Loneliness Trilogy Bundle Boxset (33 page)

“Hmmmmph. I wasn’t aware that your wife was a church-goer. I mean, she’s got this loose, permissive lifestyle, and I shudder to think how little Lizzie will grow up, not knowing God,” says Millie.

I lose my patience at this statement. Looking at Marcus, I signal to him that I want to speak.

“Millie, I am a churchgoer. Just because I’m a musician and a singer, performing in front of thousands of people, doesn’t mean that I can’t be a faithful church-goer. I am committed to raising my child - and any other children we may have - as church-goers. What Marcus just told you goes - we will continue our membership where we are presently going. We are welcomed there and we feel comfortable there. Period.”

Millie’s mouth folds in on itself, making it look as though she speaks, drinks and eats only through a narrow slit. I didn’t know she could do that! She rolls up her window before putting her car into “reverse”. She backs up swiftly, nearly striking a passing truck, then she leaves.

I look over at Marcus and he shrugs his shoulders. What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter 22

W
e finish watering outside, then, after we roll up the hosepipe, we stash it in the shed and go inside. I am quiet, wondering how two such wonderful people as Ruby and Andrew could have produced two such different children! Marcus is very loving, accepting and supportive of all those around him. Even when he disagrees with another person’s point of view, he’s accepting of the person. In stark contrast, Millie is very narrow-minded and places attributes upon someone based upon their occupation. In my case, to her, “singer” means that I am a loose, promiscuous slut. No matter the evidence to the contrary. No matter that I am, and have always, been faithful to Marcus. No matter that he’s the only man I’ve ever slept with. And, no matter that I’m raising our daughter to be a loving and giving person.

“Hey, luv, why are you so quiet?” Marcus asks me.

I explain what I’ve been thinking.

“Dismiss her from your mind, luv. She’s not worth one jot of worry - she’s proven that already. Instead, let’s go about making a second baby,” Marcus says with a waggle of his eyebrows.

I smile wholeheartedly at that - I am definitely game! We make sure the house is securely locked and buttoned up and wrap our arms around each other when we go upstairs.

In our room, we lock the door after making sure we have the baby monitor with us. Marcus and I begin kissing each other deeply. I’m sitting on his lap and I feel his cock as it grows and stiffens, pushing against the backs of my legs. I rock my hips back and forth, already needing to relieve some pressure. Quickly, I unbutton his shirt and push it off his shoulders, then unbuckle the belt of his pants, unbutton and unzip his pants and slide my hand inside his boxers.

Ooooh! It’s already fully awake and saluting! I wrap my fingers around it and caress its length and silkiness.

Marcus groans and thrusts against my hand.

“Oh, my luv, that feels so fuckin’ good! Keep holding it…yes, just like that,” he says in a throaty whisper. He unzips my dress and eases it down my shoulders. He doesn’t have to worry about a bra - the dress has a built-in bra. He grunts in surprise and happiness, then his hands encircle my sensitive tits.

I arch myself into his warm hand, moaning all the while. I ease my legs open slightly, inviting him to play with the prize in-between.

He eagerly takes my invitation, slipping his fingers under my lacy thong and playing with my ever-so-sensitive clit. As he does, I feel moisture seeping out from my pussy, dampening the lace of my thong.

I give him a light slap on his thigh and he growls. I disengage myself from Marcus’ arms and scoot back on the duvet.

“Come here, lover. We’re going to make love and make a little brother or sister for Lizzie,” I say in a deep voice.

Marcus follows me once he shucks his boxers off his body. I see him giving me a greedy, eager grin. He wants me!

I want him just as badly. I have to force myself not to rock my hips into the duvet. As he nears me, my arms go up and around him, pulling him against me. I sink down against the fluffy pillows, kissing him deeply.

Marcus wraps an arm around me and one hand returns to my clit, where he begins playing with it again. He sucks and licks my nipples, increasing my level of stimulation, which is already very high.

I arch my back, keening a high-pitched sound - the twin sensations at my nipples and clit are combining to create an intense orgasm - which hits me - RIGHT NOW!

“Marcus, now, dammit! I want you inside me, now!” I say from between my clenched teeth.

Marcus heeds me and looms over me. He enters me and I come immediately, clenching hard around his shaft. The clenching sensation around his shaft pushes Marcus over the edge. He growls into my ear, thrusting two, three and four times, pouring himself into me. We stay joined like this for several minutes as we get our breath. Marcus goes to the bathroom and comes back with a warm washcloth, with which he cleans me off. We slide under the covers and spoon with each other, falling asleep. Several hours later, I wake, feeling Marcus’ stiff shaft prodding my ass. He feels me shift and stretch and asks me if I want to make love again.

“Of course!”

He keeps me spooned against him and drapes my upper leg over his legs, entering me. This coupling is much slower and more gentle than our first one earlier tonight. Our orgasms are also more gentle, washing over us like warm waves on a Spanish beach. I feel myself throbbing and vibrating around him, and this leads him to come, spilling within me. Again, we fall asleep, cuddling each other.

We wake up the next morning and I take my shower before I get Lizzie out of bed. Downstairs, I make a bowl of oatmeal and give her a small bowl of cut-up fruit. Marcus offers to supervise her while I get ready for the day’s practice. When I come back downstairs, he’s grinning widely.

“Well, you look like you just one the biggest lottery on the planet! What happened?” I ask him.

“Come look!” Marcus invites me.

I walk over and he pulls me onto his lap, pointing to the screen of his laptop. What I read makes me gasp - his newest client - the one paying him such high rates - has just placed a huge order with him! I count the number of requested titles the company wants him to write.

“Marcus! How long with it take you to do all these?” I ask. I nestle comfortably onto his lap, feeling his arm wrapped around my waist.

“Probably somewhere around two months. That’s not all. Look…at…this,” he says as he clicks on another screen.

“Oh, my God! That payment! That’s higher than you have ever received to date! Marcus, this is fantastic!”

“Fantastic, it is, Johanna! And, for the foreseeable future, I will be writing articles for them. As long as we keep our communication channels clear, I will be earning double what I had earned even three months ago!”

I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “That’s wonderful. I am so proud of you!”

While we are eating breakfast, Tim calls me.

“Hey, Jo, no practice today. The city are working on electrical connections on our block and the two surrounding the studio, so we will have no electrical power. I just got a notice about this. You can practice from home,” he says.

“Okay, no problem.” After this call, I tell Marcus our plans have changed due to the work the city are doing.

We stay at home and Marcus takes care of Lizzie while I practice. After that, Marcus gets started on his huge list of orders. That evening, I am about to start on dinner when we hear loud, insistent honking come from the back gate.

I am afraid I know who is out there. Sighing, I tell Marcus, “I think Millie’s out back again.”

“Lord! Keep Lizzie in here. I don’t want her exposed to anything Millie might say.” He goes outside and walks toward the gate.

I get a snack for Lizzie to tide her over until dinner is on the table. As I am working on our meal, I hear Marcus’ voice going up - he is yelling at Millie. I wonder what she said this time?

“Lizzie, come with mummy. You’ll be able to eat your snack upstairs. Come on, darling!” We walk upstairs and I settle Lizzie in her room with her drink and snack. “I’ll check on you every few minutes. Eat slowly and I’ll have dinner ready in no time!”

Back downstairs, I keep working on dinner preparations. I check outside every so often, looking at the scene going on outside.

Marcus walks in and I see he’s still very upset. He pulls a bottle of stout from the cabinet and takes a long pull from it.

“I’m ready to listen when you’re ready to talk. I’m going to check on Lizzie and come back downstairs.”

“Is she upstairs?”

“Yes. I didn’t want her to hear what Millie was going on about, so I took her upstairs,” I tell him.

“You stay here. I will go get Lizzie.” After several minutes, Marcus brings a biscuit-smeared Lizzie downstairs, along with a face cloth, which he uses to clean her face.

“She-With-No-Name is affiliated with an ultra-conservative religious group in the United States,” Marcus reveals. “It’s glaringly obvious that she’s brought these beliefs back with her, and they are infecting her relationship with me, dad, mum and you. Lizzie, as well.”

“Well, given what I’ve heard her spouting ever since she returned, I am not one whit surprised,” I say.

“I am going to do some research after we’ve cleaned up in here. I need to know more about this group - I think we are going to need this knowledge so we can protect ourselves and Lizzie. It’s going to get much uglier.”

I don’t know why this saddens me, but it does. I think about my emotional reaction and realize that I had hoped for a sisterly relationship with Millie. I’m sad because that will not be happening. I realize something, then.

“Marcus! If she is involved in such a conservative group, movement or whatever it is, do you think she could do anything against The Lonely Lovers?” I ask. I worry about the safety of our group, both as a whole and individually.

As I look at Marcus, surprise crosses his face. He is silent for several long beats, then he sighs and says, “No.”

But I hear a hesitation in his response - now, I wonder if he is worried about what Millie could do to The Lonely Lover or even individual members of our group.

I slide the casserole into the oven and straighten up.

“Your voice said no, but I think you are worried about the prospect. I think we should talk to the band sometime this week and let them know what has been happening.”

Marcus looks down for several seconds. I see sadness in his eyes as he nods and says, “Yes, I think we should.”

That admission, more than anything, scares me. I don’t want anything happening to any one of us! The boys are like my brothers and they are either true uncles or honorary uncles to my Lizzie. She adores them! I feel tears threatening, and I don’t want Lizzie seeing them. I nestle my face into Marcus’ chest and gulp my tears back.

Marcus feels my emotion. His arms wrap around me securely, helping me feel wrapped in love and safety. He rocks me for several minutes until I calm down.

After dinner, I go upstairs and bathe Lizzie before putting her to bed. Before I go back downstairs, I change into a light nightgown. I am definitely ready for comfort!

Marcus is sitting at his computer, peering at the screen. I see him bookmarking several sites.

“What are you doing?”

“Come here. I think you should see what I’ve found,” Marcus says.

Looking at his face, I see a solemn look in his eyes.

Reading one of the sites, I feel my heart sinking. Apparently, my sister-in-law has got herself mixed up with a group so conservative, they believe that artists, singers, gays, lesbians, and the transgendered and illegal immigrants are evil incarnate.

“Oh, my God, Marcus! I am so sorry!” I tell him. My hand covers my mouth.

“Oh, that’s not even the worst of it. Read…read this site.” Marcus clicks onto another site that includes political beliefs. “My beloved sister was involved in a highly political group that targeted people from these groups. They spoke out against individuals and groups. They targeted them for hate campaigns, singling out individuals for their attention and treatment.” Marcus sighs and it looks like he is fighting back tears or anger.

“Jo, we cannot allow Lizzie to be exposed to the hatred she is embracing. You know, don’t you, that I’ll have to talk to mum and dad and let them know why we won’t be round their house when Millie and Robert are there. I’ll also be telling them of her membership in both of these groups while she lived in the U.S. Quite…unloving of a minister who is supposed to love her flock, is it not?”

Our discussion brings tears to my eyes. The reality of what we are dealing with is so different from what I had imagined! I so wanted to meet Millie and get to know her, establish a sister-to-sister relationship. But that will not be happening. From her attitudes and what she’s said in the past, I know she may pose a danger to me and the band.

After wiping tears from my eyes, I look at Marcus.

“I want to be there when you tell your parents why we will not be there very much,” I tell him.