Alliances

Part 12

J.R. pulled Sue Ellen's silver Mercedes Benz 450SL convertible into the driveway at Southfork. He shifted the car into 'park,' and turned the engine off. He removed the key from the ignition, and touched Sue Ellen's hand. Sue Ellen turned to face him, nervously smiling at him.

J.R. said, "Sue Ellen, I meant what I said back at Harv's office. I am truly touched by what you're doin' with that donation to the children's ward at Dallas Memorial Hospital on Daddy's behalf."

Sue Ellen smiled at J.R., as her eyes once again, filled with emotion.

She softly said, "I didn't know what else to do with it. I know the money wasn't earned, but this way, it will go to a good cause. You know how much I love children, J.R."

J.R. knew without question how much Sue Ellen loved children. Her obvious display toward their son, John Ross, was evidence of that love.

J.R. stared at her hand on his hand, and asked, "Do you ever find yourself wishin' that we had been blessed with more than one child, Honey?"

Did she ever wish for more children? There hadn't been a moment she could remember not wishing she and J.R. could have had more children.

Sue Ellen bristled, and said, "I think you know that answer to that question as well as I do, J.R."

J.R.'s eyes turned dark, as he recalled the time Sue Ellen had been accidentally hit by a passing car in front of Jenna Wade's clothing boutique. Sue Ellen miscarried a baby. J.R. secretly hoped that it was his baby.

J.R. said, "Sue Ellen, I've always wondered what might have happened if you hadn't miscarried after…"

Sue Ellen placed her finger to his lips, and said, "J.R., don't dredge up the past, please?"

J.R. kissed her fingers, and said, "Look at me, Sugar. I know you, and I know you and Peter Richards only had sex that one time, you told me that yourself. Didn't he use protection?"

Sue Ellen angrily spat, "J.R., I don't want to talk about this."

J.R. retorted, "Well, I sure as hell do! I've got to know what the chances are of that baby bein' mine."

Sue Ellen glared at J.R., as frustrated tears welled in her eyes.

"Your overwhelmin' male ego has got to know the answer to that question, doesn't it?" She asked.

J.R. was reticent, and said, "No, I don't have to know, I'd like to know, that's all."

Sue Ellen recalled the only other possible time that the baby she miscarried might have been conceived. She remembered the night as if it were yesterday. She needed a man. She needed J.R. They had been sleeping in separate bedrooms, but she went into J.R.'s room, after everyone else had gone to bed, and seduced him.

Afterwards, J.R. had accused Sue Ellen of using him, and said that he'd be damned if she could barge into his room and use him like some kind of stud service. Her response, at the time, was what other use would she possibly have for him?

Sue Ellen turned her face away from J.R., and stared out across the ranch.

She spoke, in a voice filled with emotion, "I felt nauseous the mornin' after I went into your room, J.R. I thought it was nerves, but, lookin' back, I'm fairly sure that it was Mornin' Sickness. I felt the same way when I became pregnant with John Ross."

"Besides," she continued. "I insisted that Peter Richards use a condom, so there was scarcely a chance that it could have been his baby. Does that make you feel better? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

J.R. reached out to touch Sue Ellen's face, but she pulled away from him. She was hurt, and angry that he had asked her for an answer to a question she herself had wondered about for years. She had tried in vain to bury that painful memory.

J.R. touched Sue Ellen's cheek, and said, "God, Honey. The last thing in the world I would want to do is cause you more pain. You were absolutely right, it was just vanity on my part, makin' me feel like I needed to know the truth. I love you, Sue Ellen. I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you, Sugar."

Sue Ellen slowly lowered her head, as her overflowing tears fell on J.R.'s hand. J.R. stared at his hand, as a steadily flowing stream of tears ran off his fingers, down the back of his hand, and onto Sue Ellen's blouse. J.R. sighed as he pulled Sue Ellen into his arms.

Sue Ellen willingly moved into J.R.'s embrace. She trembled against him, as he tried to calm her down. He kissed the side of her head, and his hands gently ran up and down her back. Sue Ellen's body was racked with sobs, as she tightened her grip on J.R.'s shoulders.

J.R. whispered how much he loved Sue Ellen, and how sorry he was for their loss, as his own eyes misted over with the bitter sting of tears. J.R. told Sue Ellen to let go of her emotions, let it all out. J.R. took his own advice, as he closed his eyes against the biting ebb of tears.

Sue Ellen lifted her head, and looked into J.R.'s eyes. She lifted her hand to his cheeks, and wiped at his tear-stained face with her fingertips. J.R. cleared his throat, embarrassed at being caught with his guard down. Sue Ellen shook her head from side to side.

Sue Ellen's voice was hoarse, as she said, "We have been through so much in our lives, J.R. I don't want to dwell on the past. I need to move forward. I think you do, too."

J.R. pursed his lips together, as his fingers moved a lock of Sue Ellen's hair away from her eyes. She was right, he mused. It didn't do either of them any good to dwell on the past, it didn't change what had happened, and it certainly wouldn't bring their baby back.

J.R. said, "Let's go upstairs to our room, Sue Ellen."

J.R. opened the driver's side door of the car, and walked around the back of the car to open the passenger door for Sue Ellen. She held his extended hand, as she climbed out of the car. She lightly kissed J.R.'s cheek, as she walked past him, into the house.

J.R. followed Sue Ellen into the house, closing the patio door behind him. Sue Ellen reached for J.R.'s hand as they walked from the kitchen into the foyer. They walked past the table by the winding staircase, and up the stairs to their bedroom. Sue Ellen stopped outside of John Ross' bedroom. She placed her hand on the doorknob, and opened the door.

Sue Ellen walked into John Ross' bedroom, and over to a set of shelves next to his bed. The shelves were filled with John Ross' soccer trophies, and some other childhood memorabilia. Sue Ellen reached her hand to the top shelf on the wall, and pulled down a worn-out, stuffed teddy bear. The stuffed toy played music when the knob on the back was turned. John Ross had had the stuffed toy bear since he was a baby.

Sue Ellen absently turned the knob, and closed her eyes, straining to hear the faint sound of music coming form the toy. She lifted the stuffed toy bear to her nose, and inhaled. The bear smelled like her baby boy, even though he was sixteen, John Ross would always be Sue Ellen's baby.

J.R. folded his arms across his chest, as he stood against the doorframe watching Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen was a woman capable of a great deal of love. J.R. felt so ashamed of himself for denying her the chance to feel loved, and give love during their first two marriages. Why had he been such a bastard? He wondered.

Don't dwell on the past, J.R., he chided himself. Sue Ellen placed the stuffed toy bear back on top of the shelf, and turned around. She ran her hand over the top of John Ross' headboard on his bed. Sue Ellen caught J.R. staring at her, and smiled at him.

Sue Ellen said, "I'm sorry, J.R. I didn't mean to keep you waitin', I guess I just got a little carried away."

J.R. reached out to take her hand, as she walked toward him.

J.R. softly said, "Please don't apologize, Sugar. I'm awed by your capacity to show your love."

Sue Ellen held his hand, as she walked out of John Ross' bedroom. J.R. closed the door, as he and Sue Ellen walked down the hall to their bedroom.

J.R. opened the door for Sue Ellen, as her arm brushed against him. Sue Ellen walked over to the closet, and opened her armoire. She looked down at her blouse, and saw the stains that her tears had left on the silken fabric.

J.R. closed, and locked their bedroom door. He walked toward Sue Ellen, and stood behind her, as he lifted his hands to the buttons on her blouse. J.R. lowered his head, and hungrily kissed the side of Sue Ellen's neck. Sue Ellen tilted her head to allow J.R. better access to the soft, perfumed skin of her long, graceful neck.

J.R. pulled Sue Ellen's opened blouse out from the waistband of her skirt. He slid the sleeves over her arms, and placed the blouse into a hamper set aside for clothing that needed to be dry-cleaned. J.R. moved his hands up the bodice of Sue Ellen's sheer, lacy camisole.

J.R. covered Sue Ellen's breasts with his hands. The warmth from his hands against the cool fabric of her camisole was an intoxicating combination. Sue Ellen reached her hands behind her, and pulled J.R.'s hips to her back. She tilted her head back against J.R.'s shoulder, as her body was met with proof of J.R.'s arousal.

J.R. pulled the straps of Sue Ellen's camisole over her shoulders. His mouth eagerly sought her lips, as she turned her head to face him. Sue Ellen sighed as his lips covered her open mouth. J.R. lowered his hands to the zipper of her skirt, and slid the linen garment over the swell of her hips, and down her legs.

Sue Ellen stepped out of the crumpled skirt, and kicked it aside. J.R. tightly held Sue Ellen against him, as her tongue gently flickered against his teeth. J.R. closed his mouth around Sue Ellen's tongue, and sucked on her tongue with his lips.

Sue Ellen turned around in J.R.'s arms, and placed her hands at the back of his neck. She greedily increased her demands on his mouth, deepening his voracious manipulation of her mouth, and her tongue.

J.R. grasped Sue Ellen's waist, and lifted her into his arms. He lunged at her cleavage with his mouth, tracing kisses into the valley between the swell of her breasts. Sue Ellen arched her back to him, as J.R. carried her over to the bed.

J.R. placed Sue Ellen on top of the mattress, and quickly removed his shirt. J.R. unbuttoned his trousers, and pulled them off of his legs, casting them aside. Sue Ellen lay on her back on top of the bed, propped up on her elbows. Her eyes were blazing with yearning, as she watched J.R. undress.

J.R. rapidly dispensed with the barriers he was wearing that were keeping him from feeling the touch of Sue Ellen's soft, bronze skin. J.R. reached down, and pulled at the elastic waistband of Sue Ellen's slip. Sue Ellen lifted her hips off of the bed, as J.R. slid the fabric past her hips, and down her legs. Sue Ellen pulled her legs into a bent position on the bed. She turned her legs at the hips, as she watched J.R. climb on top of her.

J.R. pulled at one of Sue Ellen's legs, to straighten it out, as he hovered over her. Sue Ellen pulled her arms out of the confining straps of her camisole, and reached for J.R. Sue Ellen pressed her hips against J.R., unable to restrain her aching need for him.

J.R. entered Sue Ellen with such a powerful force, that she whimpered as he thrust his hips against her. J.R. slowed his pace, and Sue Ellen smiled at him.

Sue Ellen thrust her hips in time with J.R.'s undulations. J.R.'s rhythmic gyrations against her felt incredible, she thought. J.R. repeated her name, as he neared the peak of their steadily increasing current.

Sue Ellen croaked, "No, J.R…not yet. Oh, God, please, not yet."

J.R. bit his bottom lip, in an effort to restrain the current of penetrating electricity passing through him.

Sue Ellen grabbed J.R.'s shoulders, as she, too, found it difficult to hold anything back.

They both cried out aloud, as they drowned in the wave of sexual exhaustion that enveloped them.

J.R. rolled off of Sue Ellen, as he said, "Oh my God, Sugar. You are so good."

Sue Ellen giggled, as she turned to kiss J.R. She climbed onto his chest, and touched his chin with her fingers.

Sue Ellen gently kissed J.R.'s lower lip, saying, "You are such an incredible lover, J.R."

J.R. pulled Sue Ellen to his chest, as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. J.R. and Sue Ellen were soon rewarded with sound, blissful sleep.

Sue Ellen rolled over, and pulled J.R.'s hand around her, as she lay on top of the mattress. J.R. kissed her shoulder, as he hugged her to his chest.

Sue Ellen asked, "Did John Ross say when he would be comin' home? I can't remember if he mentioned what time he wanted to have supper ready, or not."

J.R. laughed, and said, "You must be hungry, Sugar. That was an ulterior motivated question if I've ever heard one."

Sue Ellen sat up, and defensively said, "No, it wasn't. It was a perfectly honest, and sincere question about or son."

J.R. said, "Well, if you're so curious, why don't we take a shower and see if he's home yet?"

Sue Ellen stepped off of the bed, and winked at J.R., saying, "You do have all the answers, don't you, Darlin'?"

J.R. leered at Sue Ellen and said, "I will, as long as you keep askin' the right questions, Honey."

Sue Ellen walked into the bathroom, as J.R. stretched, before getting up off the bed. The day was still new, and he had plans to pick things up where he and Sue Ellen had left off, after supper…