Chapter 3
Evelyn felt positively wicked. She stood beside Artemus and smiled cheerily and shook hands and received the guests as if nothing at all had happened. She ah-ed over their presents, found two women and one of the men out of the seven couples who were more than passingly friendly toward her. The others asked where they'd met and wasn't it quick and said, "My, she's lovely, you old rogue."
"Just a bauble I found on the beach at Pelican Inn," Artemus said, making an insulting joke. "Thought I'd bring her home with me. Doesn't she go well with the house?" He turned to Evelyn and grinned. She grinned back. It was a baring of fangs. He put his arm around her. She reached up to give him a quick peck, like any admiring bride, and he evaded it, walking away quickly. "Don't overdo it, Dear," he said.
It startled her. It had given a bad impression, and she could feel it. The women turned cool suddenly, letting their eyes flick up and down her figure in a new appraisal, as if suddenly seeing what her real motive had been for marrying so old a man.
She lifted her chin bravely, trying not to care what the others thought, but she knew the first round of their new battle had gone to Artemus. She was now a gold digging little tramp.
She sighed and watched him across the room, drink in hand, talking in his cool, unshakable way. The others drifted toward him, leaving her to finger their gifts reflectively. She decided not to force herself on them. They didn't mean that much to her, as they were too old to be company for her anyway. Peter came in with his lithe, dancing motion to announce that dinner was ready. He spotted her standing alone, and they exchanged glances once again. She let hers linger on him, and he understood. The thought formed in her mind: Yes, Peter, we probably will. She didn't feel ashamed by it any more.
Everyone moved toward the dining room and the long, elegantly set table. Artemus kept trying to hold them back, looking over his shoulder repeatedly as if expecting something to happen. Then Valerie came waltzing out in a white satin sheath cut above mid-thigh.
Artemus crowed proudly, going over to her and taking her arm. The others ogled her, as did. Evelyn. The raven hair gleamed against the white material. Her body was poured into it. There were no pretenses about underclothes. Her breasts jiggled softly inside the material, and her nipples were plainly visible as bumps of white at the tips. There was no telltale line from panties or pantyhose. Under the sheath was pure Valerie, soft, resilient, curved, voluptuous. She had the figure to do it. The effect was incredibly erotic. She made eyes at all the men and laughed pleasantly with the women. She made Evelyn feel positively tacky by comparison.
Artemus guided her toward the head of the table. Evelyn saw what was going to happen, and she hurried forward.
"Valerie, you're absolutely stunning in that dress," she said, smiling bravely.
Valerie smiled back, supremely confident in the circle of her father's arm. "Why, thank you, Mother," she cooed. "Gee, it's going to be hard to call you Mother--you're so young. Daddy, why did you marry someone so young?" she asked innocently, making herself be childlike despite the obvious fact that she wasn't. She fooled them all, and their heads swiveled toward Evelyn to sample Valerie's truth.
Artemus laughed easily. "Now, that's my business, sweetheart. Here, you come sit beside me, and I'll tell you all about it." He gave an exaggeratedly lecherous wink behind his hand, making them laugh.
Evelyn couldn't reach the seat that was supposed to be hers without running. Valerie sat in it quickly and smiled victoriously at her. The others settled themselves, a big, balding blond man, who was hard of hearing and seemed to have a lot to talk to Artemus about, taking the chair on the other side of him, opposite Valerie. He was Swede, the lawyer.
Evelyn hesitated. She couldn't ask the man to move. She couldn't make a scene with Valerie, either. She went toward one of the couples who had been nice to her earlier.
"Do you mind sitting next to the bride?" she asked the man.
"Of --course not," he stammered, his smile flashing on quickly. He glanced at his wife. "We'd be delighted, wouldn't we, darling."
"Yes, Wendell. Delighted. Well, help her with her chair. Where are your manners?"
Evelyn sat. She was below the middle of the table. A wrinkled, hard-looking woman in a Victorian dress sat across from her. She smiled quickly, fingered the big corsage over her breast, and talked with studied absorption to her neighbor.
"I wonder why there's an extra chair," Evelyn commented to Wendell, trying hard to be accepted by someone.
"Did you forget you have two children, Evelyn?" Artemus questioned from the end of the table. His voice came clearly through the murmur of conversation and stilled it. "I thought I'd mentioned that before now."
The heads swiveled toward her again. "I ... I didn't think he was coming for dinner, Artemus."
"Who the hell knows when he's coming?"
"I'll bet he'd come faster if he knew what his new mother looked like," Valerie said slickly. She giggled behind her hand, and the Swede, sitting across from her, guffawed once. "Listen, everybody," she said, keeping their attention, "I just thought of the funniest thing. My parents are Artemus and Eve. Isn't that funny?" She giggled again, sweetly innocent.
They chuckled. "Clever girl. Pretty little thing."
They looked at Evelyn expectantly.
"And she's pure Cain," Evelyn said, more firmly than she'd meant to.
There was forced laughter. The Victorian across from her scowled and leaned over the table, waggling her head in reprimand.
"Cain was a man, my dear. Don't you know your Bible?"
"Let's hope she didn't mistake Daddy for a woman," Valerie snickered.
Evelyn didn't know what she would have done if Peter and Keith hadn't come in simultaneously, just then, through different doors. Peter carried a platter of carved roast beef, and Keith carried his suitcase.
"Hi, everybody, sorry I'm late," he said breathlessly. "Dad, I gotta talk to you a minute."
Artemus turned slowly. "Of course, Keith. I'll leave my guests and my dinner and indulge your impatience any place you suggest. Will the boat be private enough, or should we crawl into the attic this time?"
Keith's ready smile faded. He put down the suitcase by the wall and moved his hands futilely, glancing with embarrassment around the table.
He was as handsome as his father. Evelyn studied him and decided that Mary had been right. There was softness in his face, a kindness in his eyes that his father had lost long ago. He had sensitive lips, a tall, lithe build, and long fingers, like those of an artist. Evelyn liked him immediately. She felt sorry for the way his enthusiasm had been doused by Artemus' chilled voice.
"No, Dad," he said softly, shuffling his feet. "I didn't mean now. It can wait. I ... I'll go wash up."
"Thank you, son," Artemus said heavily. "I appreciate your consideration." He turned back, dismissing the youth. "That kid," he muttered. He turned to the Swede. "Did you stop everything, Swede?"
"Vat?" he roared, cupping his ear, his bulbous nose quivering. Evelyn saw his squinty eyes peer straight across the table at Valerie's protruding nipples.
By the time Artemus had got it out of him that he'd put the hex on Keith's impending deal with Ackerman, Keith was coming into the room, looking fresh and clean and healthy. His stride was buoyant, his manner pleasing. He took the empty chair, across the table and three down from Evelyn. He looked at her as a single face for the first time and looked again, smiling handsomely. It was a prettier smile than his father's, completely lacking the sneer.
"Say hello to Momsy, Keith," Valerie said nastily.
He looked up, his face puzzled. Evelyn knew instantly that no one had bothered to tell him yet. "What?" he said.
"That's our new Mommy over there. Say hi."
Keith looked at Evelyn, dumfounded. She knew somehow she would have a genuine ally in him.
"Your father and I were married yesterday, Keith," she said easily. "Didn't anyone bother to tell you?"
"No kidding!" he blurted, wiping off a sudden grin. "I mean, no--they didn't. Jesus, I can't believe it."
"Watch your language, Keith, you're not in a college bathroom now," Artemus boomed.
"Yes, Sir, I'm sorry. I just ... nobody said ...
"Mary told you. Why are you putting on such an act."
"No, she didn't."
"You always want to contradict me, don't you?" Artemus growled. "Why is it these kids today don't have any respect for anybody? You called here yesterday, didn't you--to inform us all that you wouldn't be coming home when you were supposed to, as if you had no responsibilities?"
"Yes, but ... "
"Then she must have told you."
"Dad, she didn't!" Keith cried.
Artemus nearly whispered, thus emphasizing the loud protest. "How often must I remind you not to raise your voice to me?"
"I'm sorry, Dad," he half whined, squirming in his chair. "I didn't mean to yell. But she didn't."
"I want to quit arguing about it. The matter's too trivial to occupy the attention of my guests. Now, say hello to Evelyn and take some roast beef. Do you want Peter to stand there holding it for you all night?" Keith moved about with flustered motions, taking a slab of meat from the platter Peter held, discovering his napkin was still on his plate, putting the meat back and doing everything all over again. He said a quick, "Hi," during the middle of it.
"You'll have to treat her with more respect than that, Keith," Artemus said.
"I said hi."
"Say it again, and be polite."
"Hello, Mother, I'm pleased to meet you," he said in a forced voice.
"God, Daddy, that, was priceless!" Valerie laughed.
Evelyn glanced at the pair of them. Artemus was wearing his sneer. She looked back at Keith, and her eyes went soft, trying to tell him that she understood, that it was all right.
"I'm pleased to meet you too, Keith," she said gently. "I'm sorry this is such a shock to you. I'd have thought surely that some member of this sweet family would have told you your father was getting married, even if he didn't think to himself."
The words came out easily. She said them clearly. When she was finished, she glanced at Artemus. He grinned and gave her a slight nod of approval, declining to retort.
The dinner was strained. The guests were not insensitive to the strong undercurrents. Toward the end of it, Artemus began again.
"Tell me why you were delayed, Keith," he said.
Keith looked up, glanced at Evelyn as if for support, then faced his father. "I'd rather talk to you about it in private, Dad," he said.
"This is as private as we're going to get for the next week. I have a full schedule at the office, and I'd like to do some things with my wife. Either, tell me now, or let it cool a week."
Keith licked his lips. "Well ... I had a terrific idea just at the last minute that'll make us a killing, Dad," he said excitedly.
"Oh, boy--I can't wait, to hear it," Artemus mimicked, setting his elbows heavily on the table and looking at his son with a fixed stare.
"I saw a report that had just come into the Economics Department projecting a new upswing in Fiberglas boats, so I called Bill Funk to confirm it. He said our stock would shoot up, but that he was switching from Kabern Glass because their delivery was bad. I heard you mention that Todd Ackerman was trying to get your Kabern stock, so I called him."
"Oh, that's terrific, Keith," Artemus said in a droll voice.
"He offered me twice what it was worth. We can dump it on him and buy more in Funk Boats and come up with a short term gain of ... " He searched in his coat pocket for a paper of figures.
"Absolutely nothing," Artemus growled loudly.
Keith's face fell. "What do you mean? I figured it all out, Dad."
"You haven't figured anything out, boy. You just damn near gave Ackerman control of Kabern Glass. Kabern owns Funk. We make the engines that go into Funk. How the hell many do you think Todd Ackerman would buy from me, huh? Christ, you damn near wiped us out of three companies in one stroke. What the hell's so terrific about that, Brain-boy?"
Keith shriveled into a lump of confusion. "But I checked the stock register, Dad," he wailed. "Ackerman doesn't own any of Kabern Glass."
"He owns forty-eight percent through Acheson Limited and Delmar Plastics, and Funk is his goddamn cousin!" Artemus roared. "Get the picture now, you bungling idiot? You stick to your damn books from now on and let Swede and me take care of the business until you can figure out what the hell you're doing. And even then,--you ask my advice first, understand?"
"I ... Dad, I didn't. ... I thought I was only ... oh,-- shit on it!" Keith cried, throwing his napkin into his plate, knocking his chair over backwards as he sprang up from the table. He glared at his father, and tears of frustration stung his eyes.
"Keith, you sit down and apologize to every person here for that outburst," Artemus commanded.
"I apologize!" he cried over his shoulder. He strode from the room in tearful anger and slammed the door to the front yard.
Evelyn hesitated. She watched Artemus settle back in his chair with a smirking grin on his face. Valerie was looking at him with obvious pride. There was a small, secretive smile playing at her lips. Her breasts rose and thrust with excitement. The others had fallen to studiously eating their dessert. Evelyn stood up quietly.
"Where are you going?" Artemus questioned.
She faced him fully, keeping her voice low and calm. It took nearly all her will. "One of us should go to him, Artemus," she said.
"Sit down. This is your party. He's a big boy now. If he can't take a little rubbing, then let him go sulk."
"But it's his party too, Darling, because he's one of the family. I feel responsible for having upset him. After all, it must have been a terrible shock to him to come home and discover he had a new mother. Since it's my fault, I'll go out and apologize. I'm sure everyone will understand my sense of duty and forgive me.". She smiled sweetly and walked with determination toward the door. She hadn't expected the total silence that followed her.
She shivered in the front yard, ridding herself of a sudden chill. She searched it and went toward the side of the house, calling to him softly.
"Keith? It's Evelyn, Keith, please answer."
She found him sitting in a secluded area of the garden on a cement bench imbedded with colored stones. His hands were between his knees, and he was staring at the dark ground, his shoulders slumped. He glanced up and then back down again.
"I'm not going back in there," he said sullenly.
Evelyn sat beside him. "I don't blame you."
Keith looked at her suspiciously. "I don't know why he sent you after me. He's never given a damn before."
"He didn't send me. I came because I wanted to."
"Look, Evelyn, we might as well get one thing straight from the start. I hate his guts. He's done this to me all my life. This is the last time. I've had it. I'm finished. I'll never try to please him again, because it's hopeless. This is the last time I intend eating his crap. Now, I'm going to hurt him. I'm going to make him eat mine and hurt him so badly he'll finally learn he can't do this to me any more. I'm going to do something that will make him sit up and take notice."
"Oh, Keith--don't take it so seriously. You can't feel that way about your own father."
"The hell I can't. Anyway, it's reciprocated, you know. He started it. He treats me as if I can do nothing right--nothing, no matter how hard I try. I found out at school that wasn't right."
"Of course, it isn't right. That's why you shouldn't ..."
"Valerie, now--she can't do anything wrong," he said bitterly. "You saw her in there, playing up to him and making her slippery comments."
"Yes, I've seen her," Evelyn said, glancing away.
"What do you mean?" he questioned closely.
A spotlight from the house shone down on the garden, lighting the tops of the palms and sprinkling through the intertwined branches of a spreading banyan, giving the garden an intimate, ethereal quality. She could see Keith's face turned toward her and his dark eyes flicking with interest over her features. She felt an odd stirring inside herself, and she reached hesitantly toward him, finally touching his cheek with trembling fingers, feeling an electric shock seem to animate her breasts.
"Keith, don't be this way. Don't be vile and cruel. It doesn't fit you. You wouldn't stand half a chance against him. You aren't the same as he is, and you shouldn't try to be. Maybe I can do something to help you. Maybe things won't be the same any more, now that I'm here. I know I shouldn't be saying this, but ... we need help from each other, Keith."
"What do you mean? You're his wife. Why should you need any help? Help from what?"
Evelyn drew in her breath. "Never mind that," she said weakly.
"They've done it, haven't they? They've started on you, too--already. That's what they did to Mother. They teamed up against her and drove her out. Evelyn, for God's sake, why did you join this sick family? Why did you marry him? You're too young, too pretty to be his wife. Do you love him? Really?"
Evelyn pulled her hand back quickly. "That's not a proper question for you to be asking me, Keith."
"I don't care about proper any more. All I care about is getting even with him for all the years like tonight. And you--I won't stand by and watch them do to you what they did to my Mother."
"Keith, what are you talking about? What is it you think they did to your mother?"
He looked at her, moving his face closer, remembering. "I'm not as stupid as he tries to make me out. I have eyes. I've seen them and heard them."
The words made her pulse beat faster. "Seen--what, Keith?"
"You want me to show you? All right--why not? You're a member of this sick family now, so you might as well be introduced into it properly."
His hands reached out quickly and gripped her shoulders. He pulled her to him, and his lips sought hers and kissed them fully. He was hard at first, insistent and demanding, then frightened and unsure of himself. An exciting air of recklessness pressed from his lips to hers and made her shiver with the shock of it.
Evelyn sensed that he was upset, that he was lashing out in any way possible, and she didn't fight with him. She went limp in his arms and let him kiss her, knowing it meant nothing. She had wanted to comfort him and try to remove the bitterness and anger from him. If kissing her would do that, then she wouldn't stop him, because it would never happen again. She told herself that and attributed the electric sensations jolting through her to the strangeness of the night.
He pushed her away quickly, and his face rumpled with shame. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to do that."
Evelyn breathed deeply a few times, trying to quiet the tingling in her lips. "Then, why did you, Keith?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do. Tell me. I'm not angry with you for that."
"Jesus, now I've screwed everything up."
"No, you haven't. I liked it. It was one of the sweetest kisses I've ever had."
"Don't you make fun of me too."
"I'm not, Keith."
They looked at each other intently through the dim light. Something had happened between them, she could feel it. They were too close now. There was suddenly too much attraction between them. The whole night was becoming too crazy and too emotional and dangerous.
"You know what I was thinking in there?" he asked. "The minute I saw you? I thought you were the daughter of one of them. I was sitting there trying to think of witty things to say so that you would want to date me. I felt immediately that I wanted you to be my girl, and then Valerie said ... God, Evelyn, you just can't be my mother! It isn't right that he should have you."
"Keith," she gasped. "You must stop talking this way. It isn't right."
"It would be more right than what's real. You're not like him either. Valerie's like him. You're ... you and I ... " Keith's face changed. His eyes began to dance with inner excitement. "I know what I'm going to do, to him, Evelyn. I've just decided."
"What, Keith?" She backed away from his intensity. "No... oh, no, you can't think that, I won't let you."
"I want to kiss you again, Evelyn," he whispered, his breath warm and sweet and gentle on her face. "I want to do more than kiss you. I want to take you away from him and make you my girl and love you the way you should be loved."
"Keith, I'm your mother," she choked.
"Only my stepmother. You said so. That makes it different. Besides, you're the only clean, fresh, pretty thing about this house, and I couldn't stand by and watch you be trampled into the ground under the heel of their sickness."
"Keith, stop," she gasped. "You don't know what you're saying. You're just upset tonight. Please don't go on with this."
"I know what I'm saying. I know what I want to do. I want to protect you from them. Valerie is crazy, Evelyn. She'll stop at nothing to have her own way, and he'll stop at nothing to give it to her. She tried to get rid of me. She tried to entice me and get me to... "
Evelyn's pulse raced madly. "To what, Keith?" she whispered.
"She was drunk. Maybe she was high, I don't know. She enticed me into her room. She was wearing a nightie. It seemed to grow thinner the longer I was in there. She knew it. She kept showing herself to me, leaning up against me, laughing, fondling me, letting the material slip up over her buttocks and thighs, not caring that I saw her pussy. She writhed on her bed. She began playing with herself, squeezing her breasts, fingering her thighs. She opened herself to me and begged me to finish her off. She spread the lips of her pussy and ... did everything, right before my eyes, trying to get me to fuck her. Me, Evelyn, her own brother! She wanted me to fuck her!"
Evelyn remembered the sight Valerie had presented to her. She felt herself slipping through the darkness again toward that image, feeling inside herself as if the event were taking place once more. It was eerie. It made her tingle all over. Her pussy throbbed. She tried to fight off the feeling that she was Valerie again, the way it had happened earlier, with Artemus.
"Did ... what did ... " Evelyn gasped, feeling her labia swell.
"I didn't do it, Evelyn. I swear I didn't. She began cursing me, ranting on and on about Mother, about how she and Gloria had made Mother do things, about pictures. And then Dad... "
"Oh, Keith," she whimpered. "Keith, we're going to need each other. She tried it with me today!"
"Evelyn, no!" he cried. He swept her into his arms, holding her tightly, making her breasts flatten against his young, hard chest.
She was breathing rapidly. She felt her labia swell and flutter moistly. Her nipples sprouted against his chest and tingled.
"Keith let me go," she gasped. "Stop ...
Evelyn struggled ineffectually. Her hand brushed across his lap. It bumped into the stiff bone of his prick and made her shiver. Wanton, impossible desires swept through her and did battle with the knowledge that this was her stepson holding her and running his hands over her back and up her sides to her breasts.
"Evelyn--Evelyn!" he gasped, cupping the full mound of her breasts with his palm, fingering her flesh, testing its resiliency.
"Keith, you mustn't do this," Evelyn said quietly. "It isn't right."
"Who cares about right, Evelyn? What they're doing isn't right, either. I only know what I feel at this moment, and it is that I want to love you and protect you." His hand worked down her side to her waist along her trembling thigh and up under her skirt.
"Keith, no!" she cried again.
"I have to know, Evelyn. I have to feel you and know. I've got a hard-on for you that came from something besides sex. I know there's something between us, Evelyn, and if your pussy is wet, then I'll know you feel it too."
His fingers slid along her inner thigh and caressed the swollen labia between them. Evelyn shuddered, at the sensual touch. She knew he was feeling the slipperiness of her juice and the dampness of her panties. There was a moment of surrender to his enveloping fingers, when her pelvis rocked up and her thighs parted willingly. A tremulous shiver rocked through her body like a small orgasm and made her gasp heatedly against the side of his cheek. His finger slid along the lubricated nylon and traced the gentle curve of her slit, as if seeking the vent from which her passion would erupt.
"I knew it, Evelyn, I knew it," he gasped. "You're wet for me--so wet and warm and soft. Oh, God."
"It doesn't mean anything, Keith," she said quickly. She clamped her thighs shut around his hand and backed away, making his fingers stop touching her pussy. "I'm wet because of what you told me about Valerie, that's all. It doesn't mean anything. That's why you're hard. It's not from me but from reliving that time with Valerie, because she's so sensual."
"That isn't true, Evelyn," he said. "She doesn't make me hard. My sister disgusts me. You made me hard. If you just touched me now, I'd show you. I'd ..."
"No! Don't say it!" She jumped up, standing away from him in the eerily lighted garden and smoothing her dress, feeling the touch of her own hands bum through it and turn her skin to flame. "God, Keith, this is impossible," she moaned.
He stood also. His hands held her shoulders tenderly, in the kind of touch she had wanted from his father. His breath was warm against the back of her neck, where his lips caressed her lightly, pushing aside the auburn strands to taste her flesh.
"It's not impossible, Evelyn," he whispered. "We can work something out I want you. I know you want me, because I felt it between your legs. Evelyn, stop fighting it--we're meant for each other."
He turned her easily. His arms circled her waist. Their faces came close in the dim light, and he kissed her gently, tenderly. His young muscles flexed with passion and something more. Evelyn yielded to him again for a delicious moment and knew the truth of what he was saying, even while she fought against his embrace in her mind and forced herself to remember that she was married to his father. She tried to break free again, but he held her tightly. His fingers sought the tab of the zipper running down the back of her dress. She feared what would happen if he began moving it down. She could feel the seething desire inside her starting to boil at his touch.
"Keith, you can't do this," she whispered urgently.
"Come to my room, then. Come to one of the guest houses."
She pulled back and looked at his handsome face, made beautiful to her now from the desire in it. She was afraid there was only one way to stop themselves from tumbling over some dreaded precipice. She let her hands go to his buttocks and hold them.
"Evelyn... " he gasped.
"Oh, Keith--move, --Darling, move against me." She pulled his middle tightly to her, cupping his hard shaft in the vee of her thighs and the softness of her belly. She swiveled her hips and dug her fingertips into the cleft between his cheeks. She leaned her cheek heavily into the hollow of his shoulder and gasped heatedly, urging him on.
"Oh, no..." he choked. "Not this ... let me take it out ... lift up your skirt and ... oh God, Evelyn, not like this."
She rolled against him, feeling his throbbing cock trying to strain through the layers of cloth between them and spear into her slippery cunt. She mashed her soft tits against his chest as she felt for his anus with her fingers, slipping her fingers under his belt down the swell of his buttocks.
Waves of guilt washed over Evelyn for what she was doing, but the guilt gradually gave way to the decision that this had to be done. She was barely able to stop her own passion from overflowing the moment Keith gripped her tightly and shuddered against her body with a gagged moan of completion.
She clung to him, half holding him up. He breathed harshly for a moment, and then his arms loosened about her waist. He kept his face hidden from her, and she fondled the back of his neck gently.
"There," she said softly.
"That was a dirty trick," he mumbled.
"But you feel better, don't you?"
"I feel shitty--like a damn kid with no control."
"It was the only way, Keith. It would have been worse the other way, and you know that."
"Did you come too?"
"That doesn't matter."
"Did you want to? I know you did--don't lie."
"All right. I won't lie. You're very attractive to me, Keith. You're soft and good and gentle. You're what I wanted your father to be, but isn't. There, does that make you feel any better?"
"Evelyn, leave him."
"No, Keith,` she said firmly. "He's my husband. I barely know him, but he's my husband. I have duties, responsibilities--I've made promises that I have to keep." She looked at her stepson and grinned. "One of which is to be a mother to you. Do you hear me? A mother, not a lover."
"All that doesn't change what you feel for me." Keith said sulkily.
"My feelings for your father can change. I have to give all this time. It hasn't started too smoothly, I'll admit, but that's all I'll admit. He has a strong personality. He's older than we are put together. His ways are set. I have to learn to adjust to them."
"Later, then--if it doesn't begin to work out for you ... oh, Evelyn, you've got ... "
"No, Keith. I wouldn't promise such a thing. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. You'd always be watching and judging, and I'd always think I had an alternative to keep me from doing my best. Don't you see that?"
He drew in a deep breath. "I don't give up that easily. Wait till Valerie really starts in on you. Then you'll be sorry."
"Sorry? Keith, a moment ago, you wanted me to be your girl. Now you sound as if you're threatening me. Is that the way you want it between us? I offered to help you, remember?"
He turned his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way, damn it. I just ... all right. All right. But I'll still be here anyway. Remember that, Evelyn. Any time you need someone, I'll be here."
"Thank you, Keith. It's the same with me, too. Now, we'll both forget this ever happened, and we'll be friends. Come on, let's go back in before you get my dress wet and it leaks through your shorts to ... " .
"God, it already has. Oh, hell, I've got to change, They'll know then. I don't want to go back in there anyway."
Evelyn looked down. A dark, stained area gave testimony to his founting passion of a moment before. She saw his discharge shimmering on her dress in a dime-size spot she knew would stain, even when dried.
"They won't know," she said hopefully. "I'll say I spilled some beef juice on myself."
"Valerie will know," Keith said darkly. "Even if she isn't sure, she'll imply it. She's vile that way." Evelyn stiffened and pushed him firmly away. "She hasn't all that much power, Keith. You haven't seen me in action yet. She can't get away with everything, you know. I'll handle her, guests or not. Are you going to change and come back?"
"No."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed him quickly and hurried through the garden into the yard, inhaling the fragrance of unknown blossoms made heavy and sensual by the ocean air.
A certain steeliness came over her, a resolve to engage in battle with Valerie as well as Artemus. She wished she could believe the substance of her bravado a moment ago to Keith, because she knew that Valerie's power lay in something not measurable. Her own strength, the backing of Artemus--but there was something more. An aura of fascination, an insidious way of infusing Evelyn's spirit with herself, as if she were a witch who could cast a spell. It had happened twice, already.
The guests were gone. Evelyn stood at the entrance to the party room and saw the forgotten glasses, their sides sweating puddles onto paper napkins as the last of the ice melted. There was the stale, lingering smell of cigarette smoke and the other untidy remnants that made her feel as if a chilling force had come and removed the people from the world and left her alone.
She turned and went toward the stairs. A low murmur came from Artemus' study. She paused a moment, then went toward the door, her mind working over the things she was going to say to him. She would stay out of his way, if that was what he wanted. She would fulfill her obligations and duties, because she had made them. But there would have to be a limit on the amount of abuse and ridicule accorded her in public. There would have to be limits put on Valerie.
"All the wedding guests have left us, Mother," Valerie said.
Evelyn looked up quickly, startled from her thoughts. She saw the girl sitting on one arm of Artemus' leather chair, her hips cocked, her dress rucked up around her smooth hips until her dark pubes were brushing the leather with feathery touches. One arm was around the back of Artemus' neck, and she leaned against him, her soft, vibrant breasts on a level with his head. Her nipples thrust against the satiny material in clear outline. One leg reached toward the floor, the other was lying atop the chair arm, knee bent, calf doubled under. She didn't alter her splayed position when Evelyn came in.
Artemus sat in the chair with a peculiarly wooden expression on his face. His eyes moved and tracked Evelyn as she sat on the couch opposite them and folded her hands in her lap.
"I want to talk to you, Artemus," she said. "In private."
"Mmm, she sounds determined, Daddy," Valerie cooed, curling her fingers in his hair and spreading her thighs insolently wider, pointing her pussy straight at Evelyn. "What do you suppose she and Keith did out there all this time?"
"You were gone over an hour," Artemus rumbled. "You embarrassed my friends, and they left. What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"
"Send her out, Darling, and I'll tell you," Evelyn said coolly.
"Oh, Daddy, I don't want to go. Don't make me go." Valerie lifted her thigh and rolled her buttocks over the arm of the chair until she slid into his lap. She snuggled against him. Her dress was pulled up to the sides of her hips, and her cunt was in plain view, even to Artemus, if he looked down.
Evelyn gasped. The physical intimacy of the two appalled her. It also reminded her of what she had just been doing with Keith. She swallowed hard and watched Artemus put his broad hand atop Valerie's thigh and squeeze gently.
"She doesn't want to go," Artemus grinned. "So, talk. Is it about the party, the seating arrangements? I didn't have anything to do with those."
"You know it isn't that."
"She didn't like the way you treated poor Keith, Daddy. She thinks he's nice, I can tell. See that big spot on her dress? I wonder how she got that. Tell us about how you got that spot, Momsy."
Evelyn looked straight at Artemus, trying her best to avert her gaze from Valerie's tantalizing pussy. The girl seemed to be having trouble getting comfortable on her father's lap, because she kept moving around, rolling her buttocks and flexing her spine in serpentine fashion so that her breasts thrust outward in soft, satin-covered cones. Her smile became unbearably sultry and wanton, and it was all Evelyn could do to keep herself from watching the sensual movements and becoming absorbed in them to the point of fascination.
"Artemus, I refuse to say one word until you send Valerie from this room," Evelyn said, feeling her temper rise along with another emotion, strange in overtones.
"Well? Is it about Keith, Evelyn?"
"Partly, yes."
"Then there's nothing you have to say that I'll listen to. Keith is my responsibility, remember? We've already discussed that. Valerie is the only one who need concern you."
Evelyn glanced at the girl, still rolling her buttocks softly in her father's lap. Her twat seemed to spread more widely. There was a slickness to it now, between her succulent labia. The smile on her face grew bolder, more confident, dominating Evelyn from across the room.
"Artemus, send her out!" Evelyn cried finally, losing her control.
There was a long hesitation from him, a fixing of the expression on his face, as if he'd been seized by a moment of breathlessness. His hand moved jerkily on Valerie's thigh, and then came to her waist, holding it firmly. Evelyn watched and didn't understand.
"If you want to talk about Valerie," he said finally, his voice sluggish and low, "then I'll leave you and go to bed. You don't need to talk to me about her. Talk to her yourself. Get up, Valerie."
The girl didn't take her eyes from Evelyn. She slid forward from his lap smiling with sleepy victory. Her dress slipped up the tanned expanse of her upper thighs and lower abdomen, totally exposing her black-furred cunt and the round hemispheres of her ass. She stood with her naked bottom clearly exposed and slowly pulled the hem of the dress down over it, smoothing the slick material with her hands in exaggerated movements, making her young tits become fully outlined. She breathed deeply and continued to smile.
"Yes, you go to bed, Daddy. You need your rest. Momsy and I will take care of the talking. We'll get it all straightened out."
Artemus sat as he was for a long moment, then rolled out of the chair in a peculiar way, seeming to hide behind Valerie until his back was turned. He moved behind his desk and fiddled with things on the top of it for a moment.
"Artemus, I refuse to be treated this way," Evelyn cried. "I want to talk to you, and I want to do it now--without her insolent presence."
Valerie approached Evelyn with a cat-like, threatening appearance. "There, Daddy, she's done it again. I told you she was nasty with me before. Let her try to lie out of it this time--you heard her."
"Valerie, that's enough," Artemus said gruffly. He looked at Evelyn, half over his shoulder, still facing away from her. "Good night, Evelyn."
"Artemus, how dare you!"
"I told you that Valerie would be your responsibility. I'm going to leave now, and see how well you can discharge that duty." He began walking stiffly from the room, his hips twisted oddly.
Evelyn glanced from him to the smirk on Valerie's face, feeling totally outraged and totally helpless at the same time. The girl turned and went toward the door, stopping her father. She kissed his cheek fondly, the way a daughter would do.
"Good night, Daddy," she cooed. Her lithe body strained upward to reach his height. The dress pulled tightly across the rounded globes of her cheeks, caressing them in satin splendor.
Evelyn's eyes were drawn to them against her will. She saw the beginning of the shadowy cleft between them, the taut line of thigh and calf. Her gaze went lower and clung to the irregular spot on the back of Valerie's skirt, off center, near the hem.
She gasped audibly and felt her mind spin. Her pulse raced, and she knew what horrible, degrading thing had been taking place right before her eyes.
"Oh, my God!" she cried. "My God, I can't believe this is all happening to me!"
The door was closed, and Artemus was gone. Valerie turned around and looked at her, seeing the point of her vision. She looked down behind her and saw the wetness. She smiled lewdly and came toward Evelyn with sinuous movements.
"See, Momsy? I can get my dress spotted too," she cooed.
"You vulgar little bitch!" Evelyn spat, jumping up.
Valerie tipped her head back, shook her glossy hair, and emitted a throaty laugh. "Don't be upset, Momsy. I told you I had my way with things around here--things and people. You want to fight me all the time. Wouldn't it be much easier on us both for you to give in? You suggested that yourself, remember?"
"You tramp," Evelyn whispered.
"I'm not a tramp, Eve," Valerie said, her face changing, becoming halfway serious. "Haven't you ever been sixteen? Or have you forgotten what it was like?"
Evelyn watched Valerie suspiciously as the girl came slowly forward. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about being hot, Eve. All the time. So hot you can't stand it. So hot you want to fuck anybody. Haven't you ever been that way before?"
"No," Evelyn said, --but her hesitation gave her lie away. "Not with my own father, Valerie. That's a sickness."
"Why? Haven't you even dreamed of it with yours? All girls do that at some point in their lives, don't they?" She smiled innocently. "You have to think of Daddy, too. He hasn't had a wife for three years. That's a long time for a man to go without a woman. He works hard. He doesn't play around, I know. It wouldn't be healthy for him to go without sex once in a while, even at his age. And it's harmless--only a little game we play, don't you see? He feels better, and nothing bad is done. Just a little rubbing. Just the feel of his big, stiff prick between my cheeks. It makes me feel good, too. It makes me hot. You came in on us tonight, Eve, and I didn't get to finish. I'm still hot. I'm burning up inside. He's gone, now. Everybody's gone. There're only the two of us. I know what you and Keith did outside. I always know. You didn't get to come either, did you? Then we should help each other, shouldn't we? We could both forget, Eve. We could be good friends, you'll see."
Evelyn watched the slow approach with mounting emotion. She couldn't define the feeling. There was astonishment, disgust, incredulity--but something more. There was fascination with the enveloping presence of Valerie's sultry wantonness, a feeling of unreality so strong that Evelyn was scarcely aware that Valerie had taken her hand and placed it upon the satin slope of one of her firm, invigorating breasts.
The touch against her fingers was the most sensual thing she'd ever felt. They squeezed in gently as if they had volition of their own. The spinning sensation claimed her again. She felt her hips go loose, her buttocks become swollen and tucked under as her pelvis rocked forward and her labia swelled open once more with the unfulfilled desire Keith had raised in her.
The satin dress slid under her fingers at the merest pressure on her wrist where Valerie held it. Her eyes were fixed on the dark, wide-spaced orbs before her. She felt her breath catch in her throat as satin gave way to equally silky skin and the glossiness of pubes. Then her fingers were bathed in warm oil, were caressed by succulent, silky flesh and smooth muscles. She watched in fascination as Valerie's eyes clouded and then grew bright. The sound of her escaping sigh seemed to break the eerie trance she was in.
"Oh, God!" Evelyn nearly screamed, jerking her hand away as if it had been immersed in flames.
Her fingers were soaked with the strong perfume of Valerie's cunt. The girl's dress was hiked to her waist. Her pelvis was tipped forward eagerly, searching for more sensation. Her lips were slack and parted, and hot breath came from between them.
"Oh, my God!" Evelyn cried again, stepping back in horror. "You're a witch--a witch!"
"Oh, don't stop, Eve, don't stop! Don't make me do it by myself; I get so tired of that. Please--do to me what you did to Keith. I won't tell, I swear it, I swear it!"
Evelyn gagged and spun away, running from the room. Her fingers slipped on the door knob, and she wiped them on her dress, looking back in horror. She saw Valerie with her thighs splayed and her fingers busily rubbing up and down her slit. Her face had changed again. The insolent, mocking smile was back. Her head was tipped, and throaty laughter came from it. Her hand blurred, and her buttocks tensed. She cupped her skirt at her waist with her other hand and shuddered, the laughter becoming a gurgling moan of extreme pleasure. Her hips shook back and forth as she fucked her hand and came again and again.
"I'll defeat you, Momsy," she gloated. "You know I will now, because I'm stronger. You'll come crawling to me one day and suck my cunt!"
Evelyn ran from the room in sobbing terror, the challenge ringing in her ears all the way to her room. She saw a woman in her mirror. She looked at her closely, trying to recognize her. The woman looked half mad, and Evelyn turned away from her.