Peterhead, Scotland. January 2nd, 2017
Michael closed his eyes and spread his arms open, crucified over the crumpled sheets and forever tied to the sensations evoked by relaxing in Lisa’s bed… after having just been in her body. He was lying down on his stomach, naked, his hair a mess and the side of his face pressed in the pillow. The weight of her body sitting astride his lower back felt incredibly relaxing, and he sighed. When he felt her massaging his shoulders, he let out a satisfied moan.
“You like this?” Lisa’s voice was a bit hoarse and, even without seeing her, he knew that she was smiling.
“Oh yeah, baby… Keep going…” His very husky, very sexy voice made her laugh.
For the first time in a week, since her family had arrived, Lisa and Michael had indeed been able to spend a few hours alone. Thanks to Riley’s sudden and “unexpected” insistence, the entire gang had left for the afternoon to visit the nearby New Slain Castle and Bullers of Buchan – a dramatic, massive blow-hole with several natural arches. Harper and Finley had been thrilled when they had discovered that the castle had been used as an inspiration for Dracula, to the point that they couldn’t care less that their mother would not be there with them. Kids!
“You guys go and have fun. I’ll stay home and help Ethan with a project he’s been working on,” Lisa had said casually.
Priscilla had beamed.
“Oh, what kind of project is that?”
Her constantly enthusiastic reactions to Michael 2.0 were becoming a bit obnoxious.
“Ah, I can’t really talk about it, mom… You know, his work is all about confidentiality.”
Her mother had nodded knowingly.
“Of course, of course! Sure, Lisa Marie. You stay home with him. And maybe when we come back we all can go out for dinner, what do you think? Ethan told me about a nice restaurant a few miles from here.”
Lisa had smiled.
“Of course he did. Well, then… Sure, why not?”
The moment they had left, she had sent him a text.
“Come over. I’m waiting for you.”
When he had arrived, she was already waiting for him on the bed. She wore nothing but a white shirt he had forgotten there a few days earlier, the ring he had given her for Christmas, and the pearl choker that had been his first luxurious present for her when they were dating. So many years earlier. There was something so incredibly sexy about Lisa wearing his clothes and Michael had not been able to suppress the intense rush of desire immediately overwhelming him. He had taken her then and there, first by pushing her close to her climax with his mouth and tongue and then by merely opening his pants, pulling down his zipper and fucking her. The urgency had been unbearable, making his pulse race and drum in between his temples. Only afterward that powerful first hit, he had allowed her to strip him naked and they had finally enjoyed a long, slow, intense lovemaking session in bed.
“So… what about that project you were supposed to work on with me?”
He spoke with his eyes closed. He felt her lips trace a path on his still sweaty back, from his shoulder blades to the nape of his neck. He shivered.
“Well… as a matter of fact, I’ve been working hard on that project for quite a while now…”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes… And it was quite a big one, too… Took me a while to truly rein over it…” She nipped at his neck as her fingernails scraped his scalp, running through his damp hair. Goosebumps rose on his skin. “…Haven’t you noticed how committed I was while I was sucking your cock, a few minutes ago?”
Michael giggled.
“You’re such a nasty truck driver…”
“Yeah, but committed, nonetheless.”
He had noticed, indeed. They had been going at it hot and heavy, frantically making up for all the time they hadn’t spent screwing on New Year’s Eve. They had been way too busy playing the part of Peynet’s lovers at the family gathering, the only exception being a quick kiss on the lips at midnight.
He loved to tease Lisa for her potty mouth, but he too could be quite rough during sex, both with his actions and words. As a matter of fact, since the very beginning of their relationship Lisa had been able to breathe life into a part of him that, sometimes, still shocked him.
Before meeting her, he hadn’t even been sure that part existed. Not to that extent, at least. It was a side of him guided by unbridled passion, pure lust, dominant and demanding, impetuous and gruff. Something that fully emerged every time they made love, even when it was sweet, deliberately slow, but just as intense. At the same time, it never mattered how rough they could be during their intercourse. Every action was always permeated by profound love and respect for one another. Even at the lowest point of their relationship, when they liked to pretend sex was the only thing that kept them coming back to one another. The truth was that they trusted each other completely when it came to their bodies and souls. Their hearts and minds, of course, were a different animal altogether.
And yet right now it seemed impossible to think that they had ever been apart, that they had been able to let doubts and fears separate them. Whenever they were united, Michael and Lisa would always feel right and strong. They knew they could be virtually invincible. On the other hand, something would always feel amiss whenever they were apart.
Lisa rested her right hand on the pillow, her left hand now massaging Michael’s sensitive lower back, her lips still busy kissing his shoulder. His lazy eyes stared at the ring on her finger.
“You like it for real?”
She spoke in between kisses.
“What, baby?”
“The ring.”
“Well… It was not a bad movie at all… a bit overrated, maybe, but still enjoyable…”
He snorted in amusement.
“Stop it, silly… you know what I mean…”
Smiling, she placed a final kiss on his skin and then rested her chin on his shoulder. Michael closed his eyes for a second when he felt her small, perky breasts on his back as she lay down fully on top of him.
“I love it. It’s beautiful.” She sighed, admiring the ring like a teenager. “And I love you… so much.”
He smiled, then turned on the mattress so that she could come to rest half on top of him. He held her in his arms and stared into her eyes for a very long time.
“I wish that ring signified so much more than my emotional commitment to you… I’d love to marry you again, Lisa…” His voice sounded low and honest, pensive. “…I’d truly marry you right now if only I could.”
Taken aback by his words, she tried to keep her face collected, knowing well that he could not marry her. Not only because she wasn’t even technically divorced yet, but also because such a risky act would likely put him in the spotlight. Michael’s new identity was safe… but not if he became Lisa Presley’s husband. It wasn’t like marrying a Jane Doe. Too much would be involved – money, properties, legacy – and too many people would start digging into their relationship, especially after what had just happened with the fourth husband from hell. If only husband number two hadn’t become an ex in the first place…
Lisa frowned, as barely restrained emotions swept through her like a wind in the desert. How long she had been waiting for those words. When she had been ready, he wasn’t. And when he had finally opened up, she had run scared. Their timing had always sucked, and this is what had happened. He had almost died while she… Well, a part of her, a huge part of who she was, was gone. Liquefied by her tears and despair. At least until he had come back, breathing life into what seemed impossible to resurrect.
Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear she leaned down, kissing his mouth softly and without any hurry, hoping to convey everything that she felt in that kiss. Her sadness, her love, her gratitude.
“I’m so sorry I can’t do it, Lise…” Michael murmured against her lips. “…I am so sorry I can’t give you anything but a stupid ring… and a life in hiding. I wish things had gone differently… and we hadn’t just drifted apart.”
His voice broke and she pulled back, just slightly, caressing his cheek.
“Mike… stop it, OK. Don’t say that. This ring is not stupid. It means the world to me. Hell, you could give me a plastic ring and it would still mean everything to me. And as for marrying me… It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you’re here… that you’re alive.”
He just stared at her and she let out a small smile.
“You will never know what it was like to live without you… Can’t you see? Michael, can’t you see that there’s nothing that I want but you? Things have changed so much. I don’t care about papers, I don’t care about anything but you, here with me, right now… I don’t need a contract to feel committed to you… I am, I’ve always been, yours… You gotta know this… I just want you for who you are… That has never changed.”
“But now I’m nothing but…” He blinked, struggling to find the words. “ …What the fuck am I now, Lise? …The king of nothing? You still want me even though I have nothing of what I used to have?”
Was this how he felt about himself? Not enough? Never enough?
“Are you kidding me? You’ll never be the king of nothing, Mike… Please don’t ever say that. You worked so hard, gave so much to the entire world… What you did is hardly nothing, don’t you think?” She smiled softly. “I only need the man, and you are the king of my heart… If that is enough for you. And don’t even get me started about you being the KOP… ‘cause you must know you’re still it. You don’t even have any real competition… c’mon now…”
His eyes glazed over, Michael let out a strained smile and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. Words died in his throat, and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.
Lisa stayed like that for a while, cherishing the sweet contact of his warm lips on her skin, hoping that his sorrow and doubts would just go away. Hoping to have time to brush them all off, once and for all. In those seven years without him, she had painfully learned that time was all that mattered. Time was of the essence.
“Hey… you know what?” She leaned up and rested her hands on his chest, loving the way it rose and fell with each breath. “I am not even supposed to tell you this, but I have a present for you…”
Michael’s eyes lit up and, for a moment, he looked like a little child.
“What? Get outta here!” He tried to push her off him and she laughed.
“No, fuck off! I’m serious. I was supposed to give it to you on Christmas day, but it wasn’t ready, yet.”
“And now it is?”
“Yeah.”
“But babe… You didn’t have to. I already have the best Christmas present in the world right here with me, into my arms.”
“Gosh, you’re so sentimental…”
She rolled her eyes, but warmth spread inside of her at his choice of words. She loved that side of his personality, always had, even if she had a hard time admitting it. Tough girls didn’t like corny men… Right?
“…Look, I do have this present for you, but I ain’t giving it to you right now. You’ll have it tonight after you sneak into my bedroom like a secret lover and fuck me senseless and make me scream your name. How about that?”
“Why you gotta be such a dirty tease?”
Curiosity and anticipation made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A present! For him!
“Because it’s too much fun! I know you don’t like to wait and I’m sorry. But I can always try to make it up to you and distract you, in the meantime…”
With that, she straddled him again, her hips swaying slowly and pressing down on his manhood, which immediately responded in that hard, scorching hot way she knew so well.
Yeah, well… It looked like not a single part of Michael loved to wait.
They all shared an excellent dinner at the little restaurant that Lisa had hoped could remain only hers and Mike’s. But no, he had spilled the beans with her mother, of all people. He had always been a generous man and didn’t mind sharing. As long as it was anything but his woman.
The old maître recognized Priscilla – Lisa could tell by his suddenly flushed cheeks – but acted very professionally, and nobody bothered them for the entire night. That was another great benefit of living in a tiny town in Scotland: people were left alone. They ate and drank and talked a lot, and Lisa noticed how Riley would sometimes still glance at Michael as if wondering how in the world he could be there… and looking so different at the same time. But she behaved herself and acted very nonchalantly around him for the entire night.
At one point they all even moved to the ballroom and danced. Lisa was glad that her mom picked her toy-boy as her partner and didn’t ask Michael – well, Ethan – to dance with her. It would have been funny, mind-blowing and annoying all at the same time.
Lisa danced with Michael and they slowly swayed to the music, allowing themselves to show a little more of the chemistry than they usually did in front of her family. But who were they kidding, after all? Riley and Ben had told Lisa that it was clear she and Michael were very much in love.
She rested her head on his shoulder and, when she felt him kiss her temple, his lips lingering there, she just smiled softly and closed her eyes. Until she couldn’t do it anymore and she tilted her head up blindly, searching his mouth.
At one point she even found herself swaying to the music both with him and the twins, Finley in her arms, Harper in Michael’s. They managed to stay close in a group hug, and the girls laughed so hard that they about teared up. When Lisa glanced up at Michael, she noticed that his eyes shimmered behind the lenses of his glasses. She knew what he was thinking because the same thought had been crossing her mind. All of this should and could have been theirs to begin with. Sadly it was too late now, and they could only navigate their complicated situation for what it was. Despite the feelings of sadness and regret, Lisa still was grateful for what she had. The most striking truth she had learned in the past seven years was that one never truly knew the value of something until it was lost forever.
When she walked back to the table with the girls, she glanced over at Michael and saw him put his hands into his pockets, his weight swaying lightly from one foot to the other. He looked hesitant, as if he didn’t really know where his place was. He was good at keeping a bit of a distance, acting like someone who was still at the very beginning of a relationship, but sometimes he faltered. This was not one of the stages he had jumped on all over the world. This was not a performance he had replayed thousands of times in front of oceans of people. This was sailing in the dark, minute by minute.
Riley caught Lisa’s gaze and stood up, giving her husband a quick peck on the lips and gently squeezing her mother’s shoulder before walking over to Michael on the dance floor.
She stretched out her arm.
“Hey, Mister… Dance with me?”
His eyes widened in surprise and he smiled, his head dropping. He took her hand.
“How can I ever say no to you, Danielle?”
Riley rested her other hand on his shoulder and they started moving slowly to the music. While they danced, she studied him with a very casual look on her pretty face.
“You know what I was thinking?”
“What?”
“That beard suits you.”
Michael smirked.
“Thank you…”
“I still have to get used to this, you know?”
“To the beard?”
Riley chuckled.
“Yeah… That, too. To everything…”
He pursed his lips. He knew what she meant.
“I can imagine. I’m sorry.”
“Are you serious? What are you sorry about? Being alive and making mom happy?”
She laughed again and he just shrugged.
“Not sure. Wreaking havoc, I guess…”
“You’re not… wreaking havoc…” She studied his eyes. “Some things brought destruction into our home. You were never one of them, ‘kay? Not even when things were bad between you and mom.”
Michael didn’t say anything, preferring to engage her in a sudden twirl. Riley laughed, caught off guard.
“You still got all the moves, huh?” She was still smiling, and he giggled.
“Not really. I’m actually real’ rusty. But who cares, right? It’s not like I have to perform anytime soon…”
Riley couldn’t tell if he was relieved or saddened by that half-hearted admission.
“I get everything has changed. I do. But you know… Dancing with you still feels so familiar…”
When he looked up at her, his eyes calm, his head cocked to a side, she spoke again.
“Remember when I was little… and I would dance with you by putting my little feet over yours? And you would teach me?”
Michael smiled lopsidedly.
“Yeah… We would never miss a beat…”
“I remember feeling so cool, having my stepdad make me feel such a perfect dancer…”
“You were a perfect little dancer,” he replied gently.
Riley stared at him for a long time.
“I’m happy you’re here, Mimi. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
Sitting right at the center of Lisa’s bed, Michael kept his hands on her hips and slightly lifted her lower body, pulling her down and into him and surging up at the same time. He winched in delight when she felt her pull at his hair and bite his neck, knowing well that she would leave a mark.
It didn’t matter. Lis knew that she had to be quiet as long as her family was there, and that could result in some more scratches and bites.
Her hot and labored breath grazed his ear.
“Fuck… Don’t stop… Talk to me…”
She couldn’t get enough of his voice and his body. Even after all those weeks, he noticed how she would often feel the need to touch him, just to make sure he was there and she was not a victim of a mental breakdown or a psychotic delusion.
He swallowed and kept moving inside of her. They had been going at it for hours and yet it was never enough.
“Baby…” He whispered into her ear. “…I love the way you grab me when you’re about to come… I love how your breath pauses when I put my mouth on your pussy… There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than inside of you right now…”
Lisa moaned and he silenced her with a passionate kiss, slowing down his sharp movements, turning them into painfully dragged jabs. She let go of his mouth and threw her head back, starting to shake and crumble into his arms. He held her tight and picked up speed again, guiding her through her umpteenth mind-shattering orgasm. He was struggling so hard to keep himself in check and his hair was plastered on his forehead and temples, beads of sweat running down his neck. She propelled herself forward and kissed him again hard, her hands cupping his face. Then, in an unexpected move, she sat up on his lap and lifted her body, effectively forcing him to withdraw from her.
Michael took in a sharp breath and blinked, feeling the sudden loss of her warmth. Confused, he stared at her with his mouth half-open, his breath labored. She looked high on pleasure and lust. Her lips slightly parted, her eyes hooded and dark, Lisa placed her hand on his chest and forced him back down, and he barely had time to realize what was going to happen before she went down on him, taking him in her mouth.
“Shit!”
He gritted his teeth and his hand came to rest on her head, his fingers entangling in her hair. He lifted his head just enough to watch her take him that way, then relaxed, his eyes barely open and still on her. Always on her. The way she touched him and loved him, with her hands and her tongue, threatened to send him into orbit right away to the point that he was almost paralyzed by pleasure.
Lisa’s mouth let go of him for a second, but her hand kept stroking him.
“Mike… don’t look away. I want your eyes on me… Look at me while I make you come…”
He complied with great effort – glad, for once, that she was the one being in control. She smiled and went down on him again. Michael bit his lip, cursing under his breath.
“There you go, girl… keep going. Oh yeah… That’s it. You know you want to.”
She sure did.
A sound like a purr emerged from her throat, and the hand that wasn’t busy stroking his cock went straight in between her legs, teasing and touching. He kept staring at her and the white blaze approached, closing in on him at record speed. He let go a slow, long breath when she started using the least amount of pressure possible, her soft lips pushing him closer to his climax. Oh hell, no! He was going to hold off for a little longer… Well, maybe. She had always been great in bed, but since their reconnection she was literally out of this world. Or maybe it was his memory that couldn’t compare to the real thing.
“Don’t… Lise, don’t finish me off, yet… Shit…” He squirmed and she smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He shook his head and let out a breathless chuckle, finally managing to lean up on his elbows.
Then he turned serious.
“Lie down… And keep playing with yourself. Let me see how much you like this, baby girl…”
OK… He was back at being in control and Lisa smiled. She obliged, resting her legs on top of Michael’s before spreading them in front of his eyes, allowing him a perfect visual of her ministrations. He looked mesmerized and stared at the way her hand moved on and inside herself, as in turn she was hypnotized by his eyes. It was a never-ending circle of pleasure, and sooner or later they knew they would just combust and reduce themselves to ashes.
Vertigo was the exact sensation he felt when she spoke again.
“Look how ready I am… Don’t you wanna put your dick in here, daddy?”
Hell, yeah. He loved their dirty talk in bed and certainly didn’t need to be asked twice. In a second, he was on his knees and had grabbed her by the hips, pulling her into him once again. He knew he couldn’t wait any longer.
He buried himself into her body in one single thrust and Lisa covered her mouth with her hand, repressing a loud moan.
“You think you can handle what I’m about to give you?”
Michael sounded cocky, but she could detect the immense effort he was putting in his act. He too was almost there – she knew it, she could feel the way he twitched and throbbed inside of her. And she intended to make him lose control.
“You know I can… Come on… Let me see what you can do… fuck me hard, baby…”
She also knew that he would not be gentle. When Michael was pushed over the edge like that, he could be forceful in his play and exceptionally domineering, but there was nothing more than she wanted than feel him possess her with every ounce of his being.
She braced herself inwardly and yet was not entirely ready for the vortex of sensations he subdued her to. Pain and pleasure mixed dangerously with each move, with each powerful thrust. Lisa closed her eyes and let her breath leave her in quick, frantic gasps. Yet she didn’t let up.
“Give it to me like that, Mike… You’re amazing. Oh my gosh, you are… so fucking perfect.”
She meant every single word she said. And she loved to make him feel powerful. Because he was.
Their eyes locked, liquid heat running from his body to hers and then back again. In the dim light of the room, Michael’s sweaty skin looked like milk-colored glass.
He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up and against his body and Lisa, instinctively, wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him. His movements slowed down, and he took his time to kiss her, deeply and thoroughly, loving the way her tongue danced into his mouth, loving the feeling of being hers, of her being his.
“I love you, Lise…”
“Shit, I love you too…”
And then, they both felt it. And they both stopped fighting it and instead embraced it. The white haze, sweeping them away at the same time. Particles of stars becoming invisible dust in the atmosphere, disintegrating and then creating a supernova of pure pleasure, a perfect symphony of body and soul. They cursed and gasped and whispered unintelligible words but, more than anything else, they stayed together in the moment. When Lisa felt him release inside of her in his last, powerful thrusts, her head fell back, and she felt her eyes flooded with tears. But she felt no pain. Only a perfect communion of feelings.
When the electric current finally subsided they took their time to relax, lying down on the bed. Half-draped over his torso, she enjoyed the pleasure of his fingers running along the smooth surface of her back. The night was finally quiet and still again. She lifted her head and found Michael’s dark eyes looking down at her.
“You ready for your present now, baby?”
A small, crooked smile grazed his lips, and he blushed like a boy. Then he just nodded his head.
Lisa gave him a soft, lingering kiss and then rolled over, opening the drawer of her nightstand and extracting a big, white envelope decorated with a red ribbon. She handed it to Michael and he immediately frowned, his smile widening.
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you just open it and see for yourself?”
She sat up and rested her back against the pillows, just studying him quietly. She observed how his elegant fingers ran across the paper, as if guessing what was inside the envelope, and finally opened it with absolute delicacy.
It was nothing more than five printed sheets of paper. In the dimly-lit room, Michael squinted his eyes slightly but managed to make out the words.
He looked up at her and smiled incredulously.
“Wow, Lise… Is this a… trip to Greece? You got me a vacation package?”
Lisa shrugged and smiled back at him.
“Yeah, well, more or less…”
His eyes stared at the papers again and he frowned.
“It’s amazing but… Why is it for five people? Is your family going, too?”
“No, not my family… Yours. That holiday is for you and your children, Mike.” Her voice was soft. She took his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get it ready for Christmas, but we still had to make arrangements, and I had to find the perfect time to gather all three of them, and…”
Michael silenced her with a kiss and Lisa closed her eyes. After a while, she noticed that her cheeks were damp – but it wasn’t because of her tears. It was him, the one who was silently crying.
She backed off and reached up, resting her hand on his cheek.
“Don’t cry… Please, baby. Stop crying. Aren’t you happy?”
“Oh shit, yeah… I’m so very happy… It’s just…”
Michael shook his head and then pulled her into a hug. Yeah, of course. He hadn’t been expecting anything of that sort.
She melted in his embrace and felt his racing heartbeat. For the umpteenth time in her life, she realized that what she felt for him couldn’t be compared to anything she had ever experienced in her life. Her love for him would always find its way out of whatever darkness she pushed it into. And it amazed her how those feelings always felt ancient and new at the same time.
“Michael… There’s one thing I need you to know, though.” She pulled back and watched him seriously. His eyes were huge, full of stupor, happiness and barely contained anticipation. “I wanted this trip to be for you and your kids only. But I was afraid it would look suspicious. I don’t think it would make any sense that my new boyfriend went on a trip with my ex-husband’s kids. That’s why I’m going, too… Because I can be the perfect punching ball if something doesn’t go the way it should. If, and only if, the paparazzi notice us, they’ll think I am there trying to reconnect with your children… They won’t pay any attention to you. And that’s all that matters… I don’t give a shit what they write about me. I just want you to be safe. But please believe me when I say that I’m not gonna intrude… This is for you guys.”
Michael closed his eyes for a moment, frowning. Did she really feel that way? An intruder? A third wheel? Was it that, how she had always felt? Pain whipped through him suddenly.
“Lisa… Lise. Listen to me. You… I get what you’re saying, but I would have wanted you there anyway. You could never intrude. You’re a part of me… And you’re my family, too. I love you so fucking much it drives me nuts. And I can never thank you enough for this… I had no idea where or when I was going to see my kids next time… It’s been a year and a half… But now, thanks to you, I know that I’ll see them again in two months. My children! All three of them! Can you imagine? And all thanks to you…” His eyes watered again and he framed her face with his hands. “I’m the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet!”
She had managed to look all cool and collected up until this point. However, seeing him so vulnerable made her feel as if something inside of her had shattered and rebuilt, all at once. This was what happiness tasted like.
Chapter song
