His Dance Lessons

HIS DANCE LESSONS An Ellora’s Cave publication written by

MLYN HURN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-531-7 Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned): Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML © Copyright Mlyn Hurn, 2003. All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave. Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc. USA Ellora's Cave Ltd, UK This e-book may not be reproduced in whole or in part by email forwarding, copying, fax, or any other mode of communication without author/publisher permission. Edited by Kari Berton Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

Certain images contained within this e-book have been digitally marked by Digimarc Corp. If you purchased this e-book from a source other than Ellora's Cave or one of its known affiliates, contact [email protected] immediately. Please note that reading this e-book without first purchasing it through legitimate means is illegal and can result in heavy fines. As always, our authors thank-you for your support and patronage. Warning: The following material contains strong sexual content meant for mature readers. HIS DANCE LESSONS has been rated HARD R, erotic, by three individual reviewers. We strongly suggest storing this electronic file in a place where young readers not meant to view this ebook are unlikely to happen upon it. That said, enjoy…

Chapter 1 “Don’t be afraid!” Mac McDonald entered the classroom slowly. The only reason he had the last position in this class was due to his good friend, the dean of the fine arts department, who called the instructor to allow one extra student. After glancing around the room, he moved to take one of the desks farthest from the door and halfway back. "Don’t be afraid! Come on in, everyone. Good afternoon! I need you all to complete this form, and then come up here for me to take an instant photo of you for identification purposes." Mac watched as the rotund, gray-haired woman, who had told the students to “not be afraid,” was now passing out the forms. Looking around as the room began to fill with students, it quickly became obvious that there were more men than he had expected. In fact, as the clock drew nearer to the scheduled start time, there were at least twice as many men as women in the class. Mac shifted uneasily in his chair as he waited. Around him he could hear other students calling out friendly greetings, expressing surprise or gladness to someone from previous classes together or through extra-curricular activities. And while he couldn't be sure, he would guess the average age was twenty or so. At thirty-two, he definitely felt like the old man of the class. “Remember to come up here and let me take your photo as soon as you have your forms completed.” Mac found himself eyeing the older woman and wondering how the hell she could be teaching this class! He doubted she did any exercise at all, much less dancing. She looked more like his mother than a svelte dancer. The room quieted somewhat as everyone began completing the forms, and Mac heard one of the students refer to the woman as Marty. After she had dispensed a form to each student, Marty sat behind the desk. Mac had his form completed, but he sat waiting, not wanting to be the first to go up. A few moments later, a young, and very

pretty coed, Mac noted, stood and walked to the desk. Mac heard the older woman greet the younger woman by name. "Hello, Katie. It's nice to see you again." The young woman smiled. "Thanks, Marty. Rumor has it that Opie agreed to teach the class again." Marty grinned. "You must have insider information. The official memo only came out this morning." At least he now had an answer to his question. Someone called Opie would be the instructor for the class, not Marty. Mac couldn’t help the image that came to mind of a famous child star with red hair and freckles that went by the same name. Hiding his grin, he delayed until almost everyone else was done before he went up to turn his form in. He stood while Marty took his picture. She was writing across the bottom when all of a sudden she looked up at Mac. He was sure that she recognized him, but then she shook her head, as if telling herself not to be foolish. After all, what would a famous actor be doing in a dance class? Mac had just returned to his seat when he heard a commotion near the door. Turning his head, he froze. Standing in the doorway was a college man's dream coed. A tanned woman, with her golden blonde hair pulled into a high and perky ponytail, was standing just inside the doorway. She was average height, with a lithe, lean and muscular body. The skintight dance leotard she was wearing flattened her breasts. Her skin was flushed with a light sweat, and she had obviously been working out. Mac shrugged as he thought it was rather rude of her to show up to class this way. But he also doubted that any red-blooded man would really object if the sexy woman took the next seat. Mac was surprised to find that he was watching the young woman and her bouncing ponytail as she stopped to talk to several of the students. He was even more surprised to realize he was becoming aroused as he looked at her slender, fit body. When she turned her back towards him, his eyes were drawn to her pert, heart-shaped butt. She propped her hand on one hip, which only made her ass look even more delectable. He suddenly had an intense desire to cup his hands around those perky cheeks and squeeze.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone. Thanks, Marty, for getting everything started for me.” Mac shook his head as he realized the beautiful woman was now speaking as she perched herself atop the desk at the front of the room. No way could this sexy blonde be the instructor for this class! She didn’t even look like she should be out of high school, let alone college!

***** “As some of you know, my name is Ophelia Landis. Please feel free to call me Ophelia.” Ophelia paused and glanced around the room. Her gaze landed on the man in the farthest row once again. His rugged face and reddish brown hair had caught her attention because he looked so different from the other much younger people in the class. It wasn’t easy, but she forced her gaze straight ahead. Surprised, she realized that her breathing was rapid and uneven. Forcing a deep breath into her lungs, she continued. “I have a nickname that some of you may have heard as well, and don’t worry that I will get upset if you use that by accident. With a name like mine, I’ve heard about all the practical jokes possible.” Ophelia crossed her legs and leaned forward with her hands flat on the desk. “Now we’ll get down to brass tacks. A lot of people like to take this class because they think it will be an easy ‘A’.” She stopped while there were some soft chuckles and laughs. “I don ’t have a lot of requirements for this class. First, I’m not going to dock your grade if you miss a class or two. We are all adults here, or at least most of the time we are. Second, no quizzes or tests. You come to class and we dance. Our final exam, if you want to call it that, is our performance in the Christmas show.” Ophelia slid off the desk and started walking back and forth across the front of the room. “Dance is art, but unlike a lot of the other forms of artistic expression, dance is very physical. So, for you men thinking dance is for wimps, I’ll remind you of this after our third class.” Ophelia moved back to the desk and leaned against it. “We’ll meet in studio B, which is on the third floor, from now on for our classes. Also, barring an emergency, we

start on time. So if you need to change clothes, please allow plenty of time for that before class time.” “What if you are late?” The question originated from somewhere in the back of the room. “I’m late, you all get an ‘A.’” Ophelia listened to the scattered chuckles and good-natured laughter. “I should warn you that you can thank my mother for teaching me to always be at least fifteen minutes early. Other than today, which I can blame on the students in the class right before this one.” Ophelia found that she was pausing entirely too long in front of the last row of desks. She told herself she was being foolish, and redirected her pre-class speech. ”Because tap dancing creates sounds as well as movement through space, the instruments used to create these sounds are very important. And for us, our shoes are our instruments. If you ask a guitarist about the strings he uses, or a pianist about his piano, you will get vastly different and vigorous responses on which is best. And so it is for tap dancers.” “The class list—which is on the desk, so please grab one on your way out—has information about shoes, and suggestions on where to get appropriate ones. In order to tap with comfort and feel well balanced, I prefer the Capezios shoes. They are flatter, lighter and more flexible than the Dansky. Also the Dansky has the half-inch heel, which will affect your balance and center of gravity. You feel a need to lean forward to achieve your balance, and since we will be doing more wings and grab-offs, all of which require balanced take-offs and landings, I find it easier with the flatter shoe. Try them both on though, and decide which suits you best.” Ophelia reseated herself on the desk. “Don’t feel rushed to get the shoes, because for the first two weeks we are going to be conditioning and learning some general moves and the like. And just a word about the different type of taps available. There are three major types: Supertone, Duotone and Teletone. Some people still use wooden taps. Metal taps didn’t come into use until 1926. Before then, shoes with wood soles were used. Some people have actually gotten industrious enough to make their own wooden taps. “Now, I hope I haven’t bored you all to death, but that wraps up everything I

needed to say. You can leave if you wish. I remember how I always enjoyed getting out of class early, and this will probably be your only chance, for my class, anyway.” Ophelia smiled and let her gaze pass over the students. She didn’t plan it, but her gaze was snagged and held by the attractive man in the last row. She had to force her eyes away and continue to move them over the other students. “I will hang around for a while if any of you have any questions. So, take off while the opportunity is knocking!” Half the class slowly filed out, while a few started making their way towards Ophelia. Mac sat in his chair and waited until only one student remained. Standing, Mac walked toward the desk Ophelia was still sitting on. He stopped a few feet to the side, and the young man talking to Ophelia obviously got the message because he quickly excused himself and walked out. Ophelia turned to look at the attractive man. He was six foot, lithe, muscular and looked quite fit. She guessed his age to be in his early thirties perhaps. His face was ruggedly handsome, tanned with a white smile, but it was his blue eyes that really seemed to take her breath away each time their gazes met. She took a deep breath. “Hello!” Mac moved to stand in front of his teacher. “I feel I should apologize first.” Ophelia frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Mr.?” Mac offered his hand. “Mac McDonald. I’m the last minute addition to your class, compliments of Dean Jansen’s strong arm techniques.” Ophelia released his hand, hoping the frissons of desire she had just felt were a fluke. She had wondered why Michael Jansen had pleaded so hard for her to allow “just one more” student. It gave her an uneven number of students, but perhaps someone would drop the class, she had rationalized. “I am a little confused as to why you are so interested in tap.” Mac grinned and crossed his arms across his chest. “You left off ‘at your age’.” Ophelia flushed. “That was rude of me. And it is none of my business.” “Don’t worry about it, Ms. Landis. Now I have another appointment, so I will see you in class tomorrow.” Ophelia stared at the door Mac had just walked out of. Between Michael Jansen

refusing to say why this one student was so important, and now meeting him, Ophelia was completely confused. Sliding off the desk, she admitted reluctantly that she was also more attracted to him than she had been to any man for a very long time. And she wasn’t sure that she had time for this now. Shaking her head ruefully, Ophelia reminded herself that just because she was attracted to him didn’t mean her feelings were returned. Damn it all, Opie! How did you manage to jump from meeting a student to wondering if you had time for a relationship of any kind? Gathering her leftover papers, Ophelia made her way to her office. On the way she decided to blame this brief moment of insanity on hormones and abstinence.

Chapter 2 Mac arrived early for class the next time, dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt. He wasn’t too sure about the leotard thing just yet. As he walked in, he saw Ophelia was already there. She was dressed again in a close-fitting leotard, this time a blue one. She had several pairs of thick, knitted-style leggings covering her lower legs and just over her knees. She was stretching at a ballet barre, doing moves that he had thought were strictly ballet moves. As she sank into a deep knee bend, Mac couldn’t stop the comment that sprang to mind. “I don’t think my body will bend like that.” Ophelia rose slowly and met his gaze through the mirror directly behind the barre. “You will be surprised at what you will be able to do, if you give it enough time, of course.” Mac grinned and shrugged. “I should imagine bribery to get a passing grade is out of the question?”

***** Ophelia didn’t move for a moment, and then she laughed out loud. She turned slowly to look at this man she had spent most of the night lusting after in her dreams and in her early waking hours. She purposely kept her gaze on his face while she quickly told herself that she wasn’t disappointed that he had not come to class wearing tights, leotards or even a pair of shorts. She would have been more than happy with just shorts, she realized with a start of surprise. There was no doubt that his thigh muscles would be impressive. Slowly, Ophelia turned away from the barre. What surprised her most was this fascination she had with a man she barely knew. She rarely had trouble focusing, but with Mac McDonald around it was becoming an ever-increasing challenge. Before she could formulate a scintillating reply, other students began filing into the room. Ophelia started the class by greeting them, and then without pause, performed the five basic ballet steps. She stopped and smiled at the class. “Now, gentlemen don’t go

tensing up on me. Ballet strengthens the entire body and it substantially increases flexibility. Besides the obvious workout for the legs, it helps develop muscle tone in the abdominal area, arms, back and hips.” Ophelia paused and looked around the class. “I know some of you are here at the suggestion of your coach. There have been some studies conducted showing the benefit to athletes by developing a wider range of muscles than just those required by the individual sports activity.” She moved in between the students. “Some of you guys are probably doing a mental replay of that commercial with the athletes in leotards who look like pro football players, all doing ballet.” She paused as they chuckled and laughed softly. “Well, no one has to be a mighty oak or a sapling here. But proper body alignment is as essential to successful athletics, as it is to dance. You’ll also find yourself with better posture.” Ophelia smiled at the doubtful expressions. “Just trust me for now. All right, let’s have everyone take a position at the barre, and I’ll show you the best stretching moves to use before you begin any kind of dance movement. You’ll also find they are great moves to get you going in the morning, and before exercise of any kind.” For the next thirty minutes, Ophelia moved from person to person, making sure they were getting the proper alignment for maximum stretch and not risking any injury. When she came to Mac, she was hesitant to touch him as she had the other students. Somehow she sensed that in touching him, she was going to feel something that she was not altogether sure she wanted to feel at this point in her life. But it was soon obvious that she had to press her hand flat against his washboard abdominal muscles for a moment while he stretched backwards. Ophelia argued silently that it was perfectly normal for her eyes to move down… it was the fact that her gaze lingered which disturbed her. And when she told him it was important to keep his buttocks tight during any backwards movements, Mac looked down at her and asked her if she would mind checking while he did the stretch again. Ophelia flushed at his words, even though he had spoken without any trace of suggestive innuendo. She found herself moving her hand forward to rest on his nearest butt cheek. She felt it tense and then Mac performed the stretch. Her hand, though, seemed to be glued to his tensed muscles, even as they relaxed. Mac turned to look at

her and slowly one corner of his mouth tilted upwards. He didn’t say anything, just held Ophelia’s gaze while her hand was still on his ass, almost cupping it. Across the room, Ophelia heard someone call out with a question. Abruptly, she jerked her hand away and hastily moved across the room. Her face was flushed and she knew she was sweating, but she hoped the other students would assume it was due to the class and not the student. She spent the rest of the class assiduously avoiding coming anywhere within touching distance of her tempting student.

***** The next week passed uneventfully in the class. Ophelia was seated at the desk in her office on Friday afternoon. The university required all instructors to have regular office hours where they would be available to students. For Ophelia, the only time in her day appeared to be between four and five. She had already showered and was dressed for home. Ophelia made no effort to stop her thoughts from returning to her erotic dreams. Every single night, sometimes even twice in one night, her dreams had featured Mac performing some truly impressive acts upon her naked body. Each morning she would awake, feeling restless, despite the full night’s sleep she’d supposedly just had. Unable to resist, she glanced at the clock for what had to be the one-hundredth time, when there was a light tap on the door. Since she kept the door open, her visitor was already standing in the doorway.

***** Mac smiled when he saw Ophelia sitting with her feet propped on her desk. He was glad to see the lady with the perfect posture and body alignment could slouch once in a while. He walked the rest of the way into the office, watching as she sat up in her chair. “Good afternoon, Mr. McDonald. How may I help you?” Mac grinned and sat in the chair in front of her desk. “Well, Ms. Landis—“ He paused unable to keep his gaze from traveling down the front of her luscious body and back up. “Please, call me Ophelia. Miss or Ms. anything reminds me of my maiden aunts.”

Ophelia shuddered delicately. Mac smiled and nodded his head. “With pleasure, Ophelia. Was one of your aunts named Ophelia as well?” Ophelia nodded and smiled. “Yes, one was. They were my great-aunts, on my father ’s side. Neither of them married and they lived together until Ophelia died. After that, Aunt Matilda was never quite the same. She lived with us, but the zest had gone out of her. I’m sorry!” Ophelia flushed and Mac grinned. “Don’t apologize, Ophelia. Thank you for sharing that knowledge regarding your family with me.” Ophelia shook her head. “I didn’t mean to bore you. Did you have a question about class?” she added quickly, trying to return to her professional demeanor. “Sort of, I guess. I overheard some of the kids talking about the instructors offering private tutoring. I was hoping I could receive some tutoring, if you could spare the time.” He watched, as several different expressions seemed to chase one another across the lovely teacher’s face. He went on quickly. “I understand there is a fee, and I’m willing to pay it. Also, if your day is too full, we could meet in the evenings.” “Well, if you’d prefer meeting during the day, I could suggest another instructor, or even one of the senior students.” She lifted her hand as if unaware of it, lightly fanning her face. Mac shook his head. “Evenings work out great for me, and I would prefer to have you.”

***** Ophelia knew she blushed then. His words, while innocent, made her have all kinds of naughty thoughts. She couldn’t think of any good reason to refuse, and since she wasn ’t dancing anymore, she needed the money. She heard herself agreeing, silently admitting that her acceptance had very little to do with needing the money and everything to do with wanting to spend time with him. “Great!” Mac replied. “Is this evening too soon to get started?” “Uhm, no that is fine. I do need to get something to eat since I had to skip lunch

today.” Mac stood. “Great! I’ll treat for dinner, and then we can get started.”

***** Two hours later, after discussing where to practice, they decided to use Ophelia’s apartment, since she had a barre and portable dance floor set up there. Ophelia directed Mac to her extra bathroom to change, and she slipped on a black leotard. She came out a few minutes later and found Mac was already changed and leaning against the barre waiting for her. She stopped abruptly, seeing he was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. Of all times for him to show a little flesh! Why did it have to be in her apartment? Ophelia took a deep breath, paused to take in the view for a moment, and then became the ultimate professional. The next two hours passed quickly for Ophelia. Mac was a receptive student, and obviously was serious about learning. She called a halt at two hours, admitting she was exhausted. She walked to the sofa and flopped down like a wet noodle. She closed her eyes for a minute, but opened them as she felt the sofa shift. Mac had sat down, but left at least two feet between them. Ophelia quickly buried her disappointment. She had half expected Mac to put some kind of move on her. Of course, maybe she wasn’t his type? “How about something to drink?” she offered him, hopping up from the couch. Mac moved to rise, but she shook her head. “You stay there. I’ll get it. How about some wine? I have a nice bottle of Zinfandel.”

***** Mac nodded and watched Ophelia leave the living room. It was impossible to ignore the lovely curve of her butt as she walked away from him. He found himself once again wondering just what she looked like beneath that thin leotard. He had wondered too many times to count over the last week whether her nipples were the same soft color as her lips when they were free of any lipstick. Mac had to shift on the sofa to ease his shorts from revealing his growing arousal. He thought that he had done very well to keep his passions under wraps and his hands away from her luscious body during the

last two hours. He slouched down on the sofa. Ophelia came through the door carrying two glasses of white wine. Mac noticed that she had removed her shoes, and when she sat down, she curled her legs beneath her, turning slightly in his direction.

***** She had argued with herself in the kitchen that she should have been offering him water or juice after two hours of strenuous exercise. They were both a little dehydrated and the wine could go straight to their heads. But she had still poured the wine. Mac sipped the wine slowly. “Nice. You live here alone?” Ophelia blushed, sure she was reading too much into his question. “Yes. I only moved in two weeks ago.” Mac looked surprised. “Really? I had understood you had taught this class before, so I assumed you had been living here.” Ophelia stared into her wine. “I taught the class both semesters last year. But I moved back to New York for awhile.” Her voice trailed away. “And then, I needed a job, and Michael hired me to come back.” “You don’t like it here?” Ophelia shook her head. “No, I like it fine. This is the perfect small college town, and the fine arts school is really good. I’m lucky to have gotten a position this good, actually.”

***** Mac watched as she swirled the wine in her glass pensively. He wondered why she had to convince herself how lucky she was. “No boyfriends to clutter your life and care that you left the big city?” He had felt extraordinarily pleased to learn that she lived alone. Ophelia laughed. “One, completely in the past, and I never had time for the dating or singles scene. Enough about me, what do you do when you aren’t in my dance class?” Mac paused and decided to be honest with her. “At the moment, nothing. I am

between projects, so to speak. Your class is part of my next project though.” Ophelia finished her wine and set her glass down. “I’m confused. I never would have figured you for a—” She stopped. “I’m not sure what I had thought you did for a living.” “I’m taking the class under my real name. My stage name is taken from my mother’s maiden name, Donal Donaldson.” Ophelia stared at the man on her sofa. She blinked her eyes, and shook her head. “No way! I saw him accepting the Academy Award last year for best actor. That man had been bald, with a gray mustache and beard, and about 20 pounds heavier.” Mac’s eyes were so blue that Ophelia was sure she would have remembered those! Mac saw the surprise and doubt on her face. “Over the last few years I have deliberately avoided the action movies, concentrating only on films where I’ve completely altered my appearance. The studio insisted I attend that awards show, despite it falling in the middle of a location shoot. Luckily my hair grew back, the dye job faded and a lot of exercise got rid of the spare tire. It does allow me more anonymity in my off hours.” Ophelia looked doubtful. “If you are Donaldson, why are you here, of all places?” Mac grinned. “I grew up not far from here. My folks still live on the farm where my dad’s father and grandfather lived before him. Mike Jansen is an old friend of mine, and I called him when I needed to learn how to dance, in a hurry and without it leaking to the press.” Mac paused as he realized that he had just disclosed more to Ophelia than he had ever revealed in any interview. Somehow he knew he could trust that Ophelia wouldn’t be calling the first gossip magazine she could find to sell information regarding his private life. “Is this for a movie? What kind of movie is it?” Mac smiled. “A dance movie?” he offered. Ophelia surprised him by punching his arm. “You tell a dancer you are making a movie that you have to know how to dance for and you won’t tell her what it is about! That’s not fair!” Mac shrugged. “I know, and I apologize. I’m hoping for one or two more films about

dance, until then I have to get through this one and not bankrupt the studio. It’s a fictional story, and the main character is an Irishman who was raised to dance as a family tradition. And the time comes when he has to choose between staying and working the mines, as all the men in his family had done before, or taking advantage of the opportunity offered to him.” “And you play the young man?” Mac laughed at the tone of her voice. “Are you implying that my days of passing for ‘young’ are behind me?” Ophelia blushed. “No, of course not. I am sorry… I’m not usually so rude,” she stammered. Mac laid his hand on her thigh, just above her knee. “Hey! I was just kidding. The story spans a number of years, and I will play the father, and then in later life the man. I think they knew I wouldn’t be totally believable as a dancer.” Mac laughed at himself.

***** Ophelia felt the heat of his hand shoot up her thigh, and her breath caught in her chest. She nodded and hoped the flush rising up her chest above the low-cut leotard wasn’t too noticeable. “No, really, you are making splendid progress. I’m sure by the time shooting starts you will be great!” Mac looked less sure. “Time will tell. With a good teacher, the sky’s the limit, I guess.” Ophelia felt Mac shift his hand on her thigh. Her eyes darted from his hand upward to his eyes, only to discover that he was staring at her. She saw instantly that he had noticed her flushed cheeks, parted lips and panting breath, proof that she was definitely affected by his touch. His movement on the sofa was barely noticeable as he shifted closer and then moved his hand up over the thin material of the leotard. “I imagine you have students falling all over themselves,” Mac told her quietly. Ophelia shook her head, feeling the heat of his hand through her leotard. “I set pretty strict guidelines and no one’s ever crossed them.” Mac leaned forward until his mouth was just a few inches from her own. “No one?”

Ophelia smiled. “No students, anyway.” Mac moved an inch closer. “My trouble in school was that I was always the rule breaker. Perhaps you should go over those guidelines with me.”

Chapter 3 Mac quickly closed the distance and kissed Ophelia’s lips. Softly, gently, barely moving at first, the kiss was a test, and an exploration. When he lifted his head, he smiled at the dazed look on Ophelia’s face. “I imagine kissing is on that list.” Ophelia nodded her head, swallowing hard. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her upper lip, but then more slowly swept across the lower one. Mac groaned loudly. “I think you need to put a disclaimer on your list.” Ophelia shook her head as if trying to clear it. “What?” “If you go around licking your lips so seductively, then it is only natural that some of your rules will be broken.” Ophelia smiled, and asked him pertly, “You mean like the touching rule?” Mac grinned and moved his hand to her back. “That’s a good one to start with.” He shifted a little, lowering his mouth towards hers once again. “But I think I’ll go back to breaking the kissing rule for now.” His mouth covered hers. One of them moved, and a second later they were pressed together on the sofa. Ophelia’s mouth opened to Mac’s questing tongue. As their tongues tasted and savored one another, Mac’s leg moved between Ophelia’s, pulling her even closer. “Oh my… ” Ophelia whispered softly, feeling her senses becoming quickly overrun. “I… I… uhm—“ Ophelia threaded her fingers through Mac’s hair, pulling his head closer. And when his hand slid from her back to her waist, she shifted her upper body to the side. “Yes!”

***** Mac needed no further encouragement, and his hand closed the distance. His fingers curved over the rounded globe and compressed it. Against his palm, he wanted to feel

the nipple pearling and hardening. He was surprised that he did not. Mac moved his mouth to the side of her neck, kissing and licking. His hands grasped the thin leotard at her shoulders and pulled it downwards, which allowed his mouth to eagerly follow the descent of fabric, desperate to sample her hidden treasures. Mac dragged the leotard to her elbows, and found she was wearing some kind of tight, binding device around her chest. Immediately he realized that this was why he could not feel her nipple a moment earlier. Obviously she concealed something. He pressed her to lie back against the cushions and moved to kneel on the couch beside her. His hands curled into the stretchy binder around her upper chest and started to pull it down. Ophelia’s hands immediately lifted to curl around his, making him pause. His gaze lifted immediately to meet her eyes. Ophelia’s voice was soft, quiet as she spoke. “I should warn you—“ Mac grinned and stopped for a moment. “I was looking forward to checking out that touching rule of yours.” Ophelia smiled and then nodded her head. Mac once again moved his hands to lift and pull the binding down. Her firm, full breasts sprang into view. The nipples were already hard and pointing towards him. Mac stared at the bountiful beauty he had uncovered. It was close to impossible for him to move his eyes from the exquisite, large breasts that he had revealed. Never would he have guessed she possessed two such luscious melons beneath her leotard. The stretchy binding she’d worn had pressed her bosoms relatively flat to her chest. Her nipples were poking up about half an inch and seemed to be begging him to suck them. “Ophelia?” Mac spoke her name.

Ophelia blushed as Mac made no move to touch her after pulling down the tight binder she wore to allow easier dancing and less bouncing. She wondered if he found her big breasts unattractive and ugly. She started to cover her breasts when Mac’s hands caught her. “I know they are too big. That’s why I wear that thing to flatten them out. I

understand if you want to stop—“ she stammered nervously. Mac pulled her hands away. “Stop! You are beautiful, Ophelia. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen such beautiful breasts.” He paused and gently cupped the farthest globe. “Perfect size,” he told her quietly as her breast filled his hand to overflowing. “Perfect nipples,” he added while his hand lifted and his fingers began to lightly circle that nipple. “Beautiful color.” “Color?” Ophelia questioned Mac’s last comment. Smiling, he continued to circle, and occasionally just rub the tip of his finger across the distended tip. “Yes, Ophelia. Your nipples are the same color as your lips after they’ ve been kissed.” Ophelia felt the blush, which seemed to be present all the time since she’d first met Mac, begin to glow brighter and hotter. She’d never been talked to like this… so openly, candidly about her body—not during sex anyway. Ophelia closed her eyes as Mac’s hand once again began massaging her full breast. Her large breasts had always embarrassed her because usually dancers were small or nearly flat-chested. She had taken to wearing the binder to hide behind, and it fooled most people. But with Mac’s hand worshipping her flesh, she didn’t feel ashamed. She felt her body blossoming and warming with each gentle touch. And when he lowered his head and his mouth enveloped the nipple closest to him, her hand rose to cradle his head to her breast.

***** Mac groaned as he sucked her nipple into his mouth. He sucked and pulled, lengthening the nipple with each pull. When he released the tender bud with a soft, wet plopping noise, he smiled when he saw it was almost three-quarters of an inch long. He looked up at Ophelia’s face and saw her eyes were closed, lips parted, and breathing fast. He slid one hand down her body to where her legs were making scissor-like movements against one another restlessly. They fell apart as his hand slid over her mound. When his fingers probed the material and pressed upwards, he lowered his mouth to her distended nipple. As his fingers cleverly moved between her thighs and pressed her leotard against

the folds of skin that hid her pleasure point, his mouth suckled her breast like he was getting his nourishment from her. Between the sucking motions, which he matched to the rhythm his fingers established between her thighs, he worked her long-starved body to a climactic frenzy in a very short time. As her moans turned to cries, he released her nipple to watch her face. His fingers were remorseless and unstoppable in spite of the thin leotard. He was master of her flesh and a moment later her climax rumbled through her like an earthquake. Mac watched as her hips bucked, her breasts bounced and her heels dug into the sofa.

***** The earthquake lasted much longer than a few seconds. As she settled back into the soft cushions of her couch, soft tremulous aftershocks teased the inner muscles of her body. She felt the clenching and pulling of her cunt muscles and realized in agony that they were seeking to pull a hard cock deep inside and milk it dry of its seed. For the first time in her life, she felt the hungering need to be filled by a man’s cock. Her previous sexual encounter seemed like child’s play compared to what she’d just felt. Ophelia’s eyes jerked open at the last thought and found Mac staring down at her. He had a gentle, knowing look in his eyes, and a tiny smile curved one corner of his lips. She flushed realizing that he must have watched her orgasm the whole time, just as if she were a toy and he had manipulated her for his enjoyment, not her own. She moved to sit up and Mac stopped her. She groaned as she realized belatedly that his hand was still planted intimately between her thighs. And then she felt her wetness and knew his fingers must be wet as well. “Oh my God!” Ophelia felt her embarrassment was now complete. There could be no way to act as if she had been pretending. Her wetness was proof of the depth to which he had aroused her body, and so easily and quickly. Mac shook his head as he whispered to her. “Shh, honey.” He lowered his lips to lightly kiss hers. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful as your passion. I want you more now than when you first walked into the classroom over a week ago.” Ophelia felt warmed deep inside to hear he had felt attracted to her at the same time she had been unable to keep her eyes off him. She turned slightly and looked down.

There was no disguising Mac’s raging hard-on. She slid her hand to his stomach and started to move down. But Mac caught her hand with his. He lifted her hand and kissed it. He removed his other hand from between her thighs, sliding it upward, over her flat tummy. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure, sweet Ophelia. But somehow I think we’ ve taken this new level in our relationship as high as we should for one night.” He leaned over and kissed her lips, and then moved down and lightly kissed each nipple. “This is harder than you can imagine, but I think you need time.” He stood and motioned for her to stay put. “I’ll lock the door on my way out. Just stay there and let me look at you as I leave. I will take that memory out when I get home and put it to good use.” He paused to draw a circle around one nipple and then turned around and left. The silence in the room was deafening. Ophelia told herself to get up, but instead she rolled to her side, oblivious to her state of undress. She did reach behind her and pull the afghan to cover herself. She was asleep less than ten seconds later.

Chapter 4 By the time Monday rolled around, Ophelia was a nervous wreck anticipating seeing Mac again. She had awakened Saturday morning on her sofa, and flushed hotly to realize she had had the best night’s sleep in over two years. She had forced herself to keep busy all weekend, trying to keep her mind off Mac. She had only been mildly successful. And now, she was standing at the barre in the studio, stretching and waiting anxiously for him to arrive. She had been tempted to leave her tight breast binding off, but had chickened out at the last minute. She didn’t want to shock her male students that much. The students began to arrive slowly, and Ophelia told herself she wasn’t watching the door for his arrival. She waited until five minutes past the hour, and finally started without Mac. She pulled her mantle of professional detachment around herself, and made it through the class. There was no way she felt like hanging around for the required office hour, so she hung a note on the door, and took off for her apartment. She stopped at the grocery store, and spent most of the time arguing with herself over why she’d not heard from Mac over the weekend. Her office number and home number, with the warning to not use during late evening and night hours, had been on the class list of supplies given out the first day of class. She had called her office to pick up the phone messages several times, just in case he called there. Those thoughts naturally led her to realize that if he wanted to get in touch with her, he knew where she lived. She couldn’t deny that after three days it appeared pretty positive that he’d changed his mind about anything other than learning how to dance. Of course, that didn’t explain why he had missed class today. Frustrated, Ophelia now paused at the top of the stairs, juggling for the keys to her second floor apartment while she balanced her purse and groceries, when she heard a noise. Mac rose slowly from his position on the floor, propped up by her locked door. He

watched as Ophelia caught the sack just before she dropped it. He moved forward and took it from her arms. Ophelia moved to the door and unlocked it. There was no denying Mac access to her apartment for he just stepped through the door first. Ophelia followed and set her keys and purse down. Slipping her lightweight jacket off, she hung it on the hook near the top of the door. When she turned, she realized Mac had taken the groceries through to the kitchen. She followed and found him beginning to remove items and sort them for putting away. Mac looked up and met Ophelia’s eyes. “I can get a note to excuse me from class today, teach. If I have to, that is.” Ophelia shook her head and smiled slowly. “Oh? Did you miss class today? I hadn't noticed—“ She didn’t get anymore of the lie out for Mac had grabbed her and pulled her close to his chest. One hand grasped her perky ponytail and held her head in the perfect position to be kissed. He lowered his mouth to hers and whispered a scant second before the kiss. “Oh, yeah? Well I missed you, damn it!” Ophelia felt her legs go weak as Mac kissed her. God! The man could kiss a woman’ s socks off! She grasped his shoulders to hold on. When Mac released her mouth he didn ’t let her go. He put his hands on her waist and lifted her onto the kitchen counter, moving to stand between her thighs. Ophelia had changed clothes and was wearing a lightweight peasant-style top and skirt. She felt Mac’s fingers pulling off the band confining her hair. He threaded his fingers through the blond mass, straightening it somewhat and arranging it around her shoulders. “All I could think about the whole weekend was how you would look with your hair down, like this.” His eyes lowered and he could see through the thin cotton top that she was braless. His hands moved without pause to cup the full and unbound breasts. He groaned as he massaged the large globes. “I dreamed of playing with these lovely, luscious tits of yours.” His hands caught in the fabric and tugged it down. Her breasts popped free and he smiled as he saw the ruffled fabric bunched beneath the tempting morsels. He rubbed his fingers back and forth over her nipples until they were hard and poking against his fingers. His hips were nestled between her legs and her skirt had ridden up and barely covered her naked

thighs. Mac lowered his head to nibble the side of her neck. His voice was muffled as he kissed his way downwards. “I would have been here Saturday, probably with the sunrise, but I had a message waiting for me when I got back to my place. They had called an emergency script meeting and I had to fly to Los Angeles.” He cupped her breasts and looked up into her dazed eyes. “And I neglected to get your home phone number. I called the University office, but the twit there refused to give me your number. I had also forgotten to take my campus ID, which I didn’t think I’d need—and your number here is unlisted.” Ophelia sighed and leaned towards him, all of her worries rushing away. “Oh, Mac… I did miss you! I watched for you to come through the doors today and I even held class for five minutes, waiting—“ Mac kissed her mouth. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I am not leaving here until I have all of your phone numbers, and you have mine. Now, how hungry are you?” Ophelia felt her head rushing. “I can wait. Why?” Mac grinned at her. His hands had moved up beneath her skirt and discovered she only had a tiny pair of panties on. Hastily he dragged them down and off. He then stepped away for a moment to toss the panties across the kitchen. Ophelia gasped as he pressed close again and this time she felt his hardness, still concealed by his expensive, casual pants, pressed against her intimate flesh. Ophelia knew that now was the time to stop him. But she had not wanted him to stop the other night. The last three nights her dreams had been driven by images of Mac making all kinds of wild and passionate love with her. Feeling quite bold and unlike her usual meek self, she moved her hands down and tried to undo his belt and pants. Mac had to remove her fumbling fingers and complete the act alone. The moment his cock sprang free, her hands were eagerly closing around his hard flesh.

***** Mac groaned, as her tentative and exploring touch was more erotic than a concubine’ s practiced one could be. He slid his hand up her thigh and caressed her mound. Mac stopped as he realized she was as smooth there as he was. Her mound was smooth as

were her wet lips. With his fingers delving between her folds and finding her clit, her own hands were busy practicing some mystical magic of their own. Given the weekend wait, both were impatient. But Mac brought Ophelia to climax and started to slide inside her eager flesh. Suddenly he stopped, pulling back from her body reluctantly. Ophelia looked into his eyes a second later. “Is something wrong?” “I am so sorry, honey, but I don’t have any condoms with me. I swear to you that I am totally germ free. It’s a regular procedure before signing an actor to contract.” The look on Ophelia’s face told him she’d not been thinking about safe sex a moment ago. He also guessed that she didn’t keep condoms in her bedside drawer either. Lightly caressing the side of her face, he kissed her mouth tenderly. Ophelia returned his kiss for a moment and then pushed him back with her hands flat to his chest. “I am clean, germ-wise. I was tested at the end of my last relationship. There is a paper from the test, if you want to see it. Mac could see the bright flush rising up from her breasts to cover her face. He chuckled softly and shook his head negatively. “I have mine in my wallet. I don’t sleep around.” “Because of your parents?” Ophelia questioned. “If I am seen and recognized out with any woman, the next day the gossip rags either have us engaged or I’ve dumped her because she’s pregnant with my baby.” Ophelia nodded, but Mac saw that she was now smiling. “It is safe then because my doctor said my method was ninety-nine percent sure, and it is the wrong time of the month anyway, I think.” Her hands reached down and curled into his belt. She pulled him forward, against her body. Her thighs lifted and circled his hips. Mac groaned as his cock was once again pressed against her wet flesh. The last of his doubts faded when he felt her feet crossing to pull him more intimately into contact with her pussy. A moment later he felt Ophelia whisper into his ear, “Fuck me, now!” “I serve at my lady’s command!” he jested quietly. Mac pressed his erection forward, just into her pussy. He shouted as he felt her muscles grab his cock and begin pulling it more deeply inside her body. He thrust

forward and felt her smooth flesh meld with his own. God, it was so sweet! As he pulled back, she tightened her muscles and seemed to be trying to keep him within her body. The added friction made Mac shiver in reaction. Easing away from her body slightly, he moved his hand down. His fingers delved gently until he found her clit. Mac wanted to arouse Ophelia. He wanted her to feel lost in her passionate responses—unable to deny the depth of her emotions. Less than a few moments later, he felt Ophelia’s mouth, which had been pressed against his neck and shoulder, open and actually bite him. The same instant he could feel her muscles begin flexing around his erection. He quickly moved both his hands to her hips as they writhed about on the counter. Her hands moved to surround Mac’s neck. Pausing, he could still feel her aftershock contractions on his cock, and he couldn’t deny the sense that her tight flesh was sucking the seed from his cock almost as though she was using her mouth and not her pussy. His thrusts sped up quickly. Finally he could hold back no more, and stiffening, he thrust forward and filled her body with his cum. Over and over he shot streams of hot seed upwards, deeply into her body. Finally, Mac gave one final thrust and emptied the last of his essence into her body. He lowered his head to rest on her naked shoulder and felt her hands caressing his body through his shirt. He cursed the fates for dragging him to Hollywood. Otherwise, he would have been back here Saturday morning, knocking on her door, and then knocking elsewhere as well.

***** Ophelia realized her legs were still locked around Mac’s waist and she lowered them slowly. She opened her eyes and was intensely aware of Mac’s soft cock still nestled inside her body. He was keeping her plugged so none of his juices could escape their erotic prison yet. She took a deep breath and felt her sensitive nipples rub against his shirt. She wanted to feel his flesh against hers. Her fingers moved to his buttons, but his fingers stopped her. “If you do that, we won’t eat and we’ll possibly die of starvation, locked together physically.”

Ophelia smiled and tightened her innermost muscles on his cock. His groan was instantaneous. “What a way to go though, huh?” Mac shook his head and pulled free of her body. The sucking, wet sound as his thick cock plopped free of her flesh was loud and almost lewd in the silence. Ophelia flushed in embarrassment. Mac smiled and pulled her skirt down and then looked at the luscious mounds displayed in front of him. His fingertips rubbed over and around her nipples, and then he shook his head reluctantly. He pulled her top back up and lowered her to the floor. “Dinner first,” he kissed her lips, and then swatted her behind. “Dessert later.”

***** After a fun-filled dinner, they spent most of the night making love in her bed. After very little sleep, a reluctant Ophelia showered and dressed for school. Mac made her a sandwich, including an apple, and a little note, which he packed into a paper sack. After kissing her goodbye at the door, which lasted almost too long, Mac told her he would see her in a few hours at class.

Chapter 5 Ophelia was stretching at the barre, and working diligently to put the erotic thoughts of last night to the back of her consciousness. She didn’t need to be distracted while teaching. Although sometimes she thought she could do most of the classes in her sleep. Suddenly a sound from the doorway caught her attention. Looking into the mirror she saw Mac’s reflection as he stood a few feet inside the studio door. As she watched, Mac crossed the wooden floor, tossing his gym bag toward the nearest corner. She spoke to him when he was a few feet from the barre. “You’re early, Mac. We’ve got fifteen minutes until class starts.” Mac grinned back at her reflection. “I know. I thought I should come early and suck up to my teacher, since I missed class yesterday.” Still looking into the mirror, Ophelia pressed her hand flat over her heart. “Oh, my goodness. Sir, did you just say you wanted to fuck your teacher?” Mac gasped, his surprise evident on his face. He stepped up close behind Ophelia. His hands came up to grab hold of the barre, effectively trapping her in front of him. He met her eyes in the mirror as he pressed his body against hers. “My teacher has some naughty thoughts going on in that pretty head of hers. I was thinking along the lines of an apple for my teacher. Now I discover she wants my banana.” Ophelia giggled and wiggled her bottom against Mac’s erection. “Is that what that is? And I thought you were just happy to see me.” She faked a frown on her face. “Sweetheart, you have no idea how much I want to lay you down on that workout mat and show you the difference between male anatomy and a banana.” Ophelia looked away from Mac’s intense blue-eyed gaze. The clock showed it was only ten minutes until class started. “I wish you would, but we’ve run out of time. I’ve got a few eager beaver students who always seem to come early.” Mac kissed the side of her neck before moving away from her. He walked over to his

gym bag and pulled a water bottle from the side pocket. Ophelia watched as he tilted his head back to swallow several gulps of water. She felt a jolt deep in her gut as she realized that he looked so sexy, even drinking water. Who would have thought a man’s “Adam’s apple” could be so erotic? A moment later her first student entered her class. “Hi, Ophelia! I’ve been practicing that step you showed me at the end of class yesterday.” Ophelia turned and smiled at the eager young student, dressed quite appropriately in tights and T-shirt. “Hello, Greg. That is great! I’ll have you come up and demonstrate it with me for the rest of the class.”

***** Mac turned to look at the fellow student who was so eager. The young man had the definite look on his face of puppy love. His slender body was dressed as Ophelia had suggested the first day of class. Shaking his head, Mac removed his jacket and shoved it into the gym bag. Deciding he’d watched the young man moon over “his girl” long enough, he walked over to where Ophelia and Greg were standing. Ophelia smiled at him when he joined them. “Mac, this is Greg. Won’t be long and he’ll be able to teach this class himself.” Mac smiled, but noted the flush that came up the young man’s neck. As the student stammered for a reply, Mac cut in. “That will come in handy, Ms. Landis, after I kidnap you.” “Mac!” He shrugged, seeing the displeasure on Ophelia’s face. “I’m sure Greg understands how a man feels about his girlfriend. Right, Greg?” Mac watched the young man react to his statement. He knew he had just been politically incorrect and certainly not a man of the new millennia. But to be honest, the only thing he cared about right now was staking his claim. He turned from Greg to look at Ophelia, not sure what she would do now. Once again she surprised him. “Greg, why don’t you go over to the door and tell everyone to divide into the groups we had yesterday?” She paused until Greg had reluctantly walked away. “And

you… let’s have you at the barre and begin your stretching exercises. I am sure you have lots of tight muscles.” Mac grinned in reply. “No amount of stretching will get rid of my tightest muscle.” He turned and walked over to the farthest barre. He did the first exercise, ignoring the angry muscles and tendons screaming at him for being lazy the last few days. As he did the second, he couldn’t help but groan a little. Glancing over to where Ophelia was standing, he caught the smile on her face the second before she turned away.

***** That evening Ophelia found Mac was once again seated outside her apartment door. Ophelia grinned as she saw how slowly he got up from the floor tonight as compared to yesterday. “I’m sorry I worked you so hard today,” she told him softly. Mac grimaced as he came to his feet. “I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding performance tonight.” Ophelia gasped at his blatant statement. “Hmm, sounds like you have plans for tonight.” Mac took her keys and unlocked the door to her apartment. “Not plans, my sweet, just a hopeful man begging at the feet of a beautiful woman.” Ophelia walked past him into her living room, tossing her purse onto a chair. “Aah. Well I had some plans—“ Mac came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Hmm, so you had plans, did you? My imagination is running rampant, but I owe you an apology for my caveman act in class today.” Ophelia heard the sincerity in his voice. She had been torn as he proclaimed her “his girl.” There had been intense feelings of satisfaction, pleasure and a warming deep inside her. It didn’t bide well for her feminist side, but she had felt so wonderful at Mac’ s look of jealousy. There was worry that she was feeling too much too soon for this man who was bound to be leaving her life before too long. She knew that her protest should have been stronger, but it hadn't been in her heart.

“I think you took poor Greg by surprise,” she answered Mac as she moved her hands to cover his. “I could see the symptoms of a crush on his face. These young men can fall hard for an older woman.” Ophelia pinched the back of his right hand. “Hey!” Mac spun her around to face him. “You are beautiful and I promise to leave my loincloth and chest beating outside the studio from now on.” His mouth came down and covered hers. His tongue quested forward, tasting her lips and savoring her tongue. After several long moments, he lifted his head. “Did your plans involve anything horizontal?” Ophelia stepped away from Mac and started walking toward her bedroom. She glanced over her shoulder, speaking softly. “Horizontal? That’s not how it looked in that book.”

***** Mac groaned and followed quickly down the hall. In the bedroom he found that Ophelia could undress a lot quicker than he would have thought. She was seated on her bed. He wouldn’t call it sitting, but rather she was reclining on her side propped up by her bent elbow. He would have sworn that the beautiful silk teddy she now wore was not what she’d put on this morning. Tossing his shirt aside, he crossed to stand at the foot of the bed. His eyes lowered to the sensual display of her breasts, barely contained by the small cups of pearl-pink lace. The straps had slipped off her shoulders. “You didn’t leave this morning wearing that!” Ophelia smiled back at him, lifting her hand to rest on her upper thigh. Mac watched as she caressed her skin with her fingertips. “I didn’t? What was I wearing this morning?” Mac was unsnapping and unzipping his jeans as fast as his fingers could manage. He stopped though to answer her question. “’Cause if you had been wearing that I wouldn’t have let you out of the house without one more tumble between the sheets.” Quickly he finished and slid his jeans and jockey shorts off. He tripped a little, rushing to kick his sneakers and socks off as well. Ophelia chuckled but stopped as he began

moving up the bed towards her. “I might have to make you pay for that laugh at my lack of grace. And you were wearing a white sport bra and very non-sexy panties.” “You know, dancing could help with that lack of coordination,” Ophelia told him, as if he had not mentioned her “unmentionables.” She casually pressed her index finger to her temple as she continued, “I know of a good teacher… Eek!” she screeched as Mac pushed her flat to the mattress. “Too much talking, my love. Time for lovemaking,” Mac whispered into her ear as his mouth pressed kisses to the side of her neck. He moved down toward her right breast. As he nudged the cup down, his mouth followed until he could suckle her nipple. “Oh… oh my… aah!” Mac liked Ophelia’s soft exclamations. His fingers moved down her body to nestle between her thighs. He stopped as he felt the tiny snaps, looking up at her. “Maybe you should unsnap this thing before I damage it.” Ophelia looked up into his face, lifting one hand to push a lock of reddish brown hair off his brow. Her hand drifted down to caress the side of his face and then moved over to caress his lower lip. Mac moved his head and sucked her finger into his mouth. Her groan told him more effectively than any words that she was aroused as much as he by this verbal foreplay, which was escalation into more intimate foreplay. “It is so pretty, honey, and you look so sexy in it.” Ophelia nodded and reached down to quickly flick open the three tiny snaps. Mac’s fingers immediately began caressing her soft, wet pussy, easing his index between the pink folds of flesh. Mac found her clit and began to massage it gently, carefully. His eyes traveled over her sprawled body. Her womanly passion, along with the display of one naked breast and his hand between her thighs, aroused him even more. “God! Ophelia! You are so sexy, so beautiful. You knock men off their feet and you are completely unaware of your true power.” Ophelia shook her head side to side. “Not other men, Mac. You are the only one I want to please.” Mac removed his hand abruptly, replacing it with his hard erection. He entered her

gently at first, watching her face as her body accepted his thick, hard cock. It only took a couple of thrusts and Ophelia orgasmed. Mac wanted to hold out but the contractions of her muscles around his cock soon had him thrusting quickly to his climax a few moments later. He started to shift away from her body when Ophelia reached out and held onto his upper arms. Her voice was breathless and husky as she spoke her request. “Please… Mac! Don’t leave me just yet. Stay… inside me.” Mac groaned, but he stopped moving. Talk about a phrase guaranteed to bring a response from a man—that was it! “I must be crushing you, Ophelia.” Ophelia smiled and lifted her head to press her lips to his for a light, soft kiss. “What woman doesn’t mind a little crush once she’s gotten what she wanted?”

Chapter 6 It didn’t take long for their lives to develop into a routine. Soon the weeks passed by quickly after those first two nights for Ophelia. They alternated nights at each other’s places, until Mac convinced her to give up the small apartment and move into his larger house. Ophelia wasn’t at all sure that moving into Mac’s place was the smartest action. Who knew how long they’d have together? What finally made her change her mind came about the third week they’d been hopping from place to place. She’d come home from class with her arms full of grocery sacks. Mac must have been waiting for her because the door swung open almost immediately as she stepped in front of it, fumbling for her keys. Instead of greeting her with a kiss, he offered to take the sacks into the kitchen for her. As he turned away, Ophelia noted that he was dressed in a very expensive suit. Quickly, her brain reminded her that he was wearing a nice tie and his hair was slicked back. All in all he looked quite devilishly attractive—rather like a businessman with a naughty secret. In the kitchen she found that he was already putting things away. It surprised her how quickly he had come to know where she kept everything in her small kitchen. In comparison to his big kitchen… well, there was no way to really compare them. He even had a walk-in pantry and a full-time, live-in staff composed of the nicest couple, Lydia and Jack Russell. The first time she met the couple, who were in their mid-fifties, she had been charmed. Lydia had treated her with respect, followed by motherly affection as they came to know one another. And Jack had broken the ice the first time they all met by telling some very amusing stories concerning his name. It was difficult, but Ophelia finally got the words to come out of her mouth. “You look very handsome and debonair tonight.” Mac turned and Ophelia saw the slight flush creeping up his neck. It still surprised her that he wasn’t blasé, or noblesse oblige about compliments. She had learned that Mac had chosen not to live on the West Coast after his first successful movie. He didn’t like

the party scene, and he had no close friends, other than a few directors, produces or actors that he had worked with so far. “I didn’t want to just leave you a note to find when you got home tonight or put it on your machine at work,” Mac told her quietly. It was the way he turned back to his task of sorting groceries that alarmed Ophelia the most. She felt a piercing pain in her chest and it suddenly became a little hard to breathe. Dear God, she thought in horror. Is this how this all ends? Had he lost interest in her and she had had no inkling? Her voice broke slightly as she finally found the courage to ask, “What do you mean, Mac?” It wasn’t easy, but she hadn't pounced accusingly at him. With Colin, she’d gotten used to him cheating on her. She had long suspected their relationship had merely become a convenience to him. As long as they lived together, he could party with the younger girls in the corps de ballet and he’d explain how he couldn’t leave Ophelia for them. She shivered suddenly at the distasteful memory of Colin. Looking at Mac, she saw the questioning look on his face. She hoped he hadn't been able to tell anything from her facial expressions that indicated the chaotic jumble of thoughts going on inside her head at the moment. Carefully she curved her lips upwards into a smile. “I went home after class, honey, and found a message on my machine from my parents.” Ophelia suddenly felt like crap. Her thoughts had all been centered on her life, and not on Mac’s. “Are they all right? Did something happen?” Mac crossed over to pick up her hand and hold it carefully between both of his much bigger and stronger hands. “They sounded okay, but they called an emergency family meeting for tonight. I want you to meet them, Ophelia, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable the first time you meet. God only knows what this meeting is all about!” Mac released her hand and pulled her close to wrap his arms around her. “We’ve had other family meetings that have been nothing, and occasionally we get one where one of my siblings drops a bomb on my parents.” Ophelia hugged him back. “It’s okay, Mac. I understand. You go on and hopefully it

will turn out to be nothing major and you can have a nice visit. Will you come back here tonight?” Ophelia stopped abruptly, hoping she didn’t sound as needy and pathetic to Mac as she had to own ears. But seeing Mac shake his head negatively didn’t reassure her. “I doubt my parents will release us until it is too late to drive back. They like it when we all stay overnight. That way my mom gets to make us all breakfast one more time and have her table filled with her children once again.” Ophelia smiled, nodding her head. She had to blink quickly as tears came to her eyes. “That is sweet, you know.” Mac kissed Ophelia on her forehead, pulling her close to his chest once again. “Believe me, Ophelia, I’d much rather be here, with you.” Emotion clogged her throat suddenly and she could only nod her agreement. Eventually though, Mac had to kiss her goodbye. After that, Ophelia had felt like her small apartment was huge, empty and very lonely. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Ophelia, and get busy!” She quickly finished putting her groceries away before she went into the bedroom and changed into her “cleaning clothes.” From that point on, if it didn’t get out of her path, it got cleaned. Finally, after a relaxing bath, Ophelia settled into her bed, exhausted. She drifted in and out of sleep, until almost midnight when her phone rang.

***** “Wha… hello?” “Hey, honey. It’s me, Mac. I’m sorry I woke you up.” Mac twisted restlessly on his old bed. It seemed funny, but even though he was the oldest and first to leave the house, his parents had not redecorated his childhood bedroom. It was still decorated from his years at college with a full-size bed. He was getting used to that size of bed since that is what Ophelia had, but he was most comfortable when they slept at his house, using his California king-size bed. Through the phone Mac listened as Ophelia woke up. He did feel badly about waking her, but he’d been lying on this damned bed trying to fall asleep for the last forty-five minutes. Finally he’d decided that if he could just hear her voice, then he’d be

able to get to sleep. He was thankful this was Friday and Ophelia could sleep in tomorrow. He did pause though, regretful that they couldn’t be leisurely waking up Saturday morning. Ophelia groaned. “That’s okay, sweetheart. I miss you.” Mac caught his breath at Ophelia’s simple admission. There was a definite strange feeling in his chest and he had a damned good idea what the cause of it was. “I miss you, too. I am sorry for waking you, but I’ve been lying here for almost an hour trying to fall asleep.” “Your parents have room for you?” “They’ve kept my room the same as it was when I finally got out of college and left for Hollywood in search of fame and fortune.” Mac could hear Ophelia chuckling through the phone connection. “So does it have all your childhood stuff and your Alma Mater banners on the walls?” “Oh, yeah. They redid the others’ rooms after they left, but then when they left it was because they had gotten married.” “So how many kids were there—and I probably should have asked this sooner— you aren’t married, are you?” Mac laughed softly. “No, Ophelia. I am not married and there are no other attachments in my life, besides my family.” Mac hesitated, wanting to ask Ophelia about the man she had been involved with when she lived in New York City. Before he could decide on the best way to bring up the subject, Ophelia was asking him a question. “How was the family meeting? I don’t mean to pry. I mean… I don’t want you to feel that you have to tell me.” Mac grinned as he listened to Ophelia stammering over the phone. “I understand, sweetheart. I don’t think you are prying. The funny thing is that I should have brought you with me. It turns out my sister saw us last Sunday at the music festival. Do you remember that kiss I gave you after you won that stuffed bear? That is when my sister Maureen caught sight of us. Needless to say, my mother was concerned. I’d told them about taking a dance class, mentioning you.” “Your sister hadn't heard?”

“Well, Ophelia, you were wearing that cap that matched mine, along with that too big sweatshirt. Maureen didn’t think you looked like any kind of dancer she’d ever seen.” “Damn! I better look at my butt in the mirror tomorrow. All that good cooking of Mrs. Russell’s must be going straight to my ass.” Mac laughed out loud before he could stop. “Your butt is perfect, babe. It has just the right amount of padding for doggie-style—“ “Mac!” Ophelia squealed into the phone. “Hmm, I bet you are really blushing now.” “Perhaps.” “I’m hot a good deal lower than my cheeks, honey.” Mac grinned as Ophelia gasped.

Ophelia listened to Mac on the phone. Hearing his voice was doing all kinds of arousing things to her body. She was surprised that just the sound and tone of his voice could elicit such a passionate response in her body. The deep huskiness seemed to tickle up and down her spine and out along her nerve endings. In the darkness, she shivered. “Mac?” She whispered his name into the phone, and wondered if he could hear the need in her voice. “What, honey?” “I wish you were here, in bed with me.” The groan that echoed through the receiver told her more than any words that his wishes were the same. “I would have something for you, if I was,” Mac told her barely above a whisper. Ophelia giggled, pretty sure she knew what he meant. “Hmm. And you are sure that this is something that I would like?” she teased him quickly. “I believe you would, pretty lady. Up to date you’ve been quite appreciative.” Ophelia gasped at Mac’s words, barely holding back her laughter. “I think you are being very naughty, Mr. MacDonald, and if your mother knew how you were talking to a lady—“

“Then who was the wildcat in my bed last night?” Ophelia caught her breath at Mac’s question. As a joke, sort of, she had purchased a tiger-striped body briefer that fit her like skin. Feeling bold, she had also purchased some black and gold narrow ribbon. Sitting in her office before leaving for Mac’s home, she had cut and tied the ribbon to simulate a lion tamer’s whip. The look on his face when she had told him that “tonight the tiger becomes the master” had told her how powerful her words had been. “I hid your whip, Ophelia. Next time the tamer may decide he prefers life as the male tiger.” Ophelia filed that bit of information in the back of her head, remembering that she had seen a pair of tiger-striped silky shorts that would work quite well if he wanted to play that scenario. “I might let you catch me next time.” “You are driving me crazy, woman! I’m developing a real ‘hard’ problem that just may require attention,” Mac growled into her ear. “I’ve never had phone sex before,” Ophelia told him softly. His immediate groan told her of his reaction to her words. “I did take a rather hot bath earlier.” “Oh, yeah? What made it so hot?” “I lit some candles first and poured a glass of the red wine you decanted the other night.” “Bubbles?” “Of course, and some jasmine scented bath oil. It made my skin very soft and slippery.” “And then?” Mac’s words prodded her to continue. “I just eased back and sipped my wine for a little bit. Instead of being relaxed, I soon realized that I was hot and needy and all alone.” Ophelia took a deep breath, surprised at how easily she was talking about this with Mac. “Before I tell you more, what are you doing with your hand right now?” “Naughty wench! I wish it was your hand stroking my cock now.” Mac’s boldness made her feel hot and restless once again. She moved her legs against one another. It was impossible to stop her hand from slipping down her body

and between her thighs. The wetness she felt surprised her but it didn’t stop her from sliding her fingers between her pussy lips and starting to rub her finger against her clit. “My hand is a little busy at the moment,” she whispered to Mac. “God! Ophelia, you are sending me over the edge here!” Mac’s gravelly voice turned her on even more. She told him softly, feeling more emboldened with each passing second. “I like it when your hand touches me, Mac. I like it even more when you stick your big cock inside me.” “Good Lord, babe! I hope my brother and his wife next door are sound asleep!” Ophelia giggled impulsively. “Then you must be extra quiet, just as you would have to be if I was there right now, with you. I would be lying across your thighs and telling you to be as quiet as a church mouse. My mouth would be so close to your cock that my breath caresses your flesh. I want to suck and lick my way all the way to—“ Mac’s growl of desire stopped her words. Rubbing her clit more quickly, she soon felt her body’s response. Her hips began jerking and shaking in reaction to her climax. She gasped so loudly that she knew Mac must have heard her. His words proved her correct a few seconds later. “I’m thinking your sweet little fingers just brought you the same reaction as your words did for me. Good thing I grabbed a handful of Kleenex. I wish to God that I were inside your cunt right now. I love feeling all those little quivery and shivery things your muscles do right after you climax, honey.” “Oh, Mac!” Ophelia took a couple of deep breaths. “I’ll be home as soon as I can eat a few bites of breakfast and say goodbye.” “Go to sleep now and I’ll be waiting in bed for you!” “I am a gentleman and I promise you won’t be waiting for long!”

***** Ophelia heard the key in the front door of her apartment the following morning. She barely had time to turn over in bed and face the bedroom door when Mac came almost jogging through the open doorway. He skidded to a halt when he saw that she was already awake. “Damn! I was hoping to slip into bed and awaken my princess with one of those ‘

love’s sweet kisses.’ Have you been awake long?” Ophelia shook her head and then decided to give Mac his surprise. She sat up and let the sheets fall to her waist, revealing that she was naked. “I woke when I heard your key in the door.” Deliberately, knowing it would lift her breasts, she put her arms up and ran her hands through her hair, pushing it back from her ears. “What time is it, by the way?” Mac’s groan alerted her to the effectiveness of her simple movement. Since his shirt was already unbuttoned, it was easy for him to shrug it off his shoulders. It took less than a minute for him to remove his shoes and jeans before he was on the bed beside her. “It isn’t eight yet,” he whispered in her ear as he slid one arm across her stomach. He nudged her down until she was lying on the bed beside him. His mouth covered her nearest breast, suckling her taut nipple. Ophelia had to catch her breath before she could talk again. “Did your mother get up at dawn to make you breakfast?” Mac lifted his head and smiled rather sheepishly. “I woke up at dawn. There was no way I could hang around for three hours while everyone slowly woke up and moseyed on down to the kitchen. I left a note for Mom on the table, and I will call them later.” He leaned down to kiss Ophelia’s lips until her hands pushed him back a few inches. “Oh no, Mac! Now your mother will think I’m some kind of nympho or something.” Mac grinned and shook his head. “Not my mom. She might think I am ill mannered and blame it on my wild years in Hollywood. My brothers and my dad will imagine that you are so hot, even one night away from you is too long.” “And what will your sister think?” “Maureen will agree with my mother and then secretly tell my brother-in-law, Patrick, that you are a nympho.” “Crap, Mac! I don’t want your sister thinking I’m a slut.” Mac kissed her lips lightly, and then her neck, working his way back to her nipple. After a quick teasing lick and a kiss, he looked back up at her. “She won’t think either for more than a minute, honey.”

“How can you be so sure?” “Because, darling, my dumb fuck of a brother-in-law will say something along the line of ‘lucky Mac’ and my sister will forget about us and start in on Pat.” “I don’t want your family to not like me before we even meet,” Ophelia told him softly. She did acknowledge that she was assuming that meeting his family was a foregone conclusion. “They won’t, sweetheart, and we’ll be going there next Friday for the weekend, unless you made plans already.” Ophelia caught her breath once again. “Next weekend!” she cried out, and it sounded squeaky to her ears. “Either that or move your stuff to my house. I thought we could start today, and do a little more each day this next week—“ Ophelia stopped him by covering his mouth with her fingers. “Wait a minute, Mac! I didn’t think we had decided for sure about me moving into your place.” Mac moved to lie beside her in the bed, his body propped up by his bent arm. “I know, sweetheart. I also know that I don’t want to go one more night without you by my side. And I don’t mean just for sex, Ophelia. I mean, so far we’ve had a few of those sex-free nights. Granted not many yet, but I know there will be times for us both… for whatever reasons.” Ophelia watched Mac as he spoke, understanding exactly what he meant. She had hated sleeping alone last night. But it was more than just missing sex! The truth of this scared her. What frightened her even more was choosing to not grab every single moment possible with Mac. This way, once she was alone again, she would at least have more precious memories to pull out and savor once again. “Me too, Mac. I don’t want to be away from you either.” A second later, Mac was hugging her tightly. He then pulled her over to rest her head on his chest, his arm around her. As Ophelia listened, Mac began outlining the easiest way to accomplish the move. It was obvious that he’d been giving this quite a bit of thought over the last few weeks.

Chapter 7 Once they were living together, it surprised Ophelia how quickly their lives fell into a routine. Mornings were leisurely unless they overslept. Easily it became one of her favorite parts of the day. Mac’s bedroom had been built to capture the morning sun. To allow sleeping in when desired, there were sun shades that operated on a timer. The first morning she had awakened in Mac’s bed it had been slowly. Her conscious had risen with the soundless lifting of the shades. A few moments later, since they had slept spoon-style, Ophelia had become aware of Mac’s morning erection. Following her awareness, she felt his hand, which had been resting on her uppermost breast, begin to massage, squeeze and then play with her nipple. As she wiggled her bottom against him, Mac had pressed forward, pushing his cock into the opening of her cunt. Immediately her muscles grabbed hold of him, contracting and trying to pull him in further. Mac had pressed his mouth to her shoulder, kissing his way up to her ear. Finally he whispered into her ear. “Isn’t a bigger bed better?” Ophelia smiled as she told him, “True, except that if we sleep like this all the time a twin bed would suffice.” Being held so close against Mac’s body, she felt the rumble in his chest as he chuckled in reply. His hips pressed forward, pulling back a little, and repeating slowly. With his hand on her breast, his fingers tickled and teased her nipple into tight response. “I’ll make sure to show you all the interesting ways we will make use of the whole bed. We could have champagne tonight and christen it like a maiden voyage.” Mac stopped as he sped up his thrusts. Into her ear he whispered his request. “Move your hand down, sweetheart. Put your finger on your little clit for me.” Ophelia shivered in reaction to his words. Despite her self-doubts and shyness, she slid her hand between her thighs. Her fingers eased within the wet, soft folds of her pussy. Sure, she had masturbated, but never with someone else in the bed! Almost as if Mac read her mind, he spoke to her in a husky whisper.

“Never played with your clit in front of company, my love? Use some of that luscious juice you make and smear it all over your clit. Feel how slippery your finger is.” Ophelia was beginning to get overwhelmed by everything going on at the moment. Mac’s hand was still squeezing and massaging her breast. Every so often he’d tell her how nice her tits were, with her nipples long and hard. They were very “suckable” he’d told her softly. His cock was pushing in and out of her cunt while her fingers continued to rub and massage her clit. Her orgasm shook her to the core as it seemed to sweep over her like a tornado. Behind her, Mac continued to massage her breast and thrust his hips forward. Ophelia felt her cunt muscles squeezing tightly around the cock moving up and down. When her muscles quieted to erratic quivers, she realized that Mac had not climaxed. Before she could find words to ask him anything, Mac was speaking into her ear. “Start again, Ophelia. Pleasure your flesh again. The feel of your—“ he paused while his hand deserted her breast, sliding down and around to caress her rounded ass cheek. Ophelia wiggled her bottom against Mac’s groin. It only took about three of those movements to have him thrusting forward to climax inside her body. Soon, Mac returned to sleep. But she continued to lie perfectly still. Mac’s cock was still nestled between her cheeks, now softened. Ophelia knew Mac’s seed was inside her, and if she moved, it would begin seeping from her body. There was no logic to her feelings, but suddenly, she felt the regret once again that she had learned to ignore since she’d been injured and had her life changed forever. Perhaps it was the realization of just how much Mac was truly coming to mean in her life, beyond the fact of his just having been inside her body, that reminded her of the past. She knew it wasn’t logical, but a part of her feared becoming connected to Mac. Could she survive losing Mac as she had lost her dancing? Alone in the dark, hearing him breathing quietly behind her, Ophelia knew that if she considered that this was more than a “ships passing in the night” kind of thing, she risked losing her heart to Mac. Losing her promising position as the lead ballerina with the New York City Ballet

had been but one of the heart wrenching life-changing events she’d been forced to accept. Until she’d returned before this current semester, there had still been hope that she could prove her orthopedic surgeons wrong. She would dance as lead once again. Her hopes had been high, fueled by the dreams she kept having. Over and over, she dreamed restlessly of dancing her most difficult role ever. Still it had quickly become clear that her muscles would never be able to stand up to the strain of professional dancing. The defeat had hurt her beyond the physical realm. Emotionally, she was forced to face the loss of her career. Of course she could still dance, such as in teaching classes. Luckily her brother had been a professor here in the arts department. Thanks to Phillip, and Mike Jansen, she had been forced to rely on her brother’s generosity, or move in with their parents. Not that her parents didn’t want her, but after coming to New York at sixteen, Ophelia was used to her independence. Finally, in the darkness, she pushed those regrets away. The time would come when she would have to face losing Mac. For now, she pushed the fear back. Deep inside, a voice was telling her that the loss of Mac might rival her other loss. Fear made her worry that she might not bounce back from this loss. Ophelia made herself relax enough to drift back to sleep in Mac’s arms. Unfortunately, the night faded into one of the many mornings where they had overslept. Rushing through her shower while Mac made some breakfast and packed her a lunch, Ophelia refused to think about getting through a morning without Mac. Instead she focused on the little things, accepting that once again she would be the last to arrive at her first dance class of the day.

***** They practiced often on her portable dance floor, and she began to teach him specific Irish steps and clogging. Ophelia was sure no one in the class suspected, but she didn’t take into account the looks they passed each other when they thought no one was watching. Neither spoke of the future, but took each day as a gift in and of itself. Ophelia reveled in Mac’s attention and lovemaking, blossoming, as she never had before. Soon, practice for the Christmas show was taking up nearly all the class time. The show was

finally completed, and the future was staring Ophelia in the face. She had been called to Dean Jansen’s office the day grades were due in. She had already completed her grading forms and turned them in as she sat nervously waiting for the dean to see her. Mike Jansen greeted Ophelia warmly, asking her to sit down and offering her something to drink. She declined and crossed her legs nervously. Mike, unaware of her nervousness, smiled across the desk at her. “Your class has been a great success once again, Ophelia. My secretary was showing me the request list, and your class is at the top for most requested. I doubt it has less to do with tap dancing, and all to do with you. Have you thought about what your plans are for the future? I’ve been authorized by the board to offer you a two-year contract to start, here with the college.” Ophelia stared at the dean and realized belatedly that her mouth was open. “I… ” she stammered, not sure what to say or do all of a sudden. Mac was to leave after the holidays for Hollywood, and then onto Ireland, for location shooting. She didn’t know if his plans included her. She wanted to be with him, and wasn’t sure how she could let him go. But she hated it when she thought such things because it made her sound needy. Each time she’d stiffen her spine and remind herself that she didn’t need a man to complete her life. “You don’t have to decide right now, of course,” Dean Jansen told her with a smile. “Take a few days and let me know before Christmas, because we’ll have to get the class schedules nailed down for next semester.” He shook her hand as she left, unable to miss the dazed look on her face. He was surprised because he thought she knew he would be offering her the contract. Ophelia drove to Mac’s home in a daze. They had bought a tree, decorated it and had a few packages beneath it already. Inside, Mac’s two dogs, Skeeter and Skater, beautiful golden retrievers, greeted her boisterously. He had told her that when he had received the dogs, they had had a freak cold spell and it had frozen the small lake nearby. The two puppies had tested the ice. One had skated just fine, and the other had not. The names had stuck after that. Ophelia hung her coat up and tossed her purse onto the small table. She called out to Mac, and he answered that he was in the bedroom. She made her way through the

house until she reached the master bedroom. Not seeing him, she walked on into the bathroom. Mac was standing in front of the sink, shaving. “Hello, sweetheart! I got a late start today. Some wild wench kept waking me up last night.” Ophelia shook her head as she perched on the counter beside the sink. “I’m a tamed wench these days.” Mac’s disbelieving look made her laugh. “Are you getting ready to take a shower?” “Yeah. I started the dinner Mrs. Russell left for us,“ he paused to rinse the razor. “But I made sure we’d have plenty of time—“ Ophelia laughed and scooted off the counter. She kicked her shoes off and started taking her clothes off. “Then I will start the water and get it nice and warm.” She walked over to the shower, opening the door. Pausing, she looked seductively over her shoulder. “Don’t be too long.” Shutting the shower door, she turned on the water and adjusted the faucets. Her hair was wet and full of lather when she heard the door open. A second later she felt Mac press close behind her, his hard cock nestling between her ass cheeks. His hands began massaging her scalp and Ophelia let her hands fall to her sides. The soapsuds made their bodies slick and slippery against one another. Mac grabbed the showerhead and lifted it free. He began rinsing the shampoo out until Ophelia's blonde hair hung darkly down her back. Picking up the soap, he rubbed it between his hands. “Turn around, honey. I’ll be your bath boy tonight.” Ophelia turned slowly, watching as Mac’s hands started washing her arms, slipping under each to catch her armpits. She expected him to spend a long time on her breasts, but he surprised her by moving his hands down past her belly and between her thighs. Flushing hotly, she turned as asked a moment later. His hands began an incredibly hot massage of her ass, slipping in between the cheeks every so often. Taking a deep breath, she finally turned to face him. “Give me the soap,” she whispered to him softly. Grinning, Mac handed over the soap. Ophelia was aware of his hands lifting to press against each side wall. With her hands full of lather, she lifted them and pressed them flat to his chest. Using small circles, she washed her way all the way down to the top of

his thighs. She didn’t say a word as she slipped around his body, beneath one arm. Slowly, her hands massaged their way down over his back. The way Mac tensed his butt as she cupped it told her the effect she was having on him. She moved slowly, giving him the same treatment he had given her. Teasingly, she came back around him and grabbed the showerhead again. Grinning up at his tense face, Ophelia explained. “Time to rinse all those slippery suds off now.” Holding his gaze, she used the water to rinse her body off first. Pressed close to his body, she let the water hit his buttocks for a few seconds before she let it lower. “Almost done.” She reached out and pulled the very handy retractable seat down. “Please sit down and let me wash your hair.” His voice revealed his restraint. “Be quick, Ophelia.” He sat down, facing her, which wasn’t quite what she’d planned. Adapting quickly, Ophelia wet his hair and then passed the showerhead to Mac to hold. She had barely gotten his hair lathered up when she felt the water hitting her body. Glancing down she saw Mac’s eyes watching her bouncing breasts while he held the showerhead so the water was splashing against her mound. “Someone is being a very naughty bath boy,” she told him as she took the showerhead from his hands. Quickly she rinsed his hair and then replaced the showerhead to the wall holder. Mac lifted his hands to cup her jiggling bosoms as she slid it into place. “Mac!” “Just looking for something to keep my hands busy,” he answered with a grin. Ophelia took a deep breath and then she lowered herself to her knees, between Mac’ s widespread thighs. His hands dropped to the seat as her hands moved without a second’s pause to grasp his hard cock. She looked up and saw Mac close his eyes as his head tilted back and he groaned. Leaning forward, her mouth slipped over the head. Her hands slipped up and down as the warm water rained down around them. Lifting her mouth, Ophelia began using her tongue to explore his flesh. She traced it around, and then around again, before she bent a little lower and cupped his sac. Catching the skin in her mouth, she rolled it with her tongue against her teeth. A moment later she felt Mac’s hands in her hair, tugging gently until she lifted her face.

“No more,” he told her quickly. “Bed?” Ophelia asked softly. Mac shook his head and his hands pulled her upwards. She soon was straddling his thighs, facing away from him as he joined their bodies. Ophelia was still surprised at this position, letting Mac direct her movements. Moaning, she could feel him entering her body, his hands at her waist. His hands moved up to cup her breasts from underneath. “Oh… Mac!” Ophelia moaned softly, moving her hips and exploring the fullness she felt with his cock buried so deeply inside her. “I feel so full! It feels so good!” Mac moved his right hand down, until he found her clit with his fingers. Beginning a slow massage, he worked the sensitive flesh. His voice sounded husky as he directed her. “Move your hips, honey! Yeah, just like that—“ Ophelia couldn’t keep the movements up. Her climax seemed to come out of nowhere. Her inner muscles and nerves were jerking and quivering almost a mile a minute. She moved her hands to rest on Mac’s thighs, squeezing. It was several minutes later that Ophelia realized that Mac had not climaxed inside of her. “Mac?” she whispered.

***** “Stand up as I do, my sweet, and then lean forward, bracing your hands on the wall.” Mac carefully maintained their joining until he was leaning over her slightly bent body. He moved his hands over her body, caressing her ass before lifting to cup her hanging breasts. They felt even fuller than usual this way, and he started to squeeze and massage the firm globes. He soon began moving forwards and back, thrusting his cock in and out of her tight cunt. “That’s it, baby, wiggle your ass like that!” Every move Ophelia made seemed to make him harder and make him want to come inside her hard and fast. His thrusts started coming quicker and shorter. He slid his hands to her hips, pounding against her heart-shaped ass, his balls slapping the wet flesh loudly. Mac tensed, knowing it was close… he pulled out of her the next moment.

His cum shot forward to hit the shower wall and be washed down the drain. Mac looked up and saw Ophelia watching him. A moment later she was pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his neck. “Come on, sweetheart. We need to dry off before we become prunes.”

***** In the bathroom, Ophelia wrapped a towel around her head after she’d knotted another towel over her breasts. She watched Mac drying off, and moved over to sit on the closed toilet seat. “Dean Jansen offered me a contract today,” she finally blurted out, after stewing about how to broach the subject for over two minutes. Mac frowned as he looked at her. “Contract? For how long?” “Two years. He says my class is the most requested in the department right now. A big hit, I guess.” Mac smiled. “No surprise to me, one of your former students, of course. What did you tell him?” Ophelia couldn’t read anything from his words or facial expressions. “I have a few days to think it over. I don’t really know… ” She stopped abruptly as tears unexpectedly welled up in her eyes. She hated being this emotional, but lately it was driving her crazy. She sniffed, which alerted Mac to her distress. “Aaww, honey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he came over to squat beside the toilet. “I don’t have my apartment to go back to… ” She sniffed again and took the handkerchief he passed her. “And you are leaving soon… ” Mac stood and pulled Ophelia to her feet. “Come here, sweetheart,” he told her softly. He led her over to the large, plush bed in the bedroom. “I guess I just assumed you would be coming with me. Stupid of me I know, now that I think about it. But if you want to teach, while I’m on location, of course you will stay in the house here. Once we are back in the states and filming at the studio, I’ll fly home for weekends.” Ophelia sniffed. “Not stupid. I should have said something… To be honest, Mac, I don’t know what to do.”

Mac nodded. “Well, I was going to discuss this after Christmas, but now is just as good a time as any. I’ve been talking to Steven,” Mac told her softly, referring to the film’ s director and co-producer with him. “He wants to hire you to help on the film.” Ophelia frowned, fearing a handout, in spite of the surge of excitement she felt. “Hire me to do what, though? Get coffee and donuts for everyone?” Mac laughed. “No, silly. We want you to be one of the choreographers. Assistant, of course. The main choreographer was signed months ago.” Ophelia smiled slowly. “This is too good to be true, Mac.” “Well, it is the movie business,” Mac told her gently. “Tinsel town, where wishes and dreams come true. My wish is to be with you. If you want to accept, then we can be together for the next five or six months while I work on the film. If you prefer to teach, then we’ll have a long distance relationship until the shooting is done.” Ophelia sat quietly, looking at the man she had fallen hopelessly in love with. Up to this point, neither of them had been talking about “happy ever after.” But she wasn’t ready to be separated from him, even for a short period of time. Her career, such as it was now, should be her priority, but her feelings for Mac had made her realize that the lonely life she had had for so many years as a professional dancer could no longer satisfy her. She smiled at Mac. “I think that sounds like a damned good idea. I’ll let Mike know tomorrow.” Mac kissed her lightly. “Tell Mike that you might be free for next semester, or maybe some short two week classes here and there, if you want. I don’t want you to give up everything for me, which would not be fair to you. But I do want us to be together. That will probably mean sometimes I will pass on a film, and that is okay. We’ll work it out.” Ophelia threw her arms around Mac and hugged as hard as she possibly could. As they toppled backwards on the bed, she was feeling like the golden girl in an old Hollywood movie that is suddenly discovered and has everything she could wish for!

Chapter 8 Ophelia awoke slowly, still suffering from jet lag. They had arrived in Ireland late yesterday, followed by a short flight on a private jet. Once they had checked into the hotel, she had fallen instantly asleep. Mac had awakened her once, to make slow, languorous love to her, and then again, still quite early, to tell her he had some meetings to go to, but she was free for the day. She had fallen back to sleep instantly. She spent the morning doing nothing but getting cleaned up and puttering around the room. She went downstairs to the restaurant at the hotel for lunch. Seated by herself, she enjoyed leisurely toying with her salad before she finally decided on an entrée to eat. While she waited for her food, Ophelia remembered how sweet and tender Mac had been as he awakened her earlier. Her skin had felt chilled at first, followed by the realization that one breast was covered by warmth while the nipple of her other breast was being sucked and teased. Slowly lifting her eyelids, she had looked down at Mac’s soft, reddish brown hair and then threaded her fingers through it. Mac had lifted his mouth finally from her nipple and smiled up at her. “Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you—“ Ophelia laughed and shook her head in disbelief. “Right.” “I thought I’d just play with two of my three favorite toys, just in case you didn’t wake up.” Unable to keep her lips from curving upwards, she had asked him the obvious question. “You were planning on attending to the third?” Mac’s hand on her pussy was the answer she wanted. His skilled and clever fingers soon had Ophelia moaning softly and shifting her hips to increase contact with his flesh. “Slow down,” he whispered in her ear. And then he had negated his words by moving above her and thrusting into her eager body. Ophelia realized that he had already slipped a condom on as he began moving in and out of her tight, slick flesh. Ever since that first time in her kitchen, they had been very careful to use condoms. Now, sitting in the booth, idly stirring her iced tea, Ophelia wished that once again she

could feel his cum inside her body. She had felt so… wanton with his cum slowly leaking out and down onto her inner thighs. But she had not wanted to go into detail about why condoms weren’t necessary, once they had shared personal health histories. Several times she had tried to tell Mac— The waiter set her food on the table and removed the remnants of the salad. Before she could start on the delicious food, she was approached by one of the assistants she had met last night. She was told that in the confusion of her coming along, they had forgotten to get insurance on her. She had an appointment at one with a doctor the studio had contracted. The limousine service they were using would pick her up and take her to and from the appointment. Seeing she only had thirty minutes until the limo was due, she ate her lunch and headed back upstairs. Quickly Ophelia changed her clothes into a nice dress, with stockings and high heels, and was back downstairs as the limo pulled up. Inside the doctor’s office, she was greeted warmly. She didn’t have long to wait, and soon she was being processed. After specimens were obtained, she found herself in a room, wearing a gown only, waiting for a doctor to appear. She supposed it was standard for them to insure people, because if they were injured, all kinds of bills could pile up, not to mention delays, which would be costly to the studio. She was sitting on the edge of the table, idly swinging her legs back and forth when the door swung open to admit a devilishly attractive black-haired doctor. He smiled and offered his hand in greeting. “Hello, Ms. Landis. I’m Dr. Kevin Finnegan. I’m still waiting on a few lab tests to come back, but I thought we could get this part over with.” He talked with her briefly about her medical history. He next spent several minutes checking the scars, which were now very faint, on her leg and abdomen. He didn’t pry into how she obtained the scars and was satisfied with her explanation of an accident. He told her he would need to complete the usual gynecological exam as soon as his nurse came back. It wasn’t more than a moment later the door opened once again. The young nurse handed some papers to the doctor and smiled at Ophelia. Ophelia watched while the doctor perused the laboratory results and the nurse began getting things set up for her pelvic exam, which she usually hated. She was having trepidations

now, never having had such a young doctor before. Dr. Finnegan was the epitome of professionalism so far, which helped to allay her fears. He murmured something to the nurse who nodded. Ophelia was then helped into position, and the doctor quickly and silently conducted his exam. As soon as he was done, he helped her to sit up. He asked her to please dress and the nurse would then show her into his office. Ophelia dressed, but all the time wondered if this was standard procedure. Usually it was a quick “all’s fine and dandy and we’ll call you with the results.” She was escorted into the doctor’s office and left alone. It was not a long wait, but definitely a nervous one. Ophelia was soon joined by the doctor, who smiled at her as he took the seat behind the desk. ”Well, Ms. Landis, you seem to be in very fit shape. It appears everything is working as it should, and your blood tests were all within normal limits. But there was one thing… ” Ophelia felt her breath catch painfully. A doctor had told her that once before, two years earlier after she had been attacked and beaten by a mugger. The injuries were more severe than originally thought, they had told her, and it would take a very long time for her muscles to heal, both in her abdomen and her leg. Her broken bone would heal, but there was some doubt that she would not be able to keep up with the rigorous demands that were required of the prima ballerina of the famous New York City ballet company. Ophelia had felt her world fade to black. All she had ever done was ballet. Her life was the ballet. How could she live without it? Dr. Finnegan’s voice drew her back to the present. “You seemed vague about your last menses, and it appears we now know the reason why. You, Ms. Landis, are pregnant. I’m surprised you had no idea or inkling though.” Ophelia stared at the doctor. He was kidding. He had to be. She shook her head at him. “I think you have mixed my test up with someone else’s. I can’t be pregnant.” Kevin smiled at the beautiful woman. She seemed so sure that she was right he told her quickly, “They always run the test twice to be sure.” After several seconds, he added, “And the pelvic exam visually confirmed the test. I feel compelled to tell you that we don’t do abortions at any stage.”

Ophelia looked even more stunned after he said that. She shook her head. Several moments later she finally found her voice. “How far… ” Kevin smiled. “From the numbers and some measurements, it appears you are between four to five months. You aren’t showing from what I can tell, but your BCG levels indicate that far along.” Ophelia thought back and realized it was in September that she and Mac began sleeping together, so it must have happened that time in the kitchen. And then it dawned on her she was going to have to tell Mac about the baby. She cursed out loud, which surprised the doctor. “I am so sorry. I guess I am pretty stunned by it all.” Embarrassed, Ophelia apologized quickly. Kevin nodded. “I have literature for you that my nurse is putting together right now, and you can get it on your way out. I’d like you to come back in about three weeks. I understand you are over here for a month or so, correct?” As Ophelia nodded, he went on. “Good. I’d like to do an ultrasound before you fly back home and check the dates and measurements. Nothing to worry about, I assure you, just standard procedure. If you’d prefer, I could set you up to see an obstetrician.” Ophelia shook her head. The next few minutes were a blur as she made the appointment, and received an armful of pamphlets and booklets of information on pregnancy, babies and breastfeeding. Outside, the limo was waiting and took her back to the hotel. Ophelia wandered into the lounge of the hotel. She took a booth and spilled her brochures across the table. A pretty young red-haired waitress came to take her order. She caught herself before she ordered her usual drink of gin and tonic. Instead she ordered half a glass of white wine and a large glass of water. The doctor had said small amounts of alcohol were acceptable for special occasions. And God knew, this was about as special as she had gotten in a long time! She was lost in her thoughts when a slender man, about mid-thirties, approached her table. He had the body of a dancer and his normally blond hair had been dyed red for the film. Colin Dunn cleared his throat to gain her attention. Ophelia looked up and started to ask the man to leave her alone. And then, she recognized him. His hair was reddish brown, and his skin paler than usual, but the bone

structure of commanding features was unmistakable, as were the hawk-like and piercing eyes. “Colin!” she whispered softly. Colin Dunn smiled, his sensual lips curling upwards. He had hoped to see Ophelia for the first time again alone, and not in a crowd. He had heard through the grapevine, just after Christmas in fact, that she had been added to the film crew coming to Ireland in the New Year. Of course, Colin had cursed vigorously at first. This was his first really big break as a choreographer, and as a dancer. He would be dancing on film, not just working with the dancers, and receiving film credit. He had achieved as much success as possible dancing with the New York City Ballet Company, but fame and fortune would be much greater with film than within the effete world of dance. And of course, following the attack, even though he had been barely scratched because he had run away, the aftermath had made him realize it was time to make his move. He had accepted a small movie role and moved to California. He had worked steadily, making a name for himself in Hollywood, both dancing and choreographing. This movie had been his big break. He had jumped at the chance to work with Steven Fields and Donal Donaldson. Everything had been going great and then he had been informed that another choreographer would be joining the team. His shock had been complete when he learned it was Ophelia. The past he had hoped to bury was suddenly popping up when he least needed or wanted it. He and Ophelia had gone out for a late supper, and been walking back to the apartment when the drug-crazed mugger attacked out of nowhere. He had shoved Colin aside and lunged for Ophelia’s purse. The knife had come out to cut the purse straps when Ophelia screamed in reaction. Her blood had spurted and Colin had scrambled to his feet, running. He had stopped a police car, and by the time they returned, Ophelia was alone, bleeding and unconscious. “Mind if I sit down?” Colin asked her softly. Ophelia made a wide sweep with her arm and brushed all the brochures onto the bench seat beside her. “Sure, why not,” she told him, trying to be nonchalant. Her stomach was doing somersaults. She’d traveled halfway around the world and was

suddenly confronted with the last person she’d ever wanted to see. She watched as he signaled for the waitress, who blushed and responded eagerly to his easy flirting. He offered to buy her another, but Ophelia refused. She waited until his drink had been brought before she asked him the all-important question. “What are you doing here, Colin?” Colin sipped his gin and tonic. He had noticed that Ophelia was as beautiful as ever. If anything, she looked younger than she had two years ago! “I’m lead choreographer for the movie, and I have a major dancing sequence as well.” Ophelia looked at him and cursed fate. “Small world, isn’t it?” “I didn’t know you were interested in the world of film. I always figured you would stay in the refined, effete world of New York City. I thought they offered you the job of assistant choreographer, after the accident.” Ophelia looked down at her folded hands that rested on the table. “I turned it down. I rested for a year and tried to return, but my leg will never be strong enough. I’ve been teaching, actually.” Colin laughed as he finished his drink, signaling the waitress for a refill. “I can just see you surrounded by three foot tall ‘wanna-be’ ballerinas!” Ophelia smiled. “More like five and six foot tall students, and very few want to dance professionally. I’ve been teaching college dance for three semesters. They offered me a two-year contract, but I took this instead.” She had deliberately left out a few things, but decided her life was none of Colin’s business. When he had informed her that he was leaving the company, and her, she had been in a hospital bed, trying to recover from the mugging attack. In her opinion, Colin Dunn had no rights in her life from now on. Before she could go on, Mac slid onto the bench seat beside her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek while he laid his arm behind her on the seat. He looked over at Colin. “Nice to see you again, Colin. Ophelia was my teacher, in fact. I took your advice and decided to take some lessons, so I wouldn’t have to rely on my stand-in and stunt double all the time. Ophelia has been such an excellent teacher that I just couldn’t leave her behind when it came time to start filming.” His words and actions told Colin that Ophelia was more than just Donal Donaldson’s dance instructor.

Mac picked up Ophelia’s glass and finished her wine. “I’m free for the rest of the day. What would you like to do this afternoon?” Ophelia knew he was expecting her to say something about seeing the film locale for the day, or visiting one of the local special interests sights. She turned to Mac and smiled. “I’m more in the mood for an afternoon nap.” Mac barely covered his surprise with a cough. “Works for me, honey. I'll go settle the tab and meet you by the door.” Ophelia turned and gathered the booklets she’d been given, carefully concealing the titles and shoving some into her purse. She stood quickly. “Goodbye, Colin. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

Chapter 9 Ophelia was impressed with herself that she managed to make it over to the exit of the lounge without tripping, or returning to the table and dumping Colin’s drink over his head. She continued towards the elevator and Mac followed her silently. Neither one spoke on the ride up to their room, and once inside, Ophelia hurried towards the bedroom of the suite. She dumped the information into a drawer and shut it quickly. As she turned, she saw that Mac was standing just inside the doorway. “I’m going to have a drink.” Mac turned and walked back out to the stocked bar and poured himself a neat scotch. He downed it quickly and poured another. He walked over and sat on the loveseat that faced the fireplace. He didn’t look up as Ophelia came over and sat beside him. “I wouldn’t be wrong if I assumed you and Colin Dunne are previously acquainted.” Ophelia shook her head. “We used to dance together.” “And… ” Ophelia looked down at her hands, which she had folded primly into her lap. “We lived together for awhile. But it was all over two years ago.” Mac nodded and sipped the alcohol. “You want to tell me about it?” Ophelia knew she had to be honest with him. “You want to hear the whole sordid tale, or the Reader’s Digest version?” she asked him with a weak smile, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. When Mac didn’t answer she took a deep breath. “Colin and I were the lead dancers for the New York City Ballet Company. It was quite a coup, for both of us. We were drawn together with duet practices, and became lovers.” Ophelia stopped as she saw Mac’s hand clench around the glass until his knuckles turned white. “I shouldn’t say we were lovers, because the only person Colin Dunne ever cared about was himself. We felt mutual attraction and then we were living together. We went out to dinner late one night, after a performance. On the way back, a mugger jumped us. I lost consciousness soon after, but Colin went for help.” She paused to take a deep breath as she fought to keep her tears at bay. “You’ve

seen my scars, Mac. I wasn’t able to keep up once I had healed, so I recuperated for a time and tried to return. I was very lucky that Michael took me back. Back then, Mac, dancing was my life. I didn’t have any outside interests, and my friends were all dancers in the company.” “What happened to lover boy while you were going through all of this?” Mac asked her tersely, aching for the pain she had suffered alone. “He left the city about a week after I was attacked. He said he needed a change, and the timing just happened to be then. I got along all right, Mac. I had a lot of friends. Some of them were really pretty amazing in helping me when I had trouble in the beginning.” Mac turned and set his glass down. “I have no doubt that you have friends, sweetheart. I’m not sure I believe that Dunn ran to get help, or that he just happened to be offered a role that conveniently.” Ophelia smiled and raised her hand to stroke her fingers down the side of his face. “It doesn’t matter, Mac. It’s all over now.” She leaned forward and lightly kissed Mac’s mouth, letting her tongue sneak out to tease and tempt him. “How about that nap I mentioned downstairs?” Mac grinned and pulled her up. “I think I could use a little sleep, eventually.” Ophelia giggled and walked toward the bed with him. He tenderly undressed her, and then practically ripped his own clothes impatiently off. He kissed her gently as he lay down beside her. He cupped her nearest breast and lowered his mouth to lick and circle around the nipple. As she thrust her breasts up towards him, Mac sucked her nipple deeply into his mouth. Ophelia pressed closer and spread her legs as he shifted above her. He settled between her thighs, feeling her soft body cradling his hips. He tried to slow things down, but Ophelia would have none of that. When she felt his manhood pressing against her wet flesh, she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him into her body. They both gasped as her flesh swallowed him whole. Mac stared down as he pulled back and then thrust forward. He tried to set a slow pace, but the feeling of her muscles squeezing hard on his cock each time he pulled back was too much to handle… way too intense to delay or ignore. He growled low in his

throat and sped up his motions. He felt her grinding her pelvis against him, stimulating her clit with each move. Ophelia’s climax hit her like a sledgehammer, taking her breath away. And a moment later, she felt Mac stiffen in her arms and fill her body with his seed. The poignancy almost made her cry as she remembered the news she had been given earlier. His seed had taken root in her belly, against all odds. She had fallen in love with Mac and now she would have something to remember him by, once it was all over. Ophelia fell asleep spooned in front of Mac, his arm curled around her body, with his hand gently cupping one breast.

***** Ophelia didn’t have to see Colin for a week. And then, they were going to have to start rehearsing the dance sequences, and she would need to be there. They were using a lot of local dancers, and Ophelia had always found clogging and Irish folk songs and dance very stirring. So even though she didn’t want to be around Colin, she loved the idea of dancing and working once again, especially since they were using the local dancers. Mac would often sit and watch her when he wasn’t working, enjoying her easy way with people. He remembered how she had been in her class, and could see how easily she could get what she needed from others. Whereas Colin tended to yell and lose his temper, Ophelia would come along and people would understand what he had wanted after she repeated it a different way or demonstrated it, and managed to usually achieve it in one or two tries. He had been sitting in the shadows one day, watching as Colin tried to work with two of the children that would appear in one of the major dance scenes. It wasn’t long before the young boy and girl were close to tears and Ophelia stepped forward. He had not been able to hear what she said, but Colin left quickly. As he watched, Ophelia soon had the children smiling and performing the dance steps exactly as required in the script. Standing suddenly, deciding to move closer to the rehearsal area, Mac had almost knocked Steven down who had been quietly listening and watching a few steps behind him. Mac started to excuse himself when Steven put his hand on Mac’s forearm.

“That is one pretty special woman you managed to find, Mac.” Nodding and grinning, Mac shrugged as he took a step toward the rehearsal area. “Don’t I know it?” At night they were often so tired, they fell asleep in one another’s arms. It was at the end of the second week, while watching Ophelia dance a step for the performers, that Steven called him over. He handed him some official looking papers, not saying a word. Mac read the insurance report in silence and then turned to look at Ophelia. He abruptly walked back over to the practice dance area. “Ophelia!” Ophelia stopped dancing and looked up. She saw Mac and the serious look on his face. She suddenly felt a frisson of fear running down her spine. Never had she heard that tone in his voice before. Cautiously, she walked over, looking up at him. “Is something wrong?” Mac took a deep breath. “Your insurance came through… ” He paused, seeing the color fade from her cheeks. “They added a rider to the policy, about pregnancy.” Ophelia flushed. “Surprise?” she said softly, with a weak smile. “I was going to tell you—“ Her voice faded away. The words sounded silly as she repeated them in her head. A lot of things were suddenly crashing through her brain, but none of them were making much sense. “I honestly didn’t suspect until I saw that doctor the other day. I didn’t know how to tell you.” Mac could see in her eyes she was telling the truth. He realized that if he was surprised, he could just imagine how she felt! After all, she was the one actually having it. “Damn! I wish we could get out of here right now.” Ophelia leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I don’t have too much longer before Colin takes over again, and then if you’re done, maybe we could leave early.” Mac nodded. “I’ll be done.” He watched until Ophelia had restarted her rehearsals before he walked back over to Steven. His friend had been a little leery of handing him the papers with the amazing information. Mac smiled when he saw the look on Steven’s face. “Hey, nothing to worry about. Since she isn’t in the film, I doubt the pregnancy will affect her work. But do you mind if I take off when she’s done?” Steven shook his head, mentally rearranging a few shots in his head. “And I had no

doubts about Ophelia’s professional conduct. If anything, Mac,” Steven paused, looking around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard, “I’m grateful she is here. I’ve noticed her abilities with the dancers.” Mac grinned and thanked his friend and colleague.

***** Ophelia rode to the hotel with Mac. Shortly after their arrival, Mac had opted to use one of the utility vehicles they were renting. That way they could ride together, and Mac didn’t like riding in the limo. Once in the vehicle, Mac hadn't said much beyond a greeting. But then neither had she, she realized with a start of chagrin. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you as soon as I found out.” Mac took his eyes off the road for a moment. “That’s okay, honey. I’m sure it was a big shock to you. Maybe I’m being a little stupid here, but I thought women always got signs, or symptoms, or something.” Ophelia laughed and turned to sit sideways to see Mac better. “Me too! I argued with the doctor, but he said he ran the test twice.” Mac nodded and then asked her quietly. “How far… I mean when… ” Ophelia nodded and her hand dropped unconsciously to rub small circles on her belly. “The doctor says I’m four months. I think it must have happened the first time… ” She stopped suddenly, blushing. Mac couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face though. He laughed when Ophelia playfully slapped his arm. “So, you want to get married over here, or wait until we get back home?” Ophelia just stared at him, half aware that her mouth was still open. “Married?” “Of course, married. I believe in doing the right thing.” “I don’t want to get married just because it is the right thing, Mac.” Mac eased his foot off the gas and steered the car off the road. “There is a lot more to this than just the right thing, Ophelia. I love you, and I want our child to have both parents around, most of the time.” Ophelia felt the joy bubble up inside of her at his pronouncement of his love for her. “I love you, Mac. But I still don’t think we should rush into anything.”

Mac leaned toward her, his one arm resting atop the steering wheel. “Are you telling me that you’ve discovered you have feelings for Colin? Is that why you want to delay getting married?” “Feelings for Colin! Don’t make me puke!” She stopped when Mac grinned. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t a very nice thing to say.” Mac shrugged. “Perhaps not, but appropriate for a pregnant lady.” Ophelia tried to stop the laughter that bubbled forth, but she couldn’t. “I’ll never be able to say that mugging was the best thing that ever happened to me. But it changed my life forever, and I can admit now that it is for the better.” She reached out to press her fingers to Mac’s lips as he started to interrupt. “Please, Mac, let me tell you this. If I had not been injured, I would have danced, and had nothing else in my life. I have no doubt that Colin would have dumped me for some younger dancer along the way. I would have found myself alone, unmarried and childless.” She paused, unable to stop the tears that had been hovering nearby since Mac had found out her secret. Mac nodded slowly, but asked her quietly. “Why did it sound like you emphasized ‘now’ a second ago? Is it the fact that you are pregnant now?“ Ophelia nodded her head as she answered him. “I can’t deny that finding out I was having a baby was a huge shock. You see… Mac, I screwed up.” “Hmm. Well, honey, it’s always been my opinion that it takes two people to make a baby, just as it takes two people to forget protection.” He reached over and caressed the side of her face. “I didn’t mean that, exactly—“ Ophelia paused, realizing admitting the truth was harder than she’d thought. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Remember my scars, Mac?” Once he had nodded, she continued. “After the attack, because of where he’d cut, the doctors said I probably wouldn’t be able to conceive. So even though I’ve really had some wonderful times with my classes, not to mention all the wonderful young people I ’ve met, I will now have a real life, with you, not just a career. I’ll be happy to go back to teaching my classes, and watching my baby in her bouncer seat while the class practices.” Mac smiled. “I was rather seeing myself wearing one of those baby carrier things,

and bringing the baby to you to breastfeed during the day.” Ophelia laughed. “Mister Mom, huh?” “Why not? We’ll try and arrange our schedules so we can travel together.” Ophelia nodded. “How about we just take it one day at a time for now? I’ll marry you, here or back home. The important thing to me is that we are together.” Mac nodded and pulled Ophelia into his arms. He had to blink quickly to clear the tears that welled up in his eyes. “That works for me, my love.” He released her and they settled back into their seats. He restarted the car and then turned to look at Ophelia. He realized that she had an inner glow about her. “Well, Mommy, you want to grab something to eat?” “Hmm. Mommy would like to take a nap with Daddy first, and then eat.” Ophelia grinned back at Mac. Mac started back down the road towards their hotel. “Never let it be said that I didn’ t do everything in my power to make the pregnant lady happy!” Ophelia laughed and knew without a doubt that she and her baby would have the best life ever with Mac!

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