Mist & Fog 7

Rain started falling right after dinner and as Broderick lit more candles, I felt the temperature rise in the room. He had changed into a pair of black sweats and a simple white t-shirt. It was a simple outfit that I’d seen my father wear hundreds of time. But somehow when Broderick wore it, it spelled nothing but sex. His arms were tightly decorated with muscles and his eyes were inviting with such a dark spell that it haunted me. I was still wearing the same clothes I had when we arrived. When he lit the last candle and blew out the match, I caught my breath. He came toward me, the sound of thunder and my heart pounding were the only sounds I could hear. I was a little buzzed from the wine and it felt good because it gave me courage. I slowly reached up and slipped the halter top off my shoulders. I heard him suck in a breath and he stopped moving. A smile spread across my face and I watched as his fingers crawled up to his heart. I walked over to him and grabbed the sides of his face, pulling him in for a deep kiss. Our lips lit up more fire than the candles could create and I felt my heart thunder as loud as the storm outside.

            “You make me crazy,” he whispered against my lips. “I could never get enough.”

            “I love how you make me feel,” I said against his lips. “Don’t stop.”

            He shoved me down on the rug and tore at my clothes. Before I knew it, we were on each other like animals and when the thunder tore across the sky, so did my screams of his name. We spent the night, wrapped up in each other’s arms, only to wake and make love again as the thunder roared on and on.

 

            The smell of bacon woke me up and I sat up on the rug, pulling the blanket around me. I watched as Broderick moved about in the kitchen wearing a black apron over his jeans and black shirt. He looked gorgeous and I wanted him as breakfast instead of the bacon. I smiled as I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He laughed and turned around to hold me as I inhaled his freshly showered scent.

            “You’re up early,” I said.

            “I’m trying to make you breakfast in bed,” Broderick said in a tone that stirred my bones.

            I pulled away and stared at the food; bacon, eggs, bagel, and freshly squeezed orange juice. I shook my head in awe and surprise. “Do you do anything normal?”

            He gave me a deep hard kiss. “That’s normal.”

            I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure even that is beyond normal for some people. This is awesome. Let me shower and I’ll come join you.”

            After showering and putting on a light white cotton summer dress, I pulled my hair into a bun and joined him at the table. We ate in silence, enjoying the food and felt as if this little good morning wake up thing was something I wouldn’t mind waking up to every morning. We shared dish duties while sharing kisses in between. Broderick suggested a walk by the lake and I went to grab my shoes when my phone buzzed with a text message. I reached into my purse and turned the screen on. What I saw shocked me to the core and I lost the strength in my knees. My mother sent me a text message with a picture of me and Senator Cromwell kissing. “Someone leaked this photo out! It’s on the newsstand all over New York City,” was her text message. I gasped and dropped the phone. Broderick must have heard because he came in and when I reached for the phone, he beat me to it.

            “Give it to me,” I warned, not wanting him to see the photo.

            “What is it?” he asked.

            “Broderick, please, just give me the phone.”

            He didn’t answer me, but simply turned the phone over. I shut my eyes and when I felt his hands on me again, I opened them and found them staring at me. His eyes were warm, gentle, and nowhere near mad. He took the image on the phone and showed it to me.

            “Your mother is assuming things and so are you. Look at this picture clearly and tell me what you see,” he said.

            I gulped down the pain and hurt and stared at the phone. It was a shot of me in the senator’s arms; our lips were locked tightly against each other. His hands were in my hair and anyone looking at the photo could assume we were hot and heavy.

            “It’s me although I’m not sure how it’s possible because I never kissed him like that,” I said.

            He smiled. “Exactly. Look, sweetheart, look closer.”

            I did as he told me to and I noticed what he was pointing out. On the girl who was supposed to be me, she had a small butterfly tattoo on her wrist. I looked up at him and he smiled when he realized I’d figured out what he meant. He dropped the phone onto the bed and tilted my chin up. He sighed deeply and ran a finger across my chin.

            “Sweetheart, I won’t ever let anyone hurt you. This will be taken care of, I promise you.”

            “How?”

            “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of it. I promise you. Let’s go.”

 

            I lay in bed listening to Broderick sleeping next to me and my thoughts raced back to the photo that had leaked into the news. Although I knew it wasn’t me, it still didn’t feel good to know that they had made a lie out there with my face on the front cover. I turned over to my side and thought about Senator Cromwell. He had been as normal as a person could be. He’d been charming when I first met him. By winning the seat as senator, that gave him leverage in the front line and he was extremely happy, which I didn’t blame him. His wife, Catherine, was a gorgeous brunette with a body like that of a model, even though she’d had two kids. They were like the cream of the crop when it came to couples. I attended a gathering with Gary and met him while enjoying the view on the terrace. He wore a black tux that evening and although he was twice my age, he looked handsome and young. He was fit and nothing gave away that he was in his early fifties. I would be lying if I said I didn’t find him attractive, but the thought of starting a relationship with him had never entered my mind. After that initial first meeting, he started coming around to the office when I worked. Pretty soon, we were having lunch, but because he was doing some campaign work and needed our help, I assumed it was work related. Not long afterward, someone printed captured a photo of us together and printed an article about an affair. It took a long time to get back to my life, starting with my job, I’d wanted to quit but Gary said if I did, the press would win. He was right so I dove into my work and continued on as if everything was good. Stuart finally contacted a lawyer and paid a lot of money to have all those articles and assumptions sealed up. But now a new story had leaked out and it was me and him on the cover again.

            “Can’t sleep?” a deep baritone voice asked me.

            I turned around and saw that he was wide awake leaning on his elbow staring at me. The blankets only covered his hips down and I knew that he was commando down there. All thoughts of the senator and me disappeared as I watched his eyes twinkle. I reached for him and he pulled me closer, fitting me into the curve of his shoulder.

            “My head is just full of thoughts,” I said.

            He kissed my temple. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I told you I would take care of it. I aim to please, if you haven’t figured that out yet.”

            Laughing, I looked up at him and replied, “I have that part figured out.”

            “Senator Cromwell is a ladies’ man. I’ve seen him with lots of ladies. Catherine fights hard battles, but she’s not someone who gives up easy.”

            For the first time, I heard his wife’s name on his lips and it made me think of something I’d never thought of before. “Do you know her?”

            “If you’re asking if I’ve slept with her, the answer is no, but I’ve dried her tears.”

            I shifted and pushed away from him far enough to look him in the eyes. “How?”

            “Catherine’s mother was a good friend of my Mother’s. We have a history of sharing afternoons together, but beyond that, she’s like my sister.”

            “I didn’t know that.”

            “Now you do, sweetheart, and you now you know why I don’t like her husband very much. He’s got everything at the tip of his fingers and yet he’s willing to throw it all away.”