Chapter 2
Maria and Ben briefly embraced and then she pulled away from him all too soon. He sighed inwardly as he felt the loss of her touch keenly but still he smiled. "You look beautiful," he said, finally finding his voice.
"You don't look half bad yourself, Ben," Maria said. "In fact, in that suit, you look downright dapper." She looked at him earnestly. "I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen you. You haven't changed one bit."
"You have… You've only grown more attractive," Ben said. He knew she would think he was laying it on too thick but he was still marveling at how amazing she looked. Some of her features had softened but she was still beyond gorgeous.
She waved a hand. "Ben, you are flattering me," she said with a little chuckle that was decidedly sweet and yet slightly nervous in tone. "Anyway, how are you?"
"Older," Ben said with a smirk. "Hopefully a bit wiser though I am not entirely sure."
"You've always been wise, Ben," she said. "You're just a good man." She then looked sheepish at having said that aloud. She turned to look around the crowded gymnasium. "Benjy should be here around here somewhere. Teenagers tend to want to steer clear of their parents though in social situations. Maybe he's hiding. Though he's too polite to say so, I think he's a tad bit embarrassed that I teach art here."
Ben shook his head. "I doubt that he feels that way. And when he's off at Tulane this fall, he will miss you dearly."
"I will miss him," Maria said. "I am going to experience what it means to have empty nest syndrome. I can feel it settling in already."
Ben nodded. "Well at least you still have Ross, right?" There he had said the other man's name without even flinching. He watched Maria's face contort though for a moment in a pained expression and he was going to ask her about it when she began gesturing wildly to someone through the crowd. He decided to ask her about it later when and if they got a chance to be alone and talk more.
Benjy spotted them through the crowd and hurried over to them, a beautiful blonde teenage girl trailing after him. He immediately pulled Ben into a quick, tight hug before pulling back. "You came!"
"Of course I came," Ben answered. "I wouldn't miss this day for the world." He then stood back and watched his son for a moment. He looked so much like Ben had at his age. Their eyes were the same color and their hair was a thick, shaggy sable. Benjy was tall and lean too with an angular face but for whatever reason, Ben thought there was a touch of Maria in him too shining through his eyes. He supposed it didn't matter if they weren't biologically related; they were mother and son in every way.
Benjy looked at Ben watching him. "What is it?" he asked with a laugh.
"You look … Very grownup," Ben said. "You must have grown half a foot or more since Christmas."
Benjy waved a hand. "You sound just like Mom. She swears every time she turns around that I've grown another inch." He rolled his eyes but there was humor dancing in them. He then wrapped his arm around the girl with him. "Dad, this is Janelle." Ben understood then that they were dating though Benjy didn't come right out and say so.
Janelle and Ben shook hands and he smiled at the young woman with bright blue eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Janelle," Ben said.
"I feel the same," Janelle gushed. "Junior has told me so much about you."
"'Junior'?" Ben echoed and looked at Benjy questioningly.
Benjy smiled. "That's Janelle's name for me. We both agreed that it sounds more mature than 'Benjy'. I am still getting used to it though."
Ben nodded. It would take a while to get used to it for him as well. Benjy had always been well, Benjy to him. But Ben understood that his son was growing up – that he was already grown up actually – and that he was seeking out his own way in the world. Ben would have to deal with the fact that his only living child was an adult. He wasn't normally sentimental but it was moments like these he wished he got to see Benjy –er, Junior – more often. Fortunately for Ben, Junior would be spending at least half of the summer in Sunset Beach with him. In fact, he was flying back to Sunset Beach with Ben the day after next. Ben looked forward to spending time with him.
"Well, Junior," Ben said pointedly, "are you ready for your speech today?"
Junior nodded. "Yes I am," he said with a smile. "Janelle read it over this morning and said it's –"
"A winner," Janelle enthused.
Ben and Maria smiled knowingly at each other. It seemed their son had found someone who thought he had hung the moon. That was good. Ben wanted his son to be surrounded with love, and friends too. He was a good kid, even if Ben may be biased in believing so.
"So, Dad, are we still on for the summer?" Junior asked.
"Of course," Ben agreed. "I'm looking forward to it."
Maria smiled though it looked forced somehow to Ben. "I am sure you two will have a lot of fun."
"I'm going to miss you, Junior," Janelle said quietly.
"I'll miss him too," Maria said but smiled brighter now. "But thank god we have MySpace, Facebook, text messaging, video conferencing tools …" She was trying to look on the bright side, bless her. Ben didn't know what to say though to alleviate her anxiety so for the moment, he said nothing as Maria and Janelle talked with Junior.
Finally, Junior said to them, "Dad, Mom, Janelle and I have to run. Principal Schumer wants us up there. We are doing a dry-run through of graduation or whatever. We'll catch up to you two after."
"Alright, Benj – Junior," Ben said and they embraced again briefly. Junior squeezed Maria's hand and then he and Janelle were off like a shot, headed towards the makeshift platform.
Maria turned to look at Ben then. "Do you want to take a walk while we wait for the ceremony to start? We've still got a good hour to burn."
Ben nodded. "That would be nice," he said. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before that Ross English character showed up. Ben didn't relish seeing him again. He didn't like or trust Ross. And on top of that, if he was honest with himself, there was some part of him that would always think of Maria as his Maria in spite of everything.
Maria and Ben fell naturally into step as they moved towards the gym's back doors. They were soon walking through the double doors and out into what appeared to be a quad. There were some parents and faculty gathered in the schoolyard but it was mostly empty. Ben started to speak when he spotted a colorful mural of a familiar looking pier at sunset and he whistled unexpectedly. "Maria, did you …? It's amazing."
They walked towards the mural painted on a wall outside the gym. Maria shook her head as she ran her fingers over the dry paint. "I wish I could say I did that," Maria said.
"Who … Benjy?" Ben smiled. "I mean Junior?"
Maria nodded, smiling proudly. "It was our son, yes."
"It's beautiful," Ben said. "He inherited his mother's artistic heart, didn't he?" It certainly made a strong case for nurture over nature.
"Yes, but he has his father's brains for business … He charged the school $200 for painting the mural," Maria laughed. "Principal Schumer nearly keeled over when he asked for the money but she finally agreed to pay up when she saw how lovely it was."
"It is lovely," Ben agreed and he stepped back a bit to take in the sight of the whole thing. It was incredibly detailed but his eyes soon found a small sketch in the corner that riveted his attention. It was of a dark-haired couple standing beneath the pier, watching the sunset. The face of the woman was decidedly familiar to him. It was Maria. She was standing beside Ben in the picture, holding his hand.
Just then a memory began to stir in his consciousness…
Chapter 1
Sunset Beach, California
He fiddled with his tie as he stood in front of the mirror in his private bathroom at The Deep. No matter what he did though, he just could not get it to look right. It was either drooping or just stiff and unnatural as if he were trying too hard.
Ben Evans had never been the nervous type but today he was. Very much so. Not only was his only son graduating from high school tonight, he was going to see... Her... After more than six years. Benjy had always flown up here to see him so it was the first time he would see ... Her ... In the flesh, in all this time. His belly hummed with anxiety and anticipation. He thought he may need a muscle relaxant or something of the kind to make it through the two hour flight ahead.
"Ben!" A familiar, high-pitched voice called from behind the door. Before he could reply, she was throwing it open, rattling its hinges actually, she flung it so hard.
"Amy, what the devil ?!" Ben demanded as Amy Nielsen, former trust fund baby and now his personal assistant, strode into the bathroom, not having the grace to even look embarrassed.
"Oh no worries, Ben," Amy said with a wave of her hand. "You're not naked are you?" She pointed out.
"That's quite beside the point," Ben practically snapped. "What are you even doing in here?"
Amy moved over to him and began fixing his tie for him without even being invited to do so. She took a lot of liberties where he was concerned and did it unabashedly so. She had not a humble or apologetic bone in her petite body.
"I was coming to tell you that Bruno is downstairs waiting to take you to the airport," Amy said as she finished fixing his tie and gave it a satisfied flick with her tapered fingers. "All done." She sounded triumphant and he looked in the mirror to see that his tie was well, tied correctly.
"Thank you," Ben said as he walked out of the bathroom with Amy following right behind him. He looked around for his suit jacket and she seemed to know just what he was looking for. She handed it to him. He looked around for his travel intinerary. She said, "It's in your pocket of your jacket." He patted his pocket. Indeed it was there. He never would have guessed when he hired her (out of pity) five months ago that little Miss Blondie would actually turn out to be a decent employee. She was brazen and daring (especially in wearing those skirts of hers that barely covered her er, assets) but she was good at her job. He had asked her about her surprisingly efficiency once and she had told him that she had managed many of her Daddy's affairs before he "you know, became a skeleton," in her words. She was used to dressing him up and doing things for him because she had done them for her father. It was oddly nice to discover that his perception of her - that she was an empty-headed bimbo - had been wrong to some degree.
"You're all ready to go, Ben," Amy said. She had never and would never call him "Mr. Evans" like every other employee did. "Don't forget to smile and be your charming British self... Knock 'em dead there." She then gave him a firm push towards the door and though he considered yelling at her for that, he resisted. He could only hope when he returned to work in two days that the office was still intact.
XoXoXo
San Diego, California
The flight seemed all too brief and yet also seemed to take forever. Ben climbed off his private jet and straightaway found the car Amy had ordered for him idling on the tarmac. He passed his bags to his driver, who introduced himself as "Shamus, just Shamus" and then Ben climbed into the back of the Lincoln town car.
"To your hotel first, Mr. Evans?" Shamus asked in a decidedly accent-less voice. He was disappointingly and thoroughly Americanized, complete with a sticker attached to his rearview mirror that read "Mitt Romney For President". Ben didn't know what to think of that so he simply ignored it.
"No, the graduation starts in -" Ben checked his Cartier watch - "two hours. I want to go to the high school and spend a little time with my son prior to the commencement."
"Okay by me," Shamus said as he pulled into heavy late afternoon traffic. He had Ben's itinerary so he already knew where the high school was located.
Ben tried focusing on his cell phone, his computer, his cufflinks, anything to keep him from letting his thoughts wander too far but it was impossible. She was on his mind, like it or not. She wasn't an unpleasant thought of course (far from it actually) but seeing her again with that husband of hers was bound to stir up some troublesome emotions inside of him. He knew better than to wish for things that could not be - things that he had callously tossed away - and yet, his head never wanted to heed his heart which still hammered her name after all these years.
The drive was, like the plane ride, too short and too long all at the same time. Before Ben knew it, Shamus was pulling up in front of Grossmont High School where Ben was sure he would find his son anxiously pacing about his Valedictorian speech he had to give today in front of all of his peers and teachers.
"I'll be here when you're done," Shamus promised as he opened the door for Ben and Ben climbed out.
"Thank you," Ben said and walked towards the entrance of the school. Multiple signs led him to the gymnasium. He took a deep breath and then stepped inside. Right away he saw a good two hundred students milling about, all dressed in matching blue caps and gowns. He scanned the room for his son and didn't see him at first. No, instead his eyes found Her like a heat-seeking missile. She was standing in the corner talking to a woman who Ben barely noticed for his eyes were directed at Her. She was smiling. She had a beautiful smile. Her chocolate-brown hair was twisted up in a chignon with only a few loose tendrils framing her flawless face. She was still so beautiful. Why did she have to be so damned beautiful?
As if she felt the heat of his gaze, she looked up then and the crowd seemed to melt away as their eyes met across the room. She offered him a smile - a bright one that only wavered for the briefest second. Then she was excusing herself from the other woman's company and slowly moving towards him.
He swallowed hard as she came to a stop in front of him. "Hello, Ben," she said. "I'm so glad you could come tonight."
He nodded as his gaze swept appreciatively over her body clad in a simple black cocktail dress before moving back to meet her stunning eyes. "I wouldn't miss this for the world," Ben said and gave her an impromptu hug. The warmth of her body pressed against his nearly stole the very breath from him. "Maria," he whispered. "Dear Maria..." That was all he could say in that moment. He was so humbled that he could finally touch her again even if only in an innocent embrace.
TBC
***Just so you know, none of these chapters follow a linear order. Some will happen like 30-40 years down the road and some in current day. The chapters are going to jump all around time-wise because that's how I want to write this ha-ha Thanks to anyone who is reading this. Please feel free to suggest prompts/ideas for future chapters. Thanks!***
Easter Play
At the Forrester beach house, Taylor and Rick were busy scrambling around, looking for, and even overturning furniture, in their pursuit of the elusive fluffy, feathered tail that was part of Chad’s Easter costume. They had to be at the academy in less than forty minutes and it was nowhere to be found.
“Where could it be?” Taylor asked, as she checked under the sofa once again.
“Well it’s not in Chad’s room, or the hall closet, or the car. We checked all those places – twice.”
Chad’s baby blue eyes welled with tears as he watched his parents breathlessly charging around the living room. “You have to find it,” the five-year-old cried. “I can’t be a baby chick without a tail!” He then promptly burst into tears. He had practiced his one line (“Happy Easter to one and all!”) so hard and now it seemed all to have been for nothing.
“Oh, honey, don’t cry,” Taylor said, dropping the pillow in her hand and moving to her son. She ran her hands gently through his thick, spiky blonde hair. “Please don’t cry.”
Chad kept crying though, turning to cling to his mother’s long muslin skirt. Sensing the tension in the room, the baby broke into tears as well from where she sat in her high chair. Lani’s bowl of Cheerios hit the floor, scattering bits of cereal all over the lush carpeting, as she wailed her little fists in hysterics.
“Meltdown alert,” Rick said wryly. “What are we going to do?”
Rick went over to their daughter, picking her and cradling her to his chest. Taylor sighed. “I don’t know. I guess…” She looked at Chad’s scrunched up, little red face. She so hated to disappoint him, or any of her children actually. “Wait! What if – what if we make Chad a new tail?"
Rick nodded. “Why didn’t I think of that? Of course! I’ll call Hope and have her come up with something really great.”
“Unfortunately, there’s no time for that. You’re just going to have to make one yourself,” Taylor said.
“Me? No. You must be mistaking me for one of my siblings. I couldn’t –“
“Yes, you can,” Taylor said. “For our son, you can.”
“Can’t you just try, Daddy?” Chad spoke up, wiping at his damp cheeks. Hope and a little wariness shown in the misty depths of his eyes.
Rick smiled indulgently. “You know what? I can do better than try. I will make you the most fabulous baby chick’s tail there ever was and you, my son, will be the envy of all the other creatures in your school play.”
“What does ‘envy’ mean?” Chad asked, cocking his head curiously to the side.
“Your Mom will have to explain. I am going upstairs to make that tail!” Rick started for the staircase and then realizing he was still holding Lani, he hurried back to Taylor and handed her their daughter. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Good luck,” Taylor said. She then went to soothe her children’s tears as Rick hurried upstairs.
XoXoXo
Twenty-five minutes had passed. They had to be at the school in less than ten minutes. Taylor knew Rick would come through for their son – he always did –but she wondered if it would be in time. Just as she was about to go get him, he appeared at the top of the staircase.
“Do you have it?” Taylor asked. Chad joined her at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at his Dad hopefully.
“Yeah, Daddy, do you have it?”
Rick nodded. “I certainly do.” He took the steps two at a time and came skidding to a stop in front of his wife and son. He pulled the tail out from behind his back and Chad gasped.
“Dad, it’s so neat!” Chad said, grabbing for the tail which was made of what looked like an old yellow tee-shirt, white glitter and feathers. Taylor guessed that her favorite feather boa had been chopped up for this but she didn’t care seeing the way father and son were beaming at each other. Rick looked beyond proud and Chad, admiring and happy.
“Will it work?” Rick asked.
“Yes!” Chad said.
“Okay, let’s get it on you and then we’ll go, alright?”
“Alright!”
XoXoXo
Taylor smiled widely as she bounced Lani on her knee. She was seated in the second row watching the school play. Her son was dancing and waddling about with the other school children and Rick was on the floor in front of the stage, capturing it all on an expensive, high-tech digital camera. He was such a proud Papa. He waved to Chad and Chad stopped dancing to wave back and say, “Hi, Daddy”, which caused everyone in the audience to break into laughter. Taylor joined in.
As the play drew to a close, Lani fell asleep, her soft brown hair fanning out on Taylor’s shoulder. Taylor just smiled and even dashed at a happy little tear as Chad proudly recited his line.
“Happy Easter to one and all!” He said. He stepped back and his little best friend Russ grabbed his hand, pulling him into the line as the whole class bowed. Thunderous applause from proud parents, families and friends filled the auditorium.
Afterwards, Taylor watched her son holding Rick’s hand as they chatted with Russ and his parents. Lani was stirring and soon demanded a diaper change. Hope surprisingly offered to tackle the stinky task, saying that she needed all the practice she could get. She gestured to her full belly and smiled knowingly at Thomas.
Taylor thanked Hope and moved over to Chad and Rick. “Mommy, did I do a good job?” Chad immediately asked in between taking bites from a sugar cookie decorated to look like a Spring tulip.
“You weren’t just good, Chadwick Forrester, you were amazing!” Taylor enthused. She couldn’t resist kneeling down and pulling her little boy into her arms. Though he wasn’t so little anymore, she thought with a little pang. He would be graduating kindergarten in June and then he’d be heading off to elementary school. Time just moved too fast. Taylor was afraid to miss a moment of any of this. She had been cheated out of so many moments with Thomas and the twins when they were little and she was presumed dead.
She hugged Chad as tightly as she dared. Rick was filming both of them and Taylor thought how happy Steffy would be to see the video when they uploaded it to the computer tonight for their weekly family Skype chat. Steffy and Liam and their own two kids were in Paris running Forrester International together. They were really happy now, every bit as happy as Taylor and Rick were.
She caught Rick’s eye and mouthed “thank you”. He mouthed back, “What for?”
“For all of this,” she said.
She was so thankful, truly, for everything. She was living the life she had always dreamt of. She had once believed that another man was her endgame, her forever, but she was glad to have been mistaken. She never took any of this for granted. Rick had surely given her the happiness she had always sought.
The Reunion
“Your mother is right,” Taylor murmured as Rick approached her with a Cheshire-cat grin on his too-beautiful-to-be-believed face.
“Did I just hear you say my mother is right?” Rick asked, his smile becoming curious. “What’s this all about?”
“She said we are a disaster waiting to happen,” she said as he stepped behind her and lifted her silky hair gently off of her neck. “Rick, don’t.” She felt his lips come down on her collarbone. His teeth lightly nipped the skin as he suckled and her legs immediately turned into limp noodles.
“Don’t what?” Rick asked against her earlobe, eliciting a shiver from her. “Don’t want you? Don’t need you? Don’t love you? Newsflash, Taylor, I tried that and it didn’t work.” He returned to feasting on her neck, sending ripples of pleasure down her spine. She should fight him off. They couldn’t actually be together. There were so many reasons they didn’t work, although honestly she couldn’t think of even one at the moment.
His hands slipped around her, coming up to cup her full breasts. She let out a breath she hadn’t even known that she was holding. “Riccck,” she moaned in spite of herself. “Please.” He circled the nipples with his careful fingers. They instantly pebbled at his touch. She sagged against him, all the fight going out of her for the moment. He began working at the buttons on her blouse. It was the very same blouse she’d worn the first night they made love years ago. She told herself it had been an unconscious choice to wear it tonight but she had honestly known that he would happen by this evening. He was pursuing her in earnest again, now that his relationship with Caroline Spencer had gone belly up.
“Caroline,” Taylor said, shaking her head, suddenly remembering one reason why trying to restart this relationship was a bad, bad idea.
“What about her?” Rick asked, lightly flicking her nipples through the cotton fabric of her top. It was all she could do not to moan out loud. When he started in on the buttons again, she stayed his hand, forcing herself away from him.
“You love her,” Taylor said. Her whole body was shaking with pent-up desire and she avoided looking into Rick’s beautiful blue eyes, knowing her resolve would completely cave if she did.
“I did,” Rick said. “But that’s the past..”
“Oh really? Because I think you’re rebounding.”
“I dumped her, remember?” Rick said.
“Yes, but –“
“No, buts, Taylor,” Rick said, approaching her, his Italian loafers wearing grooves in the dark, thick carpeting. “I did love Caroline but never, ever the way I loved you. You know that I fell apart when we ended things. I coped the best way I could but I wasn’t the same anymore. I was angry, belligerent, hateful and so full of myself.”
“You’re always been full of yourself,” Taylor said with a little smile. “But you’re not in love with me. You can’t be.”
“Why not?” Rick asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. “You’re beautiful; smart, strong… I could go on all day about the reasons I want you in my life and in my bed.”
“You’re just rebounding and you’re lonely and –“
He closed the distance between them and reached for her wrist, pulling her close. The smell of his aftershave was making her feel dizzy. The heat of his body so close to hers was making her come undone.
“I want you, Taylor,” he said. “I love you. And yes, maybe there are a million reasons we shouldn’t jump back into this head first but there’s just one reason that we should… We love each other.”
“Rick-“
“Look at me,” he said in a husky voice. “Come on. Look at me,” he said again and when she didn’t move, he took her face into his hands and forced her to really see him. “Look into my eyes, Taylor. Tell me you don’t see how much I need you, how much I want you, how much I love you, you beautiful, stubborn woman.”
“Rick, I –“
“See me, Taylor, the way only you have ever been able to. See me,” he said.
“I do, Rick,” she said, her eyes filming with tears. She reached out and touched his freshly-shaven cheek. “I see you and I – “
“You what?” He asked. “Tell me.”
“I love you too,” she whispered hoarsely. “I didn’t ask for that to happen. I didn’t ask to feel the way for you that I do, but you are right, I can’t fight it anymore. I love you like I never loved anyone else. I was a fool to throw you aside for a pipe dream. I’m – I’m sorry if I hurt you. I am so sorry, you deserve to hear that after all these years.”
“I am not mad anymore,” Rick said. “But I was mad back then and that’s why I lashed out, why I tried to hurt you and your family time and time again. I’m not proud of those things but–“
“Shh,” Taylor said, “don’t apologize. We both made mistakes – huge mistakes but … what’s important is that you’re here with me. Tell me you will stick around.”
“Just try to get rid of me, baby,” he said and drew her lips to his. He pressed his mouth down on hers and she moaned into the kiss. He nudged her beestung lips apart to accept his tongue. Their kisses were feverish and desperate as he yanked her to him and knotted his fingers in the locks of her long hair.
“Rick, touch me,” she said.
“You never have to ask me twice,” Rick said with a naughty twinkle in his sexy eyes. He began to work anew at the buttons on her top. “This looks familiar,” he said. “I like it. But I always did like it better on the floor.” He eased the blouse down her bronzed shoulders and smiled at her. She sighed softly as he kneaded her nipples through the flimsy material of her pink bra.
He slid his hands around her back, his hot fingers branding her skin. He expertly unclasped her bra and slowly peeled away the material. She heard his breath hitch in his throat as he looked at her. She shivered under his intense, smoky gaze.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. “The most beautiful, perfect woman.”
“I don’t know about that but thank you,” Taylor said, “thank you for making me feel wanted, needed, desired.”
“Oh I do desire… I desire a lot,” he said with a grin. He rested his hands on her trim hips and then slid them upwards to cup her breasts, massaging them with the pads of his thumbs. He leaned down and captured one dusky nipple in his mouth, rolling his tongue around it. Her hands went to his hair and she tugged on the ends of it. He was growing his hair out again. She loved it.
“Riccck,” she cried as he feasted on her. Just when she didn’t think she could take the sensual torture anymore, he pulled back a bit. “Rick-“
He laid a finger over her lips. “Wait,” he said. “I’ve waited nearly six years for this night and I want it to last.”
She nodded and watched him as he moved his eyes down her flat torso. He slid his hands down her flat tummy to the waistband of her pants. He popped the button open and slowly eased down the zipper. Her whole body quaked in anticipation. He pulled her slacks down her legs inch by torturous inch until he was crouched low on the floor. He helped her out of her high heels and rested his hands on her calves. He slid them up her legs, to her thighs and back down a bit until his fingers were resting in the hollow between her legs.
He reached out and touched her through her panties. His hand came away damp and he smirked at her knowingly. “You’re so wet. You wanted me all along, didn’t you, you minx?”
She nodded. “Yes, I did.” She couldn’t lie about her feelings anymore.
He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and yanked them down. He then surprised her by easing her legs open and getting between them. She mewled wantonly as he traced the curve of her womanhood. “Ohhhh, Rick.”
“Ask me,” he said.
“Ask you what?”
“I think you know what. Ask me to do what you desire most - ask me to put my mouth on you, to put my tongue in that tight little hole.”
Her face flamed with heat. “Come on, Taylor, ask me,” Rick encouraged her with a lascivious smile. “I want to taste you just as bad as you want to be tasted but you have to ask. I want to hear you plead for my touch.”
“Rick, please – please put your mouth on me. Please taste me,” she said.
He nodded and spreading her lean legs farther apart, he nestled a finger inside of her heat. She cried out as he thrust it in and out of her and then eased his tongue inside of her. She began to rock against the ministrations of his mouth, the nibbling of his teeth on that bundle of nerves. He licked and suckled until she was screaming out her release. When she thought it was over, he upped the ante though. He sluiced his tongue into her again and again until she was floating high on a cloud of pleasure. When she came sailing down from great heights, she grinned at him.
“That was –“ She started.
“Amazing,” Rick filled in. “You taste so damn good.”
Taylor just smiled and then grabbed for his hands, helping to pull him upright. They were eye-to-eye again. Taylor kept smiling, this time mischievously.
“What are you thinking?” Rick asked, smiling back.
“Let me show you,” Taylor said. She pressed on his shoulders, forcing him to walk backwards. He landed rather ungracefully on the sofa.
“Taylor—“
“Shh, it’s your turn,” she said. She saw that his erection was already straining the front of his black trousers. She ran her palm over his manhood and he jerked on the sofa.
“Don’t tease me,” he said.
“The way you did me? Oh, never,” she said, winking at him. She moved to his feet and began slowly removing his loafers and socks. She massaged his feet.
“Like that?” She asked.
“I’d much rather you be massaging something else,” he said, knodding pointedly at his crotch.
“Patience,” she said. “You waited almost six years. Surely you can wait a little longer.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said. “I just want – I need to be inside of you. I’m not going to be able to hold on forever here, you know.”
She just smiled and kept rubbing his feet. Finally, she moved her hands to his kneecaps and squeezed them, running her hands up his thighs, narrowly missing his shaft. “Now you’re just playing with me,” Rick said. He instinctively arched up on the cushions as she undid his belt, sliding it painfully slowly through the loops. She dragged the tail end of it across her breasts and feminine mound. Rick growled in desire.
“You can’t imagine what a turn on it is to see you wrapped up in my leather belt.” He smiled and gestured to his dick. “Now can we do something about that?”
“Be patient.”
“Easy for you to say.”
She tugged on his pants, pulling his boxer-briefs down along with them. His engorged shaft popped free as she tossed the clothes to the floor, somewhere in the general direction of the front door. Just when he must have thought she wasn’t going to touch him, she did. He moaned as she cupped him, stroking the length of his member. She played with his balls, gingerly testing the weight of them in her palm.
“Taylor…”
“What do you want, Rick?”
“I think you know.”
“Ask me,” she said, echoing his earlier words.
“Oh sure, turn it around on me,” he said but he smiled. “Fine. Taylor, please take me in your mouth and suck. Suck me, baby.”
Taylor nodded and climbing fully onto the couch now, she hovered her mouth above him. He grabbed for her hair in his fist, wrapping the silky strands around his fingers and nudging her head down. She took him in her mouth then and began to lick and suck. She’d been with a few men of course but no man emboldened her like Rick. She took him deep in her throat as her hands eased under the fabric of his dress shirt. She tweaked his nipples as she continued to go down on Rick.
“Fuck, Taylor, fuck!” He squirmed on the sofa as she sinfully tortured him with her expert mouth. “I can’t hold on much longer. Fuck, fuck!”
Taylor looked up at him and nodded, giving him the signal. He spilled his hot seed down her throat and when she was done, she licked her lips daintily.
“You naughty, naughty woman,” Rick said, panting. “I loved that!” He grasped her by the arms and pulled her atop him. He moved a hand between them, causing her to cry out in wanton desire.
“Rick, make love to me, make love to me now,” Taylor said. “Please.”
He looked deeply into her eyes. She reached down and began to massage him back to hardness. He growled and shifted his hips, rearing up to ram his hard length into her tightness. She gasped and wriggled her own hips as she adjusted to the size of him. She then began to meet him thrust for thrust, riding his cock as he toyed with her plush breasts.
“Taylor,” he said as he thrust into her over and over. “Oh, Taylor.”
“Harder,” Taylor cried out and his hips immediately jerked up. He slammed into her, pulled all the way out, and then slammed into her again. The friction made stars pop before her eyes and she screamed out his name. Over and over he took her to the edge of pleasure and she returned the favor.
All through the night they made love and then, well into the wee hours, when their bodies were damp with a sheen of sweat, they cuddled and talked before falling into a light sleep.
Around noon, Taylor felt Rick stirring beside her. She was tucked in the crook of his arm and when she popped her eyes open, she found him watching her. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, kissing her salty-sweet lips.
Taylor smiled. “You’re no slouch in the looks department, honey.”
Rick chuckled. “I’m starving,” he said.
“I know. We really worked up an appetite, didn’t we? I could cook us some bacon and –“
He grasped her by the hips and gently pulled her atop him. “That’s not what I’m hungry for.”
“You’re insatiable,” Taylor marveled.
“For you? Hell yeah,” he said. He stroked the curve of her ass cheek. “We never did make it to your bedroom last night.”
“No, we didn’t.”
“Let’s go there, shall we?” He shifted and climbed off the sofa, scooping her up into his arms, pressing her trim, bare body to his hard chest.
“Seriously, I’m famished,” she said with a laugh.
“Alright, we’ll eat but it has to be breakfast in bed, completely sans clothing.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Forrester.”
“Something’s hard already,” he teased.
Taylor laughed. “Carry me to the kitchen. I’ll make us something to eat, sans clothing, per your wishes.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” She stroked his cheek for a moment. “Last night was amazing. I love you, Rick Forrester.”
“I love you too, Taylor. And last night was just the beginning of many amazing nights to cum, pun intended.”
Taylor smacked his arm and laughing together, they hurried into the kitchen. They ended up making love right there on the countertop. Breakfast was all but forgotten. They could eat later anyway; for now, they were making up for years of lost time.
Chapter 1
Rick Forrester had only been back under his mother's roof for an hour and already he was itching to get out of there. It wasn't so much the company that irked him but rather what they had to say - a little too joyfully - that had rankled his nerves. Hope had informed him straight away that their mother and Ridge were back together once again and that their reunion had happened on the very same day Ridge was supposed to wed Taylor again. Rick's eyebrows had lifted more than a bit at that revelation.
"So Ridge was going to marry Taylor and then dumped her at the altar - again?"
Hope nodded, obviously noting the disapproving tone in his voice. "Rick, it wasn't like that exactly."
"How was it then?"
Hope crossed her thin arms. "He didn't want to hurt her."
"But he did."
Hope splayed her hands in surrender. "I guess..." She sighed. "But at least you have to be glad Ridge and Mom are back together again, right?"
Rick shook his head. "Wrong. Ridge isn't good enough to lick the floor Mom or Taylor walk on. Why they keep allowing him to lead them both around by the nose ..." He sighed. "Well I'll never get it."
"Mom loves Ridge."
"So does Taylor and what has that ever brought either of them but pain and misery?"
Hope looked at Rick like he had sprouted another head. "Why can't you just be glad Mom and Ridge are happy and committed again?"
"For how long?" Rick asked. "How long till Mom 'messes up' and Ridge throws her aside like yesterday's garbage while running to Taylor to kiss his boo-boos, giving her hope for a future with him, and then running back to Mom when the air has cleared? Its all a vicious, ugly cycle and no one deserves that kind of treatment - least of all Mom and Taylor."
"Rick, I don't know what to say. When you dropped in this morning I thought I had my big brother back, that we could really do some bonding this time, but I'm not sure why you came back now if you're being so negative."
Rick sighed, rubbing his forehead for a moment. "I honestly don't know either."
XoXoXo
Brooke noticed Rick pacing anxiously in the living room after breakfast and came over to him, giving him a big hug.
"Hey, son, how are you?"
"I'm good," Rick said.
"Okay try telling me the truth this time. I can always see right through you."
Rick nodded, deciding to be honest with her. "I heard Ridge dumped you, hooked up with Taylor again, and then dumped her at the altar when you two worked things out. I don't understand how such bright women as you two can let that man jerk your chains."
Brooke sighed. "I love him, Rick, even if you don't understand that..."
"I do understand love, Mom. Real love. I've felt it before but this - this is not love. Its an obsession. Both you and Taylor are obsessed with Ridge for god knows what reason."
Brooke stepped away from him like he had slapped her. "That isn't fair, Rick, not at all."
"I just am calling it as I see it."
"Well you don't know all the details, Rick. Thomas let his father believe I had slept with him! He lied about it. Ridge had to believe in his son; especially because I didn't know what had happened either."
Rick rolled his eyes. "Oh, Thomas - up to his old tricks again I see?"
"Well he worked with Stephanie on this one so I can't entirely blame him. She's very persuasive when she wants to be."
"Still, if I'm getting it right, Ridge left you on the word of Thomas only, ran to Taylor, got her hopes up, and then the minute the truth comes out, he comes running back to you and everything is just what - fine and dandy? Why am I the only one that sees the problem here? Ridge is a user."
"This is Ridge's house," Brooke said sternly. "He is letting you stay here, even though you two have had your differences and -"
Rick walked over to his still-packed luggage that was sitting in the hall foyer. "What are you doing, Rick?" Brooke asked.
"You're right, Mom. I can stay under the same roof with a man who broke the hearts of two women I care deeply about over and over. I can't stand it." Then before Brooke could react, he was picking up his luggage and hurrying out of the manse.
XoXoXo
He didn't know where he was going at first almost until he was already there. He had climbed into his Mercedes and peeled off. Before long he was in Bel-Air and heading up into the hills. He had driven this road so many times in the past it was easy to do even with him almost literally on auto-pilot.
He had no idea what he was going to say when he showed up on her doorstep, how he would explain his presence there but he wasn't turning back now. He didn't even really want to. He had in truth missed her beautiful face for so long and even when he was thousands of miles away, she had never been far from his thoughts. He had tried relationships with other women - even ones near and dear to her - but they had never taken. He didn't want to read too deeply into that though, figuring she was just a tough act to follow.
He sighed as he pulled down her tree-lined street and parked along the curb in front of her place. For some reason the place had never looked more lonely up on this hill. He imagined for a moment that it was a fortress she kept herself waiting in for a true prince that would never come.
He climbed out of the Mercedes and nervously ran a hand through his recently shorn locks before heading up the porch steps. He let out a deep breath as he raised his hand to knock. He rapped twice and tried to figure out how she would react to him dropping in on her after all that had happened. She might not care or she might think of him as the enemy - the son of her biggest rival.
The door finally opened and she was standing there in a blue sundress with her wavy, chestnut hair falling all around her shoulders. She looked radiant but then she always had. It was only when you looked very closely that you saw the true toll life had taken on her.
"Rick?" she finally spoke in a hushed voice.
"Hello, Taylor." He said her name almost reverently before asking, "Can we talk?"
TO BE CONTINUED.
