White Diamonds (23 page)

Leah nodded.

Craig closed his eyes and Leah kissed away the tear that trickled down from beneath his right eyelid.  “Why?”

Leah kissed his cheek and spoke softly.  “You deserve it.”  She felt the rise and fall of his chest against her own as he took a deep breath.

“Leah, let’s be honest with each other.  I don’t deserve you.  You can’t possibly be interested in a man like me.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m not your type.”

“Really, doctor?  What is my type?”

He took one of her blonde curls and wrapped it around his finger.  “Someone as beautiful as you.”

“That describes you.”

“Leah, you and I both know that’s not true.”

Leah explained to the doctor about her late husband, his advanced degrees, and that he had been a self-proclaimed nerd.  “I’ve always been attracted to and turned on by ‘smart guys’.  Perhaps it goes back to my high school boyfriend.  While I was reading the latest Jackie Collins novel, he was devouring the works of Fitzgerald, Dostoevsky, and others I had never heard of.  But I’m not a complete airhead.  It took me awhile to find my niche, and my degree in business administration has served me well in starting my own business.”  She winked at him and finally elicited a smile.

“You’re a long way from an airhead, Leah, and thanks.”

“For what?”

“For telling me about your late husband, and I’m sorry you had to go through that.”  The glow from the candles left the room in total darkness except for the shadows that danced on the wall as a result of the light from the moon.  “Go with me to the office party.”

“Do your colleagues know about me?”

“No, but they will love you.”

“Will they think I’m a home wrecker?”

“I believe that’s a title I have earned…all by myself.”

Leah kissed him passionately with a lingering kiss.  “Tell me where and when, and I’ll be ready,” she said out of breath.

He pulled her to him and parted her legs to straddle him.  Lifting her into his arms, he carried her up the stairs and to the guest bedroom that was now the master.  The door to the bedroom he had shared with his second wife would remain closed until the house was sold.

***

Leah was elegantly dressed, yet not ostentatiously so, when she and Craig entered the home of Dr. Michaels, the head of the department.  Craig introduced Leah to his colleagues as
the
woman in his life.  It was the light in his eyes, the blush in his cheeks, and the smile on his face that told everyone he had finally found what he had been looking for.  Leah’s easy nature and humility won the hearts of Dr. Holcomb’s colleagues who wanted nothing but the best for Craig.  At the end of the evening, Mrs. Michaels took Leah aside and thanked her for the gift she had brought.

“You’re the missing piece to Craig’s puzzle,” she said.

“Puzzle?”

“He’s happy now…truly happy.  We’ve known him for years and never has he been happier.  There’s a mutual respect between the two of you.  His first two wives were unwelcome fixtures at the office, his second wife demanding to see him whenever she arrived, but you don’t do that.”

“It’s not my place, and I really don’t have the time anyway,” Leah laughed.

“You bring out the best in him, Leah.  He believes in himself.”

Leah could feel her cheeks growing hot and she looked down.

“Don’t be modest, honey.  Craig will be the head of the department when Dr. Michaels retires, and he will do well with a wife like you.”

“Oh, we haven’t talked about marriage.”

“You will.”

She was so sure of herself that Leah smiled nervously.  She and Craig said their goodbyes and returned home.

Craig smiled at Leah, as if he were keeping a secret from her.  “They loved you, Leah.  Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being you.”

Leah slipped off her shoes and sat down at the foot of the bed.  “What you see is what you get,” she said with a giggle.

“I want to move out of this house, Leah, with you.  We don’t belong here.  It’s not who we are.”

Leah nodded.

“There’s a home for sale not far from Dr. Michaels’ home.  Will you see it with me?”

“I’d love to.”

***

The house was beautiful, with lots of natural light, and a spectacular view of the lake from which Lakeview took its name.  It had large rooms and an open floor plan that Leah loved.  There was only one requirement in a house for Craig.  The house had to have Leah in it.

“Shouldn’t you sell your existing home first?” Leah asked quietly as they left the house.

“There is no mortgage, and once it sells, half of the equity will go to my ex, so other than keeping the place up and the lights on, there’s no need for me to be a part of it.”

Leah understood Craig’s reasons for not wanting to remain in a home he had shared with his ex, but she was very conservative in financial matters, and taking out a mortgage made her a little uneasy.

“Let me do this for us, Leah.”

“We’ll do it, doctor, together.”  He smiled at Leah’s independence.  She was unlike the women before her.  Leah asked nothing of him, nor did she make demands upon his time.

***

On moving day, Leah was out of town at a publisher’s conference, and Craig arranged a very special homecoming.  She opened the door to a kneeling Craig.  He seemed timid as he held out his shaking hand and opened a small black case.

“Will you marry me, Leah?”

Leah had not expected this quite so soon, though she felt it was coming, and she knew what her answer would be.  “Yes,” she said with certainty.

Craig slid the sapphire and diamond ring onto her finger and lifted her into his arms.  “I missed you so much,” he said as he lifted her off the floor.

“I was only gone one day.”

“But I slept alone last night and got ready for work this morning…alone, and I never want to do that again.”

Leah kissed him as he held her.  “I didn’t like it either,” she admitted.

He took her to the bedroom that had been decorated to reflect Leah’s ‘raised in the Heartland’ tastes.  A quilt with her favorite pattern, the double wedding ring, was laid upon the bed, and Leah was the first to spread out on the soft fabric.

“Who did this?”

“Mrs. Michaels.  As much as I would love to take credit, I can’t.”

Leah motioned for him to come to her.  Pulling him down, she said “thank you” and welcomed his lips upon hers.

She pressed a hand to his chest, encouraging him to lie on his back.  She undressed him slowly and laid kisses upon his heated body.  As she moved downward, he gasped when she took the head of his erect penis between her lips.  “Leah,” he moaned.  She laid her tongue flat against the shaft and slid it upward and around as the doctor grasped the bed sheets.  She parted his legs and lay between them, kissing and licking as her lover experienced his very first time in the arena of oral sex.  He didn’t have to admit it.  Leah knew.  When he was nearly too close to stop, he lifted her into his arms and urged her to take him inside of her.  Leah fucked him as he moaned again.  She felt his semen enter her as she climaxed against him.  They lay together afterward, the beating of their hearts the only sound they heard.

***

Dr. Craig Holcomb married his third wife two weeks later at a small ceremony.  Neither of them desired a big wedding.  They had done that.  What they wanted was to move forward, together, and not look back, but Leah knew it was impossible not to look back.  Her past had made her what she was today.  That was true for everyone.  She also knew that no matter how hard Craig tried to leave his past, it would always remain as a reminder of his former self and would occasionally creep into his present.  He would probably always doubt deserving to be loved.  That had been instilled in him at a time when he was most vulnerable.  His ex had tried to keep him from seeing his two children, which was something Leah hoped to change.  Her own father had died when she was young and not a day went by that she didn’t think of him at least once.  She could never recover the lost years between Craig and his children, but they vowed to move forward, not backward.  Leah also made a vow to herself.  She wouldn’t push Craig into doing something before he was ready, or something he didn’t want to do.  It wasn’t her place to fix him.  Her place was to stand beside him and support him.  That was what she believed and how she conducted herself in personal and business relationships.  Perhaps it was because she was raised in the Heartland or perhaps it was because she had chosen long ago that it was not her place to judge.  That was for others to decide.

***

Two years after the newlyweds had settled into their house on the lake, Craig assumed the position of head of the department upon Dr. Michaels’ retirement.  As he accepted the ‘reins’ of leading his colleagues, his eyes were fixed upon Leah’s bright blue eyes.  Two years ago his life had been crumbling, but because of Leah he realized that he was worthy of true love and he was now ready to receive it.

Kara’s Claim:

When Kara’s roommate introduces her to a wealthy and charming older man at the infamous Whitson Club, she has no idea that charm and polite words mean little in his world.  When she learns his true motive for desiring her, it appears to be too late to correct her unfortunate mistake of becoming part of his far reaching empire, with his informants willing to do anything for him.

***

They met at a club, but it wasn’t the usual type of club frequented by the university students.  Kara’s housemate, Denise, had guaranteed that she would meet a man who could show her the best that life had to offer, take her to the most expensive restaurants in the world, and show her the lifestyle of the rich, if not the famous.  When Kara opened the door to the Whitson Club, she was met immediately by a man in an Armani suit and led to the bar where Denise was waiting.

“What do you think?”

Kara looked around the room, her senses assaulted by the overwhelming aroma of colognes, cigars, and liquor.  “They’re older than my father,” she whispered.

“What did you expect?”

Kara shrugged.  She didn’t know what she had expected, but she knew she couldn’t go through with it.

“Just meet him.  I told him all about you, how pretty you are, and how much the money would help you next year in medical school.”

“Why did you that?  I can take care of myself.”

Kara stormed off, but she didn’t get very far before a man grabbed her by the arm.  “Kara, your friend was only trying to help.  I’m Grant.  You’re prettier than Denise said you were.”  He lifted her hand in the manner of a prince and pressed his lips to her flesh in a gentle kiss.  “Please, allow me the pleasure of buying you a drink, just one drink, and then I will ask nothing further of you.”

Kara’s resolve weakened.  Grant was a charmer, even if he was old enough to be her father.  “Sure, okay.”

He escorted her back to the bar and ordered champagne for the two of them.  He took an unexpected interest in her educational goals, commenting more than once on the rising cost of tuition.  “How do you plan to pay for medical school?”

“I work part-time, but I’ll have to get student loans.”  The champagne made her chattier than usual and she told him that her parents couldn’t help with expenses.  They were trying to make ends meet as it was.

Grant nodded and touched her hand and arm at precise intervals to make her feel at ease.  During a brief lull in the conversation, Kara had a moment of lucidity and excused herself for the ladies room.  From there, she left the luxurious club and headed back to campus.

Grant’s bodyguard turned to Grant.  “Sorry, boss.”

Grant only smirked.  “She’ll be with me soon.”

The following day, Kara returned from class to find Denise lounging on her bed painting her fingernails.

“Okay, how do you do it?”

“What’s that, sweetie?”

“How do you give yourself to that old man you’re seeing?”

“John is very wealthy and being seen with me makes him feel young again.  But, truthfully, it’s because of this.” She waved a check for $5,000 and then kissed it.  “That’s for…sex?”

“This is for being his arm candy for a month, to be at his beckon and call, and yes…for sex.  It’s usually only five or six nights a month, and look what else!”  She flashed a diamond tennis bracelet.  “It’s the real deal…not cubic zirconium.”  Kara ran her fingers along the diamond studded gold band and watched as each jewel sparkled in the light.  “Let me give him your number, and if you don’t like it, tell him goodbye.  Move on.”

Kara sighed.  She really could use the money.

“Believe me, in the dark everything feels the same.  Imagine he’s one of the hot jocks on campus.  That should get your juices flowing.”

“Okay,” Kara said softly before she changed her mind.

The following afternoon Grant called.  He sounded younger on the phone and his offer to dine at the Hollander House was too good to pass up.  The Hollander House was well known for catering to the movers and shakers of the world, the rich and famous, and Kara wanted to be a part of that world more than she realized.  A tiny black cocktail dress arrived at the house within the hour and Kara slipped her feet into the Gucci sandals that had arrived along with it.