Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Maladine, Part 3 of 3
   by Nysidra
   <->
   -_ 6 _-
   "Rachel, Leon," Henry followed the path of his last two children, moving
out the day after Rachel's graduation party.  Two of her fast friends,
Anna, a friendly girl, and Travis, the man Henry had hoped would steal her
heart, helped them move their things down stairs.
   Rachel, gorgeous, tall, full figured, lay her bag on the couch.  Leon
set his box aside.
   "If you leave anything behind, make sure it can be donated.  I'll be
putting the others belongings in storage, but since you're here..."
   "We're selling the house," said Deidra.  "It's only going to be Henry
and I, so we should get something more suited to our needs."
   "What about winter?" Rachel didn't care herself, but a small house was
no place for the Maladine brood.
   "Everyone has their own families now," Deidra said with a little shrug
of her shoulders and retreated toward the backyard.
   "What she means," said Henry, "is that no one is required to come home.
You're always welcome."
   Rachel picked up her bag with a grin.
   Seventeen and twenty, the last of his children left home, never to
return.  Henry couldn't even trump up worry for his youngest jewel.  He
knew that if anyone was going to protect her, it would be Leon.
   Before they pulled away, Henry took him into his office one last time.
   "I heard you were looking at apartments while she visited in the
spring."
   "Yes, we're going to sign a lease when we get there.  It's only one
transit stop from campus, but it was the best I could find on my budget. 
It has two bedrooms, a kitchenette, common room.  We'd have to share a
bath, but we're used to that."
   "I'd like to help in that regard.  I will pay for your rent in a house
or better apartment close the campus.  I assume that would benefit you
both?"
   "Yes, a lot.  I'm going to start working again, but yes, that would go a
long way toward helping."
   Henry held up the check.  "This should cover the security deposit and
enough to get you started with furniture and supplies.  Try to keep it
under a grand a month."
   "Thank you, dad."
   ***
   "Are you kidding me?  That guy looks like a mortician.  Sexy mortician,
which means creep city."
   "He's been at the state university for a year now.  He went to the
community college back in our home town.  Believe me.  He's amazing."
   "How do you even know him?"
   "I was running the local paper, and I wanted to talk to the little
genius, do a story on him.  My goodness." She sighed.  "He is amazing."
   "Really?  How old was he when you discovered that?"
   "I don't think about it." She smirked and waved.
   "I've never seen him before.  What makes you think I'm going to flirt
with young man like him?"
   "Oh." She chuckled.  "You don't have to flirt.  Look for the LM Fan
Club. You apply, go to a couple of their meetings.  You'll get through
fast. More younger girls than older."
   "I'm not hearing this right now."
   "I'll send you the address."
   ***
   "Fan mail," Rachel said as she set an envelop on his table.
   "Bring it with you."
   "What are they a fan of?"
   Leon opened the letter and grabbed his crotch with the other hand.  "New
member," he whispered.
   "See anything you like." She kneeled on the bed with him.
   "You pick.  I don't care right now."
   "Easy.  Me."
   He chuckled.  "Great selection."
   ***
   Professor Barnes ended up with Rachel Maladine in her class.  She seized
the opportunity to meet with her and her older brother.
   Leon entered the empty classroom alone.  He scanned the posters, the
shelf, then sat in the front row.
   Thinking his sister would be along shortly, she said, "Are you curious
about why I asked you here?"
   He shrugged.  "This is your meeting."
   "I don't want to see your behavior continue this year, Mister Maladine.
You are a sexual predator and I won't tolerate it.  With your sister on
campus, you should think about that."
   "I have not recorded, divulged confidence, or harmed anyone."
   "Emotional damage."
   He smiled.  "So, you view a single woman interested in physical intimacy
alone emotionally damaged?  Don't you teach about the liberation of the
female gender?"
   "Don't mince words with me.  You seduce with promises you don't intend
to keep and play on vulnerabilities of young girls."
   "No." He leaned forward.  "I don't say anything, not anymore.  Most of
the women I've been with lately come to me by word of mouth.  I only offer
sexual pleasure.  I satisfy that.  Haven't you asked any of them?"
   "Oh, that fan club of yours?  So vile to have a glorified whore house
sanctioned by the university."
   "They wouldn't tell you, huh?  Any one of them could have kept their one
night with me secret.  I certainly won't speak of it.  You should take one
of your own classes." He shifted in his chair.  "Promiscuity may offend
your scruples, but it is not illegal."
   "Perhaps I wanted to appeal to your better nature."
   "That will never fucking happen." He stood.  "May I be excused?"
   "Go on."
   ***
   Rachel used the facilities on campus, to keep in shape, but Leon
preferred to simply do things rather than run in a hamster wheel.
   It was a nice gym.  All light and airy with informational posters and
hanging plants.  Leon found Rachel pedaling on a stationary bike and he
mounted the one beside her.
   She looked him over, from head to toe, then turned away.
   Leon smiled and looked down at the controls.  Once he had browsed the
display, he turned it on a set a course.
   "New here?" She asked.
   "Not exactly.  Never used the gym."
   They went on for a while and Leon had to say he was impressed with the
rigor of Rachel's routine.
   "That girl over there is giving me a harsh look."
   "Yeah, that's called the stop-flirting-with-Leon stare."
   She chuckled and dabbed the sweat from her neck.  "If we keep hanging
out like this, they might think you have a girlfriend."
   "You'd like that."
   "I don't care what other people think."
   "Good.  How are your classes?  Need any help?"
   "Not yet, but I'm going to need help studying.  This may have been easy
for you, but I missed learning some stuff.  Going to be out?"
   "No." He smirked.  "See you after your class."
   ***
   The fan club, was of course, glad to have him back in the founders'
territory.  He decided to throw them a party.  It was the most Leon had
ever done to acknowledge their existence: other than picking a name from
the list.
   Erin offered her home.  Sandra did the catering.  In all, fifteen women
with there, sixteen, if you counted Rachel.
   "She's my designated driver," Leon explained with a smile.
   They ate light while sitting around talking.  He used the party to talk
about the club, how they each heard about him and decided to join.
   "I think you missed your calling as a porn star."
   "Or a private escort."
   "Have you ever done that?"
   Leon smirked thinking about his brief time as a chief earner for a fan
of his.  If she had only thought more about his desire and less about her
greed, she probably would have made that million she dreamed about.  "No,
but my interests lie more in the doing, not the profiting."
   Latoya looked up and held her hands in the air.  "Thank the powers for
delivering this god among us."
   The other women chuckled and echoed her sentiment.
   "How do you know her?" Becca asked the question that had been on every
woman's mind.  They had formed a girl's club under his name, and they knew
nothing about a Rachel.
   Leon ignored the question, like he did any question he didn't want to
answer, and all eyes at the table turned to her in censure.
   "Can I write an article about our appreciation dinner for the website?"
   "There's a website?"
   "Yes, nothing personal, I promise.  Just a reference.  The page is a way
to communicate with the others.  I was thinking about putting up pictures
with the names of the current list, but you'll still get the numbers only,
just in case you want to see more."
   "I don't need pictures, but the article is okay."
   "Well, if you need anything, the fan club, we thought," Erin wiped her
hands on her thighs.  "If you ever need anything, we can help."
   "Books.  Tuition.  Car service."
   "It comes out of the account we use to collect dues.  It's gotten kind
of..."
   "...big and we think it should go to help you.  We don't want you to get
in trouble, but one of the officers can write a check for you."
   "Give the information to Rachel." He finished off the last of his pie.
Then he pointed one finger at Latoya and two at Erin, then crooked his
finger as he stood.
   "Right.  Guess I'll see you all in a bit." Erin could not keep the smile
off her face.
   ***
   "So," said the young woman who had mentioned the article for the
website. "How long have you know him?"
   "My whole life." Rachel licked the spoon of her ice cream.  "He's not
going to get through all of you tonight.  He's good, but he's still human."
   They laughed.  "We know."
   "Might help your chances if you're cool by me though."
   "You're his sister?"
   Rachel grinned and shrugged.  "Twins separated by time."
   "Twins?  Where's your fan club?"
   Rachel said, "I don't share his hunger for variety.  What precautions
are you taking to make sure he's safe?"
   "We require a doctor's visit prior to membership.  The woman must be on
birth control and he always uses a condom, even for oral."
   Rachel did not express her shock at that.  She had always considered
Leon smart except when it came to chasing women.  No, her brother never
stopped protecting her, not for a second.  "Any of you enrolled?"
   They talked professors, classes, and the best places to study as
orgasmic cries came from the back room.
   ***
   Rachel spent her summer in lock step with Leon.  She knew he was trying
to make her sick of him.  He took her out for long drives, they went
camping with his fans, out to big dinners.  She paid the bills for the
house they rented with his money.
   Leon ultimately decided on renting.  It gave them more space than an
apartment, and they didn't have to worry about who might hear them having
sex.
   She never got sick of being around him.  She didn't care that she had
been given the responsibility of seeing to the house or handling his money.
Finally, for certain, Leon placed his trust in her.  He let her into his
life.
   Rachel had woke early, but she returned around eight with a steaming cup
of tea and toast with butter.
   "I'm not getting up," he turned over and pulled the covers over his
head.
   She backed out the room, ate the toast and drank the tea while clearing
his schedule for the day.  Then she returned to bed naked.
   "Do you need anything?" She said as she snuggled with him.  He didn't
feel too hot or clammy.
   "This." He curled into her got one generous handful of her breast and
went back to sleep.
   No fan club could buy their way to having this anymore.
   No matter where they went, what kind of date he took those women on,
when Leon slept, it was in her arms or alone.  His body beside her made her
vibrate with happiness.
   He shifted and put his hand on her mound.  One finger slid up and down
her slit.
   He was still sleep, the lazy graze of his finger told her that.  Rachel
once asked if he did this with other women.  That's what scared her the
most.  How did he stop himself from sleeping with them in a half sleep
state, no condom, no forethought?
   "I don't sleep, not the way you're thinking.  I may doze off for twenty
minutes or an hour, but not straight through, never a deep sleep, more like
a series of small naps.  I never mistake another woman in my bed for you
Rachel.  I never have, and I never could.  I could be in a coma and know
your body."
   So when her orgasm raced through her, she didn't struggle as much to
keep as still or quiet.  She rarely disturbed him.
   "Come here," he groaned as he tugged on her hip.
   She turned on her side and sighed as he penetrated her, sliding into
home.
   ***
   Gerald Delaney hated Leon Maladine.  His loathing was bone-deep and
visceral.  He had festered a deeper resentment than any of his teachers or
professors could claim.
   Gerald had the city at his fingertips.  He could have any woman he
wanted wrapped around his cock.  He got into all the best clubs.  He was an
attractive, wealthy man in his early thirties.  Successful, rich, well
educated.  The world was his playground.
   He had inherited his family's construction business, but he could still
get out and swing a hammer when he needed to.  Gerald was realistic enough
to know that nothing lasted forever.  One day he'd settle down, build a
family, pay more attention to the company, in his forties, maybe.
   He first encountered Leon Maladine thanks to a girl he was dating.  Cute
thing, perky tits, bright blue eyes.  Her blond hair was a dye-job, but it
was a good one.  He'd taken her to the best restaurant and he was already
thinking of what she'd look like naked in his bed when she got the call.
   "Hello." She grinned.  "Yes, it is."
   He tried to catch her eye, to give her a look that displayed his
disapproval.  It couldn't have been an emergency with the grin on her face.
Almost as if she were getting a call about some contest.
   "I," she glanced at him.  "Can you pick me up outside the," the pulled
the menu over.  "Riverside Cafe?" A small giggle.  "Sure.  Yes, I am. 
Bye." She closed her phone and then looked up as if surprised to see him
still there.  "I'm sorry."
   "What happened?"
   "Another day, perhaps." She slid out the booth and went to the bar.
   As she appeared to be waiting, Gerald fumed over his dinner in silence.
   That's when he first saw him.  Leon Maladine walked in, barely an adult,
and took the twenty-two year old's arm.
   At the time, he had no idea of the man's name or that would become his
nemesis.
   Women were plentiful and easily obtained.  Her loss.
   Business, however, was a different matter.
   "Who told you this?"
   "Maladine.  He's a new guy they have at Clemens."
   "Clemens, those clowns?"
   "I know, but he came by with a full presentation and I had to admit,
their strategy is better suited to our needs."
   Clemens Construction Company was a small outfit, a tiny blip on the map.
They did small residential jobs, were a half-assed shill for low-end
insurance claims.  Where in the hell did they get off pitching, and
winning, a commercial bid?
   Leon Maladine.  Gerald recognized the young man on sight.  Even still,
watching him from a distance, he couldn't wrangle his mind around the boy
who looked more suited to underwear modeling being their construction
manager.  They must have been scraping the bottom with that one.
   Laughing to himself, he counted the kid out.  He'd gotten a lucky break.
For all he knew, he was that girl's boyfriend.
   It was no laughing matter when he overheard the kid's name in
conversation.  Clemens Construction had turned itself around.  No matter
where Gerald went, he couldn't escape either the construction company or
his name on the lips of his potential dates.
   Gerald learned that he had a club, comprised of women who wanted to
sleep with him.  Gerald had heard his share of rumors, but that one took
the cake!
   No, what really condensed the ball of hatred was the kid's attitude. 
Calm, laid back, as if running a construction company was as easy as sun
bathing.  His co-workers and associates didn't think much of it.  They
appeared to admire his humility and easy nature.
   ***
   Leon knew how Gerald felt.  Picking up on the dislike and suspicion of
others was as second nature to him as knowing when someone was attracted to
him.
   He didn't avoid him, but he didn't confront him either.  With the
growing irritation in his body language, Leon figured their time would come
soon enough.
   ***
   Leon rarely went out to clubs or bars, but Rachel enjoyed it, so he took
her.  She didn't trust herself to be out with anyone else while drunk, to
which he agreed.
   She was especially a fan of the college bars, filled with popular music
and young people.  Sometimes Leon selected a couple women from his club to
meet him, one or two that he could dance with, use as a shield for others.
   As for the actual drinking, neither he nor Rachel were legally of age to
obtain it.  It was a college bar, and it was Leon Maladine.  If he wanted
something for Rachel, he got it.
   On this particular night, Gerald sat at a table with several men and
women laughing and knocking shots back.
   Gerald noticed him and smirked, but otherwise made no move.
   Rachel ambled up and kissed Leon on the cheek.  "May I have another,
sir?"
   "Another cocktail for the lady," he said to Fiona.
   Rachel grinned and sipped on her drink as she bobbed her way back to the
dance floor.
   Gerald looked Rachel over and got up from the table.
   ***
   "Mind if I have a dance?"
   The older man had a neat, rich polish to him.  Smooth skin, impeccable
clothing, precise elocution.
   "Sure." Rachel tossed her cup into the bin and put her arms around his
waist.  They danced through two songs and she made sure to make him feel
like he'd won something.  She smiled at all the right times, appeared
impressed by his attention.
   "Why don't you come back with me?  I'll pay you the attention you're
due. Aren't you tired of being the back-up singer to that brat?"
   Rachel chuckled.  That's all she was supposed to do, but the buzz of
liquor had a hold on her.  The chuckle turned into a raucous belly laugh.
Rachel looked up at him and laughed harder until tears came into her eyes.
   Gerald's fingers dug into her arm.  "What's so fucking funny?"
   "Sorry about her," Leon put his arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her
out of his grasp.  "She's pretty sloshed."
   "Fuck off, kid.  This is between us."
   "He thinks I want to go home with him," said Rachel through her tears.
"Over you."
   "Not even a drunk woman would choose you over me," Leon winked, adding
the final taunt that would tip the scale.
   He knew the punch was coming and moved Rachel out of the way so that he
could take it.  He wanted there to be plenty of witnesses to Gerald's
attack.
   Construction work gave the man a powerful set of arms.  Leon positioned
his head so that the blow would glance him instead of landing head on.  For
a second there was nothing, not the music or the crowd.  Silence, then it
all rushed back, pain, shouting, the floor only a foot from his face.
   "What do you want me to do?" Rachel slurred, but she fought to maintain
her clarity through the fog of inebriation.
   "Walk me out."
   She put her shoulder under him and guided him out the club.  "Close our
tab?  Could you get the car?  Neither one of us should drive."
   As soon as they were in the parking lot, Gerald barreled straight for
them.  Though Leon had been using her for guidance and support, he took the
weight off her and pulled her back.
   He moved so fast, that for a moment, Gerald didn't know how to react,
and those moments cost him.  Leon's fists were merciless, precise.  He
punched him in the kidneys, the jaw, the nose.  Leon said nothing.  No
grunt, no words.  Just the thud of each of his fists in rapid succession
until Gerald went to his knees.
   Leon pulled his switchblade out and pointed it to his crotch.  "Unless
you want to piss sitting down, you stay clear of me and anyone I'm with."
   Fiona drove them home.
   "Do you mind her coming up?" Rachel said.
   Fiona spoke up.  "Don't worry about that.  I'll call a cab.  One of our
rules is that we must do everything in our power to respect his privacy. 
I'll see the both of you up, but don't worry about me, okay?"
   "Thanks Fiona, you're a really awesome woman."
   ***
   "Is everything okay?" said their neighbor Derrick.
   "Partied a little too hard." Rachel said as she stumbled out the car.
   He gasped upon seeing Leon's face.  "He's going to need something on
that.  Why don't you all come over?"
   Leon signaled Rachel to go ahead.  Fiona helped them both over.  Derrick
had lived with his partner, Xavier for seven years.  They had always been
polite, even welcomed them to the neighborhood with a plate of cookies and
invited them to use their pool when they wanted.
   Derrick cleaned Leon's face while Xavier secured a ride for Fiona. 
Rachel nursed from her glass of water.
   "What happened?"
   "This man punched him at the club."
   "Do we need to call the police?"
   Rachel and Leon shook their head.
   Rachel belched and looked around.  "Bathroom?"
   "Here," Xavier showed her the way.
   Derrick handed Leon the cold compress.  "We have two spare bedrooms. 
You and and Rachel are welcome to either one.  Take your time.  I'm going
to make another one of these for you to get when that one gets warm, and
there will be some salve on the counter."
   "I can give you something for the pain if you'd like."
   "No," Leon pushed to his feet.  "Thank you."
   "Oh, you're welcome, famous neighbor like you."
   Leon furrowed his brow in question.  That hurt less than talking.
   "Leon Maladine of the LM Fan Club?" He winked.  "Shame about you playing
for the other team."
   -_ 7 _-
   Derrick and Xavier became their friends after that day.  They prepared a
breakfast of eggs and coffee for Rachel and a smoothie for Leon.  After
that, Leon and Rachel took them up on their pool offer and their new
friends doted on them.
   In time they were invited to Derrick and Xavier's house parties.  Though
Leon was straight, he thought nothing of dancing between two men, or having
one of them run their fingers through his hair.
   And so they babied him, pampered him, and spoiled him.  When they went
shopping it was either with their neighbors or one of their friends.
   "Try this on, Leon.  It will look so good on you."
   "Rachel, that really is your color."
   They had an open 'back door' policy (much to their amusement ).  If the
back door was open, they were welcome to come over and visit.
   Rachel, for one, was shocked by this development.  Derrick and Xavier
became the closest thing to a best friend that Leon ever had.
   ***
   As was bound to happen, one of their new friends developed a crush on
Leon.  Derrick and Xavier kept a close watch on him, to make sure that he
didn't make Leon uncomfortable with his advances.
   Derrick was standing in the hallway when he heard Caleb make his move.
   "My heart bleeds for you, Leon.  Please, just let me give you a blow
job. Close your eyes and it won't be much different.  I know I could make
you happy."
   "No." Leon had a way of saying no that could cut a person to their
knees, but it wasn't that kind of no.  "Come here."
   Derrick leaned over to see in the room.  Leon had taken Caleb into his
arms and gave him a big hug.  "I do appreciate your affection, but I don't
have the attraction to men that I do for women.  It's that what you would
really want?  For me to forget you existed?  That would bring me even less
pleasure.  I never forget who I am with."
   ***
   "Have you ever been tempted, Leon?  Free spirit like yours, I can't
imagine you've never tried." Xavier passed the marijuana cigarette to him.
   "I wouldn't call it a temptation." Leon passed the cigarette along
without taking a puff of it.  "I've been with a man, well, we were boys. 
If I were on an island with only males, I wouldn't starve for lack of
companionship."
   The room echoed with 'hell yeah,' 'yes,' and 'I'll say.'
   "I don't see women being far from my reach.  It's what I prefer.  The
same way you prefer men."
   "Fuck." Wyatt stood and counted out a pair of twenties.
   Derrick waved the money.  "I knew it.  You're not just comfortable with
yourself, you are your sexuality.  Can't do that unless you've tried it."
   "Have you?"
   "Been with a woman?  Oh yeah.  Not for me."
   "Well," Aaron sighed and looked Rachel over.  She was half sleep in
Leon's lap.  "She does something for me.  I know she's your sister, but
she's not just that, is she?"
   Leon smirked and rubbed her shoulder.  "We grew up together and never
grew apart.  I'm not sure what you call that."
   ***
   Derrick and Xavier faithfully followed Rachel and Leon's achievements in
class, in his career, and their social lives.
   "He got the Court House bid!" Xavier screamed down the hall.
   "I was on the other line, you goof!"
   "Oh," Xavier pouted.  "Why didn't you say anything?"
   "I was too busy listening.  Let's make them a dinner.  Call Rachel and
arrange it."
   "They won't want to spend time with us."
   "They can bring a plus one!"
   Xavier rolled his eyes and looked at the time.  "Rachel's still in
class. I'll leave her a message."
   Rachel never brought a plus one, but she was never unhappy.  They tried
to invite her separately, focus a little more on what she wanted, but
Rachel made sure Leon was along.  If Xavier didn't know better, he'd say
that Rachel was his wife in their open marriage.
   No.  Nothing so silly.
   ***
   "I feel like they're my babies, you know?" Derrick said to his partner
as they relaxed in the jacuzzi.
   Xavier sipped from his bourbon and stared out at the stars.  "They're
hardly babies, but yes.  I know."
   "Leon gave me the username and password to his university account.  I
can see his schedule, grades.  That boy is damn smart.  I'm not talking,
came up hard and doing better than the world said.  I mean A's, clear as
the record can show.  He tests out of more classes than he takes.  That's
why he's never in class toward the end of the semester."
   "The Maladines are rich.  I'm sure he came from a good school."
   "They are now, but not when he was a baby." Derrick sighed.  No matter
how they approached the subject, what they were doing, how long they knew
each other.  Rachel and Leon never discussed themselves, not in a personal
way.  No stories about their family.  According to public records, they had
eight siblings.  Derrick and Xavier wasn't aware until they came across the
Maladine name so many times in the school records.
   "It's easy to think of them as ours when we don't know a thing about
their family."
   "I don't think it matters.  They don't have one.  In their mind, their
whole world includes two people."
   "If I had a girl, I'd want her to be like Rachel.  She's so warm and
playful."
   "Oozes enough female sex appeal to make a room full of old gay men think
twice."
   "Stephan."
   "You noticed?"
   "How could I not." Xavier chuckled.  "Rachel is as femme as they come
and I saw Stephan's cock come up for a sniff."
   "Yeah.  I feel like they're my own.  Just wanted to know how you felt."
   "Yes, I would except a straight genius as my son."
   They chuckled and kissed each other.
   ***
   Leon and Rachel lay in bed, their knees touching, pillows tucked under
their heads, no covers over them.
   No words had passed between them, they were just looking, waiting. 
Rachel waited for Leon's signal.  Leon waited until he knew what he wanted
to say.
   "I want you to be happy, the happiest you can possibly be."
   "Do you want to watch me fuck another man, Leon?  Would that help you?
You think I don't know how?  I don't like it.  I don't want that, but if
you want me to invite other men into my body." She shrugged.
   "You're talking to me."
   She sighed and closed her eyes.  "I can be no happier than I am with
you."
   "That's all you have to say." He hooked his leg behind hers and Rachel
wriggled until she was in his embrace.
   "Why do you keep asking me?  I always say the same thing."
   "If I didn't want you to leave me, Rachel, I could make you stay.  I can
make it so that your every breath is because I will it." He kissed her on
the cheek.  "I want what is best for you, what makes you happy.  I need to
make sure I'm not forcing you."
   "So what."
   Leon frowned.
   "Force me." Rachel rolled on top of him, rolled her hips on his.  "Force
me to be yours.  I hope I could never be so stupid as to want to leave you.
Prevent that mistake from ever happening."
   "You're just saying that to get me hard."
   "Two for one." She whispered.
   He lifted her hip enough to take him.  He sighed as her vaginal muscles
caressed his shaft.  She wasn't the only woman who could do that.  The
others could get a pretty strong grip on him.  Rachel didn't use her
vaginal control as a party trick, but to stroke him, and hence, increase
her own pleasure.
   Leon shook his head and tried to focus.  "Do you want me to be with only
you?"
   Rachel's face fell forward.  She'd only moisturized her hair.  A halo of
curls surrounded her face, the sunlight burned dark red through the strands
of her hair.  "When I was in high school, yes, but I was too ashamed to
want anything when I already got more than I deserved." She put her finger
to his lips.  "I've had you to myself more than a few times.  You fucked me
raw." She giggled.  "Without me you might have been locked away for sex
addiction.  With me," she leaned forward and kissed him.  "That's all I
want, Leon.  I want you to be with me.  The rest of the world is a place
you visit."
   "I love you." His voice strained as he bucked inside her.
   "Then never let me leave you."
   ***
   Classes had been all-consuming for them both.  When Leon wasn't working
on his projects, he helped her study.  Each day kind of melted into the
next.
   Rachel remembered looking at the date a little longer than usual, but
she moved onto the next thing.  That day had come and was nearly gone when
she remembered.
   Today was her birthday.
   Leon parked the car and looked at his door.  "Let's go next door and see
if they've got something to eat.  I'm tired of cold pizza."
   Rachel nodded.  Should she mention her birthday?  She only just
remembered until a few minutes ago.
   He tried the knob on the back door.
   "Leon?"
   "Hmm?"
   "I forgot.  I ...  I forgot today was my birthday."
   "I didn't." He whispered as he pushed the door open.
   A room full of people jumped and cheered.  "Happy Birthday Rachel!"
   Rachel looked around at friends from both Derrick and Xavier's circle
and her classmates.  Tears filled her vision before they finished the
birthday song.
   It wasn't any birthday song, but the one Leon had created just for her,
the one he sang when he baked her first birthday cake.
   Leon had to lead her in the house.  Her eyes didn't clear long enough to
even see who had thrown her such a wonderful party.
   ***
   Winter break was still a few months away, but Derrick was a planner, so
he posed the question: "Where will you two be for winter break?  Any plants
we need to water?"
   Leon shook his head.  "We'll be at the house."
   Derrick looked to Rachel.
   "We have a really huge family, and were the last two.  Soon as we left
the house, they sold it and moved.  The others have their own families and
we don't." She shrugged.  "We'll get the invitations, because no one wants
to be the first to say they forgot."
   "Ellen will always send one.  'It's the right thing to do,'" he affected
in a perfect mockery of her nasal tone and the roll of her chin.
   Rachel giggled, then their attention went back to Derrick.  The men had
been so kind to them, much like a family might have been, that Rachel and
Leon often forget themselves in their presence.  Again, Rachel expected
Leon to be furious at this lapse, but he was as calm around them as she
was.
   "We'll be home."
   Derrick nodded.  "I'll update my seating chart.  You're right next door,
so the twins can keep the room.  Been to a drag review?"
   They shook their head.
   "Tell me you're kidding?" Xavier said with a smile that said he hoped
they weren't.
   "Our brother, Dawn, had a show, but we've never seen it."
   Xavier took a breath, but Derrick held his finger up.  "On it."
   And with that, their winter break was planned.
   ***
   During winter break, Derrick and Xavier made their pitch.
   "Move in with us.  You're over here most of the time.  We have the room,
and you," Derrick looked to Xavier.
   "You are as close to a family as we'll ever have." Xavier took a deep
breath and rushed forward.  "Derrick and I are aware that there is a
physical component to your relationship, but you're not having children."
   "And it's clear that you two truly, passionately adore each other."
   "Fuck it.  We love you too, and we'd be honored if you let us adopt you,
spiritually speaking."
   Leon smirked a little.  "Cooking and cleaning and all?"
   "Name a day we've had to pick up behind them?" said Derrick.
   Xavier chuckled.  "I went in once hoping to clean up a little.  You
wouldn't know someone actually lived there, the place is so pristine."
   Rachel nodded.  It was just like Leon said, they were going to ask them
to move in.
   ***
   Leon woke to the commotion in the kitchen and went down the hall. 
"What's the matter?"
   "Shit!  Leon, I'm sorry.  I've got to go," Xavier sniffled and stumbled
as he pulled on his shoes with a jacket hanging from the other arm. 
"Derrick's in the hospital.  Michael said he got into with this drunk guy."
   Leon picked up the keys and helped him into his jacket.  He turned and
Rachel was there with Leon's shoes and jacket.  Both of them were dressed
and ushering him out the door.  Rachel held him while Leon drove.  He
navigated those roads like he was an ambulance driver himself.
   Leon and Rachel sat in the waiting room, both of them quiet, sitting
with their thighs touching.
   Xavier returned, his face puffy, but currently dry.  "It was a fight. 
He got jumped pretty good.  It was too much." He sniffled and looked around
the waiting room.  "He should be conscious soon, and then they want me to
ask, to help him remember."
   Leon looked to Rachel and they stood.  "We're leaving.  I want you to
remember everything, record it if you have to.  Call Rachel when you're
ready for pick up.  We'll come back when the investigator leaves."
   He frowned.  "Why?  I was hoping you would talk to him.  You're calmer
in situations like this."
   "We need to leave.  Trust me."
   "Are you in trouble?" He looked between Rachel and Leon.
   Leon grinned.  "No, and we won't be.  Pretend to be me, Xavier.  It's
easy."
   ***
   Leon and Rachel listened to the open phone line in the closet, to block
out the noise from anything else in the house.  They sat side by side,
their eyes closed as they learned the details of the attack.
   ***
   "What?!" Derrick practically screamed over the paper.
   "What?  Damn, you almost gave me a heart attack."
   "Him!  Him!" He tapped his finger on the paper and stepped aside.
   Xavier read through the article detailing the gruesome murder of the
hateful person that had beat Derrick so badly.  "Just desserts," he
whispered.
   Derrick grinned through his jaw-cage.  "Mmm hmm."
   Xavier set the paper on the table and looked into the common room at
Leon and Rachel.
   ***
   "Carter," said Henry with a smile.  "I didn't expect to hear from you so
soon.  Rachel has only been there a semester."
   "You have no idea," Carter chuckled.  "Xavier Hamilton is a damned good
architect, and his partner, Derrick Milton, is some kind of grand house
mother or house grandmother.  I can't begin to understand what that means."
   "My daughter has mentioned them."
   "Derrick was attacked by some fool with a temper, and the assailant was
about to do time.  No, the day before he was to turn himself in they found
him ripped to pieces on his front porch."
   "Ripped to pieces?"
   "Literally.  I have a friend on the investigation team.  He says they
can't even figure the murder weapon, much less how many people wielded it."
   "What do my children have to do with this?"
   "No one knows.  But if you look closely at the case, which I was doing
anyway, and closely at the Maladine twins," he clicked his teeth.  "Sorry,
nickname they go by.  Rachel and Leon, which I do for you.  The pattern is
there."
   "Excuse me," the background noise faded from Henry's end of the line. 
"What are you accusing him of?"
   "Them.  They are straight-A students, popular and beloved.  The pattern
says ...  anyone who attempts to come between that will die.  No one will
ever prove it.  I don't think anyone but me sees it.  There's no evidence,
only conjecture."
   -_ 8 _-
   Leon lay on his back, Rachel lay beside him, listening to the beat of
his heart.
   "Leon."
   "Hmm?"
   "We never cleared out the tree house before someone bought the house."
   Leon chuckled.  "I did."
   "Xavier told me he was thinking about forming a business with you. 
Selling new homes along with the company."
   "Mmm hmm."
   "Did you have that planned all along?  Being friends with them?  Moving
in?  Getting all that construction management experience?"
   "Sort of, but I don't control how people act." He sighed.  "If you know
giving someone an apple will make them happy, and a peach will make them
sad.  Do you have control of their behavior?"
   Rachel thumbed his nipple while thinking on the question.  "I want to
say yes, but the answer is no."
   "Tell me why the answer is no."
   "Knowing what makes a person happy isn't a bad thing."
   "Let's say I am an apple farmer.  Am I more likely to be around the
people that like apples or hate them?"
   "Like.  Of course.  Go on."
   "All right.  I knew all about them when we got the house.  We'd have it
a lot easier on our own with adults who were willing to support us rather
than a couple who does it out of accidental obligation.
   "With the shared interest, they would actually have something of value
to talk about.  I could trust you to be safe around them.  I would not be
in any danger of upsetting their relationship.  I could see how it could
all be possible if we did the right thing at the right time." Leon shut his
eyes and waited.  He knew what most people thought about his ability to
predict people, to read them as easily as a book and use it to his
advantage.
   Rachel kissed him on the chest.  "I wanted to hear you say it."
   "Needed reassurance?"
   She nodded.
   "Did you get it?"
   Another nod.  "You're as awesome as I believe you to be."
   ***
   Leon got his Masters in Construction Management and Rachel graduated
with her degree in Interior Design.
   "This is a big landmark for Rachel and I, and I'd like to be alone with
her." Leon didn't want to look away from them, and in his nervousness, his
stare hardened.
   "Don't fret," Derrick opened his arms for a hug.  He had healed, and his
beard had gotten thick enough to hide most of the scarring from the
stitches.  "Want us to leave the house?"
   Xavier jumped in, "Don't say it that way.  Would you like the house to
yourself?"
   "Yes, please."
   "Till next morning?" Xavier prompted.
   "Yes."
   "Done," said Derrick.  "Make a list, we'll do the shopping for whatever
you might need."
   "Need?  I'm just asking for a night."
   "I can plan ahead too, sneaky foot.  Xavier and I are going on holiday.
Sands of Sin festival down south.  You'll have your graduation weekend."
   Leon smirked and grinned at them.  "Thanks.  I'm going to ask you for
something I've only ever asked Rachel."
   Derrick and Xavier gave the young man their full attention.  Leon rarely
asked anything for himself, it always for Rachel or through Rachel. 
Moments were like these were too rare to pass up.
   "The truth.  Do you mind our relationship?  We can hide it."
   "You're a master of disguise, Leon," said Xavier.
   "Don't I know it," Derrick echoed then he smiled.  "We gave it to you
the first time."
   "Don't hide around us.  We're your family and we love you." Xavier
pulled him forward and kissed him on the head.
   "Enjoy the house."
   ***
   Rachel put both of her hands into her hair and danced in the common room
while Leon watched from his chair.
   She was dressed in a ratty cotton tee and a pair of boy shorts.  Her
hips swayed with the downbeat of the song as she squat lower to the ground.
   This was the moment they had been waiting for their whole lives.  Out of
their parents' house, out of college.  Leon and Xavier had expanded Clemens
Construction.  It had grown to become more than a local name, but the
number one destination for quality homes.
   Rachel specialized in interior decorating, she traveled with him for
interior remodeling jobs, even bid for her own work.  She had the ability
to pull any of the available workers.
   There was no obligation or law or barriers between them.  He'd given her
everything she wanted.
   "You know how people are always saying that we're more than siblings?"
   He nodded.
   "I don't like this song," she hissed on the way to the stereo.  "I've
always known what it was." She skipped the songs until she found one she
like then sauntered her way back to the center of the floor.  "We're soul
mates."
   Leon followed the sway of her hips.  "I see that."
   She giggled then went all the way to the carpet, rolling her hips the
way she danced on his cock.
   He vaulted from the couch and tackled her.  "You are so fucking sexy."
He growled as he tickled her.
   "Stop!" She laughed and squealed on the floor.
   He captured both her hands and pinned them above her head.  He ran his
other hand along side her face.  She was panting from the exertion, but
stilled as soon as she realized he wasn't tickling her.
   "Take those shorts off."
   Rachel looked up at her wrists.
   "You can manage it."
   First her body writhed under his, hips shuffling along the rug.
   "Leon?"
   "Yes, Rachel?"
   "Take my shorts, off, Leon."
   He tugged on the hem of her shorts until they were over her knees.  She
did the rest and kicked them off.  "Since you've got me hostage, mind
putting your cock inside me too?"
   "Not at all." He was the one rolling and snapping his hips this time.
   "Harder.  I want to come hard."
   They hadn't intended to end up on the floor fucking, but that's how
Derrick and Xavier came home and found them.  Nothing stopped Leon from
feeding Rachel's moans of lust.  His hips were grinding and thrusting.
   She exploded under him, seized like she was a woman possessed.  Then
Leon slumped on her, both of them panting.  He must have whispered to her,
because Rachel's eyes snapped open.
   "We're even," Darrick whispered and waved for Xavier to follow him.  He
had been referring to the time that Rachel and Leon arrived him to find the
men entangled in sexual bliss.
   ***
   "If he fucked me with that thing," said Xavier as he settled into bed
with his partner.  "I'd never want for another person in my life either."
   Derrick chuckled.
   Down the hall came the muted sounds of Rachel's orgasm.
   "Goodness, do you think they've been at it all weekend?"
   "We were."
   "That must be the luckiest fucking woman on the planet.  No wonder she
doesn't mind him spreading it around."
   ***
   Rachel had a weird look on her face all day.  Leon could tell when she
had something she needed to tell him.  She'd keep glancing back, as if
checking to see if he was paying attention.
   He was.
   "I want to tie you up."
   He blinked.
   "With rope."
   "I listening, but I do not understand."
   "I want to tie your wrists and ankles in rope, to an object."
   "No."
   She gathered her hands into her lap.
   "Is this some kind of challenge or what?  You need to give me details."
   "You love me and have faith in me.  You fulfilled your promise to me and
assured we could have the life we have together, forever.  I like it when I
feel that way.  When I see that you've done something for me."
   "You must be a very happy woman, Rachel."
   She chuckled.  "I am." She twisted back and forth in her seat. 
"Please?"
   Leon got up and left the room, but he returned in a few minutes and
leaned in the door way.  "Now?  Or did you have a time in mind?"
   "I'll put it on your schedule."
   "Looking forward to what you call it." He said and left the room.
   ***
   Leon lay with his arms and legs spread wide.  She used cuffs around his
wrists and ankles, then tied them to the frame.  She had studied this for a
while, even asked a friend of hers for advice.  They were sturdy, but
comfortable.
   Rachel finished with his last ankle and brought the towel to his face.
"You're pouring sweat.  Is it that bad?"
   "Get my hair out of my face, Rachel."
   "I'll let you out."
   "No.  I mean it.  Just go on."
   "We can't go on until you calm down." She stretched out beside him and
lay on his chest.
   As if by reflex, Leon tugged on his leg, but was pulled up short by the
restraint.
   "Rachel, I trust you." He gasped for breath.  "I do, but what if
something happens.  I need to be able to help you."
   "Shh." She straddled his hips and shook her head.  "No.  I'm
twenty-three years old, Leon.  I've got a job, friends.  We even go to
separate clubs on occasion.  You won.  I'm safe and happy.  Relax.  Trust
me to take care of you."
   "I would never let anyone else on this planet tie me down."
   "Say it the right way." She pecked him on the lips.
   "Rachel Maladine, I love and adore you above all others."
   She chuckled.  "You totally want to follow that with, 'please untie
me.'"
   "Give me some time.  Is this something you'll want to do often?"
   She shook her head.  "This is the last time."
   "Wipe my neck," he lifted his chin while she wipe the sweat from him. 
"Okay, then make the most of it.  You should at least fuck me."
   "No.  I'll want you free for that." She leaned forward and kissed him.
"Sometimes I think about what would have happened if not for you.  Yes,
maybe Henry would have raised me, but who would have been there with you,
Leon?  You would have been all alone.  I know it.  They would have poured
all their attention on me.  It breaks my heart to think of it.  I know why
you took me."
   "Why?" Leon wrists jerked on the restraints, but only because he wanted
to hold her.  He forced himself to relax and let her embrace him.
   "You were afraid they would treat me like they treated you.  You liked
me, loved me at first sight, and wanted a better life, even if that had
only lasted three years."
   "I can't even remember.  I don't know why.  Maybe you're right, or maybe
I was alone and wanted something to keep me company."
   "My version is more awesome."
   He sighed.  "You're always more awesome."
   "You've stopped trembling."
   "Yay.  Soon I shall be released from this hell, only to be devoured by
my jailer."
   "Hush." She sat up and unfastened his wrists.  "I like to remind you
that you can depend on me.  That's all."
   "All?" Those his hands were free, Leon puckered his lips.
   She leaned forward and kissed him.  "You are everything to me."
   <->
Written: December 2014
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
Maladine_03