Immoral Obsession

by Theresa Papa

  “My pleasure, Anthony. Your dad is one of my best customers. I would do my best to please you both any time.”

  The bracelet is perfect. Just what I ordered. The dragon is just the right size for Liz’s small wrist. And the hockey stick is a lovely complement to it. I’m happy with my selection. I intend to add charms to the bracelet whenever we experience another milestone together.

  “It’s perfect, Mike, thank you. I intend to give it to her tomorrow when we celebrate her birthday a few days early at Sunday family dinner.”

  “Oh boy! Your mother’s gravy and birthday cake, I’m jealous,” Mike crows.

  “How about you and Anna join us?” my father offers.

  “I would love to, but we have the grandchildren coming tomorrow, and we promised them a trip to the zoo. But I will definitely take a rain check.”

  “You’ve got one. You’re more than welcome anytime.”

  They both stand and head toward the door. My father and I follow to walk him out. When we all reach the front door, Mike turns. “Thanks for the business, Anthony. I need to get back to the city, so I will leave you to your lovely family.”

  “Don’t forget to send me the bill, Mike.”

  “My accounts receivable department will take care of that, don’t worry.” He chortles.

  After closing the door, Dad and I walk back to his office and lock the bracelet in his safe. He sits behind his desk pleasantly pleased when he asks, “We’ll surprise Liz tomorrow with the birthday celebration, right?”

  “Yeah Dad, she wouldn’t allow it otherwise. I know her. She never had birthday parties with her family, so she’s not used to celebrations. It will be another way to make her feel like she belongs in this family. I want to give her everything, Dad. I want to spoil her. But I don’t want to make her run in the opposite direction. So I have to try to be as low key as possible.”

  “That’s exactly how I felt about your mother at your age, son. And I still feel that way today!”

  “I can only hope to have a wonderful relationship like you and Mom. I intend to show Liz how happy she can be in our family while she’s here with us. Now that we are together, I never want to let her go. This game has me so worried.”

  “We will keep her safe, son.”

  “Thanks for all your help.”

  When I leave Dad’s office to find my Liz, I try her room first. I knock, and there’s no answer, so I use my key and let myself in. Liz is nowhere to be found in the room, and the bathroom door is only open a crack, so I peek through it. There in the shower is the most erotic sight a man could witness. Her glorious, firm body is wet and soapy. One foot is up on the built-in shower seat while she pleasures herself with the hand-held sprayer. I can’t help but watch as she uses her other hand to slide over her breasts and pinch her nipples before it moves south using two fingers to open her up and allow the water a better angle. Not satisfied to be just a voyeur, I unbutton and get naked. I’m so hard I could pound nails. Her head falls back, signaling her climax, and I wait a few seconds before going in. She’s surprised when I enter the shower, lets out a little shriek, and blindly surges back at me with an elbow to the gut.

  “Ugh! Liz, it’s me!”

  I’m doubled over, looking down at our feet; my erection has ceased to exist.

  “Oh my God! Tony don’t ever sneak up on me like that again! Are you all right?”

  She plasters her naked body against mine to hug me and apologize while I rub the bruise. I move us both under the warm, soothing water and wrap my arms around her in return before I speak.

  “I’ll be fine. Something tells me I stopped you before you inflicted the real damage. I’m sorry if I frightened you, sweetheart. You just looked so erotic pleasuring yourself, and I wanted to participate.”

  “What! How long were you there?”

  She backs up to look me in the eyes, and I can see the blush of embarrassment creep up her body to her cheeks.

  I can feel a lustful grin erupt on my face as the erotic memory fills my brain. I’ll be bringing that memory back often as long as I live.

  “Long enough to see the most erotic fantasy come to life in front of my eyes. If you saw me when I walked in, you would have seen how turned on I was. You’re so beautiful, Liz. I couldn’t stop watching you, and I’ll never stop wanting you. Please don’t be angry or embarrassed.”

  I pull her close to me again where her head reaches just under my chin. She’s quiet as she rests her cheek against my chest. I kiss her on the top of her head and chuckle.

  “There’s no reason to be upset. It’s not like I’ve never seen you climax before. I want to be the one to give that to you, too. How about another round?”

  She looks up at me through her long dark lashes with a semi-defiant purse of her lips. It’s cute how she wants to be mad at me but can’t seem to stop smiling. I lean down and devour her as she willingly incites a dance of our tongues that literally takes my breath away. I smooth my palms down her sides simultaneously, cupping her ass and lifting her off the ground. She squeezes my hips between her legs to secure her hold on me. I can’t help but slide my fingers up and down her soapy crevice. She moans around our kiss at the stimulation. The two steps I take blindly toward the back of the shower to the bench are with purpose. I set her down gently on the bench and kneel in front of her. My hands are now pressed against her inner thighs to spread her wide. Her head falls back as my thumbs open her pink folds already coated and slick. Liz explodes as I drive inside with my tongue, pleasuring her to the point where her body is doing its sensual dance in my grasp. When I massage her with my thumb at the same time, she screams my name. As her sanity somewhat returns, I pick her up again to straddle me with her back to the shower wall. Slowly, I lower her body down to impale deep inside her, and she kisses me again while she rides rhythmically against me. Our kiss is frenzied as our bodies’ ramp up toward our mutual explosion, bringing us both to a place that defies space and time.

  Liz’s body slides down to place her feet once again on solid ground. I let go with my right arm and reach for the washcloth, then we move under the warm water and I reverently wash the evidence of our lovemaking off her body. I turn the faucet off and grab the fluffy towel to wrap my darling Liz up tight. Her body is slightly wilted from her multiple orgasms, so I cradle her in my arms. Slowly, I tread to the bed and set her down gently. She pats the bed for me to spoon behind her, and I happily comply. It doesn’t take long for her to fall into a deep sleep in my arms. I’m careful not to fall asleep in her bed, remembering our recent conversation about how she wants to remain respectful in my parents’ home. So I bury my face into her hair and breathe in the scent that can sustain me all the days of my life. I worship this woman just as I have since the day I met her. Now we are here together, and I will never let her leave me again, no matter what I need to do to protect her. I have to find a way to remove the threat to her freedom and her life. There have to be ways to proactively go after Richard Harrington and force him to cease his obsession with her, thus putting an end to the game. So far, we have put up a good defense with the bodyguards and keeping her close to me at all times, which I must admit has its perks. But tomorrow, I will call Charlie and step up our offense against the origin of all this mess. If Harrington didn’t have access to the money to pay for Liz to be kidnapped and delivered to him, the game would end. But to freeze his assets would be difficult, considering the man has been a ghost for the past few years. Charlie will have some ideas for me.

  I kiss Elizabeth’s forehead and place featherlight kisses on her lips before I reluctantly sneak out and return to my bedroom. When I lie down, I do my best to put the disturbing reflections of kidnappers and sexual molestation out of my mind, when I hear my brother Daniel moaning in his room next door. There’s a woman with him who’s incredibly vocal about her orgasm. It’s par for the course with Daniel to disobey our mother’s wishes and bring a female friend to the summer house this weekend. I might
have to have a talk with him in the morning to impress upon him the danger to his friend by being here this weekend and to refrain from having anyone but family here right now. At least until I can defuse the situation.

  Chapter 21

  Liz Pope

  When I wake up, I’m alone. The absence of Tony’s warm, taut body leaves me aching for him. I bury my face in the pillow to inhale his scent that still lingers there. It’s not exactly cologne or aftershave, but his scent, which is signature only to Tony. I revel in it. My naked body is sensitive to the feel of the sheets against my skin, triggering my nipples to become rigid. I glide my palms over them and pinch between my thumbs and forefingers. Then I proceed to glide my right hand over my flat abdomen to my core.

  Slow waves of pleasure waft over me as I picture in my mind the erotic scene I witnessed in the gym shower yesterday and gradually morph it into Tony and me in my shower. My hands and body move together with my memories to bring on an explosive release.

  Muted light streams in through the sheer drapes on the window. Lazily, I stretch, still feeling high from the sexual endorphins. A smile passes my lips as I realize how happy I am in spite of all the stupid shit going on in my life. The volcano is finally dormant. My analogy for the constant anger and embarrassment I live with is more of a bubbly, low boil that exists beneath my skin. Sometimes, it overflows to the surface, building pressure and mayhem like the lava that destroys everything in its wake. It takes a moment for me to ascertain the absence of it. I chuckle to myself, a sensation instead like a river of fresh, clear, and crisp life-giving water breaking through a dam to form a glorious waterfall. Sun-induced rainbows as they reflect off me.

  I have an unfamiliar sense of peace this morning, and I want to grab onto it like the proverbial life raft on the Titanic. I jump out of bed in search of the love of my life. In preparation to spend another day with my adopted family, I braid my hair in a fish tail and swipe my lips with gloss. After a satisfied smirk at myself in the mirror, I open my bedroom door to an upsetting surprise. Down the hallway in front of Daniel’s room is Tony, my Tony, with another woman in his arms. When I get closer, I recognize her as the girl with Daniel in the shower yesterday. She’s very pretty with thick strawberry blond hair falling over her shoulders and big blue eyes. Her body is bangin’ as I remember from my voyeurism. Not much is hidden right now either. All she’s wearing is a man’s white shirt and nothing else.

  When I walk up, he lets her go abruptly and heads toward me. There’s no guilt in his expression as he smiles big, delighted to see me.

  “Good morning my lovely lady! Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, like a rock,” I answer him, never taking my eyes off her. She stumbles toward us, her hand out to shake mine. Tony grabs her arm to keep her from tipping over.

  “This is Daniel’s friend, Liza. She was looking for the bathroom, not realizing he has one in his room.” Tony’s gestures with a nod, his eyebrows raised, behind her back. It tells me she’s under the influence. He quickly spins her around, pushes her back into Daniel’s room, and slams the door. He turns toward me once again, and we both giggle. Tony wraps his arms around me, looking into my eyes.

  “How about a good morning kiss, my lovely lady?”

  To think a few minutes ago I was green with jealousy. Tony touching another woman is unfathomable in my mind. I learned from a very young age that loving words don’t mean a thing. Intentional love is properly executed through actions. The fact that his actions have always made me feel like I’m the most important person in the world to him have spoken volumes about his true feelings for me. Jealousy is a fool’s folly when it creeps up on me. As I rise up on my tiptoes to kiss his delectable lips, I realize that I have nothing at all to worry about. This man loves me.

  Love. It’s a feeling I’ve struggled with since I learned the meaning of the word. As a child, I could remember how warm and wonderful it was with my aunt Fiorella. But after she died, there was no one who was able to teach me about love. Emotional intimacy never existed anywhere in my life. My own mother never even loved me.

  I never equated sex with love. At first, when I was molested as a young child, sex was awkward, painful, and just another sickening command to be obeyed from the adults who ruled my life. For years, I just learned to block it out at the moment. I would go numb and force my mind to think of other things. During each incident, I would mistake the praise for being a good girl as love and acceptance. At age eleven, I began menstruating, and they stopped all of a sudden; I was set free. Little did I know they began with the drugs to make me cooperate without remembering. Later on in my sessions with Dr. Baxter, I was able to remember sexual encounters that I’d enjoyed and even reached orgasm with. They were never with Richard, but rather when he watched or filmed me with other people my age. My memory returning was bittersweet due to the fact that it brought back the blocked-out molestation, but I also remembered what great sex felt like.

  Since then, going after Richard to find out information on him at Club Beta was when sex became my obsession. I would get off on watching any of the couples that were exhibitionists. In my mind, the act was for mutual satisfaction, and I only fucked one man I trusted and handpicked. But until now, love never entered into it for me. Since I’ve been with Tony, I am changed. I walk around in a constant state of arousal, waiting for him to touch me again. To make me feel the way it does when we’re together, like an awakening from inside. He’s saving me from the emotionally dead person I’ve become. Tony told me he always has had strong feelings for me, and I feel the same way about him. I love him.

  When we arrive in the kitchen for breakfast, Lucia has already made the coffee and cooked French toast with sausage and bacon.

  “Good morning, my sweet children,” she sings as she hugs us both and goes back to the stove.

  “It smells wonderful. I’m starving. We can help,” I offer as I pull the dishes out of the cabinet and hand them to Tony. He sets the table, and I pour the coffee.

  Vincent, Mimi, and Dominic join us at the table when we sit down to eat. Daniel is noticeably missing. I’m sort of relieved since I still feel embarrassed about getting caught watching him have sex. I decide to tell Tony what I did instead of asking Daniel to keep it a secret. It wouldn’t be a smart idea to give him ammunition to hurt my relationship with Tony. After all, Tony will understand. I hope.

  Mimi brings me out of my reverie with a question.

  “Liz, would you like to have a mani/pedi with me today?”

  “Um … I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to leave the house for now without Tony.”

  He nods his head and puts his arm protectively around my shoulders. Then Mimi comes up with a great idea.

  “I can call the Abbey Spa and see if a manicurist will come over here and do it. I know the manager there, and she did that for Mom’s birthday. Let me call and see.”

  I look up at Tony as he lovingly looks down at me and winks. We both smile and nod.

  Mimi picks up her phone and leaves the room to call. When she returns, her excitement is apparent. She bounces up and down and claps her hands as she informs us.

  “They will send over two people to give us the works! We are getting facials, massages, and nails all in one day. Twelve thirty. I’ll go turn the pool house into our own personal spa.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot in one day,” I say skeptically when I remember I’m without my wallet or any money.

  “Nonsense!” Lucia says, her hand placed over mine. “Mimi and I get the works all the time. You’ll feel like a million bucks afterward. Vincent and I will treat you girls. You deserve it,” she continues as if she read my mind.

  “That’s very kind of both of you, thank you. How will I ever repay you for being so wonderful to me? I’m so lucky to be welcomed by all of you,” I concede.

  Lucia gets up and kisses the top of my head.

  “You don’t owe us anything, dear. My son is a beaming, happy man when
you’re around, and that is all that matters.”

  Chapter 22

  Anthony Dragonetti

  As soon as I wake up, I jump out of bed excited to see my Liz. I quickly shower, dress, and head out into the hallway. Daniel’s bedroom door opens and out stumbles a blond-haired, blue-eyed, and half-naked woman. All she has on is Daniel’s shirt, which I recognize by the initials “DD” on the pocket. He has all his shirts custom made and monogrammed. It’s pretentious, but he just wants to feel important. Who am I to pass judgment.

  The girl is definitely high on something. She can hardly walk. I can see it happening before she takes another step. She wobbles dangerously close to the railing, and I catch her before she face plants on the carpet.

  “Hello! You … you aren’t Daniel.”

  “N-No I’m Anthony, Daniel’s older brother.”

  “Oh, I’m L ...-iza. Y …-you’re hot, too!”

  “Um … thanks Liza. Where are you going?”

  “W-W-Where’s the ba … toilet?”

  While I’m supporting Liza so she stays upright, Elizabeth walks out of her room and into the hallway. She stops in her tracks when she sees me with my hands on the intoxicated girl. The last thing I ever want is to make Liz jealous, but it’s too late, according to her face. So I do damage control very quickly by going over to her. Liz winks when she reads my facial expressions to convey how intoxicated the girl is; it seems to calm her ruffled feathers. After I push Liza back into Daniel’s room, we head down to breakfast. My thoughts instantly change to the plan I have put into motion to keep Liz occupied while we get ready for her surprise birthday celebration. As of our meeting last night, everyone knows their part, and I’m counting on Mimi, Mom, and Dad. They all play the parts perfectly, and Liz is none the wiser. She happily leaves with Mimi to go out to the pool house and get pampered.

  Meanwhile, my parents and I prepare for the celebration inside the main house. Mom bakes Elizabeth a birthday cake for a queen while Dad and I hang decorations and place the fresh flower arrangements I ordered from the florist. We set the formal dining room, and then I help Mom by lifting the giant pot of gravy and meat onto the stove to simmer. Our Sunday meal will be even more special to me than usual because my Liz helped Mom prepare it all weekend. They made the gravy, meatballs, and braciole first, and then Mom taught her how to put together the lasagna. Today, Mom will heat the gravy and meat on the stove and bake the lasagna in the oven.