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The Arrangement Ch. 1

By: ReturnedOne



The following short story represents a letter sent by the author to an online friend with whom he has enjoyed a long relationship without any physical contact. He has always kept her informed of any offline recreational activities he enjoys and she has reciprocated in kind. This letter was written as a report of one such offline meeting of which she had taken part in the planning. She was aware of a previous "accidental connection" at an earlier conference and knew that the author was planning to meet his "conference paramour" at this event.

* * * * *

She was black. An incredible shade of black I was not accustomed to seeing in any social or business setting. Not chocolate. Not café au lait. Not the mahogany of the professional models who grace the covers of Ebony or Elle or even Vogue, but a rich, deep, dark, ebony hue that this old man's eyes had never had the pleasure of appreciating in the flesh, so to speak.

As she paced back and forth in front of the assembled conference participants, cordless microphone in one hand, the lighting often cast her skin color into the blue-black indigo range of the spectrum. She was extraordinary in her carriage as well. She was not a tall woman; but she was a big woman, perhaps only 5' 5" tall and most likely 145-150 lbs. She was purposeful in her movements and let everyone in the assembled group know that she was a force to be reckoned with.

Her most incredibly attractive feature was her hair - long, inordinately long, jet black and brilliantly lustrous in the overhead lighting. Her entire face was set in an inky frame that solidified the idea in my mind that this was a hugely sexual being. A thin sheen of - of what? Perspiration? Natural skin oils? Whatever it actually was, it turned her skin into a shiny obsidian that reflected the light from the small spotlights in the ceiling directly back into my eyes and stunned me with a smothering effect. 

I stiffened at my table as her eyes found mine, locked for a second, then moved on to another target around the room. Had there been a moment of recognition there? A moment of communication? I felt it; but I did not understand it.

My reason for being here in suburban Philadelphia at a conference of advisers and counselors from colleges and universities in the eastern part of the state was simple: I intended to get laid; again. Let me digress a bit here, dear reader. Approximately nine months ago I attended a similar conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania and met an incredible woman with whom I enjoyed an afternoon and an evening of truly romantic passion. For some reason, our goals at that very moment meshed so that both of us attributed the electric charge that surged through us when we were first introduced, as a sign that something else - something much more definitive - was about to take place in our commingled lives. 

We learned about each other during a long, luncheon discussion. We learned that we were both married to partners who no longer cared for the physical side of a relationship and had supplanted that factor with other things - in my wife's case, the spiritual life of a fundamentalist church group, in her husband's case, an overwhelming vicarious experience in watching sports of any and all kinds. We looked at each other quite naively and expected that we would feel something and walk away from it at the end of the day. How wrong we were!

Our afternoon and evening were spent in a romantic hotel room with snacks and treats and an unbelievable marathon of sexual tenderness. She very quickly accepted the fact that at my age, actual intercourse was a sidelight to the big event and relaxed into a receiver's role to my repeated onslaughts of oral attention. This, for some odd reason, had become an honest-to-God fetish with me over the past ten years or so. I find that I much prefer to ravish a woman orally - repeatedly - than to engage in any form of genital copulation that would be less than satisfactory to her. After a few polite protests, she understood that I could be fulfilled emotionally by providing her repeated peaks and valleys of delicious orgasm with fingers, thumbs, lips, teeth and tongue. It became evident that she was enthralled with the idea that she could take all she wanted from the afternoon and not be fearful of having let her partner down in her part of the bargain.

What I have failed to mention to this point is, she was black -- my very first black woman of any consequence in a loving, physical relationship. And I learned very quickly in that long afternoon that black is, indeed, beautiful; and there is a taste and texture difference, which simply cannot be described by a mortal man with a limited vocabulary.

When we parted, we arranged to meet again at this particular conference. She would, again, be moderating a discussion panel and I would be a willing participant in the audience - until after the conference; and then my participation would take on a different attitude -- or so we thought at the time.

Somehow, we lost contact for a while. E-mails dropped off in their frequency and I assumed that the interest had been fleeting on her part and she had decided that the rendezvous in Philadelphia was a poor idea. I accepted that. She had much to lose in her position, and I was treading on thin ice in my own marriage as my wife had already allowed suspicion about my online activities to take over her life. She had become a private investigator of the enth degree and had actually confronted me with her suspicions. So I, too, was not too certain this would be a good idea.

Two days before the conference, I heard from her. She was sexually delirious with the idea that we could have the opportunity to renew our passion and told me she was quite anxious to connect in Philadelphia. I could not say no. I could not tell her that in the meantime I had met someone else online and had planned to meet that woman at the hotel where the conference was to be held.

I was, indeed, in a quandary.

So, here I sat in the conference hall, watching this new woman walk back and forth across the stage, comparing her to the one I had met some months ago. Opposites, to be sure. Where my first black involvement had been tall, willowy and café au lait in color, this woman was short, compact and as black as the inside of Hades. I wondered where my "friend" might be. I supposed she was conducting a seminar in one of the other meeting rooms, but had not yet seen her. I hoped she would make contact soon and we could slip away for lunch to make plans. I had already reserved a room upstairs and hoped that we could arrange things so that she and I would skip all afternoon sessions and retire to our romantic tryst for the entire afternoon. My sordid plan was to tell her, then, that I could not stay the evening because of family problems and make her afternoon one to remember for a long time. That way, I could meet my new online partner for the evening and hope that my physical stamina would withstand the attention of two women.

But I did not see her anywhere during any of the refreshment breaks, in the halls between sessions, or at lunch when we were ushered into the huge banquet hall. I scanned the crowd with anxious eyes but found only the woman from that morning weaving her way through the tables toward where I was standing. I paid little attention to her and continued to search the crowd for my lost lover. I even moved out of her way when she approached the table where I was standing.

She, however, did not move; and she stood directly in front of me and extended her hand to take mine, saying, "I think we have a mutual friend."

The details of our lunch conversation need not be reproduced here in their entirety. Let it simply be said that we adjourned to a small Italian restaurant a block away for some privacy (her suggestion, not mine) and shared an antipasto. Her contact was deliberate. My previous romantic liaison had informed her about me, about my propensity for a particular type of sexual stimulation, and the fact that I would be at this conference looking for her. At the last minute, she could not be present and thought that this woman might be an apologetic substitute for me.

I was stunned, to say the least. To think that two women had actually discussed me. To think that my performance in a romantic interlude had been the topic of several evenings' conversation between friends. Actually, I was immensely flattered. And apprehensive.

And here was my way out; a way to clear the way for the already-scheduled meeting with my online friend. I could very simply be polite in my refusal to become involved. I could easily explain to her that last February's activities were a one-time-happening. But I didn't. Why didn't I?

Simple. This woman exuded more sexuality than any woman I have ever met. She was so animal-like in her appearance - almost predatory - that I was mesmerized and agreed to everything she proposed. She explained she could only stay the afternoon since she was traveling into the city for another appearance that evening. This, of course, fell directly into the plan I had cooked up for the day, anyway.

We returned to our hotel and I led her to the room I had arranged. What was her plan for the afternoon? This was not a romantic liaison, as had been the one in Hershey. This was a deliberately planned afternoon of sex -- simple, unadulterated sex. I honestly did not know if I was up to it. For the first time in my life, I had doubts about what I was going to be able to accomplish.

She wasted no time at all in giving me clues as to her intentions. She was wearing a beautiful beige cashmere business suit and removed the jacket to reveal a matching beige silk blouse. Her breasts were huge and stretched the silk to its limit. I could see the lace on the tops of the cups of her bra, also beige it appeared, contrasted starkly against her dark skin. I am not a breast man. I have never been a breast man, or boy, or teen. I much prefer a woman's nether regions - those regions not seen by many, hidden from view until the woman decides to reveal them for her own reasons. But, in this case, I was stunned. My gaze could not be torn from those melon-shaped hills pressing for release from their lacy prison. I resorted to a juvenile phase and whispered, "Oh, my God!" She laughed and lifted them with her two hands and asked if I liked them. I responded in the affirmative, and she remarked that she had heard I was not usually attracted to a woman's breasts. 

I gave her the short version of what I did prefer and stepped closer to her in the thought that I would now take over the direction for the afternoon. No. It was not to be. She put her hands against my chest and told me to relax on the side of the bed, that she was responsible for the afternoon and that our mutual friend had described exactly how she should go about pleasing me.

Argue with her? You've got to be kidding! I sat down on the edge of the bed and simply watched as she removed the articles of clothing she had on. Small brown heels, straight beige skirt, (no stockings), half-lace cup bra, (a later peek while she was in the bathroom gave me the size of 42D), all laid carefully on the back and arms of the overstuffed chair at the other side of the room. Each trip to the chair and back to stand in front of me brought me to a higher state of rigidity and readiness, I must admit. I was totally enjoying the "show" so to speak.

Standing in front of me in only a pair of French-cut beige panties, she put her hands on her hips and asked again if I liked what I saw. I informed her that she appeared to be the most delicious woman I had ever seen. Her breasts were large, as I said earlier, but appeared to sag very little. They simply imposed upon her chest as a resting place for their wondrous roundness. What struck me, though, was the appearance of her aureoles and nipples. Coal-black, and huge. When I say 'huge' I mean the aureoles must have measured at least 3 ½ or 4 inches across. And the nipples were nearly ¾ of an inch long. I looked at her face (yes, I tore my eyes from that feast) and asked, "May I?" She laughed and lifted them for me so that they pushed together even more and I experienced a newfound surge of sexual excitement. I touched them and found the skin to be as silky as one could imagine. I allowed the fingertips of both hands to slide along their sides and find the aureoles to draw circles around them, watching them swell and crinkle as the nipples extended themselves like black diamonds, hard, stiff, begging to be kissed.

She murmured, "Oh, shit!" and then giggled a little, which made her breasts move in such a way that I thought I was going to lose it. Of course, I immediately leaned forward in my seated position and captured a nipple in my mouth, sucking it in as deeply as I could. I rolled the other nipple between thumb and forefinger as I bit and licked and flicked and sucked the other.

She yelped and moved back from me, taking her treasures with her. "That's not quite what I had planned, Edward," she laughed. I looked her up and down again and noticed that there was a definite wet spot in the front of her panty crotch. Well, I was having an effect whether I thought so or not. She must have noticed my stare and asked if I would like to help her out of them. Of course, I agreed, and she stepped close enough for me to stroke my hands across the expanse of silky material that covered her ass and then around to the front panel where I slipped my one hand between her incredible thighs and cupped her mound, squeezing slightly with my thumb pressed against the bump at the apex of her swollen lips. I could see how puffy she was through the panties, but what I had actually not taken notice of before (and this is truly out of character for me) was that she was unbelievably hairy at the front of her mound. I breathed in and knew that we were about to embark on something very special. Her aroma was striking. It not only invaded my nostrils, it assaulted my entire olfactory sense, bringing a sharp, delicious pain to my salivary glands, which immediately began to produce liquid. They knew I was in for a wonderful taste experience. 

She playfully slapped my hand away and told me to hurry before she ruined a $20 pair of silk "drawers." I obliged by rolling her panty waistband down along her hips and when it reached mid-hip, I began to realize what I was in store for.

Her bush bulged upward and outward as I released it from its silky trappings. It was monstrous - monstrous in size, not in appearance. There was so much hair! I wondered how she ever kept it trapped inside a bathing suit when she went swimming. It narrowed from a very wide-topped triangle down into the dark valley between her thighs. Her legs were not spread at all and I could not see much else between them, though I strained to look. In one swift motion, her panties were around her ankles and I was helping her off with them. I brought them to my nose and mouth and enjoyed the scent and the taste for a moment before she reached for them. I leaned back and held them out of her reach. "No, dear thing," I said, "these belong to me now. Didn't our mutual friend tell you that?"

She laughed again, and she said that she had been warned not to wear a matching set of underwear because she would not get her panties back. She leaned down to kiss me lightly and said we would discuss that later. Now, she murmured, it was time for dessert. She pushed me back onto the bed, crosswise, and walked around the bed and actually pulled me by the shoulders to a point where my head was almost hanging off the other side. She bent and kissed me in that rather awkward position and asked me if I was hungry. I murmured into her lips that I was ready to eat anything she had to offer.

The Arrangement Ch. 10



Sunlight was just beginning to filter through the curtains in their bedroom. Jill stared up at Daniel as he snored softly. He had been asleep for the last hour or so, but she could not. Instead she had lain in his arms and watched him sleep. She smiled as she hummed softly, "I don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to fall asleep." 

Her fingers brushed his hair back from his temples. She was powerless to stop the scalding hot tears that coursed down her cheeks, but at least she was not breaking the number one rule. 'Never let them see you cry,' it was the motto she had lived by what seemed like her whole fucking life. 

So why did it feel so impossible this time? These good-byes should be old hat for her. She had survived over a dozen deployments in almost twenty years. Why should this one be any different? The truth stabbed her in the heart like a butcher's knife. After last night, she ought to feel better, she thought. Not her flawed body, not even Mistress J had scared him away. His admission of how easy he found it to talk to her echoed in her mind. 

But none of it was enough as she stared at the lies, the secrets, the very mockery that she had made of it all. Truth was that 'this arrangement' was eating her alive. She was head over heels in love with her husband. And despite their friendship, their passion, the ups and downs they had shared over the past two and a half months as a family, he had never once said anything that gave her hope the feeling was reciprocated. 

They had over that short time built everything her friend claimed was a more solid basis for marriage, but the companionship, respect and shared goals that Ubah had espoused was leaving her cold. Perhaps it was her 'limited' Western sensibilities as her friend had called them, but she wanted those three simple words. It felt as if she physically needed them, she thought as for the first time she fought back what felt for the world like morning sickness. 

She brushed her fingers across his soft lips. Lips that had explored every inch of her body last night. Lips that had taken her to the heights of the heavens and the depths of the universe. 'Why did it matter so fucking much?' she asked herself. They were just words. People said them all the time, even when they did not mean them. She knew that. 

She sighed as she fought back the nausea. She should get up, start breakfast. The house would be full of their friends in a couple of hours, a farewell brunch. She had lots to do before they arrived. Besides there would be plenty of time later for her to come to terms with this situation. To learn to lie in the bed that she had made for herself as the old saying went. 

She leaned up a bit, felt the slight soreness in her bottom and smiled. Damn, the pain should not be so delicious, but it was. She smiled as she brushed her lips lightly across his, making certain not to awaken her husband. 

She choked on the tightness in her throat. She was a coward and she knew it. Cheating, perhaps not in the same way that Trisha had, but it was a lie all the same. She could not bring herself to reveal this final secret. And it was killing her to face the fact that in a few short hours he would be gone and as hard as it was to admit she knew there was a very real possibility he might not return, might never know how she really felt. 

"I love you, Daniel," she whispered as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. She rolled over and rushed from their bed, running for the bathroom as she felt the bile rising in her throat. It did not taste half as bad as the secret.

***

Daniel was free falling. He had jumped from hundreds, no thousands of planes. He knew the exhilaration of the wind hitting your face so hard it felt like tiny knives, hitting your body so hard that it actually slowed your fall. But this time was different. This time he saw the ground coming up fast. And there was no parachute. 

He wanted to jump from their bed, follow her. He wanted to look into those amazing green eyes as she said those words again. After waiting so long to hear them, they were ricocheting inside his head like a hollow point bullet, ripping and tearing his mind to shreds. God, how he wanted to hear them again? How he wanted to watch her face light from within as he kissed her softly and returned them? He played the fantasy on that wide screen in his head.

But that was all it was, a fantasy. If his wife knew the truth, if she knew what happened that night, if Jill ever found out that he was the reason David never made it home to her and their sons, he knew it would evaporate. Be gone in a heartbeat. Be transformed, morphed, into hatred that burned brighter than the sun. That was what kept him laying in their bed. His arm slung across his face as he felt the tears burning the back of his eyes. 

He listened as she flushed the toilet. Had she been ill again? It was another worry to the growing pile. He heard the shower turn on as he rolled to the side of their bed. He should check on her. He smiled at the convenient excuse. Truth was that even if the secrets kept him from doing the one thing he wanted most in this world, nothing would stop him from holding her one more time, trying to show her what he could not allow himself to say. What he had no right to feel. Not under the circumstances.

He ran his hands through his hair. He was going to miss this bed, and it had nothing to do with sleeping on the cold, hard ground and everything to do with not holding his wife in his arms all night long. He sat on the side of it for a long moment. "What the fuck are you going to do, man?" he asked. 

He thought he had found those answers at the cabin. Their situation was so complicated. It was not just him; the girls, even the other wives needed her. And this secret was not his to share, not really. But his resolve to bear this burden alone was weighing him down as no command decision or pack ever had. 

He sighed, he would have weeks, even months to come to terms with it. Long weeks when his arms ached to hold her and thousands of miles separated them. Time to clear his head and come up with a battle plan, for the rest of their lives. Because whether he deserved her or not, there was no way in hell he was letting her go. He couldn't, not and still breath. 

***

The warm water cascaded down her face. It mixed with more tears until her head ached, pounded under the pressure of all the half truths. She breathed deeply trying to calm her rolling stomach again. She leaned her head against the cool tiles and tried to focus on just one thing. She sobbed softly when that one thing became his face in her mind. "Oh Daniel," she whispered.

She felt his strong arm about her waist and allowed herself to collapse against him. "Shh, sweetheart, I'm right here," he whispered as he buried his face against her shoulder. His other hand brushed dripping wet hair back from her face. "How bad is it?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine."

He chuckled against her skin and she felt it vibrate down her spine to curl her toes. "You're a lousy liar, baby."

She smiled, if only he knew. Everything about their lives was rapidly becoming a lie and the biggest one of all stared her in the face this morning. 

"Really, I'll be fine. I just need a couple of minutes. A warm shower and I'll be fine," she said as she leaned back against him. She was quickly distracted from her rolling stomach by the wetness between her thighs as she rubbed her bottom against his growing erection.

His arm about her waist tightened as he tried to still her movements. "Damn it, Jill. Not now. I might not be able to stop my body from reacting to holding you naked in my arms, but damn it I'm not some selfish bastard. I didn't come in here to take advantage of the situation, sweetheart. I came to make sure you are all right."

She moved her hips against his hard flesh, "You're not taking advantage of me, Daniel. I'm taking you," she whispered as she placed her hands flat against the tiles above her head and pushed back taking the head of his cock inside of her. She moaned, "Oh god, that feels so fucking good."

"Jill, stop it. We can't," he tried to protest, but once more she took control of his body. He gently thrust forward, as she trembled around him. "Oh god, baby, you're driving me crazy," he whispered as he buried his face against her back. "What kind of monster am I? I just had you four times last night and even with you sick I can't stop myself from wanting you again."

"Shut up and make love to me, Daniel," she whimpered as she moved her hips back, taking him deeper inside of her. "It's what I want too," she threw her head back, the water running down her face and chest, dripping from her hard nipples. "I need you. Oh god, I need you."

She felt his other hand cover hers on the wall. He laced his fingers through hers. "God forgive me, but I can't resist you, baby. I need you too," he whispered in her ear as he surged forward, taking her over the edge and lifting her feet from the tiles. His arm about her waist held her tightly, suspended a couple of inches above the tub as he pounded into her. Their bodies found a frantic rhythm that left them breathless. 

She squeezed his fingers as he pushed her body higher, another intense orgasm building inside of her. "Please, Daniel, oh god please," she whimpered.

"Please what, sweetheart? Please fuck you? Make you come again and again," he demanded. 

She nodded, "Yes, oh god yes."

"Say it, Jill."

"Fuck me. Fuck me hard," she begged.

He stilled inside her. His fingers that were laced through hers trailed slowly down the wet surface of her arm. Then her side, until his hand was cupping her breast. Her nipple ached as she bit her lower lip to keep from crying out as he softly kneaded her flesh. 

"That's not what I meant, sweetheart," he whispered as his thumb brushed across it. She jumped at the power that surged through her body at his tender caress.

She shook her head and whimpered. "Please, Daniel. Anything. Anything, I need you so bad."

His tongue trailed down the side of her neck, fire licked at her skin as he consumed her. "Anything, baby?" He whispered as his teeth nibbled at the same spot that had borne his mark of possession after their first encounter.

She moved her hips, trying to take more of him inside of her, but suspended as she was, she was powerless. Her nails raked across the cold tiles, "God damn it, Daniel, make me come. I need to come. Please."

"Tell me again, Jill," he whispered against her shoulder as his thumb tortured her nipple, brushing lightly back and forth across its hard surface. "What you said earlier," his hips made a slow circle, increasing the pressure, but not enough to take her over. "What your sweet lips whispered when you thought I was asleep, baby." He surged forward then, pushing her higher.

Jill's eyes flew open. Her fingers clutched desperately at the smooth surface. Her heart pounded so fast that she feared it would burst from her chest. "Oh god," she moaned as she hung on the very edge, suspended above a dark pool of love and need that threatened to consume her. 

Then he was moving inside of her again. One arm wrapped about her waist, crushing her against him as he took them both on the wildest of rides. The other hand abandoned her aching breast and wound its way through her long, dripping wet hair, tilting her head to the side as his teeth found their mark. "Say it, god damn it," he commanded as he pounded harder and faster inside of her.

Jill whimpered as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. The water was turning cold or perhaps it was fear coursing through her. She shook her head as she felt her body surrendering to its master once more. She dropped her head against his chest as he sucked and bit her shoulder. Her body trembled and ached as it took him deeper still. One orgasm rolled into the next and it seemed it would never stop. 

His teeth released her flesh. His tongue licked at it, then moved slowly up to her ear. It swirled and teased as he slowed the pace. "Please, baby," he whispered as he sucked her ear lobe into his hot mouth. 

Jill felt the tightness not just in her throat, but her chest as well. There was no hiding. Not this time. And truth was...she did not want to. "I love you," she whispered. 

His hand in her hair tugged harder, turning her head until she was looking up into his face. His eyes held hers until she was certain that she would never breath again. 

He lowered his head until their lips were practically touching. "Again," he whispered. "Say it again, baby."

Her lips took his, her tongue plunged deep inside his mouth as she felt him moving inside her body. She drank at his lips, moaned into his mouth as his body pushed her over the edge, another powerful orgasm sliced through her body, touching the depths of her soul. "I love you," she breathed into him. 

"Yes," he roared. "Oh god, yes." She felt his body trembling as he emptied himself inside of her.

Her head spun a bit as he staggered under the power of his release. She clutched his arm about her waist, afraid for a heartbeat that they might fall. But he did not. They stayed like that in the shower for what seemed forever. The water was most definitely turning cold. As cold as her deepest fears in that moment. 

He leaned his forehead against hers. His arm about her tightened even as his hand in her hair released its hold. He twitched inside of her a couple of times before he slipped slowly from her body, lowering her until her feet touched the bottom of the tub. He brushed her hair back softly, "I," Jill held her breath. She held it and waited. Hoped. Prayed. 

"We should probably get moving," he said a moment later as he reached up and turned off the water. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it tenderly about her shoulders, drying them. She stared at his chest as she nodded silently. 

"The girls will be up soon," she heard his voice from somewhere far away. 

'Never let them see you cry,' took on new meaning as she wrapped the towel tighter about her. She felt him lifting her from the tub, but the moment that he sat her on the floor she turned her back to him. Silence echoed off the walls of their tiny bathroom. It enveloped them like the fog rolling off the Thames on the coldest, winter's day. Jill choked on it. 

"I'll get dressed in the bedroom," he said as he bent and kissed her shoulder. She nodded as she clutched the towel tighter about her body. The moment she heard the bathroom door close, she dropped to the floor in tears.

***

Their backyard was full again. The early morning sun was blazing overhead, but its early fall warmth left a slight chill in the air. By afternoon it would be gone, but not the chill between them, he thought as he watched his wife fuss over the cutting up Britney's pancakes at the little table. She was smiling and laughing but it did not reach her eyes, that green sparkle was missing and Daniel knew why.

His wife deserved an apology. She deserved a hell of a lot more than an apology, like a husband that did not keep fucking everything up, he thought. He wished that the cup he held contained something stronger than steaming black coffee, but it was too early for a beer. And alcohol was off limits today. 

His throat tightened at the thought. In a few hours, they would be gone. For weeks. Months. He sighed, maybe forever. It had never bothered him. Not like this.

"Have you told her?" Samuel asked. 

Daniel shook his head, "What are you talking about now, old man?" he sighed heavily.

"That you love her."

Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head harder. "It's not that simple."

Samuel laughed, "Yeah, it is, buddy."

"No, you don't understand."

His friend put his hand on his shoulder and guided him back towards the house. "So enlighten this old fool," he said as he pushed Daniel through the gate and into the less crowded drive-way. 

A couple of late arrivals smiled and waved as they made their way to Daniel's SUV. Samuel waited until they slipped into the backyard before turning on his friend, "All right, smart ass, how about you tell me what so god awful more important than telling your wife how you really feel about? Cause buddy I hate to tell you this but god forbid it might be your last fucking chance."

Daniel sucked in a sharp breath at the power of those words. He sought for words strong enough to counter balance them. But came up empty. "Do you know who her husband was?"

Samuel shrugged, "Some British soldier. What does that matter? It's not who her dead husband was that's important, it's what an ass her live one is being, if you ask me."

"Try Major David Chambers, Thirty Command, Her Majesty's Royal Marines," he whispered staring at a long crack in the driveway.

"Fuck," was Samuel's only response for several minutes. 

"More like fuck me," replied Daniel as he brought the cup of coffee to his lips and drank a long swig.

After a couple of moments silence, Samuel shook his head. "It still doesn't matter, man. You were cleared. It was a fucking accident. It could have been us instead of them, just one of those things. The risks we all live with."

"I set that tag myself," he whispered. "Or I thought I did. So if something went wrong then yeah, it's my fucking fault and no bunch of paper pushers can make that go away."

"Quite being a fucking martyr, those bastards wanted to hang you and there was not a fucking shred of evidence, nothing that pointed to anything other than a technical malfunction. If they couldn't find anything, why the fuck can't you let this one go?"

"Because a man died," he shouted in a whisper. "A good soldier."

Samuel nodded as he took another drink of his own coffee. "He was that," he smiled.

Daniel turned and placed his palms flat against the hood of his car. "It's been hard enough these past five years. You don't know how many times I've replayed that whole thing, tried to figure out what I did wrong." 

He paused, "But now? Fuck, it's eating me alive. Knowing that if it weren't for my mistake, he would have finished that last tour, gone home to some fucking cushy office job for a couple more years and then retired with her to that fucking house in sunny Spain."

Samuel put his hand on Daniel's shoulder, "You did your job and he did his. It was a fucking accident. One of those things. Something we all have to live with. You aren't god, buddy. You're going to have to give this one up sometime or it is going to eat your lunch."

Daniel shook his head, "But can you at least see, how impossible it makes everything?"

Samuel shook his head, "No, not really. You think he would blame you? Think David would have rather she marry that snooty, pansy professor she was engaged to? He was my friend, not yours. And I fucking promise you, he would have chosen you hands down."

Daniel chuckled, not that is surprised him that his friend knew something he had just discovered, but at the frankness that had always been the man. "How the fuck did she get messed up with a guy like that anyway?" 

He wanted desperately to grasp the absolution that his friend offered. Samuel was right, he knew the other man far better than Daniel had. But the guilt he had lived with for so long had grown bigger still over the past couple of weeks. His eyes darkened and he quieted. "But if she knew," the whispered words hung in the cool air.

"If she knew what? You think it would change things? You think she'd blame you?"

Daniel heard the words that had echoed off the walls of his own mind for days. Spoken aloud, they sound so much worse. He could not force his mouth to respond so he simply nodded.

"Then you are a hell of a fool. That girl knows the score. She knows the risks he took. Fuck, the risks you're taking. And she lives with them. More than likely she'd want to kick his ass for needing one more adrenaline fix before he retired." 




The Arrangement Ch. 10



"The only thing you ought to be worried about is making damned sure she doesn't live through that nightmare again. You thought about that one, smart ass? Losing one man you love is bad enough. How would she feel if you didn't come home? You really want to take that risk without telling her how you feel?"

Samuel chuckled, "That he'd kick your ass for."

Daniel shook his head in denial. "Fat lot you know. You've been so fucking happily married it makes everyone sick for too god damned long to understand," Daniel teased.

Samuel laughed, "And that my friend is why you should listen to this old man. Like I said good loving and the occasional sweet talking and life is good."

The uproarious laughter behind him drew their attention, "Don't be buyin', his shit. I's the reason this marriage works. Puttin' up with his sorry ass," Simone purred as she wrapped her arms about her husband's waist. 

When she stared at him, Daniel's heart stuttered in his chest at her words, "I told you once, Danny me boy, de stars being shinin' on you. Why you still be questioning t'ings you should just be grateful for?"

"Just don't send any 'lucky' charms this time, Simone," he smiled. 

"Hey, they kept the mosquitoes away better than any bug spray," chuckled Samuel. 

"I better go check on my wife. See if she needs any help," he said. "You two stay out of trouble."

Simone grinned and rubbed against her husband. "But trouble is what makes life fun. You run along now and check on your wife. Last I saw her, she was heading to the bathroom again. Said the smell of the bacon was bothering her."

She winked at her husband, "That food poisoning is sure hanging on. Makes you wonder, don't it?"

Daniel frowned, "I tried to get her to see the doctor when we were at the hospital with Jesse. Will you promise me you'll make her go if she isn't better in a couple more days, Simone?"

"Trisha and I been tryin' too, suga. I think you ain't the only one in dis marriage that don't want to face de truth sometimes."

"What are you talking about?"

"Aw, come on, smart ass," Samuel chuckled. "You figure it out, buddy." He brushed a kiss across his wife's lips as Daniel walked away confused.

***

Jill was feeling better. Her trip to the bathroom and the cold water had done its job. She watched the people milling about the yard. The atmosphere might be jovial on the surface, but it was not the same as their reception had been. That air of concern and worry were already cracking through the veneer. 

She frowned when she noticed Travis helping T.J. up the slide. She looked around for Trisha, but did not see her friend. She had not seen her at all this morning. She crossed the yard and picked the little boy up as he squealed at the bottom of the slide. 

"Hey, Trav, have you seen Trisha?" she asked.

The man looked down as he reached out for his son, "She isn't coming."

Jill frowned, "Why not?"

"Said she isn't feeling well," he replied as he took the boy in his arms, hugging him tightly. 

She nodded, "I see. And it has nothing to do with the affair she had with Dodd?" she whispered.

Trav looked up at her. His eyes glinted with anger but then he shook his head, "Why am I not surprised?"

She smiled softly and brushed a lock of bright red hair out of T.J.'s eyes. "I understand how you feel, Travis. Far better than you know. Take a walk with me, please."

"No offence, ma'am, but I really don't see how you can understand. So if you don't mind, I'd like to just spend what time I have left with my boy."

"You're right, I might not understand the specifics. But I know it feels like someone stabbed you with a knife. Like you don't know how you can go on. Like your world and everything you thought you knew were gone, just suddenly gone, vanished in the blink of an eye," she said in a low voice.

"Ma'am, pardon me, but how do you know that shit?" She chuckled softly, "Don't worry, Trav. It isn't what you think. I know I have Daniel's loyalty," if not his love, she thought with a frown. 

"But everyone keeps forgetting, I was married before. So now that I have your attention, would you like to take that walk, perhaps listen to what I have to say?"

The man frowned before he nodded slowly, "Yes, Ma'am, I guess so."

She led the man, still carrying his son out through the side gate. She smiled and waved as she watched Simone and Samuel slink away down the street towards their house. 

"Can I count on the two of you?" he asked as he too waved at the couple. "Will you keep an eye on Trisha for me?"

Jill nodded, "But not for the reason, you're asking, Trav. Your wife made a mistake. A bad one. But she's paying, she's hurting too. And you aren't helping."

"Ma'am, I appreciate your help, but I don't really think you have the right to tell me what I should or should not do."

She nodded, "You're right, Travis. No one has the right to tell you what to do. But let me tell you what I did when it happened to me."

She smiled at the shocked look on his face. "My husband, David, and I had been married about seven years. That itch everyone warns you about, I suppose. I guess it was worse because we had four young boys under the age of six and had barely had any time as a couple. Royal Marines deploy for a hell of a lot longer than you guys do," she tried to lighten the mood.

"Anyway, I was cleaning in his study one day and when I dusted the keyboard of the computer the screen lit up," she sighed heavily.

"Ma'am, you don't have to talk about it, if you don't want."

"Thanks, Trav, but it was a long time ago. Just goes to show though that no matter how long or what happens it's something that's still going to be there. You just learn to live with it," she stared at him, "Or you don't. But one thing I learned you can't have it both ways."

"Anyway, it was an open chat. My husband and some woman called Sub-Girl. What I read that morning shocked the shit out of me. It was way beyond my comfort zone," she watched him fidgeted and chuckled, "Yeah, like that. Anyway, here I was twenty-six years old, living in a foreign country, with four small sons and no real family, not even back home. I had no idea what the fuck I was going to do. What I even could do. I felt trapped and hurt and so fucking alone." She fought back the tears, until she realized she was losing the battle and wiped them with the back of her hand.

"I moped about the house for days. I cried every time I was alone. And I fumed about how unfair it was. Basically, I pitched one hell of a petty party for myself. And things got worse. He spent more time in his study and I spent more time alone with the boys. I would go to sleep each night alone in our bed, knowing what he was doing downstairs."

"So what happened?" he asked. "Did you get a divorce?"

She shook her head, "No, we had a dozen more glorious years, better than we had before. And I would not trade that time for anything in this world." She smiled softly, "Well, almost anything."

The man frowned, "But how?"

"Forgiveness and more than a bit of fighting fire with fire."

"I don't understand, ma'am. Fighting fire with fire?"

She laughed, "I decided if my husband wanted a kinky affair with a Sub-Girl then I'd give him one." She chuckled as his brows arched and his eyes went wide. "That's right. I created a profile on that same site and started seducing my husband. It took me far longer than I thought to convince him to meet face-to-face, but imagine his shock when he discovered that his sexy little submissive was the wife he had been taking for granted all this time."

"I know that our story is different. You may even think it isn't the same, that what David did on the Internet wasn't cheating. But let me tell you, it sure as hell felt like it."

"Trav, you need to make a decision just like I did. I know how hard that is. Like you, I did it for my sons. I didn't want them growing up without their father, well anymore than the fucking Marines took him anyway. I didn't want to hurt them with a bitter divorce. So I decided to forgive him, to find a way to make it work. And we did. Like I said things were actually better than before."

"If you're going to stay in this marriage, even for T.J.'s sake, then you have to find that way too, Trav? You have to forgive Trisha. And quit punishing you both."

He dropped his head, "I'm not sure I can, ma'am."

"Then you have some hard decisions to make, Trav, because a marriage can't survive without balance. One person cannot spend their life loving another, giving everything to try and make it work the way I think your wife has these past few months. While the other person pushes them away, denies that love. It won't work. It can't. So how about I take T.J. back inside to play with Brit and Ash while you go have a talk with your wife. See if you can't find that way before it's too late."

He was silent for so long that Jill feared he would just turn and walk away, ignoring her words. Finally, he passed his son to her arms. "I'll be back, little man," he said as he brushed a kiss across his son's forehead. 

"Hopefully, with your mama," Jill smiled. "Tell her otherwise, Simone and I are coming looking for her ass. And trust me, you guys aren't the only one that know a thing or two about search and rescue."

He saluted her as he turned to leave, "Yes, ma'am. If you don't mind me saying so, we're all damned glad you came."

Jill hugged the little boy as tears slipped over the rim of her eyes once more, "I'm glad I did too, Trav. Now go, get your wife. There should be a law against two stubborn red-heads getting married. Poor kid doesn't stand a chance."

***

Daniel stepped back from the gate, closing it quietly as his wife turned back towards the yard carrying the little boy.

Things were moving too fast again. The world spinning and rotating on its axis too quickly once more. It seemed it had ever since she stepped off that fucking plane. Waving her arms with that smile that could draw you back from the darkest night, light the path and lead you home. Nothing and everything made sense. 

He had spent so much time living with the ghosts, seeing the other man as human and fallible was new. But his wife's other words rang in his ears, she would not trade that time for anything. It only solidified his deepest fears. How would she feel if she knew the truth? Knew his role in destroying her world? No matter what Samuel might say, he doubted his wife's sense of duty would extend that far. No, if she knew the truth, those sweet words of love that his soul craved like a dying man's last breath would turn quickly to hatred and anger. 

And in the coming weeks, that was what he needed to deal with it. How to wrap it all up neatly, hid it in the deepest corners of his mind and learn to live and love with this mazing woman that was a gift he would never deserve. Because that was the only option. 

He smiled as she bumped into him, cooing and holding the little boy. His hands gripped her upper arms and kept her upright. "We really do have to stop bumping into one another like this, Missus Monroe," he teased as he bent to kiss her softly. 

He felt her stiffen in his arms, feared for a moment that she would pull away. But with a weak smile and a slow shake of her head, she wrapped her free arm about his neck and giggled, "Oh yes, commander, I can think of lots more interesting ways of bumping into you," she teased.

He relaxed a bit at her words, enjoyed the feel of holding her in his arms. "You or Mistress J?" he whispered against her ear. Even with his unit and their families around, he found it difficult to control the intense need he felt at the very mention of her.

"Both of us." She drew back out of his embrace and bent down, putting the little boy on the ground and pointing to where Brit and Ash were tottering towards their playhouse. "Go on, give those two some of your red-headed willfulness, my little hellion."

Daniel chuckled as he held out his hand to her, "Don't think my girls can't stand their own, sweetheart? Those two beat the crap out of your little hellion the other day."

"Two on one. They should save those games until their a bit bigger," she teased. His frown at her words was greeted with soft laughter as she took his hand and stood up, "Oh, my sweet little farm boy." 

Her face went white and she stumbled a bit. His arm wrapped about her waist steadying her. "Woe, sweetie, are you all right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I just stood up too fast, I guess." 

He frowned. "Maybe I should," he began until her finger once again stilled his words.

"Shut up and kiss your wife?" she teased again.

He shook his head, "You've already won one battle this morning with that one, Missus Monroe. Don't try it again. You should go lay down for a bit. I kept you up most of the night, then you've spent all morning cooking. And you're still sick with that damned food poisoning. I'll entertain our guests while you rest."

She shook her head almost violently, "No, I don't want." She paused and looked at the ground. 

He drew her closer, "Don't want to miss a moment?" he breathed against her ear. "The feeling is mutual."

He felt her relax against him, wanted to lift his hand and wave it all away, be alone with her once more. But he could not. Duty was closing in on him. He wanted to push it back but he knew he could not. He needed to focus, to compartmentalize. His life depended on it. His men's lives depended on it. But for this one moment he would live in the present and simply hold onto his wife. 

"Promise me you will see the doctor if this doesn't get better soon," he asked. 

"Stop worrying about me, Daniel. I'll be fine. The girls will be fine. You focus on doing what you need to and coming home to us. That's all that matters."

He laughed, "More orders?"

"The most important ones, commander," she whispered as her arms wrapped about his waist and squeezed tightly. She pressed her head on his shoulders, "Just come home to me. That's all I ask, Daniel."

His throat tightened as he nodded. Would she ask the same if she knew, he wondered.

***

Jill washed another plate as she stared out the kitchen window. Only a handful of people still remained, milling about in their backyard. Daniel, Samuel and Travis were huddled in a corner near the gate. She could see from the serious look on their faces that it was all business already.

"How you feeling, suga?" purred the soft Texas twang behind her. 

Turning slowly this time, she smiled at her friend. "Better, now that you're here." She held out her soapy hands for the pile of dishes in Trisha's. "How are things?"

The woman shrugged, "I don't know. I honestly don't know, Jill." She watched as huge tears spilled from the woman's eyes. "He says he wants to make this work for T.J., but what's the point? If he can't forgive me? If we can never move past it?"

Jill nodded her head. "I know, sweetie. But these things can take some time. What you did hurt him pretty damned bad. And who you did it with only makes it worse." Jill shivered, "OK, I just have to ask. What the fuck were you thinking? Clay Dodd? That man gives me the creeps."

Rich laughter rang behind them, "Yeah girly. With your pretty face and hot body, why the fuck a weasel like that one?" asked Simone.

Trisha chuckled and shook her head, "I've been asking myself the same fucking question for six months. I don't know I guess the attention was nice. I mean it all started out as him stopping by to talk about the Night Walkers offer occasionally. Then he suggested dinner one night, said I could use a night out on the town and that it would all be a tax-right-off for him."

Simone looked at the floor, "Was that the night I watched T.J.?" she whispered. Jill reached out and wrapped her arm about her friend, understanding the other woman's guilt at her part in it all. 

Trisha's eyes filled with tears as she nodded, "I'm sorry, Simone, but honestly I never meant for anything to happen. I'm still not sure how it did. He took me to nice place by the ocean and like he said most of dinner was talking about getting Trav to quit the Navy and come to work for his daddy." 

"Then when we left the restaurant, he said he had forgotten to bring some paperwork about the benefit package. He said it was back at his place, said it was just around the corner. So I thought nothing of stopping by there to pick up all up. But when we got there," the woman dropped her head into her hands, sobs shaking her body. 

"I swear it was only that once. And I still don't know how it happened. One minute I was standing on the deck watching the waves and drinking wine and the next I'm naked in his bed. Oh god, I hate myself," she cried. "How stupid can I be? It wasn't like it was anything special. He just kept bragging how I wasn't the only wife that needed a little attention when the guys were away."

"Well, don't be looking at me, girly. I'd break the little bastard," Simone giggled nervously as the three of them hugged by the sink.

Jill blushed. She was beginning to have suspicions of who else might have graced the man's bed, but now was not the time to dwell on those things. "Have you tried to tell him any of this? Tell him how you feel?"

Trisha grabbed a dish cloth from the counter and passed it over her face as she nodded. "Yeah, but not sure it helps. Nothing seems to."

Jill squeezed her friend's shoulder, "How about telling him that you still love him? Tried that one?"

Red hair swung about her face as she shook her head violently, "No. And I'm not going to. What would be the point? Grovel and humiliate myself when it's pretty damned clear he doesn't feel the same?"

Jill swallowed past the pain, the woman's word cutting a little too close to home. She was thankful when it was Simone that spoke up.

"Girlfriend, let me ask you something? If you had to walk a mile in Chloe's shoes, if that boy didn't come back this time? Would your pride matter a hill of beans? Or would you rather have given him the ultimate gift...your love, no strings attached."

Jill fought the tightness in her chest as another round of nausea assailed her. 'Your love, no strings attached,' echoed in her mind as she realized how many of those strings she had put on her declaration that morning. It was not just Trisha that had some thinking to do it seemed as she turned back to the sink. "Well, unless you two are helping with the dishes, I suggest you go find your husbands and kids."

Simone shook her head, "No way, sweet cheeks. You ain't getting off that easy either. Those dishes will wait. You're coming with us," she smiled grabbing both their hands and dragging them towards the back door. 

***

Daniel barely registered anything that the two men were discussing. He knew that he should be the one leading the discussion, but his heart simply was not in it. No, his heart was decidedly somewhere else. He looked up just in time to see Simone come through the back door, laughing and giggling, pulling Jill and Trisha behind her. 

Even though she was too pale and dark circles shown beneath those green eyes, his wife had never looked more beautiful. He stared at her, trying to memorize every line of her face, every curve of her ripe body. He had spent most of last night doing the same, tracing and mapping it all with his hands and lips. But it was not enough. He feared it never would be. He sighed and smiled weakly as Simone led her little group towards them. 

"All right, you big baddies, you have plenty of time for de he-man shat later. Right now, us girlies need your atten-shun," Simone said as she slung Trisha into her husband's lap. Trav frowned and went to pull back, but then reluctantly wrapped his arms about Trisha's waist.

Samuel laughed and shook his head as his wife repeated the process, slinging Jill into Daniel's lap. "What you up to, girly mine?" he teased. His wife sashayed up to him and swung her round bottom in his face until he reached out and wrapped his arms about her waist, drawing her into his lap with a giggle. 




The Arrangement Ch. 10



"Just think you boys need a reminder of what it is your fighting for, that's all," she said with a wink as she wrapped her arms about his neck and drew him down for a lingering kiss.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably on the hard plastic chair. The feel of his wife's round bottom combined with their friends' intimacy had him half hard in a heart beat. He leaned his head into her hair and nuzzled against her. His wife turned to face him, wrapping her arms about his neck. 

"Can't argue with a wise woman, can you, commander?" she teased as she lowered her head to brush a soft kiss against his lips.

"Gees, could you people get a room?" boomed Trav.

Simone looked up and pinned him with one of her stares. "Fool," was all she said as she turned back to her husband with a smile. "Now where were we?"

Samuel laced his fingers through her long braids and drew her back down for another kiss, "Just about here, my little witch."

"Aw, fuck it," Trav whispered as he looked up at his wife. Daniel smiled as he watched the silent interplay as Trisha was the first to move, drawing her husband towards her. 

He turned to his own little distraction, "I'm going to miss you." It was not the admission he wanted to make, but given the circumstances it was more of one than he had any right to make.

Jill smiled at him as she toyed with her lower lip, biting it the way he longed to. He knew it meant she was thinking. Funny, how much he had come to learn of this woman over such a short time. But he knew it was not enough. If he had a thousand years, it would never be enough. But he did not. He had one lifetime and that could be shorter than either of them wanted to admit. His throat tightened as his hand caressed her lower back, just beneath the heated cotton of her dress lay a reminder of how impossibly short that time might be...and all the reasons he had no right to her. 

None of it mattered though, because his wife felt too damned perfect in his arms for him to ever let her go. Closing his eyes, he said a silent prayer asking forgiveness, before he sought the sweet taste of love once more on her lips. When she moaned softly as his teeth bit at her lower lip, he took it as a sign from the heavens and swept inside the deepest recesses of her mouth. His tongue waging battle with hers, demanding surrender, total and complete.

"Yuck, you old people are disgusting," said a petulant voice. 

Daniel reluctantly broke the kiss and looked up at his pre-teen daughter. He offered her a half apologetic smile, but she just shook her head.

Althea, who stood just behind Jesse, just giggled. "Get used to it, girlfriend. I've been putting up with those two for almost thirteen years," she said nodding towards her parents.

"Like we don't put up with you too, missy," huffed Simone with a wink at her daughter before she opened her arms. "I think you're just jealous. Don't worry, you're still daddy's favorite little girl. But mommy is his favorite big girl."

Samuel chuckled as he shifted in the chair with the added weight of their daughter. "Big girl is right," he said as he slapped his wife's bottom.

"Oh yeah baby, just more of me for the loving, old man."

"How do you put up with it?" asked Jesse with a frown.

Althea looked at her parents with a smile. "I don't know. You get used to it, I guess. Actually, kind of nice sometimes. Better than those stupid romance novels you like to read all the time."

Daniel raised his eye brows, "What novels is she talking about, Jessica?"

Jill softly nudged him in the ribs and he looked up into those green eyes as she shook her head. "We'll talk about this later, young lady," he said. Turning to his friends, "Hate to rush you guys off, but I'll be seeing enough of your ugly faces soon enough. So if you don't mind, I'll spend these last couple of hours with my girls," he nuzzled the side of his wife's face and whispered, "All of them."

Samuel nodded and pushed his wife and daughter up. "That's the smartest thing I've heard out of your mouth in weeks, buddy."

Trisha blushed and stood up, "Well, girlfriends. See you tomorrow?" 

Simone wrapped her arms about her husband's waist and nodded. "You remember what I said."

The red head nodded and snuck a glance at her husband, "I'll think about it."

Simone shook her head as the younger woman scurried away to pick up her son, who was once more being bested by the tiny twin terrors.

"Aw, man, I told you, it ain't fair. Two against one," moaned Travis.

Jill chuckled, "Yeah, like any man would complain about those odds." The guys' mouths fell open as Jill and Simone laughed.

***

Jill finished washing the last plate and put it in the dishwasher. Her hand trembled as she closed the door and pushed the start button. She stared out the kitchen window as the soft whir of the machine ricocheted around the empty room. 

"Britney and Ashley are down for their afternoon nap," his deep voice washed over her like the in-coming tide. She merely nodded past the lump in her throat. She leaned back against him as she felt his hand run slowly up and down her arms.

"I said good-bye to Bel, but it might not be a bad idea if you spent some time with her later. Maybe let her sleep in the bed with you." His voice broke as he added, "She asked if I was going away forever the way her mother had. I guess she was so young the last time I deployed that it doesn't make sense to her."

Jill fought back tears and squeezed his hand where it rested on her upper arm. "I'll talk to her. When they are this age, time does not mean much. But I'll try to help her understand."

He brushed a kiss on the juncture of her neck and shoulders, what had become a favorite spot since that first afternoon they made love. "Of course, Jesse is acting like it's no big deal, but keep an eye on her any way."

She nodded. "I know D.J. was always the same way like it didn't matter. But when his dad," her voice failed. She felt his arms wrap tighter about her, squeezing her tenderly. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do, if she'll let me."

"I'll speak to Simone as well, ask her to see if she can talk to her."

Jill swallowed the foul tasting bile as another round of nausea hit her. She squared her shoulders, refusing to give into it, worry or self-pity. She plastered a smile on her face and turned in his arms. "Do you always fuse like an old woman when you leave, commander?"

His laughter zinged down her spine to curl in the pit of her stomach, churning with everything else. "I do," his fingers brushed hair back from her face and sent shockwaves of need to her tight nipples and lower still. "But I know you will handle it all, Missus Monroe," he smiled. 

She nodded as she looked down, "That's the arrangement, commander. What this is all about," she whispered as she fought to hold back the flood that threatened to break the carefully fortified banks of her heart and mind.

He sighed and caressed her shoulders. "Jill, this is about so much more than some stupid arrangement that you brokered with my mom and Simone. I think we both have known that for a long time, sweetheart." He drew her closer to him and pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. When words failed her, she nodded slowly. 

She tried to turn away when his fingers under her chin lifted her eyes to his. "I'm sorry. I know I hurt you this morning and I had no fucking right to be so god damned selfish. You're fucking amazing and you take my breath away sometimes. From the moment you stepped off that damned plane, nothing has been the same. The girls, the other wives and yes, me, we all need you, sweetheart. You deserve so much more than this." 

She held her breath as his fingers brushed softly across her bottom lip. "But I need some time to think. There are so many things I can't even tell you." He was quiet as he stared up at the ceiling and held her for moments that felt like eternity. "Just know one thing, Missus Monroe, this old sailor knows that you are so much more than I will ever deserve."

Jill released the breath that she was not even aware she had been holding. Since their girl talk, her mind had been warring with Simone's words. Her friend might have meant them for Trisha but she knew their wisdom applied equally to her own situation. And while Daniel's speech was not the words she had hoped for, she felt the hurt and insecurity with each word he had forced out. Pain that she knew she held the power to soothe.

She stood on tip toes and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. "One thing you don't need to think about, commander, is the fact that your daughters and I love you very much. We'll be waiting when you get back. So go do what you need to and come home."

Daniel nodded and deepened the kiss. Jill wrapped her arms about his shoulders and did all that she could to show him the truth in her words. They were both breathless when she drew back long moments later. 

"You better go or you'll be late. I don't think another romp in our bed is sufficient explanation for tardiness. That would be setting a bad example for your men, commander."

She smiled at the lightness of his laughter. "I don't know I think that might be the best example of all, Missus Monroe," Daniel teased.

She swatted at his arm as she pushed him away. "Naughty boy."

He winked, "So does that mean Mistress J has some new kinky punishment awaiting my return?"

"Damn straight, she will if you don't get that cute ass moving."

"You think my ass is cute?"

"You're fishing again, commander," she teased lightly.

"It's one of the things SEALs do best, ma'am," he winked. "You were too sick to eat any but I did quite well catching our dinner if you remember."

She nodded, "I do and next time I'll make sure not to have food poisoning on you."

She knew that she should push him out the door, but she was as reluctant as it appeared he was to say their final good-byes. She enjoyed the gentle teasing that seemed so natural with them. She wanted to hold on to it, to him for just a moment longer. 

Looking up into those blue depths, her heart froze in mid-beat. Her fingers brushed gently across the tiny lines that furrowed his brow. "I love you, Daniel," she whispered as she forced herself to turn and walk from the kitchen, down the hallway that seemed so long that morning. Forced herself to not turn and run back into his arms. 

***

Daniel stood frozen in the kitchen as he watched her soft bottom sway as she walked away. He knew he needed to get going, but everything inside of him screamed at him to throw caution to the wind. To chase after his wife, spin her in his arms and kiss her until they were both silly. To spill every single word of his love.

But he did not. Now was not the time. And he was right earlier. Until he had gotten some things straight in his own mind he had no right to tell her any of it. So he let her go and watched as she knocked softly at Bel's door before slipping inside. Just like she has slipped so quietly into his heart.

"Fuck. You're getting too old for this shit, man," he cursed as he headed out to the utility room just off the kitchen. Grabbing the duffle bag he had stowed there he forced himself to open the backdoor, but he could not stop himself from turning for one final look at the house that she had made into a home. 

"Home, damn straight I'm coming home to you and the girls, Missus Monroe," he whispered. He chuckled, "Mistress J and I have some unfinished business too."

Samuel and Travis were waiting by the car when he pushed the gate open. "About damned time, man. Had to make sure the little lady had something to remember you by?" teased his best friend.

Daniel laughed, "Do you ever think about anything else?"

"Does any man?" Samuel replied as Daniel opened the back of the SUV and threw their bags inside. 

"Sane ones," replied Travis. "You two might have forgotten, but we have a little thing called a mission. A job that this country is counting on us to do. So can you two pussy whipped bastards get it in gear?"

Samuel and Daniel exchanged stares as he threw his bag in with the others. Threw it a bit too forcefully. 

"Everything all right, Trav?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, just peachy keen, commander."

"You sure about that?" Samuel replied.

"Other than the red fucking Ferrari that was parked outside my house when we got back this morning. Yeah. Yeah, everything is just fine."

Daniel nodded. "There aren't many of those around these parts are there."

"No, no, there aren't. So if you two don't mind, I'd just as soon get out of here and leave the Missus to her thing."

"Trav, you don't know it was Clay and even if it was, you don't know what he was doing there," offered Samuel.

"Come on, man, quit being so naïve. If I hadn't come back when I did, my wife would not have even had the decency to wait until I left this time. As it was the damned thing was circling the block when we got back from your house this morning. Like the fucking vulture he is. Well, as far as I'm concerned, the son of a bitch can have her. As soon as I get back, I'm filing for divorce, but if that lying, cheating bitch thinks she's getting my son, she has another think coming," the man's face got redder and redder with each word, until his skin was as dark as his hair and molten with anger.

Daniel sighed. "Trav, I know how you feel. Trust me, I really get it. And maybe you are right. But I have to ask, man, are you sure you can manage this? Hell, you know, I won't blame you. There's no shame in taking some time off to take care of business at home. If I'm honest, maybe I should have done the same. Maybe Rachel would be alive today."

The man shook his head. "No man, I need out of here. I need to fucking kill something. And it'll be a far site better if it is some self-righteous zealot than that slimy two-faced prick and my loving wife," he said sarcastically. 

Daniel and Samuel exchanged glances again as he closed the back of the SUV. He felt the weight of command as he pondered the decision. But in the end, he gave into Travis's reasoning. "Keep your head out there, man. Don't fucking make me regret this decision," he said as he slapped the man on his shoulder. Travis nodded and muttered his thanks as he climbed into the back seat. Daniel shook his head as he opened his own door, "I have enough fucking regrets as it is," he whispered under his breath.



The Arrangement Ch. 11



Jill smiled weakly and waved as the school bus pulled off from the curb. Exhaustion and something else ate at her insides. She promised herself that she would take a nap when Britney and Ashley had theirs. She shook her head. This should have been easy. Old Hat. Instead it was eating her lunch, she thought. Three days. How the hell was she going to make three months, maybe more?

"Are you sure you're all right? Why don't I take the babies for the day? You can rest and call the damned doctor to make an appointment," Simone insisted.

She chuckled nervously. "No, really I'm fine."

Simone shook her head, "No, no, you ain't, girlfriend."

Jill frowned, "Girlfriend? Simone, when was the last time you saw Trisha?"

Simone frowned, "At your house on Monday morning, I think."

"I left a message on her voice mail yesterday morning, but I still haven't heard back from her."

The frown deepened, "I've left three. I think it's time we had us a little intervention, girlfriend."

"Intervention?" Jill questioned.

"Yeah, fancy word for ganging up on the poor girl."

Instead of turning back towards their houses, they walked ahead in silence. It was only a short walk. Most of the houses in their neighborhood looked almost identical. There were no numbers painted on the curb or on the front doors. Most of the people in this ordinary looking subdivision were military and those were just the most basic of counter measures. 

Simone pounded loudly on the door. When their friend did not answer immediately, Jill rang both the home phone and Trisha's cell. 

"No answer," she said as she jostled the double stroller trying to quiet the girls.

"Her car is in the drive way. Trav's truck too."

Jill nodded and fought back that uneasy feeling once more. She hated it, but it was becoming a way too common occurrence.

"You stay here with the babies. I'm going around back to look around," Simone pushed past her. 

Jill hummed softly to the girls as she waited. She tried to keep the worst of the worry at bay. She knew the babies would pick up on her emotions and she did not want them upset, unnecessarily. But when the front door swung open it was Simone that stood in the doorway, not Trisha. Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Simone, oh god, what is it?"

Her friend shook her head. "I need you. Turn on the TV and leave the girls in the living room. Then come to the nursery."

Bile rose in Jill's throat, "Nursery, oh god, something's wrong with T.J.?"

"No, I don't think so, but she won't let me get close enough to find out."

"What?" Jill questioned as she squeezed the stroller through the front door. But Simone had already gone, disappeared back down the hallway towards the sounds of uncontrolled crying. Jill could recognize the baby's, but the screams and sobs of a woman practically drowned them out.

She turned on the large screen television. She did not even need to search for the remote as the lilting voice of Elmo boomed out of the speakers hidden in the wall next to it. It was a good thing too. Looking around the room, Jill thought that it had been hit by the proverbial tornado. It was not just the toys and clean laundry that was thrown about it, but the couch was shoved at an odd angle and the end table had been turned over. 

The lamp that usually sat on it was broken into pieces on the floor. Her first thought was to pick up those pieces, they were sharp and dangerous. But the wailing down the hall seemed to be growing louder with each Nano-second. With the girls locked in their buggy, they should not be able to reach it. She shook her head at the thought, "Well, at least not in the couple of minutes it takes me to check on things with Simone." 

As she padded down the hall, the sounds got louder and louder. She could not make out any words, just the heart-rending pleas of a wounded animal. When she pushed open the door to the nursery, her mouth fell open. 

Only the faint light from a small crack in the Handy Manny curtains illuminated the room. But what she could see horrified her. Dirty diapers were strewn about the room. Bottles too, empty ones, half full ones and there were half a dozen more full ones lined up on the dresser, next to jars of baby food and an open box of animal crackers. The carpet was a landmine of toys everywhere. Each step must be carefully negotiated to keep from stubbing a toe or tripping.

But by far the worst was the woman, if she could be called that, sitting in the rocking chair squeezing the toddler and screaming. It was not just the shrill sounds emanating from her mouth that made Jill think of the mythological Celtic creature, a shrew. The creature was pale beyond words, well except for the dozens of dark patches that marred most of her body. Bruises were everywhere that she could see around the torn night gown that hung limply from one purplish shoulder. Jill thought she could even see the faint circle of teeth prints on the swell of that breast. 

"Oh god, what happened to her?"

Simone shook her head, her eyes pleaded with Jill for help. "That's not important right now. We need to get them help. I called nine-one-one and they're sending an ambulance and the police. But we need to get her to let go of the boy before they get here," she whispered.

"Never. I have to protect him. He's coming back. He said he would. And next time he's going to take T.J. He said so," screamed the creature as she rocked the crying baby back and forth faster and faster.

Jill picked her way through the toys towards her friend. She had to fight back the nausea when she got close. The smell of human waste was almost overpowering. She put her hand across her nose and breathed through her mouth. 

Tangled layers of red hair formed a half mask across the creatures face. But even through it, Jill could see the blank stare of a mad woman beneath the swollen blue tissue surrounding the normally clear green eyes. 

She knelt on the floor by the rocker. She reached out to touch her friend's knee but the creature jerked back so suddenly that it almost toppled the rocker. Jill drew her hand back slowly and looked up at Simone. She shook her head as she began to sing softly the same lullaby that she did with the babies. 

"Shh, Trisha, it's all right, sweetie. No one's here but me and Simone. No one's going to hurt you. I promise," she crooned as the song came to an end.

The woman shook her head violently, "No, no, you're wrong. He said he would be back. Said he was always watching me. Said he would know if," she broke down in tears once more as she clutched her son even closer. The boy let out another cry and tried to squirm away.

"Trisha, you're hurting T.J.," Simone whispered. 

"No, no, have to keep him safe. Can't let anything happen to him. He said he would," she kissed the boy's red curls. "He said that accidents happen to people all the time," she looked at Jill as she spoke. 

Jill forced air through her lungs. "Who, Trisha? Who is he?"

Trisha shook her head. "No, can't tell you. Just put you in more danger." The woman stood up suddenly clutching the child closer to her chest. The rocker turned over in the melee. "Have to get away. Far away. Have to keep T.J. from him," she sobbed.

Jill could hear the sirens in the distance. She looked at Simone for help. "Give T.J. to me, Trisha. If he is coming for you, then let me help you. Let me keep him safe."

Trisha's usually beautiful face contorted in pain and fear, but she nodded her head and kissed the screaming boy's head. "You're right. I can't protect him. Not anymore." She passed the child to Jill reluctantly then she slumped to the floor burying her face in her hands. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore. It doesn't matter what happens to me as long as T.J. is safe," she sobbed. 

Simone knelt on the floor next to the creature. She slowly extended her hand to the woman's back. The creature flinched at the first contact but did not pull away this time. "It's all right, sweetie. We're here now," she soothed. 

Jill looked the little boy over carefully. Other than being frightened by the strange behavior of his mother, he seemed fine. Even his diaper seemed to be fresh. "No, sweetie. You did good. T.J. is fine now. You did it. You kept him safe," she kissed the boy softly. "Everything is all right now, sugar," but not even the knot in her stomach believed the hollow words.

"Hello," came a distant voice.

Simone looked up at her. "You go let them in and take care of the children. I'll stay with her."

Jill nodded as the tears began to run slowly down her cheeks. "All right. I'll call Chloe or Beth. Have them come over to watch them. Then I'll meet you at the hospital."

Simone nodded as two uniformed police officers walked through the door, guns drawn. "Ma'am?" one questioned.

Jill brushed a tear off her cheek. "The scene is secure. No one was around when we found her. So please get the paramedics in here as soon as you can."

The man in front nodded as his partner backed out of the room, holstering his gun. "All clear," he yelled as three technicians walked through the door carrying two large orange bags. Jill nodded at Simone as she slipped from the room, carrying the baby towards the living room where Brit and Ash were beginning to fuss.

She softly rocked the stroller with her hip as she sang along with Ernie. Tears raced unchecked down her face as she murdered "Rubber ducky you're the one. Rubber ducky you make bath time so much fun." But her mind was splintered. 

She grabbed her cell phone from the small bag that hung from the handle of the stroller. She filed through her contacts until she found Chloe's number. She did not even have to explain the situation, simply tell the woman that she needed her. 

Jill hung up the phone and tried to focus on caring for the children but her mind was as numb as her body was cold and tired. Time seemed to freeze as one television show ended and another began.

Moments later Chloe was racing up the walk as the ambulance crew pushed the stretcher with Trisha's limp body through the front door. Her friend burst into the living room, "Oh my god, Jill, what happened?" 

Jill could barely speak as she passed T.J. to the woman's arms. "Be back," was all she managed to mumble as she raced down the hall to the bathroom. The nausea finally winning this battle. 

She knelt on the wet floor as she gripped the sides of the toilet. There was not much to come up, just a bit of herbal tea and some crackers. But the dry heaves continued for several more minutes. 

Finally, when she thought that the worst of it had passed, she stood slowly and splashed some water on her face. Looking around, she realized that this room bore its own signs of chaos. The tub was full. The water on the floor obviously from it running over. And half a dozen towels were thrown about the room. Several bottles of soap, disinfectant and even bleach were scattered about the tub. She fought back the nausea again at the overwhelming smell of the chemicals. 

"Oh god, Trisha, what happened to you?" she asked as she backed slowly out of the room. But her mind was already mulling over what she knew and she did not like the conclusions it was coming up with.

She walked slowly back down the hall, holding onto the wall a bit as everything swam about her. She tried to smile as she walked back into the living room where Chloe was trying to answer the police officer's questions. Jill noticed that Dwayne held T.J. and Chloe's son Thad on his lap in the wheel chair as he made funny faces at her daughters. 

She passed a hand over her face as she stepped up to take over answering the questions as best she could anyway.

"Ma'am, do you know what happened here?" 

She shook her head, "Not really, officer. We hadn't seen Trisha in a couple of days. And she hadn't returned our calls either so we decided to come over and check on her and T.J."

"We, Ma'am?"

She shook her head to clear it. "Yes, Simone and I. Simone Jackson. The three of us are friends."

The man nodded his head, instantly understanding the bond the women held. "Yes, Ma'am. You said you had not heard from her in a few days. When was the last time?"

"Monday morning. Our husbands are in the Navy and they shipped out and I had a little brunch at our house that morning." 

"Yes, Ma'am. And your husband is?"

"Commander Daniel Monroe, officer."

The man nodded, "Yes, Ma'am. I know him. I responded to the call when his first wife died."

Any other time, Jill knew her curiosity would have demanded she ask him dozens of questions that had been bothering her for months about the woman's death. But this morning, it all seemed so irrelevant. Rachel was dead. And as much as she did not want to think about, she knew that if she and Simone had not stopped by, there was a very real possibility that Trisha might be too.

"I don't know what else I can tell you. Trisha didn't say much about what happened. She just kept mumbling and ranting about him coming back."

"Him, Ma'am? So she clearly indicated that her attacker was a man?"

Jill nodded, "Of course. Did you really think it could be anyone else? Look around." She caught herself, knew that she was being disrespectful. The man was just doing his job. "I'm sorry, officer. It's just that I'm very upset. Someone hurt my friend very badly. So even if she had not said it was a 'he' I would have just assumed with this level of violence."

The man smiled and nodded slowly. "Yes, Ma'am. Most people would, but let me tell you I've seen the damage that women can do. Even when they are smaller, they can still wreck havoc if they get riled up enough. Seen some pretty big guys wearing black eyes or worse."

The way that he looked when he said that sent those bells tingling once more in her gut, but with Chloe and Dwayne around she checked her tongue. "Yes, well, she repeatedly said he and him. So I think we can safely assume it is a man this time."

"Yes, Ma'am and that is a help. You said that your husbands deployed? When was that again, Ma'am?"

"Monday, Monday evening."

"And that was the last time you saw her? Before her husband left?"

Jill swallowed hard. She did not like where these questions were going. "Yes, officer. That was the last time we saw her."

"Before he actually left, Ma'am?"

"Yes, a couple of hours before. But I really don't think there is anyway that he could be responsible for this. That was three days ago."

He nodded, "The EMTs couldn't give us a specific time, Ma'am, but they said those bruises weren't fresh."

Jill choked at his words. "Oh god."

"Ma'am, do you know if Missus Hall and her husband were having any problems?"

She wanted to lie. Wanted it so badly. She did not want this man thinking that their friend might have done this. Done this horrible thing to his own wife. But she knew how angry he was. How hurt and betrayed. And reluctantly, she had to admit that spousal abuse, especially among high stress macho types like police, fire and military was an all too common problem. She knew personally the realities of it, had counseled a dear friend through some pretty dark days. 

"They were having some problems, officer," she whispered.

"What kind of problems, Ma'am?" he asked as he continued to scribble in a notebook. 

"Trisha had an affair during Trav's last deployment."

He nodded his head and wrote faster. "Do you know if they were getting any help, Ma'am? Counseling? That sort of thing."

She shook her head, "No, I don't think so. I just found out about it a few days ago. Trisha told me when I saw her at the mall with the man. They were arguing about something when I walked over. She was pretty upset."

"So you know who this other man is, Ma'am?"

"Yes, Clay Dodd. He used to be in my husband's unit a few years ago."

He nodded again. "Yes, Ma'am. I know Mister Dodd too. Could you hear anything they were talking about?"

"No, not really. They both shut up when I came over. But Trisha told me later that Dodd was trying to get her to convince Trav to quit the Navy and come to work for his father at Night Walkers. She said he threatened to lie and tell Lieutenant Hall that their affair was still continuing if she didn't. She was pretty upset about it. But I really didn't have the chance to ask her anymore because my step-daughter was injured in a fall down the stairs at the mall."

His brow furrowed, "So Mister Dodd wanted the man whose wife he was having an affair with to come to work for him? That seems a bit strange don't you think? Do you know if Lieutenant Hall knew that it was Mister Dodd who his wife had the affair with?"

She nodded slowly. "Mister Dodd has been poaching men from my husband's unit for some time. He even tried to get my husband and Master Petty Officer Jackson to quit and come to work for them. But, yes, Travis knew who Trisha had the affair with. She told him herself when she confessed the whole thing months ago."

"She confessed the affair to her husband? When was that?"

"Right after he came back from their last deployment. So I don't think it could have been Trav. If he were going to harm his wife, wouldn't he have done it before? When she first told him about it? And no matter how much he might be upset with Trisha, he loves his son. He would never do anything that might hurt the boy."

He nodded, "Perhaps, Ma'am. But there is no evidence of forced entry so your friend likely let her assailant into the house or he was already here. And according to the paramedics, the little boy was not hurt at all, just his mother. Perhaps Lieutenant Hall didn't realize how badly he had hurt his wife or maybe he was counting on you or one of the other wives to find her before something happened to the child."

Jill sucked in her breath. The man looked at her, "Ma'am, is there something more I should know?"

Her voice trembled as she answered, "Trav asked me and Simone to keep an eye out for her."

The man looked solemn as he closed the small notebook and placed it back in his pocket. The other officer called from down the hall "Sergeant, I think you should see this."

"Excuse me, folks," he mumbled. 

Jill slumped on to the couch next to Chloe, who had taken Britney out of the stroller and was now holding the fussy toddler on her lap. The woman passed her daughter to her and picked Ashley up out of the stroller. "You don't really think it could be Trav, do you?" she asked.

But before Jill could speak up, it was Dwayne that responded. "No way. Like she said, Trav would have never done anything that might hurt T.J. I know that much. If you ask me, he should have been asking more questions about that sleaze ball Dodd. That son of a bitch is nothing but trouble. He always has been. Even when," he paused.

Jill nodded, "I agree. He was awfully angry with Trisha that day at the mall." Her eyes went wide as she realized that Clay had been at the mall the day that Jesse was pushed down the stairs. Her step-daughter's description of a big man would certainly apply to him as well. "Oh my god," she gasped as she passed Britney back to Chloe. 

"Dwayne, take Chloe and the children to my house," she reached into the small purse on the stroller and pulled out her keys. She fumbled with them for a moment before she tossed him a set. "Those are to the house. I have to get to the hospital. Check on Trisha and talk to Simone." She pinned the man with a cold stare, "No matter what happens, don't leave the house or let anyone in."

He palmed the keys as he swung his wheel chair towards the door, "Yes, Ma'am. You can count on me."

Jill called out to the officers that she was leaving for the hospital. She assured him that he could reach her later if he had anymore questions. She raced down the streets towards her home. She was breathing heavy and more than a bit panicked by the time she reached the SUV. She fumbled with the key. Her fingers trembled so much that it was hard to get them into the lock. She drew several deep breaths to clear her mind as she slipped the key into the ignition. She backed out of the driveway and pulled into the road. 




The Arrangement Ch. 11



Why had she not thought of it sooner? Dodd was there. At the mall that day. He was angry already. How easy would it have been for the man to race across the mall. Perhaps he did not even mean it. Perhaps he was just so angry with Trisha and her that he had pushed Jesse without thinking. But that second one? If Jesse was right and she had no reason to doubt her step-daughter, even if that first shove had been accidental or in the heat of the moment, a second would have been deliberate. 

And Trisha? The police sergeant said there was no sign of forced entry. But would her friend have let the man in? She knew she was upset that day at the mall. But Trisha was upset with Travis too. Had she meant to restart the affair? Or maybe she had simply let him in to discuss his blackmail? 

Jill looked up to see the light turn yellow. She put her foot down on the brake but nothing happened. Her car continued forward and she pumped the brake harder. Her hand came up to blow the horn as the light turned red. But she did not manage to even touch it before the loud crash of metal on metal jolted her. Her body jerked forward as something came up to hit her in the face and everything went black.

***

Daniel watched as Samuel talked and laughed around the camp fire with the man they had named Doc. Technically, Brent Jacobs was not a real doctor, a PhD in geology. He watched as the bright orange sun began to set over the desert. At least they would not have to worry about the cold night this close to the gapping hole in the ground that boiled and churned with red hot molten lava.

As missions went this one was damned cushy. God damned cushy in fact. His unit was doing a bit of reconnaissance on the Afar, a desert tribe in Ethiopia that had until recently been friendly. But with growing tensions in the region and with hostile neighbors like Eritrea and Somalia, there were rumors that extremist had targeted the group as its latest recruits for spreading militancy and violence. 

Usually he and his men would spend days or weeks laying low and observing the tribe, but Jacobs's research on the Erta Ale volcano provided the perfect cover for the group to get closer to the tribe. Because of Jacobs's connection to his father's oil business, he worked closely with the government. The man had been more than happy to substitute his usual security and guide teams with members of Daniel's team. Others watched from the distance and probably cursed the lucky bastards their simple luxuries like a camp fire, hot food and even their IPads. 

Daniel finished his final checks around the perimeter, you could never be too careful. Samuel was frowning and nodding at something the man said. Curiosity drove him towards the fire. Doc stood up as he approached. "I better be heading to bed." Looking at Samuel he smiled, "Think about it at least."

Samuel nodded, "I will. I promise you that."

Daniel sat on a blanket across from his friend. The two of them stared into the fire in silence for a moment.

"Everything all right? Did you check in with Trav and the others?" asked Samuel.

He nodded, "Yeah, other than being mad as shit that we're here and they're out there everything is cool."

Samuel chuckled, "Damn straight. Seniority ought to have some perks."

Daniel stretched, "Do you ever feel you're getting too old for shit?"

Samuel's shoulders slumped, "Only every fucking day for the past five years."

He nodded. Five years. Five years since the incident that had taken his friend's life. Samuel's friend and Jill's husband. He sighed.

"I've been looking for a way to say this, man. And I guess since you mentioned it, this is as good as any." Samuel shifted on the blanket, poking nervously at the fire with a steel rod. "When we get back, I'm putting in my papers. I'm retiring."

Daniel's mouth dropped open. "What? You've decided to accept Dodd's fucked up offer?"

Samuel shook his head, "Naw, man. I'm tired and old, not stupid. Simone and I have been talking about this one for a while." Looking over at Doc as he spoke quietly with their Afar guide next to his tent, he continued, "But Dodd ain't the only one that recognizes our skills. Doc's offered me a job, running security at this place he's building in west Texas." 

Daniel frowned, "You don't buy his shit, do you? I mean all this end of the world crap."

Samuel shrugged, "I don't know, Danny boy. The man is some kind of fucking genius from what our Intel said. His daddy is rich as shit too."

"I know but you of all people should know how that kind of shit can screw somebody up. I mean it all just seems too weird. Some kind of mad scientist shit if you ask me."

"He's not like Dodd or Rachel. His theory might be a bit out there, but everything I've learned about this guy is on the up and up. You know he put himself through his doctorate program without any help from his father. His dad had thought he'd use his geology degree to find more oil but the guy was more interested in his volcanoes."

Daniel shrugged, "Still, have you actually listened to his whole theory? A series of volcanic eruptions around the world that will plunge us into a new Ice Age. Come on, that's science fiction crap."

Samuel poked the fire again, "Maybe, man. But his ideas for sustainable living on this damned, I don't know, commune, I guess, are fucking amazing. Raise your own food, recycle everything, and everyone pull their own weight."

"Hippie fucking crap. Utopia. You know it never works like that."

"I don't know. Maybe it could." His friend met his gaze, "Man, like you said I'm getting too old for this shit. I'm forty-two. Forty fucking two. I should have been out of here long ago."

Daniel felt anger and betrayal knotting in his gut. "So why the fuck didn't you, old man?"

He slumped, "Simone and I agreed that as long as you needed us we'd stick around." He looked up and smiled, "But you don't need us no more, man. You got Jill and like I keep telling your sorry ass that woman is great. Second best one I know."

Daniel lay back on his side and watched the fire flicker, "I know." 

"It still bothering you?"

"It probably always will," he whispered.

Samuel chuckled, "Tell you what, since you won't listen to me on this one, when we get home I'll have Simone do a fucking séance. Let the son of a bitch give you his blessing himself."

Daniel laughed. "Yeah, right. Even you don't believe half the crazy shit your wife does with her voodoo magic."

He crooked his eye brow, "Maybe not, but I do know this. You got to let this one go. Like I told you, you ain't god. There was nothing you could have done, everyone knows that. But if you keep letting these ghosts from your past gnaw at your guts, you're going to screw up the best thing that ever happened to your ass. And that would be a real shame, my friend."

Samuel ran a hand across his face, "But I can't have your back forever. Hell, even this Hotel Hilton shit is getting to me. I feel it in my back every morning when I wake up. Truth is that men my age, David's age, don't belong out here. When you get older, no damned matter how hard you work at it, your reflexes slow, little pains creep in." He pinned Daniel with his stare, "And it can cost you your life," he looked off at the rolling sand hills on the horizon, "Or worse yet others," he whispered. 

Daniel nodded, "I know I call you old man, but Samuel, you know that I'd be the first to tell you if I didn't think you were up for the job." 

His friend grinned, "I know man. And if this was just everyday shit. I know I can still kick most guys asses. Hell, I'm retiring, not curling up in a hole somewhere and dying. You know there is life after this adrenaline rush shit." He winked, "Fuck, there's even more fun ways to get that fix."

Daniel roared with laughter, "Please no more about how you like your buns buttered." 

"Aw, man, from what my wife said about what Jill had in her bags on their little shopping expedition, I don't need to be giving you no advice." He smiled as he hummed, "She's a super freak, super freaky."

Daniel chuckled and threw the stick that he had been using to play with the fire at his friend, hitting him squarely in the chest. 

"Hey, you might be into the pain thing, but I ain't. Especially not with you, buddy; wrong equipment. And no damned cushion for the pushin' either," he joked as he tilted his hips back and forth imitating the act.

"Fuck man, what am I going to do without you?" Daniel laughed.

Samuel sighed, "I know. Seems like we been friends forever. You know I'm sure Doc could use another good man down in Texas. The place is hundreds of acres. Nice quiet life, plenty of time with your daughters," he winked again, "and your wife."

"I don't know. I used to live for this shit. The mission. The adrenaline. The game. Now all I can do is wonder what new thing Britney and Ashley are getting into. Is Bel doing all right? Did Jesse win her soccer game this week?" He sighed, "Is Jill feeling better?"

Samuel chuckled, "Don't worry I'm sure your wife will be fine in a few more weeks, these things usually go away on there on by the end of the first trimester."

Daniel's eyes flew open, his mouth dropped. An elephant sat on his chest making it hard for him to breath. "What? Jill said it was food poisoning like Bel had."

"Yeah, I know. Girl can be as dense as her husband sometimes. Simone's been trying to get her to go see the doctor since you two came back from your parents'. But man, come on, don't tell me after four daughters, three pregnancies that you didn't wonder the same damned thing?"

Daniel shook his head, trying to think. "No, Jill just seemed so certain that it was the same as Bel. If I had any idea."

"What? Your ass wouldn't be out here right now? Never bothered you before, buddy. Hell, you missed Bel's birth and the first six weeks of her life. Maybe I'm not the only one that needs to be thinking about what the fuck I'm doing out here, sleeping on the ground in another shithole. Maybe you ought to think a bit about why the fuck that woman has your guts in knots and your balls in a vice."

Daniel chuckled to himself. Jill might have his balls but it certainly was not in any vice. Although he was not sure that he would not put it past Mistress J to try it. His mind played over his friends words. Pregnant? Could his wife be pregnant? He shook his head. "Stupid fuck, of course, she could be."

Samuel laughed, "Damned straight. Now you catch on. Question is, what you gonna do? You gonna keep letting something that was not your fucking fault, something that is ancient history, control your life. Or you gonna be man enough to tell your wife how you feel about her and be there for her and your daughters this time?" 

He stood and kicked sand into the dying embers. "Talk to Doc when you grow up and face the truth. The man ain't like Dodd, he don't poach. He only made the offer when he learned I was thinking about quitting. You could do lots worse than some fucking eco-village as he calls it in the middle of nowhere. This old man can't wait to spends his days farming, hunting and fishing. And every damned night for the rest of his life wrapped up nice and tight in his wife's welcoming bosom."

"Yeah, just be sure not to smother in there, you old fool."

"Hell, ain't you figured out yet, that's the best way to go. Think about it, man." He looked off towards the hills once more, "This is a young man's game. You trained them damned good, even that piece of shit Dodd knows that. Trav might have his personal problems, but he's a fine leader." He smiled, "Seems to me, I knew this guy once, who kept running from his problems on the home front. He made a damned good commander too, sir." Samuel punctuated his words with a salute before he turned and walked towards his tent. That act in itself unusual despite the difference in their rank.

Daniel sat staring at the dying embers. Lost in his thoughts as around him the night got colder.

***

Cold. It was so fucking cold, Jill thought as she opened her eyes. Bright lights sent shards of pain shooting through her head and she closed them back quickly. Her mind tried to piece together the puzzle. Where was she?

A warm hand squeezed hers and she turned her head, opening her eyes more slowly this time. "Simone?"

"Yeah, girlfriend. You had me scared there for a bit. You've been out cold since the ambulance brought you in. Damned good thing, I saw the stretcher when they wheeled you in. But what were you thinking? I know you wanted to get to the hospital as fast as you could and check on Trisha, but you shouldn't have run a red light to do it."

Jill shook her head at her friend's words, igniting another round of pain. Hospital? Trisha? Red light? None of it made sense. She frowned as she tried to remember what happened. Why was she in the hospital? And why did her whole body ache like she had been in an argument with a school bus?

Not a school bus. Another car. "Oh my god, the accident. Was anyone hurt?"

Simone laughed and shook her head, "That's just like you. You are laying in a hospital bed and your first thought is, was the other guy all right." She nodded and squeezed Jill's hand, "Yes, the guy was rushing to work. All he saw was that his light was green. He did not even notice that you were still coming. Seriously, girl, what were you thinking?"

Jill furrowed her brow as she tried to remember the accident. It was all still a bit fuzzy. She had taken Jesse and Bel to the bus stop. Then she and Simone had gone to check on Trisha. "Oh god, Trisha?"

"She's fine. Well, as fine as she can be. The doctors gave her some sedatives. They checked her over and nothing was broken, but she is banged up pretty good. They are more worried about her mental health right now. Decided to keep her for a couple of days observation."

"What happened? Did she ever tell you?"

"Not really. Just more gibberish about him coming. About how we have to protect T.J. The doctors said she was beat up pretty badly." 

Simone looked down at the floor as she whispered, "They wanted to do a rape kit, but Trisha wouldn't let them get anywhere near her. They said it probably wouldn't have shown anything anyway. Said it had happened two to three days ago and that she had bathed." Tears spilled from her eyes as she continued, "Poor baby, her skin was red and raw. Doctors said she had rubbed herself so hard trying to clean up. Said she probably even used cleansers."

"Bleach," Jill whispered as she felt her stomach turn over. 

Simone nodded, "How did you know?"

"I smelled it when I went into the bathroom to," she stopped.

"To throw up again?" 

Jill smiled weakly in admission. She forced her mind to recall the rest. The police man. Chloe and Dwayne. "Britney and Ashley! Chloe and Dwayne were supposed to take them to home."

"Shh, they did. The girls are fine. I spoke with Chloe when they brought you in. Tried her first, figured you would call her before Beth. She said that you were really upset when you rushed out of Trisha's. Said you told Dwayne to take her and the children to your house and not let anyone in. Then you just ran out. What's up, girl?" 

Jill tried to remember, but her mind was like one of Britney and Ashley's puzzles, pieces strewn about the floor, some hidden or lost. "I don't know. I remember answering the police man's questions. Well, as best I could anyway. And something doesn't feel right, it just doesn't make sense. But for the life of me, I can't remember what," she sobbed, trying to sit up.

Simone placed a hand on her shoulder, "Lay back down. The doctors said you probably had a concussion. They want to do a CAT scan to make sure it is nothing more and some x-rays of your spine too, but since it isn't life threatening at this point they are waiting on some blood test results."

"Blood tests? For a car accident?" Jill collapsed back against the pillow, trying to make sense of anything her friend was saying. Trying to remember what had upset her so much that she would endanger herself and others by driving recklessly. 

Simone blushed and looked away, "Yeah, I told them you might be pregnant."

"Pregnant? Simone, we talked about this. It is just taking me a little longer to get over the food poisoning. But I can't be pregnant."

"Can't? Don't tell me can't. You aren't screwing the ever loving daylights out of that stud puppy you're married to, fucking the man every chance you get." She arched her brow, demanding a response, but Jill could only blush. "So what type of birth control you been using, girlfriend? Cause none of 'dem is perfect, you know."

Jill looked down at the white sheet. "I told you before the chances of me getting pregnant at my age are slim and none."

"Yeah, well, sweetie, slim ain't birth control. And lots of women our age are having babies these days."

"With help. Drugs. IVF. That sort of thing. Don't get me wrong, nothing would make me happier than another baby. But why get my hopes up when something isn't going to happen?"

Her friend rolled her eyes, "I bet you maid service for a month that I'm right. You're pregnant, girlfriend. And all the sticking your head in the sand in this world ain't gonna change that. So I wasn't letting the doctors do tests that might hurt that little peanut, not when it wasn't a matter of life and death. So sue me," she said crossing her arms over her ample chest and sticking her chin out.

Jill reached out and laid her hand on her friend's arm, "I know you were just doing what you thought was best. But this time, you better have the chocolate cake and a big box of Kleenex when that test is negative."

"Deal, sweetie. Now you rest while they finish up those tests. I'm going to check-in on Trisha and call Chloe again."

Jill nodded as her friend slipped from the curtained cubicle. It was impossible to stop her hand from resting protectively over her lower abdomen. "I wish you were right, girlfriend. Oh god, I wish," she whispered as she gave into the overwhelming aches that radiated throughout her body. She closed her eyes, grasping for those missing pieces of the puzzle. Her mind tried to fit them together until her head hurt and tiredness overcame her.

***

Jill tapped softly on the door, but there was no response. She opened it slowly. Every light was out, only the call button glowed above the bed. At first, she thought her friend was asleep. The tiny creature huddled in the bed with the blankets pulled up to her chin. She would just sit with her a few minutes before returning to her own room. 

But as she got closer to Trisha, she heard the soft cries and hiccups. She noticed that her eyes that were almost swollen shut and a dark shade of purple, almost black, had tears leaking from the corners. The woman trembled, whether from cold or fear Jill could not tell.

"Trisha, sweetie, is it all right if I sit with you for a bit?" she asked as she approached the bed. The creature that had taken over her friend's body merely shrugged and turned her head away.

"Thanks, girl friend. I just wanted to check up on you before I go to sleep. I don't know if Simone told you, but I had a car accident today on my way to the hospital. I don't really remember what happened but they say that is normal, retrograde amnesia they call it. Said it would come back in bits and pieces over time," she knew that she was rambling but had no idea what to say really. She wanted to rouse her friend, bring back that fighting Texas spirit, but words would not come.

"Chloe, Dwayne and Simone are taking care of the children for us. Chloe took T.J. home with her, said Dwayne would spend the night on the sofa just to make sure things were OK. And Simone and Althea moved into mine for the night to care for the girls. So I guess we don't need to worry about anything there. I don't know about you, but it sure is odd not having them around, not having anything to do really."




The Arrangement Ch. 11



Trisha turned her head slowly, "Was T.J. all right?"

Jill smiled that even in this state her son could reach her, "Yes, sweetie, the medics that brought you here checked him over really good. There was not a mark on him. They said you had feed him and looked after him really well." 

More tears slipped from her friend's eyes, "He said he would," she stopped and drew a deep breath.

Jill reached out her hand to take her friend's, but she drew back. "Who, Trisha? Who? What did he say? We can't help you, can't keep T.J. safe if you don't help us. Who did this to you?"

The woman shook her head of red tangles violently against the stark white of the pillow. 

"You know the police think that Trav did this to you. They asked an awfully lot of questions this morning." Jill felt the knot rising in her throat and choked on it, but she knew she needed to find out. "Did he? Trisha, did Travis beat you like this before he left?"

Trisha's eyes went wide and she brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a small cry, but she again shook her head violently from side to side. Jill felt every muscle in her body relax. She sighed in relief and smiled softly. She had not wanted to think that their friend could do this to his wife, but she knew from experience that you could never know for certain what a man was capable of behind the closed doors of his home. 

"Who, sweetie? Who? The police man said that there was no sign of forced entry, that you had to let the person in."

The choked sob that the creature emitted as she turned back away ripped at Jill's heart. "It isn't your fault, Trisha. I'm not saying it is. But who would betray your trust like this? Who would do this to you? Please tell me, sweetie, so we can keep you safe. Let us help you."

"You can't. He said he would know if I told anyone. That he would come back and hurt T.J. Said he could arrange for Travis to have a little accident." She gripped the cold metal bars that were raised on the side of her bed until her fingers turned white. "He said that he would come back and do it all again. Said I was just a whore like all the rest. That my body was his to use until," she shook and covered her mouth as she turned even more pale. "Oh god, no! No!" 

Jill reached out her hand and placed it softly on her friend's shoulder. The woman did not fight her as she turned her slowly to face her. "What? What did he say, Trisha? What did he say he was going to do to you?"

"No, I can't say it. It is too horrible to even think. I can't be. Oh god, it just can't be," she cried.

Jill bent over the bed and wrapped her arms about her friend as she cried again. Her body shook and trembled with each sob. She cried out "no" over and over again for several moments. Until finally she was too exhausted, there were no more tears to be cried and she stilled in Jill's arms. She stood up slowly and reached over to the dresser next to the bed, grabbing several large tissues and wiping them across Trisha's face.

"Sweetie, I know you have been through hell these past few days. But keeping it inside is only going to make it worse. Tell me what he said. What he did to you. Tell me who hurt you."

"I can't. I won't place the rest of you in danger. Nobody can stop him. He's too powerful, too much money. He'll just buy off the cops or get the best lawyer. He said no one would believe me anyway. That everyone knew what a slut I was to begin with. That not even my own husband would listen." 

She stared down at the white sheet covering her chest, "He's probably right about that one. If Travis didn't believe me about," she fiddled with the sheet for a moment. "Well if he did not believe me that it was just the once, then he would never believe me about this either."

"Oh, sweetie, this is different. Look at you. No one can doubt that someone hurt you. Hurt you badly. Simone and I were there, we know. We will make him understand."

"No, no. He said he would say it was just rough sex. That I wanted it. That I liked it. Oh, god, maybe I did. I let him in. I was so mad at Travis that I just wanted to hurt him so I invited him, but I swear I never meant," she sobbed again.

"Let who in, Trisha?" Jill played over all the things her friend had said. The pieces of this puzzle falling into place at last. But she shuddered. The man always made her uncomfortable, but this? "Trisha, was it Clay Dodd? Did he do this to you?"

Her friend turned her back to her, "You should go, Jill. Just go."

"Trisha, we can help. We'll go to the police together. I saw what happened at the mall, how he upset you, threatened you. We will file charges, get a restraining order, do whatever it takes, sweetie. Simone and I will stand beside you."

"No, it wouldn't do any good. He'd just come after you too. I can't let him hurt anyone else. Please just go away," she cried. 

Jill shook her head, but realized that her friend was still not thinking straight. She had been through so much. Probably more than Jill knew, or wanted to know. Perhaps strategic retreat was the best option. "All right, girlfriend, I'll go. For now. But I'm going to check in on you tomorrow morning before they send me home."

Her friend shrugged and held tightly on the rails again. "I'll see you then. Try to get some sleep. Chloe and Dwayne will take good care of T.J. until you can, but he needs his mommy. You have to get better, Trisha, for his sake."

"T.J.," her friend whispered. "Have to protect him. Have to keep him safe. Always."

Jill nodded, "You did good, sweetie. He's fine. Now focus on getting better so you can take him home."

"Home," she whispered. "Home?"

She squeezed her shoulder, "That's right, now rest. We'll talk more tomorrow." She turned and slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. But she could not make her feet move, collapsing against the wall as tears slipped down her cheeks. 

"Oh god, Trisha, what has he done to you? What has Dodd done now?" That cold apprehension swamped her once more. Her head spun and she slipped slowly to the floor, fighting back the nausea with slow, cleansing breaths. "Oh little peanut, give Mommy a break will you? She needs to think, make some sense of this mess, figure out what to do." Her hand rested protectively over her lower abdomen cupping the tiny miracle that still seemed to be too good to be true. A baby. Daniel's baby. 

"Missus Monroe, what are you doing up? You are supposed to be on bed rest. Are you all right? Any pain? Did you faint?" the young nurse fired the questions so quickly that Jill could not answer them. 

"Let's get you back to bed," she commanded as she helped Jill to stand. Her room was just a few doors away, but the walk had not seemed so far on the way to see her friend. Jill leaned against the woman as she helped her into bed. "You stay there until the doctor comes tomorrow. You have a concussion and with the way that air bag deployed we can never be too careful about that baby."

Jill nodded and smiled. "Wouldn't do anything to hurt the baby," she whispered, feeling suddenly very tired. 

The nursed returned her smile, "We know you wouldn't. Now get some sleep. It is what you both need right now."

But sleep was not easy coming that night. The dreams assailed her mind. She was running from something. Someone was chasing her. David was calling to her but then he disappeared in a billow of smoke and her heart lurched. She ran to where he had been standing but when it all cleared it was Daniel standing there. But no matter how fast or far she ran, she could never reach the safety of his open arms. And that cold fear just gripped her stomach more, eyes were on her, watching her every move. She turned to look, but could not see anything. She tried to stop, but she could not. She could not stop. She just kept running...and running...and running. 

***

NOTE: I know all of you are anxiously awaiting the completion of this story. Trust me, so am I. Still have to make a cover and do some serious edits before I put the final version out for sale. But as some of you know, I am the single mom of a sick child. When she is doing well or I have help, then I get lots written (like this summer). But then there are times like the past month when her health must come first. So please be patient. I am still hoping to finish it before Christmas...only 2 more chapters, well 1 chapter and the epilogue. I really do appreciate everyone's support and knowing that you are waiting to hear from Daniel and Jill drives me to the laptop. 



The Arrangement Ch. 12



Jill forced herself to hum softly for Britney and Ashley. The twins were as cranky today as she felt and being restrained in their stroller did not help. "It won't be long, princesses. We just need to pick-up Jesse and Bel," she promised as her tummy did a little flip. She frowned; it had been a couple of weeks since the worst of the morning sickness had passed.

As they approached the stop sign that marked the designated school bus stop, she waved to Simone. She tried to force a smile, but none would come. There was not much to smile about these days. Three months and twenty-three days since Daniel's unit had been deployed. 

If that was not bad enough, both she and Simone received almost daily calls from Sergeant Martin about Trish. The woman had disappeared, even before Jill was released from the hospital. She had simply woken up the next morning and signed herself out of the hospital. She had gone to straight to Chloe's before either Jill or Simone knew what was up and sweet talked the young woman into handing over her son, not that they could have stopped her, Jill supposed. TJ was her child, but still they all felt awful that in her time of need Trisha had not turned to them.

At least they knew she was safe. Simone had called her family in Lubbock to tell them what had happened, only to discover that she and the baby were there. She steadfastly refused to talk to either of them though. That hurt, considering how close the women had been. 

But Jill had big problems closer to home to deal with. Jesse had become more withdrawn every day since her father left. She rarely came out of her basement bedroom except for meals and school. Jill had thought it was just missing Daniel and had tried to talk to her, but the girl just pushed her away. 

The biting wind off the ocean cut through Jill's coat. She supposed she understood some of the girl's angst. Thanksgiving had come and gone without her father, then Christmas, even the New Year. While they had celebrated the holidays with Simone, Althea and the other families, it was not the same as their summer barbeques had been. Jill smiled weakly, who knew how much beer swilling men added to an event.

Simone held out her hand as they approached the stop. "Whatever that thought is, keep it. I haven't seen that smile on your face in weeks." Jill chuckled, "I was thinking about beer swilling men."

Simone wrapped arms about her. "Oh sugar, it won't be long now."

Jill brushed back tears and cursed her own weakness under her breath. "Damned hormones."

Simone nodded and ran her eyes up and down her friend. "Yeah, well, the boys better get back soon or your little efforts to keep this whole thing from everyone will be for nothing."

Jill nodded and pressed her hand over her tummy where a pair of Daniel's grey sweat pants and an old Naval Academy shirts peeked out from between buttons on her coat that would no longer close. 

She sucked it in as much as she could, but then exhaled loudly. "I know, it's no fucking use. This baby must be another bruiser like DJ was. I swear I have not been this big, this soon since he was born." She shook her head, "I refuse to gain seventy pounds this time."

Simone laughed, "Any luck finding your Turkish doner kebabs?"

Jill stared at her, a look that would freeze most people's blood but only made her friend laugh harder. "No, dammit. I never thought I'd miss anything about that place, but I'd kill for a doner from the little shop down the road from my flat in London."

Simone tried to straighten up as the big yellow school bus approached. "Yeah, well, back to pretending, girlfriend. Although how you manage to keep that a secret from a curious teenage girl is beyond me," she said pointing to Jill's protruding abdomen.

"If she were out of her bedroom for more than five minutes, I probably couldn't." Jill smiled as Bel bounced off the bus and ran to hug her. She squeezed the girl and listened as she droned on and on about the new girl at school.

She frowned as Althea stepped from the bus. Her head was down as she went to her mother. Jill waited for a moment until the doors of the bus closed. "Althea?" she asked, turning towards her friend.

She froze as she noted the huge tears cascading down the young girl's cocoa skin. She trembled in her mother's arms as she turned towards Jill. Her voice broke as she began, "I begged her not to go. Honest, I did, but she wouldn't listen. She said, if her dad could find a," the girl stopped and looked up into her mother's eyes.

"What, Althea? What did Jesse say? We need to know everything."

The girl nodded, "She's just mad. You have to understand. About you marrying her dad, taking over everything she used to do for Bel and even the babies. And now you're having another baby. She didn't mean it, she's just not thinking all right?" Her eyes pleaded for understanding. 

Jill nodded slowly as the revelation that Jesse knew about her pregnancy sank in. The girl began again. "She said if her father could find a whore on the Internet then she could too." Althea looked at the ground and sighed, "She's been talking to this boy from Richmond online for months now. Since you got married. He's asked her to meet him several times, but she always refused. But this time, well, she's really mad at you and her dad. Said he promised no more babies." The girl blushed when Jill's hand went protectively to her stomach. Simone and she exchanged glances. 

"Go on, Althea. Where is Jesse now?" demanded her mother.

She shook her head, "I don't know. She swore that she would be back before the school bus left. She snuck off at lunch time, said she was going to meet him for coffee at the mall, but that neither of us would get into any trouble because she would make it back before anyone knew. He is seventeen and has a car...or so she said."

The color drained from Jill's face. "Seventeen? Jesse isn't even thirteen yet?"

Althea nodded, "I know, but she told him she was fifteen."

Bile rose up as Jill realized that it would be just as easy for the man to lie to her step-daughter. "Oh my god."

Simone hugged her daughter, "You should have told us sooner, little lady, but we will discuss that later." Turning towards Jill, she forced a smile, "I'm sure everything will be fine, sweetie. You go home and call that police sergeant. I'll take Althea and go to the mall. I'm sure we'll find her there, but just in case, get the police involved as quickly as possible."

Jill closed her eyes to fight back the tears as Britney began to fuss in the buggy. Daniel would never forgive her if something happened to his daughter. She felt tiny arms about her legs and looked down to see Bel's golden curls pressed against the swell of her stomach. She rubbed the girl's back and murmured soothing words that she herself did not belief. That feeling was eating at her gut once more as she turned her small troop back towards the house. Never, she thought.

***

"Open the fucking door, bitch," he growled as he yanked hard on Jesse's hair. She fumbled in her school bag trying to find her keys. Tears swirled in her eyes. This was not what she had planned. This man. She hated him. She had since her mother first brought him into their lives. Now, it was hard for her to process the fact that all these months it had been him on the other end of the computer. She felt sick, but she choked it back. She had to keep her head clear. It was their only chance against Clay Dodd.

His grip tightened, then he pushed her aside and fumbled with his free hand in his jean pockets. He withdrew a set of keys and inserted one in the lock on her front door. He smiled at her when it turned and the loud click announced its opening. "Thank your crazy bitch mother for the key she gave me herself." His smile widened, "Or your stupid father for not having the locks changed after she died. Aw, don't go all soft on me, princess. Who knows how many other men the whore gave keys to?"

Jesse wanted to fight him, to deny his words, but he was right. Her mother had been a whore. She knew that from the moment she had brought this man into their lives. It was why she had never really grieved the woman's loss. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," for the first time she breathed her true feelings aloud.

The man threw back his blond head and laughed as he shoved her through the door. "Yes, well, I'm about to finish taking out the trash, princess."

Jesse froze standing by the couch. "What do you mean?"

***

Daniel, Samuel and Travis were joking as they stepped from the military transport plane, but it all laughter quickly faded at the sight of four Marine MPs. The men approached them. 

"Lieutenant Travis Hall, you are wanted for questioning in the attempted murder of your wife, Trisha Hall. Hands behind your back, sir."

The group froze as color drained from Travis's face. "Attempted murder? Trisha?" His arms went automatically behind his back, his face blank as he attempted to process their words. "Oh holy fuck, TJ," he screamed as he began to struggle with the Marines.

Daniel felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. After almost four months in the desert, heat and cold combining to numb the senses, then the excruciatingly long flight home on the uncomfortable transport, he had been looking forward to a warm shower and the first night back in his wife's arms. This turn of events changed all that. 

He stepped forward and caught Travis's sight, "Go with them, man. Get this straightened out. Samuel and I will check on TJ and Trisha. Find out what is up from Jill and Simone. OK, man?"

Turning to the MPs, he asked, "Where are you taking him?"

The oldest, a Staff Sergeant, answered, "Our orders are to deliver him to the Hampton Roads Police Department, sir."

"Thank you, Sergeant," he replied as he turned back to his friend, "See you there in a couple of hours, buddy. Until then, keep it cool."

Travis nodded, "Just find out about my son."

"I will, man, I will," Daniel watched as the Marines took his friend away in cuffs. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Samuel. "What the fuck is up, man?"

Samuel shook his head, "I don't know, man, but you're right, the girls will be able to tell us. We should head home as soon as possible. Right after the debriefing."

Daniel shook his head and walked away, "Fuck the debriefing. We are needed on the home front."

***

The short walk back to their home had never seemed so long. Bel chattered even faster than usual. Jill smiled at each word, adding a few sounds here and there to reassure the little girl, but she heard nothing. Britney and Ashley fussed in their double stroller, not even the motion seemed to calm them. 

Just as nothing could calm Jill's troubled mind. Jesse was gone. With some mysterious boy from the Internet. If it was a boy at all. Dozens of horrible headlines about young girls lured to their demise by adult predators swam through her murky mind. She struggled to control the nausea that she thought was a thing of the past as she entered her second trimester. 

She paused on the front porch. The door was ajar. Relief swamped her as she pushed it open and rushed in. The first thing she saw was Jesse and her heart leapt in joy that the girl was safe. "Jesse," she smiled. But she was frowning, her eyes wide with...fear. 

Then Jill noticed the large man that stood off to the side by the fireplace. He held a gun in his hand. A gun that was pointed directly at her step daughter. The scene took on a surreal slow motion as Bel pushed past her and rushed to the man's side. "Unca Clay, Uncle Clay, did you bring me more strawberry ice cream? You know it is my favorite."

The man's face contorted in disgust as he pushed the little girl down. She hit her head against the corner of the fireplace and slumped there with blood pouring from a cut on her forehead. Jill rushed to the child's side. She felt first for breathing, but while Bel did not respond to her cries, her breathing was steady and the pulse in her neck strong. Jill took off her coat and wrapped the sleeve tightly about the cut then used the rest of it to make a pillow of sorts.

She looked up as the twins began to cry in their seats. But Dodd was beside them in an instant. She watched as he unwrapped lollipops and handed them to the toddlers. It seemed to silly given the gun in his hand, but she fought not to lecture him for giving sweets to the girls.

"It's all right, my girls. Daddy's here now." He bent and brushed a thick blond curl out of Britney face before he turned back to face Jill. "I just have a few nasty details to take care of, then we can be together forever."

Jill shook her head as details that she had forgotten came flooding back to her. Brakes. Her brakes would not work. She had been rushing to the hospital because she realized that it had been Clay, who pushed Jesse. Strawberry ice cream. The red stains on Cindy bear's tummy after they brought Bel home from the hospital. It had always bothered her, but with the trip, then her own illness that she had assumed for so long was confirmation of the food poisoning diagnosis, and finally Trisha and the car accident, it had just slipped her mind. But not anymore, the room titled as all the pieces to this very nasty puzzle fell into place. 

The man laughed, "So now you see. It took you long enough, you stupid bitch," he said waving his gun. 

Jill shook her head, "Daniel won't let you get away with it. You can't take our daughters."

"Your daughters? Your fucking daughters? These babies are mine. They always have been. That stupid cow thought that she could use them to manipulate me the way she did her weak ass husband. Thought she could have it all. Well, all my money, friends back in New York City, the parties and drugs. But she showed her hand too soon. She was a lousy mother, not worthy of my seed. I only let her live long enough to bring them into this world."

Jill held onto the arm of the couch to steady herself. Bel moved in her arms, a reassuring sign. But it was the pale, blank stare on Jesse's face that worried her most. The man was making accusations that the girl had no business hearing. She needed to stop him somehow before any more damage was done. 

"What do you intend to do with us?" she asked.

Another laugh echoed around the room, "A little accident, a gas leak, a big boom. Image the pain that the loss of his whole family will do to the Commander. Does he know?" he asked waving the gun at her stomach.

Jill shook her head, "I wanted to tell him face-to-face." Her eyes sought Jesse's as her mind tried to formulate an escape plan. The girl was on the other side of the room. Dodd was between her and the front door, but if she could somehow catch Jesse's attention perhaps the girl could make a run for the back door, alert the neighbors. Jill laid Bel's head gently on the floor, to use herself as a diversion. 

"Why? Why do you hate Daniel so much?" she asked as she moved herself so that he could not see her motioning towards the door behind her back.

The man stared at her with pure hatred, "Because he took from me what was mine, now it's time I did the same. And this time something that he will give a damn about...a wife he really loves and his children. Just like he killed my son."

Jill shook her head. His words made no sense. She knew her husband, the man would have no part of murder and certainly not a child. 

***

Daniel saw the light on in the living room and smiled as they drove up to the front of his house. "You go see what you can find out from Simone. I'll check with Jill. Call you in five, old man," he said as he hopped out of the car. Neither had even bothered with their gear, leaving it at the air field. Their only thoughts had been to help their friend. He practically ran up the sidewalk to their house. He did not even pause as he threw open the door. 

He stopped just inside the door when he saw Clay Dodd standing next to his daughters' stroller, a gun pointed at his wife. Bel lay unconscious, it seemed, on the floor and Jesse was virtually catatonic in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. His blood froze when the man laughed.

"Well, well. Welcome home, Commander." He smiled, but it was a look that turned Daniel's stomach, "I don't think this can get any better. The great war hero comes home, kills his whole family and then commits suicide. Oh yes, so much better than I had even imagined."

Daniel watched as Jill gripped the couch even tighter at the man's words, her face going even paler than it had been. His heart tightened. 

Dodd moved to stand next to Jesse, who seemed frozen. He wrapped his arm about her waist and brought the gun to her head. She whimpered, but that was the only sign of life. "Come in, Commander. Close the door and join the party. I was just explaining to your lovely wife here how you killed my son."

Daniel turned and closed the front door. His mind began to tick off the moments. Samuel was expecting a phone call. He would know something was up when he did not get one. If he could just buy some time, then they all stood a good chance. 

Problem was collateral damage...and there was too god damned much of it, spread across too wide a distance. The way Dodd held Jesse meant that his knife would do him no good. Of course, he might be able to get off a kill shot between the eyes, but even that was risky with his wife and daughters so near. So his only choice was to play along, bid his time and look for an opening.

Dodd waved his gun at Jill, "You, bitch, go get that rope you have in your dresser drawer. And do it quickly," he said pulling Jesse tighter and pushed the gun into her temples until she let out a shrill cry of pain. He turned towards Daniel and motioned him to the chair, "Take a seat, Commander. We might as well have a little chat. There's a few things I want to get off my chest before I kill you."

***

Jill practically ran down the hall to their bedroom. For a moment, she considered calling the police or Simone, but thought better of it. The man had a gun to Jesse's head and given all that she knew he had done and the things that she suspected him of, murder did not seem that far off. She reached into their toy drawer and pulled out the coiled length of rope. Her stomach turned again when she realized the truth. How did he know about this? 

But she did not have time to dwell on any of it. Her family's lives depended on it. Of course, she had never been happier to see Daniel. Between the two of them, they would figure a way out of this. Right now, she was more focused on getting the man to confess as much of his crimes as possible. Beginning with what he did to Trish.

She squared her shoulders and walked back into the living room. Her eyes did a quick check, watching the rise and fall of Bel's chest. The twins continued to fuss but she noted that they were quieting slowly, sucking on lollipops that Dodd had given them. 

The man smiled, "Yes, maybe, you aren't as stupid as I thought, Missus Daniels. A mild sedative, but I can assure you it is perfectly safe. I would never do anything to harm my daughters." 

Jesse struggled a bit in his arms at the words as if they woke some part of her shattered mind. Looking to where her husband sat like a tiger watching its prey, she registered the leashed anger in every muscle of his body. 

Dodd followed her eyes, "Tie him up, bitch. I'm sure you know what you're doing. My little research on the Internet was quite enlightening, Mistress J."

Jill squared her shoulders and held her head up proudly. She had never been ashamed of the profile that she and David shared on the alternative lifestyle website. And despite the fact that she had just begun to reveal that side of herself to Daniel, she would not allow this man to humiliate her. That had always been one of her hard limits and it was not about to change now, "Yes, so I'm sure you know the things that I want to do to you, asshole."




The Arrangement Ch. 12



She walked over to the chair and knelt by Daniel. She knew that it was too risky to even whisper, she just hoped that they were on the same page. She made quick work of the rope work, realizing as she did that he would eventually unravel each knot just as he had that night. That night, oh how she wished they were back there in their room, alone, the girls safely tucked into their beds. But she was determined that they would be again...soon. She stood as she finished off the last knot. 

"Take his gun out of his belt, round back. And the knife out of the top of his boot." As she did, the men's eyes locked, "What didn't think I would remember, Commander? Oh, I'm thinking we should all share a little walk down memory lane before you all head towards the pearly gates...or the fires of hell in your case, bastard."

Dodd turned towards her, "Does the little woman know your part in her beloved David's death, Commander?"

Jill tried hard not give the man the satisfaction he sought, but she was too late as her hands flew to her chest and she gasped aloud.

***

Daniel watched the color drain from her face as his worst nightmare came true. His wife knew. Or she would shortly thanks to Dodd. He wanted to make excuses, to tell her that the joint commission had exonerated him, but the words would not come. Because he did not believe them himself, so why should she?

"Oh, I see she doesn't," Dodd laughed. "Well, Missus Monroe, let me tell you a little story. Once a upon a time, in a land far, far away, there were two troops of brave knights. Knights from different kingdoms, but knights who were supposedly friends. They were after the same evil overlord and they had him in their sights. There was a new magic too, a magic that would allow them to blow the bastard to kingdom come from miles away. They had only to plant a small device on the evil overlord's magic dragon."

He smiled at Daniel, "The bravest of knights volunteered to go alone into the evil overlord's encampment. The other knights would surround it and come to his rescue if anything went wrong. But nothing did. Or so he thought."

He looked back to Jill, "But the magic did not work. It was not the evil overlord that was blown to hell, but the other troop of brave knights. Their leader killed, the others wounded. And the evil overlord made his escape once again," he smiled at Daniel. 

Jill shook her head, "You're wrong. It was an accident, just like they told me. No one could have known. Not David. Not Daniel. Nobody could have done anything to stop it." She looked at him as she finished. His throat tightened and he smiled weakly.

But the moment was interrupted by another laugh, "Oh, but you would be so wrong, dear queen. For you see, what neither brave leader realized was that among the knights was one, who held special powers, a new magic. A magic that might supersede all other, but it had yet to be tested. This young knight had meant only to plant the magic among the rocks that surrounded them, but then the other troop's leader found him sneaking away. He threatened to tell his own captain. Called it dereliction of duty, would have the young knight punished. Except he never lived to do it."

Daniel's mind poured over the man's words. The incident was not the last of the misfires, several other drones had failed to hit their targets. A couple had even hit civilian strongholds causing embarrassment and trouble with their allies. There had been some discussion that perhaps someone had developed a device to mimic the tag's signal. But they had not considered it would be their own supplier, selling secrets to the enemy. Although what he knew of Night Walkers and the Dodds, Daniel was not all that surprised that they would stoop to treason.

Dodd turned towards Jill, "You have a way of choosing real black and white assholes, you know that?"

His wife stuck out her chest and smiled, "Thank you, Mister Dodd. It's called honor, something that you obviously know nothing about."

The man moved so quickly that Daniel could only manage to loosen the first set of bounds. Without releasing his hold on Jesse, the man back handed Jill. The gun grazed her cheek and opened a small wound that oozed blood down her face. But his wife simply squared her shoulders and glared at the man. 

"I could not be prouder of either of them. But you, Mister Dodd, are a traitor and a coward."

He laughed, "Perhaps. But it won't matter, no one will ever hear our little tale." 

Daniel swore that the man was wrong. Command needed to know of this new technology and the Dodds part in it. He sought his wife's eyes as he loosened the next layer of rope. It would still be a couple more moments before he was free. Of course, it was just as likely that somewhere beyond that closed door his best man was lurking, assessing the situation and looking for an opening. They just needed to give him one.

As if sensing his thoughts, Jill spoke up. "If we are dealing in the truth, Mister Dodd. How about the other? Trisha? It was you that beat and raped her, wasn't it?"

Dodd smiled at her. "Rough sex. You should know plenty about that Mistress J. The bitch is no better than the other one was. A bad fuck. First time, I thought it was the damned drugs. The way she just lay there the whole time. But that second time, all she could do was blubber and cry for her fucking husband. At least, your bitch did not do that when I was screwing her," he said as he turned back to Daniel. Jesse whimpered in his arms and the man turned, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead right next to the barrel of the gun.

"I think the little princess is trying to apologize for not telling you sooner, daddy. See your wife made no bones about our affair. Every time you were away, I came and went in this house like it was mine." He smiled again, "Oh, Missus Monroe, if you were wondering how I got in, how I knew about your little collection, shall we call it? I have a key. The dumb bitch gave me one." He turned back towards Daniel, "I would suggest you change the locks, you never know how many men the slut gave keys to, but none of you will be around to worry about that."

"Oh and while we are clearing the air," he continued, "I was the one that convinced the lazy cow to kill herself. Well, not exactly. I convinced her that she should fake a suicide attempt, that it would finally get you to leave the Navy and come to work for Night Walkers. I was even here you know." He motioned with the gun down the hall towards the nursery, "I fed her the pills. Praised her for being brave and strong. Promised her that we and our daughters would be together at last, if she did this one last thing for me."

He put the gun back to Jesse's temple as he continued, "Of course, it was all lies. She was a lousy mother, wasn't she princess? You did most of the fucking work. Caring for your sisters." He turned towards Jill, "You on the other hand. You are a worthy vessel for my seed, too damned bad the asshole beat me to it. But oh well, once I'm finished here, me and my girls might head over to Texas, see how the other bitch is doing. She might be as vain and self-centered as Rachel but at least that one knows how to be a mother. Hopefully, our two day fuck fest will pay off. She should just about be showing by now."

***

Jill closed her eyes as Trisha's words in the hospital came back to her. That was what frightened her so much, the possibility of carrying this man's child. Jill could not blame her. Her hand curved protectively over her own precious cargo.

The man's attention was centered on her husband as he continued. "You should have seen the fear in the bitch's eyes when she realized that I had lied. As her eyes began to close, I whispered what a worthless cunt she was. Told her how you were not coming, that you never loved her anyway. It was priceless, man. But you know what's fucking ironic? Her last words were for her daughters. How the fuck is that for a shocker? The slut wasn't such a horrid mother after all," he caressed the side of Jesse's face with the gun. "Is it nice to know that in her final moments on this earth mommy dearest thought about you, princess?"

Jesse whimpered and nodded. Jill smiled, it was the first sign that her step-daughter was coming out of the daze that she had been in. "I knew she loved you all, Jesse. That's what never made sense. Why she would leave you girls?" She hoped that the sound of her voice would reach a little further to bring the girl around.

Jill turned her attention back to Dodd, "And the accidents that have been happening to us all? Bel's food poisoning? Jesse's fall? My car accident? That was all you wasn't it?"

He laughed again, she was getting damned tired of it. She wished Mistress J had the cat of nine tails that David had bought her for their fifteenth wedding anniversary. She would strip the skin right off the man's back. She supposed that just this once it would be all right to break the cardinal rule of BDSM: never lose control, never hit out of anger. 

He nodded, "You might not have her beauty, but damn between the super hot Mistress J shit, the mother of the year act and that brain, damn, but you aren't sexy in your own way."

Jill smiled as she winked to her husband, "If you only knew, Mister Dodd. Care to leave this lot here. Mistress J would love a chance to show you what she's got."

He shook his head, "I don't think so, sweetie. Unlike your two fuckhead husbands, I'm not switch. I'm all Dom. Of course, from what I read on your profile, that could suit you just fine too."

"Sorry, I'll have to decline your offer. As I'm sure you know, the lifestyle is all about trust and respect. I am very picky about whom I offer my submission. And traitors, rapists and murders, don't make the cut."

He shrugged, "I never bought that whole offering submission shit. It is something that you take. Women were put on this earth to be used and bred. Of course, you've more than fulfilled your role, haven't you, sweetheart?" 

"I have nothing to apologize for, if that's what you mean. I have loved and been loved by two amazing men, raised eight children and in my own way served my countries with honor. Too bad you can't say the same, shithead." 

"Oh, is that a small taste of Mistress J?" he goaded.

"You could not take, Mistress J. She would have you whimpering like the coward you are inside of two minutes." Jill hoped that Daniel was using the time she was buying him wisely. 

"So anything else you need to confess before we end this thing?" she asked.

"Oh, I intend on ending it. Soon. I'll begin with that weak little cunt over there," he motioned with the gun towards Bel. Then he pressed the gun into Jesse, but this time it was her side, not her temple. "Then this one. I figure watching the girls die will shut up that fat mouth of yours bitch. But then again maybe I will shut it up another way before I kill you. Right in front of him," he said motioning towards the chair where Daniel sat, a little too quietly. Jill met his eyes and somehow she knew he was ready, waiting for her to give him the opening he needed. 

"Oh, Commander, since the cunt reminded me. There is one more little thing. That chopper accident that killed Thad and put Dwayne in a fucking wheelchair. That was me too. Remember, you had already forced me out of the unit, but I was there with Night Walkers. It was so fucking easy to get access to the hanger, reverse a couple of wires and as they say...Botta Bing, Botta Boom." 

"So let's see the count on this one, Commander. You, one unborn baby and my career. Me, two comrades dead, two wives and two daughters dead and you too, of course. When I'm done here, I'll call us even and move on to handle that other two-faced bastard, your Master Petty Officer. Not that I have any interest in that fat cow he calls his wife. But I never got to taste this sweet young thing," he said as he licked along the side of Jesse's face. "She probably would have been as bad a fuck as her mother anyway. But I hear that Simone for all her blubber is a decent fuck, so maybe I can taste some sweet young chocolate cherry before I kill them all."

***

Daniel caught a slight movement in the kitchen. 'What the fuck took you so long?' he thought as he loosened the final bounds around his wrist. He might not be armed, but he knew Samuel would be. But could the man get the shot without endangering Jesse? They needed a diversion. 

***

Jill saw the look in Daniel's eyes. She knew that he was calculating, looking for an opening and she was too. At that moment, Bel moaned and tried to sit up. She began to move to the little girl, thankful that she and the babies had slept through the nastiness. Looking briefly at Jesse, she wondered if the girl would ever recover from what had happened here. The defiant pre-teen was gone.

Bel moaned again and the man raised the gun, "One down," he said. Jill moved without thought, throwing herself between the man and her daughter. She heard thee bang then she felt the burning pain rip through her side as she fell next to the child. She could barely breath, but the child was smiling down at her. Was this heaven, she thought as the world began to explode around them.

***

The shot rang out like thunder over the Amazon. Then another. Daniel watched as red stains spread across the man's shirt. A large gaping exit wound covered his shoulder that was opposite Jesse's head. Dodd's arm hung limply at his side as he howled in pain. Jill had called him a coward and he was proving her words correct. Samuel rushed the man from behind, knocking Jesse free as she fell over the couch. He pushed the man's face into the carpet and twisted his injured arm up high behind his back, pinning him to the floor. 

"Taste some sweet chocolate cherry, asshole? I'm thinking some brothers going to be all over this thick white ass every time you are in the shower where you are going, mother fucker," Samuel punctuated his assessment with a slap to Dodd's bottom, like he was a bad boy who had been caught cheating at school.

Daniel looked at Jesse, who was curled into a ball on the couch now, crying like a baby. He wanted to rush over and scoop her up, reassure her that so many things the man said were not true and that the others did not matter. But then he heard the small cry from the fireplace. 

"Jill, please. Mommy, pwease. Pwease don't weave me again," he heard Bel sobbing. Then he saw his wife, pale and not moving in the child's tiny arms. The second shot had not been Samuel. The bastard had gotten off a round before his friend took him down.  

Daniel rushed to their side. He lifted his wife's head and brushed back her blond hair. The stain spreading across his old tattered Academy sweat shirt was dark, almost black. His medical training kicked in, he knew what that meant. His wife had been hit in the liver. Blood mixed with bile was pouring too quickly from the wound. He reached up to the couch and grabbed a throw pillow. He had to slow the blood loss. 

Samuel was busy holding the man down, Bel was too young, and he could not release the pressure on Jill's wound. But someone needed to get a fucking ambulance here. Now. He looked at his oldest daughter, still crying on the couch. 

"Jesse," he called out. "Damn it, Jesse, I need you."

The girl whimpered, but she rolled over and looked at him. "That's my girl. I need you to call nine-one-one. Now." For a moment, the girl just stared at him numbly. But he sighed when she nodded and ran to the kitchen. 

He turned his attention back to his wife as he noticed Samuel reaching for the rope that he had drop by the chair when he broke free. The movement stretched Dodd's arms back further and the man screamed louder. Daniel choked back glee as he stared down into his wife's face that was almost translucent now from the blood loss. She was going into shock. 

"Bel, sweetie, I need a blanket. Can you get me one from your room? Please, baby girl," he asked.

"Is she going away the way my other mother did?" his daughter asked as she stood up. 

He chocked back the bile that rose in his throat as his worst fear was brought to life in the words of a six year old. "No, sweetie, she's going to be fine. But she needs that blanket, please," he lied. He watched as the little girl staggered down the hall, moving slower than she should. Fuck, the child was still reeling from the blow to her head. 

Anger and hatred tightened his gut into knots. He looked at his wife's face, remembering another time, another face and for the first time knowing the truth about that as well. He wanted Dodd dead. He deserved to die for all the lives he had ruined. 

He felt a slight movement in his arms and looked down as Jill's green eyes fluttered open. "Lay still, my love. The ambulance is on its way." She nodded, but then winced at the pain. Her hand moved towards to the pillow that he held over the wound, but fell short instead resting lower. She tried to say something. He bent lower to listen.

"Sorry. Sorry, I could not keep them safe," she whispered as tears spilled from the corners of those green pools.

"You did fine, sweetheart," he said as he kissed her forehead. He did not even try to stop the tears that blurred his own vision. He felt her go limp in his arms. "God damn it, Jill, you can't do this to me. You can't make me love you then leave me alone. Fight, god damn it, fight. I need you. The girls needs you. Please, baby, please," he cried as he felt hands pushing him aside. 

***

Daniel paced the cramped waiting room. Simone had called in the reserves when the doctors decided to admit both the twins and Bel for observation. A couple of the wives were with them on the pediatrics ward. Simone scurried between there and the waiting area bringing him frequent updates until they fell asleep an hour or so ago. He looked at the clock on the wall. 

It was almost midnight. Fuck, Jill had been in surgery for over seven hours. That could not be good. He reached the back wall, turned and headed in the opposite direction. 

He saw Jesse huddled silently in Simone's arms, tears trailed down her cheeks. He knew he should go to his eldest, but he simply could not, not yet anyway. It would be one more sin that she would have to forgive her old man. Although he supposed after some of what Dodd had said that afternoon, forgiveness would be a two-way street. 

But right now all he could think about was his wife. Would Jill be all right? The doctors had let him see her only briefly before rushing her into surgery, but she had been intubated and unconscious, IV lines ran out of both arms. It was not anymore reassuring than the doctors themselves had been. They simply would not know how bad it was until they got in. 

Daniel looked up as Samuel and Travis walked in. The frown on Samuel's face could not mean good news. But the dark scowl on Travis's reminded him of a late summer storm rolling in off the mountains, the kind that spawned tornadoes. He nodded at them. Travis nodded back, but did not say anything. He took a chair in the corner of the room, away from Simone and Jesse as well as the half dozen or so other friends from the unit, who had gathered to await news.

Samuel approached him cautiously. Did he look as much like a wounded, caged animal as he felt, he wondered.

"You look like shit, man."

"Fuck you, old man."

"Want to get a cup of coffee or something? Simone will call if there is any news," he said, putting his hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"No, I need to be here when they come out. It shouldn't be much longer," he replied staring once more at the clock on the wall, whose hands seemed to be slowing with each pass.

"They released Trav when I told them what Dodd had said."

Daniel only nodded.

"But he's in pretty bad shape. Well, his head is pretty fucked up right now. Realizing that he's been a real son of a bitch to the woman he loved and that there was never any affair really. Add to that the fact that the cops had already shown him some pretty fucking graphic pictures of her taken after the second assault. Well, he wants to kill Dodd."




The Arrangement Ch. 12



"Tell him to take a fucking number and stand in line," Daniel replied as his eyes caught Dwayne holding Chloe's hand while she sobbed quietly. So fucking much destruction. "We should have killed the bastard when we had the chance."

Samuel shook his head, "Then we would have been no better than he was. All right, maybe we should have actually let the woman press sexual harassment charges, instead of just arranging a quiet transfer for her. But what difference would that have made? Other than ruin her life even more."

Daniel choked as he acknowledged the truth of his friend's word. But it did nothing to quiet the hatred that boiled in his gut. "David. Thad and Dwayne. Rachel. Trisha. All those fucking accidents that kept happening and now this. He was responsible for it all."

Samuel looked at the floor, "I know, man." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, his hand on Daniel's shoulder squeezing lightly. "I should probably tell you now before you hear it from anyone else. NCIS was at the police station, but they don't think they will find enough evidence bring him up on charges for either the drone attack or the helicopter accident. And without Trisha to testify the Hampton Roads DA won't proceed with rape charges either. So I'm afraid they are only charging him with kidnapping and attempted murder for what happened at your house today."

Daniel shook his head in denial and clutched his fists at his side, "Fucking bastard's going to get away with it."

"No, man, they have him on those charges and no lawyer his daddy can buy will be able to get him out of them. The man is going to do time, real time. And they might not have enough evidence to bring him up on charges, but trust me NCIS was very interested in the drone technology. I don't think Old Man Dodd is going to have many military contracts renewed anytime soon."

"Not much justice for the lives of two good soldiers, well half a dozen counting Dwayne and the other British Marines that were injured."

"Got to move on, man. Learn to live with it."

Daniel shook his head as he strained to see down the hall. 'Got to move on. Learn to live with it.' He was not sure if he wanted to live with anything. Not if something happened to her. His throat tightened and his eyes clouded over once more. He felt the hand on his shoulder squeeze until it was almost painful. He looked up at his friend.

"She's a fighter. I know she's going to be fine, man."

Daniel could not speak past the knot in his throat, so he merely nodded. But the stoic look on the doctor's face as he approached revealed nothing. His green scrubs were covered in dark stains. Daniel was glad for Samuel's hand on his shoulders as he felt his knees give. He had seen blood...too many fucking times. He had drawn blood, killed men. But it was not her blood, not the blood of the woman he loved. 

"How is she?" It was not his voice, but the feminine accent of Simone that asked from just behind him.

The doctor nodded, "I won't lie, it has been a rough few hours. The bullet ripped through her liver. We lost almost half of it before we could get the worst of the bleeding stopped. We also had to removed her gall bladder and repair a tiny hole in her diaphragm. The bullet fragmented on impact, which is how it did so much damage." He looked Daniel in the eye, "There is a large fragment lodged against her spine, but we thought it too dangerous to try and remove it just now. I'd rather have a specialist do that later."

The man smiled weakly, "But I am pretty confident, Commander, that your wife will make a full recovery."

Daniel chuckled with relief, but the man's face turned somber once more, "But I cannot be so certain about the babies."

He shook his head in confusion, "No, the Lieutenant was here earlier. Bel and the twins are both recovering nicely in the pediatrics ward. I'm afraid you must be confused." If the man was mistaken about his daughters, might he also have the wrong woman? Was Jill going to be all right? Or had something horrible happened? He struggled to break free of Samuel's hands until he felt the nails of a smaller one bite into the crook of the other arm. 

Simone looked up at the doctor, "Did she loose the baby?"

The man shook his head, "Babies, twins. And not yet. Like I was saying your wife lost a lot of blood." The doctor put his hand on Daniel's other shoulder. "The hole in her diaphragm meant her oxygen levels were pretty low for quite a while. That plus the whole shock process. Well, I'm sorry, Commander, but I can't be as optimistic about your wife's pregnancy. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours should tell though."

Daniel swallowed, trying to work down the dryness that felt like a hair ball so that he could speak. A baby? No, babies. Another set of twins. Their twins. His and Jill's. But even as he learned of the miracle, he felt it being snatched away. More lives ruined by the man. His babies, he thought as he felt the scalding heat of tears running down his cheek. He could barely see as he finally found enough of his voice to plead, "May I see her?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, she's in recovery now. But I need to prepare you, Commander. Because of the repair to her diaphragm, we are going to leave her intubated for a couple of days. Save her body the strain of trying to breath on its own. She still has the IVs of course. And monitors for both her heart and the babies."

Daniel nodded, "But she'll live? You're sure of that?" he pleaded.

The man shook his head, "Commander, I don't think I need to tell you that there are no guarantees in life. But yes, I'd give your wife very good odds of making a full recovery."

He squared his shoulders and nodded as he shook off Simone and Samuel's comforting hands, "Then we'll deal with whatever else that comes together."

He turned and looked at the small crowd that had gathered behind him as the doctor gave his update, "Go home, folks. Get some rest. I'm sure we'll be needing whatever help you can give over the next few days." The crowd nodded and mumbled words as they passed, some offering more reassuring squeezes. As the room cleared, Daniel noted the stragglers. 

Dwayne sat silently in his wheelchair in one corner. The man's best friend was dead, the use of his legs gone just as surly. If it had been hard enough to live with the doubts, wondering if he could have done something more, if he missed something, how must this feel? Knowing that they had been betrayed by someone they had once thought a friend and ally. 

Travis cowered in the opposite corner. He looked like a wounded animal, one of his father's prize bulls caged and injured. Daniel knew what it felt like to stand by helplessly as your wife was hurt. But this man's pain was deeper. The injuries that Trisha suffered went deeper than just her body, the damage that the man had done to her mind and their marriage might be irreparable. And Travis carried his own guilt too. His betrayal of their love and vows was just as damaging as anything that Dodd had done, maybe more so.

The other lone figure huddled near the door. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly about them, so that her body formed an upright fetal ball. Her head rested on her knees. A reminder of his own failures as a husband and a father. How much had his oldest daughter borne the sins of her parents? What must it have been like, being forced to choose sides? Betray your mother? Or lie to your father? 

"You go ahead. We'll do what we can here," Simone whispered. "I'll take Jesse home with me for a few nights. Chloe and Beth are with the other girls in pediatrics. You just take care of her, all right?"

He nodded, "Thanks," as he turned to face his best friend.

"You know you don't even need to ask man. I got those two as well. Not sure what I can do though. Afraid only time can heal some wounds."

Daniel smiled weakly, "And some scars can't be seen," he whispered as he followed the doctor down the hall way.

***

Jill fought her way back up from the darkness that seemed to envelope her mind. She swallowed and while her throat was dry, this time it did not seem to be stuff full of something cold and plastic and much worse than a cock. Her hand went automatically to the gentle swell of her abdomen as her eyes opened and she stared up into his. 

"The baby?" she whispered even though it caused a fiery pain in her throat.

Her husband poured water into a cup and lifted her head. A few drops parted the parched desert of her lips and slid down her burning throat. "Slowly, sweetheart. That's the first thing you have had in three days. We don't want it making you sick."

She nodded to him to take the cup away. She looked around her at the hospital room for the first time. She had tried to wake up a few times over the past couple of days, but it had been too much. All she could remember were glimpses of his dark curls pressed against her hand. His fingers laced through hers. The pain that seemed to bubble and burn inside of her. Trying to speak and nothing coming out. And the incessant beeping from somewhere.

She tried to focus past the fog as the rest of it came back. Dodd was in their home. Bel was hurt. The twins drugged. And the man had Jesse. Then Daniel was there to save them. The rest of it broke like rainwater over a dam. David. The man was responsible for his death, but Daniel had thought it was his fault. Oh god, how that must have felt. Memories folded her. The way Daniel's fingers had stilled as he traced the tattoo on her back that night. Was that when he realized? Or had he known all along? Was their whole marriage nothing more than some sick sort of penance for a sin that was not even his own?

The accidents...those were all Dodd's doing too. And Rachel, the woman had not committed suicide. She had not willingly left her husband and daughters. Did that change things? Would Daniel's anger at the woman be replaced with more guilt? And Trisha, dear god, what the man had done to her friend? And Dwayne too. Her mind swum with all of it until it was hard for her breath. The damned beeping became a shrill alarm. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Breath deep, sweetheart. Slow and deep. Follow me. In, one, two, three, four. Good girl. Now out, one two, three, four. Again," he smiled down at her and squeezed her hand as he talked her through the worst of the panic attack. Oh god, it had been years since she had one. 

"The baby, Daniel? Did I loose the baby?" she whispered as she stared at the pure white sheet that covered her body.

She felt his fingers under her chin as he lifted her head and turned it to face him. He reached behind him and pointed to the machine that was beeping. "They are doing fine, sweetheart. I think it shocked the shit out of the doctors after all that the three of you have been through. But they are fighters, just like their Mommy."

Jill shook her head, "They?"

He chuckled, "Hope you are getting used to the double diaper duty, Missus Monroe, because we're having twins. Fraternal this time. Although the little cheats keep hiding from the ultrasound so we still don't know if it is boys or girls or both."

Jill's vision blurred, "Does it matter?"

Daniel laughed, "Well, DJ and his brothers are placing bets on which way the four-four tie will go?"

"The boys?"

He nodded, "They arrived a couple of days ago, well all except for Darren. He was doing some joint training exercises with the Air Force in Colorado so he's been here almost since you came out of surgery."

"Must have been bad then, if they all got emergency leave."

"Let's just say, don't you ever fucking do that to me again," his voice was gruff and she could see the film of moisture that covered those blue-grey pools. More of the fog rolled back as she remembered his words. 

"Made you love me, Commander?"

He smiled, "Yes, damn it. What else do you call it, sweetheart? Did I ever stand a fucking chance from the moment you walked off that plane and into our lives?" He bent until his forehead was pressed against her. She stared into those eyes that had captured her heart even in that grainy photograph, eyes that were ringed with dark circles. "I love you, Jill," he whispered as he bent and brushed his lips across hers. Heat and longing instantly exploded, warring with the pain that gripped her abdomen as she lifted her head and parted her lips, taking the kiss deeper.

"Aww, man," came the deep rumble from behind them. Jill fell back against the pillow as Daniel curled up protectively next to her.

"I see what you mean, little sis. Those two are disgusting," said the tall man with the laughing brown eyes that brought up the rear of the group.

"DJ," she whispered as she brought her hand to her mouth and tears coursed down her cheeks. It had been over a year since she had seen her eldest. Another long deployment in the land that had claimed his father's life. Her breath froze in her lungs as she took him in. 

Her mind flew through time and space to a warm beach and the demi-god that rose laughing and joking from the waves. Their son looked so much like his father in his fatigues that for a moment she had trouble separating past from present. Until the gentle squeeze of her hand reminded her of the present...and the future as she listened to the steady beep-beep of fetal monitors. 

He laughed, "Trust me, Mum, I get that reaction a lot. You remember Major Reynolds...well Commander now? I thought the man was going to have a fucking coronary the first time we met."

Damien, her third son stepped to the other side of the bed and brushed a kiss on her cheek. "Lucky, fucking bastard. I refuse to go anywhere near the damned pubs with him. He gets all the women." Although he was six foot one, he was the smallest of her sons. His hair that was close cropped like a good Marine was a sandy blond like her own. His cheeks were ruddy and his eyes a softer brown, flecked with green like her own. 

Jill smiled, "I think that has more to do with the bold American mouth he got from his mother than his father's looks. You didn't do so damned bad with those either, my dear. You just didn't get your brother's confidence."

Her second son shoved the laughing man aside and made his way to the foot of her hospital bed. Declan was an inch or so taller than his eldest brother and at least twenty pounds heavier with hair that was a shade or two lighter, his eyes the same warm brown,. "Well, Mother, did you have to give us such a fright? If you wanted to see us all, you simply needed to wait until Her Majesty no longer required our services."

Jill laughed even though it hurt her side, "Do you have to sound so fucking posh, Dec?"

DJ pulled Jesse into the room, the two eldest seemed to have formed a bond, perhaps brought about by the shared responsibility of their positions. "Tell him, Mum. The little prat thinks his fucking degrees and position in Intel makes him hot shit."

Daniel cleared his throat, "I thought we had this discussion about watching your language around your sisters, son," his emphasis on the final word brought peals of laughter from his brothers. 

"Yes, sir," DJ said with a blush and a salute.

Jill shook her head and giggled, "Oh god, what have I done?"

DJ's laughter rumbled through the room, "Gees, Mum, I thought you would have figured that one out by now." He cupped his hands over Jesse's ears before continuing, "Do you need a refresher course in the facts of life? Seems you forgot your own condom lesson?"

Daniel speared his step-son with a glance and held up his wife's hand, "I think this about covers it, don't you?"

DJ squared his shoulders, "Rings are cheap, old man. Taking care of what's yours takes a real man. So unless you want to face me and the troops here," his brothers once more surrounding him as if it was all part of the plan, "I suggest you fucking re-evaluate your god damned priorities. It was one thing when our father got his ass blown up and left Mum to pick up the pieces of our lives and hers. But it is another when she's the one left in harms way."

Jill held up her hand, "DJ, it isn't your place," she began.

Daniel captured her hand and brought it to his lips. "No, sweetheart. He's right. This is a young man's game," he looked from one to the other of his step-sons. "I suppose between my men and these young punks I can rest assured that things are in good hands."

He turned back and smiled down at her, "Besides, I missed you. Every damned night, all I could think about was falling asleep in your arms. Well, that and soccer games, Barbie's and what other first I was missing." His hand caressed the swell of her stomach, "I've missed enough of those. This time, sweetheart, I'm not missing any of it."

"Gees, man, have some dignity. Don't grovel like a pussy," laughed DJ.

Daniel turned to him with a frown, "You might be a friggin' bootneck, but I know one thing. Your Mama taught you better than to use those kinds of words around your sisters. So consider this your last warning, son. I might be an old man as you say, but I can still teach you a thing or two about manners." 

Darren stepped up and kissed his mother's cheek, "I think that is our cue to leave you two alone for a bit. Get some rest, Mum. We have another week on leave so we can catch up more later."

Jill caressed her youngest son's cheek. Of all her children, he was the most like her. His hair a sandy blond, his eyes true green and his demeanor always calm under pressure. It was a characteristic that would serve him as a pilot with the Royal Air Force. 

One by one the others stepped up and said their farewells too. Her eldest was last, "I'm sorry, ma'am. It's just that I'm tired of seeing men put you last, Mum. As the Commander says, this might be a young man's game, but it should also be a single man's one."

"Oh, DJ, that damned vow again? You're going to use this as another excuse to bully your brothers into it, aren't you?"

"Ma'am, a man cannot serve two mistresses. Her majesty or a wife, he should choose."

"It isn't always that simple, son," she said through tears. "I know she hurt you badly, worse than the others. But you can't let what happened with Sarah, keep you from loving all your life."

He shook his head and chuckled, "Trust me, ma'am. Nothing will ever stop me from loving that woman. Been doing it since I first saw her squirming in that pram when I came home from Reception. Her daddy couldn't stop it, when he showed his mean side and beat her Mum to within an inch of her life. Social services couldn't stop it when they took her away. Hell, ma'am, even when you moved us to London, you couldn't stop it. I was nineteen and I knew better than to be messing with a fourteen year old, but you had nothing to worry about Mum. Trust me, if none of that has stopped me loving her, then some stupid vow to a god damned church sure as hell won't."

Jill nodded and squeezed her son's hand, "I wish things could have been different for you, sweetie. But you know, she's running from the past, not you."

He shrugged, "I know and trust me I know better than any of you just how bad that past is, but that won't stop me loving her either. Hell, even these three little shits you saddled me with as brothers haven't managed to stop it. If I didn't know that they loved her as much as I do, I would have killed them for the way they looked at her. Brothers or not."

"Give them a break, DJ. We all love her. If there was anything more that our father and I could have done, trust me, we would have."

"I know, Mum," he said as he bent and kissed her cheek. "Get some rest."

"Yes, Sergeant," she said, lifting her hand to her brow for a salute.

DJ looked at the fetal monitor, "And for god's sake, let those two be more girls."

She laughed, "I don't know, I'm pretty damned proud of how my boys have turned out."




The Arrangement Ch. 12



Daniel nibbled at her shoulder, "Except for their foul mouths."

She shoved playfully at him and DJ grumbled loudly, "I feel so fucking sorry for little sis. You two must be embarrassing as hell. Woman, didn't Dad teach you anything about decorum? Keep that shit in the bedroom along with the whips and chains." Jill's mouth fell open at his words. 

"Oh and either take the fucking profile down or update it," he added. "It's embarrassing enough to see it on there every damned time I login. Thank god, they don't have relationship links the way Facebook does. I can just see it, Dark Dom Eighty-four son of Switch-a-duos." DJ speared Daniel with a stare, "Dude, do better than my old man. Make us all happy and banish Mistress J."

Daniel laughed and slapped his step-son on the shoulder, "If you only knew, the woman has charms of her own."

DJ shook his dark head, "Whatever, I prefer my women more pliable, true subs."

Jill sobered, seeing her son's pains through his crass words. "You never know, DJ. Maybe one day, Sarah will stop running."

He nodded, "And what? Then I'd have my three brothers to fight. For the only woman any of us have ever loved. Well, other than you, Mum." He turned that stare on her this time, "Now, enough. Get. Some. Rest."

She shook her head. "That shit won't work on me, son."

Daniel turned her head to face him, "Get. Some. Rest." 

Her world tilted on its axis as her stomach dropped to her knees. Her nipples and her womb tightened as moisture flowed between her legs. She felt a weakness that had nothing to do with her medical condition and everything to do with the man. "Yes, sir," she mumbled as she dropped her eyes.

"Damn, man, I might learn to like you, yet," she heard her son joke as he closed the door, leaving them alone.

Daniel sighed as he drew her into his arms and brushed a kiss across the top of her head. So much had happened since he had last held her. It felt that the world was a completely different place, but the safety and security that she felt lying in his arms was the same. It always would be.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know I should have told you myself. But I couldn't," he began.

Jill placed her fingers over his soft lips, "I know. Operational Security. When did you connect the pieces?" Her stomach did a soft roll and she knew that if it were not empty she would have been sick at the possibilities.

He shook his head, "Not until I saw the tattoo. His unit insignia. Then I didn't know what to say or do. I had already fallen in love with you. But I just found out that I was in love with the widow of a man, whose death I blamed myself for. I was a bastard there for a while, I know."

He smiled weakly at her and she heard the beep-beeping increase. "I'll answer whatever questions you have, sweetheart. National security or not, you have a right to the truth."

She shook her head, "I know all I need to. I'm a lucky woman to have loved two such wonderful men." She brushed his hair back gently, "But I'd appreciate it if you made that offer to DJ. I think my son still has some issues of his own with his father. If the details of what happened out there can help put some of those to rest then I'd be grateful."

He nodded as his hands moved down to caress her protruding stomach. Jill sucked in a deep breath and Daniel frowned as they felt something flutter softly against his palm. 

"Holy fuck, is that what I think it is?"

Jill slapped at his hand, "And you were giving DJ lectures for his language around the girls. You know in a couple more weeks they'll be able to hear everything you say?"

His frown deepened, "Really? Holy shit," his hand flew to his mouth. "Sorry. I guess I've still got some things to learn."

She smiled, "And some kinky fantasies to fulfill if I remember correctly, Commander."

He blushed as his eyes grazed over the swell of her full breasts barely contained by the thin hospital gown. "Really?"

Jill laughed, the sound of his voice reminding her of a child in a candy store. But there were still other things they needed to discuss. "Are you going to have a DNA test?"

He frowned, "A DNA test? Whatever for?"

"Britney and Ash..." Daniel's fingers over her lips stopped her before she could even finish.

"Do you love Bel one bit less than Declan? Or even DJ more than Jesse?" She shook her head. 

"Then why the fuck would I want to do something so god damned stupid? Give the Thompsons and the Dodds ammunition if they wanted to try and take the girls from us? Hell, no, those are my daughters as much as Jesse and Bel or these little peanuts as Simone insists on calling them," his hand once more caressing his babies growing inside of her. "Are we together on this one, my love?"

She nodded as he drew her back into his arms. "You know you don't have to," she whispered against the warmth of his shoulder.

"Yes, I do. I don't think I could stand another night apart," he turned her to face him. Jill marveled that they had become so in sync that not even the change of subject had thrown him. "You've given me new nightmares, sweetheart." 

She brushed a finger across his cheek, "I never meant to. I'm sorry. But are you sure? I mean you aren't planning to take the Night Walkers' offer, are you?"

"Hell, no, sweetheart. After all this shit, I owe you a spanking for even asking. But how do you feel about West Texas?" 

"West Texas?"

"Yeah, I met this crazy scientist, who thinks the world is about to come to an end. He's building an eco-village, whatever the fuck that is, out in the desert. He's already convinced Samuel to come to work for him. I was wondering if you might be interested too?"

"End of the world? Is the man that crazy?" her brows furrowed as her fingers played at the top button of her husband's shirt. 

Daniel shrugged, "Maybe not as much as it sounds."

***

THE END...or is it?



The Arrangement Ch. 2



The following is the second part of a short story representing a letter sent by the author to an online friend with whom he has enjoyed a long relationship without any physical contact. He has always kept her informed of any offline recreational activities he enjoys and she has reciprocated in kind. This letter was written as a report of one such offline meeting of which she had taken part in the planning. She was aware of his previous "accidental connection" at an earlier conference and knew that the author was planning to meet his "conference paramour" at this event.

* * * * *

It may have appeared awkward, but I had the most incredible view as she lifted one leg and sort of threw it across me, turning her back to the bed and winding up straddling my face, one meaty thigh on either side of my head. Within two inches of my mouth and my nose was a sight that gods have been known to faint upon seeing. 

I mentioned earlier that her 'bush' was monstrous, but what I was not aware of when I first looked was the fact that it only went to a certain point between her legs. Her profusion of pubic hair split into a wishbone cut, half traveling down her pussy lips on either side, but leaving the area of her hooded clit clipped and shaved. My God, I was in for a treat to end all treating. 

Wasting no time at all, I pursed my lips and kissed her directly on the center of heat, flicking my tongue over as much of her as I could reach. 

But as I moved my face into that incredibly black chasm, I was struck by something I simply had not expected. Her odor. She was not a fan of vaginal deodorants, I could tell; and it might just be that she was not a fan of any sort of vaginal bathing as she exuded a scent something like over-ripe cabbage. (That is honestly the only way I can think to describe it.)

I was put off by the odor, and being already in a very uncomfortable position, my mind raced to find a way to short-stop this connection before it became quite difficult for me to continue. I pressed my face hard against her nest, immediately found her clit (not difficult because it, too, was huge) and sucked it into my mouth. I attacked that little nub with such vicious flicks of my tongue that she shrieked and jumped off my face and moved away from the bed. "Gentle, dammit, be gentle. That hurt! She told me you were gentle, not rough!"

In the flick of an eye, I was off the bed and standing next to her apologizing profusely, telling her I was so damned anxious that I forgot myself for a moment. I caressed her and stroked her and led her to the bathroom where we found ourselves in the shower in two minutes, touching, kissing and stroking every exposed part we could reach. Need I say here that I spent an inordinate amount of time on her pussy? I soaped and rubbed and delved deep inside with both wet and soapy fingers to assure myself that the situation I had just encountered would not repeat itself. She never even caught on to the real purpose of my manual ministrations.

When I was satisfied that she was as clean as I was going to get her, I slipped to my knees and kissed my way into the valley (as best one can in the shower). Yes, things were definitely better. I thumbed her clit a few times - gently - and kissed everything I could reach. She shivered and said, "That's better." I stood up and led her out of the shower to the bed (still wet) and laid her down across it as she had placed me. 

Before she could think of anything else, I pulled the coverlet over her so she would not catch a chill and then knelt between her knees, lifting her legs over my shoulders.

Now, I will not give the reader any specific details (unless directly asked) about the next forty minutes, but let it be said that I made up for my unconventional attack of a few minutes earlier. With only lips, fingers, teeth, tongue (and, yes, thumbs) she enjoyed (?) 6 separate orgasms in that period of time. Some were tiny little shudders and two were hip-raising, cunt-mashing-against-my-face thudders. She was, however, a never-ending source of surprises. Not only was her pubic growth magnificent, but the two sets of lips which guard her most reverent region were colossal. The outer lips were huge and puffy and soft to the touch. They simply begged for licking and other oral manipulations. But it was the pair of inner lips that I was truly not prepared for. Long, black, shiny, extending quite a distance outside of her swollen labia, they invited more sucking and chewing than I could ever remember devoting to another woman. I simply worshiped at the shrine of Eve and loved each and every hairy, puffy, swollen, rubbery, slick minute of it.

I suppose I proved her friend right in that period of time, because she was almost crying when I was finished. And, I did learn the source of the odor. It appears that when she becomes aroused, her body chemistry gets all screwed up and the nectars she leaks are a bit less than appetizing. She was already excited when we arrived at the room, so she had been "fermenting" a bit inside her panties, I suppose. While her taste was not the best I have ever experienced, her physical reactions made up for it, and I persevered.

And, again, without detail, yes she did provide other adventures during the afternoon. Having a woman that size sitting astride your hips and rocking back and forth while her immense breasts sway in front of your mouth and eyes is an experience I would not trade for anything. She seemed to find some perverse pleasure in straddling me as I lay on the bed or, later, on the floor. Her magnificent mammaries were not only a source of pride for her, they were deadly weapons. She allowed them to swing and sway back and forth as she rode me with long raises and fallings of her ample buttocks and every time I made the attempt to touch them, she swatted my hands away; allowing only my mouth to make contact. Well, when you put your face in the line of fire, so to speak, of those two melons, you can expect some smacks and thuds along your face; and I received many. 

Apparently, with sincere concentration on finding her triggers, I helped her to experience her very first (or so she said) vaginal orgasm later in the session. Her face registered such surprise I had to believe her and made certain to press the advantage when she was in her calming-down stage after that explosion within her.

Yes, she did give me oral satisfaction and seemed to love it as much as I love my pussy-eating. She was rather experienced in that area, so it seemed. Little touches and nips that I had not experienced for a long time. And, whether you want to know or not, she insisted on my cumming in her mouth. Different, though…. she licked and sucked and stroked until I told her I was on the edge, then she just extended her tongue and stroked me into climax, catching the spurts on the flat of her tongue and holding it there until I was finished. Then she pulled me into her mouth again and swallowed while I began to soften. She sucked and licked and vacuumed me clean to a depth I was not prepared for. She actually seemed to enjoy that.

By the time we had rested, cuddled, touched, tickled, licked and sucked each other to share a new-found relationship, it was nearly 5:00 and she said she had to leave to prepare for her evening session. I was exhausted, really, and wondered in the back of my mind if I would be "up" for the other session I had scheduled. I kissed her and slipped my thumb deep inside her pussy and brought her to one additional, subtler climax before she went into the bathroom. It was during this time that I went through her things, looking at the label in her bra, etc. I must admit I had to peek into her wallet to see if she had been truthful about her name and her age. She had been. Now that I had become accustomed to her own particular scent, I was a bit sorry that she was leaving me, even though I was to have (I thought) another new and different experience later in the evening.

I wondered how I could get the smell of sex out of the room. The windows did not open and I was afraid that the woman I had agreed to meet later would immediately realize this was some sort of den of iniquity and give me the short version of a friendship. I figured I could run out and pick up some scented candles and place them around. See, always thinking!

When she came out of the bathroom, she was still nude, but had showered again and had used the hair dryer supplied by the hotel to make herself look beautiful for her other presentation. I watched her dress, piece by piece, and realized she would not have any panties to wear for the evening, since I was not about to give up the pair I had taken from her. At just about that moment, she slipped her hand into a side pocket of her purse and pulled out another pair of panties - large, business-like briefs - to wear during the remainder of the conference. I laughed out loud, and she just said, "Always be prepared for anything."

I had finished dressing, myself, by this time and we walked to the elevators together. We discussed our mutual friend, and I was amazed that we had gone the entire day without actually using names. Other than the fact that I had seen her name on the program and had read the nametag she was wearing, I had never heard her use her name or introduce herself to me except to say we had a "mutual friend" without ever using her name.

Once inside the elevator, I asked if this afternoon had been satisfactory for her. In answer, she moved against me, kissed me hard, grabbed my cock in my pants and pulled on it while squeezing the head. I was so tired; there was little physical reaction except for a chill in my thighs. She kissed me again and said, "Yes, Edward, yes; and I wish it could have gone on for a much longer time. Can we get together again?" I held her for a half-second and asked how that might be arranged. She said she would make every attempt to contact me after the conference was finished and she had gone back home. There would be other opportunities, she was sure. She gave me her business card with her e-mail address on it and asked me to drop her a line if I wanted to see her again.

We left the elevator and went our separate ways, I to buy candles at the gift shop and she to prepare for the short drive into the city. It wasn't difficult to find four jasmine scented candles and take them back to the room and light them. I sat them in ashtrays and glasses from the bathroom and let them burn while I showered and cleaned up the room. I was to meet my online friend at 6:30 in the bar just off the lobby. Well, if my body would stand up to this, it would stand up to anything.



The Arrangement Ch. 3



The following is the third part of a short story representing a letter sent by the author to an online friend with whom he has enjoyed a long relationship without any physical contact. He has always kept her informed of any offline recreational activities he enjoys and she has reciprocated in kind. This letter was written as a report of one such offline meeting of which she had taken part in the planning. She was aware of his previous "accidental connection" at an earlier conference and knew that the author was planning to meet his "conference paramour" at this event.

* * * * *

We left the elevator and went our separate ways, I to buy candles at the gift shop and she to prepare for the short drive into the city. It wasn't difficult to find four jasmine scented candles and take them back to the room and light them. I sat them in ashtrays and glasses from the bathroom and let them burn while I showered and cleaned up the room. I was to meet my online friend at 6:30 in the bar just off the lobby. Well, if my body would stand up to this, it would stand up to anything.

I sat down for a while to take stock of the day's events and what the evening promised. Was I out of my mind? There I was: 64 years old, having spent the entire afternoon in such a heated, animated sexual episode that even I didn't believe it, and waiting for the moment when another woman with promised sex on her mind would appear in the bar downstairs! I must have been absolutely out of my mind! There was no way in pluperfect Hell that I was going to be able to "perform" this evening. What had I been thinking? Christ! What a mess! I allowed my thought processes to run along this course for at least a half-hour and then noticed that the time was drawing near for me to appear in the bar for whatever might appear on the horizon.

Maybe…..maybe she'd be absolutely, horribly unattractive and I would have good reason to disappear when I saw her; maybe she'd take one good look at me and laugh her way out of the bar and the hotel lobby; maybe she'd have a drink with me and tell me she was simply not interested; maybe she'd be followed by her husband who would come into the bar and throw me across the table; maybe she'd send a message to the bartender for some old, bald guy in a blue blazer and gray flannel slacks, that she could not make it. Maybe.

Maybe not.

Maybe she'd come in and tell me she wanted to fuck my brains out right away; maybe she'd slip her hand under the table and stroke my cock through my pants; maybe she'd rub her tits along my arm as she sat next to me; maybe she'd lick her lips and whisper words like, "let me suck your cock," or "I want your cock in my pussy, now!" Maybe.

Maybe not.

I hauled myself out of the chair and out of my indecision, took another quick shower, brushed my teeth, re-dressed as I had promised her I'd be, and left the room for the elevator ride to my doom or my redemption, I did not know which it would be.

Arriving in the bar at about 6:10, I ordered a Beefeater & tonic and sat in a dark corner, facing the door so I could get a good look at whoever came in. I could always cut and run, right? She'd promised to wear a navy blue business suit and would be carrying a small, red overnight bag. I supposed that would be a definite identification.

I watched. I waited. A dozen or more men and women came in and went out the entrance to the hotel, directly across from the bar alcove. No blue business suits. No red overnight bags. Lots of very attractive women. None looking my way.

6:20 Nothing.

6:25 Nothing

6:30 Nothing

OK, you've figured it out. She never showed up! I sat there until 7:15, nursing several gin & tonics and munching on bar nuts, but no blue-business-suited-red-overnight-bag-carrying woman came in the door. I walked out into the lobby several times and looked around. I asked at the desk. Nothing. Nobody. I was out of luck. 

Or was I?

Wasn't this actually the answer to my 'situation?' I did not have to worry at all about not being able to satisfy or be satisfied. I began to relax.

But then I stiffened and ordered another drink. What if I had missed her coming in and she'd seen me and decided to turn around and leave? What if she had been so disappointed in what she saw that she figured it was not worth the effort? Damn! That would really piss me off!

Finally, at about 7:20, I got up, paid my tab and left the bar. Well, here I was, in the outskirts of Philadelphia with nothing to do. The room was already paid for. I'd told my wife not to expect me before midnight (banquet and speaker and discussion sessions, of course). I'd be damned if I was going to go home at this hour!

I walked down the hall and slipped into the banquet room just as the after-dinner speaker was being introduced. I found the table where our group had been assigned and slipped into one of two unoccupied chairs, the one with a clean table setting still in evidence. The woman across the table from me leaned in and whispered, "Where have you been? Robin's been looking for you." Robin Watters is my direct supervisor, the Dean of Admissions at the college. Was I in trouble? Oh, shit, again! As I began to focus my attention on the speaker and at the same time tried to come up with a good reason for having missed the afternoon sessions and the dinner itself, Robin slid into the chair next to me. She leaned in and whispered into my ear, "As soon as he is finished, I need to talk to you. Can you come up to the hospitality suite on the mezzanine level?" I turned and assured her I would be there directly after the speech, and asked if there was something we could discuss here and now. She shushed me, touched my shoulder and sat back in her seat. I turned my attention to the speaker and realized I was starved. Four gin & tonics and nothing on my stomach since lunch (with quite a bit of physical activity during the afternoon) did not bode well for my physical condition. I could almost hear my stomach rumble.

Approximately fifteen minutes into a rather boring (any other kind?) speech, I felt Robin's hand on my arm, but since the hand did not seem to be urging me to turn, I did not; and sat still, waiting to see what she had in mind. The hand slowly moved down along the back of my upper arm and then onto my hip and then around to my thigh, where it gave me a little squeeze. What in the hell was going on here?

This was my boss! There was no mistaking her intent here. One does not squeeze an older man's thigh to indicate some sort of punctuation to the speaker's thoughts. She could only be hinting at something, and I had no idea exactly what it might be.

Let me do a quick backtrack here. Robin is approximately 36-37 years old, the Dean of Admissions at the college where I work, never married (that I knew of), one adopted daughter of about 8 years, and – get this – a former student of mine when I was a junior high school principal! What in the hell had I stumbled onto here?

Robin was tall. By tall, I mean approximately 6' 1" tall!! The usual: basketball, volleyball and track while in high school. Very athletic. Very coordinated. Very physical. Very Butch, some would have said; but quite attractive in the "handsome" sort of way large women are sometimes described. Dark red hair, long, below her shoulders; large, plain face with dark green eyes; shoulders that looked like they could wear a pair of men's football pads without wasting an inch; legs that went on from here to eternity; and no chest! Absolutely no chest! I would imagine her breast measurements were in the A cup range. If it had not been for the long, beautiful hair and the make-up, she could have passed for a man with her physique.

And she was touching my leg, squeezing it softly.

Jesus! What to do? What to do? My mind went in fifty different directions wondering exactly how I should or IF I should respond to this move. But, thank God, the moment passed without me having to make a decision. Her fingers traced a line along my thigh and retreated to her lap, I suppose. Nothing more occurred during the remainder of the speech. I sat there like the proverbial 'wooden Indian' for the rest of the presentation and when I finally did turn, found that Robin's seat was vacant. When had she left? I looked to the others at the table, but they were occupied with applauding or picking up their purses and things to leave for the after-dinner discussion sessions. I, too, stood and exited the banquet hall quickly through a side door. I went to the men's room to straighten my tie and splash some cold water on my face to rid myself of the heated flush in my cheeks. Frankly, I was agitated about what might be in store for me up at the hospitality suite.

Leaving the men's room, I looked around the lobby and noted that it was nearly deserted; everyone had proceeded to their assigned sessions and only hotel staff members and other guests not associated with our conference were in the lobby. I decided to take the long, curving staircase up to the mezzanine where the hospitality suite was located. One of the vendors at the conference usually sets up a suite with sodas, snacks, sandwiches, samples of the wares they are trying to peddle, and – of course – alcohol. None of the sessions or seminars would make alcohol available, of course, but in the hospitality suite there was everything from Champagne to beer (domestic and imported) for the conference-goers' pleasure. All in the name of business, I suppose.

Entering the suite, I noted that it had not been cleaned up since the before-dinner rush for free cocktails and had to search to find something decent to eat. I settled on a half-dozen crabmeat-stuffed mushroom caps and some rather delicious small triangular sandwiches of an indeterminate origin. I began to wash it down with a glass of still-cold Riesling and heard a sound off to my left.

On the left side of the suite's sitting room, there was a set of double doors that led into a beautiful bedroom. I had been here early this morning when there were bagels and cream cheese and coffee available during session intermissions, and had wandered in there to find several small tables with hors-d'œuvre trays on them, ready for the lunch rush. I marveled at the expense to which some businesses would go to sell a product. Didn't they know that if the product did as promised, it would sell itself? Ah, well.

I now moved toward those double doors and opened them quietly. Standing in the middle of the room, at the foot of the huge bed was Robin. She was holding an open bottle of Champagne and two glasses. She was in stocking feet, her shoes tossed to one side, and she was smiling right at me as she gestured for me to close the doors. I let the doors swing closed behind me as I felt my heart fall into my stomach with a thud.

"Thought you'd never get here," she slurred. Apparently, she'd already had a few drinks and was quite comfortable and relaxed with the feeling. "I have something I need to discuss with you, but first I want to toast a successful year. Our student retentions have increased some 30% since you came on staff, Ed; and I know it is almost totally due to your efforts at making them feel like our small college is the place for them to find whatever it is they are looking for."

I murmured my thanks and accepted the glass of Champagne she held out to me. We clinked glasses, toasted, and sipped at the golden bubbles. I watched her eyes. Were they greener than I had imagined? The last time I actually looked into them was when she was about 13 and just a big, gangly kid trying to fit in where she obviously did not.

At that time, I remembered, I had made an attempt to make her feel like she had something to offer and encouraged her to investigate more physical applications for her talents. She had, ultimately, become the quintessential female jock in high school, blowing away competition right and left, and earning all sorts of honors, awards and scholarships. I remembered when she had come back to the local area and accepted the Deanship at the local community college. Everyone had been quite surprised she had not gone on to bigger and better, but she had silenced all criticisms with her vow that she wanted to 'give back' to the community that had given so much to her. Good kid, I had thought at that time; now, I was not so sure what to think.

She stood right in front of me, actually towering over me by a good two inches (it would have been more, had she kept her heels on) and looking at me as if she was the queen and I was some lowly peasant caught robbing her vegetable garden. "Why do you think I asked you to come up here when I knew no one would be around?" she asked.

I told her that I supposed she had something to discuss with me that she did not want any of the other participants from our college to hear. I also let her know with the tone of my voice that I was not at all frightened by her aggressive physical display. I looked back at her with calm eyes – but an absolutely scared shitless heart.

She turned and walked across the room and leaned against the ornate dresser there. Locking her eyes on mine again, she asked, "Do you remember one time back in Junior High School when I was standing in front of your desk and you were asking me where I had been for the entire afternoon the day before?" I nodded a 'yes' with a small smile.

"Well, you never found out where I really was, did you? I told you I had cut the afternoon classes and had gone down to the Jungle (our environmental laboratory behind the school; approximately four acres of woods, a pond, etc., used for field study) with some friends and would not rat them out. You took my word for it and gave me detention after school, but didn't suspend me from the team. I thought that was pretty nice of you. I never thanked you."

I told her that I did that more often than not. I believed that giving a student several second chances allowed them more latitude to make better decisions in the long run. I attempted to continue with this line of talk, but she interrupted me with, "I want to tell you where I really was. I want to tell you now. And then I want to thank you for being a really nice guy when I needed it."

"I was in the jungle that afternoon, but I wasn't with a couple of friends; I was with a teacher. Mrs. Crawford and I used to go there a lot to sit and talk. She was really nice to me when not many others were. When I found out what she really wanted, I wasn't terribly surprised; and it was easy enough to be nice back to her. Do you understand?"

My smile told her I did, but I went on to let her know that I had known about Mrs. Crawford's 'arrangements' with some girls for special after-school 'tutoring' but was never really sure, deep-down sure, that those sessions were anything else but academic help. I stopped there and waited for her to fill in the blanks.

"She was gay, Ed; everybody knew that. Some girls called her a dyke; some called her queer; some made a lot of really nasty remarks about her; but I always thought she was something special because of the way she treated girls who didn't have all the popularity that some girls had. She was always especially nice to me."

"And your Jungle meetings, Robin? Were they more than just academic help?" I asked.

"Yeah; we had sex. Lots of times. I liked it. She liked it. Nobody got hurt. It didn't screw me up for life. Nobody ever found out about it. And even if they had, I would have beat the shit out of anybody who said anything, and they all knew it."

"I figured that's what you were going to tell me, Robin. And, you know, I should have been more aware at the time. Maybe you didn't have any lasting problems from it, but maybe some other girls did. I really don't know, I said.

"Oh, yeah, there were other girls who couldn't handle it, I know that. When Marianne Dickerson was in high school, she turned into an absolute fuck-slut because she wanted to prove she was not gay. She fucked the entire soccer team in one week-end at John Romig's cabin up in the Poconos. She also gave blow jobs to three of the janitors in the storage room next to the swimming pool while the team was racing right on the other side of the wall. I can still see her there, kneeling in her black racing suit, with a cock in each hand and one stuffed into her mouth. Christ, was that ever sexy looking!"

"You were there?" I yelped in surprise?

"Sure, I was her protection. No one would fuck around if they knew there were two of us to tell on them if they did something they weren't asked to do. And, also, she could always say that I was there to prove that she had really done it. That way, nobody would ever call her gay. I was at the cabin, too; but I didn't do anything more than drink a lot. Two other girls from the volleyball team were there and joined the action, but not me. Of course, the way I looked back then, nobody would have been interested anyway."

"That's only because boys that age have no idea what they want, Robin," I told her.

We talked a bit more about her connection to her former English teacher and how she had been introduced to girl-girl sex. She described a few of the things they had done together and it became evident in a few minutes that the girls had done all the 'giving' and the teacher had done all the 'receiving' during those little trysts. Apparently, Robin and the other girls who were privately 'tutored' had never really had the pleasure of the woman doing anything to them; they always did for her.

"OK, you've told me where you were; you've given me a peek into your past; you've said thank-you for me being a nice guy a long time ago. That brings us up to now; what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Now, it's my turn to ask," she smiled at me; "where were you this afternoon? You didn't attend any of the sessions and you were nowhere to be found. You were exceptionally late for dinner and you looked very uncomfortable when you got there."

I didn't hesitate a moment: "I had an emergency I had to take care of; a personal matter; and I just got everything cleaned up when I showed up at the dinner. I'm sorry, but it couldn't be helped."

"Hmmmmm, let me think about this for a minute. Could that emergency have been short and black? Could that emergency have been dressed all in beige? Could that emergency have had a set of tits like watermelons? Was that the emergency, Ed?" And she grinned like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.

"I…I…don't know wh…what you're talking about," I stammered, undoubtedly flushing a bright red all the way up to my bald head.

She threw back her head and laughed loud and long, and began striding back and forth across the room, sipping and pouring more Champagne as she launched into a narrative that would spell trouble for me, I knew it. "Don't try to bullshit a bullshitter, Ed; I went looking for you and when you were nowhere in sight, I asked the little Korean girl behind the registration desk if she had seen a guy with a white beard and a bald head and a blue, pin-striped suit. She told me in two seconds that you were upstairs with one of the presenters; she had seen you get into the elevator earlier. I caught a gleam in her eye and a little smile on her face and gave her your name. Sure enough, you were registered in room 414. Gee, guess where I went next? Right on, cowboy!"

"I stood outside room 414 for almost fifteen minutes and what I heard coming from the inside certainly sounded like an emergency. At one point, it sounded like somebody couldn't breathe; and another time it sounded like somebody was screaming. Gee, Ed, what sort of emergency was it?" And she pushed me backward into the chair at the side of the bureau.

I looked up at her, huge in front of me, tapping one stockinged foot as she sipped more Champagne. One knee was cocked and her suit skirt was pulled tight across her thighs and I could see that she certainly had a lot to offer a man who loved legs. They were magnificent. But I didn't have much time to reflect on her thighs, she was pressuring me for an answer. I figured I might as well tell the truth, or at least a version of it.




The Arrangement Ch. 3



"You're absolutely right! I was having an afternoon delight. The time got away from me. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"The hell it won't!" she bellowed at me. "Get up and follow me right now!" she ordered, as she headed toward another door to the side of the bed's headboard.

We walked through the door into another suite next door and she closed and locked the connecting door behind her. "You are not going to make it to any of the evening sessions, either," she smiled at me. "We are going to have our own 'evening delight' right here. Unless, that is, you want your lovely wife to find out about this afternoon's adventure. Is that what you want?"

"Oh, my God, no, Robin. Let's not even talk about that. What the hell do you want me to do?" I almost pleaded.

"Oh, we'll think of something," she grinned at me.

And she sat the Champagne bottle and glass down and pushed me to the edge of the bed. She forced me to sit down on the side of the bed and moved back a few steps and stood there looking at me.

"Now, it's real simple: I undress; you watch; you tell me how beautiful I am; we fuck like little minks and your secret is safe. How's that for blackmail?"

"Christ, Robin; I can't have sex with my boss," I protested.

"The hell you can't!" she roared, and proceeded to unzip the back of the back of the long, straight skirt she was wearing. She pushed it down to the floor and stepped away from it. She was wearing pantyhose in a suntan shade and I automatically looked directly at her crotch. She was not wearing panties at all, and I could see nothing there at the apex of her thighs…nothing. Had she shaved? Was I going to see my boss's shaved pussy right here? She pulled the hem of the sweater she was wearing over her head and I realized that she was not wearing a bra, either. Of course, as I had alluded to before, she didn't really need a bra. On here chest were breasts that appeared to be two fried eggs with bright auburn circles in the center instead of yellow yolks.

Without exaggeration, she basically had no tits! I mentioned before that I would have guessed at an A cup, but now it appeared as though even that guess may have been generous. Actually, describing her breasts would have been easier if I had said that there really were no breasts, just aureoles and nipples. The aureoles, bright auburn in color, were large, nearly three inches across, I'd estimate; and the nipples swelled up out of them in puffy cones. Puffy? It seems that somewhere I'd heard that word used on the Internet to describe pictures of young girls who were just beginning to develop breasts. I think they called them 'puffies' but I never really visited any of those picture galleries, so I'm not sure. But that is exactly what I would have called Robin's breasts – puffies.

"I know, I know," she said, covering them with her hands; "They're nothing. No-tits Watters, they called me. And they still do, I guess! But you don't need tits to fuck, do you, Ed?" I could tell she was compensating. I could also tell that she really didn't know what the hell she was doing. This was all an act! She was as unsure of herself as I was unsure of why I was here or what I was going to do.

Without any other preamble, she hooked her fingers into the waistband of her nude-to-waist pantyhose and rolled them down, down those incredibly long legs. She was bending over to roll them down her thighs and calves and then to take them off her feet, one leg at a time, so I could not get a good view of my real target of affection.

When she stood up and flipped the pantyhose onto the bed beside me, I looked. Not shaved! Blonde! Wispy, corn silk, blonde curls in such a small patch that they were almost invisible. The pretty little triangle began far below her navel and slid into the hidden valley between her thighs. The curls were almost translucent and were shiny like silk thread would be in certain light. I was immediately intrigued and felt myself becoming aroused. My cock thickened and I squirmed on the bed to make myself a bit more comfortable. She saw something on my face and said, "What? What's the matter?"

"The matter? Not a thing, woman! You are gorgeous! That is the absolute most beautiful pussy I have ever seen in my entire life. Have you ever looked at her? Do you know how beautiful she is? Do you know how soft and tender and pretty she looks? A man would have to be out of his fucking mind not to fall in love with her at first glance. And if I get to touch her, I know it will be like silk and velvet all in one touch. And if I get to taste her, I know I will be satisfied that I have tasted a bit of the best heaven has to offer. You are a god-damned Amazon standing here in front of me! I'm just getting uncomfortable because I want to touch, to feel, to taste, to fuck that beautiful pussy so much, and also because I don't know what you want out of me."

"I don't want anything out of you; I want something in me. I'm not fooling around here. I want you to fuck me. I've had the idea for a while now, but this afternoon sealed the decision. There is something you don't know about me. Of course, there's lots of things you don't know about me, but one important thing. I'm a virgin."

"Robin, I almost want to believe you; but how does somebody who looks like you get to be your age without ever having sex?"

"Oh, I've had plenty of sex, Ed; sex with women; sex with girls; sex with one or two other guys, but I've never been fucked. I know Clinton said oral sex was not really sex, and since that's all I've ever had with a guy – blowjobs or hand jobs – I am still a virgin. OK, OK, I have done the dildo thing and the vibrator thing, so I am not fully a virgin; but in technical terms, since I've never actually been fucked by a man, I'm still a virgin. Do you buy that?" She stood in front of me, hands on hips and legs spread apart so that I could see that tiny cloud of golden fluff that decorated her puffed-up lips.

"Of course, I buy that. And in case you don't know it, one of every man's honest fantasies is to 'deflower' a virgin at least once in his life. While I am not in to doing little girls or teenagers, I do think that you will fill the bill in ending that fantasy for me. That is, if you are honestly thinking of fucking this old man."

In answer to that, she dropped to her knees and removed my shoes, socks and belt. She unbuttoned my pants, unzipped my fly and grabbed the cuffs to pull them from me, forcing me to lie down on my back on the bed. I was still wearing my Jockeys and a blue oxford shirt, tie and suit coat. That did not faze her in the least. She leaned forward, slipped her fingers into the leg bands of my shorts and pulled them down and off my feet. I was thickening rapidly, but the shock of what she had just done stopped the immediate growth and she looked down at my cock, lying there against my thigh. Not long – perhaps just a shade under 7" – but thick; thicker than average; thicker than many I've seen in porn videos. And the head? Almost plum-sized, violent purple in color and swelling rapidly. 

"Jesus Christ, Ed," she breathed, "I had no idea. I figured a nice, average guy with a nice, average cock for my first one. But this is fatter than any of the vibrators or dildos I've ever used. I'm going to have to work if I really want this to fuck me." And she lifted it with one soft hand and held it up to look it over. She traced the large, ropy vein on the top of the shaft, from pubic hair to crown, and allowed her fingertip to run over the head and down underneath to that tiny spot where it is sooooo sensitive. She knew exactly what she was doing. I couldn't help but wonder who the guys were that she had given blowjobs or had jerked off. When had that been? How old had she been?

"Jack Monroe and Steve Whitman. I blew Jack and I jerked Steve off into my hand," she offered. Had I been thinking out loud? Had I actually asked? "You didn't ask who, so I thought I'd tell you. I was 16 and they were seniors. Both on the same night. In the back of Jack's old Mustang. Not a lot of fun, but enough to get the "gay" tag lifted from behind my name, too. Never did it after that; never really wanted to. Spent a lot of time with girls in high school and then in college, after. Liked that a lot. And it was a lot safer than getting knocked up by accident by some fraternity jock who didn't give a shit about who I was or what I wanted out of life. If you have sex with a girl, you are in love while you are doing it. If you have sex with a guy, you are just getting fucked. Now, come on, let's get going!" and she bent to suck the head of my cock into her mouth where I immediately stiffened under her tongue's attention.

Her eyes popped wide open as the head swelled inside her mouth and she was alarmed when it didn't stop swelling until it had almost completely filled the cavity. I held onto her face and moved her head back and forth a little bit to wet the shaft and to show her there was still room in her mouth for her tongue to move. She took the hint and began a beautiful tongue massage of my fat, purple cock head. I sighed deeply and laid back on the bed and she raised up a bit so my cock was pointing straight up and her mouth was moving up and down on the shaft, wetting it and making me very, very hard.

Upon reaching my full length, I told her I was ready if she was. She slid my cock out of her mouth, wet and shiny, and began to climb up on the bed to straddle me. I gave her a hard shove and she went sailing over on her side and landed beside me on the bed with a look on her face that was a mixture between shock, surprise and anger. "What the hell did you do that for?" she hollered at me.

"You never said you were going to fuck me," I responded. "You said I was going to fuck you. And If I'm on my back and you are sliding up and down my cock, you are fucking me, not the other way around."

I stood up, threw off the remainder of my clothes and moved to the side of the bed. I grabbed her two ankles and pulled her ass to the very edge of the mattress. I lifted her legs straight up in the air in front of me and trapped my cock between her thighs, sliding it along the cleft between her lips. Not good. She was not at all moist.

I spread her legs by pushing her ankles apart and looked down. There was my cock shaft, stretching straight across that golden patch and toward her navel. I bent a bit and let the underside of the shaft make contact with the slit of her pussy and moved back and forth a half-dozen times. Each time, I pressed down a bit harder until I felt her pussy skin pulling and tugging with each stroke. I backed off and placed the head directly against the center of her pussy. Now that I had a good look at it, I was amazed. Really, truly amazed! It was tiny. I mean, it was the smallest pussy I've ever seen in my entire life. The entire length of her slit, from top to bottom, could not have been more than 3 ½ or 4 inches. God, how much contradiction was in this woman? No tits on a 6-foot-plus frame? And a pussy that looked like it belonged to a twelve-year-old! And the pussy itself was tufted with the sweetest covering of silky blonde curls that if I did not have a picture of the body that went along with it, I would have thought this girl was actually one of my junior high students, and not a grown woman.

With my cock head lodged at the tender opening of her little pussy, I took one hand away from her ankle and leaned that leg against my chest. I used that hand to hold onto my shaft and move the head in circles, small at first, then increasing in size until I was stretching the skin that surrounded the entrance to her grotto. As I moved, her hips responded. I stopped. "Don't even think of moving until I tell you it's ok," I said. She stopped and looked up at me between her legs. She nodded agreement, but I could see she was anxious to move her ass with me. I could see her pulse in the vein of her neck as it increased in speed and intensity.

I felt the moisture before I could see it. Not much, but enough to allow the head of my cock to move more freely. And she smelled delicious. God, after what I had encountered earlier this afternoon, this was the Ambrosia of the Gods. I couldn't help myself, and said to her, "Hold very still; I am going to enjoy myself for a minute; don't even think about lowering your legs."

I dropped to my knees and sunk my face into her golden curls and licked at her cunt so hard that I pulled the hair into my mouth with my tongue. I licked and sucked and wet her with my own saliva until I realized it was no longer necessary. She was producing a new quantity of oil that lubricated everything in sight, including my face and beard. I spent another ten minutes licking and sucking at her outer lips, then the rubbery red inner set, and then found her tiny (very, very tiny) clit, hidden in the deep folds of her sheath.

Teasing and tickling and sucking at her clit caused two things to happen. First, she began to move without being given permission. I decided to disregard this because the motion had also caused a new and different type of lubrication to appear. Thick, slick and very wet, this new nectar tasted deeply musky and signaled her readiness for the next step.

I kissed my way up along her stomach and to her ribs and directly to the puffy swellings of her breasts. I opened my mouth and took her left breast – almost the entire thing – into my mouth and sucked on the nipple and flicked at it with my tongue. You would have thought I'd hit her with an electric cattle prod. She jumped, causing her entire body to clear the surface of the bed. When she slammed back down, my mouth was still clamped to her left nipple and I proceeded to suck so hard I could almost feel the pain myself. I took the other nipple between thumb and forefinger and pulled and twisted it until it, too swelled away from her chest and became a real breast.

I sensed a difference in her breathing and realized she was crying. "What's the matter?" I mumbled, with my mouth half-filled with nipple and aureole. "Am I hurting you?"

"No, no," she sobbed, "nobody ever paid any attention to them before. None of the guys, of course; but neither did the girls or the women I've been with. They ignored them. I play with them sometimes and I know I get really excited from it; but no one ever did that before. Ed, I already came once. If you don't stop, I'm going to cum again." And she turned her face seemingly to hide in embarrassment.

Stop? Me? Never? I thought to myself. And I renewed my attack on her nipples, first one, then the other. Her body thrashed and pitched and jumped around on the bed so that I had to insert one knee between her thighs to hold her in place. Needless to say, that knee was immediately treated to a wet bath and a furry rubdown by her pussy. And she did cum again. At least twice more, while I sucked and bit on her nipples and aureoles.

She was sobbing and her chest was heaving when I moved my lips back to her rib cage and then down to her now-sloppy cunt lips. I flicked my tongue out and speared her opening with it. I inserted it as far as I could and licked at everything I could find. She simply went nuts.

"Yes, dear woman," I mumbled into golden pussy hair, "A main is eating your pussy; not a woman; a man who loves the smell and the taste and the feel of a woman's cunt in his mouth. Get used to it, Robin. I'm not stopping yet." And I face fucked her incredibly hot pussy for another fifteen minutes and at least two more orgasms of spasming stomach muscles and clenching thighs.

When I finally stood up, she was fully red from her thighs up to her face and breathing like she'd just played a hard game of basketball. I leaned over her and kissed her – for the first time, I realized – and allowed her to taste herself on my beard and lips and tongue. She did not recoil at all. She opened her mouth and sucked my face clean and dry and licked up all stray drops of herself with her tongue.

"Like that?" I asked, and she nodded her assent, licking her lips.

"Then I guess we are ready for the piece de resistance, dear girl."

And I backed off to lift her legs straight up again and hold them apart at the ankles. I told her to take my cock in one hand and put it right where she wanted it. She slowly stroked the shaft with her fingertips and moved the head up and down her slit a few times until she shivered and then placed it against her hole. She didn't let go immediately, but did as I had done earlier – slowly made circles with the huge head, stretching the lips around her velvety entrance. "It's big, Ed; it's fat; please take it slow; I want to enjoy it, not be really hurt by it; is that ok?" she whispered up at me.

I responded by telling her to remove her hand. She did, and began to play with her nipples by herself. I looked her directly in the eyes until she allowed her eyelids to droop down over them, shutting out either who I really was or what was about to happen.

And I pushed forward with just a tiny bit of strength. Her mouth flew open but no sound came out as my head pressed against the extremely tight opening. I quietly thanked myself for the extra preparation I had put into this pussy, because if I had tried this ten or fifteen minutes ago, she would probably have quit at this very spot.

I could feel her lips stretching. I told her to relax and let things take their natural course. And I applied just a tiny bit more pressure. Her mouth was still open in a perfect 'O' but I heard nothing except the rushing of her breath in and out of her nose.

And within the next 30 or 40 seconds, the head magically popped inside the fleshy gates of her pussy lips. I was inside my boss! I was now actually fucking Robin Watters. I smiled down at her and she tried to smile back, but the pressure was building. I reminded her not to tighten her leg muscles and immediately felt them relax in my hands. I moved a fraction of an inch forward and heard a gasp deteriorate into a groan.

Cutting to the bottom line here, it took me almost twenty additional minutes of slowly advancing and retreating and moving my hips and playing with her clit until my dark pubic hair was commingled with her blonde curls and I was sunk to the limits our bodies would allow. Now, I leaned on her and pushed hard against her pubic bone with mine and looked into her eyes. "Is this what you had in mind, boss?"



The Arrangement Ch. 4



The following is the fourth and final part of a short story representing a letter sent by the author to an online friend with whom he has enjoyed a long relationship without any physical contact. He has always kept her informed of any offline recreational activities he enjoys and she has reciprocated in kind. This letter was written as a report of one such offline meeting of which she had taken part in the planning. She was aware of his previous "accidental connection" at an earlier conference and knew that the author was planning to meet his "conference paramour" at this event.

* * * * *

"Is this what you had in mind, boss?" I whispered to her as I hovered over her, my cock imbedded behind the stretched lips of her golden-haired pussy. It had taken me seemingly forever to access the depths of her tiny opening. When I had finally touched bottom and had pressed against her pubic bone with my own, I whispered the question and waited for her reply.

"Oh, my God, Ed; oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; what are you doing to me? I feel like I am stuffed so full my stomach is going to burst open. My pussy feels like it has a huge lump stuck inside and I can feel it throbbing against its walls. Don't move. Please don't move. I don't know what I'll do if you move inside me. I feel like I'm going to explode. I'm just so goddamn full."

I bent and kissed her tiny breasts as I began to move out and in, one small inch at a time, stretching her inner set of lips out from behind their hiding place on my withdrawal and folding them back inside again on my re-entry stroke. I could hear the slight squish of her liquids and mine making friction less noticeable for our organs. She was nearly fully wet now and I knew I would soon be stroking the entire length of my cock in and out of her without any real discomfort.

I had marveled at the small size of her opening at first, but did not allow it to deter my determination to fuck her, even when she resisted because of my girth. And I was correct: she had stretched to accommodate my head and my shaft and was now lying there on her back, her legs stretched out in an exceptionally lewd "V" shape with my hands holding her at the ankles. I was stroking, ever so slowly, and increasing the length of those strokes as I continued until I was moving the entire length, except for the head, in and out of her swelling cunt with ease. The more I stroked, the wetter she became and the more easily the strokes were accomplished. Each time I re-entered, I would squeeze my muscles and cause the head to swell inside her, eliciting a groan from her mouth. Each time I pulled out to the point that her inner lips were sucking at the swollen head, I would squeeze that muscle again and she would moan deep in her throat. 

Watching her as I continued to slowly stroke in and out of her heated chasm, I was pleased to notice the flush creeping up her chest and neck and into her face. She was becoming more and more aroused as my movements continued. Her head was moving from side to side, her eyes were closed, and her mouth was wide open with small gasping breaths fighting for purchase in her lungs. Each time I hit bottom with the head of my cock, her eyes fluttered and she grunted – yes, actually grunted.

I did not alter either the speed or the intensity of my strokes for some eight to ten minutes – just the steady fucking rhythm of a cock machine. And I knew her body was climbing up toward a peak. I watched and waited as her physical reactions changed – from that warm, relaxed feeling that comes with the initial strokes inside her pussy, to the jerky, spasmodic movements that precede the muscle-tightening climaxes of vaginal intercourse. And as I watched, her thigh muscles began to clench and her abdominal muscles – beautifully arranged in a near six-pack – began to flutter and twitch. It was time! The next few seconds would be crucial to how much she would accept from me.

Pushing her sideways, farther onto the bed, I climbed onto the mattress, never releasing her ankles, and began to push her legs back over her body – a bit farther with each stroke, until after a dozen or so strokes, she was lying with her knees almost at her chin and her feet back over her head, her thighs spread obscenely and her pussy aimed straight up in the air. I pushed against her ankles with my hands and rose up on my toes, aiming my cock straight down into her cunt. And I whispered, "Now, dear lady, you are going to feel like you are being fucked!" And I slammed downward, deep inside her, spreading ankles and legs apart with my hands as my full weight landed on her pussy entrance with my cock embedded in it.

She screamed out and I thought she was going to buck me off with the gyrations of her stiffening body. She was incredibly strong and it took some amount of strength to hold her down in that position as my cock head found the absolute depths of her cunt sheath. I could actually feel the hard ring at the back of her chamber pressing against the soft tissue of my cock's head. And I rotated my hips, causing the head to rub against that ring and she screamed again. I rose up and slammed down again, sinking as deeply as physically possible into her. Six, seven, eight…….two dozen humps and slams from above; and she screamed with each one. Her body was twitching and spasms were running up and down her thighs and across her stomach muscles.

One last time, I lifted my cock out of her, to the point where the head actually cleared the suction of her lips and as I looked down between us I could see a long ropy string of our mixed lubricants making that erotic bridge between her pussy and my cock head as it pulled out with a slurping sound. In one almost brutal movement, I pushed her ankles out to their limit and allowed my entire weight of 202 pounds to drive my cock back inside her gaping cunt, and increased the speed of my next twenty or thirty strokes in and out of her incredibly hot volcano until her eyes flew open in what can only be described as shock, and her entire body went rigid. Her back arched into a bow and her weight was being held only by the top of her head pressed backward into the pillows and my own feet on the mattress below our bodies. She was not breathing at all. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was wide open, but nothing was moving in or out.

She erupted. She came. She climaxed. She exploded droplets of thick moisture over, under and all around the shaft sunk inside her. My crotch was soaked with her own ejaculations as mine neared the very edge. I could not hold it must past this point, but I wanted to be absolutely certain she was "down" from the edge before I released.

I continued to stroke until she collapsed, panting and heaving and pushing at me to stop my stroking. "I can't! I can't! Stop! Oh, God, please stop! It hurts! It's so sensitive! It burns! Stop, Ed; please stop!" she panted between shivers and spasms.

Slowing my strokes to a mere sliding in and out, and allowing her legs to fall one at a time to the bed beside me, I leaned down on my elbows and kissed her brow, sweaty and hot; her eyelids, quivering and fluttering; her cheeks, flushed and throbbing; and her lips, so wet and hot that I thought she'd developed a fever in the last half hour. I licked her lips with my tongue and she breathed into my mouth, "Thank you. God, that was something I've never had. That was worth the wait, Ed."

I stopped my stroking all together and her body went slack. "But what about me?" I asked her. "Am I going to have to pull my cock out of you and go to the bathroom to finish what you have started here? I certainly hope not."

"You're not wearing anything, Ed; and I'm not on the pill or anything, either. We just can't take the chance, can we?" she said while looking up at me.

"You're right, Robin; there is no sense in taking chances. But I really do need some physical release from the condition this evening has caused for me."

"Pull it out, Ed; I have an idea."

I slowly moved my cock out of her sloppy pussy – but not before I gave her another dozen or more slow, even strokes, and played with her distended pussy lips and then her swollen clit, which raised her pulse again and coaxed another climax out of her nearly exhausted body. This time, she did not complain about being sore or sensitive; she just relaxed her entire body and let that soft, warm feeling of a lovely cum stream over her body from foot to crotch and loved the small explosion. She mewed and whimpered as I finally pulled the head from her clutching lips.

Watching the spot from which my head withdrew, I was totally amazed at the amount of her nectars, which followed; as if a new spring had been tapped in the lush growth of a mountainside. Small rivulets of her juices literally gushed out of her ragged opening after my cock head withdrew, and gushed down the crack of her ass to wet the bed beneath her. I was enthralled.

She rolled out from under me and went to her purse on the table in the other room She came back with a small, red foil package. She was actually embarrassed at handing me a Trojan prophylactic. "Here, Ed; use this. I'm not going to tell you why it is in my purse, but I want you to use it so you can get something out of this evening, too." And she climbed back on the bed.

I opened the foil package and looked down at her. Her eyes were on the white latex ring I now held in my hand. "Do they really work?" she asked with a small tremble in her voice.

"About 99.9% of the time," I reassured her. And I lifted one of her hands and placed the ring in her hand. "But I want you to put it on, Robin. Just put it against the head and roll it back to where it ends. Feel how smooth. And know that you have produced enough lubrication so that it will slide in very easily."

She got up on her knees and took my cock in one hand and held the condom against the head with the other. It was immediately coated on the inside with the pre-cum that was leaking from the eye in the tip of my cock. She started to roll it with one hand, then switched to two, but I stopped her with my hands.

"No, dear, not like that. Open your mouth. Just like you did way back in high school for good old Jack Monroe. Unroll the condom with your lips as you slide my cock in your mouth. I know you can do it. C'mon; give it a try; for me."

She looked up at me, but saw I wasn't kidding and looked back down at my cock, standing directly in front of her and without even thinking about it, opened her mouth and worked the head inside, behind her lips and teeth, unrolling the condom as she slipped more and more of my shaft into her mouth. She was breathing heavily through her nose and when the head of my cock touched the back of her throat, she backed off but did not pull it out completely. Instead, she licked all over the surface, feeling the smooth hardness of the shaft inside her mouth, and then pulled back to where she was sucking on the head. When she slid her lips off the head, the small receptacle hung down a half inch and she looked at it with quizzical eyes. "It's for my cum, Robin; what ends up in there does not end up in your womb, creating babies that we don't want."

Her eyes crinkled up a bit and she giggled at the thought of thousands, millions, of little babies being caught in that tiny receptacle at the end of my condom-wrapped dick.

She looked up at me with those incredible eyes, and got real serious for a moment. "Do you want me to give you a blowjob, Ed? I could do that. I could do that for you and get you off and it wouldn't be taking a chance at all. Do you want me to do that? Like I did for Jack?" she whispered while taking my cock in one hand and rubbing it across her lips two or three times.

"No, love; we came here to fuck, nothing less. And fuck is exactly what I intend to do to you. Now, turn around and face the headboard. Get on your knees; spread your legs apart as far as you can; put your face down on one of the pillows in front of you and relax as much as you can."

"Not in my ass!" she warned me in all seriousness. "I'm not going to let you fuck me in the ass, even if you are wearing a condom. That's not what I had in mind. And you're too fucking fat for that anyway; you'd split me apart and kill me."

I reassured her that I did not intend to fuck her in the ass. I realized I was too big for her tiny little rosebud and made that decision long ago. I told her that I simply wanted to fuck her in what was normally called 'doggy-style' and she should relax because I was going to go a bit deeper than I had before.

She jumped up from the position she'd taken and said, "Deeper? How in the hell could you possibly go deeper?"

"Relax, love; and you'll see. It all depends on you, now, sweet woman. The more relaxed you are, the deeper I can push. Let's see how long it takes for me to cum in this position. Are you ready?"

She regained the position, ass in the air (and if I may digress a moment here, do you realize exactly what was there in front of me? This blonde goddess was over six feet tall, as I have described, and her legs were so fucking long, they almost needed a license of their own. Kneeling in front of me, her ass was so high up that I found I could put my entire cock under her and fuck straight up!) I took her ass in both my hands and massaged her into relaxation. I know she did not trust me at first and thought I was going to try to ass fuck her, but as soon as she felt the tip of my cock touch the opening of her pussy, she relaxed even more and understood. I pushed upward and the head slid in almost without resistance. She certainly was relaxed and she certainly was wet, sloppy, slick, soaking wet! In one stroke upwards, I sunk the entire length up into her hot cunt.

I pulled her ass into me and felt myself touch bottom and knew there was hope for a totally new frontier here. I reached around and found her clit, still extended and swollen, and pinched it as I slammed my cock farther into her. She yelped but did not move away.

And I began my strokes, long, hard, rhythmic; deep inside her; my balls slapping up and around against the tip of her clit on each in-stroke; my finger flicking at her clit on each withdrawal. And we continued, amid grunts and groans and moans and mews from both our throats. And I felt myself rising to the edge where I would not be able to retreat.

And she exploded! I had absolutely no idea she was near her own edge. I was concentrating solely on making my own orgasm a special one, and she slipped up alongside me and went into spasms of her own. Her ass twitched and bucked. Her cheeks trembled and clenched. My cock was pinched inside her cunt as it wrenched from side to side and let down an entirely new supply of her liquid that seeped out around my shaft and coated my balls as it trickled downward.

And as she threw her head back and flicked her hair around, I slammed up into her and let loose my own torrent of pent-up seed. And thrust and thrust and thrust and thrust, hard, up against her, lifting her knees off the bed and slamming her face into the pillow. I held onto her hips and pulled her down against my cock as hard and as often as I could before I, too, was too sensitive to continue. I slid out of her slick recesses and she fell to the side, panting and sweating in the overheated room. My cock was still thick but losing some of its stiffness. It began to droop and hung down at a 45-degree angle, just glad to be alive at this point.

She lay there and looked up at it and reached out to slide her hand around its girth. "It's so soft. One minute it was as hard as an iron bar and now, it's like an under ripe banana. Hold still. I want to do something." And she squirmed under me, lying on her back, and reached up to peel the condom off my now-softening cock. She dropped the used piece of latex onto the floor beside the bed and opened her mouth wide under the drip of my cock head. A long rope of cum slid out of the eye and into her mouth. She didn't bat an eyelash, but lifted her head and took the head of my cock into her mouth and closed her lips around it. I slowly slid a pillow under her head and she relaxed, still holding me in her mouth. Her tongue began to work at the tender head and I reminded her to be very gentle, as men, too, got very sensitive. She used one hand to stroke my shaft from pubic hair to corona, pinching the tube on the underside and draining the last drops from me. She sucked at the eye and flicked it with her tongue. She wrapped her tongue around the head and cleaned it thoroughly before she allowed her lips to slip off and kiss the very end of it, softly and tenderly. "There," she whispered, "that's for making me feel so good. I loved it. I think I love you, you purple-headed monster. I'm not sure I can ever let you go." She pursed her lips, kissed the head again, and flicked it with her tongue before continuing, "How do you think I can get some more of you whenever I want it?"

I reached down, took her face between my hands, and slid my cock deep into her mouth. I stroked back and forth, back and forth, gently, until we both felt the stirrings and realized he was coming alive again. Even at my age, the image of a blonde woman with gorgeous eyes looking upward at me with my cock in her mouth, lips wrapped around me, is enough to raise the near-dead.

Ad I thickened, I withdrew from her mouth and wrapped her hand around the shaft again.

"You can have as much of me as you want, Robin; all you have to do is whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you? (stealing a famous line from Mae West) All you have to do is pucker up and blow."

We broke the moment before it could develop into anything else and moved to re-dress ourselves. I did not hurry, as I wanted to watch her put her clothes on. There is something incredibly erotic about watching a woman put on her clothes. The very act of putting on her pantyhose was both comical and sensual at the same time. The rest of her clothing followed, one piece at a time. Before she covered up completely, I leaped to stand in front of her, bent down and sucked first one, then the other of her titty swells into my mouth where I licked, sucked, and bit on them, pulling them as far away from her chest as the stretch of her skin would allow. I released them with a plop from my mouth and kissed her hard on her mouth while I twisted and pinched them.


"Don't ever worry about a man not paying attention to these little puffies again," I murmured into her mouth. "They belong to me now and I am going to make sure they remember me." And I pinched and rolled them between thumbs and forefingers and pulled them until they actually looked like breasts before releasing them. "Who knows; with enough personal attention, you might begin to develop something you've never had before. I'd like to be the one to help in that endeavor."

She moved away from me, completed her dressing and moved to retrieve her purse. She stepped into the bathroom and I followed directly behind her, standing in back of her while she stood at the mirror to brush her lovely hair. As she brushed, I slid my hands up under her sweater and again cupped her tiny swellings. I flicked at the nipples with my thumbs and she bent forward and put her hands on the edge of the vanity. "For Christ's sake, Ed, stop that! I honestly think if you continued that, I could actually cum without anything else. Stop it now!" And as I continued, now nuzzling her neck, "Oh shit! Don't stop! I'm so close. I'm going to fuck up my pantyhose. Oh, Jesus!" And I pushed my cock against her ass as I tugged and twisted and pinched at her swollen nipples. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, uh…uh…uh…!" And she came again. Not a huge, earth-shattering cum, but one of those long rolling orgasms that start somewhere in the space behind your knees and slowly spiral upwards until they slip into your crotch and steal away your breath and into your head where they steal away your brains and ability to think. Her knees buckled and I held her up with my hands flat on her chest swells.




The Arrangement Ch. 4



"Robin, if you are serious about continuing this relationship, I want to know it now. I want to be very sure I am not overstepping my bounds next week when I come into your office and kiss you and ask, very quietly, if you'd like me to fuck you or suck your pussy until you cum. If you have any doubts about continuing, let me know now."

In answer, she shook off my hands, turned around and dropped to her knees. I had not yet zipped up my fly and she reached inside, took out my soft, wet cock and sucked it into her mouth. All the way in. Her lips were in my pubic hair and she licked and sucked at me like some soft piece of saltwater taffy. I began to grow hard in her mouth and she began an intense sucking and licking and stroking with her lips, her tongue and her fingers until I knew there was no stopping. I held her head, looked into her eyes and cam in her mouth. Not a huge amount, to be sure, but enough that she knew I was making a warm, slick deposit on her tongue. She never faltered; she never took her eyes from mine; she moved her mouth back until only the head of my cock was inside her lips and she swallowed. She licked me clean, licked her lips, smacked her lips, and replaced my now-withered cock in my pants.

"I've never done that for anybody before. I never let a guy cum in my mouth and I never swallowed. You are the first. Does that give you an answer?" she said while licking her lips again.

I lifted her up by the elbows and kissed her warmly on the mouth, tasting myself there and reveling in the thought that I would have this warm mouth to kiss or to fuck whenever one or both of us desired. It was truly a fantasy come true.