The Ultimate Betrayal (3 page)

Chapter Four

July 2011

Sophia walked slowly beside her father and smiled up at her love who was waiting at the altar. This was happening. This was really happening. After six years together, they were finally able to legally marry. They’d had a commitment ceremony a little more than five years ago, but there was something very different about this. Sure, there were all the legal advantages to marriage, but it was more than that. It was standing up before all your friends and family and sharing your love for that one person and having them celebrate with you the special commitment that a marriage signifies.

Dominick, Sophia’s father, smiled at her, kissed her on the cheek and stepped back.

Her sister, Marie, was standing next to her, performing to perfection all the duties expected as her maid of honor.

Joy, Sophia’s best friend, stood next to Marie. Sophia chuckled as she saw Joy checking out one of the women standing next to her future wife. Joy would never change and would never lack for female company.

Sophia looked into the eyes of the woman she’d fallen so desperately in love with on the night of that fundraiser and smiled at the love she saw reflected back.

That one night had led to many more which had sealed their relationship. It was a whirlwind romance, starting with that night of passion and quickly led to a commitment ceremony only six months later. Sophia had moved into the penthouse after only a month, despite, Joy’s minor protestations that she should date a bit more before settling down. Sophia tossed away Joy’s advice because she just knew she’d found her one and only.

“Shall we begin?” the officiant asked.

Sophia nodded.

Everything was a blur as they each recited their vows.

Sophia was so nervous, wanting to say just the right things. She tried to remember everything she’d written down. “You were like a freight train barreling down on me. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I was lost. Some people say that love at first sight is not possible. That it’s only a romantic notion strictly relegated to books and movies, but they’re wrong because I’m convinced I fell in love with you the moment our eyes met. I can’t imagine living my life with anyone but you. You had my heart then, you have my heart now, and you’ll have my heart until the day I die.”

“Until I met you, I never thought it was possible to settle down and love just one woman. You were the first to turn me into a believer in love. From the moment I saw you hiding in the corner, I knew in my heart that I would have to make you mine, no matter what it took. I will do everything in my power to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”

It wouldn’t be long now and they would finally get to the fun part – the enormous party that practically all of New York was invited to attend.

“Sophia, do you take….”

Chapter Five

Spring 2015

Lara grimaced as she looked out the tiny window of the Boeing 767 jet. Even the first class windows were small on the airplane. The constant drizzle created tiny beads of water on the glass.

“Big surprise. It’s raining again,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?” Chelsea Martin, the international head of
Microtech
, inquired.

“Nothing,” Lara responded and smiled.

Lara was a master of deceit. She could fake just about anything and Chelsea might come in handy later. She would smile and continue showing Chelsea how interested she was in her prized greyhounds. Lara knew that the chance meeting with the famed executive might prove fortuitous. A little flirting here and there wouldn’t hurt either. Chelsea Martin was one of the most powerful lesbian executives in the United States. Her wealth and connections could mean several additional large accounts. Lara thrived on money and power. It was like air to her—she needed it to sustain life.

“We should really plan on having lunch together. I’d love to hear more of your ideas for my financial portfolio. It would be such a pity to not get together now that I know your home base is right in my back yard.” Chelsea’s mouth bent up and her brilliant smile left Lara with a hint of promise.

If Lara really wanted to seal the deal and pave her way into this woman’s fortune, all she had to do was accept this formidable executive’s veiled invitation. She’d heard that Chelsea enjoyed entertaining other powerful women in business and Lara was well known in her own right. Lara didn’t consider it cheating to have a brief intimate encounter with a potential business client. It was all part of the game and she was very good at this form of entertainment.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Fortified Financials, Lara had achieved a certain amount of fame and status, but her aspirations were always two steps higher. Being a millionaire wasn’t enough anymore, she wanted billionaire status. Her ruthless approach to business would not let her stop at anything to achieve her ultimate goal. Integrity and morals had no place in a successful financial planning business.

“I’d be delighted to have lunch and give you a few pointers, but of course to receive the full benefit of my extensive knowledge, I’d have to sign you up as a new client. I am convinced you would not be disappointed with my performance.” Lara smiled seductively at Chelsea.

Chelsea pulled out a business card as the voice on the speaker sounded.
 

Flight attendants, please prepare for landing.

“Here is my card. I’ll expect a call on Monday. I look forward to connecting with you again. It’s been a pleasure talking with you,” Chelsea said as she nodded.

Lara frowned before taking the card and then quickly displayed her own brilliant smile. The nod from Chelsea felt like a dismissal or even worse, an order. Lara did not do well when another woman was in charge, but Chelsea’s connections were necessary to propel her to the next level. She would continue to let Chelsea believe she held the reins.

“I will definitely call on Monday to arrange lunch. Shall I call your assistant, or would you prefer that I call you directly?” Lara asked.

Lara noted the look of surprise in Chelsea’s eyes before they narrowed in scrutiny. “For now, why don’t you go through my assistant?”

“Perfect.”

As the plane came to a stop, the sound of unbuckling seat belts and shuffling bags filled the small cabin. Lara leaned back in her seat and decided to let all the passengers around her gather their belongings and deplane before attempting to pull her overnight bag from the bin above. She didn’t want to take the chance that Chelsea would see her reunion with her wife, Rachel.

Rachel always greeted her at the airport with a passionate kiss. The greeting created an internal conflict with Lara. Although she thoroughly enjoyed the physical experience, her more reserved side did not enjoy what she considered was a flamboyant and unnecessary display of public affection.

Early in their relationship, Lara tried to temper her passionate wife. As a hot-blooded Italian woman, Rachel refused to moderate her passion with Lara. Most people who met Rachel would never guess she was Italian with her long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, but Rachel’s ancestors were from the Northern territories where blond, blue-eyed men and women were the norm.

In the end, Lara wanted the passion more than she needed the reserve. Rachel was a spectacular bedmate, so she allowed this one idiosyncrasy.

When the last passenger began his descent down the narrow aisle, Lara stood up, moved into the tight passageway, and stretched her long, lean body. She lifted her Louis Vuitton carry-on bag from the overhead bin and slung it on her shoulder. She smiled as she envisioned Rachel’s generous lips devouring her mouth. She felt a trickle in her silk panties as the scene played out in her head. Lara had plans for Rachel and could barely wait to unwrap her. It would take at least a half an hour, depending on traffic, to reach their expansive home on Lake Washington. Maybe Rachel would agree to a quick release in the car as she drove.

†

Rachel was running late to pick up her wife. She shoved the mail littered on the kitchen table aside looking for her keys. Espresso, their black cat, up on the table again, blinked his green eyes at her and Rachel imagined he was saying, “Why so stressed, mom? Do you want me to help you?”

Espresso began batting the pieces of mail with his paws.

Rachel sighed. “This is not a game, Espresso. Get down. You know how mommy Lara hates when you jump up on the table.”

Espresso yawned and plopped down on the table, resuming his lazy attack of the mail as he sprawled out on top of half of the envelopes.

Rachel petted his head before picking him up and placing him on the floor. Two seconds later, he jumped back on the table and reached up to place one of his paws on her shoulder. “Okay, you big baby, you can come with me, but we have to find mommy’s keys first.”

Rachel pulled Espresso close to her as he wrapped his other paw around her neck and licked her chin. When he poked his tongue in her mouth and licked sloppily, she placed her right hand over her mouth to serve as a barrier. “No French kissing. How many times do I have to tell you that’s reserved for mommy?”

Rachel picked up Espresso and shifted him to her left arm while continuing to move the mail around. “There you are, you naughty keys. I thought I told you that playing hide and seek right before I have to pick up Lara is strictly forbidden.”

With Espresso still in her arms, Rachel rushed out the door and into the garage. Placing Espresso on the passenger seat, she settled into the buttery soft leather of her Tesla. Pushing a button on the large touchscreen, the garage door whirred open and she eased out of the three-car garage.

“Let’s hope traffic is light today. You’d think it would be on a Sunday, but it’s Seattle so you never know. Lara will be plenty pissed if I’m late again. I might have to make the trip back home a little more pleasurable to make up for my tardiness.” Lara grinned at Espresso. “You need to jump in the back and settle in for a nap while I welcome mommy home properly.”

“Meow,” Espresso answered.

“I’ll give you extra treats and let you climb on the counters when mommy Lara isn’t there if you’re a good boy while I help mommy relax.”

“Meow.”

“Good boy. I knew I could count on you.”

†

Lara glanced at her watch. “Where the hell are you, Rachel? It’s Sunday for Christ’s sake. How hard can it be to get to the airport on time on a
flippin
’ Sunday?” she grumbled in frustration.

Lara was not the kind of woman you kept waiting. This was yet another small irritation that she considered less than ideal regarding her wife. Rachel would be late for her own funeral, Lara often teased.

Lara pressed a button on her watch and rapidly recorded a message, “You’re late again. Don’t park. Meet you at arrivals.”

The ping and haptic notification on her watch was instantaneous. Lara smiled as she saw the,
sorry
, with a smiley face in her tiny 38mm watch screen. Rachel might be chronically late and a bit too demonstrative for her at times, but she was also a hellcat in bed and one of the most beautiful women Lara had ever laid eyes on. She knew the instant they met at the Seattle Children’s Hospital fundraiser that she would make this gorgeous creature hers. The fact that she was already involved was a detail that Lara found irrelevant to what she wanted—and what Lara wanted, she always got.

With her carryon bag slung over her shoulder, Lara briskly walked outside to wait for her errant wife. Tapping the toe of her black Gucci pumps, Lara waited impatiently for her wife to drive up. Without her nylons, the pumps rubbed uncomfortably on her sensitive heels and the sides of her feet. After she removed her silk underwear and the extra nylon barrier while visiting the restroom, she realized that Gucci did not design the expensive shoes to function as a bedroom slipper.

The drizzling rain, her late wife, the rubbing shoes, and her uncomfortable suit left Lara irritable and primed for an argument of epic proportions. This was not how she envisioned her homecoming. She shivered in the overhang that protected her from the Seattle rain. Even though it was a short distance to the car, she knew that a few raindrops would penetrate the light silk fabric on her shirt, adding to her irritation.

Ten minutes later, Rachel’s sleek black Tesla screeched to a halt in the arrival lane closest to the overhang. Rachel jumped from the car and rushed up to Lara, pulling the bag from her shoulder and placing it on the ground while she wrapped her arms around Lara’s neck. Her mouth found its target like a heat seeking missile and blanketed Lara is a searing kiss that sent tingles of arousal all the way to her toes.

Lara’s irritation dissipated quickly as she settled into the kiss. Her arms wrapped around Rachel’s tiny waist and their bodies melded together in a sensual dance. Lara wanted to toss Rachel on the sidewalk and rip off her clothes, but she would have to wait until later. The kiss was a promise of things to come.

“God, I missed you so much. I still don’t understand why you can’t just hire someone to run your New York office,” Rachel purred.

Lara frowned. She enjoyed the fact that her wife missed her so much, but she did not like when Rachel questioned her in any way. She had more reasons than her tendency toward total control for keeping a New York office under her command. Lara couldn’t let Rachel know about that other reason, so she needed to school her reaction to the challenge.

“Oh babe, you know how much I miss you too, but we’ve talked about this before and I explained how poorly things went when I left someone else in charge. You know I can’t let that happen again,” Lara said.

Rachel placed her hand on Lara’s collarbone and slowly let her hand slide down across her breasts before picking up the overnight bag. As Rachel popped the trunk, Lara chuckled at her blatant seduction and the fact that she never cared who was watching when expressing affection for her wife. In fact, Lara suspected that a small part of Rachel’s penchant for public displays of affection was due in part to the thrill of knowing she was creating a show for the passing voyeur. Some days this bothered Lara more than others. Today she craved her wife’s fiery passion, so it didn’t bother her as much. Rachel was insatiable in bed. They were still newlyweds, so the fires were still burning bright.

Lara caught the twinkle in Rachel’s eye and she knew the ride home would be just what the doctor ordered. When she opened the door, she groaned. “Did you have to let the little bad boy come?”

“Meow.”

“Now is that any way to treat your son? He’s missed you almost as much as I have. Don’t even try to sound mad. I know how much you love the little shit,” Rachel teased.

Lara reached down to rub Espresso’s head as she leaned in to kiss his wet nose. “Be good for mama and climb into the back seat while your sex starved mother enjoys the ride home,” she whispered.

Espresso blinked, yawned, and stood his ground as he steadfastly refused to move from the passenger seat.

Rachel laughed as she picked up the cat and gently placed him in the back seat. “Time for a nap, little bad boy, your mama and me have unfinished business to attend to and we don’t need your help or your rough little tongue getting in the way.”

Rachel climbed into the passenger seat as Lara walked deliberately to the driver’s side. After adjusting the mirrors, she glanced at her wife. “At least you could have grabbed his carrier. I swear if he tries to lick your hand while you’re, you know…”