Desire: Love and Passion (17 page)

"I wanted to say hello," Stacey said.

The body guard stepped back and now there was no one between her and James. She glanced around furtively to see where the woman had gone. She was nowhere in sight.

"I haven't heard from you since the last dinner," Stacey said. “What has it been, three months? I called a few times.”

"I've been busy," he replied.

"I didn't realize you had a date for this event."

"I came alone," he said. 

"Oh. You didn't have to." 

Of course, she saw
him
when he
’d
arrived. He was alone.

"Actually," he said. "I don't mind going dateless. You get to meet some interesting people."

He was talking to her but his eyes had wandered off. Stacey followed his gaze. It was that woman. She was talking to Sir Donald Galleon, a noted deep sea expedition diver. There was no flirting this time, just a serious conversation. Sir Donald on the other hand looked as if he could barely contain himself.

“Excuse me for a minute,” James said.

Stacey watched as he moved off in the direction he was gazing. She watched as James shook hands with the diver. The three seemed to chat for a while then Galleon left. James and the woman disappeared to another shadowy alcove in the gallery. They shared a brief kiss before James whispered in her ear. She smacked him lightly, almost playfully on the chest then they shared another kiss.

When Stacey saw them together again, James was introducing her to his cousin, the King of England and his wife. Rumors were, the two did not talk, but that did not seem to be the case as they smiled and seemed to be having easy conversation.

“You two have to come for dinner,” the King said.

“Why give the press an opportunity to write nonsense about us?” James said.

“I’m sure once they see you with this beauty they w
ill
have better rumors to write.”

“We’ll think about it,” James said. “After all, we
’
re enjoying this period of privacy.”

“Yes, I noticed you arrived alone.”

“It was nice seeing you two,” James said. “And congratulations on the third little prince.”

Stacey caught the woman just as she entered the posh wash room.

“Hi,” Stacey said.

“Hello.”

“I’m Stacey Adams,” the woman extended her hand.

“I know,” Willow said taking her hand.

Stacey was using her married name.

“I noticed you were with James earlier,” Stacey said. “Are -.”

“None of your business,” Willow said before Stacey could finish. 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Willow said. “If you have questions about James, ask him, not me.”

Stacey was completely taken aback by the response. The woman had summed her up in one quick glance and worse, she hadn
’
t even supplied a name. Stacey watched as the woman applied lip gloss, smiled at her deviously then left the restroom. Stacey was furious.

Maybe it was the jealously that Willow had seen in Stacey’s eyes or
maybe it was because of their r
use of meeting like strangers at a party, but as soon as he got in the house that night, she wanted him.

She met him at the door. She went into his arms immediately. Her mouth glided down his neck as she pushed off his dinner jacket. She pushed him against a wall and pushed up against him. 

He was surprised and loved her attitude. He turned so she was against the wall and pressed his lean muscular body into her, kissing her neck as she reached for the zipper of his pants. His hands pushed the designer dress up. She felt a tug at her briefs. She heard and felt
them
ripped away from her. He lifted her slightly. Willow moaned as she felt him enter her body.  She adjusted her
self
so she could wrap her legs around him. She ripped at his shirt, wanting to feel him naked under her arms.

James could feel the outlines of her garter belt and he loved it. He loved that she still wanted him as much as he wanted her. Moving in had not slowed their love making but had tempered their desire somewhat. 

He had never been this hard or rough with her and she was encouraging him, her hands finding the wa
ll
behind her, her back arching and she was moaning his name over and over. He felt her tremble against him, felt the first wave of her orgasm push against him. He slammed into her again.
H
e twisted her head and bit into her neck as he came deep inside her.

“I was worried we were fizzling,” he said.

“That will never happen,” she said. “We’re still missing wine and candles.”

“Why haven’t we done that in the six months we’ve been together?”

“Who can think candles when I just want you?”

She pulled down her dress and he pulled up his pants and zippered them. He took her
hand and they went upstairs.
The
y
undress
ed
and had a warm shower together.

A loud s
cream woke her from her sleep. She turned to look at him. He was screaming in his sleep.
His hands were balled into fists and he was tossing and turn
ing.
Fo
r a moment she was frightened. He had never done this before. She reached out and shook him.
He pushed her away with such force she t
umbled to the edge of the bed.
Her side rammed against the bedside table as
she tried to get her balance.
She was shocked.

He was mumbling incoh
erently now and still tossing.
He was sweating profusely now.  He was s
till sleeping, still dreaming.
This t
ime she climbed on top of him.
With all the might she could muster, she held his hands at his sides.

“James!”
s
he shouted.

His eyes flew open and he looked at her dazed and confused still thrashing beneath her.

“James,” she said his name again and this time it registered. She felt him relax under her grip. “Honey you were having a bad dream.”

“Did I hurt you?”
h
e asked.

“We’ve had rougher tumbles,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” his reply was breathy.

“What were you dreaming about?”

“I don’t know.”

Willow knew he was lying, but she didn
’
t push. She got off him and laid beside him, pulling him into fierce hug, trying to beat the nightmare away.

James saw the bruise just below her waist as she was getting dressed in the morning. He didn’t ask about it. He tried to remember if he could have hurt her downstairs when they had ravished each other. He did
n
’
t
think so. He felt even worse when she winced pulling on her skirt.

“Are you okay?”
h
e asked her as he pulled on his jacket.

“I’m perfect,” she said. “I have to remember walls are not kind to backsides.”

“I’m sorry if -.”

“Not your fault,” she brushed him off easily. “It was my idea, remember. No more mid-week partying.”

He nodded.

He thought about her all day. He knew something happened in the night. Did he hurt her? He
just
wasn’t sure.

He knew what the nightmares were about. They had started creeping back into his life the moment he had decided he wanted to ask her to marry him. They started subtly at first, a tiny glimpse here and there, but then they got bolder and he was losing control. He had only been searching for small pieces to tell her. There were small bits that would not have exposed the monster that was buried inside. He just had to find them.

He was better with her. He hadn’t done the right thing with the aid package because he wanted to. He did it because he knew she expected him to. She had told him that in her kitchen.

It took him two years to bury the monster, to lock it neatly away in the far corners of his mind. The box came undo
ne
with
four words,
I love you James
. He’d str
uggled to get the lid back on.
Their lovemaking hadn’t lost its spark because of her
or
anything she did. It was because of him. Because every time he held her, every time he buried himself inside he could feel it there, scratching at the surface.

She was on her laptop when he got home. She’d already showered. He saw the tiny wet spot on her blouse when he bent to kiss her. She had an ice-pack on the bruise.

“How was your day?”
h
e asked.

“Short,” she said. “How was yours?”

“I
’
m thinking this next trip to New York will be my last as a trade envoy,” he said.  “I think it
’
s unfair leaving Cassandra with the new CEO.”

“Is he being a brute?”

“She values a paper education over real life experience. Hence Cassandra does not meet her standards.”

“How good is this CEO?” Willow asked.

“She’s on top of everything. I just think that while she will make the shareholders very happy, she will run the office as a twentieth century well-oiled machine rather than a twenty-first century retreat from overbearing bosses.”

“Have you spoken to her?”

James watched her wince as she adjusted in the chair.

“Are you okay?”
h
e asked again.

“Yes. So
,
have you spoken to her?”

“I was thinking maybe if I invited her and her husband over for dinner with us and Cassie she might loosen up a bit.”

“Dinner is a good idea, but all bosses are d
ifferent,” Willow said.
“Without Nancy
,
I think my company would fall apart at the seams. I don’t care about balance sheets and showing up at the office
at
eight in the morning. I would rather be outside with my camera. I get a paycheck and a quarterly report of how the business is doing. Even when we weren
’
t making money I couldn
’
t get up the effort to care about the balance sheet as much as she did. Maybe you should allow her to get her own assistant and assign Cassandra a different job.”

“Cassie is my eyes and ears when I’m away.”

“But you hired this woman to be you. You don’t need eyes and ears.”

“I’m sleeping with my brains.”

“Or maybe I’ve screwed all your brains out.”

“Naughty, naughty.”

Her laugh was cut short as she winced and held her side.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.

“Nothing.”

“Will?”

“I hit my side last night,” she confessed.

“Did I do that?”

“You were sleeping.”

“Dam
n
it!”
h
e swore.

“It’s nothing.”

“It is everything,” he said. “How did it happen?”

“I tried to shake you away and I guess you got spooked and threw me across the
bed.”

“I am sorry.”

“You were having a nightmare. It is nothing.”

It was not unusual for Willow to go to be
d
before James, but it was u
nusual for him not to show up.
When she woke at five in the morning, she found his side of the bed still perfectly made. She pulled on a short silk robe over her camisoles and brief
s
and went looking for him.  He was not in any of the guest rooms or the office or the common rooms. She was about to give up when she thought about the basement. She had never been down there. 

Now she descended the stairs, the automatic LED lights guiding her path. The stairs ended in a long hallway. She moved quietly through the gloom. There was a door to her right, she pushed it. The room was empty. In front of her, a dim light streaked out from under a
nother door.
The door was closed, but unlock
ed
. She turned the handle when she heard sounds behind the door. Grunting, growling, she was not sure. Gingerly she pushed it open. He was sleeping, tossing turning, fighting in his sleep. Pillows were strewn every which way.

“James,” she said his name in a whisper. 

He did not respond.

“James,” she almost shouted his name.