Smokescreen

“Baby, I’ll never torment you.” The hand holding my hip snakes up my torso until it reaches the lace of my bra and he pinches one hardened nipple. “Your body is mine. I know how to control it. Feeling your heat, your need … I could make you come with one thrust. But I want more. I need to hear it Stella, tell me what I want to hear.” He thrusts gently and then slams into me until I cry out.

“I’m yours.”

“Bet your fucking ass you are,” he barks and starts moving faster.

I try to hold on but my body betrays me and I explode, moaning his name. He bites down on my shoulder and joins me. His grip on my breast is so hard, I know there’ll be a mark, but the only thing I can think of is his naked body against mine, holding me close. We stay connected, catching our breath until I hear the door open and Laci calls looking for me.

“Thank God that woman is always late,” Max breathes heavily.

“Can I take my arms down now?”

“Yeah, but only to wrap them around me. I’ll clean you up.”

I nod and pull away from him. When I turn, he picks me up and carries me to my bathroom counter. “Baby, I’m not distant. I’m fully here. When I crawl in bed with you at night, you consume my thoughts. Sorry if you felt differently.”

“Sweetie, that’s not what I meant. You have a lot going on. Talk to me if you need to.?

?

“I will.”

“Stella! Are y’all ready?” Laci pounds on my bedroom door.

“Promise me something. When we move next week, you’ll never give that woman a key.”

“I heard that!”

“I meant for you to!” Max yells back at her.

“Promise, now let’s get out of here.”

For the first time since Edward’s heart attack, I sit back and relax with a glass of scotch. Jake is bent over his laptop. Stella and Laci are huddled over client notes, bouncing strategy ideas for upcoming events. As much as I hate what happened to Stella, it benefited her in the end. Hell, I’ve even had business associates calling to see if I can get them a meeting with Sullivan PR. She doesn’t know it, but I’ve made arrangements to set her up a home office in one of the spare bedrooms. Dana’s putting the final touches on it while we’re gone.

The plane phone rings and I groan. Only certain people call and usually it’s only for urgent issues. I reach around to grab it and catch Stella’s apprehensive look. All eyes are glued to me.

“Hello.”

“We’ve got a situation. Something crazy happened this morning,” Dana says quickly.

“Not sure if you realize but a lot of crazy things have been happening.”

“Listen closely. I’m in my car outside the hospital. I stopped by this morning to drop off some gifts the employees left with me. Rita was sitting with Edward, talking to him softly. The look on her face was heartbreaking. She’d been crying and her usual impeccable appearance was gone. She was in sweats, Max, sweats!”

“Dana, I’ve been there, I’ve seen her. She’s worried and scared. Even when she’s made snide remarks about my personal life, they’ve had less venom. They’ve been married for almost forty years. Why is this crazy?”

“Well, I sat with her for a minute to try and console her. She got a phone call and asked me if I would sit with Edward while she talked to her sister, then left the room. As soon as the door closed, Edward looked at me. His eyes were clear and alert. He couldn’t really speak well but when I said your name, he confirmed by nodding.

“I told him you were out of town and he nodded again. Then he got agitated. He started rasping and the only thing I could understand was he needs to talk to you. I told him I would call you immediately. Relief washed over his face. Then I asked if he wanted me to get Rita or the doctors and the shook his head violently. A look of panic took over. So I took his hand and held it trying to calm him down.”

“What the hell?” Confusion clouds my head. What would he need me for?

“That’s not all. He squeezed my hand tightly and his eyes teared up. He tried to talk again but winced in pain. I offered to get some water and ice chips. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough because when I got back Erica was there. But Edward wasn’t awake anymore. He was exactly the same as when I arrived and Rita was crying over him. I made an excuse to Erica about being thirsty but she didn’t even really look at me. She just rubbed his arm and talked quietly. Erica looked exhausted but she was sober and clean. Rita came back in and I made an excuse to leave. When I touched Edward’s hand, his fingers wrapped around mine. He wasn’t asleep!

“Max, something’s going on. His wife and daughter sit with him, begging him to wake up and talk to them but he never does. The moment they’re gone, he clings to me. He was coherent, I swear it. He wants you to know something.”

“This doesn’t make sense. I’ve been there for hours and he’s never tried to talk to me.”

“Yes, but have you been alone with him?”