Episode 7

Time: Same day of Last episode, Late Evening

Location:  Victoria and Billy Abbot

Billy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Chelsea was standing before him pregnant. He gave a silent prayer to every deity he could think of that she wasn’t here to tell him that this child was his.

“Yes Billy this is your baby” Chelsea said.  It was the one thing he did not want to hear.  He was scared to look Victoria’s way. He didn’t think he could handle anymore disappointment in her eyes tonight. Especially not stemming from something of this magnitude.

“You’re lying.”

“I am not. Didn’t you tell your wife about our time together?”

“Yeah I did.  I told her about how you set me up with those drugs.”

“Those were your drugs Liam. Which is why you were arrested for them.  And not me.”

“You know what.  Get the hell out of my house now.”

“Fine. But I will be back.”

After Chelsea walked herself out and closed the door.  He turned to Vikki was silently crying. He reached out to touch her shoulders but she shrank away from him.  How could he make her understand this?

“Vikki, let me explain.”

“I don’t want to hear it Billy.  I really don’t”

“So is this going to be like last time.  You’re just going to turn your back on me when times get tough.” After they lost Lucy, Vikki hadn’t been able to stand the sight of him and had gone running back to her father Victor Newman who hated him. “I thought we had learned something from that but obviously not. You gonna go running back to daddy too.”

“How dare you? Get out Billy.  I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Fine. I have to go over to mom’s and help Chloe put the finishing touches on DeDe’s party. But I will be back.  Don’t give up on me. Please.”

“Goodbye” she mumbled as she ran up the stairs.

Location:  Tucker McCall’s House

Tucker sat across from Harmony attempting to eat his dinner.  He had wanted to take her out somewhere but this was even better.  This way he could talk to her about their past and see if he could remember her.  Try as he might, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her lips as she put the fork in her mouth for bite after bite.  Each time she would close her eyes and give a low soft moan.  He was in a fierce battle with his arousal and was losing rapidly.  He vowed that he wouldn’t sleep with her tonight. That spending time with her was about getting to know her.

“mmmm,” she said.  The moan went straight to his loins.

“Is it good darling?”

She turned her head slightly to the left and raised her right shoulder.  “Yes,” she said with a slight smile with her eyes closed.  She opened her eyes to pick up another piece.  She closed her eyes once again.

“mmmm,” she said again and his body reacted the same way it did previously.

He hadn’t even noticed but that was her last bite.  He thanked his maker because he didn’t want to embarrass himself when he stood up.

“Would you like some more.”

“No thank you.”

 “ Great,” he thought. He wanted to talk but he didn’t want to disturb her meal.

He stood and grabbed her hand as he walked over to the couch and sat down.  He intentionally sat in the middle so that she would have to sit close to him. He wanted her to get use to him, being near him, and being touched by him.  With all his dealings with women he knew how to make them feel comfortable.  And it seemed to be working. 

“Would you like to listen to some music?” he asked.

“I am not sure I have the time. It’s kind of late. And I am so sleepy.  I don’t want to fall asleep on you”

He looked at his watch. It was only 9 pm.  “It’s not that late.  Besides, you don’t have to drive home.”

“Okay. I can stay for a little while”.  He tried not to smile in triumph but from the way she rolled her eyes, he must have not succeeded.

“You really are used to getting your way,” she said as she reached down to take off her shoes. 

He got up and went to the CD player to play some of the old music of the bands he used to manage.

“Oh wow.” She said as he returned to sit back down. “I haven’t heard this in forever.”

He noticed her flexing her toes so he lifted her feet into his lap as she lay back into the corner of the couch.  Her toes were painted bright pink and were as perfect as the rest of her.  He began to massage her arch in her right foot.

“mmmm,” she moaned and his body responded.  “What was it with this woman and her moans,” he thought.  They were working his libido overtime. She arched her back and unwittingly pushed her breast forward.  And that was all it took.  He was now fully aroused. 

“So tell me darlin.  Why didn’t you come to me about being pregnant?” She didn’t even flinch at the question.  Just kept her eyes closed and back arched with her perfect breast on display. She must be very relaxed.  He had achieved his goal then.

“I told you…mmmm…I was afraid to tell you so I told Ruben.”

“Why were you afraid of me? Was I that bad back then?”

“No.  It wasn’t you…mmmm. It was me.  I guess I didn’t value myself that much then..mmmm…I was shy.”

“I can’t imagine you as shy.”

“Oh I was…mmmm…I didn’t date a lot. And you had all those girls around you…mmmm…I felt kinda used too.  I gave you my virginity and…” His heart dropped.  He didn’t hear anything else she said after that because his mind was flooded with memories of the past. Although he had slept with many women, only one had been a virgin.  His Songbird.  She had been so sweet and giving.  He hadn’t even known she was a virgin until right before he entered her.  But it didn’t surprise him to find out.  He had genuinely liked her as a person but he had his career to think about so there was no way he was ready to have the type of relationship he felt she deserved.  So afterwards, he had kept his distance.  He remembered the pain in her eyes when she realized that he had no intention of taking what they shared further.  And one day she stopped coming around.  Although it had bothered him, he felt it was for the best.  All that wide eyed innocence was bound to get in the way. He came back to the present and focused on Harmony who was still talking.

“My low self-esteem is why I started drugs.  And the reason I couldn’t kick the habit. But along the way to loving myself, I learned a lot. I am in a good place right now.  I don’t think I have ever felt this good about myself before.”

As she spoke, he could see it now.  The dimples, the soulful eyes, the flawless skin.  His songbird.  He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn’t find his voice.  That was odd.  It had never happened to him before. He tried again.

“I’m sorry Songbird.”

At the sound of the endearment she sat straight up and looked at him.

“What did you say?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“And what did you call me?” He knew then. The look of surprise said it all.  It was her. His Songbird.

“Songbird.” He noticed her eyes watering. “Don’t cry,” he said as he reached out with both hands, grasped her shoulders, and pulled her closer. When she didn’t protest, he pulled her onto his lap. 

“Don’t cry,” he said again as his hands travelled from her shoulder to around her waist.  Tucker couldn’t believe how incredible she felt in his arms.  She just fit there.  It felt so natural.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that the name brings back so many memories.”

“I know.  For me too.  I remember missing you when you left. I thought you had left because I was keeping my distance.”

“Well that was part of it,” she said as she looked up at him with those same eyes that he remembered.

“And the other part was that you were carrying our child. How stupid was I? I knew you loved me.  I could see it in your eyes.” She closed her eyes when he said that.  Did she think he could still read her feelings there? He wondered.

“Well I can see why you wouldn’t want to be saddled with me and a child.  You were trying to build a career in the music business and that’s hard.” She kept her eyes closed as her head hung down. He still sat with his arms circling her waist and hands resting on her side.  “So you do remember me? I thought that you didn’t,” she said with her voice cracking.

“I thought that I didn’t but some things you said just now reminded me of who you are. I am sorry it took me so long to place you.” Although she looked different, where it really mattered she had not changed at all.  She was still so understanding.  Almost to a fault. He had hurt her in one of the worst possible ways and yet she was making excuses for him.  He ran his hand from her knee up the outside of her thigh.  Taking the hem of her dress with it. As he stroked back down to her knee, Tucker was shocked to find that his hand shook.

“mmmmm,” she moaned and trembled slightly. She was just as aroused as he was.  Now he was sure that was what he was smelling the other night at the Collonade room.   He detected the same sweet yet musky scent in the air now.  He wanted her so bad and had thought that he hadn’t felt this all-consuming need before.  But how wrong he was.  He had.  It was approximately 24 years ago.   With this very same woman. 

He then turned her to face him so that she was straddling him with her knees bent and legs resting flat against the couch on each side of his thighs.  Not close enough so that she would be sitting on his erection but close enough that he could feel the heat coming from her.  He put her hands around his neck and circled her waist with his arms while resting his hands on the small of her back. 

“Look at me,” he said.  She raised her head and her teary gaze met his.  He wanted her to understand that it was not her.  That it was him.  “You were as perfect then as you are now. I was just not ready for the kind of relationship that you deserved.”

“I know that now,” she said with a weak smile.

He took his right hand from her waist and ran the tips of his fingers down the side of her face. “For what it’s worth, I do regret the choices that I made back then. There were times that I wish I had been ready and thought I had lost out on the one woman that truly did care for me. And not just my money.  I thought about you for a long time. But then I got caught up in work and moved on. I’m sorry.”

“It’s water under the bridge.” Her lips trembled as she smiled and continued to stare into his eyes. “It’s the past. Let’s leave it there.”

He looked down at her lips. He promised himself that he wasn’t going to do this but he couldn’t stop himself.  Those lips were calling his name.  Just begging to be kissed.  He had been a good boy all evening.  He deserved one kiss from his Songbird. Besides, she needed comforting. He would keep it chaste.

His head lowered as he lightly pressed his lips to hers.  They were so soft.  He pressed more firmly testing them against his own. 

“mmmm,” she moaned again and his manhood jumped as if trained to do so on command. 

Harmony was so responsive.  He could feel little tremors throughout her body. He needed to taste her. But he would leave the choice to her.   He ran his tongue across the seam of her closed lips asking for admittance.  Hers immediately opened.  He plunged his tongue inside of her mouth. He roughly pulled her forward so that she was sitting on top of his erection.  Her dress rode up even further so that it was around her waist.  He slid his hand down to grab her perfect ass and realized he was holding flesh.  Her skin was so soft and smooth.  But the muscles underneath was firm as if she worked out regularly.

“Mmmm. Do you know how good you feel?  You are a perfect fit for my hands,” he said roughly breaking the kiss and touching is forehead to hers. He was trying to catch his breath.  His heart was racing so fast that it became somewhat difficult.  This woman was driving him crazy. He briefly wondered why she went to work without panties but he couldn’t concentrate because she started to slide her body back and forth on his lap. He reminded himself of his promise to not sleep with her.  Devon would hate it too and he didn’t want to come off as a liar to their son.

“Mmmmm, I always was,” she moaned against his mouth.

“I remember that. I guess some things never change,” he said right before kissing her again.  She sucked his tongue into her mouth.

He wondered how wet she was.   Since her legs were open, it was easy for him to slide the middle finger of his right hand down between her cheeks.  He felt the pucker of her forbidden hole and rubbed it lightly with his finger.  She gasped in shock into his mouth.  He could tell by her reaction that it was unchartered territory.   He pressed more firmly and she shuddered. He dipped lower to encounter her opening.  She was very wet.  He rubbed his finger up and back spreading her juices and reveling in the feel of them on his hand. 

“You’re so wet. Is all that for me?” He knew he should stop but he couldn’t.

“Mmmmmm,” she moaned against his mouth and he responded in the same way he had all night long. Their breath mingled while their foreheads touched.

“Hhmm Songbird.  Is all this mine?”  He said as he circled her opening with his finger. 

When she didn’t immediately respond, he leaned back, looked in her eyes, and raised his eyebrows.  He wanted to hear her say it.  No, needed to hear her say it.  At this moment there was something in him that desired confirmation that she was all his.   That this, what they were doing, was only done with him.

He saw the battle raging inside of her in her eyes as he held her gaze.  He continued to circle her opening.  The more he circled, the wetter she got, and the more her body trembled. He squeezed her left butt cheek to remind her that he was serious about getting an answer.

“Just say it darlin.  We both already know the answer. I can feel it in every shudder of your body and hear it in every moan from your lips.”

“Yes,” she said in a breathy whisper. 

“Yes,” he repeated silently as he fused his lips to hers and explored her mouth once again with is tongue.   He also slipped his finger inside to test the feel of her.  She was so tight and so very wet.  And it was all for him.

Forget the promise.  He wanted her and she wanted him.  He broke the kiss to stare into her eyes as he continued to simulate the act with his finger by repeatedly pushing in and out of her.  She was breathing heavily and he knew she wanted to come just as much as he did. He thought about just unzipping his pants, releasing himself, and replacing his finger with it.  But he wanted her to be comfortable. They needed to move to the bed.

“So. Candy. How about we take this to the bedroom. Huh?”

She jumped off of his lap and stood up as she pulled her dress down. “Oh my god.  What am I doing?  I should know better.  I have to go.”

She turned and headed for the door.  He stood to chase her and grabbed her hand after her first few steps. 

“It’s okay. What’s wrong?” They were just having a great time.  She seemed to be just as into it as much as he was.  His hand was soaking wet with her juices as proof.

“I can’t do this Tucker,” she said.  He knew from the use of the name Tucker that she was attempting to put distance between them.

“Do what?”

“Sleep with you.”

“Why not,” he said as he rubbed his thumb over her hand. “We both want it.”

“No.  You want it.  I just want to go home,” she said  with eyes hardening.

“Are you saying you don’t want me?”  He narrowed his eyes. “Because I could have sworn you were just grinding-“

 “Besides, Delia’s party tomorrow and I promised Chloe I would help out,” she interrupted.

Tucker figured she was just nervous. And he had taken her further tonight than he had planned.  Because no matter what he had told Devon, her, James, and even himself, he knew deep down that from the moment she came to town, he had always had intentions of sleeping with her. He raised the hand he was holding to his lips and kissed the palm.  “I repeat.  Are you saying that you don’t want this?”

“Well it’s just that I am not sure I trust myself and my decision making right now.” 

“So you don’t feel this pull between us?”  He said.  He was beginning to get frustrated.  He hated denying himself and he had about enough of denying himself Harmony.  Now that he had accepted that his hunger for her outweighed his resolve, he wanted his payoff.

“I feel it.  It’s just that I don’t know whether it is real or hormones. I’m in a horrible position.  I haven’t had sex in years. So my judgment may be clouded,” she said with a self-conscious laugh.

 “No sex in years,” he thought. For Tucker, this was just getting better and better. He wanted her tonight. No, needed her tonight.  It was time he reclaimed what was his.  So he decided to change tactics. 

“I understand Songbird. I really do,” he said kissing her palm again.  He noticed her visibly relax. “Well since it is so late, why don’t you just stay?  And since I plan on going to Delia’s party, I can drop you off then. ”

“I am not about to sleep with you tonight Mick,” she said softly.  He noticed that there was no conviction in her voice.

“Understood.  No sex.” At her skeptical look he finished with, “I just found you again.  I think I am entitled to some quality time.”

“That is not quality time.  We’ll both be asleep. Call your driver and tell him I’m ready.”  He knew then that all hope of burying himself in her body was lost.

“Nah.  Forget the driver. I’ll take you myself.” He saw her eyes light up in response.

“Okay. Thanks,” she said with a smile.

Location:  Justin’s Apartment

Donna once again found herself with a door standing between herself and Justin’s domain.  Dare she knock?  Dare she attempt to explain herself once again?  The more she had thought about it the more she didn’t like how things ended with Justin.  He had offered to stop by but she had nixed it.  At this point, what did she have to loose.  She knocked on the door.

A few minutes later it was swung open to reveal Justin in his favorite pair of pajama bottoms and nothing else.  Her breath caught as he looked at her expectantly.  She wanted to speak but every coherent thought and reason for her showing up here had left her head.

“Donna,” he said he in a low tone. “Come in.”

She walked into the room. He shut the door and leaned against it with his arms folded across his chest. A chest that she had lay on every night for almost a year as she listened to his even heartbeat as he slept.

“You said that you wanted to talk.”

“And you said that there was nothing left to say,” he said as he stared into her eyes.

So he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. Fine.  She deserved it. “Well obviously I was wrong.”

He angled his head in the way she had become accustomed when he was trying to figure something out when things didn’t add up or make sense to him. He broke the eye contact finally, looked down and sighed. “Donna, what is it you want from me?  Just say it.”

She wanted to be his wife.  She wanted to be with him.  But if she couldn’t have that then at least she could experience being in his arms once more before he leaves her for good. “I want you.  Only you. Do you know how hard that is when I know it’s not in your best interest,” she said on a sob. “I love you.”

He sighed again and pushed off the door. He stood there looking at her for few seconds. Then walked slowly towards her to stop inches short. At the last second he roughly pulled her into an embrace. “Do you know how hard it is to walk away from you? Do you know how hard it is for me to leave you?  I remember clearly leaving you when I went off to college.  It broke my heart but I knew it was something I had to do.  Needed to do.  But that feeling pales in comparison to how I feel right now.”

She leaned back in his arms to look into his eyes.  And when she did she knew he was telling the truth. She reached up on tip toe and gently touched her lips to his.  He crushed his lips to hers in a hard yet gentle kiss. And she felt like she had come home.  She wanted him to make love to her. She ran her hand from the middle of his back to grab his butt and squeezed it hard.  He pushed her away so that he could look in her eyes again. She did her best to make sure that he saw how much she loved him and wanted him. 

She obviously succeeded because he picked her up in his harms and carried her to the bedroom.  Once there he lay her gently down and stood at the side of the bed.

He looked so tortured. If he backed out on making love to her she felt like she would die. “Donna, I don’t want to hurt you.  I am still leaving tomorrow regardless of what happens in this bed.  If you can’t deal with that then we prob-“

“Justin.  Make love to me.”  She gave him a smile to soften her tone. He smiled at her.

“Alright, take your dress off,” he demanded.

Justin was always so gentle with her when they were married.  This demanding tone was something new.  And the fact that her hands went immediately to her zipper to comply, her body must like it. As she unzipped her dress and slid it down her body she looked at him.  He smiled when he saw that she had on a red lace strapless bra with a matching thong.

“You’re beautiful.  You know that.”

“You always made me feel so.”

“Well it’s true. Come here.“ He grasped her wrist and pulled her to a kneeling position in front of him on the bed so that they were face to face.  “Take off your bra”, he said as he released her wrist.

She reached behind her back and released the clasp and allowed the bra to fall.  He lifted his left hand to cup her right breast. He ran his thumb over her nipple and it immediately hardened. He lowered his head and took it into his mouth and sucked on it.  Her back arched as she felt her inner walls contract. “Justin, I love you.”

“mm hum,” he moaned in acknowledgement.  She could feel his arousal and reached down to grip him through his pants. He released her nipple and straightened up.  He reached for the tie of his pants to take them off.  As he did so she reached for the waist band of her panties. “No leave them on.  I like how the feel rubbing against me.” That was a new admission.  She had never known that.

After he stepped out of his pants he reached for her again.  This time he held her close to his chest stroking her back while he kissed her passionately.  His tongue was rough against hers.  She felt the moisture between her thighs and knew she was ready. Justin trailed one hand around to her stomach and reached inside her panties.  When he encountered her wetness, he smiled against her lips and said, “I see you are ready for me. As usual.”

“I am.” She was always ready for her husband.

“That’s good,” he growled. “Now turn around”

She turned around still kneeling in front of him.  He held both her breasts in his hands while he kissed and sucked on her neck.  She knew she would have passion marks tomorrow but didn’t care.  She wrapped her hands around his neck while she ground her hips into his erection. She needed him inside her now.  “Justin please” she said.  She sounded whiny to her own ears.   She hoped her neediness didn’t turn him off.  But he began to suck even harder on her neck and pinch her nipple.

“Okay. I’ll give you what you want. Bend over. Hands and knees,” he whispered in her ear.

She felt her stomach muscles clench in preparation. She bent over into the position he requested. He put his hand to her lower back to push her down further as he used his other hand to spread her thighs further apart. “Lower baby,” he said as he did so. And her insides clenched again. This wasn’t Justin’s normal position.  He was more of a missionary kind of guy.

She braced herself for his entrance.  When he didn’t she looked back over her shoulder to see him staring down at her and stroking himself.  He lifted his free hand to stroke her lower back and butt. “God you’re beautiful Donna,” he said.

“Justin.”

“Okay. But here’s the deal. You don’t come until I tell you too.”

“Okay.” What was she getting herself into? She had never been able to hold her passions back like that.  But she would agree to anything to have him inside her again.

She felt the bed sink as he kneeled behind her.  She felt her panties being pulled aside and the tip of him circle her open spreading her juices.  Then he pushed all the way in.

“Ooooh” she moaned as he grunted.  He stayed completely seated inside of her for some seconds before pulling back out and completely pushing back in.

“Ooooh” she moaned again.

“That’s right.  Let me know how it feels,” he said through clenched teeth.

He once again pulled out and pushed back in.  And just when she didn’t think he could go any deeper, he rotated his hips at the end of his thrust. Before she knew what was happening, she was coming.

“Oh god,” She screamed as her muscles clenched again and again around him.  And her arms shook in the effort to keep her upright.

When it was over, she lowered her arms and allowed her head to fall down to the bed.

She then felt Justin’s chest against her back as he bent over her to whisper in her ear.  “Donna, I thought that we had an agreement. You weren’t supposed to come until I told you. Now I am going to have to punish you.” Her muscles clenched around him at the thought.  She couldn’t believe that Justin was saying these things to her.  But she couldn’t help herself, she loved it.

“Punish me,” she asked.

“Yes baby.  Punish.  And no matter how much you scream I will not let up.  Now” he said as he straightened back up, “hands and knees.”

She pushed back up and as soon as she did so he slammed into her. It took him no time at all to find his rhythm. And this time it wasn’t slow.  They were quick, hard, and powerful. With each thrust she could feel her next orgasm building.  She tried to hold it off but the harder she tried the more her inner muscles clenched. After about 15 minutes she couldn’t take it any longer.

“Justin.  Please.”

“I know baby.  Go ahead and come for me.”

And she did. Harder than she ever had in her life.  Once again she lowered her head to the mattress as his rhythm changed. His thrusts were still hard but they were also shallow. She knew he was close himself. She squeezed her muscles tight to help him along. And that was all it took.  She felt him empty his seed inside of her. 

“I love you”

“I love you too” she said in return.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion

Jill was helping Chloe put together party bags for the kids.  They were expecting about 50 kids of all ages.  All the kids from school had been invited plus some other family and friends.  They were expecting twice as many adults.  Luckily, it had been unseasonably warm this year.  The temperature should be around 70 degrees at party time. 

“What do you think about us doing party games for the adults while the kids are playing in the bounce house and riding the ponies that Victor will bring,” Chloe asked.

“I think that is a great idea,” Nina said excitedly.

“Of course you do.  Your life is just flowers and rainbows now that Chance is coming home,” Jill said.

“Chance is coming home,” Billy asked as he walked in.

“Yes he is.  And why the hell did you hang up on me today.”

“I’m sorry mom,” he said as he kissed her cheek.  “But something urgent came up.”

“It would have been nice to get a call so I wouldn’t have been waiting on you Billy,” Chloe said.

“I’m sorry okay,” he said as he kissed Chloe lightly on her bare shoulder. “Forgive me.” He said grabbing her hands and swinging them back and forth. For the life of her, Jill couldn’t understand why Billy was still so affectionate with Chloe when he insisted that he didn’t want her. She wanted to pop him in the back of the head but decided she would bide her time and have a full on conversation about his behavior some other time.

“Fine Billy. Whatever,” she said pulling her hands from his grip and walking away. “We were just discussing whether we should have some adult games for the parents.”

“Yes, I think so.  Parents need a little fun too. Uhm Chloe.  Can I talk to you for a moment. In private.”

“Sure,” she said as they went into the kitchen.

Location:  Tucker’s car

Harmony sat in the passenger seat of Tucker’s car.  She wasn’t sure what kind of car it was but she knew it was expensive.  Some sort of sports car.  The interior was really soft black leather and it smelled new.  The bucket seat was very comfortable and she was tired enough to fall asleep. But she couldn’t. She kept her eyes closed in hopes that Tucker would think that she was. She could not believe that she had almost lost herself in Tucker tonight. Or more aptly, allowed Tucker to lose himself in her.  His touch could still make her lose her head.  And at this stage in her life, she could not afford to do that.  Her body had calmed down some but she was still very wet, which she knew that nothing but a hot bath would cure.   Her nipples still tingled.  And her clitoris still throbbed.  But her breathing had steadied quite a bit.  She felt Tucker lift her hand from her lap to hold it in his.  She felt their fingers intertwine.  Her breathing became labored again.  Tucker could take her from 0 to 120 mph with just a touch.

“I know you are not asleep.  You might as well open your eyes.” He paused then for her to comply. “Harmony, look at me.” She heard him say in a very soft tone.  Well at least soft for him.

She hated feeling like a coward.  Hated even more that he knew she was being a coward.  So she opened her eyes and turned her head in his direction still leaning her head back on the head rest.  Due to the console light and the street lights, they could see each other very well.

“Now that’s more like it darling,” he said. She could only smile at his charm.

He rested her hand on his right thigh so that he could shift the gears in the car.  It reminded her of how she had straddled and rubbed against him earlier.  She let out an involuntary moan.  As she did so, she felt the muscles in his thigh clench. 

He briefly glanced at her then back at the road. “You know that moan of yours is something sexy.”

She laughed at that.  What does one say? “Thanks,” she settled on.

“So how about we go out tomorrow night since we didn‘t get a chance tonight” he said.

She didn’t think she could survive two nights in a row. He probably knew it too. She didn’t know where to begin to explain how it wasn’t a good idea. She began to lift her hand from his leg as she said “Tucker, I-“

He captured her hand and pressed it back to his thigh. “Are you really going to deny us the pleasure of each other’s company,” he asked.

This man was relentless.  How was she expected to continue to say no to him?  Did she even want to? She sighed. Caught up in her own thoughts she began to rub Tucker’s thigh with her hand. She felt it clench again and immediately stopped.

“Don’t stop sweetheart.  I like your touch.” 

“Okay,” she said as she began to slowly rub his thigh again.  She was beginning to understand why he and Ashley didn’t have a problem with him having his way.  She was finding it hard to tell him no too.  “Mick, I can’t take the risk right now.  I don’t want to get hurt.”

“I would never hurt you. Not again.  Trust me.”

He sounded so sincere. She wanted to believe that was true but she knew better than anyone that sometimes you could hurt people unintentionally. “I don’t think you would intentionally hurt me but you can’t make any promises that you wouldn’t unintentionally hurt me.”

“No one can do that.  But I can promise to be in tune with you and your needs.  To be considerate of your feelings.”

Was he begging her? She was kind of shocked that the man that Tucker had become wanted to spend so much time with her.  This was an intoxicating feeling.  One she could get used to.  She decided to mess with him.  Just to test her power.  She let her hand drift to the inside of his thigh and a little higher up as she stroked his leg.  His thigh clenched as she heard him gasp.

“hhhmm. I thought that you had to always have your way.  Are you now telling me that I can get my way,” she asked as she leaned closer to him.

For the first time Tucker was silent.  He didn’t have a ready come back.  She glanced in his direction and he looked thoughtful. 

“Well are you,” she asked intentionally lowering her voice to a sexy whisper.  “Yes, this was a lot of fun,” Harmony thought as she continued to rub the inside of Tucker’s thigh.

He glanced at her hand, then at her face, and back at the road.

“Yolanda,” he said in a serious tone. No one called her that now.  She was a little shocked to hear it from Tucker of all people. “I find myself willing to do almost anything.  I have never felt like this before. That being with a woman is worth me making concessions in my life.  I am going to be honest here because we are both way too old for games.  I want you. And I don’t just mean sexually.  I want to be with you. Do you or do you not want that too?”

“It’s not that simple” she said.  Lord knows she wanted him. Always had.  But she was scared of getting hurt again.  And beyond that, Devon would blow a gasket. And it was happening too soon.

“Why not?  I already told you that I wouldn’t hurt you-“

“Devon would hate it,” she said.  And she was sure of that after their lunch earlier today.

“How do you know that?”

“He made a point of having lunch with me earlier to warn me away from you. He wanted me to promise that I wouldn’t get involved with you?”

“And did you?  Promise him.”

“What? No. Not that I had intention to get involved with you or anything.  But I am a grown woman.  No one is going to dictate to me where I go or who I see.  I thought I made that plain to you a while ago.  Our son is no different.  But I still don’t want to upset him.”

“That boy is as bad as me when it comes to getting his way.  He tried to get my word this morning to stay away from you.  I guess he took it to you when he didn’t get it from.  Maybe he saw something between us. Anyways, I tell you what.  I will talk to Devon.  Man to man. Let him know what’s up. ”

Tucker had a lot to learn about their son if he thought that he could talk some sense into Devon.  The only person who she had ever known to do that was Neil.

“Maybe I should ask Neil to talk to D-“

“Absolutely not.” Tucker said raising his voice an octave over his usual tone.  He was not yelling by any stretch but she knew he was upset at the thought. “I do not need Neil to run interference between me and my son.  Especially not over my relationship with you.”  Her heart did a flip flop over the use of the word relationship.  What was she getting herself into?

“Okay. I regret bringing it up. I’m sorry baby.” With that she stopped stroking his leg.  And looked at him abruptly to see if he had noticed what she said.  He looked at her and smiled brightly before looking back at the road. She felt like she was losing the war. She had started using endearments with Tucker.  “Baby,” she thought.  Where did that come from?

She looked back at the road when the car slowed. They were pulling into the drive way of the Chancellor Estate. She felt relieved. In the few short hours that she had spent in Tucker’s presence she had lost almost all her resolve to not get involved with him.  There were a few cars in the drive which meant that the house was still up. 

He cut the engine on the car, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned towards her.  He then unbuckled her seat belt also. “So tomorrow night.  Let me take you out to dinner and we can do a little dancing.”

She wanted to go but she already had plans. She had to pick up Justin Barber from the airport and get him settled at the Athletic Club.  “I would love that but I can’t.  I have some things that I have to do.”

“Are we back to this? Come on Songbird.  I thought we had come to an understanding,” he said frustrated. She knew that she should correct him on the understanding that they supposedly had.  She had no real intentions of being with Tucker.  At least not yet.  Not until he had proven that he really wanted her this time.  She refused to relive past mistakes.  But the look in his eyes made her think twice about telling him so.  It was just best to pacify him for now and explain later.

“We have.  But I still have a job to do. It’s work.  I have to meet one of the VPs at the airport and get  him settled at the club.”

“What time does his flight come in?”

“7”

“Okay, you should be done with him by 8:30”.

“Yeah, probably.”

“So, we can have dinner at the club.”

“I will probably be tired.  After the party then helping Justin, I am not sure I could keep my eyes open.”

“How about this?  I will get a room at the club.  We can have dinner in suite.”

Being honest with herself, she wanted to spend time with Tucker.  She enjoyed his company.  But them in a hotel room alone would not be a good idea. She’d just have make sure that they ate downstairs if she actually decided to meet. “Okay.  I will meet you at the club.”

“Don’t forget to pack an overnight bag”

An overnight bag? She really needed to manage his expectations.  “Mick, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“As a precautionary measure only.  Just in case you are too tired.”

“Let me make this clear.  I am not ready to sleep with you.”

“I understand. Like I said earlier, we don’t have to have sex.  Holding you through the night will be enough for me.” He hesitated and finished with, “for now. But let me be real here.  I am not used to waiting.  Nor am I used to being denied.  So don’t make me wait too long Songbird.”

Was he threatening her?  How dare he?  Just for that it would be a long time before he got a chance to even smell it, she vowed to herself.  Granted, she had pacified him a lot since she had been back.  She had given in to him against her better judgment.  But he needed to learn that he couldn’t force her to do things she didn’t really want to do.  Threats would get him nowhere.  She looked him in the eyes and said, “you’ll regret making that statement.”

“Meaning,” he challenged.

“Meaning that your balls will have turned a deep beautiful blue before I give you some. Now I am about to go inside.”  She heard him laugh out loud as she reached for the door handle. 

“We’ll see Songbird.  Stay put.  Let me get the door for you.  I will walk you inside”

Location:  Justin’s Apartment

Justin woke up to find himself alone. He wasn’t surprised at all.  Donna was never one for big goodbyes.  And after what they had just shared, he knew it would be harder than ever to walk away.  She was once again making the choice for him.  And even if he was a little resentful for her doing it in the past, this time he was thankful. He rose from the bed to take a shower and finish packing.

Location:  Chancellor Mansion

Chloe turned and headed back into the living room on fire.  Billy had once again screwed up.  Now he had some woman in town claiming that she was having his baby.  So now Delia could possibly have a sibling whose mother is some crazy woman.  She wanted to strangle him.  Just wrap her fingers around his neck and squeeze all the life out of his body.  And poor Victoria.  Chloe couldn’t help but think, “better her than me.” Oh yes, she had escaped a life a disappointment when she and Billy divorced.

“Chloe wait. I am telling you this out of respect.  Please don’t repeat it to anyone.  Please.”

“Are you serious?  There is no way I would want anyone to know I procreated with someone so stupid.”

“Ha ha.”

“Whatever Billy. “

As Chloe walked back into the living room she said, “So back to the party planning. What games would we like for the adults?”

“How about Pictionary and Taboo. I love those games,” Nina said.

“You love everything today don’t you,” Jill said bitterly. “I swear your good will is going to make me lose my dinner.”

“Oh no Jill.  Don’t do that,” they heard a voice say from the door way.

Everyone turned to see Harmony and Tucker descending into the living room.

“Hey everyone,” Harmony said self-consciously.  She probably knew that everyone was wondering why she was coming home so late in the company of Tucker.

“Hey Harmony. You’re in trouble.  Katherine has been asking for you all day. I can’t wait until she finds out that you were with Tucker. Ha!” Jill said with excitement.  Chloe thought that was the first smile they had gotten out of Jill all day.

Harmony narrowed her eyes at Jill and turned to Billy.  She reached in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “This has the name and number of my recommendations. I have them listed in order of best to worst although I think they all would do a commendable job.”

“So, I guess you still don’t know. Huh,” Nina said.

“Know what,” Harmony asked.

“That Billy here, whom you have been trying to help, has listed you two in his blog,” Jill said.

“Mom,” Billy warned.

“No Billy.  If you are going to be man enough to print smut, the least you could do is man up to it.”

“Alright Fine. Phyllis’s blog hinted at you two having an affair and it being the reason that Ashley is divorcing Tucker,” Billy said.

“What. Billy. I thought we were friends,” Harmony said obviously hurt.

“I didn’t print it.  Phyllis did it without my knowledge.  But I see that there is some truth to it.”

“You know what. I can’t deal with this right now.  I’ve had a long day.  I’m going to bed,” she said as she turned to leave.

“Candy, can we-,“ Tucker began as she approached him but was cut off as Harmony threw her hand up.

  “Tucker, not now,” she said never breaking stride as she brushed past him and headed up stairs.

Tucker watched her go and turned to Billy when she was out of his vision. He gestured towards the door with his hand flat and palm up.

“See what you just did. Now I am going to be the one who has to deal with that.”

“So it’s true then.  You were cheating on my sister,” Billy said.

“Are you asking? Seems to me that you should know since you have it printed on a website.  You didn’t bother to ask your sister or anything did you.”

“Now hold on a minute. Everyone just calm down,” Chloe said walking over to stand between Tucker and Billy. “Tucker, I saw it and it isn’t as bad as some would like to think.  It is just a little innuendo. Most of the piece was about you and Neil battling over Bell Communications. Trust me.  A little press never hurt anyone. You know that.”

“Mmm,” Tucker said to Chloe. Then looked towards Billy, “I will let it slide this time for your sister’s sake and for Chloe but please keep my family out of your useless excuse for a magazine. Harmony doesn’t need this right now.”

“You’re awfully protective of her for you two not to be involved,” Billy countered.

“She’s the mother of my child. I should think that you would be able to relate to that.”

Chloe looked at Billy and made eye contact.  He gave her a smile and said, “point taken.”

“I think you need to speak with your sister.  Our divorce was her decision. I won’t go into details about it.  Just speak with her,” Tucker said and walked out.

“Thanks for sticking up for me,” Billy said walking up to Chloe.

“I mean really.  It’s just a little gossip.  It never hurt anyone.”

“I totally agree,” Billy said reaching for her hand and rubbing his thumb across the back of it. “You and I were always on the same page with most things.” Chloe couldn’t believe it.  He was openly flirting with her in front of others. She figured that Victoria didn’t take the news well and he was stroking his ego with her.  She would not allow it. Before she could tell him off Jill spoke.

“Oh lord. Billy. Spare us all and go home. We will finish this without you.”

He looked at Jill then back at Chloe and smiled. “Okay. I will. See you all bright and early tomorrow.”

“Ha.  I won’t hold my breath,” Chloe said as she pulled her hand away and walked over towards Nina on the couch.

“Bye,” Billy said as he left.

“So, did anyone catch the body language between Tucker and Harmony,” Nina asked.

“Yes,” Chloe had definitely noticed it. “And the way he couldn’t take his eyes off of her the entire time they were in the room.”

“Nina.  I think your happiness is catching.  I seem to have picked some up.  Oh I can’t wait for this party tomorrow. Kay is going to pitch a fit when she finds out that Tucker really does want Harmony,” Jill said.

“She seemed fine with it earlier,” Chloe said.

“Oh Chloe dear, you don’t know anything at all about Kay of you think she will be fine with this.  She likes Harmony.  She doesn’t like Tucker. Son or not. She may say all the right words. But wait until it starts to become a reality,” Nina said.

“Ha,” Jill laughed again.