You Said Forever (Club Decadence) (8 page)

Although the event was fabulous, Regan was relieved when it was over.  She loved her sister dearly, but the sight of her budding baby belly and the constant baby talk was just too painful.  Megan was just four months along but her baby bump was quite substantial and she had to resort to wearing maternity clothes.  Megan’s doctor had to assure the unusually high strung father-to-be that petite women showed earlier because there wasn’t a lot of room to store the baby.  That of course worried Tony even more and prompted a long discussion about delivery procedures and a C-section, if necessary.  Tony was a big man at six and a half feet tall and 240 pounds.  He worried his petite wife might not be able to safely deliver his baby.  The doctor guaranteed they would keep a close eye on her would take necessary action if the baby seemed unusually large.

March arrived and brought with it another month of disappointment and another increase in her fertility meds.  This time it was arranged by phone, which she thought was kind of strange but she didn’t question her good fortune.  No way was she going to give another Rossi guard the slip.  She now had a new guy named, Kurt.  An old Army buddy of Rick’s, he was also a new Rossi investor as well as an employee.  The regular security staff refused to guard her anymore, unwilling to place their jobs in jeopardy when she skipped.  Rick warned that better never happen again.  So, the duty now fell to the owners who weren’t quite as easy to manipulate.  Kurt was nice but quiet and not nearly as fun and friendly as her buddy Lil T who was out in California working on the opening of a satellite office of Rossi Security.

Regan was finding it more and more difficult to get away for her appointments.  She was approaching the
six-month mark of the start of her infertility treatments and since they had been an utter failure, she had demanded the doctors be more aggressive.  The next option was to start her on a new injectable hormone-stimulating drug.  For this change she was required her to go to the office for lab work and training on the administration of the shots.  They were also going to start her on a diabetes medication, which was having some success, something about insulin levels they told her.  She didn’t really understand.  It all sounded like a big chemistry experiment and her body was the test tube.  However, she was eager to get started, which for a woman with a needle phobia was a true testament to her level of desperation. 

She came up with the perfect plan to get to her appointment without Rick knowing.  A new complex of town houses had opened near the clinic and her cousin Moon had just moved in.  She arranged a visit and after Kurt had done a sweep of the apartment he left them alone to chat while he waited outside.  Man, was that a mistake.  She had simply left by the back entrance and cut across back yards and side streets to the
clinic, which was on the corner of the same block.  An hour later, she was back at Moon’s place just in time for Kurt to knock on the door when it was time to take her home.  Moon who was busy unpacking had barely questioned her need for secrecy.

April saw the arrival of Megan and Regan’s thirty-second birthday and Tony and Rick arranged for a private celebration at The Club in the owner’s private
playroom.  Only close friends were invited and Elena and her band had agreed to provide the entertainment.  The celebration was low key and all the members were thoroughly enjoying themselves with great food, company and entertainment.  The evening would have passed pleasantly if not for one thing.  Friends of theirs made an announcement.  Master Ben, The Club’s bar manager and club member apologized to both Regan and Megan for grabbing a little of their spotlight but wanted to share with his closest friends that he and his new wife Paulina were also expecting a baby in the early fall.

The room erupted in good natured congratulations, the Doms shaking his hand and offering good natured ribbing him about his manly prowess, the subs hugging and kissing the new bride and mom-to-be, delighted by her news.  Regan plastered an enthusiastic smile on her face and offered her congratulations as well.  But inside she was tormented.  To make it worse she saw Rick in conversation with some of his team and in the thick of it was the ever-present blonde bimbo.  She fumed when she saw her leaning against him intimately, her hand on his muscular forearm and her huge tits rubbing against his bicep.  He was smiling at her, and seemed to be eating it up with a spoon. 

This really ticked Regan off.  Fury and self-pity warred with the jealousy burning inside her.  His job kept him away from home more and more lately.  Tomorrow, Rick was supposed to leave on another recon mission and Miss Melons as usual would be tagging along, while she stayed at home alone, injecting drugs into her exhausted body.  Drugs that made her bloated and bitchy, and lately she'd even been having trouble concentrating, another lovely side effect.  Like she didn’t already have trouble with that?   But tonight they had a chance to be together and he was with her.  It was her birthday dammit and he was spending time with Nancy Nipples over there.  Well, that was just fine.  If he enjoyed her company so much, he could have her and she would get out of their way, just as planned.  One thing was certain, she couldn’t endure this party sober for another minute so she headed to the bar where she grabbed a glass of forbidden champagne.   Tossing it back she reached for another and she didn’t give a flying fuck what Rick said about it.  She was usually a happy drunk, but not tonight.  Her one glass turned into three, but the alcohol didn’t begin to take the edge off her anger.  Happy Freakin’ Birthday!

She pressed her luck when she went for glass number four and bumped into her angry husband as she drained the last drop.  He put on a big show of bestowing the traditional birthday spankings on her bare ass to the delight of the other guests.  Regan found it was not quite as delightful as it appeared and she ended up in tears as he applied thirty-two firm swats with his paddle like hand until her ass burned like fire.  Her tears were those of heartache and emotional pain, not from the paddling she had rightfully earned.  Later, he had made love to her and she clung to him as she desperately tried to hang on to her failing relationship.  He pulled her close and rolled them to their sides as he easily drifted off to sleep.  She lay sleepless watching the shadows of night give way to the light of dawn.  During the night she had soberly made her decision, when he returned from this next mission she would be gone. 

Chapter Ten

“Absolutely not, Megan.  I forbid it.”

Stunned by her husband’s unwavering response, she stared at him with her mouth open as a flush of anger rose in her cheeks. “You forbid it?  You forbid me to invite my only sister to stay in my own home?  She has no other place to go?  I can’t believe you just said that.”

“She has a place to stay, Megan, at her own home with her husband.”  Cap stiffened as he took exception to her insolent tone.  She still didn’t recognize the telltale signs of his anger and continued to push the envelope.  Did she have no instincts of self-preservation?

“How dare you forbid me from having my sister stay here, Tony?  This is my house, too.”

“I dare because I am the head of this household, wife.  Let me clarify however that what I forbid is the game playing that is going on here.  I will not allow Regan to hide here because she doesn’t want to deal with whatever shit she has going on at home.  No way is she staying without full disclosure to her husband, her Dom.  Especially when she sneaks off behind his back while he is away on a mission.  They are in a committed relationship and we are not going to get in the middle of it.  Is that understood?”

Tony paused long enough to receive Megan’s positive response before continuing, “Regan can stay as long as Rick knows that she is going to be here and that’s my final word on the subject.”

Regan looked at her sister’s husband amazed at his composure.  He had not raised his voice or lost a fraction of his famed control.  His rules were stated plainly with the expectation that his wife and her sister would obey, all despite Megan’s tone and the obvious frustration he felt for the entire fucked up situation.

Megan looked at her twin sister sitting quietly on the couch, head down and hands moving restlessly as she twisted her wedding rings around her left finger.  Megan’s heart ached for her.  Something was going on and had been for months.  Not that she had disclosed anything.  Instead she had closed down and withdrawn into herself.

“Regan, honey? Is that OK with you?” Megan moved across the room and took a seat next to her.

“I don’t want to cause any problems between you, Meg.  I’ll go to a motel.

“You can forget that ridiculous plan, Regan.  We can’t keep you safe at a motel.  You will either stay here or go home until your husband gets back.”   The authority that rang in his voice reminded her of Rick.    

She looked up at him, unshed tears glistening in her blue eyes. “I’m sorry Cap, I shouldn’t have put you two in the middle.  I’ll text him now, OK?”

Tony crossed to the couch and joined the twins.  He squatted down in front of Regan and took her cold hands in his. “I’m sorry you are having such a hard time, sweetheart.  But you are going to have to talk to Rick.  He loves you.  Whatever it is, I promise, he will want to help you work it out.”

Tears overflowed and ran down Regan’s face as she looked at her longtime friend.  Tony and Rick were so much alike it hurt just to look at him right now.  His firm but caring expression and some of his mannerisms were so much like her husband’s.  He had the same big, muscular frame and both men projected a natural air of dominance.  They were born leaders who commanded respect and the self-confidence they possessed was part of their charm.  Tony had trained Rick so they had a similar dominant style that Regan instantly responded to.

“You do still love him, don’t you sweetie?”

“Yes, Cap.  He is the love of my life.  I will never love another man like I love Rick.”

“Then you have to work this out, sweetheart.  The only other option is to stay like you are now which is miserable.  Believe me nothing is insurmountable as long as your love still exists.”

Megan took a shuddering breath as she fought to hold back her own tears.  Tony’s words melted her heart.  She squeezed her sister’s shoulder in comfort at the same time she reached out and clasped Tony’s wrist, needing physical contact with the man who was the love of her own life.  He instantly gathered her fingers in his while still firmly holding her sister’s in the other.

Regan closed her eyes, trying to hold back the seemingly endless flow of tears and whispered, “Not this. I can’t be fixed.  I’m broken.”  She pulled her hands away and swiped at her cheeks. “I need to lie down. I have a terrible migraine.  May I go up to the guest room, Cap?  Megan, please hand me my purse and I’ll text Rick right now.”

Tony watched Regan’s fingers fly as she whipped off a short message. 

“Staying with Cap and Megan for a few days, please don’t worry.”
 

She turned the phone screen toward Tony for approval before she pressed the send button.

Sighing, he kissed the top of his new sister-in-law’s head and then rose to his full height.  Staring down at her, he nodded. “Of course, sweetheart, but be prepared for a visitor soon.  We all know something has been bothering you for a while now.  I don’t like you withholding information so I know it’s not going to sit well with your husband, either.  We are very much alike in that respect.”

“I know, Cap.  I doubt if he’ll be back before Thursday, though.  When he does come looking for me I don’t expect it to be pleasant.”

Megan frowned at her sister.  She was also unhappy with her for withholding information, especially from her twin, her best friend and lifelong confidante.  She had always used her as a sounding board and told her everything.  This rejection now made Megan angry. “Of course it won’t be pleasant, Regan.  You left the poor man and won’t tell anyone why.”

“Megan, please… it’s complicated.”

“Whoever said marriage was easy?  You two have been together for over ten years now.  You can’t just expect him to give up after all that time because you’ve got some fucked up ideas in your head.”

“That’s ten, Megan.” Tony warned, “Calm down, watch your language and let Regan and Rick work this thing out for themselves.”

“Yeah, because they have been doing such a fucking fantastic job of it so far, right?

“Now it’s twenty, Megan.  Are you going to try for thirty, seriously?”

Surprisingly, Regan started laughing through her tears. “I swear, Cap.  She’s usually not this dense.  She must really like getting spanked.”  She knew Cap didn’t like Megan cussing, especially using the F-word.  Both looked at her in surprise.  “She’s been bitching at me all day, Cap.  How about giving her an extra five for me?”

“Regan, I’m on your side here.”  Megan complained only to raise her voice an octave as Tony added with a wry grin. “Oh that will be my pleasure dear sister. “

“Captain,” she protested.

Tony’s phone rang interrupting things. “That will be you’re very pissed off husband, I’m sure Regan.  As for you Angel, I’ll deal with your correction after dinner.  Remember the number twenty-five for me.”  He kissed her forehead before he strode toward his study answering “Rossi, here.”

Both women watched him leave. “Bossy jerk,” Megan mumbled.

“Yeah, and you love it little sister.”

“Yeah, I do big sister.  He gets me so worked up I forget what I’m saying sometimes.  But you’ve got one just like him at home, so what’s up with all this separation and divorce talk?”

“I really don’t want to get into it now, Meg.  My head hurts and I’m sick to my stomach.  When I’m ready, I’ll talk, I promise.  I just feel too raw right now. “

“OK honey.  Let me help you with your things and we’ll get you settled upstairs.” They started up the stairs only to turn halfway up startled by Tony’s angry voice.  It was the first time Regan had heard him raise his voice since she’d been there.

“Megan Rossi!  Don’t you dare carry that heavy suitcase up the stairs?  I’ll get it.”  As he crossed the room to take the case from his wife he shook his head, she was killing him. “Regan, I’d say he’ll be here in fifteen minutes.  Fair warning, he is not happy.”

“What?  I thought he left this morning.”

“Evidently, they were delayed.  Sorry, little sister, you’ll just have to deal with him today.”

Sighing, Regan turned and continued up the stairs.  “I know Cap, I’m sorry, too.”

Megan shot Tony a worried glance and their eyes met briefly in concern for their closest friends and family, then Megan turned and rushed after her sister.  Tony’s emphatic “Fuck” echoed in the empty room behind her.

Megan reappeared instantly. “You know, Captain, you have really been doing better with those F-bombs lately.  For my benefit I’m sure but if you are going to add ten when I say it, you should really subtract ten when you do.  I think that’s only fair.”

He just quirked that dominant eyebrow at her, it seemed to say without words, “seriously”?

“I think it’s a great idea because although you’re doing much better, you still say it at least ten times a day.  I’d be in negative numbers by the end of the day and never have to get a punishment spanking ever again.”

“Megan?”

“Captain?”

“You’re pushing.”

“I know, but it’s fun.  I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too, my Angel.  Now you better see to your sister.  The shi-, uh, it’s
going to hit the fan any minute now.”

She smiled down at him.  He was so sexy. “Nice save, honey.”

He grinned back at her as she turned, “Thanks, I thought so.”  He listened to the music of her laughter as she trailed after Regan.  He hoped she and Rick worked this out soon.  He wanted them to have this same kind of happiness.

Standing in the guest room doorway, Megan watched her sister sobbing, her face buried in her pillow, her hands fisted in the linens.  She moved into the room and sat by her side, reaching out and taking a hand in both of hers.

“Regan, it’s time for a “twinervention.  Sit up here and look at me.”  When she didn’t move, Megan added in a stern and unyielding voice, channeling her inner Domme. “Right now if you please.” That got her attention.

“Jeez, Meg.” She took in a shuddering breath and scrubbed her cheeks with her free hand. “I already have one Dom, I don’t need you telling me what to do as well.  Plus, when did you get so corny?  Twinervention my ass.”

“Sorry honey it comes with being deliriously happy.  I don’t say that to be mean or in your face, but you and Rick were where we are now for nine years.  So, with that in mind, you are going to sit there and talk to me.  I have a theory but I need a little more information.  Last fall when you went off on your own, ditched Dano and got us both in trouble, you said you were picking up some lab reports.  I checked Regan, that building housed a proctologist, a plastic surgeon and a fertility clinic.  Which one did you see?”

When Regan didn’t answer, Megan continued laying out the supporting facts for her theory.  “I’ve noticed that your mood swings have a trigger.  For example, the night you found out I was expecting, you tried to run out on Rick at The Club.  On Christmas when mom and I were making wedding plans and the topic kept turning to my pregnancy and morning sickness, you bailed.  Last night when Ben told us he and Paulina were expecting you had a mental meltdown before my eyes.”  She eyed her squirming sister and knew she was right on target but still Regan didn’t say a word.

“I added all of this together, factored in your depression over the past few months, and your secret visit to the fertility clinic and I came up with my theory that you are having problems getting pregnant.  Am I right?”  She reached out and gathered Regan’s hands in hers.  “Please, talk to me, honey.”

Regan didn’t look at her sister, who as usual she was spot on.  If she admitted the truth to Megan it wouldn’t be long before Cap knew and he would spill to Rick.  They shared everything.  Regan felt exposed and helpless.  Her back was against the wall and her months of lying and deceit were going to rise up and bite her in the ass.

She felt the panic and lies come bubbling up before she could stop them.  Not able to look Megan in the eye and lie to her, she got up and wandered to the window.  “Megan, your attempts at playing junior detective are laughable.  The truth is your theory is a bunch of crap.  Let me try my hand at your game of True Detective.  One, I’m seeing a plastic surgeon to get a boob job.  Two, I’m seeing the proctologist because I’m anemic and they want to check stick a scope up my ass.  Three, my husband is cheating on me with that blonde bitch from The Club and I’m pissed as hell.  Four, I’m depressed like mom was at my age and need my husband and sister’s support.”  Finally, she turned to her sister her eyes still wet with tears.  “So there you have it, four other perfectly plausible theories without a shred of evidence.”   

Regan walked to the bed and started turning down the covers.  “I could give you more theories but that’s all they’d be, theories.  Ideas based on wild guesses and assumptions that haven’t been proven by fact.  I don’t want to talk about me, or Rick or anything right now except to say I’m unhappy and depressed and pay someone else to be my shrink.  I’m glad you are deliriously happy and I hope you still are in ten years.  The harsh fact is that life happens, things change, couples grow apart and nothing lasts forever, no matter how much you want it too.” 

Regan crawled into the bed before she started crying again and rolled toward the wall effectively shutting her out.  “Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to be alone in my misery for a while.  Thank you for letting me stay here I know I haven’t been easy to be around lately.  I’ll try to be out of your hair soon.”