Mr Masters, page 29
He wants right-handed access.
Our eyes lock as he slides two fingers deep inside of me. His mouth hangs open as he starts to ride me deep.
Thank God it’s dark. Who knows what this looks like?
With his left hand clutching my breast, his right-hand fingers are deep within my sex, and he slides them all the way in, and then all the way out. In and out. Every time he slides them in I feel the burn of the stretch, and I know that’s his aim.
This is so damn good.
In, out, around and around, all while trying to keep his arm as still as possible. We do this for nearly an hour. Every time I get close, he takes away the pressure and moves back to my breasts. I’m going out of my mind and I don’t give a single fuck if the Terminator gets killed.
Kill the motherfucker and just end this damn movie already so I can fuck Julian stupid.
We get into a rhythm—one that I am not going to be able to stop. The pumps are hard and deep with three of his thick fingers penetrating me. It feels so good. Too good.
My pelvis lifts off the lounge again as I silently beg.
Give it to me.
Give it to me.
He rides me hard with his fingers, and I start to see stars.
Oh. That’s it.
My body rocks with the pressure of his strong hands jerking me, and I throw my head back as an orgasm rips through me. I close my eyes, and I shudder, contracting around him.
Our eyes meet and triumph flares on his face.
This guy is too much.
He continues to slowly pump me as I watch on, and I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. That was the strongest, most perfect orgasm I’ve ever had. An hour of fingering attention is every woman’s dream.
Julian took his time. He got it right. He made sure I was well and truly pleasured. He slowly slides his fingers out of me, and I frown at his withdrawal.
Don’t leave. Stay in there.
He lifts his fingers to his mouth and my heart stops. What’s he doing? In the diluted light of the room, he puts his fingers in his mouth and begins to suck my arousal from them.
My mouth falls open. Oh dear fucking God.
His eyes close when he tastes me.
I pant as I watch on. Who is this man? How the hell did he get so hot?
He grabs my foot and grinds it onto his cock as he goes down on his fingers covered in my come.
I hold my breath.
Holy…
He throws his head back and his cock jerks beneath my foot, and my sex contracts again as he comes to the taste of me.
He came to the taste of me.
I didn’t even have to touch him.
That’s it. The game is over.
It doesn’t get any hotter than this.
I’m forever ruined.
For the next twenty minutes, his hands roam all over my body and continue to slide into my sex, but surprisingly, it doesn’t feel sexual.
It’s like he’s worshipping me, needing to touch every inch. He’s making sure that he still can. His hand slides up my thigh, and then into my sex and back up to my breasts in complete reverence.
I lie with my legs wide open, giving him full access as I watch him.
He’s fucking beautiful. I thought he was hot when I was chasing the orgasm, but watching him touch me like this is another level entirely.
Another level I’ve never had.
The movie is coming to an end when he pulls my nightdress down and readjusts my gown so it's closed. I wriggle up the sofa, moving away from him a bit. His hand stays firmly on my foot, though, is if he won't let that go.
He flicks the blanket back a bit so that they can see us.
The credits begin to roll.
“That was awesome,” Sammy says. “Did you like it, Dad?”
Julian widens his eyes. “Best movie I’ve ever seen in my life.”
I giggle, and he squeezes my foot playfully.
“You two, off to bed. I’ll be up in a second,” he tells them.
“Goodnight, Brell,” Willow calls as she disappears up the stairs with her little ginger kitten in her arms.
Sammy jumps up and comes to hug me. “See you tomorrow, Brell.” He leads his puppy out the back to go to the bathroom before bed.
"Okay, Sammy." I smile at him.
Julian turns towards me, and I sit up on the lounge, suddenly alone with him.
He leans in and kisses me softly as he holds my face. “I’ll be down to your room in half an hour,” he promises against my lips.
We kiss again.
“Are you ready for me?”
“God, yes,” I whisper. “Hurry.”
He gets up and then bends to kiss me again. “See you soon.”
Half an hour later and I’m in bed, freshly showered and back in my nightdress. The room is lit only by my lamp.
I’m counting the minutes until he gets here, until he makes me feel like that all over again.
There’s a quiet knock at the door and my heart rate picks up.
“Come in,” I call.
He walks in, smiling. “Hi.”
I sit up and lean back on the headboard. “Hi.” He has a shopping bag with him for some reason. “What have you got in there?” I ask. “Oh. I brought champagne and glasses.” He turns and flicks the lock on the door. “Thought it might take the edge off.”
I giggle. “My edge has well and truly been taken off already, Julian.”
His eyes dance with mischief. “And what a beautiful edge that was to witness.”
He takes the glasses out of the bag and opens the bottle to pour us a glass each before he comes to sit on the side of my bed.
I hold my glass up. “To Terminator.”
He chuckles and clinks his glass with mine. “To Terminator.”
Julian places his glass down and kisses me, and he’s all tongue and power as he lies me back down on the bed. His mouth drops to my nipple and he bites it through the silk.
“Bree,” he whispers, moving against my neck. He swiftly lifts my nightdress over my shoulders, and I lie before him completely naked. He looks down at me, his eyes flickering with arousal.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Suddenly, I’m desperate. “Get naked.” I grab the bottom of his T-shirt and tug it over his head. “I need you.” I kiss him. “I need you now.”
He stands and tears his shirt off, followed by his jeans and his black briefs.
My eyes drop down his body, and when he moves to kiss me I hold my hand up in the air. “No. Don’t move. Let me look at you.”
He stands still, naked at the side of my bed as he waits for the all clear to touch me.
His chest is broad, his stomach rippled, and he has the perfect ‘V’ of muscles that drop down to his groin. I lick my lips. I’ve never seen such a perfect specimen. My eyes drop lower to his large penis that hangs heavily between his legs. Thick veins run down the length and girth of it. My heart begins to race and my eyes rise back up to find his. I swallow the lump in my throat and lie back down, about ready to have a heart attack. This is the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life.
His eyes roam over my body as if wondering where to start, and I shake my head.
“I just want you. I don’t want more foreplay. I don’t want one more minute without you inside of me.”
His eyes rise to meet mine. He falls down beside me to kiss me, and we both smile into the kiss as if we’ve been waiting for a long time for this.
We cling to each other and he opens my legs to rise above me. His eyes are dark and he begins to rock against me. His touch is tender and loving. His kiss… perfection.
Our tongues dance together for a long time and he rocks harder against me. My legs are wrapped around his waist as I wait for him.
We pant as we become desperate. “Jules,” I murmur.
“I know, baby,” he whispers into my mouth. “I know.”
He nudges my opening, and I open my legs wider for him to slides in deep in one quick movement.
We moan together. “Oh God, this is so good.” I moan.
He slides out and then back in, and we both hiss again. Oh, fuck. He feels like he hits the very end of me. He’s the perfect size and it makes my eyes roll back.
“How’s this?” he whispers.
I grab his face and kiss him in pure desperation. “Make it go away. Make this ache stop,” I beg.
He rises above me and slides out, then back in deeper. Again and again, each time deeper than the last, each time harder.”
We get into a rhythm and he begins to really let me have it. Deep, hard hits force the bed to bang against the wall. His hand rises to my thigh and he brings it up higher, giving himself greater access.
“Fucking hell, Bree.” He moans as he begins to lose control. “How will I ever get enough of this?”
If I could answer that, I would, but my eyes are rolling and my mouth is hanging open.
He loses control and lifts my legs, hitting me harder and harder until the sound of the bed hitting the wall is all we can hear. I cry out as my world flashes in bright technicolour. His body is covered with a sheen of perspiration, and he lifts my hips to where he wants them, pumping deeper, and then holding himself still when buried inside of me. His body jerks hard as his own orgasm tears through him.
We gasp for air and he leans down to kiss me. We smile at each other's lips as his body slowly moves in and out of mine.
“You’re fucking perfect,” he says, like it’s the most important thing he’s ever said.
I smile shyly, overwhelmed with emotion.
He kisses me again and again, until finally, ten minutes later, he pulls out and falls on his side next to me. We lie facing each other, and he runs his fingers through my hair, obviously deep in thought.
“What?’ I ask with a smile.
“Just you.”
I smile and we lie in comfortable silence. I feel so relaxed, and my eyes begin to close.
“Don’t go to sleep on me, baby. I want to spend more time with you.”
I smile against his chest. “You can have me every night, Jules. I’m yours,” I whisper sleepily, letting my eyes close properly.
"Until you leave," he mumbles quietly as if distracted.
I smile against his skin. “Yes.” My eyelids are so heavy that I can’t keep them open. “Until I leave”.
Chapter Twenty
It’s still dark in my room when I wake. Julian has already left for work, and the light is just peeking through the side of my drapes. I rub my eyes and stare up at the ceiling, unable to believe what a weekend we had. So much happened. I’m having trouble processing it all.
Alina. Poor Alina.
My mind is weighing heavy with thoughts of her and how sad her life must have been. She fell pregnant so young, and then Julian couldn’t love her, but that didn’t stop her from falling in love with him. That hurt changed her to the point of her becoming an alcoholic and dying of loneliness.
I get a lump in my throat when I imagine how alone she must have felt.
What a terribly tragic story. Sadness fills me as I imagine her lying upstairs in despair, desperate for a way out at what her life had become.
No wonder this house is so heavy and serious.
It’s never been any other way.
And my beautiful Julian, trapped into marrying a woman he didn’t love. He tried to do the right thing and take care of his responsibilities. He never had a chance to pursue his own happiness. I can’t imagine the guilt he must feel every day, knowing that his inability to love a woman had inadvertently caused her death.
His mother told me that he had issues. Hell, she wasn’t joking, was she? I now know exactly why he doesn’t bring up hard subjects with the children. How you could you ever explain that story without them being resentful to him?
Sorry, kids, I just couldn’t love your mother after I knocked her up, so it’s my fault she became an alcoholic and killed herself.
Not happening.
I drag myself up to go to the bathroom and take a shower. I have this new, overwhelming urge to protect Julian. He's a good man, an honourable man who tried his best to make a bad situation right, but in the end, he just couldn't.
I’m not going to let him blame himself for one more day. I know why he’s scared of relationships and of having someone love him. Of course he’d never want to be responsible for anyone else’s happiness ever again. I wouldn’t either, if I were him.
The hot water runs down over my face, letting me get lost in my thoughts.
I’ll only let you down. His words come back to me. He’s terrified of letting anyone down again—of letting anyone get close.
That’s too bad, Julian, because I’m already close to both you and the children, and I’m not going to let you push me away out of fear.
As I stand in the shower, I feel my reservations about Julian Masters disappear down the drain along with the hot water.
I want him as a boss, as a lover… as my boyfriend.
I want the full package, kids and all.
Willow and I are sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast.
"I'm looking forward to our girlie day, Will." I smile against my coffee cup. I've coerced Julian into letting Willow have the day off school for some appointments. He doesn't need to know it's for our nails. We need some time together, and I want to try and get her to talk to me.
“What exactly do you do on a girlie day?” she asks.
"Well, we'll get our nails done, and then we might get our hair cut. Afterwards, we could go somewhere nice for lunch."
She gives me a lopsided smile.
“We might even go and buy you some new clothes.” I widen my eyes, trying to make her as excited as I am. “Really? Like what?”
I shrug. “Whatever you want.”
She finally begins to smile.
“And Emerson has the day off, too. I thought we might go and have a coffee with her this afternoon.”
“You want me to meet your friend?” she asks, surprised.
“Uh huh.” I smile. “You’re my friend and she’s my friend, so it’s a lot easier if my two friends become good friends, too.”
“Oh no, Tillie.” we hear Sammy cry from upstairs.
Willow’s eyes meet mine. “What is that naughty puppy up to now?” I ask.
“Oh, man, she’s exhausting.” Will sighs, and we make our way upstairs to see what the commotion is about.
Woof, woof.
Tilly leans back on her back legs, then jumps up and attacks Sammy. "Tillie" he calls.
Our eyes widen as we assess the damage.
Tillie has been in Willow's makeup case and chewed everything inside of it. There are blush and lipstick all over the upstairs carpet, as well as down the stairs. She now has a powder sponge in her mouth and is running away from Sammy, enjoying the chase, thinking that this is the most fun ever.
“Oh no, naughty,” I whisper.
She barks and then runs. We take chase, running after her as she sprints down the stairs.
“Oh my God, somebody get her,” Willow cries.
I’m terrified she is going to swallow the sponge. “Tillie,” I call as I run down the stairs. “Come back here.”
Maverick the cat thinks that this looks like a good game and he starts pulling himself upside down along the leather sofa by the claws so that Tillie doesn’t get all the attention.
“Stop that, Maverick,” I cry as we run past. “These baby animals are very naughty today.”
“Sammy’s going to be late for school at this rate,” Willow cries.
We corner Tillie in the kitchen and she goes feral, bending her back legs as she straightens her front legs. She’s having so much fun.
Woof, woof.
I look around at the three of us in our pyjamas, chasing a tiny little dog as she completely destroys the house, and I get the giggles. “Come here, you naughty girl.” I hold my hands out wide to try and entice her.
She begins to chew the sponge in her mouth and we all scream, “Nooooo!”
Willow dives on her, and I pry her tiny mouth apart and take the mangled makeup sponge from her grip.
She latches onto Sammy’s finger and bites down hard. “Ahhh!” he yells.
“No,” I snap. “No biting, naughty!”
Willow puts Tillie back down on the floor, and the pup sprints back upstairs on a mission to wreck something else.
“Oh my God,” Willow cries as she runs after her.
Sammy rolls his eyes and takes chase. I laugh and turn around to see Maverick climbing the curtains by his claws. He’s looking at me upside down. “Get down, Maverick, you naughty cat.” I rub my hands through my hair.
These pets are completely out of control.
“What about this shirt?” I ask Will.
We’ve had our nails done and now we’re perusing the shops with Daddy Warbucks’ gold credit card. This is essential spending—way more important than bondage lingerie, that’s for sure.
Will looks at the shirt and frowns. “It’s okay, I guess.”
“What style do you like?” I think for a moment. “You’re at that age where you are transforming from a duckling into a beautiful swan.”
She rolls her eyes at my dramatics and then twists her lips together. "Well, I've always liked grunge clothing." I nod as I listen.
“But, I was thinking of maybe trying to get something a bit…” Her voice trails off.
“A bit what?” I ask as I keep looking around the shelves.
“I don’t know. Something a bit more...” she raises her eyebrows, “attractive?”
I smile, knowing she does like that boy from the golf club after all. “That’s an excellent idea.” I link my arm through hers. “Let’s get you a whole new look.”
Two hours later, we have six bags in our hands, filled with some of the most beautiful clothes you could imagine, as well four pairs of shoes. I have totally blown out his credit card. But honestly, who cares? It’s not like he can’t afford it.
We are walking down the street, on the way to meet Emerson, eating chocolate waffle ice-cream cones. “Tell me about school,” I say as I lick my chocolate heaven.
Our eyes lock as he slides two fingers deep inside of me. His mouth hangs open as he starts to ride me deep.
Thank God it’s dark. Who knows what this looks like?
With his left hand clutching my breast, his right-hand fingers are deep within my sex, and he slides them all the way in, and then all the way out. In and out. Every time he slides them in I feel the burn of the stretch, and I know that’s his aim.
This is so damn good.
In, out, around and around, all while trying to keep his arm as still as possible. We do this for nearly an hour. Every time I get close, he takes away the pressure and moves back to my breasts. I’m going out of my mind and I don’t give a single fuck if the Terminator gets killed.
Kill the motherfucker and just end this damn movie already so I can fuck Julian stupid.
We get into a rhythm—one that I am not going to be able to stop. The pumps are hard and deep with three of his thick fingers penetrating me. It feels so good. Too good.
My pelvis lifts off the lounge again as I silently beg.
Give it to me.
Give it to me.
He rides me hard with his fingers, and I start to see stars.
Oh. That’s it.
My body rocks with the pressure of his strong hands jerking me, and I throw my head back as an orgasm rips through me. I close my eyes, and I shudder, contracting around him.
Our eyes meet and triumph flares on his face.
This guy is too much.
He continues to slowly pump me as I watch on, and I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. That was the strongest, most perfect orgasm I’ve ever had. An hour of fingering attention is every woman’s dream.
Julian took his time. He got it right. He made sure I was well and truly pleasured. He slowly slides his fingers out of me, and I frown at his withdrawal.
Don’t leave. Stay in there.
He lifts his fingers to his mouth and my heart stops. What’s he doing? In the diluted light of the room, he puts his fingers in his mouth and begins to suck my arousal from them.
My mouth falls open. Oh dear fucking God.
His eyes close when he tastes me.
I pant as I watch on. Who is this man? How the hell did he get so hot?
He grabs my foot and grinds it onto his cock as he goes down on his fingers covered in my come.
I hold my breath.
Holy…
He throws his head back and his cock jerks beneath my foot, and my sex contracts again as he comes to the taste of me.
He came to the taste of me.
I didn’t even have to touch him.
That’s it. The game is over.
It doesn’t get any hotter than this.
I’m forever ruined.
For the next twenty minutes, his hands roam all over my body and continue to slide into my sex, but surprisingly, it doesn’t feel sexual.
It’s like he’s worshipping me, needing to touch every inch. He’s making sure that he still can. His hand slides up my thigh, and then into my sex and back up to my breasts in complete reverence.
I lie with my legs wide open, giving him full access as I watch him.
He’s fucking beautiful. I thought he was hot when I was chasing the orgasm, but watching him touch me like this is another level entirely.
Another level I’ve never had.
The movie is coming to an end when he pulls my nightdress down and readjusts my gown so it's closed. I wriggle up the sofa, moving away from him a bit. His hand stays firmly on my foot, though, is if he won't let that go.
He flicks the blanket back a bit so that they can see us.
The credits begin to roll.
“That was awesome,” Sammy says. “Did you like it, Dad?”
Julian widens his eyes. “Best movie I’ve ever seen in my life.”
I giggle, and he squeezes my foot playfully.
“You two, off to bed. I’ll be up in a second,” he tells them.
“Goodnight, Brell,” Willow calls as she disappears up the stairs with her little ginger kitten in her arms.
Sammy jumps up and comes to hug me. “See you tomorrow, Brell.” He leads his puppy out the back to go to the bathroom before bed.
"Okay, Sammy." I smile at him.
Julian turns towards me, and I sit up on the lounge, suddenly alone with him.
He leans in and kisses me softly as he holds my face. “I’ll be down to your room in half an hour,” he promises against my lips.
We kiss again.
“Are you ready for me?”
“God, yes,” I whisper. “Hurry.”
He gets up and then bends to kiss me again. “See you soon.”
Half an hour later and I’m in bed, freshly showered and back in my nightdress. The room is lit only by my lamp.
I’m counting the minutes until he gets here, until he makes me feel like that all over again.
There’s a quiet knock at the door and my heart rate picks up.
“Come in,” I call.
He walks in, smiling. “Hi.”
I sit up and lean back on the headboard. “Hi.” He has a shopping bag with him for some reason. “What have you got in there?” I ask. “Oh. I brought champagne and glasses.” He turns and flicks the lock on the door. “Thought it might take the edge off.”
I giggle. “My edge has well and truly been taken off already, Julian.”
His eyes dance with mischief. “And what a beautiful edge that was to witness.”
He takes the glasses out of the bag and opens the bottle to pour us a glass each before he comes to sit on the side of my bed.
I hold my glass up. “To Terminator.”
He chuckles and clinks his glass with mine. “To Terminator.”
Julian places his glass down and kisses me, and he’s all tongue and power as he lies me back down on the bed. His mouth drops to my nipple and he bites it through the silk.
“Bree,” he whispers, moving against my neck. He swiftly lifts my nightdress over my shoulders, and I lie before him completely naked. He looks down at me, his eyes flickering with arousal.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Suddenly, I’m desperate. “Get naked.” I grab the bottom of his T-shirt and tug it over his head. “I need you.” I kiss him. “I need you now.”
He stands and tears his shirt off, followed by his jeans and his black briefs.
My eyes drop down his body, and when he moves to kiss me I hold my hand up in the air. “No. Don’t move. Let me look at you.”
He stands still, naked at the side of my bed as he waits for the all clear to touch me.
His chest is broad, his stomach rippled, and he has the perfect ‘V’ of muscles that drop down to his groin. I lick my lips. I’ve never seen such a perfect specimen. My eyes drop lower to his large penis that hangs heavily between his legs. Thick veins run down the length and girth of it. My heart begins to race and my eyes rise back up to find his. I swallow the lump in my throat and lie back down, about ready to have a heart attack. This is the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life.
His eyes roam over my body as if wondering where to start, and I shake my head.
“I just want you. I don’t want more foreplay. I don’t want one more minute without you inside of me.”
His eyes rise to meet mine. He falls down beside me to kiss me, and we both smile into the kiss as if we’ve been waiting for a long time for this.
We cling to each other and he opens my legs to rise above me. His eyes are dark and he begins to rock against me. His touch is tender and loving. His kiss… perfection.
Our tongues dance together for a long time and he rocks harder against me. My legs are wrapped around his waist as I wait for him.
We pant as we become desperate. “Jules,” I murmur.
“I know, baby,” he whispers into my mouth. “I know.”
He nudges my opening, and I open my legs wider for him to slides in deep in one quick movement.
We moan together. “Oh God, this is so good.” I moan.
He slides out and then back in, and we both hiss again. Oh, fuck. He feels like he hits the very end of me. He’s the perfect size and it makes my eyes roll back.
“How’s this?” he whispers.
I grab his face and kiss him in pure desperation. “Make it go away. Make this ache stop,” I beg.
He rises above me and slides out, then back in deeper. Again and again, each time deeper than the last, each time harder.”
We get into a rhythm and he begins to really let me have it. Deep, hard hits force the bed to bang against the wall. His hand rises to my thigh and he brings it up higher, giving himself greater access.
“Fucking hell, Bree.” He moans as he begins to lose control. “How will I ever get enough of this?”
If I could answer that, I would, but my eyes are rolling and my mouth is hanging open.
He loses control and lifts my legs, hitting me harder and harder until the sound of the bed hitting the wall is all we can hear. I cry out as my world flashes in bright technicolour. His body is covered with a sheen of perspiration, and he lifts my hips to where he wants them, pumping deeper, and then holding himself still when buried inside of me. His body jerks hard as his own orgasm tears through him.
We gasp for air and he leans down to kiss me. We smile at each other's lips as his body slowly moves in and out of mine.
“You’re fucking perfect,” he says, like it’s the most important thing he’s ever said.
I smile shyly, overwhelmed with emotion.
He kisses me again and again, until finally, ten minutes later, he pulls out and falls on his side next to me. We lie facing each other, and he runs his fingers through my hair, obviously deep in thought.
“What?’ I ask with a smile.
“Just you.”
I smile and we lie in comfortable silence. I feel so relaxed, and my eyes begin to close.
“Don’t go to sleep on me, baby. I want to spend more time with you.”
I smile against his chest. “You can have me every night, Jules. I’m yours,” I whisper sleepily, letting my eyes close properly.
"Until you leave," he mumbles quietly as if distracted.
I smile against his skin. “Yes.” My eyelids are so heavy that I can’t keep them open. “Until I leave”.
Chapter Twenty
It’s still dark in my room when I wake. Julian has already left for work, and the light is just peeking through the side of my drapes. I rub my eyes and stare up at the ceiling, unable to believe what a weekend we had. So much happened. I’m having trouble processing it all.
Alina. Poor Alina.
My mind is weighing heavy with thoughts of her and how sad her life must have been. She fell pregnant so young, and then Julian couldn’t love her, but that didn’t stop her from falling in love with him. That hurt changed her to the point of her becoming an alcoholic and dying of loneliness.
I get a lump in my throat when I imagine how alone she must have felt.
What a terribly tragic story. Sadness fills me as I imagine her lying upstairs in despair, desperate for a way out at what her life had become.
No wonder this house is so heavy and serious.
It’s never been any other way.
And my beautiful Julian, trapped into marrying a woman he didn’t love. He tried to do the right thing and take care of his responsibilities. He never had a chance to pursue his own happiness. I can’t imagine the guilt he must feel every day, knowing that his inability to love a woman had inadvertently caused her death.
His mother told me that he had issues. Hell, she wasn’t joking, was she? I now know exactly why he doesn’t bring up hard subjects with the children. How you could you ever explain that story without them being resentful to him?
Sorry, kids, I just couldn’t love your mother after I knocked her up, so it’s my fault she became an alcoholic and killed herself.
Not happening.
I drag myself up to go to the bathroom and take a shower. I have this new, overwhelming urge to protect Julian. He's a good man, an honourable man who tried his best to make a bad situation right, but in the end, he just couldn't.
I’m not going to let him blame himself for one more day. I know why he’s scared of relationships and of having someone love him. Of course he’d never want to be responsible for anyone else’s happiness ever again. I wouldn’t either, if I were him.
The hot water runs down over my face, letting me get lost in my thoughts.
I’ll only let you down. His words come back to me. He’s terrified of letting anyone down again—of letting anyone get close.
That’s too bad, Julian, because I’m already close to both you and the children, and I’m not going to let you push me away out of fear.
As I stand in the shower, I feel my reservations about Julian Masters disappear down the drain along with the hot water.
I want him as a boss, as a lover… as my boyfriend.
I want the full package, kids and all.
Willow and I are sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast.
"I'm looking forward to our girlie day, Will." I smile against my coffee cup. I've coerced Julian into letting Willow have the day off school for some appointments. He doesn't need to know it's for our nails. We need some time together, and I want to try and get her to talk to me.
“What exactly do you do on a girlie day?” she asks.
"Well, we'll get our nails done, and then we might get our hair cut. Afterwards, we could go somewhere nice for lunch."
She gives me a lopsided smile.
“We might even go and buy you some new clothes.” I widen my eyes, trying to make her as excited as I am. “Really? Like what?”
I shrug. “Whatever you want.”
She finally begins to smile.
“And Emerson has the day off, too. I thought we might go and have a coffee with her this afternoon.”
“You want me to meet your friend?” she asks, surprised.
“Uh huh.” I smile. “You’re my friend and she’s my friend, so it’s a lot easier if my two friends become good friends, too.”
“Oh no, Tillie.” we hear Sammy cry from upstairs.
Willow’s eyes meet mine. “What is that naughty puppy up to now?” I ask.
“Oh, man, she’s exhausting.” Will sighs, and we make our way upstairs to see what the commotion is about.
Woof, woof.
Tilly leans back on her back legs, then jumps up and attacks Sammy. "Tillie" he calls.
Our eyes widen as we assess the damage.
Tillie has been in Willow's makeup case and chewed everything inside of it. There are blush and lipstick all over the upstairs carpet, as well as down the stairs. She now has a powder sponge in her mouth and is running away from Sammy, enjoying the chase, thinking that this is the most fun ever.
“Oh no, naughty,” I whisper.
She barks and then runs. We take chase, running after her as she sprints down the stairs.
“Oh my God, somebody get her,” Willow cries.
I’m terrified she is going to swallow the sponge. “Tillie,” I call as I run down the stairs. “Come back here.”
Maverick the cat thinks that this looks like a good game and he starts pulling himself upside down along the leather sofa by the claws so that Tillie doesn’t get all the attention.
“Stop that, Maverick,” I cry as we run past. “These baby animals are very naughty today.”
“Sammy’s going to be late for school at this rate,” Willow cries.
We corner Tillie in the kitchen and she goes feral, bending her back legs as she straightens her front legs. She’s having so much fun.
Woof, woof.
I look around at the three of us in our pyjamas, chasing a tiny little dog as she completely destroys the house, and I get the giggles. “Come here, you naughty girl.” I hold my hands out wide to try and entice her.
She begins to chew the sponge in her mouth and we all scream, “Nooooo!”
Willow dives on her, and I pry her tiny mouth apart and take the mangled makeup sponge from her grip.
She latches onto Sammy’s finger and bites down hard. “Ahhh!” he yells.
“No,” I snap. “No biting, naughty!”
Willow puts Tillie back down on the floor, and the pup sprints back upstairs on a mission to wreck something else.
“Oh my God,” Willow cries as she runs after her.
Sammy rolls his eyes and takes chase. I laugh and turn around to see Maverick climbing the curtains by his claws. He’s looking at me upside down. “Get down, Maverick, you naughty cat.” I rub my hands through my hair.
These pets are completely out of control.
“What about this shirt?” I ask Will.
We’ve had our nails done and now we’re perusing the shops with Daddy Warbucks’ gold credit card. This is essential spending—way more important than bondage lingerie, that’s for sure.
Will looks at the shirt and frowns. “It’s okay, I guess.”
“What style do you like?” I think for a moment. “You’re at that age where you are transforming from a duckling into a beautiful swan.”
She rolls her eyes at my dramatics and then twists her lips together. "Well, I've always liked grunge clothing." I nod as I listen.
“But, I was thinking of maybe trying to get something a bit…” Her voice trails off.
“A bit what?” I ask as I keep looking around the shelves.
“I don’t know. Something a bit more...” she raises her eyebrows, “attractive?”
I smile, knowing she does like that boy from the golf club after all. “That’s an excellent idea.” I link my arm through hers. “Let’s get you a whole new look.”
Two hours later, we have six bags in our hands, filled with some of the most beautiful clothes you could imagine, as well four pairs of shoes. I have totally blown out his credit card. But honestly, who cares? It’s not like he can’t afford it.
We are walking down the street, on the way to meet Emerson, eating chocolate waffle ice-cream cones. “Tell me about school,” I say as I lick my chocolate heaven.
