Chapter 2

His apartment was about ten minutes away from hers, closer to the FBI office. Charles Richards had a two bedroom, one bath apartment on the third floor of a newer building. It was more spacious than Diana's tiny one bedroom apartment. His living room, kitchen and dining area was the size of her whole apartment.

He told her to stay inside and look around while he made several trips to get her things. She discovered that one of the bedrooms was used strictly for storage. He didn't have a lot of furniture. He did have a complete bedroom suit that looked new. But the living room furniture consisted of items that looked like they had been bought separately at thrift stores or garage sales—typical single male furniture.

At least he was neat! Clothes weren't strewn everywhere and the kitchen sink wasn't piled with dirty dishes.

The walls were bare. No photos, no artwork, no posters ... and no curtains on the windows, just Venetian blinds. He'd only been living there a few weeks, so it's not like he'd had a lot of time to do any decorating ... not that men cared about that sort of thing! She hoped he'd be pleased with her taste in décor. He'd probably want her to handle most of that when they got around to buying a house.

By the time they finished unpacking her things and making room in his dresser and closet for her clothes and shoes, it was after eleven. They were getting a little tired. But their excitement at being in their first home together made them want to celebrate by making love in the bed they would be sharing.

Charles lovingly undressed Diana this time, taking his time to kiss and caress her body as he removed each piece of her undergarments. He peeled her panties down her hips as he kneeled in front of her, revealing her lovely golden blonde mound to his eyes again. His cock throbbed. He leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on her. He'd never tire of staring at her lovely blonde pussy! He'd never seen a true blonde before...

His dick got hard every time he saw her lovely pussy ... And watching his dark, curly hair mingle with her soft golden hair as he fucked her slowly ... goddamn! He couldn't even explain why that sight turned him on so much ... it just looked so fucking hot to him! That's all he could come up with! Hell ... everything about her was hot ... Just some things a little more so...

He stood and picked her up and laid her on his bed ... their bed now ... and undressed himself. Flames of desire roared in her eyes as she watched him. His own eyes burned at her as she stretched herself languorously. She held her arms out to him as he moved to lie down beside her. He kissed her passionately as she wrapped herself around him.

She was moaning into his mouth and thrusting her hips against him. She was begging him without words to take her ... Charles rolled over top of her as he moved her onto her back. He lifted his head to look at her face. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted backward. She was anticipating him filling her body... "Open your eyes, pretty lady. I want to watch your eyes as you take my cock inside you."

They groaned as he slowly slid all the way into her. Her eyelids drooped with passion, but she stared at him as he fucked her slowly and deeply. They moaned softly with each slow journey of his flesh inside hers. It felt as if he was unlocking the door to her soul.

Only he now possessed the key to unlock the door to her soul...

Once he was inside, his soul joined hers. They entwined in a dance of passion that was every bit as erotic as that Tango they'd performed on the dance floor in the nightclub of The Riviera in Las Vegas just over twenty-four hours earlier ... They'd forgotten they weren't alone.

But they didn't have to worry about an audience tonight. The passionate dance of their souls became louder and more urgent. Charles lifted his head from kissing Diana's neck when her moans grew louder.

She was about to come ... and so was he...

He whispered huskily, "Come for me, pretty lady. Let me see your beautiful lover's blush on your cheeks and your luscious lips deepen in color, begging for my kiss. Let me see the love sparkling in your eyes turn to a glaze of passion for me. I love you, Diana, and I love knowing that I can make you come more than any man ever has or will again. You belong to me! That's it, my love, come for me..."

"Oh, God ... I love you, Charles!" Diana groaned. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her hands dug into the hair on the back of his head. Her back arched and her hips bucked against his as her climax peaked. She could feel her flesh throbbing on his. He sent her to these dizzying heights of passion every time he reminded her that he was the only man who could fuck her this good.

She loved his possessiveness of her ... she needed his possessiveness ... it was how she knew he loved her!

"Oh, yes!" he groaned as his orgasm peaked. "You are so beautiful when you come! Can you feel me pulsing inside you? I love to come with you, Diana ... it feels so right!"

They moaned softly, grinding their hips together gently as their passion subsided. When they were breathing normally again, he kissed her tenderly. He lifted off of her, went into the bathroom and got a towel and a wet washcloth.

Diana wouldn't go to sleep until she'd cleaned up after sex. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving anything on her body, and she wasn't fond of "wet spots" either! Charles chuckled.

She was such a sensuous woman who could come so easily—but she couldn't stand the mess it made...

As she drifted off to sleep tucked against his right side, his soft smile faded. That dark, gut-twisting feeling returned. He frowned.

What was causing this feeling? He couldn't sense anything specific...

He turned his head to kiss the top of Diana's golden mane and tightened his arms around her. He listened to her soft, even breathing as he felt himself drifting off...

Charles awoke with a start—sitting bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily and sweating. He almost went into a panic when he saw the bed was empty beside him ... Diana was gone.

He suddenly recalled the dream ... or nightmare ... he'd just been having. One moment, he was making love with her; she was on top of him, riding him with slow, sensuous strokes of her body. And the next moment, she was gone—ripped away from him by some unseen force. He'd heard her scream in panic and pain and then ... nothing ... complete silence and darkness.

Charles jumped out of bed and grabbed his boxer shorts from where he'd left them just before he joined Diana in bed. He put them on and went to the bedroom door to look for her. He stopped short as he came out the door. She was in the kitchen ... making breakfast. He crept up behind her as she was pouring scrambled eggs into a pan.

He put his arms around her waist, opened her robe and cupped her breasts with his hands. He kissed the curve of her neck and shoulder. He smiled as he felt a shiver go through her body.

There's your tingles, pretty lady! Now, let me see your nipples stand out ... ah, yes! Thank You...

"Good morning, sexy man. I thought I'd let you sleep as long as possible before we have to leave for work. You seemed kind of restless last night. Still not quite used to having a woman in your bed again ... is that it?" Diana asked him teasingly.

"That's not it all, my pretty lady, and you know it. I just don't like the thought of having to be away from you so much during the day. I wish we could've had a longer honeymoon—we'll have to make plans to do that some time. Breakfast smells great ... what are we having?"

"Sausage and scrambled eggs—and toast if you can tell me where the bread is! I looked all around but I couldn't find it. Do you have any bread? And I would've made some coffee, too, but I couldn't find that either!"

Charles went to the freezer and pulled out a partial loaf of bread. "I keep bread in the freezer. It'll go bad on me if I don't eat it fast enough. And I don't drink coffee; I prefer tea."

He toasted a few pieces of bread and poured them some orange juice while she finished the eggs.

They chatted about Diana's job as they ate breakfast. Charles was curious to know if she'd met any other big stars besides Marilyn Monroe, Ward Bond ... and John Wayne. She said she'd met a few others but none of them had been as warm and friendly to her as Marilyn, Ward and the big man.

Warm and friendly... Charles snorted softly. Those two words couldn't possibly describe how John Wayne had treated her...

Diana tried not to notice the sound he made. What the hell had he wanted to talk to Ward about before they'd left Las Vegas the day before?

By sheer coincidence, Ward Bond and his wife Mary Lou had gone to Vegas for a few days and had also ended up at The Riviera. Ward had been surprised to see Diana there and even more so when he'd learned that she'd married!

Ward had caught her and the big man together at his beach house that weekend in April of '54. He was supposed to have been out of town at a movie location, but the plans had been cancelled at the last minute, so he'd gone home. He'd told the big man he was welcome to stay at his house if he was tired of a hotel room. Wayne had taken Diana there when he'd learned of her love for the beach and the ocean. Diana had been upset when she learned Ward had seen them making love on the beach. But Ward had sworn to keep it a secret ... and he had. He and Diana had been good friends ever since.

Diana had asked Ward and Mary Lou to say they had no knowledge of her relationship with the big man. She'd told Charles that she made the big man promise never to tell anyone about them. It was a believable story. Wayne had already been seeing his wife Pilar before that weekend fling—it would only have complicated his life if anyone had learned about Diana.

Not sure what to think, huh, pretty lady?

Diana still thought he didn't believe that she'd had an affair with "the big man." He wanted her to keep thinking that. But he'd picked up on enough of her reactions to his questions and comments to know that it was true.

She called John Wayne "big man" because he had a big dick. Charles kept trying to push that image from his mind—but it kept ... hanging around!

Good God ... even my own traitorous mind keeps making jokes about it!

But it wasn't a joke ... not at all. Jealous as he felt from time to time when he pictured Wayne fucking his wife, he'd come to realize ... if The Duke hadn't loved her, he would never have found her again...

He'd spoken privately to Ward the previous afternoon before they left Vegas because he could tell that Ward knew something. Ward had reluctantly confessed that he did. So Charles had asked him to deliver a message, hoping it would tell Wayne how much he loved Diana.

He'd have to ask Ward if he ever saw him again how The Duke had reacted to that message...

After breakfast, they showered and dressed for work. Then Charles drove Diana to the movie studio.

Diana introduced Charles to her boss, the executive producer. He was as shocked as Ward had been. He also knew about John Wayne. He'd caught them in a passionate embrace in her office two weeks after that weekend. He had been shocked to see Wayne wiping a few tears from his face after he'd come out of her office when they supposedly said goodbye to each other.

Wayne had threatened him with bodily harm if ever told anyone or did anything that would hurt Diana. The producer had assured him that he'd always cared about Diana. He had also hoped she would finally realize what a wonderful young woman she was since Wayne—her ideal man—had recognized that in her. The producer knew how much he loved her. Wayne still called him every once in a while just to find out how she was and what she'd been doing.

He wondered how The Duke was going to take the news that she'd married...

The producer was impressed with her new husband ... he was quite a specimen! An FBI agent with a great physique and very handsome—the camera would probably love him...

It was also obvious that Diana loved him when Charles kissed her goodbye. It was a very tender kiss. His right hand cupped her jaw as his lips softly lingered on hers for several moments, their eyes closed. He lifted his head to look at her lovingly. Diana's eyes drifted open, revealing her love and desire for him. Then he brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers and quietly told her he'd see her that evening when he came to pick her up.

Charles paused as he went out the door to look back at her. He flashed a quick, sexy grin, showing off the deep dimple in his right cheek. Diana grinned back just as sexily. She closed her eyes and sighed dreamily when he left. When she looked at her boss, he was staring at her with his eyebrows raised.

"So, you've finally found someone to replace Captain Hard Ass in your heart?" The producer paused when Diana barked a loud laugh. "By the way, you've never explained to me why you gave Mr. Wayne that nickname and why it makes you laugh all the time!" her boss exclaimed.

Diana smirked. "I call him Captain Hard Ass because he has a hard ass and he took me on his boat ... and we fished, too!" Diana and her boss roared with laughter for a moment.

Then she sobered. "Charles didn't replace him. I'll always love Captain Hard Ass ... but Charles is my true soul mate and he now owns the rest of my heart. He loves me and I want him even more than I did the big man ... which I thought I'd never find in any other man. I'm finally a very happy and very lucky woman! I just wish it hadn't taken seventeen years."

Diana's boss asked her what she meant, so she told him their story. "We just happened to end up at the same pub downtown Friday night. Charles spotted me and had a gut feeling that I could be his 'dream girl.' When I discovered he was also a fan of the big man, I knew he was the man for me. Charles asked me where I grew up in Virginia; he had thought for sure I was his dream girl. But since my hometown isn't near the town where we'd spotted each other, he'd dismissed his hope, but he still felt somehow that I was his soul mate.

"Later that night, we were talking more about our childhoods, and I told him of a boy I had spotted years ago at a carnival who'd looked at me with such intense interest. I was stunned when Charles described exactly what I had been wearing that night! Well, that just threw us for a loop! We knew then that we really were soul mates! And after everything we've been through in our lives ... it just makes us truly appreciate what we have now."

Her boss said seriously, "You know ... maybe you should write a book or a screenplay based on your story. It sounds like it would make a great romantic drama!"

Diana was amazed ... at first. Then she laughed it off as a silly idea. No one would be interested in her life's story! Besides ... she didn't want to reveal her painful past to anyone else anyhow...

There it was again ... that dark, gnawing feeling in her stomach...

She frowned and shook her head to dispel the feeling. As she walked around the corner of her desk toward her chair, she froze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a cold chill ran up her spine.

What on earth was wrong with her? Why did she suddenly feel so spooked? There was only one other time she had ever experienced what she'd call a "premonition." It was when she'd known right after the big man had told her he loved her that she wasn't meant to share her life with him.

But she knew in her soul that Charles and she were meant to be together ... So, why was she suddenly having feelings of "doom and gloom" when she was finally happier than she'd ever been in her life?

Maybe it was the pain of her past trying to rear its ugly head! Trying to make her think that she'd better not get used to being happy because something was bound to take it away from her.

Maybe she didn't deserve to be happy...

This was ridiculous! Fifteen minutes away from Charles back in the real world and already she was trying to sabotage her own happiness!

She snorted a sarcastic laugh and mentally screamed at the nagging feeling of the "heebie-jeebies" to go away and let her enjoy true happiness at last.

She did her best to ignore that gnawing, dark feeling...

Diana threw herself back into her usual routine at work and tried to make the day go faster so she could be with Charles again. It seemed to drag a little slower than she would have liked. At 5:15, she was waiting at the front entrance of the studio when Charles pulled up to the gate. She jumped in the car, slid across the seat next to him and kissed him desperately. She told him how much she'd missed him. Charles kissed her back just as fiercely and murmured that he'd missed her, too.

They headed back to his apartment ... home ... and ended up attacking each other and fucking on the living room couch as soon as they got in the door. They didn't even bother to undress. He pushed her down onto the couch and thrust his hips against her. She reached down and undid his pants and freed his throbbing cock. He pushed her skirt up around her waist and removed her panties. He fucked her hard as they groaned with lust.

That act almost became a routine for them that week. They had to switch to Diana giving Charles a blowjob when her monthly cycle interfered. They had agreed while they were on their honeymoon that they still wanted to pleasure each other during those certain times of the month or during the fertile period of her cycle. They both wanted children, but not right away! They wanted to enjoy all the pleasures they could give each other for at least a couple of years before they started their family.

Charles had stared at Diana right after she'd assured him that she wouldn't get pregnant during their honeymoon because she wasn't fertile at that time. His initial nervousness at realizing that he'd already come inside her twice before he'd even thought about birth control was immediately relieved.

Then he'd instantly envisioned Diana pregnant with his child and how beautiful she'd look. He'd seen her holding their newborn baby ... a beautiful little girl; then him holding a little tow-headed girl about five years old with sparkling gray blue eyes ... just like theirs...

Diana stood up from the couch to kiss Charles, still holding his softening cock in her hand. He loved to taste himself in her mouth. He moaned deeply as his tongue stroked hers. When the kiss ended, she stared into his eyes as she softly stroked his cock. Then she put it back into his pants and zipped him.

There would come a time when she wouldn't allow him to waste his seed shooting off in her mouth. She'd make him fuck her and come inside her over and over until he impregnated her ... She wanted to have his baby ... she wanted a little boy just like him...

Charles smiled softly at his wife. He could see the deep love in her eyes ... There was also a faint far away look, as if she was looking ahead to something ... Whatever it was, he could tell it made her happy...

In the first several weeks after their marriage, Charles and Diana were busy looking for a new home and cleaning out Diana's apartment. She was able to get out of her lease by finding a new tenant to take it over. Diana's girlfriends were all very helpful with the cleaning and moving of items from her apartment to his while they spent most of their time working and house hunting.

Within five weeks, they found a lovely home in the Brentwood area. It was a bit more than they'd originally planned to spend, but it was a really good deal. It was a brand new U-shaped ranch-style house with a two-car garage, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It had a large kitchen with a spacious living and dining room area.

Sliding glass doors in the dining room and master bedroom led to a patio and an in-ground pool. It had a large backyard with a spectacular view of the ocean in the distance from the hillside location. The backyard was very private, with trees and thick brush lining the sides of the yard. They could just imagine themselves lounging on the patio and having cookouts with their friends; the two of them sipping drinks, skinny-dipping and making love in the pool.

They fell in love with the house and the view the moment they saw it. The price of the home exceeded their maximum mortgage amount by nearly the same amount of money they'd won in Vegas on their honeymoon. They put that amount toward the down payment so they wouldn't exceed their planned mortgage payments. They were able to close on the purchase of the home and move in quickly since it was a new construction and was all ready for occupancy.

They had budgeted a few extra thousand dollars into their expected home buying expenses with which to purchase some new furniture. Neither one of them had any dining room furniture nor did they have very nice living room furnishings. They also treated themselves to a new set of furniture for their master bedroom—a large four-poster bed with a matching dresser and mirror, chest of drawers and two nightstand tables. They used the bedroom furnishings from their apartments in the guest bedrooms.

Diana's girlfriends came over some evenings to help her with arranging furniture and unpacking. Sometimes Charles was working late, so they would have dinner with her and hang around for a while to play cards or watch some television shows until he got home. Dawn Williams, Barbara Adams and Lynda Curtis all loved Charles. They had all immediately started flirting with him ... especially Lynda.

They had called Lynda from Vegas to tell her that they'd married. She had flirted with Charles on the phone and he had teased her in a most provocative way. She'd been dreaming of him ever since.