The Arrangement Ch. 04

He gently reminded her to relax and rubbed her belly to remind her to focus on her breathing. Julianne tried hard to not focus on the sensation that at any moment her belly would clench and her pulsing, drooling pussy would burst forth with her bliss. With more effort than she would ever admit to, she was able to get herself under control, but still moaned because the pleasure was so intense. Every so often her control would falter when he gently pinched her hardened nub between his thumb and forefinger.

He removed his hand from her belly and carefully slipped his middle finger inside her. He gently explored inside her, feeling the walls of her pussy. He continued to rub and pinch her clit, watching her body begin to unravel. He could feel her pussy begin to erratically clench and grab onto the intruder creating the amazing sensations in her body.

"Shhh..." instructed Peter as her body began to convulse around his moving fingers. He slowed his movements to a near standstill to allow her to calm down before resuming his original pace. Their eyes connected again, and she moaned. Peter would have shouted for joy at the arousal clearly evident in her eyes. Instead he watched her intently until her breathing slowed back to normal while still stroking her.

"Oh my God, that was amazing." said Julianne out loud. This time she wasn't as shy about her honest praise of his handiwork.

Peter just smiled as he continued to maintain his frighteningly deep eye contact with her. Then he did something that she didn't anticipate. He curved his finger inside her body and began to softly yet urgently stroke her g-spot. He added his ring finger to the middle finger and began to stroke and play with her in earnest. Julianne's hand clenched around his left hand and threw her head back and screamed out her orgasm.

Peter continued pushing into her body, watching her roll from one orgasm into another. Her completion was spectacular to Peter because almost all of his senses were fully engaged as he made this woman that he knew he was falling hard for completely unravel beneath him. The only sense not fully engaged was taste. He would wait until she dragged his head between her beautiful thighs and beg him to make love to her pussy with his mouth.

He pulled himself out of his reverie before putting his thumb on her hard nub to rub it while moving his fingers inside her charged body. Her legs quivered and a streak of a tear leaked out of each eyelid. Her breathing came back to being deep breaths but he knew her body. This was merely the beginning of the big one. He greatly anticipated seeing it -- he'd only caught minor glimpses of when she would completely unravel, and all had been glorious to watch and delicious to taste.

He angled his pinky to her puckered asshole and sunk it gently into her anus. He was tempted to lean down and suck on one of her hard oil slicked peaks, but knowing that her body was relaxing, releasing and experiencing pleasure was the best thing he could have ever asked for.

The sensation of complete fullness felt amazing to Julianne. Everytime she looked up, she saw Peter. He was barenaked in his expression of care for her. Thoughts that she hadn't uncovered in years began to surface for her, threatening to distract her from the release he was providing for her. In his eyes she saw hurt, pain, trust and loyalty. She couldn't begin to fathom the meaning of everything his eyes willingly gave her, but she did respond.

"Peter?" she asked uncertain of his response.

Peter began to understand the meaning of "holding one of the mysteries of the universe in your hand". Her eyes mirrored his own vulnerable visage, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he held. Peter relaxed his thumb on her mound, and used his other hand to gently massage her breasts. He moved the hand down until his thumb massaged her clitoris, all while watching her, his woman, enjoy the massage he so lovingly gave her.

Julianne's tears streamed down her face as she looked up into the eyes of a man clearly and completely in love with her. She cried because she knew she felt the same. She cried because her logical mind thought it was too soon for love. She cried because she didn't know how to tell him, specifically how to tell his eyes that she felt the same way too. He was so gentle with her. This was a tenderness that wasn't there the first night she was with him. This was also a tenderness she had never experienced with a man before.

'This is what love looks like.' they both thought at the same time.

Peter slowly stopped his fingers and gently pulled them away from her body. He watched her come down from her orgasm, rubbing his own unattended hardness. He watched her body breath as she came down from her simultaneous orgasms, pulling his aching length in time with her breaths. After a sharp inhalation, he exhaled streaming cum from his body onto an extra towel nearby. Julianne had never watched a man cum, especially after being so aroused from touching her body. It excited her to watch him orgasm and ejaculate.

Once their breathing was back in check they looked at each other again. A sense of calm that was never present in their prior interactions was palpable. Peter reached out to brush a couple hairs stuck to her forehead back before sliding his hand down to cradle her face. Julianne put her hand over his outstretched forearm.

"Hey." said Peter.

"Hey." replied Julianne.

"Are you okay enough to talk?" asked Peter.

"I think we've got plenty to discuss." said Julianne.

Peter blew out a breath before leaning in for a kiss. His lips gently touched hers. It was a kiss that held the understanding that what they experienced together moved their relationship beyond the boundary of occasional fuck or even friends with benefits to something much deeper, much more significant.

Julianne looked at Peter and asked her the first question she could think of.

"Who is Josephine?"

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Julianne quickly walked through the crowded ballroom looking for the bathroom. She was strong enough to keep the tears at bay before she reached the restroom, but let them flow once she closed the door to her stall. She looked around in the cramped space and pulled some tissue out to dab her wet cheeks.

"He lied. He told me a bold face lie. She was his cousin, his blood, and not some longtime girlfriend. We look exactly alike, and she's his cousin. He lied.' thought Julianne.

Julianne heard the door to the bathroom open and a soft voice call her by name.

"Julianne? Are you in here?" came a woman's voice.

Julianne steeled her nerves, dabbed her cheeks and unlocked the stall door. Before her stood a woman who could pass for a slightly older twin. It was like looking into a mirror, one that showed how she would look in thirty years time. The stunning woman before her was dressed in a sweeping red gown bedazzled with matching sequins on the silken fabric.

"I guess you already know some of the history between Peter and I." said Josephine.

Julianne couldn't find words to explain her feelings, so she merely nodded her head.

Josephine sighed and crossed her arms in front of her, putting her head down.

"I'm sorry that you have to find out this way." she said softly when she finally met Julianne's eyes.

"Me too." stated Julianne.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Peter looked everywhere for Julianne among his friends and enemies attending his party. He decided not long after their long conversation to begin to show off Julianne to his associates and friends. His personal banker greeted her warmly and commented to Peter how lovely she was once the two men were alone. He knew that after he explained, in part, who Josephine was that he would have to sit her aside and explain more about the nature of his relationship with his exceptional cousin.

He didn't expect for said cousin to walk through the door with her husband in tow. Julianne had just returned from a table holding hors d'oeurves when she spotted Peter talking to Josephine. She was stunned by the woman who looked like her, only Peter's age. The closer she came to them, the more she realized how uncanny the resemblance was. A feeling of dread began to form in the pit of her stomach, but her damn feet kept moving in the direction of certain heartache.

Peter and Josephine laughed at one of many inside jokes, and he placed his hand on her hip for a sideways hug. He looked up in enough time to see his Julianne with an unreadable expression on her sweet face.

'Shit.' thought Peter as his woman came closer and closer to him.

"Hey Peter. Who is this?" asked Julianne cautiously, curiously.

Peter cleared his throat and caught a look that exchanged between the two women. Josephine was stunned to see an almost exact replica of herself standing before her, obviously connected to her cousin Peter. With a dignity and grace she didn't expect of herself, Josephine extended her hand to the younger version of herself.

"Hi, I'm Josephine, Peter's cousin. I didn't quite catch your name." stated Josephine.

"I'm...I'm...out." stammered Julianne before spinning around to find the restroom.

Josephine looked back at Peter with her lips pursed.

"Peter, how could you?"

Peter stared at her for a moment trying to figure out a way out of this really bad situation. He never expected his cousin to show up to his event. He knew he should have gone over the guest list, but didn't have enough time in between his liasons with Julianne.

"Peter, after all this time, how could you?" asked an exasperated Josephine.

Peter lowered his eyes slightly to take a glance at the floor. Jacob, Josephine's husband came up to the two family members having passed Julianne as she made her mad dash to the women's restroom.

"Hey Peter, there's a young woman here who looks a lot like my Josie," started Jacob as he hooked a thumb behind his back and turning his head slightly. He stopped when he saw the look on his wife's face and the look of penitence on his friend's face.

"She also looked pretty upset. Peter, what's going on man?" asked a confused Jacob after surveying the looks of shock, anger and extreme sadness lay plainly on their faces.

Peter didn't know how to begin to answer that question. Before he could go and get Julianne he saw the sway of his cousin's backside move swiftly through the happily oblivious crowd.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

"So, you're Peter's cousin. He mentioned you, but didn't mention that you two were related. He's been in love with you for a very long time." stated Julianne in a still voice that belied her anger at Peter.

"I'm not so sure about that." said Josephine into the sterile space between them.

Julianne scoffed in response. The two women looked each other in the eye for a long while. Finally Julianne told her the nature of her relationship with Peter.

"Peter asked me to have sex with him anytime he wanted. We verbally agreed to this arrangement, that has now lasted for about three months." said Julianne.

Josephine closed her eyes at this and blew out a breath. The situation was much, much worse than she could have imagined.

"Why?" she said more to herself than to Julianne. However Julianne didn't take it that way.

"Because I needed the money. I couldn't go to my family, my unemployment ran out, and I was living in a sleeping bag in my then unfurnished apartment not using any electricity and trying to just keep up with the damn rent while looking for a job. Do you know what it's like to take an ice cold shower during a New York winter? My teeth would chatter so bad during interviews that the interviewer would stop to let me warm up. If I hadn't fucked your cousin, God only knows what would have happened to me. I had no other choice." said a shaking Julianne as new angry tears sprouted down her cheeks.

Josephine stepped into the young woman's personal space and swiped the angry tears off her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry you went through that. The question wasn't asked to make you remember such an awful time in your young life. It was rhetorical and one that I want to ask my cousin about. Especially since he took advantage of you when you already had your back against the wall. I'm also apologizing for the confusion of this night -- there was no excuse for it. I just wanted to surprise Peter with our impromptu visit. I inadvertently caused you great pain, and for that I am truly sorry." said Josephine.

Julianne's features softened considerably, and the weight of the situation felt lifted from her shoulders. She smiled weakly at Josephine after dabbing at her eyes with the tissue.

"Come on. We both need a drink. Besides, I can tell you all sorts of wonderful crap about my crazy behind cousin." said Josephine which caused an unexpected peal of laughter to come from Julianne.

The two women exited the bathroom one after the other and headed for the hors d'oeurves and drinks tables before going outside to sit on the lamp lit terrace. They spoke for a while, with Josephine filling in many details about Peter. She discussed the closeness between their families, opting to not divulge the family secret to the young woman. Josephine spoke of their college years, how she met her husband through Peter's fraternity, and what she knew of Peter's dating habits.

Josephine looked closely at the young woman next to her. There was something about her -- the way the light of her eyes shone like fireflies in moonlit skies -- that caused her to tell her about Peter himself.

"Just so you know, Peter has never been attended by a woman. Don't get me wrong -- he dated and more than likely did his fair share of sleeping around for years -- but he's never had a steady. At least not a real steady." she said, quietly saying the last sentence.

Julianne looked at her for a long time processing those words before she said something that chilled her to her core.

"Peter and I danced on my wedding day. Because they were and are so close, he was naturally Jacob's best man and was honored to do so. When we danced he told me that when he settles down it will have to be with a woman who captivated him as much as I did before he learned who I really was to him. I have a feeling that you're it." she said.

Julianne's eyes studied Josephine's for a long time before asking her why she would say something like that.

"Because I know my cousin. He had this panic stricken look on his face when you came over. My cousin is the king of stoic, and rarely lets his face go uncontrolled. Absolute fear was in his eyes as you came near. When you left he looked like he was ready to cry. You affect him deeply Julianne. Please don't think that the start of your relationship has any bearing on the feelings that have developed from it." implored Josephine. Julianne stared into Josephine's sincere eyes, with a raw pain evident in them.

"I'm not sure if I can ever trust him though." she began slowly.

"How we started, who he is, everything is just so overwhelming at times. His world is foreign to me -- from fancy dinners to showing up to grand ballrooms amongst the movers and shakers of this city, heck this country is just too much at times. I'm a simple girl. I like simple things. They aren't the very best, but I've learned that my authentic self just doesn't need the very best.

"As far as the trust goes, our first night together was hallmarked by being picked up in a car, taken to an expensive boutique store for 'clothing'," she said with air quotes, "Taken to his house in said 'clothing', to be escorted to his room . After dancing for him at his command he guided me to a bed full of rose petals and $100 bills. The message was clear from the beginning with Peter. I...was...his...whore. No amount of flowers, clothing, jewelry, fancy dinners, and being taken to events like tonight can ever erase that first night with him. Trying to reconcile his later actions to his earlier actions are almost inconceivable. Acting like I'm his 'boo' is screwing with my mind.

"I've kept him at arms length because I've already allowed him to make me feel less than. I've already allowed this rich man to make me into his whore. I desire no validation of myself, because the woman reflected in the mirrors I pass reminds me of the less fortunate souls who have to walk the streets. The only difference between me and them is I don't have to service other men unless, God forbid, Peter decides to allow that to happen.

"I'm here because I look like you." She paused to allow her words to take affect before continuing.

"I'm here because he's always fantasized about having you. He called out your name after we had sex -- another reminder of why I'm really here. I'm not a person to Peter. I am an entity that looks like the woman he really loves." she chuckled drily to herself.

"To tell you the truth the truly screwed up thing about this whole situation is that by staying here, I'm allowing this to happen. By all rights, I shouldn't complain. I should be grateful that he pays me to have sex with him while he fantasizes about having sex with you.

"But I am not grateful. I'm mad as hell at myself for allowing this situation to continue. I'm furious that my heart wants to feel for him. I'm angry that I've allowed him as much access to my life as I have. Even with all that fury, anger and vitriol, what truly makes me mad, truly and utterly angry, is that I made the conscious decision to love the man that treated me like his whore." said Julianne.

Josephine sat speechless at Julianne's candor. She had no clue that it was that bad, or that Peter could do such a thing to this beautiful vivacious creature. She realized with sudden clarity that Peter's adoration of Julianne was the only thing the young woman could never fully understand. The young woman had no clue that the man she entertained was hopelessly in love with her.

Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arm around Julianne's back. Julianne leaned over and put her cheek on Josephine's shoulder, failing to stifle the sob that began to start all over again. The older woman embraced the younger, not knowing that their entire conversation was overheard by both Peter and Jacob.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

"May I speak with you Julianne?" asked Peter from the entryway to the terrace.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and stared back at him, pulling away from Josephine's embrace. She stood and nodded her head and walked close to Peter, still preserving her personal space. Her arms were stationed tight against her sides, her fists choking the night air.

"Not to embarrass you, but I heard your conversation with Josephine." started Peter.

She subtly turned her head in his direction, before staring ahead and walking further through the carefully manicured lawns of his friend's estate away from the dramas and delights of the flourishing party behind them.

Peter stopped next to a gardenia bush. The soft glow of the full moon bathed the garden in a serene glow of possibility. She noticed about a step too late that he was no longer walking with her. She turned and met his intense gaze with her own.

"I am a man full of fortune, worth and means. Objects and for a long time, people, were merely possessions for me to use." he started.

"I am ashamed and truly sorry for treating you in this same deplorable way. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I humbly ask it of you. I can promise you anything you desire, but I'm asking you to please forgive me for allowing me to have you feel that you didn't mean a thing to me." he continued. His hands shook in fear of losing this woman in his life. He knew that he was at the precipice of the biggest decision of his life -- and also knew that he had absolutely no control over its outcome.