“Irena, that’s enough,” Creighton said sternly, stopping his little sister from finishing her sentence.“I believe you have a previous commitment to keep,” Derek said with the authority his many years in the legal profession provided him. Andre looked around the table with mixed feelings. On one hand he was free, able to move forward and never think of the wonderful Ashfords again, but on the other hand, he had to start over and try to find someone to replace Sabrina at the altar. The room was silent as he stood up, rolled his sleeves down and slipped his jacket back across his torso. Before he could leave the table, Andrew gathered the cash he had used for the game and tossed it across the table to him, watching as he eyed the bills in front of him.“Take your money and get out,” he ordered the man, looking at him with an expression that begged him to start trouble.Andre knew if he tried to back out of the agreement, Creighton would bring out the secrets of his past, and if he trie
Andre didn’t say another word. He simply raised a single eyebrow and turned around, leaving the room and the angry expressions that stared at his departure.Sabrina glared at the door as if it were her enemy, as William shut it quietly, blocking out the curious eyes of those who watched from the corridor. She couldn’t believe any of this had just happened. She was the one who planned on breaking up with him. She even anticipated and prepared for an argument, but never once did she consider his breaking off their engagement. He was the one who had cheated on her, he was the one trying to change her into something she wasn’t, and yet there she stood, feeling guilty for wanting something better for herself. He insulted her family, her virtue - what there was of it - and even accused her of being lower class, simply because she came from honest, hardworking parents.“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Nana said, taking Grace to her mother.“Are you alright?” Giovanni asked softly as the room
Creighton turned to her and frowned, slowly looking down her body then back up to her beautiful green eyes.“Is it that time already?” he asked, feeling slightly cheated with the lack of hours before she began bleeding.“No, and it won’t be for a while,” she assured him with a smile.“How long is a while? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I don’t care if you’re bleeding or not, but I know it bothers you.”“Stop worrying. You have about thirty-two weeks, so take your time.” Creighton’s smile returned as he leaned over her, sucking her nipple into his mouth to prepare it for the clamps. Thirty-two weeks, that would give them plenty of time to…then he paused and looked up into the eyes that watched him.“Are you saying…”“Number three will be here in the spring, which leaves plenty of time for you to enjoy the kinkier side of life.”“When were you going to tell me?” he scolded, scooting further on the bed, his hand resting gently on her lower abdomen.“I just did,” she answered. “The
Creighton sighed as he unfastened her wrists and rolled her over, lying down next to her. Without instructing her, she climbed on top of him, straddling his hips with her legs. The hard shaft of his penis pulsated against her moist body as she wrapped her fingers around it and pressed it against the opening of her vagina. One push and he was sheathed inside her, heat surrounding him like a glove.Creighton knew he couldn’t keep tormenting her beautiful body without causing himself pain, but it was a game he had enjoyed playing and mentally promised himself he would do again.As the walls of her vagina tightened around him, he knew it was only moments before she came, and he wanted to make it a good one for her. He pulled her down across him and covered her mouth with his, as his fingers found the end of the string holding the beads in place. Slowly, he removed the first two beads, feeling her muscles tighten with each one. Then as her body began to convulse with her impending release
Giovanni snapped picture after picture of Sabrina as she cuddled close to Olivia on the back of a white horse with a pink and blue saddle. He had spent the morning consciously giving the two females in his life, time to get to know each other and watched as they rode the carousel, their horse going up and down on the golden pole. Sabrina pointed out Giovanni to his daughter every time they passed him and smiled as she squealed cheerfully with the action of the horse. The music played on and she found her anger and frustrations far from her mind, washed away by a small child who clung to her, giggling and laughing.The ride slowed down and Sabrina climbed off the horse, taking Olivia with her. They were walking toward the exit gate when she heard her name called out and turned to see Irena and Peter waving anxiously to her. Giovanni knelt next to Olivia and accepted the hug from his daughter, then showed her the pictures he had taken of them.“You look happy,” Sabrina told Irena who h
“Where do we go from here?” Sabrina asked a short while later as she lay curled next to him in the bed. Olivia sat at the foot of the mattress watching Sesame Street, repeating the words and letters the small little puppets were telling her about.“I think we should give Irena her time in the spotlight,” he answered, caressing her bare hip beneath the blankets. “I would like to be married by the end of summer. We can do it between your winter and spring designs if you’d like. If you are pregnant, or if you become pregnant, you should deliver shortly after the premier of next year’s summer designs. After that, I’d like to do things right and spend a few weeks getting our family acquainted.”“It sounds like you’ve planned this all out,” she teased him.“I have,” he answered honestly. “I never intended for us to spend the night together when we took The Tornado out, but I did a bit of calculating and it should work out perfectly.”A loud knock sounded at the door startling them out of th
“My father is put out with me,” Giovanni said, carrying the plates into the kitchen and placing them in the sink while Sabrina washed Olivia’s face and hands.“Why? You seemed to be getting on quite nicely the other night,” she said, lifting the child from the highchair. She set her down and watched as Olivia hurried to the pile of new toys her father procured from their stay at Disneyland.“For all other reasons, we were, but he’s angry that I haven’t spent much time working on the woman who claimed to have Silvano’s son. He’s very happy that you and I are back together, nearly as much as your family was to hear we’re getting married. Unfortunately, he feels like I’ve wasted a lot of time trying to get you back, and not enough on the reason I am in France.”“Oh, you know, that reminds me. I did get an email from my client, Dora Jordan, who works for the registrar’s office. I’ve been so busy with everything else, I completely forgot about it.”“Did she say if she found anything?” he a
Giovanni watched as they walked into the bathroom, smiling as Sabrina held down a full conversation with the little girl discussing princesses and fairies like a pro.The water to the tub began to run as he kicked off his shoes, getting comfortable in his new surroundings. Once they arrived back at the flat in Versailles, he gathered together their belongings and moved in with Sabrina while the flat below her was being remodeled. Anna was still with Aryana, helping with her three children while Daniel was out of town, which gave Sabrina a chance to get to know the child who would soon be her daughter.He smiled as Olivia began giggling. The sound of water splashing out of the tub and Sabrina’s laughter echoed through the rooms. He had bathed his daughter often enough to know exactly what she was doing, and how difficult it was to hold her still long enough to wash her little body. He chuckled as he started to review the papers, thinking about the mess that would need to be cleaned up
Sandra hung up the phone with a slam, then glanced to her grandparents who were sitting at the kitchen table. She was starting to get angry with all the rejections and dead-end avenues. She called Davies and told him she wanted him to get the plane ready to go to France, only to be told the police had restricted his flying. They were concerned that whomever it was that had killed her husband would try and sabotage the jet.She was getting frustrated and felt like she was being held back. If she didn’t know better, she would think she was being placed under lockdown. She could understand the police’s concern, but she had more men around her then they had at Fort Knox, and she would be willing to take all of them with her if she needed to.“I can’t leave the house, I can’t go to France, I can’t even gather eggs,” she grumbled as she joined the older couple. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t sit here and wait until doomsday to find out what happened to my husband.”“Honey, you’re going
The room was warm as the setting sun shone through the blinds. Two detectives sat on the sofa, watching as the man continued to pace the floor. Trying to keep him calm was growing increasingly harder with each hour.Creighton could only assume the horror his family was going through, not to mention Sandra. They had been having difficulties, but this made all of that seem trivial. He had to call her, he had to contact her somehow and let her know he was alive, but the police were refusing to allow him the chance. They had to keep him concealed for the time being, though it was steadily becoming impossible. The man was acting like a caged animal, anxiously trying to find a means of escape.“How much longer do we have to sit here?” he growled, looking to those gathered around.“We need you to remain patient for a little longer,” a bald-headed man told him. “Monsieur Ashford, we understand what you’re going through…”“Like hell you do,” Creighton snapped. “I have a pregnant wife at home w
“I know she’ll be happy when it’s over,” Emma said, returning to the room, her eyes red from the tears she’d been wiping away. “She can’t let Brandon go to school, and she has to keep the children inside instead of letting them go out to play.”“I’m sure they are going stir crazy,” Cathy said with a frown. “Especially Grace. That little girl is used to having the freedom of the farm to run and play.”“The only good thing is the weather,” William told them. “It’s been really wet, and she doesn’t like getting her dresses dirty.”“Sounds like her aunt,” Andrew said with a soft chuckle.“Maybe we should take this meeting over to my sister’s,” Cathy suggested with a sideways grin.“Let me call Derek and Kristin,” William said, standing and walking to the phone on the wall. “They wanted to know what you found out.”“Just have them meet us at Sandra’s,” Andrew told him. “We can discuss this all there.”“I thought Sabrina and Irena would be here,” Cathy said, looking at Emma who was wrapping
Parker and Harvey held off the reporters for as long as they could alone, then eventually had to call NHT’s security. Within a few short hours, there were enough burly looking men to scare off anyone trying to get near the house. Sandra kept her children inside, though it really wasn’t difficult. The rain had eased by supper, but just like the past several days, it picked up again this morning.Max growled as he laid of the entry. The noise of cameras clicking, and the soft hum of voices mingled among the breezes of the day. She had tried to watch television, but every station was reporting on the accident. Eventually, she had no choice but to surrender and put on Grace’s favorite princess movie. At least it kept them from listening to those who insisted that there was no hope in finding any answers this soon.Sandra drew a deep breath as she wiped the moisture from her forehead. She had decided to keep herself busy and baked two apple pies, along with nearly a hundred sugar cookies.
“No, it’s about assuming you knew what I would want. You did this, claiming it was for us when it was for you. You can’t stand the idea that your little sister has something you never would. It was bad enough when I felt like I was competing with Creighton for your attention, but now I’m watching you compete with Sandra for the mother of the year award.”“Stop comparing me to Sandra!” Cathy screamed. “It’s not my fault she’s perfect. She’s always been everyone’s favorite. I can’t tell you how many boyfriends I’ve dumped after I found out they were using me to get close to her. I didn’t want Creighton, but after he chose her over me, it made me angry. I was competing with her again, and she was too stupid to realize it. He chose that simple, no makeup, no fuss girl over me. She shares his bed, when I’m a better lover then she would ever be. She has his money, his admiration, your parents’ admiration, even my grandparents enjoy spending time with her over me. She even has a perfect body
“Maybe Michelle heard from him,” the boy said hopefully.“I haven’t spoken with her, but I want to call in the morning. She may know something more than the police do.”The two were silent for a long time as they considered their own thoughts, until Sandra realized the tea was gone. She looked to Brandon who looked like he was finally able to fall asleep, then stood and took the cups to the sink.“Come on, son,” she told him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. “Let’s see if we can get some sleep.”“Mum, can I come sleep with you?” Brandon asked once they reached the second floor of their house.Sandra smiled and hugged the boy, nodding as he looked up to her.“You can sleep on your daddy’s side,” she told him. “Just don’t tell him I let you in our bed. He may get jealous.”Brandon smiled as he walked with her into the bedroom. Sandra helped him between the covers and tucked him in, then left to check on Grace. The house was silent and soft snores of her little girl could be heard
Sandra paced her bedroom trying to stop her mind from racing through the events of the day. Derek had come home after his mother called him, insisting on picking up Brandon from school. Sabrina called to say the reporters were going crazy with the news of the Tornado’s fire and that she and Giovanni would be home as soon as they could get there.Irena spoke with her parents and insisted on calling in a prescription for Sandra’s nerves, though she refused to use it. She needed to stay alert and concentrate in order to determine what was going on. The last thing she needed was to surrender to the effects of a drug.After speaking with Andrew, William informed the rest of the family about Cathy’s surgery, though he wouldn’t go into detail. He assured them he would check into the reports from his end and stay abreast of the investigation. Once Cathy felt like traveling, they would drive out to Yorkshire to be with the family.Nana tried to get Sandra to let her stay overnight, but she was
Sandra opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her bedroom, yet she couldn’t remember laying down. The house was silent and the soft pattering of rain outside reminded her that the dog had made a muddy mess of the entry. Then she remembered her grandfather and William coming over, and slowly began to piece together the last thing she remembered.There had been an accident on the Tornado and three bodies were found. She knew in her heart it wasn’t Creighton. She couldn’t even begin to guess who would have been on their ship, or how it ended up at sea, but she knew her husband wasn’t the one killed. Now all she had to do, was convince the others into believing her.Sandra stepped down the stairs to hear Grace talking to her great-grandfather, the dog running from one room to another as he chased his rope and the smells of food drifting out of the kitchen. She stepped into the living room and saw Papa sitting beside Grace, one of her own books open in front of him as he listened to
Sandra stared at the two men for a long moment as their words began to sink in. When she spoke with her husband earlier that morning, he was still at the hotel. He didn’t mention having plans of returning to the yacht. Why would he go back there when he told her he was packing to come home?Then she thought about the bodies found. One was female. Who was it? Did Creighton lie to her about not being involved with Garcon’s assistant? Had he gone there to meet with her, perhaps a final rendezvous before coming home to his family?“Did you hear what we said?” Papa asked her.“It’s impossible,” she began, her anger taking over her words. Sandra looked down at Grace who was trying to wipe the muddy water from her little dress. She hadn’t understood what her grandparents were saying. All she cared about was her soiled outfit.“Sweetheart, go upstairs and find a clean dress,” Sandra told the little girl. “Put that one in the hamper and warsh your hands. We’ll make lunch when you’ve finished.