Matter Over Mind

Maxwell Sheffield sat in his office rubbing the tension from his neck. It had been a painfully slow season and he and C.C. Babcock were stuck trying to sell a play they both weren't really crazy about. It was frustrating trying to stay in business with the theatrical garbage he had to work with. He let out a heavy sigh while closing the folder on his desk. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before leaning back in his chair, wishing he could just escape it all.

His thoughts suddenly turned to Fran, the woman who changed the lives of him and his children. What a difference she had made. He warmly smiled when he thought of the wonderful times he'd had with his family because of her and with her. Max began thinking of how beautiful Fran was, both inside and out. She was amazing physically as well as emotionally. She put her whole self into everything she did, body and soul. And they way she kissed was enough to send shock waves right down to his toes.

Max started to fantasize what it would be like to be near her, not in the sense that he was with her every day, but near her in a sensual, forbidden way. What it would be like to touch her, get to know every part of her intimately. He could feel that familiar ache in his groin. Oh how she made him feel. Which was just the point, she made him FEEL again, something he never thought he could accomplish since after Sarah had passed. Maxwell was beginning to think his emotions had died with Sarah. Boredom and stress finally got the best of him so he informed his butler that he was going out for a bit. He needed a break. Max told Niles, his butler, to fetch the town car and had soon taken off to The Rainbow Room for a few champagne cocktails. Niles was no fool. He could tell that something was bothering his boss and knew full well it involved Miss Fine, directly or indirectly.

As Max sat downing one drink after another at the bar, he pulled Fran's picture from his wallet. His feelings jumbled insider him as he looked at it. Was it love? Was it lust? Possibly both? He was so confused. He was so unsure of what the root of his passion was, but he knew for sure it always led to, and was always stirred up by, Miss Fran Fine.

Hours passed, and Maxwell had drunk more than his share. By the time he arrived home, everyone was asleep…or so he thought.

A dim light reflected through the back door window. Fran had a craving for a late night snack, so she was raiding the refrigerator. Maxwell silently traced her curvaceous figure with his eyes while she looked to find something to eat. In his drunken haze, his inhibitions fled away and soon he found himself sneaking in the back door and up behind her.

"Need help with something, Miss Fine?" Maxwell whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear. Fran jumped with a start and turned to find him standing there. "Mr. Sheffield, you scared me half to death! What are you doing coming home this late?” "1 couldn't stop thinking about you.” He throated huskily. He snaked his arms around her, his hands roaming everywhere on her body that he could reach. She could smell the liquor on his breath, but at this point didn't care. He was stirring emotions in her she'd only dreamed about hundreds of times before and now it was coming true. She leaned her head back as he tasted her neck as he undid the sash from her robe, revealing an almost completely see-through negligee. He couldn't help but notice the darkness of her nipples through the thin bodice of the gown. Maxwell reached up and pulled the straps down from her shoulders. The material dropped away from her breasts. He boldly cupped them in his hands, rubbing the hardening tips with his thumbs. That action alone set his groin on fire, stoking one with in Fran as well. Their breath quickened with each movement.

He had to have her, here and now. He could tell he was more than ready by the tight feeling in the front of his trousers. Raking his fingernails up her thighs, he soon realized that she wasn't wearing underwear, which excited him all the more. He took her hands and guided them to his belt buckle, inviting her to do as she pleased. She swiftly undid his belt and trousers, then slid her hands down his hips to free him of his clothing. She reached down, tentatively exploring forbidden territory, massaging Maxwell's painful erection, causing his breathing to become heavier. He could barely speak the words “it’s all for you, darling” because of her actions. He pulled her close to him, shutting the refrigerator door, and backed her into it, searing her flesh with kisses across her neckline and breasts. Lifting her up from underneath her buttocks, she wrapped her legs around him as he entered her, both of them overwhelmed from the feeling of being joined as one for the first time.

They touched foreheads for a few seconds before Maxwell started to pump in and out of her, going slowly, grinding into her as he moved causing sensations that made Fran’s whole body tingle with excitement. He enveloped her lips in a heated kiss as he came to muffle the sounds of ecstasy as he felt her inner walls pulsating around his hardness as her climax began. They were caught in the waves of pleasure, smiling as they looked into each others eyes.

When their breathing returned to normal, Max let Fran stand so they could both get themselves dressed. She reached over, placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him tenderly, yet passionately. She whispered the words "I love you'' before she walked away with Maxwell watching her as he buckled his belt. He smiled as he remembered the actions that had just taken place. She was just as amazing as he thought she'd be. “And I love you.” He murmured back.

The next morning, Max awoke with what his head feeling like a freight train had been running though it. It swore to himself that it was his worst hangover ever. Through the haze of his wakefulness he recalled the night before, but he wrote it off in his mind as a dream, albeit, an incredible dream. When he went downstairs for breakfast he found Niles smiling at him, humming as he worked.

"What the devil are you so happy about?” he snapped.

“Oh, nothing, Sir. Just some unexpected events have taken place recently that I'm quite pleased about.” Maxwell didn’t question it. “Oh, well then. Carry on, old man.” Maxwell took his coffee and left for the dining room, not questioning Niles mood any further.
"I wasn't the one getting lucky in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Carry on, indeed.'' Niles mumbled under his breath.

Sitting down at the breakfast table, Max quietly greeted his children and asked them to keep it down due to his ailment, which he kept to himself that it was self-inflicted.

Just then, in walked Fran. Not in a robe and slippers, like every other morning, but donned in tight-fitting satin pants and a pink silk midriff top. Regardless of fax's hangover, he felt himself beginning to get hard, regardless of the hour of the day, reiterating the effect she had on him.

He had to swallow the lump in his throat. They sat and ate breakfast, every second or two getting what he thought was flirting looks from Fran. Plus, he could feel her toes slinking up and down his leg from under the table. "I wonder what's gotten into her. She's never acted like this before." he thought to himself.

Once the children had gone, he tried to duck out of dealing with Fran by heading to his office. He decided that whatever looks he was getting he did NOT want to know the reason why he was getting them. He still thought last night was nothing more than fantasy. He was trying desperately to bury himself in his work, even though there wasn't much to do, he couldn't escape the knock at the door. Fran breezed in giving him a look like she would pounce any minute. She sauntered over, took his pen from his hand and placed herself squarely in Maxwell's lap. He put his arms around her to help her keep her balance. She whispered low in his ear, “Thanks for last night, baby. I’ll be here anytime you want me. And I mean ANYTIME." An inner panic overcame him when he realized that the intimate moment he thought he'd only dreamed was a reality.

After Fran got up and left the room, Max put his head in his hands. Oh, the guilt he felt over what he had done to her. He was an English gentleman, after all. His upbringing screamed at him.

He had to talk to someone.

He took off for the kitchen, making sure Miss Fine was not within earshot, to talk to Niles.
"Can I talk to you for a moment, old man?" he asked.
"Certainly, Sir. Is there a problem?”
“More than you could imagine.” Max confessed.
"You mean more than you and Miss Fine getting it on against the sub-zero last night and now you feel guilty because you weren't sober at the time you decided to become intimate with her?” “You've become a regular intercom voyeur. I swear I’m going to rip that bloody thing out of the wall. Sorry, Niles. It’s just that I’m so torn up about this. What have I done? For God sake, I ravished the poor woman.” Maxwell ran his hands through his hair.

"May I be blunt, Sir?” “Certainly, Niles.” He made it a point to get right in Maxwell’s face. “The only reason you feel guilty about what you did to Miss Fine is because you finally gave in to what you both wanted all along. Good God, man, can’t you see that the woman is crazy about you? Last night should have told you that. Although, I think she should have quit long ago just as a way to keep her emotional sanity. Fire me if you must, Sir, but I know what I see. You’re both suffering. You need each other. Go to her. It’s a shame that it took one too many drinks for you to realize how much she wants to be close to you. The chance to fall in love again has been handed to you on a platter. You’d better not lose it.”

Max's heart sank realized just how right Niles was. He had strung Fran along without intending to, which was entirely out of his character. He had just spent so much time being torn up about Sarah that he never noticed that someone who really loved him was there for him all along. That alone gave him some serious thinking to do.

He sat in Central Park feeding and talking to the pigeons.
“You chaps have it so easy. No emotional complications whatsoever. When someone invades your environment you just fly away.” One of the birds landed beside him on the bench. He continued, “If only I could tell you my feelings. Bloody hell, if only I could tell HER my feelings. You see, bird. May I call you ‘bird’? There's this woman in my life who's my children’s nanny and she is incredible. My butler, of all people, made me realize that what I was missing in my life was her. Her love for me was there the entire time and I was too busy mourning to see it. I feel so stupid for not realizing it. She helped me learn to love all over again. I should be more than grateful. Falling in love once in a lifetime is a gift, twice is a bloody miracle.”

A voice startled him from behind a tree. “You got that right, Mistah” Maxwell jumped slightly and his feathered companions flew away.
“Miss Fine, how long have you been standing there?'' he asked. “Long enough to know how you really feel.” Taking his hand, she sat beside him and continued. “Maxwell I know you see last night as a mistake but I don’t. You see, sweetie, I’ve loved you from the very beginning. I waited so patiently for so long for you to see that. I would have been honest with you but you were too vulnerable. I know how much you love Sarah and I know how much you miss her. I’m not trying to take that away from you. The kids are a product of that love. But, my love for you is just as real. What happened last night is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing…being passionate, and intimate, with the man I love, and that man is you.”

“Fran, I’m so sorry.” He sobbed.

She consoled him as he cried, letting out the pain and suffering he had held in for so long. When he finally gained his composure, they walked back home hand in hand.

Within a short time, they were married and truly lived happily ever after.