Chapter 56

Midnight, Saturday

"Are you ready?" Camille asked. She had her head perched on Evan's shoulder and she was gently running her hands across his smooth chest.

"Not bloody likely," Evan said. "I'm not 19 anymore. It takes a bit of time to recharge the batteries."

"Pity," Camille laughed. "They say women my age are hitting their prime. Maybe I'm going to have to pick up one of Andy's friends to keep up with me."

"You might need two of his friends to keep up with you," Evan joked.

"What's that old saying?" Camille wondered. She shifted closer and put her leg across Evan's waist. He felt her nether hair against his hip and he stroked her flank. "When your wife hits 40, trade her in for two 20s."

"Do you not recall how long it took you to train me to do things properly?" Evan asked. "Are you willing to go through that trouble again?"

"I suppose not," Camille replied with a mock sigh. "I suppose you're safe for now. Let's get cleaned up and go get that drink."

"Are you certain?" Evan wondered. He knew Camille would be worried about the dress he'd seen her in earlier.

"I'm sated and you're drained," she said, tickling his ribs. "Perhaps that will help you recharge and we can go again when they cut us off."

"I'm not opposed to a being seen with a gorgeous woman," Evan told her. "I will confess I'm a bit out of practice as far as the bed activities go."

"We'll practice until we get it right," Camille remarked as she shifted her body away. She thought briefly about pulling the sheet around her waist but instead just arose in her nude glory and headed toward the bathroom. "Join me?"

Evan was off the bed in a flash which caused Camille to laugh again. He caught her around the waist and pulled her toward him. She came willingly, pressing her breasts against his chest and pulling his face to hers until their mouths met. She felt a stirring at her waist and reached down to stroke Evan's lengthening penis.

"Maybe you don't need a drink to recharge your batteries," she said. She felt her own wetness in his pubic hair but it didn't deter her from using her hand to try to get him erect again. "Maybe just the thought of us doing it in the shower is enough."

Her mind flashed back 20 years to Evan's apartment. One of her favorite ways of having sex was with her hands against the wall of the shower while Evan was behind her. It gave him access to every portion of her anatomy and she loved the way he'd make use of that access.

She smiled as she pulled free from his embrace and led him by his erection into the bathroom.

"I need the wrap," he said, glancing over his shoulder where the box of condoms lay on his nightstand.

"One time won't hurt us," Camille told him.

"Uh, I believe I've used that line before," Evan pointed out. "I believe it did hurt us."

"No," Camille replied. She released his dick and turned the water on. "It didn't hurt us. Andy had nothing to do with why we parted. That was entirely my stupidity. If anything, it helped us. He's the reason we're here right now. If it happens again, I won't be unhappy."

"So long as you don't wait 18 years to let me know," Evan stated.

"Not this time," Camille assured him. She pulled back the curtain and stepped into the tub. It was far wider than Evan's old apartment but she still assumed the position, her hands against the wall, her back arched and her butt sticking out. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about tonight – but I think it can wait for a while. Don't you?"

For emphasis, she angled her bottom toward Evan and gave it a playful shake. She was thankful that her body didn't wobble like a bowlful of jelly when she did it. Indeed, Evan couldn't seem to take his eyes off her full breasts, her rounded butt and the section of pink that showed through her parted thighs.

"It's the wrong time for that," Camille said, trying to ease his concern.

"Huh?" Evan asked, pulling his eyes up to her face.

"It's the wrong time for me to get pregnant," Camille explained.

"Oh," Evan answered. "Well, we can try again when it's the right time if you'd like. I'm not opposed to raising a child – so long as you're going to be with me."

Camille felt tears come to her eyes and she pushed herself off the wall. She hugged Evan to her wet frame. His words hadn't been eloquent but had seemed so to Camille's ears. She willed the tears away and pulled Evan forward until he stepped under the water with her.

"I do plan to be with you if you want me there," Camille told him in a soft voice.

"I always did," Evan replied, kissing her softly on the temple. "Time hasn't changed that. It will take some doing but we'll find a way this time."

Anne Duffield stood just inside of her son's door. She had awakened at her normal time and had been unable to return to sleep – despite the fact that had barely slept at all in 24 hours. She had hoped Evan might have something on his Kindle that she would enjoy. She didn't mean to interfere in his business but she found that she wasn't unhappy with what she'd overheard – although she could have done without seeing Camille Drayton's naked breasts and her son's bare backside in the mirror.

It had been almost two decades since she'd seen her son truly happy. Now the thought that he might not have an unhappy day for the rest of her life gave her joy – not to mention that there might be another grandchild for her to spoil.

She slowly backed out of the room and pulled the door closed – a motion that Camille caught from the corner of her eye.

"Shit," she said.

"What?" Evan wondered.

"Well, either Andy came home early and just saw his parents naked or your mother just caught her son and his girlfriend showering together," Camille said, shaking her head. "Either way, we just got busted by someone."

Evan turned toward the door but saw nothing.

"Whoever it was is discrete," Camille explained. "They realized what was going on and left."

"Then it must have been Andy because Mum might have plopped her bum down on the loo and joined the conversation," Evan answered. Camille found herself laughing for no good reason. "Perhaps we should clean ourselves and go see if we're needed."

"Or not," Camille replied, breaking the hug and returning to her original stance. "They already know what's going on in here so they can wait as far as I'm concerned."

Evan inspected his lover's form with appreciation – which Camille noted as she looked at him over her shoulder. He began to run his hands over her back, softly raking his nails down her skin. Camille had always loved to have her back scratched lightly and she found her hips pushing backward in anticipation.

She moaned when Evan slid into her and his hands cupped her breasts.

"Indeed," Evan said in a throaty voice. "I believe our intruder can most certainly wait until we're through."

"This is the security panel," Regan explained as she opened a closet door. "Your gate code works any place in the house so you can use it here."

"Why?" Andy asked.

"So you can turn off the security cameras or review the videos," Regan answered, oblivious to his real question.

"No, I got that," Andy told her. "Why does my code work everywhere? That makes no sense at all. You gave that to me and we barely knew each other."

"Well, you had my code for eight weeks and didn't break in to ransack the place," Regan pointed out. She had given him her access code when he'd entered the property the morning after their initial meeting. "Besides, it automatically works on the only places with alarms – the doors, windows and gate. Once you're inside it doesn't make any sense to keep you from going into the pool house or the garage."

"I guess," Andy said, frowning. "We're going to have to sit down with your parents soon and talk about your personal security."

Regan nodded vaguely as they entered the small room. She pointed out the panels and gave a brief explanation.

Andy saw a monitor that showed a clear picture of what was transpiring in the pool. The camera must have been top quality and the monitor certainly was. He saw Ruth and Joy splashing water on Chris while Elizabeth did the same to Paul. He looked away before Regan saw him staring.

"Here are the controls for the outside lights," Regan said, opening another console. "We can turn down the pool lights and turn on the ones underwater. She slid a lever downward and the lights dimmed until nothing could be seen on the monitor. The scene came back into view, albeit dimmer, when she pushed another upward. "Now, hit the red button over there for me."

Andy complied and Regan pushed another button next to her. Two disc drives below the desktop slid outward. Regan pulled both discs out and replaced them.

"Remind me to turn this back on before we go to bed," she told Andy.

"Uh, sure," he said. He definitely would remember that because it affected Regan's safety – along with the other occupants of the dwelling.

"Now, the discs are just backups," Regan said. "If we want to erase things completely, we have to log in to the server. Right now, you don't have access but I'll get it for you as soon as I think about it when Mom and Dad are here. For now, if you need it, use mine."

She read off her user name and password but Andy immediately forgot them. He could think of no reason he would ever need to erase something from the Rileys' security system. If he did, something was terribly wrong in his life.

"This puts us into the security company's servers," Regan explained. "We have 48 hours to remove anything we don't necessarily want them to have access to – like a group of teenagers with their asses hanging out at the pool. In the morning, they will pull up the files from Thursday and review them for anything suspicious. The files are in one-hour blocks. See here?"

She pointed to a file that said 2300 and the date.

"That's 11 o'clock last night," she explained. "Eleven-hundred would be 11 in the morning."

"It's military time," Andy said.

"OK, we click on it and delete it," Regan said. "Now, we have to give a reason. We can't just delete it without telling the security company why. As soon as we delete this, an alarm will sound at their office. If we don't put in an appropriate code immediately, well, the cops will be here in about two minutes. I'm not talking the local security team. I'm talking full-on police in battle regalia. There is a list of codes but I always use 22157. That means proprietary or sensitive information was discussed near a camera. There is one for accidental nudity in public areas but I'd have to look that one up. Believe me, I'll memorize it soon because we'll need it, I'm sure."

Regan hit delete and entered the code. A green light flashed on the screen to confirm the deletion.

"OK, the cameras are off," she declared. "The alarms are still active, though. There are no cameras in what might be considered private areas: bedrooms, bathrooms, the offices. We disabled the ones on the second and third floor completely so I can walk down the hall in my nightclothes without the pervs at the security firm downloading it. We kept them in the common areas downstairs, mostly to deter theft."

Andy frowned at the thought that Esperanza Gomez might be considered a thief.

"Not from the staff," Regan said, quickly recognizing Andy's look. "They're like family. We trust them completely – and each one has the same level of access to this system as I do. This is more about people that attend parties out here. My parents host three or four gatherings each year – and in New York, at least, they would have valuable items come up missing after each one. It wasn't until Mom saw one of her vases at another house that she figured out who was doing it. But the item wasn't an original so she really couldn't say much. It might have been a coincidence that it was chipped in the exact same place. No one ever said money gives you class."