Chapter 11

The same day. Monday night - Home Again. [Catherine]

It took me a long time to drive home. I wished I'd flown down and hired a car. I was a rich woman now. David and Edward had gone back on the train, because Edward had exams at school, so family life was a bit chaotic. I was aching for David long before I got out of England. It was dark when I got home, abandoned the car in the drive and braced myself for Edward's enthusiastic greeting. Gosh, how he was growing up. The house felt empty at times, now that my other two children andrew and Elizabeth were away - miles away in England. David hovered, waiting for us to give him a moment. I kissed him - an 'all the way kiss' - and felt him respond.

Edward said, "Does that mean it's my bedtime?" Stunned silence and then laughter. I hugged him.

"Oh my love. Do we make it so obvious. No, not to bed, yet. I need food first and I've got some tales to tell."

"I think you have." David said, shoving something in the microwave. "Robert phoned an hour ago and left messages. Drink? He said you might be on the wagon?"

"Nope," I said, "Wine please. Anything but whisky." What was coming next? I had been a fool. I looked at David, praying. Oh please my only, only love, trust me. Have faith. He was coming towards me, his face deadly serious.

He put the glass of wine down. "There," he said, "I'm afraid I've filled it too full. Be careful. Robert said you needed extra TLC tonight, so I've raided the freezer. Ready to eat?"

"Five minutes - pee and change then I'm ready. I love you, only you." Get it in first.

"What about me" Edward was quite upset. You can't win 'em all.

I felt better in an old skirt and a pullover, sitting down to eat. David wasn't a cordon bleu cook, but I was starving and felt loved - conditionally perhaps, but loved.

"I think you'd better give me the messages first." I said, nervously. "Are you teasing me?" Edward's eyes were round and I remembered Benjamin as a child, the youngest, fascinated and silenced by grown up conversations. Always understanding much, much more than we credited. "Is this fit for Edward? Robert was in a funny mood."

David was smiling at me. That was pure love wasn't it - well, just a touch of malice, perhaps. I stopped chewing, staring, waiting.

"You'll have to put up with teasing. Robert told me everything and I doubt that Benjamin and Tony will resist the temptation to whisper in a few ears."

"What, everything? Everything!" I yelped. Bastard! Traitor!

"Yes, I think so. He was on the phone for ages. I've got a sore ear. He was in a funny mood tonight. Not at all grief-stricken. It's a rum business."

What is? Oh Sarah.

"He said he'd seen the girl this afternoon. Not much more. Only that, what was it,... 'you wouldn't have a teenage step-step mother, because she was twenty already'. Does that mean what I think?"

I pondered. "Yes... I think so. He and she must have sorted something out. Oh! David, I hope Mum wasn't blundering. You know what she was doing? Trying to make sure that there was someone for Robert. Grooming a replacement wife. She was playing with fire. And Robert thought she'd lost her touch, being ill and that. The girl's so young - it could be awful."

David shrugged. "Sounds as though it's too late now. We can only worry from round the edge.

I shook my head in despair. David looked back with sympathy and I suddenly lusted for the most obvious comfort.

Oh Edward, go to bed, please, I want David, now!

"Mum, can I go to bed now?"

Angel child.

"Go and wash and clean your teeth and I'll come and tuck you in." He scampered out, bored with us, wanting his bed and a quiet sleep.

"Quickie?" David asked.

Gosh! The mind reading was going well tonight. I walked round the table as David pushed his chair back. He was unzipped and waiting for me, his trousers round his knees. I bent and kissed his penis, feeling the hard, long length and feeling him respond. I stood astride him, lifting my skirt and pulling my pants aside. My loins contracted and I was instantly wet. I felt the blush on my chest, then my thighs. I sank down on him and his hot hardness ran up the centre of me. I waited, impaled, shuddering. David's hands pushed under my pullover, un-tucking the shirt, running up my back and breasts, all over me. My vagina was still trying to catch with the action. It was still short and tight, David's penis pressed against my cervix. I squeezed the top of my vulva to speed things up. David was thrusting up just how I liked it. His legs were strong under my thighs, the hair palpable beneath my smooth skin. That and the urgency of getting it done before Edward was asleep were an erotic trigger. I moved my fingers quickly now feeling the lift of success.

"David! There's no way you could ever trust me alone with you. Come now!" He groaned and thrust up against me, his penis enlarging. Then he thrust again and ejaculated. His penis was hard against my cervix, jerking. He growled, his fingers digging into my back, hurting me, taking me to the brink, over the brink. The spasm was intense, my clitoris painfully sensitive as I began to jerk against him. David put his hand against my mouth to stop me screaming and I bit his hand. My orgasm seemed to go on forever. I could hardly breathe. At last I could look at David, weak and panting. I struggled to get off him, thinking that I must put Edward to bed. His penis was still rigid as it slid out of me. He stood up and held me briefly. Then he turned me and gave me a little push.