by Naomi Niles
I could feel his pulse beating in rhythm with my own pounding heart, and his erection pressing against my thigh as he stretched out onto the bed beside me. Our bodies crushed against each other, grinding and pulsating as our kiss deepened and we ran our hands up and down one another.
I'd slept in my clothes the night before and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a soft cotton tee-shirt the same shade of blue as my eyes. He peeled my jeans from my body, and I returned the favor, yanking off his slacks hungrily, freeing his erection so I could stroke him there.
He groaned with pleasure at my touch, and I took him into my mouth, desperate for the taste of him, sucking him with enthusiasm. I knew that soon he would move away to France, and I might never get the chance to taste him like this again. I needed to make the most of our chance to make love right now, while I had the chance. It would be the perfect way to remember him, and the memory of our passion would sustain me until maybe one day we could be together again.
"Take it easy, or I'll come too soon." He laid me gently onto the mattress, so I was laying on my back, looking up at him, but I didn't want to go easy. I wanted to fuck, hot and wild like we had our first time together in his office.
I yanked off his necktie and shirt, sending buttons flying across the room. My hands moved slowly over the muscles of his chest, memorizing the feel of his washboard abs and swelling pectorals. My fingers found his nipples, and pinched them sharply, making his breathing grow more rapid as he kissed my neck.
"I told you to take it easy, or you'll get me too hot," Tate admonished with a playful leer. He peeled my tee-shirt up over my head, but as he slid it off over my arms, he stopped at my wrists and artfully twisted the stretchy cotton fabric into a knot that bound my wrists together like rope. Grinning down at me, he said, "This will keep you from misbehaving, my naughty girl."
He took his time with me then, kissing all over my body with his hungry mouth, savoring my nipples, kissing his way down my flat stomach to the triangle between my thighs, and diving into my delicate pink folds with an expert tongue.
When I was moments from coming, he flipped me over onto my stomach, folding my knees underneath me so my ass was sticking up in the air sensuously. My hands were still bound by the wrists, so I propped myself up on the mattress with my elbows as he delighted in spanking my bare ass with his open palm.
The erotic spanking drove me to climax, and my pussy quivered with pleasure with each smack of his palm. Then, he slid his hard dick deep into my slick, tight pussy, all the way to the hilt, and just held it there.
"Aren't you going to fuck me?"
"No, you're going to fuck me," he said. I began to thrust my hips back and forth over the length of his erection. Tate gripped my hips and slammed forward, deepening his penetration powerfully, and I feared he would split me in half, but it felt so incredibly good I didn't care.
Another orgasm was rising up within me, and I cried out, "I'm going to come."
"No, not like this." He suddenly pulled out, leaving me whimpering for more.
"Don't stop fucking me," I begged, but he removed the bonds from my wrists and laid me down on my back on the mattress.
"I refuse to fuck you." Tate put his hands upon my body tenderly and whispered, "If you're going to come, it should be while we're making love."
He entered me again, and I sighed aloud with pleasure. His hands were like magic, rubbing and caressing, squeezing and massaging, leaving no part of me untouched. His tongue danced with mine as we kissed long and deep, and filled with love and passion. His dick sunk into my ready folds slowly, with deliberate intention, as if he were trying to draw out the moment forever, and I welcomed him in, wrapping my limbs around him like a vine, caressing his muscles with my nails, and moaning with pleasure.
We undulated together as one, our bodies extensions of one heart and mind, and when we came, we did it together, deepening our bond with one another and making the experience so much more special and gratifying than I could have imagined was possible.
"I love you so much," I said to Tate. "Thank you for making love to me one last time before you go to France. I'm going to miss you so much. Maybe we can find each other again if you ever come back to California."
"You think this was my way of saying goodbye?" He sat up in bed, looking shocked and a little hurt.
"I know you want me to go with you, but I can't. This has to be goodbye. If you won't say it, then I will."
"But I already told you, I'm not letting you go. I don't just love you; I need you to live."
"I love you and need you, too, but I can't abandon my mother, and she can't move to France. She was born in California, and this is where she'll live until her final days."
"Okay, so we'll live in California," Tate stated like it was a simple and obvious fact.
"But, you wanted to move Halle away to a place where she could have a fresh start," I said, unable to hide my surprise at his sudden change of attitude.
"They have that in California. I've been doing research all night and making phone calls all morning. There are doctors who can treat your mother's cancer even in her weakened state, and all I have to do to give Halle a fresh start is to buy a new house outside of the city. I'm willing to pay whatever it costs if it means I can be with you."
"That's an awful lot of trouble to go through just for a nanny," I tried to lighten the gravity of the moment with a joke.
He took my hand in his and when he spoke his voice was hoarse with emotion. "Halle wouldn't need a nanny if she had a new mother."
"Is that a marriage proposal?" I asked, swallowing back the lump that had suddenly risen in my throat.
Tate found his clothes on the floor and removed something from his jacket pocket. When he turned around, I gasped. It was the most incredible diamond ring I had ever seen.
"Rachelle Clare, will you marry me?" he asked. I couldn't believe what my eyes and ears were telling me. This was a fantasy come true, and I felt like it had to be a dream, but it was really happening.
Throwing my arms around his neck, I kissed him passionately and cried out, "Yes, Tate Holland, I'll marry you. I would love to be Halle's mother."
"Good because I can't think of anyone better suited for the job." He grinned and took me in his arms again.
Epilogue: Rachelle
"I knew this day would come, Mama, but it's so much harder than I thought it would be," I said, barely able to hold back my emotions.
Patricia Clare chuckled heartily and gave my shoulder a loving squeeze. "If anyone can survive a tragedy like this, I know you can."
Her teasing words forced me to smile at how over-emotional I was being, and I smiled with chagrin. Still, at a time like this, I couldn't help but indulge in my sensitive side.
"I know it's not the end of the world, but I've never been through anything like this, and it's difficult for me," I said defensively.
"You've been through the first day of school plenty of times, with classrooms full of children. It always turns out fine," she said.
"Yes, but I've only experienced it from the side of being a teacher. I've never had a child attend her first day of kindergarten from the side of being a parent. It's awful!" I wailed, leaning on my mother's shoulder for comfort. "What if Halle gets picked on by another child? What if she trips on the playground and hurts herself?"
"What if? What if?" Mama my chin lifted with her hands. Reminding me to take several deep breaths, she looked at me sternly and said, "You can spend an eternity fussing over all the what ifs in life, or you can trust in God, that by His grace everything will work out in the end, just like it has so far."
"You're right, Mama. I just get carried away when it comes to Halle. I love her like she is my own daughter."
"That's because she is. You may not have birthed her, but from the moment you married her father, you've been her mother – and a damn fine one, too."
"Thanks, Mama. That's because I learned from the very best." I kissed her cheeks, and she blus
hed under the praise.
I couldn't believe it had been two years since Tate had proposed to me. We got married in a simple civil ceremony performed by a judge at the courthouse. Halle acted as a flower girl. Scott was Tate's witness and best man, and Emma was my witness and matron of honor. The cranky old maid took care of Halle for the weekend so Tate and I could have a short honeymoon, which consisted of never leaving our hotel suite.
That Monday, when we returned to the mansion, Tate asked me into his office while he called Thomas Tandy with the news, and I thought the attorney was going to have an apoplectic fit.
"You got married without a pre-nup? How could you do something so foolish? I'll draw up a post-nup right away, and Rachelle can sign that; it will work just as well for protecting your assets."
"Forget the post-nup," Tate said to him through the phone, as he looked at me with dancing eyes. "I'm done letting contracts come between Rachelle and me. The only legal document we have now is our marriage license, and that's all we'll ever need."
"So why are you calling me?" Tom sounded puzzled, but Tate's next words made his purpose clear.
"I need you to set up all the necessary paperwork to provide for Patricia Clare. She's to be transferred to the best cancer treatment hospital northern California. Then I want to buy the nearest house for sale by the hospital. If none are on the market, have my real estate agent go door to door, offering triple what the house is worth until someone agrees to sell."
"What's all this about?" He was clearly shocked.
"Patricia Clare is going to have the best treatment money can buy, and her daughter is going to be able to spend every day with her and still be able to live at home with me and Halle. What's the point of being a billionaire if I can't give my wife everything she wants in life?"
It felt strangely wonderful to hear him refer to me as his wife. After the call, we made love right on his desk. Then I had to go to Mama's apartment and help her prepare for the transfer.
She hated to leave the apartment she had lived in for so long, but we promised her it would be waiting for her when she was well enough to return. Tate had purchased the entire building to make sure she the landlord wouldn't rent it to anyone else and decided to use the time Mama was gone to renovate the building, without raising the price of rent for any of the tenants.
"Everyone deserves decent housing," he said emphatically, and I couldn't help but beam with pride.
We moved Mama to a special research hospital upstate, in the same town where Kathleen and John lived with little Melissa. Now Halle could grow up with her cousin nearby and have a sense of extended family.
Kathleen actually worked at the hospital and recommended we put Mama there where they could provide her with the most innovative treatments using state-of-the-art equipment. The staff was warm and caring, and Mama grew to like it there quickly.
Tate bought a charming house near the hospital, so every day I could visit her, but within a matter of months, her cancer was in remission, and she'd only need to return for follow-up appointments every few months to make sure it didn't return.
"When can I go back to my apartment?" Mama asked the day she was released from the hospital.
"Anytime you want," Tate said to her with a charming grin. "But Rachelle was hoping you could spend some time with us. We all were."
"I don't want to be in the way. Newlyweds need time to themselves," Mama fussed, but Tate and I just laughed.
"With Halle in the house, that's an impossibility," I explained the inside joke to her. "Please come stay with us, Mama. It would mean a lot to me."
She had hesitantly agreed, but it didn't take long for her to adjust to life in our new home. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as the Holland Mansion in Beverly Hills had been, but the sprawling country house had a warm and welcoming feeling that radiated throughout, and soon she told Tate he didn't need to save her apartment for her anymore, so he gave it to a survivor of domestic abuse and let her live there rent free with her child.
The rooms of our new house were spacious with tall windows that filled them with natural light. I had decorated each room with cheery and colorful art pieces and comfortable furniture that invited guests to sit down and stay a while. Soft throw blankets and deep cushions were a stark contrast to the staunch antiques and hard chairs that had made the mansion feel more like a museum than a home.
Outside, in the backyard, was a large swimming pool. I'd been worried it would upset Halle, but the shape and setting of the pool was so different, it was devoid of any dark memories, and we all loved swimming in the cool water. Near the pool, there was a sizeable vegetable garden where Halle and I grew fresh vegetables and some nice fruit trees that Tate helped her pick by lifting her onto his shoulders.
Mama had her own quarters, with an entire suite of rooms that included her own sitting room, kitchenette, bathroom, and bedroom. She preferred to eat her meals with us in the main dining room, however, which made Halle ecstatic.
The little girl loved having a grandmother almost as much as Mama loved being one, and it made me smile to see how they each filled each other with joy. Mama was invigorated by having a young child to dote over, and Halle thrived under the loving care of a multi-generational family.
It allowed her to cope with the traumas she'd seen back in Beverly Hills and get over any feelings of abandonment or fears of loss she may have suffered. After a while, she no longer cried in the night or clung to security objects like blankets or stuffed toys like she had back in the mansion. There were no more nightmares or days of mourning – for any of us.
Tate had been restless living out in the country at first, unsure what to do with his days since he'd decided to leave control of his companies in the hands of his CEOs.
When Mama had been going through her treatments, he had spent a lot of time talking to the staff and administration of the hospital about problems they were having with unused supplies that had to be thrown out. It seemed like such a waste, and it got him thinking. It would be so much better if uses could be found for those supplies in poverty-stricken areas.
When Mama was better and living at home with us, he decided to start a non-profit organization to do just that, naming the charity after Morton and Blake. Supplying clinics with surplus medical equipment made him aware of other needs for the poor, like job training and access to services like childcare and transportation. It made him into a full-time philanthropist, and Tate spent all his time finding ways to provide America's poorest neighborhoods with better living conditions.
"I think I work more hours now that I'm a philanthropist than when I was a business mogul," he joked one night when he collapsed into his chair at the end of a long day.
"Yeah, but you're always smiling, Daddy," Halle observed from her grandmother's lap, where they were watching television together.
"You really are," I agreed, as I sat on his lap and gave him a gentle kiss. "You seem so happy every day; it's gotten me thinking."
"About what?" he wanted to know, caressing my neck lovingly.
Swallowing hard, I glanced at my mother, and she nodded her head emphatically, encouraging me to just tell him what was on my mind.
"I was thinking of going back to work," I said awkwardly.
"You don't have to work. I'm happy to provide for you." He tried to kiss my lips, but I pulled back. It was important for him to hear what I had to say.
"I know that, but I want to. Your foundation keeps your days busy, and you always come home looking so fulfilled, it makes me want more for myself than just sitting around the house. Mama is well enough to help take care of Halle, and in another year, she'll be going to school. It seems like the right time for me to go back to work."
"You can do anything you want in life," he said encouragingly, and I released the air I didn't know my lungs had been holding. "Do you know what kind of job you want?"
"The other day, I took Halle to the park, and I heard some mothers talking. They said one of the kindergarten teache
rs at the school by the hospital was retiring. So I put in an application. I had an interview today, and they offered me the job." I flushed.
"That's fantastic! Congratulations!" Tate kissed me enthusiastically. "But why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I don't know. I didn't want you to think I wasn't happy here at home, especially when you changed your plans to move to France just to accommodate me."
"All I want is to make you happy, but I can't if you aren't honest with me. Never feel like you have to hide the truth from me or pretend to be someone you're not," he said earnestly, staring intently into my eyes.
"Okay," I promised. That night, we let Mama put Halle to bed so we could make kinky love in the shower.
That fall, I started back to work as the new kindergarten teacher at Taft Elementary School. Now, here it was, one year later, the morning of the first day of a new school year, and my stomach had more butterflies in it than I'd had on my first day of work.
"Mommy, how do I look?" Halle came bounding into the kitchen in the new outfit Tate had helped her put on, and she was positively beaming with excitement.
"You look terrific!" I kissed her cheeks and fixed the two ponytails Tate had done unevenly on the sides of her head.
"You look pretty, too, Mommy," she said after I'd finished with her hair.
"Thanks. Here's your lunch." I handed her plastic lunchbox with her favorite Disney princess on the side, trying not to get over emotional again. "Grandma will pick you up from school and take care of you until Daddy and I get home from work. Then we'll have a special dinner together and hear all about your first day at school."
Tate helped her fit the lunchbox into her new pink backpack. It looked so huge on her tiny body, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold in my tears. Turning my back so she wouldn't see the emotion in my eyes, I grabbed my purse and my car keys.
"Goodbye. Have a great first day." I rushed for the door.
"Mommy, wait!" Halle cried out in distress. "Aren't you going to take me with you to school?"