“Bad day, eh?” I hear that soothing accent that makes my panties wet on the other end.
“It didn’t start out that way,” I say flirtatiously, referring to the toe-curling sex we had on my living room floor this morning.
“I didn’t think so. What changed between then and now?”
“David called,” I say disgusted. I pick up a pen from my desk then drop it.
“Oh? How did he get through to you?” He asks, knowing that Carolina is forbidden to transfer David’s calls to me.
“I let Carolina go home early today so I had to take all of my calls. I wasn’t paying attention to the caller ID and mistakenly picked up the phone.”
“So after two months of trying what did he want?” He asks with a chuckle.
“To congratulate me on my new relationship and to invite me to lunch when he comes in town in a couple of weeks,” I say deadpan.
“And what did you say to that?” Heath asks.
“I told him that I don’t want to have lunch with him.”
“What is with that guy? Why does he want to have lunch with you? It’s bad enough that I have to work with him on the day that new rollercoaster opens at London World. As if that won’t be uncomfortable for us as it is.”
“Wait a minute, what?” I ask needing him to explain what the hell he’s talking about.
“Remember the endorsement I have for the new thrill ride that will be opening in September?”
“Yes.”
“Well, apparently Barfield Engineering is building it. I’m going to meet your ex-husband on the day that it opens. It really is a small world, isn’t it? I’m outside.”
“Okay, I’ll be right down.” I hang up, grab my things and get onto the elevator.
David already knew that he was going to meet Heath while he is visiting. That’s why he invited me to lunch. That’s why he threatened to tell Heath. I just have to find a way to let Heath know about my PCOS before David opens his big mouth and tells him. What if the statements Heath made to the tabloids are true? What if he wants a family? I can’t give him that, at least, not naturally. I’ll just ruin another relationship because I don’t ovulate like most women. I will tell him if conversation permits it and I will keep David away from Heath as much as I possibly can.
I walk off the elevator, across the foyer, then out the door where Heath is waiting for me by the driver side of the silver BMW X6 he purchased for me last week when I officially became able to drive in the country of England. I tried to pay him back, but, of course, he refused.
He pulls me into his embrace and then begins to kiss me as if he hadn’t seen me this morning. I’m not upset about it because it makes me forget all the worries of my day for a moment. When he pulls back, he looks at me and is met with my facial expression. “Darling, what’s wrong?” He asks. “Please don’t tell me that asshole has you upset.” I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest, but I don’t cry. I’m mad as hell that David threatened my new, happy relationship but I don’t cry. “I can’t wait to meet this bastard, I have so much I need to say to him,” Heath says in disgust. “Come on, I’ll drive. I want you to relax.” He walks me around to the passenger side of the car, opens the door, and then waits until I climb in before he closes it behind me. “Darling, please tell me what’s bothering you. I can’t stand to see you upset like this,” he says as he pulls away from the Stansbury Building headed home.
My head hurts so bad it feels like it’s going to literally explode. Everything is starting to become blurry because of the tears that are now rolling down my face. We are near the countryside before Heath notices that I’m crying but when he does, he immediately pulls to the side of the road. “Alicia, what’s wrong? What did David say to you that would make you this upset?” He unbuckles his seatbelt and starts to wipe my tears away with his thumbs. He lifts my chin so that I am looking into his eyes “Talk to me; you can tell me anything,” he says in that calm soothing voice that makes me say yes to anything he asks.
“Heath, there is something I need to tell you. I know that you said no more secrets, but I’ve been holding on to this one because I didn’t know how serious our relationship was going to be. Before you get upset, I want you to hear me out.” He looks at me like he wants to get mad because I’ve betrayed him, but he nods giving me the go ahead. “I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which causes me to be infertile.” I’m not able to get the whole sentence out before a fresh set of tears start to roll down my face. “Today when I talked to David he said that he read in a tabloid interview that you wanted to marry me and have children with me. From that, he assumed that I hadn’t told you about my infertility and threatened to out me to you when you two meet at the theme park ride opening.” I’m trying to get myself together but I can’t stop these tears from falling. I hate having to explain this shit to people. “Heath, I wanted to tell you, I really did, but it is one of the reasons that my marriage fell apart. I don’t want to lose you because I can’t give you children. I’m sorry that I kept if from you, but it seemed like the only logical way to keep you.”
He looks more concerned than angry. He takes a deep breath before he speaks. “Yes, Alicia, I did tell the magazine that I want to wed you and start a family one day, and those feelings haven’t changed because of what you are telling me.”
“But . . . but I can’t give you children,” I say through my tears.
“Alicia, have you forgotten that I went to medical school? I know what PCOS is. I also know that you’re not one hundred percent infertile. There are procedures that you can go through in efforts to get pregnant and there is also a chance that you can get pregnant naturally,” he sighs. “I have a theory: When a couple treats conception as if it’s a job, it becomes stressful, and it doesn’t work. Children should be made from love, no other reason.”
Heath’s words, at this moment, make me fall even deeper in love with him. David wouldn’t have said anything remotely close to this in a million years. All he cared about was getting me, or apparently, anyone pregnant so that he can carry on his precious family name. I reach over and grab Heath’s face and start to kiss him hard, passionately, as if my life depended on it. I love this man. I really love his man. He’s the most sensitive, caring, and understanding person I’ve had in my life in a very long time.
Our kiss turns more passionate. We’re all tongues and moaning, sending a direct connection to my little lady making her swell and pulsate.
“We can go to our spot and make love if you’d like,” Heath says against my lips.
“Mmmmmm,” I moan and nod my head. We pull away from one another and he pulls out into traffic.
“Oh, before I forget. My mother invited us over for a dinner party tomorrow night,” Heath says looking at me out of the side of his eye.
I don’t know what it is about what he just said, but I’m suddenly dry around my lady parts and I no longer have a desire to go to our spot along the countryside. “I’d like to go home if you don’t mind,” I say.
“You don’t want to make love anymore?” He asks surprised because I never turn down an offer of sex.
“No, not really. I just want to go home, shower, eat dinner and lay around the house,” I answer trying to seem nonchalant.
“Why did I mention my mother before sex?” I hear him mutter under his breath. “Well, can I join you for the rest of the evening?”
“I’d love that.”
***
I’ve only been around Himaya a couple of times since our first uncomfortable encounter and despite what Mr. Stansbury says he told her, things haven’t been any different. We went over for dinner once and she made a big deal out of the fact that I’m divorced, saying that I may be bringing baggage into Heath’s life. Then Raymond and Heath planned a Fourth of July picnic for me on the castle grounds to make me feel a little more at home and Himaya asked why we are celebrating America’s independence from England. Heath immediately shut her down reminding her t
hat she is from Kenya, so it’s none of her concern. I’ve accepted the fact that the woman hates my fucking guts for no reason except that she wants Heath with the nasty whore Nadia, who was present at the Fourth of July picnic with Albert.
***
Heath told his family about Nadia and Albert in the parking garage and his father and sister were disgusted. His mother, on the other hand, thought that Nadia didn’t make the best decision but she was just trying to make Heath jealous so that he can come running back to her.
That girl could try to fucking kill me and Himaya will defend her.
Raymond and Ada, unlike Himaya, love me to death. They think that Himaya’s obsession with Nadia and Heath being together is absolutely crazy. They’ve told her that I’m here to stay so she might as well accept it. Heath has even tried to get her to understand that he has no interest in Nadia. I personally think that the bitch is delusional, and I do my very best to avoid her. Heath apologizes to me about her behavior every chance he gets, but I tell him it’s not his fault that he loves a girl that his mother hates. One thing is for sure, if she keeps this shit up I’m going to snap on her ass.
***
I sit down next to Heath on the sofa and he pulls me onto his lap. “I’m sorry you’re having so many problems with your ex-husband. I’ve been thinking; maybe if he sees that you are happy with me he will back off,” he says giving me a swift kiss on the cheek.
“I don’t think he’ll ever give up. David liked the control he had over me. I took it away when I divorced him. That’s why he won’t give up.” I say with my head on his chest.
“So he was a controlling husband?”
“He tried to be. Anytime he wanted me to do anything or accept his fuck-ups, he would have sex with me. As a matter of fact, he and I had sex in the parking garage at the Stansbury building in Orlando the night before our divorce. Then the asshole had the nerve to try and use that as an excuse for me not to divorce him.”
Heath laughs.
“It’s not funny. That’s what I had to deal with the whole time we were married. The sad part is that it worked for a while. I forgave him for getting his mistress pregnant and as much as I said that I wasn’t going to accept their child, I still stayed with him. If I wouldn’t have divorced him he probably would have fucked me senseless and I would have been step-mommy Alicia.”
“So he controlled you with sex?” Heath asks confused.
“For a while, yes. Now that I have something to compare it to I don’t understand how I let him.”
Heath chuckles. “I’m having a hard time figuring out how it wasn’t the other way around.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Because I’ve been inside of you. Darling, when we make love I forget that the world exists. I could easily see you controlling me with sex.”
“Mmmmmmm,” I say flirtatiously.
“I’m serious. I’ve stood up to my mother more than I ever have because of my love for you. Speaking of my mother; I’ve told her that she needs to be cordial tomorrow during the event or this will be the last time she sees me for a very long time.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that, but I don’t want to come between you and your mother, Heath.”
“Well, I don’t want anything to come between you and me. I love you, and someday soon, I want to marry you.”
“Ma . . . marry me?” I stutter. “Heath, I just got divorced.”
“I know that, darling, and I don’t mind waiting until you’re ready. I just want to make you aware of my feelings for you.”
“Thank you,” I say with a smile then give him a quick kiss on the lips. “What kind of party are your parents having tomorrow?” I ask in an attempt to change the subject from this marriage crazy talk.
“It’s their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary,” he says smiling.
“Wow, thirty-five years. That’s amazing. They must have gotten married young.”
“I think my mother was twenty-three, so my father had to be twenty-five.”
I was twenty-three when I got married. I couldn’t imagine spending that many years with David.
“They wed because my grandmother hated my mother. She wanted him to marry a Jamaican woman, but my father was madly in love with my mum. She was a supermodel, so you can just imagine how beautiful she was back then.”
She’s beautiful now, it’s her attitude that sucks.
His expression turns almost sullen. “I don’t understand why she’s acting like this about you when she went through the same thing with my grandmother. Why would she want someone to feel the way she felt?”
“Heath, you can’t get upset with your mother because she wants what she thinks is best for you.”
“And Nadia the gold-digging tramp is good for me?” He asks chuckling.
“Well, your mother thinks Nadia is some kind of angel, and I don’t think there is anything I can do any time soon to make her even remotely like me.”
“Luckily for you,” he says giving me a quick chaste kiss on my forehead, “you’re not in a relationship with my mother.” He gives me another kiss. “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” He asks slapping me playfully on my behind.
Over the past two months, I’ve been splitting the responsibilities of feeding Heath with Benjamin, who loves the fact that Heath has a woman who knows her way around the kitchen. Heath has started helping me in the kitchen, or what he feels like is help. He’s in my way and distracting for the most part, but I don’t mind it.
I get up from where I’m sitting and go into the kitchen to find something quick to cook. Heath is on my heels.
“So, what would you like to eat, Mr. St. James?” I ask flirtatiously.
“You,” he answers with a let’s skip dinner look in his eyes.
I look at him batting my eyes, thrown off by his answer. “You can have dessert once you’ve eaten your dinner.” “Let’s order pizza since it’s your favorite, and while it’s on the way, I will lay you across the counter and lick you until you make a puddle.”
“Heath!” I say half embarrassed and half aroused.
“You’ve had a rough week darling and I would like to help you relax.”
Without a second thought, I grab my phone and call the pizzeria.
I smile at him as I watch him turn into my bedroom Heath . . . my other favorite person . . . my master. Since I lost the bet to him I’ve fallen in love with the idea of submitting to him and being his love slave. Sex with Heath is amazing as it is, but the sound of his voice and look on his face when he is in charge makes everything in me melt. By the time I hang up the phone, Heath is standing in front of me with his hands at my waist ready to lift me onto the counter.
“How long did they say it was going to be?” He asks whispering in my ear.
“Thirty minutes,” I answer inhaling his scent.
“Well, we better hurry up then.”
Chapter 12
I feel like a princess with the way everyone is staring at Heath and me as we walk across the foyer to the front entrance of The Vue where Benjamin is standing beside Heath’s white Range Rover waiting on us.
“Alicia, you look marvelous,” Benjamin says once he catches an eyeful of me.
He’s not lying; I do look great. I’m wearing a purple one-strap floor-length YSL gown that Heath purchased for me. I’ve straightened my hair so that it flows down my back and applied minimal makeup emphasizing my lips and eye lashes. The last time I was dressed anywhere near this fancy was on my wedding day. I feel like a billion dollars right now. Heath is equally stunning in his white Michael Kors tuxedo. His vest and tie are the same color as my dress. I thought it was cute for us to coordinate like this.
Benjamin opens the door and Heath helps me into the back of the car then walks around and takes his seat on the other side. He takes my hand into his and gently kisses the back of it as Benjamin sets out into traffic.
“Are you excited?” Heath asks with a big smile on his face.
I stare at h
im trying to figure out why I should be excited about his parent’s anniversary party. Especially since his mother hates me and probably doesn’t want me there.
“Alicia, there’s no need to look so nervous, my mother will be on her best behavior tonight. She’ll be too wrapped up in her friends to cause trouble.”
I visibly relax and he smiles. I hope he’s right because I don’t know how much more of his mother I can take before I say something totally disrespectful to her. I love Heath and I don’t want to come between him and his mother but if she can’t get her feelings under control, it’s going to cost us our relationship. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life and I don’t feel that I should have to deal with this now. I get it, she feels like Nadia the whore is a better match for her son than I am, but that doesn’t give her any right to treat me the way that she does.
Alicia, calm down. You’re getting upset for nothing.
“Alicia, is this your first social event in London?” Benjamin asks smoothly changing the subject. He knows how I get all worked up over the Himaya situation.
“Yes, it is Benjamin and I’m really excited about it,” I respond, meeting his wink in the rearview mirror with a smile.
“Heath, I think you should go over what Alicia needs know about the ‘London Elite,’” Benjamin says with a chuckle.
“You’re right,” Heath says with a smile and then turns to face me. “They are stuck up, in every way. You think that because you work with some Londoners you’ve seen them all but the type of people that you’re about to encounter are so much different. We’re talking billionaires who think they are God’s gift to humanity. They speak different, their humor is different,” he sighs, “just imagine being surrounded by one hundred fifty people just like my mother.” He smiles at me nervously.
Will they all hate me, too? I sit back in my seat to mentally prepare myself for whatever is about to happen. I’m silent for most of the ride listening to Heath and Benjamin talk about sports, the weather and anything else that comes to mind. They have more to talk about now since they barely see one another anymore because Heath is always at my place. I chime in occasionally but only when I’m asked a question. For most of the ride I mindlessly look out of the window. Heath holds my hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb in an attempt to relax me.
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