Alisha: A dark Romance Ch. 05

The contented soft moans that had accompanied my journey of rediscovery became a long drawn out gasp of shock, and then a groan as the back of my finger traced up the line of hairs. She'd placed a couple of pillows under her head, so she could watch me and at her gasp, I looked up at her. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was a mixture of love, desire and need.

She opened her eyes, looking down at me. "I love you doing that, it feels so nice and familiar," she whispered, her fingers playing with my hair. With subtle pressure on my head, she urged me lower. I settled between her open legs. I ran the tip of my tongue along the lips of her labia, lips that were plump and wet in response to her growing arousal.

Her moans grew more vocal as my tongue slid along and between the folds guarding the core of her womanhood, and her clitoris rose from its shroud to welcome me back. My mouth acknowledged its welcome, and she threw her head back with a gasp.

Two fingers slipped into her slick wet passage and found her pleasure spot.

She jumped and then pushed her pussy up against my face as I caressed her G spot, "Ohhh, fuck yesss," she cried.

I kept on licking, sucking, and a third finger invaded her slick passage. My thumb rolled her engorged clit, and her moans of pleasure increased in their intensity. She bucked, and her thighs trembled. I flicked the tip of her clit, and she came with a long drawn out guttural cry. She shook, and a gush of pussy juice covered my hand.

"Ohh, holy fuck," she gasped. "That was so fucking good."

I crawled up beside her, and she rolled to face me as I wrapped my arms around her. She groaned at me, "You will fuck me now." She rolled onto her back, and her legs fell open in a mute invitation

.

There was no need for further foreplay; we were both aroused and ready. In one motion I was deep inside her, both of us groaning in pleasure and anticipation. I was thrusting hard and deep into her, so hard the bed was rocking under us. The slap of our flesh was almost drowned out by my groans and her vocal cries of encouragement.

"Oh god, yes, just like that. Ohhhhhhh, fuck yes, harder. Shit noooo," as I pulled almost all the way out and paused with my throbbing crown nestled between her slick pussy lips.

She rolled her pelvis, her legs wrapped around my thighs pulled me towards her as she attempted to impale herself on me again.

"Pleeeese," she desperately whimpered as she looked up at me. She screamed as I thrust back into her in one hard swift motion. I could see her face in the street light coming in through the windows. I could have imagined that the woman below me was in pain, but I knew from the sound of her cries and the way she was rolling her pelvis that it was all pure pleasure.

I'd witnessed this so many times in the past as she immersed herself in the pleasure that was riding in waves through her body. I could feel her orgasm building up in her, her legs were shaking and there were little ripples in her pussy that grew in intensity.

Ali was drawing me along with her as she grew close to her release. She was desperately pushing up to meet my thrusts. I grew close to my release, my hands holding her as I attempted to control her while she thrashed about, lost to the overwhelming sensations.

Ali groaned as she came. Her spasms were hitting her long and hard, her pussy clamping down on me. She arched off the bed, only her shoulders and feet in contact. That was all I needed to push me over the edge I'd been hovering on for the past few moments. I grunted as I came, pumping my hot cum into her waiting passage. She collapsed back onto the bed in a sudden motion that caused my invading member to flop out. Our mixed juices trickled down her thighs as it oozed from between her puffy lips.

We recovered enough to roll onto our side and face each other, I slid between her open thighs, wrapped my arms around her, and she rested her forehead under my chin.

For a long while, we stayed like that as our breaths synced. She looked up at me; her eyes reflecting the orange of the street lights

"Is there any way I can convince you to stay," she asked? I caressed her cheek, and she raised her lips to mine.

I said, "If I stay I'm going to end up in a fight with one of your ex-lovers or Jamal. You're the only reason I'm even here. I thought I could do this, but it's just a lie."

She pulled away sharply. "This is just a lie?"

"Christ no, not this. Paris, this week, all the circus that surrounds you. That's what I can't do anymore."

She seemed to shrink into herself, and I wrapped my arms protectively around her. She sobbed, her tears trapped between her face and my chest. Slowly her sobs diminished, and she fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ali was draped over me when I woke up much later that morning. We both smelled of sex and sweat, and our daughter was grinning at me as she sat on the bed beside me.

She held her nose and commented with a giggle, "You two smell like a pair of rutting polecats."

"And just how would you know what a rutting polecat smells like?" I asked as I made sure we were both covered by the bed sheet. Only Ali's foot hung off the side and was uncovered.

Ali's eye flickered open, and she groaned. "Hell, what time is it?" Then she saw Julia grinning at the pair of us. "What are you doing in here?"

"It was either Sandy or me, Mum," Julia said. "I'm supposed to remind you that you've got a fitting for Christiana's in an hour."

Ali stiffened in my arms and looked at me guiltily, but I didn't respond. I didn't need to, both of us knew this was one of the reasons why I was going back south.

"If you give us some privacy then your mother can get ready," I said.

"Okay," she bounced off the bed and closed the door behind herself.

Ali struggled to untangle herself from the sheet twisted around our bodies. She stood up and went to the bathroom only to pause in the doorway and return to the bed and sit down again.

She said, "I was going to ignore your wishes and follow you back to the cottage tonight, but I think you're right; it's all happened too quickly. I've been expecting you to make the compromises. I need time to decide what I want to do."

She leaned forward and kissed me. "It doesn't mean I don't love you, I do and always will. I'm going to give you your space."

She gave me a tight smile and hurried off to the bathroom. I soon heard the shower running.

Ali had left for her appointment by the time I'd finished showering and dressing. My parents and Julia were waiting for me in the lounge. It had been a long time since I'd seen either of my parents and my father had turned into a silver fox. I had to think for a moment and realized both had to be in their early sixties.

For a few seconds I don't think any of us knew what to say, and we stood like statues. Our last meeting had ended bitterly, as they'd blamed me for the breakup. It was Julia who started to break the ice by asking if I had received the invitation to her school's open day.

"We're allowed to have up to six guests. Usually, Mum brings my grandparents. But you must come this time, doesn't he, Gran?"

"I hope he will; we've all missed him." There was a catch to her voice, and she clutched at my father's hand.

"I'd love to, just let me know when it is," I told them. I took a step forward, and the ice shattered. My parents and I merged into a group hug.

There was a moment's panic from Julia when I explained that I was leaving later that day to drive south. She perked up when I invited the three of them to come with me.

"Can we?" Julia asked.

My mother considered for a moment before giving a slight nod. Julia punched the air and said, "Yes."

Mum put her hand up, "I need to check it's okay with your mother and we have to let the school know you won't be back on Monday."

Julia asked me, "Why is Mum not coming with us?"

"Honey, it's fashion week; she's tied up all week, and we both need to work out our priorities."

She looked worried, "Does that mean you and Mum might not be getting back together?"

I shook my head, "Not if I can help it; I want us to be a family again."

I decided that she was old enough for the truth. "But that doesn't mean we don't have our issues; both of us have created new lives for ourselves. Your mother loves this world; it's what she always wanted, but it was never really mine. I was bitter when she chose this over me, but I'm happy with my quiet new life."

"You're not going to come back, are you?" Julia's face reflected her emotions. Life was black and white at her age; things were either good or bad, and I had to try and explain.

"That not what I'm saying. Your mother and I are as much in love as we've ever been, but we need we work out a compromise that works for both of us. I can't live with all this security that your mother needs and I'm fairly sure she's not interested in being a farmer's wife. We've decided to take a little time apart, that's all, Julia."

"How long?" my Mother asked.

"I've asked Ali to take a month to decide what she wants to do."

"Is it fair that you expect Alisha to be the one who does all the compromising?" Mum asked. "Because it seems that's what you want."

"That's enough," and I glanced in Julia's direction, "this isn't a conversation I want to have now."

I think Mum wanted to continue, but my father put his hand on her arm and shook his head. Mum hesitated and then stepped back. We collected our bags and headed down to the garage.

It was seven in the evening when I pulled up at the cottage. I gave Mum and Dad the master bedroom, and Julia claimed her old room. I was going to be sleeping in the Never Again.

I'd called Sophie on the way down, and she'd stocked the fridge and larder for me. As my daughter showed her grandparents around the place, I checked in with Pete for an update on the grape harvest.

Fortunately, there were no issues, so I was relaxing on the terrace by the time my guests joined me. Dad was the first to join me; he uttered a small groan as he sat down.

"I'm getting old," he muttered, "I'm not used to all this traveling."

"Drink?"

He nodded, and I poured him a whiskey, adding a splash of water.

"So, you remember how I like it?" He picked it up and gave the aroma an appreciative sniff.

"I drink it the same way, so it isn't difficult?"

"You almost broke your mother's heart when you left."

I sighed, I'd hoped we wouldn't be having this conversation this soon. "Dad, I know we need to talk about this, but is this the right time?"

"I asked Jean to keep Julia busy while we talk son. Your mother could never understand why you cut us so completely out of your life."

"I came to you after Ali left me, and you and Mum were convinced it was my fault. What was it she said, something along the lines that I had to have done something bad for that lovely girl to want to leave me. I was hurting, and both of you rejected me."

"We know we were wrong. The first thing Alisha told us was that it was all her fault and she'd do anything to undo it. But by the time we knew, you'd disappeared."

"Dad, I'm not sure you understand how much Ali's rejection hit me. She abandoned me at a party and refused to get in touch for a couple of weeks. Why the hell would I hang around when as far as I could tell Ali was done with me? I didn't want to be around anything or anyone who reminded me of her."

"But everything's good now?"

"Well we are working out our differences, and I have a daughter I didn't know existed. I hope everything will turn out for the best, but from now on it's up to Ali. I've tried living in her world, and I can't do it. If Ali wants us to be a proper family again, then it's up to her to make the moves."

"And if she can't or won't?"

"Then I'm no worse off than I was before, only now I've got a daughter I didn't know existed a few months ago, and family I'm reconnecting with."

"But Alisha said that you two are still in love."

"We are, but being in love doesn't mean I'm going to run around the world chasing after her. I've done that and look what it got me."

I heard my mother and daughter coming down the stairs, and I fell silent. Dad gave me a 'we will talk later' look and settled back in his chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My parents and daughter stayed for six days before they had to leave. I never had another opportunity to discuss the underlying issues that I'd had with my parents after Ali had left, although I think Mum would like to have one. In the end, it seemed all so pointless now. My biggest regret was that if I hadn't been so pigheaded, I would have known about Julia, and she could have grown up with me in her life.

I wanted to blame Ali, but the truth was I'd made my own bed, and I had to accept the consequences. It had been my decision to cut off all contact.

Ali called every day to speak to Julia, and I kept an electronic eye on her via the web. I had the search engine I was using flag up any stories that mentioned Ali. Well, I said I did, but that would be a lie, I got the far more tech-savvy Abigail to set it up on my laptop when she came to see Julia.

I drove Julia and my parents to Toulouse airport and saw them safely pass through security. I dropped in on Pete and Sophie on my way home. I wasn't ready to brave my empty cottage just yet.

In the evening after the twins had gone to bed and Abigail was busy studying. Pete, Sophie and I sat on the wicker furniture on their terrace. An open bottle of wine stood on the table, waiting to join its empty companions. Pete was relaxing in an armchair while I was sitting on the sofa. Sophie came and sat beside me. She turned sideways, stretched her legs out and leaned back against me. She took my hand, placed it on her waist and held it in place.

"Ben, you know that you are our closest friend, in fact, you're more family than friend," she said, and Pete agreed with her.

She continued, "It worries us that you're here and she's in Paris. I thought that you were back together?"

"You mean, do we love each other?"

"Yes."

"I don't think I ever stopped loving her, Sophie. There's a fine line between love and hatred, and I never stepped across it. Ali is convinced she loves me even more now than she ever did."

"So, what's the problem?"

"You know what it is; she loves her job, as well. Modeling and fashion have been everything for her, and she enjoyed the rewards. She put that life before me more than once when we were first married. Now she says she wants us to be a family, and the industry's not important anymore, but after what happened last week, I'm fucked if I know what the truth is."

Pete looked at me and asked, "Is it that deep down you're scared that she might do it again? She slipped once, what's to stop her doing it again?"

I considered that while I sipped at my glass of wine. "Possibly, I don't think so, oh hell, I don't know."

Pete considered my answer and noted my indecision.

"Mankind is a fairly stupid animal in some respects," he offered. "He doesn't learn from experience. You've only got to look at history to realize that, the same bloody mistakes being repeated time after time."

He paused and sipped his wine. "But that's not quite true. Man doesn't learn from other people's experience. He, or in this case she, does learn from their own experience. You say Ali had her career and Julia, but from what she told us it was a hollow life. She never forgave herself for the mistakes she made with you."

"When did she tell you this?" I wanted to know.

Sophie stroked the back of my hand. "She and I talked a lot over the summer. She told me what happened that trip. She thought that you would understand why her modeling career was so important to her and you'd forgive her. She never expected you just to walk away."

"If it had just been that trip, then she'd probably be right, but it wasn't. She'd been distant for months. That trip was the one that brought it to a head, but that wasn't the first bad trip. There had been issues on the last few foreign assignments I'd gone to with her."

Sophie wriggled around so she could see my face. "That's not exactly how Ali described it."

"That doesn't surprise me; what did she say?"

"That there was a big misunderstanding at a party and you walked out. By the time she got back to your hotel you'd gone."

I gave a short laugh. "So, there was no mention of me intercepting her as she was heading to Ricky's room, or the fact the misunderstanding was that when I objected to some third-rate actor groping her ass in front of me, she told me it was too important to her career and I needed to get over it?"

"What the fuck?" Pete said. "Why didn't you ever tell us any of this before?"

"By then it didn't seem important. Her so-called friends and colleagues had been filling her head with bad ideas, and she came to believe them. The bloody actor was just the last straw."

There wasn't much any of us could say after all of that. We finished the bottle and a couple of more of its friends before I took my leave and staggered down the lane to the cottage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I kept one eye on Ali's progress over the next couple of weeks. I was sent clips of the standing ovations she received at the end of her last two shows, the ones she'd told the world were to be her last outings as a model.

Julia had insisted I create an online social presence so that she, her mother, and I could keep in touch. For the first time in my life, I had a Facebook page, Instagram, WhatsApp and some awful thing called Snapchat, and I'm fairly sure that there would be more I hadn't found yet!

My daughter used my new found online presence to keep bombarding me with news about her mother. Sandy would send me links to items that mentioned Ali. Ali sent me a few photos of her backstage at the fashion shows. The news stories peeked at the end of fashion week.

Cynthia's magazine article was published at the end of fashion week. Both Tony and Ricky were mentioned, but the bulk of the article was about Ali and the mysterious ex but not ex-husband. The link to Ali, myself, and the bloody novel was explored in excruciating detail. It wasn't long before I was outed as Xander Morton, not that it helped them as none of my friends were talking and the press drew a blank as to where to find me.

This time it was Ali who disappeared, and I wasn't the one who noticed. The month apart was ending, and the search engine was still flagging articles that mentioned Ali, but it was Julia who noticed that they all seemed to be old accounts and backstories. She tried to call her mother, and her phone was switched off.

She called me, "Dad, I guess Mum's with you."

"No, why would you think that? We're not supposed to talk for another couple of days."

Her voice sounded anxious, "Mum's not answering her phone, it's not even on. I called Sandy, and she's not in Paris, Sandy's not seen her for several days; she thought Mum had gone to see you. I was hoping she wasn't answering because you two were busy." I could almost feel the strength of her blush through the phone lines.

"No, I've not seen her, I've been working on the boat doing some maintenance before I close her up for the winter. She's probably on a trip, have you called Jamal? If anyone knows where your Mother is, it'll be him."

"No, I didn't think of that."

"Then don't worry, I'll give him a call, he'll know where she is," I said as reassuringly as I could. "I'll get her to call you when he tells me where she is."

Julia sounded relieved as she rang off.

Jamal's number was in my contacts under Security. Sandy had added a whole bunch of 'important numbers to my phone; this was the first time I'd needed to use one.