by Adams,Claire
Adam tipped my chin up further, and parting my lips with his tongue, he gave me a deep, passionate kiss that I never wanted to end. It did so suddenly, however, as we both felt and saw a flash of light at the same time. We turned simultaneously towards the source. Standing about three feet away on the sidewalk was Rose Dugan, and some young kid with pimples on his face and a professional-looking camera draped around his neck.
Rose, with the over confidence that we had both seen upon meeting her on separate occasions, waved at us with three fingers and smiled like she was in on a private joke that neither of us knew about before getting back in a van that was adorned with the Post logo on the side and driving away.
We stood there stunned for a moment. We weren’t celebrities, but somehow representing a billionaire oil baron had brought us both smack dab into the middle of the media circus. We both had a few choice words to say about the young and exceedingly arrogant Ms. Dugan on the way back to our cars. Once there, Adam kissed me again and said,
“I actually hope that picture gets put on the front page, that way the whole world will finally know how I feel about you.” That simple statement sent me back to work with a smile on my lips and hope in my heart.
I spent the afternoon working hard, leaving a little later than I had hoped. When I got home, I showered and dressed in a white angora sweater dress and boots. I was putting the final touches on my hair and make-up when Jack called. “I just wanted to make sure we were still on.”
“Yes, of course. I was just getting ready.”
“Great! I’ll be there about seven.”
“Perfect. Do you need directions to pick me up?”
“No, I have you on GPS,” he said, and then added, “I just pulled it up now, as we were talking so that you wouldn’t have to bother trying to tell me how to get there.”
That was odd and gave me a little creepy feeling. Maybe I did need to talk to him about my relationship with Adam. I thought again about what Adam was implying about Jack running into me “too often.” I decided I’d talk to him at dinner and said, “Okay then, I’ll see you at seven.”
Jack rang the bell exactly at seven o’clock. I had known he was there already, thanks to the phone call that I had received from my doorman Luis, asking if I was expecting him before sending him up. I opened the door, and there stood Jack in a black suit with very small dark green pin stripes that perfectly matched his eyes. He was holding a bouquet of fragrant pink and white roses in one hand.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he held out the roses. “For you.”
“Thank you,” I said and stepped back to allow him in as I went to put the flowers in a vase. “You look very nice, yourself. Where are we going?”
“To a little Italian place I found downtown called Romaletti’s.”
I turned to look at his face. I wasn’t sure if Adam’s suspicions were playing on my mind or if in fact Jack knew way too much about my movements since he had been in town.
“Romaletti’s?” I repeated. “What made you decide on that restaurant?”
“I asked the concierge at my hotel for a recommendation,” he said. “He recommended it highly. Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem. Romaletti’s is a wonderful place. I’ll just get my coat.”
I grabbed my coat and bag and as I started to lock the apartment door, Jack took the key from my hand and locked both locks. He gave the knob a shimmy to make certain and then handed the key back to me. When I gave him a quizzical look he said,
“I just want to make sure you’re safe.” I didn’t say anything, but definitely we needed to talk. I allowed him to open the elevator and push the buttons and then open the car door for me when we got downstairs. He tried to lean across me to buckle my seatbelt also, but I thought that was going too far.
I took the belt out of his hand and said, “I got it, thanks.”
Jack only nodded, and then closing the door, he went around to the other side. Once in and buckled up himself he hit the automatic lock buttons on the doors. I looked at him strangely again.
“This is kind of a scary city, I want to be sure no one sees my gorgeous passenger and tries to jump in the car with us.”
Weird. I thought this was my opportunity to talk to him.
“Jack,” I started, “I’m not complaining that you’re so thoughtful of me. I’m afraid though that I’ve maybe led you to believe there could be more between us than is possible.” I looked at him, and couldn’t quite decipher the look on his face in the dark car. He didn’t say anything, however so I went on,
“I’m in a relationship. I didn’t tell you before because I hadn’t really seen it as being significant in our relationship since we have been only friends for a very long time now. I’ve just started to get the feeling the last few times that we’ve talked that you may be looking for this to go further?”
I said the last sentence like a question. He glanced over at me, and then putting his eyes back on the road, he said,
“Honestly, I had hopes. I’m a little embarrassed to say it now. I had just seen you so many times and you had been alone always, so I assumed that you weren’t seeing anyone seriously right now. I suppose it was wrong of me to assume. I should have asked.”
“I’m sorry, Jack. I never meant to lead you on. My relationship has been really complicated lately and difficult to explain to anyone.”
He didn’t say anything, but as he pulled into the parking lot and the lights illuminated his profile I could see that his mood had drastically changed since we had left my place. He parked the car, then looked over again.
“You don’t have to be sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong. I suppose I also just imagined myself as not ‘just anyone’ in your eyes. At the very least, you are my best friend. I feel like I can tell you anything, even after all of these years. I was sincerely hoping you at least felt that much for me, as well.”
“Oh, Jack, I do think of you as my dear friend. It’s not that I felt I couldn’t talk to you about it. It’s like I said, it’s just all so complicated that it’s not a conversation I wanted to try to have over a fifteen-minute coffee ‘catch up’ session. Maybe we could talk about it tonight, if you’d like.”
He nodded and got out of the car. I waited and let him open mine for me and then I took the arm he offered and let him lead me into the restaurant. Marco was at the front desk and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he recognized me right away. I smiled at him and said, “Hello again, Marco. This is Jack. He’s a friend from my childhood that is visiting New York from London.”
I was afraid that he’d think I was cheating on Adam. Marco didn’t let on if he did, though. He gave Jack the same welcome that he had given me the first time he had met me. After our boisterous greeting, he upgraded the table Jack had reserved for us to one that he referred to as his “first class, VIP tables” and a complimentary bottle of the best house wine was sent over, as well.
“Wow,” Jack said. “This guy you’re in a relationship with must be really something to merit all of this attention just by knowing him.”
I smiled. “I think he’s really something, and apparently so does Marco.”
“So tell me about him,” Jack said as he poured us both a glass of wine.
“Well, he’s the owner of the firm I work for, for starters.”
“Adam Hanson?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, you know of him?”
“I think anyone who is connected to the law in this town, or who picks up a newspaper, knows of Adam Hanson. He’s currently representing the most infamous billionaire in the country, is he not?”
“Yes, which is part of the reason you have been running into me alone so often. Adam has been up to his eyeballs with this case.”
“And the other part,” Jack asked, after the waiter had taken our orders.
“Well, that’s the complicated part. Adam’s in the midst of a messy divorce. His soon to be ex is being extremely difficult, and has e
ven recently moved back in with him, claiming she’s staking out ‘her’ home so that Adam doesn’t take it from her just by virtue that she’s not in residence.”
“Hmm, actually that sounds like a smart move on her part.”
I gave him a look that I hoped conveyed I didn’t appreciate him defending Marjorie in any way before saying, “It was actually her lawyer who gave her the idea. Adam thinks she’s sleeping with him.”
“Alicia, you do know that you deserve better than part of a man’s affections and all of this drama, don’t you?”
“It’s not like that, Jack. Adam is entirely devoted to me. This will all be over soon. I find him to be worth waiting for.” Jack didn’t respond to that, so trying a shot at changing the subject I said,
“Is there anyone special in your life these days? My mother mentioned not long ago that she heard you had gotten engaged.”
A dark cloud passed before Jack’s eyes. “That was a mistake. Alicia, promise me something. If the drama doesn’t stop soon with this man, you’ll reevaluate what you want and need out of a relationship.”
“Jack,” I said, trying to choose my words wisely, “I am quite capable of looking out for myself. This will be over soon, but even if it’s not, I do have the right to choose what I do and do not wish to deal with. I feel that I’m level-headed enough to make that decision on my own.”
Jack nodded. He looked about to say something else when our dinner arrived and interrupted him. By the time we started eating, his mood seemed to have changed again. He was back to being the old witty Jack, telling jokes and funny stories to make me laugh. I wrote off his moodiness to the residual feelings he still harbored and let it go at that for the time being.
The rest of the evening was spent on light conversation and I really enjoyed myself. By the time Jack dropped me at my apartment and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek goodnight, the uncomfortable feelings about his earlier behavior had all but gone away.
CHAPTER FIVE
ADAM
I made time Saturday afternoon to go pick out a Christmas tree with Alicia. I didn’t really have the time, but I had barely seen her all week and I was having withdrawals. I also knew she’d been out with her “friend” the night before and shamelessly, jealousy was eating away at me.
I picked her up in the morning and we walked to a nearby coffee shop. We started our day out with hot chocolate and warm croissants before walking to a nearby tree lot. At the sight of the trees, Alicia’s pretty eyes lit up and I watched her in awe as she went from one tree to the next examining them like she was making a lifetime purchase.
“This one is nice and fat, but he has a hole on the other side.”
“Put that to the wall,” I told her.
“No, I’d rather find one full all the way around.”
I tried not to laugh at her as she went to the next one and the next. I saw one that I liked and said, “What about this one?”
She came over and walked a circle around it. “He’s kind of skinny.”
“Maybe we could feed him and fatten him up,” I said with a grin.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “I just want it to be perfect. It will be our first year celebrating together and Mum and Dad will be here, too.”
“I know, baby, I’m just teasing. Pick away.”
An hour later she’d finally picked out the tallest, fattest one on the lot. Thankfully, they delivered. After paying for it, we walked hand in hand back over to Central Park and had lunch. There were a lot of holiday kiosks set up around the park, and Alicia bought some Christmas decorations. We had another cup of hot chocolate and sat on a bench to watch the ice skaters while we sipped it. She slipped her hand into my pocket and laid her head on my shoulder. I watched all of the children playing on the ice, imagining what it might be like to have a child someday with her. I’d never wanted kids before, but I think Alicia would make a wonderful mother and, maybe because I was getting older, I thought I might enjoy being a father myself.
After another hour or so, we walked back to her place. Luis met us at the door and told her that the tree had been delivered. He’d had them set it in the hallway just outside of her apartment. When we got upstairs, I dragged it inside. We set it up…and watched it fall over three times before it was stable enough to decorate. She brought out a pot of coffee and Christmas cookies to enjoy while we dressed up the tree. It was something I hadn’t done since I was a kid, and I had a great time with her doing it.
When she was finally satisfied with it, we lay back on the couch and she snuggled into the crook of my arm while we admired our work. It only took fifteen minutes before we were kissing and my hands were roaming around underneath her clothes.
“Do you want to take this to the bedroom?” she asked with a grin.
“Nope.”
Looking confused she said, “No? You want to do it here on the couch?” I was obviously aroused so there was no denying I wanted to “do it,” as she had so cutely put it.
“Nope.”
“You don’t want me?”
I laughed. “I want you all the time, too much. I walk around with a semi-hard cock all day just thinking about you. I want you, baby. You owe me a shower, though, remember? Or at the very least, a bubble bath.”
She smiled. “A bubble bath would get my vote.”
“Okay, why don’t you go fix it while I put these cups away and pour us a glass of wine.”
She giggled like a little girl as she headed down the hall to the bathroom. I heard the water running as I carried the wine glasses down the hallway toward the bedroom. When I made it into the bathroom, the first thing I noticed was that she’d stripped out of her clothes. I hardly noticed anything else but that. She took the wine glasses out of my hands and instructed, “Strip.”
Laughing, I did as I was told. She watched as I peeled off each garment and once I was fully naked, she sat our wine on the wide edge of the now bubble-filled tub and climbed in.
She turned off the water and I watched her sexy body disappear down into the water. I stepped in behind her and she leaned back into me. She had pulled her hair up into a messy bun and her gorgeous neck and shoulders were bare. I kissed across one shoulder and then up her long graceful neck. Then I started massaging them. She moaned and leaned forward slightly. I ran my hands down her spine, massaging with my fingers and when I reached the bottom of it, I slid them up her sides and brushed my fingers lightly against the sides of her breasts.
She shuddered and tipped her head back. I put my mouth to her ear and slipped a hand around her waist. I sucked the delicate lobe in between my lips and used my tongue to tantalize her as I slid her up into my lap.
I used the hand on her waist to caress her stomach and then slid it up to her breasts. She let out a little cry as I pinched one nipple firmly between my thumb and forefinger. I moved my hand over and did the same to the other one and then I slid my hand down between her legs. She squirmed against my hard cock, which she was sitting directly on top of, as I put my fingers against her clit and began to rub it in small circles. She had her head all the way back and pressed into my shoulder and her breaths were coming in short gasps. I rubbed hard and fast and loved the way her sliding against my cock felt as I did.
It didn’t take long to bring her to her first orgasm. She shivered and shook in my arms as she came and then relaxed back into me once she was finished. I could feel her legs shaking against mine. When she caught her breath, she pushed up and slid around to face me. She was straddling my waist with a knee on either side of me. I pulled her up on top of my cock and let the tip slide into her. I reached behind her and unplugged the tub…we were about to make one hell of a mess. She wrapped her legs around my waist and sat down, taking the rest of me inside of her as she did.
I started thrusting my hips up, and she clutched onto my shoulders and rode me as the water sloshed from side to side and over the edges of the tub. I didn’t care if we flooded the whole place. I’d buy her a new one.
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sp; I slid my hands down and gripped the firm cheeks of her ass and squeezed them. I used them as leverage to slide her up and down on my hard pole, striking deep and hard each time. Alicia was returning each one of my thrusts with one of her own. Her soapy breasts and hard nipples were pressed into me, and the sight of her and the smells of the perfumed bath and the sounds she was making that echoed off the walls filled my senses. When I couldn’t hold back any longer, I plunged into her all the way and held myself there as I came. It was another earth-shattering orgasm and once again, I reminded myself that I needed to get rid of Marjorie so that I could have this every day…and soon.
I held her in the tub until all of the water drained and then we got out and into the shower. Things got wild again and I ended up fucking her up against the cold tile wall before we could both concentrate on an actual shower. Once we were clean and dried off, I reluctantly told her I had to go. Brigham’s jet was picking me up at JFK in an hour.
“You’re going back out to his estate?”
“Yeah. I’d rather stay with you…”
She smiled. “Most people would rather stick needles in their eyes than spend an evening with those crazy people, I think.”
I laughed. “That, too. But I really would rather be with you than with anyone at any time.”
“I know,” she said as she leaned into me. “Me, too.”
“Want to go with me?”
She grimaced. “Do you need me to go…for business?”
“No, baby, this part is about the civil case.”
“Then, not a chance,” she told me with a grin. I didn’t blame her, at all. I kissed her again before dressing and forcing myself to leave. On my way out, I looked at the tree we’d decorated together once again. My heart swelled in my chest.
It was the little things like that I wanted to do with her forever. I’d never had fun with Marjorie – or any woman really for that matter. My marriage to Marjorie had always been more like an unpleasant business arrangement and any women I was with before her had been strictly for sex. With Alicia, I wanted it all, and no matter what I had to do, I was going to have it. I was beginning to think fighting Marjorie over “things” was completely moronic when it took time away that I could be spending with the most beautiful, amazing girl on earth. I’d have to call my attorney before we went to court on Monday. Maybe I would be willing to change my terms to please her…and get rid of her.