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Pink Hibiscus

By: DawnJ



Some days, it just paid to stay in bed. 

Sam rolled over and groaned. Her head hurt, her mouth was dry, and she felt as though every kind of creature was crawling over her eyeballs. She covered her face with the pillow, and listened to the clock radio. It was singing at her, telling her it was time to get up. But how could she? She had stayed out way too late with her friends last night, and ended up so sloshed she couldn't even stand upright on her own.

And she had never, ever, in her entire life, been drunk! Till last night...

The phone rang, and Sam heard stars. She wondered if that was what dogs heard when they heard high pitched whistles. She groaned louder and reached for it, if only to stop the sharp jangling that was raking across her eardrums like nails on a blackboard.

"Ye - hello?" She could barely speak.

"Sam, it's Ellie. I just wanted to make sure you were awake. Don't forget the presentation is today."

Sam sniffed, and Ellie asked, "Are you okay, love?"

Sam sniffed again, and said, "No...just kill me now!" And then she hung up.

The phone rang again and the stars in her head sang more sharply. Sam tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop. She let the machine pick up and heard Ellie's voice.

"You'd better not be late, Sam! Our jobs are riding on this presentation!" 

Her friend's sharply worried voice penetrated the haze of discomfort and pain in which she was enclosed, and Sam sat up. Slowly. She supposed she had better see about getting ready. Maybe after a hot shower, some coffee, and a whole lot of makeup, she could pass for a human being at work today.

The shower helped, and she managed to swallow two painkillers and half a toasted bagel, though it took two strong cups of black coffee, which she hated, to get them down. She put the mug in the sink, picked up a peach from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table, and took a last look at her face before she walked out to her car. She guessed it'd have to do.

Ellie was already in her cubicle when Sam walked in. She eyed her friend speculatively, and asked,

"Where were you last night? I tried calling three times, but you didn't pick up!"

"Some friends came in from out of town!" Sam's answer was short. She wasn't sure she wanted to share her evening's escapade with Ellie, who was the epitome of responsibility and decorum. Not that Sam wasn't responsible herself, but Ellie had it down pat, where Sam still needed to work on it.

"Well, I hope you've rehearsed your part," Ellie said, looking at her worriedly. "You look a little green around the gills."

Sam ignored her and pulled the portfolio out of her soft leather briefcase. She opened it and studied the pages, sipping a third cup of coffee. Her stomach was starting to hurt, and she knew it was a combination of too much caffeine and nerves. She took calming breaths as she read, and hoped no one would know just how badly off she was.

She and Ellie walked down the hall to the conference room ten minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin to make sure all they would need was in place. Sam took her place next to Ellie at the head of the table and watched the men file in. Not one woman, she thought, and then her jaw dropped. Right behind her boss, dressed in a dark grey suit that fit his sleek frame like a glove, stood the one man in all the world she did not expect to see ever again...and he was having the same effect on her now as he had had all those years ago when she was younger and hot for him.

She felt herself blushing, and lowered her eyes, but not before he saw her, and she registered surprise, and something hot in his gaze. Samantha Redfern was not a coward, but she would have given anything right then to have the supernatural power of invisibility.

"Good morning, everyone!" Her boss, Bob Daniels, stood and spoke to the men as they filed in and helped themselves to the breakfast fixings on the side table. "Glad to see you all here today! We have a big project on today's agenda, and the ladies have worked very hard to put together a presentation I'm sure will give you all the information you need to get the job done. Gentlemen, meet Samantha Redfern, and Elizabeth Black."

He gestured to the women, and sat down. Ellie and Sam had agreed that Ellie would go first, and Sam breathed a sigh of profound relief as Ellie stood up to do her part. It gave her time to get her color and her breathing under control. She felt nauseated, and wished she could sink into the floor. She cast her eyes down at said floor, and it swam before them. Oh no! She was going to throw up in her boss's conference room!

She stood up hurriedly and tried to rush away before disaster struck, and that was all she knew.

Theo felt his heart thudding in his chest as he watched the others gather around Sam's unconscious form. The last person he had expected to see at this meeting was the one woman he lusted for every damn day, the woman who kept him up at night, literally and figuratively...the woman who had disappeared from his life three years ago with no explanation. He wasn't sure whether what he felt was anger or desire, and he decided, as he tried to stop his hands from shaking, that it must be both.

Theo wanted to rush over and tell them all to take their hands off his woman, but he kept his seat. He was a visitor here, and Sam had made it clear, by her three-year silence, that she wanted nothing to do with him. When they managed to wake her up, she stood shakily, avoiding his eyes, and he watched her walk on her boss's arm out of the room. He tried to ignore the soreness around his heart as he watched her studiously ignore him, but it ached anyway. He rubbed his chest unconsciously, and stopped when he realized what he was doing.

He forced himself to concentrate on the presentation, which it appeared the other young woman would now be doing on her own, but he couldn't help wondering what had caused Sam to pass out. He could imagine how embarrassed she was, not only for passing out in front of them all, but because he was here, and she hadn't expected him to be... He hoped she was okay, and heaved a silent sigh of relief when she walked back in, under her own steam, and took her place quietly next to her colleague. She was nothing if not brave, and he felt a surge of pride in her, even as his heart broke to see her where he could never reach her again.

He braced himself to hear her voice again, for the first time in three years. Always, in the past, before they had parted ways so unceremoniously, she had only to say hello to wake the animal in him. He pulled himself closer to the table as a precaution, in the event that she still had that power. 

"Good morning, gentlemen!" 

Theo felt the force of Sam's voice in his groin like a whip, and he only managed by a supreme effort not to rub the ache that seemed to find a home there the instant she opened her mouth. A velvet, husky voice she had, and an adorable lisp, almost imperceptible, but there. Or maybe it was just him. He blinked and forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying. Be cool, he admonished himself, be detached. Pay attention to the content, don't focus on the vehicle. He needed to do something with his hands, but he couldn't write with them trembling like that. He withdrew his little tape recorder from his briefcase and pressed record. So much for cool detachment!

The meeting seemed interminably long to Theo who, by the end of the first session, had loosened his tie. He had tried to keep his eyes on the Smart Board that Sam was using for her presentation, but every now and again his eye strayed -- to the soft curve of her dusky brown cheek, to the long fingers holding the pointer, to the roundness of her bottom and her wide hips, to the full lower lip, colored a brown only slightly darker than her milk-in-coffee complexion.

Shit! He wouldn't make it without a break. He stood up, hoping his pants didn't tent in front of him, and excused himself from the table. He hoped she didn't think he was bored or uninterested, but he could not stand another drop of the sweet chocolate of her voice. Any more, and he would be in serious danger of embarrassing himself. He slipped quietly from the room, wondering, as he walked down the hall to the men's room, why he cared what she thought. She had ripped his heart out. She didn't deserve any consideration. He splashed cold water on his face, and groaned softly as he dried the excess moisture off. She deserved to be treated coldly...

...but he still loved her. Passionately, with every single cell of his body. If he had had any doubts, his meeting her today, here, completely erased them. And now, for the first time since he was a callow boy, he was afraid. Very afraid. Afraid that she would rip his heart apart again, before it had healed from the last wounding. But like a moth to light, he was drawn to her. And he knew, as he walked back to the meeting, that this time, no matter what, she would not escape him...

He returned in time for the second break of the morning, and watched her as she skirted the table to get coffee. She looked unwell, as though she had eaten something that was not agreeing with her. He knew she didn't react well to too much coffee, and he saw her fill the cup but leave it black. Hmmm! She WAS sick. He stood a moment, debating whether or not he should approach her, and she looked up as he moved. Their eyes met, and anyone watching would have seen the electric spark that arced between them. 

She lowered her eyes, and walked away, as though she knew he was planning to come to her. She kept at least two people between them, and it hurt him to see the evidence of her lack of interest in his attentions. He detoured, heading for the table with the food instead, and helped himself to a scone and coffee. He deliberately turned his back on her -- two can play THAT game, he thought bitterly, and swallowed some of the coffee, scalding his tongue.

Sam had no idea how she made it through to the end of the presentation, nor even how she managed to field all the questions that were fired at her and Ellie. Once she cut Theo dead, and saw him retreat, she steeled herself to do her job, ignoring the pain in her chest, which she knew was a combination of upset stomach and regret. She had seen the hurt look in his eyes when she put distance between them, and she had seen him turn his back on her. Oh God, but that hurt! She blinked to clear her vision as tears sprang unbidden to her eyes.

The last question seemed to have been answered, and she and Ellie were packing up, when Bob said,

"Gentlemen, lunch will be in the conservatory. Ladies, I expect you to be there as well!"

Sam groaned inwardly. Damn! She was now going to be forced to spend the next two hours -- she knew how these conservatory lunches went on and on! -- in close proximity to the man she wanted to feel nothing for, but whom she knew would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. She closed the flap on her leather briefcase and braced herself to walk past him. She would make it through this day, and then she would never see him again.

"Sam," Bob called to her, "come say hello to the CEO of Blackfriars." 

Sam looked over at her boss, and almost passed out again. Theo was CEO? She felt her face settle into shock, and wished she could run away and hide. Blackfriars was not the largest, but it was the best historical tour agency in the country. They did business with tourist boards from all over the world, and brought a lot of business to Sam's company. And Theo was the head honcho! Just my luck, she thought.

She walked over reluctantly, and plastered a hard, plastic smile on her face. She wondered how she would speak without cracking the façade wide open. Theo forestalled her.

"Miss Redfern and I know each other, Bob! We met four years ago, I believe?" Here he turned to her, but his eyes did not look at her. "A convention, as it happens." He extended a hand. "How nice to meet you again, Miss Redfern."

Sam took Theo's hand, and every thought she had in her head departed through the fingers he held. Her knees felt like jelly, and her voice had also taken a vacation, it seemed. She shook his hand, and removed hers from his grasp as soon as she could. Touching him had been more than her nervous system could handle. She felt the nausea rising again, and she rushed away, dropping her briefcase as she bolted out the door, uncaring what impression she was making. Better to look a fool by departing unceremoniously than to be a fool by vomiting all over her boss and his guests.

She barely made it into the bathroom before the contents of her stomach rose up to meet her and deposited themselves on the floor in front of the stall she had been heading for. She heard a noise behind her as she retched, but could not seem to stop the violent upheaval.

"Sam? Are you okay? Oh my God! What's wrong with you?" Ellie's voice moved from concern to alarm.

"Hangover!" Sam mumbled, as she stood up finally and went to get paper towels to clean up the worst of the mess. 

"Here, let me help you!" Ellie offered, but Sam waved her away. 

"Just put a sign on the door to say out of order, and call housekeeping for me, okay?" She looked at Ellie as she spoke, and added, "And please ask Bob to excuse me from lunch. I don't think I can face food right now."

Ellie paused, her hand on the door handle. "Are you sure it's the food you can't face, Sam? Or is it the man?" Sam turned so sharply her head spun, and she groaned.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, fighting another wave of nausea.

"Sam, it's me you're talking to. Ellie! I was there, remember? I saw what went down!" 

Ellie's voice was a whip cross the scarred surfaces of Sam's conscience. A sob escaped her, and she dropped to her knees, uncaring that she was on the floor of the ladies room, the odor of her own vomit around her. She wept, and could not stem the tide. She didn't hear Ellie leave, not did she notice when she returned a few minutes later, mop and pail in hand.

"Sam, you need to get a grip. We have to clean up this mess, and then we have to go and make nice with the company's clients. We don't really have a choice."

Ever the practical, level-headed one, Ellie got water and cleaning solution and began to mop around her friend. Sam gasped, feeling the pain inside her spread, and she groaned and swiped a hand across her face.

"I have a choice!" she said, her voice low but fierce. "I can quit!"

Ellie stopped mopping. She propped the mop against a wall and came to crouch next to her friend. 

"Look, Sam, I don't know everything that happened between you and Theo, and I'm guessing I don't want to know. But whatever happened, it can't be so bad that it made you get drunk, something you've never done, on the eve of a major presentation. And it can't be so bad that it's making you think you can quit the job you've worked so hard to gain and advance in." She stood up and held out her hand. "Now, come on, help me clean up, and let's get out of here. I'll ask Dave for the office remedy for hangovers -- he's come to work with one often enough."

Sam took her friend's hand, and stood shakily beside her. "Okay," was all she could manage.

Together, they set the bathroom back to rights, and Sam washed her face, used the toothbrush and toothpaste Ellie had also thoughtfully secreted in her pocket, and then looked at herself in the mirror.

"I look a lot like I feel, don't I?" she asked her friend.

"Easily remedied," Ellie replied, and produced lipstick, powder, and blush. "Hurry up! It's already past the salad stage."

She left with the mop and bucket and returned as Sam was straightening her clothes.

"Ready?" she asked as she washed her hands, then dried and lotioned them with the sweetly scented lotion provided for the female employees.

"No, but you're right, I have no choice." Sam squared her shoulders, and walked with her friend back to the dining room where the men were all assembled. Bob Daniels approached them immediately.

"Are you all right, Samantha?" 

His eyes held concern and curiosity, and Sam could just imagine what he was thinking. She would have laughed had it not been such a serious moment. The only man she would ever want to be pregnant for was also the only man she had deliberately hurt, and he was standing at the other end of the long room, in conversation with two other men.

"I'm much better, Bob!" she said, as lightly as she could. "I'm not sure I can face food right now, but I'm definitely feeling better." She smiled at him, to reassure him, and then found herself being whirled around and hugged.

"Sammie! Where have you been, girl? It's been too long!"

Sam pushed away from the warm embrace at the sound of a familiar and beloved voice. 

"Dirk? For goodness sake, what are you doing here?" She laughed and hugged him back.

"Boss needed a last minute negotiator. I know, I was very late, and I'm sorry. Couldn't get out of the airport snarl. I'd have loved to see your presentation. Bob assures me it's all in the handouts, so I'll spend a little time with them. But it'd be nice if we could sit and chat a bit, when you've eaten."

Dirk Bentley was her friend, and had been since they were both two years old. They had grown up together, and he was the big brother she never had. They shared a birthday, but Dirk was born three hours before she was. She gladly went with him to the table and watched as he filled his plate. She took crackers and decided that perhaps coffee wasn't such a good idea, so she took plain milk instead.

"Sick?" Dirk asked, eyeing her plate.

"A little! Long story! Let's go sit over there!" 

She pointed and looked up, and met Theo's eyes. They were cold, and they slid from her face to Dirk's. Sam felt her heart sink to her toes. Oh no, now Theo thought she and Dirk were an item. The anger and resentment she glimpsed in his face, before he smoothed it over to a blank mask, was painful to watch. But she realized, as she walked away, that here was her chance to get rid of him for good.

She reached over and took Dirk's arm, and cast a surreptitious glance Theo's way. The hurt she saw on his face almost killed her, and she averted her eyes. Who was she kidding? This was hurting her as much as she was hurting him. And why? So she could live the dream she always wanted, and be free to pursue her life as she saw it. And so that she wouldn't be beholden to any man. Not even the man she loved.

Theo swallowed the last mouthful of Coke and turned to place the glass on the table. He had spent the last two hours watching Sam cozy up to Dirk Bentley, and only his very deep natural reserve kept him from making a first class jackass of himself and starting a brawl in the dining room. He didn't know what was between them, but he knew he wanted it to be much more space than was currently the case. Sam's hand often fluttered to Dirk's sleeve, and her smile lingered around those lush heart-shaped lips a little too long for Theo's liking. What could they possibly be talking about?

"So, Theo, when can we expect the new office to open?" 

Mark Waters' voice snapped him out of his angry reverie, and he turned uncomprehending eyes to his colleague's face. 

"What?" He blinked, and then the question registered. "Oh, within the next six months," he answered. "Give or take a few weeks." He cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. "Will I see you at the opening?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Mark said, grinning. He was a pleasant man, a little round in the middle but tall enough to carry it off, balding, and quite possibly the most cheerful person Theo had ever met. Usually, his good cheer amused Theo, but today, it grated on his nerves. He gritted his teeth and said, hoping he didn't sound like he felt,

"Well, I hate to eat and leave, but I have a few errands to run before quitting time. I'd better go bid farewell to Bob." He walked toward the corner where his briefcase was lying on a table, hoping no one else stopped him. He couldn't bear to be in the same room as Sam a moment longer. He picked up the briefcase and turned to walk toward Bob Daniels...and walked right into Sam, who was herself about to leave.


Pink Hibiscus Ch. 02



He watched her, unmoving, till she turned into a room at the very end, and then he walked forward into her kitchen. He went to stand over the sink and looked out into the small backyard. The moon shone down on a little patio, and a lush lawn beyond it. He wondered who did her yard work for her, and when he heard her footsteps, he turned to ask. The question froze on his lips at the sight that met his gaze.

Sam walked toward him wearing the black sleep T-shirt she had been wearing the first time they made love. It hadn't been planned, clearly, since he had surprised her at home, again on a Friday evening. He'd arrived bearing pizza, wine, and pink hibiscus flowers, because she had said she liked them. The scene replayed itself in his mind as she sidled past him and went to look about serving them drinks.

He had grinned at the stunned look on her face when she saw him standing there, and then he'd said,

"Need a little help here!" 

Sam had taken the pizza from him, and let him pass her into the apartment. He had followed her into the kitchen, where she had turned and said,

"I...I wasn't expecting company, Theo! I'll just go and change!"

He'd stopped her with a hand on her arm, and when she looked up at him with that look of mingled anxiety and desire, he'd lost his cool. Just a little, enough to haul her up against his hardening body and kiss her fiercely.

"Don't go changing on MY account, sweetheart!" he'd whispered in her ear. "I like this look. It's sexy!"

The T-shirt fell just above the knee, and it was faded and well-worn. The little red fox on the front with the extra long eyelashes was giving him a "Come hither!" look that explained the beckoning paw, and the wink. He turned her around, and looked at the back. Not surprisingly, it read, "Love that sexy vixen!" below a bushy red tail sprouting from a lush bottom.

He had pulled her back into his willing embrace, ravishng her mouth with hungry kisses, fondling her full breasts through the soft cotton, and then, when she had leaned against him in absolute surrender, he had pushed the yielding cloth over her head and taken his fill of her fullness, her ripe sweetness, kneeling before her to sample the luscious juices that he had made flow. They hadn't eaten before he had made her ride a wave of sheer ecstasy with him on his knees, his own raging lust unfulfilled. But he had loved the sound of her orgasm swelling around him...

He blinked when Sam called his name.

"Sorry!" he said, and followed her back into the living room.

"Have a seat, please!" she invited him, and as he sat, she added, "I remember you don't like coffee this late at night. Would you like a beer, or some wine?"

He watched her face color up, and he realized that she recalled the other time she had worn it with him. He couldn't say why he was so surprised that she had worn it deliberately. He knew she was trying to make amends, but he couldn't trust that she wanted more. He remained wary, even as his libido kicked in when she bent over to pick up the remote control for the entertainment system she had installed, and he caught a glimpse of a long, round leg, and the print of a thong. Damn! If she wearing a thong, he was a goner for sure!

"You can control the television and the music with these," she was saying, while he struggled to keep his eyes from glazing over. "You choose." She handed them to him, pointing out the buttons he would need, and their hands touched. Fire shot up his arm, and he trembled as he took them hastily. He wasn't going to rush things this time. She would need to make the first move, and only if he trusted her would he respond.

"So, beer or wine?" Her voice was cool, but he knew, because she would not look him in the eye, that she was far from cool. It made him glow with satisfaction, and burn with desire for more.

"Beer's good!" he said, and deliberately turned his attention to the devices in his handsl. He decided he'd be better off watching television, since he didn't know what kind of music she had stacked ready to play, and he couldn't bear for it to be something they both loved, or worse, something they had made love to. He was struggling to stay aloof as it was, without hot music blindsiding him. He couldn't help but watch her walk away, though, and the ache in his groin grew at the sight of her lush bottom in the shirt. The sight of her long brown legs didn't help him, either, and he tore his eyes away to watch what was on the screen in front of him.

She was back in a two minutes, with a bottle of beer and a brimming stein, and a mug. She offered him the stein, and he took it and sat back. She placed the tray down on the coffee table and picked up the mug. He smelled peppermint.

"What's up?" he asked, eyeing her as she sipped the hot drink. "Upset stomach?"

"I had a little too much to drink last night," she admitted, carefully avoiding his gaze.

Theo couldn't suppress the chuckle that escaped. "You had a HANGOVER this morning?" he asked incredulously, obviously amused. He had always thought she was a bit straitlaced.

Sam lifted her eyes to glare at him. "It's not funny, Theo!" she snapped.

But the tension had been broken, although the sexual awareness remained. Theo took a long swallow of beer, and then asked,

"What was the occasion?"

Sam didn't answer for a moment, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Somehow Theo knew it had something to do with him. He waited, determined not to force any confidences from her.

"I was feeling melancholy," she finally admitted, "and some of my friends were going out for drinks." She sipped her peppermint tea, clearly unwilling to reveal any more.

"Melancholy? Why?" Theo pushed her, wanting answers.

She stood up, and walked away, and Theo took that as a sign that she was retreating, hiding away from him. His jaw tightened, and he said coolly,

"Sorry! None of my business!" He swallowed the rest of the beer in the glass, and bent to empty the bottle into the glass. He felt her standing over him and looked up. Her hands were shaking, and he took the mug from her, put it down on the tray and pulled her down beside him.

"Talk to me, Sam!" he said, and then he let her go, sitting back and regarding her expectantly.

She inhaled deeply, clasping her hands together. "I guess I was more nervous about today's presentation than I realized, and since I had been feeling..." here she looked at him briefly, and he saw the pain she tired to suppress. "I had been feeling very lonely, missing you," she looked at him again, "and between that and the stress of preparing for this presentation...well, I felt overwhelmed. I hadn't seen these friends in a while, and I figured I could forget for a while."

She stood up again, and looked him steadily in the eye, as though she had made a decision.

"I haven't felt safe for a very long time, Theo!" she said. "Everyone either left me or hurt me. I just wanted to protect myself." She sat down again, and took his hand in hers. "But I swear, I never meant to hurt you. I panicked when Doug showed up, and then, when those feelings subsided, and I knew he had been arrested again for violating the terms of his parole, I didn't know how to come back. So I talked myself into believing I was doing this to be independent. I didn't need a man to be happy. I could live without lovemaking. "

She stopped again, and raised his hand to her lips. Theo felt her tears as they fell on his knuckles. She wiped them away with her thumb, and then said, so low he had to strain to hear her, 

"But I wasn't happy without you, Theo. I was miserable. I hid it from myself in work and more work. And then you showed up this morning..."

Theo turned his hand in hers and finished her sentence for her.

"I showed up, and you had to face the truth. You had to face me."

He felt her lips on his knuckles. "I'm sorry, Theo! I never stopped loving you, I swear! It hurt me every day to be away from you. But I'm a coward. I was afraid you would hate me, or be so angry with me you would want nothing more to do with me."

By now, she was sniffling, and Theo took his handkerchief out of his inside breast pocket and reached for her.

"Here," he said, and held it up to her nose. "Blow!"

He got the smile he was angling for, as she took it from him and mopped up. She put the wet hanky down on the tray and looked at him again.

"I'll understand if you can't, Theo, but I'm asking you to forgive me. Please!"

"Forgiveness is easy when you love someone, Sam!" he said. His eyes glowed at her, but still he did nothing more than hold her hand. "Is that all you want to ask me?"

"No," she whispered. "I want to know if...if you still..." Her hesitation was a balm to Theo's wounded spirit. 

"If I still what, Sam? If I still love you?"

He watched her nod, and finally pulled her close, planting soft kisses on her cheeks, nipping her earlobes, sucking on the vein that throbbed in her neck, slanting his hungry mouth over hers again and again till they were breathless with need.

"What do you think?" he asked hoarsely, lifting his eyes at last to look her. 

Theo hugged Sam to him fiercely, wanting to return his mouth to hers, but needing to be sure she wanted him, needing to be sure she trusted him, needing to be sure she wouldn't retreat again. He felt her arms sneak around his waist, and he moved back a bit to push her face up so he could see her eyes. They were full of tears, again, but she was smiling.

"What?" he asked gently, smoothing the hair back from the corners of her mouth, and from her brow.

"The first time you kissed me, we were sitting in your car, remember? Outside my apartment. I had told you I had company, so you couldn't come up for a nightcap."

Theo smiled, and smoothed his thumb over her lips, still damp from his tongue. "Yeah, I remember!"

"I knew, when you kissed me that first time, that you were the one!" She reached up to his mouth and kissed him hotly, as though she wanted him to know he still was.

"The one that got away?" he asked, half seriously, half teasingly. 

"No," she whispered. "You didn't get away." She licked his lower lip, and added, "And it's too late to try now." 

His upper lip was next, and Theo captured her waywardly teasing tongue and took over the kiss, pushing her back against the cushions and leaning over her to deepen the contact between their mouths. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back fervently, passionately, the little moaning sounds she was making ratcheting up his lust for her immeasurably. He let his hands wander down over her shoulders to the mound of her breasts, and he gently fondled the taut nipples through the thin cotton night shirt. She arched against him, and he adjusted her under him, so that he could feel every part of her against his hard body. He lowered his head and sucked on those tempting nipples through the fabric, leaving two wet spots that made them pucker more when the air hit the cloth.

"Theo!" Sam moaned, writhing under him, and he reined in his lust by a supreme effort of will.

"It's too soon, still, Sam!" he ground out, sounding as though he were trying to persuade himself more than he was her. "Let's take it slow, baby! We want to get it absolutely right this time, okay?"

He could feel her trembling under him, and he groaned and lowered his head for a last kiss. Sam arched her hips against him, so she could feel the hard ridge of him between her thighs, and he wished he could surrender to her obvious need for satisfaction. But this was too important...he would not jump the gun again, for fear of losing her for good. She was afraid to trust, and he wanted her to see that he could be trusted, to see that he would never hurt her. It would be so easy to give her what she wanted, but then he'd have to worry that she would have second thoughts, and wonder if he only wanted her as a friend with benefits. 

He forced himself away from the temptation of her warm and willing body, and soft, wet mouth.

"I think maybe it's better if I go now," he said. "Tomorrow is a long day, and you will have an awful lot of grunt work to do, if I don't miss my guess. I should let you get some sleep."

He levered himself away from her and stood up, putting out a hand to help her up.

"Come see me off?" he invited her, not willing to lose touch with her until the last possible moment.

Sam put her hand in his and walked with him to the front door. He read disappointment in her eyes, and steeled his heart to ignore it. She would thank him in the end. He opened the door, and turned to say goodnight.

"Why are you really going, Theo?" she asked, her hand on his arm. "Are you scared I'll hurt you again? Scared I'll run away? I won't. I realize that, after the kind of day I've had, I'm a lot tougher than I thought. And I have had time to think. I've grown up a lot these past three years. Maybe I didn't act like that this morning, but I was hung over, and feeling very vulnerable. It's hard to respond sensibly when you're in panic mode." 

Her voice was the reasoned voice of that morning's presenter, but the grip she had on his arm was personal, intimate. Theo made the mistake of looking into her eyes. There was nothing of reason in the desire that blazed back at him.

"Sam," he began, but she interrupted him, and now the woman he loved spoke to him, in tones he understood and welcomed.

"Please Theo, don't leave me like this!"

A dark part of his heart, the part that still held on to the hurt and to the anger of her leaving him, opened itself to the light of her pain. He knew what she was feeling. He had only lived that pain for three years and, it seemed, so had she. There were no guilty parties in their story, only victims. He knew he had reached a turning point, and what he said and did now would set the stage for all future contact between them. 

For a moment, the hurt and anger stood in defiance of her heartfelt plea. But her eyes would not let him go, and the pain oozed out, taking the anger with it. He let her turn him round, and watched as she tiptoed up to kiss him again. The kiss was tender, loving, a promise made. He hugged her tightly to his chest and wondered what that wetness was on his face. He moved, trying not to let her see, suspecting that there were tears on his cheeks. 

Sam felt him relax, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. She knew he was right, she did need to rest and be ready for the next day. But she wanted to meet him in the morning as the man she loved, not as the one she had hurt who despised her. She needed to know they could start over, and not carry any of the baggage of the past with them. She pulled away to look at him, and there were tears on his cheeks. She brushed them away with trembling fingers, feeling humbled by the depth of his response, and at the same time so incredibly powerful, because she could move him to tears. The love she had buried in her heart welled up and overflowed, and she didn't know quite how to show him how she felt.

He forestalled her, kissing her fingers and smiling sheepishly.

"It's not what you think! Tough guys don't cry!" he said, denying the evidence on his cheeks. "Must be something in my eyes!"

"I'll show you tough!" she said, and pushed him up against the door. She caught him off guard, and he chuckled as she slid her hands down over the front of his pants. "Wanna play tough guy now?" she asked, arching a teasing brow at him.

Theo groaned, and pulled her hand away. "Don't tease me, lady! I've been without for three long years. If I start now, you'll be missing work for a few days!" he growled. He inhaled deeply and continued, "Let's make a deal, okay. Tomorrow is Friday. We'll meet for dinner after work, and then we'll decide where to go from there. I don't work weekends, no matter WHAT Bob says!"

Sam pushed her hips against his before replying, "As long as I can be with you, I'll go anywhere!" If she were a cat, her words would have been a purr.

Theo kissed her again, because he couldn't resist the sweet temptation of her mouth so close to his. Before he lost the battle completely, he put her away from him and opened the door.

"Baby, I'd better go! Sweet dreams! See you in the morning!"

"How are you getting home?" she wondered, reluctantly letting him go.

"I'll walk to the main and hail a cab! Get some sleep, baby!" He blew her a kiss.

"G'night, Theo!" she whispered as he walked down her front path to the little gate. It occurred to her as he turned onto the sidewalk that she had a car.

"Theo!" she called, and ran down the path in her night shirt. He stopped and turned to look at her, his brow wrinkled in confusion. "I have a car you can use, if you like!"

"I need to walk, babe!" he said, shaking his head. "And you," he added, letting her see the desire that was unabated in his eyes, "need to go back inside before the neighbors see you. Or I change my mind!"

Sam chuckled, and ran back inside, feeling her heart lighter than it had been in three years. She put the mug and stein into the dishwasher, tidied the kitchen and shut the lights off. For the first time in three years, she felt safe. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she woke up an hour before the alarm went off, her body flushed from the most erotic dream she had had since she had run away. She was trembling, as when Theo made her orgasm, and she remembered, as she put a hand to her flushed cheek, that in her dream she had been in the midst of a sweetly powerful orgasm.

Today at work would be a challenge all over again, but for an entirely different reason. Now she would need to keep her head so as not to reveal the depth of her feelings for the CEO of a company her firm was doing business with. She would have to maintain her most business-like tone, and for that, she would need to avoid Theo all over again. She knew she couldn't be around him for long without slipping, and this account was too important to let her emotions mess it up. 

She knew it was too early to get up, but she couldn't fall asleep again, so she got up and went to the kitchen. Maybe she could make lunch to take with her, so she could take a lunch time constitutional and eat while she was out. But as she layered sandwich fixings between two slices of whole wheat bread, she knew that what she was wishing was for to put some needed distance between herself and Theo without hurting his feelings. She had to protect them both from unwanted attention.

As she dressed for work, taking extra care with her hair, and putting on her most feminine business suit, she thought of how much different this morning was from yesterday, and she could not help but smile. The song was right: "What a difference a day makes! Twenty-four lovely hours!" She got to work much earlier than usual, and set up her work station, before going to check that the materials for today's working session were in place. Ellie found her there when she walked in at the regular time.

"You're up early today!" she commented, eyeing Sam's face. "Everything okay?"

Sam knew what she was asking, and nodded happily. "Yeah! But I want to keep our personal life out of the boardroom today."

Ellie nodded! "I know! I'll help if you'll tell me what you want done!"

"Just pull my shirt if I'm too often near Theo, okay?" 

As if on cue, Theo walked in the door. He was followed by three other men, who all greeted them cheerily. Sam and Ellie answered in kind, and Ellie walked over and invited them to help themselves to breakfast. Other people drifted in, and Sam walked over to the table to see what was on offer. She knew when Theo came near her -- the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"Morning, beautiful!" he said, his voice only loud enough for her to hear. "Sleep well?"

He piled fruit on his plate, and walked over to the coffee pot.




Pink Hibiscus Ch. 02



"Yes, thanks!" she answered, blushing furiously as she recalled the sexy dream that had had her legs on his shoulders as pleasured her.

Theo eyed her flushed face, and a knowing look entered his eyes.

"Pleasant dreams, huh?" His voice was a seductive whisper.

"You might say that," she answered, determined not to let him shake her newfound resolve to be bold.

"Anything you can share?" he wondered as he gestured for her to go ahead of him to sit at the table.

"The time and place are not conducive to the kind of sharing that occurred in the dream," she said, making a production of sitting down so as to avoid his gaze. It was easy to be bold with her words, as long as she didn't have to look him in the eye.

"I like sharing," he said. "Sharing is caring. My niece told me that on her first day home from kindergarten. Out of the mouth of babes!" He took a sip of his coffee, and spooned fruit salad into his mouth. "Speaking of mouths, yours is looking incredibly tempting today. Any particular flavor?"

Sam looked up at that. He had remembered that she liked to wear flavored lip gloss over her lipstick.

"The usual," she answered, and bit into her doughnut. "You remember, don't you?"

Now it was Theo's turn to stare into her eyes. He recognized the test, the challenge, and he rose to meet it. "Peach mango, or strawberry. As I recall, each had its own unique appeal. Perhaps I can sample the flavors later."

Sam looked up as Bob Daniels walked in, and turned to Theo. "I have to go now. Perhaps we can chat again at lunch time." She gave him a swift smile and went to confer with Bob about the plans for the day. When the meeting began twenty minutes later, Sam was in full professional mode, but the tingling awareness of Theo in the room never left her. It brought a glow to her cheeks that had Dirk commenting, during the morning break, that she looked much improved over the day before.

"A good night's sleep works wonders!" she said airily, and willed herself not to blush.

She could feel Theo's eyes on her, and she hoped the jacket she wore hid the way her nipples were painfully puckered against the lace of her bra. She excused herself while Ellie was doing her part and walked out of the room. She went into the ladies room in the corner at the end of the long hallway and looked at her face in the mirror. Her cheeks were pink, as though she had been exercising. She retrieved a paper towel from the dispenser and bent to wet it so she could cool her cheeks. If she could make it through today, she'd have Theo for the whole weekend.

By lunch time, she needed the break more than ever, and excused herself from taking lunch with the others by inventing a quick errand run. She rushed into her cubicle, picked up her lunch and walked quickly out to the busy street. Turning toward the river, she walked quickly until she got to the little park where she turned in and went to sit in the quiet little alcove where few people ever intruded. This was her Eeyore spot, as she called it, where she came to think. She sat on the little bench, hidden from the main path by a high hedge, and pulled her sandwich and was about to eat when Theo's voice said,

"I'm ready for my taste!"

Sam almost jumped out of her skin. "You scared me!" How did you know I was here?"

"I followed you. You're oblivious when you preoccupied, aren't you?" He sat next to her, crowding her, because the bench was small, and bent his head. The kiss was hot, a release of all the pent-up sexual tension of the morning.

"I'm dying for it to be over. I think I'd like to have dinner at your place, if you don't mind. I've been needing dessert since last night. I missed mine!" 

He kissed her again, searching the corners of her mouth for the treasures he knew were hidden there. He raised his head after a long while and said,

"I'd like to play one round of truth or dare. I'll go first." He looked her over, and then said, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Sam said immediately. There was nothing he could do in the park in broad daylight, after all.

"I have something for you! I dare you to wear it this afternoon." 

It was too big to be an engagement ring, and as she opened it, she wondered what it could contain. Inside, on a pristine white bed, lay a small, bright red oval object. She took it out and looked at it. Two batteries were nestled below it in the hollow she hadn't seen before. She looked at Theo questioningly. 

"You put the batteries in there," he said, showing her where to do it. "When we get back, I want you to wear this for me. Put it wherever you would like me to caress you, and I'll do it."

"How will you do that?" she asked, realizing suddenly what it was she held in her hands. She had completely forgotten her lunch.

"Ever heard of remote control?" His eyes held a wicked glint. "Once every hour, when you're not doing anything yourself, I'll touch you where you want to be touched."

"Where'd you get this? How long have you had it?" Sam was not sure she liked the idea of wearing a vibrator at work.

"We had a date that you didn't keep! This was to be part of your "attire" that evening." His eyes held hers.

"And you've kept it all these years?" She was incredulous.

"Why not? It's new, and it was meant for you! Will you wear it?

Sam swallowed. She HAD chosen dare, the way she always did. And she understood his need to test her faith in him.

"Okay! I will!" she promised. "My turn now! Truth or dare?"

"Truth!" he answered immediately.

"Did you know I was here, Theo?" 

Theo sensed that the answer was important to her. "Yes!" he answered simply. "And I hoped that I could do everything I had planned to do with you and to you on that weekend, when I met you again." He raised her hand, still wrapped around the toy, to his lips. "I promise not to hurt or embarrass you."

"Why did you bring it to work with you?" she asked next. 

"I didn't sleep well last night either, baby! And this toy figured in my dream!" He opened her hand and looked from the toy nestled in her palm to her eyes. "If you'd rather wait, that's okay, too!" He closed her fingers over it again, adding, "Of course, you know what happens if you lose the dare, don't you?"

"No, I don't. What happens?" Sam's voice was a husky whisper, her fingers trembling around the textured little bullet as though she were holding Theo's hard cock in her hand.

"The loser gets to fulfill every desire of the winner, for as long as the winner wants," he answered, his voice equally husky. "For a period not to exceed two days per lost dare," he added, his eyes glinting teasingly at her.

She chuckled, and leaned into his chest. "Maybe I'd rather lose!" she said against his mouth. "Will I go up in flames?"

"Guaranteed!" he answered hotly. 

Sam sat up straight, still gripping the little toy, and looked at her watch, trying to regain some composure.

"Lunch time is over and I haven't even eaten," she said.

"Are you hungry?" Theo asked, gazing wide-eyed at her, a naughty smile on his face. "Because I can also guarantee a meal fit for a queen later on, if you wish to enjoy the hors d'oeuvres from now. They are best when enjoyed over a long period of time!" He winked mischievously at her and stood up, extending a hand to her.

"You are so bad, Theo!" she said, giggling helplessly. "Here, have half my sandwich, since I'm sure you haven't eaten, either. That way neither of us will cause a disturbance with our rumbling stomachs." She offered him half the sandwich, threw the bag away, and took his hand. 

By the time they got back to the office, hands now disentangled, Sam's pulse was under control. But she knew she hadn't answered Theo's dare, and she wondered if he would insist. They parted ways in the hallway outside her cubicle. He went into the conference room while she went to repair her makeup. She breathed a sigh of relief, slipping the toy into her purse just as Ellie walked into the bathroom.

"We're ready to begin! Where'd you go?"

"To the little park five blocks down." Sam didn't offer any more information, and she could feel Ellie's eyes on her.

"Theo went out for lunch too. He's already in the meeting room." She washed her hands, dried them, and stood waiting for Sam to finish.

"We bumped into each other in the park," Sam offered. Ellie waited, and she sighed. "You're like a hound dog, you know that? Nose to the ground, you can sniff out the sin in a saint's heart."

"Sin?" Ellie cocked an interested eyebrow.

Sam laughed. "Nothing happened, Ellie! We were out in the open!"

"But there are plans for sinning later, I hope?"

Sam raised scandalized eyes to Ellie's face. "Ellie! Well, I never!"

Now Ellie laughed. "You never? Don't lie to me! You know you did!" She sobered quickly, and asked, "Seriously though, Sam. Everything okay now?"

"Yeah!" Sam smiled. "Thanks, Ellie! You're the best!"

"If I'm the best, how come you haven't hooked me up with Dirk yet?"

They both laughed as they exited the bathroom, and Sam was more relaxed than she thought she would be when she entered the meeting room. Something else to be grateful to Ellie for. She worked hard to keep her focus, but she stopped avoiding contact with Theo. When their eyes met, she smiled at him. When he touched her arm to ask a question, she looked up without flinching. She gladly accepted the bottle of water he offered her during the break, and chatted with him and Bob easily. By the end of the day, they had hammered out an agreement and all that was left were details regarding preparation and launching. Those details did not require that he and she work with each other in as close proximity, but she knew she would have enough of him over the weekend to make up for any lack in the day or two he had left. She refused to think about how she would manage when he went back home, away from her.

The room was almost empty, everyone else having left ten minutes ago. Ellie and Sam were setting things to rights, and collecting materials. Theo waited quietly by the window, not looking at them, but Sam was as aware of him as if he had been touching her. 

"Why don't you go ahead, Sam? I can finish up here!" Ellie said to her, loud enough for Theo to hear.

Sam rolled her eyes at her friend. This was her way of making sure Sam would not refuse, and though Sam knew there wasn't much really left to be done, she still wished Ellie hadn't been so obvious. Theo turned at the comment, and Sam could feel his eyes on her.

"Well, if you're sure," she said, feeling suddenly shy.

"I'm sure!" Ellie answered. Then, in a lower voice not meant for Theo's ears, she added, "As long as you promise to call me..."

Sam giggled, and then sobered abruptly when Theo turned a questioning gaze on the two of them.

"Promise!" she whispered, and went to the door. Theo was there, waiting for her.

"You haven't begun to enjoy the appetizer as yet, have you?" he asked.

"How would you know that?" Sam asked, bluffing.

"I turned it up to maximum during the break, and you didn't react!" He chuckled at her shocked expression. "You'll pay for that, missy!" he promised darkly.

He followed her to her desk and waited while she tidied it and collected her things.

"Ready?" he asked, obviously impatient to be gone.

"One last stop," she said. "Potty break!"

He left her at the bathroom door, saying, "I'll wait for you outside," as he walked away.

Sam took the little toy out of her purse and entered a stall so she could insert it. She felt wanton and sexy all at the same time, and as she straightened her clothes, she wondered how she would let him know that she was ready to begin their "meal." It made her wet to feel it there, hidden from all eyes, a sensual and arousing weight inside her. Imagining it was Theo there made her moan aloud, before she clamped a hand over her mouth. She had never felt so deliciously decadent, so agonizingly ready for lovemaking, and he hadn't even buzzed her once. She licked her lips in anticipation of the weekend, as she walked down to meet him on the sidewalk.

"Have your car today?" he asked as she joined him.

She nodded and led him to the parking garage where the company had spots. 

"I'll drive, if you don't mind," he said, taking her keys from her before she could protest. "You'll be otherwise occupied!" he added by way of explanation. He put a hand in his pocket, and Sam felt a tingle inside her. She looked up at him, surprise and delight in her eyes.

"How did you know?" she wondered as he opened the door for her.

"Lover's intuition!" he answered, and winked. "Comfy?" he asked, as she settled herself in the passenger seat.

"Yes, thanks!" She felt that buzz again, a little harder this time, and she swallowed the moan that rose in her throat. She watched him get behind the wheel, saw his hand holding the little remote control, saw him pass his thumb over it, and felt the buzz ratchet up once more, only this time, it stayed on.

"Just give me directions," he said, and Sam wondered if he meant for her to tell him not just how to get to her home, but also how to make her wild for him with the little toy nesting in her sweet channel. She gave him directions, fighting against the urge to touch herself. She wanted HIS hands on her, but he was driving, and she wondered how she could make him as crazy as he was making her.

As though he had heard her speak, he said, "Feel free to indulge yourself. I'm game for anything you care to try!"

Sam moved in her seat, closer to his side, and reached over to stroke him through his slacks. He was hard, and his cock jerked when she touched him. She stroked him harder, and when he passed a now shaking thumb over the little control, she could not keep back the groan of pleasure she felt at having that feeling inside her while he pulsed under her hand. She turned and loosened his belt, so she could unzip his pants. It was awkward, but she managed to open his fly and free his straining erection. The feel of him in her hand almost made her come.

The car slowed as she lowered her head.

"Sam!" he groaned. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Eyes on the road, hand on the wheel. I figured we could both enjoy the appetizers!" 

Theo hissed when she slid her tongue over the flat head of his penis. 

"Babe, please!" he begged. "I can't...multitask like this and drive." Although it was clear that he was in the grip of a fierce passion, she heard the laugh in his voice.

She raised her head, gave his rod one last hard pump, and set about fixing his clothing. By the time they drove onto her driveway, he was respectable, if still as hard as a rock. And she was glad she was home, so the wet spot on her suit wouldn't cause a stir. She led him into the foyer of her home, and closed and locked the door. Throwing the keys down on the little table under the mirror, she walked toward the kitchen, and then became aware that he hadn't moved. She turned, and saw him standing where she had left him.

She watched him through half closed lids as he walked closer, his hand cupping his erection. He was strutting, like a male model, and she chuckled delightedly. She had always loved it when he was playful like this, when he let himself go, and she saw the man the rest of the world would never see. He reached for her with his other hand and swung her into a loose embrace. Releasing his engorged rod, he swung her around the room to the beat of an imaginary band, pulling her closer and closer to him till she could feel the press of him between her thighs. As he drew her closer, he slowed their dance, until they stopped, in the middle of the room, breathless with desire. He pulled her face in for a kiss that tore down every remaining barrier between her and him. She moaned, and he ground himself in a circular motion against her aching mound, sending the little vibrator whizzing even harder, groaning with her, and whispering into her mouth,

"Wanna make love now, baby? Wanna fuck your man? Wanna swallow my hard cock, and ride me till we cum?" He kissed her again, sucking deeply on her tongue, and then added, releasing her mouth, "'Cause I'm gonna sex you up, like the song says, and fuck you down into my love, sweet baby! I'm gonna rock your world like you've done mine, and make it so you never thirst for anyone else but me for the rest of your life!"

Before she could think of an answer to the playful but passionate promise, he slid his hands down and pulled the skirt up her thighs, and then he pressed a shaking finger against the slit between her thighs, hard against her throbbing clit. He held her fast, so she could not move, even had she wanted to, and then he took her hand and placed it on his pulsing erection.

"Touch me baby! I want you so bad!" He pushed himself into her hand as he spoke, and she squeezed him gently, eliciting a deep groan of need.

"That weekend, when you ran away, I was like a wild man," he said hoarsely. "Nothing I did made the hard-on go away. It got so bad I thought about getting a call girl, but every time I looked at another woman, I heard you telling me you loved me!" His hands were trembling, as he reached up and cupped her face. "I couldn't! I wanted YOU, baby, no one else! I still do!"

"And I still love you, Theo!" Sam whispered, and kissed him.

Neither one knew when they made it to the floor in front of the fireplace. Neither felt the clothes leave their bodies. Neither cared that the light was fading, that night was drifting in through the thin curtains, and curling around them, enveloping them in an intimate cocoon. Each only knew the sound of the other's breathing, the feel of the racing pulse as signs of arousal so strong that neither could deny it any longer. Their hands were everywhere, on shoulders and arms, down sides and across backs. They breathed each other's air, tasted the spicy twist of love long brewing, devoured each other with loving savagery.

Theo reveled in the feel of her hard nipples on his tongue. Sam delighted in the swell of his hard rod in her mouth. Theo groaned with lust for the feel of her wet sheath around him. Sam moaned with desire for the slide of his hard length inside her. Theo ground himself against her mound, stretching her arms above her head, his fingers entwined with hers, and kissed her breathless. Sam thrust against him eagerly, loving the way he cherished her with his mouth and with his hands.

"Now, Theo!" she cried out, when she could not bear the sweet torture of his weight outside her aching flesh a moment longer. "Please!"

"Soon, baby! Soon! Let me play some more!" Theo swallowed her groan in another hungry kiss, letting go of her hands to slide down her belly to the lips that cried out silently for his lips, for his hands. He slid his thumb over the bud that ached for him, and then she felt the press of his tongue. She had forgotten that she still wore the little vibrator, but when he touched her with his mouth, it began a rhythm guaranteed to drive her crazy. Every lingering thought disappeared on the whoosh of air that escaped her as she gasped at his intimate touch combined with the vibrations of the little toy . He stroked her with his tongue, stroked and licked and sucked her into a fiery pool of need, bringing her to the very edge of climax and then drawing her back time and again, to experience the ecstatic agony again, until finally she raked her nails down his back and cried out his name.

Theo pushed her over the edge this time, removing the little toy and plunging a finger into her sweet heat, wet with the juices of her love, and rode out her climax with her. When her breathing slowed a little, he withdrew his hand and reached up to kiss her trembling mouth, half open still in breathless wonder at the thrill she had just experienced. Before she could speak, he stood and scooped her into his arms. 




Pink Hibiscus Ch. 02



"Here or somewhere else?" he asked, his voice now urgent with the depth of his own need.

"Down the hall, last door on the left," she said, looping her arms around his neck and coasting her mouth along his jaw line, leaving a wet trail where her tongue touched him. 

Theo didn't know how much longer he could last without taking the woman who lay blissful in his arms. He had wanted their first time in three years to be special, and he wanted her never to forget how he cherished her. But he knew if he didn't sink his aching flesh into her soon, he would embarrass himself as he hadn't done since his first attempts at lovemaking. He reached the door and swung inside, glad that the room was small and the bed not far away.

He lowered her as gently as his trembling and excited hands would allow and then recalled he had left his pants in the living room. He turned on a frustrated groan, and Sam asked,

"Where are you going?"

"Condom!" he said shortly, and stopped when she said,

"Top left drawer of the dresser, in the back." Her face grew pink as she gave the direction, but Theo had no time to consider why she had condoms in her drawer. He'd find out later, after he ravaged her.

He had never put on protection faster, in his memory. Before Sam could miss him, he was on the bed, looming over her, his eyes dark pools of longing. She raised her arms to him and he sank his hard rod inside her, raising one leg over his shoulder, pushing the other to the side. He plunged into her, shaking with the urgency of his lust, and with the need to hold on till he could bring her with him to a second climax. He grunted as he pushed in, and when she circled her hip and thrust up against him, his groan was almost one of pain. He stopped moving, his jaw rigid with his effort at control, and rasped,

"Open your eyes, baby! I want you to look at me when you come again!"

He waited till she complied, then pulled out slowly, watching her eyes glaze over. She whimpered, and passed a trembling hand down his chest to the place where their bodies were so intimately joined. That was the last straw. He growled as he plunged back in, and then he rode her, hard and fast, in and out, while she answered his thrusts with her own, and ground herself against him, till he didn't know where she ended and he started. The climax hit them both at the same time, and Theo roared when he felt her contracting around him. 

"Oh fuck! Oh fuck!" He could not stop himself now if his life depended on it, and he rammed her, each thrust moving her up the bed, and he did not stop till he was spent. He collapsed against her, panting like a man who had run a tight race and won on the final sprint.

"Baby, did I hurt you?" he asked finally, when he could catch a breath. 

He went to roll off her, but Sam held him still, "I've never been better, babe! Don't leave me!"

"I'll never leave you, but I think I'll kill you if I don't at least move to the side!" How he found the strength to chuckle he didn't know, he felt so spent. 

She let him roll to the side, and then she snuggled up to him, throwing her arm around his waist.

"I missed you!" she said, kissing his chest. "I missed this -- you and me making love, cuddling. I don't ever want to be away from you again, Theo!"

He could not speak. Everything he had ever wanted with Sam was his for the taking. He felt as though if he spoke, it would disappear, he would wake up, and this would all have been a dream. He caressed her shoulders and her back and bottom, and kissed her in every place his mouth could reach without letting her go.

"I love you, Sam!" he said. "Always." 

He pulled her face up so he could kiss her mouth, and felt himself harden against her belly again. "Ready to begin paying on the dare?" His eyes were wicked, and his grin was seductive.

Sam looped her arms around his neck.

"I'm all yours, babe!" she said, pressing herself against him. "Mmmm...I love how that feels!" 

He pushed back against her, threading his fingers through her hair, and said,

"Ready to die a little death for me again, sweet thing?"

Sam smiled at him. "As ready as you are, hot shot!"

Theo lowered his head... 



Pink Hibiscus



He could feel his temperature rising, and he made his face expressionless, which, she had once told him, made him look as cold as a glacier in a winter storm. No way would she ever again know the effect she had on him. Hell would freeze over, as they say.

"Excuse me, please!" he said, and walked by her, not sparing her a backward glance. 

He hurried through the glass doors of the dining room, and passed by Bob Daniels to make his excuses. He could see the question in his friend's eyes, and chose to ignore it. No way in hell would he let anyone else in on his private pain. Outside, the afternoon sun was hot, but the breeze off the lake cooled his cheeks and calmed his spirit. He inhaled deeply and went to hail a cab. The long ride back to his suite in the hotel did little to settle the ache in his chest. Sam had shown him even more clearly today that not only did she not want to have anything to do with him, but she had, in fact, moved on. Not that he could fault her taste. Dirk Bentley was a good man, a fine executive, sharp, quick-witted, tough or tender when he needed to be. He wondered where they had met, and clenched his teeth.

He paid the cabbie and walked into the imposing glass-fronted building where he would be spending the next week. When he had first decided to take this trip himself, as opposed to sending one of his executives, he had told himself it was to keep his hand in, to make sure he still had the edge. Blackfriars was a small company intentionally. Aside from keeping personnel costs down, it allowed for a level of intimacy and loyalty that kept the company competitive in the market. So no one questioned his decision -- it hadn't been the first time. He gave whatever bonuses and commissions he earned to his staff, anyway. 

But as he threw his jacket on the bed, and removed his tie and shoes, he admitted the truth at last. He had known that Samantha worked at Rockfort's, and he had decided that he would try to win her back on this trip. He had decided that the element of surprise would be to his advantage, not giving her a chance to refuse him, though he hadn't expected her to be one of the presenters today. He went to the small fridge and removed a beer, which he opened and drank thirstily. He went to sit in the lounger by the sliding glass doors, and looked out on a peaceful scenery. He also admitted that, despite the hurt of their first meeting after all this time, he wanted her with as much fervor as he ever did, and he was determined to at least find out why she had left him standing in an airport departure lounge, watching her walk out of his life.

He recalled suddenly, as he drained the bottle, that there was to be a reception this evening at Commodore's, the fancy executive's club, and his pulse quickened as he thought of seeing Sam again. She would no doubt be there, and all he had to do was get her away from Dirk Bentley for five minutes. Then he would be able to put his mind at ease, even if his heart was broken all over again. He put his head back and closed his eyes.

Sam stepped out of the shower and hurriedly dried herself. Her hair was still dripping down her back, and she shoved the towel into it, rubbing vigorously. Out of nowhere, a picture formed in her head...

...It was Friday evening, and she had just come out of the shower when the doorbell rang. Cursing silently, she had thrown on the ratty old bathrobe she wore around the house and hurried to the door. It was probably the pizza delivery guy with her all-meat toppings pizza and liter of Coke. Without looking through the peephole, she picked up the money from the hall table and threw the door open. She almost choked at the sight that met her eyes. Theo lounged there, a bouquet of pink hibiscus flowers in his hands. He had remembered that she had said they were a favorite flower of hers, reminding her of home.

She had stood there, mouth open, barely breathing, while he had taken in her old robe, wet hair, and heavy breathing.

"Did I interrupt your shower?" he had asked. Then, before she could respond, he had pushed his way in and closed the door. "Expecting a delivery?' he continued, relieving her of the money and hauling her into his arms, the flowers having been deposited on the hall table.

"What are you doing here?" she had asked, flustered and a little annoyed at his high-handed behavior.

"Bringing you flowers," he'd replied, "because I couldn't stay away another second. Tomorrow's too damn far away!" He had been referring to the arrangement they had made not to see each other during the work week.

"Theo," she began, about to protest, when he swooped and kissed her mouth, taking and eating and making it his. She had been a puddle of need in less than a heartbeat, and the lovemaking that began with him pressing her back against the door, splaying her legs so he could push himself between them, ended with them on the rug in front of the fireplace.

She groaned as she recalled how Theo had made her cry out more than once that evening, how he had stayed the night, how she had taken everything he offered her, including his heart, how she had given him hers. That had been the night she finally admitted to herself that she loved him -- deeply, passionately, completely. There had been nothing he could have asked that she would not have given him. 

But all that had changed when Doug showed up at her door. Every insecurity she had had, every hurt she had endured, every fear she had harbored, came rolling back over her with the force of a tidal wave, and she had shut down her heart. Nothing Theo did or said had made a difference. She had heard him say he loved her, and she had ignored the knife wound to her heart. She could not let his love matter. She had to protect herself. 

She had never told him about her brief marriage to the man who had landed her in the hospital, and who had come back to threaten her life...again. She had just run. Theo had found her at the airport, and had asked her why she was leaving him...

...a sob broke from her aching throat now, and she dropped the towel. Oh God, she prayed, please make the pain go away. But the tears came, and the wounds opened up and she cried and cried, standing there in her bathroom, sinking to the cool tile floor in an agony of soul. How was she ever going to get through this evening? Not even Dirk could help her avoid Theo all evening, and she wasn't sure she really wanted that. She loved him! She wanted him! He was hers...and she couldn't have him! 

She stood up, eventually, and washed her face. The dinner at Commodore's would have to begin without her. She was already late, and knew she would need to settle herself before she faced her greatest challenge. She would do this, not just because she had to, but, God help her, because she wanted to. She dressed carefully, deciding on a red halter dress with gold trim, and stiletto-heeled red pumps. As she brushed her now-dry hair, and added the plain gold jewelry to wrist, ears, and throat, she admitted that she wanted to look good for Theo, but that she also needed to know that he felt all the emotions she felt, that he wanted her as desperately as she did him...in fact, that he still loved her. 

She made up her face carefully, remembering that Theo did not like a lot of makeup, but that when she applied subtle colors, and emphasized her lips, he couldn't keep his hands off her. Since that suited her style best anyway, it had never been a hardship to agree with him. She licked her lips, which she had colored a dusky coral, and passed a hand over her breasts in the dress. It was one of the few things she had kept from that time with Theo, and she knew he would recognize it. Now all she had to do was muster the courage to face him, and the question he had asked her all those years ago...

The reception was being held in the small banquet hall at Commodore's, and Theo stood at a window, overlooking the lake on which the imposing structure stood, admiring the workmanship of the wrought iron grilles on the lower part of the windows. He had come late deliberately, so he would not have to watch Sam come in on Dirk's arm. So he was all the more surprised when she arrived alone, ten minutes after he did. Dirk was with another woman, and Theo realized, without needing to be told, that Sam had been playing him all afternoon. Why?

He wondered about her deception as he watched her surreptitiously from under lowered lashes. He recognized the dress she wore. They had bought it together -- or rather, he had bought it for her when they had been window-shopping and she had said she liked it but it wasn't in her budget. He remembered talking her into trying it on, and when she had walked into the outer area of the dressing room and twirled around for him, his groin had kicked him, hard. It was reacting in the same way now. God, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, and it wasn't just about her pretty face or her succulent lips or her full breasts or her long legs. Everything about her called out to him...

He blinked when someone called his name. He looked down and a petite woman stood staring up at him, a smile on her face. He recognized her as the other young woman from the morning's presentation.

"Ah! Ms. Black!" he said, smiling at her. "We meet again!"

"Ellie, please! You seemed preoccupied," Ellie said, "and I make it my business to ensure that every guest is satisfied. How may I be of service?"

Theo looked at her properly for the first time, saw the twinkle in her eyes, and realized that she was teasing him. He laughed.

"You're doing a pretty good job right now, just stopping by to check on me," he said. "Care for a drink?"

She shook her head. "No, thanks! I'm good!" She showed him the glass of wine she held in her hand. "But seriously, you did seem preoccupied." 

She paused, and Theo got the impression that she wasn't finished. She wasn't. Her next comment proved that.

"I don't mean to pry, but Sam's miserable, too!"

Theo's head snapped up, as though someone had whipped him.

"What?"

"I knew you didn't remember me this morning, Theo. I'm Sam's friend. I know enough to know how hard this is, for both of you." She looked him straight in the eye. "I love Sam. She's my best friend. I will do anything I can to see her happy. So if you need me..."

She left the sentence hanging, and Theo watched her walk away from him without waiting for his response. As if on cue, Sam appeared in his line of vision, and she looked directly at him for the first time since she saw him in the doorway that morning. He stared helplessly at her, and watched her walk over to him. He swallowed, and fought to keep his heartbeat steady. She came and stood in front of him, and smiled shyly, and he lost the war.

"Hi!" she said, and stopped.

"Hi!" he answered, and smiled at her in turn. 

"Sorry about this morning!" she continued. "You caught me off guard."

Theo frowned. "And you need to be on guard with me because...?"

He watched her shoulders rise and fall as she heaved a mighty sigh. 

"It's a long story, Theo." 

He raised an eyebrow, and she added,

"But I guess you deserve to hear it." She stepped away from him, and he felt himself panicking, until she added, "Come with me. I can't stay in here another second."

Theo followed her meekly out the side door to the wide patio overlooking the gardens. They found a couple of seats close to the balustrade and sat down. Sam turned her eyes to the lake and the scene around them, and Theo waited, impatiently. Really, if he were totally honest, all he wanted to do at that moment was to suck one of those nipples he could see standing at attention under her dress. Oh yes, he still had it, apparently. That was a sure sign that she was aroused. And he hadn't said anything much. He dragged in a ragged breath. He would be cool. He would be professional. He would not lose control.

"Theo..." Sam's voice was his undoing. If he had ever thought that he could hold out against her, this one moment proved him wrong.

"Baby, I can't stand to be so close to you, and not be touching you." He stood up abruptly and walked to the low wall surrounding the patio. Then he turned to face her, his hands in his pockets. "And since you were the one to leave, I won't be the one to touch you first."

He knew his words were childish, and his voice hard, but he needed to steel himself against her. He watched her face, saw the flicker of pain in her eyes, and saw the resolution. She stood up too, and Theo swallowed. Shit! He couldn't manage to stay upright if she really did touch him. He watched her come to him, and saw the hand she placed on his jaw. Felt the burning of her touch there. Knew she had him, body, mind, and soul.

He grabbed her, and pulled her close, wanting her with a terrifying passion.

"Don't play games with me, Sam!" he warned her, his voice a snarl. "I won't let you hurt me again." Inwardly, he groaned at those last words. She looked up at him, and he knew the look in her eyes meant only one thing. 

"Sam!" he whispered hoarsely, and kissed her. He felt himself losing control, and pulled away from the kiss, from her. Her scent was all around him -- that same jasmine she liked to wear that drove him crazy.

"Sam, stop!" he begged her when she put her arms behind his head and pulled him down. "There's too much hurt here for us to just kiss and make up!"

Her heard the low sound she made, and he shook with the effort to step away from her. This was not why he had come out here. He wanted answers, and he would have them. He prayed for restraint, for control, for patience, as he waited for her to collect herself and begin. She pulled the gauzy wrap around her shoulders, and he saw her hands trembling as she held it closed in front of her. The heat between them burned steadily, threatening to choke them. He said, wanting to douse the flame,

"Maybe we should sit down again." He touched her elbow, and led her back to the seat they had left before.

"I was married very briefly in my early twenties," Sam said. "Doug seemed like everything I thought I wanted in a man. He was handsome, charming, ambitious, funny, and adventurous." 

She stopped, and Theo could see she was struggling with some deep emotion. "I thought he loved me. He was an expert lover," she added, and looked at Theo as she did. 

He felt a wave of jealousy sweep over him, not unlike the feeling he had struggled with all afternoon, watching her with Dirk. He fought it, and waited for her to continue.

"He was also a very jealous man," she said, swallowing hard, "but I didn't discover that until one day after we had been married a few months. I was having a lunch meeting with some colleagues, and Dirk was one of them. I've known Dirk since we were babies."

She stopped again, and looked at Theo with an apology in her gaze. "I'm sorry I misled you earlier, Theo!"

Theo smiled crookedly, aware of the irony of his own jealous reactions to the same man who had been the unwitting cause of whatever catastrophe she was about to share with him.

"Anyway, Doug made a scene, and when I got home from work, he...he hit me!"

Theo felt his temperature rise, and had to fight not to take her back into his arms. He sat in shocked silence, and let her go on.

"I couldn't go to work the next day, because my face was so swollen. Fortunately, it was the weekend after that, so I had a couple of extra days to work on it. He said he was sorry, that he didn't know what had come over him, that he trusted me. He cried...and I believed him."

Sam's voice wavered, and Theo wished he knew how to make the pain she was obviously feeling go away. He knew he couldn't, though, and it hurt him.

"The next time he hit me, it was because my boss came to the house to deliver some paperwork that I would need for a business trip the next day. I had to ask my boss to send someone else, because I ended up in the emergency room."

She took a shaky breath. "In between those two times, he began to want me to play sub to his dom in our lovemaking. He'd tie me up, arms and legs, use a paddle to hit me on my bottom, use clothes pins on my nipples, use incredibly big dildos on me for anal sex, even when I told him it hurt. He'd tell me to relax, that the pleasure would flood my system if I'd only relax. He'd call me slut, and whore, and slap my face, not enough to make it swell, but enough that it hurt."

A sob escaped her lips, and she shuddered. Theo wondered what sort of monster would make a woman so afraid of him in the name of love-making. 

"He used to pee on me, and he wanted me to do it to him. I couldn't." She stood up, as though sitting down any longer was impossible. "One night he came home very late. He had been drinking with his buddies. I had never seen him drunk before, but he was that night. I was asleep, and he dragged me out of bed, grabbed my hair and slapped me. He said I was a lying whore who took my male colleagues to bed when he wasn't around. He said I had made him a cuckold, and he wouldn't let me get away with it."

It was clear that the memory of her ordeal was still traumatic for her, and Theo stood up too, and went to her.

"Baby, don't! I don't have to hear any more of this!" He tried to hug her, but she stepped away from him.

"No, Theo! You deserve to know the whole truth. So you'll understand why..." She paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "He tied me to the bed, arms and legs, and beat me with the paddle till I was sobbing in pain. Then he fucked me in the butt with a metal dildo. When I begged him to stop, he hit me with the paddle in my ribs, and then he wrapped a scarf round my neck and began to strangle me. I couldn't call for help, I couldn't cry. I begged God to let me die! I think I must have passed out. When I woke up, I wasn't tied up anymore, and he was asleep in the corner, on the floor. I grabbed a robe, my pocketbook, and my keys and snuck out. I went down the hall to my neighbor's apartment, and she called the police and the ambulance."

Theo went to her again, and wrapped his arms around her, feeling the shuddering sobs that wracked her body. His heart hurt him for her, and a blazing anger made him shake. She sobbed uncontrollably for a long time, and Theo held her all the while, smoothing her hair, whispering comforting nothings in her ear, holding her gently. When the storm of her weeping was spent, she pushed away from him, but he did not let her go.

"I was in the hospital for a week," she said finally, and I filed for divorce while I was in there. My parents came to get me, and I lived with them until the divorce was final. I never saw him again, until about a month before I...left you." 

When Sam pushed away from him this time, Theo let her go. He was trembling now, as he waited to hear how someone he had not even known existed till tonight had so completely wrecked his life.

"He started calling me, telling me he still loved me, and promising not to hurt me again. When I told him to leave me alone or I'd call the police, he got mean and threatened to finish what he had started that night. I got scared, and then the evening we had planned to meet and go away together for the weekend, he showed up at my door. I don't know why I looked through the peephole first that day, because I was expecting it to be you. I screamed, and he banged on the door. I called 911 while he was still banging, and then I threw everything I could into a suitcase. I called and left a message on your cell telling you I had to go out of town unexpectedly, and I prayed he wouldn't break the door down. The cops came and took him away, and then I ran."

"Why did you run from me, Sam?" Theo asked, the hurt sounding clearly in his voice. "Did you think I was like him? That I would hurt you? Did I ever make you worry I'd try to kill you?"




Pink Hibiscus



This time, when Sam stepped toward him, Theo stepped away. Her lack of faith in him hurt him deeply, even if he now understood the reasons for it. She had met his family, she had stayed in his house with him for a week once, when she had been very ill, and he had looked after her. He had never done anything in their lovemaking that made her even a little bit uncomfortable. Now her distaste for sex toys made sense to him, and her anger and discomfort when he swatted her fanny in jest. He understood now why she hadn't liked to be tied up, even with silk scarves, and why, when she let him tie her, she insisted that her arms or legs be free. It made sense to him now that she had wanted him to let her tie him up, and why when he did, she relaxed so completely that those had been some of the best times he had spent with her. How could she think, after all they had been through together, that he would ever treat her like her ex-husband had?

"Theo, I'm sorry I hurt you today. I'm sorry I hurt you back then. I had to get away. I had to be free, to live the way I wanted, to be my own person, without some man telling me who I could talk to, what I should like in bed, and hurting me if I didn't comply. It all came rushing back when he showed up. I didn't think. I just knew I had to get away!"

Her eyes begged him to understand, her voice pleaded with him to forgive her, her heart wished he would take her back, and help her forget and move on. But she didn't say a word. She knew she couldn't bear it if Theo rejected her the way she had him. She preferred to keep things as they were. Now he knew the whole story, at least he would understand.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Sam? Didn't our love mean anything to you? Didn't my feelings mean anything to you?"

Tears sprang to her eyes and ran unchecked down her cheeks, and Sam let them fall. She hadn't known she could feel any more pain, but the confusion and anger and pain in Theo's voice broke her.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Theo! Please...please, forgive me!" She rushed away before he could reply, and hurried inside to the lady's room. Sitting in one of the stalls, she sobbed as though her heart would burst, not hearing that someone had entered the room, and not caring when she realized she had company. But when her stall door opened, she looked up.

"Sam, Theo's looking for you! Come on, he's ready to take you home!"

Ellie's voice penetrated her agony of pain. She shook her head.

"Tell him thanks, but it's okay. I'll find my way home!"

Ellie shook her head. "Tell him yourself!" She walked away, and Sam got up and went to wash her face. Theo stood just inside the door, watching her.

"Please, Theo...please, go away!" she begged him in a low voice. "I'll be fine!"

She turned to the sink and bent to wash her face, aware that he had not moved. She ripped a paper towel from the machine and wiped her face hurriedly.

"This is the women's restroom, Theo. Someone could come in!"

"The sign says "Out of Order!" he informed her. "They've been redirected to the other one. And I'm not leaving till you're ready to come with me." He crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at her, his features expressionless.

"I look a fright!" she said nervously, wishing she had more than a lightly colored lip gloss to re-apply. 

"You look like you could use some sleep," he said, hiding the emotion that slid across his face. "I'll take you home, where you can get it."

"I'll just need to say goodnight to..."

"All taken care of," he interrupted her. "Dan and Dirk know you're not feeling well still, and that I'm taking you home. Where's your car?"

"I took a cab," she said, and he nodded, ushering her out of the bathroom, back through the room where her colleagues were still laughing and chatting, stopping to say something else to Dan, who nodded and pulled out his cell phone, before escorting her out the front doors into the cool night air. 

Dan had offered the company limousine to take her home, and Theo watched as it slid silently up to the steps. He led her down them and into its comfortable warmth, getting in behind her without touching her. She gave the driver her address, and the partition window slid silently up, screening them from his gaze. Theo had no doubt that if he wished to, he could not only see what was happening in the rear seat, but he could also hear, as well. And even though he was still hurt by her continued and puzzling rejection of him, he loved her, she was his, and he would take care of her as long as she would let him.

The ride was tense, with Theo wanting to pull her close and kiss her breathless, but sensing that she wanted distance. So he propped an arm against the window on one side, and let the other lie loosely on his leg. He did not speak, and only glanced at her from time to time, to make sure she was okay. He knew she was aware of his searching looks, and he knew when she finally relaxed completely. She settled her back against the seat, and he felt her touch on his hand before he saw her fingers over his. He looked at her.

"Thank you!" she said simply, and raised his hand to her lips. "I think I always knew, in my deepest heart, that you were a different man, a better man, than Doug." She kissed his hand again, and let her tongue scorch each knuckle, before letting him go and retreating.

He didn't follow her. He forced his hand to be still, and turned a neutral face to her.

"Thank you for that!" he said. "And you're welcome!"

Then he looked out the window, not willing to let her see how her touch and her words had affected him. He decided that he would make her fight for him, although he knew he was already and always would be hers. If she won him on her own terms, maybe she would trust him. And he wanted her trust, needed it. Without it, he could never make love to her again.

The car went quietly through the streets, arriving too soon at her door. She lived on a quiet tree-lined street, in a cottage set back from the road. Theo sent the driver back to the reception and followed her to her front door. He watched her slide the key in, turn it, and open the door. He watched her turn to face him, uncertainty written on her face. He did not speak, but waited, impatiently, in an agony of equal uncertainty and anxiety, had she but known it.

"Would you like to come in for a drink?" she asked, after what seemed like an eternity to his tightly-wound nerves.

He let out the breath he had been holding and nodded curtly, unable, for the moment, to speak. She turned and walked in, and he followed her, closing the door behind him.

"Please lock it, Theo!" she said, and his heart shook at the fear he heard in her voice.

He did as she asked, and when he turned back, she had slipped off her shoes and was swinging them from the tips of her fingers. 

"Go through to the kitchen. I'll be right with you!" she said, and turned away toward the back of the house.