Within seconds he was fully erect and she dropped to her knees to take him entirely into her waiting mouth. He watched with incredible pleasure as Jade expertly took the full length of his shaft. The sight of her gorgeous green eyes looking up at him while swallowing his manhood was too much to endure; he exploded in a lightning-quick climax that buckled his knees as the blood seemingly drained from his head.
She looked up and smiled, happy that she was the only person in the world that seemed capable of controlling his temper. At these times, he really wasn’t the cruel tyrant everyone made him out to be. She enjoyed the power over him she alone possessed. He was not an accomplished lover. In her experience, angry, controlling men were never able to sustain lengthy sexual relations. For a professional, it made the business proposition all that much easier-completing the act quickly was of benefit. She knew her place in Holloway’s life and played her role quite competently.
“Now, don’t you feel much better, honey? Wasn’t that exactly what you needed?” she asked, dissipating the remainder of his angry mood.
“Yes, that was incredible,” he replied, helping Angelina back to her feet. “But I don’t care what you say…I don’t want you parading around naked in front of the crew,” he said jealously, looking into her eyes. “It’s demeaning; you’re better than that.”
“Oh, all right,” Angelina replied, placing her head against his bare chest, smiling when she heard the words she had no intention of following. “I love it when you’re protective of me, Alastair. It’s the main reason I love you so much.”
“Thank you, honey. I think I love you, too.”
“Why, Alastair…you’ve never told me that. How sweet,” she said, lightly caressing the small of his back. Controlling him through her sexuality made her feel powerful, giving her an overwhelming sense of good fortune.
Who has the power now? She thought. Love, indeed! She wondered if Alastair Holloway knew the meaning of love, or if he was even capable of loving another human being. No matter. She immediately dismissed the thought. I’m the queen of his universe and I know he can’t live without me now…despite his protestations to the contrary. Yes, Alastair… who has the power?
TWENTY-SIX
Bernalillo
Jeremiah Marshall set his plan in motion after concluding the conversation with his mother the previous evening. He had made a flight reservation for San Francisco departing Albuquerque the following morning, but decided to see Sarah first thing before he left. He knew she was extremely upset that he hadn’t stayed at school, but when he learned that his father was on the run, there was no way he could remain uninvolved. It was long past due for another man in the family to exert some badly needed, common-sense influence over the two embattled cousins. As the dawn of a new day broke, he made the four-hour drive from Roswell to Bernalillo straight away.
Jeremiah held his father responsible for his parents’ divorce, and even though he didn’t know the details, he knew the cause involved infidelity. Ryan claimed Uncle Jarrod (Jeremiah and Jacob had taken to calling him “Uncle Jarrod” when they were youngsters, even though he was not Ryan’s brother) had conned him into his indiscretion, which would never have happened of his own volition. Jeremiah sided with his mother, however, believing that Ryan should never have put himself in the situation to begin with. Whatever the excuse involving Uncle Jarrod, it didn’t pass muster with Jeremiah, even though it was predicated on deception. Jer was raised in the Catholic tradition, where the principles of honor, loyalty, and fidelity in marriage are sacrosanct. This upbringing made his father’s behavior unforgivable. He despised his father’s actions and felt that he could never forgive him for what he did to his mother. In this regard, he was exactly like his father: vendetta-driven to the end.
But this latest development between Ryan and Uncle Jarrod was unprecedented. This was an entirely new level of trouble. While he held contempt for both men, he didn’t want to see either of them hurt or jailed because of the extreme malediction that possessed them. This concern compelled him to get involved; no longer could he be a passive bystander while they destroyed each other.
Jeremiah spent the time on the drive home in deep thought about how to handle the crisis once he caught up with his father. Their relationship had been icy for years, and he couldn’t be sure if his help would even be welcome.
Through the years, Jer came to realize that his father’s relationship with his parents was atypical of anything he witnessed in his friends’ homes. His grandmother Regina was so overbearing, and Clement so ingratiating, that it was very uncomfortable to be in their presence. Holiday visits to his grandparents’ house were always filled with tension, and his father never seemed comfortable in their presence, making the strain on everyone almost palpable.
Jer did have some good memories of growing up, however. Even though his brother was handicapped, both his parents made sure Jacob’s condition never stood in the way of family outings or vacations. Jer especially loved the camping trips the family took, which his father and he continued for a few years after his brother’s death. He loved the peace of fishing the Pecos River with Ryan and his great-grandfather, Amerigo. It was obvious these two had developed a deep bond, and Amerigo made sure Jer was included in their mutual affection.
Jer also had fond memories of the many special events that Ryan and Sarah somehow fit into their busy lives. They were avid Dallas Cowboy fans, and one year took Jacob to meet Emit Smith and Troy Aikman. Jake and he were made honorary coaches, and Tom Landry presented Jacob with an autographed football signed by all the Cowboys and their owner, Jerry Jones. They attended stock car races, truck pulls, kept box seats to the Albuquerque Dukes, and did everything normal families did. There was a time when Jer thought he had the best father in the world.
This all changed when Jacob died. It was like something inside Ryan died with him. He emotionally withdrew, threw himself into work, and lost the zeal for life he’d had when Jacob was still alive. They attempted a few fishing trips, but it was never the same with just the two of them. Amerigo had died a few years before Jacob, and with both of them gone, their fishing trips were never the same. It was as if all the joy had been stripped from his father-a joy that Jer had no idea how to replace.
These thoughts tailed off as Jeremiah pulled into the driveway of his mother’s house about midmorning. He sat in the car a moment, feeling unprepared to argue his reasoning for leaving school to track down his father. He was certain she had already enlisted the advice of Aunt Sela, whom he knew would take a similarly dim view of his decision to come home. Whatever their objection, he was now home, and resolved to stay only long enough to see Sarah before catching the flight to San Francisco. He knew Uncle Jarrod’s address at Stanford. It was only a matter of tracking him down, hopefully before his dad did something really stupid.
“Hello, Mother,” Jeremiah said as he walked into the kitchen from the side door to the house. As he gave her a big hug, he whispered, “Please don’t be mad at me,” sensing a lack of affection in her embrace.
“Oh, Jer, I’m not mad at you. I’m glad you’re here…really I am,” Sarah said, holding her son close. “But under the circumstances, it’s really hard to get excited about anything. I’m so disappointed you left school, but I understand why you wanted to come home. I want you to call your grandfather. I spoke to him and Sela this afternoon and promised them you’d call when you arrived.”