Abbey searches for the word, only to get distracted by some of Sash’s shopping bags. “-Oh my fucking God, are those Manolo Blahnik shoes?”
Sash giggles at her enthusiasm. This was exactly what she was like a week and a half ago. It’s amazing how quickly people adapt to new situations.
“I’ll buy you a pair if you want.”
“Shut up.”
Abbey is already trying them on.
“I’m serious. Dante gave me some money to spend too.”
“I can see.”
Abbey rifles through the shopping bags. “How much have you spent already?”
“I don’t know.”
“Jesus, Sash, this is a Gucci dress.”
Abbey lifts it out of the bag to press against herself while she looks in the mirror. “So what’s the deal with you two anyway, I thought you didn’t get along.”
“We don’t really.”
Sash spins around on the couch so she’s looking at the ceiling again, her hand underneath her T-shirt, on the soft patch of skin below her belly. To a casual observer it’s a relaxing and natural pose, to an expectant mother it means something else entirely.
“Thousand dollars hotel rooms and as much money as you can spend aren’t really signs of a bad relationship.”
“He felt bad.”
“If this is how he apologizes, what does he get you for your birthday?”
Abbey has a different dress pressed against herself now.
“He’s a billionaire, Abbey, it’s a completely different world. This is like you and I going to Starbucks and staying in a crummy motel.”
“I still don’t get why he’s doing it. You don’t hear from him for three years and suddenly, completely out of the blue he turns up in the middle of the night and wrestles you into his car. I mean, what the fuck is all that about anyway? And now all of this. I mean he was always a bit weird, but this is way off the radar, even for Dante.”
“Beats me. I gave up asking questions a long time ago. If Dante’s going to throw money at me for not being around when I needed him, I’m not going to turn around and say no. If he wants to buy me shoes and dresses and pay for me to live here, that’s fine too.”
“If he wants to buy dresses and shoes for your best friend, that’s fine too. This one is absolutely beautiful.”
Sash turns to look at her. “That was four thousand dollars that one. I think I bought shoes with it too. You can have it if you like.”
“Get the fuck out of here!”
Abbey’s eyes go wide in astonishment.
Sash giggles again. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for me last week, and also apologize for leaving you on your own in the middle of the night.”
“This is too much”, Abbey says, already looking for the shoes.
“Dante was a dick for doing that.”
“If this is what happens afterwards, you can leave me in the middle of fucking nowhere as many times as you like. I love these shoes!”
“That’s not all.”
“What’s not all?”
“You know we sent those pictures from my phone?”
“Cole and his rowing team?”
“It worked.”
Sash can’t get the smile off her face.
“Wait, you got back together with the douche?”
Sash nods.
“You slut!” Abbey jokes. “I knew there was something going on with you, you’ve got this kind of glow.”
“I have huh?”
“Uh-huh. All over you. You’re glowing. From head to toe. I can almost feel the heat from here.”
“He said he made a mistake.”
“Go on.”
“He said he wanted us to get back together.”
“Go on.”
“He said he wanted to be serious.”
“Unbelievable.”
Abbey shakes her head. “Isn’t that what he said last time?”
“He means it this time. I can tell.”
“So that’s what you’ve been doing all week. Testing the facilities.”
“I wish. He’s away on a business trip.”
“A business trip?”
Abbey comes over to the sofa now, the dress still in her hands. Sash sits up to give her space, and the two girls sit side by side.
“He’s got a tech conference in California.”
“For how long?”
Sash shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. As long as it takes.”
“I thought you said he was serious.”
“He is.”
Sash is quick to defend him.
“Come on, Sash, seriously. I know you like him, but he’s playing you again. Don’t let him do that.”
“He’s not playing me. He’s working. And when he comes back, we’ll be together.”
Abbey is concerned for her friend. “How is this any different to what happened last time?”
“It’s totally different. I know where he is for one.”
Abbey isn’t convinced. “Don’t get hurt, Sash. I saw you last week. I saw what he did to you and I know what kind of a hold he seems to have on you.”
“I can’t help it Abbey, I’m in love.”
“Yeah but that doesn’t mean you can let him walk all over you.”
“I’m not.”
“And what happens if he’s lying?”
“He’s not.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I trust him. Because I saw it in his eyes when we made love.”
“See. I knew you were a slut!”
“It was incredible, Abbey.”
Sash melts away into the memory. “Even better than the first time.”
Abbey regards her for a moment. Compared to last week, she’s a completely different person. Even if she has her reservations, it’s not fair for her to burst Sash’s bubble.
“Just be careful.”
“Don’t worry. It’s all under control.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
“I know right? I’m so excited. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone like this before. I haven’t even come anywhere close. He’s just, you know, so incredible.”
Abbey is already pretending to vomit into a big bucket. Sash reaches over and pushes her playfully on the shoulder.
“You know what you should totally do”
Abbey has a mischievous glint in her eye.
“What?”
“You should go to California and surprise him.”
“What? No. I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can, you totally can. Go to the airport get a flight, turn up at his hotel, surprise him and fuck his brains out. It’s exactly what you should do. It’s not like you haven’t got the money.”
Sash thinks on it for a moment and then pushes the idea away. “He said he wanted me to show him I could trust him. If I turn up at the hotel, it’ll look like I don’t.”
“Yeah but that’s not why your going. You’re going to surprise him, not to catch him out. And if he’s not doing anything wrong, then there’s nothing for him to get worried about.”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it, Sash. You’re on a boring business conference without the girl you’re supposed to be hot for. What’s better than having that girl turn up unannounced to fuck your brains out! I’d totally do it. It’s so romantic. He’ll love you for it too.”
“Do you think?”
“Uh-huh, like totally. He’d be so hard for that.”
Sash shifts her position again, so she’s lying on her back with her head rested on Abbey’s thigh.
“It has been almost too weeks.”
“And you don’t know when he’s coming back?”
“He hasn’t called.”
“Sash!”
“I know, it’s not normal, I’ve left messages, but I guess he’s busy working.”
“Too busy to take a moment to call? You should definitely go. A weekend is one thing, but two weeks without calling.
You need to go claim him and show him who he belongs to.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m always right. If you don’t show men who’s in control, they’ll try and take that control for themselves. I worked that out a long time ago.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.”
Sash pulls herself upright. “In the meantime, how do you feel about going shopping, and spending some of Dante’s hard earned cash?”
Abbey grins, her face splitting into a wide smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 22
The private consultation room looks more like a campus study retreat, where a senior lecturer might compose his thesis, rather than the office of a world class surgeon. There is a beautiful, Georgian, mahogany writing desk with a red leather inlay at which Dr Chaudrey is sat, wooden paneling across the bottom third of all of the walls, a rectangular cross beamed window, more books than a small library stacked in every available space, half of which look like they have never been read, and the most striking feature of all, a huge, splay fronted open fire that can’t help but dominate the room.
“We have two options”, Dr Chaudrey explains. “We can offer an artificial solution, which some couples prefer, or we can operate. The operation itself is a relatively non -invasive procedure that in most cases can be done with a local anesthetic. The artificial solution is a little less complicated, although doesn’t offer quite the same effect. It is a special cellulose pouch that requires insertion into the vagina a short time before intercourse, to create the required effect.”
“We’re not interested in an artificial solution. This is very important to us. My partner’s virginity was stolen, and we need it back for her to feel whole again. We need you to make her as perfect as she was. Money, of course, is no object.”
“Yes, I understand completely. An operation is always my preferred course of action too. It is the only way we can be certain of returning the body to its initial stage.”
“Can you guarantee that the operation will work?”
“Yes, absolutely, one hundred percent. I have been performing this operation for most of my career. It’s a very simple procedure that takes less than two hours to complete. Afterwards the vagina is as good as new.”
He smiles when he says this, aware than the phrase when used in this context seems a little out of place.
“I must warn you, however, that penetrative sex immediately after the operation is not advised.”
“Isn’t that precisely what the operation is for?”
“Absolutely.”
Dr Chaudrey shakes his head somewhat contradictorily from side to side. “But in this case, general consensus in this industry is three months, personal advise directly from me, the surgeon, is to wait at least three weeks to a month for the skin to heal and strengthen.”
“And if someone decided not to follow your advise?”
“Then the experience might not be as authentic as it should be.”
“How different would the experience be?”
“It’s impossible to say.”
“Are you telling me that every woman that comes in here to have the operation done, waits at least three weeks before she has penetrative sex?”
“It’s a recuperation period, Mr Hix, that’s what we advise the body needs as an absolute minimum in order to provide an authentic experience. Once our patients leave the clinic, we have no control over what they do.”
Dante looks away briefly to the fireplace. The charred remains of two large logs still sit in the grate, from the last time it was lit, over fifteen years ago.
“What would you need to do, for penetrative sex to be possible on the very same day of the operation?”
“That is a question I cannot answer.”
“In that case-.”
Dante is already on the way to standing up. “-Thank you for your time.”
“Wait.”
Dr Chaudrey puts his hand up to stop him. “Please sit down.”
“I don’t believe there is anything we can do to help each other.”
“There is something we can do. It’s not how I would perform the operation, but I understand different clients have different requirements. Please, sit down.”
“Go on.”
Dante retakes his seat.
“I can make the new area thicker, but it would mean that you would have to have sex on the same day, otherwise you might not be able to penetrate the area at all once it fully heals. It might hurt a little bit as well, for both of you, at least to begin with. The area will be tender and much more sensitive.”
“But it will mean that we will be able to have sex immediately, and the sensation will be the same? It will be just as authentic?”
Dr Chaudrey nods. “That I can confirm absolutely to you. I don’t advise it, but I can confirm it and I will perform the operation for you.”
“Then I think we can help each other out after all.”
“When would you like the operation to be performed?”
“I believe we might be ready at some point this weekend. I need to confirm it with my partner first.”
“Good. I will need to meet your partner of course, receive her written consent and perform a series of tests before we begin.”
“Tests?”
“Procedural”, Dr Chaudrey says quickly, the look on Dante’s face one of suspicious concern. “Nothing serious at all. We just need to confirm that she’s fit enough for the operation to be performed.”
“You have her medical records already”, Dante points out.
“Yes.”
“You just need to check the boxes.”
Dr Chaudrey is aware that it’s not a question. “Exactly.”
“I want you to make yourself available for whenever we need you.”
“If you let me know as soon as you know, I can usually get you seen within seventy two hours.”
Dante shakes his head. From the moment I leave this office, until the moment we leave the surgery, you are available at a moment’s notice. Do you understand me when I say that money is no object.”
“Mr Hix, I have several patients waiting for operations.”
“Not anymore.”
Dr Chaudrey laughs nervously.
“What is your daily rate?”
“It depends on the amount of operations.”
“Choose a figure.”
Dr Chaudrey takes a moment to regard the billionaire. He’s deadly serious about this.
“Five thousand a day.”
“Congratulations, Dr Chaudrey, you’ve just got a pay rise.”
“Ok.”
Dr Chaudrey nods enthusiastically.
“Keep your phone on, I’ll call you”, Dante says. A moment later he’s out of his seat and by the door. “Oh, if you fuck this up, I won’t be happy.”
Chapter 23
Sixteen days after she last saw him and five days after she left her last message, her patience worn completely through yet again, Sash decides that there is only one course of action left to her. Abbey is right. She needs to go and claim her itinerant stepbrother and show him who he really belongs to. She wants to trust him, but enough is enough. Sixteen days without a single call, and still no indication of when he’s going to come home again is enough for any girl. She’s upset, disappointed in him, and back to square one yet again.
She has the name of his hotel. She’ll get on the earliest flight they can give her, track him down and let him know how she feels. He can’t treat her like this, hanging on to his every word, hoping that each time her cell phone rings it’s going to be him. Spending weeks apart in two different cities isn’t the kind of relationship that she had in mind. She needs him with her and if he can’t even do that, she’s going to have to rethink her plan all over again. Yeah it’s great having his money, but it means nothing at the end of the day if he’s not here to share the experiences with her. What’s the point of that?
<
br /> She packs a small bag with expensive clothes, things she feels like Dante will love to see her in, and takes a taxi out to the airport. Jutting out of the skyline proudly like a huge steel cock stands that symbol of power and wealth she can’t seem to stop looking at.
Dante’s office tower.
At the airport, she asks for the next available flight to Los Angeles, buying a ticket in business class, because the extra luxury seems like exactly the kind of thing she deserves. With a couple of hours before her flight leaves, she relaxes in the first class lounge sipping sparkling water and eating canapés of exotic and unusual flavors, taking care to find out first of all if any of them contain ingredients that an expectant mother might wish to avoid.
Once again, she’s reminded how easily she could adapt to this lifestyle, but only with someone else by her side. There are several moments she would love to share, only to find herself unable to comment to anyone but herself. In the absence of company, and tired of looking around at the other passengers, most of whom are traveling with loved ones or entire families, she loses herself in her cell, messaging Abbey constantly to give her a blow by blow account of her experience.
On the plane, she finds herself sharing the business class section with only two other passengers. She’s never experienced anything like this before. The last time she flew was for a dance trip to Toronto, and she barely had any space in front of her to stretch her legs. This time her seat flattens completely into a bed. This time she has a mini-bar, a flat screen TV, an Egyptian cotton, goose down filled pillow, a three course meal and a personal in-flight attendant. She flattens the seat not because she wants to go to sleep, but just because she can. She smiles at the other two passengers, who nod at her and share knowing glances, of their own, very first business class flight, when they spent the whole journey doing exactly the same.
Sash is easily pleased, but her excitement at having something so luxurious, ten thousand feet in the air, seems like a treat better than all of the other ones put together.
The food is good too. She’s had better, but for something that has been cooked in the aviatic equivalent of an industrial microwave, she’s more than impressed. It’s a three hour hop to L.A. It’s enough time for Sash to gather her thoughts and think about how she wants to proceed. Turning a magazine over in her hands, far too distracted to read it, she finds herself thinking less about what Dante will say, and more about what he’ll do.
Charged: A Stepbrother Romance Novel (With FREE Bonus Novel Heated!) Page 30