My Son (18 page)

Kelly sat at her canvas staring at the oil she was working on.  For just over two weeks she had remained in Claire’s apartment, leaving only to bring back food.  Claire who had only been there for the first couple of days before leaving for her holiday to New Zealand had been kind and patient waiting for her to be able to talk about what had caused her friend so much pain, not even asking where Max was, knowing that the two were connected.

When D
anny had died, it had been Claire who had sat with her and helped pull her from the black abyss that had been her life.  She had made her see that Danny would want her to be happy, and she had been the one who had forced her to go on.  It had been a terrible time for Kelly and she had pulled through thanks both to her friends support and to Max coming into her life.  However, now Kelly was dealing with two losses, the loss of her beloved son, and the man with whom she had fallen so deeply in love with.

Now as then, Claire
had insisted that she stay with her, concerned at the deep depression her friend seemed to be in, as she had waited for her to open up.  For the first day Kelly had stayed curled up in her bed sobbing quietly.  On the second day she had finally told her everything, lying curled up in a pathetic ball on the chair, her voice emotionless, her lovely eyes so dead.

“You did the right thing”
Claire had consoled her friend softly.  “It might not feel it now but you know you did” holding her as Kelly had once more started sobbing

That had been
nearly a fortnight ago and Claire had wanting to cancel her holiday to New Zealand, Kelly insisting that she go, begging for some time alone

“Please Claire
, it will give me some time to get my head together” She had said, before Claire had finally agreed to continue with her plans ensuring she had all of her contact information if she needed her.

As she couldn’t move back to her own flat which was still being rented for
at least another month, Claire had insisted that she stay in hers, and so it was that she found herself painting in her friends large sun filled living room.

For the first week she hadn’t even bothered
working, just sitting staring blankly at the television not taking in any of the programs being shown.  All she could see were the faces of Max, smiling lovingly at her and Marc with his fringe falling over his eyes while flashing her one of those heart stopping smiles. 

However,
slowly she had returned to her work hoping that this return to some form of normality would help.  She had only completed the designs for Philips job 2 days previously sending them off to his office, hoping that he would like them.  However, she had not given him her address, requesting that he contact her publisher if he needed to speak to her.  Deep down she knew that Philip would feel the need to talk to her and she couldn’t handle seeing him or ruining his happiness with Theresa.  She had also included a card which she had created herself congratulating them on their engagement.  With a small frown she had suddenly remembered that she had not even told her publisher where she was, with a mental note to herself to rectify that as soon as possible.

Claire would be home tomorrow she
had thought to herself suddenly glad to have someone to talk to again.  She had frowned slightly, once more thinking about the future, not wanting to live with Claire for another month.  Her friend had her own life, and although she knew that she would insist on her staying, Kelly also knew she wanted to be alone.  She had considered her possibilities, renting herself for a month or moving into a hotel, but with a sigh she had once more pushed the decision to the back of her mind.

When the door bell rang, she
had considered ignoring it, having little interest in company.  However, Claire was an avid online shopper and with a sigh she had moved to see what her friend had purchased this time.

Listlessly she
had opened the door expecting to see the delivery man.  However, her heart had fallen to her feet, her legs nearly buckling at the sight of Marc standing on her doorstep.  Looking as handsome as ever and wearing a woollen jumper over jeans encased within a heavy leather jacket to keep out the biting cold, he had glared down at her

“Wh..
what are you doing here?” she had asked in total shock

“What the hell do you think I’m doing here” he
had snapped back angrily, pushing past her into the flat

Kelly could feel her heart beating so fast
within her chest, the tears once more threatening to rise to her eyes as she wanted to run away only stopped from doing so by her feet refusing to move, rooted to the spot.  Marc however had grabbed her arm beneath the elbow, and slamming shut the door, frog marched her into the living room before spinning her around so that he could look into her shell shocked face.

His was black with anger, h
is dark eyes flashing down on her with such intensity that she could feel her hands starting to tremble.

Max, she suddenly thought in
panic “Is Max ok?” she had cried with real fear in her voice

“Max is fine” he
had stated abruptly

“Not that you would care” he added cuttingly

“Then why are you here?” she once again had demanded in a small voice

“To take you home”
his voice harsh “Now get your stuff”

Kelly stood frozen to the spot in confusion. 

“What?” was the only word she could utter, her whole body stunned

“I said get your things.”
He had repeated angrily, his eyes looking around the small flat for her room.  However by now the shock was wearing off Kelly, and standing back she had exclaimed more forcibly than she meant to

“No”

Marc De Santo was not a man who took no for an answer well.

“You can do it yourself Kelly” he
bit out, a dangerously dark tone in his voice “Or I will carry you out”

“Go away Marc” she
had shouted as he had glared down on her, the hair falling over his eye causing Kelly to swallow hard.

“Was it that easy Kelly” he spat at her “To walk out on Max.
. do you have any idea how upset he is?”

Kelly
had held back a sob, her eyes full of the hurt filling her

“Don’t you da
re throw Max at me....You made it very clear that I was only there till he was settled…. then goodbye Kelly”

With that she
had turned her back on him so that he wouldn’t see the tears that had welled up in her eyes threatening to spill over.

There was silence for
several seconds before in a softer more anguished voice he had added

“Was it that easy to walk out on
me?”

At
that the sob had broken from her lips as Marc had turned her round and suddenly she was in his arms, crying against his chest, feeling herself shaking her head as she softly moaned “no…no”

Holding her within his arms t
he anger seemed to have drained from him as she clung to his hard body, before he was kissing her hair her eyes and the tears from her cheeks, finally he was kissing her lips, igniting a need in her that had been suppressed for two long weeks.  He was moaning against her mouth as his hands pulled her tightly against him, as she felt his rising excitement against her sighing softly.  She wanted him so much she allowed herself to be washed away on the desire that was holding them both, why shouldn’t she let herself be happy, why was she fighting him when her whole heart and body yearned to be exactly where she was right now.  Then she remembered why she was here, why she wasn’t still at the villa with him and with a tortured moan she had pulled her lips away from his. 

“No..no Marc” she
had cried before looking into his face, gasping shocked at what she saw.  He looked as though he had been ill, his complexion pale with black lines under his eyes.  Those beautiful eyes which as full of desire as they were held something else, something pained and haunted.  She had never seen him look so vulnerable and at that moment all her resolve had melted away as she had thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him with a hunger he shared. 

So fierce was their need for each other that Kelly was hardly even aware of her fingers tugging and pulling at his jacket even when it landed unheard on the floor
beside them, nor of jumpers and shirts both his and hers being pulled over heads so that their naked flesh could finally touch.  They had kissed and held each other tightly as if afraid to let go, until he had finally scooped her up in his arms demanding to know where the bedroom was, as Kelly had pointed him to a room close by, soon finding herself being gently placed between soft cotton sheets

She
had watched impatiently as he removed the rest of his clothing before gently removing hers, and she marvelled at the hard contours of his long lean body full of such sweet memories.  He in turn had looked down on her with such a look in his eye as to cause her to moan and whisper his name, as he once more joined her, soon kissing her neck and then moving his tongue down to her breasts which longed for his touch.  Taking each in turn he licked and nibbled them until she was out of her mind with such burning desire.  Her hands reached for the hardness of him which dug against her thigh caressing him so as to make him groan with pleasure also.

Their need for each other was raw and desperate
, and as she had opened her thighs for him he had moved over her.  Once more kissing her lips with one arm resting by her head the other moving down to lift her hips he smoothly entered her with one long thrusting movement which saw Kelly instantly peak.  She cried out her whole body alive with such pleasurable sensations, causing her to arch her back and to claw at his.  He could feel the pulsating throbbing of her against him making him quickly join her, his cries mixing with hers, feeling the lightness in his head, as everything else floated away.  There was only her and him and sensations which seemed to go on forever.

As they both became still and quiet they could only lie looking into each other
’s eyes, their breathing ragged.  He was the first to move propping himself on his elbow so that he could look down into her beautifully serene face.  Lazily with his other hand his finger had moved pieces of hair away from her damp forehead and then softly down the contours of her cheek, causing her to smile sweetly up at him

“Why did you go?”

He asked, his face questioning but with no trace of anger just a sadness which tugged at her heart

“I’ve been hunting for you all this time.  I thought I would never find you.  Kelly I was going crazy looking for you” he
had groaned

Kelly’s heart began to thump wildly as she looked back into his eyes which seemed to have come alive again.  The blackness lit with an inner glow.

“Why did you look for me” she whispered

Marc gave a frustrated sigh “Don’t you know” he asked

As she had shaken her head slowly

“No, Max..” she began before he interrupted

“It had nothing to do with Max” he said as a look of pain crossed his face

“I thought I had lost you” he paused for a moment “God Kelly I was going out of my mind.  You left a note saying it wouldn’t work without even waiting to talk with me.  You didn’t tell anybody where you had gone and it was as if you had fallen of the face of the earth” pausing for a moment he continued

“When I went to work that morning I was so happy and then it felt like the whole world had been pulled from under my feet. 

Pausing for a second he had sighed wearily

“Why did you say that?  How do you know it wouldn’t work?”

Kelly
had looked seriously into his eyes the need to tell him the truth suddenly so important.  She had tried to save herself from the heartache which was inevitable when he bored with her, but with a bitter laugh she thought how she had left to save herself from such heartbreak, only to have spent the last two weeks feeling like she was being torn apart piece by piece.

“I won’t be your mistress Marc.  I’m not like Trudy, I
can’t live from day to day waiting for you to move on to the next woman”

Marc’s face was incredulous

“Is that what you thought” he said

“You thought I wanted you to be my mistress” 

Kelly had flushed hotly

“You said I should consider myself off the market”
her eyes holding his accusingly “And then you started making plans to buy me diamonds – Trudy’s diary said that you did that for all your mistresses”

Marc
had given a short laugh

“What fools we’ve both been” he said with a little ironic laugh in his voice

“We’ve wasted so much time”

Looking
down into her soft blue eyes his had suddenly become very serious

“I love you Kelly.  I think I loved you from the first moment I ever saw you, it just took me a while to realise it.  When I saw you with Philip, I thought I would kill him, and believe
me I’ve never felt that way about any woman.  I don’t want you to be my mistress.. I want you to be my wife”