Chapter 28

DORIS

We were stranded, but of all the places to be stranded, this serene place on the side of the road that was completely surrounded by greenery that looked like an enchanted forest wasn't a bad place to be.

Arthur looked at me. This was the soft and caring Arthur. "Let's use this time to get to know more about each other," Arthur said. "We really haven't had a chance to talk about things of substance. Perhaps you'll go first?"

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“Everything,” he said.

“Well," I said, "you already know that my mother died when I was 13,” I said. “Then I was adopted by a man named Noah, who turned out to be a great dad. That was wonderful for me because I never knew my dad. He left before I was born.”

“On my mother's side, I had a great aunt, and she had a cottage up in the woods by Buffalo. My mother and I visited a few times. She was a really nice lady.”

“I probably would have gone to stay with her after my mother died, but she was old and frail, and didn't think that was a great place for a teenager. She did send some money every month and put a little money away for me into a college fund.”

“It was nice to be able to have some extras as far as treats and clothing, and a tutor when I need one. And it was nice not to have to work my first year in college, so I could focus on the band, and have my college tuition mostly paid for.”

“Then the summer after my first year in college two things happened. My great aunt died, and Noah and I were in an accident where this big pickup truck came and hit us straight on. There was no chance to get out of the way, and Noah used his body to wrap around mine.”

I paused.

Arthur made a "Mmn-hmm," noise to show that he was still listening. I knew I had told him some of this before, but it felt good to put it all in chronological order for him.

"Noah saved my life with what he did, but it put him into a coma. As you can imagine, the medical expenses were horrendous at first. 'Poof' there went the rest of my college fund."

"I had to drop out of college. There was no more money. I needed something that would utilize my skills and bring in money right away. Real estate was something I could jump into. I thought I had a talent for it, and I worked hard."

I continued, "I'm glad I was able to take care of Noah. I never regretted that part."

“You were strong,” Arthur said. “You should be proud of yourself.”

I gave a bitter chuckle. “Then Bob came at a time I was vulnerable. He flattered me into believing a bunch of lies. Bob used me and I didn't even realize it. The rest is history.”

I looked at Arthur. There was no pity in his eyes, only understanding.

Silence settled between us for a moment.

"What about you?" I asked. "Arthur, you tell me a story about yourself now. How did you become the sexiest stripper in New York, wait the world?"

He laughed.

Then his expression turned serious. He looked out the window and took a deep breath.

“When I was little, I mean really little, like three and four, I was scrawny.”

“Noooo.”

He looked at me, smiled, then looked out the windshield again. “Yes. Then when I was about seven, I suddenly shot up and bulked up. I was tall, fast, and agile. I discovered ice skating, then ice hockey."

Arthur’s gaze looks far away, immersed in the past. “I had a talent for it, perhaps a once-in-a-generation talent. A coach spotted me and took me on. As I grew, so did my determination. Soon, I was practicing 40 hours a week. I’d wake up before dawn. Practice drills before school.”

Artur made moves with his upper body like he was moving gracefully with a hockey stick.

“Three or four hours every day after school. Seven hours every Saturday and Sunday. I never missed a day. My coach thought I could go to the Olympics, then the NHL, maybe win a Stanley Cup."

He smiled, but it was sad.

“And then?” I smiled, captivated by his tale.

"Then my father shot someone in front of my mother and me."

I gasped.

“My mother wanted to cover it up. I reported it, and sent my father to jail. My mother was furious.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Yes, I know. But that was the end of my hockey career. My mother never forgave me for the scandal it caused. She forced me into business. Forced me to become a major player in the finance world because she felt that would erase the stigma.”

“I had the body of the man, but I was still a boy," Arthur said. "I was too young to fight her manipulations."

Arthur’s shoulders slumped, but then he straightened.

"I made good investments at first, some good deals. Soon I was the billionaire genius. I thought that would be enough."

"But it was never enough. Now I'm too old to get back into hockey. My professional hockey dream, the reality has passed."

Arthur turned in the driver's seat, so he was facing me.

"Although seeing you be so courageous, getting up on stage to get back to your dreams lets me know that new goals I haven’t dared dream…” he paused, caressed my cheek, and I saw both love and lust in his eyes. “You, my dove, make me see that new, different dreams can still come true.”

For a moment, I didn't know what to say to that. "I think you're giving me too much credit."

“I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

He grabbed the back of my neck in a soft hold, then squeezed slightly harder. He looked at my mouth, my eyes, then back at my mouth again.

“Doris," Arthur said. His voice was whiskey on fire. Husky, low, filled with lust and something else I couldn't name. He used his hold on me to pull me toward him slowly.

The motion was slow, so I could have stopped him at any time, but I didn’t want to stop.

When his lips were just a hair's breadth from mine, Arthur said, "I've been dreaming of this since the night at the hotel. Every time I'm in the shower, my body gets hot, remembering what it was like being inside you."

“Doris," his voice was rough, "every night before I sleep, you're riding me. At work, sometimes it’s hard to concentrate, thinking of what could be, wishing you were there.”

“I’m here now,” I said.

His face was too close to mine for me to see it, but I felt his grin.

Then he kissed me.

The kiss started slow, a gentle exploration of a man remembering. Then he licked the seam of my lips and the beat of my heart sped to double time, like it wanted to fly out of my chest.

I groaned, the sound loud in the interior of the Porsche.

I opened my mouth for Arthur and he didn’t waste a second to dart inside, his tongue dancing with mine.

He tasted like the wine and chocolate we had for dessert.

He tasted like liquid desire.

He tasted like barely held back raging lust and the fantastic white-hot sex that I knew was coming.