To have a conviction in Karma you must believe that first, action is really happening…it is not an illusion. Second, you really are responsible for your actions. There is no outside force like the stars or some good or evil being acting through you. When you are conscious, you are the one who decides what to do. Third, your actions have results…you are not just writing on the water…and those results can be good or bad, depending on the quality of the intention behind the act. Chapter 25 Daphne lay on the huge bed floating on a champagne induced cloud. The house was deathly quiet despite the fact that the music was still blaring outside. The inside of Britin Manor was peaceful and soothing, thanks to the thick walls and state of the art insulation. She felt the bed shift a little as Alex sat down beside her and removed his mask. His blond hair was disheveled and fell across his forehead, making him look much younger than his forty-four years. He looked down at her and smiled. “Did you have a good time tonight, beautiful?” Daphne moved her arms above her head and stretched out like a big cat, causing her breasts to shift and overflow the bodice of her dress. “Oops,” she giggled. Alex reached out and cupped one of her breasts in his hand and bent down to whisper huskily, “Have I told you how unbelievably sexy you look tonight?” “No you haven’t,” she purred. She reached for Alex’s other hand and brought it up to her mouth, licking his palm and saying softly, “Show me how sexy you think I am.” “Can we please get this gown off of you before I rip it off?” “No ripping, Alex. I love this dress and want to keep it,” she said as she sat up and slowly moved her legs off the bed. The room spun around gently as she felt Alex’s hands fiddling with the zipper on the back of her dress. Finally she felt it slide down as he pushed the dress off her, moving both his hands up and over her breasts as he bent to kiss her neck. “God, you are beautiful and smell so good,” Alex whispered, littering her neck with kisses. She leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his hands as they roamed over her body. “Alex, take off your clothes,” she said, wanting to feel skin. He got off the bed and began to take his clothes off, scattering his shirt and coat and pants everywhere. Finally, he was ready, and he got back in bed with his now naked wife and took her in his arms again. They were both a little tipsy, but not enough to be completely impaired. Just high enough to enjoy the moment, reveling in each other’s touch made all the more sensitive by the fact that they were in different surroundings, in a strange room, intensifying the feeling of newness. Alex leaned up on his elbows and looked down at Daphne as she lay on the bed. Her hair, which had been pinned up into a chignon earlier tonight, was now completely loose, fanned out on the pillow, framing her face as she looked up at him expectantly. She was beautiful in the soft light coming from the lamp near the bed. Her skin glowed and looked like mocha velvet. He bent down and put his mouth on hers, savoring her, loving the noises she made when she responded to him. His hand moved over her body, down past her stomach, brushing the inside of her leg as she automatically opened for him. He moved his well-educated hands over all the right places, brushing lightly when needed, pressing a little harder in other places, drawing out her whimpers as she lost herself in the pleasure of his touch. His mouth moved down her body, leaving a wet trail behind him as he headed towards the spot that he was craving, that always tasted like honey to him, sweet and intoxicating. He heard her cry out as soon as his tongue glided over the little nub, the softness always a turn-on for him, and he felt her hands grip his shoulders, squeezing gently, as she lifted her hips up to him giving him better access. His tongue played with her, moving in little circles, flicking at her, driving her crazy. Alex heard her moaning louder now, felt the tension as her hands gripped his shoulders, a sure sign that she was that much closer. “Please,” she whimpered, begging him to stop the torture, yet never wanting it to stop. She was almost there, he knew the sensations were unbearable as his mouth continued to taunt her, sucking on the special place that always pushed her over the edge. Finally, he felt her coming as she cried out his name and pressed his face to her, feeling her tension slowing leave her body as her legs relaxed around him and she lay still in his arms. “Alex,” she whispered again, and he moved up her torso to put his mouth to hers, sharing her taste. He rolled on top of her, then rolled over again, positioning her on top, pushing her up so she straddled him, feeling his cock slide in perfectly and she began to ride him, lifting her arms to move her hair out of the way. She looked wanton and incredibly hot, riding him with abandon, savoring every inch of him, moving up and down with the precision born of years of practice. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, she was like a wild woman in the dim light, her hair rose up in waves all around her face and she put her head back, closing her eyes and licking her lips, saying his name over and over. He moved his hands up her torso, encircling her breasts listening to her moans as she moved off into her private world, lost in a haze of pleasure where all her energy and focus were on one thing; the on-coming orgasm that was about to overtake her. She was so ready for him; her thighs enveloped his body, tightening around his hips. Her arms encircled his neck as she pressed her face to his, moaning, ‘fuck me’ over and over as the rhythm took over. They came at the same time, clenching each other in an all too familiar move, feeling the orgasm rush through them like an electric shock, leaving them both completely satisfied. Everything was familiar yet so very different. Alex moved his mouth over Daphne’s face, kissing every inch of it, telling her over and over again how much he loved her. She heard him and smiled, loving the words, loving this man who continued to make her life complete and never failed to leave her satisfied and content. They lay in bed, side by side, looking at each other, listening as their heavy breathing subsided, smiling and caressing. Alex stared at his beautiful wife, stroking her face and neck, telling her again how much he loved her. After a while he started moving again, turning Daphne over and starting on her shoulders this time, covering her with light kisses that made her squirm with anticipation. He smiled to himself as he heard Brian’s voice in his head, telling him what he needed to do and how often he needed to do it. He heard Daphne groan, reacting to his kisses, urging him onward to fulfill all of Brian’s instructions, on his way to round two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian looked into Justin’s eyes and saw that they were completely glazed over with lust, his mouth was swollen and bruised from the mauling it had received not five minutes ago. Justin’s mouth was Brian’s downfall, more than anything else; it was the mouth that always got him, always the magnet that drew him in. Brian turned his head when he heard the soft whirring of his cell phone. ‘Done’, the message read. Good boy, Brian thought to himself, but I’m not quite ready yet. He pulled open the drawer of the nightstand and grabbed a condom from the little pile that he had left there a few weeks ago in case they would need it for this very reason. Justin lay on the bed, naked and ready. He pulled Brian towards him and said, “Fuck me.” “Hold on there Sunshine. I’ve got to get you ready.” “What are you doing?” Justin asked as he felt Brian rolling the condom on his dick. It felt strange and constricting after not having used one in over a year. “We’re going to save your little swimmers in here so I can take it next door and give it to Alex.” Justin sat up abruptly, a shocked look on his face. “What are you talking about Brian? We’re doing this, tonight?” “Shhh,” Brian said gently, holding on to him and kissing his cheek. “I didn’t want to say anything before this because I knew you’d start queening and turn into a nervous Nelly. Now, take a deep breath and try and calm down. We’re going to make a baby, Sunshine. You and me. I’m going to make love to you and we’re going to make the most beautiful child in the whole world, second to Gus of course, but beautiful nonetheless,” Brian said, smiling at him. “We can’t do this now,” Justin said, caressing Brian’s face and moving strands of dark hair out of his eyes. “Daphne and Alex aren’t ready for us.” “Says who? They’re ready and waiting in the next room. We’re going to make this happen, Sunshine. We are going to love each other and help Daphne make the most beautiful baby, our community baby, the great merger of four beautiful minds.” “Now? Oh my God, I can’t do this, Brian,” Justin stammered nervously. “Look, I’m starting to lose my erection already.” Brian looked down and saw that he was right. “Flip over,” Brian said, “On your hands and knees, now.” Justin did as he was told and Brian unceremoniously squirted some lube on him and then he slid into his ass without stopping for one second. He proceeded to plow into him, hitting every sweet spot he knew, pulling in and out, driving into Justin, not giving him one more second to stop and worry, counting on his intensely erotic nature to respond automatically, his body doing what it always did when Brian made love to him. He was rewarded by the sweet sound of Justin’s guttural moans, hearing his breath quickening, watching as Justin moved his hand down towards his dick to help himself along, jerking off in time with Brian’s rhythm. Brian bent down and nipped him on the shoulder, unable to stop himself, lost in the frenzy of the moment. He slid his right hand towards Justin’s and swatted it out of the way. “Let me,” he huffed out, taking over, moving his hand back and forth over the condom, making sure it was in position and hadn’t dislodged. They continued, Justin’s moans getting longer and louder, Brian’s breathing accelerating as they moved against each other, building up the tension until Brian exploded, feeling Justin release at the same time into the condom, filling it up quickly, warm and full in Brian’s hand. “OhmyfuckingGod,” Brian said as he collapsed on the bed, trying to catch his breath. “Don’t move Sunshine, let me,” he admonished as he reached for Justin and slowly turned him over. He gently peeled off the condom and stood up, padded across the room stark naked, yanked open the door and crossed the hallway to knock on Alex and Daphne’s door. Alex opened the door and stood there in a beautiful silk robe, shocked by his host’s nakedness and literally stepped back as Brian shoved the loaded condom in his face. “Here,” Brian said. “Take it and do something useful with this.” Brian turned and left without giving Alex a chance to do anything but stare at his naked ass as it moved back across the hall. “Whack job,” Alex said, smiling under his breath. Brian moved back into the bedroom, closed the door and got back into bed with Justin. He took him in his arms and held him tight, wanting him to feel his support and love. “I love you, Brian,” Justin whispered, shaking a little with emotion, thinking about the fact that they might be making a child at this very moment, even as they were speaking. “Sunshine, if I loved you anymore I’d morph into a lesbian,” Brian answered seriously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alex took the syringe out of his bag and extracted the sperm from the condom that Brian had handed him. It was so fresh it was still warm. He walked over to Daphne who was half asleep with a completely satisfied look on her face. Earlier, he had taken a warm wash cloth and cleaned her up, ministering to her lovingly as she watched him with a small smile on her face. “Darling, what was in the booze that you drank tonight? We should get some for our house,” she said dreamily. He looked at her and smiled back. “No booze, beautiful, just you. You made me a little crazy tonight.” “Crazy like that I like. You were unbelievable, Alex.” “Thank you sweetheart, and now I need you to do one more thing before we go to sleep.” “What’s that, Hon?” “Open your legs.” “Again? Oh my God Alex, I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow!” “I need you to get ready so I can inject Justin’s sperm into you, Daphe. We are about to make our baby.” She sat up with a look of sheer wonder on her face. “You are a magician, how did you do it?” “I didn’t. This is all Brian.” “Holy crap. Are you serious?” “As a heart attack, Daphe. Come on beautiful, lie down and open up for me.” She lay back down on the bed and watched as Alex crossed over to the other side of the room to retrieve the syringe he had placed near the discarded condom. He came back towards her and sat on the bed. Bending forward, he kissed her deeply and lovingly, whispering, “Are you ready?” She wrapped her arms around him and nodded her head. “Okay darling,” he said, “Let’s make our baby.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max and Emmett lay in their bed trying desperately to shut off the incessant ringing of the alarm that they had set earlier. It seemed like only a few minutes had gone by since they had fallen asleep although in reality it had been about three hours. Unfortunately, sleep was something that would have to wait if they wanted to catch their flight to San Francisco. “Max, honey, would you please shut that fucking thing off before I throw it out the window?” Max rolled over and groaned in response. Nothing could have induced him into moving, let alone sitting up to turn off the alarm. All he wanted to do was sleep for another ten hours, at least. He had fallen into bed exhausted but exhilarated from last night’s success. He and Emmett had made tired love then passed out. The last thing he wanted to do was run to the airport. “Can we catch a later flight, Em?” “I don’t think there is one, Max. We’ll just have to suck it up and do this. Let me go make some coffee, that’ll help a little bit,” Emmett said as he struggled to get up. “Okay. Give me five more minutes,” Max mumbled into his pillow. Emmett looked over at the beautiful body lying prone on the bed. He shook his head and mentally pinched himself, something he’d been doing a lot lately. The phone rang and he picked it up on the first ring. “Enid,” he said, surprised to hear his mother-in-law’s voice, so early in the morning. “Emmett, dear. You boys are still home. Why haven’t you left for the airport yet?” “We’re trying to move. It’s just tough after last night.” “That was a lovely party last night Emmett. You and Maxie did very well. Is he up yet?” Emmett had to smile every time he heard Enid call him ‘Maxie’. It drove Max nuts when she did that but old habits were hard to break and he didn’t see her changing her ways anytime soon. “Let me get him on the phone, Enid.” He brought the phone up to Max’s ear and nudged him. “It’s your mother, talk to her.” “Mama,” Max croaked into the phone. “What’s up?” He listened for a minute than said, “We’re going, we’re going. Christ, will you stop nagging. Ma, we didn’t get home till five in the morning. No I will not miss the flight, yes I will send you a postcard from San Francisco, and no, I will not go to Castro street. Mother, I am a married man now. You think I’ll be hanging out in Gay bars trying to pick someone up?” Max lay there, listening to his mother ranting on the phone. He turned over on his back and covered his eyes with his left arm while his right held the phone to his ear. “Ma, stop already. Emmett and I need to get dressed and go. I love you, yes, we’ll be careful, good-bye, talk to you later.” “What was that all about?” Emmett asked as his hand started moving over Max’s torso, unable to resist touching him when he was so close. “She has issues with San Francisco. Thinks it’s a den of iniquity and I’ll catch AIDS just by landing at the airport. She gave me her usual safe sex lecture,” Max said. “She just loves you honey,” Emmett said understandingly. “But she forgets that I love you more, and I would never let anything hurt you while we’re together, at least not if I can help it.” Max lifted his arm off his eyes and looked at Emmett. He was staring down at him with unabashed love and Max couldn’t believe how far they had come in such a short time. Here he was, lying in bed with the love of his life, waiting to get ready to catch a flight to San Francisco to go on their honeymoon. He grabbed Emmett’s hand away from his chest and brought it up to his lips. “I love you,” he said, looking at him intensely, brown eyes radiating with love, slowly turning to lust as he felt Emmett’s other hand starting to move across his chest, down his flat abdomen, past the tight brown curls, towards his penis which was already hard and ready, waiting for Emmett’s fingers to encircle it lovingly and start stroking it. Max closed his eyes and let the sensations take over. He moved into the special heaven that Emmett could take him to so easily and as his body enjoyed the feel of his very talented husband’s mouth and hands, he briefly thought about how much time they had to make their flight and the big rush they were in and just said ‘fuck it’. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three and a half weeks later, Brian and Justin were packing for their trip to Toronto. Gus’ first home game was tomorrow and they had promised to be there. Justin had been caught up in preparing for the show he was going to have in early November at the Sydney Bloom gallery in Manhattan. It was mainly thanks to Justin’s enormous success that Sydney now had this branch and once a year, just before Thanksgiving, Justin always had a one-man show after which he and Brian flew to Toronto to be with Mel and Linds and the kids for Thanksgiving. It was something they had started doing a few years ago and it had become a tradition. Ben and Michael also joined them, as well as Debbie and Carl, along with Hunter and his family. It was always a special time, when they all got together to celebrate the holiday. As usual, Justin had lost himself in his work and for the last couple of weeks had barely left his studio. He had turned into the frenzied artist that Brian knew so well, hardly eating and only leaving the studio late at night or early in the morning to fall exhausted into bed, grabbing a few hours of rest only to wake up and start all over again. Brian had seen this type of behavior too many times, especially before a New York showing. This was the highlight of Justin’s year and the success of the Manhattan show was always a source of great stress for him and would usually turn him into a zombie for several weeks. Brian was absolutely amazed that Justin had consented to tear himself away for two days to make the trip to Toronto. “I promised him, Brian. I have to go,” he had told him when Brian asked if he’d rather stay. The truth was he was almost done with all his artwork. What was left was mostly touch-up work, then he would turn everything over to his assistant, Anne, who would send it all out to the framers and then on to the gallery in Manhattan. Justin insisted on choosing all his frames rather than leaving it in the hands of the gallery owner. It was one of the quirks he was famous for and his choices of frames were as unusual and out of the ordinary as the art itself. Something people had come to expect with an original Taylor. “Well, thank God you’re coming and leaving the studio for a little bit,” Brian said. “You’re starting to look like Howard Hughes on one of his bad days. When was the last time you had a haircut?” he said, grabbing Justin and running his fingers through the long, silky hair which was well past his ears and almost skimming his shoulders. “Huh?” “Exactly, Sunshine. I’m calling them today and making an appointment for you for this afternoon. And get rid of this crap you’re wearing,” he said, referring to Justin’s torn jeans and paint splattered t-shirt. Justin smiled at his anal partner and started peeling off his clothes, leaving a trail as he headed to the shower. “If you stop being such an ass, I’ll let you soap mine,” Justin said over his shoulder. “I’m on it,” Brian called out from behind him, discarding his clothes as he walked. Twenty-four hours later they were at the rental car counter at the Toronto airport picking up their vehicle. They always rented, preferring that to having to count on Mel and Linds to drive them around. This way they were free to come and go and were much more comfortable. They took the keys of the Lexus and headed out to the car. They got in and drove across town, heading out to Rosedale. When they got there they parked in the driveway and entered the house through the kitchen. “Greetings,” Brian said. The girls were seated around the kitchen table and everyone looked up as Brian and Justin walked in. “Uncle Brian,” JR squealed when she saw him and got up from her chair and made a running dash towards Brian to jump up on him as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey there little brat. How’s it going?” “Good,” she said, showing off her dimples as she smiled widely, looking more and more like Melanie every day. “Hi Uncle Justin,” she said to Justin, over Brian’s shoulder. “Hey JR,” Justin said, smiling at the pretty girl in Brian’s arms. Brian looked around and saw that Gus was nowhere in sight. “Where’s Gus?” he asked Mel and Linds who continued to eat, scooting over to make room for Justin who had grabbed a plate and was about to spear a pancake off the heap in the center of the table. Brian put JR down and went over to the table to join them. “He’s at school already. They wanted him early, to do a few practice runs before the game. We’ve still got several hours before we need to be there,” Lindsay replied. “Good,” Brian said. “Can I have a plate too?” he asked Lindsay, who promptly stood up and went to get a plate and utensils for him. She brought them over, along with an empty cup and laid everything down in front of him. He filled his cup from the pot that was on the table and then he speared himself a couple of pancakes along with a few pieces of bacon. “I don’t suppose this is Turkey bacon, is it?” “Yuck,” Melanie answered. “No, Brian, it’s the really bad kind, made out of pork.” “I thought Jewish people didn’t eat pork?” he said to her pointedly as he chewed on the bacon, savoring every fatty, artery-clogging bit of it. “Well, this Jewish person does. Speaking of Jews,” Melanie continued, “Tell us all about Max and Emmett and the wedding and reception.” “Yes, please,” Lindsay piped in. “We were so disappointed we couldn’t go but with school starting so soon and Gus’ practice, there was no way we could have gotten away.” “It was fabulous,” Justin said, his mouth full of pancakes and syrup. He swallowed and began to describe everything to them, to the last detail, starting with the wedding ceremony in Skokie, ending up with the still talked about Masquerade ball that was held at Britin. “Everything sounds amazing,” Melanie said. “I wonder how much this set them back?” Brian looked at her with disdain and said, “Only you would think of asking that sort of question. Who gives a shit what they spent, they had a blast and so did we. It was worth it, whatever it was.” “Just curious,” she said. “You did say that Max came from money, right?” “Tons of it,” Justin said, his mouth full once again. “They own half of Chicago.” “Well, it looks like Emmett has struck it rich again,” Melanie said. Justin put his fork down and said, “They are madly in love, Mel. Emmett had no idea Max was rich when he met him.” “I’m sure he didn’t,” Melanie replied, “But once again, he seems to have landed on his feet.” “You are getting more and more cynical with age,” Brian said from across the table. “What’s the matter Mel? Hormones out of whack? Menopause looming on the horizon?” Melanie threw a piece of toast at him and said, “I am not menopausing Brian. I’m not that old, I’m just being realistic.” “More like being a bitch, as usual,” Brian said under his breath. Lindsay glanced over at JR to see if she had picked up on the conversation. Fortunately, the girl was absorbed in the television program she was watching off the little set they had in the corner of the room. “Do you guys want to rest before we go?” Lindsay asked politely, trying to change the subject. “We might lie down for a little bit, for a ‘rest’,” Brian said with a small grin on his face. Lindsay’s look changed again, the skin on her cheeks got pinker and she glanced over at JR again, to make sure she didn’t hear Brian’s reply. Melanie scowled at Brian, and Justin kicked him under the table. “Oww,” Brian whined, sticking his tongue out at Justin. He grabbed his fork and speared a piece of the pancake, dripping with butter and syrup and shoved it in his mouth. “Jesus,” he said, in between chewing, “It’s a wonder you guys haven’t had collective strokes with breakfasts like this. You have heard of the terms cholesterol and heat attack, haven’t you?” “We don’t always eat this way, Brian,” Melanie said giving him a dirty look. “We knew you were getting in at this time so we made something a bit more substantial, mainly for Justin,” “Of course,” Brian replied. “God forbid you would do anything for me.” “Okay, stop it you two. That’s enough sparing for one morning,” Lindsay said, ever the peace maker. Brian stood up and made his way out the side door to have a cigarette to try and calm down. Melanie had a knack for elevating his blood pressure in an instant, something she was always able to do and only seemed to improve with age. Justin joined him a few minutes later and they stood outside enjoying their smoke. “She’s in fine form this morning,” Justin said. ”No shit,” Brian replied. “I think she is menopausal, no matter what she says.” The buzzing of Justin’s cell interrupted him, just as he was about to reply to Brian’s comment. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Daphne. “Hey Daphe,” he answered. There was silence on the phone. “Daphne? Are you there?” he asked. He heard a huge intake of breath followed by a sob. “Daphne, what is it? What happened?” She was crying now, barely able to get the words out. “Justin,” she said, in between sobs. “What? Oh my God! You got your period…that’s it, isn’t it?” Justin began to pace as he talked. “Listen, don’t stress over this, Daphe. We’ll try again next month, don’t worry about it. Maybe we’ll go away this time, to Vegas or New York. What do you think?” She was crying in earnest now, sounding pitiful and desperate. Justin’s heart was breaking as he listened to her. He shoved the phone at Brian, “Here, you try and calm her down. I can’t listen to this.” His eyes were shiny with the tears that had automatically appeared as soon as he heard Daphne crying. “Daphne, it’s Brian. What happened?” he asked. He listened to the voice on the other line and his face slowly changed. He stopped frowning and his look completely shifted to one of surprise and suddenly he broke into a big smile and he laughed gently. He disconnected and looked at Justin. “What? What are you smiling about, Brian? Did Alex get on the phone?” “Actually, he did. Daphne couldn’t really talk very well. She got busy all of a sudden.” “Busy with what? She was hysterical not two minutes ago,” Justin asked in surprise. “Busy throwing up Sunshine,” Brian replied, breaking into a huge smile. “Throwing up?” Justin looked at him waiting for an answer that made sense because so far nothing had. Brian looked at Justin and couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He grabbed him into a huge hug, holding him tightly and then he whispered in his ear. “She’s throwing up because she’s pregnant, Sunshine. You did it. She’s going to have a baby.” Justin’s face paled as he heard Brian’s words and he moved over to the bench near the kitchen door and sat down. His breathing started to change and he looked at Brian in a panic and said, “Brian, I’m feeling light headed. I think I’m going to faint.” Brian rushed over to his side and he took him in his arms and held on to him saying, “No you’re not, you’re just hyperventilating. Take a deep breath Sunshine, and focus on something else, it’ll pass.” Brian listened as Justin’s breathing slowed down and after a few minutes he pulled back and the blue eyes looked at him in wonder. “We really did it? She’s fucking pregnant?” “That’s what Alex said. They just found out and Daphne wanted to tell you herself but she got all weepy and then this wave of nausea hit; apparently she’s been doing that a lot, even though it’s really early in the pregnancy.” “I can’t believe we got lucky on our first try,” Justin said in a daze. “It was the special Rage-JT combo and the whole magical night. It was inevitable,” Brian grinned at him. Justin smiled back automatically, still in shock and not believing this was actually happening. He took Brian’s hand and said, “I need to tell Gus.” “Of course, you can tell him later, as the pregnancy progresses.” “No, Brian, I need to tell him now, today, after the game,” Justin said in a panic. “What’s the rush?” Brian asked. “He needs to hear it from me, I need to explain the whole thing so he understands and isn’t upset.” “Okay,” Brian said, drawing out the word slowly. “I don’t think he’ll care one way or the other, but if you are determined to do this, then talk to him tonight, after we get back from the game,” Brian said. “Oh, he’ll care, believe me,” Justin said, his mind already forming the conversation he was going to have with Gus tonight. TBC