His head rested against my chest and I stroked the back of his neck.
“Stress fuck?” I asked with a laugh.
“No, an ‘I just saw my wife naked and needed to be inside her’ fuck.”
I loved hearing him refer to me as his wife and I loved more that he wanted me all the time. As much as I would have loved sitting in his lap for a little longer, my legs were starting to cramp. I eased my way into a standing position and held out my hands for him.
“Those trousers are going to need a sponge over before they go to the dry cleaners,” I said.
He laughed as he stepped out of them, pulling his shirt over his head and while I wiped myself clean, he headed for the shower. I stood in front of the mirror inspecting his marks, he was always careful not to touch my neck, there was no way I wanted to walk around with an obvious bite.
I was dressed and waiting upstairs while Evelyn finished preparing dinner. When she heard him leave the bedroom, she grilled some steaks. Tonight she was joining us for dinner, eager to hear about Travis. It felt a little awkward, the three of us having dinner and Travis excluded so we could talk about him but Robert had told us that he was out on business. I didn’t ask what business but I did ask about the reaction to my text.
“He looked at it, showed me then called her. She didn’t answer but he did leave a message. Told her they needed to talk urgently. I don’t think she will though, I think her mind is made up and that’s that.”
“Such a shame. If only he would let himself be, he would have been a great father. He gets on so well with Harley he told me,” Evelyn said.
“Harley’s older, I guess he can handle that age group, I don’t know. To be honest, I’m surprised. Do you remember Alison?” he asked Evelyn.
“Vaguely,” she replied.
“Long brown hair, liked a bottle of wine or two I seem to remember,” he said.
He turned to me. “Travis dated this woman, Alison, for a little while. She told him she was pregnant, had missed her period. He took her to the doctors and did the tests, they were negative but he didn’t run and back then, we weren’t the people we are now.”
As Evelyn began to clear the plates she said, “We’ve done all we can, I just hope in a week, a month, or even a few years, he doesn’t live to regret this.”
Evelyn headed off and I poured Robert a glass of wine. It was a miserable night out, dark and raining.
“Sam’s thinking of heading back until his dad gets a bit worse, he’s worried about work,” I said.
“He hasn’t got anything to worry about there, Jonathan told him to take all the time he needed.”
“I know but they don’t know how long his dad will hold on for, it could be weeks yet.”
“Will you fly back for the funeral?” he asked.
“I guess so, to be honest I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“If you want me to come with you, I will.”
“Thank you, but right now I think you’ve got more than enough on your plate. Is there any news?”
“Do you really want to know?” he asked.
“I don’t know, probably not. I just want to know you’re going to be okay.”
“I’m going to be okay. I have people looking at those documents, Brooke, there’s not a great deal that I personally can be incriminated on.”
“Can we let it drop then, let Rogers just run?”
“No, because it will affect my business for sure if some of that gets out. And there’s Paul to protect.”
“Paul?”
“He was the last one to fall in line with what I wanted when I legitimised the business, so it seems. He wasn’t as loyal to Joe as he should have been, something I’ve spoken to him about in the past. But there are some dealings he had with Joey, things I imagine Joe knew nothing about, mentioned in those documents.”
“Oh, what will you do?”
He looked at me, raised an eyebrow.
“You won’t like, you know...” I said.
“You know, what?”
“Get rid of him,” I said cringing at the thought.
“Get rid of him? Ah, I see what you mean. No, I doubt I’ll be getting rid of him, as you put it. Now quit with that shit, okay? What happened with Joey was because I was protecting you, and yes, I would do the same thing again in a heart beat.”
I guess I still hadn’t acknowledged some of the things Robert had done, in his past and recently. I know that, in my mind, I had not only that original box with the chain and padlock but another stacked on top too. One day I would open the box and confront what I knew but not then.
We watched as a pair of headlights came up the drive, Travis had returned from whatever business he had been attending to. He parked the car and instead of heading to his apartment, made his way to the house. The front door slammed behind him and Robert sighed then rolled his eyes.
“If that door gets broke, I’m going to be pissed,” he said as he rose from the sofa.
“Done?” he asked Travis.
“Done. I went to see Caroline, she’s gone,” he added.
He came and sat on the sofa.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” I asked.
“Half of her clothes are missing. I went to her mom’s, no answer there either.”
“Could she have just gone away for a bit? Did you call the hospital, see if she’s at work?”
“Yes, they said she was on leave.”
“How did you get in? You didn’t break in, did you?” I asked.
“I have a key, Brooke. House breaking isn’t my speciality.”
Oh, sarcasm now, was it?
“Trav,” Robert said, a warning.
Travis flopped back in the chair, ran his hands through his hair and sighed.
“I just wanted to talk to her. I know I’ve done the wrong thing but I wanted to talk. Why won’t she take my fucking calls?”
He looked lost, sad and the realisation that he had messed up big time had hit him hard.
“Shall I call her?” I offered.
“And say what? Just proves what a fuck up I am, getting my brother’s wife to call. I don’t know what to do anymore. Sure I was freaked out, wouldn’t any guy? But she’s going to abort my child, I have a say in that.”
I didn’t want to antagonise so clamped my mouth shut, especially when I saw the warning glance from Robert. If he wanted a say, he should have said in the beginning. However, I did feel for him. He had brought all this on himself no doubt about that, but the minute he did make contact, Caroline could have least have had a phone conversation with him. If she had left the house, packed her clothes, maybe she wanted to get away for a few days to get her head straight.
“Fat Sam has, shall we say, retracted his statement. We won’t be having trouble there,” Travis said to Robert.
I took that as my cue to leave, I didn’t want to hear. I already knew too much, had seen too much and whether I was burying my head in the sand or being the wife these guys expected was debatable. Being married to Robert was not the same as being married to your average guy. He would always have his secrets and I had learnt to accept that and give him the space to do so.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to say goodnight, let you chat,” I said, giving Robert a peck on the lips as I rose from the sofa.
I undressed and climbed in bed with my book. I could hear the faint voices from upstairs but not make out the words as they chatted long into the night.
***
I was woken by a kiss the following morning. Robert was dressed and ready to leave, I was having the day off work. As he bent over, I reached up to grab the lapels of his suit jacket for another kiss, a proper one. He laughed as his mouth covered mine, his hands were either side of my head, supporting himself. He tasted of mint and coffee, he must have been up for a while and he smelt good too.
“Do you have to go right now?” I asked.
“Yes, got a meeting, but just think on what I’m going to do to your body later,” he said.
&nb
sp; “Tell me.”
“And leave you squirming all day?” he said with a laugh.
“I don’t have to squirm, I have hands you know,” I replied.
“Mmm, now there’s an idea. You’re going to show me exactly what you can do with your hands.”
I laughed as I slid one hand down my stomach.
“Fuck it,” he said as he unzipped his trousers, letting them fall and pulled the sheets off me.
I giggled as he pulled my legs across the bed, he grabbed my hips and raised my body. No foreplay, he was straight to it. As he pushed inside me, I wrapped my legs around his waist. This is what I wanted, a quick, hard fuck. My orgasm came quickly, I muffled my cries knowing Travis was waiting. Robert didn’t appear to be that bothered. He called out my name as he came, his fingers dug into my hips as he pounded into me.
As I lay in post orgasmic bliss, I got one last kiss and a promise.
“I meant what I said. I want to see you make yourself come and I’m going to have a hard-on all day thinking about it.”
I lay for another ten minutes or so before finding the strength in my legs to walk to the shower. It never mattered how long or quickly we had sex, the power of my orgasms always reduced me to a quivering mess. Sometimes I needed just enough to leave me wanting more and sometimes he would have me begging him to stop. I guessed that night was going to be the latter. I could hear Evelyn upstairs and made my way up. As usual a cup of tea was waiting.
“Thank you. Travis came over last night,” I said. I told her about the comments regarding Caroline.
“I hope she’s okay, maybe you should call her,” she replied.
I helped clean the kitchen and stack the dishwasher. It was as Evelyn raised her arm to put away a mug in a cupboard that I noticed a very small tattoo on her wrist. It surprised me that I hadn’t noticed it before but then I realised, she had removed her watch to wash the cups. The watch would have covered it.
“That’s nice,” I said, pointing to it.
“It was done many years ago. My father was not at all pleased, a moment of madness I guess.”
She angled her wrist for me to see the underside. It was just two letters, R and S.
“Robert?” I asked.
She laughed. “No, I had this done before I met the boys.”
She studied her wrist for a while and I began to feel that I had opened up a wound, there was sadness on her face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ask,” I said.
“It’s okay, I just haven’t thought about him for a while. His name was Rocco, he was my first and only real love. I know I told you I was going to marry Carlo but, well, I guess I never got over Rocco. He died, Brooke, a long time ago.”
“Oh, Evelyn, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. You don’t need to tell me anymore.”
She smiled and we continued with our chores. A thought ran through my mind, I had heard the name Rocco before. It might be coincidental but there had been a Rocco that worked for her father but I imagined him to be a lot older. I wouldn’t pry, the memory had obviously saddened her and I felt bad about that. I changed the subject.
“So, do I call Caroline or not?” I asked.
“It couldn’t do any more harm, I guess,” she replied.
I collected my phone and sat at the breakfast bar. I dialled but received no reply, so left a message asking if she was okay and if she wanted to catch up, to call me. I decided to take a swim and headed over to the pool. Evelyn had left to drop off Robert’s suits for cleaning and meet up with a friend for coffee. I hoped that I hadn’t upset her day with my prying into her tattoo. She was a wonderful woman and it was a shame that she never found that love again with someone else.
I had just got undressed when my phone beeped, I had received a text.
“Sitting with the world’s most annoying man, what are you doing?” Robert had typed.
“Just getting naked for a swim, want a picture?” I held my phone at arm’s length and snapped, making sure my face wasn’t visible, only my body.
“Fuck, I want that body. My man thinks I’m being rude, texting while he’s boring me. He doesn’t know the meaning of rude. Send me more.”
I giggled as I sat on one of the loungers, I parted my legs and took a picture of my hand between my thighs.
“I’m going to watch you do that for real. Get practising although remember, your pussy belongs to me.”
“All of me belongs to you, Trouble, now get back to your meeting. I love you.”
“I’ll be home early, don’t get dressed. T x”
I laughed as I put my phone to one side. When did I become this woman? So wanton and sometimes I didn’t recognise myself. Sam had often said how different I looked and it wasn’t because I getting regular hair cuts or my nails done, I felt different inside. I felt sexy and confident and that shone through I guessed.
I dived in the pool naked and the feeling of the cool water on my skin felt liberating. I did my laps before heading for the hot tub, smiling at the thought of the last time I was in there. As I lay my head back and relaxed my thoughts automatically went to Robert. He was always in my mind and sometimes in my dreams. I had to make a conscious effort to not think about him, to not react to that pull my body felt towards him. We had been married for only three months, yet what we felt, the things we had done and been through would amount to years in a normal relationship.
As I dried I noticed a missed text from Evelyn, she was asking me to call. I dressed, picked up my phone and headed back to the house.
“Hi, Evelyn, sorry I missed your call,” I said.
“Thanks for calling back. I don’t know what you’re up to but I think Gerry might need a cuddle right now. He’s been sent home from school, for fighting if you can believe that. I’m at the home but he’s asking for you, we can’t seem to settle him and he won’t tell us what happened. I think he might need to see a doctor but he won’t let us do that.”
“Okay, tell him I’ll be there within the hour.”
I texted Gary that I needed a car, Robert to tell him I was heading to the home for an hour and repeated what Evelyn had told me. It was at times like that, that I felt trapped. As much as I loved that I had a driver, if I wanted to go somewhere in a hurry, it wasn’t possible. It would take Gary a half hour to get to the house if he was coming from the office. There was no point in asking for a car that I could drive myself, and I wasn’t sure I was comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road. I waited in the kitchen until I heard the Range Rover pull up outside.
“Hi, Gary, trouble at the home,” I said as I climbed in the back.
“Anything I can do?” he asked.
“Doubt it. Gerry got sent home from school for fighting, which seems really out of character. He won’t talk to anyone about it.”
“That poor kid could really do with a family. Did I tell you I knew his mother?”
“No, I didn’t know that. How?”
“She lived a few doors away from Pat when I first met him. She was a sweet girl, got pregnant young, family disowned her. From what I can remember she lived with her grandmother for a while. The grandmother died and then, oh, what was her name?”
“Tania,” I said.
“That’s it, Tania. Well, then she got sick and that left poor Gerry on his own. She died of breast cancer, didn’t have any insurance so couldn’t get the care she needed.”
“What about her parents? Did they ever come forwards?” I asked.
“I don’t think so, well can’t of, Gerry wouldn’t have ended up in the home otherwise.”
“Such a shame, he’s a lovely boy.”
Thankfully the traffic was light and we arrived at the home in a little under twenty minutes. I was met at the door by Evelyn and Ted.
“He’s in his room, won’t come out and won’t talk about it but he’s got an impressive shiner all right,” Ted said, his smoker’s cackle turning into a whacking cough.
He was someone I was starting to w
orry about as well. Evelyn nagged him all the time to quit with the cigarettes. He never smoked in front of the kids, opting for a sneaky one or ten out the back.
“So he did get into a fight then? What do you know?” I asked.
“Just got a call that he had been in a fight and that both kids were being sent home as a punishment. Neither would talk about what started it and he hasn’t spoken since. It seems the other kid came off worse and the school are a little worried about his parent’s reaction.”
“What about our reaction?” I said. “At least they sent both kids home. We don’t know who started it or why.”
I made my way to Gerry’s room. He shared with Michael who was still at school and I knocked on the closed door.
“Gerry, it’s Brooke. Can I come in?”
There was no answer at first. There were no locks on the door but again, it was one of the house rules. Every child had the right to privacy and if their door was closed, we had to wait to be invited in, unless it was an emergency of course. I knocked again.
“Darling, I only want to see that you’re okay. You’re not in trouble, can I just come in and talk to you?”
I heard a rustle and the door was pulled open. Shit. Ted was right, one eye was swollen and looked painful. He was holding a small ice pack to it. I pulled him into a hug as he started to cry.
“Oh baby. Come and tell me what happened,” I said as I sat on the bed and pulled him onto my lap.
Between hiccups and sobs, Gerry told me. “He said Robert was a bad man, his mom had told him so. He was my friend, why would he say that?”
“What exactly did he say?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.
“His mom had told him not to play with me because I lived here and the man who owns it was bad. I told him that wasn’t true but he didn’t shut up so I pushed him over. When he got up he punched me and I punched him back. Robert isn’t a bad man, I didn’t want him saying that.”
I took a deep breath, the anger flowing through me was threatening to bubble over.
“Robert is not a bad man. I don’t know what his mum was talking about but you really can’t go around hitting people just because they say silly things, you know that, don’t you?” I asked.
He nodded his head.
Fallen Angel, Part III Page 14