Chapter 19
“Mother?” Lionel asks, leaping away from me like a child who has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I know they’ve spoken on the phone several times since we came home, but this is the first time she’s been here. “W-what are you doing here? At this time?”
While she looks at us carefully, Lionel does his best to disguise the bulge in his pants. I feel the heat rising on my face. I don’t even dare look at her. She’s the one who came unannounced, and we have nothing to hide.
“I came to see you, of course.” Of course. She said those words like it were three in the afternoon, and it was the most normal thing in the world to show up unannounced at her son’s house.
Lionel gets up with the agility of a feline and walks to where she is, kisses her on the cheek, and gives her a brief hug.
“You’re doing better, I see.” Mrs. Kral’s cold attitude changes entirely in front of her son. “I’m so happy about it, my boy. You look quite recovered.”
Lionel smiles as he drops his right arm around her. “I feel much better, and you should thank your daughter-in-law for that. She has been taking good care of me, feeding me, and making sure I take all my medications as the doctor prescribed.”
Lionel’s mother’s gaze falls on me, and although she’s still as cold as ever, I feel her melt. Maybe just a little. But hey, no step is too small.
I can’t hate this woman forever, she’s my husband’s mother, and I know how important family is. Although small, I don’t know what I would do without mine.
She puts a hand on her son’s cheek, stroking it tenderly. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Lionel smiles back and kisses her palm. They seem to have a close relationship. Nobody could say that he’s just her adoptive son. What I have in front of me is a sign of love. Flat and simple.
“We just had dinner, and I know pizza is not your favorite.” Doesn’t she like pizza? Somehow it surprises me, and at the same time, it doesn’t. She seems too sophisticated for something as mundane as pizza.
“Too many carbs,” she replies, waving her hands. “I need to stay healthy so one day I can take care of your children.”
Lionel laughs, throwing his head back. “Mom, you are healthier than me.”
“Precisely, because I take care of myself.”
“May I offer you a glass of wine?” he asks her, and she nods. “Let’s go to the kitchen then.”
My husband turns away from his mother to come to where I am and help me get up. I was thinking of leaving them to speak alone, maybe his mother has come here to talk about something personal, and she prefers to do it without me being present.
However, Lionel’s attitude is clear. He wants me to be there with them.
Once we are in the kitchen, Mrs. Kral and I sit at the breakfast bar while Lionel moves around looking for a glass and opening a bottle of white he got from the wine cooler.
“Do you want another beer, Hvězda ? I think the other one must be warm already.”
Asshole, he said it with one of his patented mischievous smiles, and my neck flushes red as I remember what we were doing until we were interrupted.
“Yes, thank you,” I reply, glaring at him. He continues with the same carefree and nonchalant attitude.
“The two women in my life, sitting having a drink on a Friday night. Who would’ve known?”
His mother responds by clearing her throat. I keep staring at him, although daggers no longer come out of my eyes.
“It would be better if we could sit somewhere other than these stools,” she rebukes him. “It would be nice to see some furniture in this house for a change.”
This time it’s Lionel who clears his throat. I have no idea what to answer. To be frank, even though I’ve decided to stay, our relationship is far from being ready to run the marathon. We need to continue taking baby steps.
“And all these wooden things on the countertops, what project are you into now?”
Lionel smiles and walks over to me, taking one of my hands from the granite countertop. “Actually, it’s Stella’s project. She makes honey-based cold-pressed soaps. Our kitchen is her part-time factory. Alexandra Conrad placed an order for her company party.”
Those words have left Johanna Kral speechless. She looks at Lionel with her mouth open, and after what seems like an eon, she turns to face me.
“You turned out to be a hidden gem,” she tells me, but her voice is full of sarcasm.
“You have no idea.” It’s Lionel who answers.
I take a sip of my beer, trying to distract myself because the tension is so thick, it can almost be cut with a knife.
Lionel leaves his bottle on the counter before speaking to his mother. “Did you want to talk to me about something important?”
She looks for something in her handbag, it turns out to be a yellow envelope which she hands over to him. “This is for you. I’ve made a little investigation of my own.”
My husband takes a long, deep breath before answering her. “I told you in the hospital that isn’t necessary. Ethan is taking care of everything, and you know he’s the best in the business, and I also trust his expertise.”
Mrs. Kral presses her mouth into a thin line. My mother does the same when my answer doesn’t please her. Perhaps it is something inherent in motherhood.
“Information never hurts.” This woman is used to getting what she wants. It’s her way or the highway, just like her son.
Lionel grabs the envelope but doesn’t open it, doesn’t even give it a second look.
“I’ll talk to Ethan on Monday,” he says, patting her hand. “No need to be worried, Mom. Everything is under control here.”
Mrs. Kral looks at him, again her eyes softening. For the first time, I see a few fine wrinkles appear around her green eyes.
“It’s a mother’s job, don’t ask me to do otherwise,” she replies. “Someday, you will understand.” She clears her throat again and puts her hair behind her ear before changing the subject. “My mission here is accomplished, now I must go, it’s late, and tomorrow will be a long day. Maxine Deepler invited me to have brunch with her in Calabasas.”
“I’ll walk you to the car,” Lionel says, his hand reaching for mine to entwine our fingers. “Are you coming with us, baby?”
“I’ll give you both a moment alone,” I reply. “Good evening, Mrs. Kral. It was a pleasure to see you again.”
I nod to Lionel, and before he lets go of my hand, he kisses the inside of my wrist.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” he says, and I nod again.
After they walk down the hall heading to the front door, I take a moment to pick up the leftovers from the patio, put them in the fridge, throw the bottles in the recycling bin, and wash the wine glass.
Lionel is still with his mother, so I go upstairs to our room. What am I supposed to do now? Do I wait for him naked in bed? Do I look for something sexy to wear?
The latter isn’t possible because the few flirty clothes I own are in my house in Carrollton. That was the last thing on my mind when I was packing.
I get an idea, so I scramble around the room, before time runs out. Afterward, I wait for Lionel sitting in the armchair next to the window, looking into the dark night sky, broken by the moon’s reflection on the ocean and the city’s lights.
The room is lit only by the lamp on the side of the bed, filling it with a soft golden glow. I’m still sitting when Lionel enters the room, looking worried.
“I thought you were asleep,” he says as he looks at me dressed in one of his shirts, his eyes traveling over my body. “My mother… she wanted to catch up, you know.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, but I ’ m the one worrying.
What could she have said to him?
Lionel sits next to me, and although the chair is quite large, he takes up most of the space, so his body is glued to mine.
“I know this isn’t easy for you, Hvězda ,” he murmurs. “Just because I want you doesn’t mean you should feel compelled to do so.”
He’s asking me to follow the steps for a melody that he’s playing.
“I’m free, Lionel, and I choose you.”
With those words, it seems that I’ve lifted the weight of the world from his shoulders.
“Thank God.”
Words can’t express the intensity of this moment, how much his eyes convey when looking at me. He leans down, and in an instant, his lips are on mine, throwing gunpowder on the fire that has burned between us since our reunion. I’m consuming myself, but instead of going out, I feel more alive than ever.
His tongue explores my mouth, making it so that he’s all I can feel. His hands slip under my shirt, searching for my bare skin.
“Tell me this is all you’re wearing.”
Almost, but I ’ m not telling you .
“You need to discover that on your own.”
He needs no more invitation, and a roar comes out from his chest when he realizes that there are only the skimpiest panties I brought under the cotton fabric. They are white lace and do nothing to hide my desires.
“I want to see you,” he murmurs without taking his mouth far from mine. “I want to kiss you all over.”
Yes, yes, do it. The voice screams in my head, but only a pleading gasp comes from my lips.
“I want to see you too,” I reply. I want to see, feel, and touch.
Make him mine, stain his soul with my colors, lose myself in him.
Lionel gets rid of his clothes in record time, throwing his shirt and jeans to the other side of the room and then kissing me hungrily again. Voracious.
This feels so different. It’s like it’s our first time. Our first time, for real.
As his mouth travels down my neck, my hands tangle in the thick strands of his dark blond hair. I also want to touch him everywhere, learn the hills and valleys of his muscular body again, of his golden skin now marked by bullet scars.
Thank you for this new chance. I say to whoever gave it to us.
“Baby,” I hear him say as my hands run down the short-haired path that runs down the center of his hard torso. “Put your hands on my shoulders.”
“I want to feel you,” I complain.
“And you will,” he replies. “But if you keep touching me, this is going to end too soon, and I want it to last. There is so much I want to do to you.”
“Lionel,” I moan, as his tongue circles around one of my nipples, hardening it, and stealing my breath. “But I want…”
“Hands on my shoulders, baby.”
And I do my best to follow the order, but he’s making it so difficult.
A path of kisses goes down my side, down my navel, down my belly. Until he reaches between my legs, as he runs his tongue along my skin while dropping my feet to the floor, in front of the loveseat.
“Next time, we’ll go for dessert first,” he says after taking the first lick between my folds. “Dessert in the morning… dessert at lunchtime,” another and another.
I’m like a hot air balloon, getting ready to fly.
“And when I’m feeling greedy, I’ll also have dessert in the afternoon and twice at night.”
A finger enters me, and I cry out his name while his other hand keeps my legs open for him. This feels so good. He takes the time to discover me like never before, what makes my breaths faster, my back arches, and my hands can’t keep still.
This isn’t the same Lionel I met a few months ago, this is a new man, and I’m falling hard and fast for him. Like never before .
He’s playing a game that seems evil to me, taking me to the edge and then starting again.
“Lionel, now, end this torture,” I beg because I can’t resist it. I need him inside me, and he’s determined to give me pleasure with his hands. It’s wonderful to know that he’s willing to give me more, but I need everything right now.
“That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I reply, feeling brave, powerful. “Please, Lionel, please…”
“My wife never has to beg for anything.”
Lionel gets up from next to the chair. He’s like a god waking up illuminated by the golden light of the lamp and the silver flashes of the moon outside. His cock rises proudly, and my mouth waters.
But not this time.
I open my legs, silently asking him to hurry, but he takes me in his arms to carry me to the bed, where he places me gently. He wastes no time in advancing his body over mine. I accommodate him by spreading my legs, so that he can align his erection to enter where I’m waiting for him, wet and hot.
Lionel rubs the tip of his cock against my center, making me vibrate and moan. I’m so ready, I grab him by his ass as a not-too-subtle invitation to hurry up.
“Oh shit, Stella.” I hear him moan. “This feels so good.”
“And it would feel even better.”
“It’s been so long,” he mumbles, his mouth going up my neck, searching for mine. No, it hasn’t been that long, but the truth is that right now, it feels like centuries. “Take me home with you.”
The moment his body enters mine, I’m sure that not only has he found his way back.
I’m walking on unknown ground, and this is where I’ll find what I was looking for.