by Claire Adams
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m just glad I have you,” I told her. “I wouldn’t know what to do if you decided all of this was too much. Not that I would blame you.”
“Oh, Adam, that is not going to happen. This is not your fault. You are a victim here, too.”
“Well, I definitely don’t say this often enough, but I appreciate you, and I love you, and I need you.”
“You’re right,” she said with a laugh. “You don’t say it often enough. Will you be staying with me again tonight?”
“If it’s okay. Detective Samuels called earlier. He says I can probably go home tomorrow…just in time for your parents to come into the country and not find you harboring a ‘person of interest’ in a murder case.”
Alicia groaned. I knew she couldn’t be looking forward to that conversation. She changed the subject and said, “I have to go grocery shopping this afternoon. How about I make us a nice dinner?”
“Sounds like just what I need. I should be there by about seven, if that will work?”
“Perfect. And Adam...”
“Yes?”
“I love, need, and appreciate you, too,”
“I know,” I said with a little laugh. “How could you not?”
I felt so much better after I had hung up the phone. I had something to look forward to tonight, something so simple, but a definite change from where my head had been at ten minutes earlier. I got back to work with the sound of her voice in my head. I could get through this, with Alicia’s help.
********
Alicia already had the table set with candles and a hot meal waiting when I got to her place. She never fails to amaze me. I took her into my arms and just held her for a few minutes, breathing in her energy. When I let her go, I kissed her lips softly, and then my eyes landed on a copy of the National Inquisitor lying on the counter. Alicia’s picture was on the front of it but they had done something to it with photoshop.
“Baby, why did you buy that crap?” I went over and picked it up. They had transposed a picture of Marjorie into the shot and it looked like Alicia was glaring at her. The words above it said, “Maybe Looks Can Kill.”
“I don’t know. I guess I figured it would be one less in circulation. Or, I’m a glutton for punishment. It’s awful.”
I tossed it face down on the counter. “It’s trash.”
“I know. I’m handling this all as well as I can, I promise.”
I took her back into my arms. I felt slightly ashamed that touching her was turning me on at a time like this. She just sincerely overwhelmed me. “I’m sorry. I know you are,” I told her.
She pulled back and said, “Let’s sit down.” We took our seats at the table and she picked up her napkin as she said, “On my way home from the office, I went by the store to buy groceries. The simple and mundane task of shopping for my home made me feel better at first. It was so…normal and that was all I really wanted lately.
“All that was shattered suddenly when I got into line to pay for my things. The lady in front of me kept staring when she didn’t think I was looking, she snapped a picture of me on her phone. I was confused until I looked to the right and saw these awful rags there.”
“I’m so sorry I’ve pulled you into all of this.”
“I don’t blame you, Adam, really. It’s just…surreal, I guess.”
“Yes, it is. How about we try and make tonight as normal as we can?”
She held up her wine glass and I picked up mine. She clinked her glass to mine and said, “To normal.”
“To normal.” We drank and then started in on the delicious meal she’d made.
Afterwards, I helped her clean up the kitchen and made a fire while she got the dessert ready. She came out with two plates of strawberry shortcake, and we ate and talked about one of our cases that had nothing to do with Miles or Marjorie or anything remotely close to either of them.
Once we finished our dessert, she wanted to watch a chick flick on DVD. I agreed, but I really had other “normal” things on my mind. I was working her clothes off of her once again. I had her blouse up under her arms and was going for her bra strap when she sat up and said, “Are we finished with the movie?”
I unhooked the bra and when her breast spilled out, I took one in my hand and rolled the nipple as I looked into her eyes and said, “You can go ahead and watch it if you like.”
She sucked in a hard breath. “I might be slightly distracted by what you’re doing.”
“You want me to stop?”
She moaned. “No…not even a little bit.”
I grabbed one of her hands with my free one and pressed it to the front of my pants. “Good.” She groaned again and started rubbing me. I leaned in to kissed her hard, and at some point, I stood up and picked her up with me. She wrapped her sexy legs around my waist and I carried her down the hall to the bedroom.
I sat her down on the bed and pushed her back with my body. My tongue slipped back into her hot mouth for a few seconds before I abandoned it again to trace a line down the side of her face to her neck. She didn’t seem to mind that I wasn’t in the mood to be gentle. As I bit and sucked on her sensitive flesh, she moaned, whimpered, and squirmed.
I did that for a while before pulling her up and finishing undressing her. I looked her over and smiled. “Where are those shoes you wore the night we went out? The burgundy or wine-colored ones?”
She grinned and pointed at the closet. I went and got them and handed them to her. While she put them on I flattened my palm and used it to rub against her hard nipples. Once she was finished putting on those sexy shoes, I pushed her back again and let my hand find the wet treasure between her legs. She was already soaked. I fucking love how her body responds to me.
I played with her that way for a few minutes and then I flipped her over so her ass was in the air. Once again I put my hand down between her legs. I let my fingers play up and down along her slit, stopping to pinch her hard clit and make her shiver and moan. She came up off the bed, and once again I pushed her down with my body. My hard cock pressed up against her ass and I rubbed myself against her.
“Are you going to take those clothes off?” she asked. Her words were mumbled into the comforter that her face was pushed down into.
“In a minute,” I told her. “I’m busy here.” I used one hand to continue my torture on her pussy while I slid the other one underneath her chest to grab a breast. I massaged and kneaded it and got even more excited by not only the feel of her, but the sounds she was making. I flipped her over again and took one of her hands and put it down between her legs.
She brought her feet up and I felt those sexy heels dig into my back while she began to rub her own clit. I bent down further and sucked one of her breasts into my mouth. I tickled her nipples with quick strokes of my tongue and the harder I licked the faster her hand moved between her legs. I could tell she was getting close when she breathed out a simple, “Please.”
Instead of undressing and fucking her, I moved her hand and continued sucking on her breasts while I fingered her. I slid two fingers inside of her and felt her tight walls clamp down on me as she held my head to her chest and cried out my name. I used my free hand to pick up one of her legs and put it up on my shoulder.
Then, I used my fingers to fuck her fast and hard until she was screaming in ecstasy and coming all over my hand. When she finished I pulled it out and licked my fingers, tasting her sweetness. It only made me want more.
I leaned down and put my face between her legs and began to lick and suck. She was muttering incoherently as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled hard while I brought her to another quick orgasm.
I let her recover, but after a few minutes, she reached up with shaky hands and unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. She pushed down on them until they were around the tops of my thighs. I stepped back and took them the rest of the way off, depositing my shirt down on top of them.
As soon as I stepped back up to the bed she r
eached out for me. She wrapped both of her hands around my hard cock and pulled it to her mouth. She started licking me all over like she was going after a lollipop. I stood at the edge of the bed and watched her lick and then suck and even gently graze her teeth along the underside of it, the whole while massaging my balls with one hand. She nearly put me sailing through the ceiling when she took one of my balls into her mouth and sucked on it.
I was shaking all over when I finally worked up the energy to pull back. I threw myself at her, pushing her back on the bed in one big movement. I mounted her and fucked her until we were both crying out in an orgasm that rocked the room around us. I fell asleep wrapped up in her arms and the world went away if only for the night.
At five a.m., I was rudely awakened to the annoying sound of my phone. I should have left it in the living room. I sat up and looked around. Alicia was blinking her eyes like she was trying to wake up. “I’m sorry, baby.” I reached over and fished for my phone.
I put it to my ear and heard a strange voice say, “Mr. Hanson this is Sergeant Mason of the NYPD. We got a call from your alarm company. There has been a breach at your law office downtown. I’m afraid there was a break-in.”
“Shit! Did you catch them?”
“No, sir, but we’d like you to come down so we know if anything was taken.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” Alicia asked, sitting up. I told her as I got dressed. She put her hands on her head and said, “When is it all going to stop?”
“I wish I knew, baby.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, baby. Your parents’ plane comes in at eight, right? I know you need to get ready for that.”
Alicia laid her face all the way in her hands and said, “God, I wish I didn’t have to explain all of this to Mother.”
“What about your father, do you think he’s going to take it any better?”
“He’s more understanding,” Alicia said. “All he has ever wanted was for me to be happy. He’ll worry about me and how all of this is affecting my life, but Mother… Well, let’s just say that she likes to give orders and issue ultimatums. If they’re not followed, then you have an argument on your hands.”
Great. I couldn’t wait to meet her. I kissed Alicia and said, “I’m sure it will be fine.” I’m a lawyer. Lying comes easy.
CHAPTER THREE
ALICIA
After Adam left, I got up and put the coffee on to brew. I made sure the guestroom was free of dust and the bathroom well stocked, and then I started getting ready to bring home the parents.
While I was dressing, I slipped off the ring on my finger and put it gently back into the velvet box it had come in. I had too much to discuss with my parents, and the ring was a conversation I felt could wait for later.
I waited nervously near terminal twelve at John F. Kennedy airport. I had been notified that the plane my parents were on was running approximately one hour late. This made me even more nervous. I knew Mother well. She did not tolerate anything that interrupted or altered her schedule in any way, unless it was her who had changed the plan. I was already dreading having to explain all of the things that were going on in my life, without anticipating her irritable mood in the mix.
As I sat waiting for the plane to come in, I thought back to the day I had left my home to start a new life in New York. Mother, Father, and I had all waited at the airport for my plane to board. It was snowing, so the flights had all been delayed, and my mother’s mood grew blacker by the hour.
She hadn’t wanted me to go; she had made that abundantly clear in the weeks leading up to my departure. She had expected to win the argument, as she usually did. For one of the first times in my life, I had stood firm, though, with my father’s support making me stronger. I was going to New York if I had to sit in that terminal all week before a plane was able to land and pick me up. I loved my mother, but the Lady Winston’s dreams of raising a daughter who would be a socialite on the arm of some rich, handsome, successful man were just that, her dreams, not mine.
Thankfully for me, Lord Winston had raised me to be strong and independent. He encouraged me to dream big and to go after those dreams with everything I had in me. If not for his steady and constant support, my mother may have won out. She was a hard woman to say no to, especially when she was in a mood.
The voice over the loudspeaker announcing that their flight had landed brought me back into the present. I pasted a smile on my face as the first class passengers began disembarking through the tunnel. I watched the crowd of people coming through, searching for my parents. I spotted my father first. When I saw him, I felt warm inside and for that second, I was his little girl again and all of my troubles were forgotten.
“Daddy!” I said, waving him in my direction. I caught a glimpse of Mother just to his right as they came toward me. My father waved back heartily, and I smiled and waved at Mother, as well. The wave I got in response was as if she were swatting at a fly. I felt my stomach tighten into a hard knot.
“Alicia!” Daddy took me into his strong arms and hugged me so tightly I nearly lost my breath. I didn’t care, though. I had seldom found anywhere in life that I felt as safe as in Daddy’s arms.
“Oh, my little girl,” he said as he held me back at arm’s length. “Let me look at you. I am so happy to see you!”
“I’m happy to see you, too, Daddy.” Looking Mother, I said, “I’m happy to see you, too, Mother. You look well.”
My mother leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. “You look tired, dear,” she said as she looked more closely at my face.
It’s funny how a person’s parents could cause them to go from successful, confident adult to an instant child that wanted to please in mere minutes. “I’m fine, Mother,” was all I said, however. “How was your flight?”
“God awful,” The Lady Winston said with a huff. “I can’t believe they dare call that first class.”
I gave her a sympathetic look, but had to stop myself from smiling when I looked at my father’s face. He rolled his eyes and had a silly smirk painted on.
“Let’s go collect your things,” I told them, taking the carry-on my mother was holding.
We all walked over to baggage claim, where Mother continued to complain about the shoddy conditions of the airlines in the States. Her complaining prompted a porter to come to our aid, and he loaded the luggage onto a dolly for us and rolled it out to the car. After we were finally loaded and in the car Mother said,
“I assume you have a lot to tell us?” It was more a statement than a question.
I sighed. “Yes, Mother, I suppose I do. Would you mind if we waited until we get to the apartment and get you both settled, though? It’s a conversation I’d really rather not have on the Turnpike.”
Before my mother could speak, my father interjected. Glancing a silent warning at Mother he said, “Of course, dear. You tell us when you’re ready. Isn’t that fine, Diane?”
I could see my mother’s face in the rearview mirror and knew my poor dad would probably pay for that later. For now, though, she said, “Of course,” with a tight-lipped smile.
The rest of the ride was spent with chit chat and gossip about folks back home that I hadn’t seen in a while. When we reached the apartment at last, Luis was there to help and he called two young men on his staff to carry my parents’ things up to the apartment. I could tell my mother at least approved of this.
Once inside, I showed them to their room so that they could freshen up after their long flight and began brewing a pot of tea. They had both told me they weren’t hungry yet, so I just fixed a platter of croissants and pastries I had gotten at the bakery in case they wanted a small snack. Taking a deep breath, and willing myself to be strong, I headed back out to the sitting room.
As I poured the tea, we again made small talk. My father told me how much he liked my apartment and how proud he was I had done so well for myself. Unfortunately, that
left an opening for Mother.
“Yes, we hadn’t been concerned about you at all dear until we started reading and seeing some things that upset us this past week.”
“I know, Mother, and I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about what was going on. I just thought it would be better if we talked face to face about it all, rather than on the phone.”
Daddy reached over and took my hand for support; I smiled at him as Mother said,
“Well, we’re here now, and we’re listening.”
I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I started at the beginning. My mother raised an eyebrow or two throughout my spiel, but didn’t interrupt. When I finished, my father squeezed my hand and said,
“I’m sure you can see how this, um, situation would concern us as parents?”
“Yes, Daddy, of course I can. It concerns me, as well, trust me. But I’m telling you that as bad as it all sounds, and as stressful as it all has been, Adam is no killer. He is a kind, loving, smart, amazing man, and I can’t wait for you two to meet him.”
“Alicia,” Mother began in that even tone she usually reserved for reasoning with people she thought were in desperate need of her advice. “Have you considered what might happen if Adam is arrested?”
I opened my mouth and she stopped me by saying, “I’m not finished. Innocent people are accused of things all the time, dear, are they not? I’m just saying, what if he is arrested? Not only do you end up in a relationship with a man who is incarcerated, wrongly or not, but have you realized that if that were to be the case, your job could be lost, as well?”
“Mother, Adam is not going to be arrested. The police have no evidence to use to arrest him because there is no evidence to find. Adam was with me, in a crowded restaurant. He didn’t kill his wife, and the district attorney is not going to risk arresting a well-respected attorney for something he could never prove.”