by T L Swan
“Hello.”
“How is my beautiful girl, today?”
I smile broadly. “She’s excited to be hearing from you.”
“Aye. That’s a good answer.” I smile again. “Are you missing me?” I ask.
“Not at all.”
“I’m not missing you, either.” I smirk.
“My love, I have to work tomorrow night. Can you stay at Brielle’s?”
I frown. Oh, he’s never asked that of me before. “I will be okay in the house by myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I shake my head and roll my eyes. “I’m not a child, Alastar.”
“I know, I know. I just don’t want you to be scared I may not get home till the wee hours.”
“It’s fine. I will go out for dinner with Brell. It will be nice to catch up and she might stay at your house, if that’s okay. Depends on her wanker of a boss.”
“It’s our house, and yes, that’s a good idea.”
I smile. It’s weird that he calls his house our house.
I feel him smile on the other end of the phone. “So, you’re not missing me at all?” he asks.
“Not even a little bit.”
I feel him smile once more.
“How many days until we get married?” I breathe dreamily.
“I still have three days to plan my escape.”
I smile broadly. “Can you up your life insurance so I get a bigger payout when you go missing.”
He laughs out loud. “I will be sure to kill you first, Emmaline. Goodbye, my love.”
I smile broadly, oh I don’t want to get off the phone. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m editing with Fraidy.” I get an image of him on his computer in his office with that crazy cat sprawled all over his desk. “What are you doing?” he asks in return.
“Boring meetings.”
“You don’t have to work, you know.”
“And what would I do all day?” I smirk.
“You could be my sex slave.”
“I already am.”
He chuckles. “Aye, that you are. I will see you on our corner.”
“Yes,” I breathe dreamily.
“Emerson,” Deirdre whispers. “They are waiting for you.” I frown. Oh shit, that’s right. The police are here for me.
“I got to go, babe. Love you.”
“What do you want me to cook for dinner?” he asks.
I notice Mark come out of the conference room looking for me. Oh shit.
“Your dick. I got to go. See you at five.” I hang up in a rush and stand and make my way to the conference room.
Knock knock.
“Come in,” Mark calls.
I smile nervously at the two gentlemen sitting down while Mark stands. “Emerson, this is Detective Trout and Detective Michaels.” These are different officers than I met the other day.
“Hello.” I shake their hands.
The taller officer puts his hand out to the chair. “Please, take a seat.”
“Thank you.” I fall nervously into the chair.
“We understand that you have come across some suspicious activity in your time here.”
“Yes.”
“We have been through the case and it does seem to have a link. You are correct in your findings and have done the right thing by reporting it. Mark mentioned you were worried that you hadn’t done the right thing.”
I take a glance at Mark and he smiles reassuringly.
“Oh, that’s good. The other officers put my mind at ease the other day. I was worried I was imagining this whole thing.”
The taller officer shakes his head. “No. There is a definite link and there are real crimes going on here, as well as in other auction houses.”
I smile nervously.
“We will be contacting the people who have been robbed and getting statements and going back through the cases. We may need to call on you for more information if needed.”
I nod. “Of course.”
“In the meantime, I want you to keep an eye on the activity around the office and see if you notice anything suspicious.”
My eyes widen and I look at Mark again.
“I really don’t think it is an inside job,” Mark replies.
“Probably not, but we just wanted to personally thank Emerson for her help with the matter.”
The officer shakes my hand. “Well done, Emerson. Good work.” I smile proudly.
“Thank you for coming.” Mark shakes their hands.
“Emerson, remember, not a word to anyone or you could jeopardize the whole case.”
I nod. “Yes, of course. Goodbye.”
The officers leave and I turn to Mark. “Well done, Emerson. I’m glad you came to me. We will catch this thief.” He smirks and throws me a conceited wink.
I smile, relieved. “Thank you.”
He stands with his hands in his pockets and his eyes hold mine. He’s waiting for me to say something.
“Mark, I want us to be friends. I’m sorry about the whole Alastar thing. I didn’t mean to meet him. Sometimes things are out of our control. Your friendship means a lot to me, though.”
He smiles his first genuine smile he has given me in weeks. “I would like that too, Em.”
I point to the door. “I better get back to work.”
He smiles as he opens the door for me. “Please.”
I leave the office and I want to jump in the air in excitement. I feel like I have really accomplished something.
This is a big week of change in my life.
* * *
The warmth of the fire dances on my face and I struggle to keep my eyes open. It’s unimaginable doing anything else on a night now.
He picks me up from our corner at five and we kiss like long lost lovers who are desperate to see each other. We go home, drink wine, talk and laugh about our day as my Twinkle star cooks us dinner.
We shower or take a long hot bath together, and then make love in front of the fire on a mattress on the bedroom floor.
I smile. At first the mattress on the floor would annoy Alastar. He would pack it up every day because he likes things in order and neat. But I have noticed that for the last two days, he has simply made the bed on the floor. It now has its own permanent, soft woolen blankets and plush pillows. I think he loves our fire time as much as I do and I can’t imagine us not doing this anymore. We are naked and under the blankets. Alastar’s body is spooning me from behind, and his head is hitched up on pillows while his hand roams adoringly over my naked body as we bask in our lovemaking afterglow. I smile sleepily as he kisses my cheek.
“I need to buy a wedding dress,” I murmur sleepily.
“Hmm,” he moans into my neck. “Just wear anything. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s only us.”
“Does it bother you that it is only going to be us?” I ask.
“No. Why would it?” He frowns and lays me down to look at my face. “Does it bother you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I hesitate. “I always imagined my parents being at my wedding.”
“And they will be. Next time.” He kisses my lips gently. “But you know what will happen if we tell other people.”
I look down and know that he’s right. “Everyone will freak out and try and talk us out of it because we just met,” I whisper.
“Yes. And we are getting married because of us. Only us. I like the idea of it being just the two of us for the first time. This thing what we are sharing is intimate and special, and call me selfish, but I don’t want to share it with anyone else. I don’t want to waste one day with you. I want you as my wife as soon as possible.”
I smile softly as he kisses my lips.
“We will book another ceremony for twelve months’ time and not tell them about this one if you want.”
“Is that okay?” I ask hopefully. I really don’t want to have the conversation with my parents or Brielle. They will totally freak. At least in twelve months’ time
they can sort of expect it.
He smiles softly. “Of course.” He brushes his hand back over my hair. “I don’t want you to have to be justifying to anyone how we feel about each other. Nobody has to know we are married. But I will know and I will cherish it.”
I kiss his beautiful lips. “I love you,” I whisper as I rub my fingertips through his stubble, my eyes searching his.
“I know you do and that’s I why I can’t wait.”
I smile. “This is crazy,” I whisper.
His lips touch mine. “Crazy good.”
* * *
Flume is playing throughout the house and Brielle and I are sitting at the kitchen bench drinking wine and eating Camembert cheese and crackers that Alastar has laid out for us. It’s just gone 8pm and Alastar is getting ready for work.
“What happened then?” I frown into my glass.
Brielle is filling me in on the Mr. Master debacle. “Okay.” She takes a sip. “So I was lying on the lounge with a blanket over me, and the kids were lying on the floor on bean bags. We were all watching a movie.”
I nod. “Yes. What time was this?”
“About nine last night. He came in from work and asked what we were watching.”
I put some crackers and cheese into my mouth as I listen. “What were you watching?” I ask.
“Total Recall.”
“Love that movie,” I mumble with my mouth full.
“Classic,” she mutters into her glass. “Anyway, he sits down at my feet on the sofa and pulls the blanket over his thighs and picks up my feet to put them onto his lap under the blanket.”
I frown.
Alastar comes into the kitchen and opens the cupboards under the sink. He rattles around in a box.
Brielle hesitates and points at Alastar’s back with her glass. She obviously doesn’t want him to hear this conversation. It has taken a lot of begging from me for her to give Alastar a second chance, and thankfully, she is putting my feelings before hers and making peace with him. I need them to get along.
What is he doing there? “What’s wrong?” I ask him. He never loses anything. It’s a huge perk of being organized.
“Have you seen my leather gloves?” He frowns as he puts his hands on his hips in thought.
I frown as I try to think. “Last time I saw them you put them in your briefcase for work yesterday.”
“Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath.
“What do you need gloves for?” Brielle asks.
“The lights and equipment get hot,” Alastar replies.
“Where are you going again?” Brielle asks.
“Shooting a cover,” he replies, distracted.
“Oh, can we come?” she asks excitedly.
Alastar puts his arm around me casually. “Next time you can. This is a closed set tonight.”
“Why?” I frown as I crunch on a cracker.
“The models are going to be naked.”
My mouth drops open in horror. “Are… are you kidding me?” I stammer.
He pulls my head back and kisses me. “Yes. Were you jealous?”
I narrow my eyes at him. Brielle laughs and holds her glass up to him in approval.
Alastar kisses me quickly again and leaves the room in search for his missing gloves.
Brielle smiles broadly. “You two do seem very cozy.”
I smile as I grab her hand. “I have so much to tell you at dinner. Cozy doesn’t even come close.”
“Mr. Masters,” I reply to guide the conversation back to her.
Her eyes widen. “Anyway, so he is sitting on the lounge with my feet on his lap and he starts to run his hand up and down my foot.”
“Oh shit,” I whisper. “Aren’t you ticklish?” I couldn’t handle that shit, “Chinese torture chamber shit,” I murmur around my crackers.
She shakes her head at my stupid question.
“What did you do?” I frown.
She shrugs and drains her glass. “I sat and pretended to watch stupid fucking Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
“Oh.” My eyes widen as I refill our glasses. I pass hers to her. “So… he had your foot and was rubbing it with his hand.”
“We will leave in ten, girls,” Alastar calls from the lounge.”
“Okay,” I reply. He is dropping us at the restaurant on his way.
She leans in so Alastar can’t hear her and I instinctively do the same. “He moved my foot so I could feel his erection in his pants.”
“What?” I whisper, wide-eyed. Holy crap. “I don’t believe this!”
“I know, right?” She sculls her wine.
“What did you do?”
“I laid there and let him rub himself up with my foot.”
I choke on my wine. “W-w-what?” I stammer.
“He rubbed my foot back and forth over his erection, Em.”
My mouth drops open in shock.
She shakes her head and drains her glass. I burst out laughing and put my hand over my mouth. “This guy is a fucking deviant.” I murmur.
“Tell me about it,” she replies dryly.
“What happened?” I whisper. “God, I love these stories.” I hold up my glass and she clinks it with hers.
She shrugs. “I think he came.”
My eyes widen. “What?” I gasp.
“Who came?” Alastar replies casually as he walks into the room.
Oh shit, he heard us. My guilty eyes land on Brielle.
“Bianca’s boyfriend arrived today,” she blurts.
Alastar checks back under the sink. “Who is Bianca?” he asks without looking up.
My eyes widen and I shake my head. God, I wish I could think fast on my feet like her.
“Our friend from Australia,” Brielle replies casually. “Her boyfriend arrived today.” She widens her eyes and shrugs her shoulders and I drop my head to hide my smile at her easy bullshitting ways.
I turn to Alastar who is openly stressed out. “Can you still not find your gloves?” I ask.
“No and it’s fucking pissing me off.” He pulls out the third drawer in a rush. “I saw another old pair here the other day, but I can’t recall where.” He murmurs deep in thought.
I think for a moment. I did see a pair somewhere. “Oh, they are in the laundry underneath the sink. I saw them there yesterday when I was doing the laundry.”
He winks sexily and disappears into the laundry.
“So, what happened then?” I whisper.
She leans back in to me. “I think he came on my foot.”
“And the kids were in the room?” I ask, horrified.
“Yes, but God knows I wasn’t thinking about them.”
I shake my head. “You are such a shit nanny. Who jacks off the dad with their foot when the kids are in the room?”
She laughs out loud. “I really am. It’s true.”
“And then?”
“And then he got harder and harder and the look he was giving me was almost making me orgasm on the spot.”
“Oh, this is hot,” I whisper. “It’s like reality porn.”
“And then he held my foot tight onto him, and I swear, I felt his cock jerk as he came.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “Then what?”
She throws up her hands in despair. “Then the fucking movie ended, didn’t it?”
“Oh.” My face falls. “So he didn’t return the favor?”
“No.” She shakes her head in disgust. “Then the kids got up and the moment was totally ruined so he got up and disappeared into his room.”
I laugh. “Brielle, I can’t actually believe this shit is happening to you.”
“Do you think I can?”
“What happened at breakfast?”
“Get this.” She rolls her eyes for effect. “He said he loved the movie night and maybe we should have another one on Saturday night.”
My eyes widen as I chew my thumb.
“And Willow said that Brielle doesn’t work on Saturday nights.”
I frown.
“And he said, I know. I want her to not feel obliged to watch movies with us.”
I narrow my yes. “What’s that code for?” I ask.
“That’s code for I want to use your foot to masturbate me again, but I want you to choose whether you want to do it or not, because you are not on the payroll during that time.”
I frown. “Shit. What did you say?”
She shakes her stupid head. “I said I want to watch movies all weekend, like a fucking loser.”
I laugh out loud and clink my glass. “You should take the pesky kids back to grandma’s and watch a different type of movie.”
“I should,” she mutters dryly.
I sip my wine as I think. “You should get a pedicure tomorrow.”
She smirks. “Pedi and laser already booked.”
Alastar reenters the room and puts an old pair of gloves onto the bench.
“You found some then?” I ask as I pick them up. “Oh, these are old.” I smile as I hold them in my hands. This would be annoying him no end. He has to have the best of everything. The gloves are old and worn and have orange paint dripped down the pinky finger and onto the back of the right hand. “What’s the orange paint from?” Brielle asks.
“I painted a background set once with them on,” he replies unamused.
“What time will you be home?” I ask.
Alastar shrugs and he pulls me into his arms. “Not soon enough. Hopefully about three.” He kisses me quickly. “Lets go, I’m going to be late.”
* * *
The restaurant is dark and lit only with lanterns and candles. It’s Italian and gorgeous. It’s so nice spending time with Brell. I have missed her. Alastar is consuming every waking thought of mine. It’s like he’s been in my life forever and I can’t remember what life was like without him.
“Now, tell me about your weekend?” She smiles.
“Well, we went to meet his parents in Ireland.”
Her eyes light up. “What’s Ireland like?”
“Like something on a postcard. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
She smiles as the waiter brings our drinks. “What are his family like?”
“Gorgeous, just like Thomas.”
“How is Thomas?” she asks. “I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks.”