by Riley Moreno
“Kids need stability, and structure, and discipline and also time.” Leander had said, martini in hand, “All the things I can’t give!”
Layla had laughed at this “The house looking like fashion week as model after model sidles in and out ah-a teenager’s heaven; you better not mess this up! Or Vitaliy sr. is going to be mad at you!”
He had taken another swig of his martini as she had laughed in the background, “I can do this-I mean I run a 9 billion dollar empire how hard can a fourteen year old kid be to handle?”
To this Layla, who had a teenager of her own, had sniggered, “You have no idea”
The self-doubts had pursued Leander right to the card table the next day, and true to expectations, had translated itself into a very bad game; He had lost almost every hand, to the obvious amusement of his card buddies. In a final show of bravado he had bet his car, believing if he upped the stakes he could up his game. Not long after, he had been left only with the martini at hand. The dealer gave him the bottle.
Too proud to accept a ride even from Alexander Yashin, he had set off towards the bus station.
Presently, Leander lay silent in Mary’s bathtub, listening to Mary put away his dirty clothes. He found the warm bath she had drawn for him highly therapeutic, clearing his head, and easing his tensed up muscles. He had been in there for the better part of thirty minutes now, and needless to say, he was still in the bath as much for his embarrassment as he was there for his need.
He had been sure he was been followed, but now on hindsight, he was not so sure. It could have easily been alley cats or his shadow. He had heard a noise and he had run like hell. Now after the fright came the embarrassment. He had run from shadows straight to a stranger’s house, at 2a.m in the morning!
“New towel for you” Mary announced, opening the door just for a tiny bit, and tossed something in.
Leander sank deeper in the tub, the smooth soapy water sloshing over his tipsy frame, and he wishing that these were waves of the ocean about to swallow him and put his cowardly frame out of its misery.
Mary on her part was undecided about her motives for helping this random stranger. As she went about being as good a Samaritan as she could possibly be that night, she could not silence the loud voice in her head which screamed for the umpteenth time, “What is wrong with you?”
A few minutes later, Leander emerged, casting an uneasy figure, holding the new, but rather short towel about his waist. Mary was reassured by his embarrassment; it meant he was a regular guy more or less, because regular guys did not find themselves in this kind of situations. The short, barely adequate towel which he had to hold about his slim waist was partly a precaution that would ensure her a precious few seconds to reach the door if he turned out to be dangerous.
Mary had to admit to herself, however, that precaution was not the only raison d’etre for the towel. Her lonely self after taking one look at Leander’s fine –featured face had succumbed to a very naughty part of her that was becoming less and less easy to control had cooked up the idea of the skimpy towel to see if he had the body to go with that face. Now as Mary took in Leander’s fine chisel chest over his deliciously toned abs, a wave of desired washed over her, hotter than the bath she had prepared for him. As she pretended to be busy in the dim light of the house, she inwardly marveled at the physical perfection of the man, and wondered what it would feel like to be trapped in a loving embrace by such finely formed arms.
“Uh-thanks” Leander said, catching the amused look in her eye even in the dim lighting of the room he now stood in. He was inwardly grateful that nature had given him a relatively strong make up, and he had not thrown up on the floor or anything like that given the amount of alcohol he had downed on his “way” here. He observed the rather large woman, full breasted woman walking about in the bedroom before him with only a scanty silk nightgown on. She did not seem like the one to be pushed around, much less clean up after a random stranger.
“There is a hot plate in the kitchen to help absorb some of that alcohol for you if you would like” she said to him, forming a silhouette between the door posts. The light gave a clear picture of her voluptuous outline in the night gown.
It all seemed so unreal to him or was it she who seemed unreal, standing in the doorway like that all angel like. Leander felt an excited tingle grow from his head and all the way to the pit of his stomach, and he turned away to hide the growing bulge underneath the towel she had given him.
“Yes, I would like that very much.” He mumbled.
Mary did not know that butts came in such perfect shapes and sizes and she had to literally drag herself away from the door post and the titillating view of his firm posterior.
“Pull yourself together,” Mary hissed at herself as she went to the kitchen, “I can barely recognize this excited schoolgirl persona you are putting on right now I swear”
A delicious aroma filled the entire kitchen, and Leander needed no directions to find the source. He took a deep breathe just before entering. If it had seemed unreal before, all of a sudden it felt or scented pleasantly real now.
They both avoided each other’s eyes at the small, round kitchen table, Mary not eating and Leander picking gingerly through the food, aware that she was watching him.
“Excuse me asking, but you are new around here aren’t you?” Mary asked, finally breaking the uneasy silence.
“Yes,” Leander replied, “I literally just arrived.”
Mary smiled at his pun, “cus I ain’t seen you around before” she thought there was something awfully familiar about him but she could not put her finger on it. The blue azure eyes perfectly set in his sculpted face was certainly something any woman would remember. Perhaps he was some sort of spy she thought playfully, come to save her from her distress, but she was in no obvious danger except the danger of falling head over heels in lust with a perfect stranger. She thought not to ask him, knowing he would reveal himself, if at all when he was ready.
Leander, on his part, felt his head getting clearer, and was grateful for the meal. It was just delicious enough to keep him from staring at her partly exposed cleavage which he could see were quite innocently put before him. Now that the ever increasing bulge in the pants that she had given him was safely hidden under the table, he was scared that his rising temperature borne of the hormones raging in his body would give him away. He wondered if human beings could sense such things, and he decided that was possible only if they were close; real close, which was right where he wanted this strange, kind, chocolate brown woman who was effortless more sexy than most women were on purpose. He decided to ingratiate himself.
“You have a beautiful home.” he said, trying to smile and at the same time avoid staring.
“No I don’t” Mary said giggling slightly, “but thank you for the remark”
Leander giggled as well knowing that he had been caught out. She was confident, he realized, and funny. She had already shown how brave she could be by letting him in. He wondered what she was doing in a place like this. The ladies he knew who were like her were video vixens, making a living or a nuisance of themselves by invading men’s fantasies.
He felt a little bit more relaxed, but the meal was almost at an end and Leander was sure he was going to get found out for the lecherous fiend he was. He kept his head down like a good little boy as she, to his surprise, cleared his plates. However he did not cheat himself out of an eyeful of her perfectly formed back which started rounded at the shoulders but curved exquisitely inwards to her waist and then sharply outwards to begin formation of the most sublime of butts. The languid manner in which her silver, silk nightgown lay over her voluptuous frame, ending halfway along her smooth rounded thighs gave an added seductive touch to the situation, and Leander was aware again of that sensation of the unreal. He wondered if his forebears when not punishing him with some ultra-real illusion for switching from Good Ol’ Russian Vodka to American Martinis, and he half expected to wake up beside a dumpster in
some back alley somewhere, with a homeless guy urinating on his head.
Mary, on her part, was somehow disappointed that the meal was at an end. She was not so sure she wanted to part ways with this handsome stranger, who spoke with a faint, foreign accent just yet. The accent fed the spy theory somewhat but she laughed, knowing it remained far-fetched. He had kept his eyes down the whole time, and had avoided her eyes at all costs, she had observed. He had been on his best behavior, but she was very sure there lay a rascal beneath all that façade-maybe even a cruel one! The coldness of the water as she cleaned the plates did nothing for the heat coursing through her veins at the moment. She tried to make chit-chat.
“My brother’s clothes look good on you.” she said without turning.
“Thanks,” Leander said, with that foreign accent she found so intriguing “They certainly do the trick.”
An awkward silence followed.
“Well I guess you will be taking his room too for the night.” She finally conceded, a faint feeling of defeat creeping over her. What had she expected anyway?
She turned to take one last look at him, as she heard his chair scraping out from under the table, and was greeted with the largest bulge in his crutch she had ever seen.
Leander froze, his face reddening as he realized he had been caught.
Mary asked breathlessly, “You’re not going to hurt me are you?”
“Not unless you want me to” Leander replied, equally breathless, and past the point of caring; he wanted this woman more than he had ever wanted any woman in his life.
They met halfway between the round kitchen table and the sink, and for a second, it was not clear what was happening. They moved with a swiftness propelled by a flame of passion so strong that both of them feared it would fatally consume them.
Leander was aroused by the softness of her every inch of skin, and the soft moans she let out in his ear as he covered her neck with feral kisses. Mary caressed his hard, muscular back, pulling him deeper into her. Her bosom vibrated with the deep growl that emanated from deep within his chest as he covered her mouth with scorching kisses; kisses that melted her feet which soon gave way. Leander was a generous lover, instinctively sensing her needs he grabbed her, lifted her, and put her on his waist. She gasped and moaned at the hardness of him which was straining and threatening to burst through her brother’s pants. She was heavy, but pleasantly so, Leander thought and in a daze he started for Andre’s bedroom.
“No, the other one!” Mary interjected breathlessly, “To my room further along”
This was turning out to be a fantasy night of the most sublime proportions and she was not going to have it end on Andre’s bed.
They burst through the door of the room, still tangled, like a destructive gale, landing on the bed with a loud thud. Leander gingerly pulled aside the strands that held her nightie in the back, thinking how much he loved the silken touch of it but knowing it was nothing compared to the treasures underneath.
Mary was beside herself with excitement and she vaguely remarked that the adverts where not joking as she closed her eyes at the pure sensual feel of the garment on her skin as Leander pulled both ends away. The sudden contrast of the cold air against her heated body excited her further, and she curled her toes in anticipation. Mary had never seen this much desire for her in a man’s eyes, and everything seemed to retreat into oblivion, as Leander leaned back to admire her supple frame for several moments.
Leander thought she looked absolutely lovely, and he set about discovering her body inch by inch with his tongue. Starting with her large breast, he caressed both nipples one after the other, sending shivers of excitement up and down her spine.
She moaned in agitation, squeezing the sheets beneath her in anticipation as he threw his shirt off. Kneeling there on the bed, between the warmness of her thighs, he looked like a marble sculpture of a Greek god. She sat erect to feel his chest and abs which, but for the heat, certainly felt like marble. He pushed her back to the bed, and opened her thighs wider. Sliding her panties off, he went down on her, his tongue slipping in and out like an acrobatic eel.
Sparks went off in Mary’s mind, and she moaned desperately as his capable tongue did wonders across the warm folds of her womanhood; the only thing keeping her to earth being his strong arms as they gripped her thighs while he worked. She moaned some more.
Leander, in response, pleasured her even more. He teased her, and took her to the absolute apex of pleasure. When she was jumping out of her skin, his pants came off in a flash and Mary gave a soft moan as he penetrated her. His movement slow and methodical applied for maximum effect. He explored every inch of her body he could with his hands and lips while he was in her, as if he wanted his whole being to remember her body.
She gripped his muscular back, pushing into him as they both climaxed. They stayed together a few more moments before separating albeit reluctantly.
They lay side by side contentedly, neither saying a word lest they destroy the magic of the moment. Both of them were waiting for the other to catch their breath, something as beautiful as what had just transpired should be done more than once-severally even.
Chapter 4
Leander set out the next day on foot, still in Andre’s t-shirt and jeans. He felt good and thought a walk would make things even better. He felt like he was walking on clouds. He did not let the fact that he had lied that his name was Vitaliy Kolarov bring his mood down. He had not been sure that he wanted this woman who said her name was Mary Joanna, to know who he was just yet. He was still plagued by self-doubt and in the laser sharp logic of those who thrive off short changing others emotionally in relationships; he had given a false name. Not too false because the last name was the same, and as he reflected on it now he realized he had given his brother’s name. He was not surprised at this choice as he had been obsessed by the name Vitaliy all week.
He took his phone out and called for a cab rather than one of the myriad vehicles that were at his disposal.
Mary decided to sleep in that Saturday. Yesterday had seemed impossible, so today seemed to come with endless possibilities, and she was going to dream all the way. It was the best she could hope for. She could not shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere, but the name Vitaliy Kolarov rang no bells whatsoever.
Mary squeezed herself under the blanket, and succinctly accepted before she closed her eyes that she would forever associate the name Vitaliy with sweet, secret, late night pleasures.
Mary silently beat herself up for not engineering a next date. She felt there was more to him than met the eye, and if she had not been out of the game for so long, she probably would have.
Above all she did not want to come across as desperate. She wanted him to come to her and not the way round. Play it cool she thought.
****
Two weeks later Mary had not seen, nor heard from “Vitaliy” Kolarov. She was anything but cool.
She had moved through worry, disgust, stress, and now she was just plain mad. Mad at herself for believing that she could get anything worthwhile in the long run by sleeping with a total stranger, mad at herself for that moment of vulnerability. She was especially mad, however, at he who had acted so sincere, and had taken advantage of her. Every touch had seemed loaded with meaning, and now she could hardly stand those once cherished memories. Serves me right for closing a deal too early and trusting a man to look beyond the goods, she thought.
She immersed herself into work in a bid to move past her feelings of disgust. She put in more hours at the center, to the obvious joy for Marjorie. The kids had really warmed up to the new addition to the staff, one whom the boys thought was hot and was just young enough to be an older sister but only just. She kept up with the furious energy for a further two weeks. There were days when she almost felt like sleeping over at the center. Rather than sleep on those same sheets she had shared with “him”, as she had begun to refer to Leander.
Leander had had an exciting and hectic month w
ith his nephew Vitaliy. The boy, with a blond head and azure eyes like his uncle was the spitting image of his father. Leander had looked at the earliest image he had of his older brother Vitaliy but in living color. He had experienced that same tug at his heart strings from earlier and had doted on his young nephew. The boy, equally excited about being in the states, had jumped at the chance to experience the life of the rich and famous from the other side of the television screen. They had gone everywhere Leander could think of.
Looking back on the month, he could give a satisfied smile. Private jets all over the country, a bevy of women always in toe, from one plush nightclub to the next, it had been a whirlwind of a trip-for Vitaliy jr that is.
Leander suspected there was something wrong with himself. While the teenage girls had found Vitaliy’s accent exotic, enabling him to gather a few notable scores, Leander had not been able to think of any woman long enough to get excited about her. His mind kept wandering back to the dim room where Mary Joanne had owned his imagination, every inch of his being
No longer was he excited by the trendy beauty of the models he usually surrounded himself with. Their skinny bodies no longer held their former appeal. He had seen a woman, the woman; beautiful inside as well as outside, and he inwardly resolved to look for her the moment he got back.
He turned to look at his nephew stretched asleep in another seat of the private jet. He looked outside to the silvery reflection of the moon on the clouds below them as they flew above and reflected, not for the first time, that this lifestyle would be so much better with Mary Joanne in it.
****
“Uncle I understand now!” Vitaliy jr shouted at the breakfast table beside the pool, back at the house on the affluent North of the city, “You homosexual no?!”
Leander almost choked on his morning tea-he thought that at twenty nine, he was too young for morning coffee, “What would make you say that?!” he asked clearly amused.