by Karen Clow
In the same way that she had come full circle, so had he. For the first time he felt totally content with his life. Since being with her, he had never so much as looked at another woman. Even on rare trips to the clubs to discuss business with Tony; he hadn’t been tempted once, despite some of the dancers offering it to him on a plate. His marriage was the most important thing to him, on a par only with their children. Maria suggested going to bed as the twins would be up in a few hours.
A few moments later, they checked on the twins before they went into their own room.
Thanking him for a wonderful day, they cuddled up together in the bed.
“It should be me thanking you babe. Now we’re married I want to legally adopt the girls.”
“That would be wonderful Mickey; it would be so nice if we all had the same name.”
He would call in at his office the following week and get the paperwork started.
The next morning; she left him sleeping when the twins woke her just after six. It was almost nine when he finally surfaced. Mickey walked up behind her and placing his arms around her waist before he kissed the back of her neck.
Turning to face him and kissing him quickly on the lips, Maria asked him to play with the girls while she made tea.
The twins were sitting on a mat on the kitchen floor playing with their toys. It warmed her heart as she watched them rolling about on the floor, he was exactly the type of father she had wished for them and it was obvious that the twins adored him.
Placing his tea on the table, she sat down to join him, but the twins were not about to be left out. One sat on his lap while the other sat on hers.
Just before ten, she carried both girls upstairs where she changed them and then put them down for a nap.
Returning back downstairs, they talked about their wedding day and how surprised they were about Monica getting married. They laughed when they recalled Father Thomas being tipsy.
In a change of topic, Mickey asked if she missed their friends in London. Of course she did, but not enough to make her want to move back. She loved it there, but why had he asked, could it be he wished they were still in London.
“No, I love it here too. I’m exactly where I want to be. Strange really, but when I think back now it’s quite frightening when I think of the chances I used to take, yet at the time it seemed normal. Now I just want a quiet life with you and the girls; it would kill me if anything happened to us.”
“Well it looks like you’re stuck with us then, because I feel the same and as for the girls, sometimes I think they love you more than me.”
“I wouldn’t say that, but they certainly have got right under my skin. If I’m honest, I never thought I would love another child the way I love Charlie, but I do. I never think about Jimmy being their dad, maybe it’s because I was there when they came into the world. Who knows babe? One thing is for sure; I couldn’t love them any more if they were mine.”
He noticed a tear run down her cheek.
As far as she was concerned, he was their dad and they couldn’t wish for a better one.
Then she joked about having a brother or sister for the twins.
Mickey raised his eyebrows; he thought they had their hands full with the twins. Maria suggested they wait then until the twins were four or five. He nodded.
With her driving test looming, she asked him to go over the Highway Code with her. The house phone rang. It was Monica calling to say they’d love to come for dinner on Friday evening, if it was still ok?
Of course it was and they could stay overnight if they wanted to. They could even send their husbands down the local pub for a drink, so they could talk.
CHAPTER 2
The next few days passed quickly with them taking the twins to the park most afternoons. Maria loved to watch him play with them and talk to people about them.
Thursday morning arrived, she was very nervous it was the day of her driving test. They had gone over the Highway Code that morning over breakfast. Despite her nerves, he kept telling her that she would be just fine, but she was less confident even though her driving instructor had repeatedly told her she was a very good driver and that she should easily pass.
Her instructor arrived at nine to pick her up, because she had a double lesson booked before her test. Mickey and the twins waved her off.
The two hours flew by for Maria.
Just after midday, her instructor dropped her back at the house.
Mickey and the twins were in the playroom; he didn’t hear her come in until she opened the playroom door. He couldn’t tell from her expression whether or not she had passed.
“Well?” said Mickey “how did you get on babe?”
“I passed!” she yelled unable to contain her excitement a moment longer.
Mickey said he never doubted she would as he picked her up and swung her round. Telling her they should get ready or they’d be late, she asked late for what.
He’d booked a table at Maria’s restaurant for two o’clock to celebrate her passing.
She hugged and kissed him.
By two they were talking to Jeremy while they chose a dessert.
Mickey nodded at Jeremy who moments later appeared with a large cake in the shape of an L plate, piped in red and white icing. Leon had made it especially for her.
Thanking them she was quite overwhelmed.
When they left the restaurant around four, she had expected to go straight home, but he had arranged to call in at his parents’ house and then if there was time, to see Shaun and Ann.
They left London around nine that evening. Both the girls were asleep in the car within minutes of leaving Shaun and Ann’s.
All the way home, Maria talked about the wonderful time she’d had and that she had the most wonderful husband.
“Well perhaps when we get to bed tonight” said Mickey with a grin “you can show me just how wonderful you think I am? Something raunchy, maybe something in black leather, I seem to remember buying you a little black number a few months back and I don’t remember you wearing it.”
She knew exactly which outfit he was referring to. When he bought it she had thought it was too kinky, but as he had been so wonderful that day she thought she would make an effort.
It was almost eleven by the time they got home and settled the girls down for the night. Leaving him in their room she went into the guest room to change into the outfit. She didn’t have a problem with dressing up; she saw it as adding spice to her marriage, especially when she was with Jimmy and for the best part she enjoyed it. However the outfit that Mickey had bought for her was far removed from anything she had worn before. It consisted of leather hot pants, a strappy chest support made up of leather strips that fitted across her breasts, exposing her nipples, finished off with black leather knee-high boots and a whip resembling a cat of nine tails. Last but not least was a leather studded choker. It took her almost twenty minutes to get into it, the chest straps being very fiddly. Looking at herself in the mirror she thought she looked like a dominatrix, although in truth she did actually find the overall effect very raunchy and definitely sexy. Despite this, she still felt a little embarrassed and uneasy and had no idea what his reaction would be. When he had bought it they had been looking on the internet for fancy dress costumes and had come across it. At the time they had joked about her wearing it, even though he would never have let her wear it other than for sex and certainly not as a fancy dress costume at a party.
Unbeknown to her, he had ordered it as a surprise, but regardless of the reason why he bought it, she was determined to make sure he enjoyed it.
Taking a deep breath she walked into their bedroom. He was lying on the bed naked and she could tell by his expression he liked what he saw and was instantly aroused.
“Jesus Christ babe” he gasped “you look fantastic!”
Just like a real dominatrix; she didn’t answer him but walked towards him and ordered him to roll over. As he laid face down, she gently ran the whip ac
ross his buttocks.
Continuing to act out the role play, she tied his hands to the bed head and whipped him for a full five minutes, although never hard enough to actually hurt him.
Seductively she ran the whip over his chest and down to his erection. She could see that he was really enjoying everything she was doing.
Gently biting his nipples, she straddled him. Fully aware that he was almost at boiling pitch she moved down his body and took him into her mouth. Within minutes he was coming. She had complete control over him and a few moments later she was gripping the bed head. His tongue teased her before finding the exact spot. She didn’t last very long.
When she moved back down his body, touching and kissing him she could see that he was becoming hard again. Straddling him, she rode him like a wild mustang, until finally they were both exhausted and she untied him. Taking the rest of the outfit off, she lay down next to him.
“Fuck me babe that was fantastic!” said Mickey “did you enjoy it?”
“Yes I did actually, it was different.”
“Did you dress up like that for Jimmy?”
He realised immediately he’d offended her, when she instantly sat up looked down on him and asked why he would ask that. He hadn’t meant to upset her, he’d simply been curious. Realising she’d been too quick to judge him; she said no. It wasn’t like that with Jimmy. She wouldn’t have felt comfortable. Jimmy didn’t have much control and she knew he would have taken things too far and probably hurt her.
“I’ll never hurt you babe. Funny thing is usually when people get married their sex life can get a bit dull, yet with us it just gets better and better. If I’d have known just how good it was going to be I would have become a bigamist and married you years ago!”
They both laughed as she tickled him.
“You’re the sexiest lady I’ve ever met. There are so many things I want us to do.”
Despite everything being said in a loving manner, he noticed that she seemed to go a bit quiet. After a few seconds of her silence, he asked if something was wrong.
She asked what sort of things he was referring too. Only there were some things she would never do. She would never have a threesome, or sleep with another woman.
“Good,” he instantly replied “because I would never ask you to do either of those things. I was simply referring to dressing up, that type of thing. Anyway, if you think for one minute I would let anyone else have sex with you then you don’t know me very well. It certainly wouldn’t appeal to me.”
“But you have had a threesome Mickey?” she replied almost on the brink of tears.
“I don’t know what Monica has been telling you babe, but it’s a lie.”
“It wasn’t Monica, it was Jimmy. He told me about the time you had a threesome with Della.”
“Christ that was years ago and she was nothing but a slag!” he replied looking embarrassed. “We’d all been drinking, it meant nothing to me. Jimmy shouldn’t have told you. Anyway, why have you waited ‘til now to say something?”
Unable to hold back her tears, she began to cry. Realising he’d been a bit harsh he sat up and hugged her.
“I would never share you with anyone and I’ll never want another woman. Unlike Jimmy I would never jeopardise what we’ve got!”
Thanking him she kissed his cheek.
As far as he was concerned she didn’t have to thank him and for the record it didn’t get any better than what they had. Apologising, she said it was because Jimmy was unfaithful, she found it hard sometimes to trust and she knew Mickey had been unfaithful to Monica.
“Babe it was never like this with me and her. I’ve told you, you’re everything I want, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
“I hope so Mickey. I couldn’t bear the thought of you with someone else; it would kill me, not to think what it would do to the girls.”
“I’ll let you into a secret babe” he said as he gently swept her hair back from her face “I’ve never felt this way about anybody. I love you more than my life. I would die without you. For the first time in my life I feel content; you and the girls are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” she said as she kissed him “because I feel the same way; we’re soul mates.”
Snuggling up to him, she suggested getting some sleep as the twins would be awake in a few hours.
They had barely slept when the twins woke up. She left him sleeping, while she got them up and took them downstairs for breakfast. It was almost half ten when he finally woke up.
Entering the kitchen, he walked over to her and placed his arms around her waist, he whispered in her ear that she’d been incredible the previous night then kissed her neck.
At that moment, Melanie spotted him from where they were playing on the floor. Within minutes he had both girls on his lap as Maria made him a cup of tea.
CHAPTER 3
In the West End, Nathan was at the club with Davy Sheridan. For some time he had been concerned over the way his boss was gambling. It was like an obsession. Several people had called at the club during the past few weeks, demanding money that he owed and even he’d noticed how cocky Davy had become. On many occasions he had tried to talk to him about the people he was pissing off, but like his granddad before him, Davy wouldn’t listen to any advice. Nathan was well aware what some of these people were capable of, they certainly weren’t petty criminals. Some of them were very high profile and feared because of their ruthlessness.
The club had just closed. Normally Davy would have gone home leaving Nathan to lock up, but he had stayed behind to count the takings. Like most of the clubs in London, it had been a very profitable night. Nathan had just gone to secure the main doors when he was jumped by two heavies. Leaving him lying on the club floor they made their way to the office.
Davy was sitting at his desk as the door opened. He expected it to be Nathan to ask if he was ready. Unexpectedly, the two bruisers appeared. Davy carefully opened his desk draw, inside there was a small hand gun.
“Our boss wants his money Mr Sheridan!” said one of them threateningly.
“I was just about to drop it round to him” said Davy “his place is on my way home.”
“Well looks like we’ve saved you a journey then.”
Davy carefully put his hand on the gun. Just as he was about to take it out Nathan appeared in the doorway, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. He stood there momentarily assessing the situation. Then looking as though he was about to do something, Davy shook his head. The two bruisers just stared at him. Nathan knew that if they had come to kill his boss, he would be dead. He asked Davy if everything was ok.
“Yes everything’s fine Nathan, these gentlemen are here to collect something, why don’t you go and have a drink and I’ll be along in a minute.”
Glaring at the bruisers, he turned to walk out.
“Sorry about your head, just a little misunderstanding,” said one of the blokes as Nathan was about to close the door behind him.
Nathan didn’t reply he just glared at him.
A few minutes later the two men left the office, as they walked past him they nodded, but again he just stared at them as he followed them to the main door locking it behind them. As he walked back towards the office Davy came out. He apologised to Nathan that the blokes had been rough. It was as though he was trying to make light of what had happened.
“I didn’t recognise them, but I will next time. Frankly Davy, I don’t like being fucking jumped! I take it they were here for money? I’ve warned you about the way you’re carrying on, one day you’ll piss off the wrong people.”
Realising his bodyguard was less than impressed; Davy said it wasn’t anything to do with gambling. It was business that was all.
Nathan knew he was lying, but he declined from arguing about it.
As he drove home he thought to himself that if Davy didn’t sort hi
s affairs out, he would be looking for a new minder. Being his bodyguard and friend was one thing, getting his throat cut for him was quite another.
Less than a week later Davy Sheridan had been on a winning streak having played in several high stake games, but his luck was just about to run out. That night he was attending a big name game, several high profile people were there. Davy was known to some of them because they had done business with his granddad.
The atmosphere was heavy as the ante rose and it wasn’t long before Davy knew he was well out of his depth. Knowing it and walking away were two entirely different things. Just like his granddad he had an air of arrogance about him and he didn’t like to lose. Nathan had accompanied him as muscle and even he could see that Davy was in over his head.
As the night progressed, Davy got in deeper and deeper, even though he had won a couple of hands, it was nothing compared to what he lost. As the final game played he bet heavily on his hand, playing the bluff that his hand was better than it was. Trouble was there were a couple of big time poker players there who were holding great cards. The pot was just over two hundred grand. Davy had no choice but to call it as he was down to his last few grand. He looked gutted as the bloke sitting opposite him took the pot. For the first time, he felt vulnerable. Most of his money was tied up. He had several business deals going down. There was one coming up in the next couple of days, which he knew he’d have to make a large payment on, but he had just gambled and lost the money.
“I need to come up with some money fast Nathan,” said Davy as they drove home after the game.
“Is there anyone you could borrow it from?” said Nathan knowing the trouble that would come if Davy couldn’t pay up.