The Davonshire Series 2: Loving Words (17 page)

Wilfred explained the paintings in the dining room and took her hand in his as he walked her through the hundreds of family photos in the family room.  It wasn’t odd or uncomfortable for either of them as they ended the evening sitting on his parent’s patio, enjoying the warmth of the late August evening.

The comfort was short lived after the Suburban was loaded with his parents in the back seat and Cook riding in the third row of seats.  Jordan and Jaelon had come back for Rod and Gianni, who rode to the lake with them.  “Gianni,” Wilfred called out, “have you hooked the jet skis to the back of the Suburban?”

Jet skis?  It was going to be an interesting weekend.  The first thing that Elsie took note of and was surprised to know was that Cook was David Sr.’s niece who was raised by his grandmother. 

After the grandmother had died, there were horror stories about homes for those with special needs like Cook, who suffered a form of autism.  David Jr. had come down with a lung disorder and they had to move to Arizona.  It was perfect timing since Elena could not cook and his cousin, Cookie, as they called her when she was not cooking, had an affinity in the kitchen, as well as an amazing palate.   She had lived with them for thirty years and still refused to leave the kitchen.  This week at the lake was vacation time for everyone, including Cook, who was not allowed anywhere near a stove.

The four-hour drive to the lake was relaxing, only to be overshadowed by the beauty of the lake house itself. It was three stories, slept thirty easily, and was fully staffed.  Most of the family had arrived earlier in the day and Stefano Jr. met Gianni was at the Suburban and helped unhook the jet skis.  Gianni and Jordan were anxious to get to the water, but Wilfred pulled him aside. Elsie was trying to strain to hear what he was saying. But Gianni looked over at Elsie and back at Wilfred, and said, “Okay, Pops.”

 Inside the home, the rooms were very basic, but there were so many family photos.  Elsie walked along the main wall to study the family groupings. 

She looked at Uncle Earl’s family, observing Chuck and Maya with their kids on the third row and then Khalea and Stefano with a third row for their kids. 

Uncle James was featured with his wife in a second row of photos underneath Jordan and Jaelon, with room for a third row of grandkids. 

Then there was David Sr. and Elena, with the second row of David and a photo of Halley.  There were separate pictures of Will and Willie.  There was a third row with a photo of a young Wilfred holding a six-year-old Gianni. In the background of the photo was a sign which read, “Proud Papa.”

Gianni was Wilfred’s son
.

Willie arrived in the afternoon, accompanied by a photographer, a photographer’s assistant, a young Chinese woman and her personal hair and make-up artist, Clarke.  Everyone seemed to be aware of what was to transpire as the men started to move the furniture in the family room, converting it to a makeshift photo shoot.  Willie instructed everyone they had one hour to get ready, and the shoot would start exactly at four pm.

Rod and Jaelon were assigned to work wardrobe, ensuring that everything was pressed and ready to wear.  Wilfred and Chuck were the only ones who needed robes, and Maya helped Chuck while Willie handed Elsie a bottle of baby oil with the instructions, “Take care of Will.”  

Take care of him with what
? 
What am I going to do with Will and a bottle of baby oil?  I may need some kind of lubricant to take on.…

“Wilfred,” she said in a hushed voice as he entered the room in a robe with this hair mussed and hanging about his shoulders.  The look on his face was that of a predator seeking out his prey.  He headed to hair and makeup, tossing the long black locks forward while Clarke sprayed the back of his hair, adding a holding solution then trimmed his beard. Clarke also added gel and more spray to Will’s chest hair along with mascara and eyeliner.  When Clarke was finished, Willie informed him, “Elsie has been assigned to assist in oiling you up.  Get moving.”

Will’s face dropped.  As much as he wanted to hide his face in his hands, he couldn’t.  It would mess up the makeup.

What has my life come to
?

Slowly he walked over to her, shaking his head.  She held the bottle of baby oil, wondering what she needed to do with it. 

“It appears you have been assigned to oil me up.”  He managed to deliver the line with a straight face.

He continued, “We are professionals.  We can do this, right?”  His voice was far more confident than he felt.  He looked at his family and made eye contact with his dad.

Focus on Dad.  Focus on Dad.

His dad walked over to him, slowly, as if she were coming to deliver a verdict of a death sentence in person, “Ain’t no pillows in here, son, and you aren’t wearing any pants.”  His father was standing there, looking at him, grinning from ear to ear.  Wilfred started to chuckle, which took his mind off Elsie about to rub oil all over his body.

Being shy today made him look like a schizophrenic fool compared to his whispered comments to her yesterday.

Now, I want to be bashful?

“Elsie, it would help if you did my back, arms, and the back of my legs, and I’ll do the front.”  She was still holding the bottle of oil and looking perplexed.

He exhaled.  “In the photo shoot, I am the stereotype of the underwear model. You know, oiled up, hair blowing, snug briefs….” his voice trailed off. 

On second thought, he thought about what would happen if he enjoyed her touch too much.  “You know, maybe this is a bad idea, and too weird for either of us.  I can get Khalea or my mom to do this….”

She waved away his notion with her hand.  “Getting your mom or your cousin to oil you up would be even weirder.  You’re wearing briefs under there, right?”

He nodded.  “I’ve seen you with your hair down and shirt off before. This is no big deal.”

She smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  “Let’s do this!” 

She could see his discomfort and she was going to make it worse as payback for those comments in front of his parents.  He dropped enough of the robe to expose his upper torso and tied the sleeves of the robe around his waist to cover the lower half.

She couldn’t resist.  She yelled out, “Dayyyyummm!”  Everyone turned to look at them as Will dropped his head in embarrassment.  Elsie covered her mouth to stifle the laugh.

“Real mature, Elsie….” he said through tight lips. She turned him around and began to oil up his back. “… And just so you know, Elsie, I am hating you so much right now.”

She squirted some of the oil in his hands as he greased up his chest and biceps.  She aided him on the back part of his arms, ensuring there was an even coat all over his triceps.

Willie called for places.  He dropped the robe and bent over to oil the front part of his legs.  Seizing the opportunity, Elsie yelled out, “Dayyyyummm!” once more, then burst into laughter.

While he was bent over, she was behind him smiling, peeking out from behind his ass and waving.  His mother was cracking up while David, who was already in place with Uncle Earl, also tried to stifle his laughter.

Will was calm as he oiled the front of his legs, trying to ensure that all the hair was smoothed and lying flat. “Elsie, just to make sure we are clear… I’m still hating you.”

She was still grinning as she smoothed down the hair on the back of his legs, quickly giving him a wedgie as she lubed up his butt cheeks.

“Did Willie ask you to oil my glutes?”  He frowned at her while asking the question.

She gave him a wink, and mouthed the word, “Nope,” and winked again, giving her eyebrows a waggle.

Before he could respond, Willie walked over.  “Elsie, He’s too shiny.  Chamois him now.  You have one minute!”  She used the Chamois to quickly blot over his chest, arms and legs.

“Places!  Places!  Places!  We go in one minute,” Willie yelled loudly.

She used the Chamois to wipe his hands and he asked Clarke to touch up his lips.  Will sat watching Elsie intently as she worked on his body with no outward reaction to what she was doing.  He opened his mouth as Clarke touched up the lip liner then reapplied the gloss to his lips.  Elsie held up the mirror for him to check his appearance.

“It’s too much gloss,” he told her and he puckered up. She reached for a blotter to tamp it down and he shook his head.  

“This will work better,” he said as he pulled her by the front of her dress and pressed his lips to hers. He wiggled his lips back and forth, then checked the mirror.  He nodded and walked onto the makeshift set.

Elsie’s heart was thumping in her chest like she was being chased by a madman. Will was making his intentions known.  He wanted to be with her.  She clutched the Chamois and swallowed hard. 

That is a lot of man.
She looked down at her lap
. I dunno, old girl, we may not be able to accommodate him at the inn.

Chuck was the last to enter the set and even his mother started to blush when she saw her son in the hot red thong.  He was a tad bit too hairy and Willie started barking orders at Maya to use some of the depilatory on his bikini line.  Willie walked over to do a close inspection, causing Chuck to flinch and suddenly feel bashful.

“Chuck,” she told him, “you’re wearing a captain’s hat, dress shoes and a hot red thong. There’s no need to be bashful.”

David was ruining the shot because he was trying to avoid contact with Chuck’s buns. 

Wilfred asked him to settle down.  “It could be worse, he could be pointing at you what he points at me.”

Chuck was quick.  “You both are jealous.”  He turned, giving a coy wink to the camera, and began to flex his hocks.  Uncle Earl asked him to behave before he caught a cold in his butt from the fan being used to blow Will’s hair. 

Wilfred pointed to the glass of Courvoisier behind Elsie and she brought it over.  It was a great photo of the men in the family.  Stefano had been added to the photo wearing a hard hat, although he, like his wife, was an attorney.  The shoot went really well and even Gianni looked adorable in his boxer briefs that read
WTF?
across his groin.  The whole shoot lasted an hour and a half and Willie reviewed the final shots and declared a wrap.  Will stayed behind and took a few more photos with the photographer.  He added a kilt to one set of shots, and in another he wore snug jeans and a tight navy VP tee, and held his Sig at his side.

Elsie found it interesting and imagined the cover of his next book, “Something different you working on, boss?”

“Yeah, I have an idea in my head, and since he’s here…” he said softly, almost unsure if he should share the idea with her.

The head chef announced that dinner was being served on the patio.  Since it was vacation time for Chuck as well, Willie’s helpers would be flying back on a chartered flight after they grabbed a bite to eat.  At dinner, Chuck was still wearing the thong and a wife-beater, which everyone complained about citing it was ruining their appetites.  Elsie wanted to wait for Wilfred who had disappeared for a quick shower and to wash the goop from his hair.

Between using her lips for his blotter and rubbing down his body, Elsie’s body was pretty warm. 
I want him
. She didn’t care about the consequences or ramifications.  She didn’t care about being the stereotype of a woman who fell in love with her boss.  She was ready to give herself to him.

During dinner, she was picking over her salad when he sat next to her at the table.  The loose hair now pulled back into a free hanging ponytail, he listened to Willie discuss the changes to his initial idea and it seemed he could not care less.  His eyes were only on Elsie.

“After dinner, will you go with me for a walk around the lake?” he asked quietly so only she could hear. It was time to actually share with her his thoughts.  If only he could find the right words to make her understand that he was a broken man, but with her help, he could see his way back to something normal.  A normal life with her.

 “Thanks for your help today with such a delicate task,” he said as he walked along beside her, waiting for a reaction. “I may have been too forward and overstepped, using your mouth as my blotter.  Forgive me?”

“Only if you forgive me for using the opportunity to feel you up.”  She cut her eyes at him.

“Elsie, I value the friendship we’ve developed.”   Even though she was on loan, he valued her as an employee and did not want to jeopardize the relationship.  He stopped and stood in front of her.  “You have come to mean a lot to me, and I don’t want to do anything to ruin what we have… whatever this is… or what share… but….”

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, she moved in closer, reaching her hand out to touch him, but then drew back.  She spoke softly.  “I know it’s crossed your mind, as well as mine, that maybe we are just two lonely people who have found some comfort in having another person around.”

Will said nothing as he waited for whatever her answer was going to be to what he had been pushing and proposing to her for the last three days.  He didn’t care if she called it loneliness. He wanted to be in her arms and feel the love she radiated through everything she touched.  He would take whatever she was willing to give him.

“Will, I haven’t vented in five years.  I think I’m long overdue.  The woman in me is responding to the man in you… this is a terrible idea and we both know it.”

That was all he needed to hear.  It was a start.  “I lied to you.”  He faced Elsie and looked deeply into her eyes.  “And I lied to myself.  I wanted to believe that my reactions were based on a physical need and the lack of companionship.  But the truth is, Elsie, my need and want seem to be the same thing.  And both are centered on you.  I can’t seem to stop thinking about you – and in a very nonprofessional way.”

“Will, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but my thoughts about you as of late have been less than professional as well,” she said as her fingers grazed his abdomen.

“I would also be lying if I said I cared about your fear.  I know what I feel.  I know what I want.  The rest, we will just have to sort out.”  His thumb traveled across her lips. 
Full lips.  Sexy lips.  Lips that begged to be kissed
.

“Will,” she held him off with her hand.  “When the time comes, will you be gentle with me?”

Wilfred chuffed and took her into his arms.  “Hell no. This luscious body has been keeping me up at night… gentle is going to be the last thing on my mind…”  He lowered his head to capture her mouth with his own as he snatched her body against his.

Elsie pushed back from him, her nose crinkled as she looked into his eyes, which were now a smoky brown, “You think my body is luscious?” As she giggled like a school girl.

“Every sexy inch of it and those thighs…” he told her as he lowered his head pressing his lips to hers.  Wilfred provided a kiss so thorough that her legs started to give way, his tongue invaded her mouth like a pirate raiding for treasure as his lips slanted over hers again and again, each time trying to get deeper.