Chapter 12A

I awoke first in the morning, found Beth had curled herself up to and onto my body, her legs entwined with mine. We had slept nude last night so I had every inch of Beth's gorgeous skin pressed firmly to my own. That was fine with me but it did make it difficult to go to the bathroom without waking her. I somehow managed it though. We both had seen a heavy burden of emotions over the last few days and I suspected that Beth had been losing sleep to make sure I was all right; in fact, I was sure of it. I showered quickly; I brushed my teeth and shaved while I was up. I came back into the bedroom to find her hand, once again questing for me in the empty bed.

It may seem odd to many that I took a silent joy in the fact that, even in her slumber, Beth sought the comfort and reassurance of my touch. Nevertheless I did, still do for that matter. No other human being alive wanted the comfort of my touch; I never realized how much that lack hurt until now. What Lisa did and tried do to me could have very easily destroyed me. That occurrence would have destroyed Beth in turn as well, I think. Anger surged through me at that thought making me seethe with black hatred. I threw that emotion from me; hatred is barren and can bear no good fruit.

I continued my introspection and moved on. Through no fault of their own, in ways I cannot possibly yet fathom, Stephie and Lauren are going to pay for the rest of their lives for what their mother had done. I want to help mitigate the damage; but for now, they see me as part, if not all, of the problem. Lisa is going to go to prison for who knows how long and I get to have bouts of depression and nightmares, also for who knows how long.

"Thank you, Lisa, for the gift that keeps on giving." My bleak, humorless voice was a bare whisper in the silent room. I looked over and the clock read five fifty-three. I stood in the twilight of the early dawn and thought about things. I moved back onto the bed and again took Beth's hand in mine. She sighed and slipped back into a peaceful slumber. I decided that I needed to talk to Beth and to call Josh today. I also needed to go to my place and get my laptop. Beth had another couple of surprises in store for her, and the thought of them made me smile.

I sat there for more than two hours making my plans. Today was going to be a busy day. I slid back down into the bed, snuggled as close as I dared, and gently took Beth back into my arms and decided to take a brief nap. I slept until I felt Beth stirring. I looked down and stroked her cheek. "Good morning to you my love." I whispered into her ear.

She turned her head, gave me a sleepy grin and said, "Mmmm... A girl could get used to this." Beth opened her eyes and I, once again, got lost in their limpid blue depths. "I just love waking up in your arms, Alex."

I grinned roguishly at her and said, "Don't get too used to it, I'll only be available to do this every morning for the next sixty or seventy odd years or so, then I'll HAVE to cut you off."

When I had finished speaking, she smiled up at me and hugged her body to me as tightly as she could as she said, "I can live with that."

I looked at the clock, it was ten after eight, and asked, "Would you like to have breakfast with me this morning and lunch with Josh? I have an offer to make him and I want to talk to you later about the next couple of months."

Beth gave me a worried glance, so I quickly added, "It's nothing bad. I want your opinion on a couple of ideas I've had and I want to hear your thoughts on a design I did a little while back. I also need to go to my apartment to get my laptop." I held up a hand to forestall her objections, "No work, I promise, I just need to check my email and show you the design. It's on the laptop. I can bring it with us and we can plan out and book our trip."

She half frowned at me and said, "OKAY, but at the first hint of work it gets doused with soda Bub! This is MY weekend with you and I'm not giving up any more of it than I have already had to." I smiled and hugged her as tightly as she had hugged me.

"I am so very, very happy to hear that!" I said with a contented smile on my face. "Go get cleaned up and then get ready to go to breakfast. I'll call Josh and set up lunch. We can meet him at the little café on Third Avenue. You know the place, the one with the great strawberry parfaits that you like so much." I swear she purred like a kitten at the mention of the parfait. Beth nodded, "That would be good." I used her cell phone to send a text message of our plans to Josh. He confirmed almost immediately.

She smiled and then frowned "BUT, I need to get into the gym today, too. It's just a few blocks from there. I've been SO off my schedule, too much lately, and I'm starting to feel it. I usually do my bench set on Sundays." She thought and said, "Damn that still won't work I don't have my gym kit with me."

I reached into the nightstand drawer, pulled out my wallet, and extracted a platinum card, "There are shops all over town and now I get to take my fiancée shopping and show her off to the world! So there! I don't see any problem stopping at the sports shop on the way to lunch."

Beth started to object, "Alex you don't have to buy me any..."

I cut off that line of thought right away! I scowled at her a little as I spoke, "I don't want to hear it, Beth. I do NOT EVER want to hear that. I have more money than even my psycho bitch ex could spend and I WANT to shower you with gifts, and presents, and love, and trips, and everything else that I can think of, just so that you know that you are special to me, and never ever doubt that there is no one I love more than YOU! I am not trying to BUY you; you are not ASKING me for anything! I do not think you are after my money, I know with an absolute, and unshakable, certainty that you love me FOR ME! No more arguments!" I smiled and said, "Besides that, anything I buy for you, and you put on, I get to take off and seeing THAT is well worth any expense." I started my tirade in a loud voice and finished in a teasing seductive whisper as I caressed her face.

She was quiet for a moment with her head bowed. She looked up at me with tears sparkling in her eyes as she spoke, "You said you love me!" Her voice was quiet but choked with emotion.

I smiled at her, cupped her cheek and in a loving voice gave the expected reply, "I've told you that several times this morning, if you had been paying attention, you horny little minx, you. And I'll have you know I've meant it every time I've said it to you." Beth beamed at me. Her smile has the power to make me forget everything else in the world, and the one she bestowed upon me this morning was truly exceptional.

We never did make it to breakfast I got up and retrieved a pair of the fur-lined cuffs that Joyce had packed, and came back to the bed. I leaned over and caressed Beth's face. "Do you trust me Sweets?" It was a simple question but harbored far larger implications because she had seen me get the cuffs.

She looked me square in the eye and held her hands out to me, "With all of my heart, mind, body, and soul Alex. All that I am is yours. All that I will become will be at your side. All that I love is for you; I am, now and forever, yours." If you've never had that kind of commitment declared openly to you, love shining in someone's eyes, it is a humbling experience that at first will scare the hell out of you, then you'll know you are truly loved.

I leaned over and took her lips. I ate at her mouth, kissing and nipping her lips. Then I pulled back and cuffed her right wrist. I sat her up so that I could cuff her other hand behind her back. The cuffs were very soft brown leather that had a soft white fur lining. They had Velcro closures that could be locked, with small padlocks, to prevent them from being removed by anyone else. We would not be using the included locks. The thought of Beth unable to get free scared me a little.

After she was secured, I gently rolled her onto her side and repositioned pillows to elevate her hips and lower back. I went to the other bedrooms and got the rest of the pillows I would need. When I had my mound of pillows the way I wanted them I helped my love onto them. Her head rested on a pillow that made her look down the length of her delicious body. Her bound arms lay in a channel between the pillows so that her weight wasn't really on them. Her hands wiggled at me just below her sexy ass and wet little flower.

WET? I got a shock when I looked. Beth was wetter than I had ever seen her. She was producing so much fluid that it was running down between her ass cheeks and dripping onto her bound hands. I carefully knelt over her and tenderly kissed her lips. I asked, "Does this really excite you this much?"

She blushed and shyly nodded her head, "Only with you, Alex. I played around with this a little bit with other girls and it never really did a thing for me. But I've been dripping wet ever since I saw you with the cuffs in your hand. The thought of YOU controlling me, makes me hotter than I've ever been. I can barely stand being this close and not touching you but I don't have that choice, do I... M-Master?" She had whispered the final word as she smiled seductively at me. As she spoke, she kissed and licked every inch of exposed skin she could reach, nipping me with her teeth occasionally.

I could not wait to taste her. I pulled back and slid my body down hers, never losing contact with her skin. I dragged my chest passed her breasts and felt her elongated nipples digging furrows in my chest. Beth gasped at the feeling it created and the sensations her sensitive nipples were sending her. She later told me it felt as though I had run a "violet wand" over her nipples.

(Now, at the time, I didn't know what a "violet wand" was but you can bet I found out at the first opportunity. It emits an electrical pulse and is used in heavy bondage play. My Beth? Heavy bondage? We needed to talk later!)

As my mouth came within range, I took her nipples into my mouth, pushing her glorious breasts together so I could tease the tender tips at the same time. I sucked, laved, and bit her nipples. When I bit firmly on her nipples and drew away from her body she began to shake and moan, her head thrashed from side to side. She screamed, "Cummmminnnggggg!" and attempted to arch herself off the bed but was prevented by the number of pillows and my weight atop her. That was a very rough climax for her but I wasn't through yet.

I lifted off her body and noticed the sheen of sweat that coated her body. I leaned over and blew a cool stream of air onto her erect nipples, a major aftershock cascaded through her body in response. I went to the junction of her thighs and gave a single lick to her clit and another massive aftershock rolled across her body, "Oh please Alex, give me a minute. I'm soo sensitive right now; please give me a moment to calm down!" She all but begged and being the softie I am I gave her wish to her.

A few minutes passed but I had not been idle. I collected a bottle of lube, a bit of rope, a makeshift blindfold, and of course Beth's own blue vibrator. (Properly cleansed of course) I took a small hand towel and wrapped my treasures in it so Beth could not see what I had. I moved up onto the bed near Beth's head and whispered to her, "I've never seen a sight more beautiful than you coming for me. Your skin flushes a nice rosy pink; your breathing gets ragged and makes your tits dance for my delight. You are a wonder to me and I will never let you go." I whispered this into her ear as I removed her ability to see what I was up to. She trembled so hard at my words, I wondered if she had cum again.

I moved to the side and began to run my hands up and down her skin, barely making contact with her flesh. She began to writhe and squirm, as I would not touch any of her juicy bits. She could not see where or when I was going to touch her and it was maddening. She cried out, "Touch me damn you! Please touch me!"

I said, "But you just asked me to NOT touch you. Which is it?"

She cried out in frustration, "ALEX! PLEASE, TOUCH MEEE!"

I raked my nails from the base of her neck, over her nipples, all the way to her navel. Not hard, not enough to scratch her skin but hard enough to leave red trails on her skin. She cried out, "Oh, Oh, Oh!" I leapt to the foot of the bed determined that I was going to taste her for this climax.

I grabbed her hands in mine and entwined our fingers. I lapped and sucked at her sweet honey pot for all I was worth. I would bring her to the edge and then back off completely leaving her to settle back down only to take her right back there once more. Her hips bounced and thrust up at my face as I kept her on the edge of orgasm for nearly forty minutes before I let her tumble over again. By that time Beth was babbling and sobbing and promising me her undying love if only I would let her cum. In the next breath she was threatening me with severe bodily injury if I didn't get her off at once.

I pulled her vibrator out and wet it with her own juices before inserting it into her tight little sex. She let out a loud inarticulate moan and I was again grateful that we had the floor to ourselves. I stroked that vibrator into her three times before she came and came and came some more, screaming all the while. As she rode out her orgasm, I left the vibrator in place but when I touched her Beth flinched as though she were in pain.

I asked her, "Beth, honey what's wrong?"

Her voice was ragged when she said, "Oh Baby! Nothings wrong I've just been on my arms a little too long and right now I'm too sensitive to touch down there, that's all."

I had placed her in the exact middle of the bed so I moved to her right and began to pull pillows free and toss them to the floor. I gently rolled her onto her right side and placing a pillow under her head, I freed her left arm of the cuff. I allowed her to rub the soreness from her arms for a few minutes and then I cuffed her hands again.

This time I cuffed her hands in front of her and ran a length of rope between the cuffs. I attached the rope to the frame of the bed above Beth's head. Beth's arms were extended over her head. I kissed my way down her back all the way to her ass. I wanted to go slow but I was in too much of a rush. I needed contact with Beth, and needed it now. I moved between her legs and after spreading her cheeks I dove tongue first into her delectable rosette.

She cried out again, "Alex, no I'm too sensitive, please!"

I licked from the back edge of her pussy to the top of the cleft of her ass before answering. "But I want MY ass," as I said the word I landed the blow on her right cheek "... and I want to play with MY ass. It is mine after all." With that, I reached down and as I slid my tongue passed her sphincter, I turned the vibrator on and up to its maximum setting. Beth screamed and humped up at me throwing her ass into my tongue over and over again, as the waves of passion flew through her body. As her breathing began to become labored, I turned off the vibrator and removed it from her dripping sex. She collapsed forward and for a moment, I thought she had passed out.

I looked at her and for a moment, I thought I had hurt her. She was crying.

She moaned, "Oh my GOD what you do to me! I was a fool to wait fifteen years." She gave a shuddering gasp as she calmed her breathing and regained some of her composure. Her tears never stopped. I leaned over and released her from the cuffs. Beth rolled over and trapped me within the circle of her strong arms. "You always make me feel so special, so loved. Thank you!" With that she proceeded to make time stop again as we kissed for seven or eight decades. The clock said only a few minutes had passed but I'm sure it lied. As she let me go, I saw she was still crying.

"What's wrong Beth?" My anxiety was plain. Her breathing was returning to normal as she spoke.

"Oh baby, nothing is wrong. You made me feel so good, so very good." Her voice choked and she began to shake with her tears.

"If nothing's wrong, why are you crying? Sweets, talk to me please! You're scaring me." I was certain that something was wrong. (I know, I know! I'm dense sometimes!)

Beth wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. She whispered in my ear, "Don't be scared, baby. I'm so happy and you made me feel so good it just bubbled out in tears of joy. I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now."

I rubbed her back and her tears calmed and I wiped them from her face. I caught the last perfect tear, as it rolled down her cheek, on the tip of my finger. I brought it to my lips and licked it off so she could see me do it. I said, "I've written part of my wedding vows to you in my head," Beth looked up into my eyes, surprise plain on her face, again, "and this part of it I think you need to hear right now."

"Your tears are the most precious thing in this world. When you shed them in joy, my heart sings; when you shed them in pain, my rage burns; and when you shed them in sorrow, my heart breaks. When you shed tears of joy, my love for you is at its highest. I will try never to give you cause to cry in sorrow over me, for it would be the end of me to do so. I take this tear into my body that you know that you are now, and forevermore, a part of me body and soul. We cannot be separated; we are not AS one, for we ARE one, inseparable, inviolate, forevermore. I surrender into your keeping this day my heart with the full knowledge that you surrendered yours to me long ago. Know that I treasure it and you above all things..."

I gave her a shy grin and said, "That's the part I wanted you to hear now, I hope it's not too corny, I..."

She stroked her finger across my lips to silence me. "I have never in my life heard anything so beautiful. Never. Did you mean what you said?"

I looked at her in shock and replied, "I have always meant everything I have ever said to you, my Goddess. I will never lie to you Beth. I want you to know how I feel and I want the whole world to know it too." We spent a little while longer cuddling in bed before Beth wiggled free of my embrace.

"We need to get ready for lunch, I want to meet Josh and then show the whole world that I'm out walking with MY man!" She shook her shapely posterior at me and then ran into the bathroom. After blowing me a kiss, she gently closed the door. I looked at the clock and saw it was a little after ten. I sighed and again headed to the other en suite and cleaned up. I walked over to the sink; I looked in the mirror and had to blush. I had just given Beth that impassioned speech and did it with her juices dripping off my chin. I ran water in the sink and cleaned up.

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The Toulon Café on Third Avenue was a very nice place to have a friendly chat over lunch or coffee. The original owner had spent a good bit of time in Toulon during World War II and had gone back after the war to see the city restored to its former glory. Harvey Dobbs had come back to America with a French wife and the idea that you could indeed eat out on the sidewalk and have a good meal. After fifty-seven years, The Café, as the locals referred to it, had changed very little. They still offer fine food at an affordable price and were still owned and run by the same family. Henry Sr. (Harvey's son) had joined his beloved wife a few years ago after an unexpected heart attack. Henry Jr. (Harvey's grandson) immediately took over the shop and its day-to-day operations. With minimal modernizations, the Café looked as it did the day that they had opened for business.

We arrived just in time to see Josh flirt shamelessly with the very well-built, very blonde, very YOUNG server and see her rush to get his order, blushing madly all the while. Beth alerted him to our presence by cuffing him on the back of the head and laughing, "Cradle robber! Lecher! My goodness Josh, she has to be all of what... ? Fourteen?"

Josh rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sixteen, sister dear. They have to be sixteen to get a work permit in this state." I laughed as I held the chair for Beth and took my own seat. Beth moved her chair over so we were closer together and she could hold my hand.

"Okay Alex, I assume you had another motive for wanting me here other than so my baby sister could abuse me, so let's hear it." Josh grinned as Beth stuck her tongue out at him.

"Where to start?" I said with a sigh. "Well, first off, I wanted to talk to you about your move. Have you thought about where you might want to move? What area?" Josh shook his head no.

"Then I have an idea; my lease expires in three months. I have the guest room. You could stay with me and take over the apartment after the lease is up if you haven't found anything you like better." I held up my hand and said, "Hear me out before you dismiss this out of hand. I have asked Beth to go on a trip with me. I want to travel for most of the time between now and the day we can be married. I have fifty-eight days before that can happen and I want to spend every one of them with your sister. I was thinking of a trip to Europe for the next couple of months as kind of a pre-nuptial honeymoon. During that time, I am going to have a house built. It is going to be Beth's and mine. After our work out we are going to take a drive and I'm going to hear her opinions on a few things and then we'll decide where it will be built."

Beth gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. I had told her I wanted to go on a trip but not where, and I had said nothing about the house. Josh got a sad look on his face when he looked at his sister and said, "Hang on a second, Sis, I need to make a call." He stood and hit a speed dial number and walked a short distance away. After a brief, but heated conversation, he came back and sat at the table.

"I just spoke to A.D.A. Granger, she's handling the case, and she is VERY opposed to you both leaving the country until the trial dates and indictments are set. That could take a couple of months to get finished." I was about to be very outraged; Josh saw it coming and held up a hand. "Hold on Alex. She only said that she didn't want you leaving the West not that you couldn't travel. She also doesn't mind it if you go to the islands, Hawaiian or Caribbean, or up into Canada. As a primary material witness, she wants to make sure she can produce you for testimony if she has to, so she wants you to stay on this side of 'the pond' as she called it. These people have already tried to kill one man and she would like to see you live through the trial. It would be much easier to arrange an 'accident' in Europe than it would here. The case against Lisa and the others is going to be pretty much a slam-dunk, but she still wants to make sure that nobody gets off on appeal. You could still travel the U.S. now, and then go to Europe for your honeymoon instead.

"Also she said to inform you that Lisa has contacted her about making a plea bargain with her. Granger is going to offer her seven years, three inside and four on parole. She'll be charged with the lesser included offences instead of the full load. It seems that Lisa was not in the loop on drugging Fred. That tidbit is on one of the other tapes. Heather and Jacquie deliberately kept her in the dark about the poison because they knew that she wouldn't go along."

I sighed and felt a little weight lift from my heart. I hadn't completely misjudged Lisa after all.

Granger seemed to have it all lined up and ready to go, but I was still pissed at her highhanded tactics. I could see her point but it still irked me that, while I had done nothing wrong, while I had this terrible thing done to me, I was the one penalized for it. I could not go where I pleased, when I pleased. Unfortunately, by the time I was finished fighting the restriction through all of the legal red tape it would be a moot point. I sighed in resignation. I looked at Beth and said, "I'm sorry Sweets. I so wanted to do this with you."

She took my hand, brought it to her lips, and said, "Wherever you are is my world. Wherever you are is fine with me. We could go see all of those mountain parks you have always wanted to see: The Oxbow, The Rockies, The Smokies, the Blue Ridge Mountains; we could go see them all. I would love to see Hawaii too. But I don't have to go anywhere as long as we are together."