Older and Wiser

~Chapter Seven~(Misguided Torture)

“I’ll teach you…” his voice rang in her ears.

Chloe’s palms began to sweat; her heart began to pound. He was moving in the darkness towards her, eyes steadily holding her own. “Do you remember that night when I told you that I’d teach you about a woman and a man?”

He was within an arm’s length now. Chloe could feel the warmth of his body radiating between them. She nodded dumbly, remembering quite vividly that very night.

“Well,” he began. “I think you’re old enough. I think it’s time for the teacher to be taught some new lessons.”

He closed the gap between them, pressing her against the cherry wood door. Their mouths came together in a heated tangle of tongues and lips. She could feel the electricity sparking through every nook and cranny of her body. His hands fell upon her hips, pulling her closer and closer to him. But before she could feel how much he wanted her, he parted her thighs with one leg and pressed it between them. She gasped as her back arched in delicious response.

“Chloe,” he moaned. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this mom moment. That look on your face, that movement from your body.”

With that, he picked her up and, mouths fusing together, deposited her on the long leather sofa near the back of the office. His mouth wandered feverishly down her neck, to the edge of her low-cut sweater. He glanced up at her. Her hair was spread out along the sofa, glistening in the dim light, accentuating her heavily lidded eyes and flushed face. Remembering how badly he needed her, he continued down, past swe sweater’s neckline, and tasted her skin once more.

“Brady…” she murmured softly. His tongue was now searching out her flesh again, causing her temperature to rise. Without thinking, she made a small noise in her throat. Her body seemed to be taking over her mind, something she never had happen to her before. It was wonderful.

Brady’s head rose when she made the tiny purring noise. It had been far too long since that night when Phil died, far too long since he’d held her like this. He shifted, moving so his hips were pressed squarely against hers. She gasped, body arching to feel him, and eyes fluttering open to look into his.

Unprepared for her reaction, he let out a groan and clung to her. Their bodies moved in an undulating rhythm, hands roaming, tongues clashing in harmony. Her breath quickened and she pressed more firmly against his movements. Her nails raked up his black turtleneck, feeling as if she wanted to scream. Luckily, her mouth was being occupied by Brady’s deep, probing kisses.

Suddenly, she felt as if she were melting into the chocolate-brown sofa. She was burning up. Tearing her mouth from his, she began to moan at a feverish level. Brady’s breath was hot against her neck, causing her even more pleasure. Her hands moved quickly to his hips, her legs lifted to wrap around him. She felt as if she were struggling to release herself from the hungry feeling inside her. But before she could reach the beginning of release, his hands were holding her hips still.

She violently shuddered against him, trying desperately to move against him. But his strong hands held her captive, away from his aching need. She grunted in a pouty disapproval. “Please, Brady. I need this. You don’t understand…” she sighed.

“I do understand,” he shot back, lifting himself off the sofa completely. They had almost gone too far and he knew it. If anything else happened…Brady chose not to think about the consequences. “I understand more than you know. Every time I touch you, or look at you, or think about you, Chloe, I feel that way. Even before the night Philip died.”

Chloe sat up, nerves rattled. “So why did you stop?”

He turned away from her. “I don’t want it to be like this, Chloe. You can’t be with me. We want two different things in life. I want the company; you want white picket fences and rugrats. You want marriage and I don’t right now. I can’t let you start something with me that you don’t want to stop. Something that will interfere with your life goals. Believe me, it’s for the best.”

Just then, they heard the front door slam. “Shawn must be back,” she whispered.

He nodded, smoothing his hands through his ruffled hair. His lips were swollen from kisses, his clothes rumpled, and his cheeks took on a deep crimson flush. He looked as if he’d just made love. Chloe assumed she looked just the same and decided that that was fine with her. She felt beautiful and sexy…and also crushed. In fact, she was beginning to feel a little angry at the way things turned out.

“I don’t like the way Shawn hangs around you,” he replied out of the blue.

“Why? I kind of like him. He likes me. What’s wrong with that?” she questioned, hurt taking over rationale.

He spun around to look at her, eyes searching her face quizzically. Then his face contorted to anger. “He belongs to Belle.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she stood. “You can’t own people, Brady. You of all people should know that.”

scarscarlet color of his face deepened, but this time, it took on a different look. “What the hell do you mean by that?” he demanded.

She tossed her head back and raised one eyebrow in a challenge. “My life goals don’t include getting married. I’m too afraid of commitment. My life is in my work,” she mocked. “If you don’t want me, stop teasing me. And stop acting like I’m a toy you can own.”

With that, he strode to the door and opened it roughly. He didn’t say a word, though his face showed what his voice could not express. Chloe huffed and walked defiantly out of the office without turning back.

The door slammed loudly behind her, nearly clipping her rear end. She grimaced, anger still taking over her mind. Then, she slowly made her way into the kitchen.

Shawn was there, pouring coffee into two mugs. “Hey there,” he smiled at her.

When he saw her face and clothes, he grinned broader. “What were you doing?”

She ran a shaking hand through her disheveled hair and caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection off a pot hanging from a rack. “That is none of your business, Shawn,” she snapped.

He chuckled and carried the two mugs of coffee upstairs. Chloe followed, to say goodbye to Belle. Another minute in the house wouldn’t hurt, but too many could. When they reached Belle’s door, Chloe opened it for him and noticed that he looked a little disarrayed himself. He had come in from smoking and the cold wind had whipped his hair out of place and made his cheeks pink.

Belle turned from the television when they walked in together. Her eyes scrutinized the pair’s appearance before speaking. “Get out,” she said shrilly. “Get the fuck out of my house now!”

“What the…” Shawn began.

“Belle, I don’t understand.”

“Get out you, you, BITCH!!!” Belle screamed, eyes still moving quickly from flushed face to flushed face.

Horrified and surprised, Chloe backed away from the door. She wondered why Belle would throw her out, but then it hit her. With both her and Shawn looking quite tousled, Belle must have thought that they had…

Fiercely upset, Chloe ran out into the night, tears streaming down her face.
~*~

Shawn placed the mugs down near Belle and took a seat in the armchair nearby.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, eyes wild with fury and rage.

Shawn stood up. “What do you mean, sweetie?”

“Don’t call me that, bastard! You slept with my best friend! How could you do that to me?”

Shawn’s mind raced. Belle was cute and rich, but she was possessive and smothering. He didn’t care what she thought. There were cuter, richer girls without baggage out there. “So I slept with her. So fuckin’ what? She may not be rich, but she’s better in bed than I’m sure you’ll ever be!”

Belle’s eyes widened before tears streamed down her face. “Get out! I hate you, Shawn Douglas Brady! I hope you never come back!”

“That,” he replied, “will be my pleasure. In fact, even though we looked good together, you were by far the most spoiled, self-centered, little bitch I’ve ever dated. So goodbye and good riddance!”

He smiled as he waltzed out the door, flinging it shut behind him. Belle picked up a mug from the table and hurled it at the closed door. It splashed coffee along the carpet and broke into three big chunks of ceramic as it hit the wood. She sobbed into her pillows, feeling miserable.

A little later, Brady knocked on the door. After hearing no reply, he cracked the door open and stepped inside. His foot crunched on the broken mug on the floor, and when he looked up, he saw his sister crumpled in her bed.

“What in God’s name went on in here?”

“Oh, Brady,” she cried. “It’s awful! Chloe and Shawn, they…I found them all cozy together. I threw her out and Shawn said they slept together! Oh, God. He left me, too.”

Brady’s face went from general concern to deep and bitter rage. “They did what?” he asked calmly.

“Shawn said they slept together and that she was better than I’ll ever be! I hate them both!”

Brady took a series of ragged breaths before taking Belle into his arms. “You can’t get worked up over this right now. You’re still sick. I want to you get better before you make yourself worse over something that is of no concern to us anymore. Okay?”

Belle nodded and fell back into her pillows. She blew her nose and curled up under the covers. It wasn’t long before she was fast asleep. Then, Brady had a chance to think.

That bitch. I can’t believe she’d do such a thing…to Belle…to me. After all we’ve been through…just like that. She’s such a slut! Dammit, Brady. Your instincts told you not to get involved. Now you know why. If she ever shows her face around here again, I’ll make sure she knows she’s hated.

With that thought, he trudged down to his office to begin drinking. It would help clear his mind of her.