The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  Her words sent his spirit soaring. Home. She was his home now. ‘You look cute when you’re half asleep.’

  She chuckled, stroking his face. ‘How was your day?’

  He shrugged, slipping his hand under the comforter and around her waist. Sleep had made her floppy and pliable, and he easily pulled her into his arms. ‘Better now I’m with you.’

  He kissed her, lingering, his tongue exploring her mouth, his fingers knotting in her hair. Isa sighed happily as he lay her on the carpet, pushing her t-shirt up so he could rest his head on her bare belly. He felt her stroke his hair, looping her tiny fingers through the tight, short curls of it. He pressed his lips against her skin, tracing a pattern with the tip of his tongue up and down her abdomen. His fingers went to the tie of her wrap-around skirt, pulling them open and sliding the fabric from her.

  ‘Sam…’ She wanted him to kiss her and he moved so he could look into her eyes as he did. She smiled up at him, unbuttoning his shirt, running her hands over his bare chest.

  ‘How have I not known you my whole life?’ She kissed him. ‘I’ve never felt this close to anyone before… anyone…’

  ‘I know,’ he said softly, as he pulled her shirt gently over her head, kissing her breasts. ‘This is almost unbelievable.’

  They both laughed, still peeling each other’s clothes off. She grinned up at him as he pressed his body to hers. ‘Almost…’

  She pushed him onto his back and moved down his body, taking his cock into her mouth. Sam drew in a deep breath as she tasted him, sucked him and flicked her tongue around the sensitive tip.

  ‘God… Isa…’ The feel of her mouth on him, her warm, wet, soft mouth was like a drug, and as he neared his peak, his chest ached with love for her.

  ‘I want to come on your belly,’ he gasped and flipped her onto her back, pulling himself out and ejaculating onto her skin. She moaned happily as he ground his mouth onto hers. He reached between her legs to caress her, found her wet and ready for him. He slid two fingers in and out of her, rubbed her clit with this thumb as he kissed her, feeling himself already stiffening. She moaned and writhed against him and soon he couldn’t help from driving himself into her, pinning her hands above her head.

  She was wide awake now, locking her eyes onto his, the animal lust in them thrilled him. ‘Fuck me harder,’ she ordered and grinning, he complied, ramming his cock so hard into her she cried out, clawing at his back, urging him on and on. Sam watched her face change as she reached orgasm, breathless, beautiful bliss, her back arching up, her belly pressing into his stomach. Just the sight of her made him come so hard his entire body spasm, jerk as the semen pumped into her.

  She pulled his head to her chest as he groaned, trying to catch his breath. He felt her kiss the top of his head.

  ‘I love you, big guy.’ And he sighed, sinking his face into the soft haven of her breasts.

  Isa smiled as Sam scarfed down the scrambled eggs she had made him. A night of glorious fucking, of laughing, of loving had been just what they needed… well, she thought now with a grin, apart from sleep.

  ‘That is a filthy smile.’

  She giggled and told him what she’d been thinking. He nodded, a smirk playing around his mouth. ‘I love it when you say ‘fucking.'’

  ‘Fucking,’ she said immediately, and they both laughed. God, it felt good to laugh, to be relaxed. This morning, this bright, unusually sunny Washington morning, she felt lighter, optimistic. This man in front of her, this wonderful man, was everything she needed. No psycho son-of-a-bitch asshole was going to take this away. It wasn’t possible.

  Sam’s cell phone bleeped and, as he read the text, she watched his face light up. ‘Hey, Cal’s found a property we need to go see.’

  ‘For Zoe’s new gallery?’

  ‘Yep.’ He fixed her with an amused look. ‘So you got her to agree to the money then?’

  Isa grinned. ‘Kinda. She won’t take the money straight, but we knew that. She’s thinking about a loan, at very very good interest rates to you. I told her you wouldn’t want to rip her off but then again, I think you’re both as bad as each when it comes to not wanting charity.’ She sighed dramatically. ‘You kids drive me crazy.’

  Sam laughed and pulled her onto his lap. She wrinkled her nose as he kissed her. ‘Eww, egg breath.’

  He chuckled. ‘Well, at least, you got her to think about it.’

  ‘Where’s this place?’

  ‘In the city. Cal won’t tell me anymore. Knowing him, he’s plotting something. Anyway, he says we can see it today.’

  ‘For an old hospital,’ Isa said, picking her way through the rubble-strewn corridor, ‘It’s remarkably un-creepy. Ouch.’ She stumbled, grazing the heel of her palm. Sam moved to help her, but Cal was nearer, offered her his hand. She took it, smiled her thanks at him.

  ‘The ground floor’s got the most damage,’ Cal told them, ‘The upper floors are in pretty good condition, except where the roof’s fallen in. Only a little… fallen… in… honestly.’ He added, seeing Zoe’s raised eyebrows.

  The look on the older woman’s face when Cal had pulled the SUV up to the shambling, moldering remains of the Sacred Heart hospital had amused all of them: bemusement, surprise, outrage, disbelief all rolled into one. Now she moved silently through each room, in turn, flicking her eyes around. Isa, on the other hand had fallen in love instantly, and had regressed to an excited teenager. She moved through each of the tumbledown corridors, excitedly planning what to do with them. Sam could see she was trying to persuade Zoe by making her visualize what the old hospital could be.

  ‘The structure is solid, Zo,’ she was saying now. ‘We just need to clear the junk out, get the lighting, painting… everything set up. Look at this wall space! It could be incredible.’

  Zoe wasn’t convinced. ‘It’s big,’ she said, finally. ‘Too big. The amount of money we’d need to invest…’

  ‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ Sam interrupted her, then as Zoe glared at him and he gave her a wide, unapologetic grin. ‘Suck it up; it’s happening.’ He heard Isa and Cal snigger.

  Zoe sighed. ‘Let’s see the rest then.’ Her hangdog look made him grin.

  They explored the ground floor. Most of the rooms off the wide main corridor seemed to be offices, old filing cabinets, desks. Isa skipped across to a room opposite them.

  ‘Restrooms!’ She exclaimed and even Zoe had to smile.

  ‘This place is awesome.’ Isa yelled and ran out again into the next room. Sam looked at his brother.

  ‘I think she’s happy.’

  Cal laughed. ‘I think she is.’ He looked up as Isa shouted from a room way down the corridor.

  ‘Hey guys, come and look at this.’

  They followed the sound of her voice up a flight of ramshackle stairs, Sam’s hand on Zoe’s elbow to steady her. Isa popped her head out of a door and beckoned them in impatiently. They entered the room, and Sam whistled.

  They were in what clearly used to be an operating room. The huge circular light was present, the bulbs long since burnt out. Isa jiggled the handle and backed off hurriedly when the structure gave an ominous groan.

  ‘This could be a real feature,’ she enthused, ‘even if we took our time fixing this place up, we could get this up and running, and even make the messier parts look cool…’

  ‘Make a feature of the junk?’ Sam looked skeptical. She punched his arm lightly.

  ‘Who’s that artist in London? She cast around for his name. ‘Damien Hirst. Didn’t he have a place called Pharmacy?’

  Sam grinned. ‘It was a restaurant, and it’s closed.’

  Isa pulled a face. ‘You’re not helping,’ she grumbled and chuckling, he hugged her.

  ‘Sorry. Look, I’m convinced. Cal, this is a great place, a great find. Isa’s right, Zoe, it’s about time you had a gallery that reflected your reputation in the Seattle art community. Ask anyone, they all thought you deserved more than a tiny place on the island. You need to be a
t the forefront. Once it’s opened, I guarantee, it’ll be a national, an international, hub. Artists will fight to exhibit in it.’

  Zoe rolled her eyes but flushed, flattered. She cast her eyes around the room, and Sam watched her expression carefully. She was being persuaded, he could tell.

  ‘Look,’ he said, ‘Have a walk around, on your own. Take it in, see it how you’ve dreamed it.’

  They left Zoe in the operating theater and strolled through the abandoned hospital. After a while Sam nodded at his brother and Cal melted away, grinning. Isa turned to Sam confused, and smiling; he bent his head to kiss her.

  ‘I have something to show you.’

  He led her to the far end of the hospital, up a spiral staircase. He unlocked a heavy door and stepped back, allowed her to walk in.

  Isa gasped. ‘Wow…’

  It was a large room, exposed brick wall, huge windows. It looked relatively intact, a few broken panes of glass, but it was undoubtedly the best room she’d seen. Sam watched her face, her excitement.

  ‘There’s a fully functional bathroom off it, a kitchen area over there.’ He nodded to his left. ‘It’s a great place for the city, for your work at the college. I know you love your open plan apartment. This is just bigger. Big enough for two. Maybe later for three… or four.’ His voice was soft.

  Her heart thumping, she went to him. ‘What are you saying?’ But she knew. She knew, and it made tears spring into her eyes. He smiled and kissed her.

  ‘Live with me, my beautiful Isabel,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘Let’s start building our family here now…’

  She nodded furiously, not trusting herself to speak, the tears dropping down her flushed cheeks, and he grinned, gathering her up into his arms, kissing her tenderly. He swung her around in his arms making her shriek and laugh her joy.

  When they had calmed down some, she brushed her lips against his gently. ‘You know; we practically live together already.’

  He smiled. ‘I know but this would be our place. Yours and mine. Our toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet, not in our pockets. And think of all the stuff we get to do…’

  She squinted at him, amused. ‘Oh yes?’

  ‘That’s right. For example, I get to do this.’ And he slid his hand down the front of her panties and caressed her. She gasped as he touched her, giggled.

  ‘Oh yes, because we never do this now…’

  Sam grinned. ‘And all the while, I get to tell you how sexy you are…’

  The pressure increased and Isa moaned.

  ‘…how beautiful you are…’ He kissed her as his fingers stroked her. He could feel how excited she was.

  ‘…how much I love you…’ He nuzzled her neck.

  Isa laughed, her breath coming in little gasps now. Sam bent his head and whispered into her ear.

  ‘Isa, Isa, Isa…’

  Sam smiled as she came, trembling and sighing his name. He bent his head and kissed her.

  She caught her breath and smiled at him, her face flushed, glowing. ‘God I love you, Samuel Levy.’

  ‘Yeah, how much?’ His eyes were playful, challenging. From a distance they heard voices. Isa grinned wickedly and stood on her tiptoes, her mouth at his ear.

  ‘Enough to let you fuck me right here, right now, against this brick wall, before the others get here.’

  He didn’t need to be told twice. He jerked her jeans and her panties down as she reached into his fly, pulling out his already hard cock. He picked her up, pressing her back against the wall as she guided him into her. It was a swift, hard, dirty fuck and as they heard Zoe and Cal approach, Sam slid his hand over her mouth to muffle her cries. She felt a rush of adrenalin at the violence of their love, the brutal way Sam rammed into her. Breathless and smiling, she bit into the hand over her mouth, making him laugh, shocked. Their orgasms hit them at the same time and, hurriedly uncoupling, tidied themselves up just as Zoe and Cal came into their room.

  Zoe didn’t notice a thing, but Cal shot his brother an amused look, mouthed something to him. Sam looked down and turned away, hurriedly zipping his fly. Isa swallowed a giggle. Zoe was smiling, and Isa knew that face.

  ‘You’ve fallen in love with it.’

  Zoe nodded. ‘I have. I can see it, Isa. But I mean what I said,’ she said sternly to Sam. ‘It’s a loan, okay?’

  Sam smiled but shook his head. ‘Look, we’ll have to come up with some sort of compromise, because me and Isa, well, we’re going to be living here so…’ He didn’t get to finish before Zoe shrieked with delight and threw her arms around them both. Sam and Isa exchanged an amused look.

  ‘Zoe, we’ll work out the details but since we’re all family here, let’s celebrate finding this place. That’s down to you, bro, so thanks.’ Sam clapped Cal, who was standing watching them, on the back.

  Zoe rolled her eyes but was beaming as they made their way out of the building.

  Isa smiled to herself. God, that fast and furious fuck was such a rush. She was continually amazed at what Sam brought out in her; a feral, primal need. She exchanged a look with Sam. What a way to christen their new home. Now, right now, she knew nothing could take this away from her, away from him. This was right, she knew it, with every fiber of her being.

  Her bubble of happiness didn’t last. Real life has to intrude, she thought, as she pulled a pile of paperwork onto her desk a few days later. She didn’t mind being here, being busy, helping out Sandy but Sam was in New York and, as a kid the day after Christmas, she felt deflated. Maybe I’m hormonal.

  She distracted herself by wading through the piles of work Sandy had sneaked into her in-tray. He appeared occasionally at the side of her desk, apologetically sliding cups of coffee, napkins with cookies piled on top of them. She smiled to herself. The work wasn’t hard, just annoyingly admin-y and un-art-like.

  Her phone rang mid-morning. A number she didn’t know. ‘Hello?’

  Nothing. She hung up and thought nothing of it. The work phone on her desk rang. Again, no-one answered. Annoyed, she slammed the phone down.

  A half hour later, Mireaux from reception called her. ‘There’s a woman down here, says she knows you and would like to come up. Says she knows you from the gallery. Casey Hamilton?’

  The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Isa didn’t remember her. ‘Send her up.’

  Why not? It might be one of Zoe’s friends. What could be the harm?

  She regretted that thought five minutes later when the red-headed woman who’d been so rude to her walked into the room. Shit. Isa’s face hardened.

  ‘How can I help you?’ Her tone was clipped, but the woman smiled. It was a friendly smile which softened the woman’s angular features.

  ‘I’m sorry to intrude but I read about your exhibition, about the fire in the local paper. I wanted to say how sorry I was.’ She looked around the art department. ‘The article mentioned you worked here, so I thought…’ She stopped and sighed. ‘Look, I know I wasn’t the politest, I mean, I know I was somewhat rude before. I wanted to apologize and offer my condolences.’

  She held out her hand, and Isa took it hesitantly. She had no idea why this woman would bother, but she seemed genuine enough.

  ‘I’m Casey Hamilton. I’m an artist too, and I know what it must have been like to lose your work like that. Devastating.’ Without being asked, she sat down in the chair opposite Isa’s.

  Casey Hamilton. Isa had heard of her; she had been the new wunderkind of the Seattle scene in the early 2000’s. She burned bright – and fast. Isa vaguely remembered something about drugs. She took a deep breath.

  ‘Look, it was nice of you to come but – ‘

  ‘Your work was extraordinary.’ Casey interrupted and Isa was astonished to see two spots of pink appear on her cheeks. ‘Exquisite. I admit, I was jealous. I’m not proud of how I behaved, really, I’m not. I’d like to get to know you.’

  Isa frowned. ‘Why?’

  Casey studied her for a long moment. ‘Because I think we have
a lot in common. I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in years. Years. But when I saw your work, I was inspired. Gave me the kick in the butt I needed.’

  Isa was taken aback, and her instincts were in turmoil. Casey nodded, reading her thoughts.

  ‘I don’t blame you for doubting me; my behavior before was so, ha, I’d like to say it was out of character but I’ve always been the envious type.’ Suddenly she reached over and took Isa’s hand, leaning forward, her expression earnest – and a little pleading. ‘I’m trying to change. Really. Look, I’m going to go now but would you consider having lunch with me next week?’

  ‘I, er…’

  Casey Hamilton pulled a business card from her pocket and gave it to her. ‘Think about it. Call me.’

  Isa let herself into her apartment and shut the door. She was still going over the bizarre meeting with Casey Hamilton in her head. The woman had appeared contrite, genuine, but Isa still didn’t know why she wanted to get to know her.

  Her head was pounding and the apartment too empty. She hated when Sam was away now, not because of the safety thing but because she missed his presence, his big body, his kiss and his company.

  She pulled out her cell phone and settled on the couch to call him. He answered straight away, and a warm ribbon of joy settled inside of her as she heard how happy he was to hear her.

  ‘Hey, beautiful girl.’

  ‘How’s NY?’

  ‘Too far from you. I’m coming back early tomorrow, as early as I can.’

  She chuckled. ‘I distract you from work.’

  ‘Hell yes, I wouldn’t have it any another way. Are you okay? Your voice is kinda weird.’

  ‘I have my head in a diving bell.’

  ‘Funny girl.’

  She smiled. ‘Just a headache. I’m going to order pizza, take a bath, grab an early night.’

  Sam groaned. ‘Ah, dammit, without me? That sounds like the perfect evening.’

  She laughed. ‘I mean grab an early night to sleep, dirty boy. Get my strength up for tomorrow.’

  She heard him laugh, a low, filthy sound. ‘And why would that be?’