will meet you in the dining room in five?”

 

            “Ok, buster.”

 

            As Strom jogged his way up the stairs, he could not help but grin at the fact that Julia seemed like her same old self.  Then the thought stuck him that he needed to try to call Lisa to let her know that there would be a major change of plans for them this week.

 

            During their dinner, it seemed like old times.  She told stories about funny things that occurred at The Retreat and he caught her up on everything that was going on with the business.  Since the day they were married, they had run their family business together.  His father had been business partners with her father and as a wedding gift their parents turned the company over to them.

 

            Finally, as the candlelight began to dwindle, she put her cards on the table.  “Storm, do you think we can start all over?” She watched him closely for his reaction.

 

            “Julia, there is no need to start over, we are us, we are good.”  Julia blew out a breath in relief. 

 

            “Well let’s go to bed. Alexander said that he could come down later to put everything away.” Julia assured him.

 

            Once in their bedroom, Julia moved to her dressing room to begin her absolutions. While there she heard Storm turn on the television.  She looked at herself with a knowing smile.  Everything felt like old times.  She slipped on a new negligee that she had picked up during the day, and then opened the door that separated her from her husband. 

 

            As she looked toward the bed she was shocked to discover, Storm was in bed, he had removed all of his clothes, but he was sound asleep.   As she pulled the bedclothes back to slide in next to him she was further surprised to find that he was wearing pajama bottoms.  She was not aware that he owned a pair of those.  No matter.  They had the rest of their lives to be intimate and she knew he was worth the wait.   As she cuddled closer to him, his arms reached around her and nestled her closer.  Slowly she drifted off to sleep.

 

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Chapter 13

 

          It had been three months and Storm had not seen nor heard from Lisa the entire time.  It was driving him crazy.  He had went by the administrative office of her practice and was told that she had resigned her position and there was not any forwarding address.  He went to her house and it seemed that her stuff was there but it was obvious that she had not been there in some time.  He got the obvious message that they were over, but he wished that he had the opportunity to say good-bye properly.  He knew the rules. Hell, he created them and knew that once either one of them wanted to end it the other was supposed to let go, with no questions asked. But something did not sit well with him. Something was off.

 

            Now he was sitting in his office trying to puzzle out what to do now.  The Julia blew into his office and sat down across fro him.  As he looked into her face, he marveled at how great she looked.  This was the woman he knew, and he could hardly remember the woman he had to help crawl out of bed almost six months before.  But this new Julia was looking at him strangely.

 

            “Carrick is on his way up.”  She said to him with a strange smile on her face.

 

            “What the hell is that bastard doing here? I was not aware that he was coming for a visit.”  He smiled broadly.

 

            “I asked him to come.  He let me know about the specs on a new deal and I thought I would go with him today to see the site.  Unfortunately, I have a meeting today that I have already rescheduled twice, so I am going to need my wonderful, sexy, smart husband to go with Carrick.”  She said with a smirk.

 

            Jule- I have a pretty crazy day ahead of me as well.  I am not sure I can make it happen today.” 

 

            “I have already worked it out with your assistant and you are good to go.”

 

            “Ok, what’s really going on?”  Storm could almost taste that Julia was up to something.

 

            “Storm, you love her don’t you?”  She looked and him, almost daring him to tell her a lie.

 

            “What?”

 

            “The doctor at the clinic.  You love her?” she reiterated.

 

            “How did you find out about Lisa?” He watched her closely.

 

            “Storm, I always knew when you were with other women.  Just as you knew when I was with other men.  The difference here is that we never tried to hide it from each other.  When I came out of my drug induced ether I knew something had changed with you, so I and someone check it out for me.”  She looked him solemnly. “If you can’t say that you love her, it doesn’t matter, because I know you do.  You have not touched me the entire time that I have been home from The Retreat, you don’t sleep, and you are so restless.  At this point I would be relieved to know that you have taken some other woman as a lover, then I would know that she wasn’t so important to you.”

 

            “Jule-I am sorry.  I don’t know how it happened, but I do feel something for her. And with her just up and disappearing, I can’t get her out of my mind.”

 

            Julia allowed the wave of his honesty to wash over her before she began to speak. “Storm, I love you.  Our love has never been conventional and we have been best friends since our parents put us in the play pen together.  I know I have to let you go.”

 

            Storm was shocked, he had no clue what a life would be like without Julia in it.  He was sure that he could fix this.  “Julia, lets not go crazy here, I am sure once I know she is okay we all can get back to our regular routine.”

 

            “Storm that’s just it.  Being married should be more than some routine. And though we love each other, we are not in love with each other.  Maybe its time to indulge in a regular, conventional friendship.  I will get our attorneys to draw up the papers.”

 

            Suddenly there was a knock on the door.  Neither of them got up to answer it.  They just sat there staring at each other.

 

            “Knock, knock, knock is anyone home?” A golden mane of hair slid from behind the door.  The hair was matched by the most unusual smiling golden eyes.  “Someone told me that I could find some co CEO’s in this office.”

 

            “Carrick if someone just walked into your office like you just did this one, you would have that person's head.”  Carrick’s partner, Malcolm, slid past him to enter the office. “Whoa-something heavy is going on here?”

 

            Julia and Storm finally let each other go.  “Nothing heavy here.  Thank you both for coming and helping me out.  I think Storm is ready to go.  But I have to leave for a meeting in fifteen minutes. I love you all and Carrick and Mal, stop being such strangers.” Julia stood up, kissed Carrick and Malcolm, and moved to leave the room.  As she touched the door knob she turned to Storm and gave him a knowing smile, and left.

 

            “Ok, what the hell just happened here?” Carrick asked as he looked at his friend of over twenty years.

 

            “I think my wife just dumped me.”  Storm stated while he stared at the door.

 

            “That’s impossible, Julia would never dump you, but let’s discuss this as we make our way to the airport and jump on my plane.”

 

******************************************

 

            Over the next four hours that was all they did, they talked about him and Julia.  While they flew on the jet, they talked about Julia. While they were looking at a piece of property, which by Storm’s assessment looked like a piece of shit, they talked about Julia.

 

            Now they were in some little café in some godforsaken town, still talking about Julia.  The place was crowded, evidently the café was hosting an arts and craft fair for young artists, but Carrick demanded that they had to eat there.

 

            “Man, you know I love you, but why in the world did we have to eat here?”

 

            “Malcolm needs to have his midday Frappachino or he'll get grumpy?”

 

            Carrick's lover laughed, and tried to smother it, since he was on a conference call with their Asian office and had been for the last twenty minutes.

 

            “Honestly, I don’t know.  Julia asked me to check out this property. She said that she was going to send you with us and we had to come to this place exactly at this time.  I not sure what we are supposed to do next.”  Carrick shrugged his shoulders.

 

            As Malcolm said his goodbyes to the other members of his conference call, he looked at the men he was sharing his table with.  “Well, since you did mention a Frappacino, I guess I will go sample whatever they pass as one here.” With that he got up and left the table.

 

            Carrick’s eyes followed Malcolm’s ass the whole time as he moved to the counter to make his order.  Storm could not help himself and snickered.  “It kinda cute to see the great Carrick Caudwell in love, if only it wasn’t so disgusting to see a man brought so low.”

 

            Storm happened to glance up and that is when he locked eyes on her.  He quickly blinked and then she disappeared.

 

            Carrick was about to return a smart remark when he saw the stricken look on his friend’s face.  “Storm, what is it? You look like you saw ghost.”

 

            Storm could not believe it. It just could not be.  She looked a little different, but he knew that he had just seen Lisa.  Abruptly, he got up from the table to search for her.

 

            Lisa, definitely saw him.  She did not know why he was there and she was not about to stop and find out. She knew that there was a back door to the café, so she murmured a few words to her sister and took off.

 

            Storm was right behind her.  He saw a flash of yellow fly out a door in back of the restaurant and took flight after her.

 

            “Lisa!  Lisa! Goddamn it stop running!  He started a light jog to try to keep up with her.  He knew he had a limited amount of time to get to her before she reached the car that seemed to be her destination.  “Lisa, I swear to God, if you don’t stop running I am going to tackle you.”

 

            Suddenly she stopped cold and turned to him.  She looked very different.  She had cut her hair. Now, her hair fell in soft curls that surrounded her face.  She wore a sundress that stopped a couple of inches from her knee.  He had never seen her look so young and vulnerable.  It ripped his heart out.

 

            Somewhere behind him he heard a commotion and knew that Carrick and Malcolm had followed him outside.

            “Lisa. Please.  Have you been here all this time?  Why?”

 

            He saw Lisa take a deep breath and then she started to cry.  Not just cry, but her whole body was wracked with these huge sobs that were wrenched from her soul.  He moved closer to her as if to take her in his arms.  But she would not let him.  She held her arms out so that he could only grasp her shoulders.

 

            “Don’t. Don’t touch me. I don’t know how you found me, but I want you to leave and I don’t ever want to see you again.”  She looked at him fully with tear brimmed eyes, then pushed away from him and got into her car and left.

 

            Storm did not what to do.  He did not know what to think. But seeing her again clarified something for him. He loved her and he need to find out why they were breaking each others hearts.  Suddenly he was aware the some had sidled up next to him.

 

            “I wonder how long it will take her to realize that she took my car, without me and my children in it.”  Storm looked at the woman who had made the declaration.  She looked at him and continued.  “So you are her Richard Simmons.  Well it seems that you and he have a lot in common,  you both have some melanin deficiencies,  and you both have problems with rhythm.  He would not know it to save his life and you are a practitioner of the “Rhythm Method". It’s a damn shame.  If you give me and my kids a ride, I will let you know where she is.”

 

            Storm had no idea what this woman was taking about, but he latched onto the idea that she knew where he could find Lisa.

 

            Carrick and Malcolm were suspiciously quiet while he drove, using the woman’s directions, he found a small house in a little suburban cul de sac. The car was filled to the brim.  Luckily they had rented a SUV at the airport or someone would have had to ride on the roof.  Once they arrived at the house, the woman who he had found out was Lisa’s sister spoke.

 

           
“I am sure you will find her around back.  Look, I am counting on you.  She is fragile right now, so you need to treat her right."  Her next remarks she leveled to Carrick and Malcolm. "Gentlemen, they may take awhile, so you can follow me into the house.”

 

            Storm walked around the house and saw her sitting at a picnic table.  As he approached, she looked up and seemed like she was going to take flight again. 

 

            “Lisa, sweetheart, please don’t run again.  What happened to you? Why did you disappear?” 

 

            Lisa looked at him and then down at the table. “Storm I can’t do this with you.  We are done and it is over, please just accept that and go away.”

 

            Storm could not accept her words, “Honey, all I ask is that you tell me what is going on, and I promise I will leave. I won’t bother you again.”

 

            Lisa considered his words for a second.  Then she made her decision.  She told it all.  She relayed the scene between Julia and herself. She told him about Reggie’s justifiable anger at finding out she was sleeping with a client’s husband and committing professional suicide.  She unburdened herself with it all and  then put the icing on the cake.

 

            “Storm, I did something even worse than everything I have already told you about, or what you know about.  Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you.  Somehow those feeling made me feel entitled to crash and burn everything in my way.  You are married.  No matter what arrangements you have made in your marriage, I did not have the right to interfere with it. I certainly knew better that to take so many people down with me.” Lisa finished as the looked down at her hands, they were shaking with her emotion.

 

            Storm could not stand it.  At some point when she was talking he had sat across from her. Once she finished he stood up and crossed to the other side of the table and knelt before her.  “Lisa, I love you.  I know you may not believe it, and if you told me that I would be telling you this four hours ago I would have denied it, but the fact is I do.  We are going to work this out together.  Julia will not mess with you.  I am sure she was mad and took it out on you when she should have discussed it with me.  And Reggie had no right to talk to you that way.  I can make this right, just give me a chance.”

 

            She looked at him like the sun had gone out of the sky, permanently.  “Storm you are still married and that is an inescapable fact.  You wife still receives treatment from a program that I helped design. You cannot make this right.”

 

            Storm looked at her with love shining in his eyes. “Julia and I will soon no longer be married.  She made that choice, she deserves better that what I can give her.  We can start slow and maybe just date each other like normal people. I want you to just trust me.  We can work this out."

 

            Storm saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes and he wanted to do all he could to coax it into being.  Suddenly, he grasped her tightly and lifted her onto her feet and into his arms.  It felt so good to have her in his arms again.  She felt like home.  He had an urge to keep her as close to him as possible so that he would never have to let her go.

 

            Suddenly, he felt something.  His senses sharpened and he realized that something had changed about her body.  He looked between them and then looked into her eyes.  He finally saw her misery.

 

            She confirmed his suspicions. “I am pregnant.”

 

            At the speed of light the whole universe changed.  He looked at her like he could not comprehend the words that she had just spoken.  Slowly he pushed her away from him, out of his arms. He suddenly felt sick, weak, destroyed.  She can’t be pregnant.  Nothing good comes out of pregnancy.  His mind was roaring with that mantra.  His next conscious thought found him back behind the wheel of the car spinning away from that small house on the cul de sac.

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Chapter 14

 

          One thing that is assured when you finally hit “bottom,” there is certainly no way one can  fall any farther.  As Storm peeled out of her sister’s driveway, she knew that it was done.  The whole thing was a wrap and she was finally left with nothing.  She had no more tears left, the pain could not radiate from her body any stronger, any hope that she had managed to cling to was strewn across the yard that she was standing in, crushed into a million pieces. It was irretrievable.  Somehow that made her stronger.

 

            Since her body could no longer absorb anymore emotion, it allowed her to focus for the first time in months on something other than her own misery. It was time to find a way to reclaim some semblance of her life.   She looked toward the house and for the first time noticed her sister and two men staring in the direction of where Storm’s SUV had been.

           

            “What the hell is going on here?”  Charisse exclaimed in full protective mother mode.  Punctuating her question by placing her hand on her hips and giving Lisa a look that brokered no attempts at subterfuge.

 

            “Better question,” Carrick interrupted. “Did Storm just take off in that car without us?” Eyeing one of the kid’s scooters, as if measuring the efficacy of riding it out to the airport.

 

            Charisse shook her head in disgust, “There seems to be a lot of that going on today.  “You told him didn’t you?” Charisse questioned her sister closely.

 

            “What do you think. What do you think would make a man run out of here like all the hounds of hell were after him?’  Lisa replied dryly.

 

            Carrick was getting impatient.  This day had been pretty crazy from the beginning and was becoming more ridiculous as it continued.  It was time to demand some answers. “What is going on and what did you just tell him?”  He was getting so frustrated that Mal walked up next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, in an effort to soothe.

 

            Lisa turned to face the golden god standing next to her.  He had thick mane of hair he held clipped with a single strand of raw leather. The look was unconventional, but seemed to fit him.  Next to him stood one of the most handsome Black man she had ever seen, he put Idris Elba to shame.  Too bad there was a certain dark haired, blue eyed man who currently had her turned out – also in observing the body language between Malcolm and Carrick it seemed like this sexy specimen preferred boys to girls.  Both were tall and where the golden one carried more muscle, his partner had a swimmer’s physique that was long and lean.

 

            Did Storm know any less than perfect looking people?

 

            It seemed that introductions were in order, since these men were witnesses to her life being drop kicked into hell.   She turned to them both and extended her hand, “Hello, I’m Doctor Lisa Whitmore and I just told your friend, who just did his own pretty impressive version of the running man, that I am pregnant.”

 

            Automatically, Carrick had extended his hand once she offered her introductions.  As they briefly clasped hands, the enormity of what she said suddenly struck him.  “Oh Shit.” He exclaimed and backed away.   Carrick moved around in a circle, rocking back and forth in a tight line, all the while clasping his hands to his ears, like he hoped the information he was just given would hopefully fall back out. “Oh Shit, Oh Shit, Oh Shit!”

 

            “I think what he means is congratulations.  By the way, my name is Malcolm and the man by my side, who usually has a better command of the English language, is Carrick.  I think what Carrick is so inelegantly saying is that we have a big problem here, and I think we are going to need your help to fix it.”  Malcolm offered with a sympathetic smile.

 

            The ringing of someone’s cell phone interrupted whatever Malcolm was going to say, both men checked to determine who was buzzing.   It seemed that Carrick was the winner. 

 

            “Caudwell.” He offered as greeting. “What the fuck is he doing?” He exclaimed to the other person on the line.  “Okay, take him – don’t worry about us, I will make the necessary arrangements.  Just watch him. Thanks.”  Carrick hung up and looked up at his audience.

 

            “He’s running and he just hijacked my plane.”  Carrick stated with a deadpan delivery.

 

            Lisa’ eyes grew large.  This was not the Storm she knew.  Initially, she thought that the news of her being pregnant threw him into a tailspin because he did not really lover her enough, and he believed she was engineering some way to force him to commit to her. But now, she didn’t know what to think.

 

            “Look, I have got to make some arrangements, is it ok if I go into the house for a bit? Malcolm, explain to Lisa what is going on.  Lisa, you are going to have to grab what ever stuff you need. You are coming with us and we are going to have to move quickly, once I get everything straight.  Carrick moved as if to go into the house.

 

            “Hold it! Everyone wait just one goddamned minute!  You are sorely mistaken if you think you are going to take my sister anywhere.”  Charisse burst out holding out her arms in an effort to hold everyone in their place.  “This “friend” of yours has been giving my sister grief since the moment she met him.  He had a part in destroying her career, not to mention her life, and the one time he could prove that he cared for her, in any manner, he runs out of here like he’s Carl Lewis.   Excuse me if I have a vote of “no confidence” in Storm Weston, or his so called friends. She is absolutely not stepping a foot off of this property.” Lisa watched her sister work up herself in such a state that her energy became almost nuclear.

 

            Malcolm stepped into the lull that increased as Charisse ended her explosive statement and addressed his question to Charisse though he was looking at Lisa.  “Can I talk to Lisa alone for a moment?  I just want to talk with her quietly so she can make an informed decision regarding whether she will leave with us, or not.”

 

            “Char, its okay.  I will hear Malcolm out. You go in with Carrick and make sure he has everything he needs.”  Lisa’s eyes encouraged her sister that she was alright and that she could leave her.

 

            “Ok Lisa, but I swear, if I come back out here and you have taken off – I swear I am going to kick someone’s ass.”  Charisse turned to go in the house, mumbling the whole way.  Carrick gave a significant look toward Malcolm and followed her through the back door.

 

            Malcolm took her hand and led her back to the picnic table. “So you must be the good cop.”  Lisa looked at him warily.  Malcolm had this calm energy, nothing seemed to faze him and he looked at her without judgment and with kindness.

 

            In response to her statement he laughed.  He threw his head back in his mirth and held her hand even more snugly. He completely diffused the highly charged moment.  His calm and easygoing manner lulled her into lowering her defenses and becoming more open to whatever he was about to say.  “Lisa, I am going to make a huge request of you and I am going to ask you to put your doctor’s hat on.  Before I tell you what I think is going on, I am going to let you know that I am absolutely aware that what I am asking you is completely unfair, especially after Storm just behaved so poorly toward you.  But I am going to ask you to do something that I am sure you would do for any patient who has suffered any type of trauma. Storm has been in pain for a long time and he needs help.

 

            With that proclamation Malcolm paused as if to gauge Lisa’s reaction to what he had already said.

 

            “What exactly are you asking of me.”  Lisa questioned.

 

            “How much to you know about Storm, Julia and their wanting a baby.” Malcolm squeezed her hand, knowing that they were about to engage in a very sensitive subject.

 

            “I know only the most general information.  Before Storm and I became………I saw Julia’s file, so I know the medical information surrounding her miscarriages.  Beyond that I know nothing. After Storm and I got together I made sure that I had nothing to do with her care or her treatment.  Storm made it very clear that Julia and his marriage was strictly off limits.  I tried to respect at least that.  Lisa was uncomfortable and with every word she spoke, her eyes fell further and further from his.  Finally, all she could see was his hand tightly clasping hers.

 

            “A lot of what I know about them wanting a baby, I know from Carrick.  Julia, Storm and Carrick are a pretty tight bunch.  When you first see them all together you can’t help but feel like an outsider.  They are their own family or force of nature- whatever the case may be.” Malcolm again paused to see how Lisa was taking in the information. 

 

            “Julia was absolutely obsessed with having a baby.  I think Storm was fine if they had a baby and would have been equally fine if they did not.  You see in their friendship Julia was in many ways the ringleader.  It’s crazy, these two very accomplished men, who run multi-billion dollar business, manage their empires with an iron fist, are absolutely weak when it comes to that woman.  Don’t get me wrong, Julia is a fantastic person, but I have always gotten the feeling that when it comes to anything she wants, or the people she loves, anyone would do well to stay on her good side.  She can be ruthless.  But I am thinking you may already know that about her.” Malcolm looked at her for affirmation.  He was no fool.  He knew that this accomplished, well-known physician, wasn’t sitting in, or banished to, the nether regions of this godforsaken part of the country for nothing.

 

            “Anyway, but like anyone who is obsessed with a goal, she lost track of how the quality of their lives was suffering.  With each pregnancy she absolutely disregarded what she was putting Storm through.  Finally, when she lost the final pregnancy, and found out that she could not have any more children, she set about destroying herself.  I suspect that there was more going on with that last pregnancy, but Storm has never shared that with Carrick or me.   By the time Carrick and I got to the hospital that last time, Storm was on autopilot.  He was completely focused on trying to keep Julia alive and I don’t think that he has really dealt with what it all meant to him.   I think he blamed everything bad that happened to them on Julia wanting a baby.  You telling him that you are pregnant, someone I suspect he in love with, and wants to share a future with, only exacerbates a wound that has barely been acknowledged and has certainly not healed.”

 

            “I am such an idiot!” Lisa exclaimed closing her eyes as she imagined the pain that Strom was in.

 

            “No you are not an idiot, but I think you were too close to this thing and Storm is not the exactly picture of emotional honesty.”  Malcolm suggested.

 

            “So will you now consider going with us?”

 

            “Considering what you have said, I maybe the worse person for Storm to deal with right now.”

 

            Malcolm shook his head, “Storm needds a reminder of what is at stake if he does not deal with his demons. You have to be there to make him see what he is running from.”

 

            Lisa bent her head as if in prayer, all the while still holding on to Malcolm’s hand.  “Ok, I will do it. When do we leave?”

 

            At that moment Carrick interrupted them and strode to Malcolm’s side at the picnic table. “Are we set? Our flight leaves in an hour and we are going to have to leave right now.”

 

            “Carr what’s the rush we are about fifteen minute from the airport.  We can leave in twenty minutes, jump on the jet and be off.” Malcolm looked at him closely and shifted in his seat so that he could caress his lover’s hand.

 

            “Storm owes me so big.  I mean Lisa you might want to sign that kid over to me right now, because I am talking “first born” big.” Carrick waited a beat before he delivered the depressing news.  “That asshole has reduced me to flying commercial.” Carrick turned toward the house and walked away as if the idea was too disgusting to imagine.

 

            Malcolm looked at Lisa, with a gleam in his eyes, as if to say, The Big Baby.  I better go after him and see if I can put him in a better mood, or he will be bitchin’ the whole way back.

 

            Lisa nodded and then said, “Thank you Malcolm, I suspect you are a treasure.”

 

            He looked at her are smiled, “No problem, anything to help my friends, old and new.”  With that, he followed the path that Carrick had taken to the house.

 

Chapter 15

 

            When Julia reached home, that evening, she knew immediately that something was off.  She generally would not be able to put her finger on it.  Being a woman who was accustomed to doing ten things at once, she would never have the time to focus so closely, but the silence in the house seemed almost unnatural.   Somehow she had the urgent need to take inventory, she began to slowly take stock of the rooms, going into each, one by one, categorizing all the things on display in each, but noting their absence of character, the lack of emotion.

 

            Finally, she came to the room that she always avoided at all costs.  She knew that she had gained a hard fought strength through her recovery, but she had never felt strong enough to tread upon that particular hallowed ground.  Tonight, she felt compelled to enter, maybe it was time to say goodbye to this, she had said so many goodbyes today; she had finally let go of man and the dream of a family that had overtaken her life.

 

            Julia took a deep breath and opened the door to the nursery.  As she walked in, she took in the bright airy colors that filled the walls,  she smiled at the furniture that she drove Storm crazy with, when she was trying to make up her mind what type would be perfect for their child.  Everything was created to be stimulating, yet give of the sense of security.  As Julia looked around she made a move to leave when a shape leaning against a dormer made her heart freeze.

 

            “Storm.  Is that you?” She moved close to verify her identification of him.  He said nothing. He continued to look out the window.  “Where are Carrick and Malcolm?  Did they come back with you?”  After she orchestrated his reunion with Lisa, she did not expect to see him for a while.

 

            A voice that she would have never recognized as his pierced the silence.  “You know you died, when you had your last miscarriage?”

 

            Julia couldn’t catch up.  It was like Storm was speaking a foreign language.  She waited to see if he would suddenly make sense.

 

            Still staring out the window without truly acknowledging her, Storm continued, “You know that is not the most interesting part.  When I came into our bedroom and I saw you passed out at the foot of our bed in the middle of all that blood, now that was pretty compelling.  And then when I finally  got you to the hospital, praying to God that he would not take you, the doctor asked me to make an impossible decision. Now that was pretty fascinating.  He told me that they might be able to save one of you, but not both. 

 

            Storm finally pushed away from the window and looked at Julia like he hated her. Julia drew a breath and held it, not sure if she had it in her to hear Storm’s words. 

 

            “You know when you woke up and the chaplain explained that God wanted our baby and he would take care of it until we could meet him again.  Well, I not sure what part God played in all this, but I know that I made the decision to save your life.  I had to choose my wife over my baby.   So, Julia you have had your hate on for the wrong thing, you really should hate me.  I am the one who gave the go ahead to kill our child.  With that Storm dropped to his knees and cried, he finally gave an audible voice to all the pain that he had suffered for all those years.

 

            Julia turned to stone.  In a millisecond  all of the oxygen was swept out of the room.  Storm had never told her this.  Through all of their family therapy sessions he made sure the focus was on her, never him.  He never hinted about the true events of that day, so long ago.  Finally, it penetrated her mind that she had to go to him; maybe she could return the comfort he had always brought to her.

 

            Julia moved to him as if she was walking through water.  Her limbs felt heavy and unsure.  Finally she reached him, and while on his knees, Storm grabbed her around her waist and pulled her close, while burying his face in her stomach.  “Baby, Baby, I am so sorry.  I just didn’t know what to do.  I could not imagine you not around, but as soon as I gave the permission for the procedure, I realized I wanted it all.  I wanted the kid, I wanted the family, I wanted the fucking dog and the Pickett fence and I had just given the go ahead for all of that to be ripped apart.  But you know what the kicker was? While they were performing the procedure your heart stopped.  It was like you knew what I did and you decided that you did not want to live either.”  Storm was uttering all these words directly into the place that should have held her womb.  That space was empty now, and would never be filled, but all he was saying reached directly into her soul.  She did not know who her heart was breaking more for, him or her.

 

            She found her hand brushing at his curls, tenderly wiping his tears; she dropped to her knees in front of him, taking his head to her shoulder.  “Storm, none of this is your fault and I have never blamed you. Even with what you have told me tonight, I can never blame you.  I forced the issue.  I could not get past my need and I would not listen to you.  You told me time and time again to give it a break and I just plowed right ahead. I am sorry, I should have listened.”

 

            She became aware that someone had entered the room; she looked around to see Carrick in the shadows.  The look she gave said –What the hell happened? Carrick’s eyes held no answers.

 

            She then asked the question directly to Storm.  While cradling him to her chest she asked, “Storm what happened? I know you where supposed to meet Lisa.  What brought all this up?” She gently nudged him back, as she looked him in the eyes.

 

            What he said next, no one could have prepared her for.  “Jule-she’s pregnant.”

 

            I need a drink so bad.  Julia could almost feel the cool, burning swallow of Vodka slipping down her throat.  It seemed to her that her very survival required her to find a bottle so that she could avoid the catastrophic pain she was feeling at the knowledge that another woman was going to have the baby she wanted with all her soul.

 

            Julia pushed away from him, fell backwards, and stared at the broken man before her.  She did not have anything left for anyone.  She was vaguely aware that Carrick was assisting her in getting up from the ground, as she continued to stare at Storm.  Carrick led her out of the room.  All she knew was that Carrick had her walking, walking walking. Somehow she was seated, in their study, with a glass of water in her hand, and looking at Carrick to determine whether he understood that the world had reshaped itself.

 

            She saw that Carrick’s mouth was moving, but she could not quite make out the words, the sound was roaring past her ears. 

 

            “Where is she?”  Carrick did not need to ask who she meant.

 

            “She is here.”

 

            “I need to talk to her, now.” Julia was resolute. As she stood, her weakness only showed in the fact that she swayed slightly.

 

            Carrick punched in a single number on his cell.  “Bring her in.  Julia wants to talk to her.”

 

            Carrick then turned to Julia, “I can’t have you going nuts on her.  Storm is just as responsible for this mess as anybody else.  Keep your cool.” He gave her a warning look.

 

            “Well excuse me, you all seem to have me at a disadvantage.  I need a moment to wrap my head around this.  I am going to the front room.”  Julia rose and walked out of the room.

 

            As she reached the front room she caught sight of Lisa standing at the bottom of the steps.  Malcolm was by her side and looking at Julia is a way that she took as a warning to be on her best behavior.  Well she already has all the men in my life guarding her ass.

 

            Julia walked right up to Lisa, “You need to fix him.  It kills me to say this, but I don’t have any more in me to make it better for him.  I know we owe each other another conversation, but that does not matter now.  You have to help him.  You have to love him.”  Julia pleaded to the other woman.

 

            Lisa looked up the stairs and then back at Julia.  She saw the pinched look in the woman face.  The healer in her knew exactly what that look meant.  She had already done harm, counter to her oath as a physician; the best she could do was to try to help everyone cope with the damage.

 

 “You need to go to a meeting.” She said quietly, “There is an 8:00 p.m. meeting at The Retreat.  If you leave now you might just make it.”

 

Julia nodded at her, “Carrick can you and Malcolm give me a ride?  I’m kinda done tonight.”

 

As everyone gathered themselves to leave, Lisa began the climb up the stairs.

 

Chapter 16

 

Based upon Carrick’s directions it was pretty easy for Lisa to find the right room.   She walked into a space that was a baby’s fairyland.  It took her breath away.  In each carefully placed item, she felt the love and  anticipation that was behind it.  Her heart broke for them.

 

Across the room she saw Storm sitting in a rocker that was placed next to a window.  He was looking toward her, but she was not sure if he was actually seeing her.   Lisa closed the door and stood against it.  She just watched him.

 

Storm did not look like himself.  He looked horrible and wonderful at the same time.  As the moonlight struck his face, she saw that his eyes were hallowed out.  Gone was the arrogant, self assured man that she knew.  Instead he was replaced by this imposter, and it was beginning to make her angry.  She decided to piss him off into the land of the living.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt this pity party.  I know that hearing one is going to become father can be unsettling, but this is ridiculous.”  She threw at him smartly.

 

“You know, I have always hated this room.   I always thought it was a shrine to nothing.  All these years I have been itching to take it down.  I came in here to rip it all apart and somehow I can’t bring myself to do it.  Isn’t that odd?  Storm talked as if he was discussing the weather, casually, like he was just making conversation.

 

Lisa started to get scared. “Storm, baby, I’m am gong to be fine.  Nothing is going to happen to me.  My doctor said that my body was made to have children.  I am going to be ok.”

 

“You know, it took Julia three months to finally make a decision regarding what paint to put up on the walls.  We had about twenty colors on these walls before she was satisfied with this one.  It works pretty well don’t you think?”

 

Lisa zoomed right past scared and went straight to terrified.  Not considering what she was about to do very closely she began to take off her clothes.  In some part of her mind she knew it had to be some type of sacrilege to even consider making love to him in his dead babies’ nursery. But surely to love is divine.  When the man you love is disintegrating right before your eyes, whatever you have to do to put the pieces together surely cannot be held against you?

 

Once she was completely nude, she stepped into the moonlight.  She saw the spark of recognition in his eyes as he travelled the long road from the tips of her toes to her eyes.  She did not miss that he spent an usually long time at the growing swelling that housed their baby.  She stood still waiting for him; waiting to see if he would give any indication of what was on his mind.

 

Storm did not move.  He just continued to stare at a spot somewhere between her chin and her breasts.  She decided to be more aggressive.  She moved closer to him and stood in between his legs.  When he still did not move she placed her knees on either side of his hips, as he sat in the rocker, and rested her bottom on his thighs.  Suddenly the rocker began to move madly and Storm automatically steadied her, and it, by grabbing her hips in each of his hands.

 

At his touch Lisa head fell back.  He clutched at her like he was trying desperately to make a decision.  Slowly he leaned in to bury his face in between her breasts.  Hesitantly, he began to kiss her swollen globes.  He brought her closer to him as if he was a child cuddling his most treasured teddy bear. 

 

After a while Lisa realized that he had stalled.  So she leaned down to place a kiss on his lips.  She kissed as if she was trying to breathe life into him, she kissed him so that he could see the hope in their blessing and not the tragedy of the past. Storm began to return her kisses with desperation of his own.  His hands traveled all over her body, kneading her like he could mold her more perfectly than she already was.  They were both heady with the feel of each other’s touch. 

 

Lisa need to get him out of his clothes, she needed to feel him naked against her.  She climbed out of the chair and dropped to her knees.  The whole time she made an effort to  maintain the connection of their lips.  Violently she tore at his belt and his clothes.  They just did not seem to come off of him quickly enough.  Eventually she realized that Storm was trying to offer his assistance, but Lisa was angry she need to touch him everywhere and his clothes were unwanted distractions. 

 

Finally they were both facing each other with nothing between them.  She watched as Strom slowly brought his hand between them and cupped the bump on her stomach.  She exhaled in triumph, he would be ok.  He was touching her.  He was touching their baby.

 

Tenderly he looked into her eyes.  With gratitude, Lisa looked at him.  In his eyes she saw that he was all there.  Storm; her friend, her lover, her baby’s daddy.  “I don’t know how to do this again.  I am going to need your help.

“

“Baby, take anything you need from me.  We are going to help each other through this.  But you are going to have to find some hope.  Try to believe in us and believe that our baby will be ok, that I will be ok.”

 

“I am going to be a little nuts about taking care of you and the baby for awhile.  I might never be completely sane about that.”

 

“Well that will make us equal.  I may never be quite sane about other women, and them thinking inventive ways to get into your pants.  You do know that I will never tolerate an open relationship?”

 

“I can barely handle just you, every time I touch you; you reduce me to a quivering piece of Jell-O.  You don’t have to worry about any other women, because I am not going to allow you to even look at other men.”

 

“Lisa, I love you with all of my heart and I am going to trust you with what little I’ve got.  I am scared shitless, but I need you in my life.  I need to believe in our baby.

 

“Storm?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Make love to me.”

 

“Always.”

 

Slowly, tenderly Storm made love to her.  With every touch he paid homage to her beauty.  As the joined together, time was suspended and they created their own little world.  Finally, Storm was able to find some salve to his old wounds and he was able to trust someone else to shoulder some of the hurt. 

 

Some time later they were laying on the floor in each others arms.

 

“Lisa?”

 

“Mmmm”

 

“When you were taking off your clothes earlier tonight, did I see you wearing white, cotton drawers?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Burn them.”

 

“What! They are comfortable with my expanding tummy.”

 

“Lisa, if I ever see you in Grandma panties again, I can promise you some dangerous consequences.  We will go shopping tomorrow for something sexy and comfortable. “

 

Lisa took an aggravated breath, but she did not disagree.

 

“You know we have to leave really soon?”  Lisa questioned.

 

“Hummm.”  Storm answered.

 

“Julia may have wanted me to “fix” you, but even I think this is pushing it.  She was actually pretty civil to me earlier tonight.”

 

“She wants me happy, she was just pissed before that I was keeping it from her.”

 

“So let me get this straight, in this relationship I get a baby, boyfriend, and a wife? Wow, lucky me.”

 

“No, its better that that.  You get a baby, husband and an EX wife.

 

“Oh, this just gets better and better.”

 

“Well, the situation could get worse. Julia could walk in here and catch us naked lying on her floor.”

 

“I’ll race you in putting our clothes on.”   

 

“Fine, but just throw away the Grandma’s”

 

 

Epilogue

 

Five months later, Lisa and Storm welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world.  The blessed event was attended by her Uncles, and Godfathers,  Carrick and Malcolm and her Aunt Julia, who bought out every baby store in town for her godchild.  Julia and Lisa came to an understanding, if not friendship, each knowing that they were an essential part of Storm’s life.

 

Even Reggie came by to see the baby.  The baby’s father looked daggers at him the entire time he visited Lisa and the baby.  But they all had to engage in a heavy dose of forgiveness and sometimes it’s a bitter pill that you have to take everyday.

 

“Well Mrs. Weston, it looks like you were true to your word, everything turned out perfectly.” Strom smiled with pride at his little girl, whom he was holding in his arms.

 

“Storm I hope I am not the only woman to go into to labor right after she says ‘I do’?” Lisa asked in exasperation.

 

“Well you did add a certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ to the services.”

 

“And you really showed out when we got to the hospital.  I think the doctor was seriously considering whether he was going to have to administer a sedative to YOU!”

 

“Ok, the process of childbirth is not one of my finest moments, but the results are pretty fantastic.”  Storm walked to his wife, while holding their sleeping baby, and kissed her soundly on the lips.