- Steele Vows Finale
Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2000
Sue Hantak <hantaks@mtco.com>
***********************************************************
(Finale)
Biting back what he wanted to say, Remington quietly left the
bathroom. It took even ounce of self control not to stay and
confront her. He reasoned she would just storm out the apartment.
Again. No, it was best not to provoke her now. They had the Benefit
Gala to attend tonight. With the watchful public eye and press
in attendance, it was best to be on good terms with Laura to
not attract any undue suspicions about their marriage. Remington
decided that this evening after the fundraiser he and Laura could
finally work this whole thing out.
Laura threw herself into a project that (not-so-coincidentally)
kept her occupied alone in her office. She did her best to avoid
him during the workday. She could not, however, escape the reoccurring
thoughts that distracted her. One thought kept coming back, *Maybe
everything does happen for a reason* . Laura left the office
early to get her gown altered for the benefit. When she arrived
at the apartment, Remington was already putting on the finishing
touches. Gold magnifying glass cuff links(the ones Laura gave
him) adorned his impeccable attire. Laura thought to herself,
*God he's attractive*. Her eyes assessed him up and down and
when they traveled back up to his face, his eyes met hers. She
was roused from her admiring stare. "You look very nice,"
Laura said automatically.
"Thank you," He relieved her of the hanger she was
holding. "and what will you be wearing this evening, my
dear?" He began to tear away the plastic that concealed
her dress. He got a quick glimpse of the satiny dark green material
when Laura jerked the dress into her possession, "you'll
see soon enough" She wiggled her eyebrows in a playfully
mysterious manner and disappeared into the bedroom.
Remington almost spilled a glass of champagne on his crisp white
shirt when Laura made her entrance. Laura was a vision. Her hair
was simply brushed back with one side held back by an ornamental
clip. Her strapless gown clung to her body and swirled over her
shapely hips and tapered to her knees. She was holding her shoes
in one hand and clasping her gown close to her chest with the
other.
"Would you zip me?" Laura deposited her shoes on the
sofa, walked over to Remington and turned her back to him. Remington
put down his glass. His eyes looked down admiringly at the bare
skin of Laura's back. With the dress open, he could plainly see"
that Laura wasn't wearing a bra of any kind. Remington reluctantly
zipped up the gown. Laura craned her neck up and to the right,
"All done?"
"Not quite." He whispered provocatively. His hands
slid down the side of her body and came to rest on her waist.
With her still slightly turned, he bent down to surprise her
with a kiss. She turned her body to continue the kiss. She snaked
her arms around his waist and stepped in close. Laura instinctively
parted her lips below his. Their tongues met in a sensuous implication
of what they both desired. After several heated moments, Remington's
lips traveled to her exposed neck. Laura breathlessly interrupted,
"Mr. Steele........"
Remington's postponed desires took over. He then concentrated
on the hollow behind her ear at the base of her jaw. Laura's
was turning to putty. A slight moan betrayed her resolve, "hmmm....Mr.........mmmm........Mr......
Steele......... you're.....ahhh.... going to wrinkle". Laura
barely managed to finish her sentence.
Close to her ear, he suggested, "Then we'll just have to
take off the clothes" .
"But we're expected at dinner?"
"Laura, for once, let's do something unexpected," He
pulled back from her neck, slightly cocked his head with silently
pleading eyes.
She didn't say anything. She knew the longer she contemplated
it, her logical and cautious sensibilities will once again make
the same old decision. In a preemptive move, she reached up and
tugged on his bowtie, "You've convinced me."
After four years of telling herself she was never going to "just
fall into bed with him", she in fact, did exactly that.
She always imagined they would consummate their relationship
after some dramatic scene; a profound declaration of their love
for each other, jetting off to some exotic locale or some other
similar fantasy. She knew he loved her, if for nothing else,
he put up with her nonsense for all these years. She was replaying
all the sweet moments between them in the VCR in mind as she
lay atop his body, gently stroking his chest. This time she did
not see them with the same suspicious and frightened eyes that
clouded her judgment in the past. Laura saw a man trying to show
a woman that he loved her. She was so lost in thought she did
not hear him call her name. She lay, staring into space still
numb by what just transpired
"Laura......Laura........LAURA"
She looked up at him with her chin resting on his sternum, "What?"
"Where were you?"
"Closer to heaven than I've ever been".
The End
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