by Mary Peart
Sophia thought about her own mother and could not bear to put her aside into some nursing home and forget about her. “I think that’s a wonderful project. Sign me up.”
“I certainly will.” She said with a smile. “I have seen your picture in the papers along with your husband’s and must say that seeing you in person is a lot more pleasurable to the eyes.”
“Thank you kindly for saying so,” Sophia said with a laugh.
Later that evening as they were dancing to a soft melody, she rested her head on her husband’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “Having fun?” he asked her, his deep voice sounding inside her ear.
“Hmm,” she murmured content to stay like this for a long time. “I signed up on some charity to do with residential homes for the elderly.”
“With Carmona Pryce?” his tone was amused.
“The same,” she lifted her head and looked up at him.
“She is going to rope you into doing some of the work and not only donating some cash,” he warned her huskily. Her lips were slightly parted and he wanted to kiss her so badly he was aching from it.
“I don’t mind,” she murmured, feeling him against her. “I want to go home.”
“Why?” he whispered.
She reached between them and cupped him and he shuddered.
“Yes let’s,” he told her with a groan.
Chapter 4
Sybil Cameron liked simple things and always did. She had been contented to be a homemaker and had opened the bookstore from the insurance money she had received when her husband died because she had been left with a seven year old daughter to bring up. Even though she had never gone to college, she knew that money would go so far and no more. She had been surprised when the bookstore had taken off and even more surprised at her penchant for handling it. She loved the little place and the coziness of it and the fact that she knew all her customers by name even the very young ones. It also helped that she had a long standing love affair with books that her daughter had inherited from her along with her looks. She had met and fallen in love with Colin Cameron and had never looked back and had never fallen in love with anyone else and doubt she ever would.
She cradled the cup of coffee in her palms and stood staring out at the fine drizzling snow coming down. The day was severely overcast and a typical February morning and she had come in earlier than usual to do some thinking. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was not quite seven thirty yet. She drank down the delicious coffee in appreciation, feeling the warmth coursing through her body. She was no longer living simple because she was now very recognizable by association. Her daughter was married to a very powerful and wealthy man and everything had changed.
Now Sophia had come to her with the idea of running an even bigger bookstore and she did not know what to tell her. It would mean a lot more responsibility, more employees to manage and to tell what to do, she thought with a grim smile. Her daughter had grown up simple too and was now running an office out of her husband’s company and doing extremely well. Could she do it? She wondered, placing the empty cup on the glossy cherry wood table and looking around the silent store with only the many books for company. She did not know the first thing about inventory and accounting but Sophia said she could hire someone to do it and she was also saying that Lorna was getting tired of teaching so she could enter into partnership with her for the two stores.
“Think about it Mom, I think you would do great.” Sophia had insisted. So she was doing a lot of thinking and over thinking. There was something else that she had not told her daughter. She had started seeing someone and even though he could never replace Colin he filled the space of loneliness she had been feeling for the past few years after her daughter had left the house. She never thought she would get involved like this and what made it so shameful was that he was married.
*****
She had met him when he had come into the bookstore six months ago to look for a special book for his wife’s birthday. She remembered how pleasantly surprised she had been to see a man actually caring enough to take the time out to look for something for his wife and she had spent the better part of half hour helping him to look. His name was Matthew Myrie and he was an accounts executive at a pharmaceutical company.
She had helped him to find the perfect self help book because he had told her ruefully that his wife was into improving herself in whatever way she could. Sybil had thought that it was a very strange gift to be giving her for her birthday but had been happy at the thought behind it. She had packaged it carefully and even found a cute little card to go along with it. He had accepted it gratefully and had told her he would definitely be back because of the customer service. He had been back two days later and told her that his wife had appreciated it. He had ended up buying another book and they had started talking. He had taken to come to the store on his lunch time and they found that they loved talking to each other. It had happened one night as she was about to close up the store. He had rushed in and told her he had tried getting there earlier but had been in a meeting.
“I have something to say to you,” he had told her as she turned the open sign to close and moved away from the door.
“What is it Matthew?” she asked him curiously but she already knew what it was. They had been leading up to this moment for quite some time now and even though they had tried avoiding it they knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
“I am attracted to you,” he said shortly. He was tall and attractive with a quiet soberness that she found appealing with his black hair streaked liberally with gray and his gentle blue eyes and his solid build. He and his wife never had children and he had found out that she was quietly suffering from dementia for the past year. Sometimes she had no idea who he was and the physical side of their relationship had died a slow painful death a year ago.
“No,” she told him firmly, feeling the shiver of anticipation run through her. She had been without a man for so many years and he was the first man she had met who made her feel anything physical but he was married.
“You feel it too,” he whispered, reaching for her. She did not resist as he pulled her into his arms, his hands trembling. “I know I have no right to feel this way but I cannot help it Sybil, I cannot stop thinking about you.”
“You are married!” she cried helplessly staring up into his face that had become so dear to her.
“I keep telling myself that but it’s not working.” His tone was anguished and he lifted her chin to look down at her. “You make me feel alive again.”
She whimpered and pulled his head down to meet hers. His lips took hers softly and she opened her mouth beneath his, tasting the unfamiliar taste of a man’s lips on hers, his body against hers. It had been so long. With a soft cry she wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into the beautiful and utterly wonderful kiss. He had dragged his mouth away from hers and left hurriedly and she had not heard from him the next day.
Not until the day after when he had come by the bookstore at closing time again and without a word he had locked the door and turned out the lights. They had spread a thick blanket on the floor between the romance sections and he had undressed her slowly, touching her in wonder before taking off his clothes. He had entered her tenderly, aware that it had been an incredibly long time for her and she had accommodated him as he thrust inside her, gently at first then with increasing speed as she moved against him, her generous breasts brushing against his chest.
Colin had been the only man for her and their lovemaking had been sweet and soulful but now with Matthew she felt the fire burning inside her as she clung to him and the way he filled her up and his thrusts inside her touched every nerve ending in her body. He bent his head and took her nipple and she cried out softly, quivering against him as he made love to her in the darkened bookstore, their muted cries echoing among the shadowy books.
They had spent several hours there where he had eased off her and fed at her nipples holding her breasts inside hi
s palms and staring at the dusky brown nipples, rubbing his thumbs over them. He had told her he did not want to leave her and she had buried her face in his chest, the hair tickling her nose.
He had come by every evening just before closing time and they had made love in their usual spot. On Sundays when she was at home he would come by in the night and spend the time with her. He had hired a full time helper for his wife and because they shared separate bedrooms no one knew when he was not at home.
“I love you,” he had told her last night after they had finished making love in the bookstore.
She had looked up at him startled, her body still. “Don’t say that,” she had told him trembling, shivering as his finger circled a nipple.
“It’s what I feel,” he bent his head and took the nipple inside his mouth pulling on it gently.
“You can’t,” she whispered, running her fingers through his thick hair.
He lifted his head and looked down at her. “I love you,” he repeated. “I don’t know what we are going to do about it but I love you Sybil and I want to be with you.”
Now she had two things she needed to think about and her life had gone from simple to extremely complicated.
*****
Christopher studied the report thoroughly. His wife had told him about the bookstore and he had watched as her face lit up as she spoke about the perfect location and the space that could be capitalized on and the ideas she had for the place. She had caught on pretty well and she was very enthusiastic about what she did. She had given him the report and he could find no fault with it.
She was right. It was in a prime location uptown and the space there had not been allocated properly. The current owners had allowed it to get rundown but that could easily be remedied and the books there were old fashioned and outdated and some of them downright shabby. He drummed his fingers on his desk, a little frown on his brow. He never allowed his emotions to get in the way of him doing business and always looked at things from every angle before making a commitment. “Tiffany get Marcus on the line and ask Sophia to be available for a meeting in a few minutes.”
“Right away Christopher.”
*****
Jeremy felt the ring on his finger and it felt as heavy as if it was made of solid rocks instead of solid gold. He had been told in no uncertain terms by both parents that their Sheila had started to show so it was time for the wedding. Within a matter of two weeks they had gotten married and had a big reception at the ranch style home. They had been given one of the houses not far from the main house, a sprawling six bedrooms, four baths with their very own white picket fence and a pool around the back. The Copeland’s had gone all out for their beloved daughter.
He was now given a position in the large company that included car marts, telephone companies and a string of supermarkets. He had been put in charge of one of the car marts and his father in law had taken him aside to have a talk with him right after the wedding.
Merrick Copeland was a tall red faced man with a shock of blonde hair very much like his daughter’s and a big laugh that had you fooled until you realized that the big guffaw was coated with steel and he was a completely ruthless son of a bitch. “Look,” he had clapped a heavy hand on Jeremy’s slight shoulder and held him in place. “I don’t much see what my daughter sees in you and frankly I think she could have done a hell of a lot better but it’s her choice.” He had paused and looked at Jeremy with steel like eyes. “I had you checked out and know you ran away from some problem there. If you break my little girl’s heart or I even hear that you are not screwing her the way she wants to be screwed then I am not going to allow you to run away. I am going to get rid of you myself. Is that clear?”
Jeremy had nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Who did he think he was? He had thought furiously, keeping his anger at bay and wishing he could tell the man to go to hell.
“Good,” he had said briskly. “In that case welcome to the family.”
The physical part of their relationship had dried up from then and he had been spending his time trying to kick start his erection but it was proving futile because every time he thought about what her father said to him he would shrivel up and die a slow and painful death. He knew if she went running to her father he was going to be in big trouble.
So he had started pretending, using his mouth more on her to satisfy her very lusty sexual appetite and when she started complaining he had done his best to get an erection. He had come up with something to help him. He had started thinking about Sophia and to his morbid pleasure he found that when he closed his eyes and slide on top of his wife and pictured that it was Sophia beneath him, he would be sure to get an erection. So he had used that and did not feel even the slightest bit of guilt about doing so. He had to survive and his damned wife and parents’ had done everything they could to strip him of the masculinity he had already so they deserved everything they got. Too bad he could not tell them what he was doing.
He was also forced to spend three nights a week at their home having dinner and listening to their boring conversation and how many times they were going to go baby shopping. He was not in the least bit interested in the brat she was carrying but he was pretending that it was the best time of his life.
“Who is Sophia?” Sheila asked him one night after they had finished making love and he had rolled off her totally satisfied and spent.
“What?” he swiveled around to look at her in shock.
“You called out the name Sophia just as you were about to... you know,” her cornflower blue eyes were looking at him accusingly and Jeremy felt his life flashing right before his eyes. “Are you screwing around on me Jer?”
“How could you say something like that to me?” he cried, using anger as his defense and getting out of bed. “I am a completely devoted husband to you and I am always around. How could you?”
“I am sorry,” Sheila said quietly. “I thought I heard you say Sophia, I guess I was wrong.”
With a silent sigh of relief he went back on the bed and pulled her into his arms, closing his eyes as he pictured Sophia naked beneath him.
*****
“How about this color?” Sophia held up the shiny red building block for her daughter to see. They were in her play room having some quality time together. She had given Lindsey the weekend off because she wanted to spend more time with Christine. She remembered the first time Christopher had taken her to the large sumptuous apartment and how awed she had been. Since their marriage she had added her feminine touch to it but she really wanted a house with a backyard where her daughter, and possibly their other children, had somewhere where they could play and roam and dig in the dirt.
Christopher had promised that they would go and look at some houses in a quiet neighborhood a few blocks away but he had gone out of town to deal with some warehouses he had acquired so she had decided to stay home and have a girls’ day with her daughter. So far it had been going well because she had bathed her and put on a pink and white romper and they had eaten a stack of pancakes smothered in whip cream and strawberries. “It’s red!” the toddler cried clapping her chubby hands in delight.
“Good job baby girl,” Sophia gave her a tight hug and the little girl wriggled away to pick up a blue and a green block and told her mother the colors. “Very soon you will be going off to school,” Sophia said softly.
“I want Daddy,” she said suddenly with a pout.
So do I, Sophia said silently as she reached for her daughter’s hand. “Let’s call him then.”
*****
“I know I should not be calling you on a Saturday Christopher but I really need to know what you have decided about the place.” Dahlia said in her lilting voice. She had gotten rid of all the guests with the hope that he would drop by. He had told her he would be in the area and she had asked him to come over. She had also made sure Brandon would be there to cement the need to make him see how much he needed a son. She had dressed carefully as well, putting on black
leggings and a long close fitting green sweater and had released her cloud of dark hair around her face.
She smiled as she heard the vehicle pull up onto the cobbled driveway and taking her son’s hand she went to the door and opened it. Her eyes took in the bulky red sweater he was wearing and the snow that had settled on his dark hair. He looked totally commanding and confident and she could just imagine how she would feel beneath his magnificent body.
He nodded at her briefly and bent down to take her son’s hands in his. “How are you Brandon?”
“I am fine,” the boy said shyly.
He straightened up and came inside as Dahlia moved by to let him pass. “Would you like something to drink? Some hot chocolate perhaps?”
“No thank you,” he said shaking his head, his eyes going to the little boy who had gone off into the corner to play with his toys.
“It’s time like these that I miss his father so much,” she said softly, forcing her voice to be regretful. “It’s hard bringing up a child by myself.”
“I am sure it is,” he looked at the woman quizzically, noticing the freshly made up face and the many references to her son and realized with contempt that she was using her son to get to him. “About the place,” he said coolly deliberately turning the conversation back to business. It was just then his phone rang. His heart sank as he realized that it was Sophia. Dammit! “Hi baby,” he said turning away slightly as he answered.
“Your daughter misses you and your wife wants to know when you are getting here?” her voice always had the ability to turn him on and now was no exception.
“Soon,” he said briefly wanting to hang up from her and get the hell out of Dahlia’s place. It had been a mistake coming here. But Dahlia knew exactly what card to play and how to play it.
“Brandon darling take that out of your mouth,” she called out to him loudly.