She didn’t sleep much that night and woke early in preparation of the girls arrival home after lunch. When they didn’t come, she began to worry. She called Michael’s house and the call went unanswered. She tried his cell phone and got no answer on that either.
By the time Michael returned with the girls it was dark, and well past their bedtime. In his absence, she had many hours to ponder the depth of her distrust for him. Seeing him now, made her blood boil and all but erased her embarrassment of being caught the previous night with Jay.
“Where the hell have you been?” she asked, setting down the empty wine glass onto the coffee table. “The deal was, you’d have them back before dinner!”
“I’m sorry. I took them into town and bumped into some old friend and then got stuck signing autographs. I had no idea it had gotten so late. Let me put them to bed and I’ll be right back.”
A few moments passed and Michael reappeared. Nervously, he leaned against the kitchen table, as if he needed it for support. It was obvious Annie was upset with him, but what he noticed even more was what she was wearing. She wore a tight fitting tank top and a soft pair of cotton boxer shorts. He could tell without much effort, she wore no bra. Her breasts were still full from giving birth to Angel and strained mercilessly against the fabric of her top, spilling over the scoop neckline. Her long tapered legs were neatly folded beneath her on the couch. Michael swallowed hard. Her appearance was purely a distraction to him. It was a painful reminder of what he could no longer have and what Jay could.
Annie stood and staggered a bit from the effect of the wine. “You should have called to let me know you were running late,” she complained. “I was beginning to think you had…”
“What? Kidnapped my own kids?” he snapped. “I wouldn’t even consider it.”
“That’s what they all say,” she answered defiantly, taking a single step forward only to trip over the leg of the coffee table. Blindly, she began to fall. Michael lunged quickly and caught her in his arms before she hit the floor.
“How gallant of you, Michael, always being there to catch me when I stumble,” she sneered with sarcasm. She kept her body pressed against him in a sexual embrace but her eyes were filled with coldness.
He gazed down at her, confusion skewing his face. It was clear she was mocking him, toying with the lingering emotional attachment she knew he still had for her. But he was powerless to fight the magical spell her body cast over him. His fingers tentatively fanned the soft expanse of skin at the small of her back, as he helplessly felt his maleness harden and come to life.
Annie felt his physical reaction too. Playfully, she pulled away and giggled as she ran her index finger across his full bottom lip. Then she poured herself another glass of wine.
“Annie, what’s going on here?” he asked, observing the nearly depleted bottle of wine in her hand.
She took a hearty gulp of the liquid and stepped back in front of him, an accusing finger wagging in his face. “Oh, I believe you know exactly what’s going on here!”
“Well, I don’t, so why don’t you enlighten me.”
“Okay, fine. I will,” she chided.
He could smell the alcohol on her breath. Her words were slurred and garbled. He dropped his keys onto the table behind him when she saw her inch toward him again.
She swallowed more wine, and with her eyes narrowed in contempt, she stepped closer still, like a predator surveying its next meal. She stopped when her breasts mashed against his chest. Her mouth was mere inches from his. She could feel his breath coming in quick, hot bursts. His hands dropped to circle her waist. Using his palms, he pressed her harder against his body.
She set her wineglass down behind him and slid her arms around his neck. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on here, Michael,” she whispered into his face. “You’ve been strutting your ass around here for weeks, throwing innuendos at me like Frisbees.”
Each word she spoke brought her mouth closer to his lips until they touched. He opened his mouth eagerly, like a hungry bird, hoping to be fed. She laughed scornfully against his mouth, as she felt his desire begin to throb between them. “Isn’t this what you expected would happen?” she asked, her tongue slipping out of the warmth of her mouth and tasting the tip of his. “My God, you were so damned persistent. You must have known it would eventually come to this, right?”
“Maybe. But what about Jay?” He asked, covering her mouth completely with his. Then his fingers inched up the warm flesh of her back.
She kissed him back, fast and hard, until she felt his fingers pushing toward the fullness of her breasts. Then she stopped his pursuit and smiled at him coyly. “Jay is no longer in the picture, Michael. He dumped me last night after you showed up unannounced. Funny…you always seem to show up when I don’t want you to.”
“I’m truly sorry for that. If I had any idea you were here with him, I wouldn’t have come inside. Believe me: that was the last thing I wanted to see.”
Annie sighed and massaged the thickness of his neck with her fingers. “It doesn't matter now. I knew it wouldn't last. Like it or not, the fact that you were ever in my life seems to scare off most men. Once they find out who the father of my children is, they lose interest in having a relationship. No one wants to risk pissing off the great and powerful Michael Wade,” she spat with resentment.
“I have no control over that.”
“Oh, and don’t I know all about that,” she sneered.
“Then maybe that’s proof we really should be together.”
“That will never happen because I no longer have feelings for you.”
He smiled down at her. “But I think you do,” he replied, descending upon her mouth.
She pushed his face away forcefully with her hand. “There will be no winners in this game you continue to play, Michael. Are you prepared for that?”
Their mouths met with fevered intentions. Again, his hands slid up her rib cage toward her breasts. This time, Annie wasn’t quick enough to stop them. He cupped each one and massaged each nipple, then moaned loudly when her flesh rewarded his manipulations by hardening beneath his finger tips. When she felt herself losing control and running the risk of surrendering, she bit his bottom lip swiftly and without remorse, drawing blood. His fingers quickly retreated from beneath her top and sprang to protect his face.
“What the hell did you do that for?” he asked in anger, viewing the red stains on his fingers.
Annie’s eyes narrowed in disgust. A smug smile ebbed across her face. The hand she had resting on his chest began to ease toward his waist. She watched his expression change from pain to pleasure when her finger inched lower and cupped his swollen groin. “What’s the matter? The big, famous rock star doesn’t like it rough?”
She squeezed him hard, her mouth searching for his. When she felt him grimace, she eased her grip, but only slightly.
“Annie, are you deliberately trying to hurt me?” he asked against her cheek.
Then he felt the zipper on his pants release and Annie’s fingers grasp the heat of his organ.
“Isn’t this what you’ve been wanting, Michael? Every day you’ve come here, isn’t this what you’ve hoped would happen?” Annie fell to her knees and pushed him inside her mouth.