Crash Landing

"Thanks Max, I'm glad you came."

She was? She never let on that she was interested in more than a business relationship. I sensed that even our business relationship was strained. I guess I was wrong.

"Some interesting trinkets on your shelves," I decided to say, keeping it to small talk first.

"Oh, you mean the battle axe," she said, smiling.

"It's not exactly what I'd envision a lawyer bringing to court, unless you're playing Conan the Barbarian."

"It's actually been in the family for several hundred years. It's a Viking battle axe from the 10^th or 11^th century. I use it to protect myself from aggressive clients."

It was good to see she had a sense of humor.

"And the picture of the house?"

That's our family cabin up in the mountains. We usually stay there when we're skiing."

"And I assume it's been in the family for several hundred years," I said presumptively.

"Of course."

"And your parents?" I asked, pointing to the small photograph.

"They still live in Norway."

And then the big picture. The graduation picture. I pointed to it.

"That's my daughter Sophia. She graduated from high school last year."

"She's beautiful," I said. "Just like her mother."

"You're too kind Max."

No I wasn't. They were both gorgeous. "So you had her when you were like . . . 14?"

She laughed. "No Max, but I did have her in my early 20's."

She paused for a moment and I waited. There was more.

"I've been divorced for ten years. She's at the University of Helsinki."

"Finland?"

"She met a boy there."

"Ahh," I said. Divorced. Check.

"So Max, what brings you here?"

"I think you know why I'm here," I said. I was in uniform so she knew I was there in an official capacity.

"I think I do. I'm not sure how I can help you. Mr. Williams is my client, so everything I've discussed with him is privileged."

"Sondra, I'm not here to get you to disclose privileged information. I'm here to see if we can prevent bloodshed."

She turned to go behind her desk to sit down. I couldn't help but admire her long legs in her knee length skirt and heels. She was a long, tall, cool drink of water.

"I see. I'm just Mr. William's lawyer, not his bodyguard," she said dismissively to me. My mind was starting to wander.

"He must know his life is in danger," I said, stating the obvious. My mouth was moving but my eyes and brain were focused on her. I didn't want to feel this way but I did.

She acted if there wasn't any sexual tension in the room. Maybe to her there wasn't.

"His life is always in danger. He spent two years in prison. That's enough danger for anyone. Being out on the streets isn't any different."

I made myself focus on the flow of the conversation.

"True, but I suspect he's going to want his old territory back. Lily Chao won't give that up voluntarily."

"Mr. Williams will be on probation. The terms of his release prohibit him from engaging in any criminal activity." She knew her client could care less about his terms of probation. I called her on it.

"C'mon Sondra. You know and I know that he's going to do what he has to do."

"Max, I can pass on your message, but quite frankly I don't think it's going to affect his behavior one iota."

"At least I've done my part," I said, salving my conscience and discharging my responsibility to Odette.

"You have."

I was relieved our business was done. She was distracting me without doing anything. Then she leaned forward with her hands on her desk with her eyes focused on me. I could see the top of her blouse separate a bit, revealing the edges of her bra. I'm sure it was purposeful. I didn't want to be aroused but I was. The mood shifted and I sensed a dark sexual undercurrent in her body language. Was she going to make a pass at me?

"Max, remember you promised me a drink after I helped you with DaVanna," she said in a sexy voice, leaving no doubt as to her intention. I tried to resist the feeling of animal attraction. Resistance was futile.

"I remember," I said, trying to clear the frog out of my throat. She could do that to you.

"Well? Are you seeing anyone?" she asked, her shimmering icy blue eyes cutting through the last shreds of my resistance.

Oh crap. It was happening again. First Lily and now Sondra? So soon after Sky? My willpower was notoriously weak. The door was wide open, and she was beckoning me with her "come hither" look. Sondra was a woman I secretly lusted after and I doubted I'd get this chance again. I could hear Lesley and Nicky screaming at me that this was a big mistake. I ignored the inner voices of my conscience.

"Not at present," I answered calmly, masking my obvious doubts.

Her body relaxed as she stood upright. The tension disappeared. She heard the answer she wanted. She resumed the casual tone of our conversation as if she hadn't really hit on me.

"Bailey's perhaps? And by the way, I was so sorry to hear about Maddy."

"Sure. I'm usually there on Wednesday's. And thank you for mentioning Maddy."

And that was that.

"Maybe I'll see you there," she said, when she meant definitely.

"Maybe," I said, meaning absolutely and definitely.

* * *

Although I told Sondra I'd be at Bailey's, I knew going there would engender bittersweet memories. Maddy's DNA permeated Bailey's, from the thirty foot bar with a hand hammered zinc top she bought in France to the tables I helped her make topped with champagne caps embedded in two inches of Lucite. Could I face my past while looking ahead to the future?

I sat in my room, cradling a half empty bottle of vodka, and wondering if the better option would be to get blind stinking drunk. I raised the bottle to my lips and then looked at the squalor surrounding me and thought I had nothing to lose.

I took one last drink, stripped and headed to the shower.

The spray of hot water refreshed and revived me. I started soaping my breasts, and as I did, I closed my eyes and imagined the hands on my breasts were Sondra's. I cupped my breasts, feeling their weight, and offering them to my imaginary lover. Then raking my fingers through her blonde hair, pushing her head lower to kiss me down there. To kiss me and to love me.

* * *

My mood was upbeat when I stepped into the familiar bar. It looked like the Bailey's of old. Candy, Maddy's younger sister, had done a masterful job of reopening the bar without missing a beat. It was odd seeing Candy behind the bar instead of Maddy. I set up in my usual spot at the bar, at the end, so I could see all the comings and goings as well as the dance floor. Candy had hired an all-woman band playing Queen hits, a fitting tribute for Bailey's Wednesday night lesbian gathering. Candy had captured the vibe, and that was all-important for the success of the bar.

Candy, a perky blonde about five years younger than me, was a dental hygienist by training, but her sister's untimely death thrust her into the middle of Cincinnati's bar scene as one of the most popular lesbian bars in the city, ironically since Maddy was straight. Candy did swing my way, and years ago we hooked up one drunken night. It was a short and awkward romance, since Maddy was my best friend. I helped Candy get on her feet after finding out that Maddy had drained the business to pay protection money to DaVanna Caruso for Maddy's younger brother, who was in jail. DaVanna, the piece of shit, had staged a picture with the prison guards about to rape her brother, and Maddy had paid out over $50,000 before she was killed. Candy was eternally grateful for my help in getting her finances in order.

"Max!" Candy cried out from behind the bar. She came around the bar to give me a hug. "You came."

The bar had reopened more than a week ago, but Candy knew it took every ounce of my willpower to walk in the door. I could feel and smell Maddy. As I sat in Bailey's I felt as if I was in her embrace.

"What'll you have?" she asked me.

"Maker's . . . neat."

It was my drink of choice with Maddy. Candy signaled to the bar back, who brought one for her and one for me.

"Salut," I said to her. "To Maddy."

"To Maddy."

We hugged each other again to seal what would be the next phase of our lifelong friendship.

* * *

Bailey's was packed, as the women on the dance floor were pulsing to the beat of "We are the Champions." I nursed my third Maker's as I surveyed the bar, trying to catch a glimpse of Sondra. I thought I was going to see her around 9:00, but it was fast approaching 10:30. When I had about given up hope I saw the leggy natural blonde make her appearance, wearing a form fitting, low cut powder blue dress that matched her eye color. The dress was cut six inches above her knee. She was wearing minimalist strappy sandals with stiletto heels that made her legs look like they were a mile long. She spotted me and waved as she wound her way through the crowd to my perch at the bar.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said, putting her arm on my shoulder. She acted as if our meeting was by chance, and not by her design.

"I didn't think you were going to make it," I said. The touch of her slender fingers on my neck felt good and there was no way I wasn't going to forgive her for her tardiness.

"I had an emergency petition to deal with. Sorry."

Typical lawyer bullshit.

"A legal emergency?" I asked sarcastically.

"I know, go ahead and make a smart comment."

"I'm trying to," I said, "but I can't take my eyes off you and my brain shut off," I confessed.

She gave me a disarming smile. I was a goner.

"You're looking pretty good yourself Max. I'm used to seeing you in your police uniform. You fill out that black tee quite well," she told me, focusing on my breasts, and moving closer to me so I could smell her seductive perfume.

"What'll you have to drink?" I asked, resisting the urge to maul her in public.

"Strawberry daiquiri?" she asked sweetly, squeezing her eyes together like she was a cute schoolgirl.

I scrunched my face. Horrible choice. Maybe I'd made a mistake.

She laughed. She was fucking with me. "Just kidding you," she said. "Give me a single malt scotch, neat."

I looked up at the top shelf, reading the first label. "Abelour 16?"

"Perfect."

A top shelf scotch for a top shelf blonde.

Candy came down to take Sondra's order.

"Max, introduce me." Candy glanced at her and then gave me a knowing look. Knowing it was a booty call.

"This is Sondra Karlsson. She's a criminal defense attorney."

"A lawyer? Max, you need to retain one, not date one."

"I guess I'm mixing business with pleasure."

Candy took a careful look at Sondra.

"Looks like mostly pleasure to me."

"Candy, I think I hear a customer calling you from the other end of the bar," I said, pointing down yonder.

Candy chuckled. "I get it Max, but before I leave, what'll you have Sondra?"

"The Abelour 16 please."

"Max, your friend has good taste. Hopefully her taste in friends is as good."

"Candy, I thought you were going."

"Right, right, be back in a second."

Candy snuck another glance at Sondra before she left.

* * *

Sondra was sipping her scotch, and not paying attention to the second looks she was getting from the other women in the bar. I noticed. I couldn't help it. I'd never been on a date with a woman as stunningly beautiful as Sondra. I couldn't help but wonder why she was there with me. Me being Max, I had to ask her, direct like.

"So Sondra, you could have your pick of any woman in the bar. Why me?"

Sondra tilted her head. "I don't think I've ever been asked that question before."

"So?"

"Max, I feel like I'm in a deposition. I usually I ask the questions."

"Well?"

"You make me laugh," she finally said.

"Please don't tell me that I have a great personality."

"You do Max, but you know you're a very attractive woman as well."

She took a sip of her scotch. She was as graceful as she was beautiful, and her comment was a good save.

"So Max, as long as we're baring our souls, why me? Am I just a pretty face?"

"You're kidding right, Sondra? Granted, you are insanely attractive, but you're also are a brilliant attorney. You know how to win and I admire that. Like what you did with Jumbo."

Sondra snickered. "Nice one Max. Slipping in that Jumbo reference. So now I get it. You just want to pump me for information. Just like the first time we met."

She was right. The first time we got together I wanted information on DaVanna. She gave me the boot that time.

"Oh right Sondra. I have no interest in you as a person."

"That's nice Max. You're a horrible liar."

I was a horrible liar. I was also blinded by lust. "Like when I say that I'm not thinking about having sex with you?" I asked, blurting out what was on both of our minds.

"Like I said, a horrible liar."

She slid her hand around my waist. "Time to go?"

I slammed down the rest of my drink. "It is now."

* * *

Sondra lived on the other side of town, on the right side of the tracks. I lived five minutes from Bailey's, in the West End and on the wrong side. My place was closer so my place it was. I warned her about my squalid living conditions but she didn't care, really. She followed me in her sleek black Jaguar F-Type.

I watched her get out of a car that was as sexy as she was. Her designer dress, jewelry and make-up clashed with the ragtag group of pimps, prostitutes and drug addicts in the parking lot.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was a bit chippy here," she said, watching the circus around her.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Max, you're forgetting I'm a criminal defense attorney. I spend a good part of my day at the county jail. There isn't anything here that I haven't seen on a daily basis."

"Good point counselor. I shouldn't have been so self-conscious about bringing you here. Are you going to surprise me by showing me a prison tat on your boob?"

Her flashy car and her stunning appearance attracted the attention of bystanders who were openly gawking at us. She fondled my breast, not caring that others were watching. "Ummm . . . so delicious Max. Maybe you've got a tattoo you'd like to show me. I've got other things to show you that will be much more interesting."

My motor was already redlining. I pointed to my room on the second floor. "Sondra, how fast can you run?"

She giggled.

"See, I told you that you're funny. And to answer your question, not very fast in with these stiletto heels. My God, whoever designs women's shoes must hate women."

She took my arm as I escorted her up to room 204. She paid no mind to the prying eyes in the parking lot. The riff raff at the Royal Palms watched me go up the stairs, arm in arm with one of Cincinnati's legal elites.

"So here we are, home sweet home," I said as I flung open the door. Sondra took careful measure of the room before stepping in.

"The decorator in me says early frat house," she observed . . . accurately. Her eyes converged on the empty vodka bottles in the waste basket and the pizza boxes next to it.

"Um, yeah, I'm not exactly going to get the Good Housekeeping award," I confessed.

"But that's not the point of this, is it?" she asked.

"No it's not. The point is to get naked and fuck."

She liked my directness and she got it.

"Shall we have a drink first?"

I had four cold beers in the mini-fridge and a bottle of Grey Goose in the freezer compartment that I was saving for a special occasion - - such as this one. I showed her the bottle of vodka.

"Good call Max."

We toasted with plastic glasses. Sondra starting doing a strip tease after the second drink.

"It's going to my head, but I feel hot down here," she said, lowering her panties to the floor. She still had her dress on. She kicked her bikini underwear to me. I think the waist would have fit on one of my legs. I picked them up. They were damp and fragrant. I resisted the urge to squash them against my nose.

"I think you want this," I said, pulling my tight tee over my head. I unclasped my bra and threw it to her.

Sondra kissed the top of one of my breasts. "Max, both of my breasts could fit in one of your cups. They're beautiful."

I eased her onto the bed and hovered above her, staring deeply into her piercing cornflower blue eyes. My lips met hers as I claimed the first of many steamy kisses, the sexual hunger within me welling up, wanting to possess her. I helped her pull her dress off, and in our eagerness I heard a ripping sound. I gazed at the flaxen colored hairs of her pussy, her slit weeping with clear viscous fluid.

"Touch me Max . . . touch my pussy," she said breathily. Her sexy voice and her dirty talk gave me goosebumps.

My index finger dipped into her pool of wetness and dragged upwards, splitting the folds of skin protecting her clitoris, and creating a slippery channel. She gasped as my finger encircled the hardened nub of her clit, rubbing the lubrication generously on her vaginal lips. Her hips rose to meet my hand as she let out a contented sigh.

"Just like that Max . . . just like that," she urged me.

I slid my finger up and down the hair lined furrow, feeling her anus constricting with each jolt of her pleasure. Her petite breast was topped with a pinkish hued nipple that begged me to capture it between my teeth.

My finger penetrated her, coating it with her feral essence, and then venturing lower to rim her anus with my fingertip. She shuddered at the anal stimulation. I did too.

"Oh God Max," she cried out. "Touch me there."

It's the words I wanted to hear. I pushed harder against the entrance to her back channel until the taut muscle gave way, ever so slightly, so I could work my fingertip against it, stretching it open to allow me safe passage. My mouth was drawn to the source of her heat, kissing down her rock hard abs to the slickened hairs of her cunt. My tongue retraced the path forged by my finger, running up and down her cleft as my finger worked deeper into her asshole, feeling her back channel squeeze it like a python as it pulsed with life.

"Yes . . ." she panted as her body started undulating like a wave as she started cumming. I sucked hard on the nub of her clit and pushed my finger all the way inside her to raise her level of pleasure until I heard her short, ragged breaths.

Her ass constricted one last time before relaxing, as her body settled gently into the mattress. I pulled my finger out and rimmed her anus with it, causing her to shudder involuntarily as the aftershocks of her orgasm rippled through her.

No words were spoken as we recovered from the frenzied lovemaking. I'd ripped the strap of her dress in my eagerness to possess her, and her strappy heels had come off her feet and were dangling from her ankles. She finally stood up, kicking off her shoes.

"Max, aren't you going to take off the rest of your clothes?" she asked breathily.

Of course I was. I was just too busy before this.

I quickly took off my shoes, jeans and panties and plopped on the bed. Sondra stood next to me so that the reddened lips of her tongue ravaged pussy were directly in my view. I wanted to take her again but she had other ideas. Her hands pushed on my shoulders so I was laying with my back on the bed with my legs dangling over the edge. She pushed my knees apart.

"All of me wants all of you," she said.

Her tongue wanted me first. Her first lick made my pussy sizzle. I grabbed fistfuls of her hair as I watched her head bob up and down. My legs pressed together and relaxed as she teased me with nibbles and licks. I forced myself to keep my eyes open so I could watch this beautiful woman eat my pussy. I didn't want it to end, but I was teetering on the precipice.

"Please Sondra . . . I can't take this anymore," I finally begged to her.

She stopped and looked up at me with pussy juice smearing her perfect make-up. It was an image I didn't want to forget.