by Aoide, Arden
He sat on the bed and felt around for her left hand. He held it for a moment and listened to her breathe. She hadn't stirred. He took a deep breath and pushed it easily onto her ring finger. It fit like he knew it would. A small part of him felt cowardly, but he didn't have the words, couldn't fathom any accurate ones. He wanted the gesture to speak and he hoped that she would be listening. Alex crawled behind his bride and held her. Sleep came easily now.
Chapter 11
Dahlia woke to go to the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning. She was half-asleep, feeling for the switch and adjusting her sight to the brightness. It wasn't until she was briefly running her hands under the faucet that she caught the glare of the clearest diamond that she'd ever laid eyes on. At least she thought it was a diamond. She moved her hand toward her tired eyes and the first thing she noticed besides the large oval stone in the center was what appeared to be strange black engravings across the band. The band wasn't very thick, but the top and bottom were used as a baseline, so the markings started on one side and continued all the way around. As she looked, she thought it might be some sort of Greek, but upon looking at it further, she changed her mind. It was definitely a language, though.
She tilted the ring to the side and she gasped. The gallery was magnificent. The oval stone was haloed in bands of smaller diamonds. Now that she was fully awake, she could see the large stone clearly surrounded. She'd never seen anything quite like it. Dahlia could tell that the ring was quite old, but she had no idea how old. It must have been purchased at an antique shop, but it just didn't seem to be something that Alex would have had time for. Unless it was a family ring. Dahlia lowered herself to the floor, hissing as her sore bottom came in contact with the cold concrete. She took the ring off and stared at it for many minutes. It was a family ring. She was sure of it. Alex put it on her finger while she slept. She wondered why she wasn't hyperventilating. She put the ring back on and smiled.
She picked herself up gingerly and turned the lights off. She felt her way out of the bathroom and shuffled back to bed where Alex met her with grasping hands on her hips. She fell half on top of him and he moved his hands to her face, where he kissed her like she was his only sustenance. He eventually shifted her below him and he moved into her as easy as breathing. He made love to her until he couldn't anymore and when they were done, he told her about the ring.
“I'd hoped you'd understand when you saw it,” he whispered into her hair.
She nodded. “It took me a few minutes, but I did. I nearly passed out on your bathroom floor.”
He didn't laugh. He pulled her closer. He felt drugged. He didn't know how he'd been so lucky to have found her.
“And what does the ring say? I can't quite place the language. Oh! I guess you're going to want to knock me up, too.” Dahlia gave an affected sigh. “I shall try to endure your spawn. What if I have a girl?” Give a girl a ring and she won't stop talking.
Alex was momentarily struck silent. He was trying to process what she'd first said, but what she'd said after erased other thoughts from his head. His voice wavered. “I'll only knock you up if you want me to.” He steadied himself. “A girl is fine. I'm not particular.” He paused. “Callie might have a son.”
“Christ, Alex. That's–” Dahlia didn't know what to say. She'd have a hundred of his babies. She was still young; she could do it.
“I'd like to wait a bit, though. I'd like you to myself for a while. Callie's not exactly an infant anymore.” If he was honest, he might've been freaking out a bit.
Dahlia laughed. She was sure she scared him with talk of babies. “Don't worry. I don't plan on getting pregnant until you want a baby. Or not at all. Completely up to you,” she reassured.
“Why is it up to me?” Alex was confused by her easiness of allowing him to choose whether they have a child or not. He felt Dahlia shrug.
“Because I've had a child. Sometimes I want another. But I don't want to be on the other side of thirty-five and having my life revolve around my desire for a baby. Especially if you decide that you don't want one. Honestly, if it were up to me, we'd decide at some point in the future for me to take a pill break and just see what happens. I want to be happy that I'm pregnant, but not devastated that I'm not. Does that make sense?” Dahlia asked.
“Yes. Perfect sense. We can absolutely do that.” Alex was relieved. They were on the same page.
“You didn't answer my question about the engravings,” Dahlia reminded.
“You started talking about babies. Of course I didn't answer,” Alex teased. “I just figured it was their names or something. I think it's Hebrew. My great-great grandmother was from Israel and moved to Prussia as a young girl. Miranda knows more about it. I just know that my great-great grandfather was a jeweler and fell in love with her. He made the ring for her. It took him a year or so the story says. He wanted it to be perfect.” He yawned. “I can ask Miranda tomorrow if she knows. She probably does.”
Dahlia really wanted to know what it said, but she'd be patient. She pressed herself tighter against Alex and felt her eyes droop. She wasn't ready to go back to sleep quite yet. “Can we get married by the end of the year?”
Alex smiled. “Certainly. Just give me a couple hours notice and I'll be there.” He tried to dodge the shove, but didn't quite succeed. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Dahlia's voice was muffled by his arm. “Is that too soon, do you think? I'm not fussy about details. I'd like the weather to be cooler.”
“I'd get married to you tomorrow,” Alex admitted. “I'd prefer as soon as we can throw something together.”
Dahlia was quiet for a minute. She was going to cry again and she didn't want to. “What about Halloween? Callie would get a kick out of that. I could wear a super fancy black lace gown.”
“Can I wear a top hat?” Alex asked. He wasn't sure if Dahlia was joking, but a Halloween wedding sounded awesome.
“Of course,” she agreed. “Oh! Maybe a blood-red lacy gown!”
Alex chuckled and rolled over to face her. “I want you to wear the scarf around your neck again. It looked beautiful on you.”
Dahlia blushed, but it was too dark to see. “Anything else you want me to wear?”
Alex reached down and dipped it into the crack of her bottom. “I might have some ideas. I think I'd like to carry it in my pocket along with the lube and then find a secluded place, and press it into you myself.” He dipped his finger in deeper, brushing over her hole. She was still wet from not a half hour before. “Yes. That's exactly what I want to do.” He kissed her.
Dahlia hooked her leg over his hip inviting him to do whatever he wanted. She was sore, but she didn't care.
“God, you'd let me again, wouldn't you?” He cupped her full bottom with his hand.
“I'd let you do anything you wanted.” She arched her body towards him.
“Really?” He rolled on top of her and entered her easily. “You'd let me fuck you in your blood-red lacy gown? You'd bend over and let me push in a large butt plug into your pink bottom?”
Dahlia moaned. “I'd even get on my knees and suck you.”
Alex kept a slow pace, so he could talk. “In your dress? The one you're going to be standing up in front of all our family and friends and exchanging our vows? Oh, yes. You'll be sucking me before. I want to watch your swollen mouth as you pledge your honor and obedience. And you will be pledging your obedience.” Alex moved his hand over to her clitoris and snapped his hips rapidly. This was going to be quick. After he tried his best not to collapse directly on her, he shifted over a bit more and brought his thumb to Dahlia's mouth.
She bit down on his thumb and looked him straight in his tired eyes. “I can't fucking wait.”
Chapter 12
Is that Hebrew or some kind of Yiddish on the ring? What does it say?
It's Hebrew. Bobi says it was the icing on the cake, really. It's from Song of Solomon. It's disgustingly romantic.
Seriously?
I
'll check.
It's the beloved verse.
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine?
Yes! That's it. Since when are you an Old Testament scholar?
You would never believe me. Ask Dahlia later if you want. ;-)
Oh. Bobi's rolling in her grave is what you're saying?
That's what I'm saying. :-D
Alex smiled. He thought maybe he'd be picking out a tux sooner rather than later.
Epilogue
Nick was ushered into Miranda's office by a short elderly woman. She seemed incongruent with a sex club, but what did he know? Maybe grannies were into kinky, too.
“Ms. Marchand will be with you shortly. Would you like something from the bar?” Granny had an Eartha Kitt voice. Nick didn't know how to process that.
Nick stumbled over his words. “Um, no. I...I'm fine, thanks.”
“Very good, Mr. Jones. Have a seat.” She smiled, showing perfect, straight white teeth and closed the French doors behind her.
Nick walked to the chairs in front of Miranda's desk, but was momentarily frozen when he saw an array of sex toys on her desk. Well, he knew what some of them were, but a few he couldn't quite comprehend. He picked up a large pink misshapen dildo, or what he thought was one and studied it with a clinical fascination. It was clearly phallic on one side, but curved strangely on the other.
Miranda walked in and covered her mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping. Nick was looking at one of her newest acquisitions with the same face as much of the staff. “It's sort of like a strap-on, except no straps. It's inserted, so that it gives the wearer stimulation as she's using it.”
Nick couldn't hide his horrified embarrassment, but he tried to play it off just the same. “I probably would have eventually figured that out. Is it popular among the lesbians?”
Miranda laughed softly and walked behind her desk. “Don't know, yet. I assume so. It will probably be just as popular with the straight couples as well.” She sat and watched Nick's blush deepen. She could tell he wanted to ask a question, but couldn't bring himself to. She continued to smile. “This past year we've opened a sort of gift shop here. It's been profitable. I get a box in every couple of weeks to peruse.” She pushed the objects to the side to make space. Nick was still holding the dildo. Miranda thought he might be gripping it kind of tight.
“So, what do you want to see?” Miranda asked in an amused voice.
Nick didn't seem to understand what she was asking. He felt ridiculous and all but dropped the toy on her desk. “Oh. Um...I'd like to see last years tax information first–” He turned his head when he heard a knock at the door.
It was a delivery man carrying what smelled like Chinese. He watched Miranda get up and relieve the man of his delivery. She paid him and thanked him quickly with a genuine smile. “I ordered a late lunch for us. I didn't know how long this would take and Dahlia told me what you liked.”
Nick wasn't about to tell her that he'd planned on taking everything back home. “Thanks.” He was suddenly nervous. He didn't really know how to behave around a woman, especially alone. He had a feeling that Dahlia was always more tolerant than she had reason to be. Maybe if he was silent.
“No problem. The least I could do is feed you.” Miranda quickly divvied up the containers born of years of practice. She hoped that didn't seem pathetic. She used to cook. It was just easier not to. On occasion, Alex would ask for a family dish and she'd make a week's worth of it. “What were you saying before? You needed last year's...?”
“Yeah, and I'd like to get started plugging in your info for this year, so that it will all be done by the first week of January.” Nick opened his beef and broccoli and let out a tiny moan. He knew he had a ridiculous reaction to food, but there was no point hiding it.
Miranda stared at him openly as he made love to his food. She remembered his admiration for the pie the day before. She'd never seen anything like it. Nick intrigued her. He was tall and handsome and the baser part of herself considered him a challenge. He lived with a beautiful woman for years and wouldn't crack. She wanted to crack him. But she knew that finding a man whom she could be herself with was next to impossible. She also knew that he probably wouldn't be Nick Jones. She sighed and started on her lunch.
Nick knew he was being studied, but he wasn't sure if he was brave enough to ask why. He was curious what Dahlia might have told Miranda about their relationship. He assumed Alex knew the whole truth and that didn't bother him too much. He knew that she'd need to be honest with him. He found that he didn't want to be known as cold, but he also didn't want his medical issues to be spread about. Miranda was devastatingly beautiful to him and he wondered what he'd have to do to have someone like her.
They ate in companionable silence for a while until Miranda asked about Callie. She knew it would be a safe subject and she enjoyed watching his eyes light up as he talked about her.
“...as soon as she sees the ring on her mother's finger, she's going to want to plan the wedding.” Miranda caught only the last bit of what he said. Apparently she wasn't immune to his looks.
“She'll be pleased, then? I know Alex wants Callie to accept him.” Miranda asked.
“Oh, definitely. The only reason Dahlia didn't send Callie a picture of the ring was because she'd want to fly home today.”
Miranda was pleased to see that Nick showed no signs of jealousy. “I'm glad Alex found someone.”
Nick nodded emphatically. “Dahlia found her perfect match. I'm still a little surprised that she approached you in the first place.”
Miranda's eyes widened. “She told you about that?”
Nick laughed. “Yeah. I mean, she probably thought of how to skirt the truth, but I think sugar-coating it for Callie will be time consuming enough.”
“True,” Miranda conceded. “It's just a pretty intimate confession, but you probably knew about her inclinations.” Miranda was fishing.
Nick nodded once. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what Dahlia had already revealed. “I wasn't the right person to help her with that,” he hedged with a smirk. “You can't get all my secrets out of me, yet.”
Yet. It was then that Miranda knew that there was more to Nick than she'd believed. She had an inkling the day before when she saw the photo of Alex and Dahlia that he was so proud of. He didn't behave like someone who'd been left behind. She knew that Dahlia evaded the issue before when she'd said they weren't attracted to each other because what she saw before her was a red-blooded male that was bringing out her instincts to ensnare and charm. She hadn't felt that in a while. She found her curiosity was overwhelming, but she'd always been good at suppressing her impulsiveness. Alex wasn't the only one on medication. “Fair enough. Don't think I won't try, though.” She poked her fork in his direction.
“I shall be very cross if you don't,” Nick said without thinking. He was flirting. He didn't know he was capable. He tracked back. “You seem to be supportive of Alex's uh...of him,” he finished weakly.
Of course, Miranda thought, I'm hardly one to judge. She wasn't about to tell Nick that, no matter how much she wanted to wear him down. “I think we all have our things,” she stressed. “His are just a little more taboo. I'm betting you even have some strange kinks. I'm betting it has to do with food.”
Nick laughed. “Maybe. What're yours?” He instantly regretted asking and looked apologetic.
She laughed lightly to reassure him. She didn't quite know what to say. She shrugged. “I've got a few odd things.” Boy did she ever. Odd was an understatement.
After a little over and hour of fleeting looks and Nick instructing Miranda on which papers to send to him, it was time for Miranda to get the club ready for the evening. Miranda thanked him and invited him back in a couple of days for lunch so that they could touch base. She made it sound professional, but she appreciated that he didn't call her on it. She knew he could call or email. She found it promising that he'd agreed, but in the next thought wondered what she was doing.
It was that second thought that had her pressed up against his back because she hadn't been paying attention as they walked to the door.
She heard his sharp intake of breath and it froze her on the spot. She was nearly as tall as him and she felt a heady rush of arousal. “Sorry. Mind was elsewhere,” she said breathlessly. She stepped back, but only an inch. It had been years since she was this close to a man. It made her a bit light-headed.
Nick shifted his body sideways to open the door to her office and his whole right side pressed against her. He raised his hand automatically to her hip.
Miranda was tall and lean. And so warm. Her breasts were small, but she carried them confidently. Nick wanted to touch them and he had to consciously stop his hand from moving upward, but he wasn't able to stop his body from turning completely into hers, or bringing up his other hand to rest on her other hip. He realized as soon as he was pressed against her and smelling her that he was hard. He had to clear his head. He dropped his hand and backed up, shaking his head, like he was coming free from a spell. He cleared his throat and met her eyes. They looked just as dazed as his own. “I'll see you later.” He smiled at her disarmingly. He felt like he had the upper-hand and that was interesting. It gave him quite a boost.
“Later,” she echoed, dazzled. She watched him walk out the back of Dishabille. She wondered what the fuck just happened. She had no idea how to pursue this. She didn't know if she had the courage. She had a feeling that she may not really have a conscious choice. If he had stayed pressed against her for a second more, she would have dropped to her knees.
Maybe she could try to be happy with what he had to offer, if he would offer anything. She had a feeling he would. She also had a feeling that it would be fabulous. Yes. She would try. Maybe she could ease him into certain things if she brought dessert into the bedroom. Miranda smiled, realizing she was getting way ahead of herself, but knowing that Nick might not turn down her freaky requests if she was covered in chocolate sauce.