Chapter 34: Variations on a Theme of Love - Alegreto assai

I was early in the office and the temp had not appeared yet; Irene was waiting for me, however.

“James, I spoke with Sir Allan, and he told me that Maureen had departed already, and that Mary Ann was now with them. He’s so happy that they are there! Lady Ellen had started to live again with Maureen, and Mary Ann is wonderful, too. He believes that early this week they’ll have a conclusion about what happened and perhaps they can come back on the weekend. He told me to say to you to go on; he has absolute confidence that you’ll do well. Perhaps you could call him tonight? The time difference is fourteen hours, and you can catch him at the hospital. You have his number.”

I promised to do this and got into work. The temp had arrived, and I saw Irene supervising her. Soon I had my list of things to do - phone calls, emails, walk around with my staff, talk to Finance, and principally make certain that our excursion to Hawaii was on course. The day passed and before I left, I told Irene that I would be late the next day; she grinned and only remarked, “You’ll be at the airport, I guess?”

At night I spoke with Allan, he gave me the same advice that Irene had given me already and that Jenny had been a God-given gift to Ellen. She was better, and a big part of this was due to the presence first of Maureen, and now of Jenny. They would never forget this.

I got up early in the morning and was waiting at the airport for Maureen to appear. There was the usual delay, but then I felt her presence, eager and hoping to see me. She came out, looking around and when I waved, she flew into my arms. Suddenly I felt whole again, and it was strange that before I was feeling fine, but now with her in my arms I felt better. We kissed and I looked at her - there she was, the love of my life.

“Maureen, I missed you so much...”

“James, I missed you so much...”

We laughed, relieved that we were together again. She was a bit tired, but when I picked up her luggage, she was eager to go home. The drive was short due to early morning traffic and when we closed the door behind us, she let everything drop and hugged me with all force.

“I’m home again with you, my love. I want nothing more!”

We stood there for a long moment than she stepped back. “Let me have a shower and change; then we can talk.”

I understood, got her luggage, and took it to the guest room; she would unpack from there. I had prepared breakfast already, but I assumed that she had eaten in the plane; after all, first class has privileges. I waited for her and when she appeared, it was like the sun had gotten up - her smile was brilliant and her eyes shining. She had put on a little baby doll that showed off her beautiful body, but the only thing I cared for was her smile and her eyes full of love. She looked at the table with everything set but shook her head.

“James, all I want right now is to be in your arms.”

We went to the sitting room, and I sat on the couch; she immediately sat on my lap and pulled my arms around her. She started to cry. “James, these are not tears of sadness, but of happiness that I’m back with you. Just hold me...”

She sniffled and then looked at me. “Did you miss me?”

I laughed out loud - what a silly question! But she continued. “You had Jenny for a week, and you love each other, and then Mom was here for the weekend. I was alone all the time and that was not fair!”

“Yes, Jenny was here for a week, and I love her, but she is not you. And Eileen was here for the weekend and to my pleasant surprise, all went well, but they’re not you and I missed you every moment.”

“Even when you made love to them?”

“My love, making love to your mother was exciting, and having Jenny was even better, more loving, more caring, but I can only repeat - they are not Maureen. I missed you, my love!”

She looked at me for a long time and then nodded. “Yes, I know. We’re different. With all the love I have for Jenny, at the end you are mine and even sharing you in the same bed, I know that I’ll always be first for you in your heart and soul.”

She hugged me and put my hand on her breast. “You know what I missed, too? Getting my goodnight and good morning kisses; please never stop doing this!”

I held her close and slowly she relaxed. “Can you stay this morning with me?”

Unfortunately, a major prospect had insisted on a meeting this morning and all attempts to delay were for nothing; he was going on an overseas trip and wanted to speak to me before that. I had been able, however and with Irene’s understanding help, to clean my afternoon. I promised to be at home after lunch and she agreed but promised with a pretty little pout that I should better be home as promised. She got up, drank the tea I had prepared and pushed me out of the door. I thought it strange that twice now in two days I had been sent off from my own home!

Irene looked at her watch when I walked in.

“James, I respect you! Maureen has come home this morning and you’re at the office? Duty before everything?”

“Irene, not before everything. Maureen will always be my priority, but I’ve to judge my responsibilities since I have already taken off the afternoon.”

“James, don’t you understand the word ‘teasing’? I know your love for your wife, but I respect you even more because you’re able to think beyond these moments. So read the briefing; the car is ready at ten o’clock, the meeting is at ten thirty. Good luck!”

It went well - he was interested in both our proposals, one for equipment and another one for consultant services. He was concerned that Sir Allan was not present but told me that he had heard enough complimentary comments about the company and me, so that he would probably give me a decision on his return. He invited me to lunch to his business club and even wanting to rush home, I realized that this was an opportunity to lead his thinking into our direction. We saw Mr. Fuller at the club; he came over and warned my host to be careful with me. He had only wanted to discuss one little item with me and now he had a preliminary business proposal on his desk that demanded serious studying. He smiled when he said this and whispered to him, “Listen to him. He’s good!”

They looked at me for a long moment and then my host had to leave; Mr. Fuller stayed for a moment and remarked that if I were able to convince his friend about my ideas, that that could be very serious business for me indeed! Finally, he left also and my way to my love was free.

When I arrived home, she was still asleep. I wondered what she had done in the plane, after all, she had been in first class, comfortable, with a straight bed, and for over twenty five hours. I looked at her and she was smiling, had grabbed a pillow to put her head on, and one breast was peeking out from under the blanket. I left silently and prepared tea and toast, got my laptop and worked on the notes that Irene had given me on this prospect. It was interesting and as often before, I was unsure why Frank had not been more active; but this was water under the bridge, and it was my job to get things going.

A noise told me that Maureen had woken up and I put the laptop down. She appeared dressed still in that little baby doll, but with her eyes still half closed.

“James, why didn’t you wake me up? I wasted time sleeping when I could have been in your arms. Don’t you love me anymore?”

She sat on my lap and hugged me. ¨My love, it has been so long that you held me tight. Every night and every morning I prayed that you were safe until I could come back and look after you.”

She smiled.

“Apparently, it worked, thank God. Now tell me about Mom and the weekend. Jenny has already informed me in every detail about the week you had together - you know that that woman loves you as much from deep in her heart as I do, but how did you survive Mom?”

“It was easy - Eileen was wonderful. She was so happy that she never stepped over the limits; she did everything right and we had a great time. We went to the opera, had lunch in the Quay restaurant, drove to the Blue Mountains and she got a good tan from the drive. She dressed up for the Opera House and enjoyed introducing the Count de Winter, her son-in-law, to a few friends she met in the Lobby. For her, it was fun. And before you ask - she was fun in bed also.”

She grinned. “I shall get all the juicy details you won’t tell from her later in any way, but to the more important matter - Ellen. By the way, she told me that I was her daughter now, and a daughter would not call her Lady Ellen, so it became permanently Ellen. She has improved but is not over the hill. I spoke with the medical staff and was informed that she might recover a bit, but she’ll never be the same again. James, that might have a direct impact on you - from what I could see from Allan, he will not let her alone in her house whilst he is in the office. I believe that he might resign to stay with her. What would this mean to you? From a conversation I overheard involuntarily, I know that Allan is pushing your name, but he was not very optimistic. There is a power game going on in the Group.”

“My love, this is something we’ll resolve in the future, and in any case, there’s not very much I can do about it, but there are things I can control - there is tea in the kitchen and a husband waiting to cuddle his wife.”

I picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. The tea was still hot, protected in an Old English tea warmer (this time, it was a small copy of the Westminster Cathedral), toast and jam were on the table, and after arranging everything, I sat down and put her back on my lap. Feeling the weight of her body was proof that she really was back, and feeding her tidbits was fun, but we were both impatient and did not last long at the table. I picked her up once more and carried her to our bed. She pulled her baby doll over her head and lay down; I followed suit with my slacks and shirt and lay beside her.

As always, the thing I found most lovely of all was the joy I saw in her beautiful green eyes, that held so much warmth, and in her stunning smile, that made my stomach flutter and my heart melt. Her perfume reached me moments before our lips made contact, her eyes were closed and after taking in every detail of her gorgeous face I shut my eyes, though still seeing her before me in my mind. I felt the softness of her lips as they were gently pushed against me.

I pulled back and looked at her, and then I kissed her hair and eyes once more; when I arrived back at her mouth, she responded eagerly, her tongue seeking mine. After a while I decided I needed to breathe and that there were other places to explore. I glided down her neck and ended at her - no, my - beautiful breasts, firm and proud, and waiting for my kisses. I played around, fondling her mounds, teasing her nipples, sucking, and twisting them until she cried out in appreciation, and biting them gently. Then the journey continued southwards, and her labia appeared, with her half-shells covering her sweet entrance. Her pubic hair was still shaped to an exclamation mark, with the point just over her pussy.

Not stopping, I kissed my way down to her toes and slowly back up again. My eyes locked on to hers as I came close to her pussy. She was enjoying her moment and looked back, blowing me a kiss. I took a deep breath, reveling in the scent coming from Maureen. Her labia were shining from her arousal, and I could see several white, creamy drops appearing. I remembered what she liked and blew across her wet skin; she groaned, and I saw her eyes changing begging for more. Avoiding her clit, my tongue opened her, and her breathing accelerated, getting ragged.

I dug deeper and she responded lifting her hips to my mouth. Sweeping her inner walls and then returning to her mound, I enjoyed sucking and twisting my tongue around it. Maureen was now getting ready; her juices were flowing, and her scent was overwhelming. A lick followed another long kiss through her folds, and then back to her button. She was having troubles lying still and when I sucked her whole labia into my mouth and teased her clit with my tongue, she could not stand it anymore. Her body stiffened as she started to tremble; her breathing and moaning increased rapidly until her pleasure overwhelmed her. She squirted all over my face and cried my name.

“James, I love you! I missed you! Now, James, please!”

She kept completely still for a moment and then collapsed on the bed. Small aftershocks ran through her as she pulled me up and kissed me passionately.

“James, I missed you ... I missed your love ... I missed your kisses ... I missed everything! Don’t let me go away for such a long time again. Please?”

I hugged her as she cried; I knew that they were not tears of sadness, but of happiness that we were together again. She relaxed slowly and came back to life again.

“Well, I have been welcomed appropriately, but there’s someone who has been ignored and needs a proper salutation, too. I’m certain that he missed his owner!”

She moved down until she looked at my penis, proudly erect and waiting for action.

“Hi, George. You had some action, but now it’s me, your owner. I’ll take care of you much better than anybody else!”

She moved around and straddled my thighs, rotating her hips in the most delightful way and could feel the heat of her labia close to my shaft, and when she caressed it with her hands, it felt amazing. She leaned forward, pressing her hips forward against my penis, and pushed her breasts into my hand. I fondled them; then I pulled them to my mouth so that I could taste them.

She lifted her body a bit, placed George in front of her entrance, smiled and pushed downwards. I entered easily, and she moaned with satisfaction. Our movements were slow at the beginning, but then we harmonized our rhythm and things became interesting. Her inner walls felt so warm and tight, stretching to accommodate me, and the friction of our movements increased the excitement we both felt. Her eyes were closed, her mouth smiling, and she looked beautiful and sexy at the same time. She started to accelerate, and I followed her; breathing heavily and moaning, she made certain that I was in her as deep as it was possible. I felt her muscles squeezing my shaft with every thrust and I went faster still. My hands grasped her ass cheeks and pulled her ever closer to me. Both our bodies went stiff as we exploded, then she tried to dig herself into me calling my name. “James, please ... I love you ... Yesssss...” and she collapsed on me, gasping for breath.

“Yes, I’m home now. I was missing you, darling, and thought about you every morning, day, and night. Being in your arms, however, is soooo much better than dreaming about it!”

She hugged me and then offered her mouth for a kiss.

“James, I want to lie in your arms and do nothing, just enjoy you and myself. If you want to, you can take me again later, but now I just want to be in your arms, feel your heart beating, and go to sleep knowing that when I wake up, you’ll be there.”

I nodded as that was the exact feeling I had, too. Making love was wonderful but having your love looking at you when you went to sleep and seeing her the moment you open your eyes, was much better. Not that I wanted to miss the other part, however!

I dropped out of her, and she looked down to the combined juiced flowing from her labia to my hips. “Remember how we cleaned each other?”

She wiped her finger through the little puddle and licked it clean.

“Hm, tasty! Want some?” and she repeated her move, only to offer the finger to me. How could I deny her the joy of being one? I licked it clean also and she went back again and again until both of us were spotless. I wondered how long it would stay this way; there must have been still a lot of fluids in her pussy, but that was a problem we would resolve when the bedding was getting too wet. It did not take long, and she was asleep, safe in her home and her husband’s arms.

I woke up later while she was still asleep and crawled out of the bed, not wanting to wake her up. I made coffee and looked at my notes in the sitting room, trying to come up with more convincing arguments for Mr. Fuller’s proposal. If it worked, it could be another feather in our cap. There was software from NT that might be adapted if we stayed in our Confidentially Agreement, and that would accelerate our work.

Suddenly Maureen appeared, whining, and moaning.

“You left me alone, you beast. Why did you do this? Don’t you love me anymore?”

She had not bothered to dress and threw herself into my arms. I held her tight until she calmed down.

“My love, you were tired and slept so well that I didn’t want to disturb you, but you’re here now and at least this night you’ll not leave my side.”

She nodded, still half asleep and mumbled, “Where’s my coffee?”

There we went again, the poor husband being ordered around, but hearing is obeying at least in certain moments, and this was one of them. I sat her on the couch and went to the kitchen to get a cup, but when I turned around there she was, standing behind me.

“You said you would not leave my side, and then you left me in the sitting room. I don’t like that!”

I put the cup down and embraced her; she leaned into me and lifted her head for a kiss. This seemed to wake her up and she followed me willingly back to the sitting room, where I poured her coffee and life came back into her eyes.

She took a deep breath and started to tell me about Ellen’s status. She had improved a bit, and the doctors were hopeful that they could stabilize her, enabling her to go home, but in a private conversation they had given Maureen no hope; sooner than later she would not be able to withstand her illness. Old age had crept in, and the clinic had diagnosed an early diabetes combined with arthritis. There was not a lot that could be done for her except rest and watchfulness, and Allan had decided he would care for her full-time. She had told Jenny everything and they decided that they would be available for her whenever she wanted or needed it, regardless of other responsibilities.

“James, please agree that we can do this. We’ll not forget you, but she’s like a dear mother to us and she needs help and support. Please tell me that we can do this!”

I agreed; Allan had given me his support when I needed it and Ellen was an absolutely wonderful woman, knowing what would happen one day, but never giving up the fight.

“Maureen, you can make your own schedule and I’ll make certain that Jenny has whatever free time she needs.”

She started to sniffle and put her head on my chest.

“James, promise that whatever happens to us, we’ll never let the other alone. We’ll always stand beside whoever needs it. I’m so sad seeing the two on their own, and I promised myself and Jenny concurs, that we would try to make her days lighter, happier, and filled with laughter and amusement. Can we do this, please?”

I nodded. “You and Jenny are not the only ones who adore and love them - I do, too. I’ll do my part also, don’t worry.”

She calmed down and her eyes were dry now. I asked her about Jenny’s arrival, and everything went well; suddenly she started to smile.

“James, we had two afternoons on our own and we went shopping and you’ll see later that the time was not wasted. I saw that she started to look at prices again and without her knowing it, I asked our bank to deposit 25,000 dollars into her credit card. She was very upset when she saw it, but I used one on Mom’s arguments ‘you better accept it because it would be a real bureaucratic nightmare to revert it’. She swore that she would pay me back as soon as possible, but then she did not hesitate to use the money. You’ll see when she will be back, but I can tell you, James, she doesn’t waste money.”

The phone rang with Jenny’s status report. After telling us how much she missed us (‘us’ I must say, not me), she said that Ellen’s situation had improved a bit, enough that she probably could fly home early next week. She told us that she had decided to stay for whatever time she needed to help Ellen and Allan; she still had holidays to take from last year and her only worry was about the quality of the work of the temp. I assured her that it was acceptable, but certainly not up to her standards, and that with Irene’s help I would survive. Then she told me that she loved me, that she missed me and that she wanted to talk to Maureen.

That was that and I went back to my notes and ideas. Since that talk seemed to continue for hours (I wonder whether they had heard about prices of international phone call rates), I prepared our supper and when every nuance on women’s fashion, men’s inability to understand a woman’s needs, and the differences between that handbag against the other one was beaten to death, she finally came to the kitchen.

“James, why are you sitting here on your own? You promised me to be at my side all the time!”

I did not believe that this remark deserved an answer and poured her tea. She laughed.

“James, you have to understand us. Men, especially German men, are objective and direct; we, however, look at a problem from all sides, exchange opinions, facts or rumors, and at the end, we come to a better result than you could ever do.”

I did not even laugh, but she grinned. “Look at us! Would you have become my beloved husband on your own? I ran just fast enough so that you could catch me!”

I could handle female executives, but I had no chance with Maureen.

We finished our supper and went back to bed. “James, I need your arms around me tonight; can we just cuddle, and I can feel your heartbeat? Do you know that when I lie this way...” and she put her head on my chest “ ... I can hear your heart beating and I swear that my heart adjusts itself to yours. Funny, isn’t it, but I love it.”

I kissed her forehead and moved down to her eyes, the tip of her nose, and her smiling lips. This was love as it should be. Before closing her eyes, she remembered local rules and I had the pleasure of kissing her proud breasts again. She started to move, but resolutely decided to stop any fooling around - she wanted to sleep in my arms, and she did, and in a short while she was asleep. During the night I could feel her body glued to mine and whenever I moved, she followed.

The night was easy and when I woke up in the morning, she was already awake and in the kitchen; after all, she had hours of sleeping on the plane and at home while I was working! What woke me up was the smell of eggs and bacon wafting in from the kitchen and when I arrived there, she was finishing her work.

“I was going to call you, darling. I have done it the way you like best!” She turned to me, and I appreciated the sight, as there was a little apron around her front, but other than that, she was nude.

“I’ve learned my lesson of frying bacon in the nude, James, but since it is done, you can take it off. And I apologize for getting out of bed without following our rules and you can punish me however you want, anywhere and anyhow! Not this morning, unfortunately!”

She grinned and pointed to the wall clock - it was almost time to leave for the office. As suggested, I took off the apron and kissed the tips of my breasts.

“I’ll think about an appropriate punishment later and advise you tonight, Countess de Winter!”

“Uh, I’m shivering with fear! Will you drag me to the dungeons? Well, no dungeons here, but there’s a room back there you can drag me to, tonight...”

I embraced her and looking again at the clock, agreed that there was no time for fooling around. She served breakfast and it was difficult to decide what I enjoyed more - the perfectly prepared food, her perfectly built body or her wonderful smile. Well, in reality, there was no competition, her smile and her body would win anytime!

“Why do you have to leave, James?”

I laughed. “Darling, after all, I´m an employee and you are an employer!”

Reluctantly I left and when I entered the office, Irene looked at me and started to smile. She advised that Sir Allan was waiting for my call, and I did this immediately. He told me that the doctors had informed him that they could travel back to Australia. There was a specialist at the University of Sydney, who had studied with them and who would take care of her. He did not believe that there was a real hope for a dramatic improvement, but the medication would decrease the pain and she could live in her own home, which they believed would help also. He asked to get reservations on the flight back on Monday and I promised that we would do this at once.

He also told me that he had called Bill Cunningham that he would retire to look after Ellen, and that he had suggested very strongly that I should be named as his successor; it seemed, however, that the Group’s CEO had a nephew he wanted to place into Australia to give him top management exposure. This was not decided yet, but Bill thought that it was a done deal, and against their advice.

“James, once in a while family trumps competence, but you’ll have your chance, and probably soon!”

With a smile in his voice, he said that Jenny was a wonderful help in this stressful situation and Ellen had learned to rely on her. He said goodbye and I could talk to Jenny briefly; she said that things were under control and that she missed me very much.

I told Irene to make sure that they had the right reservations and considering Ellen’s condition, asked her to get again a reservation in a top hotel in Honolulu so that she could relax from the long flight from Cleveland, and that she should charge the additional cost to my account. She looked at me.

“James, you’ve changed so much this year. Gone is the cold executive and we have now a strict and aggressive manager, but we all love you. You got us to a higher level of competence than we believed we could achieve, and we know that you care at least as long as we all do what you want. You are a German, after all, Count de Winter!” and she gave me a little kiss on my cheek.

I reminded her that I was not only German, but on top of this a Prussian nobleman. I wondered whether I could issue a company directive that all men had to click their heels when they addressed me, and that the women had to curtsy. She stopped for a moment and then she realized that I was joking.

“Yes, sir, Count de Winter!” and she managed a decent curtsy. Her smile was sparkling and her eyes radiant. “You’ll do, James, yes, you will!”

She started to grin. “James, you are a hero; perhaps a stupid hero if you forgive me saying so, but a hero. How can you come to the office at this morning when your wife just arrived? Didn’t she treat you well?”

“Irene, I was educated to separate business and private life. Maureen treated me very well, thank you, but with Sir Allan absent, there are obligations I’ve to follow. And didn’t someone say that waiting can increase the pleasure?”

“Well, Count de Winter - if you think so, who am I to try to change you. I leave this to your wife!”

She gave me the mail to answer and the calls to make; the temp was waiting for me to do the same. Jenny called and told me that Sir Allan was in a better mood; the doctors had told him that there was a possibility that they could go home on the weekend. Tests had been thorough and while there was no cure for her at this moment, there was also no impairment if she went back to her home. An improvement in being back in her normal environment was possible, from sleeping in her bed and having her friends around.

The day passed; in the afternoon I had to visit the operations of a big distribution company that had shown some interest in talking to us, but I was allowed to go home at the normal hour. Maureen was waiting for me; she must have spent some time to pretty up - her hair was done in curly waves, a bit of blush on her cheeks, a lipstick sparely applied. It seemed, however, that she had no time left to dress; there she was, in her little red baby doll, her nipples shining (lipstick?), and her pussy carefully trimmed. I wanted one day to meet the guy who invented transparent fabrics; he had done a wonderful job for mankind. She stepped away when I wanted to embrace her.

“Where did you go? You smell like our truck depot! Change first, James.”

What had changed from yesterday? Yesterday she had jumped into my arms as soon as I had entered the flat and today, I had to change? Women!

I changed and came back to the kitchen where she had prepared a light supper. She was looking at me with that sultry look that women have when they are happy but expect more. She became impatient, cleared the dishes rapidly and pulled me to the bedroom where she lay on her back, slowly opening her legs.

She spread her legs wide and caressed her breasts.

“James, I’m so happy now you cannot imagine. I know that you’ll have to get up early, but this night is for us! Well, husband, what will you do? Play around? Make love gently? Take me with force? Have my pussy or my ass? Or both?”

I saw her arousal - her labia were wet and shining. I looked at her with love and would never tire of watching her, of seeing the trust she had in me and feeling the affection, the passion and principally the love we had for each other. I bent and kissed her, while my hands were sliding down her body, enjoying the luxurious feeling of her soft velvety skin. When my finger touched her pussy, she complained.