by Kimball Lee
“I want a tattoo,” she said, as she pulled him down on the sand and didn’t care who saw them. “I want a small tattoo where only you will see it to seal you to my body for as long as I live. No matter what happens, the proof of it will be part of me, because it’s true, with you is where I’ll always belong.”
His knee moved instinctively between her legs and his fingers brushed over the hot, wet, bit of fabric separating her from him. His fingers moved deftly over the clinging material, his wide chest and shoulders partially shielding her from view. She arched her hips toward his hand and he whispered, “Lie still, my love, and stay quiet, don’t move your legs apart any farther, there are nice people all around us.” He brushed her lips with his and slipped a finger under the edge of the bikini and taunted her, circling her clit, but not moving to let his finger enter. He kissed her face and neck and let his lips graze her lovely breasts. She seized and shuddered as the orgasm ripped through her and left her gasping and clinging to him as he smiled down at her.
As the day cooled into evening, she reached for his crumpled tank top and slipped it on to cover her bare breasts, she didn’t want anyone but Finn to ever see her naked again.
He lay on his side in the sand, his head resting on her lap and said, “That night when I won the surf tournament and we danced to the song, ‘The Heart of the Matter,’ it was almost more than I could stand. The words to that song, you know, they said, “even if you don’t love me anymore,” then Bly was there and that’s how it seemed. I thought you really didn’t love me anymore and I was furious, not at you or even him, at myself, because I wouldn’t walk away from the adrenaline rush of my job, and you wouldn’t be with me unless I gave it up. So, I chose my misplaced loyalty to that fucking insane job and watched Bly work his magic and you were lost to me then.”
“I wanted you to come to my room that night and tell me you’d had enough of your war games, that I was enough for you. You didn’t, so I did what I’ve always done, I decided what my life would be from then on and I convinced myself I loved Bly.”
“It’s all in the past now,” he said, “We’ll see Monte Carlo tomorrow and fly straight home from there. Home, our home, I like that,” and he pulled her so that his lips were at her ear and he whispered very softly, “and to me you’ll always be the wife of Finnegan Hale.”
CHAPTER THREE
Monte Carlo was beyond opulent. Charlotte had foolishly believed Southern California was the most exotic place on Earth, after all, what did she have to compare it too? Greenleaf, Mississippi was where she’d spent the first eighteen years of her life and it was nothing but a dirt poor, hell hole. So, just as she had been smitten by the grandeur of London and storybook villages of Surrey, she was in awe of the French Cote d’Azur and the parade of wealth on display in Monte Carlo.
Charlotte had been engaged to one of the world’s richest men, but they’d kept to themselves much of the time, and although Bly loved and owned expensive things, he wasn’t all about showing off his immense wealth. In the tiny principality of Monaco and especially in the over the top casino area of Monte Carlo, wealth, power and extravagance were flaunted for all to see. Men in expensive suits stepped out of Ferraris and limos followed by rail thin women dressed in tiny couture dresses and mile high stilettos. The women wore huge diamonds in the middle of the day and carried purses Charlotte had seen in the Hermes boutique, they cost tens of thousands of dollars and time after time she saw the faces of tiny, jewel-collared dogs peek out of the exorbitantly expensive bags.
Finn held her hand tightly as they stood outside the Casino de Monte Carlo and he peered down at her beautiful, apprehensive face.
“We don’t need to go inside,” he said, “you’ve seen the world famous casino now, so let’s do something else. Come on, my love, I can see the dread in your eyes and I don’t blame you, the memory is still too raw. I have another plan, are you up for it? You’re going to love it!”
She loved Finn for understanding her reluctance to set foot inside the casino; of course he’d suffered from the events of her kidnapping more than she had. He’d risked his life to free her and although he’d survived he’d taken the brunt of Jamey Huang’s fury. They went into the celebrated Hotel de Paris and Charlotte saw not only opulence but celebrity. Movie stars sipped drinks in the bar with famous directors and her mouth fell open when a handsome young prince and his entourage walked by, the prince stopped in his tracks and told her the issue of American Jock with her photographs was his all-time favorite. Finn distanced himself from her and she knew to be quick about talking with the prince and she hoped there were no news photographers watching. They were being overly careful, trying to stay under the radar of anyone who might seek retribution against Finn. His identity had been unknown during his infamous career, but since Huang had found him out there was the need to be cautious for a while.
*
He stood by a bank of elevators and she joined him, they pretended not to know each other as they stepped inside along with two elegantly dressed men.
“What floor, mademoiselle?” Finn asked, looking at her playfully.
“Well I’m not sure,” she said, exaggerating her Mississippi drawl, “why don’t you tell me? I didn’t get much action at the casino and I was hoping to find some in one of the rooms of this hotel, care to join me darlin’?”
Finn brushed a hand over his mouth to cover his smile as the two men fidgeted; they were trying not to stare at Charlotte in her short and clinging linen dress. The elevator doors opened and the men stepped out, one of them turned and handed Charlotte his business card with a look of pure lust on his face as the doors slowly closed.
“You are a wanton woman!” Finn said, smiling as his lips met hers. He kissed her passionately, with her back pressed against the mirrored wall of the elevator. Just before they stepped out into the rooftop restaurant, he said, “I’ve a good mind to get a room and use my wedding suspenders on you, my love!”
“Oh my,” she said, grinning, “I just don’t know how long I would last under torture!”
*
On the top floor of Hotel de Paris, Le Grille restaurant looked out across the ornate rooftops of Monte Carlo to the azure sea beyond. Charlotte adored France, the beautiful language and architecture and scenery. The French people were attractive and happy and friendly. She’d heard horror stories from her legal clients and colleagues at the law firm about the French being obnoxious and rude, but she found them to be charming and kind. She loved the way they all said, “Bon jour!” with a lilt at the end, so cheerful and optimistic.
“So, I was thinking we’d have a massage before we catch our flight home.” Finn said, “They have an amazing salt water pool in the spa, it feels like heaven after a good rub down, or you might like the Japanese body wrap. How does that sound, my love? I quite like the idea, but we can take a walk or go shopping if you’d rather.” Finn was leaning across the table stroking her hand; she sipped white wine and decided she could sit there forever, looking at her gorgeous husband.
“Charlotte Christiansen?” a woman’s voice broke her reverie.
The look Finn gave her told her to be careful before she spoke.
She looked up and a scantily dressed, very young woman stood next to the table.
“Excuse me?” Charlotte said, her voice cool.
“I saw you in L.A., you tormented Jamey in court before he… did you know he’s dead?” she asked and tears ran down her pretty, Asian face.
Finn made a slight motion to the Maître’d, who hurried over and asked the young woman to please return to her table or her hotel room if she was unwell. He led the girl away while Finn left money for the bill and ushered Charlotte out of the restaurant.
*
In front of the hotel they waited in line for a cab, then Finn slid in beside Charlotte and told the driver to take them to the airport in Nice. He was uneasy, Charlotte could see that, and she begged him to tell her what was going on.
“That girl is one of
Mao Huang’s mistresses; he keeps her in L.A. mostly, out of the public eye in Hong Kong. She lived with Jamey; if she’s in Monte Carlo then old Mr. Huang and his entourage are sure to be here, as well. Now listen, my love, I’m sending you to London without me and please don’t argue. I need to get close to the group and see how they react when she tells them you were here, I don’t want to frighten you but I need to find out what they know.”
“What do you mean, what they know? About me? Why should they care about me?”
“Obviously the girl cared; she looked at you like you were to blame for Jamey’s death. I’m not sure if they know I survived, but one thing is certain, Huang already has blood on his hands many times over and he won’t hesitate to make either of us pay for his son’s death.”
At the airport he stood with her and the look on her face broke his heart to pieces. Her arms held on to him and he had to force her away from him at last.
“My love, I don’t want you to go to the cottage by yourself. I’ve messaged Jude and you’ll stay with him in London until I return. Don’t look so panicked, Charlotte, you’re tough as nails and we both know it. Go furniture shopping in London, gather things for our cottage and find a big, irresistible bed so we can start making babies, do you hear?”
She nodded with tears flowing so freely they stained the front of her dress. He took off his zippered hoodie and wrapped her in it, then pulled her hard against him. He didn’t want to let her go but he couldn’t rest until he knew how things stood with Huang.
“Jude and I have our differences, but he’ll watch over you and keep you safe,” he said, “now go on, if I look at your hauntingly beautiful face as you weep I won’t be able to let you out of my sight. Do you know how difficult this is for me, my love? How can any woman become more beautiful after she’s been crying? But you are, your lips are swollen and dark red and your face is flushed…”
She pulled him along after her then, into a single handicapped restroom and he didn’t protest. She bent forward over the sink basin and splashed her heated cheeks. He locked the door and stood behind her, lifting her dress and pulling her panties down. She stepped out of them and raised her face to meet his gaze in the mirror; the need in their eyes was ferocious. He pushed her gently forward and she spread her legs as his fingers reached between them. They both moaned as he discovered she was already so wet and swollen, he worked her clit fast and hard as he unzipped his pants. She was quivering on the edge of orgasm when he took hold of her hips and thrust into her. He moved deep and rhythmically, stretching her, hitting the very end of her tight, wet tunnel. She began to seize and cry out but he continued to fuck her, reaching under her and pinching her nipples. By the time they both shouted and collapsed she’d climaxed three times and they lay shuddering against the cold sink.
*
Charlotte was silent all the way to Jude’s townhouse in the London neighborhood of Hampstead Heath. He didn’t press her to talk; he’d spoken briefly with Finn and knew to simply take his cues from her. In his living room, she sat sipping a vodka tonic with her hair wet from the bath, she was wrapped in a bathrobe and curled in a corner of the sofa.
Jude sat across from her in a leather chair, drinking whiskey, wondering what to say. Should he tell her he thought she was perhaps the most incredible looking woman he’d ever seen? Or that he kept a copy of American Jock in his night stand, the issue with her on the cover, even though he hated those tawdry American magazines? She was breathtaking, stunning really, and married to his little brother and now he was called upon to babysit.
“You don’t have to babysit me,” she said, and he jumped, wondering for a moment if she’d read his mind. “If Finn said I need looking after, he’s wrong, I’ll be fine. I have shopping I want to do and I’d like to tour some museums, but he’ll be back in a day or two, so don’t change your schedule for me.”
“Alright,” he said, “consider yourself un-chaperoned.”
She smiled then, and it changed her face from just beautiful to captivating, and he had to look away from her.
“So… cosmetic surgeon, I’m guessing?” she asked him.
“Now what would make you say that?”
“Hmm, your looks mainly, and your manner, I suppose. You’re ridiculously handsome, just like your brother and, I don’t know, you just seem like you’re probably in to breast implants and facelifts,” she said, and smiled as she sipped her drink.
His eyes twinkled over the top of his glass as he drank, she was intriguing as well as beautiful, he decided, and at last he said, “Well, you’ll be disappointed to learn that I’m not at all in to breast implants, more like I’m an advocate of breast milk. I deliver babies, it’s my passion, I’m an obstetrician.”
“Well, that’s just insane!” she said, placing her feet on the ground and leaning forward, she was honestly surprised. “I’d never go to a doctor who looks like you, my God, I’d die of embarrassment! I prefer an old grey haired lady doctor who’s seen it all and can’t be shocked!”
He laughed at her logic and said, “Believe me, I’ve seen it all and I can’t be shocked.”
They laughed and talked easily then, she told him about her work and how she and Finn would both be practicing law in Surrey. That her job had been everything before some crazy happenings had engulfed her a few months before and carried her along. She said she’d fallen in love with Finn the first time he and JP convinced her to skip class in law school and hike with them in the hills above San Diego. She’d tried to keep up and Finn had scooped her up and carried her most of the way shushing her protests. She felt his heart beating against her and it was impossible to take her eyes off his mouth. When he put her down at the top of the hill he said, “There you go, my love,” and that was it; her heart was lost to him.
*
The next morning she slept late and Jude was already gone when she woke and wandered through the three story townhouse. It was a wonderful old house, narrow and deep, the front door opened right onto a sidewalk and then the street lay just beyond. Inside, the rooms lined up like dominos, eventually leading to a small back garden. His taste in furniture was too modern for her, but he’d used the occasional antique and amazing Neo-Impressionist art that added warmth to the high ceilinged rooms. She made herself a cup of tea and sat at the little chrome breakfast table looking out at a rain soaked park across the street. A grey, drizzly day in an unfamiliar city without Finn made her heartsick. She went in search of her cell phone and dialed his number over and over, it went straight to voice mail each time and she wondered how she could be so happy one day and so miserable the next.
She was curled in bed wearing her nightgown and Finn’s zippered hoodie when Jude tapped on her door and she told him to come in. The grey September day had turned cold and he shivered as he walked to the fireplace and held a match to the logs.
“Thank you,” she said, “goodnight.”
“Charlotte,” he said, “don’t be sad, you’re about to get a phone call.”
She looked up at him, so tall and lean with Finn’s face, and tears stung her eyes, “what?” she asked and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater, she knew she was a mess but she didn’t care.
He held out a cheap looking cell phone and she took it from him as it began to ring.
“Finn?”
“My love, are you alright? Is Jude being nice to you? Because I’ll kick his ass if he isn’t.”
“Finn, when are you coming home? I’m not alright, not without you, please come home, please, please.”
“Charlotte, listen to me, it’s going to take a bit longer than I thought to make sure Huang leaves us alone. I want you to go to Surrey with Jude, JP will meet you there and help set up the house. The embassy has your law license approved and JP will bring it to you, are you listening, my love?”
“Yes. JP? JP’s coming here and you’re not? Finn what’s happening, where are you? I want to be wherever you are, tell me where you are, please!”
“Shh, it�
�s alright, JP will make sure you’re settled and I’ll be home in a few days, don’t worry. I love you Charlotte, nothing will keep me from coming back to you. Do you hear me, my love? We have babies to make remember? I don’t care what else you do to the cottage, but find the perfect bed, a sturdy one that will stand up to our love.”
The line went dead and she sat looking down at it.
Finally, Jude took the cell phone from her and said, “He told me to destroy it, it’s a disposable. It came by messenger today,” he threw it into the flames as the fire roared to life. “Why don’t you get dressed, Charlotte, we’ll go get some dinner, I know you haven’t eaten all day. You don’t want my little brother to come home and be pissed off because I didn’t feed his wife do you?”
*
Jude took the next day off and drove Charlotte to all the best shopping spots in and around London. They filled his Jaguar with treasures and arranged for larger pieces of furniture, mattresses and such to be delivered to the cottage. In the late afternoon they ducked into one last shop just as it was about to close and there she found the bed. It was heavy, white painted iron, and the ironwork on the head and foot boards curved and swirled to form an intricate pattern. It was expensive, but Jude charmed the shop owner into lowering the price and when they walked out arm and arm, Charlotte felt hopeful for the first time in days.
“The bed is perfect,” she told Jude as they sat in a little shop eating fish and chips served on sheets of newspaper. “It’s a good sign, he’ll be back any day, I can’t wait to get to the cottage and turn it into a real home!”