Proposition

by Wegner, Ola

  Perhaps his appetite would pass in time, she thought, at the same time helping him to remove her pants, pulling them down together with her panties.

  “Up you go,” he murmured affectionately, then lifted her onto the counter and parted her legs.

  His large hands began stroking her thighs, his mouth kissed diligently the path from the undersides of her breasts to her belly button. In no time, he was in front of her on his knees, eating her gently.

  She still felt a little uncomfortable with that form of foreplay, not being able to relax enough to have an orgasm. Though it helped her to warm up, and it felt nice once she let herself relax. She’d even discreetly checked out a certain section in the library to educate herself more on the subject. She’d been relieved to learn that she shouldn’t worry that she wasn’t able to come through oral sex. She’d read that it often took a long time for some women, like ten to fifteen minutes to have an orgasm in this way. One of the books also suggested that once she let herself loosen up, and believed that her partner enjoyed doing it to her, she would probably be able to climax. But Amy still felt rather awkward about Jake touching her with his lips and tasting her. She’d never before considered herself prudish, but somehow she couldn’t overcome this. Clearly, he loved to see that part of her. It seemed to excite him to have a good look at her pussy every time they made love.

  As soon as she felt hot and wet, he moved her carefully onto the kitchen island, which was the perfect height for him to make love to her as he stood. With trembling hands he opened his trousers hastily. Amy reached out and took him into her hand, and began stroking, but he as usual pushed her hand away after a few moments and began entering her a bit impatiently.

  She pressed her face into his shoulder, so he didn’t see her expression, as she really couldn’t help wincing a bit when he slid inside her. She was simply sore, her body unused to such frequent lovemaking.

  He started pumping into her, groaning hoarsely from time to time, their bodies making a suckling sound. Amy kept her arms tight around him, pushing at his bottom encouragingly. It didn’t hurt now, not really, but she didn’t feel the usual sweet pressure simmering between her legs. She dutifully waited for him to finish. And she didn’t mind, it always felt so wonderful, made her heart melt when he seemed to be so lost in her. It didn’t take him long, before he finally thrust into her with a low sexy growl. Amy presumed he couldn’t last really long in the standing position, at least not as long as when they were together in bed.

  As he slipped out of her, he caught the unguarded expression of discomfort painted on her face.

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked with a tangible concern in his voice.

  “Not really.” She met his worried eyes reluctantly. “I’m a bit sore,” she admitted. “We’ve made love so many times in the last few days and... or perhaps it’s just because I’m still new to this.”

  “You should’ve told me,” he said with accusation.

  “You wanted to...” she started, but he hushed her.

  “Forgive me.” He hugged her. “I’m such a selfish bastard. I’m sorry,” he murmured into her temple.

  “It’s fine,” she said sincerely. “It really is ok,” she stressed when he still looked unconvinced.

  His hand moved to stroke the wisp of hair off her face. “You think it’s good for me when I know I could hurt you? And why haven’t you told me earlier that sex is painful for you?”

  “Because it isn’t. I’m fine. I’m just a bit sore.” She rubbed his arms reassuringly. “Stop beating yourself up about it. I think that in a few days all will be well.”

  He sighed worriedly, kissed her forehead and turning away from her he reached for the paper towels. He folded a few together and wet them under the running tap. Opening her legs gently wider, he began wiping her clean from their combined juices.

  “Oh, God, Amy,” he whispered, suddenly pale, staring at the stained towel. Her gaze followed his and she instantly went white, too. They didn’t use protection.

  “It wasn’t on purpose,” he groaned, lifting his hand to his face. “I didn’t plan it, it came out spontaneously.”

  Amy bit her lower lip and eased herself off the island. “It couldn’t be at a worse time,” she whined. “I had my period barely two weeks ago.”

  He frowned. “Which means?”

  Her eyes widened in panic. “Which means that it’s probably the best time for me to get pregnant.”

  “Oh,” he said as he bent to collect her panties from the floor.

  “Oh,” she repeated disbelievingly, taking her panties from him and pulling them back in place. “That’s all you have to say?” She studied him suspiciously for a moment. “You’re not worried at all,” she accused him. “You would have nothing against it, if I really got pregnant.” She stared at him and shouted, when he didn’t reply, “Admit it!”

  “Look, Amy...” He cradled her tense face into his hands and stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs. “I’m not a good actor so I won’t pretend that I’m not happy about such a possibility. To tell the truth I’m overjoyed, that there may be a baby in nine months.” He grinned at her.

  “Well, I’m not,” she said shortly, pushed away from him and started to right her clothes.

  There was a very long silence.

  “I see,” he said, his voice so cold unpleasant shivers ran down her spine.

  “I should have started on the pill,” she murmured to herself.

  “I’m not going to allow you to do anything to prevent this,” he said harshly out of the blue.

  “What?” she stared at him, uncomprehending.

  “You heard me,” he said, his face tight and tense. “If there’s going to be a baby you’re going to carry it to term.” He took her arm not so gently. “I won’t let you kill my son or daughter. And don’t try anything like the morning-after pill or some other pharmacological shit to prevent it. Do you hear me?”

  Amy stared at him, her mouth half open, as if still not understanding what he was saying to her. “You think that I would be able to do something to hurt my own baby,” she whispered disbelievingly. “You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do with my body. What kind of person do you think I am?” she blurted. “For your information if it ever turned out that I’m pregnant I would always want the baby to be born, no matter who the father is.” Her eyes brimmed with tears as she tried, unsuccessfully, to choke them back, “How could you even think that? I only meant that it’s not a good time to have a baby, because we still know each other so little, and everything is so fresh between us and...” the uncontrolled sob escaped her and she quickly ran out of the kitchen.

  Jake closed his eyes for a moment when she left, and cursed silently. He had the propensity to put his feet into his mouth. He decided it would be for the best to leave her alone for some time. Ten minutes later, he knocked softly at the bedroom door.

  “Amy?” He opened the door slightly when she didn’t answer. He found her curled on the bed in a tight ball.

  “Go away,” the small voice came from under the covers.

  “I’m sorry.” He walked to bed.

  “I don’t want to talk with you now,” she said calmly, yet her voice suggesting she was on the verge of breaking into tears again.

  Still he lay down next to her, pulling her into his arms. She resisted shortly, but soon capitulated, allowing him to cradle her.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said as he kissed her hair.

  “How could you think I could ever terminate a pregnancy?” she asked with deep hurt in her voice. “Or do anything else to harm our baby? Don’t you know me?” the new tears came into her eyes. “Don’t you know me at all?” she sniffed. “It was the worst thing someone has ever accused me of.”

  It was a moment before Jake started speaking. “This situation reminded me of something which happened to me many years ago, when I was in my early twenties. I haven’t spoken about it to anyone since then.”

  She looked up at him. �
�What happened?”

  “It was before I started working for your father and met you.” He stroked her hair. “I had a steady girlfriend then. We’d been together for a few months. Her dream was to leave this town and go to California to become an actress. But she got pregnant and the child was mine.” He swallowed, his arms contracted around her. “I said to her we should get married, but she laughed me off and disappeared for a few days. I wasn’t worried, because I thought she just needed a few days to think through everything, but I was wrong. She came back a week later by bus. It turned out she sold her car, and used the money from it to pay for the abortion in another town.”

  Amy took a sharp intake of breath. “Jake...”

  “I thought I got over with this,” he said, not looking at her. “But when you mentioned that you were not happy about the possibility of getting pregnant and that you should have started on the pill, it all returned to me.”

  “Oh, Jake...” She sat up. “I’m sorry, that was so thoughtless and cruel of me.”

  He gave her a sad smile, which didn’t quite reach his eyes and shrugged. “You couldn’t know.”

  “What happened with her?” she asked quietly after a moment, when she settled back into his arms.

  “She got what she wanted. She’s a well known actress nowadays.” he said, meeting Amy’s curious eyes. “Have you heard about that newest adaptation of Stephen King’s latest bestseller? She plays the main part.”

  Amy’s eyes widened. “You mean, Susan Spencer?” At his nod, she added, “Really? She’s a big star.”

  “Yes, she is. And my child is dead.” He sounded terribly bitter.

  Amy wanted to say she was sorry, but it felt so inadequate. So she only wrapped her arms around him, hoping to bring him comfort.

  “For years I couldn’t understand why she did it,” he murmured quietly after a moment, his chin supported on top of her head. “She didn’t want a child, fine. But she could have given birth and later left the baby to me, not just get rid of it, like some undesirable object. Probably she was too afraid to lose her looks, you know having stretch marks after a baby or something like that.”

  Amy remembered how remarkably beautiful the actress was. Tall and slender, looking stunning in a designer gown she wore on the red carpet. No wonder Jake had dated her.

  “When she left I really couldn’t pull myself together, you know,” he continued. “I started drinking...they kicked me out of the college. It was your father who took care of me then. He gave me a job and helped me to stay on the surface.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she whispered.

  “Yeah, I owe your father a lot.” Jake cupped her face, making her look at him. “Amy, I think you need to know the truth,” he said seriously.

  She gazed at him curiously. “The truth?”

  “Yes.” He looked straight into her eyes. “Do you remember the previous time when Peter made a mess with money?”

  “Yes,” she said slowly.

  “You see, it was me who helped Thomas to get out of it.”

  Amy stared at him, stunned.” “What are you saying?

  “I gave him money then, and I would have done it again. My offer to help your father on condition that you would marry me was a total bluff. I would have rescued your father’s company anyway.”

  Jake observed her keenly, clearly afraid of her possible reaction. But Amy hid her face into her hands, and laughed shortly, “God, I’m so stupid,” she groaned, rolling onto her back. “I should have guessed you were fooling me.”

  “I wasn’t fooling you. I was dead serious,” he stressed as he leaned over her.

  “Yeah, and I thought you were some lunatic,” she remarked dryly.

  “I simply decided to use the situation to my advantage. Please, don’t look at me like that. I’m a businessman after all,” he said defensively. “I knew your father wouldn’t say no to our marriage.”

  “What?” She narrowed her eyes and pulled away from him. “You mean that you have been cooking this up for years? You and my father planned it together, didn’t you?” she accused him.

  “No, it wasn’t like that.” He tried to draw her into his arms but she resisted. “I saw the opportunity and I would have been a fool if I hadn’t grabbed it. I had absolutely nothing to lose.” He looked at her apprehensively. “Are you very mad?”

  Silence filled the room for a few long moments before she answered.

  “Will it change anything if I stay mad at you and my dad?” She shrugged. “We’re married, and it’s quite probable that I will have your baby next summer, which is not such a bad thing. What’s bad, though, is that I’m starting to like you. I’m surprisingly happy. So no, I’m not mad, not really,” she acknowledged in a resigned voice, “But I should be very angry,” she added firmly, seeing his relieved smile. “Don’t you dare think that I’ll be so compliant in the future,” she warned him.

  “I would never dare to think that,” he assured her seriously but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth and in his eyes. He stood up, reached for her hand, and helped her to stand. “Come, I’m really hungry now.”

  “What time is your father’s flight tomorrow?” he asked casually, when they returned to the kitchen and she concentrated on the previously abandoned potato salad.

  “5pm,” Amy answered calmly, “Claire had phoned last week informing me that they had decided to end their holiday.

  “I could rearrange my meetings and go the airport so we could pick them up together,” he offered.

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to. I’ll do it.”

  Amy felt his eyes on her, and knowing him well enough she sensed that he considered saying something more, but at last, he said only, “Fine. I’ll set the table.”

  Twenty minutes later, they started eating, and he returned to the subject of his father-in-law.

  “You’re worried about them coming back.” He glanced at her, “Your father and Claire.”

  She shook her head, digging her fork into the food on her plate. “No, I’m glad to have dad back here but...” She sighed and paused. He waited patiently for her to finish. Amy met his eyes and spoke wearily. “I’m afraid he’d like to go back to work full time. He’ll start asking about Peter, worrying himself about him again. All the stress will go back to him. I doubt he’ll be able to really slow down and change his lifestyle as doctors say he should.”

  Jake covered her hand with his. “I hired a new management at Carpenter & Sons. I pay them well and they’re doing a good job,” he said confidently, “I know it’s a difficult issue for your father, but he should retire. I don’t mean that he should cut himself off completely. I don’t know, he can perhaps make furniture in his free time. But, you know, just as a hobby.”

  Amy sighed miserably. “I’d love that for him, but I’m not sure how he feels about it. You know I can’t just order him to do that. He’s not a child. He must want it. And the company has been his life for years. I’m afraid it will be hard for him to just stop.”

  Jake pushed his plate away, and dabbed his lips with the elegant linen napkin Amy liked to use. “I think there’s no point in worrying yourself in advance. We shall see how things work out. Perhaps your father won’t want to return to work full time.”

  Amy didn’t look convinced. “I doubt it,” she said, standing up to gather the plates. “You’re right, though,” she said, attempting a pale smile, “I shouldn’t worry about it till we hear Dad’s decision.”

  Jake eyed her carefully. “There’s something else.” He caught her wrist, meeting her eyes.

  Amy nodded, biting her lower lip. “Peter,” she acknowledged quietly, putting the dishes back on the table. “I cannot help but worry about him. I haven’t heard from him for such a long time, since that email I mentioned to you... the one he sent to me.”

  Jake tugged gently on her hand so she stood in front of him. “Look, I know what’s going on with him,” he hesitated. “Well perhaps, not exactly, but I have some
information. I guessed you must have been worrying yourself over him and some two weeks ago I hired a detective agency to look for him.”

  Her eyes were on his face, asking to hear more. “He isn’t working at the bar any more as he wrote in the email,” Jake said.

  “But he’s all right?”

  “I don’t know,” Jake admitted reluctantly. “The detective agency lost his trace. All they know is that he quit his job on the spot after less than a month of work and left. No one knows where. He didn’t talk about his plans with anyone. They’ve checked other bars in the area. It seems he doesn’t work anywhere in New Orleans.”

  Noticing her devastated expression, he stroked her palms. “It doesn’t mean something happened to him,” he tried to convince her. “I asked them to check the police records too. They don’t have him in their system. Nobody named Peter Carpenter has been found guilty of any crime, even minor, which is a good thing. What’s more, no one of this name had been robbed or assaulted lately. I think he’s fine, just doesn’t care to contact you.”

  “Thank you for going to the trouble to find him. I really appreciate it,” she said, giving him the tiniest of smiles. Her shoulders slumped, and her head lowered. “At least we know that nothing really bad happened to him. It’s better than nothing.”

  Still holding her hands in his Jake resumed stroking the top of her palms with his thumbs. “Why is he like that?” she asked sadly, looking into his eyes. “Dad raised us the same.”

  Jake pulled her down to his lap and cradled her against his chest, rocking her steadily. “You and Thomas did everything you could for him, I’m sure of that. Your father even risked three generations of all that his family worked for just to give him some sense of purpose in life.”

  “You know sometimes I think that he’s like our mother,” Amy sighed again and hid her face into his neck, not speaking for a while, while he kept holding her, kissing her neck and hair from time to time. “I don’t remember her that well, our mother I mean,” she whispered, “I was only ten when she left us.”