Choice Matters (Southern Heat Book 1) (18 page)

“Thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness,”
Apolo
said before taking a long drink off his whiskey.

“When do your parents arrive?” my father asked, clearly in
an attempt to undo any uneasy feelings.

“They’re getting in this evening.”

“Well, perhaps we should all try and get together one
evening since we all may not have the opportunity to do so for a while,” Mother
chimed in. She took a sip off the glass of chardonnay
Apolo
had poured for her, trying to look innocent.

“Don’t mind your mother. The fact of the matter is, there
isn’t a lot of time this week. Your brother is coming in, and we thought we’d
spend some time with him. You’re more than welcome to come along. I merely
figured
Apolo
would have enough on his plate without
both families.”

“Who invited him?” I glanced around the room from person to
person.
Apolo
knew I didn’t have a close relationship
with my sibling, and I certainly would have told him up front if I’d wanted him
invited to the festivities. It was my damn mother! I knew from the look on my
father’s face that she had taken the liberty of inviting him.

“It’s okay, Mr. White. One more person isn’t going to hurt.
I’ll make sure to get his name out in the morning for clearance into the
swearing in,”
Apolo
jumped in to smooth things over.

“Thank you,
Apolo
. We didn’t mean
to cause any extra work, and please, call me Frank.”

“No, it’s no work at all. It’s good to see both our families
here in strength for my swearing in.”

* * * *

The night of his swearing was a small gathering, at least by
Washington standards, at one of the local hotels. It was a cocktail party, with
dinner afterwards for a select few.

Secretly, I was grateful that neither of our parents had accepted
the invitation to the soiree. I’d had about enough of my mother and her
scheming ways. My father, as usual, didn’t want to intrude and had old friends
he wanted to catch up with.
Apolo’s
parent’s made
their excuses stating they were still exhausted from their long flight.

I was standing with a small group of senator’s wives. They
were giving me tips about life in Washington, where to shop, the best
neighborhoods. Though I was listening attentively, suddenly something in my
head told me to glance over to
Apolo
.

There she was…again. Engaged in conversation with him. He
appeared to be polite and engaged, but the muscle ticking in his cheek gave it
all away to me. That one subtle feature meant he was unhappy. Of course, my
glance did not go unnoticed.

“It appears as though you have competition,” one of the
senator’s wives joked. “Whoever she is she’s stunning.”

“Yes, she is,” I replied. “But she’s certainly not
competition. She’s merely an old friend.”

“Well, you certainly wouldn’t know by the way she’s acting,”
another chided.

She was right.
Delpheine
was in
what
Apolo
considered his personal space. He allowed
no one remotely close to him unless he initiated the move. She had committed
one of the big
Apolo
Choice no-no’s, not that she
seemed to care.

“Oh, that’s just
Delpheine
. She’s
French, and they’re much more personally engaged with people they talk with.”

Then we locked eyes,
Apolo
and I.
Knowing him as well as I do, I knew this woman was exasperating him. But ever
the cool businessman and now politician, he was tolerating her openly
flirtatious ways. The moment she placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to lure
him in, I saw him quietly remove her offending, well-manicured hand.

He backed away, putting more space between them. I didn’t
know what he was saying to her right then, but from the expression on her face,
I’d say it was not what she wanted to hear.

Excusing myself, I found my way to the ladies’ room. I
needed to regain my composure. Whoever this woman was, I intended to find out more.
If she thought she could simply reappear in
Apolo’s
life after leaving him in his hour of need, she was sadly mistaken.

Making my way to the line of sinks, I wasn’t too surprised
to find
Delpheine
standing there, a smirk on her face
as she pretended to reapply her siren red lipstick.

“You do know that he can’t have children because of his
accident?”

“Yes, I do,” I replied. “Let’s quit the bullshit and
niceties, Ms.
Bouvier
. What the hell do you want? You
left screaming in horror out of
Apolo’s
life years ago.
Now, he’s a newly minted senator, and
poof
,
you magically reappear. What’s with that?”

“I merely want what was once mine. I intend to have him
back, and trust me, it won’t take long for him to find his way back to my bed.
I will be Mrs.
Apolo
Choice.”

“Good luck with that pipe dream,” I spat as I threw the
towel on the counter and spun past her. “I don’t know what you’re
smokin
’, but lady, you don’t stand a chance in hell with him.
He didn’t forgive you then, and he’s damn sure not going to forgive you now.”

I marched past her and out the door, not leaving myself open
for any further comments. As I stepped into the corridor, I noted Jacob
casually standing there.

“Ms. White, Mr. Choice wanted me to make sure everything was
alright and asked me to escort you back to the ballroom.” He was glancing over
my shoulder towards the ladies’ room. That meant both he and
Apolo
knew what was going on. The woman was so transparent.

“Thanks, Jacob.”

“Don’t worry about Ms.
Bouvier
. I’ll
deal with her. If she bothers you again, please let me know.”

“I will. I think I got my point across just now. So, Jacob,
are you going to enjoy Washington?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s one of best cities around.”

We arrived in the ballroom, where he escorted me over to
Apolo
, who was speaking with a small group. I slid in next
to him.

“Thanks for sending Jacob,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know how she gained entrance, but I’m
having it checked out.”

“Don’t worry, I think I handled her.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me with a sly smile on his face
before turning to his admirers and guests. That was the last either of us saw
Depheine
Bouvier
that evening.
Thank goodness. We went on to our dinner and finally back to our new home.

Sitting down on one of the settees, I removed my heels and
gently massaged my feet.
Apolo
removed his jacket,
laying it on the back of one of the chairs before heading toward the bar.

“I’m glad that’s over with,” he stated flatly. “Glad this
whole week is over with, aren’t you, angel?”

“Yes. I thought it went rather well this evening, don’t you?”
I wasn’t going to mention the cow in the room unless he did. And knowing
Apolo
, he would address the issue. He didn’t like secrets,
and he preferred things out in the open.

“I was quite pleased with it. It would have been perfect if
Delpheine
hadn’t shown up. I’m still trying to find out how
she gained entrance, or if she was invited.”

“Don’t give her a second thought,
Apolo
.
I’m sure Jacob will handle her,” I replied. “I think I got my point across to
her, too.”

I watched him pour two glasses of brandy into the crystal
snifters. A smile crossed his face as I finished speaking. “What exactly did
she want with you? Jacob told me she followed you into the ladies’ room.” He
sauntered across the room and handed me my glass before sitting down beside me.

Sniffing the essence of the brandy, I took a swallow before
answering. “First off, she wanted to make sure I knew you can’t have children.
You know, because of the accident. Second thing, she wanted to let me know that
she intended to have you back in her bed. The rest you can imagine for
yourself.” I smiled seductively at him, taking another sip of my liquor.

His free hand was on my shoulder now, rubbing in a slow,
methodical motion. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before she or any other woman graces
my bed. You’re my woman,
Catilyn
. I love only you.
You make me complete. As for her other remark about whether or not I can father
children, we’ve discussed that. I simply don’t know.”

“I know,
Apolo
. Whether you can or
not has no effect on our relationship. We’ll deal with that if and when the
time comes.”

“I probably should be checked. That was years ago, and it
was only the opinion of a couple doctors.”

“
Apolo
,” I growled. “Read my lips.
It has no bearing on us. You’re my man. I love you, all of you.”

“Thank you for that, angel. Oh, and by the way. Not to
change the subject, but I’m having breakfast with your father in the morning.”

“Really? Just the two of you?”

“Yes. I felt bad about not having more time for us all to
spend together. So, I thought perhaps I’d make it up to him by the two of us
having breakfast.”

“I’m sure he’ll love that, and thank you. It’s been an even
longer week with family here. But I think with the exception of my mother and
her antics, everything has gone like clockwork.”

“My parents like you immensely.”

“Really? They’ve told you already?”

“Yes, both of them have said they approve, not that I
expected they wouldn’t.”

“Well, I know my father approves, otherwise he’d have never
asked you to call him by his first name. Mother, well, we won’t go there.” I
giggled and repositioned myself so I was sitting next to him, his arm around
me. He drew it tighter around my shoulders. I could catch his essence of sweat,
cologne, and just the man. It sent shivers down my body. We sat there like that,
simply enjoying each other and the peace and quiet we finally had after such a
long and busy week.

Then, sitting up, I placed my glass down on the table in
front of us. I stood and turned toward him as he eyed me seductively. Hiking up
my dress, I straddled him, making sure my clit rubbed against his erection. I
took hold of his tie and loosened it, undoing the knot and pulling it from
around his neck. “I understand,” I purred in his ear, “Neckties make wonderful
restraints.”

He groaned as I felt his free hand slide around to my ass. I
took his face between my hands and slanted my mouth over his in a slow,
seductive, yet greedy kiss. As his opened for me, our tongues began to spar
with one another. Aware that he still had his brandy snifter in one hand, I
broke the kiss, sat back, and stared at him. As I did, I took the glass from
his hand, raised it to my lips, and finished off the amber liquid.

I licked slowly, teasing, making sure I had every drop, and then
set the glass aside on the settee. “I think we should take this to the bedroom.
These settees are so uncomfortable, don’t you agree?”

“Hmmm, yes,” he growled, both his hands now fixed on my
waist. “But if you don’t get off me, we’ll be finding out just how
uncomfortable it really is, angel.”

I kissed him then rose to let him up. Without looking, I
took his hand in mine and proceeded toward the bedroom. Still holding his tie
in my hand, naughty thoughts flew through my mind. This was going to be fun.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on the back of my dress, unzipping
it. He helped it over my shoulders and the fabric fell in a puddle at my feet.

Turning to him, I began unbuttoning his shirt as he unhooked
my bra and let it fall. He helped as I pulled his shirt off his shoulders. As
his last arm came through the sleeve, I balled the material up and flung it
away. He took my breasts in his hands and began to knead them.

“Hands off the merchandise, Choice. I’m in charge tonight. I’ll
tell you when you can touch.”

A low, throaty laugh emerged from him. “What sort of monster
have I created? I’m all yours, angel, do you worst.”

Without answering, I undid his pants and began to inch them
over his muscular hips. Once I managed to get past his erection, I let go of
them. His underwear followed. Then, I pushed him into a sitting position at the
foot of the bed. His cock was thick and throbbing, wanting already.

I kissed him on the lips then began replicating it inch by
inch, down his throat and down his chest. He moaned when I briefly took his
cock in my hand. Quickly, I wrapped my lips around the tip, and with my tongue,
licked off the pre-cum. Breaking free, I kissed my way down his thigh and upper
leg.

Sitting up, I carefully bent down and untied his shoes. I
then focused my attention on his prosthetic limb. His hands met mine, and I
shook my head. I wanted to do this. To show him that this piece of his past did
not invoke anything but love and affection from me. “Show me,” I said softly. “I
want to learn.”

Placing my hands where the prosthetic met his leg,
Apolo
guided me, assisting me as I rolled the tight fabric
down until the stump met metal. Gently, I took the limb in my hands and placed
it on the floor. Turning to focus on
Apolo
, I caught
him rubbing the end of his lost limb.

“I thought I said no touching, Choice. That includes
yourself. Now, sit back and enjoy the ride, baby.” I playfully slapped his
hands away and pushed him back on the mattress. Refocusing on the stump, I bent
over and kissed every area imaginable, working my way slowly up his leg.

As I inched my way to the inside of his thigh, I ran my
finger back behind his balls, where they meet—that most private, erotic place
on a man—before going onward to his ass and then forward to his cock. I must
have hit the spot, because
Apolo
moaned, spreading
his legs even further apart. Cupping his balls in my hand, I slowly wrapped my
lips around them, causing him to groan even more.