Take Cover (7 page)

“... the former Vice President of Belmont International, Julien Belmont, was captured in a heated brawl with none other than... You guessed it, his brother, Shane Belmont. Shane is known to be quite the ladies’ man and you would never believe what a source close to the family is saying is the cause behind the rift. Take a look at this short footage...”

“You leave me and then you go and be with him? My fucking brother!”

“Sources are saying that Ms. Edwards left Mr. Belmont’s... Excuse me; Julien Belmont for his younger, hotter brother, Shane. Apparently, Ms. Edwards likes to keep it in the family. I can’t say I blame her.” [chuckling]

Days had gone by since the footage of the incident at the restaurant was released. Every news station and gossip talk show covered the ‘affair.’

I turned off the television and ran a hand through my hair, frustrated beyond belief. It was bad enough that Emily had left me, only to be with Shane, but the coverage of our very public fallout, wracked my nerves to no end. But that wasn’t the only thing causing me grief today. No, it surely wasn’t just the endless inside look into my life by the media, or the reminder of my brother’s and former girlfriend’s betrayal. To top it all off, I had another thing tormenting me each and every fucking night. Constant dreams about her ... always beginning the same and showing no signs of letting up. Each time I’d close my eyes, since that God awful night at the restaurant, I would be thrust into an alternate reality where we were still together, except it always ended the same, and it had me wound tight as a fucking vice.

Emily is on my bed, stretched and held down by restraints. I stand gawking with hooded, heavy, needy, lust filled eyes at her glistened, glistening wet pussy there on display for me alone. She’s gagged, so she can’t speak. Blindfolded, so she can’t see me, but I can see every single inch of her luscious curves, her plump, soft swollen breasts, and her perked pink nipples.

Slowly, I climb up on the bed and settle between her endless, California tanned legs. Her chest begins to rise and fall in anticipation, as I trail soft feather-like kisses on her stomach down to her inner thigh, which causes her to shudder with excitement. I inhale her beautiful, drenched pussy, smelling like sweet raspberries. I can’t help but grow harder at her scent teasing my nose.

She groans against the soft, silky, red gag wrapped around her beautiful parted mouth, as I tease her entrance, not wanting to release her yet from the need brewing within her. She grunts, pants, and arches her hips high, begging me to take her where she needs it most, but I hold off still. I love the torment I am causing her, wanting her body to crave me as much I have craved her, since the last time we’d been together.

“I have missed you, mon amour,” I whisper over her perfectly shaped triangle patch. She moans her response. I close my eyes, wanting to never forget this moment, casting it into my memory.

When I open them, I am met with completely bare, pale skin. I jerk my head up to look upon Emily, but she is no longer there. She’s left me again. The eyes, I find staring at me with lust, are ones that I don’t wish to see. I blink repeated, hoping she will return to sight, but instead it’s Charlette who lies beneath me. Her eyes glaze over with undeniable lust as she moans for me to continue; to bring her the release she is so desperate for, but my body goes tense.

Each time I’ve had the dream; I awakened drenched in sweat and feeling the weight of my loss eat away at my heart.

That first morning after the brawl with my brother, I fled Charlette’s home, wanting nothing more than to put as much distance between us as possible. She had become a tragic reminder of all I had lost and all I could never be for her or Emily.

Still, I felt guilty that I had used her, allowed her to be my release for the night, only to leave her alone to feel the suffering I had been experiencing. I knew what it felt like... Having had your soul mate right in front of you, but never being able to keep them. It was a torturous reality, and it wasn’t fair that I had brought her such pain. Especially since, I understood that level of despair, far too well, since that first night I met Emily.

Still, even now, I couldn’t wish that I hadn’t met her. She had opened up something inside of me, I never thought possible. She gave me a glimpse of what true love was. Sure, we hadn’t had an easy romance, but the shortlived experience was one I treasured and cursed daily since losing her.

The vibrating of my cell phone, which was cast away on the other side of my home office on the leather couch, pulled me away from my thoughts. I groaned as I deliberated on whether or not I should bother answering. Several media outlets had been calling nonstop, attempting to obtain an exclusive interview with the former Vice President of Belmont International. After several ‘fuck off’s,’ I finally decided to place the phone on vibrate. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want to just turn the damn thing off. Maybe, it was because I had hoped that Emily would call, even though deep down I knew she wouldn’t, especially after the fight.

Cursing when the cell continued to vibrate, I rose to my feet and made quick strides across the room, collecting the phone, and answering without bothering to look at the screen. I knew it was another hungry reporter begging to hear my side of the story, just like the last hundred that had called, since that morning after the fight.

“I told you to fuck off. Don’t call this number again,” I barked angrily, into the receiving end of the phone. I knew it would do me no good to yell and curse since the reporters were merely doing their job, but I needed a release and yelling at them seemed to help.

“Well, do you care to explain to me why my son, the um,” my father began, before clearing his throat, “former Vice President of my company is all over the news acting like a common scoundrel! Assaulting your younger brother over that woman, outside of a very prestigious establishment, I might add.”

I released an exasperated breath and sat on the couch. One hand cradled my head while the other held firmly to the phone. My father was the last person I needed to deal with, but I knew there was no escaping this conversation. Frankly, I was surprised that he hadn’t called before. Waiting was not my father’s strong suit.

“What would you have me say, Father?” I groaned with a clenched jaw. “She is fucking my brother! Your fucking son took my girl away, and you would have me do what? Shake his fucking hand and bow out gracefully? Is that what you do when someone close to you decides to backstab you?”

My father didn’t respond immediately. The silence caused me to lean back a bit into the couch, causing the leather to squeak with my movements. It was rare that my father would be rendered speechless. I couldn’t help the small feeling of victory at having been the one to finally place the man on mute, even if it were temporary. And I was sure it would be.

“Very well, then. When are you coming by the office?” my father countered. I all but leaped onto my feet, confused.

“What are you saying?” I demanded. I could hear him take a gulp of liquid before he responded. I didn’t need to be in front of the man to know he was drinking whiskey, even though it was only a little after ten in the morning. “You seem insistent on destroying your life. I am far from pleased with what you have done to your marriage. But, if this woman means so much to you that you go against family, myself, and your brother, that is, then maybe, I was a bit hasty to judge your predicament,” he offered, in a calm and even tone. There was no sign of malice in his voice.

I found myself the speechless one, as I slumped back down onto the couch, trying to understand what my father had just said. Was this his way of saying he accepted my relationship with Emily? I wondered.

Or, and this was more plausible given the kind of man my father was, that he only said these things because he knew I had lost Emily to Shane, and it was his way of manipulating the situation. The latter of the two rang true in my mind, as I weighed out my options. I could tell the old man to go fuck himself, once and for all, assuring that my position at Belmont International would be nonexistent or I could humor the man long enough to forge a plan. “I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

He stands in the middle of an emptied park. His back is turned to me, but I know that it’s him. My stomach churns as I slowly approach him, not knowing what his reaction will be once I am standing face to face with him.

He’s wearing an impeccably tailored dark gray suit that, I know without seeing his face, matches his eyes. His hands are in his pockets and he seems to be staring off into nothing.

Slowly I take steps toward him, all the while deafened by the loud thumping of my heart. Nervously, I stand behind him, unsure if I should alert him to my presence just yet.

“I’m glad that you found me,” he says, without turning to face me. I gape at the back of his head, unsure what he means.

Turning, he faces me and immediately my heart aches. The rims of his eyes are moistened with unshed tears, pain etched on his face as he stares into my eyes. I feel the unspoken words he exchanges with me, the questions he so desperately needs answers to.

“Why?” he says once, still holding my gaze.

My throat dries and I am mute, unable to offer him an explanation. Instead, I break my eyes away from him, saddened that I have brought us to this place. I have broken his heart in anger, wanting so desperately to remove Charlette from our lives that I lost sight of what is important.

“I thought I was doing the right thing,” I finally say. “I wanted to get Charlette out of our lives, once and for all, so that we could finally be together,” I choke up, my own tears threatening to fall down.

He closes the space between us and reaches for my face, caressing my cheek with his thumb. I smile, enjoying the jolt his touch sends throughout my body. It had been too long since I had last felt his touch.

“Silly woman. Don’t you know that all I want is you, mon amour, my love. What must I do to prove to you that Charlette will never have a place in my heart?” he asks, as he pulls me in close, allowing his musky sweet scent to tease my nose.

I say nothing. I only stand in his embrace, enjoying the feel of him against me. I need this man like I need air to breath.

“I swear to God, Em, if you moan one more time, I am going to strangle you!” Suzie’s voice roared out, jolting me from my sweet dream.

I opened my eyes, searching the room for Julien but only saw Suzie next to me, giving me a deathly glare. Frowning, I tossed the blanket off of me and ambled to the bathroom.

The dream felt so real that Julien’s scent still lingered in my nostrils. It was the closest I had been to him in such a long time. Splashing some water on my face, I stared into the mirror.

What the hell are you doing?

I couldn’t let Charlette take away my man, not when I knew deep down that we belonged together. No, I needed to get him back.

I appreciated Shane’s help in all this, but his plan was obviously shot to hell, now. I needed to do this on my own; my way. One way or another, Charlette was getting the fuck out of our lives. I would be with Julien again.