Love & Peace Ch. 05

I caressed and teased him with my juices, making the head of his cock moist and slippery. The pleasure on his face was wonderful and I realised he had relaxed completely because of the closeness between us.

"That feels so good, my love," I said as I lifted my hips and slid slowly down onto his hardness, sighing with ecstasy as I felt him go deep inside me.

"I love you, Kate."

I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me, a strange look on his face. "Do you know that?"

I nodded and closed my eyes again as I moved up and down on him. The sensations were growing stronger in my pussy as my clitoris responded to the friction he was creating, giving me so many delicious feelings that I couldn't contain my pleasure for much longer.

"Ohhh, " I cried out, bending down to kiss him again. "I want you so much."

He put his hands on my hips and helped me with the rhythm, watching as my breasts bounced, my nipples erect with the desire I was feeling.

"Come for me, Kate," he urged and I touched myself, looking at him and rubbing the swollen bud in smooth circular strokes, feeling the pleasure build and knowing that the climax would be hard and intense.

And it was. I could feel him tense as well and I moved quicker, sensing his urgency and wanting us to come together. I wanted to share this intimacy with him and wipe away all the doubt and confusion that had filled my mind all day.

He suddenly cried out and I rubbed hard, feeling that delicious release as I climaxed. He exploded into me, too, my pussy filling up with his cum, our cries mingling as we both relaxed into each other, experiencing the wonderful togetherness that brought us so close.

I felt him grow smaller inside me and cuddled up to him, my heart returning to normal after the intense orgasm.

"I'm sorry, Kate," he murmured, stroking my hair.

I kissed him and smiled. I knew that we had crossed the barrier and hoped that over dinner he would tell me what had happened.

Dinner! I remembered the pizza and ran downstairs to the kitchen to find a terrible burning smell filling the small room.

"Damn!" I shouted as I pulled the blackened meal out of the oven.

Behind me, I heard a snigger and turned to see Daniel standing there naked. We both laughed and the tension finally disappeared.

"Come on, I'll treat you to a meal at the pub," he grinned. "I'll then tell you what's been happening to me."

*

The pub was quiet and we found a secluded table in the back room, the noise of clinking glasses and conversation muffled by the thick walls.

Daniel placed a bottle of wine in front of me and sat down, his legs stretched out underneath the table. The light-hearted atmosphere disappeared as he took a sip of wine.

"I've been suspended. Until after Christmas. My relationship with you is a serious breach of trust at the moment, and they can't allow me to go back for the time being."

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Daniel."

He leaned forward and touched my cheek. "Don't be. I knew what I was doing with you. I could have resisted, but I didn't. Sometimes these things are meant to happen."

"But what about your job? All the work you've done?"

He looked at me. "What about us? Our future?"

"Daniel, your job was so important to you. You can't just throw all that away!"

"It was important, yes. I agree. It used to be the most important thing in my life, but then I found you. I led a life of continual stress, Kate. Always having to be there for Jefferson's, never having more than a week away and even then being on the end of a cell phone. And what if I'd had kids? What time would I have spent with them?"

I sat back in my chair and felt myself relax a little. "But why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed. "Because I wanted to protect you. And I wanted to wait for a few days until it was sorted out before telling you. I knew you would blame yourself."

"What about my job?"

"Your job is safe, Kate. That was one of the issues we agreed upon."

I suddenly felt a mix of emotions. On one hand I was glad I still had my job, but on the other, did I really want to be there?

"It's up to you, Kate, if you still want to stay," said Daniel as if reading my thoughts. "I expect I will be given a discreet settlement and told to go back to the States. I'm not worried about my career. I have plenty of contacts and I know of at least one firm that would hire me tomorrow."

"But you seemed so strange last night. So distant."

"It was a shock. Seeing Jessica in the office and hearing her tell my Senior Executive all sorts of private details was a huge blow to my pride. Up until now, I'd never put a foot wrong and always portrayed our marriage as a success. It was a bit humbling having to admit that it wasn't."

"How did they react?"

"Well, Jessica said her piece and then she left. That gave me the opportunity to put my side of the story. They were very understanding and when I told them about Louise, they were sympathetic. I had a photo in my wallet and they agreed that you do have an uncanny resemblance to her."
I held my breath. "How can I be sure that it's me you want... and not her?"

"Kate, you look like her, but that's where the similarity ends. She was a bit like Jessica in that she was interested in her future career, but she was heavily into charity work as well. I sometimes think our relationship wouldn't have worked out anyway. Even at 16 she was giving up a lot of her free time to help others."

"When Jessica came to see me, she said she was always trying to compete with her. That you didn't love her as much as you loved Louise. Was that true?"

Daniel thought for a moment and took another sip of wine. "Yes, I suppose it was. I was unfair to her, comparing her to Louise all the time. It was a recipe for disaster."

"She's not pregnant, Daniel."

He looked at me and I could see him visibly relax. "I didn't think she was. It was too much of a coincidence."

"She can't have children..."

The shock of my words made him pale. "Is that what she said? She told you that?"

I nodded. "For a little while I saw a different side of her today, Daniel. A lost and lonely woman who seems to have wasted a lot of her life trying to be something she wasn't."

He looked at me and I saw the guilt in his eyes. "She was right to blame me for a lot of things, I agree. We were stuck in hell together."

"Daniel, I don't want to go through what Jessica did... do you understand that? I can't be Louise and you need to tell me whether it's her you want or me."

He looked at me and time seemed to stop as we gazed at each other. I could feel the tension, his thoughts, his remembrance of Louise and what she meant to him.

"You will always remind me of her, I can't deny that, but as I said, you're different in many ways...you have to believe that."

"I think I do. I love you, Daniel. I don't want to live without you..."

"Marry me, then. Say we'll be together after the divorce..."

I hesitated. It all seemed too soon but as I gazed at his face and the hope that was in his eyes, I knew I would agree. But first I needed him to find peace with Jessica so we could put his marriage behind us.

"You need to go and see her, Daniel. Discuss the problems you had and talk to her about her inability to have children."

"I know, I know. God, that's a shock. She never said, in all the years we were together."

"Would it have made a difference? Did you love her?"

He paused and took a sip of wine. "I suppose I loved her, in a way. But she was a cold woman, Kate. No real human warmth there at all. Perhaps children would have changed that."

I nodded. "What were you doing today?"

He frowned. "I spent most of the day driving around, which was pretty stupid. I realise that now. I just needed some time to think, get my head straight. I know I should have told you, but Kate...I wanted to protect you from feeling guilty."

"But I would have been back at work next week. What were you going to do then?"

He shrugged. "I would have told you at the weekend, Kate. Things would have been more definite then. I'm sorry. I just wasn't thinking straight."

I reached out and put my hand on his arm. "Don't ever keep anything from me again. Promise?"

He leant over to me and kissed me, his lips warm against mine. "I promise."

*

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Daniel went to see Jessica and had a long talk with her that was probably way overdue. A lot of issues were discussed and although Daniel never told me about the conversation, they seemed to have finally reached an agreement that smoothed the way for an amicable divorce.

Jessica never showed any remorse over her actions, but she seemed to accept that the marriage was over and was happy with the settlement figure and the house they had lived in in San Francisco.

Daniel resigned from Jefferson's and accepted the offer of a job with a UK company based in London. I gave my notice in as well and he moved in with me permanently until the divorce was finalised and we could look for a bigger house.
And as for us, I believed him when he told me it was me he loved and not the ghost of Louise. He had given up his career at Jefferson's for me and wanted to stay in the UK permanently. There would be no ghosts in the house we would share together, just love and peace...

*******

Epilogue – one year later.

The winter sun highlighted the woman's hair for a split second, making it shine like strands of spun gold as she walked along the frosty path. Obviously pregnant, she was supported by a tall, dark haired man who held her tenderly, his arm wrapped around her waist as they negotiated the slippery walkway.

All around lay graves, some covered in flowers, some bare, the headstones standing out in stark relief against the grey sky. In his arms the man carried a bouquet of red roses, a bold splash of colour against the black of his overcoat.

They walked slowly, stopping every now and again to read a loving inscription and the woman sometimes wiped away a tear from her eyes. At the end of a long row of graves, shaded by large trees that hung over the path, they stopped, and the man bent forward to place the flowers on a simple white stone grave. The couple embraced and stood still for a short while, each of them lost in thoughts as they gazed out over the frozen graveyard.

"She's at peace, now, Daniel. I'm so glad we made the journey."

The man nodded and kissed the woman tenderly on the top of her head. "I needed to do this, Kate. She's a part of my life and always will be."

The woman turned to read the inscription on the grave, the words still fresh after thirty odd years.

"Because of Louise, you and I are together. At least some good has come out of the badness."

The man nodded and placed his hand over the woman's stomach. He could feel the faint kicks of the life within and smiled. Suddenly, he could sense Louise, and the warmth of the love she had for him filled him with happiness.

"Thank you, darling ," he murmured gazing at her name carved in stone, and taking his wife's arm he steered her away from the shade of the trees and out into the warmth of the sunshine.

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