FATEFUL ENCOUNTERS-Chapters 27-31

  27

Lisa opened her eyes and wondered how the hell he had gotten into her bed.  Anger would have been the expected emotion, but instead she found herself feeling oddly content and at peace.  She could not help but smile at him.  He kissed her head. “Hey, sleepy head.”

“Hey, yourself. How did you get in?”

That typical boyish grin graced his gorgeous face and he dangled his key above her.  Her efforts to grab it were thwarted by his speed.  That proud  Cheshire-cat grin, again. “You didn’t really think I gave this up, did y’a?”

The smile faded.  She remembered the key sent to her by messenger service without so much as a note.  At first, Lisa had been annoyed that he had indeed made a copy of the key he borrowed from Janet the night of her party before hurt registered.   Michael obviously no longer wanted to have access to her house.  Or anything else to do with her.  He had been serious and pulled one of his famous acts of eliminating what he deemed to be superfluous people from his life.  Still, here he was- with yet another way in.

“I thought you wanted me out of your life for good?”

Michael’s hand cupped her cheek.  She was mesmerized by the sheen of tears appearing in his opaque eyes.  His hand felt warm and reassuring as did the emotions emanating from his heart.  Instinctively, she snuggled against the caress like a little cat.

“Lisa, I could, never, ever not have you in my life.  You are my life.  You are everything I ever wanted.  I am so sorry, I was such an ass.  It was horrible not being in touch- it was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I don’t see any reason to keep this up.”

Something was weird.

“Like what, Michael.  What does that mean?  You are tired of keeping what up?” Could he for once be clear and stop the confusion?

“I’m tired of not being together.  It makes zero sense.  We have been with each other for years now.  We can’t stand to be apart. I say, we go ahead and do it.”

“What about Debbie?”

“Debbie?  What does she…”

She raised an eyebrow in disapproval.  Not that question again.  Once again, he seemed to conveniently forget that his wife was one of the main obstacles keeping them from being together.

He laughed. “Gotcha! I knew that would get a rise out of you. Silly! I already talked to Debbie.  I also had the divorce papers drawn up.  See? I came prepared.”

Her mouth had dropped open, and he took the opportunity to bend forward to steal a kiss. His tongue was hot velvet against her lips, she inhaled the scent of vanilla and cinnamon, and greedily felt herself responding.  Still, her mind continued to stay somewhat detached.  Was he serious?  Fear stirred in her stomach and circled the equally strong arousal like a double helix.  This was everything she had wanted to hear and everything she had feared at the same time.  The two sided coin again.  How typical of him to just jump in and make the decision for both of them. When Michael set his mind to something it was a done deal.  Was she ready, could she do it?  Could she throw caution to the wind and try again?  The funny feeling in her stomach turned and she realized she was happy.  She almost had forgotten what it felt like, but there it was: unbridled, unabashed happiness.  Their second chance was within reach.  All she had to do was reach out, grab it, and never let it go.  Never let him go.

Don’t trust it- something is not right.  This is off…something is way off…

No, she had to silence this voice.  Her internal alarm that for some reason sounded like her mother’s voice had to shut up so she could concentrate on his eyes blinding her with the love directed toward her, his smile dazzling her, his hand reaching out for her, caressing her cheek after he broke the kiss that left her breathless.

“I don’t know, Michael.  This is so sudden.  I couldn’t even contact you this week, and now…now you just appear like…like nothing happened.”

Yes, think, dammit:  He cut himself off, so why is he here now?  Come on, figure it out…

“Lisa, princess:  What’s sudden about any of this?  We have been doing this silly dance for years now.  I was such a lunatic to let you go in the first place.  I wanted to call your bluff, see if you would actually go through with this divorce.  I should have never let it go this far.  I am so sorry.  You were completely right: I started to lock myself away from you and shut you out.  I was stubborn.  Well, we both were, but let’s just learn from our mistake from before.”

The beating of her heart resonated.  She was sure the noise was loud enough to be audible outside her body as well.

“Are you serious?  Is this for real?  You filed for divorce?  You swear?”

Tears rose and she swallowed hard. 

Oh my God.  He just might be serious.  This might be happening.

He crossed his heart and lowered his head to kiss her again.  His proximity was intoxicating.  She wanted to reach out, to pull him on top and into her, and to forget all caution against the reassuring safety of his embrace. Her pulse increased, the sound started to be loud and irritating.

“Don’t you trust me? Marry me.  Trust me again.”

Yeah, Lisa, you dumbass.  Don’t you trust him?  It’s not like he left you or lied to you before. You are so fucking stupid. You are a weak, whiny cry baby. You deserve everything you’re about to get.

Her heartbeat started to take on the quality of a solid, rhythmic beat.

“Lisa, are you ok?” He mouthed the words, but his voice sounded like Janet’s.  How odd.

“Lisa?” 

Fuck!

It was Janet’s voice ripping her out of her sleep. Lisa sat up with a start, realizing in one single, horrifying second that Michael had not come.  He had not apologized and asked her to marry him. He had not filed for divorce from Debbie.  He was still a cold, distant ass, banning her from his life for not giving into his demands which were solely fueled by his insecurities.

No wonder she had suspected something to be wrong.  The whole frigging scenario was wrong- her subconscious, which in a curious twist had sounded like her mother, had warned her. Priscilla would be so pleased.

Her first clue should have been that he apologized for being an ass in the past.  After all, he had never apologized for his part in their divorce.  They had danced around the subject, but she was convinced that he remained pretty sure that she had thrown their marriage away while he was an innocent bystander in the whole mess. 

It was all just a damn dream.  Great.  She realized the beating of her heart had been the knocking on her bedroom door.  Of course, now, being jerked back to reality, a similar beat reverberated in her head again.  Not another headache!  Memory seeped in: she had lain down to escape yet another debilitating migraine.  The pain and pressure accompanied by nausea and dizzy spells had been a constant companion in the past three weeks.  In her dream, only a week had passed since her fight with Michael, when really, it was closer to a month.  During a weak moment, she had tried to contact him by phone, but found out that his number had been disconnected.  He obviously was up to his old tricks.  Well, that was fine with her. This way, at least she could not be tempted to reach out to him and let him pull her into the chaos that surrounded him again. 

After their dinner, she had been left to bear her mother’s wrath about the pictures.  Finally, Lisa told Priscilla that it was just a joke and that Michael and her had simply been out celebrating her new independence a bit.  Priscilla had uttered a snide, “Very mature, my dear,” before changing the subject.  Surprisingly, that had been it from her mother.  Which made Lisa wonder just how much her mother’s spies had known about her fight with Michael.

“Lisa, are you ok?  If you don’t open that door, I will break it in.  You have everyone worried, please open up.”

Janet! Lisa closed her eyes.  She had missed her friend.  How unfair that in her attempts to free herself of everything Jackson, she also had been forced to limit contact with his sister.  She made it to the door and turned the lock before hastily returning to sit down on the edge of her bed, trying to fight the grey dots closing in on her. 

“You look like hell! Are you alright?” Janet sat down next to her, her hand feeling Lisa’s forehead, checking for the fever she would not find.  There was no elevation in temperature and no one seemed to be able to detect the source of her malaise.  It was frustrating as hell to be feeling physically worn out on top of everything else.

“Thanks, I feel like hell.”

“Your nanny let me in.  Seems my key does not work anymore.  Guess you forgot to tell me you changed the locks. I called earlier and Riley told me you have been ill.  What gives?  I’ve been trying to call you for weeks now and never seem to be able to get through.” Dark brown eyes scanned her and she knew she would not be able to bullshit Jan.

“Yeah, I have been under the weather a bit.  Some flue or something.  I can’t seem to kick it.”

“A flue without fever?  Kinda odd, don’t you think?” Janet reached over and picked up the glass next to Lisa’s night stand. “Water?  I expected it to be vodka at the very least.  Maybe that’s what’s wrong:  Withdrawal, Lise?” Lisa knew Janet was attempting to joke, but she feared that her friend was right on.  She was trying to kick her addiction alright.  Too bad her drug of choice had nothing to do with alcohol.  Otherwise recovery would have been so easy compared to trying to rid her body, mind, and soul from the cravings for Michael.

Lisa rewarded Janet’s try at joking around with a weak smile.  “Yeah, you might be right.  I’m going cold turkey.”

“Well, no wonder you have been going it alone then.  You are no fun anymore, girl!”

Lisa closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her.  At the same time, the headache sent white hot needles toward her eyes and her temples. 

“Lise, does Mike know you’re this sick?”

Lisa gave a humorless smile.  “If he knows, I am sure he is delighted.”

“No, Lisa, don’t say that.  Mike’s not like that.  You know he cares.”

“Yeah, he cares for his children, the environment, your mother, you, his fans, and Nurse Frumpy.  I can lie in the street dying and he’d walk right by me, asking his flunkies to cover me up with a blanket so I wouldn’t spoil his magical outing.”

“Ok, what gives? What happened now? He has been acting really weird, and you have been blowing me off.  Did you fight again?”

“No, we did not fight.  It’s over, that’s all.  It’s finally over.” Lisa sank back against the pillows.  She felt like crying, only it seemed that those wells had finally dried up.  It was amazing how much more exhausted she felt without being able to shed any more tears.

“Lisa, really… Who the heck are you kidding?   You guys fight all the time- and then you make up.  In your own special way, of course.  I have a really hard time believing that this time is any different.  Plus, I saw those pics from the Ivy.  Seemed like you guys were hot and heavy that night.”

“Don’t remind me.” Lisa tried to roll her eyes to clear the mental images of Michael kissing all over her naked body with her writhing under him, begging him to take her, as he forced climax after climax from her. Heat rushed through her and she felt dizzy once more.  Lisa reached for the glass and rose from the bed, heading to the bathroom for some more water.  Janet sighed and threw herself across the bed.

Lisa sat on the side of her tub.  How many times had Michael made love to her in that damn thing?  How many times had the water gotten cold, while she had been incinerated by him? She was damned to be reminded of him wherever she looked in this house.  Her house! He had no right to invade her space as well as her mind. 

Lisa heard her bedroom door open again.

“Hi, Aunt Janet, is Mommy ok?”

How sweet, Riley had come to check on her.  Lisa knew the kids had been really worried about her, and she felt awful for not having been able to spend more quality time with them.  She heard Janet’s soft voice, assuring her daughter that she was indeed alright and just tired.   She felt she really owed her daughter a valiant effort to sound cheerful. “I’ll be right out, Riley, I’m ok. Will you go downstairs and ask Sarah to make some tea for Mommy and Aunt Janet?” The tone she had managed was almost normal.  Maybe she was starting to finally feel better.

“Hey, Mommy?  Guess, what?  I just saw Michael on TV.”

Fucking hell! Was there no escape?

“I thought I said no TV after 5?”

“Well, I saw Michael and Prince…oh, and Miss Debbie.  Miss Debbie said you and Michael were special friends and she totally liked that you two get along so well.”

With that, Lisa, barely made it to the toilet as a torrential wave of nausea threatened to bury her.

28

Michael checked the studio clock.  It was 4 am.  Another night without sleep.  Wonderful.  Maybe he would be able to catch a little shut-eye during the day, at least enough to keep him semi sane.  He replayed the tape one more time, checking the progress of the song he had been working on.  It was taking shape, but he still was not one hundred percent happy with the outcome.  He did not know what in the world had motivated him to work on a song that reminded him so much of her.  He should work on something called Bitch from Hell instead of Don’t Walk Away.  Angrily, he grabbed the headphones and tossed them to the side.  This was just great; now he could not even work without thinking of Lisa.  The curse under his breath could not be suppressed.  Funny, how during most of their marriage, he had been perfectly able to lock himself in his studio and work for hours and days without any thoughts about anything but the words and music flowing through him.  Now that he was finally rid of her, unwanted and unsolicited thoughts of her took up this unexpected infinite space in his mind. 

In an effort to find some peace, he left the studio and found himself standing above his son’s crib.  The little boy’s chest was rising and falling peacefully, his breath was deep and rhythmic, and the cute little mouth was open.  Funny how it looked so adorable when babies slobbered in their sleep.  Michael could not help but lightly touch the pink cheek.  His little angel smiled softly in response and he experienced a rare moment of pure joy and delight spreading through his chest. Then the image of another sleeping person rose in his mind’s eye.  He flashed back to brushing auburn hair from different soft skin.  The memory of her scent lingered in his mind and seemed to be filling his lungs. 

Dammit!

He did not need her.  He didn’t need anyone.  He was happy and content with his son, his soon to be born baby, and his music.  Screw everyone else, especially the woman he never should have allowed into his heart and his life in the first place.  He was just fine and dandy without her and her lies. 

For some reason, Michael found himself starting his Mercedes.  He hated driving, and he sure as hell hated driving at night.  There were so many things he had been blessed with in his life, but the ability to drive and navigate highways was not among them.  It was nerve-wrecking to have to concentrate on all these other drivers, the roads, and his car at the same time.  Oddly enough, he could mix music while concentrating on the sounds and technical details just fine, but driving was a nightmare.  Still, he needed to be out of the house.  He did not feel like bothering his security detail, since he would just go out for a quick spin, trying to clear his mind. 

Before he knew it, he entered the exclusive neighborhood of Hidden Hills.  Surprised, Michael realized the orange tint of the sky announcing the rising of the sun.  What in the world had he been thinking about the past two hours?  Never in a million years had he planned on driving to Lisa’s house.  He took the last turn and parked the car one street away from the property he once had considered his second home.  The streets looked sleepy and empty in the morning fog of this late March day.  He scanned the sidewalks, wondering if he would be safe to venture out.  As much as he often wished to be able to just walk around, he feared being vulnerable without his security around him. Maybe he could just risk one short stroll to the gates.  What could it hurt?  He was in excellent shape and could always sprint back the short distance to the car.

Before he could make up his mind, he noticed a car turning and stopping at the gate. What the hell?  So he had been right after all, Danny was back in Lisa’s life.  Great.  He had lived in the gatehouse on and off, and probably had now graduated to romp around in the main bedroom again.  In his bed.  With his wife.  Anger caused his pulse to thunder as a herd of wilder beast seemed to stampede through him.  Some rational part of his mind reminded Michael that his bed was located inside of Neverland two hours north of here and that his wife was tucked away somewhere on that property with her staff, fussing over her every pregnant whim.  However, it was difficult to listen to those thoughts when the sound of the gate closing behind Danny’s car drowned out the whispering of logic.

Michael dialed the number to Lisa’s house phone without paying any attention to his plans to not ever speak to her again.  It rang and then went to voicemail.  He hung up and tried again.  He did not want to be ignored and really hoped to interrupt something important.

“Hello?” A sleepy sounding Lisa answered the phone.

He remained quiet for what seemed like an eternity.  He was sure she would hang up, but instead he continued to hear her breathing on the other end of the connection.  Part of him screamed to push the off button, but his self-righteous indignation would not allow a retreat.  Maybe he also wanted her to know he knew what a conniving bitch she really was.

“I think you owe me an apology.  Seems I was right.”

“Michael?”

He was not able to tell if she was annoyed or surprised.  Most likely a good combination of both.  He remained silent.

“What the hell do you want?  Do you know what time it is?”  The annoyance seemed to have taken over.  Still, she sounded…almost weak.

“Not too early for your ex to come driving up to your house.  What did he do?  Run out to get some smokes for you guys after, well, you know…”

“Where the hell are you?  Please don’t tell me you are lurking outside my house.”

“It’s hardly the point where I am.  The point is that I was right and that I wish you all the happiness you deserve on try number...whatever time it is with Danny.”

“Fuck off, Michael.”

“Lisa, hang up the damn phone.  You know you should not do this to yourself.  We need to go…”

Michael could not make out the rest of what Danny said in the background.  That’s ok, let him know that Michael was aware of what was going on.  Let him also wonder why Michael called Lisa. Maybe hearing his name would remind him that not too long ago she was leaving his bed. 

Michael saw another car approach Lisa’s gates.  Why was there such traffic this time of the day? Oh no! He slid down in the driver’s seat.  It was the wicked witch.  What made her rise from the crypt that early?

“What’s your mother doing over at this time?”

“More importantly, why do you care?  Aren’t you a bit far from home and your family?  If you don’t piss off, I will call security and the LAPD.  I’m sure some of your paparazzi friends would love to get a shot of you being hauled off for loitering.”

Michael had enough of this conversation and hung up.  He drove up a couple of streets and then down another side street where he could watch Lisa’s place a little while longer.  It seemed weird to see Danny and Priscilla come over this early.  Michael decided to find out what was going on and dialed his usual reliable source.

“Mike? What the hell?  It is right after 6 am.  Why are you up?”

“I never went to bed.  Hey, is something going on with Lisa?”

“I thought you guys are done?”

“Who told you that?” Obviously Janet and Lisa had been in touch.  Women! Could not keep anything to themselves. 

“What did she say?”

“About?”

“About me.”
“Ah…Nothing much.  Just that you two are done.  Finally.”

“Did she say, finally?”  What did that mean?  Was she glad?  Had she hoped to end it and just had not found the courage?  Well, not likely.  Lisa always had possessed all the courage in the world.  He had always admired her ability to face anything head on.  It had also annoyed him greatly.  Probably because he envied her devil may care attitude.  It was very difficult for him to bear any type of conflict.  Over the years, he had found that avoiding trouble was much more rewarding.  Plus, there were people around only too happy to fight his battles for him.  If they did not do it for free, he could pay them.  Lisa had been one of his champions for a long time.  She was such a little lion, always attacking his adversaries.  In the end, he had been aggravated by her tendency to call it as she saw it.  Especially, since she did not stop with him.  He never had taken such critique lightly. 

“Mike, I would rather not get into it.  You know that I am friends with Lisa. So I would appreciate if you didn’t put me into the position to feel like I am betraying either one of you.”

“Fine, whatever.  Just don’t forget you are my sister.”

“You know I love you.  Don’t do this.”

“So, what’s wrong with her?”

‘Nothing, I hope.”

She hoped?  What did that mean? A flash of fear raced through him. 

“Is she ill?”

“Michael, why don’t you just go the easy route and ask her?”

He had asked her.  Well, ok, maybe he had not directly asked her. Crap.  He started to feel guilty.  What if there was something wrong with her, and he had put more stress on her?  Lisa had in the past suffered from spells when she was ill, like when she had mercury poisoning from her dental fillings.  Sure, she was tough, but he was well aware that she was not indestructible.  And she had gotten sick from being totally stressed out before as well.  With all her pretenses of being tough, she was pretty fragile at times.    

“I drove by her house and Danny and Priscilla were over.”

“You drove by her house?  When? Please don’t tell me you mean now.”

“No, not now.  Earlier.” Why did Janet have to make him feel guilty?  Of course, his early morning trip did start to feel like a really bad idea.  Well, not entirely, of course, because if something was indeed wrong with Lisa, he had a right to know. 

“Michael! You stopped by her house at 6 am?  Great, I am sure she was thrilled.”

The gates of Lisa’s house opened and another car appeared.  This time, the car was leaving.  He spotted Danny driving one of Lisa’s cars, and he thought he saw her in the back.  The Wicked Witch was sitting next to her.  Was he imagining Lisa looking right at him?

“Where are they going now?”

“Where is who going?  Where are you?”

“Janet, I’m serious.  If there is something wrong with her I have to know.”

“What do you care, Mike? She is out of your life right? I mean, I don’t want to be corny, but that seems to be what is going on.  Lisa said she tried to call you, and you had your number switched.”

“Bull! She knew my phone got broken.  She was there when it happened.  She has ways to get in touch with me if she needs to.”

“Look, I’m really tired.  All I can tell you is that she seems to have been sick for a while but that she doesn’t want you to know.  So, I’m respecting that.”

Know what?  What the hell was wrong?  There was only a limited amount of things he could imagine Lisa did not want him to know about.  And only one of those was good.

Michael inserted his key in the ignition and started to pull out.  He had decided to just follow the car and see for himself where she went. 

“Mike? Don’t do anything stupid, please. Promise me.”

“Nothing stupid, Dunk.  You are a great friend to her.  Just tell me, did you see her lately?”

“Yeah, I saw her.  She was not good, Mike.  She seemed really sick.  And it did not help that she heard about that weird interview you and your wife gave.”

Crap.  He stepped on the gas and hoped he would find an answer to the questions racing through his head.  For a second, he forgot all about his plan to never care about Lisa Marie again.

29

“Just tell him I want to see him, and he better get his ass down here now.”  Lisa felt like her head was about to explode.  She was tempted to take another pain pill, even though she knew full well that it probably was not a good idea.  The doctor had told her the headaches should get better if she just watched her blood pressure and avoided stress.  Well, her doctor obviously did not know Michael.  Of course, if he did, he would realize that that annoying man was indeed the source of her headaches- and the source of so much more.  She closed her eyes and tried taking in deep, abdominal breaths, counting to ten.  She had driven out to Neverland in record time, and she intended to see Michael, come hell or high water.  He needed to understand that he really had crossed the line this time.

“Mrs. Jackson, ah, Miss Presley, he was told that you are here.  After all, he cleared you to enter the property.  So, he should be down shortly. Can I get you some coffee, water, or anything else while you wait?”

“Could you page him again? I really don’t feel like waiting for him all day.  Oh, and if you have some chamomile tea, I would really appreciate it.” 

Or a double vodka on the rocks.  If only!

Jim, whom she knew from when she was married to Michael, left the room.  Lisa nervously played with her keys.  If there had been any other way to settle this, she would have moved mountains to avoid being in this house again.  Actually, the house was not the problem; its owner and other occupant were. Her sources had told her that Debbie was at a doctor’s appointment in the city, so at least she should be safe from running into that bitch.  Had Michael seen it fit to talk to her on the phone for longer than ten seconds, she could have saved the miles on her car as well as the strain on her nerves, but he told her that he wanted to talk to her in person and that he was not going to “get into it all” over the phone. Whatever that meant. 

She had no plans to get into anything with him at all.  Other than to make it clear that she would lay him out cold if he ever followed her anywhere again.  Not only had he trailed her car on her way to Cedar Sinai Medical Center the other day, he also had the nerve to attempt to get her doctor to give him information on her condition.  As if her doc was not aware that Miss Presley was not Mrs. Jackson anymore and that Mister Jackson therefore had no right whatsoever to be privy to anything about her health.  A small voice inside whispered that maybe she was wrong, that he probably did have a right to get some information, but she buried it beneath her anger and indignation.

“Miss Presley?  Mister Jackson asked if you could join him in his bedroom suite.  We already had your tea brought up, and he will meet you in the sitting area shortly.”

Just perfect!  This day had gone from bad to abominable.  If there was another place on earth she wanted to be less than in the receiving salon of Neverland, it was in Michael’s private quarters.  Why could he not at least meet her on somewhat neutral territory?  His bedroom suite held all kinds of memories she wanted to avoid right now.  She was still too raw from having finally broken away from him.  Part of her was scared to death that all it would take was to be in the familiar surroundings, to see his smile, look into his eyes, and once again, for the millionth time, cast her firm resolve to leave off with her panties.  Well, not this time, she reminded herself.  Things had progressed too far.  Furthermore, from the icy tone of his voice on the phone, he was not in business of seducing her anymore.  What was wrong with her to feel annoyed and hurt at that thought?

She decided to save her strength for the real battle and made her way to his bedroom suite.  Let him have this small victory. She knew the way only too well, having spent enough time at the main house to find her way around in the dark.  That was if it was not cluttered by new toys or mannequins.  She entered beneath those two figures of children holding hands over the bedroom door.  She really hated those figures- they gave her the creeps.  Whatever happened to thinking they were charming and that his eccentricities were cute and quirky?

Lisa quickly scanned the room, but other than noticing a tray of tea and her favorite cookies on the coffee table, she discovered it to be empty. 

“Michael? If you don’t get your ass down here this very minute, you will be so sorry. I’m not in the mood…”

He appeared on the top of the stairs, dressed in the omnipresent red shirt and black jeans.  He wore his fedora, but obviously had decided to not piss her off too much by wearing his aviators inside as well.  Lucky for him, as she would have wrapped them around his neck given her present disposition.

“Could you please refrain from shouting in my house?  You made your presence known already; I just had to finish up some important stuff. Would it kill you to not be so rude?” His tone was chilly to say the very least.   The face she knew to be capable of reflecting every emotion known to mankind was a calm mask.

“Well, since it took fifteen minutes to clear my car to drive up, and your flunkies told you an hour ago I was here, you had ample time to finish whatever business you were engaged in.  And don’t worry- I won’t keep you long.”  Her plans to disarm him with her calm behavior went out the window as her irritation rose.

How could he stay so damn cold and calm.  Was he not hurting?  Was he over her for good this time?  Oh, shut up, Lisa, you dummy.  Isn’t that what you wanted?

“No one asked you to stay, anyway.  And I also don’t recall having invited you. So say what you have to say and then get out.”

Lisa’s eyes narrowed.  She was not used to him being so utterly rude and cold.  Even in their fights, he usually showed that she got under his skin; even if it was by him losing his tempter. Plus, as she remembered the chain of events, it was he who basically had ordered her to appear in his kingdom.  She could have addressed her concerns very well in a safe manner over the phone.

“Jim got me some tea, if that’s ok with you.  Can I sit?”  Without waiting for his permission, she turned and sat down.

Michael continued to observe her after she made her way to the couch.  She looked so pale and thin.  He had watched over the security monitors as she got out of the car and waited restlessly downstairs.  Her appearance had shocked him in more ways than one.  She was dressed in jeans and a white shirt, making her seem very young and very vulnerable.  Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore little make-up.  Her eyes seemed to be dark and huge against the pallor of her skin, and he could not help but notice the dark circles marking illness or sleepless nights.  He had decided to not let on just how worried he had been.  She was probably mad like a nest of hornets after finding out he had trailed her to the hospital and tried to get some information.  Well, let her have her fit.  Maybe he could provoke her into filling him in what exactly was going on.  He knew her well enough to know the best way to get under her skin was by acting aloof.  This had worked perfectly when they hooked back up after she got over Debbie being pregnant the first time around.

Michael made his way down the stairs and then stopped short of the sitting area.  She took a sip of her tea and he noticed the trembling of her hand.  His training to be controlled came in handy as he set his face and waited for her to speak.  She sat the tea down and became mesmerized stirring it.  Michael shifted his weight to one leg and braced his hand on his hip, trying to decide if he should wait for her or come out swinging.  Finally, the clinking of the spoon against the cup was too much to bear.  He waited for her to raise it again, taking another sip.

“Seems a bit out of the way to just sit here and drink tea.”

The cup met up with the saucer in a loud clank. Lisa put both down on the table and clasped her hands in her lap.  She kept her eyes on the cup as if composing her thoughts. When she finally looked up at him, he was startled by the fatigue he detected.  As much as her bitchiness always had annoyed him, it worried him to see her without her usual fighting spirit.

“Cut the crap.  You know why I’m here.  Are you going to tower over me or are you going to sit down so we can talk like civilized people?”

Ok, maybe her fighting spirit was not totally gone.  He chose to ignore her question.

“I assume you are a bit upset that I tried to find out about your hospital stay.”

“A bit upset?  Are you nuts?  For starters, you had no right to be at my house at the crack of dawn, stalking me, nor was it alright to follow me around town, and most of all, you had no right whatsoever to ask any medical questions of anyone.  I thought the deal was that I was on the outs if I chose to leave that day? I accepted that, why can’t you?”

“Then, why did you call me?”

“I called, because...because… Fuck it, Michael, who cares why I called?  Stop changing the subject.  We are talking about you not me.”

She had jumped up and was standing in front of him, her hands balled into fists in anger.  He had to fight hard to keep his composure.  She was so cute, standing there like a little, angry girl.  All that was missing was her stomping her foot.  Time to really give her something to chew on.

“Are you pregnant?”

Stunned, she blinked repeatedly and her face flushed before going pale.  He loved surprise attacks.  Her mouth gaped open and she looked like a fish out of water before she took a deep breath and fired back.

“Are you on drugs again?  You’ve lost it.  I see it is not use to try and talk sense into you.  I’m leaving.” Turning, she retrieved her purse and he took the opportunity to take a step closer. 

“It’s a simple question.  You are sick, and you keep it secret.  I figured you either got knocked up by Danny again and don’t want me to know, or you are pregnant with my baby and you also don’t want me to know to punish me.”

Her eyes narrowed as they shot poisonous darts at him.

“Knocked up? You think I got pregnant by Danny?  You are such a bastard!”

Her hand came flying toward his face, but having survived almost ten years of this he was well prepared and caught it without any problem whatsoever. Outwardly, he remained calm even as he boiled on the inside.

Why would she not just answer the question?  All she had to do was tell him if she was pregnant and if it was his child.  Part of him still found it difficult to believe that she would sleep with Danny at the same time she had been giving it to him, but how in the world could he be sure?  How crazy that with all the threat of paternity suits out there, she was the one person who might not want to carry his baby.

“Can you act like an adult for like two minutes, Lisa?  Just answer my question.  If the kid is mine we can talk about how I can be a part in its life, and if not, answering will get you what you want, which is me out of your life forever.”

“I don’t owe you shit, least of all an answer.  You never changed, Michael.  Everything is always about you.  And you think you can use people as if they are disposable.  Get what you want, then throw them away. Well, guess what, I am not your little plaything any longer and I am not your baby machine, either.  If I was pregnant, and the baby was yours, you can be fucking sure as hell that I would have gotten an abortion by now, you sick lunatic.”

Lisa was stunned by her own venomous words and could for one second not fathom they had spilled from her lips.  She saw him flinch and immediately felt deep regret about having lost control.  How did he provoke this ugliness?  The sudden look of shock that had penetrated his cold mask was a perfect reflection of her inner state. 

“You don’t mean that; you could never do that. I know you better than that.  Why would you even say such a horrible thing?” 

Tears appeared in his eyes, and Lisa could not hold eye contact. No, of course she did not mean a word of it, but maybe it was for the best to make him think she was a stone cold bitch.  Maybe this was her ticket to keep him away from her for good.

“You don’t know shit, Michael.  What we had is dead. You mean nothing to me, and therefore everything connected to you means nothing.  How deluded were you to think I cared for you?  How deluded was I?  We just used each other, and that was it.  I don’t love you.  I don’t want you, I can’t even stand to see your face anymore. All I have left is disgust.”  Lisa turned to leave, seeing his frozen silence as her escape route.  The look of pain and deep hurt that flashed in his eyes distracted her for just one second too long.  He grabbed her arm harshly as she tried to rush out, causing her to stumble against him. Lisa struggled against his grip, trying to pull away.

“Get your hands of me, Michael, I am serious.”

“Oh yeah? I really disgust you?  Well, we’ll see, you little bitch…”

Michael felt anger like he never believed to be capable of.  It seemed that everything was bathed in the red haze surrounding him. On second thought, he knew he had been this angry before, but not in a really, really long time.  He felt trapped and cornered, without a way out.  He also was hurt beyond belief.  She knew that he was always afraid of coming across like a disgusting freak to those around him.  She knew how all the misconceptions swirling around about him were a perfect mirror for his own internal insecurities.  So many instances in his life flashed through his mind that carried the theme of being powerless and under someone else’s control.  He had been trapped by his father’s temper and expectations, by Diana’s games, by the twisted tangles of the law that ordered him to strip naked in front of strangers.  He had felt small, insignificant, and disgusting then.  Well, Lisa was not about to use her knowledge of his fears and struggles against him.  She was not disgusted by him and he would prove it to her before he kicked her out on her treacherous ass.

He pulled her close by the wrists he continued to hold in his grip.  Lisa struggled against him. “Let me go, Michael, I am not playing.”

In a surprise move, he let go and her momentum made her fall back into the couch behind her. With catlike speed he was over her, his legs on either side of her thighs as he pinned both her arms to her side.  Kneeling over her, he used her surprise to immobilize her.  She struggled before going still.  His face was mere inches from hers.  Her gasping breath was on his skin, her eyes had teared up, and she stared up at him through a haze of silver.  Her mouth was slightly open and drew his attention as her lip darted out to wet her lips.  Through the fog of red hot anger, he felt another very familiar sensation, as he noticed that his intense arousal had started to crush his penis in his jeans.  With Lisa, anger and unimaginable sexual tension seemed to go hand in hand.  While his desire to wring her neck had only diminished slightly, he now found it impossible to fight the desire to see what that moist, hot mouth could do.  Just the thought of her velvet tongue on any part of him sent electric currents through him.

Lisa must have read his thoughts as her eyes found the source of his discomfort.  She noticed her own response in the fluttering of her womb, the tightening of her nipples, and the sudden rush of liquid into her panties.   Their eyes clashed and kept their lock as his mouth lingered so dangerously close to hers.  She could have moved her head back or to the side, but continued to be held in place by his spell.

“Tell me again, Lise.  Tell me how I disgust you, and walk out that door.”  The voice was dark and barely a whisper.

Her voice seemed to have disappeared.  “Michael…I…”

“Say it…tell me that I disgust you, and that I’m a sick freak.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Mike.  I did not mean that. Please…”  This time her head did move.  But instead of evading his lips, she placed a soft kiss on them, allowing only the softest contact.

His eyes closed and he struggled to not surrender to the tenderness rising from deep within. It was much healthier to hold on to anger and hostility for now.  Why had she changed her tune now?  This woman never ceased to confuse him.

When he opened his eyes again, he could not pull himself away from her gaze bearing into him.  She kissed him again, her tongue tracing his mouth before she gently bit his bottom lip, then sucked on it.  His penis reacted by threatening to break through his zipper, and he heard his own pulse thundering in his ears.  With ultimate control, he kept passive.  His teeth were clenched together and his jaw set.  Lisa tilted her head to change the angle of her little kisses, but kept her eyes on him.

“Open up, Mike, let me kiss you.” He was amazed he could make out her whisper.

“I thought I disgusted you.” His voice sounded strange and labored.  Surely, the small sentence did not cause him to be this breathless?

Her mouth decided to try another route to get him to soften up when she placed small, wet, kisses accompanied by gentle bites on his neck.  Goosebumps raced up and down his body.  It seemed that only minutes ago he had set out to prove something to her when somehow she had decided to throw him off track.  He definitely did not trust the peace.  Lisa never gave in this easy. 

Coherent thought was becoming increasingly more difficult and he closed his eyes again, surrendering momentarily to the feeling of her hot lips, tongue, and breath on his skin.  If he was not careful, there would not be any blood left in the head he needed to keep his wits about him.

“Mike, I am so sorry.  I should not have said what I did.  You have never disgusted me, and you know it.” She forced the words out between kisses.  Michael realized he still had her arms pinned to the side and that therefore, theoretically, he was in charge. He raised his torso, removing his face and neck from her control.  Lisa’s eyes left his face and she stared at the huge bulge before her eyes.  Her lips glistened and again, her tongue darted out ever so slightly.  Michael swallowed with difficulty.

“Oh, yeah, all I hear are words.  Prove it, Lisa.”  Her eyes shot up to meet his and she thought she would go up in flames from the fire raging in their dark depths.  She tried to move her hands that were still held immobile by him.  Michael must have felt her movement and he slowly guided her hands toward her goal until the warmth of her palms burned him through the denim.  He felt like a schoolboy, wondering how long he would last before he would cum in his pants.  Finally, Michael released her wrists and his hands came to rest on her shoulders instead.  Lisa now was only restrained by his legs on either side of her and the force of her own desire consuming her like a wildfire.  The latter was the real force keeping her spellbound and in place.

Lisa noticed her hands trembled as she slowly opened his zipper.  One hand reached for him finding him hot and rock hard.  Michael’s breath escaped in a hiss and his body was perfectly still- like a loaded spring: tense and ready to strike.  Lisa finally managed to open the button on his jeans, discovering Michael had gone commando yet again.  For someone with his financial means, he sure saved on underwear.

Despite the scorching heat ravaging her from inside, her hands felt cool against his hot flesh.  She had managed to free him and her hands held him in her grip.  His eyes were still on her, and she saw his chest rising and falling rapidly from the increase in his breathing matching her own acceleration in pulse. Unable to control herself, and without any volition to do so, she let her hand move his smooth flesh up and down the steel center, watching glistening precum appear from the sensitive opening revealing itself to her.  Swallowing hard, she realized she was parched and the liquid beckoned her, tempting her to quench her thirst.  For the life of her, she could not remember the reason for her visit.  Her only remaining goal was to give him pleasure and to prove to him that he was the most desirable man in the world.  Initially, her plan had been to distract him from asserting his power, but she had fallen victim to her own plotting.  All she saw now was his engorged penis in her hands, and his beautiful eyes still stealing her soul.

When Lisa’s tongue darted out this time, she gently licked his staff from root to tip, causing Michael to tremble and steady himself as he held on to her shoulders.  His head fell back as Lisa continued her gentle licks, before she finally, when he thought he was no longer able to take the torture, let her hot mouth swallow the length of him almost whole.  A sigh escaped his throat and he was amazed how close to a sob the sound seemed.  One hand left her shoulders and fisted in her hair, forcing her head close to him, making her take as much of him as she could stand.  He felt himself hitting her throat as his hip forcefully shot forward. 

“Oh God, girl, you are so good.  Come on, you know you want to take it all. Oh, Gosh, I missed you so much.” For one second he wondered if it was wise to admit this truth, but then all doubts were once again drowned out by the tsunami of his desire fueled like an atomic bomb by her mouth.

Lisa answered with a purring sound that reverberated along his penis and forced even more blood into his already rock-hard erection. Her tongue wound around him, her hand was still on him, her mouth sucking his cock, while his other hand came around and held on to his rear.  Lisa felt his penis grow and twitch as she let her tongue trace his throbbing veins.  She tasted the salty precum again, and longed to be fed his honey.  Her own arousal had mounted to incredible heights, and she noticed the throbbing of his penis was mimicked by the pulsing in her clitoris. Her eyes opened and she reveled in the sight of Michael’s head which was thrown back in oblivious delight.  Beats of sweat had started to appear on his porcelain skin, and he bit his sensual bottom lip, trying to contain his sobs. She could tell he was close to his eruption, and she increased the pressure of her lips and the grip of her hand on him.  The pitch of his sobs changes and a look akin to pain spread on his features as she felt his penis engorge one more time, threatening to gag her.  When the floodgates opened she was ready, greedily lapping up what he fed her, unwilling to be deprived of even the tiniest drop. 

Michael saw stars as he was overtaken by a powerful orgasm, his seed being forced from him in convulsive jets, making his whole body convulse as wave after wave took his breath away.  His lungs felt on fire as breathing became labored and almost impossible.  His heart felt close to bursting and rays of light and intense pleasure threatened to blind him. Lisa continued to suckle on him and milk him until he thought he would die.  When she finally let up, she licked him clean like a kitten before looking up at him.  Finally, he was able to open his heavy eyes again, blinking like a man who had stared into the sun too long.  The sight of her swollen, wet lips, and her glistening eyes took his breath away and he bent down to kiss her gently. Michael moved one leg and sat down, pulling her with him. Their tongues danced and Lisa melted into him, soft and pliant for a second.  When Michael opened his eyes again, he noticed tears on her cheeks.  Was she sorry?  Was she upset she had given in to him? 

Feeling his eyes on her, she pulled back. She read the question and shook her head.

“Oh no, oh crap.  Not again.  I need to get out; I need to get away from you…” 

“But Lisa…”

“No, no, don’t say it.  I gotta get out.”

She jumped up and headed for the door.  Surprised by his own speed given his disheveled state, he managed to catch her before she reached the door.  Once again, he pulled her back, knowing full well her tiny frame was no physical match for him. 

“Will you stop this nonsense?  Where the hell do you think you are running to?  We are not done here- and I think you know it.”

Lisa stared at him as their eyes engaged in silent battle.  One second he was sure she was going to fight and yell, before she sank onto the stairs leading up to his bedroom and started crying softly.  All he could do was stare at her before he sank down next to her helplessly.

30

Lisa wept quietly while Michael sat by her side feeling quite helpless and slightly bewildered.  He glanced over at her, biting his lip, unsure of what to do about this development.  She had never been the silently crying type. Yelling and crying usually happened simultaneously or she had just stubbornly locked herself away when not being able to fight back tears any longer.  To be truthful, Michael knew he held the record for tears spilled in their relationship, which at some point had led Lisa to sarcastically ask him to not be such a ‘cry baby.’ Well, who was the cry-baby now?   For just a second, a small, childish part deep inside considered rubbing that fact in, but an even greater, more mature and protective part felt like wrapping her up in his arms and taking her pain, whatever the cause, away.

Finally, one of the warring entities succeeded in attaining the upper hand.  Driven by a life of its own, Michael’s arm reached across her shoulders. Her muscles tightened for an instant before she sunk against him in surrender.  Dammit- why was he not mad anymore? Sure, the blowjob had been great as his arousal had been fueled by hurt and fury at her words.  Still, he had planned to hold on to those sentiments, forcing her to confess what was really going on before throwing her out of the house.  If Lisa had really meant what she said about wanting to abort his baby, he had to realize this woman he thought he knew inside and out was really a stranger.  No, really it was so much worse than her being a stranger. If life had taught him anything, it was that the greatest danger emanated not from strangers but from those working hardest to snow him into believing they were his allies. Was she one of those pretenders?  Had he been this wrong about her?  Had Debbie been right and he could not trust Lisa anywhere around him? He just could not make himself believe that she had been serious.  Something else was going on.  And he did not intend to let her leave before she spilled her beans.  The sexual distraction had been nice, but she was not about to use her wiles to make him forget his questions.

The constant flow of tears decreased down to a steady trickle before finally ebbing away. Lisa realized her head was against his shoulder and her body was molded into his as if she was seeking shelter from a storm.  Several dark stains adorned his shirt now.  They no doubt originated from her tears and, well, from that damn runny nose that always seemed to accompany her really intense crying spells.  As mad as she had been at Michael, currently, her frustration was directed against herself.

What in the world was wrong with her?  She never lost control like this.  It must have been the exhaustion of the past weeks that rendered her a sniveling infant.  And how irritating to have this breakdown in front of him, when she needed every ounce of strength to project the image of the independent woman who no longer needed or wanted him. If only the arm around her did not feel so comforting and so right. If only she was not still a quivering mess from their earlier confrontation.  If only she did not feel another hot wave of desire rise like yet an additional phoenix from the ashes of the fire that tore her apart just minutes earlier.  He was like the fever she would never be able to shake: her lifelong case of malaria without the benefit of quinine.  No, she had to fight this.  She could not afford to just let this crazy need for him consume her soul.

Lisa straightened and tried to shrug off the arm that stubbornly tightened across her.

“I’m fine, you can let me go now.”

“You don’t seem fine.”

She sniveled and he handed her a handkerchief from his pocket.   The old fashioned gesture made her heart give a tight squeeze. Lisa blew her nose noisily, resulting in Michael making an odd face.  Still holding the hanky to her nose, her eyes widened.

“What?”

He tried hard to hold back a giggle. “That was really gross.”

They stared at each other for about two seconds before bursting out into a chorus of laughter.  In no time at all, tears of a different kind were being shed and Lisa thought for one second that she must have lost her mind.  She was mad at him, why in the hell was she laughing?  There wasn’t anything funny about this situation! Still, oddly enough the sounds of their laughter provided soothing balm to her festering wounds.

Michael regarded Lisa’s doubled over form, marveling at her being completely lost in the fit of laughter they both had been trapped in.  The abandon with which she now giggled was almost identical to her earlier crying.  In the past, he had often envied her ability to carry her emotions on her sleeve, when he had learned the hard way that it served him much better to keep his emotional stated well hidden as long as he was not on stage.  Showing feelings to him was similar to holding up a target while being surrounded by arrows swooping by.  Had not Lisa herself ridiculed his pain and despair during the disastrous last months of their marriage, when in the past she had plead with him to just open up to her? With her though, he hardly ever had to guess how she was feeling.  He envied her childlike emotional directness- even as it scared him at times.

When Lisa finally raised her eyes up to his, her irises were a bright cobalt blue, reminding him of the clear azure sky after a torrential storm.  The rest of her presented a less romantic image: her face was a mess, her nose still red, and her hair had started to curl in little wisps around her moist cheeks.  Still, in that moment she could not have appeared more beautiful to him had she been attired in jewels and silk. His Lisa, his little girl… Before he knew what he was doing, his hand reached out and his palm tentatively caressed her cheek.  Immediately her laughter ceased and the careless, childlike expression fell away to be replaced by her mask of insecurity and confusion. 

Michael’s eyes narrowed. Why was she confused?  She was the one holding all the answers here. 

“Lise, don’t be scared.  I won’t hurt you, princess.  I could never hurt you. Just tell me what is going on with you?  What’s wrong?  I won’t be mad.  Just tell me.  I have been going insane…”

Her eyes teared up again, but she caught herself and hid behind a sarcastic smile.  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Don’t do this.  Let me in.” His tone remained calm and serious.

For one small second Lisa thought aliens had abducted her and had switched out her and Michael’s brains in a very cruel experiment.

“That’s my line.”

He giggled. “True. I guess I heard it one too many times.”

She lowered her head, a sad smile on her lips.  “Look, I just came to make you understand that you made the choice to end it for good, and that it is really difficult to stay away when you show up where you have no business being. You can’t just call my house from the curb at 6 am, and you cannot follow me around town.”

“I made the choice? As I recall it, you walked out.  I mean, why am I surprised?  And this time, all I did was ask you a question.” Michael zeroed in on one aspect of her little speech, purposely ignoring the part of her instructing him what he could not or should not do. 

Lisa closed her eyes in exasperation for a second before she answered. “You disguised an accusation as a question.  You threw your weight around, trying to butt in on when I see Danny, without even asking what was going on.”

“I… You asked me to get your call, and then uhm, then you acted like it was a secret.”

For some reason, Michael’s pouting tone reminded her of Ben right now, trying to justify why he had snuck cookies before dinner.  She had to keep her guard up and be very careful.  Just like Ben was known to be able to sway his mother with his charms, Michael also had ways to sneak past her defenses and rules. Lisa straightened and reached out to touch his knee.

“The point is you made the right call.  It was time to end this…whatever it was.”

“Whatever, Lisa.  If you don’t love me anymore, just say it, and stop hiding behind some righteous indignation.  You could have stayed.” He moved his leg and her hand fell away. 

“For what?  For more sex?”

He lowered his gaze and mumbled under his breath, “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Dammit, Michael.  It’s not enough anymore.  What are we?  What were we all this time? We certainly were more than friends but less than lovers.  You wouldn’t commit to me again.  Or maybe you couldn’t- and still can’t.  I really don’t think you ever planned to.  Maybe you just can’t be married. Maybe that’s it. Well, I am done playing around.  I need to have a family, and I want it with the man I love.”

“What do you mean I can’t be married? I am married.  What are you talking about?” He raked his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Yes, and your marriage is the shining example of how all successful marriages should be? Are you happy with her?”

“You want me to be happily married to Debbie?”

“Are you missing the point on purpose, Mike? I want you to be married to me.  I want you to be with me, and I want everything else to be less important than our family. But you can’t do that, can you?  Every time we come this close you pull away like a scared bird.”

“I have no clue what you are talking about.  Are you saying, I’m scared? I am not fucking scared. No one can get to me- I’m way too tough. I’ve been through enough attacks for a lifetime- and I survived.”

“Yes, you sure did.  But you are also afraid. You are scared to death ‘cause you know I can get to you like no one else.   You know how I know that?  Because it’s the same with me.  I fucked up, ok?  I got frightened and I listened to my mother, and Danny, and whoever else told me that you were just using me.  I admitted that already.  I fucked up and played games and lost you. But you ran scared, too.  And now you are running scared again, and all this bullshit about you thinking that Danny is fucking me is just a load of crap you are hiding behind.” Her voice had risen to a level she knew he was uncomfortable with, but she was just not able to hold back her frustration any longer.

Michael was biting his lip.  No, she was wrong.  He had no reason to be frightened.  He had everything he needed. 

Everything except the one woman he had felt safe with after all these years of feeling threatened and used by those using their sexuality to get a little piece of him.

Michael reminded the annoying inner voice that Lisa, too, had betrayed him.  Just like all the others. She had thought she could control him with her pouting and threats.  Her attempts to bully him had backfired, though. 

She had not only hurt herself.  You got messed up, too.

No, he was just fine.  She just had to shut up and stop confusing him.  Yes, that was it: he had to silence Lisa to mute his own doubts.

To achieve that goal, he made the move that stunned them both.  He reached out, his hand fisting in her hair, pulling her toward him urgently.  All this damn talking was getting them nowhere and certainly not anywhere near the truth.  Maybe he could mellow her out enough to become careless. Lisa’s mouth had opened in protest and he used the small advantage to plunder her sweet lips with his.  Her taste went straight to his head as static currents leaped from one nerve cell to the next at the touch of her hot tongue.  For a split second he feared she might retaliate for the surprise attach by biting him, before all thought was pulverized by the intense calescent forces racing through him.

Lisa’s body actually maintained the struggle longer than her mouth.  She continued to push against him when her lips already greedily drank him in, her tongue engaged in the sensual dance as if it had a life of its own.  Michael’s lips left hers after he had assured himself that she was reciprocating the passionate exchange and he kissed and licked her neck, paying special attention to the fluttering soft spot at its base, causing a throaty moan to escape, stoking his fire to new heights.

“Fuck it, Mike, we can’t…No…” Her head was thrown back and she reached up to pull his head closer, her fingers entangled in his curls.  Yeah, she was the picture of reluctance.

31

Well, if Lisa thought he would just back down now, she was dead wrong.  The path of kisses ended at her ear. “Shut up, woman; just shut up for once…You always talk too much.”

He nibbled on her earlobe before retracing his path back to that seductive mouth.  Instead of kissing her he just kept his lips close to hers and Lisa jumped into action, her teeth capturing his succulent bottom lip, biting it gently before sucking on it.  She might as well have drawn on his penis, because the effect was almost the same.  He was rock hard once more.  Why, oh why, had he bothered to close his jeans up again?   A barely perceptible whimper escaped from Lisa, and Michael was not entirely clear if she was objecting or urging him on.

“Don’t’ say anything.  Just feel me, feel us.  I need you so much; don’t make me stop, please.” His voice was both a sedative and a stimulant.  Lisa felt utterly defeated and betrayed by her own lack of valid defenses. Barely able to orient herself, she noticed Michael had already started to discard her shirt and was unhooking her bra.  Instead of fighting him off, her treacherous fingers attempted to unbutton that damn red shirt, only to find it was easier to just pull it open, imitating his onstage move, sending buttons flying and rattling away on the hard wood floors.  Next, she found his shirt and lifted it over his head, needing to feel his skin, to kiss his chest, to trace her mouth to his nipples that she found deliciously hard and raised.  He was a heady feast, and kissing him reminded her of vanilla and cinnamon.  Through the drumfire of her own pulse, she caught Michael’s moans and small cries which served to heighten her state of frenzy.

One more time.  I just want to feel him fill all of me one more single time. This is it; it will last me a life time…I promise…

Lisa was not sure she believed her own lie, but in this moment was as good a rationalization as any.

Michael felt that whatever access he had to her was not enough.  He had managed to free her breast and pushed her off for a second to feast his eyes before his watering mouth reciprocated her treatment.  His lapped and suckled on one rigid peak, before Lisa thought the mixture of pain and pleasure would drive her insane, and then he switched to the other side.  Lisa had thrown her head back and offered her chest to him without further protest, while her hands made the trip from his chest to his abs and found the button and zipper of his jeans.  Michael had raised himself above her on the stairs, providing each lover with improved access to the other. 

Michael let Lisa open his fly, but prevented her from touching the part of him that called out to her to fee him, aiming to prolong the delicious torture.  Also, he found she continued to wear too many clothes entirely.  He grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up, making her scoot up several steps, leaving her sitting slightly above him. Breathless, he looked up at her, mesmerized by the feverish look in her eyes, her tousled hair, and her beautiful breast, the tips still wet and erect.  She was sexual temptation personified and he could not wait to conquer her, proving once again that she was his.

His gaze lowered from her chest to her still clothed hips.

“Take them off.”

Lisa’s eyebrow was raised in that cocky fashion he knew so well. Continuing to hold his gaze, she slowly raised her hands, but instead of stopping at the waist band of her jeans, she let her fingers caress her breast, pinching her nipples, before tracing the swell of her mounds, then enjoying her touch down her abs, followed by tracing the waistband of her pants across her belly.

“Lisa- stop messing around. Take them off. Now!” His voice was a low growl now.

Lisa’s lips formed a small, knowing smile as she leisurely opened the silver button and gradually unzipped.  Michael felt blood rushing through him in torrents, watching her seductive dance as she lifted her hips off the step and then undulated her hips, pulling down her pants.  Sitting back down, she kicked off her shoes and straightened her legs.  Reading the cue, he pulled the pants from her in one swift motion, as Lisa held on to the top stair to remain seated.

“Satisfied?”  The catlike smile radiated as she watched him from below hooded eye lids. Her legs spread on the stairs, causing Michael to swallow hard. 

“Hardly.” His eyes settled on the red lace panties that remained.  For someone just going out to talk to her ex-husband, the little temptress sure wore sexy lingerie. Michael decided now was not the time to question her motives.

Lisa slowly shook her head, daring him to make her follow his command.  Michael paused for a second before he smiled at her. He kneeled on the step below her now.

“Suite yourself.  Spread them wider.” He used his hands to make her follow his command. This time she complied without a second thought.

Michael pulled her panties to the side and used his index finger to trace her opening.  Lisa responded with a drawn out “Ahhh…” as her eyes closed and her lips darted out to wet her pouting lips. 

“So pretty…so wet…so ready.  Tell me who this is for, Princess.”

Opening slightly, her eyes focusing on him as she whispered, “All for you, Daddy.  Only you…”

Having received the confirmation he needed, Michael’s head bent toward her.  Continuing to hold her panties to one side, two fingers of his other hand dipped into her honey pot, enjoying the heat and tight muscles engulfing him.  His penis jumped in his pants in anticipation and with envy.  Michael used his fingers to rotate inside her heat, priming her for later, making her whimper and long for more.  Her hips started to move against him in efforts to adjust the angle so the little swollen knob that had appeared above her entrance would likewise receive stimulating attention.  Michael watched in fascination as the muscles in her lower abs contracted, rippling like snakes under her taunt skin.  She was so thin- was it still possible she carried his child?  He intended to go a bit easy on her this time, not wanting to mess anything up.  Just in case…

Lisa was lost in another universe.  She was resigned to the fact that she would get this one final fix and her body was bathing in purest enjoyment and anticipation.  She was lost in the throes of this all-consuming fire, heated further by his eyes keeping her spellbound, as his fingers stoked the flames higher and higher.  His twisting movements had started to ignite the hidden nerve centers inside, setting off fiery explosives that hurled fireballs of pleasure toward her womb.  If only he would use his tongue, heaven would be so close. 

Michael seemed to have heard her silent plea and, still letting his fingers play her internal chords, used his tongue to flick at her engorged clitoris playfully, watching her hips shoot up toward him as if hit be high power electric shocks.  Her cry of pleasure was answered by his satisfied humming against her.  Lisa was not sure how much longer she would last under his teasing, administration as she held on to the step she was sitting on for dear life, fearing the release she clamored for would launch her off the stair case and straight into another galaxy.  Michael stilled all movement for a small moment, having read her sounds and movements to indicate the impending climax.

“Please, oh, please….don’t stop.  Don’t …,” she whimpered. 

“You like that?”

“I love it.” The reply was forced out between pants.

“Did you miss me?”

“God, yeah.”

“Wanna cum?”

Lisa forced her eyes to open and gave him a serious nod. Michael raised an eyebrow in response.  Damn him! Always playing games! Michael straightened and was standing over her.

“You might wanna help me out of these, then, so I can give you what you really want.”

Lisa lost no time.  She reached up and let her fingers trace over his taut abs for a second, enjoying the shuddering of his muscles, the rippling of his skin, and the sharply indrawn breath.  The admission that she needed him and missed him might have come from her, but his physical reaction left no doubt that her sentiments were reciprocated and that he probably was racing toward his own point of no return. She grabbed the material of his jeans on either side of him and pulled them down, smiling at the sight of his fully engorged penis jutting toward her. Her fingers closed around him before he even managed to step out of his pants.  Lisa’s eyes darted up to see the reaction to her hands caressing him, stroking him, teasing him, and testing his rigidity as well as his endurance.  Michael’s hand came to rest on top of hers.  She watched in amazement as his large palm covered her small hand.  For a second, she thought he might stop her, but looking up, she saw his head was thrown back, his hair curling down his back while his hand followed her motion.  She thought she would melt away from the image of their hands on his cock: hers small and tan, like a little bird under his warm, strong, reassuring touch. 

Finally, he increased the pressure of his grip, stilling her movement.  He sank to his knees, coming to rest between her braced legs.  He started to kiss her knee, placing tender kisses on her skin, while he let his fingers trace the sensitive terrain of her inner thighs, enjoying the ripples of shiver bumps evoked by his grazing touch.  Lisa sat up slightly and pulled him closer, greedily raising his face up to hers, engulfing him with her hot little mouth, while he stayed passive for a small instant, just relishing the feel of her soft lips, the sweet scent of her breath, and the exhilarating taste of the woman he deep down knew he craved with every ounce of his being.  When her tongue entered his mouth he was not able to resist any longer and engaged fully, his tongue now snaking around hers, establishing his dominance.  At the same time, his fingers once again pushed away the now drenched red fabric and, tugging at it, until she raised her hips and he was able to pull it off her.  While his lips never left her, he positioned himself at her entrance, his steel waiting to brand her hot depths.  He backed away, catching his breath, using all his determination and restraint to not ram into her as every cell in his body urged him to do.

“Lise, I don’t want to hurt you.  Is it ok?  I mean, I won’t hurt…anything, right? You would tell me, wouldn’t you?”

His dark eyes drew her into their abyss.  Tenderness spread through her and competed with the hot and heady mix of desire and love. “Mike, don’t worry.  You can’t hurt me when you make love to me.  Please don’t stop, whatever you do, don’t stop.  Only that would hurt me, would devastate me…”

He closed his eyes, unsure what he thought of her answer, but taking from it the only message he could process in his current condition.  When he entered her, he did so slowly and deliberately, letting her experience every last inch. Her eyes closed in time with his weapon marking her as his.  Rays of light spread with the intense heat of his invasion.  Stretched to the limit, the slow way he claimed her was an exquisite contrast to the furious coupling she had anticipated.  When he filled her to the hilt, when she was sure that he had taken up all the spaces of her body as well as her heart, he stilled and it seemed they both opened their eyes at the exact same time, searching for answers to unsolved and possibly unconceived questions.  Michael reached out to trace her cheek at the same time her palm found his face.  He turned and kissed her hand, wanting to somehow preserve this moment to sustain him.

Lisa started to move against him, needing him to provide the friction to boost her further.  Michael obliged and within seconds the previous moment of tenderness was replaced by an increase in speed and energy as Michael followed the urge propelling them to scathing heights.  Hands braced on steps above her, he used the leverage to change the angle and rotation of his thrusts.  All he could think about beside the intense pleasure was that she would not forget this; if she was not already pregnant with his baby, then maybe this would do the trick.  And if not that, than his brand would ensure she was his and his alone.

When had those thoughts started again?  No, these are old considerations.  I don’t want this anymore.  I have given up on wanting her for myself, on wanting our child.  I gave all that up…I thought.

The thoughts registered on a different level as the sights and sounds around him.  He saw Lisa’s reclined head, her face glowing, her eyes closed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.  Her breasts were bouncing before him, her nipples hard and stimulated without having been touched by him. Her noises were gasps and moans, interrupted by her cries of passion, urging him on.  She kept one hand on his hip, the other had snaked around, holding his ass, pressing him into her.  This was all he wanted from her, wasn’t  it? 

Hovering at the brink of a mindshattering orgasm, Lisa sensed some change in him and tried to grasp the meaning.  The driving movement of his hard length had slowed almost imperceptivity and she attempted to penetrate the haze of desire to read beyond his expression of sexual strain and exultation.  Something was different, but her own blood cursing through her veins like a uncontrolled torrent and her nerves approaching the point of electric overload prevented immediate analysis. 

“Baby, are you close, I don’t think I can…” He managed to force out between clenches teeth.

“Oh, fuck yeah, oh baby…oh Mike…” Lisa could not form a more coherent response as her muscles started to tighten and spasm, threatening to rip her apart into a million specs of light.  The tight spiral inside uncurled with fury and she screamed out as wave after wave or intense pleasure kept her gasping for air.  She was surrounded by the most delirious, incredible warmth filling her body, her heat, and her lungs.

Michael felt her throb and tighten to painful levels and watched the pink hue cover her like a fine layer of the lightest silt, knowing it was time to let go.  He had been holding back the flood, but Lisa’s climax provided a surge that the walls of his damn could not withstand.  He had considered driving straight through her peak and making her cum again, but abandoned that plan in the face of not being able to postpone his own pleasure any longer.  When the tsunami hit, he thought the force would lift Lisa off the stairs.  He noticed her scooting up and worried about hurting her back before all thought was drowned out by the crashing rhythm of his pulsating orgasm.

“Damn it, Princess.  Oh my God- oh, I love you.  Fuck…” His face was contorted in a painful grimace as he, too, rode from peak to peak, wondering if the release of his hot seed would ever stop.  He heard Lisa moan again and realized that his crashing release had thrown her back into the pool of pleasure, as he enjoyed the fluttering and tightening of her walls against him once more.

He heard her repeating his name over and over as she covered his shoulders in kisses, clinging to him for dear life. In response, Michael’s arms tightened around her and he pulled her close as their hearts picked up a similar crazy beat, communicating across the thin barrier of their chests.

He thought he heard a sound, but decided it must have been one of the gardeners on the outside.  He kept his eyes closed, his head resting against Lisa’s shoulder, as she was on his, both caught up in the soothing music of their recovering breathing.

“If you two are quite done, I would really appreciate if you got dressed and came downstairs, Michael.  Maybe you should lock your door when you decide to give your little toy another spin next time.”

Both Michael and Lisa froze and turned in horror, facing the red, angry face of Mrs. Debbie Jackson.

(to be continued)

 

©2012 Erika B Michaels. All Rights Reserved. This story is a work of fiction. Any names, places, and other identifying features are used in a fictional manner, for entertainment purposes only, and are in no way representative of actual events. This work may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or stored without expressed written permission by Erika B Michaels. All photos and images, mentioned songs or song titles are copyright their creators. ABSOLUTELY no disrespect is intended to any persons portrayed in this work.