Page 48 of A Man of Wealth

Suddenly, his hand moves off mine and onto my leg. I’ve changed into black yoga pants and a black hoodie. His fingers find the hem of my pants and slip inside them.

“Enough of this conversation. You need to relax,” he states.

“Seriou…” The word dies on my lips as his finger slips between my folds. He expertly slides it up and down over my entrance, teasing me until I spread my legs, giving in to the need. I want more and he knows it.

“That’s right, curious cat, let me take your mind off things,” he says. I know this is taking his mind off things, too, as he sinks a finger inside me.

“Fuck, if we didn’t need to be somewhere, I’d be pulling over at the next rest stop to fuck you in the back of this car.”

“How very teenager of you,” I murmur.

“I promise you it wouldn’t be anything like the teenage car sex you had.”

I don’t have time to argue because he adds a second finger and presses his thumb to my clit as he pumps his fingers in and out of me. It doesn’t take him long to find the spot where I need him. He keeps his eyes focused on the road while his hand expertly brings me over the edge.

I cry out as I come, my hips thrusting against his hand, my legs spread as wide as they can go in the small space of the passenger seat. I lean against the seat as I let my breath slow. He pulls his fingers away and brings them to his mouth where he sucks on them.

“The things I’m going to do to you later…” he mutters with a smirk.

“Now, I just want to fuck you,” I say like a petulant child as I cross my arms over my breasts.

“Well, then my plan worked,” he laughs. “You aren’t thinking about what we have to do. I need you relaxed and calm.”

“I am,” I insist.

“I know you are now.”

We’re quiet again for an exit or two until he looks over at me.

“You know that when this is over, it’ll end any chance you have at reconciling with your family, right?”

“I know.” I consider his words and their meaning. He’s right. Maybe my brother will still speak to me, maybe, but my grandmother will never look at me again. A moment of sadness hits me. I wish Jeff didn’t depend so much on my family. He made bad choices and now has to work with my dad. He’s already told me that he needs the job and he isn’t brave like I am. Not to mention my father has essentially provided him with everything, making it seem impossible to ever leave. I wish things were different. I wish my brother would leave. But I know that’s not realistic.

While I know I’ll never reconcile with my family, the fact that I’m the one closing the door on it is still a bitter pill to swallow. I’ll never speak to my father again. And after my mother tried to tell me it was my fault, I’ve written her off too, but knowing that I might lose the last two family members that speak to me is hard to accept.

His thumb rubs my hand. “I’m sorry. I wish there was another way…unless you don’t want to do this.” He looks over at me, his eyes dart to the exit sign in front of us. This is my one and only out. He studies me carefully as I make a decision on the course of my life over only a few seconds.

“I’m going with you,” I whisper. If my family can’t accept me for doing right, then they were never meant to be my family.

“OK,” he replies quietly as though he’s considering it as well.

“What about you?”

He laughs bitterly. “Vivienne, my family is already dead to me. My father’s relationship with me is purely business. He closed the door on a future with me when he sacrificed my mother for his own personal gain. He played Russian roulette and lost, and he has to live with that. I don’t. I’m done living with the ghosts of his past.”

“I’m sorry he made that decision,” I say quietly as the first signs of the city emerge on the horizon in front of us.

“So am I, Vivienne, so am I.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I pause. “Not as a journalist.”

“OK,” he says slowly.

“Why do I feel like you always were looking for a way out? Like you took the vow because you felt like you had to, but the second you did, you started planning your exit plan.”

“You see a lot, curious cat.”

“Is that a ‘yes’?”

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