Episode 25:  The Ring Proves It

Time:  Same day as last episode, Evening

Location:  Heritage Club, Private Dining Room

Eve had just given the waiter her drink order when the guest of honor, Nate, walked into the room holding the hand of a pretty young woman.  Everyone clapped as they noticed him.

“The man of the hour has arrived,” Neil said walking up and shaking Nate’s hand.  “Ms Davis,” he said to young lady.

“Finally,” Olivia said as she walked over. “We were beginning to worry,” she said as she hugged Nate. Then she looked at his date and said, “Tamara, you look lovely.”

“Thank you Dr Winters.”

One by one everyone greeted the couple.  Eve was one of the lasts to have the honor.

“Baby doc,” she said. “I see you are fashionably late.”

“Not my fault,” he said smiling at the young woman by his side. She smirked in response.

“Eve, this is Tamara. Tamara meet Eve Winters.”

Eve noticed that Nate hadn’t supplied who this woman was to him and she was curious. 

“So, I am his cousin. And you are,” she said leaving the sentence hanging.

“The love of my life,” Nathan said smiling at the woman who smiled back at him.

That wasn’t what she had expected to hear. Nate must be really serious about this girl. Strange that she had never heard of her before.

“What a very grand and poetic title. Well, I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Lily stood smiling at Trevor across the room as she spoke to her aunt Olivia.  She couldn’t help but blush as she remembered how he had pinned her against the door earlier. He was standing with her father speaking animatedly about something when he noticed her staring. He gave her a sexy smile that made her catch her breath.

“Lily, “Olivia said. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes,” she said pulling herself away from that smile to focus back on Olivia. “I am listening.”

Olivia gave her a sweet smile and said, “I can see that you like him a lot.”

“I do. I don’t think I have ever felt this way before.”

“This way?”

“I mean. I loved Cane. And Daniel. But I couldn’t trust them. But Trevor is different. I feel like I can trust him.  There is no drama. I am almost afraid that something will happen to ruin what I feel.”

“Oh sweetie. Don’t worry. Trust your gut.”

“I am trying Aunt Liv. I really am.”

“Lily, it’s normal to feel this way after everything you went through with Cane. But don’t let him spoil you forever.”

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Delia’s Room

Chloe sat on one side of Delia’s bed with Billy on the other as he read to her a bed time story. Times like these are when Chloe often thought what if. What if Billy had loved her? What if they had made their marriage work?  What if they could have been a united family? These times were always hard for her. But she endured for Delia. She decided long ago that she wanted her daughter to have a great relationship with her father. So if that meant that she would have to endure Billy and what ifs, then she would.

“…and they lived happily ever after,” she heard Billy say as she pulled herself out of her own thoughts.

“Read another one daddy,” Delia said.

“I just read four, baby. It’s time to go to bed. I will read another one tomorrow night,” Billy said.

Tomorrow night, Chloe thought. Since when did Billy come over to read to Delia two nights in a row?

“But you don’t read to me all the time. You won’t be here tomorrow,” Delia said.  Delia had just voiced her own thoughts.

“I will if you want me to read to you,” Billy said. Then he looked at Chloe questioningly. “And if your mom doesn’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” she said as Billy broke out into a large grin.

“See,” Billy said looking back at Delia. “Now go to sleep you little munchkin,” Billy said then kissed Delia’s brow.

“Good night baby,” Chloe said then kissed Delia.

“Good night,” Delia said as both she and Billy walked out the room.

When Chloe closed the door to her daughters room, Billy said,” Hey Chloe. Can we talk?”

“Sure,” Chloe said. She was sure it had something to do with this woman who was pregnant by him.

Location:  Heritage Club, Private Dining Room

Chris stood in the dining room speaking with Justin before dinner began.

“By the way, you owe me money,” Chris said.

“I am not so sure about that. We will see if you actually show up with someone or not.”

“Oh, I will. Did I tell you that I met the sweet nanny today,” Chris said. He could feel the broad smile on his face and didn’t try to hide it.

“And?”

“And she was just as described. Really sweet. And gorgeous,” Chris said. He intentionally left out that he felt that he had lost his soul in that one meeting. He didn’t think Justin would understand.

“Really,” Justin said. “I guess we were wrong in our assumption then.”

“Yes. For once, I am happy to be wrong.”

“Why didn’t you ask her to come with you tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Chris said looking down at the drink in his hand thoughtfully. But he did know. She had seemed a little skittish and he didn’t want to come on too strong. This was the first woman he had ever felt a connection with right away and he didn’t want to take things too fast. “I guess I didn’t want to overwhelm her,” he finished looking back up at Justin who was staring across the room.

“Overwhelm her,” Justin asked.

Chris followed his line of vision and knew that it was Eve that Justin was looking at.

“Justin,” Chris said in a tone harsher than he intended.

“Yeah,” Justin said pulling his eyes away to focus back on Chris.

“I don’t want to see Eve hurt.”

“Neither do I,” Justin said challengingly.

“Listen. I like you. We’re boys. So I am going to just say this. You are still in love with Donna. Eve deserves a man who will put her first and think of her first.”

“And you think I am incapable of doing that,” Justin asked.

“Let me ask you one question. Are you still in love with Donna,” Chris said.

Justin looked back Eve. He lingered for a few seconds then said “Yes.”

“I rest my case,” Chris said.

Eve is standing with Olivia speaking about Nate’s hearing.

“I can’t believe how easy things were today,” Eve said.

“Me too. I was prepared for them to make an example of Nate,” Olivia said.

“Well, I am glad that they didn’t. But if they had, it would have been fine. I had great back up,” Eve said looking over at Justin speaking with her brother. Their eyes connected and she smiled at him. He gave her a small smile in return. He had a look on his face that seemed regretful. Almost sad. She wondered about it for a few brief seconds then turned her attention back to Olivia.

“Yeah, you did,” Olivia said with a smile and in a tone that let her know that she had seen the look between her and Justin.

Eve chose to ignore her tone and went on with the conversation. “I wonder what happened to make things so easy. It could have been just that they didn’t find anything. But I got the distinct impression from Nate earlier that he thought that they would find him at fault.”

“Did he say that,” Olivia said.

“No. You know how he is. He would not say that. I had to read between the lines to really hear his concern. The way things turned out. It just seemed too…” Eve paused searching for the word.

“Clean,” Olivia supplied. She looked at Jack across the room as he stood with Nate and Tamara. She wondered if he had done something. He did make a statement about ensuring that nothing happened to Nate. But at the time she took it as him comforting her.  But now she was not sure that was all that it was.

Tamara stood with Nate speaking to Jack.  If she didn’t know better she would think that Jack and Olivia were together from the way that he kept looking at her smiling. She did remember that kiss he had given her the other night at GlowWorm. She made a mental note to ask Nate about it later.  She also noticed that Jack was talking to her like he didn’t know her or had never heard her name before. This meant that Keemo had never mentioned her to his father. Part of her was upset. Hurt. Disappointed that Keemo didn’t think her important enough. The other part was happy that she wouldn’t be put on the spot because she had not told Nate about the relationship. And she realized that it could get very awkward of Keemo’s father was dating Nate’s mother. That meant that they were bound to eventually see each other. She had to tell Nate. But still did not have the words to do so.

“So Tamara. What do you do,” Jack asked.

“She’s a journalist,” Nate said proudly.

“Well, as much as anyone can be a journalist at Restless Style,” Tammy said unhappily. “Oh, I am sorry. I know that Billy is your brother.”

“No no,” Jack said. “Do not apologize. I know my brother Billy and what that magazine has turned into better than most. It’s a disgrace.”

“I wish I had known before I took the job. Not that I wouldn’t have taken it. But it’s nice to know exactly what you are walking into.”

“You don’t sound very happy,” Jack said.

“I am appreciative of the opportunity.”

“You know what,” Jack said tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. “I might have a job offer for you. You should come by the house tomorrow afternoon and I will tell you about it. And bring this one here with you,” he said gesturing his head towards Nate. “We can have lunch as we talk it over.”

“I’ll bring her by,” Nate said smiling at her.

Lily stood with her father and Trevor as they spoke about graduate school at Stanford. Neil wanted to know if some of his old professors were still teaching. Lily found the conversation super boring and began to tone them out as she looked around the room. Her eyes caught on Tamara holding Nate’s hand as they spoke with Jack. She didn’t like Tamara very much. Of course Tamara was close with Roxy but since they were sisters, Lily didn’t hold it against Roxy. One doesn’t choose family. But friends are another matter. The girl was best friends with Chloe. For that alone she couldn’t be trusted in Lily’s estimation. Birds of a feather flocked together. And Chloe was one of the nastiest birds ever.  She would never forget the lies that Chloe had told about Cane. And she would never forgive her. Over the years, she had learned to tolerate her.

As she stared, Lily wondered why Tamara was here with Nate now. She had made it obvious that she would never be with him. One of the reasons that she felt it was okay to joke with Nate about her.  Because if she thought that there was a possibility that Tammy would truly be with Nate, she would have warned him off long ago. Rumors were that these two were an item now. With school, the kids, and Trevor, Lily had been too busy to talk to Roxy. So she was out of the loop and had not confirmed whether the rumors were true. But it seemed that they were. She wondered what had changed for Tamara now.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Harmony’s Room

Harmony sat in her room watching TV in anticipation of her conversation with Tyra. She hadn’t heard from her since the press conference and had not gotten an answer when she had phoned her. She was going crazy wondering about what Tyra would tell her. Then her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID.

“Tyra,” she said hurriedly.

“No. It’s me,” Tucker said.

“Oh,” Harmony said disappointedly.

“So it’s like that Songbird,” Tucker said. “No love for me.”

“I’m sorry baby. It’s just that I have been trying to contact Tyra for hours and she hasn’t gotten back with me. We are supposed to have a talk tonight about the slap.”

“Oh. The infamous slap. I see.  I was calling to tell you that I have a meeting scheduled with a subsidiary in Japan and will be coming home really late. So don’t wait up.”

“I had planned on staying here anyways. I get the impression that this talk will be very heavy and I am sure I won’t feel like driving. “

“No dice darlin.”

“No,” Harmony said questioningly. She didn’t think she had asked a question.

“Look down at the ring finger on your left hand. That diamond has some very small print. It says that if we are in the same city then we will be sharing a bed. Now if you don’t want to come home. Fine. I will be staying with you at my mother’s house.”

Harmony rolled her eyes and said, “If you insist Tucker.”

“I do,” he said. “So, I will see you later. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said as she slammed the phone down. She did love Tucker but she was not in the mood for his amorous attentions at the moment. Her mind was on other things.

Just then Tyra walked into her room.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Chloe’s Room

Billy sat with Chloe in her room trying to think of the words to tell Chloe what he had been considering doing with the new baby he was expecting.

“Just say it Billy.  I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t think you will like my reaction.”

He smiled at her then lifted a hand to cup her cheek and caress the line of her jaw with is thumb. Chloe was one in a million he thought. She had always been able to read him like a book. One of the reasons she made him so uncomfortable.  He couldn’t just tell her anything and have her believe it. Being with her was always a challenge.

“Chelsea has made me a proposition,” he said lowering his hand back into his lap.

“What kind of proposition,” she asked.

“She wants money and in return she will turn over full custody to me.”

“Money for the baby,” she said then sighed deeply. “Billy, you have already been in trouble for buying a baby once. I would really hate for you to have to go before a judge for a similar offense.”

“But this is different,” he explained. “Granted I did get Lucy from a baby broker. But this one would be more like a private adoption. It is not unheard of for prospective parents to pay for services. I am looking at it like a surrogate type thing.”

“I don’t know Billy. It’s best to ask Rafe about your options and rights. I know that you have some.”

Billy looked a Chloe.  Really looked at her. She was a sassy little vixen. Always supportive no matter how stupid he was. She got him. He once told her that they were kindred spirits. Both from the dark side. But that wasn’t necessarily true. He might be from the dark side but Chloe definitely wasn’t. Oh, she put up a good front. Wanted all to think that she was hard hearted. But that wasn’t true. Her hearts was very soft and big. And at one time it had beaten just for him. What in the world had he been thinking letting her go.

He raised his hand to cup her cheek again. This time he rubbed his thumb over her soft lower lip.  And when her lips opened on a sigh, he knew that he needed to taste them again.

Location:  Heritage Club

Tammy sat with the Winters family eating. She was really enjoying herself and had been made to feel comfortable by everyone. Well almost everyone. That drip Lily had been staring daggers at her when she thought that she wasn’t looking. Granted, she and Lily had never been truly friends. But they had run in the same circles over the last couple of years due to Roxy dating Devon and being great friends with Lily.  So they had been friendly. She knew about Chloe’s plan to get a good father for Delia when it looked like Billy wasn’t capable. She had advised Chloe against it but what was she to do. Betray her friends trust by telling everyone the truth. That was never an option. And Tammy was unapologetic about it.  She hoped that Lily didn’t become a problem for her and Nate. She would make an effort to get along with his family, including Lily, but she wasn’t going to grovel and kiss anyone’s butt to have a relationship with them either. Her thoughts were interrupted as Neil stood.

“So, we all know why we are here. To celebrate my nephew here. I just want to say,” he said looking at Nate. “There was never any doubt. Everyone here knows your dedication to helping people and saving lives. May your star continue to shine as your career soars to new heights.” He raised his glass and said, “To Nate.”

Tammy raised her glass along with everyone else and looked at Nate who was sitting beside her. “To Nate,” she said.

“Speech,” Justin said to Nate.

Nate smiled, pushed his chair back and stood.

“Thank you all for supporting me. Especially Justin and Eve. The faith you, my family, has in me means everything. Also, there is another person who stood by me and helped me keep faith even when I began to doubt myself,” he sat his drink down and turned to her. “She changed how I view love and relationships. I never thought that I would ever feel this way about anyone. But I love her. More than I ever thought possible. She’s smart, beautiful, graceful, “he said then paused and smiled. “Sassy, driven.  She’s perfect in every way.”

Tamara felt herself blushing at Nate’s praise. Then she noticed him reach in his pocket as he kneeled down before her. And her breath caught. Was he proposing to her?

“Tamara,” he said looking up at her. “You know how much I love you. Please marry me and allow me to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

Tamara looked from his face and down at the ring and back to his face. She was shocked. She had no clue that he was anywhere near ready to get married.  But she wasn’t stupid. Shocked or not, there was only one answer.

“Yes,” she said softly as she looked into his eyes. “Yes,” she said again for good measure.

He put the ring on her finger and it fit perfectly. He stood up then pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. He leaned back to look in her eyes then kissed her softly. He pulled back to look into her eyes and she felt like she would drown in what she saw there.  It was hard to find the words to describe it. Love, yes. But more than that. A future, life, commitment, trust. All that and then some. Then she heard people clapping. Tammy looked around the room at all the smiling happy faces and felt very lucky. Then she saw Lily. She was obviously not thrilled with what had just happened. Oh well, Tamara thought. She would get used to it. It’s not like she was marrying her.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Harmony’s Room

Tyra sat down next to Harmony trying to find the right words. She took a deep breath and began in a stoic monotone way as if she was reciting things that had happened to someone else and not herself.

“Aunt Virginia’s husband molested me growing up,” Tyra said. She went on to explain how he would touch her whenever she went over for a visit. How it started out with hugs then moved on to inappropriate touching to kissing.  Then culminated with him raping her.

“Oh my god Tyra,” Harmony said pulling her into a hard embrace. “I am so sorry.”

Tyra laid her head on her sister’s chest and allowed her comfort to sooth her soul. After a few minutes she realized that Harmony was crying. She wished she had the tears to cry along with her but at this point she was all cried out. She lifted her head and pulled away so that she could finish the story.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault,” Tyra said.

Harmony winced and looked down at her hands in her lap.

“What,” Tyra asked.

“It is my fault,” Harmony said crying harder.  “I left you to his nastiness.”

“What do you mean left me?”

“Don’t you see? I thought I was the only one. It’s the reason that I left home at an early age and never really came back to stay,” Harmony said as she continued to cry.

Tyra didn’t think that she had any more tears left. And for herself she didn’t. But it seems for her sister, they were willing to fall.  Because she felt them began to spill from her eyes.

“Yolanda, are you saying that he molested you too,” Tyra said in disbelief.

“Yes. He did. But I left before he took it as far as he did with you. I never thought that he would do those things to you. I figured that there was something about me that was dirty and so wrong that he would only do it to me because I deserved it. Besides, you were so young. I never thought he would do that to you.”

Tyra’s heart broke for her sister. Now her lifelong battle with drugs made sense. It has always puzzled her why her sister, someone so smart and intelligent, couldn’t seem to bring herself to desire getting off drugs enough to actually do it.

“I am so sorry I left you Tyra. Can you ever forgive me,” Harmony said.

Tyra hugged her sister and said, “There is nothing to forgive.”

“Maybe if I had told someone what he did, then you wouldn’t have had to go through that. I might have been able to save you.”

“You were just a kid. You can’t hold yourself responsible for what he did or what happened to me. It’s not your fault,” Tyra said.

She and Harmony sat on the couch together embracing as they both shed tears for the loss of the others innocence.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Chloe’s Room

Chloe sat spell bound as she watched Billy lower his head with the intention of kissing her. She warred with herself over whether she should allow it. Just before his lips connected to hers, she put her hands to his chest to stop him. Interestingly enough, he responded to the light pressure and stopped with his mouth inches away from hers. He covered her hands on his chest with his own.

“Victoria and I are over,” he said looking into her eyes.

“But that doesn’t change how you feel about her,” Chloe said. But what she really meant was that it didn’t change what he felt for herself.

“I agree,” he said looking at her lips in a way that made her feel that he had kissed her. “Because being with Victoria never did change what was between us. At least not for me.”

Chloe pulled away from him and stood up. She turned her back to him so that she wouldn’t see him as she spoke.

“Billy, I am so over you,” she said in her strongest voice. There was a time when she had believed that was true. But his attention over the last couple of weeks, along with the knowledge that he was supposedly done with Victoria, had her doubting herself where he was concerned.

“I know,” he said standing right behind her. “I know Chloe.”

She didn’t respond for fear he would hear in her voice how she wasn’t as strong as she seemed to be.

“So, do you have a date for the gala tomorrow night,” he asked softly.

“No,” she answered automatically without thinking. Any other time she would never have admitted that to Billy. Just because she hated for him to know very much about her lacking love life. Especially when he had been so in love with Victoria. Having no date made her feel inadequate. To her, it would just reinforce his decision to cast her aside for another woman. Because really, why would he want a woman that no one else wanted.

“I was wondering if you would be my date,” he asked.

“I don’t thi-,” she began but was cut off.

“Come on. You don’t have a date and neither do I. Why not go together. We always had a lot of fun before didn’t we?”

Chloe thought about it. Why not, she said to herself. It would beat going alone. Which is what she had planned to do. Of course, Tammy would be going with Nate. She knew that neither one of them would make her feel like a third wheel but it would be nice to actually have a date too.

“Sure,” she said. “Why not.”

“Great,” he said moving closer to her and rubbing both his hands up and down her arms.

“Uhm. Not so fast cowboy,” she said stepping away and turning around to face him.

“I will go with you but just because I agreed to be your date doesn’t mean that I am also your back up plan. Just because Victoria dumped you doesn’t mean that you can come crawling back to me.”

“Chloe,” he said with a smile. “That is not what I am doing. But I won’t press my luck. Good night.” Then he turned and walked out of her room.

Location:  Heritage Club

Nate was counting down the time until he could get Tamara home. But he had to go by the hospital first to check the schedule and to check on some patients that he had been treating before his suspension. He quickly said his goodbyes and was headed out the door when Jack came up to him and Tamara.

“Nate. Don’t forget to bring your fiancée by tomorrow.”

“I won’t,” Nate said bringing Tamara’s hand that he was holding to his lips for a light kiss.

“I won’t let him. I admit that I am curious as to what this job might be,” Tammy said.

“Well I won’t get into it now. I can see that Nate is eager to leave,” Jack said with a smile.

“Quite,” Nate said but he didn’t think he had been that obvious. “See you tomorrow,” he said as they walked out the door. They walked in silence to the car. And when they reached it he pinned her to the door with his body with a hand on each side of her on the top of the car. Then he kissed her the way he had wanted to when she had said yes. It was a hard and bruising kiss. And when she sighed, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth.

“Mmmm,” she moaned into his mouth. And he knew then that he needed to stop before he spread her out onto the hood of his car. He wondered if she would be that adventurous. He had a lifetime to find out.

He broke the kiss and pressed his body closer to hers so that he could feel her body heat and her breast pressed against his chest through her coat.

“So,” he said softly with his lips inches away from hers. “I need to go by the hospital tonight to see the schedule and to check on some patients. I was thinking that I can take a cab to the hospital while you drive my car home.”

“Okay,” she said just as softly. “I know how excited you are about going back to work.”

“Yeah. But I am more excited about being inside of my fiancée,” he said then kissed her softly on the lips. “So will you be wet when I get there,” he asked her.

“How wet do I need to be,” she asked saucily.

 “Wet enough for me to slip right in. No foreplay required.” He wanted her bad now. He knew that the hour it took him to go to the hospital and get home would only intensify his need.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said laughing softly.

He smiled and stepped back. He opened the door for her, gave her the keys, and stepped back so that she could get in the car. Once she did, he closed the door and walked back to the front of the building to get into one of the cabs that were waiting.

Eve and Lily stood together as Nate and Lily left the room. Eve had noticed Lily’s face as she watched Tamara throughout the night. It was obvious that she was not a fan.

“So, what do you think of Tamara,” Eve said casually.

“She’s Roxy’s sister. And she is best friends with Chloe.”

“Chloe? Wasn’t she the one who caused you so much trouble with Cane?” Eve remembered something about her being pregnant by Cane and it had turned out to be a lie. But then Cane had also been lying.

“Yes. And Tammy had known all along that it was a lie. But she never said a word to me or to Roxy. I mean really. What kind of person just sits back and allows someone to destroy another persons’ life.”

“Well you can’t blame her for that. She’s loyal.” In Eve’s eyes, that wasn’t a bad trait to have. It meant that she would show the same loyalty to Nate.

“Not just that. I don’t think she even wants him,” Lily said.

“What? Why do you say that?”

“Because he has run behind her like a puppy for the last 3 years and she never gave any signs of wanting to be with him. And now all of a sudden, she agrees to marry him. I think that she probably has run out of options or something and he is her back up plan.”

“Hey, don’t sell your cousin short. He is a great guy and I think that any young woman would see that.”

“He was also a great guy when she met him and has been one every day for the last 3 years.”

“True,” Eve said.

“I just don’t trust her and think that he will end up hurt dealing with someone like her. That’s all.”

“I see,” Eve said. Maybe she needed to spend some time with this Tamara to see what she was all about. She can’t have her boobala getting hurt by some scheming woman who didn’t even love him.

Just then Olivia walked up to them.

“Eve. Jack and I are going to have a night cap. Do you want us to drop you off at home on our way,” Olivia said.

“No,” she said looking at Justin. “I think that I will get a ride.”

“Okay,” Olivia said then left with Jack.

Justin saw Eve look at him as she bid Lily and Trevor goodnight. He couldn’t help himself. He walked over to her. It was like he was being drawn in like a moth to a flame.

“Eve,” he said as he walked up to her.

“Justin,” she said in return. “I guess our expertise wasn’t needed today. I have never been so happy not to have to flex my legal muscles.”

“I hear you. Me too,” he said laughing.

“So counselor, where are you headed when you leave here.”

“My room at the club,” he said wishing he was going somewhere private with her.

“That sounds lonely. But I can’t talk. Olivia has abandoned me for a night cap with Jack.”

“Oh. Do you need a ride? Because I would be more than happy to take you home.” Amongst other things. But he wouldn’t offer those being that he had been warned. Although he did care about Chris’ friendship, that wasn’t the reason why he wouldn’t try anything with her. He respected her. Liked her. Cared for her. And he didn’t want to hurt her. He knew deep down in his heart that he wasn’t as through with Donna as he would like to be.

Before she could answer, Chris walked up.

Chris had seen Eve and Justin exchanging looks all night. And he didn’t like the implications. He had warned Justin away from her and he had warned Eve. But he thought to try her one more time and wanted to prevent whatever little connection they seem to have going on tonight from going any further. That is, if he could. A relationship between those two had heartbreak for Eve written all over it.

“Eve,” he said. “I need to speak with you about something.”

“Ok, I will let you have your family powwow. I will see you both later,” Justin said then left.

“What’s going on big brother? Sounds ominous.”

“Justin. I thought we had spoken about this.  But then I see you making doe eyes at him across the room.”

“Whatever Chris,” she said laughing at his description.

“The man is in love with Donna. They have a kid and a grandkid. She is not going anywhere.”

“I heard you the first time Christopher,” she said.

“Don’t let him use you.” Because if she got involved with Justin that is all it would be. Justin using her to assuage his needs. Both physically and emotionally.  But he would never be able to give her his heart nor a commitment when he belonged to another.

“Okay. Geez, what is with the Winters clan today selling each other short in the romance department,” she said.

“What,” he asked missing her meaning.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just take me home.”

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Harmony’s Room

Harmony couldn’t believe that her baby sister had to go through what she went through. It was devastating to think about.

“I have more to tell you,” Tyra said.

Harmony braced herself. If Tyra had lived through it then the least she could do is listen to her tell her story. Regardless of how painful it may be to them both.

“I am listening,” Harmony said shakily.

“I continued the cycle of abuse,” Tyra said.

“Anna,” Harmony said astonished as her stomach began to hurt.

“God no,” Tyra said. “Not that. You know when I found out a few years back that we were not related by blood.”

“Yes,” harmony said slowly.

“I was going through a very bad time. I felt lower than I ever had in my life.   I slept with Neil and helped ruin his marriage. Devon was so hurt and disappointed in me. So I resorted back to the only way I know how to make any male happy who is upset with me. I had sex with him.”

Harmony felt herself becoming nauseous. She stood and ran into her bathroom to kneel in front of the toilet.  She threw up over and over again.

Tyra heard her sister being physically ill due to her disgraceful behavior. She thought about going to her but the shame of what she had done had become fresh again now that she had discussed it. So she did the only thing that she knew to do. She stood and slowly walked out of the room.

Time:  Night

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Chance’s Room

Chance lay in bed trying to go to sleep when he heard weeping coming from next door. He rose from bed to go check to make sure that the person was okay. He knocked lightly on the door but didn’t get an answer so he twisted the handle and the door opened. He didn’t see anyone but he heard the sobs louder coming from the direction of the bathroom. He walked to the door and saw her, Harmony’s sister, crying again. She was sitting on the rug next to the tub. He walked over and stood in front of her but she didn’t look up. So he sat down beside her and pulled her into an embrace.

He held her like that as she sobbed for what he estimated to be 20 minutes. Finally she stopped and pulled back to look up into his face.

“Thank you,” she said with a sad smile.

And his chest squeezed tightly. There were those beautiful eyes brimming with tears again.

“No problem. This is the second time today that I have come across you crying. Do you want to tell me what is going on,” he said softly.

“I have disappointed my sister by doing something shameful,” she said in a shaky voice that he knew meant that she was still in jeopardy of bursting into tears again. He held her tighter in hopes of pushing them away.

“I can relate. But you know what I have found in these situations,” he said smiling down into her face.

“No. What,” she asked.

“That we all fall down. Admit the mistakes. But get back up and move forward. Try not to make the same mistake twice. When people see that you are really remorseful they tend to forgive,” he said.

“Some things are unforgivable.”

“Nothing is unforgivable,” he said.

She looked at him skeptically. He knew that look. It said, “You just don’t know what I have done.”

“I have served several tours of duty in Iraq as an MP. The things I have done…” he said allowing the sentence to trail off.

“You were at war. Fighting for your life. Those things were justified, I am sure,” she said.

“Tell that to the mother of the little 6 year old boy that the Humvee I was driving intentionally ran over,” he said. Even now, 5 years later, just talking about that made him feel horrible.

He noticed that his companion didn’t respond. They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then she said, “My name is Tyra Hamilton.”

“Phillip Chancellor IV. But please call me Chance,” he said.

“Chance,” she said pulling away and standing up. “Thank you.”

He stood up also and faced her in the bathroom. Once again, he was struck with how beautiful she was. Even with puffy eyes from crying and a tear streak down the side of her face, she was gorgeous.  It amazed him. He reached out his right hand and rubbed his thumb slowly down her cheek to wipe away the tear.  She smiled her thank you and he knew he was being dismissed. So he turned and walked away.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion, Harmony’s Room

Tucker walked into Harmony’s bedroom and saw her lying on the bed. He walks over, takes off his clothes, and gets into bed with her. He pulls her into his arms with the intent of making love to her when he notices that she is softly crying.

“So it was that bad,” he said kissing the top of her head.

“Yes,” she said.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” she said. “Just hold me.”

“Okay,” he said. He decided not to press her. He knew that she would tell him when she was ready.

Location:  Nate’s Condo

Nate walked towards his condo with a wide smile on his face. He knew exactly what to expect when he arrived. Tamara had made sure of that when she sent him a beautiful picture of herself about 30 minutes ago. The picture was so clear and close up that he could see clear juices dripping from her and could tell that she was freshly shaven. When he first saw it, he had been surprised that she would even do that for him. And then as he stared at it in the elevator of the hospital, he started to imagine exactly what she had to do to herself to achieve that effect. He wondered how many times she had come without him. Just how beautiful she would look as she stroked herself into orgasm.  He groaned out loud as he became hard. He had rushed right home to be with her. To see if he could make her come a few times.

And now, he was finally home. Nate walked in and took off his over coat and suit coat and threw them both on the couch. He walked into is bedroom and saw Tamara lying in bed. She didn’t move as he approached her then he realized that she was asleep.  He decided to take a quick shower and walked into his bathroom.  He turned on the shower then finished undressing. As he did so, he imagined all the things he would do to Tamara.  And it further excited him.

Once his shower was finished, he got out and dried off.  He was still erect. So he reached into a drawer, took out a condom, and put it on. He walked out and Tamara was still asleep. She must be tired, he thought. He wished that he was the kind of guy that would forsake his pleasure so that she could get rest. And maybe on an average day he would be. But today was not an average day. And he needed to finish his celebration by making love to his fiancée. So he pulled the covers down and crawled atop her in the bed. He lay between her legs and she still didn’t wake up.

He reached down between their bodies with his hand and rubbed his fingers in her folds. She was still just as wet as she was in the picture. He removed his hand from her and used it to grip himself tightly as he began to slowly rub himself in her juices. 

“Wake up,” he said softly against her lips and her eyes fluttered open.

She smiled warmly at him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and said, “You made it.”

“Yes I did. I had a little encouragement by way of a sexy picture from my naughty fiancée,” he said then kissed her deeply on the lips as his tongue explored every corner of her mouth. He raised his head then looked down at her.  “How many times did you have to come to get this wet,” he said as he began to slowly push into her.

“Twice,” she said, and then moaned loudly.

“I would love to watch you please yourself.”

“That can be arranged,” she said then smiled. “But right now I want you to make me come.”

“That, definitely, can be arranged,” he said as he pushed swiftly as far inside of her as he could reach.

“Mmmm,” she moaned.

But that wasn’t enough for him. Now that he knew she could handle him, he liked to be as deep in her as possible.

He reached down and grabbed her right leg at the knee and brought up to rest in the crook of his arm. Then he did the same thing to her left leg. With his forearms resting on either side next to her head, he pushed deeper inside.

“Nathan,” she screamed.

“Mm hmm,” he said as he began to move in and out of her with a mind numbing slow pace.  One designed to build her up to the best orgasm she had ever had. Then he dipped his head then licked her nipple slowly before he took it into his mouth to suck on it lightly.

“Oh my god,” she said as she cupped his head in her hands.

He could feel her beginning to tighten around him and knew that she was about to come already.

He bit down on her nipple and grazed it lightly with his teeth and her breath caught. He felt her clench around him and thought he would die from the pleasure of it.

He stopped moving then lifted his head to look down at her beautiful face washed in the passion of their love making and smiled at a newfound revelation.

Tamara’s body was infused with pleasure as she lay beneath Nathan. She opened her eyes when he stopped moving.

“What,” she asked cupping his cheek with one of her hands while the other arm was wrapped around his neck as she looked into his eyes.

“I believe that you like a little pain with your pleasure,” he said in a husky voice.

Her body answered for her as she involuntarily clenched around him.

“Really,” he growled.

“Just a little,” she said.

His only response was to withdraw and push back into her with slow powerful deep strokes.

“Oh Nathan,” she moaned. After about a minute she began to lift up to meet his every stroke in an effort to take him deeper.  He knew what she wanted because he lifted her legs from his arms to his shoulders. Then continued his same rhythm.

She felt her nipples tightening in anticipation of her orgasm. Her stomach muscles began to twitch. But it wouldn’t come.

“Nathan, I can’t,” she said.

“Yes, you can,” he said then pushed in her as far as he could go. Stopped. Then began to grind against her so that he was also rubbing her clitoris. Then he dipped his head and whispered in her ear.

“I just have got to hit the right spot,” he said in a deep voice.  Then he touched her just the right way and she came harder than she had the previous time they had made love.

“That’s right. I love the way you feel coming around me,” he said as shudder after shudder passed from her inner walls out through the rest of her body.

Nate stopped moving to let Tamara savor the feeling. He also enjoyed feeling her clench around him. When she was finished, he pulled out of her and kneeled between her legs and he lowered them back to the bed. He smiled at the way they shook. He knew that they were probably weak and numb from the position he had her in. He rubbed his hand up and down them to help get the blood circulating so that she could get feeling back in them.

Once he thought that she could support herself he positioned her upright on her knees with them spread wide with him behind her on his. He entered her from behind and began a slow rhythm.  He looked up into the mirror across the room and his stomach muscles clenched at the sight of Tamara’s beauty. He watched them as he made love to her. As he rubbed his hands across her stomach. He watched her breast bounce as they were proudly displayed for him with her hands around the back of his neck. He wondered if she knew exactly how breath taking she actually was.

“Open your eyes Tamara,” he whispered.

She complied and he knew the exact moment that she saw them in the mirror by the way she held her breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes locked with his in the mirror and she gave him a sexy smile.

“I could make love to you like this for hours,” he whispered in her ear and was rewarded with her clenching around him.

“Mmmm,” she moaned.

He reached up and took right hand from around his neck and placed it on her stomach beneath his. He slowly slid it down her abdomen to rest the tips of her fingers on her clitoris.

“Will you show me how you like to be touched,” he whispered in her ear.

She didn’t hesitate as she began to rub herself. Nathan felt every touch with his own hand and it excited him even more than he already was.

He used his free hand to cup her breast then squeeze the nipple hard to give her the little pain he knew that she liked. 

“Nathan,” she screamed and began to push back into his strokes and roll her hips.

He let go of her breast to bury his hand in her hair. He couldn’t help himself as he grabbed a handful and pulled her head back to expose her neck.

She gasped as he kissed the side of her neck.

“You’re perfect. You know that,” he growled as he closed his eyes at the feelings that she was evoking. “I can’t wait until this officially belongs to me,” he said.

He picked up his pace just as she began to come again. A few strokes later and he joined his orgasm with hers. When they both were finished. He wrapped both arms around her and looked at her in the mirror.  She locked eyes with him and smiled.

“If only you knew how much I loved you,” he said.

She smiled at him.  “Oh, I do know. And I have got the ring to prove it,” she said holding up her left hand and wiggling her fingers.

They both laughed.