by Iona Rose
You've been ignoring me. Is someone else taking what is mine?
The cool sheets suddenly became stifling. My body became hot and then cold. I looked at the message again, and wanted to weep. Why couldn’t he leave me alone? I pressed the turn off button just as Luke walked into the room, a towel wrapped low on his hips.
“Are you okay?" he asked.
I realized then I had pushed away the covers. "I'm fine, I just felt hot for a few minutes, but I'm good now." I pulled the light duvet up around me.
Luke loosened his towel and proceeded to dry his own hair.
Stan fought to occupy my mind, but I resolutely pushed away those thoughts and concentrated on the gorgeous man in front of me.
Luke turned around to hang his towel and I ogled his ass. His fine ass was wasted in official suits when it should have been on display in one of those billboard ads, advertising men’s underwear.
My body grew hot as I watched him unconsciously walk to the bed, his cock semi hard. "You, Luke Meyers are a temptation to all women," I said.
He gave me an amused smile. "I'm glad you think so and I hope you always will," he said as he gathered me into his arms.
I needed to occupy myself to keep from thinking about that last message from Stan. I crawled on top of him and aligned my body with his. His cock rested in between my legs and I made little rocking movements to rub it against my pussy.
Luke's hands went to my ass, kneading it and then sliding a finger down the crest between my ass cheeks. His hands went lower to the curve of my butt cheek, down to my hips. He placed his hands on my inner thighs and parted my legs then dipped his fingers to my pussy. "I love how wet you always are," he said.
I brought my mouth down to his and kissed him softly. "I'm always wet for you." I rode his hand and rubbed my nipples along his chest.
"You trying to kill me, woman?" Luke growled. "I haven’t recovered from round one."
"How long do you need to recover?" I asked.
"Clearly, I'm not going to get any time," he said, sounding pleased about it.
Luke's expert hands played with my pussy, teasing my clit, until I needed more from him. I raised my hips and snaked a hand between our bodies to guide his cock inside me. I halfway sat up and when his cock was in, I slid back into my earlier position. We moved our bodies gently, our gazes locked.
We moved in sync, our bodies meshing together and then pulling apart before coming together again. When we reached our peaks, it became intense and beyond the physical. It felt like we had bridged another wall between us and we had become as close as two human beings could be.
Ella
I’d noticed how Molly was short on tops. She’d probably grown in the last couple of weeks and outgrown some of her clothes. Luke had put a credit card at my disposal, he wanted me to go out and get myself something lovely. At first, I had refused, but he had frowned and asked me why he couldn’t buy me a dress if it made him happy. So I agreed.
I decided to take Molly shopping while getting a few things for myself. Specifically, a dress. I hadn’t had time to sew myself one, like I normally did, and Luke had seen all my dresses, several times over, in fact. I decided to treat myself to a short, sexy number. Something that would make him want to strip it off and take me there and then. The thought made me grin.
Just as Molly and I were getting ready to leave, Ruby called. I recognized the tune I’d chosen for her ring. I fished for my phone in my bag and swiped to answer, "Hello stranger."
"I know. I'm sorry, we got a little busy with a wedding at work. How are you, and how's Molly?" Ruby asked.
"We’re fine. We're actually on our way out for a bit of shopping.”
Ruby squealed. If there was anything she loved more than beauty, it was shopping. "Can I come? I’m bored at work and it’s my lunch hour."
"Sure," I said.
We arranged to meet in an ice cream shop on Fifth Street.
"Ruby will meet us there," I told Molly.
She grinned in response. “I like Ruby.”
“Yes, she’s lovely, isn’t she?”
Molly nodded enthusiastically.
The Uber was already waiting. I got Molly in and we were on our way. I’d opted to use an Uber for the ease in leaving, plus it was difficult for someone to follow you when you were using an Uber.
Still, I turned back to look out the back window.
At first, I didn’t even want to go out of the house because of my fear of meeting Stan, but I told myself I couldn’t live like that. I wouldn’t allow him to turn me into a mouse. I relaxed when I saw no suspicious cars following us and leaned back in the seat. “Is pink still your favorite color?" I asked Molly.
She shook her head. "No, I like blue now," she said softly.
I smiled happily. Before too long, no one would be able to differentiate between Molly and any other five-year-old girl. Fingers crossed, it wouldn’t be long before she would be chatty, cheerful, and carefree.
Just like a kid should be.
We got off on Fifth Street and I held Molly's hand as we hurried into the ice cream shop.
Molly spotted Ruby first. She called her name and dashed between tables to where Ruby was seated.
Ruby jumped to her feet and enveloped Molly in her arms. "I have missed you so much, beautiful girl," Ruby was saying when I reached them.
"I missed you," Molly said shyly.
"Molly is doing so well," Ruby said to me.
I reached out and stroked Molly's hair. "Yes, she's doing awesome."
We sat down and ordered ice cream. Vanilla for me while Ruby and Molly ordered a rainbow mixture of ice cream flavors.
"Yuk!" I said.
"You don’t know how to choose ice cream," Ruby said while she and Molly giggled.
We kept our conversation mild and included Molly. Ruby was good with kids and she kept Molly giggling throughout. When the ice cream came, Ruby and Molly laughed uproariously as they dotted ice cream on each other's noses.
Afterwards, we went to a kid’s store and had a ball picking cute outfits for Molly. With Ruby for company, the outing became a dress up party. We laughed until our stomachs ached.
“I wanted to get a dress as well,” I said to Ruby. “It might be a bit boring for Molly.”
“Say no more.” Ruby nodded. “I saw a kids’ play area downstairs. Find us there when you’re done.”
I paid for the outfits and we said goodbye outside the store. I knew exactly where to get the dress I had in mind. The store was on the third floor of the mall and I took the elevator. I loved clothes stores and I forced myself not to linger as I ogled all the outfits. One day, maybe, just maybe I would see my own designs in some of these stores.
I saw my dress from a distance, hanging from a hanger away from the rest, as if it had been waiting for me. Leafy green and sexy as hell. I grabbed it and carried it with me to the changing rooms.
I grinned as I stripped, imagining Luke’s reaction when he saw me. It fit me like a second skin, but it was the plunging neckline that stole all the attention. It made my breasts look even bigger than they were and squeezed my tits into a deep valley of cleavage.
I adjusted it and stared at myself in the mirror. The leafy green color went well with my red hair. My phone vibrated and I reached for it. Probably Ruby, asking why I had taken so long.
As I read the message, my blood went cold.
Beautiful girl. Whose daughter?
My eyes darted around the changing room. He had seen me, and I had no doubt in my mind about it. My legs trembled. I needed to get out of the mall. Fast. I gripped the hem of the dress and as I was about to pull it up, the doorknob turned and a figure entered.
A scream rose up my throat, but before it could come out, he clamped his hand on my mouth. Fear gripped me and I couldn’t think.
With his other hand, he pulled me against him, squeezing my chest, so my breasts were pushed half out of the dress. His eyes dropped to my cleavage. “You’ve become even sexier th
an I remembered,” he growled.
I tried to dislodge the hand clamped on my mouth. It wouldn’t move an inch. I tried to calm myself down. To recapture my cool. We were in a public place. He wasn’t going to hurt me. Except he could break my neck and leave me slumped on the ground and no one would know.
Until Ruby raised the alarm and they searched for me all over the mall, no one would be the wiser. I thought of Luke. I thought of my sister and her family and I made a promise. If I got out of this, I would call her and make more of an effort in keeping touch.
Tears sprung to my eyes. I didn’t want to die. I was just beginning to live. For the first time ever, things were looking up. I had a chance at making a success of my life and being happy.
“Tears? Have you missed me?” Stan whispered in my ear. “I’ve missed you too. Soon, very soon, we’ll be together. Just like we used to be.”
Instead of playing along like I should have, I instinctively shook my head.
His eyes bulged almost right out of his face with rage. “What? You think you’re too good for me now?” he snarled. His hand went around me and grabbed my ass. He slammed me against his cock and rubbed himself against me.
Nausea swirled in my stomach as I tried to get away from him.
“Can you feel how hard I am for you? You must miss how I used to fuck you. If there’s one thing I remember about you Ella, is that you love cock. A real whore, you were. Remember that one time I forced you to keep my cock in your mouth like a baby’s pacifier until I fell asleep? I still haven’t found a woman that would do that for me.” He chuckled.
Tears spilled from my eyes when I remembered the pitiful creature I was when I’d been with him.
A sound came from the entrance of the changing rooms.
“I have to go now,” he whispered. “But if you know what’s good for you and the child, you’ll keep this little visit to yourself. Okay?”
I nodded quickly. I just wanted him to leave.
He grinned, exposing a front broken tooth and as quickly as he had come—he left.
I covered my mouth to stifle the scream. I took a few terrified breaths, then I quickly stripped off the dress and got back into my own clothes. Pulling open the curtain of the changing room, I raced out of the shop.
I found Ruby and Molly by the escalators.
“What happened to you?” Ruby asked with a frown as she studied my face.
I almost burst into tears, but managed to contain myself since Molly was looking at us. I wanted to tell Ruby everything, but she would insist that we go to the police. Stan’s words replayed in my mind.
…if you know what’s good for you and the child, you’ll keep this little visit to yourself.
I wouldn’t do anything to put Molly at risk. I didn’t know what to do but I wasn’t going to go to the police.
At least, not yet.
Luke
I'd been working in the office the last couple of days due to an important project proposal. I whistled as I wound up for the day, knowing that in the next few minutes I would be on my way home to my girls.
A knock came on my door.
"Come in," I said.
My secretary Janice peered in, her eyes wide. "Uh… Mrs. Meyers is waiting to see you."
I frowned. I couldn’t understand why Penelope insisted on keeping her married name. “Send her in.”
She came in, her heels clicking on the floor. Penelope did look smart and pretty, if you didn’t know what was behind the beautiful facade. "Hi, I hope I'm not disturbing you," she said sweetly. This woman was so utterly narcissistic she had never cared about anyone else's time, or whether she was disturbing them.
"What is it?" I asked rudely.
"Thank you, yes, I will," she said sarcastically, and sat down.
I sighed tiredly. God, how I hated playing games. "What do you want, Penelope?"
She twisted her fingers in her lap. "I just want to let you know that I may be going away soon. On a long cruise, actually. To see the world." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
I stared at her incredulously. "What about Molly?”
She thrust out her chin. "Of course, I love Molly. She’s my daughter, but I deserve a life too. Jack loves me and I love him and we want to get to know each other better without distractions."
"Molly is a distraction?" I asked her, doing my best to reign in my anger.
"That's not what I said. You always do that Luke! Put things in my mouth," Penelope accused.
"How long is this cruise?" I asked her.
"Three months," she said in a barely audible voice.
"You've only just come back into her life and you want to leave?”
She glared at me. "Don’t lay that guilt trip on me! I have to live my life too," she said. "You're busy fucking the nanny and what do I have?"
Penelope could say what she wanted about Ella and me. It didn’t matter. What mattered was what we felt for each other.
"Jack said that when we get back from the cruise, we'll get married," she continued.
I guessed it must be the boy who’d been in her bed at the hotel. She must have fallen really hard for this Jack boy if she was contemplating marrying him. "How old is Jack?"
Her face colored. "Old enough to know what he wants and he wants me."
"Can't you go sometime next year? Give Molly a bit more time with you?" I pleaded.
She shook her head. "I can’t keep Jack waiting for that long.”
"But you can keep Molly waiting!” I exploded.
Her face closed up and her mouth became a thin line of rebellion.
I could tell by the tilt of her chin that she had already made up her mind. I would even bet she had already paid for the cruise… with my money.
There was no point in getting angry. I don’t know why I’d thought Penelope would change. That she could stick it out this time and be there for Molly. She was selfish and that would never change. "What will you tell Molly?" I finally asked her.
"I was thinking that maybe you could tell her—"
I banged on my desk with my fist. "No! You are going to do it yourself. And you're going to let her know how much you love her, and that you'll call her every day."
Penelope bowed her head and when she looked up, tears were in her eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm not the kind of mother Molly deserves. Maybe…” She sniffled. “Maybe… you should marry Ella. She'd make a good mother for Molly."
All the air left my lungs. I leaned forward to make sure this was actually Penelope speaking. Her words rendered me speechless for a while. Her admission that she wasn’t a good mother shocked me. But for once, Penelope had been honest.
"I'll tell her when I come tomorrow," Penelope said and then stared at me with real fear in her eyes. "You're not going to cut off my money, are you?"
I held her gaze and shook my head. No matter what she did, I’d never leave her penniless. She was the mother of my child. My responsibility, whether I liked it or not. "I won’t."
She sagged with relief. "Thank you." She pushed her chair back and stood up.
I got up too and went around to her side. "Take care of yourself and I hope you have a good time on the cruise," I said.
Penelope looked surprised by my words. "Thank you." She reached out and touched my cheek. "You’re a good man Luke and Ella is lucky to have you." After one last look at me, she left.
Luke
We had a nice evening, though I did notice Ella seemed quieter than usual and pensive. Molly had really come out of her shell and during dinner, she told me about their shopping trip, albeit in halting sentences. I couldn’t believe how far she had come. I hoped Penelope's leaving wouldn’t impede her progress.
After dinner, Molly and I went to the playroom.
Ella joined us a few minutes later.
"Are you all right?" I asked Ella.
She scooted closer to me, so Molly wouldn’t hear us. "I'm fine. It's you, I'm worried about. You look a bit sad.”
Her perceptiveness astou
nded me. I’d thought I'd done a pretty good job of hiding my feelings. "I'll tell you about it later."
Later, after we'd put Molly to bed, we decided to go up to our room and talk there, rather than sit in the living room.
We slipped into bed and Ella curled up in my arms. "Tell me," she said, "what happened?"
I sighed. "Penelope is leaving on a three-month cruise."
Ella went still. "What about Molly? She can’t just leave her?"
"Apparently, she can. She's going with her new man," I told her while I stroked her hair.
"You’re going to let her?”
"I can’t stop her. She’s a grown woman, and to be really honest, I don't want to. I actually find it to be a huge burden having her around, but I was prepared to put up with it for Molly’s sake. This might work out for the best. I believe this will be the pattern and eventually, Molly will get used to it. I made her promise to speak to Molly about it tomorrow.”
"Molly will be heartbroken," Ella said slowly.
"Maybe not," I said.
I'd never stepped in properly after Penelope ran away with another man. I hadn’t been there for Molly like I should have. I retreated into my own shell and became my father. If I had attempted to fill in the void left by Penelope, Molly wouldn’t have reacted so badly. "She has me and you now. We'll shower her with love and although, she won’t forget her mother, she won’t feel cast aside this time. Especially, if she knows it just for a vacation cruise."
"I think you might be right," Ella said, her hand splayed across my chest. She traced a pattern on my skin with her fingers.
Soon, my breath was coming out faster. I tipped her chin up and brought my mouth to hers. We kissed slowly, exploring each other's lips and then mouths.
I lost myself in Ella’s kisses, kissing her leisurely even though what I really wanted was to devour her immediately. I’d learned that savoring everything left me more satisfied after it was all over. I enjoyed the sweet taste of her mouth and the softness of her body as she melted into me.