Best Wishes
By: amkp
Chapter 11-Payback, Carlos-style
Disclaimer: JE owns them, but I get to make them smutty and satisfied for our pleasure.
Author's note: Okay, ladies, you completely blew me away with your reviews for last chapter. Seriously! Wow!! THANK YOU so much! Thanks to all of you who have an anonymous status, I'm sorry I can't thank you individually, so here you go, THANKS!!
Since you all were so nice with the reviews for chapter 10, this chapter will include RPOV of Steph in cuffs. In fact, I had this chapter wrote and beta'd when I posted chapter 10. My intent was to cut the smut scene if it didn't get reviewed well….so, umm, that didn't happen. LOL. And I was so happy with the response, that I went back and re-worked this chapter…I added more! Hope I don't disappoint.
Thanks to my overworked beta, Jenny (JenRar.) Poor thing had to go through this smut scene twice and give me ideas on how to expand the whole thing. Don't you feel sorry for her? I know, I do! And as always to Cara (girliegirl79), well, for just putting up with me! She's had her work cut out for her, too, this week dealing with me! What a true friend!
RPOV
Ahh… victory. It tasted so sweet. Stephanie's eyes had nearly bogged out of her head when the click of the cuffs had resounded in the room. Payback time, Carlos-style. Ooh Rah!
One of the many skills I learned during Ranger's school was flexibility. Being able to quickly change and execute a plan could sometimes mean the difference between life or death. This skill had been refined over the years, and even more so since meeting one Stephanie Plum. A man had to be ready for anything when dealing with her. Always have a backup plan, maybe two, was the motto I used with her. I love it; I love her. She keeps me on my feet and I think she's only vaguely aware of how much power she truly has over me. It's been like this from the beginning. There have been times I've been able to tamp it down, push it back, but she's always 'gotten' to me, intrigued me, puzzled and surprised me. And after living in the dark, ugly place my life had been in before meeting her, I know that she's a precious gift that I'll never take for granted.
All this being said, the girl's going down! I'm not unaware of my power over her either; sometimes with just a penetrating stare, I can turn her into putty in my hands. Now that's power!
Besides, we made a deal with the handcuffs. Granted, I'd planned to wait and hang this over her head for a while more, but after her little surprise tonight, I decided not to wait. There'd be more deals between us, and I'm sure I can think of something equally as satisfying as the next couple hours are going to be. At least three things are already coming to mind. No need to dwell on future deals right now, though, because the present is pretty damn hot! Back to business.
The first thing I wanted to do was change locales. I knew exactly where I was taking our little party. She was coming out of her surprise, somewhat, and had fallen suspiciously quiet. That is, until I scooped her up into my arms.
"What are you doing? Where are we going?" Her voice was showing panic.
"You'll see."
She fell back to silence and I continued to plot. When we arrived into my chosen room, she didn't disappoint with her response.
"The gym? Are you kidding me? I'm not doing any type of exercise with handcuffs on. I'm liable to kill myself!"
"Don't worry, Babe. The only exercise you'll be doing is with your lungs. I'll take care of everything else."
"Why here?" she questioned as I sat her on the bench press seat.
"This is a room I spend a lot of time in, and I'm going to create some pleasant memories to recall during my workouts. Maybe, after this, you'll even want to join me here more often?" I shot her the one eyebrow look, and she rolled her eyes.
"Don't hold you breath, Batman. You have no idea the extent in which I hate to exercise."
"We'll see, Babe. We'll see."
Walking over to the panel for this room, I hit the button to close the vertical blinds that provided a view of the beach. Then I dimmed the lights to about half their normal brightness. When that was done, I walked over to the sound system and turned on the music.
My musical tastes are pretty varied, but when I workout, I need to 'feel' the bass and the rhythm, so most of the stuff here runs toward heavy metal and rap. I just let the system shuffle through its contents. I didn't really care what played, as long as it had a beat. I adjusted the sound to fairly loud. If I need to say anything to Stephanie, I'd whisper it in her ear anyway.
Next, I went to my pull-up station. The bars on this piece of equipment were adjustable. I slid the bar out of position and propped it up against the leg, then turned to go collect my victim, I mean, fiancée.
"Carlos?"
Yep, I was making her sweat. She was definitely concerned about where I was going with this. Good.
"Yeah, Babe."
"What are you going to do now?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously and chewing at her bottom lip.
I grabbed her clasped hands and pulled her to her feet. She stood naked in front of me, wearing just those fucking hot shoes and the handcuffs. My cock jumped to attention at the sight.
"Stephanie, quit worrying. You're going to enjoy this, I promise," I whispered into her ear and closed my arms around her. She settled her head against my chest. We stood like this for several moments, just absorbing each other in and feeling the peace. When she seemed more relaxed, I stroked down her arms, captured her hand and moved her over to the pull-up station.
I picked up the bar, slid it under the chain of the cuffs and raised it to a height that would have her arms slightly raised above her head. I had her facing the wall of mirrors. This was one of the main reasons I'd chosen this room. I wanted us to be able to watch. I needed to make a trip upstairs, to our bedroom, to get some more items for my plan. It was time to bring out the black box of 'goodies' I'd been collecting for some time to use with Stephanie. Our first trip to Pleasure Treasures, during her FTA apprehension, had inspired the collection, and it's grown over the years. When we'd made the deal to use handcuffs, I'd planned to put at least a couple of the things in the box to good use. No better time than the present.
I brushed her hair away from her ear and whispered, "I'll be right back."
"Huh? What? Where are you going?! Don't leave me here chained up, for cripes sake!" She was clearly not happy about this, but I'd make it up to her, and good.
"Babe, I'm just running upstairs for something. I won't be two minutes."
The dash upstairs took less than twenty seconds. I grabbed the box out of the bedside stand. I opened it, checked the contents, and smiled a shit-eating grin at the toys inside, as well as the image of what her expression will be when she sees this. Stephanie Plum was about to get an education! I ran into the bathroom to gather a couple more things, then I made the return trip downstairs to my waiting fiancée. This was turning out to be a great night!
When I arrived back into the room, she eyed the box and supplies I was carrying with trepidation. I placed the box at her feet, then crossed to the room to get some towels for the first item of business. I tossed the towels on top of the box and stepped behind Stephanie, wrapping my arms around her while pressing my body tightly against her back.
Our eyes met in the mirror and held for a long moment. Stephanie's facial expressions are one of the many things I love most about her. I could, and have, spend hours just watching her face. She thinks I can read her mind, which I sometimes can, based solely on her expression.
The look she was sporting now was a mirage of emotions. Fear, curiosity, anticipation, courage and love were all present. I let a tender expression settle over my face. She gave me a small smile and I placed a kiss to curve of her neck. Let's get this party started!
Reaching up to her hands, I drug my fingers lightly down her arms. Goose bumps peppered her skin. Using my foot, I pushed between her feet and signaled her to open up her stance more. Her body formed a figure 'X'. Sexy. My hands continued down, stopping to pull at her hair. I tipped her head back and placed a kiss to her lips. My teeth nipped at her bottom lip then delivered little bites down the column of her neck.
Her nipples pebbled at the sensation, and my palms itched to hold her breasts. I wasn't going to deny myself anything tonight, so I closed my hands around her.
The music pounded out and I couldn't stop myself from grinding my erection into the curve of her ass. She groaned, and her head fell back against my shoulder. She bit at my ear, which elicited a groan from me.
Damn! I have no idea why my ears are so sensitive to her touch, but now that she's discovered how it gets to me, she uses it all the time. This woman drives me mad with lust.
Reigning in my desire for her, I walked back around to stand in front of her naked body. I bent down and opened the box. I found what I was looking for quickly, rose to my feet and undid one bracelet on her cuffs. I took the freed hand and secured another pair of cuffs to it. By doing this, it allowed her to move her arms. She could slide them on the pull-up bar, or she could also grip the bar if she wanted to, since there was now slack on the cuffs.
With that job done, I reached for the supplies I'd brought from the bathroom. She broke the silence when she saw what I had.
"Carlos?" Her voice was hesitant and showed some fear.
"Yeah, Babe."
"What are you doing with all that stuff?" Her gaze shifted to the items now spread out at her feet.
"Shave you."
"Say that again! Did you say shave me? Like my legs?"
"Not your legs, Steph," I said with a smirk.
"Then what?"
I looked directly at my target. 3…2…1… The light of understanding clicked on in her brain.
"You mean…my…omigod! Carlos, you can't be serious!"
"Babe, have you ever shaved bare?"
"Well, no, it's weird."
"Why? I'll be the only other one that knows, Stephanie."
There was a long pause as she considered all this, then she finally responded, "Okay, but if I don't like this, it'll be the last time, right?"
"Yes. I'm not going to force you to do things you don't like."
She nodded her head and bit at her lip nervously. I stood back up, placed my hands on either side of her face and claimed her mouth in a hungry, passionate kiss. We were both breathing heavily by the time we separated. When I looked into her eyes, there was a softness in them that she gets when she's aroused.
"I really think you'll like the feeling, Babe. I wouldn't suggest this if I didn't think so."
A small smile and a calm expression settled over her face. I dropped back onto the floor to start my task. When I was all done, I wiped the shaving cream away and placed a lotion over the whole surface to keep her from itching. Shit! She looked beautiful bare. I didn't think my dick could get any harder. It was almost to the point of painful already.
I pushed all the shaving stuff to the side and opened the black box. I heard her suck in a breath when she saw the contents.
"Umm, Carlos, what are you going to do with all those things? You aren't planning on using all of them tonight, are you?" She was getting just a touch hysterical, and that wasn't my intention. I wanted this to be a playful, fun thing we could do together.
"No, Babe. I started collecting this stuff after our first trip to Pleasure Treasures."
"Seriously?"
"I'd hoped we'd get a chance to play with this stuff. That you'd trust me enough to at least try it."
"I've never really experimented with things like that. I mean, other than my shower massager." She clamped her mouth shut quickly, pinched her eyes shut tight and groaned. "Oh God, did I say that outloud?!"
I laughed. I knew all about her 'relationship' with the shower head. I'd been outside her bathroom door on more than one occasion and had heard her. She's never quiet in the middle of her orgasm. The past week with my parents and Julie here had nearly killed her. She'd taken to throwing a pillow over her head as soon as she started to come to keep from being overheard. I'm not exactly sure that was completely efficient, as she was still pretty loud.
Stephanie was looking intently at the open box, anxiety evident in her expression.
"Babe, how about I change direction here?"
"What now?" Yep, she's still nervous about what I'm going to do to her.
"I'll put this away for now. We'll get it out later and decide what you're comfortable with and what you're not."
"Okay, so are you going to uncuff me now?"
"Not exactly. I have some other ideas."
"Does he ever not have a plan?" I think that was meant to be under her breath, but I have excellent hearing.
"Where you're concerned? No, Babe, I always have a plan."
I reached up and cupped her breast, then pressed a kiss to her stomach. My finger traveled south and down between her now smooth fold. I kissed my way down her stomach, detouring around her treasure to travel down her legs, stopping to nip at her inner thighs. My finger just skimmed over her clit before sliding into her to test her wetness. She was so warm. I knew just what to do about that.
When I stood and stepped away from her body, her eyes flew open to check my progress.
"Just going to the kitchen, Babe. Be right back."
She muttered something else under her breath about what in God's name was I going to do now, but it was flying out of her mouth fast, and I had a hard time keeping up with her private conversation with herself. Instead of trying to listen, I just quickly made my way to the kitchen.
Grabbing a bowl from the cabinet, I got what I needed and headed back. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw what I'd brought with me this time. I reached into the bowl and extracted a piece of the ice. I placed it in my mouth, then leaned forward to slip it into her mouth.
My cold hands grabbed her around the waist. She shrieked a little and tried to pull away, but I held tight. I picked up another piece, smiled and gently rubbed it over her nipples. She gasped. Goosebumps broke out down her arms and across the skin of her chest. Her nipples became hard pebbles again, and I bent to suck one into my mouth.
"Oh God, the ice is so cold, your mouth is so hot!" She spoke around the piece of ice that was still melting in her mouth.
As the water ran down her body, I licked at it, blowing warm breaths to heat her chilled skin. When that piece was gone, I got two more, creating paths down her back; I stopped and circled her ass. Her grip tightened on the bar overhead, then she sank her teeth into my shoulder as I ran one piece between her cheeks. When I hit the forbidden territory, she tensed and all movement ceased.
"Easy," I whispered into her ear. "We're not doing anything you're not ready for, okay?"
She nodded against my shoulder; her body loosened a bit, but was still tense. I wanted her to move past this inhibition and open herself to at least the possibility that, if done right, this could bring her extreme pleasure.
"Babe, don't think about it…just feel. I'm not going to hurt you. Relax."
Settling the ice directly over the area, I stopped and held it in place. With the second piece of ice, I moved around to her front and rubbed the frozen square all over her mound. Her moan was long and loud, causing me to involuntarily press my cock against the bare softness. I gritted my teeth and sucked in a breath to reign in the instinct to just grab her legs and pound into her until we both reached our climaxes. Not yet. Be patient, Manoso. It'll be worth the wait, you know that.
I fell to my knees in front of her, kissing at the wet path the ice had made while holding firm on the piece that was still melting to her unexplored hole. The ice was nearly gone. Absently, I picked up another piece and settled it over her clit. Her voice rose to a near scream. I let the ice slide down further, while my mouth warmed the cooled, delicate skin. I nudged her legs further apart with my shoulders. The first piece of ice, over the forbidden hole, was gone, the area very cold to the touch. I gently probed at the opening as I pushed the other piece of ice up into her warm, wet center with my thumb.
She bucked against my mouth as the ice cooled her from the inside. My tongue slid into her next, while my finger continued to toy with her other opening, just lightly touching and probing, but not actually dipping inside.
"Carlos, that feels so…oh…I don't know…umm."
Her body was getting ready for the impending orgasm. My name was a chant that she started as her leg muscles began to tighten. She was close. I placed one finger inside her slowly, swirling it in a gentle motion. She bucked against my mouth that was now settled over her clit. I bit down lightly, and she came unglued. The juices began to flow, mixing with the water from the melting ice, but I wasn't even close to being done with her. She had a lot more to give me.
I added another finger and became more forceful with the motion, while maintaining the pressure to her puckered hole with my other hand. Her voice raised, able to be heard over the music, but not able to be understood. She was babbling undistinguishable words as she was gripped in the sensations I was applying to he body. I buried two fingers inside her and she started to come. I applied firm pressure to her other hole as my teeth bit at her clit.
When the next orgasm claimed her, my fingers could feel the tightness. A little more attention and a couple of well delivered touches to the right areas, and she'd be ready for another surf in the ocean of desire. She was panting, her body rising quickly to the crest of the next climax. I added a third finger, dipped just a fingertip into her relaxed, pliable second hole, and she screamed out as she free fell over the edge again.
Her knees buckled, and I had to move fast to grab her thighs and support her weight. Whole body shivers went through her as the wave smoothed. I stood and settled her legs around my waist, easing the pressure from her arms as I held her against my body. The feel of her bare pussy was doing things to my state of mind. I could feel the beast wanting to rise up and claim what was mine, not willing to be denied anymore.
My cock was throbbing painfully by this point. I was sure her arms were getting tired, too. I reached up and released the bar from its holder. Sliding her hands free, but leaving the bracelets in place, I decided I wasn't going to take the time right now to release her wrists. I rubbed her arms vigorously to restore the circulation, and then picked her up into my arms.
I lay her down on the press bench and sat down as well. I pulled her legs up to drape across my shoulders, lifting her off the bench to meet my cock. I teased her opening with just the tip of my erection at first.
She squirmed and wiggled so much that I had to tighten my grip on her legs to keep her from flipping us onto the floor. When my cock found the bull's-eye, I rose slightly off the bench and I dove in hard, sliding up into her with all my force. She screeched out in pleasure, her pussy tightening around my cock and coating me in her release.
I didn't stop the roar that had built up inside me, I just let it out. Mi Dios, I loved being inside this woman. We matched time with the pounding music. My body was driving forward into hers and hers pushing hard against mine.
She brought her hands to her mouth and bit down on the fleshy part of her palm. Her sounds radiating from deep within her body had me racing to my orgasm. When it arrived, it hit me like a round-house kick to the head. Hard, fast and out of nowhere. Holy Shit! I clamped my teeth together, cursed under my breath, dug my fingers into her legs and tried to remain conscious.
She lost her fight with consciousness as she suddenly went limp. I had a moment of panic, until I realized what happened. La petite mort, the little death, was rare, and I'd never had it happen with any of my previous sexual partners.
She came around quickly and was completely disoriented. "What? Huh? Carlos?"
I pulled her body up and into my arms, laying her head on my shoulder as I petted her hair.
"Babe, it's okay. You're okay. You blacked out for a minute."
"I what? In the middle of some of the best sex of my life? Are you kidding me?"
"The French call it la petite mort."
"You speak French, too?" she asked in exasperation.
I laughed out loud. She never disappoints. I kissed her shoulder and smoothed my hands down her back. "There are several languages I'm fluent in, Babe. It was necessary with my work. But I think most men know about that particular French phrase."
If I had a smug look on my face, sue me. I was pretty pleased with myself. Men liked to brag about this shit. And while I'll never tell another soul about what just happened, I loved the feeling it gave me.
"Great, just great," she muttered under her breath.
Her stomach growled out its warning. I guessed we'd burnt up the pizza from earlier and she was hungry again, probably dehydrated a bit as well. I placed her back down on the bench, checking to make sure she was stable before I rose to my feet to retrieve the cuff key.
I released her hands, kissed at the marks left on her wrists and then pushed her hair back from her forehead. I dropped a kiss there and helped her sit up.
"Stay there." I said as I walked over to the closet. I pulled on a pair of my shorts and grabbed a pair for her, along with one of my shirts. I shut down the music before returning to her. I dressed her myself, because honestly, I don't think she could have done it on her own. She was wiped out.
When we arrived in the kitchen, and I sat her on a bar stool while I grabbed us something to eat out of the refrigerator. The first item was a bottle of Gatorade, to replenish her fluids. She gave me a questioning look and I returned it with a look that said, "Don't argue." She shrugged her shoulders and began drinking. I made us each a cold-cut sandwich with some fresh sliced melon. We ate in silence. By the time she'd finished her meal, she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Time for bed, Babe."
She mumbled her agreement as I picked her up in my arms. She rested her head against my shoulder and was asleep before I reached the stairs.
The bed felt pretty good, and the woman snuggled warmly at my side felt even better. Sleeping with Stephanie has always brought me the best rest. Those nights, before we were a couple, that I'd snuck into her apartment in the dead of the night, were pure selfishness on my part. I was always drained when I did that, and needed the comfort of her presence, even if she was asleep.
I'd never thought that sleeping with someone would bring me such happiness. My previous relationships always found me leaving the bed before sunrise, with little to no rest. I'm still surprised that I slept with Stephanie, as many times as I did, and only enjoyed her body that one night. I guess that's a true testament to the depth of feelings I have for this woman. I brushed a kiss to the top of her head and drifted off to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, it was nearly eight in the morning. I couldn't believe I was still in bed. The night's activities had taken a lot out of us, apparently. I looked to her side of the bed and saw the mass of curls spread wildly over her pillow. One of her arms lay across my stomach, and the other thrown above her head. She had pinned one of my legs between hers. I untangled myself from her and rose from the bed. She didn't stir, of course. I leaned down and placed a kiss to her back before heading to the bathroom.
Five minutes later, I was heading to the gym. I was smiling like an idiot when I arrived into the room. The black box and everything else from the previous night were still here. I quickly stored all of the items into the closet, to be put away later. The room smelled of sex, hopefully I'd be able to concentrate on my morning routine. The memories of last night were fresh in my mind. If I closed my eyes, I could still hear her moans resounding above the music. I was eager to try out all the fun toys I'd been accumulating over the years. I wanted Stephanie to be comfortable enough to actually enjoy me pushing her boundaries, so I would wait until she was ready, however long that may be.
Now I was sporting a massive hard-on. Focus, Manoso, focus! I started towards the bench press, but stopped and turned towards the pull-up station. Nope, the bar was still sat in the position I used for her. Maybe I'd just start with the treadmill, then the rowing machine and end with some free weights.
About an hour later, I decided to finish my workout in the pool. I downgraded the security system before stepping onto the pool deck.
With a hundred laps behind me, I made my way back into the kitchen to make coffee. Carrying the coffee along with me, I went into the office to catch up on my email. A little over an hour later, the sound of my cell came from upstairs. Damn! I'd left it next to the bed. I heard Stephanie's groggy voice answer the phone as I made my way up the stairs.
"Yo. Oh, hi, Ron. How are you?"
"Yeah, I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
I walked into the room and she added, "Here he is now. Sure. Nice talking to you, too."
"Hey, Babe." I kissed her forehead and whispered, "Good morning. Sorry this woke you," as I reached to take the phone from her. I turned to walk out of the room, hoping she'd be able to go back to sleep if I left her alone.
"Henderson, how's it going?"
SPOV
Okay, the phone call had my curiosity running full-tilt. Why would the Secretary of Defense be calling Carlos? Was this just a friendly 'how ya doin' call or was he wanting Carlos for a job?
Carlos had promised no more missions. He'd been given papers saying he was under no further obligation to the government. I know he and Ron are friends, but this just didn't feel right.
Of course, Carlos had left the room almost immediately, which did nothing to help my nagging feeling and didn't allow me to eavesdrop on their conversation.
With my anxiety level raised, I realized that sleep was pretty much over for this morning. I tossed the covers back and padded off to the bathroom. The tub looked awfully inviting, and I hadn't indulged in a long soak for quite a while, so I turned the faucets on and grabbed the bath salts, dumping a liberal amount into the swirling water.
After about thirty minutes in the tub, I rose from the water and dried off. The rest of my beauty routine was completed in record time, since I opted to pull my hair up into a ponytail and forgo the make-up. In the dressing room, I chose a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
To the best of my knowledge, we were just lounging around the house today. Julie had a project due this week at school that we'd planned to work on when she returned from spending time with Charles and Natasha.
Carlos had mentioned something about trying out wind surfing this afternoon as well. I wasn't sure how I'd fare with that. My part will probably just be entertainment value for the two of them. I'm not nearly as athletically inclined as they are, and from what I've seen, it looks really hard to do.
As I was stepping out of the dressing room, I heard the doorbell ring. Checking the time on the bedside clock, I figured it was Julie. She was supposed to be home around noon, and it was nearly that.
I arrived downstairs to find Carlos, Julie, Charles and Natasha having a glass of iced tea. Carlos crossed to the base of the stairs to wait for me when he saw me heading down the steps.
Carlos greeted me with a warm smile, a soft kiss on the lips and a whispered, "Babe."
"Batman," I said as I returned the smile and kiss.
He placed his hand in mine and led me back to the table. I kissed the top of Julie's head as we passed by. We visited for several minutes with Julie's grandparents before they said they needed to get going. They had a tee-time in thirty minutes just down the road.
We ate a quick lunch of sandwiches and salad before we hit the beach. I had a dessert of ocean water; lots and lots of ocean water. Julie had actually fallen off her board once because she was laughing at me so hard.
I was hopeless; if I wasn't falling down, then I was getting tangled up in my kite's lines. Carlos was beyond patient with me, but I felt guilty because he was spending most of his time helping me and very little time on his own board. I decided I was much better at soaking up rays and watching them have fun from the safety of my beach blanket, because it didn't try to throw me off and serve me salty ocean water as a prize.
I settled myself on the large beach sheet, ready to take in their show. Oh boy! I could have sat there all day and watched Carlos wind surf. He was really good.
The sport requires a lot of upper body strength, which he had in spades. His muscles rippled and flexed as he fought the wind and the surf. Julie was good, too, she just didn't have the strength or the daring of her dad. Carlos helped her several times. Her screams of excitement and joy could be heard above the crashing of the waves.
It was great to see her happy and relaxed. She'd been dealing with Ron's death better since the therapist had begun working with her. Luckily, her grades hadn't suffered much, which we'd all sort of expected to happen.
The pair finally made their way back to me. Julie dropped onto the blanket to my right.
"Have fun, Jules?" I asked as she lay spread-eagle with a smile on her face.
"Oh yeah! That was a blast! I think we should do that every weekend!"
"Thanks, but I'm staying here if you do!"
"Babe, you just need some practice."
"Practice, exercise, upper body strength, coordination…" I said, rolling my eyes. "I think I like watching a whole lot better."
"Well, I'm starving!" Julie resounded every teenager's never ending mantra.
"Your hunger is only matched by Steph's," Carlos observed, and I quirked both eyebrows at him. "I suppose you're hungry, too?" he added with a smile.
As a matter of fact, now that he brought the matter up. "Um, I could go for some ice cream!"
"Let's go, you two. I think Michelle has both of your favorite kinds stocked in the freezer," Carlos said as he gathered up the wind surfing gear.
We trudged up to the house. While Carlos and Julie put the boards and kites away, I went to the kitchen to get the ice cream. I even found some Raspberry Sorbet for Carlos. I carried the three bowls to the pool deck table with some bottles of water.
We sat for a time after the bowls were empty, before Julie said she should get started on her school work. Carlos told her to get everything out on the dining room table and we'd be inside in a few minutes; that he needed to talk to me, and then we'd be there within fifteen minutes or so.
I looked over at him as soon as Julie shut the door. "What do we need to talk about?"
"You know Henderson called earlier."
The fear and anxiety came rushing up into my throat. Here we go again! I only nodded my head, because I didn't think I could speak the words to tell him to go ahead.
"I need to be in Washington the Tuesday after Thanksgiving."
TBC
So, what's up with this little turn of events? What will their next deal be? Will it involve the black box? Did I deliver well enough on RPOV of the smut? Please let me know!
Author's note: Okay, everyone, I had my biggest reviewed chapter of my writing career last week! And this has been a terribly hard week for me personally, so it couldn't have been a better time for it! Please, review! My father's terribly sick and you have no idea what your messages do for me! They mean the world! Thanks so much!