The List

“Hardly, dear. They come to be forgiven of their sins. I explained that to you.”


“Perhaps some do,” she agreed. “But that isn’t for you to decide. I didn’t care for whatever you did to get Mrs. Jessup’s son to donate that money. I don’t want to know how you did it, but all the evidence leads back to you. Can you deny that just perhaps you abused the privileges of your profession a bit to get what you wanted?”

I must have looked guilty because she called me on it instantly. “See what I mean?”

“Auggie, I want you to work with me. You’ve got a good head and I’m going to need help. Expansion takes time and expertise. I can’t do it all alone. Not unless I give up my practice entirely.”

“Worth, I don’t think you need to go to that length. Just be more professional.”

“If I promise to do as you say, will you reconsider?” I really wanted her help and was ashamed of her condemnation. I wanted to run everything above board, the way I’d promised myself I would do. I wanted the name LaViere to stand for something noble and not dark and evil.

She could see the earnest look on my face. She came over to me, leaning upward to kiss me. Her breasts were bursting and their softness against my chest was nearly my undoing. Jesus, I wanted her, baby or not.

“I will promise you this. When this baby is born and our household stable enough to support my being away for a few hours each day, as long as you’ve kept your promise to stay above board, I will come and work with you,” she allowed.

“Thank you, sweetheart. You don’t know what that means to me.”

“Not so fast, Worth,” she cautioned. “You’ve got some bad habits and they’re hard to break. To compete legally, you’ll have to stop manipulating all the way around. Do you think you can do that?”

“I do.” I was serious.

“Very well. Keep it above board and I’m there. Revert and I’m out.”

I would keep my word to her. I would make her proud. For some reason, I felt a need to be accountable to someone, and Auggie was a far better choice than the man who had sired me.

In the meantime, our household was preparing for Christmas and the birth of our baby. In a resolution to be more sociable, we had decided to host a pre-Christmas gala. Auggie had hired caterers and Jeremy came by to add his unique touch to the decorations throughout the house.

Although we’d had a bit of snow, it had already melted by the next morning so it appeared as though we would have a green Christmas. Auggie had decided to improvise and she’d hired the white carriages drawn by horses that commonly carried tourists in the downtown area. They pulled up in the parking area outside our house and we invited our guests to take a carriage ride, complete with hot cider and other holiday refreshments. Auggie was becoming loved and known; well on her way to being a replacement for the aging Mrs. Jessup as society’s matron. While I didn’t think the role suited her since she was still far too young, I could not discount the advantage it would present while growing the business and later with having our children established properly.

Auggie was heavy with our child and supervising the installation of our personal Christmas decorations on a twenty-foot fir that had been set up in the main foyer. I was in my office, going over the paperwork left from settling Father’s estate. I wanted it done before the new year set in.

“Worth!” she called out and I could tell she was alarmed. I found her standing in a puddle of fluid, her eyes huge in terror. “Worth, my water broke! It’s too early!”

I grabbed her, put my arm around her and called to Betsy, the lady we had hired to help Auggie and to see to the cooking and care of the house.

“Get Auggie’s bag, Betsy,” I told her and scooped my wife into my arms, threw a coat over her and deposited her in the back seat of the Escalade. Betsy followed with the suitcase that had long been packed beneath the bed and as I pulled out of the drive and headed toward the hospital, I called Mother and then Auggie’s dad.

Worthington LaViere, IV was born just after midnight and despite his early arrival, he weighed six pounds and screamed as only my son could.

My mother was on hand, as was Auggie’s dad, although Mrs. Langford chose to stay home. I was rather relieved at this.

Auggie, although depleted from the ten-hour labor, was jubilant and already planning the decorating of the nursery. She held baby Worth close to her breast and although he was as yet too young to begin nursing, I could not imagine a more beautiful tableau.

Mother and child came home three days later. The hospital wanted Worth, whom we had nicknamed Ford from his middle name, to stay an extra two days for observation and Auggie insisted on staying with him.

By Christmas Eve, the baby was settled into his own bed in a pale green nursery that perfectly offset the emerald eyes he’d inherited from his mother. I could tell he would grow up to likely be a very handsome young man.

My wife had returned to her rightful place in my bed. Although I knew it would be some time before I could fill her beautiful body with my love, I was content to simply have the people I loved the most nearby. I could not have asked for a more beautiful Christmas.





CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN


Worth


Auggie was lying next to me, it was late February and I wanted her. Her body was ripe and her breasts full with motherhood. Her skin seemed to glow as though lit from within.

I found her thigh with my hand and began to stroke it, moving closer to the inside with each rotation. I heard her expel her breath as she moved closer to me. She wanted me, as well.

I rose to my knees and positioned myself above her head, bending to kiss her nose and then her mouth. Even upside down, her lips were perfectly formed and moist. I breathed in her scent and grew hard.

Auggie forced my knees apart and moved between my thighs. Tilting her head backward, she used her hands to stroke my cock, and I groaned as she took me into her mouth. With her head tilted back, she was able to take more of me into her throat than ever before. I felt her tongue sliding up one side and down the other, then switching to suck hard upon my tip. Desire flamed and my balls tightened.

“Stop, baby. I want to be inside you.”

When she didn’t stop, I pulled her away, those beautiful lips releasing me as I turned her onto her back.

“I’m going to go slow, my darling. You tell me if you’re the least bit sore, promise?” I asked.

She nodded but the only word I heard was, “More.”

I entered her gently at first but her swollen pussy clutched at me, not wanting me to withdraw. As I pushed inside her again, I shuddered as she closed around me, hot and snug. The honey-wet silk spasmed, and I nearly lost it right there. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to let go. I didn’t want to leave her warmth just yet.