“That’s good, though,” Leigh said.
Joe laughed, shaking his head. “No, it isn’t. Politics at this level is a well-played game. He has to strike a balance, but he doesn’t want to. He wants to get work done and change things, but he won’t get the chance if he doesn’t play the game first. I guess I get paranoid because I don’t want him to look too…”
“Caring?”
“Liberal,” Joe responded. “I just wanted you to know that what happened earlier wasn’t him. It was me.”
As Joe passed her into the bar, Leigh felt somewhat bewildered. Her mind wasn’t thinking straight these days, and she was so averse to the idea of a relationship that she realized she was probably demonizing every man she met in an unwarranted way. But if it was true that Max did care about the important things, then she owed him an apology for her rejection in front of the press today.
When she found him in the bar, he was standing in a corner with a cell phone to one ear and his finger inside the other to drown out the noise. He looked different than he had earlier that day. He was less formal, and it made him look younger. He looked tired and had clearly been sweating, and it made Leigh think he might have actually put in some work.
Leigh made her way into his line of vision and was surprised at how pleased she was to see the smile that came on his face as soon as he noticed her. He was a really handsome man in both a distinguished and rugged way, and Leigh thought for a second that she would like to explore that further, but then she threw it from her mind. She had made a fool of herself with her assumptions about his feelings all week and wasn’t going to do it again.
He quickly closed the cell phone and shoved it in his pocket. “Sorry about that. Work doesn’t go away.”
“I understand,” she said. “I’m a little worried that my clinics are running so well without me. When I checked in today, I’m ashamed to admit I was kind of hoping they would beg me to come back.”
“So, you’re completely useless to them,” Max said, gesturing for a quickly approaching Joe to go away.
Leigh laughed. “Thanks!”
He leaned against the wall. “So, can I take it that you’re not mad at me anymore?”
Leigh sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I’m a Chase. I should know better than to think that the press was an avoidable part of the process. You have to do what you have to do.”
Max blinked, seeming impressed. “If I buy you a drink, Doctor, can I ask you a question?”
“Leigh,” she corrected. “I’ll pass on the drink, but you can ask, with no promises to answer.”
“A few days ago, when that woman told you about the rape victim that she was hoping you would talk to, your reaction was…” He seemed to have a hard time searching for the words. “For a doctor and someone who works with complicated patients and issues, I know you aren’t squeamish or nervous about this stuff. But you seemed unusually affected.”
Leigh felt anxious and her stomach was tightening. “As a woman, whenever you hear about—”
“That wasn’t it,” Max interrupted.
He was staring intently into her eyes, and it made Leigh nervous. It was as if he already knew the answer. Why was she eager to tell him, as if it would make her feel better? She hadn’t told anyone about what had happened. Only she and her parents knew, and considering how they had handled it from that point on, no one else could know.
“Max,” Leigh said softly, “as a politician, you understand that when a lot of your life is public, there are some things you want to keep to yourself.”
“And some things,” he said, “you can tell people who understand that and can promise to honor that.”
Leigh turned her face away from him as she took a second to work up the nerve. Max was waiting patiently. She wasn’t sure why she wanted him to know, but she did and she felt safe that he wouldn’t talk about it.
“Not here,” she said.
They left the bar and found a secluded bench in the courtyard. No one was around, because it was dinnertime and the heat had turned into thick, dense humidity, forcing everyone else inside. Bem and Max’s personal security detail agreed to stand close enough to act but far enough not to hear what they were talking about.
It took her a little while, but Leigh finally told him about how she met action superstar Lyndon Prior when he was studying for his role as a doctor who was forced to work in a free clinic in order to inherit his parents’ fortune. They began spending time together and started dating. Her parents immediately disapproved. He was white, and, much, much worse, he was an entertainer. For black elites, nothing was less respectable than wealth achieved by entertaining people. Leigh had never cared for their standards of who was or wasn’t appropriate for her to date.
Lyndon’s life was too fast for her, and it was dangerous. Worse were his friends, and one friend in particular, Nick, gave Leigh the chills from the moment she met him. Then one day, while at Lyndon’s mansion, Lyndon left her to go shower and dress. Unaware that Nick was there, Leigh was taken off guard when he found her and came on to her. She resisted, but he got very physical and seemed to enjoy the stark fear he was eliciting from Leigh. She had fought as hard as she could and screamed for Lyndon, but when he came and she was free of Nick, Lyndon only hurt her further by trying to keep her from calling the police, because it might harm his career.
“I felt so ashamed,” Leigh said, “and I didn’t do anything. I was so angry and so…confused.”
“But you didn’t call the police,” Max said.
Leigh shook her head. “I knew that it was…I’m a Chase and we don’t call the police. We call Mom and Dad, but I couldn’t even do that. I was too scared of what Dad would do. My father…”
“Is a very powerful man.” Max’s tone was sympathetic.
“You know my family,” she said. “Everyone knows that trouble seems to just disappear. I knew my mother had caught on, from the way I was acting, that something was wrong, but I never told her. I never told anyone. Then one day I read about Lyndon in prison, about the gay relationship with Nick and his confession. I know it was my parents.”
“Do you?” Max asked. “Hollywood is a weird place, and I’m not just saying that as a Republican. Actors go to great lengths to hide things. If Prior was gay, he could still be an actor, but not an action star.”
“He wasn’t gay.”
“Well,” Max said, “I know this doesn’t help, but Steven did what he felt he had to. He’s your father.”
“I know.” Leigh was a little surprised that Max came to this conclusion so quickly, and she wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. “We’ve never talked about it, but that’s not uncommon in my family. We tend to act as if unpleasant things just don’t happen.”
“You have a dysfunctional family?” Max asked. “How odd! You’re the first person I’ve met whose family doesn’t communicate.”
Leigh smiled. “Fine. Everyone’s family is dysfunctional, but mine is dysfunctional on steroids.”
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “Someone as incredible as you had to come from something good.”
Their eyes caught for a moment, and while she felt incredibly flattered by his words, something about the spike in her temperature told her that this was trouble. And as his lips spread into a tender smile, she knew she was in trouble.
Max’s smile faded as he turned still and serious. “I’m sorry this happened to you, but you know you shouldn’t feel ashamed.”
“I don’t feel ashamed because of what happened to me,” Leigh said. “I feel ashamed because of what didn’t. These women I’ve been talking to are healing physically, but emotionally, they are so far from good. I was feeling so sorry for myself, and nothing that happened to me could even compare to them.”
“Stop that,” he ordered. “Leigh, what happened to you was horrible. It was a terrible crime. Just like any other assault, you were victimized and you have a right to suffer some trauma regardless of how it ended up. You’re ang
ry because of what happened and what could have happened, and there is nothing wrong with that.”
“I’m not angry anymore,” she said. “I was for so long, but now I’m just…I don’t know.”
“I’m not worried about you, Leigh.” Max reached out and placed a tender hand on her shoulder, touching her soft skin. “You’re strong and you are blessed. You’ll be fine, and I know you know that.”
Avery felt a warm glow flow through her at his words, and the tension that she felt around him seemed to dissipate. She could feel the bond that had been growing between them since the first moment they met growing strong enough that neither of them could pretend it wasn’t there. This was why she didn’t stop him as he leaned into her. She closed her eyes when his lips touched hers and savored the kiss. Leigh found it hard to decipher what she was feeling. His lips were sweet and seductive, and were relaxing and unnerving in an unexplainable way. Then that little voice in the back of her head told her to stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy it. Enjoy that little flutter in her belly that was quickly turning into so much more.
Sitting on her bed, researching Evan’s condition on the Internet, Kimberly was startled when she looked up and found Michael standing in her doorway looking at her.
“How long have you been standing there?” She hadn’t taken his key away, because she knew Michael wouldn’t let a lock keep him out anyway.
“I came to get you,” he answered, unwilling to tell her he’d been standing there watching her for some time.
He didn’t like coming to this house because of its memories, and as he looked at Kimberly sitting in the bed they shared for just a short time after moving in, he was even more reminded of how offtrack his life had gotten.
“Get me?” Kimberly asked. Remembering that she was wearing only a rose silk slip dress, she reached for her bathrobe at the end of the bed.
“Don’t,” he said without thinking.
Kimberly’s beauty was at times painful to see, but at other times, like now, it was just incredible, and it had been a long time since he’d seen this much of it.
Kimberly wasn’t sure why she paused for a second before putting the robe on anyway. She had sensed a change in her body’s reaction to her ex-husband. Sex had always been great between them, from the first night they met and throughout their marriage. When things were good, they could barely keep their hands off each other. Even after things began to disintegrate, the sex was still fiery and passionate. But his cruel treatment of her at the end changed everything. Not only did she not want him, but also every time he tried to have sex with her, she felt sick to her stomach. She hated him for using their children to keep her prisoner.
She had slipped once. The last time they’d been together, some eight months ago, Kimberly had felt a moment of weakness, because Michael could have died in the jet crash, but she was quickly reminded of her mistake when she walked in on him with his mistress, Elisha, in his office.
“I’ve seen it all before,” he said.
She shrugged off the discomfort his words caused her. “Michael, this isn’t your house anymore. You can’t—”
“Marisol let me in.” Michael wasn’t interested in another lecture about how his name wasn’t on the deed to this house anymore. That was a piece of paper. He still felt like it was his, because his family lived here.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked as Michael stepped in the room. “This is my bedroom.”
“Do you really want to fight now, Kimberly?” he asked as he kept coming toward her. “I was just at the hospital, and Mother told me that you had left the hotel.”
“We had to,” she said. “It was upsetting Daniel. He wanted to come home. How is Evan?”
Michael smiled. “That’s why I’m here, Kimberly. The doctor said that his immune system is stabilizing.”
Kimberly hopped up onto her knees on the bed. “What does that mean?”
“The doctor says it means it’s more likely that he’ll come out of this coma than not.” Michael sat down on the edge of the bed.
“That’s it?” Her mind was so erratic that it was difficult for her to understand things. “They have no idea on when this will happen? I was reading that the effects of this disease can last for up to six months. Could he be in a coma for six months?”
“First things first,” he said. “This is good news.”
Michael had been on cloud nine when the doctor told him the good news, and while he hugged his mother because she was there, his first thought was to get to Kimberly. He couldn’t wait to tell her, and he didn’t want to call her. He wanted to see the look on her face. He wanted to see the joy, but that wasn’t what he got. Instead, she fell facedown on the bed and broke into tears.
“Kimberly.” He reached out with the intent of touching her, comforting her, but he wasn’t sure what he should do. “This is good news, baby.”
Kimberly cried even more as she felt his hand rub her back. “I know. I know, but it’s just so unfair. It’s so unreal. How can this be happening to my baby?”
Michael lifted her up and brought her to him. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest. “I’m sorry. I feel…I was supposed to protect you all, and I failed every single one of you. Now I can’t do anything for him. I’m so sorry.”
Kimberly looked up at Michael and saw something so unusual in his eyes. She had seen him in pain before, but this time he didn’t seem to be doing what he usually did, which was immediately directing anger outward or masking it. He was wearing it completely, and he looked like a child, a little boy.
“This isn’t your fault,” she whispered. “You know that.”
“When we moved out of Chase Mansion,” Michael said, “into this house, Dad asked me if I knew what it meant to be the head of a household. He said it didn’t mean I was in charge. It meant that I was responsible. I failed all three of you, and now…I can’t go on if he doesn’t make it.”
“He’ll make it.” Kimberly felt her hand trembling as she stretched it against his chest. Looking into those eyes that were still lit up, although filling with tears ready to flow, she said, “We can’t believe anything else.”
Kimberly saw the longing in his eyes as he looked at her and knew she should tell him to leave, but she didn’t want to. She was hurting and she needed comfort. As his gaze slid downward, she felt her body react to him.
He reached out and touched her hair, running his fingers through it. He flipped it back, revealing her perfect, long neck. As her eyes closed, his hands went to her bathrobe. He slid it over her shoulders and down her arms. The knot came loose, and the robe fell onto the bed. The touch of her body was so familiar and comforting that Michael couldn’t stop. His fingers traced her arms up to her shoulder. He brushed against her neck as her head fell to the side. She opened her eyes and looked at him so enticingly that it electrified the air around them.
Kimberly was surprised at how she was still so captivated by his virile appeal. He was all man, and she could feel, with every touch, the mastery he still held over her body. As his fingers slowly traced her chest to the point between her breasts, she felt her entire body weaken. Everywhere he touched prickled with heat and excitement.
When he finally kissed her, it was sensuous and made her feel as if she were falling under a deep spell. It brought back so many memories that she needed to have right now. As he knelt over her in the bed, Kimberly knew that there wasn’t anything else that could make her feel as if everything was going to be okay, even if just for a moment, than having Michael right here and right now.
“I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”
The fire between them exploded as they began kissing furiously and tearing at each other’s clothes in a frenzy. There had always been a madness to the way they made love, and this was no exception. She bit him on the shoulder as he pulled her hair. Like two starving people, they clawed at each other in hunger and an obsessive need to quench their thirst. Flesh against flesh, he wa
s panting as her chest was heaving, and they rolled around wildly as their hands, fingers, and tongues made fiery contact with every part of each other’s bodies.
The next time Kimberly rolled on top of Michael, she pushed him down. Straddling his naked body, she pressed against his chest to keep him from raising up. Looking down at him, she positioned herself over his erect tip. This was when she felt the most powerful, just before he entered her.
“Kimberly,” Michael begged. “Please.”
She moaned in pleasure as she lowered herself on top of him. Her entire body shivered as she felt him fill her up. Slowly she went down as far as she could before lifting up again. He was saying her name because he knew that was what she liked, and as she lowered herself onto him a little faster this time, she stayed for a while and moved around. She leaned back, pulling at her own hair and arching her body.
Michael’s hands slid up her stomach and cupped her breasts before reaching behind and bringing her down to him. He felt her hair surround him as he took her lips with his. She was moving up and down now, crying in delight. Her screams stimulated him, and his hands squeezed her butt to bring her down harder as the inferno inside of him raged.
Their bodies molded together as if made for each other, and their very out-of-control movements began to form a frenetic rhythm. They were both bursting with desire and anguish as they delighted each other in crests and peaks before soon they erupted in a release of ecstasy that blew them both away.
8
As soon as Carter entered Hue, Avery felt herself getting excited. He looked great in a dark blue suit. This was an unexpected surprise, and she was eager to see him. The second he saw her, she waved for him to follow her into the back room. The only other person working at the gallery that day, Nina, was on the floor setting up a display.
Avery rushed ahead of Carter into the back room and was confused that he wasn’t right behind. When she went to the door and looked out, she saw him walking toward her, but pretty slowly. It disappointed her that he wasn’t more eager to see her, but he was coming. That was all that mattered.
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